It has been over two weeks since the new recruit has been here, and in that time Soap hasn't found one flaw; no matter how hard he tried to look, Price was right, she's perfect. But of course, he wasn't the type of person to swallow his pride and admit that. The newly promoted Captain sat at his desk with all of her files open, analyzing everything about her, even though he's been doing that for the past 14 days.

MacTavish read over her basic files while lighting a cigarette, he sat back in his chair and enjoyed the one thing that seemed to relax him on tough days; lately he's been experiencing a lot of those. He wasn't use to having to train someone, especially a female who believes that she take down anyone who comes in her way. He knew that her family was killed when she was in her late teenage years, resulting her outburst on acting out but she hasn't done anything too serious. Although, she fights like she's been personally trained all her life. For all of the shit she's done, no charges has been held against her, expect for being put into witness protection 7 months ago.

Usually, he would let stuff slide and accept anyone who joins this force, but there was something about this girl. There was something that he wanted to hold onto, he wanted to learn more about her and why she's so interesting to him. MacTavish looked over to the clock and saw that it was 4:20PM; he knew that everyone was either training, or just enjoying each other's company. This was the perfect time to go find that little recruit he's been thinking about all day.

As he walked around the base, he felt everyone looking at him but that didn't seem to bother him. When he walked by the basketball court, he saw his good friend Ghost on the sidelines cheering on some of the guys playing.

"Hey Ghost, get over here!" He called out to him.

Ghost turned around and jogged towards Soap "What's up, mate? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, why aren't you playing with the guys?" Soap motioned towards the basketball court.

"Well, I'm not the best ball player but they said I could show moral support" He smirked.

"Kind of like a cheerleader?" Soap chuckled, but Ghost realized it was true and shook his head.

"Alright Soap that was real funny, what do you want?" Ghost rolled his eyes.

"Where's the new girl?" Soap's voice suddenly grew serious.

"You mean, Avariella? Pretty name, isn't it? The last time I saw her was at lunch, but she didn't eat in the café with us. I think she might be in her room or training, I worry about her though, she's the only female on this base and I think she's lonely." Ghost kept talking but Soap was already headed towards her room. He heard Ghost call out after him but he continued to ignore him.

Xxxx

He arrived at her door, but hesitated to knock. All he could think about was why he really came to see her; all he remembered was getting up from his chair in his office and storming over here to find her. Avariella was the only girl on the base and if he was in her shoes, he'd feel incredibly lonely as well. Without thinking, he knocked on her door and waited until she answered.

"Just a minute!" He heard a voice come from inside. About a moment later, he was standing in front of the petite woman who was wearing a tank top and sweat pants. Her hair was left down while her eyes looked alert, before she could open her mouth to say something, she smiled.

"Suriello, I came by to check on you. Ghost told me he only saw you at lunch and usually all the recruits eat together in the café." Soap said, even though it wasn't what he wanted to tell her.

"So, you're worried about me Captain? I'm a big girl and I think I can fend for myself." She smiled, it was dangerous yet heart-warming.

"Fend for yourself on a campus with fully trained men? I don't think you can hold your own even if you tried your hardest." Soap smirked.

Avariella leaned against the door frame and thought to herself for a moment. "You might think that I'm not able to hold my own, but that's how I like to things; catching my prey off guard and striking when they least expect it." She looked up to him again, this time Soap could tell she was sticking to her word.

"Save that talk for the field, Suriello. You have plenty of it anyway" Soap stepped forward, pushing the door back all the way and walking inside.

Avariella closed the door and watched as Soap took a seat on the couch. Her place looked cozy, like a little apartment. Soap didn't understand why she had one of the best rooms on the base, but he didn't complain.

"Can I get you anything to drink? You look like hell." She walked over to the fridge and took out a drink.

"Water will be fine; I don't drink with little girls." He waited for reaction, but she kept it cool.

"Fine by me, I don't plan on drinking with old men anytime soon." She turned around and smiled at him. "This girl was good" Soap thought to himself.

