Jensen changed a bit after his latest incident with Roque. He wasn't as talkative as he was before and kept to himself, unless someone else reached out and started the conversation. Clay was becoming frustrated, because it looked like Roque was going to get his way after all. If that little bit of team drama had affected Jensen this much, maybe he wasn't the right fit. He was still going to give him a chance to prove himself in a mission, but he wanted to set him straight first. Clay was about to lightly confront Jensen, when he overheard a conversation Pooch was having with him. He peeked around a corner to listen to what was being said.
"What's going on with you?" Pooch asked.
"What? Nothing," Jensen replied, pretending to busy himself with something on his computer.
"I know you aren't doing anything important. I may not be technologically savvy, but I can tell that's just a window you opened to type nonsense into," Pooch snorted, flipping the laptop closed and moving it out of Jensen's reach. "Tell me what's up."
"A lot of things are up, like the sky and the clouds," Jensen mumbled, waving his hand toward the ceiling.
"While that sounds a bit more like the Jay I know, I'm not letting you distract me," Pooch scoffed, pushing at his shoulder a bit. "Don't think I didn't notice that this all started after what happened with Roque."
"It doesn't matter," Jensen sighed.
"Yes, it does," Pooch insisted. "If we're going to be teammates, we need to be able to talk to each other."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that for much longer," Jensen muttered, glancing away.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pooch demanded. "Are you planning on quitting? I never thought you were the type to run away when things got a little hard."
"I'm not running, I'm being realistic," Jensen grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've been through this enough times to know how it goes."
"We're not like other teams. Just because Roque-"
"But that's the problem! I'm not going to be the person who comes in and ruins your team."
"That's not going to happen."
"You don't know that. I can't be on a team where someone is against me being on it. That's how you get stabbed in the back," Jensen hissed, cutting his eyes toward the wall. "Ask me how I know."
"Jay, I know you've had bad experiences in the past. Hell, we all have to some degree, that's how we ended up together. But you can't throw away this opportunity just because you think this is going to go south," Pooch insisted, grabbing his arm and giving it a little shake. "We need you just as much as you need us." Pooch didn't stick around after that to hear anymore arguments, walking out of the room just as Clay moved out of sight. He was just about to go back to his room when he heard Jensen mutter one last thing under his breath.
"I hope you don't regret this."
They ended up getting orders for a mission a week later, just after Jensen got cleared as fit for duty. Their objective was to breach the hideout of a militia group to gain access to their computers and hopefully get the location of where some POWs were being kept. It was a bit more of a high priority mission than Clay had been expecting for their first time out as a team, but he wasn't in a position to ask questions. This was Jensen's chance to prove himself.
He started off well enough, throwing himself into doing as much research as possible in the limited amount of time they had before they had to ship out. The only time he ate or drank was when either Cougar or Pooch physically put the items into his hands. The talk seemed to bring some of the old Jensen back out, but Clay could tell he was still holding back. Maybe after this mission, things would settle into a comfortable new normal.
"Come on, you need to get some sleep before we head out tomorrow," Pooch said, dragging Jensen by the arm to his room.
"I'm not finished yet. And I'm not even tired," Jensen groaned, the poorly suppressed yawn giving him away immediately.
"Rest is important," Cougar insisted, prying the laptop from his fingers. Jensen whined the whole way, until he was secured in the bedroom out of earshot. Roque snorted, shaking his head as he reorganized his pack at the table.
"Can I trust you tomorrow?" Clay asked, raising an eyebrow at Roque's huff of annoyance.
"You really think you need to ask me that?" Roque shot back.
"Do I?" Clay shrugged. Roque hadn't pulled any other stunts with Jensen since the run from hell, but he hadn't warmed up to him either. Would Roque be tempted to let Jensen dangle a little if the opportunity presented itself? Clay knew he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the mission, but that didn't mean he wouldn't set the other man up for failure if he could.
"I'm not going to do anything to your boy," Roque grunted, shoving the rest of his stuff in his bag and stomping back toward his room. "Any mistakes he makes will be his own." Clay figured that was the best he was going to get. He just hoped they'd all make it back alive.