"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Jess asked out of the blue, only voicing half her thought.

Rob shrugged as they walked across campus, filling in the blanks without needing to ask.

"You know how it works, kid," He said, subtly rubbing at his still healing side as they moved. Jess checked the pace a little because she knew he wouldn't say anything about them needing to slow down for him and they weren't in danger of being late. "Could be a few days, could be a few weeks. They're radio silent, and even if it's only been a day that tells you something."

Oblivious, Jess frowned. "What does it tell me?"

"They're on task and getting close to what they want."

"It does? I always thought no contact meant things were really bad and they couldn't afford distractions."

"Nope. Not always." Rob sounded almost wistful when he said that. "Usually radio silence is the best news there is."

Jess glanced up at him, searching his face for signs of this trip being too much. It was her first day back on campus and he's insisted on tagging along. He claimed he would be bored out of his tree staying at home. The school knew of her situation, of course, so they wouldn't question if she showed up with a 'bodyguard'. She was told she would have their 'full cooperation and support' in anything she needed or wanted. As long as she didn't sue them or take them to court and she remembered all those papers she signed before the trip.

"I hope you're right." Jess sighed. "You sure you want to hang around in class with me? You could just walk me there and-"

"Nah, I'll stick around. I've walked enough for now. Besides, isn't this the one in the greenhouse? Sounds like a place with good juju. I'll just meditate while I wait."

"You meditate?"

"I do."

"Huh."

"Does that surprise you?" Rob asked as he got the door for her, opening it gingerly.

"Yeah, a little. I thought you would just…deal with stuff like the rest of them."

"What? Hit stuff? Shot things? Drink too much?"

"Honestly, yeah!"

Rob laughed as they moved into the humid, comforting smell of the greenhouses, saying, "Nah, kid, we're not all like Metal and Jason. Some of us actually have healthy strategies for dealing with our shit."

The stares of her classmates, especially the ones who'd been on the trip with her, were uncomfortable to bear, same as the greetings, hugs and 'I'm so glad you're ok' comments from everyone.

It was harder than she expected, and when class was called to order, calming down and getting to work, Jess was exhausted.

Rob nudged her with his toe and Jess looked at him.

"It'll pass," he told her seriously. "Give it time. They'll all forget soon and act normal again."

Jess nodded and released a slow, controlled breath as she started to write things down. That turned into doodling around her page, but at least she was listening. After a while her doodling got turned into silently playing hangman with Rob until it was time to check her samples. Her teacher had been keeping them alive for her.

That was more fun.

"Hey! This is the one that I snagged when you scared the shit out of me!" Jess cried happily, crouching down next to the growing plant so it was at face height and smiling widely. "Awww…look how good it's doing!"

"Guess it was worth the heart attack," Rob teased, squinting at the plant.

"It's also the one that the locals said was so versatile, remember?"

"I'll be honest, kid, I wasn't paying attention to what the locals told you about the plant when we talked to them. My attention was elsewhere."

"Oh. That's right." Jess sobered, remembering he'd been doing a job. One that nearly got him killed because of her.

As if reading her thoughts, Rob smiled and said, "Relax, kid. I'm glad it was worth the trip."

"Even if I just take this one home and keep it alive forever? It will have been worth it. I know…" Jess waited to see if anyone was close enough to overhear her, then continued when she was satisfied no one was eavesdropping. "I know that most people all say, 'Oh, Jess, what an awful trip, but…it's like in my head the two events are two different trips…you know? Like the world of being in the jungle versus being back in modern civilization just…detached and preserved the good stuff."

"That's a good way to look at it. I'm glad you can still see and separate those good moments."

"I mean, the rest was kinda shitty…especially you getting shot-"

"Ahhh, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Rob said lightly, brushing it off, but not in a mean or dismissive way. It was more like he wanted to have the conversation, but didn't feel like it was a good time. "When's your next class? Ten minutes?"

"Yeah." Jess took the hint and moved on quickly, looking down at her phone. "When do you have to take your meds again?"

