A/N: Tensions run high as Noble Six begins to suspect that she's not who she thought she was all along...and it'll take the rest of the team some convincing to get her to think otherwise.

Also, Carter goes into Overprotective Dad Mode™, because he is 100% Done With His Team's Shit™.

To Ultra Rodimus: Pack of Spartans on the loose is one term for what's gonna happen! ;) heheheh

Monastir, New Harmony, unknown system, May 24th, 2553

Months had passed since the Human-Covenant War had ended, and Noble Team had declared that they were striking out on their own. So far, things had been fairly quiet, and due to this quiet, they allowed themselves a chance to relax and recuperate...to heal. They had made New Harmony their base of operations – since it had not been glassed, and only partially attacked, then it was much easier to begin rebuilding the colony than anywhere else. That, and since two members of the team knew the planet quite well, they had decided that it was best to stick to familiar grounds. The Stalwart Dawn, now fondly nicknamed the Spilt Coffee – for reasons unknown – remained on the surface; this was where the SPARTANs lived, if they were not staying on the surface itself for a few days at a time.

Noble had formed a bond during the fires of war, and now that bond was increasing in strength with each passing day – as they got used to each other, and got to know each other properly. They also conversed often with the crew of the frigate, and even befriended a few of the personnel; Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, Marines, and Army Troopers alike.

Though the occasional problem arose between the UNSC personnel, Noble Team, and the inhabitants of New Harmony, they were often resolved quickly – and before anything could escalate further. Relations were quite stable with the local residents, and there was a sort of...kinship...forming with them – one that would prevent further issues, and also help the two sides to work together lest any outside issues arose and caused them trouble. Of course, since they were out of their armour pretty much all the time now, it made relations easier; they appeared more nonthreatening and human.

It was not always easy, however.

Nightmares were still a common occurrence amongst NOBLE; an unfortunate thing which they knew would not be leaving them anytime soon. They were learning to cope, though, and they were also helping each other out with their individual issues as well.

But of course, there were also good times. As Jun so often said, gotta take the good with the bad. And they did; and it strengthened their bonds and brought them closer together.

As close as they were now, there were still some things that they kept from each other.

Such as the truth about who Noble Six really was.

Monastir, New Harmony, unknown system, May 29th, 2553

The day had started off like any other. Well, aside from the fact that Artemis felt a little more twitchy than usual, but...that wasn't really all that far off the norm. But something just didn't feel right to the Lieutenant; something was off.

And she was determined to find out exactly what.

She knew that Kat had been hacking deeper into her files; the cryptanalyst had told her so, and had also disclosed what she had found out so far. Yet it felt like she hadn't been told the full story. It felt like Kat – and even the rest of the team – knew something about her that she didn't just yet. They were keeping something from her, she was certain.

But what?

"There's something you guys aren't telling me." Artemis declared. She noted the way Emile was side-eyeing her; the way Kat seemed to be warring with herself about telling her something; the way Carter's hands were twitching at his sides, like he was trying to reach for something that wasn't there. Something was definitely up, and she was determined to find out exactly what, even if it meant snatching Kat's datapad out of her hands and searching through the files herself.

"We-" the Commander began, but Kat cut him off with a sharp look, though she never said anything. Artemis grew frustrated with her teammates' silence and uneasy gazes, and she uttered a low growl in warning.

"What are you keeping from me?!" she practically snarled at them, hands curling into fists so tight she could feel the little half moons from where her fingernails dug into her palms. She was tense, way too tense; Jun sent her a placating look, shaking his head at her to warn her not to try anything stupid. Tch, yeah, like that was gonna work. She was all fired up, and they knew full well that it took her a long time to calm down.

What right did they have – her team, her family – to keep things from her? They were supposed to share things – they'd established the rule of no more secret-keeping a long time ago.

And then – it hit her.

