HELLOOOOO! Well that was an unexpected and unplanned hiatus. I didn't mean to be away for so long, and just to clarify, I am still continuing this story. I repeat: I am still continuing this story! I'm still way too invested in these characters to let them go.

Just for some context for you, towards the end of last year, I fell pregnant for the first time and it's been a learning curve. A really lovely learning curve - but that first trimester exhaustion was, well... exhausting. I just about had enough energy to get through the work day and that was about it. So not a lot of writing got done, although a lot of day dreaming about these characters did. So I still have much to tell. Then I went overseas for a couple of weeks during our summer break, and I've now been back to work for three weeks, and once again the exhaustion has hit. But I'm feeling better overall.

Anyway, I would STRONGLY recommend that you re-read the last chapter to get you back up to date after my lengthy time away. And for those of you still with me, thank you so, SO MUCH! Hope you enjoy.

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

Chapter 55

With her phone open in front of her, ready to hit dial as soon as she stepped in her room, she was startled by the hand she felt on her shoulder as she closed the door to her room. Dropping her phone instantly and grabbing the wrist of her assailant, she leaned over and used her body weight to flip them over so they were flat on their back. In full soldier mode, she rolled them over quickly, drove her knee into the small of their back while she had hold of their wrists tightly in one hand; the other holding their head against the floor.

In that position, despite the adrenaline running through her body and the anger that someone had dared to break into her room, a woodsy, masculine scent began to permeate her senses invoking an almost automatic sense of calm and familiarity to wash over her. Knowing that scent anywhere, she quickly stood up, and leapt for the light switch.

"Adam?" She asked incredulously, not quite believing the sight of the prone figure in front of her as he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily from her quick defence.

"I missed you too, Jaz."

"What are you doing here?" Jaz asked, but couldn't hide her delight as she lowered herself down to the floor, straddling his waist.

"Getting attacked apparently."

The look on Adam's face was one of amusement as he placed his hands on her thighs and sat up so they were chest to chest. Leaning forward to press his lips to hers, he felt her immediately respond, unable to resist his lips.

But before getting too caught up in him, in his warmth and those precious lips, she pulled away, "No seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to escort you to New York."

Looking at him incredulously, the old Jaz would have bitten his head off and told him she was more than capable of going by herself. But the new Jaz was still basking in this relationship, this partnership, and she had missed him too much the last couple of days to argue anyway.

"You're coming with me?" She clarified in a husky voice.

Adam studied her face; the beautiful face he had missed enormously the last couple of days.

"You're not going without me. I told you that the next time you went to New York, there was no way you were going without me."

He knew he had made the right decision when both relief and happiness softened her big brown eyes and he could swear he saw them mist over.

"Besides," he added cheekily with a twinkle in his eye, "wasn't that the moment you realised you were in love with me?"

She laughed at his teasing, but he was dead right. That had been the moment. Her moment of clarity. She would never forget it, and the fact that he hadn't also, meant so much. She reached down and clasped his hands, intertwining their fingers together. She held on tight as a wave of emotion worked its way through her and she waited until she had a better handle on it before continuing.

"Well—well this uh, explains why you weren't contactable much today."

He huffed out a laugh, "Yeah, as soon as Patricia called me, I knew there was no question of joining you. I got your voicemail telling me yourself so then I had a few things to take of before I could get on a flight. And then I just figured I'd surprise you."

"Consider me surprised." Jaz admitted, before back tracking as his words played over in her head again, "Wait—Patricia called you?"

"It sounded like it was right after you spoke to her. She wasn't worried about you; just thought you could use the support. Her words."

Jaz was in disbelief, before another thought crossed her mind, "Patton?"

"With Sam and Charlie."

"Cassiopeia?"

As a small smile crossed his face, Jaz came to an understanding, "Emily," they both said in unison.

"I told Sarah and Katie to make sure the kids knew they were only visiting for a little vacation. Hopefully there's no tears when we go and collect them."

"Fingers crossed."

