August 18th, 2023

Specialist Lukas "Amp" Weiss

West Coast Rainbow HQ

Portland OR. USA

Lukas woke up the following morning with Ela attached to his arm. He took a moment to reflect on what happened to Derrick. Those were some of the most intense torture sessions he ever had to watch. Derrick himself was listening to music the entire time and he didn't see how pissed everyone was at the Butcher as well as themselves for abandoning him. Meghan had been the most angry. When the video played of the Butcher reading Derrick's obituary to him, he felt she was on the verge of throwing her chair at the screen. When the Butcher had screamed at Derrick that Meghan was not coming for him and that she hated him, she had gotten to her feet and shouted "YOU LIAR!" and she had almost lost control herself when she heard Derrick yell for his mom. Derrick had been too engulfed in his music to see this but he had straight up told her that she had saved his life afterwards. The hug he witnessed pretty much drove him to tears. Monika, who sat between Meghan and Lukas, had clutched Lukas's arm pretty much the entire time while whispering "Poor Derrick" every so often. She had even looked away when the red hot poker was pressed against Derrick's chest. Derrick had left on his new "assignment" shortly after that little team meeting and according to Tina (who had texted Meghan), the pair of them had settled in just fine. Lukas planned to go visit Derrick whenever he had the night off. Plus after that team meeting, his old college buddies had found him and they told him that they were going to get the band back together and play shows again whenever they had time. The singer/keyboard player, named Nate, had contacted him the other day after he had apparently seen online that Lukas was in the Portland area and Nate happened to live a few towns over. The rhythm guitarist, Gavin, also lived nearby as well as the drummer, Jackie. The other guitarist was off the grid and none of the other guys really liked him anyway as the guy was a bit of a show off. Lukas agreed to do the show and told them that he was in the Armed Forces now so shows would be few and far between for the time being but he said he'd let them know when he had time. Nate also asked him if he knew anyone that would be willing to play the bass or guitar. Lukas knew JUST the guy for it.

Lukas attempted to get out of bed only for Ela to sleepily grab onto his arm and hold on while saying "no" 2 or 3 times in a row. Lukas gently shook her awake. Ela's eyes opened and she saw him.

"Hey Engel," he said. She smiled and gently touched his bare chest. The pair of them were naked because Ela had been rather frisky the previous night. She too had been appalled at what the Butcher did to Derrick but that didn't necessarily stop her from getting what she wanted from Lukas.

"You had fun last night ja?" Lukas asked as he sat up. Ela did as well but pulled the bed covers over her chest.

"No, I hate it when you fuck me like that," she told him sarcastically. Lukas chuckled and got out of his bed. Ela pinched his ass as he walked over to get his boxer shorts. Ela got out of the bed too and put on her own clothes.

"Right, Harry wants us to meet Sébastian and Mina this morning. Wonder if they're here yet…" Lukas explained. Ela grabbed her phone and texted someone. Her phone chimed a moment later. She shook her head and grinned seductively at Lukas.

"Uh oh...what did I do now?" Lukas asked in a mock annoyed tone. She must still be frisky.

"It's time for round 3 Big Guy. They aren't here yet," Lukas dropped his boxers and grabbed a towel instead.

"Well, who am I to keep you deprived of what you want? That's just not practical," he said. Ela watched him leave. She would follow him a couple minutes later. Soon enough, pretty much as soon as he got to the shower and turned it on, Ela came in, stripped, locked the door and pretty much threw herself at him. This time, it was a lot easier for Lukas to hold Ela in the air as he didn't have to deal with broken ribs.

After about 20 minutes the pair of them left the shower, got dressed and walked to the cafe to get some food before Sébastian and Mina arrived. Turns out they were already there talking to Harry. Sébastian looked up as Lukas walked in.

"Hey Luke, how's Derrick? I heard what happened to him," he said. Mina, who was next to Sébastian, turned to face Lukas as well.

"Tina said that he had a bit of a breakdown," she said.

"That's a bit of an understatement," Lukas explained. "He was tortured and manipulated into believing that we all forgot about him and hated him."