"I'm not one of you, am I?" she asked slowly, keeping her tone low and even, though she could feel the current of anger rushing just beneath the surface. "I don't belong with you, do I? And that's what you've been keeping from me the entire time."

"Artemis, I don't think you understand..." Emile began to protest, but immediately backed off when she rounded on him. When had she gotten to her feet?

"No, I think I understand perfectly, actually," she seethed at him, "I understand just fucking perfectly that I'm different from the rest of you! I get it now – I finally understand why you keep changing the way you act around me. Because you're all afraid of me. And don't you even begin to open your mouth, Kat." She could see that the Lieutenant Commander was already trying to say something, but she shot her friend down before she could utter a single sound. "I know you only befriended me because you needed me to protect you, and you only remained my friend for so long because you were afraid of what I would do to you if you suddenly gave up on me."

Her words rang in the air, sharp and harsh, though she was too blind to see it; too blind to notice that the others had gone deathly quiet.

She didn't know, then, how much the sting of what was practically a betrayal would hurt. All she knew in that moment was that all she felt was white hot, blinding rage, mixed in with an icy numbness.

She needed to get out – to think, to do something instead of standing here arguing with her –

Wait.

Since when had she ever hesitated on what she called the team? That wasn't right. Her head was so full of memories ... those voices in her head were screaming, at her, at each other ... it was all too much, too fast, and she couldn't –

she had to get out.

Her head was reeling, vision spinning and blurring, and she had to get out, had to escape before she made more of a fool of herself than she'd already had, before she hurt her family further than she had, before – dontthinkjustrunanddontlookbackdontstoprunningwhateveryoudodontstop –

She stumbled blindly out of the room, nearly tripping over her helmet along the way, and broke into a wild, pelting sprint that left the base miles behind in a matter of seconds.

Well, she'd always been fast.

"That was rough," Emile muttered dispassionately, putting an arm around Kat's shoulders because the cryptanalyst looked like she was upset, maybe even on the verge of tears. Artemis' words had hurt them all; they didn't understand why she'd acted the way she did.

Well, Carter did. Sort of. "She's hurting enough as it is. If she needs to take it out on us because she has no other choice, then so be it. We shoulder each other's burdens because we're family, even if it comes at a cost to us." he said firmly, though he was having a hard time believing his own words right now. He couldn't grasp the concept as to why Artemis thought they were afraid of her – none of them could.

None of them had ever shown any signs of fear around her, so what had led her to believe such things in the first place? It just didn't make sense.

"I understand why she did what she did," Jorge, cool and calm as ever, remained the voice of reason. "She's just going through some tough things right now. It only made sense that we kept the true nature of who she is unknown to her, until a more suitable time in which to divest such information. How were we to know that she's much smarter than she looks, and began to put two and two together and come up with a sum of "there's something they're not telling me"?"

Only Jun remained silent and thoughtful, having nothing to say on the matter. He was observing the situation, adding up all of the facts and making sure to factor in potential variables; only then would he give his answer.

"Still doesn't mean she has to make Kat fucking cry. Seriously, how many kinds of fucked up does a person have to be to stoop so low as to hurt their own family?" Emile said lowly, speaking through gritted teeth. He pulled the Lieutenant Commander closer into his side and retreated into the sulky silence that was commonplace for him; though he also comforted his fellow SPARTAN by running a hand through her short black hair.

Carter threw up his hands in frustration, knowing that he wasn't going to change the Warrant Officer's mind – at least, not for now. "I'm gonna go after her. When we get back, this is not over." He looked pointedly at the assault specialist, eyes sharp, before striding out of the room.

It just wasn't fair! Why did Artemis have to cop shit from her teammates when she was already copping enough shit from whatever was going on inside her head? They, of all people, should be able to understand what that was like – at least somewhat!

Growling under his breath in frustration, he commandeered one of the five M274 Mongooses they had on hand – he would never be able to find the lone wolf on foot at this rate – and set off to see if he was able to calm the Lieutenant down.

