My next chapter turned out to be super long, so I divided it in half. Here is the first half, slightly shorter than usual, but I hope you like it :)

I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!

Chapter 10

Jaz and Dalton both woke in the morning to the sun streaming through the gaps in the blinds.

Dalton blinked his eyes several times to wake himself up and noticed that he was curled around Jaz from behind, one arm around her waist. Her bare back was pressed against his chest and his head was buried in her apple scented hair.

He knew she was awake when she started to wriggle her back against him.

He held her still because with her moving like that against him, he couldn't guarantee he would keep it clean. Instead he moved so his mouth was right next to her ear and whispered, "Stop wriggling Jaz."

She laughed sleepily, "Good morning to you too."

Dalton was tempted to move his arm, and caress her breasts, but since Amir arrived today and they were going to scale back whatever was happening between them, he thought better of it. The more he had of her, the more he wanted her. And for the next few days, possibly longer, they needed to go back to being just team mates, who just happened to be living in the same cabin at the moment.

He rolled onto his back instead and stared up at the ceiling. Jaz followed suit, pulling the covers up so she was covered from the neck down.

"Looking forward to seeing Amir today?" Jaz asked

"Yeah. You?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but yeah I am." Jaz admitted grudgingly.

Dalton just smiled knowingly at her, which made her roll her eyes and chuckle, before looking back over at him. In whatever way he was smiling, it was always hard to look away from him, especially this morning when things were about to change.

Dalton sensed this and said softly, "Nothing is really going to change Jaz. We live with these guys for a large part of the year anyway, we're just not in Incirlik this time."

Jaz knew that, and there weren't any other people on the planet that she was more comfortable with than her guys, her team mates. Her family. They had very few secrets from each other, living on top of each other soon saw to that. But this time she felt like her and Top did have a little secret. Maybe not so little.

As if he was reading her mind, Dalton leant over and said gently, "It's all going to be fine." And with that he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and got up out of bed.

He needed to get up otherwise he would want to stay in that bed all day.

Dalton and Jaz spent the morning doing a few chores around the cabin, both inside and out. Jaz also moved a few of her items that had been left in Dalton's room, back into her own, so as to not give anything away once Amir arrived.

Amir had text Dalton at about 11am saying he was just leaving, so they were expecting him to arrive at the cabin by mid-afternoon.

Jaz went looking for Dalton to let him know she was going for a run. She found him around the back, chopping wood for their evening fires. And she just stood and watched for a minute or two before she made her presence known. This was exactly why she needed to run, because watching him like this, stirred all sorts of feelings in her.

She stayed back, not getting too close and called out to him, "Hey, Top?"

He lowered the axe and turned around to find her in her exercise gear.

"I'm just going for a run." Jaz told him, already starting to head off in the direction of the hiking trails.

"Do you remember the trails?" He asked after her. She just tilted her head and scowled at him as she was still backing away. "Of course you do." He answered himself, and watched her start to jog off.

He stood and watched her until she disappeared into the woods. He knew Jaz was going running for the very same reason he was outside chopping wood.

They were trying to keep their minds off what had happened between them the night before and even what had been slowly changing between them the last couple of weeks. The way they both dealt with situations like this, was by doing something physical.

If you had told him two weeks ago that he and Jaz Khan would be rolling around in his bed last night like a couple of teenagers, he would have said it was more likely that McG would settle down and get married.

Having said that, it hadn't felt awkward or uncomfortable at all. In fact, he didn't remember ever feeling so comfortable with someone. He was probably getting ahead of himself. They hadn't done anything too serious yet. But he wouldn't be forgetting the last couple of days anytime soon. Maybe Amir and McG arriving would be a good distraction. Yep, it's exactly what they needed.

Jaz was pounding the uphill trail she had chosen for today as fast as she could. She hadn't been on a run since arriving at the cabin, but they had been hiking every day or swimming, and that had been satisfying her need for physical exercise.

Today was different though. Today she was running to forget. Just like she often did after a nightmare. Only this time, it wasn't a nightmare she was running from, it was the exact opposite.

If you had told her two weeks ago that she would be rolling around with Adam Dalton in his bed like a couple of teenagers, she would have said it was more likely that McG would turn into a vegan.

Having said that, the last couple of weeks with Dalton had been anything but uncomfortable. There had been a couple of austere moments, but in true Top fashion, they had been flipped on their head and he calmed her like no one else had ever been able to. He made her feel like no one else had ever been able to.

Amir and McG would be arriving at just the right time, so that she didn't get carried away. They were exactly what she needed, a distraction.

When Jaz returned from her run, she found Dalton in the cabin, texting on his phone.

