Evac! – Mandy Ellis
Bravo had been headed home from a mission when they were diverted to Haiti after another cyclone had ripped through the Caribbean country as boots were needed on the ground in an effort to help with the massive evacuation effort that had already been started before the extreme weather front had even hit. It was surreal to move around in the wake of the cyclone as the damage was something far beyond the imaginable but what was more incredible was the way the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky despite it being late in the afternoon when they had landed. Eric, Mandy and Lisa along with half of the support team had gone to one of the makeshift evacuation centres whilst Bravo and the remaining members of support had been deployed with some of the local military to help look for survivors and tag locations where bodies were located as they were to be collected by a secondary wave of first responders who would work to identify them and return their bodies to their families for proper burials rather than the mass graves that were used after the last cyclone that hit the country.
Jason looked around at his men knowing they were already exhausted from the hellish mission they were returning from and now they were covered in thick mud that had begun to dry and clump together along with the sweat that had dried to their skin as the humid air took its toll on them. It would not be long before night would be upon them and with that knowledge the rescue and recovery effort would be put on hold until the morning as it was simply to dangerous to continue with no power and several natural and manmade dangers looming that the cyclone had left in its path which is why the call had been made for them to come in and for them to meet up at the makeshift evacuation centre to help for a little longer.
"What time is everyone heading back out in the morning?" Jason asked one of the local military men as he hauled his weary body up into the back of the pick up truck that was their mode of transportation feeling as Ray grabbed his vest and hauled him further back as the truck jolted forward thanks to its jerky gearbox so that he did not fall. He knew Ray would not let go of him until he hauled his legs up so they were not hanging over the tray of the pick up truck so he shuffled back and twisted around so that his knees were close to his chest and his feet were firmly planted on the back of the truck.
"Not my call to make, they will assess the conditions at first light using aerial means before they decide where to deploy us as it will all depend on what they see from the air." The local man informed them with ease as he shook his head knowing that they had covered far more area that he had thought they would but that it was due to the men around him who all had looked weary before they had even begun to trudge through the devastation and destruction. "We appreciate how fast you got here, every extra set of hands is appreciated."
Jason nodded his head and remained silent as there was not a lot he could say to that as humanitarian aid missions were not usually in their realm of missions but it certainly was not below him or his team. The only thing that Jason did not like was the wait and see approach that seemed to be taken but then again he never particularly liked that approach as it made him antsy however he understood that a natural disaster on such a grand scale was something he had never experienced nor had he ever coordinated such a massive rescue and recovery task before so he had to take his cues and go with the knowledge that the local men and authorities had.
For now they would let the eerie silence surround them as they were driven back towards the makeshift evacuation centre where they would meet up with everyone else.
SEAL TEAM
Mandy felt flustered and it was certainly not a feeling she was accustomed too as she pulled her hair up into a messy top bun as it was sticking uncomfortably to her neck due to the stuffiness and humid air that seemed thick in the packed evacuation centre. It had been hours since she had arrived with Eric, Lisa and half of the support team but it had felt much longer as she watched person after person trickle into the large building, one of the few that seemed to have stood up considerably well against mother nature's violent force, as they were bought in by rescue teams or somehow miraculously had made their own way through the mud and debris. She was so out of her element as there was no one to hunt down for the atrocities that had been forced upon these people, no information to analyse, and no distance from the devastation that allowed her to remain impartial.
What was most striking to Mandy was the amount of scared and vulnerable young children that were being grouped in one corner still muddy with various minor scratches, cuts and bruises, and after a brief exchange of words she had learned that they were children that had been found alone and had yet to have found their parents or any familial relations to take care of them. She remembered when she was young and the feeling of vulnerability that she had at times when her mother was out hustling or pulling one scam or another which left her alone until she inevitably gravitated towards the small group of approximately fifteen children with the oldest being around eight or nine if she had to guess and the youngest being around one, a baby really.
Mandy was not really all that maternal but she could not let the children be ignored as she picked up the baby of the group and rested her on her hip before she gently guided the children towards one of the members of support who was rendering basic first aid checking and cleaning out wounds as the last thing any of these people needed were infections or illnesses. However she suddenly realised the mistake she made as the terrified children begun to cling to her, crying loudly, and nothing she did would make it better as there was simply not enough of her to go around. She sat herself down on the edge of one of the beds that had been set up, propped the baby up on her lap with her hand rubbing small circles on her back, while she kept a close eye as each child was examined and treated as she reached out and wiped their tears away every so often as they ran down their cheeks or rubbed their back or arm with her other hand as she tried to lessen their fear even if it was just for a moment and give them a small amount of comfort.
