I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've fiddled about with it a lot, still not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but if I don't post it now, I might butcher it completely!

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

Chapter 23

Jaz couldn't believe her eyes.

The very reason she had cancelled her weekend in Long Beach with the team, the very reason she had been determined to spend the rest of her leave by herself, the very reason she had lost so much sleep the past few days… was standing right in front of her.

And he looked fucking amazing.

Granted, he looked tired, and looked like he needed to sleep for a week. But that face that was so handsome, that beard which was so soft and those eyes that felt like they could look into the depths of your soul were having the same affect that they always did. She hoped she wasn't exhibiting anything externally, but internally she was aching for him.

She had missed him so much, and she started to feel the instant comfort that she always felt in his presence, whether she wanted to or not.

But she knew she had to get herself together. They had agreed to go back to the way they were; teammates, friends, colleagues. And while it's not what she wanted, they both knew that it was the way that it had to be.

So what on earth was he doing here?

When she had asked him, he had replied, "Couldn't help it."

Her eyes flashed a little as the recognition set in of the two of them speaking those three words to each other, several times, on their last day together.

Together.

But that was no longer the case.

"What do you mean?" She stammered, lowering her eyes from his gaze, not wanting to drown in those eyes, but her heart was hammering and she was afraid that he could hear it.

Dalton was trying to blink away the fact that she had called him Top when she answered the door. He knew it was habit and he knew it was easy to fall back on, but he had really loved hearing her call him Adam, at least for those few, precious days.

She looked beautiful. Tired, but beautiful.

He could see the bags under her eyes and knew instantly that she had barely slept since leaving the cabin. Despite that, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her long, dark hair was loose and falling around her shoulders. Her tanned, glowing skin looked as smooth and soft as ever. And those eyes, her big, beautiful, expressive eyes looked back at him and he could drown in them if he let himself.

Fuck he had missed her, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that coming here had been the right thing to do.

He saw the flash in her eyes when he had answered her question as to why he was there with "Couldn't help it." He had hoped she would remember that reference to their last day together.

Seeing her again, even though it had only been a few days, he felt like he could breathe again. Like the giant weight that had embedded itself on his chest had finally fallen off.

"Top? What do you mean?" Jaz asked him again when he didn't answer her.

She watched as he blinked himself out of a trance and refocused his gaze back on her.

He took a deep breath before answering, "I mean exactly that. I couldn't help it, I had to come and see you."

"Why?" Was her instant response. She wished she hadn't retorted so quickly, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

Watching the uncertainty cross her face and the doubt shine in her eyes, Dalton knew he had to answer the question truthfully to give his reason for being here any credibility. He also knew if he lied, Jaz would be able to see right through him, and he didn't like lying, especially to her.

"I missed you." He managed to say, despite the giant lump in his throat.

Jaz inhaled sharply. She hadn't been expecting that response. And she wasn't quite sure how to respond. She could be completely honest and tell him that she had missed him so much it had hurt. That she thought about him and their time together so much that it drove her crazy. That Elijah's mom had noticed her zoning out constantly and kept looking at her knowingly.

But she didn't think she could say it. It wouldn't change anything. He was still her CO and she was still his subordinate.

Dalton was watching her face. To an untrained eye, she looked calm and nonchalant, but he knew better.

"Also, I told the guys I wasn't coming back without you. Our team isn't complete if you aren't there."

Jaz looked up at him and quirked an eyebrow, "That was cheesy."

Dalton held up his hands and sighed, "Yeah it was."

Realising that this wouldn't be easy he asked her, "Look, can I come in?"

Jaz looked around only just noticing that they were still at the front door, "Oh yeah, sorry."

As Jaz led him into the small living room, Dalton looked around noticing the bright décor and pictures on the wall. It was Elijah through and through and he couldn't help but smile in remembrance of their fallen teammate.

Looking over at Jaz he asked her gently, "How've you been these last couple of days? Being here I mean?" He clarified.

"It's been ok. Some mixed emotions, but it's been really nice seeing everyone." Jaz replied, a look of sadness crossing her face.

"It would have meant a lot to the Vallins' that you came here, Jaz."

"Yeah, to me too." She agreed with him, trying to look stoic.

Dalton just watched her and had no doubt that this had been a rough couple of days for her. He would never forget her reaction when Elijah had been killed. Or the weeks following. Even now, he knew that some days were still harder than others. Jaz had already been dealt a pretty shit hand in life prior to joining this team. Losing Elijah on top of that just seemed cruel.

He didn't want to add to that. If he had the power to do so, he would take away all her pain, all her nightmares and all her demons. He didn't want her to think she had lost anyone else. He wanted to see her happy, she deserved some happiness.

So do you.

Preach's words echoed in his head from when he had expressed his concern with this situation. And he may just be right. He had come here for a reason. He had come to see Jaz for a reason. It was about time he told her that.

