A Threat From Within

by DianneRose2016

A threat to Bravo Team is a threat to them all. But when that threat comes from within Bravo it is one they never saw coming. Vic has no interest in playing 2IC to Clay, he wants to be the one that leads Bravo. In order to do that he has to get Clay out of Bravo and he will stop at nothing to be the shining star of Bravo and get Clay far away from them.

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been some of the worst thirty hours of his life. Clay could not believe he was still laying her on this rooftop in the pouring rain looking through his scope waiting for the right moment he would be able to pull the trigger. His whole body was aching from keeping his position for so long, but he was trained for this. This had been the longest though he had to stay in one spot waiting for the perfect shot to take out their target. It wasn't often they went on operations where they needed to eliminate a target versus capturing them. When it came across to them that they would need to have a sniper pull the trigger that left it up to Clay or Ray. After a short debate, it was decided that Clay would be the one to go up high while the rest of them were watching from the building below him. Clay did his best to ignore the fact that everyone else would be nice and warm and not soaking wet and freezing his ass off. Or his junk off for that matter. The cold and rough cement that made up the building was soaking the cold in and with it being zero out, he was freezing after thirty hours.

Clay was doing his best to ignore how exhausted he was feeling with having to stay perfectly still looking through his scope. His eyes were tired and his whole body was sore from laying in his position with his upper body up slightly, so his lower back was killing him. He had started to shiver about twenty hours ago, but he couldn't do anything but allow his teeth to chatter or he risked messing up the shot when he was able to take it. With his com being open so he wouldn't have to move to speak everyone could hear his teeth chattering. Clay just needed their target to move just a little but then he would be able to get his shot. Clay gave a deep cough and he was hoping it wouldn't mean he was getting sick.

"I don't like that cough." Trent said to the others.

"He's been out there for over thirty hours now, I'm surprised he hasn't coughed more." Sonny said.

"At what point do we pull him Boss?" Trent asked. As the medic, he was very worried about what Clay's body was going through right now.

"We need to eliminate the target and Clay is the one with the best shot at it. We just gotta play it out right now." Jason said. He didn't like this any more than they did. He hated that Clay was the one that had to be out there, especially in this weather. But Clay had the best chance at making this shot, especially in this weather.

"The longer he is out there the higher his chances of hypothermia and frostbite. It's already been thirty hours any longer and he will be affected." Trent argued.

"When we reach that point we can re-evaluate." Jason said.

"I don't get it. Why is it Clay and not Ray? Ray has a lot more experience than Clay does. Shouldn't he be the one to take the shot?" Vic asked. He still was getting used to being on the team, but he wasn't really sure what the big deal was with Clay. It seemed like everyone was interested in him. The Upper Brass all liked him and the team talked about him, even the support staff talked about him and how great he was. Vic had yet to see it.

"I got the experience, but Clay has a gift. He has better aim than me and he can calculate faster and more complex situations. For this type of shot, he's the better man." Ray answered honestly.

"Why would he need to calculate anything though? It's a straight shot." Vic asked.

"It's not though, because our target could move, there's the wind and other factors that we need to consider. I can calculate pretty quick, but Clay is better at it and he can add in additional variables to help him get the perfect shot." Ray explained.

"The kid is a human calculator." Sonny added.

Vic still didn't see the big deal for Clay to be taking the shot. It should have been the one with the most experience, that's how it always worked. Clay was number six on the team, yet it felt like he was number three or two at times. He was always there for strategy discussions. He was the one that Jason would talk strategy with or get him to lead a team when they had to divide up. It made no sense to Vic why they would ever turn to Clay over someone who had been there longer. To Vic it just seemed like everyone was blowing smoke up Clay's ass to make him feel special when he didn't deserve it.

They could all hear that Clay's teeth finally stopped chattering and Vic couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Finally, I was getting sick of listening to his teeth." Vic said.

All eyes went to him and Vic could tell they didn't appreciate what he said, but he didn't understand why. It wasn't like he was the only one to be annoyed by listening to it.

"His teeth chattering is the only indication that we had he didn't have hypothermia. Now that they've stopped, he has started the progress of being hypothermic." Trent said, not impressed at all.

"Talk to me kid." Jason said.

"I'm not getting as cold anymore, so that's not good. I'm fine though. I can see movement, target is getting ready to be on the move soon. I'll have my shot once I see him clearly." Clay said, and they could tell his words were a little slower than normal.

"Trent, how long we got before we're in the danger zone?" Jason asked.

"An hour at most. After that I can't risk it. He's already going to get sick from being out there that long."

"And the kid getting sick is never a good thing." Sonny added.

"You got one hour before I pull you." Jason said to Clay.

"Copy boss." Clay said back.

"I can go up now if you want." Ray offered.

"No let's wait it out. He might be able to get the shot off before I gotta pull him. He's already soaking wet and hypothermic, there's no point in having two of you sick." Jason said.

"Why is it such a big deal if Spenser gets sick?" Vic asked.

"He's one of those ones that go from zero to a hundred in no time flat." Sonny answered.

"Clay can get a simple cold and it can turn into pneumonia. He's also allergic to a lot of medications with being allergic to phosphate, so it's tricky when he does get sick. Thankfully, he takes very good care of himself so it's not often he gets sick." Trent explained.

"Why would being allergic to phosphate be an issue with medications?" Vic asked.

"It's what is used to bind pills mostly. He can't even take normal vitamins or over the counter medications. It has to be liquid gels." Trent answered.

"Hm." Vic said. It sounded like treating Clay would be a serious pain in the ass for Trent. It was just another reason why Vic didn't understand why they would ever put any effort into Clay.

It was forty minutes later when they heard the shot ring out. They were all looking out the windows and they could see the panic instantly start.

"Target has been eliminated." Clay's very tired voice said coming over their radios.

"Let's move out. Vic, you go and get Clay and meet Soony at the car. We'll cover you." Jason ordered.

Vic just gave a nod and headed out. He liked it when Jason gave him a solo job, even if it was to collect Clay and make sure he got to the car that Sonny would be waiting in. He had been waiting to prove himself to the team that he was a valuable asset and he would make them all proud. He arrived at the rooftop that Clay was on and saw that Clay was already heading towards him. Vic didn't even say anything just turned and headed back down with Clay behind him. He saw Sonny already there waiting with the car so they got in.

"We're good, go." Vic ordered as he turned to keep watch around them.

"Kid you good?" Sonny asked Clay as he headed off.

"Ya." Clay said with a slurred speech and Sonny knew that was not good.

"Start getting him warm." Sonny ordered Vic, as he focused on the road.

Vic turned to look at Clay and saw that he was grabbing one of the blankets that were in the car. Vic figured that Clay had it so he kept his eyes on the outside, making sure they weren't followed all the way back to base. By the time they arrived at the plane Clay was barely conscious in his seat. Before Vic could even get out of the car the door on Clay's side was being open and Trent was there looking at Clay.

"Why aren't you warming him up?" He demanded.

"He had a blanket on him." Vic answered as he got out with his gear.

"He needs more than a fucking blanket." Trent hissed.

