Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one for you all. Here is the next chapter and it's a continuation of their camping trip. As always you might need to re-read the previous chapter as a reminder, since I haven't posted in two weeks - Sorry!

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

Chapter 47

The top of the swag was still open when Dalton woke in the morning. It was early, but the open swag provided no shelter from the sun and the sunlight had conditioned his body to be awake.

His body was spooned around Jaz's, and they were both still naked from the night before. It was a good job that this camp site was secluded, otherwise it would make for a very awkward morning.

"No one can see us, right?"

If Dalton was wondering if Jaz was awake, there was his answer. Lifting his head slightly to look through the mesh, he made sure that there was no one else around, for both their peace of minds.

"Just you, me, Patton and Mother Nature."

"Well I hope Mother Nature doesn't mind the nudity."

Dalton laughed into her hair, where his head lay buried in the nape of her neck, "Pretty sure she's a fan."

Jaz rolled over so they were laying facing each other, his arm still around her waist, and when she shivered slightly he pulled her even closer.

"Cold?"

She didn't answer, she just pressed herself as close to him as possible, which given their lack of clothing, ensured an instantaneous reaction from his body. However, feeling her hard nipples against his chest, he knew he wasn't the only one.

He slid a hand down her back until it rested on her firm, smooth behind and pressed it against him, trying to sooth the ache in his groin. This woman had an effect on him that he had never experienced before. He wasn't complaining, it just still took his breath away.

She rocked her hips against his, encouraged by the pressure he was still placing on her lower back and she gasped feeling how hard he was against her stomach.

Gripping his strong shoulder, she kissed him fervently, pressing herself as close to him as she possible could, so that every goose bump blended with his, surprising him with the immediate intensity of her lips and mouth on his. He kissed her back just as ardently, heavily turned on by her feistiness, their location and her absolutely perfect body.

Their skin transformed from goose bumps to smouldering in a split second. Knowing exactly what they both needed, he lifted her leg to hook around his hip, lined himself up with her opening and thrust up and into her in one deep, powerful movement.

Their groan was simultaneous as they paused momentarily in appreciation of the immediate pleasure they were both feeling. They didn't need any foreplay this morning, they just needed the relief. And relief is what they got as they moved together frantically and furiously. Their need was raw, layered with primitive desire and they both came quickly and loudly, so damn glad that no one else was within ear shot.

Their bodies were coated in a film of sweat as they lay panting and gasping for breath. They were still joined together, clutching each other tightly, and even after making love so many times, they were still rendered speechless by the ferocity of their coupling.

"Do you think Mother Nature was a fan of that?"

"If she's into voyeurism, then sure."

They laughed, and exchanged a few more kisses, enjoying the tight confines of the swag. They could have easily fallen back asleep just then, lethargic with the release of oxytocin. But they wanted to make the most of this trip. After holding each other a bit longer, and just breathing each other in, Adam finally unzipped the mesh cover of the swag and they got ready for their day.

They moved out about half an hour later after having a quick breakfast and packing enough supplies in their back pack for lunch and hydration.

Adam was taking Jaz on a hike up a mountain today. It was rough with some steep terrain, but the view at the top would be worth it. He had hiked this mountain a few times before, and if Jaz hadn't been as fit as she was, he wouldn't have bothered. But their physical fitness was something that SOG7 prided themselves on, and it was paramount to fulfil the commitments of their job.

Jaz was one of the fittest people he knew. She was notorious for out-running and out-boxing all her teammates and it was just one of the things that had immediately impressed not just himself, but their entire team. Watching her flip McG on his ass in hand-to-hand combat was always especially amusing. It was just lucky that McG didn't have an ego, because that could have put a serious dent in it. And when she did the exact same thing to guys twice her size and weight when they were out in the field, it was especially gratifying.

Adam led the way with Jaz and Patton close behind. Once again Patton took great delight in new terrain to explore, and every time they stopped for a drink of water, they made sure he had the same.