"Yeah, like I'm going to forget that guy. I still remember how he pretty much walked in that guarded base and grabbed that manifest we needed without a scratch on him. Never seen infiltration skills like that in my life. Found out how he did it in Greece. That tech he has is pretty sweet isn't it," Sébastian said. Mina nodded.

"Tina was so upset during his memorial service. She must have been so happy to find out that he was alive," she said. Meghan, who was nearby eating breakfast with Monika, turned to Mina.

"I thought she was going to pass out after he hugged her because she was crying so hard. Harder than me I think. Derrick kind of looked like a bearded Superman coming to hug Lois Lane," she said.

"For a guy named 'Loki' he seems to like DC Comics more," Sébastian said.

"I think he chose it because of the actual Norse god and because I'm 'Valkyrie' rather than the Marvel Comics guy. He likes Marvel, but always prefered DC. When he was a kid, he often told me that he wanted to be in the Air Force because he always wanted to fly like Superman," Meghan said. Lukas nodded. He and Derrick had spent many nights speaking about comics and found out that Derrick's favorite heroes were Batman, Nightwing, Superman, Spider-Man and Ghost Rider.

"So, what's the situation Harry? I know Mina and I are just filling in," Sébastian asked.

"That's up for Eliza to determine. If you ask me, the loss of the Butcher is a considerable blow to the White Masks," Harry explained.

"Oh so he is dead? I figured as much. I was also told that Derrick was saved from harming himself by you Meghan," Mina said. Meghan nodded. Lukas could tell she was thinking about what would have happened if she hadn't been able to talk him out of it.

"A regular Kara Zor-El in the making," Harry said smiling at Meghan. Lukas noticed that Monika looked confused.

"That's Supergirl's name Mon. Superman's cousin in the comics," Lukas explained. Monika nodded and smiled at Meghan. Ela meanwhile had gone to go sit with Zofia and they were conversing in Polish.

"I feel I should stop by and see them at some point," Sébastian said. Mina nodded in agreement.

"From what I've heard about him, he seems like a great person to be around," she said.

"He is," Harry said. "I added him to Rainbow due to his friendly personality and the fact that he was related to Meghan here. Thought he'd be able to show Ela and Zofia how siblings can work together. Seemed to work a little bit." Harry pointed towards Zofia and Ela who were having a friendly conversation over breakfast. Ela had told her about what happened while she stayed inside with her daughter. She too was relieved that Derrick was alright and Jana had told Lukas "Don't mess with my aunt or I'll beat you up!" Lukas had answered her in Polish ("Don't worry, I won't") following this although it again, was rough. He understood it better than spoke it.

"My guess is that the White Masks will have to regroup and reassess," Lukas said. "Might not hear from them for a while if you ask me." Harry smiled at him. Uh oh, he might know.

"Banking on them to stay quiet during the Time Warp reunion show hmm?" he said. Crap. He did. Dammit Nate! Posting shit online!

"WHAT?!" Monika shouted. "You guys are playing again?!" Lukas gave Harry a "dude, really?" look.

"Nate found out I'm over here. Remember him Mon? Lead singer, keyboard player and sometimes did the bass when the other guy flaked on us. Never liked that other guitar player. Not Gav, the other one. Was a tad too douchey. I think he's in prison for drugs or something anyway. We're talking about it. I told him I'm incredibly busy but I would whenever I got time," Lukas explained.

"Consider it granted whenever it is. I'm sure everyone here would want to go see it," Harry said. Everyone in the vicinity nodded. Monika began to tell Meghan, Sébastian and Mina all about Lukas's old shows in the meantime. Lukas asked Harry for a private word and told him his plan for Derrick. Harry grinned.

"Yes, I think that would be good for him. I assume it's not anytime soon right? Give him a few weeks or so before you set a date," Harry said.

"Can you keep this on the down low?" Lukas asked.

"Of course I will. I know your buddy loves surprises," Harry answered. "In the meantime, I must be getting on my way. I think Elena might need help setting up projects for Tina and or Derrick to work on."

"Right...Harry...thanks for not expelling him," Lukas said.