The basic medical examinations were over quickly and Mandy shepherded the children back to the corner that had somehow become theirs before she went to scrub her hand over her face but stopped seeing the fine layer of dirt that had built up on it instead she dropped it and rubbed it against her jeans before she looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms seeing that the rest of the children were all beginning to fade as they were exhausted but it would be hard to sleep with the incandescent atmosphere in the building as the noise rose to the rafters.
SEAL TEAM
Eric smiled as he took a brief pause in directing people various ways as the flow of people had slowed to a trickle now that night had fallen, and as ominous as the thought was he had concluded that the survivors were all now at the evacuations centres around the effected parts of the country and that there would be no more survivors left out, as he looked across the evacuation centre to see Mandy comforting and corralling terrified children. How she had been the one to end up with that task he did not know but as flustered as she appeared she still was working wonders with them. Eric felt a presence beside him and shifted his gaze away just long enough to see that it was Lisa who had come to stand beside him.
Lisa followed Eric's gaze and smiled softly despite the suffering that was all around them. "I just heard from the guys, they got held up on their way back in but they should be here soon. The locals seem to have here under control for the night so I suggest once we have all met back up we return to the plane, get ourselves cleaned up and get some rest before we hit the ground early in the morning." She informed him watching as Mandy swayed gently from side to side to keep the little girl in her arms asleep as she seemed the only one able to sleep with the noise and humid air.
Eric had let his eyes wonder back to Mandy as he listened to Lisa. "Good, we are all going to need to get some rest." He replied knowing that they would stay until they were told to return home but that it would have been a rough and physically gruelling few hours on the ground for the men of Bravo and the support staff that were with them. "She doing okay?" He asked as he nodded towards Mandy who had her back to them.
Lisa wanted to laugh at Eric's question but stopped herself. "Think she is a bit out of her comfort zone but then again none of this is standard operating for us."
"Yeah, would have to agree with you on that." Eric's worry lessened the tiniest amount before he pulled his gaze away from Mandy and the children and scanned the packed building before he looked at Lisa. "I will confer with the brass to see how long they expect to have us grounded here once we are back at the plane." He was not a fool and knew that the men were exhausted from a mission that could only be described as FUBAR, and he could only hope that once the large contingent of American military and world organisations arrived on the ground that they would be ordered to return back stateside so that the men could have a few days at home before being spun up again. The only reason that they had been diverted and had ended up being the first American military boots on the ground was because they were in the air and close by.
Lisa knew that Eric was eager to get the team home as the mission had weighed heavily on all of them and left them all exhausted, not just physically but mentally, and they were not equipped to be on the ground for much longer as they did not have a whole lot of supplies to sustain them for days on end. "Looks like it will be a few more MRE's to eat for everyone." There was not a lot else she could say although she knew that there would be a litany of complaints come her way with that realisation when it hit them as they had already spent the last few days eating them.
SEAL TEAM
Sonny groaned as he slapped his arm to rid himself of the bug that had landed on him as he did his best not to grumble but he had already mentally added cyclone ravaged countries to his no go list just as they hit another crater sized pothole in the muddy dirt road that jarred his already aching body. "What kind of fresh hell is this?" He grumbled for what felt like the twentieth time since they had walked off of the plane earlier in the afternoon.
"We are five minutes out." One of the local military men that was riding with them offered the information from the front of the truck that they were riding in.
It had been a painfully slow trip back to the evacuation centre that Eric, Mandy, Lisa and the remaining support staff had been stationed at as the muddy terrain and various pieces of debris that were scattered about had slowed them down and the fading light had only made it harder to navigate until they were in the pitch black as power was still out to large parts of the country which was not hard to understand given the devastation.
Clay opened his eyes just enough to see what Sonny was complaining about this time as the man had spent the whole time they were trudging through the thick mud complaining about mother nature's wrath, mud, bugs, rain, and every goddamn thing else that he came across. "Sonny, give it a rest will you?" Clay had bit his tongue plenty but he really was tired and did not want to have to listen to another rambling diatribe from the Texan.
"Just cause you like playing in the mud with bugs while you rattle off facts poster boy does not mean the rest of us have to endure it quietly." Sonny drawled as he slapped and squished another bug that had landed on his neck hating the way his skin felt as though it was constantly crawling.