"Shit, you remembered." Rob groaned with false annoyance.

"I'm better at remembering stuff like that…and I put a reminder in my phone to ask."

"I'll take them now."

"Thank you." Jess felt her cheeks heat as she ducked her head meekly. She hated having to ask, but Rob didn't ever seem annoyed, He would just make a joke and do what he was supposed to.

Class passed much like the last one and then it was time to head home where Jess and Rob ordered take out because neither were particularlyinclined to cook.

"I guess we could have put some of the food Scott has frozen in the oven instead," said Jess as she finished her fourth slice of pizza while they watched The Big Bang Theory. Unlike Scott, Rob enjoyed the show a lot.

"And miss out on my favorite dinner? Hell no."

"I thought you were a health nut, like Scott."

"Yes and no. This brings me joy," Rob held up the pizza in his hand. "I'm gonna eat it."

"Then why were you getting after me all the time about eating right when we were-"

"I promised Metal I would!"

"Seriously!?" Jess rolled her eyes and laughed brighter than she expected. "He is ridiculous."

"He can be," Rob agreed. "But usually only if he really does love someone. I knew he cared about you a lot the night he messaged me and said he was giving me the number of a kid he'd befriended and that I needed to help you out if you ever asked."

"When was that?"

"The same night he told me you had no God given sense and that you'd just climbed in his truck with him when you still weren't sure if he was a safe person or not. Said something along the lines of 'someone has to look out for this kid and I'll be damned if it's not me at this point' or something like that."

Jess groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"He is never going to let that one go, is he."

"Probably not." Rob chuckled. "That kind of thing really gets to him. He was one hell of a protective older brother when we were kids."

Jess brought her head up sharply.

"You were kids together?"

"Yeah." Rob rubbed his chin, brushing crumbs from his scruff and then frowning at his shirt before dusting it off onto the floor. "I moved away in our early teens and we lost touch, but we reconnected again in the teams, which was neat. He was my best friend and I knew his little sister pretty well too."

"What was she like?" Jess asked. She knew a little about Rose, but never had the courage to ask Scott more about her in case it hurt him.

"About as bullheaded and stubborn as Metal is. Spunky as hell and could get away with murder, but she had some bad experiences in the world and when they were little he had to protect her a lot from some shit going on, so she also had this underlying fragility to her. You rarely saw it, but it was there. Usually she was just this firecracker who could annoy the shit out of her brother, but who also knew if anyone messed with her they were gonna get it." Rob chuckled and shook his head. "Heaven help anyone if they hurt her and she called for her big brother. When we were eight he ambushed an older kid who'd been bullying her on the playground and beat him up pretty good. Broke his nose and everything. The kid didn't want to admit someone smaller and younger did it, so Scott never got in trouble for it. I think he told his dad though and his dad didn't punish him for it at all. If I remember right, the kid never came near Rose or her friends again."

A soft smile slipped across Jess's face and she murmured, "Yeah, that sounds like Scott."

"Wasn't the only time he did it. He beat up multiple boys for her, even got beat up himself a few times on her account. They didn't always see eye to eye and they had a falling out later on in life, but he loved her fiercely. She died pretty young. About your age, I think."

"Yeah. He told me what happened."

"Ah." Rob flicked a glance over and asked casually, "Explains why he's so…vigilant…?"

"I think so." Jess sighed and checked her phone. She just wanted something from her brothers. Anything. It was nice having Rob with her, but she still needed to know they were ok.

"You're pretty vigilant yourself…" Rob said quietly, eyeing her phone. "They'll be ok. They have each others' backs."

Jess nodded and took a drink before going quiet for a while, staring out the window rather than watching the TV.

"Anything you wanna talk about?" Rob asked after a while.

Figuring he would understand better than anyone, Jess took a deep breath and said, "I've been slowly piecing things together…you know…from the whole…thing that happened. I was really out of it when Bravo came to get me, so- anyway. I remember gunfire and bodies. I remember…a lot of shooting and that…I remember Clay and Ray shot two men right next to me through a window. There was…pink mist."