"I've just heard from McG, he's flying here the day after tomorrow." Dalton told her.

"We should have bought more food!" Jaz joked.

"Yeah. I said I'd pick him up from the airport, might need to go via the supermarket first." Dalton kidded back.

Jaz headed to her room, with the intent of having a shower before Amir arrived, but they heard a car pull up outside and went to check it out.

They both smiled as they saw it was Amir, and Jaz was surprised at the rush of emotion she felt seeing her team mate after a few weeks apart. He had certainly grown on her, she just hadn't realised how much. Didn't mean she wouldn't still give him a hard time occasionally though, but the feeling of irritation, indifference and disgruntlement that she used to feel towards him had gone, and she felt so much better for it.

Amir got out the car and Dalton greeted him with a clasped hand and a pat on the back, before grabbing his bag off the back seat while Amir went to greet Jaz.

"Were you about to run away from me?" Amir asked, noticing her exercise gear.

"Thought about it." Jaz said ruefully.

"Good to see nothing has changed." Amir joked and Jaz laughed along with him before stepping forward to greet him with a hug. It really was good to see him.

Amir, much like Jaz, could not believe the quality of Dalton's cabin.

"This certainly wasn't how I had pictured it." Amir was in disbelief.

"Not my fault you lot make all these mountain man assumptions about me." Dalton shrugged.

Amir wandered into the kitchen, while Jaz teased him, "Make yourself comfortable in there."

Amir just smiled, he loved cooking for them; it made him genuinely happy and he loved to share not just his food and recipes, but his culture with them all.

Jaz excused herself to have a shower while the two guys caught up.

"How's Jaz?" Amit took the opportunity to ask while Jaz was in the bathroom.

Dalton paused for a moment before answering, "She's been ok. Still having nightmares, but has been doing better this last week." Dalton knew exactly why she had been better, but was not going to divulge that to Amir.

"I'm glad she left New York and ended up here. Looks like it agrees with her." Amir observed, and Dalton just smiled in response.

He was glad she had left New York too, for more reasons than he would admit to Amir, but he had to remind himself to be careful what he said about the whole Jaz situation. Amir was the most observant person he had met. It was largely the reason he chose him for the team. He was a master at undercover work and reading peoples actions and emotions. These were all epic attributes, but not when you were trying to suppress information.

Clearly Dalton needed to try harder, because when Jaz walked out of the bathroom following her shower, and straight into her bedroom, Amir didn't miss the way Dalton's eyes followed her from door to door. Or the way Jaz flicked her gaze to meet Dalton's briefly, right before her bedroom door closed.

There had been a storm warning for their area scheduled to arrive in a few days, so late in the afternoon they had spent an hour outside tidying up a few more things and making sure everything that needed to be secured was bolted or tied down. They were internally programmed to be prepared, so getting this done early was like second nature to them.

Later that evening, they sat down on the couches to catch up. They had eaten dinner a bit earlier and had let Amir off the cooking for his first night there. He'd be back on it tomorrow though, at his insistence.

Amir told them all about his couple of weeks in Lebanon and catching up with his parents and other family members. They had spent quality time together and Amir found some peace being back amongst his family. It sounded like it was the trip he had needed after a tough deployment.

He was also happy to be back stateside though, and now reunited with his other family, even if it was only for a few days.

"So what have you been doing in DC this past week?" Jaz inquired, trying to sound innocent.

"Just some touristy things." Amir responded non-committedly.

"By yourself?" Jaz pressed further.

"There were a lot of people in DC, I don't think I was ever alone." Amir answered, looking Jaz straight in the eye.

Oh he was good, Jaz thought. If she didn't already know Amir she would have totally believed him. He was a master at what he does. But Jaz knows better.

"So Hannah is good then?" Jaz asked knowingly.

Amir didn't falter in his facial expressions or eye contact. The only give away was the slight pink tinge to his cheeks and ears.

Jaz just smirked, while Dalton was just looking back and forth between her and Amir. He had no idea what he had missed from this conversation, but the undertones had him curious.

"What have I missed?" He questioned.

Jaz looked at him while tilting her head towards Amir, "Ask him."

Dalton moved his gaze to Amir who looked even more flushed now. Amir dropped his gaze and offered, "I caught up with Hannah in DC."

"Everyday…" Jaz prompted.

Amir knew he couldn't deny it. God help him once McG arrived.

He looked ruefully at Dalton, "Sorry Top, I know we aren't supposed to get involved with team mates, of sorts. I know it could backfire, but I thought since she's mostly in another country…" He trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Dalton finally clicked. Amir liked Hannah, and it appeared she liked him too. Interesting situation he thought, and one he had to think about before responding.

