"You look like you got dragged after a vehicle for half a mile…" Full Metal chuckled a bit as Sonny and Trent entered the Bulkhead, "After completing hell week…"

Trent nodded as he limped over to the table Metal already sat by, grimacing as he lowered himself to one of the chairs.

"Tell ya what… Feels exactly like it too…" Sonny frowned as he walked stiffly after Trent, "Think I actually missed hell week there for a moment."

"You're kidding, right?" Metal looked from Sonny to Trent and back again.

"Barely…" Trent frowned, "My right knee feels 30 years older. I'd rather endure surf torture for three hours than five more minutes of that spin up…"

Sonny nodded, "I'd prefer the long runs and getting sandy than that spin up…"

"So… I should just be glad I wasn't there?" Metal scrunched up his nose.

"You my freaky bastard, you might have enjoyed it…" Sonny frowned, "Maybe not right now with that leg still healing, but…"

Metal smirked, "Yeah, still working on getting back to normal. THEN I'm gonna work on getting back on the team."

Trent smiled, "Looking forward to it brother…"

Metal lifted his whiskey glass before nodding, "Me too, bro…"

They sat in silence for a moment, Metal took a sip of his whiskey, Trent massaged his lower thigh. Sonny toyed with a strap on the sling which held his left arm.

"So, how's the rest of the team?"

"Generally banged up…" Trent shrugged, "Jay's okay, just exhausted. Ray got tagged in the vest, so I imagine every movement hurts. Brock managed to break something in his hand… Clay tried to fly, took a rough landing, crutches for a couple of weeks."

Metal nodded for a while, then looked over at Trent, "You look like you should be on crutches as well…"

"Just pulled something…" Trent sighed, "It's fine…"

"Ready for leg day tomorrow then?"

"No. You'd probably kick my ass." Trent frowned, "I could probably go for something upper-body, but I won't do legs…"

Metal smirked a bit.

"So, how are you doing?" Sonny shot in, "Emily's coming home soon, right?"

Metal flashed a smile, "Yeah, in three more days."

"Looking forward to it?" Trent tilted his head.

Metal nodded, "Yeah. I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do though… I want to take her out on a proper date now that I'm a bit more mobile. I have no idea what kind of date."

"She seems like a gal who would like just about anything you pulled her along for…" Sonny drawled, "Just don't take her to the shootin' range for a date, alright?"

Metal chuckled a bit, "You do know that I have the ability to be a bit more romantic than that?"

"Really?" Sonny tilted his head, "You mean to say that there's something soft and cuddly under that scary, freakish soldier thing you've got going on? Nope, not buying it!"

Metal chuckled. "Pretty sure Em would agree with me…"

"Adorable little woman, but there's gotta be something wrong with her…" Sonny smirked, "I mean, the only clue is that she fell for you, but something's gotta be off…"

Trent chuckled a little as well, "-Or maybe she's just tougher than you Sonny…"

"She is…" Metal smirked, "She's not afraid of the water, or sharks, -or me…"

Trent smirked, "Hey, Sonny… I'm getting a beer, you want one?"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome…"

"And you?" Trent looked over at Metal.

"Nah, I already got this." He answered and held up his whiskey, "Besides, I think I have less problems walking to the bar and back than you right now…"

"Not entirely sure about that, but okay…" Trent chuckled, "But you're getting better, I'll give you that."

SEALTEAM

"So… You really think you can make it back?" Sonny asked while Trent was over by the bar.

Metal swallowed a bit, "Still early…"

Sonny nodded.

"-But I've got my hopes up." Metal crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm getting strength back. I'm getting the range of motion back, slowly."

Sonny glanced down, "Yeah, looks like you're almost at 90 degrees there…"

Metal smirked, and helped his left foot a bit further back with his right foot. "Actually, I get 110 degrees now. But, a little less than 90 is still a bit more comfortable…"

"Wow, that's great…" Sonny nodded.

"And those last degrees are hard to pull towards when I've been sitting for a spell…" Metal admitted, "But, still progress…"

Sonny nodded, "And you walk…"

"Been doing so for a while…"

"I know…" Sonny almost rolled his eyes, "I meant, you're comfortable walking?"

"More or less." Metal nodded, "I limp a lot if I've been sitting still for a while. But walking in general ain't that bad."

Sonny nodded, "That's good."

Metal nodded, "Might be cleared for light jogging next week."

"That's even better!"

"Sure is." Metal took another small sip of his whiskey, "I actually miss running."

Sonny chuckled a bit, "That's something I'd never thought I would hear coming from any of my teammates…"

Metal nodded, "Well, I'm sick and tired of the disabled list. Running would get me one step closer to the field, back with my brothers."

"Back where you really belong…" Sonny nodded.

"Yeah." Metal nodded slowly.

SEALTEAM

Trent came back a few minutes later with a couple of beers. He placed one in front of Sonny, and the other one in front of his empty chair. Then he lowered himself, not able to mask the slight grimace pulling on his features.

"No offence, but you look like an 80-year-old trying to sit down…"

Trent chuckled, "Funny, coming from you."

"Yeah, well…" Metal nodded, "Gotta be allowed to be a bit affected by having a freaking wall land on you… Still can't believe I've gotten this far already."

Trent nodded, "Yeah, you've really had some progression lately."

"Felt like I was stuck for a long while, but it helped after that graft." Metal hitched up one shoulder, "Actually, just getting some of that frame removed also helped a lot."

Sonny nodded, "Yeah, you really were a sorry sight in the start."

"Sorry sight?" Metal chuckled, "That's putting it lightly, I was sorry everything. I could literally do nothing on my own, and you should have seen the first time they tried to get me vertical."

"Yeah?" Trent tilted his head.

"Two nurses and one physical therapist decided it was about time for me to test the floor. One nurse helped me sit up, while the other one helped me get my leg off the bed, without too much hassle." Metal closed his eyes and blushed slightly, "The spawn of evil was holding the tall walker thing…"

"Spawn of evil?" Sonny chuckled,

"Physical therapist." Metal clarified, "I'm 99 percent sure being a sadist is some sort of requirement for them."

Trent nodded, "At least the ones you meet after a proper injury."

Metal nodded, "Anyway, the spawn of evil was holding the walker thing and telling me what their plan was. I was telling them that I thought it probably was a bit early, cause I was in A LOT of pain…"

The two others nodded along.

"The nurse who has my leg gets it down on the floor. I get a minute or so to get my bearings. Then with physical assistance they want to have me up and hobble over to that recliner chair in my room at the rehabilitation facility. "

"I've got a sneaking suspicion that didn't go as planned…" Sonny raised his eyebrows.

"It didn't." Metal nodded, "I might have gotten five inches off the bed, with the assistance of those three mentioned… -Before I passed the fuck out."

Trent smirked.

"Woke up back in my bed, with legs elevated and head down." Full Metal shrugged, "And they waited a couple of days before they tried it again."

Sonny took a sip of his beer, then he looked over at the corner where all the photos hung, "You know what?"

"No…" Metal shook his head.

"We're some damn lucky bastards. Having done the things we've done, and still on the topside of the soil."

"I'll drink to that…" Trent nodded, raising his glass.

Metal nodded and raised his glass as well, "Aches and pains and all… Still worth it."

"I'd do it again, a million times over." Trent sighed, his left hand landing over his scar once he had put the glass back down. He probably didn't notice the gesture himself.

"Definitely." Full Metal smiled.

Sonny nodded a little, "As long as I would have my brothers right there with me, I could probably go for that as well."