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Chapter 15- Breakup

Smiling, when Mikey walked in and handed a squealing Ally to Clay as he took a seat at the island while Mia finished putting the little touches on the food and started taking out dishes and silverware.

"So, what are your plans tomorrow?" Mia asked.

"I am probably going to see Stella after the debrief at headquarters with Blackburn. Are you off tomorrow?" he replied.

Mia nodded, "yeah, I knew you were coming home so I took the weekend off. I just had to work half-day today because I had clinic and some last minutes appointments. I am probably going to go Easter shopping" she informed him.

She avoided talking about Stella and decided to change the subject. She already said everything she had to say, and she was not going there.

He helped himself to some food and nodded in understanding, "are we having an Easter party or something?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I think that Naimah is going to have an Easter dinner for everyone, and we are going to have an Easter egg hunt after for the kids" she replied.

"Cool, I am looking forward to it" he stated.

The next day after spending all night with Mia and Jason, his family. It was honestly the best homecoming he could have had.

That is exactly what he was waiting for when he was deployed, to be back home with his family.

He was so happy that he honestly didn't even think about Stella or calling her to tell her that he was home.

Hearing Mia and Emma's conversation last night was hard for him. He always knew that Mia didn't like Stella and there was a contentious relationship but hearing Mia's response last night broke him.

Clay got up first in the house, getting used to a different routine and time zone was rough, so he was still on Afghan time.

Untangling himself from Mia's arms, he made his way downstairs and started making some eggs and bacon.

Helping himself to a cup of coffee, he made his way up to check on his daughter to see her lying in bed, playing with her stuffed animals.

"Good morning, Angel, you didn't sleep too late. Did you miss me?" he asked, nuzzling her cheek as Ally wrapped her arm around Clay's neck and settled in the crook of his neck.

"Miss you daddy" she mumbled against his neck.

Clay smiled and rubbed his hand up and down her back as he took her to the kitchen.

He sat her on the counter next to him while he started making breakfast.

Clay dug into the fridge and took out some eggs and bacon.

"What do you think Angel?" he asked.

"Eakfast? Eggs, acon" she replied.

Clay nodded, "sounds good babe. Maybe by the time we finish breakfast, your Mama will be awake" he stated as he handed her a plate and spoon to play with.

The eggs and bacon were halfway done when Mia woke to the smell of breakfast.

She looked to see that Clay wasn't in bed, so she figured he was making breakfast.

Putting on a sweatshirt over her tank and shorts, she made her way out of the bedroom to the kitchen.

Mia could hear Ally and Clay laughing. Smiling to herself, she crept towards the kitchen, stopping at the doorway.

She could see that Clay had Ally on the counter, both of them laughing and singing along to the music on Clay's phone.

He picked up his daughter and started dancing with her, twirling her in his arms, Ally squealing.

"Nance Mama" she reached her arm out when she saw Mia.

Clay turned and smiled at Mia. "Good morning" he greeted.

"Morning, I see you two are having fun" she teased.

"I woke up early and saw that Ally was already awake, so we made some eggs and bacon" he informed her.

"And the dancing came in…when exactly?" she replied as she helped herself to some coffee.

"Ally heard her favorite song from the Beauty and the Beast, and we had to dance to it" he reasoned.

Mia nodded, "of course" she was highly amused.

When Clay was away, Ally grew up so much. She is starting to talk, walk, and be her own person.

He missed so much when he was deployed, Mia was glad he was able to have these little moments with his daughter.

"Okay, come on dance king and queen, let's have some breakfast before daddy has to go to work" Mia said.

Clay nodded and put Ally in her booster seat and took a seat next to her.

"What are your plans for today?" he asked her, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I have some charting to finish up from yesterday, then I am going to pick up Emma from school so she can get a dress for her recital" she informed him.

"That's good. We are excited to hear her sing. That girl has some serious talent" he stated.

"She got that from Alanna" Mia teased.

"Ain't that the truth" he replied.

Mia laughed around her coffee. "What about you? Any special plans after the briefing?" she asked.

He gulped, "yeah, I am going to stop by Stella's and talk to her. There are some things I need to clear up in my head" he stated.

Mia sat forward concerned. "Is everything okay? You didn't leave anything out when you told me about what happened in Afghanistan right?" she asked.