"You can't just tell the God of Mischief that he's no longer needed, where's the fun in that?" Harry responded and walked off.

August 18th, 2023

Specialist Derrick "Loki" Castellano

Derrick's Condo

Portland OR. USA

Derrick woke up to a bright and sunny morning. A distinct contrast to how he had been feeling 2 days ago. He still couldn't believe that he wasn't in trouble for losing his shit. Harry was right, he just needed some affection and reassurance that his friends weren't going to leave him. Especially the woman right…

"Tina?" Derrick said and felt nothing next to him. He began to panic before he heard soft humming coming from the bathroom. The tune he was hearing sounded like "Home" by Daughtry. Derrick grinned to himself. That was one of his favorite songs to play on his guitar. It was one that normally got him a date for that evening in college. That and Wonderwall, although the latter worked on the Liberal Arts girls more so than the Music girls. He then heard the shower turn on and a wicked idea came into his head.

"Oh dear Tina, time for a little morning fun...heh, that means two things" Derrick said and got out of bed. His pants were still off so he was basically Pooh bearing it at the moment. He quickly walked to the bathroom and watched an absolutely beautiful naked Asian woman step into his shower still humming to herself. Derrick took off his shirt so he was completely naked and quietly slipped in after her using the other side of the shower curtain. She currently had her back to him and was still humming to herself. Yet again an absolutely perfect set up but what to do? The Grudge noise? No, that would potentially cause injury to one or either party present. An impression? Nah, too predictable. Give her a jumpstart? Those were reserved for Meghan...that was fully clothed. Derrick smiled as an idea formed in his mind. Micheal Myers. He stood as close as he could to Tina's back (he had to stop himself from just staring at her ass) and began breathing deeply. Tina stopped humming to herself and stood stock still. Derrick continued to breathe deeply. He even did the Jason Voorhees noise (ki ki ki ma ma ma) softly. He saw Tina began to breathe rapidly and he remembered that she was a trained Special Forces soldier much like he was so he was on the verge of a beatdown.

"For years I have dreamed of this moment...weird...it's usually Shakira in here though..." Derrick said. Tina squeaked and turned to face him before she gave him a light smack on his cheek.

"Derrick! You scared the fucking hell out of me with that breathing!" she said but pressed her body against his. The water was nice and warm too. It made this scene even better.

"I assume you don't mind if I join you?" Derrick asked and kissed Tina's forehead.

"That depends, are you going to be a good boy like last night?" she asked and ran her hand against his dick. Derrick inhaled sharply.

"Yes ma'am," he said instinctively as she played with him a little bit.

"I should have woken you up, you must have thought I abandoned you. I'm sorry sweetie," she said. Derrick shook his head.

"I could hear you humming...hey listen...about how...how I acted when I got back to HQ after Oceanside...I'm sorry I shouted at you and for thinking you slept with Lukas. I acted like a giant asshole for a few days. All you guys wanted to do was help me and I threw it in your faces and nearly killed myself…" Derrick said, bowing his head. He still felt awful about how he acted towards everyone, especially Meghan and Tina. Tina lifted his head with her finger under his chin and kissed him tenderly once more. She kept one of her hands on his dick and gently played with him while she kissed him. Derrick ran his fingers through her wet hair and against her back. Tina's other hand began feeling the whip scars along Derrick's back. Tina began kissing Derrick's burn scars again too.

"He fucked me up so bad…" Derrick said softly and held Tina closer to his own body. She sighed contently as she pressed against him.

"I know sweetie. I watched what happened. You should have seen how pissed we all were at him and ourselves. When...when you yelled for your mother…I...I," Tina cupped his face with her hand and he could tell she was about to lose it. Derrick removed her other hand from his dick and held it in his own.

"I'm home now, I'm with you," he said and kissed her cheek again. She sniffed.

"I'm sorry we didn't save you sooner. Believe me, if I got to that bastard before you did, I'd put his face on a welcome mat. He stole you from me for 3 months. I love you so much," she said and gently rubbed the whip scars near his shoulder blades again.

