Thank you all so much for your kudos and feedback on the last chapter. This chapter picks up right where the last chapter left off, but as always you might need to re-read the last chapter to refresh yourselves. Hope you enjoy :)

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

Chapter 37

Jaz pushed the button for the elevator, willing it to come quickly.

Glancing back down the corridor to her room, and Adam's room, she wasn't sure whether to expect him to come after her or not. At this stage she was willing him not to. She needed to be alone; she needed some space to process… everything.

Growing impatient waiting for the elevator, she strode towards the stair well instead and took the stairs two at a time until her thighs began to burn. She was fit, extremely fit, but the speed she was taking this staircase upwards would have given the Flash a run for his money.

She didn't stop until she reached the very top floor and almost fell through the doorway opening up to the roof top pool.

To the stars.

With her chest heaving, trying to catch her breath she put her hands on her hips and raised her chin skyward. The twinkling of the stars helped to soothe her unease and slow her heart rate. Concentrating on taking big deep breaths, just like Xander had coached her, she brought her breathing back down to a normal rate, but she wished she could say the same about her heart.

I'm in love with you, Jaz.

Not only had his words thrown her, but also the look in his eyes as he said them.

She had never seen Adam look so earnest, so nervous and so scared at the same time. In fact, she had never seen him look scared—ever. Certainly not as her Captain, and not as her friend either.

She wandered over to a lounge chair and sat down.

Looking down at her hands, she could see them shaking and she formed them into fists to try and get them back under control. Her role as a sniper meant she was normally as steady as a rock, so she knew that she was completely disconcerted at the moment.

Laying back on the lounge chair, her big brown eyes wide open, fixated on the stars, she went over the whole conversation with Adam in her head. She lay there for a long time playing it over and over again.

Knowing that she needed to talk to someone, she got her phone and dialled a number.

"Hi, it's Jaz. Can we – uh, can we talk? Now?"

Hanging up her phone a few moments later she went back to laying down and taking big deep breaths.

What was wrong with her? Adam Dalton, the only guy she had ever felt this strongly about, had just told her that he was in love with her and her first instinct had been disbelief and then to run. What the fuck?

Dalton heard the door close behind Jaz and he had to fight every instinct to run after her.

He was scared. Scared of what he had just told her and scared of her reaction. But knowing Jaz the way he did, even when she had been no more than his teammate and friend, he knew to let her go for now. He knew that she needed to process this herself.

But he hoped like hell that he hadn't just fucked everything up.

He walked back into his own bedroom and just stood in the middle of the room. With his hands on his hips he replayed the conversation between them that had occurred only minutes before.

He hadn't meant to blurt it out like he had. He had never wanted to say it in anger or as a defence.

But it was the truth. And he knew it to be true now more than ever because all he wanted to do was go and find Jaz and wrap her up in his arms.

All he could see was the look on her face when he had blurted out those words.

Shock. Disbelief. Uncertainty.

He wasn't surprised at the shock. But it was seeing the disbelief and uncertainty written across her face and reflected in her eyes that he was worried about.

He hadn't meant to tell her like that. He hadn't wanted to shout it like that. But in true Jaz style, she was the only one who ever really got under his skin; the only one who ever really challenged him. And while it sometimes drove him crazy, he also really loved that about her. Yes, loved.

Clearing his thoughts for a moment, he focused them on Jaz. He really needed to know that she was ok, and if he knew anything about her by now, he was pretty sure he knew where she was.

Bypassing the elevator, he headed straight for the stairwell and strode all the way up to the roof. Once there he opened the door as slowly and as quietly as he could, channelling Jaz's ninja qualities.

Through the gap, he was relieved to see her laying on one of the lounge chairs, her head tilted towards the stars. He couldn't see her face, or tell if her eyes were open or closed, but for now, just seeing her and knowing that she was there was enough.

His elevated heart rate, which came from his worry that he had ruined things between them, slowly started to dissipate. Seeing her there calmed him.

