When the team got back onto the aircraft carrier, Merrick, Riley, and Logan were hauled over to the infirmary and Hesh disappeared right after he made sure everyone would be okay. He didn't say where he was going, but the look on his face made everyone know he didn't want to be bothered for a while. Keegan went off to contact Kick and Neptune to give them the news on Elias's death. Alex remained in the infirmary with Logan and Merrick so Logan wouldn't be alone and to make sure her brother didn't murder a doctor. At the moment Merrick was having his broken ribs set and taped and the doctor had Alex stay out of the exam room so he had space to work. She could hear Merrick's curses through the wall though.

While she waited for an update on her brother, Alex sat with Logan who was lying in one of the beds. He had his gunshot wound treated and was now on a morphine drip and IV. "How you feeling?" Alex asked him as she brushed some hair out of his face before sitting back. "As good as I look." He replied. Alex smiled. "Alex..." he said. "Rorke was going to have them kill Hesh and Merrick." Alex looked at her hands. "I know…" she told him.

"They almost did…Hesh had a gun to his head. But he wasn't going to kill me."

"What do you mean?"

"The one Fed said that Rorke wanted me alive."

Alex then realized that Logan was "the other one". She sat forward. "It was you…" she said. "He was going to take me too."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Alex answered. "But for the time being, why don't we keep this under wraps. There's enough to be worrying about."

Logan nodded and turned his head into the pillow. "My dad's dead…" he whispered. Alex put her hand over his. "I know." She said.

"When they had me, Hesh, and Merrick together…I wasn't afraid to die…" Logan continued. "Before they said Rorke wanted me alive, I was ready. I'd be with my dad…my mom…and Hesh. It didn't seem all that bad. Looks like my mom and dad will have to wait a bit longer for me."

"You still have Hesh. And this team. You're like family now Logan. Blood makes you related, but loyalty makes you family and your one of the most loyal people I know."

"I thought you didn't like me and Hesh."

"I didn't at first, but if you didn't notice I had a big ego before and didn't really open my arms to FNGs."

"What changed your mind?"

Alex hesitated before answering. "We're all we've got."

Logan's eyes fluttered closed as the pain medicine began to take effect and make him drowsy. "Make sure Hesh is alright. When he's quiet…it isn't good." He said as he began to doze off. "He wants to be sad, but he wants to be angry at the same time. He refuses to let it out like he did when our mom died."

"I'll check on him later."

After that, Logan fell asleep. Alex rested a hand on his arm gently before standing up as the doctor came out of the exam room with Merrick. "We want to keep him here overnight." The doctor told her. "Fuck that!" Merrick cursed. "I'm not staying in here for an entire night."

"Merrick it's one night." Alex reasoned.

"Elias is dead, Alex. We are driving this carrier straight into Federation territory and someone here has to organize everything." Merrick barked.

"Look Merrick I know you're next in line to take Elias's chair, but you're hurt. I think it's fair to everyone to just take a breather just for tonight. We didn't just lose our captain, but Hesh and Logan lost their father. We'll start figuring things out first thing tomorrow morning, but for tonight you are staying in this god damn infirmary while I go pack up Elias's things from his office. And I swear to God Thomas if you step foot outside of this room for anything I will put you back in here myself."

Merrick saw the emotion playing across Alex's face and knew what it signaled. If it was any other time before, she would have broken down in tears by now but ever since their last brother died she's refused to cry. He knew how saddened she was over the loss of Elias and fighting with her right now wouldn't help anything. "Okay." he eventually said. Alex let out a breath and dropped her head into her hands before running them through her hair. "I have to go pack up Elias's things." She said. "I refuse to let some know-it-all technician do that."

Alex walked over to her brother and hugged him gently, mindful of his broken ribs. He hugged her back and placed a kiss on her head before she pulled away and left the infirmary.

OOOOO

In the Operations Room, Alex walked over to the corner office that used to belong to Elias. Inside there was a technician going through filing cabinets and packing things away already. Angered by this, Alex stormed over and entered the room. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded. The tech jumped at the sound of her voice and turned towards her. He was pretty young, probably mid-twenties, and he had an innocent face. "I was told to clear this office." He explained, his voice shaky when he recognized who Alex was.

"By who?"

"My superior."