Clay sighed tiredly at the sharp retort from Sonny but decided it was best not to bite back with his own retort or correct him that none of them particularly enjoyed being knee deep in mud and having bugs constantly landing on them nor did they like seeing the devastation or spending hours finding mangled bodies and feeling helpless as it was clear to him that Sonny was not going to back down or stop complaining.
"What? Nothing to say to that poster boy?" Sonny tried to goad a response from Clay as he felt his anger grow as he swatted another bug away from his arm.
Brock felt and heard the sigh that escaped Clay's lips as he was sat next to him, practically squished up against him, as they all were squished in the tight space in the back of the pick-up truck. He had been glad that Cerb had stayed on the plane as the hair missile would have trudged on mercifully through the mud until one of them had taken pity on him and carried him but there would have been nothing that Cerb could have done. Usually Brock would remain out of the petty squabbles that went on between his brothers but he had to admit that Sonny's consistent and never ending monologue of complaints was getting to him too. "Sonny, that's enough. None of us are comfortable; we are all miserable, all exhausted and all covered in bug bites." Brock kept his voice quiet as the last thing they needed was to be overheard by their Haitian counterparts although he had expected either Jason or Ray to have stepped in as it was clear that it was not the usual bickering and that Sonny was clearly trying to goad Clay into an argument, actually it was clear that he was trying to pick a fight with anyone that would engage him.
Sonny glared at Brock who did not wilt under it instead he met it as he did not look away.
"Knock it off all of you." Jason opened his eyes and pinned them with a glare of his own knowing that tempers were frayed but the last thing they needed was disharmony within the team. Jason tended to agree with Clay and Brock this time as Sonny's complaining and the conditions they had been working in had been largely undesired but he was smart enough not to take a side.
The truck lurched violently to a stop outside of the evacuation centre and the men all knew it would only be a short reprieve from the battering of travelling as they still had to get back to the plane. One by one the men disembarked feeling the aches and pains a little bit more as their feet hit the ground.
Jason led the way into the building instantly spotting Eric with Lisa beside him knowing that his team were following after him while the support staff had stayed outside. "Where is Mandy?" Jason asked seeing that the support staff that had been sent to the evacuation centre had already packed up and were heading for the vehicles to get back to the plane.
"Over there." Eric pointed in Mandy's direction subtly seeing that she was in the middle of tucking the children into the beds as she had got them to top and tail as there were not enough beds to go round all the while still holding the little baby girl who was sleeping peacefully with her little head rested on her shoulder.
"Who let the ice queen near the kids?" Sonny groused, his foul mood strongly evident, as he followed where Eric had pointed while trying to shake the drying mud off of him as it was drying uncomfortable and making his uniform feel heavy.
Eric turned and looked at Sonny taking in the state of him before he looked over all the men seeing they were all in need of a shower and a change of clothes before he looked back at Mandy deciding it was best to ignore Sonny.
"How long has she been with the children?" Jason slapped Sonny in the back of the head as he asked his question choosing to reprimand him that way instead of verbally. It was not often he saw Mandy looking flustered but then again none of them looked their best.
"A while." Lisa kept her voice soft as she answered knowing it had been long enough to get the children checked and treated, rationed some food for them before getting them calmed enough to get them tucked into the beds that were not really fit for purpose but would have to do as it was the only things they had.
Brock stood and he found himself smiling as he watched as Mandy stood to her full height once she had finished tucking the blanket around and began swaying and rubbing the little girl's back as she seemed to have moved or made some noise that suggested she was unsettled. "She's good with them." Brock found the words slipping from his lips without much thought counteracting Sonny's bitter comment although that was not on purpose.
"Yeah, you want to go over and see if you can get that little girl separated from her? We need to go, get cleaned up, eat and get some sleep before the morning comes." Eric asked Brock as his presence would be welcomed as he had a radiating calmness that exuded from him which is what the children and Mandy needed for the moment. Brock nodded and stepped around Eric and Lisa heading towards Mandy, and if he walked a little slow then no one would call him on it as he wanted to give her a few more moments.
"Has everyone here been medically evaluated?" Trent asked as he looked around the room seeing that there were a lot of people with minor injuries. He had been given the option on where he wanted to go and had decided to go with the rest of the team given his medical training as he was well versed in administering field first aid and he knew that the training that the support staff would have been was given adequate to treat minor wounds.