"I love you too Tina," Derrick responded. Tina cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really?" she said sarcastically. Two can play this game.

"Nah, I'm just showering with you to save water, you'd be surprised how high that bill can get-" he began before Tina grabbed his face again.

"Derrick, shut up and kiss me."

Later that evening around 9:30pm, Derrick was on his couch again watching TV while Tina was sleeping against him. Today was a lazy day for the pair of them. They had hit the grocery store that morning and spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies. His phone was nearby and most of the West Coast Rainbow crew had texted him throughout the day to see if he was still doing ok. He responded to everyone but sent Meghan a picture of Tina sleeping against him with the message "Welp, now I can't get up." He was currently watching some documentary about Spartans when his phone buzzed again. He picked it up to see that he had two messages, one from Lukas and another from a random number. He read the one from Lukas first.

"Hey man, I got an offer for you. Time Warp's gonna start playing shows again when we got time. Did you wanna join as the bass player? Harry believes that it's a good idea to help you get your mind off what happened. I gave the singer your number. His name's Nate. He's a cool dude." Derrick smiled to himself and opened the other message. It was indeed from Nate.

"Boi, Lukas Weiss told me that you were a friend of his. Name's Nate. From Time Warp. The cover band from Boston. We're thinking of getting the band back together and wanted to know if you wanted to be the bass player so Luke can shred. We'll of course only play when you 2 have time or via the internet to release stuff. You in?" Derrick smiled to himself again and looked towards the sleeping Tina. It was yet again, time for another surprise. And Derrick loves surprises. He texted Nate and Lukas 4 words each.

"Fuck yeah, I'm in!"

August 25th, 2023

Specialist Tina Lin "Frost" Tseng

Derrick's Condo

Portland OR. USA

Tina was awoken by the sounds of an acoustic guitar playing and a man singing. She rolled over to see if Derrick could also hear what she was currently hearing only to see that his side of the bed was empty. She sat up, confused before she noticed that his acoustic guitar was not where it usually was and that she could hear the sounds of music coming from the small balcony nearby. The song that she was currently listening to sounded familiar, like she heard it on a medical comedy TV show back in the early 00s. She put her hand over her mouth when her ears adjusted to being awake. It was Derrick. He was out on his balcony playing his guitar and in the middle of a song. Tina got up silently, grabbed her phone and made her way towards her man. She had to keep her hand pressed against her lips to stop her from squealing like a fangirl. She had just woken up to her boyfriend singing a beautiful song. It was a shame she had to work later.

"For now, that's good enough for me. My, my, my it's a beautiful world. I like swimming in the sea. I like to go on beyond the white breakers, where a man can still be free. Or a woman if you are one. I like swimming in the sea" Derrick sang and held the last note and finished strumming. Tina could hear a small group of people applauding from below. Derrick's neighbors must all be listening too.

"Remember that one? From Scrubs? That's a good one...any requests?" Derrick called down. Tina nearly said something but decided to record him playing the next song with her phone and then gloat about it to the R6 Ladies group chat.

"Wassat?...I do know that one! I play that the 'easy' way though. I don't wanna put this thing in funky tunings all the time," Derrick said and clamped a capo on the neck of his guitar. Tina pressed record as Derrick began playing the song "Sympathy" by the Goo Goo Dolls, one of her favorites.

"Stranger than your sympathy, and this is my apology…" Derrick sang. Tina's hands shook slightly as she recorded him playing. He was leaning back in the chair with his legs crossed on the banister and tapping his foot in the air in time to the beat of the song. Tina inched closer to Derrick. He was thankfully fully clothed, but wouldn't be in about 5 minutes because holy shit this man could sing. The week away from the high stress environment seemed to be working wonders for him. A handful of times, Tina caught him with the thousand yard stare and helped him calm down and remember that he was safe with her. He often clutched her tightly when she reminded him that what he was seeing wasn't real. His parents had also come to visit the pair of them (at Meghan's request) a few days ago and Derrick paraphrased what happened to him while holding onto his mother. Tina loved how much Derrick cared for his mom and sister. The memory of their visit quickly replayed in her mind as she listened to Derrick sing.