"So long as it doesn't affect our jobs Amir – all good." He shrugged.

Dalton and Jaz both avoided looking at each other, knowing that whatever was happening between the two of them, it would be ten times harder actually being in the same country, in the same living quarters and in the same team. Not to mention, Top being Jaz's Commanding Officer. Amir and Hannah's apparent emerging relationship would barely cause a blip on the radar. Dalton and Jaz's – that's a whole different story.

"Can't wait for McG to find out." Jaz quickly added, earning an eye roll from Amir.

After chatting for a bit longer, Jaz decided she was going to bed. It wasn't late, but she thought she would give herself a bit of extra time to adjust to sleeping by herself again. She wasn't looking forward to it. The warmth and comfort Top had been providing, had been indescribable and she was a little fearful of what sleeping alone again might entail. But it was time to put on her big girl pants again, and suck it up. An early night, was exactly what she needed.

She said good night to the two guys and walked into her room. As she turned around to close her door, she saw Dalton watching and her eyes met his. They held each other's gaze for an extended moment, both of them peppered with a touch of longing. Jaz had to force herself to look away and with a small, rueful smile, she closed her door behind her.

Dalton and Amir had stayed up for about another hour before calling it a night. Dalton got Amir settled on the couch, before heading to his own room.

He was lying in bed, trying to read, but couldn't concentrate on the book. The pillow next to him smelt like apples, his own pillow smelt like apples, the whole fucking bed smelt like apples. Actually, the whole bed smelt like Jaz. And he missed her. Even though she was just on the other side of his wall, he missed her.

It wasn't until a couple of hours later, that he was woken by the cries coming from the other side of that very wall. After taking a couple of seconds to get his bearings, he got out of bed and opened his door to find Amir starting to get up from the couch, also intent on checking out the cries.

"It's ok, I got this." Dalton told Amir, as he quietly opened Jaz's door and closed it behind him.

He walked up to Jaz slowly who was facing away from the door, head burrowing into her pillow and her cries so much louder now he was in the room with her. He tried just touching her shoulder, but when that didn't work he tried shaking her shoulder to wake her up. Still having no luck, he decided to lay down behind her and engulf her in his arms, trapping her arms against her chest.

He whispered over and over into her ear, "I've got you, I've got you, you're alright." Just like he had those first couple of days after she had arrived at the cabin and after they had rescued her in Tehran.

Eventually, his words and warmth managed to stir her from whatever demons were holding her hostage. He felt her body start to relax and her breathing rate lower as she opened her eyes and took in his presence in her bed.

They just lay like that, Jaz trying to relax and keep her breathing under control. Dalton just wanted to provide as much comfort as he could, still mindful of Amir being on the couch, right outside the door.

When Jaz's breathing was back under control, she rolled over so they were face to face, his arms still wrapped around her.

"You ok?" Dalton asked softly. It killed him that the nightmares had reappeared so quickly.

"Yeah." Jaz whispered. "You didn't need to come and check on me, you should go back to your room."

Dalton could tell she was worried about Amir seeing them.

"It's ok, Amir knows why I'm in here."

"He heard me too?" Jaz whispered with a tone of horror.

"He was just worried." Dalton assured her, "I'm sure he's probably back asleep by now."

Jaz just nodded in defeat. Unfortunately, the nightmares weren't easy to hide.

"Go back to sleep Jaz. I'll stay until you fall asleep." Dalton soothed. She snuggled into his chest and he couldn't help but place a soft kiss on her forehead, which made her smile. There was that apple scent again, and he wished he could fall asleep just like this. It would be so easy to do so, this was bliss.

After another half an hour, when Jaz's breathing had evened out into long continuous breaths, he kissed her forehead once more and gently eased himself out of her bed, managing to do so without waking her. He paused near the door to make sure she was still asleep and he would have given anything to climb back in there with her.

All was quiet on the couch therefore he figured Amir had gone back to sleep, so he crept back into his own room to get a few more hours of sleep himself.

Even though his eyes remained closed, and his breathing steady, Amir was not asleep. He noticed Top going back to his own room, so he figured Jaz was doing better for now. It hadn't escaped him though, that Top had spent over half an hour in Jaz's room, longer than any of them ever had when they were back on base in Incirlik.

He smiled softly to himself and remembered first meeting the both of them. It was clear that Top was protective over Jaz, even more so since they had just lost Elijah. It had also been clear that Jaz and Top were their own team within a team. They always partnered up, always sat next to each other and always looked for each other first when the shit hit the fan. He couldn't think of two people better suited, but he doubted that they themselves, knew how much. The rest of the team however, were all over that, without ever having discussed it.

Amir has finally arrived! What did you think?

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