"What do you need Trent?" Sonny asked, more than happy to help.

"I gotta get him in, but with as few moves as possible. We need to go slow so we don't cause a problem with his heart." Trent explained before he turned his attention to getting Clay to open his eyes. "Clay, come on brother."

Clay let out a soft whine as he fought to open his eyes. He could see Trent's concerned face and he knew he had to focus, but it was hard to keep his eyes open.

"That's it brother, I need you to stay awake for a little longer. Come on." Trent said, as he started to help get Clay out of the car.

Clay wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he knew Trent wouldn't let him. He forced his eyes to stay open as best as he could and forced his body to move in the direction Trent wanted him to be. The second he was standing though his legs were not having it. He felt himself going down, but strong arms held him up. Clay knew without even having to look who exactly those arms belong to.

"I got you." Jason said as Clay placed his head down on Jason's chest.

The guys couldn't believe how bad Clay looked. Every part of his skin that wasn't covered was tinted blue. His lips were very blue and they knew he needed to get warmed up and quick. Jason and Trent very carefully got Clay up onto the plane as Davis came running over to them with towels and dry clothes for Clay.

"Towels and clothes, what else do you need?" Davis asked.

"Thermal blanket and he'll need to be on a cot." Trent said.

Davis went over and headed to get it ready.

"Jace, hold him up while we get his clothes off and dry him. We have to be careful, just pat him down, don't rub. We need to be careful of sudden movements for his heart." Trent said.

The team all grabbed towels, minus Vic who went and started to put gear away. The support staff, Mandy and Davis turned around to give Clay some privacy. Blackburn went over and joined the team to help get Clay sorted. Together they all got Clay removed of all of his clothes and dried off as best as they could. They got a dry pair of boxers and pants on him, but Trent stopped them after that.

"No shirt, he's too cold we need to do skin on skin. One of you will need to take your shirt off and help warm him up." Trent said as he went to work on checking Clay's vitals.

"I got it." Jason said he was still holding Clay and Clay seemed happy to be in his arms.

"You sure, I don't mind Boss." Sonny offered.

"Ya, I generate more body heat." Jason answered.

"Cot and blanket are all set for you guys." Davis said, turning back around now that Clay had some clothes on.

"Thanks Davis." Ray said on their behalf.

"Alright, let's get him lying down and start warming him up. We got hot water bottles?" Trent asked Davis real quick.

"Yup, one."

"Grab it."

Davis gave a nod and headed off to get that ready while Trent and Jason got Clay laying down on the cot with the thermal blanket under his torso. Jason removed his gear and Ray held his hand out for it. He then removed his boots and shirt before getting onto the cot on the wall side. He wanted to make sure that Trent had access to Clay when he needed it. Davis came back over with the water bottle and Trent took it with a small nod of thanks. He placed it next to Clay's groin to help warm up his lower half as he spoke.

"Chest to chest Boss."

Jason put his right arm underneath Clay and pulled him slowly against his chest. He couldn't believe how cold Clay was and he couldn't help the sharp intake of breath. Trent wrapped them in the thermal blanket and put another blanket over that covering their whole bodies. Jason wrapped his left arm over Clay's body and held him close to his chest, tucking Clay's head under his chin. Clay had long ago since given up any hope of keeping his eyes open. They knew his body was beyond exhausted from the hypothermia, so they didn't hold it against him.

"He gonna be ok?" Brock asked, as Trent checked Clay's temperature.

"Eighty-eight. Once he gets warmed up he will be. I'll need to keep an eye on him throughout the flight, but he should be fine by the time we land. He'll be tired and sore for a couple of days as his body finishes recovering, but he'll be ok." Trent said.

"You get some rest, I got him." Jason ordered.

"I will shortly. I want to make sure his breathing is ok." Trent said.

"Alright, everyone get ready for take off." Blackburn ordered.

Everyone headed to get their gear off. Ray made his way over to where Vic was standing. He had something he wanted to talk to him about and now seemed like the best time. Ray spoke as he started to remove his gear.

"Why are you over here and not helping us with him?"

"I didn't think seven people were needed to get him changed. Plus, he doesn't really know me all that well. I didn't think he would appreciate me seeing him naked and touching him." Vic said, but in reality he just didn't care enough to help. Seriously, there were six people trying to get him changed. It was ridiculous to him.

Ray gave a nod and he was accepting of his answer. "Fair enough. Trent is gonna be on you about proper medical treatment. We all aren't medics, but we all have extensive first aid training so we can help our brothers out until medics get there. It's important for you to have."

"Ya I'll ah read up on it all and get a refresher on it." Vic easily agreed.

"Good, it's important for you to have, especially with you being number two one day."

"Number two?" Vic asked, confused. He didn't exactly have plans of being just number two. He wanted to lead his own team, he wanted to lead Bravo one day. He thought that was why Ray was working with him so much.

"Ya 2IC to Spenser. Bravo will be his to lead one day, it's why I suggested to Jace that we pick you up. You'll be a great 2IC to Spenser. We just gotta get you ready for it." Ray said with a warm smile.

Vic couldn't believe this. Ray actually thought he would be happy with getting second place. That he would be happy with the fact that he got picked because they wanted him as second in command, because he was supposed to be good support for Clay. The very last thing he wanted was to be stuck under Clay. He wanted to be the one to lead Bravo. He wanted to be the one they relied on. He wanted to be the star rookie. Instead it was like he was going to be trapped under Clay forever. He was going to have to do something about it, because he was not going to be playing 2IC to Clay Spenser.

"I'll be ready, Boss." Vic said with a warm smile. He wasn't going to let on to anyone how he felt about Spenser. He knew that could be a one-way ticket out of here. He would need to come up with some sort of plan to handle Spenser.

Ray gave him a warm smile as he headed over to get his hammock set up. He was exhausted and was in need of some serious sleep.

It was a couple of hours later when Clay started to twitch in his sleep. Jason had been softly resting and the second he felt Clay move he opened his eyes. He saw that his guys were all asleep, but Cerb was right by the cot ready if they needed him to wake someone. Jason felt Clay twitch again and give a soft moan. He looked down and saw the slight wrinkle in Clay's forehead and he knew that Clay was having a bad dream.

"No...Ash don't go… take me." Clay mumbled.

Jason tightened his hold on Clay and rubbed his back. "It's ok Clay."

"It hurts...Ash stop…hurts."

Jason didn't even want to think what that could mean. He had known that Ash was a shitty father with Clay. He knew he was neglectful, but he couldn't help but wonder if he was also abusive. He could see the signs in Clay from time to time. The way he had some insecurities about his intelligence. The way he would distance himself from the group if he was going through a hard time. The way he could sometimes get overwhelmed by being in a large and loud group. How he prefered to read or learn something compared to hanging with the guys. Jason knew that Clay wasn't used to having family, but he could also tell that Clay wasn't sure how to fully be himself with them either. There were always these parts of himself that Clay kept to just himself and didn't share it with them. It was something Jason was going to be working with him on.

"Clay, come on wake up." Jason said, as he rubbed his hand along Clay's back.

