Hey there everyone! So this starts the chapters with Dalton's sisters and their kids spending the day at the cabin. I wrote this just as a massive slab and true to form, it's turned out quite long so I've split it into chapters. Here is the first part. More to come!
I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did.
Chapter 49
"So, Sarah's kids are Olivia who is ten, and Sam and Charlie are four-year-old twins. Katie's kids are Maya who is seven and Emily who is three." Jaz clarified.
"Nailed it." Dalton confirmed. Not surprised that Jaz remembered all that information already.
They were sitting enjoying a cup of coffee in the kitchen and enjoying the peaceful surrounds of the cabin. Dalton's family weren't arriving for another hour or so yet, at around midday, so they were indulging in what he anticipated was the calm before the storm.
The day was shaping up to be a hot one, which he was thankful for. The lake would be great in the afternoon for them all to swim in and it would be a nice clear day for dinner out on the back veranda later on.
As she so often did, Jaz was sitting on the counter top as she savoured her coffee. She watched Cass swimming around happily, hoping that would help settle the nerves she could feel deep inside her. She was looking forward to the day, but she was still nervous. She didn't have much experience with family, never mind kids.
Dalton sensed this and come around the counter to stop in front of her.
"If they hate us, we never have to see them again."
Jaz's small furrow in her brow, was replaced with laugh lines as she legitimately laughed out loud, "Is that really your solution?"
Dalton shrugged, "Not necessarily, but it got rid of the look on your face."
Jaz placed her coffee on the bench next to her and pulled him close to her, "I'll be fine. We'll be fine."
Dalton stepped forward, placing his hands on Jaz's knees as he leant closer to kiss her. He knew she had some nerves about today, and truthfully so did he.
It was laughable really. They took down some of the world's vilest criminals and terrorists. They went into battle armed with multiple weapons designed to maim or kill. They entered enemy territory repeatedly, knowing the consequences of being caught was almost certain death—and yet the thought of a full day with two sisters and five kids is what made them nervous.
They lingered together, enjoying the moment, knowing the rest of the day would most likely be busy.
Pulling back from their kiss, Dalton's hands made lazy circles on her knees and his thumbs ran over the old but large scars on either side of them. He looked down at them and while he knew they existed, he had never asked about them. Looking up again into her eyes, almost questioningly, he wondered if this was the ideal time to ask the question.
Before he made his decision, his phone beeped with an incoming message and with a last brush of his thumbs, he stepped away to check his phone.
Jaz knew what he had been about to ask her, and while she knew that conversation was coming, she had been relieved when his phone beeped. She had had those scars for so long, that she sometimes forgot she had them. The scars from Tehran were much fresher, but when Arthur had drawn her attention back to her knees, it had prompted feelings she thought had been buried long ago.
"Katie has just left and Sarah is already on her way. They'll be about 45 minutes."
Dalton's words shook her out of her reverie, and she looked up and smiled, "Let the games begin."
Watching her climb down from the kitchen bench and put her coffee cup in the dishwasher, he knew she was glad to have avoided that conversation for now.
Hearing a car pull up outside the cabin, Jaz and Dalton went outside, with Patton hot on their heels, to see that it was Sarah in her SUV.
"Hi Uncle Adam," a girl—who Jaz could only assume was Olivia—called out as she stepped out the back seat.
"Hey Liv, you've gotten taller." Dalton observed, stepping forward to give her a hug and smiling when she squeezed him tight in return.
"Uncle Adam, Uncle Adam, Uncle Adam!" Two small voices were very insistent as they barrelled towards Dalton and wrapped themselves around a leg each.
Chucking he leaned down and lifted them both up, one in each arm, "Who is Sam and who is Charlie?" He teased them, even though the boys were fraternal twins and were easy to tell apart.
"I'm Tham." Sam said proudly, his adorable lisp on display as he spoke.
"And I'm Charlie, silly." The other twin admonished, causing all the adults to laugh in response.
Spinning around with the boys still in his arms, he introduced them to Jaz, "This is Jaz. Can you say hi?"
"Hi Jath."