He took a couple of deep breaths, gearing himself up and willing his heart rate to slow down.

"Jaz…" He started tentatively, looking at her as he did so, "… I'm here because – because I don't want you to think you've lost me too."

Jaz flicked her eyes towards him, not quite understanding what he meant.

Seeing the slight confusion on her face, he continued, "Look, I wasn't lying when I said I missed you. The only thing that kept me from going crazy these last couple of days is knowing I would be seeing you today."

Jaz's eyes widened slightly, but he wasn't done yet.

"When Preach met me at the airport and told me that wasn't going to be the case, well – that shook me. But after talking to Amir, everything became a lot clearer…"

"Amir?" Jaz interjected, not quite sure how he fit into this.

Dalton smiled slightly, before reaching in his pocket for the envelope that Amir had given him. He handed it to Jaz and saw the look of understanding dawn across her face as she looked at the photos.

Jaz quickly unlocked her phone and held it up to show Dalton those same photos.

"He sent them to you too." He stated rhetorically.

Jaz just answered with her own small smile.

"Well, it took looking at those photos to confirm what I had already been thinking, what I had already been feeling. The way we're looking at each other in those photos Jaz, the way we both look in them…" He trailed off, looking down and searching for the words.

Jaz just watched him, trembling on the inside but needing to hear this from him, whatever he had to say.

He looked back up at her again after taking a deep breath, "We look happy. And I don't remember ever being as happy as I was, than when you were at the cabin with me."

He paused then and just held her stunned gaze and Jaz knew he needed something from her to continue. She nodded her head in agreeance to the blatant transparency that the photos depicted.

"We do look happy." She managed to murmur through the haze of confusion.

Dalton nodded his head back at her and took a step closer to her. Even though he could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he felt more nervous than when he's had a gun held to his face, he wanted to make this as clear as possible so that she had no doubt in her mind as to what he wanted.

"I want to be with you, Jaz. I want us to be together."

Jaz was in absolute disbelief and her heart was beating so strongly in her chest she was afraid it might jump out. Did Dalton really just say what she thought he said?

She was well aware that her mouth had dropped open and her eyes were as wide as saucers, but she had not expected those words to come out of his mouth.

She started to say something and then closed her mouth immediately. She wasn't quite sure what to say, but she couldn't deny that she had dreamed of him saying those words, many times and she was still trying to process his words.

Then she remembered their situation, and she started to frown.

"What about… what about – everything else?" She managed to stutter, her mouth struggling to form the words.

Dalton smiled ruefully and shook his head slightly, "Honestly, I'm not sure. But I figure we can figure that out as we go along, we're pretty good at improvising, right?"

Jaz still looked shocked, and Dalton was trying to figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"It's not like you to go into something without a plan." Jaz said warily.

Dalton sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. She was right, she was so right.

"I know, and I've thought about it a lot. I know that we have already well and truly demolished that line we aren't supposed to cross. But having done so, I've also been the happiest I've ever been. And I think you have too." He smiled at her tentatively, those cerulean eyes searching hers for agreeance.

Still stunned, Jaz still didn't know what to say and she glanced down, searching for words.

"Look, life is short. We've both learnt that the hard way. Who knows what will happen in a few months' time; who knows what will happen tomorrow? I just don't want to regret not taking this opportunity. We have a connection, and that kind of thing is not common, and from what I'm told, it shouldn't be ignored. I want to be with you Jaz, I really do." He reiterated, taking a couple more steps towards her, so he was standing right in front of her.

Despite so many questions and thoughts swirling their way around in her head, she couldn't help but look up into his eyes.

And all she saw there was the truth.

Her heart was still hammering so strongly in her chest that she put a trembling hand over it to try and calm it. So much for being a sniper! But this was the effect he had on her. He'd always tilted her world slightly, but now he was just turning it upside down.

She couldn't get their job and the rules that go along with that out of her head. Being Special Forces, there were some rules that got bent or they were more lenient on, but this was different. And that made her nervous. If things went sideways, it would be her that would be removed from the situation.

Having said that, Dalton was the CO in this situation. He was the one with the authority, and that being the case was why she had stepped aside, why she had fled and why she had cancelled her weekend at Preach's.

She hadn't wanted to make this harder for him. If anything was going to happen, it had to come from him. It had to be him initiating this.

And that's exactly what he was doing.

Watching her battle her thoughts, Dalton added, "I'm not suggesting this situation is perfect, and I honestly don't know what happens later, but… I've never felt like this before, Jaz."

She couldn't tear her eyes away from him and the sincerity shone in those beautiful blue eyes of his. She'd never heard him talk like this and had definitely never thought he would come to her like this.

She felt him peel her trembling hand off her chest and hold it in his own; his touch like a drug, instantly soothing. How had she forgotten how much she craved his touch in just a few days?