He would give her the space she needed. He would give her the time she needed.

But he also knew without a shadow of a doubt that what he felt for her was real. It was true. He was in love with her. And if giving her time was the way for her to process this, then so be it.

Closing the door slowly, he went back down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor. He needed a drink.

"Kind of late for a swim." Xander greeted Jaz as he sat down on the lounge chair next to hers.

Moving into a sitting position, she looked over at him, "Thanks for coming," she said appreciatively, but couldn't quite meet his eyes with hers.

"Of course. I told you could call me whenever you needed to. And this also gets me out of doing a mountain of paperwork at the moment, so I'm happy to oblige."

Jaz knew he was putting a light spin on things to help ease the situation, and she was thankful for that.

Not knowing where or how to start, Jaz was quiet for a minute. There was so much running through her head. She knew she had to speak to someone and one of her teammates didn't feel like the right person for this job. She didn't want to unload any of this on them when they were such a tight group. It wouldn't be fair.

So it was Xander that she had called. She had started to trust him when they had first met in Incirlik, and that had continued to grow even more so over the last couple of weeks. He was easy to talk to and she didn't feel threatened or on edge when she spoke to him.

Xander himself knew that this was definitely progress for Jaz. Recognising that she needed to talk to someone was leaps and bounds from where she first was when they had first met in Incirlik. She had opened up more and more over the last couple of weeks and to get to this point—no matter what it was about—he knew that she was definitely on the right track.

Knowing that he might need to nudge her a little he ventured, "So what brings you out here under the stars, Jaz?"

Under the stars.

This was usually where she and Adam found themselves. Together.

He watched her inhale and then exhale slowly, just like he had taught her. Just like she would do when lining up a shot to steady herself. Only this time it was to steady the mental and the emotional, not the physical.

In a small quiet voice, barely audible and gripping her hands together to keep them steady she murmured, "No one has ever told me that they love me before."

Xander waited to see if she wanted to add anything and when she didn't he asked, "Never?"

"Never." She confirmed, her eyes not lifting from her lap.

This time Xander didn't say anything, he just sat waiting to see where this went. He didn't have to wait too much longer.

"No one has ever said those words to me before… until tonight." Jaz whispered, surprising and pre-empting Xander when she immediately continued, "And I have no idea how that makes me feel."

Xander smirked, "So you've figured out how this works then, huh?"

Jaz just glanced up at him briefly to confirm, before staring straight back at her lap.

Xander had a fair idea who had said those words to her, but he didn't want to allude to that at all. He knew that if she felt any more uncomfortable than she already did, that she would clam up, and he really was taking this as progress. She had reached out. All by herself.

For the moment, he didn't want to give her a reason to take that trust away.

"Well, what did you do when you heard those words?" He asked gently

Jaz exhaled before answering in a soft, low and almost ashamed voice, "I ran away."

"Because you didn't know how to respond or because those words genuinely made you feel uncomfortable?"

"I – I'm… I'm not sure," She shrugged, "There's a part of me that doesn't feel worthy of those words. There's got to be a reason why I've never heard them."

Xander's heart went out to Jaz just hearing that. They were yet to delve too much into that part of her life, but he knew snippets that she had revealed.

"Jaz, I know you haven't had an easy time of it, and you've been dealt some harsh blows in life and I'd like to talk more in depth about it sometime. But, that doesn't make you unworthy of love, or unworthy of receiving love. Maybe it's about learning to love yourself, and being comfortable with yourself and who you are and your story, so that you can feel comfortable receiving love."

Jaz listened and took that in. "I shouldn't have run, should I?"

"I think if this person feels for you how they say they do, and knows you well, they would realise that you needed to be alone; that being alone gives you an opportunity to examine your thoughts and feelings, and to process them."

"I hope so."

Xander really felt for Jaz in that moment. This woman was a soldier, working at the most elite level. She could read a situation with a glance, and protect herself physically better than 99.9 percent of the population, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was at a loss.