"Hi Jaz."
"Hi guys." Jaz greeted them, already noticing the Dalton genes running strongly in those boys.
Olivia stepped around Adam and the boys and approached Jaz with her hand out, "Hi Jaz, I'm Olivia, but you can call me Liv."
Jaz returned her hand shake, already enamoured by this sweet, confident girl, "It's nice to meet you Liv. I love your hair," Jaz replied, admiring the long braid falling down her back.
"Thanks, my Mom did it for me. I can't do a braid on myself yet, but I've been practising."
Sarah stepped forward then to greet Jaz with a hug, "Thanks for letting us spend the day with you, the kids have been looking forward to this."
"Of course. We have too."
"YOU HAVE A DOG?" The boys practically squealed as they caught sight of Patton. As they began to wriggle in Dalton's arms, he put them down and they made a beeline for Patton, stroking him as he rolled over on his back, pleased to have two new humans to rub his belly.
"Oh thanks a lot, they've been asking for a dog, now I'll never hear the end of it." Sarah chuckled as she gave Dalton a hug hello now that his arms were free again.
"He was reluctant at first too, but now they are attached at the hip." Jaz teased as Dalton just shrugged.
They stood and watched the boys play with Patton for a bit longer, before heading around to the back of the cabin to the veranda.
Shortly after, another car pulled up outside and upon hearing it, Jaz and Dalton went back out front to greet them while Sarah and the kids continued to shower affection upon Patton.
One small pocket rocket jumped energetically out of the back seat and launched herself at Dalton, "Hi Uncle Adam, I've missed you."
"Hey Maya, I missed you too." Dalton replied, touched at her words.
Turning towards Jaz, Maya threw herself at her also, "Hi Jaz, my name's Maya. My Mom told me that you're Uncle Adam's girlfriend. Should I call you Auntie Jaz?"
Meeting Dalton's eyes as she hugged Maya back, she couldn't help but see the laughter in them. With a big smile on her face she leaned down and said to Maya, "How about you just call me Jaz for now."
"Ok, I like the name Jaz." And with that she ran around the back of the cabin to go and see her cousins.
"Saying she takes after her Mom is an understatement, huh?"
Jaz just laughed in response, what a whirlwind Maya and Katie must be in the same household.
Katie made her way towards them with Emily on her hip. She had clearly just woken up from a nap in the car and she buried her head in her Mom's shoulder shyly as they approached Dalton and Jaz.
Katie kissed them both on the cheek in greeting, but Emily remained snuggled into her Mom.
"Hi Em," Dalton said softly to her and even though she kept her head against her Mom's shoulder she turned her face towards Dalton.
"This is your Uncle Adam. Do you remember him?"
Emily shook her head and given that she was only three, it wasn't a surprise that she didn't remember her Uncle.
"This is Jaz; can you give her a smile?"
Again, Emily's eyes moved so that they were focused on Jaz, who gave her a small wave, but she was still too shy to do anything other than stare.
"She'll warm up soon. She's slept the whole way here so she's still a little sleepy." Katie explained.
They went and joined the others out back and let all the kids finish greeting each other. Maya was already sitting down with Sam and Charlie, lavishing Patton with attention, who in turn was lapping it all up.
Jaz was inside getting some drinks for everyone when Katie wandered in, still with Emily attached to her hip.
"Do you need any help?" She asked as Jaz had her head in the fridge.
"Sure, come and tell me what drinks the kids like."
"Geez, you've got just about everything in here." Katie exclaimed as she saw the vast variety of food and drink inside the sizable fridge.
Jaz chuckled, "Yeah. Adam and I went a little crazy in the supermarket. Didn't want to forget anything."
"You two are too cute."
Jaz flushed slightly as she placed an array of drinks on the kitchen bench.
"Fishy."
Jaz glanced up in surprise, hearing Emily's little voice for the first time. She saw the toddler pointing to Cassiopeia's bowl on the kitchen bench and watched her face light up in delight. Katie moved closer to the bowl so Emily could get a better look and her little eyes were captivated.