"It's ok honey, you're safe now. Your Mama loves you sweetheart. Regardless of what he told you," his mother told him as she hugged him.

"I...I...nearly did it Mom. Megs stopped me," Derrick had responded. The pair of them continued to hug as Derrick's dad, Joe, spoke with her.

"So, what's his nickname for you and have you fallen for any of his shenanigans?" He asked.

"He scared me pretty good on the first morning of his leave. As for nicknames, it's usually just Teen or Lois Lane. Kim Hortons sometimes," Tina responded. This was sort of true, Derrick called her a lot of other nicknames that his dad didn't need to know. Joe laughed. He sounded like an older version of Derrick.

"Ah yes. Derrick loved Superman as a kid so I'm not surprised he calls you Lois. He always calls you by your full name when he says he loves you, yes?" Joe asked.

"Yes," Tina responded.

"That means he's serious. You know that right?" Joe told her. Tina looked towards Derrick again who still clutched his mother as if doing so would make the monsters in his head go away.

"I do Joe. I love him just as much," she said.

"I know you do honey, I could tell you did back in April," Derrick's mother said over Derrick's shoulder. "How's Meghan? Is she alright? Is she seeing that nice German woman we met yet? I could tell she liked her."

"She's still a bit mad at herself for letting this happen to him," Tina answered. She was too. She should have combed the entire country looking for Derrick. "As for seeing Monika, I think so, she's very private when it comes to that. I think she's scared of being judged by us."

"Yep, sounds like Meghan alright. She took what I told her about not letting anything hurt him to heart. She used to just watch him sleep in his crib when he was a baby and I even saw the pair of them napping together when he was a little older," his mother said.

"MOM! UNCOOL!" Derrick said loudly but Tina still smiled.

Tina was brought back to the present when the song Derrick was playing ended about 2 minutes later. Derrick again asked his neighbors for any requests.

"Ooh! That's a good one Mrs. Garrettson!" Derrick said and began playing a song Tina wasn't very familiar with. If he knew Black Balloon by the Goo Goo Dolls, he wasn't going to be able to walk straight for a little bit after she was done with him. Tina sent the video of Derrick playing Sympathy to the R6 Ladies chat with the message "He was my alarm clock this morning :)" Messages began flooding in soon after from the group members. They were as follows;

Elena - "You woke up to THAT?! I am so jealous."

Mina - "He's still cute."

Tina - "He's MINE! :)"

Sanaa - "Your man plays guitar AND can sing?"

Ela - "So does mine ;)"

Meghan - "That's one of his favorites!"

Monika - "Ooh! The Goo Goo Dolls! :D"

Aria - "I remember him! I still owe him for beating us in Feb. Adriano was talking to him in Greece and was presently surprised that he spoke Italian."

Tina - "HE SPEAKS ITALIAN TOO?!"

Aria - "Fluently I think. Monika says he knows German as well."

Monika - "Ja, he speaks that pretty well too."

Elena - "He mentioned that to me once. It's how he can understand a little Spanish. Italian is similar."

Meghan - "I can also confirm that. Our nonno and nonna taught us when we were kids. Plus our dad didn't speak English until he was in kindergarten"

Eliza - "Wow...I forgot he could sing"

Tina - "What, Jordan can't? ;)"

Elena - " XD "

Ela - "Burn!"

Eliza - "Very funny…"

Zofia - "Oh wow, that was nice"

Emmanuelle - "Is that the guy from Greece that pissed Taina off? You're seeing him now Tina?"

Tina - "Yes, I love him :)"

Meghan - "I do too :)"

Emmanuelle - "He's your brother right Valk?"

Meghan - "Yes"

Emmanuelle - "I heard what happened, I'm glad he's ok."

Aria - "I did too. Adriano was talking about it last night with Seamus and Mike. Seamus said something like 'That bloody bastard did what to that amusing US Air Force guy?!' "

Eliza - "I think we all are to be honest."