It had been a couple of hours since Clay had fallen asleep, he was just starting to tremble slightly and Jason knew that Clay was at least getting better. He still had some blue to his skin though. Jason shook Clay again when he gave a painful moan. This time around Clay took in a sharp breath and his eyes slowly blinked open. Jason could see the confusion and fogginess in Clay's eyes. He knew that Clay didn't really understand what was going on.

"It's ok Clay, I got you. You're too cold and I'm trying to warm you up." Jason gently explained.

Clay on instinct curled up more into Jason's chest as he spoke with a soft and slow speech. "Warm...safe." Clay's eyes closed and Jason knew he was going to be asleep in a second. What he didn't expect was for Clay to speak again. "Dad...always...safe."

Jason knew Clay was asleep, but that didn't stop him from leaning his head forward and placing a kiss to Clay's head as he spoke. "I always will be, son."

They had never said it before, but Jason knew within his heart that Clay was his son, just as much as Mickey. He had no idea how Clay had managed to steal a piece of his heart, but it wasn't one he was looking to take back. He was glad that Clay saw him as a father, as someone that was safe. The kid desperately needed someone in his life that made him feel safe. Jason continued to hold onto Clay and eventually he fell asleep. Jason didn't know how many hours had passed when he felt himself being woken up by Blackburn.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, looking down to make sure Clay was alright. He was very happy to see he was no longer blue.

"Alpha needs help. They got pulled on a mission to Boasan, Liberia to help protect a small aid station there that had been receiving threats. They received a new letter, but no one there is able to read it and the translator on their computers can't decode it either. It looks like it's in multiple Africian languages and they can't find anyone friendly to translate it. They need the kid."

The very last thing he wanted to do was have Clay out in the field when he was recovering from hypothermia, but he also couldn't leave Alpha behind to figure it out. They didn't have anyone that could speak the languages, only Clay could in the military. As much as he wanted to say no, he also knew that Clay would be pissed if they didn't stop to help them, regardless of how he would feel.

"How far out?" Jason asked.

"We're an hour away from landing. It's been four hours since we left. He's not blue anymore, but I know he's still going to be feeling the effects. He doesn't have to be in the field, he doesn't even have to leave the plane. We just need him to translate."

"Alright. Let's wake everyone, Trent will want to check him over too before we land."

Blackburn just gave a nod and he started the process of getting everyone up and awake, even support staff. That was a rule they had on Bravo, whether you were needed or not, if someone was awake and having to work, they all were. It was a family and that was how they operated. Jason could see the others waking up and getting moving. Davis was already getting coffee on so they could have a cup before they even landed. Jason honestly had no idea what they would do without her. She was amazing and always knew what they needed without them even having to say it. The team made their way over to him and Trent had some of Clay's clothes in his hand.

"How is he?" Sonny asked.

"His skin and lips aren't blue anymore, so that is progress." Trent said, as he rolled the thermometer across Clay's forehead.

"He up to temp?" Ray asked.

"93.6, he's slowly coming back up." Trent said, but they could tell he wasn't too happy with it.

"Shouldn't he be higher?" Brock said.

"He could have been colder then the thermometer was able to pick up if he reached hypothermia before his teeth stopped chattering." Trent said, not happy at all.

"Is that possible?" Ray asked.

"Can be. Sometimes a person's mind doesn't register how cold they are. Their brian tells their body that they should be shivering so the body does. He stopped shivering when his mind was able to focus on the target when he started to move around. He could have had hypothermia hours before we even got him out." Trent explained.

"What do we do for him?" Jason asked.

"We can't move him yet, not until his temp is up higher. They'll have to come to him and you need to keep giving him body heat." Trent answered.

"We can have Alpha on the plane working here. I can sit with him on the cot and he can translate what they need." Jason said.

"Will his mind be able to do it?" Sonny asked.

"He's going to have a delay, but he'll get it translated if he knows the languages." Trent answered.

"So then what do we do?" Vic asked. He wasn't sure why they were all awake when Alpha only needed Clay. It made no sense for him to have to be awake just to watch Clay translate some letter.

"Get ready to help. We don't know what could be in the letter." Ray answered.

Vic just gave a nod and headed off to get ready and get some coffee. The others started to get ready and when they landed Alpha and their team was already waiting for them outside of the cargo doors. Blackburn had informed them that they would need to come to them with Clay being injured. They were all happy to relocate. By the time they were ready they had a large whiteboard set up to write down the words that Clay translates for them. As Alpha team filed onto the plane Jason and Trent were tasked with getting Clay awake.

"Clay, come on kid wake up." Jason said, giving Clay a very gentle shake.

Clay gave a small moan and they knew they were getting somewhere.

"Set up where you need." Blackburn said, speaking with Alpha's support team.

"You cuddling buddies now?" Full Metal asked with a smirk as he walked over to the cot with Jason and Clay.

"He's got hypothermia." Jason answered as Trent tried to get Clay awake.

"Shit, how bad?" Derek asked, stepping closer to them now to check Clay over.

"Temp is just shy of ninety-five right now. It's been five hours since we started to warm him up." Trent answered.

"Should be higher than that. How long was he out in the weather?" Derek asked.

"Over thirty hours in pissing down rain and cold winds. My guess, he was hypothermic three to four hours before we got him out." Trent answered.

"The one time I'm not with you and he gets hypothermia." Full Metal said, not impressed.

"You being there wouldn't have mattered. We had a target elimination that only the kid would be able to make the shot." Jason said.

Between Derek and Trent they were finally able to get Clay to open his eyes. "That's it kid, let me see those baby blues of yours." Derek said.

"Der?" Clay said, very confused.

"Hey Spense. How you feeling?" Derek asked gently.

"Cold." He answered as his body started to shiver now that he was awake.

"You have hypothermia Clay. Jace has been warming you up. I got a long sleeved shirt that you can put on now and that will help along with the body heat." Trent said.

It was then that Clay noticed that he was curled up in Jason's arms. He should be bothered by it, but he was so exhausted and cold he couldn't bring himself to care. He just wanted to sleep right now.

"I know you are tired, but Alpha needs your help. We need your mind kid." Jason said, hoping that would help get Clay to stay awake.

"Mmk." Clay said with pure exhaustion in his voice, but he forced his eyes to stay open.

"We're gonna get you sitting up, get this shirt on you and then you can lean against Jace for his body heat. You don't have to get out of bed for this at all and afterwards you can sleep as long as you want." Trent said.

They saw Clay give a very small nod and between Jason, Trent and Derek they were able to get Clay sitting up and in his long sleeved shirt. They turned him so that Jason's back was against the wall of the plane and Clay was curled up in between Jason's legs. They had the thermal blanket over the both of them and the other blanket across their bottom half. Derek added a second blanket to cover them both up with to add more heat for Jason to give to Clay. Clay had his head turned enough so that he could look out at the plane and see the others. He noticed the large whiteboard with Davis standing next to it and he figured it had to do with whatever they woke him up for.

