"Good morning! What can I get for you?"
Stepping up to the counter, Jess returned the smile of the sweet girl about her age at the till and said, "Hi! Can I get a medium French Vanilla Latte please?"
"Of course! Anything else?"
"No that's-"
"Actually, can you add a medium coffee to that order and two of the blueberry pastries?"
Someone was muscling in next to her at the counter, shoving her ever so gently with the intention of annoying her.
Jess crossed her arms, glaring up at Clay who'd somehow managed to sneak into the coffee shop behind her. It was less than twenty-four hours since Jason ambushed her at school and the girl had her suspicions instantly.
"Really?" She asked. "You too?"
"What?" Clay shrugged. "I'm just picking up my coffee! We do this every Friday morning."
"Not every Friday." Jess grumbled, eyeing him up and down critically as she looked for hints of injury. The tight knot in her stomach loosened when she didn't see anything too obvious.
"Is that it?" The girl behind the counter was fighting a laugh now as she looked from Jess to Clay. The staff had witnessed the pair of them enough times now to know what was coming next.
"Yeah."
"That's 13.50. Card? You can tap or use the pin pad when you're ready."
Just like they did every week, Jess and Clay had a game of 'speed' to see who could pay first, arms darting in and slapping their cards at the same time, trying to shove the other's hand out of the way.
"Hah!" Clay grinned in triumph when the machine chirped happily, taking his money instead of Jess's because he's gotten to it first.
"You paid last time!" Jess whined, shoving her card back in her wallet and fishing out a small bill to toss in the tip jar by way of apology for the mild roughhousing.
"Looks like you need to work on your reflexes!"
"You cheated!"
"How did I cheat!?"
"You elbowed me out of the way and then hip checked me! That's against the rules!"
"What rules? We never made rules!"
"Well, I'm making some. You can't hipcheck or elbow."
"That's how you won two weeks ago! I think I still have a bruise from that sharp elbow you rammed in my gut."
"True." Jess thought about it for a moment before saying, "Well, obviously the rules don't apply to me !"
"Here's the coffee, I'll just grab the rest!" The server was back, shaking silently and grinning as she set the coffee on the counter. She glanced over Jess and Clay at the customer who just came through the door moments earlier while Jess and Clay were 'fighting' and smiled brightly, "I'll be right with you! The usual?"
"Yeah! That would be great, thanks!"
The voice of the man behind them was familiar, bringing Jess and Clay round to look, finding Officer Trevor Bailey standing behind them in full uniform.
There was the briefest pause before they all recognized each other and Trevor smiled suddenly, breaking the set line of his jaw.
"Well, look who it is!" Trevor held out his hand to Clay, "Clay Spencer! How you doin, man!? Good to see you!"
"Trevor!" Clay greeted him warmly, "Doin alright, yourself? Keepin out of trouble?"
Jess was rendered mute and a small blush rushed up her cheeks because the last time she'd seen Bailey she'd punched her ex in the face at the Bulkhead and before that he'd pulled her over for speeding. Now this time she'd been making a scene in public by 'fighting' with Clay over who was going to pay.
Having no idea how to react right now, she took advantage of moving to retrieve the pastries Clay ordered so she had more time to collect herself.
The extra moment didn't help because when she turned back again, Bailey turned his attention to her.
"I thought I recognized that civic in the parking lot. How you doin, Jess? That little car treating you alright?"
The fact he asked about the car and made no comment on speeding, or squealing tires or punching people sent a flood of relief through her and Jess smiled, cheeks still flaming as she fidgeted with the wax back in her hands.
"Hey! I'm doing pretty well, thanks for asking! And the civic and I have made pretty good friends, so I guess we're doing alright too."
"Good! Glad to hear it!" He reached out to pay for his order, adding, "Hey, any chance you're working at that doggie daycare over on Gordon? Pawistive Tails?"
"Yeah! I started there a few weeks ago!" Jess fought down a thread of worry. "How come?"
"My partner, Officer Fletcher? I think you met her once, a few months back. Anyway, her dog goes there. She was pretty sure she saw you when she dropped off Luna, but wasn't 100%."
"Oh my gosh!" Jess's eyes went big and she gasped, "That's why she looked so familiar! I didn't recognize her! Awww, I feel bad now! She was absolutely lovely and so helpful after all that…stuff."
"Yeah, she's pretty great! And don't feel bad. She just wanted to know because the secretary keeps saying that Luna has a new favorite worker and that she sulks when 'Jess' isn't there."