"I don't give to shits what you're superior told you to do. I don't want to see you in here again, are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Get the hell out of here."

The tech picked up the box he had on the desk and went to leave, but Alex stopped him. "Leave the damn box." She said through her teeth. The tech set the box down and scurried out of the room like a scared puppy.

Alex entered the office and let out a tired breath. She looked in the box on the desk and saw it was all files. Figuring she'd just start with that, she packed away all the files and reports Elias had in the office very carefully. She taped it shut and labeled it before packing away all the office supplies one by one and taking the large map of the back wall. Once all that was done, it was time to clean out all of his personal items. Alex was dreading this. She sat down in the office chair and began packing away each item out on his desk. The rubber band ball he played with when he was trying to concentrate, the family photo that showed Hesh, Logan, their mother, and him in their home back in San Diego. When Alex picked the photo up, she stopped to look at it. Elias was so young and so were Hesh and Logan, probably only six or seven. She was right about Hesh taking after his mom. She had long black hair and striking green eyes that complimented her thin face. Mrs. Walker was very beautiful.

Every item Alex packed away had some meaning to it. There were a few more photos of the team in the desk, mission reports that were the first mission each of the Ghosts went on, including Alex's and all of her brothers', a few books that Alex had seen Elias read countless times over the years, and several sets of dog tags. When Alex got to the last drawer, she paused. Inside the drawer were several white envelopes, the top one with David written in black lettering on the front. Alex picked them up and scanned through them, discovering each letter had a team member's name written on it with the date written in the top corner. They all had the same date: June 7th 2027. It was the date that Hesh and Logan helped find Ajax in No Man's Land in a joint operation with the Ghosts that landed them their spots on the team. It was also the day they all found out about Rorke.

It hit Alex then that these were letters Elias wrote to them in case Rorke killed him. And Elias was pretty sure that Rorke was going to. Alex sat back and looked at the envelope that had her full name written on it. She wanted to open it, but not like this. There were letters for both Logan and Hesh and her, Merrick, Keegan, Kick, and Neptune. Alex knew Elias would want them to open them together, so Alex put a rubber band around them and tucked them in her pocket. They didn't have a body to give a proper funeral to and Hesh and Logan both needed closure. These letters were a chance for closure and Alex could find a way to make it special for the brothers and Elias. She wanted to wait until Logan and Merrick were out of the infirmary so the whole team could be together for it; the way Elias would want it.

OOOOO

When dinner time rolled around, the mess hall was practically empty with the exception of Keegan, Alex, and a few other soldiers. Hesh was still off somewhere and Logan and Merrick were in the infirmary. Kick and Neptune wouldn't get to the carrier until tomorrow morning. Keegan and Alex weren't talking as they ate, but Alex could tell he wanted to say something.

"Why weren't you with them?" he eventually asked.

"What do you mean?" Alex replied.

"Why were you separated from Hesh, Logan, and Merrick?"

"He wanted to question me separately from the others." Alex quickly lied. "I was being brought over to them right when you showed up."

"That Fed was ready to kill Hesh before you got there."

"Rorke wanted me to be killed in front of just Merrick."

Keegan eyed Alex for a moment. Part of him knew she was lying, but the other part of him was asking himself why she would need to lie. Did Rorke say something to scare her? Was she hiding something? Before he could ask, she stood up. "I'm going to find Hesh." She told him. Before she could walk away, Keegan stopped her. "Alex you know you can tell me anything, right?" he questioned. She nodded. "Of course." She told him before walking out.

OOOOO

Alex wandered around the carrier for a while before finally finding Hesh down by the file room where she normally went to hide from everything. He was sitting in the hall on the floor, his back against the wall and his knees pulled up with his head in his hands. He was dressed in black cargo pants and a grey t-shirt with no shoes on. "Hesh?" Alex said quietly as she approached. He looked up and she immediately noticed his eyes had tears in them, but it didn't like he'd been crying. Logan was right. He was refusing to let it out. She walked over to him as he stood up and wiped his eyes. "What are you doing down here?" he asked.

"You've been down here for hours."

"Just needed some quiet."

"Why don't you come and get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Hesh…"

"Alex I'm fine." Hesh snapped in a more bitter tone. "I-I just want to be alone, is that too much to ask?"