He shook his head, "no babe, I told you everything about the incident. There is just some personal stuff between Stella and I that I need to think about and come to a decision over" he replied.

Clay wanted to be vague on purpose. He wasn't ready to tell her he loved her.

That was going to be a changing point in their relationship.

He needed to figure out his relationship with Stella first before he talked to Mia.

Mia nodded, "okay, well, if you need me, you know where I am. I am always going to be here for you" she stated.

He smiled, "I know Mia and I appreciate it, but this is something I have to do on my own" he replied.

She nodded, "okay, just know I am here if you need me okay" she reassured him.

Mia could tell he was stressed about something because the look on his face was one, she had seen before.

When she told him about Ally, he had the same serious look on his face.

"I know, I better get going" he replied pulling away from the table to change and gather his things.

Mia picked up her daughter and walked him out.

"I'll see you later" she said to him before turning to Ally, "say bye to daddy" she added.

Ally reached over and gave him a one arm hug, "bye daddy" she kissed his cheek.

"Have a good day at work" Mia waved him off.

Mia walked back in and sat at the table with her daughter, helping her eat her breakfast, "it's just you and me kid. I say we go to the mall today. We need to get you an Easter outfit" she explained.

"K Mama" Ally responded, holding Mia out a spoonful of strawberries.

Mia smiled and chuckled as she ate the strawberries out of Ally's hand.

Clay on the other hand, made his way to work, meeting the guys in the bunk room.

"Hey guys, how was your homecoming night?" he asked as he dropped his stuff in his cage and started to change.

"It was great. Elena had dinner for me waiting when we got home, so we just chilled at home. How about you?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, Blonde Backstreet Boy, Jason said that you guys had dinner at Mia's. How was the little princess?" Sonny added.

Clay smiled and pulled out his phone to show them pictures and videos he took yesterday of Ally playing and dancing to 'Old McDonald.'

"My little angel had the best time. We partied and played all night" he replied.

"What did Stella have to say when she found out you were home?" Brock asked.

Clay shook his head with a sigh, "I haven't seen Stella yet" he stated.

The guys literally threw their head backs laughing, they all figured that.

The fact that Clay didn't even call Stella to tell her that he was back stateside said a lot about what he thought about their relationship.

"You going to see her after the briefing tonight?" Jason asked.

Clay nodded, "yeah, I told Mia that I was going to see her after the briefing because later we are going Easter shopping for Ally" he informed them all.

"Good, so the kids and I will see you later. I think Emma is going shopping with Mia to the mall for a dress or something. She is singing at the church for Easter this year, she is pretty excited" Jason replied.

"God knows where the girl got her talent, cause it sure ain't from you Jase" Sonny added.

The guys laughed, "ain't that the truth" he stated, huffing out a breath.

Once they were all changed, they made their way to the briefing room and literally spent over an hour in there going over pretty much everything from the time they landed in Afghanistan to the time they boarded the buses for Bagram.

It was a lot, but it was necessary. They went over everything, especially the incident with Clay.

Since Mandy was still deployed with Alpha and Charlie Team, they patched her in through video as they went over everything that happened when they were deployed.

At the end of the briefing, Bravo was told that they would have at least a couple weeks off rotation so they wouldn't get called for spin-ups.

When they were done with the briefing, Clay made his way to Stella's university to meet her for lunch.

Since she didn't know he wasn't home, he was planning on surprising her because he really needed to talk to her about their relationship.

He walked into the university, the English Department and straight to her office.

Stella was sitting in her office looking over her lesson plan, when she heard the knock on her door.

She looked up, smiling big when she saw Clay standing in her doorway.

Jumping out of her chair, she ran into his arms and wrapped him in a hug.

"I am glad you are back safe. I missed you so much" she mumbled into his neck.

He kissed her cheek, squeezing her into a hug, "I missed you too Stella. Listen, there are some things that we need to talk about" he explained pulling away.

She pulled away from him confused, "what do you mean babe?" she asked.

He sighed wiping a hand over his face, taking a seat in the chair in front of her desk.

Clay was nervous. He kept running his fingers through his hair trying to figure out what he was going to say and how to start the conversation.

"Honey, what's going on? Why are you so nervous?" she asked as she made herself comfortable.

"So, being deployed helped me realize a few things. The first is that I don't want to hold you back from life and I think that is what I am doing" he said.