Sanaa - "I am glad he's ok too. I remember him telling you about Meghan and the Mona Lisa or something back in Greece Tina"

Tina - " XD "

Meghan - "OH COME ON!"

Elena - "Yes Meghan we know, you're a NAVY SEAL! XD"

Eliza - "Lol."

Meghan - "I HATE that he showed you that. I need to find something to embarrass him"

Monika - "Oh stop, you know he does it out of love."

Eliza - "And because he likes to make people laugh"

Mina - "Séb and I said we'd stop by at some point. Don't you start work later Teen?"

Tina - "Yeah I do. See you there Elena"

Derrick finished playing the song and began talking to his neighbors again.

"Hmm? The woman behind me?" Derrick said and turned to see Tina standing there in one of his hoodies and smiling warmly at him.

"Morning," she said. Derrick looked from her to his neighbors and back again a few times.

"You...you guys can see her too?" he said in a mock frightened voice. She rolled her eyes. This man was a complete dork but she loved him. Derrick chuckled to himself and leaned his guitar against the banister.

"I'm kidding. She's my girlfriend. Her name is Tina. She was the one taking care of the place while I was away," Derrick explained as Tina wrapped her arms around him from behind and started to pull him towards the house. "No, NO! She's TAKING ME INTO HER CAVE!" Derrick said, pretending to be terrified as Tina pulled him into her arms. Tina kissed him again.

"Can I request 'Black Balloon' for tomorrow morning?" she said after she finished kissing him. Derrick grimaced.

"I, uh, don't know that one. Sorry babe. I should stop though, been out there for about 45 minutes. Don't want someone to be a party pooper and call the po-lice on me. You gotta start work today don't you?" Derrick asked as he waved goodbye to his neighbors who were dispersing now. Tina nodded.

"Dang it!" Derrick said and pretended to pout. Tina kissed him again.

"Don't you need to save Gotham City?" Tina asked him, cocking her eyebrow at him again. Derrick had been playing video games after Tina "fell asleep" against him on the couch, mainly Batman/comic book games. In reality, she just silently watched him play for a few hours, before he turned it off and gently shook her "awake" to go upstairs to bed.

"I actually gotta call that therapist today and set up an appointment. I wanted to spend the week with you before I got back to what Harry told me to do," Derrick said. She ruffled his hair.

"I'll be in the dining room all day today if you need me ok?" she said.

"Yeah, I gotta do some yard work today too before it rains later. Mowing the lawn shouldn't be a problem as I normally listen to tunes. There's a window where you can see me if I start having a flashback. What did you want to do for dinner?" Derrick asked and began to change into some work clothes consisting of a sleeveless shirt and some gym shorts. Tina admired his muscles before she smiled at him. Derrick gasped.

"You mean it?!" he asked excitedly.

"Yes Derrick. Pizza time," she said.

Tina's plan throughout the day was to work on R&D projects while keeping a watchful eye on Derrick. She was in the middle of talking to Elena about stuff that she was to work on when she heard Derrick's voice from the kitchen.

"No...no...please...no…" Tina's head immediately turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"Tina? What's wrong?" Elena said from the laptop's screen.

"Derrick, are you ok?" Tina called to him.

"Tina…help me…" Derrick said as if he was weak from being beaten all day but still audible. His tone reminded her of the videos she and the others watched. She had been so angry at the Butcher for hurting him like that. In an instant, Tina got up and ran over to him to see that he was standing at the kitchen counter staring at the opposite wall and breathing rapidly.

"Derrick?" she asked softly. Derrick didn't respond. He was indeed having a flashback. He twitched every couple of seconds as if he was being whipped again.

"Derrick, take deep slow breaths. Tell me what you see," Tina said calmly.

"YOU…I killed you! Stay away from them!" Derrick growled. He must be seeing the Butcher again.

"There's no one there Derrick," Tina said in the same voice. Derrick's head snapped in her direction and she could see the rage in his eyes again. Tina remained calm.

"I'm here Derrick. Slow breaths. Tell me what you can see in this room," Tina said. She made no sudden moves or attempted to touch him. Derrick listened and she heard him start breathing slower and he started to describe his kitchen.

