So this turned into another really long chapter, which I decided to upload in half - so here is the first half. Hope you enjoy!

I don't own The Brave or any of its characters... But I wish I did

Chapter 14

Jaz awoke the next morning to a tickling feeling on her neck. As she opened her eyes and came to a little more, she realised it was Dalton kissing her neck and his beard was abrading the sensitive spots, almost instantly making her feel amorous.

She pulled Dalton's head up so his lips met hers and they kissed passionately while he moved over the top of her. She felt how hard he was already and lifted her hips to connect with his before he even had a chance to settle over her.

He instantly started rubbing against her, hips rocking together slowly, lips never leaving each other's. Their movements mirrored each other's and with long lazy strokes, they each found their bliss, once again swallowing each other's moans as they came.

Dalton collapsed on top of Jaz and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

"Good morning," Jaz whispered into his ear, "What a way to wake up."

"Good morning." Dalton chuckled, "I dreamt about that bikini of yours, it's the devil." He explained, while pulling back to look into her eyes. They held each other's gaze before he continued longingly, "I wish we didn't have to be so quiet, I wish we could do more."

Jaz caught her breath, feeling exactly the same way, "Me too."

They hadn't had sex yet, but they both knew it is not something they wanted the other guys around for. Whenever it was going to happen, they wanted to be sure they were alone, not likely to be interrupted or overheard. So far they had been satisfied with the pleasure they were still finding in each other's bodies, but they still wanted more. Still thought about more. Still fantasized about more.

After starting the day with another of Amir's amazing breakfasts, Dalton drove them all to a lake about an hour away. It was another place that he used to go fishing with his Dad. He hadn't been here in a long time, but as soon as he got out of the car, the memories and nostalgia hit him.

Noticing him staring out over the lake with an odd expression on his face, Jaz asked "Everything ok?"

Dalton slowly nodded his head before smiling over to her, "Yeah, just haven't been here in a really long time."

Jaz just kept watching him as he looked back over the lake. She wondered if it was another spot that he came to with his Dad. It had sounded like they did a lot of fishing together when he was younger.

After finding a good spot along the embankment to place all their gear down and get the fishing rods out, they baited their lines and cast off. All four of them were lined up, eager to be the one to catch the first fish for the day.

Their surroundings were beautiful. The lake was huge and right in the middle of a forest, with trees towering overhead and providing some shade from the scorching sun. Amir had every intention of taking more photos a bit later on, he wanted to capture all the beauty of this place before he left. Just when he was thinking that maybe he could bring Hannah to this beautiful part of the world sometime, he felt a tug on the end of the line and his attention switched to reeling it in.

McG looked over and noticed Amir reeling in, and couldn't believe that Amir was going to win.

"What the hell man? I thought for sure that Top would get the first one." McG stated incredulously.

"So did I," Top added dryly, while watching Amir try to reel in the fish.

"Your skinny arms need some help, buddy?" McG couldn't help teasing him.

Amir just concentrated on getting that fish in, super happy to have beat everyone else, especially McG. "Nope." He simply answered McG, as the fish appeared and Amir brought it up out of the water.

Dalton whistled, "That's a pretty decent sized bream there Amir, good job."

Amir smiled proudly, "What do I win?"

"The satisfaction of knowing you beat McG," Dalton teased.

Amir looked over at McG, who just rolled his eyes, "Best prize ever."

They were fishing catch and release style today, so Amir set his bream free, rebaited his line and got back to it.

Dalton glanced over at Jaz every so often for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he was glad to see her looking like she was genuinely having a good time. She really seemed to have taken to fishing, and he was glad that she could enjoy it, given that she associated fishing with guilt just a few days ago. Secondly, he just couldn't take his eyes off her. It was as simple as that. Things had obviously changed between them lately, and they still weren't labelling it, or really talking about it with the others here, but he thought about her even more than usual, wanted to touch her all the time, and wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her almost every second of the day.

Jaz caught Dalton looking at her and she held his gaze for a few seconds. She couldn't read the look in his eyes, but whatever it was, she smiled back at it. They had always had a closeness, and an intimacy, even before they were actually intimate. But now, they were sharing and keeping secrets and that increased their intimacy level tenfold.