Derek came over and sat down on the cot with a piece of paper in his hand. He spoke as he showed Clay the paper. "We're in Boasan Liberia, we're trying to protect an aid camp that keeps getting attacked and receiving threatening letters. This letter came in, but no one there can read it. It's got multiple African languages in it. We need you to translate it."

"K." Clay said slowly.

Derek pointed to the first word, he knew that Clay's mind was going to be sluggish. They would have to do it word by word. "Can you tell me what this word is?"

Clay turned his head so his left side was against Jason's chest as he looked at the paper that Derek was holding up. He had to squint his eyes just to make the writing not blur together.

"Does he know it?" Vic asked, not sure why it was taking Clay so long to answer the question. He really didn't want to spend all this time waiting around for Clay to decide if he was going to talk or not.

"He knows it. He knows ten languages and each language sits in a box in his mind. When he needs to use one it takes him a nanosecond to mentally open the box. But with the hypothermia his mind is sluggish so it's taking him longer to recognize what the language is, get the box open, find that word and then translate it back into english." Derek explained.

"So it's going to take him awhile then." Vic complained.

"So what? You got a hot date or something you need to get to?" Full Metal asked, annoyed that Vic seemed to be complaining about the situation.

"Just not sure why we are all standing around waiting for Clay to translate. Surely there must be something more productive we can do with our time." Vic said.

"You want something productive to do, go clean the gear and make sure it's ready in case we need to go out." Jason ordered.

"You can't be serious." Vic said.

"I gave you an order, go do it." Jason snapped.

"Yes Sir." Vic bit out as he headed over to do as he was told.

"The." Clay finally said.

Derek gave him a warm smile as Davis wrote it down on the board. "Good Clay, what's this one?" Derek asked, pointing to the next word.

"Does your Rookie have a problem with the kid?" Franklin asked. He knew they all pretty much called Clay kid, it was just his nickname and it stuck with them all.

"Didn't think so, starting to think he does now though." Sonny answered.

"He's just trying to figure out how the team works and his place in it. Clay had trouble too." Ray pointed out.

"Clay had trouble in the sense that he was always asking questions about every order. He didn't have a problem with any of us on a personal level. Vic seems to have a personal problem with Clay." Sonny pointed out.

"I thought Clay asked questions because of his IQ." Full Metal said.

"He did, he does. It's why I've never given him shit for it. It's how he learns and his mind needs to learn and understand decisions to utilize later. Had to make sure he understood to not ask questions when the Upper Brass was around, to ask me about it later." Jason said.

"I don't know if it's personal. He's just the new guy and it can be hard coming into a team where everyone is so close." Ray said in Vic's defense.

"Can't be easy being the rookie and the guy that is ahead of you is younger too." Derek commented.

"Clay is only a few years under Vic though." Brock said.

"He's younger? How old is the kid?" Franklin asked.

"Twenty-seven." Jason answered.

"This is his third year on the team though. Shit he was twenty-four when he started? That's gotta be the youngest in history." Franklin said, impressed.

"He is. It's why the Upper Brass likes him so much." Blackburn said.

"Plus he's bilingual when it comes to pipe hitters and cake eaters. He can see both sides and that makes them very happy." Ray added.

"American." Clay answered.

"Wow, I'm with the rookie, this is gonna take awhile." Sonny said with a whistle.

"It's not his fault." Trent said.

"Didn't say it was." Sonny agreed.

It took them an hour before they were finally halfway through the letter, but Clay was dropping on them. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and it was taking longer for him to register the words and to speak.

"I don't suppose half is enough?" Sonny asked.

"We still don't know what they could be planning. We only have the location and their religious rant in the beginning. We need to know what else is in the letter." Davis said.

Trent went over to the cot with a mug in his hands. He bent down as he spoke. "Clay, I need you to drink some of this."

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"Hot chocolate. It'll help warm him up and hopefully keep him awake for a little longer." Trent answered.

Jason took the mug and held it up to Clay as he spoke. "Clay, come on I need you to drink some of this."

Clay groaned as he forced his eyes open to see that Jason had a mug up to his mouth. Clay slowly moved a shaky hand up to the mug and with Jason's help guided it to his lips and he took a small sip. Jason continued to help Clay drink until half of the hot chocolate was gone and Clay stopped tolerating being forced to drink. Trent took the mug as Derek and Jason got Clay back on track with the translations. When there were only five words left they were losing Clay and they were losing him hard. The hypothermia was making him beyond exhausted and his mind was extremely sluggish. His mind was focused on keeping his body warm, it wanted to shut him down so he could sleep and get warm. He was also starting to feel the pain in his body from being in one position on the roof for over thirty hours.

"I need you to stay awake just a little longer Clay. I know you are exhausted and hurting, we just need five more words." Jason said, trying to keep Clay awake. Trent moved so he was sitting on the cot and started to massage Clay's lower back to try and relieve some of the pain,

"Do we need the last five words?" Sonny asked.

"It would be helpful to have." Ray said.

"Sleep...please." Clay mumbled as his eyes were closing again.

"I know you need sleep. We just need these last five words Clay please. I need you to do this for me and then I promise you can sleep as much as your body needs." Jason said.

"Can you tell me this word kid?" Derek said gently. He knew Clay was fighting with everything in him to stay awake, but it wasn't that simple. His body was just exhausted and from the hypothermia it was done.

Clay forced his eyes open and with a lot of prodding and encouragement from Jason and Derek he was able to get the last five words and they finally had the translation. There was going to be an attack on the aid worker camp and now they knew who was going to be doing the attack and when. They could get people to safety now and stop this. Clay placed his head against Jason's chest once again.

"Sleep?" Clay asked softly.

"Ya kid you can sleep. You did good." Jason said.

Clay's eyes instantly closed and they knew he would be asleep within seconds. Trent continued to massage Clay's back as Derek spoke.

"We gotta get to the aid camp and get them evacuated and prepare for the attack."

"We'll back you up." Jason said.

"Gear up." Blackburn ordered.

The guys all headed off to get ready and Jason slowly moved Clay down so he was laying on his right side. Him and Trent got him fully covered up and once they were confident that Clay would be ok they got up.

"Cerb, stay with Clay." Jason said.

Cerberus got up onto the cot and curled up behind Clay trying to give him some heat from his own little body. Jason gave Cerb's head a rub before he headed off to get ready himself. Once they were all set, they all took one last look over at Clay before they headed out. They knew he was safe here on the plane with Bravo and Alpha's support staff plus Blackburn, Davis and Mandy were here. They would make sure he was ok and most likely he would be asleep the whole time.

It was three hours later when Clay started to wake up. He instantly noticed that he was cold and his whole body was sore, but he could think clearly at least. He knew he was laying on a cot within their plane. He could remember being on the rooftop waiting for the shot to eliminate their target. He couldn't remember getting to the plane or going to sleep, but he figured his brothers must have made sure he was ok. He opened his eyes and he felt Cerb behind him press his nose up against the back of his neck. Clay looked around and he noticed that Bravo was not the only team here. He noticed Alpha's support team was here and he knew that something was going on.

