Hey guys, I'm sorry the updates haven't been as much or as frequent recently. My husband has come down with something, we're hoping it's not COVID, but he's quarantined at home with me until the tests come back so I haven't had as much free time to write. Worry not though, I'm just plugging along, and the story will continue!

-x-

When Jake arrived back at the mobile unit, he brushed off Grace and Norm's questions of where the trio had been all day and why he'd come back so early, as the two had returned before supper and had obviously missed the scene in the common area. Jake wheeled his way to the bunks where he found Trudy laying with her hands folded neatly over her chest, staring at the bottom of the mattress above her.

"Come on," He said, barely slowing to a stop beside her before continuing on to where the masks were hung.

He heard her clamber softly to her feet, scraping on her work boots, before following silently behind him. He fashioned the mask to his face as he made his way to the door, her footsteps barely making a sound as they exited the base.

They stared at each other for a moment, Jake unsure how to start.

"What the fuck what was that?" Trudy asked in a harsh whisper, throwing her arms in the air.

"She didn't..." Jake stared at her, realization hitting him like a truck, "she didn't explain?"

"No!" Trudy hissed between clenched teeth, "she freaked out and bolted, I have no idea what the fuck happen, what the fuck was that? I assume she told you, we were just... you know, which was... great..." color rose high across her face, but she powered through it, "then she put that weird braid they have up against the back of my neck and..." she threw her arms in the air again, "I don't know, it was pretty cool whatever it was, but then she freaked the hell out and bolted."

Jake was going to kill Neytiri. He hoped that Tsu'tey was waking up, from the sleep he'd left him in moments before, to ring her idiotic neck for the horrible, awkward conversation she had in no way prepared Jake to have.

"Well, um," Jake looked helplessly into the abyss below before looking back into Trudy's wide, panicked eyes, "your wife is a fucking idiot."

"My... my wife?" Trudy swayed on the spot and Jake thought for a second that she'd pass out.

"Sorry, sorry," He cringed, he really had no people skills at all, "she shouldn't have done that, not without talking to you, not without you understanding what it was."

"So she," Trudy took a deep, somewhat shaky, breath, "Did that bond thing, I heard Grace and Norm talking about it a few times. I'm not completely in the dark here."

"Yeah, it matures a bond between two people, binds them together for life," he gave her a sympathetic look.

"But I'm..." Trudy looked a bit lost, her head swimming with too much input, "I'm just a person."

Jake shrugged, "I'm just a person too, but look at what I've been dealing with my whole life, this place is fucking weird, man, maybe... you were always meant to come here too, like me."

Wonder filled her eyes as she looked over the inky blackness around them, the soft glow of bioluminescence cutting through at certain points in the distance, as though she was seeing it for the first time.

"Is Neytiri okay?" Trudy asked suddenly, her focus shifting back to Jake, worry drawing her shoulders into a tight line.

Jake gave a curt laugh at that, "in a manner of speaking," which obviously did nothing to calm her, "we got the third degree when we got back. Neytiri's dad tried to blame me and Tsu'tey for poisoning her mind or some bullshit," he rolled his eyes, maybe downplaying exactly how much trouble they'd almost been in, "but her mom came in and calmed him down. We have to bring you to meet them tomorrow."

"What?" All the color draining from Trudy's face, "no, absolutely not, they're going to kill me!"

"Mo'at ensured your safety, and we'll be there the whole time, we won't let anyone touch you," Jake promised, hoping his voice was as calming as he intended it to be.

Trudy took a few deep breathes before meeting his eyes again, "this is a lot," she said, her lower lip quivering slightly.

"Well," Jake smiled sympathetically, "I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but I can tell you it's pretty worth it."

"Yeah?" Trudy looked up, staring at the stars above their heads, "all right then."

"One more bit of bad news though," Jake grimaced.

"What?" She turned weary eyes down into his, her shoulders sagging.

"We gotta go tell Grace and Norm," Jake frowned in apology, knowing better than anyone how tiresome that explanation would be.

Trudy groaned, crossing her arms over her chest, "Yeah, I figured."

"They'll probably want to take some scans of you, to make sure the bond didn't do anything weird to your brain," Jake said as he began making his way back to the door.

"Great," Trudy grumbled, kicking a few rocks as she followed after him.

-x-

"You did what?!" Grace managed not to drop the samples suspended in delicate glass tubes she'd been holding, but only because Jake had been close enough to catch them.

"If you tell me you've also been dreaming about Pandora your whole life, I'm going to lose my damn mind," Norm said from where he was sitting, taking the news considerably better than Jake had expected him to.

"No," Trudy shook her head, a blush burning from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, "we just started talking when they visited that first time and... she just kind of... kept visiting."

"Jake," Grace rounded on the man who was trying to place her samples gently down into a nearby table, "How could you have let this happen?"

Jake shrugged at her, "You try controlling Neytiri. Look, we didn't tell you so you could yell at us, what's done is done, I figured you'd want to run some scans on her."

Grace stared at him, looking as though she was short circuiting a bit, "shut the fuck up, since when are you the smart one? I don't like it," she clicked her tongue at him, fishing a cigarette out of her pocket, "of course I want to run scans, this is fascinating."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Jake rolled his eyes, "well do them now because they want us to bring her to Hometree tomorrow morning."

Norm let out a teasing whistle, "someone has to meet her in-laws."

The color that had dissipated somewhat in Trudy's face doubled instantly at the words, but she covered it up by kicking Norm's chair out from under him, sending him toppling over into the floor.

"You're just jealous because none of the Na'vi are in love with you," Trudy stuck out her tongue at him.

