Sonny'd had a bad feeling before they entered the damn cave network - add in a creepy tunnel that dead ends at some old statue? Asking for trouble. And Spenser just had to go and touch the damn thing.

Rated T. Age regression/de-aging. Kid fic.

Teeny tiny Blackburn chapter, because he's basically the only officer Bravo respects.

Chapter Ten

Blackburn was going to blow. There was only so much runaround a man could take.

"So, you're telling me, the PNG order trumps a SEAL in need?" Blackburn's face was red and his eyes narrowed. He'd been arguing with this Captain for over an hour now - zero straight answers to be had.

Captain Walsh was not directly in Blackburn's chain of command; he was, however, in charge of base admin. He'd been the man to order Ash Spenser's PNG in the first place.

"There is nothing Ash Spenser can provide that another SEAL can't." Captain Walsh didn't even look up from his computer. Blackburn's eyebrow twitched.

"Except, in the case, where the SEAL is his son," Blackburn stood, drawing the Captain's eyes. "I think its time I talk to the Admiral about this - you don't have clearance for the details anyway."

Walsh got up, face scrunched into a sneer, "I assure you, the admiral stands with me on this. Ash Spenser doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut, he cannot and will not be ttusted on this base."

Blackburn stalked from the room - the desire to throw a chair at the man slowly declined once he was out of the office. There was - annoyingly - truth to the asshole's statement.

Admiral Doherty was a man who held grudges. And Ash Spenser had not only burned that bridge when he left, he'd fanned the flames with nitro and then spotlighted the ignition source. The only name Spenser had bothered to name in his book was Doherty - mostly to rip on the then-commander's ability to quarterback from the sidelines.

"Why do SEALs have to be so prickly?" Blackburn grunted as Davis fell into step behind him. She chuckled. "Ash deciding to have the last word with Doherty is costing us time."

"Sir," Davis paused, "If I may - the PNG has to do with his physical presence here on base." Blackburn stopped midstep.

Blackburn's brow lowered. He didn't turn around.

"Clay's phone is still in my inventory."

It was tempting. Davis had a point. PNG was specifically related to presence on base, not to communication - it was a loophole both wildly exploited and ignored.

"Do it." Blackburn started walking again. Worse came to worst, Ash Spenser could swim in choppy water. Some might say he'd made a career out of it.

When Davis turned down a hallway, Blackburn kept going. There was still paperwork to do, doctors to debrief. His office beckoned. Bravo could swim in choppier waters than most, but he was determine to slow the current.

Personal headcanon: Ash Spenser knows where all the bodies are buried (literally and figuratively) and that is the real reason he's PNG'd. Man with that kind of swagger tends to accumulate enemies. That's a whole nother fic though! ;)

Thanks for reading! Reviews Appreciated!