Unbeknown to Dalton, Jaz couldn't keep her eyes off him either. She'd always appreciated what a fine specimen he was, on the inside and out, but now knowing him a little differently, she just wanted to know more. She craved it actually.

After a couple of hours, Amir took off to take some photos from different angles around the lake while McG decided to have a bit of a snooze up on the embankment under the trees.

Dalton and Jaz were still fishing, but they sat down on the grass while they waited for the next bite, their gazes overlooking the lake.

Jaz looked over at Dalton and broached, "Was this another place you used to come to with your Dad?"

"Yep." Dalton's gaze remained focused on the lake and continued, "We did a lot of fishing when I was younger. It the only thing we did together, just the two of us."

He took a beat, a deep breath, and continued "It's the only real happy memories I have of him. The bad outweighed the good, but fishing was our thing."

Jaz smiled softly, "I'm glad you have those memories, despite the rest."

They had somehow inched closer together, so that their shoulders were nearly touching.

"Can I ask you something?" Jaz broached quietly.

Dalton just looked at her in response, the look on his face answering her.

"Do you ever have nightmares about your father?" She whispered, knowing that nightmares troubled him, but not what they were about.

He thought about it for a few seconds and slowly shook his head, "No. Not about him specifically. Sometimes his actions from long ago, but in recent times it's been other things."

He didn't want to share what those other things were about just yet, and definitely not here, with Amir and McG around. She seemed to understand that without him having to explain and they both looked back out over the lake silently for a few minutes.

Suddenly Jaz had a quick smile on her face, "I bet you were cute as a little boy, decked out in all your fishing gear."

"Cute?"

"Yeah," she confirmed and couldn't help but reach up and run her fingers through his beard, "Before any of this facial hair was around."

"I thought you liked my facial hair." He said quietly with a smirk on his face.

"I do." Jaz responded with a look of appreciation and affection in her eyes.

He just looked down into her eyes, both of them temporarily forgetting their surroundings and their company. He turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand, still resting on his cheek, and they felt their longing for each other kick up a notch.

Luckily, McG's snoring was loud enough to break through their trance and they remembered where they were and who they were with.

What they didn't know was that Amir had captured them in that entranced moment on his camera. He hadn't meant to invade their privacy, but he just happened to be looking through his view finder with his long lens when they came into view, and the way they had looked at each other was mesmerising. His finger had pressed the shutter release a couple of times before he even had chance to think about it. He thought briefly about deleting them, but honestly, they were some of the most beautiful pictures he had ever taken. The transparency of feeling on both their faces, was not something he could just get rid of, despite these two still trying their best to hide it.

After a few more hours fishing in the afternoon, and Amir officially catching the most fish, they packed up and headed back to the cabin.

There was a couple of hours before they were going to head into town for dinner, so they all spent it relaxing and doing their own thing.

Amir went to say his prayers and then started packing some of his things up, ready for his departure the next day. McG watched a baseball game on TV while Jaz read a book on the couch and Dalton went outside to chop up some more firewood.

They were all engrossed in their own thoughts and activities when Preach messaged their group chat.

So when are y'all going to come and visit me? – Preach

When are you up for visitor's big guy? – McG

Well, what are you all doing in a couple of weeks? My wife and the girls are going to see her parents for the long weekend – Preach

Sounds like a plan – McG

Sounds great – Top

Jaz looked up as Dalton entered the cabin from chopping wood, and smiled at him. He smiled back at her and signalled to his phone, as if reminding her to reply to Preach.

Sure does – Jaz

I can make it – Amir

He might have a girlfriend with him though – McG

Amir can bring whoever he wants – Preach

Thanks Preach, but it will just be me – Amir

"Trouble in paradise already?" McG raised his eyebrows at Amir.

"Not at all, but Hannah doesn't have the weekend off, so it's kind of perfect." Amir explained.

Alright team, looking forward to it – Preach

So are we Preach, we'll let you know our plans – Top

Copy that – Preach

"Woooooo, party at Preach's." McG couldn't hide his excitement. Not only did Preach have a great house with a pool, but he had missed his big buddy and was just so happy he was doing well and that they would be seeing him soon.

Despite the rest of them rolling their eyes at McG, they felt exactly the same way. They had fun being together these last couple of days, but there was someone missing, the heartbeat of their team, and they couldn't wait to see him.