"Awww!" Nerves forgotten, melted a little inside at the thought of the sweet beagle, lab, hound mix. "I love Luna. She's the sweetest dog ever!"
"I thought Cerberus was the sweetest dog," Clay said, not being at all subtle about trying to get under her skin as he smirked at her. "I'll have to tell him he's not your favorite anymore."
"Don't you dare!" Jess smacked Clay on the arm without thinking, making him laugh and getting an unseen smirk from Trevor. "Cerberus will always be my favorite and he's already a little salty with me for playing with other dogs!"
"Just think of the look of absolute betrayal-"
"Stop!" Jess ordered Clay sternly. "You'll make me cry."
"Oh, don't do that," Trevor advised as Clay laughed. "The big guy, Metal? Yeah I wouldn't want to deal with him if I were you."
Something flickered through Clay's face that only Jess caught as he shrugged, "I could take him."
Bailey chuckled and shook his head, "You're either stupid or a braver man than me."
"He's definitely just stupid." Jess answered bluntly and Bailey laughed again while he retrieved his order and the three of them ended up leaving the shop together, only parting ways once they reached the sidewalk.
"Well, it was great running into you!"
"Yeah, you too!" Clay's slight shift in demeanor vanished and he smiled warmly again as they parted ways and Bailey headed for his car.
"Bye!" Jess waved.
"See ya round, Jess!"
Clay and Jess started down the sidewalk towards their respective cars.
"So, you headed out for placement?"
"Nope. Not today. I just have an evaluation with my teacher and a check in with how the research is going, then I'm done for the day. What are you up to?"
"Not sure. We're sidelined for the next week at least and were told to take today off and I'm going a little stir crazy already."
"Well, I mean, you could come with me to school!" Jess laughed, not meaning it as anything more than a joke, but Clay seemed to seriously consider it.
"How long will your eval take?"
"I don't know. Probably twenty minutes?"
"Wanna go find some trails to hike after?"
"Heck yeah! Where are you thi-"
"The fuck is he doing here." Clay suddenly snarled under his breath, making any further words from Jess die back in her mouth.
She picked up on the subtle way that Clay straightened and his shoulders tensed, staring down the sidewalk towards a man Jess didn't recognize. When Clay stepped just a little between her and the approaching man, the hairs on the back of Jess's neck lifted.
"Well, well, well," the silver haired man spread his hands out expressively as he slowed to a standstill in front of them. "We just keep running into each other."
"Ash." Clay greeted stiffly.
"Clay." Ash turned his gaze on Jess, sweeping up and down in a way that made her uncomfortable. "And who is this lovely lady?"
There was a certain way that he spoke. It was a rough, oozing, smarmy, cocky, charm that Jess imagined worked on some people. Personally it instantly reminded her of Harold and she immediately didn't like him.
"This is Jess." Clay answered for her when she just stared at Ash, locked in a delayed struggle of wanting to turn tail and get away from this man and not wanting to leave Clay alone with him.
"Well, it's good to see that my son has found some sensible company to keep, although I'm almost positive a girl like you is out of his league!"
Jess just blinked at him. She didn't know what kind of expression was on her face, but it made Ash's smile falter, like he didn't know what to make of her or wasn't used to that line not working. He was like a future version of Clay, except…Clay gone bad, because she couldn't even picture Clay acting like this creep. Everything about him made her skin crawl. Like he was dangerous the same way Scott and the others were, only worse because she didn't get the same 'I'm a teddy bear and I'll rip the arms off anyone who even looks at you wrong' vibes from him.
"What are you doing here," Clay stated tersely.
Ash jerked his head, offended, "Can't a father stop by to say hello to his son?"
Oh. That was why he seemed like an evil, future Clay. This was his dad.
"Not one like you. What's your angle?"
"Angle?" Ash laughed it off, pointing at Clay and asking Jess, "Tell me he isn't always this paranoid?"
"Maybe he has a good reason to be." The words left her mouth before she could stop them and the instant they did she got scared because this was absolutely not the kind of man she ever challenged. Life taught her to keep her head down and here she'd just called him out.
Ash smiled. "Aww, see that's how I know you have yourself the perfect little girlfriend there, Clay. Ready to go toe to toe right off the bat! And what else do you have to say to me, young lady? I'm sure if you already have that opinion of me, then Clay's shared all about what a terrible father I was. What else have you got? I can take it."
Jess failed at not shrinking closer to Clay, gripping her coffee cup tighter and dropping her gaze.