"Yeah." Rob didn't say more, just listening intently and giving her the floor.

It was different than when Scott did that. With Scott she could never tell if he was upset or not and that made her want to not talk at all because sometimes she just felt too fragile to have him upset with her for any reason. Rob just had this quiet around him whenever she spoke that made her keep talking. Maybe she just cared more what Scott thought than Rob. Whatever the case, she decided to spill her guts a little.

"I'd heard them make references to 'turning someone into pink mist' before and I never really thought that much about what that meant, but now…"

"Now you get the reference."

"I do. I don't know how I feel about that. And I don't know if seeing them, ah, I don' t know, in action? Yeah, I don't know if that's making this all better or worse, because before I 'knew' they were working and that sometimes that meant killing 'bad guys'."

Rob nodded grimly and said with understanding, "And now you know what that looks and sounds like."

"Yeah. And then the reality kicks in that we were also being shot at when they were getting me out and that they get shot at a lot and people try to kill them too, like…on a weekly basis and now- now I don't know how to feel about anything."

"Jess, sweetheart," Rob leaned onto his knees, clasping his hands and offering her obvious compassion. "I promise. They are really good at their jobs."

"They can still get hurt."

"So can you." Rob reminded her patiently. "We proved that one already. A few times, by the sounds of it. You think they don't worry about you too? You've got a shady track record, kid, for shit happening to you when they leave or aren't around."

Considering it, Jess chewed her lip and mumbled, "I guess. But that's different. I don't get shot at. I just have shitty biological family."

"Yeah, they have a dangerous job, but-" Rob made a face as he thought for a second." Put it this way. When they were getting you out of there, and I get you where pretty out of it but, was there any point in time that you didn't think they were going to get you out? That they weren't going to win?"

Twitching her toes as she thought about it, Jess said slowly, "I guess, I mean, I was scared of them for a while so it's hard to say, but, when Scott told me they were better at shooting than the people shooting at us, I believed him."

"And in spite of all the confusion and upset, correct me if I'm wrong, but you still ended up being persuaded to trust him?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know he was going to get you out, bad guy or not?"

"Yes." Jess shivered. "I did know that."

That seemed to have been what Rob was waiting for, because he snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

"Ok, take that, because regardless of what you thought he was you still knew the truth, and put it into this context. They were so good at their jobs that even drugged up you knew they were going to come out on top. That right there should tell you something about how good they really are, and how much less you need to worry about them."

Brow wrinkling, Jess's fingers rubbed along her hairline.

"Hadn't thought of that," Jess murmured.

"Ahh, well, I'm smart sometimes," Rob settled back again and said seriously, "Regardless of what happens to them, they love their work, and they love you. Don't ever forget that."

Comforted, if only a little, Jess tried to stop worrying and relax a little.

Across the market square, deep in the heart of Italy, Santino sat drinking his morning coffee and discussed business pleasantly with another man. He was completely oblivious to the fact that he had eyes on him and crosshairs pointed at his head.

"Anyone else wish we could just shwack this guy?" Clay muttered as he watched.

"Not the mission." Jason muttered back, "Bravo Five, you got incoming on your six. Looks like the rest of the party."

"I see it." Five answered over the radio. "Final pieces are in place. Stand by."

"I don't see why we can't just take him and beat what we want out of him." Sonny grumbled to Metal who'd stayed utterly quiet for nearly a day now.

The man still didn't answer.

"You gonna speak at all, brother bear?" Sonny hissed.

"Got nothing to say. Focus on the mission." Metal finally answered. "We do this job, we wait, then we get justice."

Sonny rumbled something unhappily as Bravo Five came over the com's informing them all that the placement of the tracker was a success.

Now they waited. Again.

When Jess woke, it wasn't her own dreams that woke her.

She could hear Rob in the other room getting up and heading to the bathroom but she'd been dragged from sleep soon enough to know he'd just called out in his sleep. There wasn't certainty, but she thought it was her name he'd yelled.

