Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all much love and happiness in 2019.

This chapter marks the beginning of the sessions with Cpt Xander Harris in DC.

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

Chapter 29

Jaz woke in the early hours of the morning to Adam nuzzling her neck. She was snuggled up to his chest and despite her tiredness and bleary eyes, she couldn't help but smile and feel a warmth spread all the way from her neck to her toes.

They had fallen asleep exhausted and naked after making love for the first time in a week, only to wake a few hours later and once again they hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other. They had made love slowly and intimately, enjoying every moment of being together, behind the walls of this hotel in a city that could so easily expose them.

So Jaz couldn't help but smile languidly, feeling Adam's lips and beard sweep across her neck.

"Good morning." She managed to rasp out, her deep voice even raspier than usual in the early hours.

"It sure is." He whispered into her neck, the words tickling as they left his mouth and made contact with her skin.

Closing her eyes with the feelings his lips were evoking in her, right down to her core, she moaned quietly as his kisses became more intense and worked their way up to her mouth.

Kissing him back slowly and thoroughly, she rolled onto her back and pulled him with her so that he landed on top of her.

Jaz was her own woman, independent, fierce and bad ass. But feeling the full weight of Adam Dalton laying on top of her, the full weight of his muscle and masculinity, was something she would never tire of. It made her feel safe, protected and wanted.

Feeling her body start to writhe underneath him, Adam pulled back from her lips and stared into her eyes.

"I can't get enough of you Jaz." He breathed, wanting to both touch her and kiss her everywhere and so he started to make his way down her body.

He kissed his way down the length of her neck, hearing her moan a little more when he focused on her sweet spot and the sensitive skin under her jaw. He kept going down across her collarbone and décolletage, kissing as many of her scars that she had initially been hesitant to show. Moving down to her breasts he kissed both of them and in turn, took her already hard nipples into his mouth and sucked until he could feel her hips starting to grind against him, feeling him deep down in her core.

Still he moved his mouth down over her taught stomach, every scar crossing his path, getting attention before moving onto the next one. He dipped his tongue into her belly button and the little shockwave of pleasure that it conjured up, had her lifting her hips off the mattress. He let his tongue travel to the hollow area near her hip bone, before finally settling where she needed him the most.

Jaz was finding it hard to catch her breath as she felt Adam use his thumbs to gently separate her folds, before he slowly pressed both lips to her core to kiss her gently. He used his tongue to lick all the way up her slit before settling on her clit, tasting her juices from where she was already dripping wet.

He began to tease her clit with his tongue, lapping at it, nudging it and massaging it, all the while Jaz's hips moved in motion with his tongue. She placed the flat of her feet on the mattress so her knees were bent up, given her more leverage and she entwined her fingers through his hair, giving her an anchor to hold onto as her hips took on a life of their own.

Adam couldn't get enough of the taste of Jaz at the most carnal level and as he flattened his tongue against her and buried his mouth in her folds, he felt her grip on his hair tighten. The feel of his lips, tongue and beard caressing, kissing and moving against the most sensitive part of her body had Jaz already feeling the build-up of intensity that her body was desperate to release.

Adam moved his tongue down to her opening and started to move it in and out of her, mimicking what his cock was straining to do. His thumb reached to continue his assault on her clit and massaged it, increasing in pace, until Jaz quickly released her grip on his hair, grabbed his hand in one of hers and used her other to bring his head up to hers.

She launched her lips at his, kissing him intensely, passionately and hungrily, tasting her own juice on his lips, turning her on even more, if that was even possible.

Pulling away briefly she looked at him through hazy eyes and managed to choke out, "I need you inside of me, Adam. Right now."

Needing no further instruction, Adam slide into her with one long and hard thrust, causing them both to groan in gratification.

They moved together in slow, deliberate strokes while their lips still pressed against each other's and their chests heaved. Their bodies fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and moved together like a well choreographed dance routine.

Adam could feel himself bottom out with each stroke, her walls gripping him tightly and Jaz couldn't get enough of feeling him deep inside of her, whimpering with each stroke.

With each thrust, they couldn't help but exclaim their pleasure and Jaz knew she was about to come any moment now.

With a couple more thrusts, Jaz felt every fibre of her being initially tense up, teetering on the edge of orgasm, "Adam… Oh Adam…." She cried out as her body finally and completely gave in to the pleasure Adam was providing her.