A couple of hours later, they were all getting ready to leave for dinner. They were going to the bar that Dalton had taken Jaz previously and were looking forward to a night out.

The three guys were ready and just waiting for Jaz to finish up. She wasn't usually the type of female that took a long time to get ready, but sharing a room with Dalton, sort of, had its challenges.

Jaz had decided on a new dress for this evening. It was one she had bought the same day as her new bikini, and had been waiting for an occasion to wear it. It wasn't particularly dressy, but it's not something she would wear every day, at least not up in these mountains. She already knew that Dalton would love it, not in an egotistical way, but just in the way she knew he liked her dress in DC, and her new bikini, once she had the courage to wear it. She wasn't trying to tease him, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy seeing his appreciative looks at her.

Sure enough, as soon as she left the bedroom, all three guys turned to look at her. Amir smiled warmly at her, McG wolf whistled and Dalton tried his utmost not to stare or drool.

Jaz's dress was off the shoulder and fell to her knee. It was a simple cotton sundress, but with her hair in a bun on top of her head, the length of her neck was on display and her smooth, soft skin along her décolletage and upper back shone with a healthy tan.

Dalton already knew this was going to be a long night. With Jaz looking like that, he was going to have to be extra aware of keeping his natural body responses under control, as well as his tongue in his mouth.

With Jaz rolling her eyes at McG's wolf whistle, she purposely didn't look at Dalton. She knew if she saw any sort of desire in his eyes, she would struggle to stay away from him tonight, and that was already going to be difficult.

Dalton cleared his throat, "Ok, ready to go?" He asked them all, and with that they all walked out to his truck. Amir was going to drive them home so the others could indulge themselves a little.

Upon arriving at the bar, they were seated straight away and were perusing the menu, deciding what to eat. The band had already started up for the night, and they were bopping their heads along to the beat.

McG turned to Dalton and teased, "Top, did you purposely choose this bar for the country music?"

"Thought it would make you feel right at home." Dalton shrugged with a grin on his face.

"If you had warned me, I would have worn my checked shirt and cowboy boots." McG replied sarcastically.

"Well we wouldn't want to scare off the locals now would we?" Dalton replied equally as sarcastically, before they both laughed.

Once again, Jaz found herself grinning to herself, just enjoying being with these three amazing guys. Along with Preach, these guys meant the world to her, much more than her biological family ever had. Besides Elijah, no one else had ever come close to getting through her walls the way these guys did. Some obviously more than others she thought to herself as she sneaked a look at Dalton. As always he was looking more than handsome tonight. His blue button down shirt made his eyes stand out even more than usual, and his black jeans accentuated all the right areas.

In fact, all three of the guys looked especially handsome. She hadn't ever thought of herself as lucky throughout her life so far, but looking at these three and the relationship they all had with each other, she was definitely thankful for them. Her heart ached a little for Elijah, and wished he could be there with them, and she also missed Preach. But she was determined to enjoy every second with these three before Amir left the next day.

Dalton and McG went up to the bar to order some drinks and Jaz took the opportunity to ask Amir about Hannah.

"So is Hannah looking forward to you being back in DC tomorrow?"

Amir turned a tinge of pink, "I think so…" he answered, not quite sure how to respond.

Jaz grinned, almost feeling sorry for him and his apparent embarrassment, "I'm sure she is, she's a lucky lady."

Amir looked up in surprise, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you?"

"You heard correctly." Jaz laughed, knowing Amir was surprised at the compliment, "Just don't fuck it up," she warned him.

"I'll try my best." Amir grinned in response, so happy that his and Jaz's relationship had finally reached this point.

Dalton returned then with a beer for himself and Jaz and a lemonade for Amir.

"You lose McG already?" Jaz asked.

Dalton glanced back to where McG was standing at the bar, talking to a woman in a very tight dress, "Recognise the dress?" He asked Jaz, turning to raise an eyebrow at her.

Jaz saw it was the woman who tried to start a conversation with Dalton the last time they were here. She laughed as she saw she was wearing the exact same dress too.

"Looks like she got a warmer reception this time." She laughed in response, and Dalton just smiled back at her.

That was the night when Dalton told the tight dressed woman that he was a one-woman man. It was also the night they first kissed. They smiled at each other a little coyly, trying to hide it from Amir.

