Thank you, Castiel's drycleaner, for your support and for being an awesome Beta.

Thank you, Ash. A. Leah, for your support as well.

I greatly appreciate you both.

And thank you to my reviewers of Chapter 2: Riley Carbine, Deth Faenim, gottalovealoser, eustilly and DeceptionsDance. I love reading what you think about my story.

I'm sorry Chapter 2 was a bit of a teaser but I had to stop it there because I really knew where I wanted to start this one.

Jensen's Petunia

The Losers agreed with Clay; as if they had a choice that did not result in a firing squad. They began getting comfortable as they settled in for the afternoon. Wolfe took this downtime as an opportunity to use to his advantage.

"Colonel," Wolfe waited until he had Clay's attention. He didn't have to wait very long. "While you and your men get settled in here, Jensen and I are gonna go get some firewood."

Jensen made a move to follow Wolfe out of the clearing when Cougar suddenly appeared in front of Wolfe. Cougar stared at this unknown man with a warning look in his eyes. Wolfe just smiled back at Cougar with a knowing look on his face. Jensen, who stood right behind Cougar, could not see either man's face but could sense the tension in the air.

Clay, Roque and Pooch watched as Wolfe and Cougar silently challenged each other. Clay could tell that Jensen was about to burst with questions so he intervened. "It's okay Cougar. Wolfe's on our side for this mission. We can trust him to look out for Jensen."

Cougar continued to stare at Wolfe harshly for one more minute before moving aside and letting Jensen follow Wolfe into the jungle. As soon as they were out of sight Cougar turned to look at Clay. He wasn't the only one. Roque and Pooch both turned to Clay and started talking at the same time.

"A fire Clay-is that safe?" Roque was worried about giving away their position.

"Colonel, I don't think it's such a good idea for any of us to be alone with Wolfe." Pooch rubbed his bald head as he hesitated to say, "Especially Jensen."

Cougar grunted his agreement. The silent sniper did not like the look that Wolfe got in his eyes every time he looked at Jensen. It was a very hungry look that held a hint of his sadistic nature. Cougar could sense the evilness in the man. He didn't like letting Jensen out of his sight for even a second as long as that man was around.

Clay held up his hands as if to ward off any further comments from his men. "Look guys. First Roque, yes a fire should be safe. This clearing is far enough away from the fortress to not be seen. It's why we set up here to begin with." Clay shook his head when it looked as if Roque would say something else. "Second Pooch and Cougar, I know. I see the way Wolfe looks at Jensen too. I don't like it either. But we have to deal with it until this mission is over. Then we won't have to deal with him. Until then," Clay saw how tense Cougar was becoming as he continued to speak, "we'll just have to keep an eye on both Wolfe and Jensen."

Roque made a sound of disgust. "Great. Now we have to babysit the kid and keep a watch on Wolfe."

"Please Roque," Pooch shook his head at his friend. "We all know that you wouldn't have taken your eyes off Wolfe to begin with. You don't trust anyone who's new." Pooch chuckled as he remembered the first six months after they were assigned Jensen. One of his fondest memories is of an exasperated Jensen trying tirelessly to get Roque to trust him and to talk to him. "It took six months before you'd even let Jensen stand behind you."

Cougar and Clay smirked as they began remembering that time with fondness as well. Roque actually smiled as he said, "Yeah okay. I admit I won't be taking my attention away from Wolfe anytime soon. I don't trust the man. He's too…shifty. I get a bad vibe off of him; worse than I've ever had before. But Jensen's a grown man-"

"Who attracts danger and mayhem and never has the good sense to shut up when it's best." Clay finished for Roque. He knew Jensen annoyed Roque like no one else ever could but he also knew that Roque would have Jensen's back. They all would. Clay looked around at his men as they all nodded their heads in agreement with him. He noticed that Cougar kept glancing at the spot where Jensen had disappeared only minutes before.

"Roque, Pooch." Clay paused until he had their attention. From the somber looks on their faces he could tell that they were replaying memories of times when Jensen had gotten himself into trouble. "Cougar and I are gonna go scout out the area surrounding this clearing. We'll be back in twenty. By then Jensen and Wolfe should be back as well. Keep an eye on them."

Roque looked between Clay and Cougar before turning back to sharpening his knives. Pooch nodded and sat down on his bedroll. "Will do boss."

Clay nodded back then turned to his sniper. "Let's go Cougar."