Lisa smiled as she turned to look at Trent knowing he would ask the question sooner or later so she was not surprised. "They have all been looked at Trent. The locals have been very good at directing survivors of the cyclone to where they needed to go whether it was to the evacuation centres that have been opened or to the hospital that is still standing for treatment if that was what was needed."
"Lisa, go back with the guys and most of support. Leave a small contingent here, and I will drive back with Mandy and Brock once they are ready to leave." Eric expected a small amount of backlash from his decision but it would be easier to send the team back now with Lisa and let them get settled and it also meant they would not be staring at Mandy as if she was alien to them.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Sonny grumbled as he turned on his feet and headed back out the way they had come in ready to head back to the plane for the evening.
"What?" Lisa turned back to Eric with a frown wondering what he was thinking as she ignored Sonny's attitude and actions knowing he was more ornery than usual.
"We are all tired and hungry, the guys are dirty, head back with them. It's not a request Lisa." Eric pointed out the obvious before he pinned Lisa with a hard look that would be enough to give anyone second thoughts about questioning him except for Lisa, Mandy and Jason who all seemed immune to it.
Lisa looked over the men and knew that Eric was right but she did not like it as she would prefer that they all went together especially now that night had fallen however she was not going to argue as she was hot, tired and hungry herself. "Okay. Don't stay too long" That was Lisa's way of saying that she wanted them back on the plane with them as quickly as they could. "Come on guys." Lisa knew that it was now on her to corral the men out of the centre and back to the plane as she stole one more look seeing that Brock was making deliberate slow progress through the crowds of people on his way over to Mandy. She put her hand on Clay's shoulder and Trent's forearm and nodded towards the exit seeing that the exhaustion seemed to be weighing the heaviest on the two of them but it was not surprising given the two had been pinned down on the mission which had put them in an impossible position as they had to make some hard choices.
Ray who had remained largely silent knew that Jason was not happy to be leaving without Brock or Mandy from the look that he gave Eric. Ray had to admit that it was nice to see Mandy being so delicate with the way she had tucked the children in despite how frazzled she looked but then he would put some of that to the humid air and lack of sleep that was getting to them all. "Come on Jay, Eric will get them back, they will not be far behind us." He spoke firmly as he reached out and squeezed Jason's shoulder slightly surprised that he had not already argued the point with Eric.
Jason looked at Ray before he scrubbed his hand over his thigh as he had pulled his dirty and battered gloves off in the truck on their way over. "Yeah, okay." Jason fell into step behind Lisa who was guiding Trent and Clay out as Ray walked beside him. He was too tired to argue but it did not mean that he liked to be separated from anyone on his team.
Eric knew that Lisa would get them back to the plane without too much fuss while he let Mandy have the time that she needed too, and Brock was always good at calming things down. Eric diverted his attention to another area of the centre seeing that some supplies were being loaded in by local officials although there would be plenty more to come in the coming days.
SEAL TEAM
Brock smiled softly as he finally reached Mandy seeing her turn towards him just in time to finally see him. "Hi." He kept his voice soft as he could before he cringed at the hoarseness of his voice.
"Hi." Mandy spoke quietly and smiled tiredly as she continued to sway absentmindedly and to rub her hand in small circles over the nameless little girl's back wishing that someone had come forward to claim her in the hours since she had picked her up. "You and the guys okay?" She asked as she took in the state of him knowing that what they would have faced would have been hard to witness even for seasoned Tier One Operators like those on Bravo.
Brock chuckled hoarsely as he looked down at himself before he looked back at Mandy who somehow managed to look just as dirty as them and she had not been trekking through the mud like they had. "We are all fine, tired and dirty but fine. Who is this sweet little girl?" Brock had used some of his water to clean most of the dirt off of his hands that had managed to get into his gloves before he had walked in so his hands were relatively clean as he reached out and placed his hand over Mandy's making her pause in her actions of rubbing circles.
"I don't know. No one has come forward for her Brock." The sadness in Mandy's voice was something that would haunt Brock as he stepped closer to her so that they were almost touching without squishing the little girl between them.
"They will." It was naïve to say but Brock wanted to give her some hope as he watched the little girl snuggle tighter into Mandy in her sleep.
Mandy pinned him with a glare before it softened as she could appreciate what Brock was trying to do and realised that maybe he was not just saying it for her sake but for his as well. "How the hell can they keep going through this?" She asked knowing that the country had been hit by a number of damaging cyclones in the past several years yet here they were again.