Hesh walked a few steps down the hall away from Alex, but then stopped. Alex crossed her arms. "Hesh it's just me." she told him. "It's okay to cry."

"Cry over what?" he questioned, not turning around. "My dad? He wouldn't want me to cry. He'd want me to keep going and finish this."

Alex took a few steps closer. "Hesh keeping all that bottled up, it doesn't do anything but make it worse. You just have to let it out."

Hesh still didn't turn around, but he dropped his face in his hands and finally let the tears fall from his eyes. Alex rushed over and slipped her arms around his torso from behind and rested her forehead on his back. "He's gone." He sobbed. Alex tightened her arms around him as he cried and closed her eyes. She didn't have to say anything. She didn't have to do anything but keep her hold on him tight. That's all she wanted to do. That's all she needed to do.

After a while, Hesh pulled away from Alex's grip to turn and face her. He wiped his eyes and Alex looked at him. "I…" he began. "Is Logan alright?"

"He was asleep when I left earlier. Probably still is."

"I just need to be by myself right now. Can you just-I appreciate that you care and you're here, but I just…"

"I understand." Alex told him. "Just get some rest. Don't stay down here all night."

Hesh nodded and Alex turned and watched her walk down the hall. He slid to the floor and covered his face again. His dad was dead, his brother was in the infirmary with another injury, and Riley was wounded, too. He was afraid he'd lose everyone today. Logan, Merrick, Elias…Alex. When Rorke refused to tell him if she and Merrick were alright he all but lost it. His dad was dead, nothing could change that, but at least everyone else was going to live.

For a while, he thought about all the times before the war that he spent with Elias and Logan. Then he thought about the times after the war started. There were some good times, a lot actually, but those memories just made Hesh feel even more upset. All those times were gone. That was the problem with time; you couldn't get it back…once it's gone, it's gone.

Hesh thought of how at least if there was an afterlife, Elias was with their mother again. It was a little comforting, but he was selfish in this situation and wanted his dad here with him and Logan to tell them what they were doing right and wrong. To give them a hug every now and then even if it wasn't something they did often. Hesh just wanted his dad back. Knowing that he'd never hear his voice again or see his face made everything hurt even more.

Alex had been gone for a while when Hesh realized he didn't want to be alone because it hurt more. He was thinking about everything too much because he didn't have anyone to take his thoughts away from his dad. He needed to talk to someone. He couldn't talk to his brother and it was getting too late to bother anyone else. Hesh considered going to Alex's room and decided to go see if she'd deal with him this late.

OOOOO

Alex was getting ready for bed when there was a knock on her door. She let out an annoyed breath. She was showered and dressed for bed in a big t-shirt and shorts with her hair loose on her shoulders. She didn't have the energy to deal with anyone else tonight. After she left Hesh she talked on the phone with Kick and Neptune for a while, sharing memories with one another that made the pain lessen from losing Elias.

Walking over to the door, Alex found Hesh in the doorway wearing black sweatpants and a grey muscle shirt. "I know it's late." He said. "And I'm sorry for pushing you away earlier."

"It's alright." Alex told him.

"I know I said I didn't want to be alone, but…"

Alex smiled and motioned for him to come in. "You sure?" he asked. "Don't make me drag you in." she replied. With a smile, Hesh walked in and Alex closed the door behind him. Hesh noticed the photos on the wall and dresser and smiled when he saw how Alex looked in all of them. He figured it was her brothers with her in them. He'd ask later.

"Wanna talk?" Alex's voice sounded as she walked over to him. He nodded. Alex sat on the bed and moved up to the pillows. Hesh looked at her. "Are you going to stand?" she asked. He smiled and then joined her on the bed. She rested her head on his shoulder and he felt himself calm down and relax. He also felt how tired he was. He closed his eyes and put his head on top of Alex's the quiet of the room engulfed him and he felt himself begin to doze off. "How about we just crawl under the covers and sleep and talk tomorrow?" Alex's soft voice sounded.

"That sounds better." Hesh told her.

Alex leaned over and turned the lamp off before crawling under the sheets with Hesh. Very hesitantly she moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He surprised her by wrapping and arm around her and pulling her closer to him. She smiled and slung an arm across his stomach.

"Night." She said.

"Good night." he replied, tightening his hold on her.