Continuing to thrust deep within her as she came, providing both of them with continuing pleasure, Adam couldn't help but give in to his own climax as he watched Jaz break apart underneath him from her own.

Crying out himself, "Jaz… Fuck… Jaz…" He held her tight as he felt himself shudder and ejaculate hard and fast inside of her, continuing to rock together as their bodies sought every last bit of release from each other.

Adam collapsed on top of Jaz, burying his head in her neck as their chests heaved together, both trying to get their breath back. Their bodies were covered in a film of sweat and their juices still mixed together as their bodies last shockwaves rippled themselves out.

Once again, Jaz couldn't get enough of the full weight of Adam laying on top of her, especially after what they had just indulged in, and Adam just gripped her tight, delighting in her small but beautiful body, and how well it fit with his own.

Returning his earlier sentiment, Jaz placed her lips against Adam's ear and whispered earnestly, "I can't get enough of you either."

Adam pulled back to stare into her beautiful brown orbs and kissed her as his only response.

The depth of their feelings for each other both surprised and scared them both, but as they snuggled against each other to get another couple of hours sleep, they knew that however they felt about each other… they had never felt it before.

McG met Dalton and Jaz in the hotel's breakfast restaurant and heartily attacked the buffet. Never one to hold back on his food intake, it still continued to surprise the other two how much food he could put away, while still remaining lean and fit.

In between mouthfuls, McG stopped to take a swig of coffee and noticed how tired Jaz and Top both looked. Happy, but tired.

"You two both looked wrecked, what have you been… Oh – gross, never mind… don't answer that." McG put his hand up, realisation washing over him.

Jaz chose that moment to go and fill her plate again from the buffet, leaving Dalton to deal with McG.

Dalton just looked at McG, who after making a few different faces to himself, had gone straight back to shovelling food into his mouth.

"Thanks for the room, McG. The adjoining room, I mean." Dalton said seriously.

"No worries man, you clearly put it to good use." McG teased.

Dalton smiled quickly, before finishing up, "Seriously though, I really appreciate it. We really appreciate it. Looks like I'm going to owe you a few favours."

"They'll keep." McG just grinned. He was just happy that his two best mates were happy. Rules schmules as far as he was concerned. If only it was that easy though.

Half an hour later, Jaz and McG left to head to the DIA for Jaz's appointment with Captain Harris.

Dalton had tried not to make a big deal about it, no big good luck speech or anything like that. He didn't want to make Jaz uncomfortable beforehand, he just wanted her to feel relaxed and at ease. He was glad McG was going with her, he was the prefect man for the job.

Dalton also knew that Captain Harris was the perfect man for the job. Xander had already managed to get through to Jaz once before. Hopefully he'll be able to again.

When they arrived at the DIA, Jaz and McG made their way to Captain Harris' office to meet with him. McG would be staying for the first five minutes of the meeting, and then he would leave Jaz and Captain Harris alone for the remainder of the time.

He was ready and waiting for them and ushered them into his office as soon as they arrived.

"Sgt McGuire, Sgt Khan, it's good to see you both." He greeted them with a handshake.

"Captain Harris." They both returned in unison.

"Please, call me Xander," He corrected them before continuing cheekily, "And no, as far as I know, my parents didn't hate me."

Jaz chuckled, remembering giving him some attitude when she had first met him in Incirlik.

They both sat down.

"Jaz… can I call you Jaz?" He asked and then continued after she nodded her head, "I was so glad you decided to meet with me. I've wondered how you were getting on since I last saw you in Incirlik."

"Yeah, it's been… um, up and down I suppose." She looked over at McG quickly for support and when he gave her an encouraging nod, she continued, "but the nightmares are starting to take their toll," she admitted.

"Ok, well we can certainly help you deal with those." Xander assured her.

Gesturing towards McG, he said "McGuire here has filled me in a little bit, and if you're agreeable, I'd like to see you every second business day for two weeks. That way, it will give you time to process each of our sessions, as well as try some strategies we put in place. Of course though, I'm available on those other days if you need, and I'll leave you with my cell number should you need it in an emergency. What do you think?"