"A fridge...microwave..cabinets...plates...a sink...a Power Rangers poster...you...You?" Derrick stopped looking around the room and his eyes had rested on Tina. She could no longer see the rage in his eyes. They returned to the soft brown color she had come to know and love. He reached out for her and Tina grasped his outstretched hand.

"I'm here sweetie, you are safe with me. I'm not going to leave you," she said, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. Derrick lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it as if she was a princess or a queen.

"Thanks...I'm...I'm going to wait a bit to go outside...perhaps get some food," he said in his normal voice. Tina smiled.

"Good idea. I'll be right in the dining room if you need me," she told him again. Derrick nodded and began rummaging through his fridge for something to eat.

"What happened? Is he ok?" Meghan was standing behind Elena and she looked extremely concerned.

"Yes, he was just having a flashback. He's making breakfast now then he told me he's got to go mow the lawn. Relax Meghan, I have a view of the front and back yard from this room. I'll see him if he needs me. You guys can also see out the window behind me right?" Tina explained. Meghan and Elena nodded.

"I'm fine now Megs," Derrick called from the kitchen. "Oh DANG it...I spilled some of my apple juice. THIS DAY SUCKS!" Meghan smiled when she heard Derrick's voice.

Tina began working on a variety of projects that morning while keeping an eye on Derrick. He seemed to be alright as he mowed the lawn listening to music on his phone. Once or twice she saw him stop and take slow deep breaths before he started the mower again.

"I've been wanting to look into….oh my…" Elena said a few hours later. Tina looked over at the screen to see that Elena was staring at the camera. Tina turned to see that Derrick was outside the window behind her with his shirt off drinking from a water bottle before he poured a bit over his head, shouted "WOO! CHILLY!" and started up the weed whacker to cut the areas he couldn't cut with the lawn mower. His scars looked a lot less pronounced for some reason too. Tina smirked at Elena.

"You were saying? Might help to take your jaw off the floor though," Tina said. Elena shook her head before remembering where she was.

"Right...right...Dios mio...what was I saying?" she stammered, trying to avoid looking over Tina's shoulder. As for updates around the base, nothing had changed all that much since her and Derrick left. Mina and Sébastian had stopped by the lab to say hi before they went off to run drills with Eliza and Lukas. A thunderstorm arrived around 2pm as Tina was doing some calculations for some new bulletproof tech.

"Oi, is he inside yet? Sounds like it's raining pretty hard out there," Meghan's voice said from the laptop. The front door slammed closed and Tina began to hear the sound of wet shoes and dripping water. She looked up to see that Derrick was soaked.

"I got wet," he said in a monotone voice as Tina struggled to not burst out laughing.

"That was him wasn't it?" Meghan's voice asked from the laptop. "He was still outside and got drenched, didn't he?"

"I could say so many naughty jokes right now but Tina's technically at work. Time for a shower and then I gotta give that therapist a buzz. Might do that first to be honest. Good thing my phone was in the garage. I lost track of time out there," Derrick said loudly and went to change into dryer clothes. Tina continued to work and she could hear Derrick take a shower (and wished she could go join him in it) followed by him talking to someone on the phone.

"Hi! Yes, are you guys taking new patients?...You are? Great!...Uh, me…Trauma and some PTSD... Yes, of course. It's Derrick. D-e-r-r-i-c-k. Castellano. C-a-s-t-e-l-l-a-n-o...29...yes, I'll be sure to bring that...hmm?...Oh, my ride? My girlfriend Tina will do that, my boss doesn't want me driving just yet. She'll wait for me too...Saturday at 2? Hang on a sec..." Derrick looked in her direction as if asking if that was ok with her. She looked to Elena who could hear him and nodded. Tina nodded at him.

"Yes that will work...alright, I'll see you then!" Derrick said and hung up. He gave Tina a thumbs up before walking over to the couch and put on a pair of headphones and looked as though he was about to take a nap as the sounds of raindrops hit the windows. Tina must have been staring at him for quite some time because it took Elena a few seconds to get her attention.