"I don't know." It was the only answer Brock had but he understood what she was saying. "You know we are going to have to go soon." He stated softly not even bothering to try and clear his throat and ease the hoarseness of his voice.
Mandy cast her eyes over the fourteen children that she had tucked in for the night seeing they were almost all asleep before she looked back at Brock then to the little girl in her arms watching her for a few silent minutes. "Who is going to look after them though?" She asked showing a bit more of her vulnerable side, one that she preferred to keep under wraps as it did not suit her nor was it beneficial to her.
Brock really wished that she had not have asked that question as he saw the side of Mandy that she did not often show. "They will band together like people do in hard times." What Mandy might not have realised was that people had been watching over the children even when she was caring for them. "Take a look around you Mandy." Brock waited as he watched her scan the area waiting until the realisation dawned on her as he knew it would as she would see what he was seeing.
Mandy looked around the area seeing how people were constantly looking over and there were local officials that would remain overnight but she knew what Brock was indicating to her without stating it outright. "They take care of their own just like we do." She spoke softly after a few minutes as it dawned on her although she knew it would be a different way but it was still the same principal that could be applied.
Brock smiled. "Yeah, they do, that is how they keep recovering time after time too… Why don't you put this princess down for the night? We can get her settled before we have to head out for the night." He suggested softly seeing that there was a space left in one of the beds that had been pushed up against the wall with one of the youngest children, one that he knew would have been left deliberately by her as there was a blanket that had been rolled up and placed along the edge as a barrier.
Mandy was resistant to put the little girl down but she knew that Brock was right as she had to return to the plane with everyone else for the rest of the night however the mere thought of leaving the children made her anxious and she had no idea why.
Brock could sense her anxiousness as he let his hand slip from her shoulder down to her elbow. "I will give you a hand Mandy." It was not an offer as such but rather an indication of what he would be doing. He knew there was more to what was going on but he also knew she would not disclose it until she was ready.
"Okay." Mandy nodded softly hesitating for a few moments longer before she turned and began waking over to the bed that she had made habitable for the two youngest so that they were cushioned and would not roll off onto the floor. She felt the steady and reassuring presence of Brock as he let his hand slip from her elbow around to the centre of her back as they made their way over to the bed. She hesitated as she went to pull the blanket back so that she could lay the little girl down.
"I've got it." Brock kept his voice soft sensing her hesitation as he stepped around her, letting his hand fall from her back as he did, and gently pulled back the blanket without disturbing the toddler at the other end of the bed. "She will be okay Mandy, they all will be. The fact that they found their way here is great." He was reassuring her as he had seen the outcome of the ones that had been unable to escape the atrocities that the cyclone bought with it so he knew that these children were already better off because they were alive and in the safety of the evacuation centre.
Mandy shook her head knowing she was being ridiculous as she stepped closer, bent down, and very gently untangled the little girl from herself before she laid her down then stepped back as Brock covered her with the blanket with the upmost gentleness. She smiled as she watched as Brock very delicately made sure that the nameless little girl was tucked in tightly before he moved so that he was beside her once more. "Thank you." Mandy whispered without looking away from the little girl who seemed to still be sleeping soundly.
Brock smiled and dipped his head as he let the silence settle between them for a few minutes longer allowing Mandy the time she needed to make sure that the little girl and subsequently the rest of the children that she had been drawn to were settled for the night before he had to interrupt. "Come on, we need to get going. The ride back is going to suck." He hated to have to pull her away as it was clear to him that more was going on with her but he was also well aware of how treacherous and not to mention dangerous it would be to travel back to where their plane was grounded now that night had fallen. She merely nodded before she allowed him to lead her away.
Eric smiled softly as he finished his conversation with one of the local officials and turned back just in time to see that Brock and Mandy were making his way over to him. He glanced down at his watch and saw that it had been almost thirty minutes since he had sent Brock over to Mandy and Lisa back to the plane with Bravo which surprised him but he had gotten busy talking to the local official who was kind enough to provide him with a run down on what the next few days would bring as they were unfortunately well versed in these types of disasters. "You okay?" He asked once Mandy was stood in front of him looking far more pale and exhausted that he had seen her look in a long time before he shifted his eyes to Brock who looked just as bad as the rest of his team as he was exhausted and covered in freshly dried mud.