"Her name is Cassiopeia, but I call her Cass for short." Jaz said to Emily in a soft voice.
She watched a small smile cross Emily's face as she whispered, "Cass."
"That's right. Your Uncle Adam bought her for me."
"He bought you a pet? That's that cutest thing in the world. Who knew he could be so sweet?" Katie gushed.
Jaz laughed, "It still surprises me too. He surprises me."
Katie watched Jaz's already flushed face, deepen even further and she couldn't deny she was squealing on the inside. She could see how much Jaz cared about her big brother and that just made her… excited. She had never met anyone in Adam's life, so she knew this was a big deal anyway.
"Let's get these drinks to the others."
Katie watched Jaz walk outside and smiled after her. She couldn't wait to get to know her better.
Now that Emily had perked up, as soon as they were back outside, Katie put her down and she ran happily to where her sister and cousins were playing with Patton while Jaz gave them a drink each.
Dalton had already loaded up the water pistols. There was a super-soaker for himself and Jaz and smaller water pistol for the kids. While they were fussing over Patton, Dalton had the sneak attack and let fire on them all at once, causing them to squeal in surprise, followed by delight as they saw the other toys ready for them to use.
They scrambled away from the constant stream of water that their Uncle Adam was aiming at them and grabbed their own toy to start firing back.
Sam and Charlie took it very seriously and went and hid behind the banister on the veranda steps. Olivia looked around strategically and found a tree to hide behind. Maya ran up to her Mom and her auntie, trying to use them as protection, and Emily surprised Jaz when she grabbed her hand to stick with her.
Looking down at the small hand gripping hers, Jaz couldn't help but search out Dalton and wasn't surprised when he was looking straight back at her. If she had been nervous about meeting all the kids, this was certainly easing that. The look in Dalton's eyes was soft, but also assuming, like he hadn't had a doubt in the world that the kids would take to her.
Giving her a small nod and a quick tender smile, which did not go unnoticed by his sisters, he quickly changed into Top mode and snuck up on his nephews, letting fire with his super-soaker, so they ended up… soaked.
They all laughed out loud as the boys shrieked in surprise as they were now dripping wet, and with cries of "Uncle Adam, we're coming to get you," they ran off after him as he jogged away at a slower pace than he usually would when the enemy were chasing him.
Olivia, left the safety of her tree and approached Jaz, "We should team up against them."
"Yeah let's get them; girls against boys. It will be so much fun and we'll beat them easily." Maya chipped in as she joined them.
Jaz smirked. She liked the way these girls were thinking. "What do you think, Em?" She asked the little girl who was still clutching her hand.
"Let's get them."
Jaz couldn't help but laugh at her instant response, so Jaz agreed easily, "Well ok then. Let's team up."
"Uncle Adam is usually pretty good at this stuff. Are you a good shot, Jaz?" Olivia asked earnestly.
"I think so." She replied equally as earnestly, but smirking on the inside. She hoped these kids never knew the extent of the job they did, and knowing that Jaz was a sniper is not something she would share with them. Having said that, pretending she wasn't good at something she was elite at, is a task she would struggle with, so you can bet your life she had every intention of winning this water fight.
Hiding out of sight, they could hear the boys approaching from wherever they had run off to. As they came into sight, Dalton once again had a twin in each arm and the boys were dripping with water. He had clearly won that battle.
He slowed as he approached the cabin though because he couldn't see anyone other than his sisters. Where had those girls gotten to?
Putting the boys both back on the ground, he whispered to them, "Get your water pistols ready."
With serious faces, both Sam and Charlie started to mimic their uncle's slow steps as he had his head on a swivel, surveying the surroundings. The water pistols were out in front of them and Sarah and Katie watched on in amusement as the three of them tried to be as stealthy as possible.
They flinched as a stream of water was aimed their way and turned suddenly to the left to see Maya giggling and quickly hiding behind a tree. Sam and Charlie were keen to get revenge and ran straight for the tree, shrieking as they did so and it quickly turned into a two on one battle with Maya, with Maya walking away just as soaked as they already were.