"Leave her alone," Clay snarled, stepping even more between them and closer to Ash, getting in his face this time. "This has nothing to do with her."
"What, can't the lady speak for herself? Didn't think you went for the damsel in distress type…no offense, sweetheart."
"I'm not so much of a damsel as to not recognize an asshole when I see one." Jess muttered under her breath, braving an angry glare up through her bangs at him.
She hated that grin that spread further over Ash's face, like he approved or something.
"She does speak for herself! See, you can stand down, son, she's got it handled just fine."
Clay didn't budge, instead he asked through clenched teeth, "What do you want?"
"I was in the area, I thought I would check in on you. But, I guess I should have known better than to expect a warm welcome."
"Yeah. You should have."
Mouth turning into a firm, twisted line with a scowl forming, Ash turned to Jess.
"Clay thinks he can erase my footsteps. Be the better man, the better Seal and the better father, so I'll tell you right now, the life he promises you won't exist. One day he'll realize it's a fairy tale."
"I'm not his girlfriend." Jess said coldly, finding her voice suddenly because the way Ash spoke about Clay like he wasn't there reminded her of her mom and Harold, which made her furious because how dare someone treat someone she loved like that? "And if anyone can break generational cycles and defy the odds, it's Clay."
The surprise that flashed over Ash was momentary before he pounced on the 'not his girlfriend' thing.
"Apologies! I assumed with the way he swooped in to protect you-" Ash gave a twisted sort of smile to Clay as he paced back a half step. "Well, look at you. Finally have that little sister you always wanted. I thought she seemed a little young, even for you."
The demeaning now directed at her got Clay's hackles up further and he said, "Yeah, well, I figured out a long time ago that family isn't about the blood in your veins. Come on, Jess. We're out of here."
Jess took the hand Clay reached back for her as he gave his dad a death stare and she let him lead her through the parking lot to their cars.
"You ok?" Clay asked, visibly fuming. He seemed like he was fighting the urge to glare over his shoulder.
"Yeah. Are you?"
Clenching his jaw, Clay started pacing in front of the cars and muttered, "He's such a prick."
"Really makes sense now why you can relate to what it's like having a parent like my mom and Harold," Jess mused, finally peeking towards the place they left Ash. There was no sign of him now, but she could tell Clay was still scanning the area, looking for threats.
"Hope all that wasn't triggering," Clay said, glancing at her.
"I'm ok."
"You sure? Cause you got pretty pale on me."
"I'm good!" Jess leaned casually against the hood of the civic and dug out a pastry, trying to prove a point. "Still wanna go hiking later?"
"Yeah, if you do." Clay answered. "Still want me to come with you to school? I could use the distraction…especially after that."
"Oh! I was joking about that, but sure! It'll be fun! OOoohh! Do you wanna see the specimens I'm growing in the greenhouses?!" Jess asked, the inner nerd in her getting so excited to show someone her semester long project.
The angry line around Clay's mouth faded into an amused smile and he nodded, "Sure. Why not!"
In the end they dropped Jess's car off at home, planning to take Clay's car later, and she grabbed a pair of shoes to hike in. Scott was passed out on the couch with a game on in the background when she slipped in, so she didn't wake him up and was slightly relieved that she didn't have to talk to him. They'd cleared a few things up last night before Jason reappeared with tea and soup, but there was still a lot of processing that needed to be done on Jess's part surrounding everything. Thankfully Scott seemed to have learned not to push her too hard and was just as reluctant to talk because he left it all alone the rest of the evening.
Jess didn't even know where to start. Every time she saw Scott, face to face with the reminder that he'd gotten so banged up and was having regular nightmares, haunted by whatever it was he saw, she felt sick. Not even having her miserable woman time could keep her in the house today. She couldn't handle how not himself he was and then that coupled with Trent and Brock hovering around, Jess just got the feeling her presence would only hamper whatever it was the men were working through.
"Ready to go?" Clay asked as she skipped out of the house quietly.
"Yeah."
"You tell Metal where you're goin after?"
"No. He's sleeping."
"He'll probably want to know."
"He's not my keeper. I can go out and do things without telling him my every move."
"Fair enough." Clay shrugged, "It's just…he worries about you. More than you think."
Putting her seatbelt on, Jess frowned, "What's there to worry about? Not like I do anything dangerous for a living."
Clay paused, picking up on the harsher tone about the same time Jess did and they made eye contact.
"You mean like we do?"
Jess backpedaled. "That's not what I said."
"You sure?"