Thankfully, she hadn't gone very far – she was sitting on a rockpile situated on a low rise, knees drawn up to her chest and head hanging low.

He parked the 'Goose nearby, jumped off, and set about quietly approaching her; though that turned out not to be such a good idea, as she started a figurative half mile when his hand landed on her shoulder. Her upper half whirled around, fist flying out in a punch which he caught easily. It was then that she finally noticed him; when she met his gaze, he could see the tracks on her cheeks which meant tears, and the watery, red eyes.

"You-" she started, but stopped, took a deep breath, and wiped at her eyes. "I-" She shook her head and looked away, rather oblivious to the fact that her arm was still in midair, her fist caught in his hand. "Why are you here?" she finally muttered tightly, glancing up at him again. She was clearly having a time of it keeping her emotions at bay.

"You know why."

"Yet even after what I did, you come here. To – what? Apologize? Ask for my forgiveness?" He winced at the darkness in her tone – why does she have to be angry with me when I'm only here to help and she damn well knows – and felt his heart crack, just a little, when she tore her gaze away, yanking her hand free of his.

"I came here to help. Because I care about you."

A laugh escaped her then, bitter and harsh and filled with none of the happiness he'd heard coming from her before – so long ago, now. "Do you?"

"Look." Carter shifted to sit down, elbows resting on his knees. "I won't lie to you – you hurt all of us. Pretty bad."

"How bad?" Artemis interrupted, and the Commander grimaced and shook his head.

"Kat was close to tears. Emile's pissed, though that's not uncommon." he admitted.

"Because of me. Because of what I did. Because I can't fucking control these voices inside my fucking head, screaming at me, at each other – at you even though you can't hear them. All this – all this noise, and I can't ... sometimes I can't even hear myself think due to how loud it gets up here." Artemis tapped the side of her head, before staring vacantly at her MJOLNIR-encased feet.

Okay, now he'd had enough. "Can you just – can you just stop with the self-loathing and listen for like, five fucking minutes?" he said, unable to hide the exasperation in his tone.

Artemis jerked away at his words, but bobbed her head in consent; she still did not meet his gaze. That probably hurt worse than the self-loathing did.

"I – we didn't want to tell you who you are, and what was done to you, because you were already suffering enough as it was. We wanted to wait for a time when you were more...mentally stable ... before telling you. But we didn't expect you to get so much worse, and we didn't – we didn't think you'd be starting to put two and two together and come up with what you did. Our mistake, I suppose. That's on us, Artemis. None of us are perfect. We're just a – just a mess of crazy people when we're apart, but together, we're so much more. We're a family, a screwed-up, half-together family...but family nonetheless. And we're supposed to always be there for each other; share each other's burdens. Because that's what a family does. You of all people know that." Carter explained quietly.

Only when he'd gone quiet again did she swing her head around to look at him, and he almost wished she'd hadn't – the pain in her eyes was something he almost couldn't bear.

"After I lost my parents, I kept thinking...kept thinking that I would never get another family again. And when I did, I was so afraid of losing them. I know that you all feel the same, but for me it's...ONI's been chasing after me all my life and I never knew why. Still don't. I just...I always get the feeling that it's them that's gonna take my family from me – not the war, not some training mishap or anything...but that ONI's gonna be the ones to take my family from me, and I'll never be able to see them again, even though they'll be alive. And that's just – that's what I've been struggling to live with for my entire life...since I became a SPARTAN."

"Kid, I ... I'm sorry, for whatever it's worth." the Commander offered sympathetically, and the Lieutenant glanced away again, though she spoke as she did, lips barely moving around the words.

"Shouldn't be."

"I do. Because I care."

Artemis set her jaw – though whether in determination, frustration, or to keep tears at bay, he couldn't tell – and looked back over at him again, shoulders drooping. "Damn you," she muttered tightly, and yeah, there was the confirmation – she was trying to keep tears at bay.