Jaz let it process in her head for a short moment. She hadn't been sure of a time frame for these meetings, but she was willing to put in the time to help get herself back to where she wanted her frame of mind to be.

Looking at Xander, she nodded her head and said, "Sounds good."

"Great." Xander answered, glad she had been so agreeable to his suggestion. "If you want McGuire to stay for any sessions, if it makes you more comfortable, that is more than fine. Or if there is anyone else from your team you would like in the session that is also fine."

Although Jaz was so appreciative of McG's help with all of this, it was something she wanted to do herself. There were certain aspects that she knew would come up, that she hadn't told her team about yet, not even Dalton, and she didn't want them finding out like this.

"I think I'd like to try these sessions by myself." She said simply and both Xander and McG nodded their heads at her decision.

"Ok. One last thing, Jaz. These sessions are confidential, unless I deem that you are in any danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare. In that case I will be required to inform your Commanding Officer, as well as the Deputy Director."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"Ok, McGuire… is all of this ok with you? I know you had a hand in getting Jaz here to agree to this." He asked McG.

"All good." McG seemed satisfied, "I'll leave her in your capable hands."

McG stood up and put a comforting hand on Jaz's shoulder, "I'll be in the building somewhere when you're done. Just let me know ok?"

"Thanks McG." She said to him as he left the room, leaving just herself and Xander.

"From everything I've seen, you have a great team, you all seem pretty close." Xander observed.

"Yeah, they're great." Jaz smiled, already knowing how lucky she was with the guys she worked with.

"Ok Jaz, if you're ready, I'd like us to start this session by making a list. On the list we are going to write down everything that has been troubling you, or is making an appearance in your nightmares. From there, we are going to work through the list over the next couple of weeks and see what we can do to alleviate some of their impact. Do you think we can do that?" Xander asked her gently.

Jaz took a big deep breath and lowered her gaze to look down at her hands. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy process. If she wanted to do this properly, she was going to have to bring to light a lot of issues that sat heavily with her. Things she tried to keep below the surface, but that reared their ugly heads in her sleep. But she knew she needed to commit to this, for her sake, for her teams sake, for her and Adam's sake, and for her own sanity.

Looking back up at Xander, who was waiting patiently for her to continue, giving her all the time in the world that she needed, she knew this was going to be the best opportunity for her to get the help she needed.

"Let's do it." She said quietly but determinedly.

A few hours later, it was Dalton's time for his appointment.

"Captain Harris."

"Captain Dalton."

Both chuckling, they greeted each other with a warm handshake.

"Good to see you Xander."

"You too, Adam, you too. I have to say, I was both surprised and pleased when I heard from Sgt McGuire regarding an appointment for yourself." Xander admitted.

Dalton nodded his head, searching for the words, "Yeah. I guess a few things caught up with me and I let them get the better of me."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah, for one. A couple of other things I'd like to unload on you too." He said with a wry smile.

"Well hey, that's what I'm here for right?" Xander laughed.

Dalton wanted to address something before they continued, "I never got a chance to thank you for checking in on Jaz in Incirlik. I really appreciate it, I know it helped her. And I also appreciate you fitting us both in to your schedule here. I know you're a busy man."

"Well aren't we all? No, seriously, it was my pleasure. And hopefully we can help both Jaz and yourself while you are here. I know you are both highly valued members of our defence squad."

Dalton smiled at him and Xander started their session off.

"Ok Adam, you know the drill. These sessions are confidential, unless I deem that you are in any danger to yourself or others, or if I have any major concerns about your welfare. In that case I will be required to inform the Deputy Director."

"Yep, I remember." Dalton said wryly with a smirk on his face.

From there, Xander started with the same approach as he did with Jaz, "We can decide on how many sessions you come to as we go. I'd like us to start this session by making a list. On the list we are going to write down everything that has been troubling you, or is making an appearance in your nightmares. From there, we are going to work through the list over the next couple of weeks and see what we can do to alleviate some of their impact. Sound ok?"

Dalton took a deep breath. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy process, but if he wanted to be free of some of the demons that plagued him, he had to commit to this and do it properly. If he had encouraged Jaz to seek help so much, he had to be willing to do the same. And he was. He wanted this for himself. And he wanted this for whatever future he may have, with or without Jaz.

"Sounds great." He said bluntly, but meaning every word.