Jaz took photos along the way until the climb got steeper as they neared the top. This called for extreme concentration and manoeuvrability, and their hands needed to be free, leaving them as agile as possible. It was a tough climb, but she had been through worse. She knew that if it wasn't worth it, or if Adam hadn't thought she could make it, they wouldn't have bothered. Her fitness is something she prided herself on. She was dedicated to making sure her fitness and body were in tiptop condition, ready at all times to be able to perform any duty that her job required.

Patton had gone up ahead, and was already waiting for them at the top, but for those of them that only walked on two legs, it was a little tougher.

Adam turned around to check on Jaz, "You good?"

"I'd be better if I had two more legs."

"Need to stop?"

Jaz just looked up and glared at him.

"Of course not." He mumbled under his breath. He should have known better.

For that last twenty minutes of the climb, you could hear nothing but their deep breathing and occasional grunts as they traversed the tricky terrain. Each step was trod carefully and with precision and it felt like they were wearing weighted vests. Their lungs were screaming and they couldn't have attempted this without their intense training and their appreciation of hard work.

Taking those last few precipitous steps, Adam reached the summit finally and turned around to monitor Jaz's progress. Already knowing that she was right behind him, he held out a hand to her, and immediately questioned his choice when he saw the daggers in her eyes. Rolling his eyes at her, he pulled his hand back and watched as she pulled herself up the last few steps until she was standing right in front of him.

"I don't need help." She stated, breathing raggedly.

"I know you don't."

"That's not what it looked like." She almost snapped.

"Jaz, I'm well aware of your capabilities."

"But you wouldn't do this if we were on base or on a mission."

"But we're not. That's the whole point of this. I know you don't need my help, but I want to help. Completely different."

Taking a few deep breaths, Jaz started to see his way of thinking. He was right. She just couldn't help but defend herself when her competence was being questioned. But she also knew that Adam would be the last person to question her competence. He was the one who had chosen her for his team after all. And he was the first person to see her strengths and not her gender.

She nodded to him, still slightly out of breath so whispering grudgingly, "You're right, I'm sorry."

He smiled wryly at her, "What was that, I thought I heard something?"

She couldn't help but chuckle, this all sounding too familiar, "I don't think anyone said anything."

They both smiled, remembering a very similar conversation from their last deployment. After a few more moments when her breathing was almost back to normal, she ditched her back pack and took a step towards him, "I'm sorry. It's just an automatic defence mechanism for me to get my back up when someone's questioning my capability."

Watching him open his mouth to defend himself, she quickly shut him down, "And I know you weren't doing that. This is different."

He looked her right in the eye, "This is different, Jaz. I'm not your CO here. I'm your boyfriend."

Jaz couldn't help but laugh when he said that, and he looked at her questioningly, "Sorry, I'm just still getting used to that."

"Me too." He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where the mountain top plateaued, "Now if we're done arguing, get over here and check out this view."

The view in front of them and surrounding them had Jaz lost for words. Dropping Adam's hand, she turned around slowly on the spot taking it all in from every angle. It was as if they were on the top of the world. Beneath them it seemed that the whole mountain range was in view. Every tree top, every stream, lake and body of water as far as the eye could see.

"Wow." Jaz breathed out in awe, looking at Adam in wonderment.

"Worth it right?"

She just nodded in amazement, her wide eyes still taking in as much as she could.

"Worth the argument too?"

Pulling her out of her reverie, she noticed the sardonic smile on his face, "You going to hold that against me all day?"

"No, but it's fun teasing you."

She pulled her phone back out of her pocket, "Good. In that case I've got some photos to take."

Adam just watched her as she wandered around the small clearing taking photos from every angle. He understood her wonderment. He had stumbled across this spot and had been equally breath taken, and it still never failed to leave him in awe. That was why he had come back several times, but this was the first time he had brought anyone with him.

They stayed up there for about an hour. They ate lunch and just enjoyed the view, before getting ready for the descent.

Standing to take in the amazing view one last time, Jaz smiled as Adam came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. Leaning back against him she enjoyed being in this incredible place with this incredible person.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome." Adam replied, kissing her temple and holding her close. There was so much he wanted to share with her, he was glad they had made it to this mountain top.

Pulling away, he asked if she was ready to go. She finally managed to tear herself away from the view, load up her back pack and start towards where Patton was already leading the way.