Amir noticed the intimacy in their exchange. Of course he did, it was Amir. There was obviously more to the story, but being who he was, he didn't pry. Truth be told, he was happy every time he saw something suggesting that the two of them were happy, they deserved to be.

Once their food arrived, Dalton had to signal to McG at the bar.

"Manage to drag yourself away there, cowboy?" Dalton teased.

'What can I say, Top? The woman has great taste."

"Or needs glasses." Jaz said dryly.

"Don't be jealous Jazzy, I still love you too." McG teased as he put a hand on Jaz's shoulder as if to comfort her.

"Phew, that's a relief." Jaz rolled her eyes and put her hand over her heart, as the others just laughed.

After they had all finished their meals, and had a couple more drinks, McG did his best to get the others out on the dance floor. Amir flat out refused and Dalton just laughed at him. Jaz was his best chance and after some pleading and puppy dog eyes, she gave in and let him lead her out with a twirl and a dip, making her laugh.

It was an upbeat song being played and McG was going all out with his dance moves, pulling out some classics like the sprinkler, the running man and then throwing in some flossing just to top it all off. Jaz was having fun trying to match his moves, and out do him, but there's no outdoing McG when he was on a roll.

Dalton and Amir were laughing as they watched them from their table. They were constantly kept entertained by McG, and seeing him and Jaz let loose like this was always great to see, especially since they were on leave.

Amir still found it hard to believe that a year earlier, he was working alone, working undercover and trying to infiltrate ISIS. Now, he was here in Pennsylvania, with his team, having fun and laughing out loud at the antics of his team mate. So much had changed and it had all been for the better.

Dalton couldn't help but laugh at McG, but all the while kept his gaze on Jaz. Seeing her like this, eyes bright and laughing with abandon, made him smile himself. Seeing Jaz happy, after everything that had happened, was always a welcome sight.

He excused himself to go to the bathroom, and when he finished up and was walking past the dance floor back to Amir at the table, the music suddenly changed to a slow number. Before he knew it a large hand reached out of nowhere, grabbed his arm and dragged him onto the dance floor. He found himself face to face with Jaz while McG was backing off the dance floor.

"I gotta go rehydrate, Top. Keep Jaz company for a bit, she's not done dancing." He called out as he kept moving towards Amir.

Dalton and Jaz just stared after him, wide eyed and mouths agape, but got pushed closer together as the crowd around them kept moving.

Dalton shrugged and offered his hand out to Jaz, "Shall we?"

Jaz looked at his hand before gripping it with her own and putting her other hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't know you could dance." She stated surprisingly, all the while trying to act casually, like holding his hand in public wasn't a little bit daunting, and scary. And really nice too.

"Well, I know how to sway, that's about as good as it gets." Dalton replied while placing his other hand on her waist and pulling her closer.

Jaz just smiled in response. This was another side of Dalton she never would have expected.

They continued to sway, gradually inching closer and closer together. Close enough to feel each other's body heat, but still with enough space between them to look relatively platonic. Neither of them could deny that it was nice, really nice, to be able to stand this close, and hold each other like this in public, even if it was just dancing.

Every so often their eyes would meet, and if their team mates weren't sitting just metres away, they could get lost in each other's eyes. What was happening between them was new and raw and was growing each day. Hiding it was getting harder and harder.

Dalton moved them so that his back was to Amir and McG, because he wouldn't put it past Amir to be able to lip read.

"You look amazing tonight, I wanted to say that earlier." He complimented her and looked at her appreciatively and longingly.

Jaz blushed, not quite used to compliments from anybody. "Thanks, so do you." And couldn't help but gaze at his lips, wishing she could press hers to his that moment.

Dalton gazed back at her, wishing they were someplace else right then.

As McG sat back down at the table and chugged a beer, Amir looked at him conspiratorially and held out his fist, "Nicely played my friend."

McG just smiled, wriggled his eyes brows and returned the fist pump, very proud of his effort.

After the song ended and the music became upbeat again, Dalton and Jaz left the dance floor. Dalton headed straight back to their table while Jaz excused herself to the bathroom just to give herself a little breathing space before re-joining the others.

When she returned to the table, there was another round of beers on the table, and a round of tequila shots.