Guilt prickled in her gut and Jess sighed, "Look. I'll text him later. He won't worry for a bit. I didn't mention about no placement today, so I'm not due home in his mind for a while."
"Up to you." Clay dropped it.
The placement Eval took all of fifteen minutes. Jess was pleased that she had a glowing review and that her teachers were just as excited as she was about the samples and specimens she was collecting. Once that was done, Jess showed Clay her part of the greenhouse and he listened patiently as she gushed about certain plants. Then they hit the road and found a random, remote State Park to explore.
And they got lost. Twice.
"I'm just saying! If we had listened to my instincts instead of youuuurrr special Navy skills, then we wouldn't be lost."
"Wait, so it's my fault we got lost!? You're the one who wanted to go off trail and chase butterflies!"
"It wasn't a butterfly! It was a rare kind of woodpecker and they-"
"Same thing. You would chase after a squirrel . Doesn't matter what it is. You would chase after it with some fascinating fact about it."
"Yeah, well, at least my brain isn't morbid and creepifying like yours mister 'this would be an ideal place to set up an ambush with explosives'."
"How was that morbid? I was implying that we would be doing the ambushing! Metal would have said something worse. He would have pointed out like…the six different places to hide bodies."
"Hey! Look! I was right! We're back on a trail! Sort of."
"We were going the direction I picked, using my skills!"
"Yeah, but I pointed in this direction before you ever figured out what way you wanted to go, so therefore my gut was right before your ninja skills."
"My ninja skills will beat you every day of the week! Look, here's a map just up here-"
"Aww, where's the fun in that? We should just pick a direction and walk in it!"
"Jess, you can't just rely on sheer dumb luck!"
"Why? Sonny says you do all the time!"
"Wow! You know what? I might just leave you out here."
"Awww, nah you wouldn't do that! What would you tell Jason? Or Scott?"
"That I left a menace to society where it belonged. In the wild."
"You do realize that me being a little shit is just part of having a little sister, right?"
"Suddenly I'm glad I was an only child," Clay grumbled without malice, holding out a bottle to her. "Water?"
"Yeah! Thanks!"
"You can thank my skills of preparation. Something you don't have."
"Excuse me! I wore hiking shoes! These are excellent shoes! That counts as preparation." Jess chugged the water and looked around, still smiling. "So. Do you think we have cell service yet?"
"Nope. And we're about 7 miles from the entrance now. We're literally on the other side of the park."
"Not a very big park," Jess commented, handing the water back and checking her phone out of habit. Still no service. "So, which way. I vote left."
"No. Right. There's a shortcut here."
"You said that last time."
"Yeah, and we would have found it if you hadn't had to climb a tree."
"Shesh, you make it sound like it was only me causing trouble. You're the one who just had to climb up and look in those caves."
Clay rolled his eyes and started walking so Jess followed, egging him on lightheartedly, "And thennnn…what happened Clay?"
"I fell. It's not a big deal."
"I told you not to climb up there, and you bet me that you wouldn't have any trouble. You owe me fifty."
"Who taught you to bet so high!?"
"Trent."
Silence finally fell as the banter died down and they headed down the trail back towards the car.
"So…is it true what, ah…Ash…said?"
"What part?"
"About always wanting a sister?"
"Oh! Yeah. Probably the only true thing he did say today, but I'm glad I never had one. You're proving to be a real pain in the ass." Clay glanced at her, mischief flashing in his eyes at the open mouthed expression on her face, "Kidding. I just wouldn't wish him on anyone and it spared them the pain of growing up like I did."
"Fair enough. Sorry…I really should ask. It's none of my business."
"No, it's ok." Hoping down a steep incline and then waiting casually for Jess to slip down too, Clay added, "Out of everyone, you're probably the person who gets it the most…what it was like having him for a father."
"No kidding. He really gave off some 'Harold' vibes." Jess's foot slipped part way down the steep ground and Clay reached up, slowing her skidding descent and keeping her on her feet at the bottom. "Thanks!"
"Yeah…Harold seemed pleasant," Clay hesitated. "What's your actual dad like?"
"He's…not the kind of person who fights for you," Jess sighed. "It's not that I don't think he loves me, or that he never wanted to on some level, he just…he wasn't strong enough in who he was to fight for us when mom took custody. He just rolled over and let it happen. He didn't even put up a fight in court enough though he knew what we were going to live with. I've never really been able to forgive him for that."
"Yeah. Ash always seemed happier to fight for his country and his reputation rather than his son. Even now he's willing to use me just to advance his writing career."