The men walked into the jungle side by side. After walking for a few minutes, Clay grabbed Cougar's forearm, a silent indication that he wanted the man to stop walking. Cougar raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Clay was unsure of how to begin. He's always known what to say and when to say it. But now that he was confronting Cougar about Jensen he was apprehensive. He knew how his sniper felt for their young hacker. They all knew how Cougar felt. Everyone except for Jensen himself knew. The kid was oblivious. But Cougar was a very private person and did not like to talk about himself or his feelings. He was the type of man that would rather pretend that his feelings didn't exist. The fact that they were in the military and had a strict policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell was also a determining factor. Screw the policy and Cougar's feelings. This is too important.

"Look Cougs, you need to tell Jensen." Clay watched as Cougar raised his eyebrow yet again. "You know what Cougar. He deserves to know." Cougar's continuing silence and expressionless face were beginning to make Clay uneasy. He knew that he might have overstepped his bounds but this was his team damn it. Any distraction could be deadly for all of them. Wolfe was definitely a distraction.

"We all know how you feel about him Cougar." Clay let that sink in for a minute before he continued. "We have for quite some time now. You may hide it from him but you can't hide it from us." Clay paused once again before finishing. "We know you too well."

Cougar studied his colonel's serious expression. The sniper thought that the unit might believe he was just overprotective of Jensen because Jensen was so young. He didn't realize that they knew his true feelings for Jensen. Mierda. (Shit)

Cougar stared at the Colonel for a few tense moments. In an unsure voice Cougar told him, "No puedo decirle."

"What was that soldier?" Clay knew Cougar was having a hard time showing what he felt for Jensen. But Cougar also knew that Clay didn't speak Spanish.

Cougar lifted his chin and said in a clear crisp voice, "I can't tell him."

Clay could feel himself soften. He remembered the first time he told his ex-wife that he loved her. The nervousness, the anxiety, the fear of rejection; he remembered it well. It was a terrifying experience that he never wanted to go through again. Poor Carlos.

"You have to Cougar." Clay gave Cougar a stern look. Even though Clay could sympathize with Cougar, that wasn't what Cougar needed right now. He needed someone to push him to face facts and to admit what he wanted. "Jensen deserves to know. He may not realize yet the reason you're always there; whether it's to protect him, comfort him, or to keep him company. But he will one day. How do you think that's gonna make him feel? To find out after all that time that you," Clay took a deep breath before saying the word that all men seem to fear, "loved him and yet never told him? Never gave him a chance to decide on choices he didn't know were available to him."

Cougar thought hard about what Clay had said. He knew Clay was right. He also knew that he would never have his chance at happiness with Jensen if he never told Jensen how he felt. But happiness had always eluded Cougar. All of his life he tried to attain a bit of happiness just to have it yanked out of his reach.

When Cougar had first met Jensen it was like a moth to a flame. He just had to be around him. Cougar couldn't get enough of Jensen. While the others became annoyed with Jensen's incessant yammering Cougar found it refreshingly peaceful. He could be around the hacker and not be expected to say anything yet still be involved in the conversation. And Jensen never took exception to Cougar's silence. He just took it as encouragement to talk even more.

Clay watched his silent sniper in fascination at all the emotions that passed through Cougar's eyes. If Clay hadn't been watching Cougar closely he would have missed them. After another minute of pensive calm Clay could see that Cougar had finally reached the decision to tell Jensen. About damn time.

Cougar looked at Clay and nodded. The decision was made. Now he just had to enact it.

The men walked back to the clearing in peaceful silence. Unfortunately the calm did not last. Upon entering the clearing they saw Roque and Pooch playing a game of rummy, but no Jensen or Wolfe. Cougar became tense once again.

"Roque, Pooch, where the hell are Jensen and Wolfe?" Clay was sure that they would be back before Cougar and himself. It had been twenty-five minutes since Clay and Cougar had left the clearing. That meant that it had been at least thirty since Jensen left with Wolfe. It didn't take that long to collect firewood. Where the hell were they?

Pooch stood up from the game and turned to address Clay. "They haven't come back yet boss."

Cougar's angry presence made itself known throughout the clearing. The men could see the blackness come over his eyes as he turned and walked back into the jungle.

Roque chuckled. "Well Jensen and Cougar will be back. Can't say the same thing for Wolfe."

Clay and Pooch did not join in Roque's laughter. If anything happened that was bad enough for Cougar to kill the man…Well they just didn't want to think about it. Cougar rarely unleashed his temper. When he did…Lord help them all.

TBC in Chapter 3. (Hint-We'll see what was happening with Jensen and Wolfe while we were watching Cougar and Clay.)