Jaz just sat down and huffed a laugh, "Oh boy…" as she indicated towards the shots.

"It's Amir's last night we need to celebrate." McG justified.

"Well I'll just celebrate over here with another lemonade." Amir said sarcastically, but not at all denying the others of their shots.

The other three laughed as they cheersed each other and threw it down the hatch.

A couple of hours later, after a few more beers and a few more shots, Amir drove the rambunctious three back to the cabin. All three of them were well and truly drunk, and Amir handed them all very large glasses of water as soon as they got home.

Jaz was stretched out on the couch, struggling to keep her eyes open, while McG and Dalton sat on the other couch, chugging the water that Amir had given them.

Amir announced he was heading to bed and left them to their antics. The hangovers were definitely going to be fun tomorrow.

"Enjoy your last night in that bedroom buddy, I'm taking it over tomorrow." McG couldn't help but call to Amir as he closed the bedroom door.

Dalton got up to grab a packet of chips from the pantry to try and help soak up the alcohol and while he and McG demolished them, Jaz fell asleep on the couch, with Patton laying on the floor in front of her, as if keeping guard.

It was clear that Jaz was in a pretty deep sleep, so when Dalton went to lift her into bed a little while later, McG interrupted him, "Leave her there Top, she looks comfortable. Besides, I'll be out here sleeping too so she won't be alone."

Dalton hesitated, "You sure?"

He couldn't put up too much of a protest, if he did he would give them away.

"Yeah man, and with all that alcohol, she'll probably be out for a while anyway."

Dalton looked at Jaz, she did look comfortable, and seeing her asleep was always a relief. Making up his mind, he headed into his bedroom, retrieved one his blankets from his 'bed' on the floor and draped it over her.

He would miss her next to him in bed that night; would miss her warm body curled up next to his, but he could cope for a night.

Right?

Wrong.

Dalton barely slept. In such a short time, he had become so accustomed to having Jaz next to him, that without her there, it felt like he was missing a limb. He would find himself drifting off to sleep and reaching out for her, only to find an empty space next to him. It was ridiculous, he thought to himself. She's right outside the door.

After a few hours of drifting in and out of slumber, he decided to go and get a drink of water, all the alcohol had left him parched.

What he saw as he opened his bedroom door was completely unexpected.

Jaz was sitting up on the couch, clearly a little bit distressed, while McG rubbed his hand up and down her back, talking to her quietly.

Dalton didn't even need to ask, he knew that Jaz had experienced another nightmare.

His eyes met McG's and no words were exchanged between them, but they both saw worry reflected in the others' eyes.

Jaz was so frustrated. She thought she had a handle on these nightmares. She was surprised that she still had a nightmare with McG sleeping so close. She had been convinced that was the trick; that company equalled a nightmare free night.

When she lifted her own head to glance at Dalton, she saw that his eyes were now on her. He was silently assessing how she was and what she needed. He quickly crossed into the kitchen to grab that glass of water, placed it on his bedside table and then went back to where Jaz was sitting on the couch.

With a quick look at McG, "Thanks buddy, I got it." He lifted Jaz up into his arms, like she was a small child.

McG just nodded in response and watched Dalton carry Jaz back into his bedroom and place her on the bed before closing the door.

He sat on the couch just frowning. McG was worried. He knew Jaz had nightmares, they all had nightmares, and Jaz had a particularly rough deployment. But the frequency and intensity of them was alarming and he wondered if Jaz was getting the help she needed to deal with both them, and the triggers to her nightmares. He knew Jaz well enough to be able to answer that himself.

Jaz lay in Dalton's bed, with him curled up behind her. They both battled internally with whether to address her nightmare right then, or leave it till morning.

Without exchanging any words, they seemed to agree and found themselves giving in to their tiredness and started to fall asleep. Being wrapped up together was a comfort for them both, but they knew that a conversation was coming, both between themselves and most likely with McG also. Jaz couldn't go on like this, not with the frequency of her nightmares.

For now though, sleep was paramount. Dalton buried his head into her apple scented hair and wrapped her up even tighter. With a kiss to the back of her head, they both fell asleep, comforted by each other's presence, but both knowing that some difficult conversations were coming.

I'll post the second half of this chapter soon. What did you all think of this one? Please let me know, and thank you to those who leave reviews, I love reading them!