"Oh, shit. If we want to get into commiserating on how awful our parents are, I actually think I might need a drink," Jess laughed, shaking her head.
"I mean, I guess we could go buy some stuff and drink on the beach for a bit. Sonny and I do that sometimes. There's a place where it's really quiet and the sky is pretty clear."
"Deal." Jess agreed instantly, surprising herself with how much the thought of drinking appealed to her. She didn't really want to go home yet anyway. There were still too many uncomfortable feelings.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Just cause I don't drink at the Bulkhead doesn't mean I don't drink with people I trust. I used to at Ingrid."
"Ok, if you're sure."
"Yeah," Jess hoped down another steep incline. "The more I think about, the more I kinda think maybe it sounds like a good plan."
"Any reason?"
"Do you have to have a reason to drink?" Jess challenged lightly, the barest amount of annoyance boiling in her gut because Clay's tone changed. He was fishing for information.
"No. I guess not."
"Ooooh! Look at that!"
"Seriously!? Get back here!"
"Watch out for the poison ivy." Jess pointed to her left absentmindedly. "I'm not going far!"
"You're ridiculous!" Clay stood on the path and crossed his arms. "I'm not coming after you."
"Never asked you to…awww…nevermind. It's not the plant I thought it was. Rats." Jess picked her way back carefully and they kept going.
"You're lucky Sonny didn't come," Clay commented.
"I feel like he'd be whining like a mule."
"Yeah…might be good for him though. We should go out again tomorrow, do something fun. Maybe hike again."
"Are you going to let me detour still?"
"Yeah, but Sonny will probably toss you over his shoulder when he gets tired of it."
Annoyance tugged at Jess again and she muttered, "Seems about right."
"Why?"
"Nothing."
"What's goin on?"
Grumbling, Jess let him give her a hand up a small rock face.
"Nothing. I'm just...me and everyone being…them. It's fine. I'll get over it."
"What...people being a bit much since the whole Metal being drunk thing?"
"Well, yeah, now that you bring it up, that about sums it up. If you friggin ask me if I'm ok, I'll scream at the top of my lungs."
"That bad, huh."
"Yeah. I got ambushed yesterday at school by Jason and then interrogated, and before that it was Trent, like, immediately when I woke up, and then Brock showed up at work! Seriously…Clay, am I that fragile?"
"No," Clay opened his mouth to say something more and shut it again.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"I don't buy that."
"I got nothin more to say right now."
"Now why can't that work for me." Jess muttered.
"Because you got adopted by a bunch of Seals and we aren't good at backing off when we're convinced there's a problem we can fix."
"I'm not a huge fan of the double standard."
Clay didn't answer and they fell into their own thoughts for a time. When they finally got back to the car, they checked their phones. Jess had a message from her mom, but she deleted it immediately and muted her phone out of habit. She did anytime a family member called and usually turned it back on in a few hours.
It was 5pm. Jess was hungry and so was Clay, so they went for super and picked up some drinks at the beer store.
As promised they ended up on the beach, watching the sun go down.
Sitting on the blanket, Jess stared at the sky.
"Wanna beer?" Clay asked, reaching for the cooler.
"Actually, I'll take another Palm Bay,"
"That's your third already!"
"So what? It's a nice day." Jess welcomed the buzzy feeling in the back of her head.
"You don't drink like this unless something is wrong, Jess."
"Nothing's wrong! I'm fine."
"Ok." Clay waited.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Jess muttered, kicking back the remainder of her drink and opening the next.
"You sure?"
"Ask me again in a few drinks…and only if you spill too because I know you had something more you were going to add earlier."
"Alright. Fine."
Ten minutes later Clay started talking about Ash, his mom and his grandparents, and Jess spilled about her own parents. By the hour mark they'd made a drinking game out of it and were well past tipsy.
9pm rolled round and they were both staring at the sky, giggling about the story Jess told Clay about work that week.
"I actually got Scott to cringe with that one."
"Noooooo! Really?!" Clay was plastered and his slurred words matched Jess's own. "Good…I'm…I'm kinda pissed off at him for scaring you."
"What!? Whyyy!" Jess swatted at Clay, "Be nice! He's having a bad week and it wasn't that bad!"
"We're all havin a bad week." Clay's tone shifted, soft and sleepy. "Worst spin up ever…people…people died. 'S probably way they're being all over protective bears with you…"
Blinking at the stars and shivering just a little, Jess's mind sobered just enough to focus.
"Why?"