"Damn you," she said again, voice coming this time as a low rasp. She rose to her feet and he rose with her, though when Carter made to reach for her, she moved away and began to pace. "Damn you!"

She whirled, red hair fanning out behind her as she rounded on him, and he got a few seconds to glimpse her angered, tear-streaked face before she launched herself at him and nearly brought him to the ground. He staggered and braced himself for an attack, but was surprised when instead she latched onto him like she needed the contact; buried her face into his chest and started crying.

Though hugs were still a little awkward for him, he was starting to get a little...fond of the warm feeling that he got whenever he hugged someone. It was nice; felt like home. He patted Artemis on the back, and she held him tighter – was that even possible at this point? – whilst she made an effort to quiet herself. She began to sink to the ground, knees buckling, and he went with her – he'd always have her back, no matter the way, shape or form – holding her close as she sat down on the rocks again. Gradually she grew silent, though her grip did not loosen in the slightest; she was using him as an anchor. He didn't mind...if she needed to be comforted in such a way, then so be it. He'd put up with it, not uttering a word of complaint.

It was only after fifteen minutes that her grip began to loosen, and then she let go of him entirely; he still kept his arms around her as she curled up in his arms, remaining as close to him as she physically could. He rested one cheek against the top of her head and just held her, content to be silent since that was what she needed.

Artemis mumbled something under her breath and uttered a shuddery sigh, muscles finally relaxing. Good – it meant that he'd done what he'd achieved to do.

"Carter?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks."

"S'ok, kiddo."

"I'm not a kid."

"Pff, you're 20 years to my 32. Try again."

"Don't make me hit you upside the head."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"Go right ahead."

"Was that a challenge?"

"Damn right."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She did whack him upside the head – he just whacked her right back, chuckling softly at the half-hearted glare she shot him; though it was comical because she'd also stuck her lower lip out in a pout, and if that wasn't the most childish thing he'd ever seen.

"That's immature," he chided teasingly, and she rolled her eyes, curling one hand into a fist in a mocking warning.

"Don't make me slug you harder, 'cause I'll do it, smartass."

"Wanna make a bet?"

Artemis just huffed out a laugh and glanced away; when her body language indicated that she wanted space, he let her go and she rose to her feet, offering a hand to help him up, which he took. The two SPARTANs stood shoulder-to-shoulder, staring out at the vast landscape beyond, silence over taking them once more. This time, though, it was more of a comfortable silence than last time...he was sure that the Lieutenant beside him was peaceful now – or at least moreso than she'd been before.

That blissful quiet was soon interrupted by the growling engine of an approaching Warthog; it then screeched to a halt, and the pair was joined by the rest of the team. Carter noticed that Artemis was shying away, nothing but shame in her eyes and body language, and he shot the others a warning, pleading look; go easy on her. He nudged the Lieutenant forward, and kept one hand on her shoulder, both to try and keep her from bolting, and also to say I'm with you.

"Guys, I-I'm sorry. That wasn't right of me to do that...I'm just...sorting through all the shit in my head – there's all these voices and stuff – and it's messing me up...and I took that out on you, which I had no right to. So I'm sorry for that." The redhead tore her gaze away quickly, and he could feel her muscles trembling beneath his hand; she was either bracing herself to flee, or scared of what they might say to her.

"We forgive ya, kid. It's not like we're all dealing with our own demons here. Yours are just of a different breed to ours; so it's understandable if you're a little twitchy." Emile was the first one to say anything, his green eyes showing gentleness that was not evident in his tone of voice.

"Besides, you are one of us. Being twitchy is to be expected." Jun added with a smirk, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the tail of the 'Hog.

Kat never said a word, just hugged Artemis tight; the lone wolf hugged her back equally as tight. What words were needed between friends who already had an unbreakable bond? Body language alone was enough; they apologized by actions rather than words.