Dalton left the DIA just over an hour later. He had finished up his first session with Xander and had run into Noah and Hannah in the corridor. After a brief chat and a promise to meet up at some stage with everyone else, he started to walk back to the hotel.

He was relatively pleased with his first session with Xander. It was never easy to talk about these topics. It was difficult enough just to recognise them, but then to talk about them was another thing. It was a work in progress nevertheless.

Just like his need for physical activity after a nightmare, he felt similarly after one of these sessions. He decided he would hit the pool at the hotel and get a few laps in.

McG, Amir, Jaz and himself had set up their own WhatsApp group for this trip in DC to communicate with each other. He thought he would see what the others were up to.

Going to hit the pool at the hotel for a few laps, anyone around? – Top.

I'm cooking dinner for Hannah tonight, I'm at the store getting supplies – Amir.

I'm assuming we're invited too? – McG.

Nope – Amir.

Rude. I'm going to have a little siesta, Top. I'll meet you for dinner – McG.

There was no response from Jaz. He wondered if maybe she was having a little nap too.

When he got back to his room, he threw on his board shorts and then knocked on the door to Jaz's adjoining room. When there was no response, he figured she must be out and about somewhere. He would catch up with her later.

He just hoped she was ok after her first session. He had tried not to worry about her, but it was impossible. She was a part of him now, and it was ingrained in him to worry about his team, but especially her.

And he missed her. It had only been a few hours since he had seen her, but he missed her.

Dalton couldn't help but smile to himself when he walked out to the pool to see a solitary figure churning through some laps. He would know that lithe figure and long dark hair anyway.

Seeing her gear on a nearby chair, he threw his stuff next to hers and entered the pool at the end she was swimming towards. Standing there in her way, she had no option but to pull up so that she didn't knock into him.

"Hey" She greeted him once she had pulled up and realised who had been blocking her path.

"Hey. Looks like you had the same idea as me." Dalton was desperate to touch her, just hug her or hold her hand, but not here in public. Not in DC.

Instead he just asked her, "How has your day been?"

Jaz smiled vaguely and said, "So far it's been fine. It started off pretty well."

"Huh. Me too coincidently." Dalton smiled back at her, watching her cheeks turn slightly pink.

"How was your afternoon?" Jaz ventured.

"It was fine too." He replied.

Neither of them wanted to get into any details out here. They could talk later on. Instead Jaz turned to Dalton and said "Come on, I'll race you," and with that she ducked back under the water, pushed off from the wall and took off down the pool in a mean freestyle, leaving Dalton to catch up to her.

Dinner that night was just Dalton, Jaz and McG. They ventured down the road and found themselves in an Italian restaurant drinking red wine and eating pasta.

Despite McG knowing that today had been a big step for both Jaz and Dalton in learning how to cope with what kept them awake at night and festered in their subconscious, he tried to keep things light over dinner. He kept them entertained with stories of his home in Montana, and his escapades with women.

Dalton rolled his eyes at the last topic, never forgetting how McG's love of a pretty face led them to a surprise mission in Seville. Luckily it had all worked out well and had ended up being an extreme advantage for their team and country. And realistically, who was he to judge McG's love life these days anyway? After the clear and unquestionable acceptance and support he had shown towards him and Jaz, as well as his assistance in their appointments and arrangements here in DC, he owed him a bit of slack. Hell, he owed him a lot more than that.

On the walk back to the hotel, they stopped off and bought some wine and beer to put in their mini fridges in their hotel rooms. Jaz had gotten lucky with her room, and had a mini suite with a couch and a couple of arm chairs, so they all went to her room to open a bottle of wine.

Dalton and McG each sat in an arm chair, while Jaz went into the bathroom to change into her pj's for comfort and then put her feet up on the couch. They text Preach to check in on him and Patton, wondered what Amir was doing – and then thought better of it, and finished up the bottle of wine.

Making arrangements to meet the next morning for breakfast, before deciding what to do with their free day, McG decided to leave these two alone since he knew they probably wanted to talk about their appointments today. Besides, he had a date with Netflix, there were a lot of options just sitting there on his watch list, demanding his attention.

When he left, Dalton stood up from the arm chair, walked over to the couch that Jaz was sitting on, lifted her feet up and sat himself underneath them, resting her feet back on his lap.