"We…we were rescuing these girls…human trafficking. Bad guys started shooting…explosive went off…building collapsed on half the team and the people we went in for… 's way Metal was all banged up…he tried to save one of the girls by taking the debris for her. She still died on him."
"Oh my god." Jess took a minute for the words to sink in. "That's horrible!"
"Yeah…not a good day. We lost three of the kids. No our fault, but…still mission failure." Clay took another drink. "Sonny's takin it bad too…he, Trent and Metal each had one of the ones that died…held 'em."
"Shit." Jess turned and looked at Clay, seeing him a new light all the sudden as she slowly processed the words. "I'm so sorry…"
Jerking out of whatever memorial he'd been dragged down, Clay stirred.
"Probably shouldn't have told you that. Don't tell anyone, please? Metal would bury me…and Trent. They don't like you knowin…about the bad stuff. Keep it quiet, always careful about our stories when you're around. Don't wanna upset you."
"So I am fragile?" Jess stated, anger flooding up all the sudden.
"No…sis…not fragile. Big heart. Different."
"I feel so weak." Jess murmured. "Like…in every sense."
"You faced off drunk Metal and you've got a bunch of really dangerous badasses ready to do just about anything to see you smile, Jess…don't think that's weakness."
"You're all way too overprotective."
"Yeah….oh…shit…" Clay waved a hand in the air as he hunted for words. "I got drunker than I meant to…what time is it? I left my phone in the car."
"I don't know." Jess slapped her hand around on the ground, looking for her phone. She turned on the screen, squinting before handing it to Clay, giggling, "I can't read it!"
"It's upside down, genius…uh oh…" Clay swayed as he forced himself to sit up. "Jess…you ever let Metal know you weren't coming home like normal?"
Blinking slowly at the stars, part of Jess's brain knew she should be worried, while the other part shrugged.
"Oh shit…I forgot about that."
"He's callin you…again. Lot's of missed calls...oh shit." Clay shoved her phone under her nose, drunk voice taking on a slight panic.
"Answer it!" Jess squawked.
"I'm not answering!"
"Wuss." Jess peered at the phone and struggled to hit the button. "Hello?"
The voice on the other end was sharp and cranky.
"Where the hell are you?"
"Oh, hi grumpy pants! I'm at the beach with Clay!" Jess chirped as she sat up. The movement stirred up the drunkenness again, sending her over the edge away from common sense and fear of conflict.
"I'm not here!" Clay yelled at the phone. "I told her to tell you she wouldn't be home on time! This isn't my fault!"
"Clay's there?" Scott's voice darkened. "Put him on the phone. Now. "
Holding out the phone, Jess said with an obvious slur, "It's for you."
"Nope!" Clay jumped up and started running down the beach. He only got a few feet before he tripped and went face first into the sand.
Naturally Jess started to laugh.
"Jess. JESS!"
The sharp voice coming through the phone brought it back to her ear.
"Clay's eating sand. He can't come to the phone."
"Have you two been drinking?!"
"Just a tinnnsy tinnnnsie bit." Jess whispered loudly. "Scotty, it was my idea. Don't get mad at Clay, ok?"
"Where are you."
"At the beach…Clay said he and Sonny drink here sometimes, it's a beautiful spot! The sky's really nice tonigt and we were just gonna watch the sunset, but then we started talking about how terrible our parents are and that turned into a really fun drinking game and now we're both slooshed. Wanna come? It'll be fun!"
"Don't go anywhere."
"Are you coming to the party?"
"Oh. You better believe I am."
Drunk ass missing the menacing promise, Jess sang, "Yay! See you soon! Love you! Byee!"
"Jess- don't hang up the-"
Jess hit the end button, cutting off the voice on the other end and dragged herself to her feet, stumbling over to Clay.
"Hey….hey….brother bear…"
"Shhhh…no one's here." Clay whispered.
"Hey! Let's make sand angels!" Jess flopped down and started waving her arms and legs in the cold sand.
"Are they coming to get us?" Clay asked, joining in after a few minutes.
"Yup! Scott's coming to join the party!"
"I'm so dead. Just bury me now, Jess."
"Why?!"
"Supposed to be taking care of you…not getting drunk."
"Was my idea to drink. I'm a big girl…Oooo! What's that!?" Jess hopped up off the sand and started walking towards a small dark mound in the sand. "It's a baby raCcoON!"
"Don't touch it…oh…too late."
"Clay…my new pet isn't breathing. Do you think Trent can fix it?"