Jaz just sat there in amazement. Just five minutes ago she had been determined to undertake her jaunt to New York and do whatever she needed to do there, but had also been undeniably sad at the prospect of not seeing Adam for a few more days. And now here she was, with Adam in her hotel room, and he was making the journey with her.

He continued to surprise her.

Her mind was still working overtime though.

"If Patricia knows you're here, what about—"

"I've got a room here booked under my name too." He answered simply, pre-empting her concern about them being uncovered. She didn't even need to ask how he got into her room, that was child's play for members of their team.

"And what about in New York? If she knows you're supporting me, she must know we'll be together."

"Apparently you have a two-bedroom apartment booked. That's a room each, right?"

Jaz couldn't help but smirk right back at the smirk all over Dalton's face. Of course someone had managed to find out where she was staying, probably Noah.

"Right," she agreed with him, "a room each."

"I missed you," he smiled softly, the sentiment obvious in his soft blue eyes.

She didn't even answer him. Instead she thought she would let her actions speak for her.

Her lips met his and she pressed herself into him, to be as close as humanly possible. His own lips welcomed and accepted hers instantly and he pressed back into her with just as much want, need and emotion. They were fused together from hips to chest and the immediate heat between them was as always, undeniable.

They kissed each other deeply. Adam's fingertips in her hair and his thumbs on her cheeks. Their kissing gradually became more urgent, more desperate, owning each other. Their lips were hot from the friction they were creating and that heat spread to the rest of their bodies.

Adam's hands lifted Jaz's top over her head before quickly doing the same with his own. His hands quickly made their way to her back, clutching her close and as always, marvelling at the smoothness and softness of her skin.

Their hips rocked against each other, grinding against each other desperately seeking relief from the aching inside of them.

One of Adam's hands snaked its way between them to cup her breast in his large palm, at the same time he tore his lips from hers and let them slip to her throat. She shivered from the combined sensation and moved against him with even more force, her breath starting to sound ragged with desire as she struggled to hold back a moan.

Hearing this only urged Adam on further and he ravaged her throat a little longer, before finding her lips again, their hips still moving in a mutual rhythm.

His skillful hand had removed her bra and still cupped her breast, massaging it and teasing her fully erect nipple as the sensations ran right through her to her core. She pressed herself into his palm, seeking as much from him as she could and the heated look in her eye as he pulled away to look at her had him moving swiftly.

He moved his hands quickly to his jeans and unbuckled himself to release his rock hard cock from its confines. Grasping her butt in one hand, he reached down to slide her panties to the side, too impatient to remove their final pieces of clothing.

With a quick stroke of her dripping folds, she moaned even louder as he lifted her and slid her down on his long, hard length. Both of them let out long, desperate moans like they had been apart for a lot longer than a couple of days.

They sought and found the pleasure they so desperately desired from each other and their coupling was loving, frenzied and quick. Neither of them lasted very long and as they shuddered together a short time later, letting their combined shivers ride themselves out, they pressed their foreheads together and couldn't help but laugh softly.

"I feel like a teenage boy. Barely inside the door, and could barely hold on." Dalton laughed wryly.

"You definitely weren't alone in that." Jaz's breathed in her deep rasp.

"I love you, Jaz. I missed you."

Jaz placed a hand tenderly on his cheek, letting her fingers sift through his beard as she often did, "I love you too. So much."

This felt like coming home. They were each other's home.

Amir picked them both up from the lobby of the hotel early the next morning. Apparently he had known Adam was flying in too, which explained his hasty exit from dinner last night.

No matter the reason, Jaz had enjoyed seeing him for a couple of days and as they all parted at the airport, they knew they would be seeing him again in Montana soon enough.

She didn't even question that Adam had managed to get on the same flight as her, or that they were seated together. As the plane took off, leaving DC behind them, Adam reached over and clasped her small hand in his much larger hand. As the enormity of what she was doing finally settled over her, she couldn't be more thankful to have him by her side.