"Jaz, not everyone you meet is going to hurt you, or leave you. You shouldn't base your future on the past, or let the past dictate your future. Some people will come into your life and make you happy. They will support you, make you a better person, and love you. Some people will give you more than what you ask for."

Jaz looked up to meet Xander's gaze, "Have you met Preach? You two would get along really well."

"I've heard that before actually."

Taking a deep breath and getting back to the issue, Jaz admitted, "I don't know how to respond. I don't know what to say."

"Tell them that. Be honest. Tell them everything you have just told me. If this person's love is real, they will understand."

Jaz nodded slowly. Adam will understand. She should have realised that before she left; before she walked away. He deserved better than that.

But Xander was right. Being alone did help her to examine and process her thoughts and feelings. And she hoped that Adam would understand that too.

"Thanks for coming here." She said appreciatively.

"I told you I was available anytime, I'm glad you took me up on it. Just don't be too hard on yourself, Jaz. We are all a work in progress, that's what life is."

With the faintest of smiles on her face, she thanked him again before he left. She did feel a bit better after talking to him. Confiding in someone neutral was much easier than one of her teammates in a matter like this.

She stayed out there longer though. She still needed to be alone and ever since Adam had introduced her to the stars, they had been a sanctuary for her. Their soothing ability were remarkable, always reminding her that the world was so much bigger than herself or her own problems. She gazed up at them, trying to remember some of the stories he had told her about them and then the irony of the situation hit her.

She was using the stars as an outlet from someone who had introduced the stars to her in the first place.

What a mess. She hoped Adam would forgive her for being such a coward.

When she eventually went back down to her room, she felt guilty at the relief she felt that Adam wasn't there. She really needed this solitude at the moment. Which also totally contradicted her need to be in his arms. The safety and refuge she always felt with him, was not what she could deal with at that moment, and it was causing a whirlwind of emotions within her.

She did the only thing she could manage right then and that was to lock the adjoining door from her side. She needed to do it, and once again deep down, she knew that Adam would understand. She needed to get herself and her thoughts together and at the moment, this was the way how.

Dalton sat in the bar downstairs with a glass of whiskey sitting in front of him. He sat twirling the glass in his fingertips staring into the amber liquid.

He hadn't come down here to get drunk. But he needed to be away from his room, from their room, to think.

He hadn't meant to blurt out how he felt to Jaz like that. In fact he hadn't decided when he was going to tell her at all, he was still trying to make sense of it himself. It was a new feeling and a very unfamiliar feeling, and he had no idea… about anything.

But he did know that his feelings were real. That was the one thing he was certain about. They scared him, but there was no mistaking it now. In fact, he was a bit bewildered at how he hadn't realised it sooner. Perhaps it was because it was being supressed by the military's rules governing their relationship. Or perhaps it was just because neither of them knew how to deal with their feelings at all, let alone recognise them.

Despite all that, he wasn't someone to run away from the hard stuff. Swallowing the remainder of his drink, he made his way back up to his room, not knowing if Jaz would be there or not, but determined to try and talk to her about all of this.

When he stepped into his room, he noticed that the adjoining door between their rooms—that was almost permanently left open—was closed.

Creeping over towards it, he tried the handle and found it locked.

Fuck. He didn't know what to make of that.

He hoped like hell that it was just Jaz trying to work through whatever she needed to. Deep down he knew that's what it was about, he just didn't want her shutting him out.

Maybe after sleeping on it, tomorrow would be a better day to try and sort this out.

That's if either of them managed to get any sleep.

Jaz had a restless night. She tossed and turned, even got up and paced the room multiple times and fought against every fibre of her being that wanted to unlock that adjoining door and crawl into bed with Adam.

She knew he was in there. She had heard the slight twist of the door handle earlier when he had checked the door and the guilt she felt at locking that door was eating away at her.

She went right up to the door several times and was so close to turning that handle, but she just couldn't do it tonight. She rested her forehead against the door instead and hoped that Adam couldn't hear her rapid heart rate.