"Sure! Let's find out!" Clay got up and stumbled through the dark to the empty cooler. "Let's put it in here!"
Just then flashlights bobbed over the ridge.
"Duck and cover!" Clay tackled Jess just as she dumped the dead racoon into the cooler.
"Hey! I think that's…oh, it's Jason! And Ray! And look! There's Scott! HI SCOTT!"
"Shhhhhh! What kind of sneaky ninja are you!" Clay hissed. "You're giving away our position!"
"Where the hell have you two been?!" Jason snapped as he approached.
"Shhhhh…don't talk too loud! It'll wake up!" Jess hissed, patting the top of the cooler as she and Clay struggled to get up out of the sand. Clay started giggling and holding her shoulder for help balancing.
"Damn it, Clay." Ray moved forward, stopping the young man from toppling over. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"We're not drunk. The racoon I found is." Jess peered at them seriously.
All three men paused to stare at her.
"Racoon?!"
Clay collapsed back to the sand, laughing now and Jess went with him.
"His name is Fred!" Clay gasped, pointing to the box. "He's gonna be my new bestie."
"Hey! I thought we were besties!" Jess whined.
"No..nonono…w-we're siblings. Difference."
"Ohhhhh…wait…you're my brother?"
"Yeah."
"Did…did my mom or my dad cheat."
"Don't know. What if it was my dad who cheated?"
"Ewww…I don't wanna be his spawn."
"Me neither!"
"Iz ok. Jason's our dad anyway." Jess said happily as she leaned her head on Clay's shoulder and patted his arm.
"You two are grounded." Jason tried to sound serious and failed because despite how pissed off he was, there was no denying this was just a little funny. "Ray, get rid of the racoon."
"I'm not touching that thing!" Ray protested.
Scott swore and started for the cooler. "I'll do it."
"No!" Jess threw a hand on the lid of the cooler. "Don't let him out! He's my attack raccoooonnn and Trent needs to fix him- HEY!"
Scott took the cooler without any trouble, opened the lid and let the contents fall out while Jess wailed, "Don't let Fred go! Noooo! Freddy! Come back- oh my gosh…guys…I think Fred is dead."
"Jess," Clay patted her on the shoulder. "Jess…I think he started that way. He was dead when you picked him up!"
"But…poor Fred! He had so much trash panda life ahead of him! He was gonna be my attack racoon."
"Shit…how much did you two drink!?" Jason reached down and hooked a hand under her elbow. "Jess, come on. Time to go home."
"But I haven't seen a shooting star yet!"
"You can see one later. Let's go." Hauling her to her feet, Jason started steering her down the beach. "Where the hell have you been all day?! We've been trying to reach you since 5:30pm!"
"We went to school, and I showed Clay all my cool plants. You guys never ask about my plants. It's so rude. I'm making so much progress with my project and could totally do a thesis paper on it, but nooonooonoo, you just have to hijack my day and asked stupid questions about dealing with grumpy bears. And then we went up to a State Park…can't remember the name…and we hiked a bunch…because I didn't have placement today…I'm responsible you know…and then we got lost a few times…but we got unlosted because I have a good sense of direction-"
"We got lost because she couldn't stay on the trail and I got us un lost!" Clay whined as Ray and Scott practically dragged him up the beach.
"My gut instincts figured it out faster than you did!"
"Did not!"
"Get in the truck." Jason opened the door to his truck and shoved Jess inside, practically lifting her in. Clay was shoved in behind her and the door was slammed shut, while the three stood in tense discussion.
"How mad are they?" Jess wondered fuzzily.
"I don't know. Hey, get on your own side of the truck!" Clay shoved her gently and started giggling again, which made Jess swat him, and then that turned into a juvenile little fight.
The door was thrown open a minute later and Scott climbed into the passenger seat followed by Jason into the driver's seat.
"Clay. You're at my place. Jess. You're going home with Scott."
The two drunks in the back wisely stayed quiet for a short time until Jess started up the swatting match again, drawing snorts and giggles as things escalated.
"Would you two knock it off!" Jason raised his voice sharply and both stopped their little swatting match to stare at him.
"We made dad mad." Jess hissed, mind fuzzy and carefree.
"Bah…that's not his mad voice." Clay asked, swatting her head again and missing when she ducked.
Jess smacked him back.
"Hey!" Clay gave up on swatting and yanked Jess into a headlock.
"DADDDD!" Jess bellowed. "HE's nOt pLAying fairrrrr. Tell him he can't use his man muscles!"
"For fuck sake! Clay! Knock it off!"