Mandy reached up then paused as she caught sight of her dirty hands once more and let her hand drop back down deciding not to worry about the loose hair that she was going to push back behind her ear. "I'm fine. Where is everyone?" She asked waving off his concern with ease even though she was anything but as she resisted looking over her shoulder once more at the kids she had left behind.
"I sent them back to the plane which is where we are going now that you are ready to go." Eric answered seeing that the two of the support staff that Lisa had left behind were waiting near the door ready to usher them to the vehicle, and if he did not know better than he would have said they appeared slightly anxious as the time had drawn out which had him wondering what exactly Lisa's orders were to them.
"Let me guess that MRE's and cold showers are waiting for us when we get back." Brock knew not to expect luxury but he hoped for something more than another MRE to eat and an ice cold shower although if that was all that was on offer then he would take it because he was starving and he wanted to at least feel a little bit clean again.
"Unfortunately yes. Come on, I will find out more once we get back to the plane." Eric stepped aside letting Brock usher Mandy past him first before he fell into step behind him seeing the looks of relief that washed over the two support staff members as they quickly led them over to one of the vans that they had secured to transport them from the plane to the evacuation centre or wherever else they were required.
Mandy climbed into the back seat of the van with Brock taking the seat next to her while Eric took the middle row as the two support staff got in the front seats knowing one would drive and the other would navigate whilst keeping an eye out for craters in the road or debris. She found herself leaning against Brock with her head rested on his shoulder and her hand rested on his wrist as they pulled away from the centre. For some reason she could not shake the feeling that she was abandoning those kids and it was not sitting well with her.
SEAL TEAM
The order had come through only an hour or so after Mandy had returned to the plane with Brock and Eric that they were to return stateside as other American military assets would be landing in Haiti before sunrise, and within twenty minutes of that order coming through they were in the air flying home.
Mandy had curled up in one of the seats reserved for the straps making sure she was far enough away from everyone that she would not be bothered as she was not in the mood to socialise but then again everyone had practically found themselves a place to pass out as they all took the chance to get what little rest they could before they got home as no one knew how long they would be home as was usually the case. She pulled at the loose thread of the blanket that she had draped over her lap as she still felt frozen from the icy cold shower that she had taken which had helped to get the built up grime off of her but it could not remove the guilt that still lingered as she had connected with those kids only to abandon them like they had already been.
"I thought you would be sleeping."
Mandy startled violently as she had been lost in her thoughts as she looked up and found Jason had taken the seat beside her. "I could say the same thing about you." She replied as she settled back into the seat and adjusted the blanket as it had moved with all of her movements.
Jason huffed as he scrubbed a hand over his face trying to ignore the way his eyes were burning from the lack of sleep while he kept turning over the chocolate bar in his other hand that he had pulled out of his bag as he was not a big eater of sweets but he wanted something other than an MRE. "Thought I would split half of this with you seeing as we seem to be the only two awake but I can go away if you want." He held the chocolate bar up and wiggled it making her smile as he knew the sweet tooth she harboured even though she tried not to indulge herself too often.
"You can't offer a woman chocolate then try to take it away from her Jason." Mandy was being absolutely serious about that as she eyed the large bar of milk chocolate that was in his hand making Jason chuckle softly.
"I should know that by now, shouldn't I?" Jason teased as he cracked the bar in half in the wrapper before he tore open the wrapper.
"Yes you should have." Mandy took the half that she was offered and cracked it into several more pieces so that they were bite sized before she rested every piece but one down on the blanket in her lap so that it would not melt in her hand. "How come you aren't asleep?" She asked before she put the first square of chocolate into her mouth enjoying the taste of it as it begun to melt on her tongue knowing that he was exhausted enough that he should have been passed out in his hammock like the rest of the men were but instead he was sitting sharing his chocolate with her.
Jason leant back allowing his weary body to relax back into the netting of the seat as he rolled his head to the side that he was facing Mandy. "I tried but just couldn't. I keep going over our mission then what we saw today… What about you?" He did not want to go into details but he knew that she would understand what he meant.
Mandy nodded softly before she swallowed the first piece of chocolate. "My Mom, actually."
The answer surprised Jason as he knew very little about the woman that bought Mandy into the world except from what he had learned in the days after Alana's passing, and he had sensed the disdain back then but there was something different this time, it was in Mandy's tone, and the melancholy did not go unnoticed. "Yeah?" He was not sure whether to press or not so he tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible.