She still didn't really know what her intentions were in New York. She hoped she would figure it out when she got there.

"Have you been to New York?" She asked Adam curiously, realising they had never really talked about it.

"I've been through the airport a bunch of times, but only into the city once. It was for a mission. We were in and out in a matter of hours. That's it."

"Well maybe we can see some more of it together." Jaz said softly, knowing there was still so much that even she hadn't seen in the city that never sleeps. She had grown up in the Bronx, but it's not like her family went sightseeing much. Other than the bodega that her Dad ran and school, she didn't leave the apartment all that much.

She'd been a quiet, off-standish student at school. She hadn't made any real friends to speak of, she'd been more of a loner. There hadn't been anyone to notice the frequent bruises or injuries, no one who noticed the bags under her eyes from getting very little sleep each night. Most kids in her neighbourhood had their own shit to deal with, never mind notice anyone else's and looking back, the teachers were just getting through the days by the skin of their teeth.

So she didn't have anyone to visit or anyone she owed her time to. She didn't even know if her parents were still at the same place, if they still had the bodega or if they were even still alive. She still didn't even know if she intended on facing them at all just yet. Her intentions were very unclear. The only thing she had been clear on was that she needed to come to New York.

"Sounds good," Dalton agreed with her, squeezing her hand as he did so.

After they landed a short time later, they got a cab to the apartment Jaz had found on Air BnB. To her surprise, it was even nicer than it had been advertised, and a lot nicer than she had been expecting in this neighbourhood.

"Good job on the apartment."

"It's better than I thought it would be, and thank goodness for the two bedrooms." Jaz teased.

Walking towards her with a twinkle in his eye, Dalton agreed with her, "Thank goodness, indeed."

She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as he wound his fingers through her belt loops and pulled her so she was flush against him, kissing her deeply as she gave in to the giggle she had been trying to hold back.

She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer as she kissed him back just as enthusiastically as he was. Losing herself temporarily in his lips, she almost forgot where she was.

Almost.

As the realisation washed over her, she pulled her lips away from his, but didn't move her body, she was happy to have him this close. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a big sigh and felt him move his hands from her hips to wrap completely around her waist. He held her tightly, knowing that the sigh she had just emitted was bound to work its self from her eventually.

"You good?" He whispered in her ear.

"I don't know." She whispered back truthfully and she felt his arms tighten even more.

They stayed like that for a while. Just breathing with each other. Just holding each other.

Eventually Jaz took a step back and walked over to a window facing out to the street. She looked over at him as she pointed towards a shop on the corner.

"That's the bodega my dad owned and where my Mom worked. I spent a lot of time in the back room, making sure I stayed out of trouble," she gestured, her fingers making the air quotes sign.

Moving to stand next to her, Dalton looked to where she was pointing. The bodega looked no different to any other that littered the street corners in this part of the state.

"Two blocks that way," Dalton followed the direction that Jaz was pointing, "is the apartment we lived in."

"I didn't realise we were so close," Dalton mused.

"Yeah I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad."

"We'll figure it out." Dalton reassured her in that soothing tone of his. And she knew he was right. Whatever the next two days were about, having him there made it seem easier already.

With no real plan, they ended up spending the afternoon wandering around the neighbourhood. Jaz pointed a few things out to Dalton including the schools she had attended, but she had no emotional attachment to any place she came across.

After dinner at a pizza place, the route she took back to their apartment included walking past the apartment where she had spent the first 17 years of her life. She could see a light on through the windows, but still had no idea if her parents still lived there.

Dalton watched her blank face, not a shred of emotion on it as she just gazed up at the third floor apartment. He just let her do what she needed to do and when she abruptly turned on her heel and walked off, he just stayed by her side until he realised she was stopping outside the bodega. The one her Dad owned.

Her face was once again a blank canvas, and even though he usually had a pretty good read on her, this was an expression he couldn't translate.

"Do you want to go in?" He asked her quietly after they had been standing there silently for a good five minutes.