Heart thumping, Jess slowly got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. It only seemed right to take the role of Scott and make some tea. That was all she could offer and suddenly she appreciated more what Scott had to go through each night with her. Helpless, hurting inside for the other person, wishing you could take the pain from them.

"That's my job." Rob mumbled as he came around the corner a few minutes later. He'd filled the place of Scott their first night rooming together, to a point. They both fell asleep on separate couches rather than Jess curling up with him. She didn't feel like she knew him well enough to be comfortable doing that yet.

"I figure we can take turns," Jess told him weakly, eyeing the ruffled black hair and drawn face. "I'm…I'm sorry-"

"Uh huh. Don't. Please." Rob slumped into one of the stools at the counter and leaned his head in his hands. "Just the meds. They make dreams worse. Not your fault."

Accepting the harsh reality that maybe it wasn't anyone's fault anymore except for the people who took her in the first place, Jess poured the water into the cups and joined him.

The tea didn't do its job as well as it usually did so they settled to watch some TV instead.

About Two-thirty in the morning, Jess's phone buzzed with a notification.

It was day four of Bravo being gone and Jess hadn't heard from any of them. Until now.

It wasn't even words. He just sent her four links to ads for puppies.

"No news is good news…right?" Jess said out loud, looking at the links with a lump in her throat.

"No news is good news- but that looks like you got something." Rob peered over her shoulder. "What did he send?"

"Ads for puppies."

"Really!?" Rob lifted his head, sounding as though that was extremely interesting and not what he expected. "That's very interesting! You getting a dog?"

"Scott's been talking me into it. He's dead set on paying for it. He wanted to get me one for Christmas because he thinks I need one."

"And do you?"

"I probably don't need one, but, I really do want one."

"Awesome! Let's go look at puppies!" Rob was already snagging her phone and forwarding the links to himself. "This one is only forty minutes away! We should call and see if they'll let us come see them!"

"Seriously!? Don't you think I should wait for Scott?"

"Nope. If he sent these, he means for you to go look if you want to. Besides, it's just looking."

"That's true. Maybe I'll call in the morning and see if they still have some to look at."

"We could go after you go to work, and you could ask your boss if she's heard of any of the breeds. Maybe one of the dogs from the daycare came from there and you would have an indea how they'll act!"

"That-That's actually a really good idea!"

Rob laughed suddenly and shook his head, "People are always so surprised when I have them. I've given up being insulted."

"That's not what I meant-"

"I know, kid," Rob interrupted with good nature, looking at the clock. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going back to sleep any time soon."

Jess had to agree. "Me neither."

"Know what I need?"

"What?"

"Ice cream. And twinkies."

Jess sighed, because ice cream sounded excellent. Same as raw cookie dough. She didn't like twinkies.

"We don't have either of those."

"We could always go get some," Rob said seriously.

"This is true."

"You drive, I'll buy."

Jess hesitated a second before shrugging and saying, "Sure."

Rob was already up and halfway to the door, so she followed, grabbing a sweater and pulling it over her tank top. She hoped she didn't see anyone she knew because she was sure that she looked like a slob right now. Rob looked worse though.

They ended up at a sleepy corner store on a mostly deserted street.

When they finished gathering their 'feast' of food that would send Scott through the roof, Rob dug out his wallet and went to pay.

The doors opened again and the cashier looked up.

"Evening officers!"

"Hey, Pete! Do you have any of those ice cream bars in? My partner here won't stop whining about how she really wants one and your shop is the only place we can find them-"

"I am not the one whining! You want one as much as I do and you also wanted cookie dough, you weirdo!"

Jess turned around with a slightly open mouth and a slow smile started to form.

Fletcher was just about to keep scolding Bailey when she spotted Jess and a huge smile split her face.

"Jess! Good to see you! How are you!? I heard from the girls that you were back at work yesterday and that Luna nearly lost her mind over it!"