She knew he must be feeling terrible, and she felt awful about that, but her need to be alone for a bit longer superseded that. Like Xander said, she needed to process these feelings and she knew that Adam would understand her need for solitude at the moment. She just hoped she hadn't hurt him too much.

On the other side of that door, Dalton was doing much the same. He had slept very little and had even been up doing sit-ups, push-ups, burpees and anything else he could think of to tire his body and keep him occupied.

But none of it was working. None of it could take his mind off Jaz and this whole situation.

He knew she was in her room. He could hear her intermittently pacing the room—her ninja skills not in full force tonight—no doubt trying to tire herself out and keep her mind occupied as well. But knowing Jaz like he did, and even more so now, he doubted very much that anything would work.

Multiple times he fought the urge to knock on that door. He came close; went right up to it with his hand raised ready to knock, only to think better of it. Instead he pressed his forehead to the door and just took a few long deep breaths, hoping that the thundering of his heart beat wasn't audible through that door.

Jaz was up and at the gym early the next morning. She had barely slept, but she was used to that on the job.

She just couldn't be in her bedroom anymore knowing that Adam was right next door. Her need to be in his arms was so great, and yet she was still not quite ready to face him.

And she was scared that she had ruined everything.

The punching bag sure copped a pounding that session. In one of her very favourite pastimes, she used everything she had to rid her body of the pent up frustration she was feeling.

Frustration at herself.

She owed Adam an explanation, she was just trying to get up the courage to do so.

A couple of hours later she was at the shooting range, something that always gave her a sense of calm.

It's almost paradoxical that the same gun that put down the bad guys, is the same piece of equipment that gave her the most solace. The most peace. It was as if she saw the world so much more clearly when she was shooting, which is probably why she was so damn good at her job.

This is where McG found her a couple of hours later.

"You weren't at breakfast."

"I was up early." Jaz murmured, not entirely surprised to see him.

"Top didn't know where you were, but I figured you'd be here. Everything ok?"

Jaz looked at him and smiled wryly, "You sound like you care."

"Come on Jazzy, I'm actually being serious, what's up?"

Jaz hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth as if to say something before deciding against it and shaking her head slightly, "I'm fine."

McG sighed, "Look, Top not knowing where you were was a pretty clear sign that something's happened. I know I'm not Elijah, so I understand you not wanting to talk to me, but I just want you to know that you're not alone, Jaz. Not ever."

She kept her eyes cast downwards and heard him sigh, but as he started to walk away, Jaz called him back, "Wait, McG. Did Top say anything?"

McG turned back around to face her and noticed the look of genuine curiosity on her face, "Nah, you know Top, he's like a vault."

Jaz just lowered her head, not sure if she was glad that Adam hadn't said anything, or disappointed. She was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed that McG was still talking.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said that no matter what has happened, Top loves you. You'll figure it out."

Jaz didn't respond to that. She didn't know how to. How did McG know that, if Adam hadn't said anything to him?

The question must have been written all over her face because McG answered her softly but purposefully without her having to say a thing.

"C'mon Jaz, I know I've only known Top a little longer than you have, but he wouldn't be with you like this if he didn't love you. He wouldn't be risking it if he didn't love you. He's not that guy. We all know that. And deep inside you do too. It takes a LOT to get through Top's walls, but clearly you have done, almost from day one. He's always been different with you, it just took the two of you a little longer to notice it than the rest of us. Elijah knew it too."

She felt a prickle of tears at the mention of Elijah knowing. She missed him so much, but she was also realising right there and then that she had other friends, other best friends that looked out for her too.

Blinking away the tears before they could fall, she nudged her head in the direction of the range, McG understanding that she wanted to take him on.

He knew that was her way of letting him in, but she surprised him when she said gently, "For the record, I don't need you to be Elijah. I just need you to be you."

When he turned to smile at her she threw in, "Bad shot and all," for good measure.

"There she is," He threw back at her.