Stella sighed, "Clay, who told you that? What is making you think this way? I like my life the way it is" she added.

She didn't want to lose him and hearing him talk like that scared her.

Clay shook his head, "Stella, let's be honest, you don't fit in, in this life. You tried to adjust to my life, to the chaotic way I lead my life in the Teams, but you aren't happy with it. You don't interact with the guys, you don't get along with the wives or girlfriends, you just don't fit" he tried to explain.

"Clay, I have made more of an effort. I went to the barbeque, I tried to help Naimah" she tried defending herself.

Clay got up and started to pace the area in front of her desk. He was not getting his point across.

It wasn't clicking for her, no matter how hard he tried to explain things.

"Stella, it's not just that. The Teams are a family. We are a brotherhood. We have to support each other on and off the field. Not only don't you do that, but you just don't get it. You want me all to yourself and that's not feasible while I am in the Teams" he informed her.

"Clay, I really don't know what to say. I have tried my hardest to accommodate and adapt to your lifestyle, I really have, but that is just not the way I want to live my life. I have no problems with you being in the Teams or even hanging with the guys after your missions, but I just want you to be mine" she reasoned.

He nodded, "yeah, I get that Stella, but when you are part of the Teams, you don't belong to just one person, you can't. You are always going to come second to the job, that's just the way it is" he explained.

"Okay, let's take this one thing at a time. You said you realized something when you were deployed. What is it?" she asked.

He sighed and looked down at his hands before looking up at her, his arms resting on his knees.

"I love Mia" he said.

She looked at him knowingly. "I know that" she replied.

He shook his head, "no, not I love her, like our family. I am in love with her. Something happened to her while we were being deployed, and I almost lost her. It made me realize that I really can't imagine my life without her. I can't lose her" he explained.

Stella let out a deep breath, "wow, okay, I don't know what to do with that" she was in a state of shock.

"Yeah, I know it's a lot, but I wanted to be honest with you and tell you how I feel" he replied.

Stella nodded, "that's a lot to process. Does Mia know that you are in love with her?" she asked.

He shook his head, "no, I haven't talked to Mia about any of this. I wanted to talk to you first and see what you wanted to do" he stated.

Clay really didn't have any idea what he was supposed to do in this situation.

He didn't want to hurt Stella, but he did want to be honest with himself.

Besides, it wasn't fair to keep dragging her along.

"Well, I don't want to hold you back from what you really want Clay. That would be selfish of me, besides, I think that you and Mia belong together. You just understand each other in a way that I will never understand" she replied.

"I don't want to drag you along. That's not fair to you, that's why I wanted to talk to you" he said.

She nodded and got up to give him a hug. "Thank you for being honest with me. I understand your decision" she stated.

"Good luck Stella. You are truly a great person and deserve nothing but the best. I wish you nothing but happiness" he wrapped her in a hug and kissed her cheek.

Clay left her office feeling so much better about himself.

He felt like the biggest weight had been taken off his shoulders.

Mia was at the mall with Emma and Ally when she got a text from Clay.

C: What time are you going to be home?

"Emma has a couple more dresses to try on, then we'll be home. Probably in an hour" she messaged back.

C: There is something we need to talk about

Clay was nervous to talk to Mia about this, but it was something that needed to be done.

He needed to tell her how he felt and see what they were going to do about it.

"Okay, it's nothing serious right? Do you need me to leave now?" she texted as Emma came out of the dressing room.

"How about this one Aunt Mia?" she asked, twirling around in a Victoria Beckham light blue knee-length dress.

"That's the one honey. I'll wait for you by the cash register okay" she grabbed her purse and wrapped her bag around her shoulder and turned the stroller to push Ally towards the exit.

"Thanks for bringing me Aunt Mia. I appreciate the dress. I don't think dad would have enjoyed doing this" Emma said.

Mia laughed, "you are right about that. Your dad would have been bored out of his mind" she teased, "you're welcome honey, I had fun" she added, giving her niece a one arm hug.

Mia drove Emma home before she made her way home.

She dropped Ally off in the living room with some toys while she went into the kitchen to start on dinner.

"How about some eggplant lasagna huh? I think we should make some asparagus and bean salad. I am pretty sure your dad is coming over to talk about something" she said.

"Daddy?" Ally asked.