Clay pushed himself up and his whole body protested at his movements. He knew he must have gotten hypothermia for his body to be this sore and for him to be this cold. He slowly forced his body to get up and he slowly made his way over to where Blackburn, Davis and Mandy were. They all looked up at him as he approached.

"Spenser, you should not be moving around right now." Blackburn said.

"How are you feeling?" Davis asked, concerned.

"Cold and sore. I'm assuming I got hypothermia." Clay's speech was back to normal, but they could tell he was still suffering from the after effects.

"You did. You'll be feeling a little off for a couple of days Trent said. And will probably get sick." Blackburn said.

"Where are we?" Clay asked.

"Boasan. Alpha team needed some help with translating a letter that was in three African languages. We stopped so you can translate the letter. You did, and now both teams are out there stopping the threat. They are on their way back shortly. The attack was stopped and they were able to apprehend the organization that was behind these attacks." Blackburn explained.

"We're in Boasan?" Clay asked, picking up that piece of information over the rest.

"We are." Mandy answered.

"We got a spare vehicle?" Clay asked.

"We do. Why?" Blackburn answered.

"I need to leave for a little bit. There's something I have to do."

"You can't go anywhere, especially alone." Blackburn instantly said. Jason would kill him.

"I'll have my weapon and I'll go with a GPS so you can track me. This is something I need to do. Please."

It was the tone in Clay's voice that told Blackburn that there was something going on that he wasn't aware of. He could tell that Clay was going regardless of what anyone said to him. He knew that Jason was going to have a fit, but he could always get the team to meet up with Clay while he was out there.

"Alright." Blackburn said.

"Thank-you. Davis, do we have any chocolate or candy?"

"Um, ya some. Why?" Davis asked, confused.

"I need to bring it with me."

"Ok." Davis said, as she got up to grab it and Clay went off to get ready himself. He grabbed his handgun, but he was leaving his rifle behind. He wouldn't need it where he was going and it would only make people nervous.

Once he was ready, Davis handed him a duffle bag full of chocolate and candy from both their stock and Alpha's. He gave her a smile as he took the keys and the GPS tracker from Blackburn and he headed out. Clay knew that the team, especially Jason was going to be pissed that he left the plane alone and still technically injured, but he had to do this. He had no idea he needed to do this until he heard where they were. He couldn't leave without seeing it.

"Jason is going to kill you." Mandy said to Blackburn.

"Probably. Let's get the tracker up on a screen so we can follow him." Blackburn said to Davis.

Davis pulled it up on a screen and Blackburn radioed into the teams.

"Havoc to Bravo One."

"Ya go ahead Havoc." Jason said.

"Spenser is awake and he is on his way to an unknown location."

"What do you mean he's on his way somewhere? Why did he leave? Why did you let him leave?" Jason demanded, pissed as well.

"When he found out where we were he said he had to go somewhere to handle something. There was no talking the kid out of it. He's got his gun and he has a GPS tracker with him. We are following him right now. I don't know what is going on with him, but there was no telling him no this time around."

"Has he stopped moving?"

"Not yet. He just left."

"Send us his location, we'll head out to him and see what the hell is wrong with him."

"We'll send it through. Is the situation down there wrapped up?"

"We are loading the guys now. Alpha will bring them back and we'll head for the kid."

"Copy that."

Blackburn put the phone down and Davis spoke. "Well that went well."

"I wouldn't want to be Spenser when they find him." Mandy added.

"Well hopefully they can find him and everything goes well. Whatever is going on with the kid, he obviously felt like he had to do this." Blackburn said.

Davis sent the GPS tracker to Jason's phone so he could follow where Clay went. All they could do was hope that everything would be ok.

The others were all standing around and they could hear what Blackburn had to say about Clay. No one was impressed at this moment.

"What the fuck is the kid thinking?" Sonny demanded.

"I don't know Sonny, but we're gonna have to go and get him." Jason said, pissed as well.

"Where does he even think he's going? There's nothing around here." Ray said.

"He is still suffering the effects of hypothermia. He shouldn't be going anywhere alone and he shouldn't be driving. He knows that, so wherever he is going must be important to him to risk it." Trent said.

"Whatever his reason, once he's healed enough he's running hills for weeks for this. Alpha, you guys take the prisoners back to your plane. Bravo is going to meet up with the kid." Jason said.

"I'll go with you." Full Metal said.

"Me too, just in case something pops off." Derek said.

Jason gave a nod and they all got organized and into the right vehicles. Vic got into the one with Jason, Trent and Ray. He couldn't understand why so many of them were all going after Clay. It wasn't like they couldn't track him from the GPS and if he wanted to go somewhere that was on him. Why did they all need to go after him when they were already doing a mission that wasn't theirs to begin with. It was all so crazy to him, but he also knew that if he said something he would be the one in the wrong. So he sat there and kept his mouth shut. He knew that once Bravo got to Clay they would lay into him and he would be able to get a front row seat to it all.

They arrived an hour later into this very small village with homes that were falling apart. There were kids running around in the street kicking a soccer ball. They had no idea why Clay was here, but they saw the military vehicle parked outside one of the homes. Trent parked their vehicle right next to it and they all got out. The house was one of the worst ones. It was more away from the others and it was falling apart. It was one level and maybe six hundred square feet. It was a very small house, more like a shack.

They all got out and they headed inside. The house inside was just as bad as the outside. They could see a small living room and a makeshift kitchen. There was a very short hallway with three very small rooms, one of which was a bathroom that had a toilet and a bucket with a hose coming from the wall for the shower. They finally found Clay in the last room in the house. He was just leaning against a stone desk looking over at the small toddler size thin mattress on the floor with an old dirty blanket sitting on it. The walls all had some kind of math all over them that had been scraped into them.

Jason turned his attention to his youngest member. He could see the tremble in Clay's body, he was still clearly not feeling well and should be in bed. Knowing that Clay took this risk was enough to fuel his already growing anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how stupid it is for you to be out of bed, much less out on your own in a hostile area? How can you be this stupid? How can you be this reckless? You know you are not supposed to be going anywhere alone. You know you have to clear it by me first before you go off somewhere when we are not Stateside and yet you went behind my back and came out here all on your own. You knew I would never have let you come here with us or alone and yet you did it anyways. So help me god Spenser you better have one hell of a good reason to do this." Jason ranted.

"Clay come on man you are smarter than this shit. What the hell were you thinking? What the hell is so special about some piece of shit shack that you risked your life to come and see?" Sonny demanded, pissed off as well.

Clay didn't answer them right away and it was Ray that spoke up next. "Clay man, you gotta say something for this."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I knew you wouldn't let me come here even with all of you. I didn't know it was even something I had to see until I found out where we were." Clay said and his voice was filled with pain.

"What the hell is so special about this place that you would risk your life for?" Jason demanded.

"I grew up here. This was my room." Clay said with nothing but pain in his voice.