He knew when she was teasing him that she was ok. And he needed to make sure she was ok. They were a tight team, and Jaz was like a sister to him, even more so after they all lost Elijah.

Amir was walking through the hotel lobby when he saw Dalton ordering coffee at the café.

"Need some caffeine, Top?"

"You could say that."

"Are we all having dinner together tonight? Want to just eat here in the hotel?"

"I actually haven't heard from Jaz or McG – but yeah, that sounds like a plan. I don't feel like going far."

Noticing that his Captain sounded a little flat he asked, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah." Dalton replied with a big sigh, "I think I'm just going to head back to my room, try and grab a nap. Let me know dinner plans if you see the others."

"Sure," Amir agreed, but finding it strange that Dalton wouldn't just hear the plans from Jaz. He wondered if something had happened, but didn't pry.

He hadn't been at breakfast with the others that morning, he had gone over to Hannah's late last night and was only just heading back to the hotel now. Maybe suggesting dinner together hadn't been the right move.

He sat in the café and ordered a coffee himself and a short while later he saw McG and Jaz walking through the hotel lobby. After flagging them down, they joined him.

When their own orders arrived, Amir suggested dinner that evening.

"Top seemed pretty tired, so maybe we just eat here tonight?"

"You saw Top?" Jaz asked, trying not to appear too interested, but also desperately wanting to know how he was.

"He was here just before you guys arrived. He was heading for a nap, he looked… exhausted."

Jaz exchanged a quick glance with McG, before looking down at her hands. As if battling with herself internally, she was silent for a minute before standing up, managing to look both afraid and determined at the same time.

"I might head for a nap too, text me the dinner plans, yeah?"

"Sure." Amir quickly agreed.

"You got this, Jazzy." McG encouraged her, gripping her elbow before she walked away with the ghost of a smile on her face in appreciation of his support.

Amir looked quizzically at McG, eyebrows raised, to which McG just shrugged. He had spent a bit of time with Jaz at the shooting range, but as for what was wrong, he still had no idea.

Jaz rode the elevator to her room, all the while trying to figure out what to say to Adam.

She felt awful for walking out on him the night before and for avoiding him for much of the day today. She couldn't imagine what he had thought of her just leaving last night and reacting the way she did. If she could take it back and do it all over again, she would. But like many of her regrets—it was impossible.

Instead, she would fall on her sword and try to explain herself, just like Xander had suggested the night before. She had needed this time alone, this time to process the situation and try and wrap her head around it.

The thought of someone loving her was just so foreign to her, that she had needed to let it sit. She just hoped that in trying to protect herself, she hadn't wounded Adam too much. She just hoped that he would forgive her.

Once she was in her room, she sat on her bed to gather herself for a few moments and then with a surge of determination walked over to the adjoining door, still locked from last night.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she unlocked the door on her side, took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door.

Dalton had just stepped out of the shower.

He'd been to the gym not long ago and had completed a punishing weights workout. He'd grabbed the coffee when he bumped into Amir, but hadn't drunk it.

He really was going to lie down for a nap so he didn't need the caffeine. He could count the minutes he had slept last night.

He just wished he knew what Jaz was thinking and he hoped he hadn't scared her off. He did know that she likes some solitude to process things and he really hoped that was all she was doing now.

But after the last few weeks, not having spoken to her, or seen her, or held her, or touched her for so long—hurt.

He needed Jaz, and that was all the more apparent now.

He sat on the edge of his bed, wishing he could sleep with Jaz in his arms, instead he stood up to plug his phone into the charger and just as he did so, he heard a knock coming from Jaz's side of the adjoining door.

He felt his heart thud in his chest.

Swallowing deeply and feeling his pulse begin to race, he felt… nervous. A feeling he was unfamiliar with. But then again, a lot of feelings that he was unfamiliar with were coming to the forefront where Jaz was concerned.

Taking a breath to calm himself, he walked towards the door, undid the lock on his side and opened it up slowly.