Dalton could hear the small giggles of Emily, and Liv's quiet shushing of her coming from behind the shed. Walking towards it, showing no mercy, he grinned widely as he put his super-soaker to good use.
Emily squealed and despite Liv knowing that it was her giggles that gave them away, she took the blame herself, "Oh man, I should have been quieter walking around, I need to learn how to be a ninja."
Dalton recognised what she was doing, "It's a good job Em was with you, otherwise I would have found you sooner." He smiled at Em, but ruffled Liv's hair at the same time, sharing a private smile with her.
"You haven't found Jaz yet." Maya exclaimed excitedly as she and the boys joined them.
"Where is she?" Charlie asked
"Not telling." Maya answered quickly.
Dalton looked around, his super-soaker raised as he searched for clues of where Jaz might be hiding when he felt a stream of water hit his neck. While he reached up to wipe it away, the girls giggled and the boys were incensed.
"Where is she? Where is she?" They started chanting as another stream of water hit their uncle, causing them to get even louder. Dalton knew from the angle the water hit him that it was coming from high up.
As he searched the trees around them, he suddenly heard a soft "Hey," and when he whipped around it was to a constant stream of water being directed right at his face. It didn't let up, so running towards it, he lifted Jaz up over his shoulder and ran around with her, causing all his nephews and nieces to howl with laughter. He realised that Jaz had been in the tree and had jumped down without him even hearing her. Typical.
"WE WON, WE WON, WE WON." Liv and Maya were chanting, while Emily clapped along with them.
When Dalton finally put Jaz down, she grinned delightedly and wickedly at him before joining the girls. They all high fived each other and delighted in their plan working.
The boys didn't seem to mind too much, they were just happy to be playing with water pistols and they all walked over and joined the girls.
Dalton caught Liv's eye and pointed to Jaz, "Now that's how you be a ninja," barely hiding his pride.
"I hope she can teach me some tricks."
"I sure can." Jaz joined in, overhearing their conversation.
"Oh geez, you'll all be ganging up on me." Dalton exclaimed.
"I wanna learn to be a ninja too." Sam said.
"Me too."
"Me too."
Dalton looked incredulously at them all, feigning betrayal.
"ME TOO." They all heard Katie yell out from the veranda and everyone laughed at that, even Dalton.
As the kids walked back towards the veranda to grab their drinks, Dalton hung back with Jaz momentarily and smiled wryly at her, "Couldn't help yourself huh?"
"What? The girls wanted a plan. We came up with a plan."
"Did you mean for Emily to be a decoy?"
Jaz shrugged, "Nope. We improvised, and it worked out well."
Dalton laughed, "That it did. That it did."
With that, he placed his hand on the back of her neck and massaged it as they walked towards the veranda. Even with his whole family around, his touch still made her glow and the smile on her face was large enough to power the sun.
His hand slipped away as they joined the others, but Katie caught their eye and the smile on her face matched Jaz's. That flush that Katie had seen earlier on Jaz's face appeared again, and she quickly raised a cold bottle of water to her lips to cool herself down.
Since the kids were already wet, they decided to go for a swim in the lake. It was hot and everyone was eager to cool off. As Jaz went and changed into her swimsuit, Dalton and his sisters got the kids ready.
Sarah was helping the boys get out of their clothes while Katie helped Emily slide floaties on her arms.
When Jaz came back out, with her shorts and t-shirt thrown back over her swimsuit, Sarah and Katie set off into the house to change into their suits too.
"Do you mind if we head over to the lake with the kids?" Dalton asked them before they disappeared.
"Not at all, if you don't mind." Sarah answered.
"We got this. See you down there."
As they set off, Jaz was once again surprised when Emily came up and grabbed her hand again. She smiled down at the little girl, and instinctively looked over to Dalton. Once again he just smiled back at her, all the way up to the crinkles either side of his eyes. He couldn't deny that seeing his niece take to Jaz so quickly made him feel happy. And content. And something else he couldn't quite place.
When they got to the shore of the lake, they all stripped out of their clothes and Dalton was super thankful that Jaz was in one of her one-piece swimsuits. Not that she didn't look fucking amazing in that too—she did—but he didn't want to have any awkward conversations or explanations with his young nieces and nephews.