"Maybe they are, you don't know," Norm laughed from where he'd fallen.

Their bickering, laced with laughter, fell into the background as Grace pulled Jake aside, "is it safe, to bring her to Hometree?"

Jake took in the older woman's worried expression before looking back at Trudy, who was helping Norm to his feet, a grin plastered across her face, "Yeah, the Olo'eyktan wasn't happy, but Mo'at was able to calm him well enough. And we'll be there the whole time, we'll be able to get her out if things go sideways."

"You kids are gonna be the death of me," Grace muttered, lighting her cigarette and taking a long drag of it, the irony seemly lost on her.

Jake was merciful enough to shoot her a sympathetic glance, "there really wasn't anything we could do to stop her."

"Yeah, I don't doubt it," Grace gave a small shake of her head, the hint of laughter behind her eyes despite everything.

"How's everything going on Max's end?" Jake asked, even though the question leadened his blood with worry.

"Good, I think," Grace leaned again a table behind her, "he's got pretty much the whole scientific team on our side, and he's gotten a couple jarheads, thanks to Trudy. How are things on your end?"

Jake exhale slowly, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, "we're going to start meeting with other tribes in the next few days, try to get them on board with aiding in the fight when the time comes. It won't be easy. We'll have to convince them that once Selfridge finishes plundering Omaticaya territory, they're not just gonna leave, they'll move on to other areas."

"I'm sure you all will be able to convince them," Grace placed a calming hand over his shoulder, "we've still got time."

"I hope you're right," Jake sighed, a headache starting to form against his temples.

"All right," Grace said, loud enough for all to hear, not that that took much volume to accomplish, "scans can wait for a different day, we've got an exciting morning ahead of us, so let's get some shut eye."

There was murmured agreement and a few broken yawns as they all made their way to the bunks, toeing off boots and outerwear before crawling into the merciful embrace of sleep.

-x-

Jake woke earlier than usual, shoving a protein bar down his throat just as the other three were starting to stir.

"I'm heading out," He called as he began wheeling his way to the pods, "Trudy, I'll be back with the others in a few to collect you."

"Why can't I fly in on my own?" Trudy's voice sounded behind him, thick with sleep.

"We're going for good first impressions here," Jake yelled, opening the cover of his chamber, "You crashing down in a big metal tank might not garner the favor we're shooting for."

"I'm a graceful fucking pilot and you know it," Trudy did sound a bit offended, but Jake didn't have the time or desire to stroke her ego.

"Just be ready to go in two hours or so," Jake said, no room for argument as he shut the hatch around him, sinking into the cool, familiar gel lining.

"Since when do I have to be the adult all the time?" Jake muttered before closing his eyes and feeling the tug of the link at the back of his skull.

-x-

Jake's consciousness fell into place, a sensation he shouldn't be as used to as he is, and he is greeted by the feeling of long fingers trailing barely there touches up and down the length of his body.

He hums at the sensation and wants to sink into it, sink into the warmth beside him, but he has business to attend to.

Jake's eyes open and he's not surprised to see Tsu'tey starting back at him, amusement laying just beneath the surface of those large golden eyes.

"I'm going to kill her," Jake deadpanned, causing a chuckle to rise in the other man's throat.

"I will not stop you," a grin that was almost wicked flashed across Tsu'tey's face as he reached up and brushed away the fabric of the hammock, exposing them to the morning light.

"Neytiri!" It was all Jake could do to keep himself from roaring, mindful of the tribe only just waking up around them.

A hand shot out from between the fibers on the adjacent hammock as Neytiri scrambled to sit up and face them, confusion and worry pinching at her sleep drunk features.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Jake pointed an accusing finger at his confused friend's bewildered face.

"Excuse me?" She looked as though she wanted to be offended or indignant, but she still wasn't sure what she was defending herself against.

"You didn't tell me you ran away from her the second you formed the tsaheylu," Jake took great joy in the blush that burst its way across her cheeks.

"I-" She choked a bit on the words, "I did not."

"You absolutely did," Jake wished he had something to throw at her, "You made me do your dirty work and explain it for you and you didn't even have the courtesy to warn me beforehand."

Neytiri's mouth opened and closed for several seconds before she schooled her expression into one of indigence, turning up her nose at him, and Jake could've laughed, "I had a lot on my mind, it is not my fault if I perhaps failed to give you some details."

"Fuck off," now Jake was laughing, their hammock shaking with it, "you're so full of shit, your eyes are brown."

"My eyes have not changed color," Neytiri snapped at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Neytiri," Tsu'tey frowned, hoping they were far enough away that she couldn't see the laughter in his eyes, "apologize to Jake for being a coward."

Jake howled with fresh laughter, his eyes watering as Neytiri scowled at them.

"You two are not funny," she hissed, flashing her teeth as though the threat would land with the two men.

"I think we're pretty funny," Jake reached back and grazed his fingers over the back of Tsu'tey's hand where it rested on his hip, "but seriously, that did suck and I am a little mad at you," Neytiri did look scorned at that, which quieted the majority of the residual frustration in his chest, "but she took it really well, and everything is fine. She's waiting for us to pick her up back at the mobile unit."

Neytiri deflated at his words, sinking back down into her hammock, her arms dangling heavy over the sides, "okay," she breathed out after a long moment, "okay, good. I'm sorry, I panicked and I didn't want to admit it."

"Yeah, idiot, I know," Jake smiled, no venom behind his voice.

"We should head out," Tsu'tey said, sitting up, "better to get this over with than delay it further."

Neytiri groaned at that, but soon followed after them as they climbed out of their hammock and down towards the forest floor.