Instantly the atmosphere in the room changed. No longer were they all angry at Clay. They now understood why he needed to be here, why he needed to see it before they left. The depressing qualities of this room took on a whole new level. To know that Clay was the one that slept in this room. That he lived this way for his childhood was just depressing. They also had no idea what his life had been like before he was in the military. They knew he was from a village in Liberia, but they didn't know for how long or where he was from. Now they knew he was from a war torn village. Jason let out a small sigh as he went and leaned against the desk next to Clay to show him support. He wrapped his arm around Clay's shoulders and Clay instinctively leaned into the comfort.

"How old were you?" Sonny asked softly.

"I was five and I was here until I was eighteen. When I turned eighteen I was able to go back to the States on an aid worker plane. I had to wait until I was legally an adult before I could leave."

"And they were your grandparents?" Ray asked.

"Technically no, but yes."

"What do you mean?" Full Metal asked.

Clay took in a slow deep breath before he finally spoke. "Ash was never there growing up. He made it clear he didn't want a kid. My mom was a prostitute that he used to see frequently. She thought if she got pregnant he would stay with her and she would be able to have this great life. Only he refused to have anything to do with her once he found out. She continued to use while she was pregnant. I guess she figured he would come around to the idea of being a father. He didn't. For the first five years of my life we lived in this rundown apartment. She had her pimp and drug dealer move in with us and she continued to use and sleep with men in the apartment."

"What drug was she using?" Trent asked, now more concerned about Clay's health.

"Heroin, I was born addicted to it."

"And the doctors let your mom still have you?" Brock asked.

"They didn't know. Her pimp had some disgraced doctor there for the birth. I was never in the hospital."

"Jesus, it's a miracle you lived. Do you know if there were any complications from it?" Trent asked.

"Hard to say. She wasn't really a mom so it's hard to know if the heroin use was what made the development delays or if it was just her. At five I could barely walk, I didn't know how to talk, how to write or hold anything really. Fine motor skills didn't exist."

"How did you end up here then?" Derek asked.

"There was this older couple that moved into the apartment building next to ours. Their bedroom window looked into my mom's. We only had one bedroom so I would sleep in the closet in the hallway. They had lived there for about six months and had found me wandering around alone outside a dozen or so times. They brought me back home every time, but they found out that home wasn't all that great. They had called social services before, but nothing was ever done. They started to actually leave groceries at our door, they were hoping it would go to me."

"I'm guessing it didn't." Ray said.

"Three weeks before I got here, my mom ODed. I found her in the kitchen that morning. Mike, her pimp, had been gone for a few days. He didn't come back until almost two weeks later. I thought she was sleeping so I grabbed a pillow and blanket from the couch and got her comfortable. When she didn't wake up I just thought she was really tired. That night I curled up on the floor with her so when she woke up she wouldn't be alone. I didn't know what dead was. I just figured she was asleep and when Mike came home almost two weeks later he told me she was dead. That that's what smelt so bad. He took her somewhere, I don't know where, and buried her. When he came back he told me it was on me to make the money now. I had no idea what he was talking about, but two days later there was this guy in the house and Mike was nowhere to be found."

Everyone was dead silent as they listened to Clay telling them his story. A story he obviously had never told anyone based on the deep pain within his voice. To hear that he had problems right from the start with his health was bad, but then to find his own mother dead. To have slept next to her and had her body decaying in front of him for two weeks, it was heartbreaking. All of this was heartbreaking and they knew it was only the start. There was only one thing a grown man would want with a five year old boy and they were all praying he didn't go through that. Well, everyone except for Vic. He was keeping a straight face, but inside he was happy as hell. He wanted Clay to have suffered. It would be something he could use later on against him. He was praying that Clay had been touched as it was just another thing he could use against him.

"He brought me up into the bedroom and then it was just dumb luck that he didn't close the curtains. That my grandparents were in their bedroom with their curtains open. They saw that we were both naked and he was coming towards me. The next thing I knew the door was being slammed open and Gramps was beating the living shit out of him. I found out later when I got back to the States that he died that night from his injuries. Broken jaw, multiple skull fractures that caused bleeding and swelling on his brain."

"He got what he deserved." Full Metal said with an edge to his voice.

"Grams got me dressed and picked me up. They took me back to their place and within a week we were on a plane coming here. They were already planning on moving here with an aid camp. Grams was a retired nurse and Gramps was a retired university professor. They wanted to spend their retirement doing some good in the world. Within a week they had gotten me a passport, birth certificate, I had a duffle bag with clothes and another with some toys, books and coloring. From that moment I became their grandson."

"Ash never wondered where you were?" Ray asked.

"Nope. I was never reported missing. When I was seven a seal team came through here and they just happened to notice my last name and figured out Ash was my father. He showed up about a month later and demanded that they tell people he was allowing them to raise me while he was off fighting for this country. He didn't care about me, just his image and what it would do to his reputation. They agreed as long as he never came back. He threatened them with kidnapping charges if I ever came back to the states before I was legally an adult. They didn't care what he had to say. To them I was their grandson and he was nothing but a piece of shit."

"They sound like they were great people." Derek said warmly.

Clay couldn't help the warm smile that touched his lips. "They were amazing. Gramps, he was really smart. He taught math and five languages at the University. Within a week of being here he had me talking and writing. He worked with me everyday doing different things that would help me grow and learn. He taught me my first four languages all before I was twelve. Grams used to come home from work and we would have some type of experiment going on. There would be math equations all over the place. She used to just shake her head and give us this big smile. Then she would look at me and tell me that I was far too clean for a young boy. To go outside and play and not come back until I was thoroughly filthy and my belly hurt from laughing. She was a firm believer that a scraped knee could be healed with a kiss and a hug. Even though we were always at war, they never made it feel like I was in a war zone. They made it feel like a home."

"Havoc to Bravo One." Blackburn's voice broke out in the room.

"Bravo One." Jason said, speaking for the first time since Clay told them he grew up here. His voice was thick with emotions and he was doing everything he could to keep them in check.

"Did you meet up with Bravo Six?"

"We got him ya. We'll be heading back in a minute."

"Copy Bravo One."

Jason looked over at Clay and he could see the raw pain in his eyes. He wished with everything in him that he could make that pain go away, but he couldn't. There weren't any words he could offer that would make Clay not feel hurt by being here. All he could do was be there for him through this.

"We gotta get going." Jason said.

"I know. I just need to say goodbye to them."

Jason gave a simple nod and Clay stood up with Jason right beside him. Clay headed out and they followed him to the backyard of the house. There was a boulder there with initials scratched into it. Clay went over and looked down at the boulder and they all knew that his grandparents were dead. They suspected it, but they kind of hoped they were still alive somewhere in the world.

"When we first got here, one of the first things Gramps did was make a hiding spot under the floorboards. Just big enough for me to hide in it if the rebels ever came for us, for me. That threat finally came when I was twelve in the middle of the night. The whole village was overrun. They were going from house to house taking any child that was old enough to fight. Gramps hid me away and told me to not come out no matter what. The rebels stormed in and started to demand that they tell them where I was. They knew there was an American that lived here. Gramps told them that they sent me back home with the threat from the war rising. They tore the whole place apart, but when they didn't find me I thought they would leave. Only they killed them. Decapitated them right there. I saw the whole thing from the slats in the floorboards. When it finally got quiet I came out and did the only thing I knew to do. I buried them and spent the next six years only going out when I had no other choice to. I stayed hidden until I was old enough to leave."