Adam held his hand out to her with a daring and amused look in his eye. With an equally amused but sarcastic smile, she made a big production of putting her hand in his so he could lead her down the mountain, and his loud and unrestrained laughter in response, echoed all around them.

It was late in the afternoon by the time they returned to their campsite and they were hot, bothered, sweaty and dirty.

Pre-empting their own thoughts, Patton sprinted for the lake and pounced into the cool water, instantly soothing his heated paws and causing Jaz and Dalton to laugh at his antics.

"He's got the right idea," Jaz laughed.

"Yeah, lucky mutt." Adam agreed, as he turned around to put his back pack down and crouched down to empty some of their left over food back into the ice box.

When he was done and he stood back up, Jaz was nowhere to be seen in close vicinity. He turned around when he heard her laughter; it was coming from the lake and when he looked up, there she was in the water with Patton.

When had she put her bikini on? She must have hiked in it. But when he saw her pile of clothes right there in front of him, underwear included, he looked up bewildered as he saw her grinning back at him.

What. The. Fuck.

Was Jaz Khan skinny dipping?

"Come on." She called out to him, "The water is amazing."

He was stunned, but before he knew it, he was stripping down right there and then, and striding into the water in his birthday suit.

Jaz greeted him with a cheeky smile, and he just questioned her, his face incredulous, "Skinny dipping?"

"I don't see you complaining."

"I've never skinny dipped before."

"Neither have I. But I've had a lot of firsts with you. Figured this could be another one." She shrugged in her matter-of-fact way.

"Well we sure are giving Mother Nature a show on this trip, huh?"

Jaz laughed. That big laugh of hers that took over her entire face with her lustrous mouth open wide and the sparkle in her eyes reflecting off the water. He loved that laugh.

He loved her.

Dinner that night was baked potatoes on the fire, with baked beans and cheese. It was a favourite of theirs on base, mostly because it was an easy dinner when they were too exhausted to cook anything else. It was also easy to make with their staples, which weren't always replenished as quickly as they could be with their sporadic schedule.

Amir wasn't the biggest fan to begin with, initially turning up his nose at this cuisine, but after a while, even he had admitted that after a long, tiring mission, it definitely hit the spot.

It was a beautiful clear evening, and the stars were putting on a show tonight. That clear sky came with a chill in the air though, and Jaz grabbed a sweater from her pack before sitting back down next to Adam.

"So which ones are Perseus, Andromeda and Cepheus?"

Adam smiled at her, "Come here." He pulled her over to sit between his legs. His knees were bent up to cradle her body and he pulled her back flush against his chest. She draped her arms over his knees and felt the warmth of his body flood through her.

He picked up one of her hands with his and using her index finger to point so her eyes could follow, he located the constellations and talked her through them.

Turns out Cepheus was married to Cassiopeia and they had a daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia was indeed a vein queen, and when she claimed to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs, Poseidon—God of the sea—flooded their home of Ethiopia and plagued it with a sea monster. Cepheus was told that the torment would cease if he exposed Andromeda to the monster, which he did. Perseus—son of Zeus—happened to be passing by and rescued Andromeda from the sea monster, fell in love with her and later married her.

Jaz nodded her head slowly, still looking skyward, taking this all in, "Now there are some definite contenders for our 'fucked up families anonymous' group."

Adam snorted, "They almost make ours look good, right?"

"Almost." Jaz just echoed quietly.

He held her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders so they crossed in front of her and she brought a hand up to grip them, holding him just as close.

"How do you know so much about the stars?" She asked quietly, but curiously.

He paused before answering and she felt him take a deep breath.

"My Mom told me. She used to sit out on our back veranda most evenings. When I was young I didn't think much of it, but as I got older I realised it was to get away from my Dad when he was drunk. But she'd sit there just looking skyward and she'd tell me stories about all the constellations. She always seemed so happy in those moments so I'd go and sit with her whenever I could. She would say that the darkest nights produced the brightest stars and she would tell me that me and my sisters were her stars."

He paused and Jaz gripped his arm even tighter, knowing this wasn't easy for him to talk about.