Avariella poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, then sat on a chair directly across from him. She sat back in her seat and crossed her legs. "Now tell me, Captain. What did you really come here for?"

"I already told you, I wanted to see how you were doing. It's not easy being the only female on this base, let alone the youngest." He took a sip of the water, and then rested it on the table in front of him. He analyzed everything about her, and he had to admit; he liked it.

"I'm perfectly fine being the only girl here, Captain Price said that I'll be an amazing addition to this force and all I'm trying to do is prove myself to him. I don't plan on making any friends but, you know things could change." She smirked and then looked down at her hands.

"You think that no one will want to be your friend? Half of these men haven't seen a female that wasn't running away from them in months. I think you'll be amazed that they're already talking about you." He half smiled, he didn't like it; but it was true.

"That's disgusting; tell them that I'm not interested." She rolled eyes.

"But you just said things could change." He said.

"I wasn't talking about them; I was talking about an idiot who won't tell me why he's really here. I'm not stupid Captain MacTavish, I know when someone wants something from me, or wants to know something about me. I sensed it the moment you started talking to me." She smirked, and then looked up at him.

"Price was right; you will be an amazing addition to this team." And Soap meant what he just said, she was smart and sneaky. "Alright little girl, you caught me. The reason why I came here was because I'm confused about you. I looked through all of your files several times but nothing clicked! What is it about you, Avariella? I want to learn so much about you, and I don't even know why." Soap's eyes grew serious, yet Avariella saw that there was some type of hurt in him.

"You're confused about me? You barely know who I am." She hesitated. "But, since you're so anxious about this, I guess I'll tell you about myself. You do know that files can't tell you about me the way I can, right?" She smiled, for some reason he was addicted to her smile. "Well, my birth name is Avariella Winnie Suriello and I guess you can say I had the perfect life. My father was an important man, but he also owed a lot of money to a bunch of stupid men. He thought me that no matter where I go, I should always absorb as much as I can from a person."

"That's why you basically saw right through me when I was at your door." Soap smirked.

"Yes, that is exactly right." She looked down at her hands again and continued to talk "So, one night when my family and I were on our way home from dinner, our driver stopped the car and when I looked outside, there were men in masks aiming their guns at us. My father grabbed me by the arm and made me hide under the seat; I didn't know how to react when I heard screams, so all I did was pray. My eyes were covered the entire time, but when I heard footsteps walked away from the vehicle, I climbed out from under the seat and saw that—"She paused and took a deep breath.

"Your family was gone." Soap's voice grew dark.

"Yeah, and there was nothing I could do to help them. I gave all of them a kiss on the cheek and I ran as fast as I could, Captain. I don't remember much after that, but I did end up in witness protection shortly after. My family meant the entire world to me, and I swear to you, I want to spend the rest of my life finding the bastards who took away my number 1 priority. So if you're wondering why I'm so good at fighting and protecting myself, it's because one day I'll have to use everything that my father told me to absorb and fight against the ones who ruined my life." Avariella's eyes were teary, but her voice was sincere. "Now, is that what you wanted to hear?"

Soap could feel the emotional tension in the room, it was so thick he wanted to cut it with a knife, but instead he walked across the room and gave Avariella a hug.

For a moment, he felt tears soak his shirt and quiet sobs. There was something about this girl and he wanted to be a part of her life.

She pulled away from him and looked up at him. Her face looked so much more angelic up close, but there was still sadness in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Captain MacTavish. That was totally out of line and even though we barely know each other, there should've been a line and I crossed it." She blurted out and looked down.

"Shut up, little girl. Who gives a damn about protocol?" Soap grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. "Have I mentioned that probably the strongest female mentally and physically? I would be honoured the train you for the next couple of weeks, until I think you're ready to go out onto missions with the team." Soap ran his hand softly down her back while he felt Avariella's tiny hands grip onto him. "But as of right now, I want to reassure you that everything will be okay, and if you want someone to talk to I'm always here." Soap looked her in the eyes, and then kissed her on the forehead.