She didn't answer straight away, but eventually she shook her head, "No. Let's go back to the apartment."

Once again she turned quickly on her heel and walked in the direction of the Air BnB.

When they got in, she turned to him, "I need a hot shower, I won't be long."

Dalton nodded in understanding, "While you do that, I'll go and get us some beer."

A glimmer of a smile crossed Jaz's face as she walked towards the bathroom, "I like your thinking," she called back gratefully.

When Dalton was back at street level, he had a quick look around, but already knew that the bodega they had just quickly about-faced from was the closest store. He could walk to the next block, it wouldn't take long, but curiosity got the better of him.

As he stepped inside, he was met with the same scent he had smelled in similar stores. Mustiness; like some stock had been on the shelves for far too long and every spare corner was piled high with boxes. That being said, the store looked clean. The floor was scuffed, but shiny and the windows looked spotless.

Wandering the aisles, he grabbed a packet of chips randomly before heading to where the beer was stocked. Grabbing a six pack of a beer they drank regularly, he walked towards the counter, still not having seen anyone working there. As he approached though, a woman stood up from where she had been crouching down dusting some shelves and as she turned to greet him, there was no doubt in his mind as to who she was.

If the same big, chocolate brown eyes hadn't been a giveaway, the long dark chestnut coloured hair, albeit with a few greys scattered through it, confirmed it. She had it tied back in a conservative ponytail at the nape of her neck, but it hung halfway down her back.

Jaz's Mom.

There was no doubt in his mind.

He looked around quickly, but when he didn't detect anyone else in the store, he wondered where her father might be. He fought the urge to clench his fists; fought the urge to demand his whereabouts.

As Jaz's Mom greeted him and rang up his purchases he couldn't help but notice she wore no wedding ring and the empty, bleak look in her eyes was all too familiar. It was the same look he had seen in Jaz's eyes when Elijah had died and when they rescued her in Tehran. The familiarity of that look pained him, and although he had little sympathy for the woman in front of him, he wondered about it.

Making deliberate eye contact with her as she handed over his purchases, she looked almost surprised to be looked at so intently. He saw her take a step back as if she felt threatened and not wanting to cause any suspicion, he mustered a hint of a smile in thanks and walked out the store. One last quick surveillance, which had included a quick glance at the security camera screens behind the counter, concluded that there was definitely no one else present in the store, not even in the back storeroom.

He could hear the shower still running as he stepped back into the apartment and knew how much Jaz enjoyed a long, hot shower, especially when something was on her mind. It briefly crossed his mind to join her, but decided to give her time to herself and instead sat down to decide if he would tell her that he had just seen her Mom.

He didn't even need to decide.

Jaz knew.

The realisation had washed over her in the shower. Where else would he have gone when that particular store was right over the road? She didn't blame him at all. She would have done the same.

As she came out of the bathroom with her long hair wrapped up in a towel, she sat down next to him, took a long swig of the beer he held out for her and looked at him knowingly.

"So was he in there?"

He wasn't even surprised she had figured it out, so he didn't bother to act as such.

"There was no man in there. But there was a woman, who I'm ninety-five percent sure is your Mom."

Jaz just stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say, "Did she—did she have a head scarf on?" She stuttered.

"Like a hijab?"

"No, not a hijab, but she always had a loose scarf wrapped around her head in public, mostly to keep my Dad happy. She's not Muslim, but my Dad liked to act like she was."

He shook his head slowly, "There was no scarf whatsoever. But her eyes and her hair, were exactly the same as yours. I knew who she was the moment I saw her. I would have known, even if I had no context behind this whole situation."

Jaz knew he was right. She did look a lot like her Mom. People in the store or staff at the various hospitals visits she had experienced with her mother had always commented so. She didn't love that fact, but she couldn't deny it either.

"But he wasn't there?"

"He wasn't there." Dalton confirmed, fiddling with his beer as he made his next observation, "Did she used to wear a wedding ring?"

"Sometimes, but I'm not sure what dictated whether she did or not."