"Yeah." Mandy shifted as a shiver ran up her spine. "I was thinking about how she made me feel at times and how I did not understand those feelings at the time but looking back I can identify them clearly now."
Jason felt like he needed to supply Mandy with a lot more chocolate than he had but he was not going to stop her from sharing as it was clear that she was rattled by something but he was not sure if it was something that happened while she had been at the evacuation centre or if there was another reason to the trip down memory lane and the subsequent re-examining of those memories.
"I could see the fear in those kids today. It was so visceral, so clear. It was unmistakable." The words spilled from Mandy's mouth without a chance to filter them. "And the sense of abandonment that I felt for them bought it all back." She paused and swallowed thickly avoiding Jason's eyes as she did not want to look into them. "I know that those children were not abandoned by choice but because of the force of Mother Nature but they still do not have anyone." She was not sure if she was making any sense but she was not bothered to be logical or detailed as she was exhausted and her head was full of things that she had not thought about in years.
Jason was lost as he was not sure how all of the pieces connected together, how what Mandy had seen in those kids related back to her mother, but he was sure he was going to find out as she was about as unfiltered as she got.
"I have known that fear, felt it, and I recall several times when I was just as young as those children wondering if my Mom was going to come back for me, or hell even come back at all to get me in whatever hellhole she had stashed me in while she was off pulling one scam or another." The admission flowed from her until her shoulders were hunched inward and she drew a steadying breath before she picked up another square of chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
There was something else that was gnawing at Mandy, Jason knew there was but he just could not pinpoint it which was unsettling to him. "There is something weighing on you, something else." He knew it would either cause her to open up to him or shut down but it was a risk he was willing to take.
Mandy chewed the chocolate slowly foregoing letting it melt on her tongue before she swallowed it down. "I have spent my life running away from anything that came remotely close to settling down, spent the last ten, fifteen, years burying myself in my work and for what? I go home to nothing, no one, and I repeat the pattern over and over. One day I am not going to have my work and then what will I be left with? Nothing. No one."
"You have a family Mandy, might not exactly be the one you thought you would have or the one you would have chosen but you have a family and you are never going to be alone, I can promise you that. All you have to do is look around you right now and know that it does not just end with the people here because there are so many more people at home waiting for all of us." Jason did not know if his words were the right ones but he wanted her to know she was loved and that she did have a family, a slight crazy family but family nonetheless. "But you still have time to find someone if that is what you want."
Mandy smiled softly trying to ignore the way Jason's words made her heart flutter and her body feel warm as she took a few moments to look around the plane knowing that he was right even if she was not meant to get invested with those she worked with but then again Bravo was not the typical team either. She would go to the ends of the earth for each and every one of them and she knew they would do the same for her. She turned back to him and met his eyes with hers full of gratefulness, "thank you".
"How about you and I go and get some tacos once we land? I'm starving and I am not eating another MRE until I am absolutely desperate enough that I have too." Jason offered knowing that he would not be able to sleep until he had eaten.
Mandy raised an eyebrow at him before she realised something. "You don't have any food at your house do you?" It would not surprise her as she had found herself stocking his fridge a few times in the past few months with things other than beer which he always seemed to have a constant supply of, or they had eaten out or she had cooked a meal for them to enjoy at her house on the odd occasion.
"You know me to well." Jason shook his head as visiting the grocery store was almost always the last thing on his mind when he was at home especially in the last few months as they had been spun up a lot on mission after mission. "My treat."
Mandy considered it for a few moments while she ate another piece of chocolate. "I could eat some tacos." She had to agree with Jason that she was over eating MRE's herself so she could understand where he and the rest of the guys were coming from.
"Good." Jason smiled as he draped his arm over her shoulder letting her lean into him. "You looked pretty good with that baby girl in your arms, content." He whispered softly meaning every word wanting her to believe in herself and have confidence in her interactions with children although he wished it had not bought up what seemed to be bad memories from her childhood for her.
Mandy smiled softly as she was not ready to admit that it felt nice to see that she had a maternal side and show it however she was grateful for Jason's observation because she had felt content despite how flustered she felt by all of it. She let out a soft hum as she settled into his side knowing that it would take a bit longer before she could pack all of the memories that had been unpacked back into the box that she stored then in the deepest darkest corner of her mind but somehow she was okay with that. She exhaled slowly letting herself relax into Jason feeling as he relaxed against her as she let her mind wonder back to those fifteen children that she had spent the afternoon with as she wondered what their lives will be like.