"I'm good! Just…getting snacks. This is my friend, Rob-"

"Aww, we know Rob!" Fletcher grinned bigger and moved forward to shake the man's hand. "Miss you at the gym, Rob! Just not the same without you there! Heard you got clipped! How are you doing?"

"I am wonderful, Sylvia, and how are you? Trevor? Good to see you too, man! You consider helping out with any more courses? I'm looking for bodies in the spring."

"If I can make it work in my schedule, I will. I love working with those kids!"

"They'll be thrilled!" Rob grinned, looking down as Fletcher snagged a few things off the shelf and tossed others to Trevor. "Snack break?"

"I blame the fact we just pulled over and arrested multiple people for hotboxing their car's and driving impaired."

"Munchies?" Jess murmured out loud, forgetting to keep her inside voice in her head.

Trevor snorted and his grin widened as he said, "You sometimes have to wonder! Doing alright, Jess? Good choice of snack you got there!"

The reality that Trevor just walked into a building and knew everyone in it, in the middle of the night, in a random corner store struck Jess, and she couldn't stop herself.

"Do you just know everyone?" Jess blurted.

Fletcher burst out laughing as Trevor kept smiling with an easy shrug, "Seems that way some days! Not sure why."

"Not sure why, my ass! He's a social butterfly and way too friendly. They call him 'Officer Retriever' at work or 'Golden Boy' because he's like a Gold Retriever for friendliness"

Trevor didn't seem bothered in the slightest and he shrugged again.

"I like being helpful!"

"Like finishing doordash deliveries?" Jess asked with hesitant teasing.

"Yeah!" Trevor chuckled as he paid for his and Fletcher's food. "Exactly!"

"And playing football with kids in the middle of the street," Sylvia added, clearly enjoying giving her partner a hard time.

Trevor's head rolled up to the ceiling and he sighed, "Look, that was one time and the woman who called it in was just being a jerk, those kids weren't doing anything bad! They were even being super careful!"

"You roped the whole squad into playing with them"

"It was good for morale!"

"Ok, but you also have to pet every dog we see when we are walking!"

Trevor made a gesture and said, 'what do you want from me' and exclaimed, "Doggos are the best!"

Fletcher pointed to Pete behind the cash, who was just laughing his ass off.

"And you chat up every cashier!"

"It's a thankless job and I'm brightening someone's day!" Trevor defended. "I don't know what the issue is!"

"My point is if Jess, who has known you for a short space of time, can point out that you know everyone , then I can rest my case that you are too friendly for a cop and you need to tone it back a bit!"

Trevor made a show of brushing it off and rolling his eyes, "I do my job very well thank you! I am on great terms with all kinds of people, even ones I have had to arrest"

"That's not normal!"

Rob was leaning on the counter now, laughing silently and Jess couldn't keep a soft giggle in as she watched the two argue good naturedly.

"Maybe it should be! And it comes in handy, doesn't it! You didn't complain when it meant arresting that mob boss's son and we didn't get killed!"

"That's just because he likes you and agreed the little shit needed to be taught a lesson!"

"Exactly! It's an advantage to be likable and friendly!" Trevor folded his arms and gave Fletcher a challenging look, "And it's not like they don't know I'll land them on their ass if they try my good nature."

Fletcher shook her head and grabbed their stuff.

"You're too generous with people."

"People have bad days!"

"I can't believe we are having this conversation again-"

"You brought it up!"

The radio crackled, and a call came out, interrupting the banter.

Instantly both officers sobered, masks falling and replacing the 'happy go lucky' spirit.

"Take it." Trevor muttered to Fletcher, before shifting his sterner demeanor to nod at the three others still standing next to them. "Have a good night, Pete. Rob, we'll talk about the spring soon?"

"You go it, buddy." Rob answered, his on light humor dying like he knew what kind of call they were about to respond to. "Stay safe out there.

"I'm always safe!" Trevor's grin reappeared, even if it was more strained this time. "Jess? Keep this guy out of trouble. He needs it!- Oh- avoid 10th street on your way home. It'll be blocked off."

