Chapter 2

Hannah and Jaz enjoyed each other's company, which was nice since Jaz was crashing at Hannah's place until her flight left tomorrow. Though they hadn't gotten to meet face to face before the debrief, they immediately connected and became fast friends.

Hannah's experience as a female operative was invaluable in helping Jaz debrief. The humanity of Jaz's needs as a female actually strengthened the entire team, and Hannah was incredibly helpful in helping them all see that. Usually military men saw femininity as a weakness, but on a team like this, and with her personality, Jaz had a unique opportunity to use it as one of her biggest strengths.

The ride back to Hannah's apartment had been lighthearted, a nice change from the intensity of the last several days of debrief. They were looking forward to this night - hanging out with all the team, one last hurrah before everyone went their separate ways. It was dinner and drinks, but at a pretty swanky club, so the girls thought it would be fun to get glammed up a bit.

Jaz of course, didn't have any cocktail dresses in DC, but fortunately for her, she and Hannah were pretty close to the same size, at least around the waist and bust. Jaz's arms were more conditioned from constant training for battle situations, so none of the sleeved dresses worked, but she had settled on a deep red sheath that hugged her figure more tightly than she preferred, but not to the point of being skanky. A rich lace overlay angled down over the sheath that stopped mid-thigh, creating a dramatic diagonal line from her hip to her calf. Hannah lent her a coordinating shawl to keep the early spring chill off.

Hannah's dress was thoughtfully chosen - the scars on her back and chest were still quite visible, and though she wasn't ashamed of them per se, she also didn't want to put them on display. The high boat neck of emerald beading provided adequate coverage and the satin skirt flounced in two distinct layers, showing off her legs tastefully.

Jaz and Hannah took turns at the bathroom mirror and the stand up vanity in Hannah's room, curling their hair and applying makeup. Jaz didn't much care for getting all made up often, but it was actually fun when there was a friend to do it with.

The conversation turned to the men on the team and Jaz smirked as Hannah dropped Amir's name several times. They had met in Columbia when Jaz was still benched and when the team had returned, McG had been the one to name drop multiple times. Jaz kicked herself for not being more observant to Amir's reaction.

"So...tough day on you today, huh? Reliving Tehran?" Hannah broached the subject carefully.

Jaz sighed. "Yeah...that was not a fun time. Besides killing Jarif with my bare hands, I mean. That was fun."

Hannah smiled and nonchalantly pressed further. "How did you handle it, after Dalton called you out in front of the team? I mean, I know he's done it before, but never to that extent..."

Jaz was quiet for a moment, contemplating her response. That had been really tough. That feeling of not measuring up, of doing what she thought was her dead level best and coming up so short...she never wanted to experience that again.

"I'm not sure if I'd do anything different, to be honest. I wasn't afraid to go in and kill Jarif. But Top always trusted me before, a hundred percent, and now...I mean, think he still does, but I guess I wish I knew for sure. I'll always have his back."

"You two have something special, that I could see over the last few days. Y'all have like, a whole other wavelength that you communicate on."

Jaz stilled, torn in her agreement and the reality that at times things still felt strained. She had put the entire team at risk, gotten herself captured, and then put the team at risk again when they rescued her. She knew her actions had consequences and Dalton was right to correct her when she had gotten tunnel vision. Still, being at odds with her best friend really sucked. And because he was also her commanding officer, it wasn't like she really had the freedom to hash it through and get to the other side without his initiation.

"Yeah, Adam is ... a lot of things —"

"Oh...so it's Adam, is it?" Hannah snickered.

"Hannah. It's not like that. He doesn't see me as anything other than a soldier. We just ... have a lot in common with our past and he's the only CO I've ever had that didn't look at me and see a woman first."

"Uh-huh," Hannah scoffed. "I picked up on the way you two were looking at each other before the rest of the team arrived this morning!"

Jaz smiled to herself, allowing the briefest moment of fantasy. Adam was special to her. In another place, another time, perhaps they would have a real chance, but as it was, he was her CO and she dared not cross the line on her own, as much as she may want to.