The others couldn't help but close their eyes or look down. They were shocked and devastated that Clay's childhood had been one horror after the next. Everyone, but Vic were all feeling his pain and they wished they could have been able to take it away. Clay bent down and placed his hand on the stone. Jason went over to him and bent down beside him, placing a supportive hand on Clay's shoulders.

"I promised them when I left that I would be someone they could be proud of. Someone that helped people just as much as they helped me. It's why I decided to become a Seal, to save other people from going through this." Clay ran his hand over the letters as he spoke again. "I hope I made you proud."

"You have. There's no way for them to not be proud of the man you have become." Jason said warmly.

Clay brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed his index and middle finger before bringing it back over to the initials. "Thank-you for everything."

Jason did the same as he spoke. "Thank-you for saving my son. I owe you everything."

Vic was shocked. He had never heard Jason ever refer to Clay as his son before. He looked around, but he was the only one that was shocked by this. The others acted as if this was completely normal. It was insane. Jason was supposed to be his commanding officer, but he couldn't be if he wasn't objective with him. If he looked at Clay as a son and if Clay looked at him as a father, then that chain of command was compromised, broken. Jason couldn't properly hold Clay accountable for his actions, which meant one of them had to go. They would never remove Jason with his ranking, so that would mean Clay would have to be placed on another team. Vic was doing everything he could to keep his face straight. This was perfect. He could get Clay removed from the team and placed somewhere else. With Clay gone he could start to shine and truly show just what he was capable of. Hell, he could even start taking some language courses so he could be even more valuable to them.

Both Jason and Clay stood up and Jason pulled Clay in for a hug. Clay easily wrapped his arms around Jason and allowed the comfort. Today had been hard and he still wasn't feeling too great. All he wanted at that moment was to feel safe and loved, something Jason always managed to make him feel. After a moment Clay pulled back and Jason wiped the few tears that escaped from Clay's eyes off his cheeks.

"We should get going." Clay said.

Jason gave a nod and they all headed back inside. Clay picked up the duffle bag he brought in so it wouldn't be out in the heat. They headed out as Sonny spoke.

"What's in the bag?"

"A smile." Clay said, as he walked away from the vehicles towards where the children were playing.

They guys all followed him as Clay spoke and bent down. The kids all came running over to them and Clay spoke in english this time.

"I may have stolen all of our chocolate and candy off both planes."

"Oh man Franklin is gonna be pissy the whole way home." Derek complained.

"It's worth it." Clay said, before he spoke to the kids in their language.

He opened the bag and the guys could instantly see the huge smiles on their faces. Together all of the guys passed out the chocolate and candy to the kids and when the bag was empty the kids ran off with smiles that would be there for days after this.

"They sure do love chocolate." Sonny said.

"They don't ever get it. Sugar to them is like finding gold to most people. They'll savor it, only eating a small piece every day until it's gone. One chocolate bar could last them a month if they are careful. When I got to the States, the first thing I did was buy a chocolate bar. I had never had one before, the aid camp never had anything like that. It was the best thing I had ever tasted. Still to this day it has the power to make me not feel so down on the really bad days. And ice cream, ice cream is amazing. I ate my way through many pints when I was recovering from my leg." Clay said with a small smirk.

"Seeing their smiling faces will be worth dealing with Franklin's bitching." Full Metal said warmly.

"Let's get you out of here. Your body needs rest, you're still recovering." Trent said to Clay.

Clay gave a nod and he had to agree his body was hurting. He couldn't wait until he could lay down and try to relax. They all filed into the vehicles, dividing up more so they could bring the one back that Clay drove. With everyone loaded up they all made their way back to the planes so they could get out of here. Clay managed to keep his eyes open on the drive back, but when they pulled in they could all tell he was exhausted. They all loaded up the vehicles on the right plane before they went their separate ways so they could get ready for take off. With Bravo back on their plane Blackburn took in their appearance and noticed that they weren't angry, so whatever reason Clay had for going off was obviously ok with them.

"Get ready for take off boys. We're wheels up in fifteen." Blackburn said.

"Clay, you need to be on the cot again." Trent said, and Clay just gave a nod.

They all got to work on removing their gear and getting set for take off. Clay went over to the cot with a book he was currently reading and got under the covers. He was still cold so he was happy to use the two blankets that were on the bed. Once take off was completed everyone headed off to bed pretty quickly. They had already completed their mission plus they helped Alpha with theirs. They were all exhausted and looking for some sleep. Clay on the other hand needed to get his mind to shut off for a little while first before he would be able to sleep. He had been reading a book recently and he decided he would try and read some before he would sleep. He had just gotten into it when Jason came over and sat down on the cot.

"You are supposed to be sleeping." He said, as he gently removed the open book from Clay's hands.

Clay didn't bother with sitting up, he was too sore to even try and he knew Jason wouldn't care if he was laying down.

"So are you."

"I was on my way to it when I saw you reading. This book is huge, what the hell is it?" He asked with a smile, quickly noticing that it was written in French.

"À la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. It translates to In Search of Lost Time. It's big because it's all of the volumes put together. It's over two million words and one of the largest novels ever published. It was originally published back in 1913 and more recently it was republished with all of the volumes together. It's a good book, so far. I'm only through part of the first volume."

Jason gave Clay a warm smile. He was not at all surprised that Clay would be reading something like this. He was always reading and it seemed like the books got bigger and bigger each time. Clay never went anywhere without a book with him.

"You're supposed to be sleeping. Your body needs rest."

"I know and I will. I just needed to quiet my head a little bit first. Reading does that."

"You kinda got thrown down memory lane today. If you ever need to talk, you know I'm always there for you."

"I know. It's hard to talk about, because so many good memories are wrapped up with all these bad ones. They were my saviors though. They taught me that the best things in this world are things you can't ever see or touch. Even after all of these years there are times when I forget that they're gone. Times when I want to call them and tell them my good news or just to hear their voice again."

Jason gave a nod of understanding. "I've been there. My dad, he passed away about ten years ago now. Some days I go to call him and have to stop myself. I've lost a lot of people while I've been in the Navy, but losing my dad was one of the harder ones. One of the ones that still doesn't feel real. I think there are losses in life that will always stay with you. They sound like they were amazing and exactly what you needed growing up."

"They were perfect. Gramps told me early on that the world was made for people to wonder and question. That there was no such thing as a bad question, only curious ones. He never got annoyed when I would ask him questions all day long and if he didn't know the answer, we would find it together. He gave my mind the fuel it was starving for. Same as Grams."

"I learnt you were smart pretty early on. I knew you had a high IQ, but is that all there is to it?" Jason asked gently.

"What do you mean?" Clay asked, confused.