Jaz caught his eye and her wicked grin let him know she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Can we jump off the jetty?" Charlie asked.
"Maybe later buddy." Dalton answered him, wanting to find out more about their swimming skills before he would let anyone jump off the jetty. His need for safety first, extended into all areas of his life.
"What's that on your leg, Jath?" Sam's lisp caught their attention, as he pointed towards the scars on Jaz's legs.
Jaz was immediately lost for words. She hadn't thought about the kids seeing her scars. She had had them for so long, she sometimes forgot she still had them. She would never forget how she got them, but they were so ingrained in her, that the attention to them surprised her.
"Oh – umm… they umm…" Jaz didn't know how to answer; she was still caught off guard by the questions.
"Are they from owies?" Charlie asked, having seen what Sam was pointing too.
Jaz looked at Adam quickly, seeing the hesitance in his face, before answering in a quiet voice, "Yeah they're from owies."
"They look like big owies. Did someone kiss them better?"
Jaz once again didn't know how to answer, and seeing her struggle, Dalton swooped in, "Boys are we ready to get in there?"
"Sure we are." They quickly answered, excited at the prospect of getting into the lake.
Jaz shot Dalton a look of thanks as she felt Emily tug on her hand. Looking down at her, she watched the little girl kiss her finger and then place it on the side of her knee where one of her scars was.
"All better." Emily said simply.
The sudden prickling in her eyes had her blinking excessively. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she wasn't quite sure how to react—or what this feeling was.
"Thanks Em." She managed to choke out, gripping the little girls hand even tighter.
Seeing her face and the look of shock wash over it, Dalton leaned over to pick up Emily, "Ready to go Em?"
As Emily nodded enthusiastically, Dalton placed his hand on Jaz's cheek until she met his eyes, "You good?"
She knew he was checking in with her. She knew that at the moment that's what he could offer her, and she appreciated it, especially with all the kids around.
"I'm good." She whispered in return. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek and she sought comfort from that. "Go," she whispered again, "I'll be right behind you."
Holding her gaze a fraction longer, he leaned over to press his lips to her forehead, before turning and walking back towards the shore where the other kids were waiting.
Jaz took a moment to gather herself and took a few long deep breaths, just like Xander has taught her. Not many people had asked her about the scars. Elijah had once, but Jaz had dodged the topic, making it clear that it wasn't a discussion she wanted to have. And of course Arthur had brought them up in Tehran, which caused a shiver to go down her spine just remembering. Then in the space of one day, Dalton had alluded to them earlier in his kitchen and little Sam has asked about them. But she understood that little kids were curious creatures and asking is always better than assuming. She just wasn't quite sure what the answer would have been if Dalton hadn't saved the day.
Once her breathing was back under control and she could feel her heart rate lower, she started walking towards the lake to join the others. She could think about all of this later. For now, she wanted to be with Dalton and his family.
Dalton winked at her as she joined them and she gave him a reassuring smile. She had this.
All of a sudden Patton ran out into the water and the boys shrieked in delight and ran out to join him, with Dalton hot on their heels.
Sarah and Katie soon joined them and they all enjoyed swimming and splashing around in the lake and eventually, jumping off the jetty.
Jaz, Sarah and Katie stood on the jetty while the kids took it in turns jumping into Dalton's arms. Olivia was in the lake with him, already a strong and confident swimmer.
Jaz couldn't help but smile seeing Adam with his nephews and nieces. She had been learning all new facets to Dalton over the course of the last few months, but this was another addition. Seeing how attentive he was with them, was once again making her feel things she wasn't familiar with, but a warmth spread from deep inside her and emanated through her eyes as she watched.
Katie nudged her, "So you're really into my brother, huh?"
Jaz laughed, "What makes you say that?"
"Because you look at him the same way he looks at you. And I've never seen him look at anyone else like that. I'm guessing it's the same for you."