Mia nodded, "yup, your daddy is going to be coming over" she replied handing her daughter a sippy cup of water.

As she started working on dinner, Mia put on the TV to a Disney movie for Ally to watch.

It wasn't long before Clay made his way over to Mia's house.

He pulled into the driveway and just sat there for a minute trying to think about what to say and how to start the conversation.

Mia looked out the window of the kitchen and saw him sitting in the car. She wiped her hands on a hand towel and went to the door.

She just stood in the doorway, and waved him in.

Clay smiled and got out of the car, waving back. "Hey" he greeted.

"Hi, what's going on? Why are you just sitting out here?" she asked.

"There is something serious we need to talk about Mia" he said as he walked into the house.

"DADDY!" Ally squealed as she waddled her way over to him.

Clay smiled big and leant over to pick up his daughter, tossing her into the air before pulling her into his chest.

"Hi Angel Cakes" he kissed her cheek before pulling her into his arms and kissing her cheeks.

"Okay, well, we can figure out what you wanted to talk about after we eat" she replied.

He nodded and made himself comfortable on the table with Ally in his arms.

Clay sat her on the table in front of him, "so, how was your day? Did Emma find a dress?" he asked.

She nodded as she started dishing out their dinner and taking them to the table.

"Yeah, she found a really cute Victoria Beckham dress that was on sale. She just didn't want to ask Jason to take her, so I took over that for her. I didn't want her to be embarrassed. Besides, we made a girl's day out of it. What about you?" she replied.

"Our day wasn't bad either. We talked to Command and the Spooks about J-Bad and then I had to talk to Stella, which is what I wanted to talk to you about" he stated accepting the spoon of fake food from Ally.

"Okay fine" she took Ally from the table and put her in her seat next to Clay while Mia put some eggplant and asparagus on her plate.

"This looks great Mia" he commented as he dug into his food.

Mia smiled, "thanks, now, what did you want to talk about?" she asked digging into her food.

"I don't really know how to start this, so I am just going to say it" he started, "I talked with Stella today after the briefing and we discussed our relationship" he added.

Mia nodded, "okay, what's going on Clay? You are scaring me" she replied.

"I broke up with Stella today" he blurted out, taking a chug of his beer.

Mia choked on her diet coke. "What?" she asked.

"I broke up with Stella today. We just realized that we had too many differences. She just didn't fit into my life with the Teams. She wants me all to herself and that can't happen when I am a Navy Seal" he informed her.

Mia put down her cup and silverware. "I am so sorry Clay. I don't even know what to say. How are you feeling?" she was worried about him.

"I am actually okay Mia. We parted on friendly terms. It wasn't awful or crazy or anything. There is something else that we need to talk about" he said.

She nodded, "okay, what is it?" she asked, taking Ally from her high-chair and let her waddle her way to the playroom.

Once they were alone, Clay took a sip of his beer and let out a deep breath before looking over at Mia.

"We promised each other that we would be honest when we first started this relationship and that is what I want to do now" he started.

Mia nodded and retook her seat at the table across from him. She wanted him to get everything out that he needed to.

She didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

"One of the main reasons that Stella and I broke it off is because of us" he said.

"I am so sorry Clay. Maybe if I talk to her then you guys can get back together" she informed him.

She didn't want to be the reason that they broke off their relationship.

"No Mia, I appreciate it, but that is not necessary. Like I told Stella, there is something that I realized while I was deployed that we need to talk about" he said.

She nodded, "Okay, what did you realize?" she asked.

"I love you Mia" he blurted out.

Mia smiled, "I love you too Clay, you know that" she replied.

They already had this conversation when Mia found out she was pregnant, and they decided to be a family and co-parent.

"No, Mia, I really need you to listen to me. When you told me about being sick and the surgery and stuff, it really got me thinking that I can't live without you. It made me realize that I am in love with you and can't even imagine my life without you" he stated.

Mia didn't really know what to say.

"Clay" she started, stopping when he put his finger to her lips.

"No, just think about this and process what this means for you and for us. Don't answer right now" he replied.

Mia nodded, "I think that is a good idea. Damn Clay, you really know how to drop a bomb" she took a chug of her diet coke, wishing she had something stronger.

He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, "well, take your time and process. Just get back to me when you have an answer" he replied.

Mia nodded and just tried to think everything over.