"At the time, those words didn't really resonate with me. I thought it was just Mom, being a Mom. But since she passed away, it makes me angry, you know? Angry that she even needed to escape. Angry that my Dad made her feel that way. And sometimes angry at myself, for leaving them all as soon as I turned eighteen."

Jaz held him even tighter when she felt his body tremble slightly. She gripped onto his arms with both her hands and leaned her head all the way back against his chest. He lowered his head to rest his cheek on hers, her closeness helping to alleviate the pain he hadn't been expecting to feel.

He had never told anyone else what he had just told Jaz. There had never been anyone he had wanted to share it with, and having held it in for so long, he was surprised at how emotional it made him feel.

The guilt he had felt at joining the army so young, hadn't come until much later. At the time he had counted down the days until his eighteenth birthday and packed his bags and skipped town as soon as he could. Jessie was gone by then and his Dad was in jail. Their life had changed dramatically in the two years since the accident, and Adam wanted an out. He needed a way to relieve that anger in him, and he had found that in the army. Fighting for his country gave him an outlet for his anger and grief. On occasions he had let it get the better of him, like in Fallujah in 2004. But with help from guys like his CSM at the time, Xander and in more recent years, Preach, he had learned to control that anger—mostly—and use it to his advantage.

But the guilt was always there, simmering below the surface. Guilt for leaving Sarah and Katie when they were still relatively young. Guilt for not being there for a lot of his Mom's treatment. Guilt for leaving so soon after her funeral. And guilt for not keeping in contact with his sisters as much as he should. That didn't even take into consideration the guilt he sometimes felt from some aspects of his job.

But like his Mom, the stars gave him some peace. And sharing them with Jaz, the way his Mom had shared them with him, brought him even more peace.

"You ok? You want to talk about it?" Jaz probed softly.

"I don't want to ruin our evening."

"Adam," she said twisting herself around in his arms to face him, "We decided that if we're going to do this, we would communicate. It doesn't matter if we're here or in the cabin, we're together. That won't change."

He looked into her eyes and knew she was right. They had promised to communicate, and they had promised Xander too. Pulling her even tighter against him, he began to tell her everything he had been thinking and under the stars couldn't have been a more appropriate setting.

"I can't remember how I used to clear my mind before you introduced me to the stars."

Jaz was snuggled up to Adam in the swag, all warm and cosy and just in reverence at how soothing the night sky was.

"I do. You punched things and shot things. Still do."

"That's true." She laughed, before turning over and resting on her elbows to hold herself up. "Seriously though, thank you. Thank you for all of this. The stars, the swag, the mountain, the fishing, the…"

"…The skinny dipping was all you." Adam added in quickly.

"But you weren't complaining."

"Definitely not."

"I mean it though." She said softly, the emotion in her voice evident.

"I know you do, and you're welcome. Thank you for indulging me." He kissed her softly, and couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else.

"Speaking of this swag though," Jaz pulled away, "Australia has always been on my to-do list. You ever been there?"

"No, but it's on my list too."

Smiling down at him, she kissed him this time, getting lost in his lips as she so easily did time and time again. She could have sworn that his lips were specially designed to fit against hers, because nothing had ever felt so right, or so amazing. This man was amazing.

He reached out to pull her closer so she was laying on top of him and so his hands could touch her everywhere. He wanted to be as close to her as possible, all the time. He in turn, found himself lost in her lips too and before long they completely lost themselves in each other, relishing the isolation and tranquillity that this trip and the swag provided.

Camping under the stars had always been one of Adam's favourite past times, now sharing it with Jaz, he couldn't imagine how life could get much better.

I really wanted to get a bit of Aussie into this story just to indulge myself, hence the swag and the mention of Australia - and I have plans for that down the track too.

For those that ask, yes I plan to continue writing this story for a good, long while yet. And yes, the plan is to also continue to follow them into deployment (once I figure out how to do that justice), but that is still a way off. You know how slowly this story moves, I mean, how long did it take them to wake up to their feelings?! :)

Thanks SO MUCH as always for continuing to read, and as always to the commenting angels - You're all the best! Please let me know what you thought XXX