"Jaz, do you want to be with me too?" He asked her quietly and earnestly, feeling a little apprehensive at her lack of response so far.

Staring into those blue eyes she couldn't deny it or hide it any longer. She swallowed and very slightly, very slowly nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

"Yeah?" He asked hesitantly, wanting to be certain of her response, not wanting to misinterpret anything.

This time she nodded with more conviction, and a small nervous smile crept onto her face.

Dalton's heart soared, and that lump in his throat and the ache in his chest both eased somewhat.

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and grabbed her around the waist to pull her closer to him. Looking deeply into her beautiful brown eyes, he flicked his gaze to her lips before looking her in the eyes again. Moving his hands from her waist to gently cradle her face, he leaned down and brushed his lips to hers softly.

It felt like coming home. The touch and taste of her lips was like heaven and just a few days without Jaz's lips had felt like an eternity.

Jaz grasped him by the waist to pull him even closer and as a result Dalton deepened the kiss, slowly and sensually.

Enjoying the feel of his supple lips on hers, she leaned into the kiss even further and pressed herself as close as she could to him.

This had been the last thing she had expected when she woke up this morning, and definitely when she had texted Preach. She was still a little shocked, and she didn't quite believe it was happening.

She pulled back from his lips just to see the truth in his eyes again.

"We're really doing this?" She asked in her deep raspy voice, wanting to double check that this was real.

"We're really doing this." Dalton confirmed, he eyes shining with both candor and affection.

This time it was Jaz's turn to place her hands on his cheeks and pull his lips down towards her own. Their mouths met in the middle and they kissed like they had been waiting an eternity to do so. Their lips seemed to remember each other and combined in a way that had them both wondering why they had stopped. Dalton wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and held her close as he could.

When they managed to pull away from each other, they couldn't hide their smiles.

They both felt like they could breathe again, and they clung to each other, resting their foreheads against each other, just breathing each other in and taking stock of what had just unfolded.

Jaz had a million questions to ask and had a million thoughts running through her head. No doubt they still had a lot to talk about, but for now she would make do with just one question.

"What now?"

Three hours later, they were at the airport waiting to board Jaz's original flight on their way to Long Beach. Dalton had managed to get a seat on the flight and Jaz was still just pinching herself, still not quite believing this was real.

After what had happened, Jaz was easily convinced to share the weekend with her team. She just really needed to be near Adam again.

After reaffirming their desire to be together, Dalton had helped her pack up her belongings at the Vallin's, before they both went up to the main house to say goodbye. Elijah's parents had been surprised but delighted to see Dalton as he greeted them both with hugs. After explaining that he had hired a car at the airport, they said their goodbyes and he drove them back.

Saying goodbye to the Vallin's had been sad, but when Elijah's mom hugged Jaz, she did so with another of those knowing smiles and whispered in her ear to be happy. It was as if she already knew what was happening, as if she had known for the whole time Jaz had been there.

Once they boarded the plane they were happy to discover that they had three seats all to themselves, with no strangers sitting next to them.

Jaz sat in the window seat, with Dalton sitting in the middle, leaving a spare seat next to them giving them a touch more privacy.

It felt different to sit this close to Dalton in a plane. She had sat next to him countless times on military flights, in helicopters, in Humvees and the like, but never in a regular passenger plane, like regular people. She'd never been out in public, in such close proximity with him, and never with him alone.

It felt completely out of the ordinary, but so right at the same time, and when Adam reached over the arm rest to capture her hand in his and held on, she felt a warmth spread over her, and couldn't help but give him a shy smile, her cheeks tinged with pink.

It was only a short flight, so they didn't have time for a nap. They were both exhausted, but definitely had more pep in their step given the happenings of the afternoon. Instead they discussed what to do upon arriving at Preach's.

Jaz had thought that they would be back to pretending they weren't anything more than team mates for the weekend, until Dalton had pointed out that their first obstacle would be telling their team.

They were such a close knit unit, that they wouldn't be able to hide it anyway. It had been a struggle enough to hide things from McG and Amir when they were at the cabin, and Preach was way too cluey to hide anything from. They might as well do it while they were all together.

They were both nervous to do so, but they respected their friends too much not to tell them the truth. And this could test the waters for everything else that would crop up in the future.

Dalton had text Preach asking if he could pick him up from the airport. He didn't mention that Jaz would be with him too, he thought it might be a nice surprise for him.

After picking up Jaz's luggage from the baggage carousel, Dalton grabbed Jaz's hand to hold in his and asked her apprehensively, "Nervous?"

"Not at all," Jaz lied, "You?"

"Terrified." He admitted, with a small smirk on his face knowing that she had lied beyond doubt.

"Come on, Preach is meeting us on the curb side. He'll be the easiest to tell." Dalton said with a deep breath.