As he started to rub her feet, he turned to look at her and smiled softly.

Returning the same soft smile, she offered, "It's ok for you to ask me."

Knowing exactly what she was talking about, he huffed out a laugh, before turning serious again, "I don't want to pry and I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me anything. I just want to know that you're ok."

"I'm ok." She assured him, before looking down at her lap, "But I'd like to tell you about some of it. One thing I told Xander I want to work on is letting people in. I know I'm not very good at that. He suggested one way to do that was to share some of my… umm – burdens with people, or someone I'm comfortable with."

Looking up into his face, seeing his beautiful blue eyes offering her nothing but support, she said quietly, "I'm comfortable with you."

He didn't say anything, but his eyes filled with even more warmth and he ran his hand up and down her lower leg, watching her as she took a deep breath.

"We talked about Hossein today."

Dalton just nodded very slightly at her, not wanting to say anything just yet.

"I talked to Xander about what I talked to you about that day by the lake. I thought since I had already spoken to you about it, it might be easier to start with."

"And was it?" Dalton asked softly.

Jaz thought about it for a few seconds, "Not really… But I don't think it'll ever be easy."

Again, Dalton nodded in understanding.

Jaz continued, "We made a list of things that have been bothering me, and what I've been having nightmares about. We're going to work through them and just see how I go, although I don't imagine it's going to be easy."

"No it won't be." Dalton agreed, not wanting to give her any false expectations.

Jaz watched him as he lowered his eyes to his hand, still resting on her leg.

"How about you?" She asked quietly. "Your appointment."

"Would you believe that we also made a list of things that haven't been sitting well with me, and what I have nightmares about?" Dalton asked with a small smile on his face.

Jaz smiled at him, "Same game plan, huh?"

"Would seem so. We didn't get much further than that today, but there's a few things on that list."

Looking back up at her, at her face that despite her own troubles, was concerned about his, he felt the need to say, "Jaz, let's try to be as open as we can about this. If there's something you're really not comfortable talking to me about, that's ok. But maybe it's talking about the uncomfortable topics that make it a bit easier, less of a burden."

"That's more or less what Xander said today." Jaz told him.

'Well hopefully he knows what he's talking about."

Lifting her legs off his lap and scooting herself over to sit on his lap, she placed a hand on his neck and said quietly, "I do want to try and talk about some of this stuff with you, especially now, especially since we… since we are…"

Smiling as she drifted off, he couldn't help but tease her, "Since we are what, Jaz?"

Pursing her lips and taking a deep breath, but feeling emboldened by the wine she managed to finish off, "Since we are together."

Letting a grin spread slowly across his face, and his eyes shine with affection, he couldn't help but be captivated hearing those words out of her mouth. It was still so new, still so raw and still felt so damn amazing.

"That we are" He agreed with her before placing a hand on her cheek and pulling her close. He paused when they were almost nose-to-nose just to look at her, to stare into her eyes and smell her scent. He could barely breathe when she was this close. She was intoxicating.

Gently running his thumb across her cheek, he closed the gap between then and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her like he had wanted to all day.

She kissed him back softly at first, caught up in the emotion of what they had been discussing. Just him being close was always a comfort to her, but being able to kiss him, made her feel even closer to him.

Eventually she changed her position on his lap so she was straddling him and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Lacing her fingers through his hair, she held him tight to her and gasped a little when he stood up, wrapped her legs around her waist and carried her towards her bed.

Lowering her down on the bed, he pulled away quickly and looked around, "How come you got the biggest room?"

"Flirted with the guy at reception." She retorted quickly.

Dalton smirked, "Good move."

They brought their lips back together and continued to kiss each other until they were breathless.

Stripping their clothes from one another they explored each other and their bodies well into the night, leaving each other panting and exhausted, but satisfied. Very, very satisfied.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Starting to write about the sessions with Xander was difficult because I wasn't quite sure how to approach them. Some of the sessions will be seen (or read) in the chapters, but some will be reflected on or thought about by Jaz and Adam. I have a little bit of experience with therapy and psychology, but obviously not as much as Xander does!

Anyway, thank you for reading. I'm currently writing Chapter 32, and I'm finding that one to be tough. Wish me luck! Thanks again, as always XXX