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way. But some people with higher IQs have a mental disorder. I'm just wondering if you were born smart or if you were born with a disorder that your IQ is a part of. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just sometimes you'll do something and I wonder if there is another reason for it. Like you on the occasion having a harder time being in a loud place or group. Sometimes you'll kinda distance yourself from us or you'll go into your head with a conversation going on around you. It doesn't matter to me either way, I was just wondering."

"When I got back to the States I immediately went to an adult learning spot that day and wrote my GED. I knew I would ace it, which I did. I then went the following day down to the Navy recruitment center and signed up for boot camp. The next bus didn't leave for a couple of days and I didn't have anywhere to go so I stayed on the street. That night Brian found me, offered to buy me something to eat, but I told him I was just waiting for the next bus to ship out to boot camp. Turned out so was he. He offered me his couch to crash on, but I didn't really trust people so I turned him down. Two days later we were on the bus together to boot camp, we even got paired up as roommates. Brian was really good with people. He loved them and he was very social, but I was not. I didn't get social interactions, I never really had any, especially in the last six years. I also asked questions and the instructors thought I was questioning them. I got into a lot of fights that first month. It got so bad that the instructors were talking about kicking me out. Brian spoke up and actually asked them to give me a psychological test. They agreed, mostly because I think they were hoping it would prove them right, that something was wrong with me and they could kick me out. It came back that I hit the spectrum."

"High end autism." Jason said with understanding and everything was making sense now.

"I didn't hit all of the markers, but I hit enough of them for the shrink to see it. High IQ and social problems were pretty obvious, but when she found out I didn't talk until I was five and had some other delays she was confident that was why. I'm sure the heroin addiction added to some of those delays, but it was pretty common for children on the spectrum. She said if you looked at it like it was a straight line, I was closer to the end of the line rather than further down. So I had it, but I wasn't so far on the spectrum, even for the high end, that I couldn't adapt and blend in."

"It's not in your file though." Jason knew that for a fact, because if it was Clay wouldn't be here. He would have been stuck in some office.

"No the instructors agreed that because it was just kissing the spectrum that they wouldn't have it recorded. I was only a month in but they knew I was skilled. They did tell me that it was my only warning. That I had to get it sorted out and figure out how to be normal. Brian vouched for me, said he would teach me the social aspects of it. After I knew I had it, I then worked my ass off on trying to figure it all out. Brian helped me through the majority of it and I was able to adapt and learn. We got so close that by the end of boot camp, we were recommended for Buds. We got through that and then we went on Team 3 together. People just knew if you wanted one of us you got the other. If it hadn't been for Brian, I don't know where I would have ended up."

"He was a good man. I'm sorry you lost him. I'm sorry I never got to know him. You being on the spectrum makes sense. It's why sometimes you go off on your own, you need to."

"In Africa I never had a problem with it, but when I got to the States, everything was so loud. It got overwhelming, like my mind was being attacked by all of my senses. It got so bad at times it felt like I couldn't breathe. It's not like that now, but every now and then my mind gets overloaded and I need to just shut it down for a little while. Reading always works. When I read it's like the world disappears and it's just me and the book. There is nothing else but whatever world I'm reading about. It makes all of the noise stop and I can keep going. It used to be a lot worse, shit you think I'm bad now, you have no idea what Brian had to put up with. I could barely have a normal conversation with someone. Now I've figured it out, at least I hope I have."

"You have. You do really well. Sometimes you ask questions around the wrong people, but I can normally catch you before you do it. Now that I know that you need that quiet at times I'll stop hounding you about it. I'll let you have the quiet time that you need and I'll leave you alone with your books. I didn't know I was hindering you in that sense."

"You don't. Talking with you helps, especially when I'm confused about something. Being around you helps make things quiet."

"Good, I'm glad I can help you. The last thing I want is you suffering in any way and I can't help you with it."

"Are you going to tell the guys?" Clay asked, slightly worried.

"You know they wouldn't care. You're their brother, they love you."

"No, I know that. It doesn't bother me if they knew. I just don't want Vic knowing."

"You think he would have a problem with it?"

"Don't know. I just don't trust him, not yet anyways."

"I know he's the new guy and it can be weird for you. You're no longer the rookie, but now you are just one of the guys." Jason started, but Clay cut him off.

"That's not it at all. I'm not worried about my position in the team. I know where I belong and it's not like I don't have a specialty. Whether I'm the rookie or not doesn't change anything. There's just something about him that makes me not trust him right off the cuff like you guys have."

"What kind of something?" Jason asked, now slightly concerned that they all have missed something.

"It's hard to explain. People all have a feel to them. You and the guys, you feel safe, always have. But Vic, he feels like Ash."

"Ok, what does that feel like?"

Jason had known that some people were more attuned to the world. Alana was like that. She could tell by how someone felt that they weren't a good person. Emma has that in her too, it was an ingrained instinct that some people were blessed with. Jason didn't really think too deeply on it, but he grew to trust it with Alana. With Clay being so smart and gifted it would make sense that people would have a different feeling to him. His instincts would be different, something that had been proven over the past three years.

"It's hard to explain. You know that feeling you get when you look into a cave or a tunnel and all you can see is pitch black, but you know you have to go in anyways?" Clay tried.

"Ya, it's this uneasy, slight fear feeling in the pit of your stomach. You don't know what is in it or what will happen." Jason answered.

"That's how he feels like. Like I'm staring down into the darkness and I don't know if he's going to come out with a flashlight or a knife. I'm sure he's a good person, he just feels like Ash and it's making it harder for me to trust him. I won't let it affect the way I operate with him, I swear."

"I'm not worried about you operating. You always do what you're supposed to do, what you're expected to do. If it takes you more time to trust him, that's ok. He seems solid to me and Ray is confident with him. I know he's had a hard life, ran away at fourteen to escape his abusive father. You might just be feeling his past on him maybe."

Jason was having a hard time seeing Vic as anything more than just a normal guy. He didn't come across as someone that could be dangerous to his team. With that said, he would be keeping an eye on things and making sure that Clay and Vic weren't alone together. Jason was a firm believer in trusting your instincts and Clay's were screaming at him that something was wrong with Vic. Jason wasn't going to ignore that for anything in this world.

"Probably. I trust you guys and you both say he's a good fit. I'm sure he'll prove to be. I just need more time to get there."

"Take all the time you need. Trust isn't built in a day, it's something that you have to work on. Thankfully, in our line of work trust can be built pretty strong with being in war zones. A few more missions together and you'll see he's solid."

Clay gave a nod and Jason knew they needed to get some sleep. He patted Clay's thigh as he spoke. "You can read, but don't stay up too late. Your body needs sleep to recover from the hypothermia still."

"I will, I promise." Clay said with a warm smile.

"Goodnight kid." Jason said, as he handed Clay his book back.

"Night Jace."

Jason stood up and started to walk away when Clay's voice stopped him. "Oh and thank-you for today."

"You don't ever have to thank me for that. It's what family does." Jason said with a warm smile, one Clay returned.

Jason headed off to his hammock and Clay opened his book. He already felt better after talking with Jason, but he just wanted to finish this chapter before getting some sleep. He had no idea what the future was going to hold, but he felt ready for it with Jason in his corner.