"Could be the religious stuff, a lot of Muslim's don't wear a ring, but if she hadn't converted—"

"Much to my father's disgust." Jaz interrupted.

"—that would explain that."

"My Mom comes from an Italian background." Jaz revealed quietly, lost in her thoughts. Gabriella Khan, had come from an Italian family, and while she hadn't converted to Islam for her father, he had expected her to abide by many of their customs, like wearing a loose scarf covering her long hair when out in public.

"Well that explains the lasagne." Dalton quipped, recalling the dish Jaz cooked the most on base.

Jaz just looked over at him and smiled, but he saw that it didn't quite reach her eyes. He reached out to grab her hand and pulled her off the chair she was sitting on and onto his lap.

"I hope you're not angry that I went over there."

Jaz placed her hand on his cheek and he watched her eyes soften, "I'm not angry. In fact, it's helped. I didn't know what the hell I was doing here. I was hoping I would figure it out when I got here. I didn't know if I would even see them, or want to see them, but knowing that she's just over the street… well the curiosity is getting the better of me."

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, turning his cheek in her hand to kiss her palm.

After a few moments of silence, a storm of emotions crossing her eyes, she whispered to him, "I think I'm going over there."

He nodded, knowing that would be her decision. They were curious creatures by nature, part of what made them so good at their jobs, and the elitist of the elite.

"Want me to go with you?"

"No, I think I got this."

Dalton just nodded, understanding why she wanted to go alone.

"Besides, I'm sure you'll be watching from the window anyway," Jaz teased.

He shrugged nonchalantly, trying to look innocent, but couldn't help the grin on his face, "Guilty."

Standing from his lap, she took the towel still wrapped around her wet hair and hung it up in the bathroom. Throwing her hair into a quick top knot, she looked at herself in the mirror and took a long deep breath.

She hadn't seen her Mom in about ten years. She didn't know what to expect. Up until five minutes ago, she hadn't even been sure she wanted to see her; to see either of them. But her Mom was probably the easiest to start with, and if Dalton was sure she was the only one in the store, now was the time.

Dalton was standing by the window when she went back out into the lounge room. No doubt, he would stay in that position until Jaz was back, but he walked over to her and placed his hands on her cheeks, framing her face and tilting it towards his. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead before placing a tender kiss on her lips.

No words were exchanged, they didn't need to be, but Dalton held her gaze as she pulled away and walked backwards towards the door. She gave him a small smile before she turned around and disappeared into the night.

Taking up his post once again at the window, he saw her moments later at street level. He watched her cross the road and reach the doorway of the store, hesitating only momentarily before she disappeared inside.

Jaz took one last deep breath before she walked straight into the store. She'd come this far; she may as well get this over with. She approached the counter where she could hear someone rummaging around. Clearing her throat loudly to announce her presence she watched as the female figure stood and turned to focus on her customer.

Jaz watched as her Mom looked right at her, before gasping slightly and grabbing the counter for support. She continued to stare as if to convince herself that it was really was her daughter standing there in front of her.

"Jasmine?" She managed to whisper in a curious, but broken voice.

Showing no emotion or expression in her tone or facial features, Jaz just replied, "It's me."

So some of the little tidbits came from an audition script for Jaz that Dean released on twitter a long time ago, such as her Mum/Mom being Italian. It also mentioned a brother, but I haven't included him in this story. I had the bulk of this chapter written months ago (sorry!) it just took me a couple of days to edit and now post.

I must say a HUGE thank you to those of you who have been re-reading and leaving me messages both on here or on instagram wondering if I'm continuing. Sorry I haven't had a chance to get back to you all, but the answer is definitely YES! I appreciate your interest in this story so much, the guilt at not posting was real!

I should hopefully be back at posting quite regularly and once the little guy arrives in early June, hopefully I'll still post when I can. Like I've said, I love these characters too much to say goodbye to them.

Ok, enough waffling. I'd love to know what you think!

Much love to you all XXX