"But she started it- hey! AGGH! Don't- stop! That tickles!"
"Pull the damn car over." Metal growled, already unbuckling his seatbelt. The second the truck was on the curb, he got out and threw open the back door.
Jess and Clay froze mid struggle, sister with her stabby little fingers rammed into the side of Clay's ribs while brother held her tightly in a headlock.
"If you don't let her go right now, I'll break your arm." Metal snapped at Clay. There was only the tiniest hint of amusement around the corners of his mouth. Other than that he seemed completely furious.
"Do you think he means it?" Jess hissed with a slur, blinking slowly at Scott with those big, trusting, bambi eyes when his glare flicked over to her. The steel softened, but the frown deepened.
"I don't wanna find out." Clay let her go and shoved her towards Metal. "Here! It's all yours! Careful, it bites."
"Heeeyyyyy, I don't bite! You're telling lies, you lying liar pants!" Jess whined, moving to swat him again and then squealing when Metal hooked an arm around her waist, hauling her from the truck. "Nooooo! We'll be good! We promise!"
"Hey! That's my little sister!" Clay protested, still ridiculously drunk out of his tree. "Give her back!"
"Clay, if you get out of that seat I swear I will let Metal put you in a sleeper hold and knock your ass out." Jason warned sharply, past the point of being annoyed and just accepting the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Yes, dad." Clay settled back with a comical pout. "Just miss my new best sister. Don't know why we can't sit next to each other."
Metal carted Jess one armed from the back seat to the front as if she were nothing, which was impressive for a man who'd just had a building collapse on him and was stabbed just over two days ago.
Dropping her on her feet in front of the passenger side, he growled, "You. In. Seatbelt. Now."
Something flickered in Jess's mind and for a brief moment she sobered a little, "Are you mad at me?"
Scott didn't answer. He just took her elbow gently and wordlessly prompted her to climb into the truck.
Once she was buckled in, Jess leaned her head against the window. Feeling drowsy.
The rest of the ride was a blur and she couldn't recall much past Clay getting a bit of a verbal lashing from Scott and Jason. She defended him, or at least tried to.
Once she was home and heading up the walk the way her body normally reacted to her drinking too much set in and the vomiting started. From there she was vaguely aware of Scott holding back her hair while she puked in the bushes.
After a while she was maneuvered into the house and into the bathroom where she cleaned up with no small amount of help. Once she was in bed she started to sober up enough to ask an important question.
"Scott, do you still love me?" Jess mumbled drowsily, still drunk enough for her filter to be completely gone.
"Yes. Go to sleep." He grumbled, tossing a blanket over her.
"Even though I threw up on your shoes?"
"Yes. Shut up and go to sleep."
"Promise?"
The sleepy nonsensical side of her slipped into an almost alert, fearful state and Metal only just caught the change.
"Yeah, pipsqueak. I promise." He pushed her hair back from her forehead in a fit of desperation.
She needed to go to sleep and he needed…to call Trent. Yeah. He needed to call Trent.
"Are you mad at me?" She asked again, mind waking up a little more.
"Don't worry about it. Go to sleep."
"You are, aren't you."
"Jess, you are drunk and I am tired. We are not having this conversation right now."
"Not like you don't get drunk." Jess mumbled, feeling a sting of the pointed shut down.
"Never said I didn't." That answer was tired and defeated this time.
A surge of thoughts came rushing to the surface when Jess opened her eyes again and she grabbed Scott's arm before he could walk away.
"Scott…please don't die." Unexpected tears surfaced and Jess drew a quick, shuddering breath. This was the whole reason she'd wanted to drink. There. She'd said it. Now it was real. "I don't want you to die."
Metal paused, turning back and crouching down slowly next to her.
"This why you were drinking so much tonight?" He asked quietly.
"Uh huh." Jess nodded, peering at him sleepily through the gathered tears. "Thought it would help…didn't…still there. Can't shake it."
"Yeah, well, I could have told you it wouldn't go away with drinking, kid." Metal told her grimly, reaching out of habit now to brush her hair back again.
"Didn't know what it was till now." Jess whimpered. "I don't want any of you to die."
"Pipsqueak, we're all safe right now. You can go to sleep. We'll handle the rest later. Ok? Trust me. We're all safe right now."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. I promise."
"Promise you won't die."
"I'm Full Metal, kid. I won't die."
Empty promise or not, it was enough for drunk Jess and she let it go, rolling into the deep slumber of the drink. Once she was out, Metal got up and headed straight for the phone.