There, on the other side stood the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Even though she looked exhausted; even though she looked scared and relieved at the same time; even though he could see her insecurity in the depths of her eyes, she was still beautiful.

Holding each other's gaze, neither of them moving, they stood there both unsure of what to do next.

Jaz couldn't get over the fact that even with very little sleep and clearly looking drained, he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. Those eyes and those lips were enough to make her melt, and he just exuded masculinity, which she found immensely attractive.

She knew that she needed to make the first move. She took a tentative step forward, moving into the actual door space, and a little closer to him.

Looking into his eyes; those beautiful crystal blue eyes, she could see his own nervousness and his own uncertainty shining in them. She had hurt him, and she wanted to fix it.

"I did it again, didn't I?" She asked him in her low, gravelly voice.

Seeing him frown slightly, not quite catching on, she continued, "I ran away."

He opened his mouth to say something, but not knowing what to say, he closed it again.

Seeing this play out on his face, Jaz knew this one was up to her to try and fix.

She knew that it was her who had run and it was her who had avoided him, and even though she had done what she needed to do, and what she knew would comfort her and give her thinking time, she still felt awful about it.

She took another step forward and raised her hand to lay it on his cheek tentatively, as if trying to wipe away the hurt she had caused. She felt him lean into her palm slightly and not being able to hold back she wrapped both her arms around him, holding on tight as she buried her head in his neck.

Not for the first time, she marvelled at how well she fit against him. Snuggled up against his chest, she could feel his heart beating. It was fast and thumping and she knew that she was the cause of that.

She didn't realise she had been holding her breath until she felt his arms wrap around her, holding her just as tightly as she was holding him. She let out a long relieved sigh and pulled him even closer when she felt his chin rest on top of her head.

They stood in that spot, not moving, but both in awe at how the feel of each other calmed everything. It soothed their heart rates and alleviated their nerves, and they both knew that no one else, had or could, have that effect on them.

Adam had never been as relieved as when Jaz had stepped into his arms, not quite knowing what he had expected from that knock on the door. He stood there with his arms wrapped around her, just breathing her in and thanking everyone and everything that she had come to him herself.

She fit like a glove against him. Her small body was completely pressed up against his and as he moved his head to place his cheek against hers, he heard her whisper, "I'm sorry."

When he didn't respond, she tried again, "I'm sorry for…"

Cutting her off by pulling away slightly, he quickly placed a hand on her cheek and placed his thumb so it was against her lips; the lips that so desperately wanted to explain everything to him.

With his thumb effectively silencing her, he looked into the depth of her eyes before asking her softly, "Do you want to take a nap with me?"

With her eyes wide and shining with tears of relief, not expecting that question at all, she knew that even though they needed to talk about this, they were going to be ok.

When she nodded her head slowly in response to his question, he lowered his hand from her cheek, grabbed her own hand and led her to the bed.

Jaz stripped off to her underwear and Dalton passed her his t-shirt to throw on. After that, they both climbed in, seeking each other's warmth instantly and clung together.

It was if they hadn't seen each other in months. The emotional wringer that they had both been through in the last day honestly made it feel like an eternity since they had seen each other, let alone been close to each other.

But being close to each other is where they belonged.

This was where the hurt and uncertainty dissipated. And once they had found a comfortable position, they fell into a deep sleep, comforted by each other's scent, warmth and heartbeat.

So, I tossed up a lot with what way to go with this chapter. Thank you so much to the people who left feedback on the last chapter saying that you thought it was in character for Jaz to initially run. I really do think that is what she would do, and she's obviously still struggling with her own feelings. We saw on the show that she and Dalton butted head a few times, and I don't think that would necessarily change, even given this relationship they are now in.

Sorry to those who were upset with the ending of the last chapter. I guess with a story this long, it can't always be sunshine and rainbows. There will be ups and downs, and more to come. But I'm firmly and passionately Team Jalton - never forget that.

As always, thank you so much for continuing to read this story. Your comments make my day and keep me motivated. Much love to you all XXX