"I've never met anyone like him." Jaz admitted, before continuing, "Can I ask you a question?" Katie just nodded in encouragement, "When we had lunch last week, you said that you'd always hoped it would be me he ended up with. What did you mean by that?"
The look of curiosity on her face let Katie know she really didn't know.
"Adam's been in the army since I was twelve. For all that time he's only ever been home for small stints before shipping out again. He's never mentioned any woman or any female friend before. Sarah and I always ask him about his deployments and as you know he only ever tells us the bare minimum, which we understand, but he always has a couple of little stories about his teammates. Three years ago, the look in his eyes changed when he first mentioned you. It was like the light that had been missing for as long as I can remember had been relit. His voice became a touch softer when he mentioned your name—but at the same time, he also said as little as possible as he could about you. Dead giveaway. He's not the best communicator, and we have accepted that about him, but we both knew that you were someone different and for the longest time we have hoped that we might get to meet you someday. And here we are… someday!"
Jaz just stared at Katie. She understood how Dalton had been a little closed off to his sisters. Their job wasn't one you could exactly write home about. But not being privy to many family dynamics had her surprised that they had read him so easily. She was a trained spy, and yet, she had only ever picked up mixed signals over the last few years. I guess being an outside observer made it easier to see.
"It's ok that you don't know what to say," Katie chuckled, "I know I talk a lot, I'm sure Adam told you that about me, but it's the truth. I don't see him often, but I see him—if that makes sense?"
"It makes a lot of sense." Jaz clarified, not sure what else to say, but thankful that Katie had given her an answer.
Sarah was in the lake now as well as all the kids and Jaz and Katie just stood gazing out at them all. Katie placed her hand softly on Jaz's shoulder causing her to look straight at her, "I've never seen my brother this happy. Ever. So thank you, it's really great to see this side of him."
With that she took off at a run and bombed into the lake, making all the kids laugh out loud.
Jaz just smiled after her in amazement, before the yelling of her name interrupted her thoughts. Apparently she was wanted in the lake, and that feeling of want was one of the best feelings in the world. She ran up and did her own bomb into the lake. She laughed as she surfaced right next to Adam, and she spontaneously wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him close. His face broke into a big smile and he pulled her even closer, leaning forward to capture her lips quickly.
"What are you smiling at?" He asked curiously when he pulled back, but the smile didn't leave her face.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? That smile doesn't look like nothing."
She just beamed back at him, not offering an explanation.
Trying to read her face, he had no such luck. He had seen Jaz and Katie chatting on the jetty, and goodness knows what Katie had had to say. But if whatever it was had put that smile back on Jaz's face, he had no complaints. A smile on her face was like the sun. Bright, stunning and warm. It suited her.
Not being able to resist that face he kissed her again, this time a little bit longer and a little bit deeper. It took a small voice to remind me that they had an audience.
"Gross, Uncle Adam is kissing Jaz." Charlie was exclaiming, his face all twisted up in disgust.
Pulling away from each other, a little embarrassed that they had forgotten their surroundings, they gave the others wry smiles and Adam just shrugged. There was a big grin on Katie's face while she had her hand covering up Emily's eyes. Sarah, Liv and Maya all had similar smiles on their faces.
The only one not smiling, other than Charlie, was Sam, "Groth," he agreed with his brother and scrunched up his little face in distaste.
With one last quick smile to Jaz, Dalton broke away and made towards Sarah who had hold of the twins, "Come here, you little rascals!"
They all looked on laughingly as Dalton grabbed the boys and hitched them over his shoulders. And the boys loved every minute of it.
So like I said earlier, I thought this day at the cabin would just be one chapter, but it has turned into three chapters! Slowest story ever, right? Introducing the nieces and nephews took up a big part of this chapter, but I wanted to highlight each kid a little bit... and then I just couldn't stop. Needless to say there is more of the sisters and kids to come.
I'll post the next chapter soon, but thank you all for sticking with me, for reading and for commenting. I love writing this story and I love getting your feedback.
For those that ask: Yes, I have every intention of continuing this story and it will include when they have to redeploy and what happens when they do so. I'm no where near done with this!
Thanks again for reading and much love to you all XXX