"Ok. Bye!" Jess answered, watching with disquiet as the two cops left.

Rob picked up on it and put a friendly hand on her shoulder, same way he did when they were out in the jungle.

"They'll be fine."

"Yeah!" Pete piled up from behind the counter. "Bailey is one of the best. So's his partner, despite her growling. They'll be just fine."

"Night, Pete!" Rob waved as they left and went to the car.

"How do you know Trevor?" Jess asked, shivering at the sound of sirens screaming into the distance. It was weird knowing who it was in that car.

"He helps me out with kids self defense classes. I rely on volunteers a lot and he's got a gift with the kids, especially the traumatized ones."

"Oh!"

"Your brothers help me out with them too sometimes!"

"Really?!"

"Oh yeah." Rob settled into the car. "Brock brings Cerberus in and it breaks those kids out of their shell almost right away. Meta and Sonny are almost always a favorite. He lets them all 'take him down' any time they see him and usually by the end of the season of lessons, they all try to 'sneak up' on him and Sonny."

A smile split Jess's face at the idea and she pulled out of the parking lot, heading home.

"That's actually so cute."

"It is. I'm trying to get Jason to come help out again. He was really good with them too. Trent helps me more with the older groups. Never had Clay out yet." Rob opened his pack of twinkies and added casually, "Metal also used to help a lot with my women's self-defense classes. He always claimed he was there to challenge them, be the 'scary' guy, but honestly, he's too much of a protector. Nine times out of time I would end up pairing him up with the most shy, terrified girl there and he'd have them brimming with confidence by the end."

"I can see that," Jess said, warmth spreading through her because that sounded exactly like her big brother. "He mentioned the classes again, after you did in the hospital."

"Yeah?"

"I might…I might be interested. Later. I just…it's hard. I have so much going on and-"

"Jess, I'm not pushing it. I just want you to know that it's there when you want it and it's a great community of people who understand what you're going through. That's all."

"I know. Thank you, I really do appreciate it- I just- I need more time."

"That's no problem." Rob pointed to the 24 hour store on another corner of a street. "Let's stop in there. I want to get something."

Jess didn't stop to muse about how late it was or the fact that she hadn't felt nervous once yet. She just followed the man into the store and followed him back out again, carrying an Xbox and a bunch of games for them to play together.

They never did go back to sleep.

Elsewhere in the world, in the dead of a moonless night, shadows slipped into a villa.

One by one, occupants dropped and the sleeping target dreamed on, blissfully unaware that wolves were coming for him.

A floor board squeaked and the man stirred too late. Even as he sat up, reaching for a gun, the doors burst open and he was getting thrown off his bed into a wall, the gun skidding uselessly across the polished floor.

Gasping for air, the man tried to fend off the darkness crushing him into the floor.

In response his face got slammed hard into the marble slab and he tasted copper.

"Move again, Santino, and I'll break your face, then your arms."

A slow, half crazed grin formed and Christoph Santino started to laugh. He should have known.

"So you found me! Somehow I just knew that girl would be my undoing- Tell me- how is Jessica? No hard feelings, I hope-"

Santino felt himself ripped up off the floor and slammed backward into the ground again with a hand clamped around his neck, strangling the life from him.

"METAL! LET HIM GO!"

Death incarnate did not obey quickly, but for the time being, Santino escaped, sliding back down with ragged coughs when he was released.

He laughed again, wheezing.

"That's right. Listen to your master." He told the shadow.

"Shut the fuck up before I kill you myself." Another closed in on him, knocking him roughly down and zip tying his hands. The knee in his back pressed unnecessarily hard and all blood circulation left his hands.

Santino supposed that perhaps he shouldn't have antagonized the men so much. If the CIA was that intent on finding him, a few bruises and cuts weren't likely to get anyone in trouble or get him released. Not this time.

He truly had miscalculated the day he decided to go after Jessica and he had a feeling his 'brother' had known what would happen.

One way or another, 'Harold' was going to pay.