"Perhaps we might need to reconsider this arrangement if Tina gets distracted too much," Elena teased. Derrick said "pfft, ok. Tina gets distracted" from across the room and Tina gave Elena a look that said the same. Elena gulped before going back to what she was working on. After getting back from a short bathroom break around 5pm, she saw a note written by Derrick on her work area that simply said "I love you" with a drawing of a puppy and she smiled. Derrick himself had his headset on and was currently playing video games in the other room. Only he could hear the sounds of the game he was playing. It looked like he was indeed playing as Batman.

"What's with the smile?" Meghan asked. Tina showed her the note and she heard the doorbell ring. Derrick jumped up from the couch.

"PIZZA TIME!" he said excitedly and went to answer the door.

"You fool, you let him have pizza? That's like his favorite thing besides Shakira and Batman," Meghan said after smiling at the note he left Tina.

"AND pretty Canadians!" Derrick's voice said from the other room followed by him thanking the delivery guy and telling him to drive safe as it was still wet from the storm.

"You're relieved for the day Tina, go deal with my clown of a brother. We don't need to video chat all day tomorrow but stay on IMs though. Tell Derrick Luke and Mon say hi," Meghan told her before the vid feed clicked off. Tina got up, stretched and went to join Derrick in the kitchen. He was currently eating a slice of pizza from a plate piled high with more slices.

"Are you going to eat that entire pizza?" she asked him, folding her arms.

"Not if you selfishly want a slice!" Derrick answered and cradled his plate away from her. "I got two, one for me and one for you. I know what you like." Derrick pointed at the other unopened box.

"Pineapple?" she asked. Derrick's eyes widened in horror.

"THAT IS SACRILEGE IN THIS HOUSE! YOU DON'T RUIN PIZZA LIKE THAT YOU HEATHEN! STUPID CANADA!" Derrick shouted. Tina was kidding but liked to push his buttons because it was funny. It turned out Derrick did know what she liked. The pair of them sat together on the couch for the remainder of the night. Derrick seemed to be less prone to panic attacks and flashbacks when she was near him or when he had food.

"You ok?" Tina asked him at one point.

"Yeah, thanks for asking. Had a few minor issues earlier this morning but I'm ok now because I remembered you're here," Derrick responded. Tina cuddled up closer to him and he put his arm around her. She had also sent the video of Derrick singing to her mother and was talking to her while she leaned against Derrick's shoulder as he watched TV. The conversation went as follows;

Mama - "Oh my, he's cute isn't he? This is the guy you told me about before right? How long have you been seeing him?"

Tina - "Yes Mama, it's the same one. We've been dating for about 5 months but he was missing for about 3 of them. Remember how I called you one day sobbing uncontrollably?"

Mama - "I do. I'm glad that he was found and returned to you. He treats you well, yes?"

Tina - "I woke up to him doing that this morning so yes, I would say so."

Mama - "I thought you were stationed on a base? You look like you're at his house or something"

Tina - "He had a bit of a breakdown about a week ago. He had been captured by the White Masks and held hostage. He was beaten and manipulated into believing everyone forgot about him and hated him. He nearly hurt himself until his older sister stopped him. My CO assigned him 2 months vacation and I was told to work from home in the meantime. No field work. I just get to do some office stuff and make sure that he's ok."

Mama - "What's his name again?"

Tina - "Derrick Castellano"

Mama - "Have you met his parents yet?"

Tina - "During a less happy time initially but they came up to see us last week. Remember how you told me to watch how men treat their mothers? Derrick LOVES his mother. He pretty much hugged her like a little kid when he explained to her what happened to him."

Mama - "You hold onto a man like that. If he treats the other women in his life well, he'll treat you well. Your father and I should come visit you in Portland so we can meet him."

Tina - "I'd like that Mama. Dad would like Derrick. :)"

Mama - "I think he would honey :)"

If working all day while watching to see if Derrick was ok from time to time is what she had to look forward to for a while, that was totally fine with her.

"Mission" Report:

Lukas was contacted about restarting Time Warp with Derrick agreeing to play bass. Tina's first day working at home went smoothly.