Hand in hand, they made their way out of the airport, towing the luggage behind them.

Jaz had a very private smile to herself. Holding Dalton's hand – Adam's hand – in public was a whole new concept that she was going to have to get used to, but she liked it. She really liked it.

From out of nowhere, they heard a slow clap. A couple more hands joined in almost immediately and they both looked up to see Preach, McG and Amir standing in front of Preach's SUV with enormous smiles on their faces.

Jaz felt her cheeks start to blush and she paused in shock. Dalton was shocked too, but he took another deep breath, gripped her hand tighter and they made their way over to their team mates.

"About damn time you two!" Preach said with a knowing grin.

"Fucking finally!" McG exclaimed.

And Amir just stood smiling at them both, knowing he had already played a small part in this reunion.

Dalton just looked at Jaz and laughed, "What were we worried about?"

Jaz just chuckled with him and shrugged her shoulders, before stepping away from him to give Preach a hug.

"I've missed you," Preach said into her ear as he picked her right off her feet and swung her around, making her laugh.

"Be careful, you're still in rehab," she reprimanded him, but he just laughed her off.

She then went and hugged McG, who also picked her up off her feet, earning himself a punch on the shoulder when he'd put her down.

Then turning to Amir she stepped into his open arms and whispered, "Thank you," into his ear.

He smiled back at her when they stepped back and whispered in return, "You're welcome."

Dalton shook all of their hands, having seen each of them already this morning, but he didn't fail to notice the varying smiles on each of their faces.

Preach's was one of approval. He was proud these two had finally figured it out.

McG's was one of excitement, like his two best friends were coming over for a sleepover.

And Amir's was one of sincerity. He was just happy to see Top and Jaz looking happy. They deserved it.

"Ok, let's get this long weekend started." Preach announced, leading them over to the car.

"Shot gun the front seat. I'm not squeezing in with the lovebirds." McG declared, striding his long legs towards the passenger seat.

The other's just rolled their eyes at him before loading themselves and the bags into the car.

Dalton and Jaz shared a small, private smile in the back seat. Their communication was as strong as ever as they exchanged silent relief at their team's reactions, albeit a little bewildered at their seemingly knowing acceptance of the situation.

But they could get into that later.

Pulling up to Preach's family home, they all piled out of the SUV and grabbed Jaz's bags to carry inside.

Dalton had been here before, but it was Jaz's first time and she looked around at the family home admiringly. She had never been to another family home other than Elijah's and seeing this one, with all the photos on the wall and knick knacks everywhere, made her feel instantly comfortable.

Amir and McG were sharing a room with twin beds in it, belonging to Preach's youngest two daughters. Jaz assumed she would be in his oldest daughter's bedroom and Dalton would be in the guest room.

As Preach led Jaz down a corridor on the ground level, he opened up the door to what was clearly a guest room. It was neutrally decorated and had a king sized bed and an ensuite bathroom. Jaz looked around and Preach watched her, smiling as he did so.

"This is for you and Top."

Jaz whirled around and looked at him questioningly, to which he just chuckled.

"Come on Jaz, you don't think I was born yesterday do you?"

Moving out of the way to let Dalton through, who clearly wasn't aware of the bedroom situation either, he just grinned at them both, eyes beaming as he walked out of the room, yelling over his shoulder, "Dinner is in an hour."

Dalton and Jaz just looked at each other, eyebrows raised, still a bit disbelieving at how easy this had been.

Jaz voiced that very thought, "This feels too easy so far."

Dalton nodded in agreeance and walked towards her, "I know. But, they haven't had a chance to give us shit about it yet, and we both know that's coming."

"Yeah." Jaz chuckled.

"We'll figure the rest out, hopefully with their help." He assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Jaz just smiled at him. It was hard not to believe him when he sounded like this, and his confidence was one of the things she admired most about him.

She stepped into his arms and buried her face in his neck. She felt him hold her tightly against his chest and she had never felt happier in her life. She had never wanted anything or anyone this much in her life, and while that scared her somewhat, she trusted him, and their team.

She pulled back to look up into his face, "We better get ready to face the music."

"Yeah, who knows what crap McG has ready for us?" Dalton laughed and looked down into her eyes. Seeing them sparkling back at him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, still not quite believing he was doing this unquestionably this time, with no doubts or questions in the back of his mind.

He wanted to be with Jaz. That was the bottom line. And they would deal with whatever obstacles that might stand in their way.

Together.

What did you think? Next up, a few fun days at Preach's!

Thank you to you all for reading this story. I have lots of ideas to make it into a super long story, if you want..? I also have a few shorter stories I might start writing too. Special thanks to everyone who reviews. It really motivates me to write more and the feedback is always greatly appreciated and loved. Let me know what you thought XXX