The coffee shop was warm and lively, filled with the low din of pleasant talking and the aroma of good food and warm drinks. In the far corner, close to the rear entrance by a sunny window, three girls were engaged in animated conversation.

"So then," Said Ellie as she twisted her hands around her coffee mug, "I'm reading this fanfic on the bus and I get to a really sweet part. You know, like, super cute and fluffy and you could just die?"

"Oooohh, I know the ones!" Hallie breathed with a happy little shoulder dance. "I just read this one last week for a Harry Potter fic. It was just- perfect- like, I made an audible squeal when I read it."

"Right! Exactly!" Ellie pointed to Hallie, "So I'm on the bus, and I forgot where I was, and I go 'OMG THAT IS SO FUCKING CUTE!' and then-"

Hallie started to laugh and Jess snickered into her tea, enjoying the liveliness of the two girls with her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a text message come through from Pauline, but she promised herself she would read it later. They'd been meaning to get together for days now and hadn't. Jess might have felt guilty if it wasn't for her new friends' contagious hilarity.

"No- NO!" Ellie smacked her hand lightly on the table, blue and purple curls bouncing, "It gets getter!"

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, yes!"

"So then someone-"

"Hey, how's it going, Jess!"

The conversation was interrupted rudely then, and it took Jess a few seconds to realize who was doing the interrupting.

The second she recognized him, she groaned. His presence didn't even spark the realization that if he was standing there her brothers were all home again.

"Lopez," Jess said, a little stiffly.

Instantly her friends sobered too and went stone faced, eyeing up the man standing next to their table.

"Hi!" Vic waved a little and offered a smile. "Just saw you over here and wanted to say hello!"

"Oh! Well, um," Jess scrambled to gather her wits, which had been scattered all over the coffee shop. "Hello."

"How's it going?" He said again. "Haven't seen you since the night at the bar!"

Forcing a smile, Jess answered, "I'm great. What are you doing here?"

"Oh! I get coffee here all the time! You?"

That seemed unlikely since Jess had never seen him at this shop before in the last year.

Gesturing to her friends, Jess said plainly, "Spending time with friends."

"Oh, nice!" Vic held out his hand to Hallie, "I'm Vic. I work with Scott, Jess's housemate."

Hallie, who was as kind as anyone Jess had ever met, looked Vic dead in the eyes and said tartly, "And?"

She did not take his hand.

The man blinked at her and pulled his hand back with a nervous laugh, saying, "Ok! I get it. I'm interrupting girl time. Apologies! See ya later, Jess!"

He turned to walk away for a moment before turning back and adding seriously, like he had all the best intentions in the world, "Oh, and Jess? Just a friendly heads up. It was a bad one."

Stunned, Jess tracked Vic as he left, heart hammering and fingers going cold.

"Hey- Jess, you ok?"

"I-I actually, um, I'm so sorry," Jess heard herself say as she dug out her phone and headed for the rear of the shop. "I need to go. I'll-I"ll text you later,"

"Do you want us to-?"

"No, I'm ok. I just- I need to call my brother!"

She dialed the first number that popped up in her list of family, didn't even look so see who it was.

It rang four times before it was answered.

"Hey, Jess!" Clay's voice reached her ears, tired and quiet.

"Clay?" Jess choked out softly.

"Yeah! Hey- what's going on? Where are you right now?"

Not even registering that his first questions were so he could find her immediately and to assess whatever situation she was in, Jess fumbled to get into her car and held in a tight gasp of relief.

"I'm ok," Jess whispered.

"Where are you?"

"At that coffee place we always go to? I-I ran into Vic and he said it was a bad spin up, but he didn't say anything else and then I thought someone got hurt and-"

"Ok, just slow down," Jess could hear traffic in the background. "I'm coming your way- Vic said what?!"

"He stopped at our table to say hi and my friends got the idea that I don't like him very much and kinda, warded him off, but then when he was walking away he said it was a bad spin up! And that was all !"

A soft swear ghosted over the phone and Clay drew a deep, controlled breath.

"I'm gonna be there in ten, ok?"

"You don't have to! I just- I need to know you're ok and everyone else is too!"

"We're ok. Stay put. I'll be there soon."

"Clay, you really don't-"

"Was already planning on grabbing a coffee. Be there soon."

True to his word, Clay showed up nine minutes later. He was worn in spirit and body, that much was clear, but other than that he seemed well.

All the same, Jess couldn't stop herself from hurrying to him and hugging him as tight as she dared.

"It's ok!" Clay murmured, squeezing her tight, right in the middle of the parking lot. "I got you."

After a minute, he pulled away and, with all the weight of the world in his back, said "Let's go for a walk."

"You don't seem ok," Jess blurted in a whisper.

Smiling humorlessly, Clay shrugged and said, "I'm not."

"Do-do you want to talk about it?" Jess asked, not expecting him to say yes.

"You gonna freak out when I tell you there was an ambush and it got dicy for a bit?"

"Probably, but I'll do my best not to."

"Good enough. Willow Trail?"

"Sounds good- wait, didn't you want a coffee?"

"Maybe later. Let's just walk for now."

An hour later, and after way more information than he should have shared with her, they were walking back up the trail, on their way to their cars at the coffee shop.

"So then, the woman died. Didn't matter how many stupid, heroic stunts I pulled- trying to save this person, who was one of the good ones- wasn't enough."

Jess had been fairly quiet the entire time Clay was sharing, but now she spoke.

"Look, I know you 'spark notes versioned' the hell out of all this, but, Clay…I know you did everything you could! It sounds like an impossible situation and you did the impossible just by getting her out of there!"

"Yeah, only I didn't! She died."

Wise enough to see that she didn't have the answers to fix this, because maybe there just was no fixing it, Jess fell silent.

"How is everyone else taking it?" She asked softly, ignoring that voice in her head that sounded like Scott, growling that she needed to stay out of it.

"Ray got pretty banged up, but he's ok. He's not happy about the am- the woman dying either. Hard to get a read on the others."

"Fair enough." Jess wrapped her arms around her middle and fought off the worry.

Clay glanced down and stuffed his hands in his pockets deeper, growling suddenly, "I was willing to bury the hatchet with Vic before, but I guess I'll have to dig it up again."

"What do you mean?"

"I really don't like that guy, but after the spin up…I don't know. He was starting to win me over a little. Now, though-"

"Why?" Jess asked in a hurry. The question was one she'd been stewing over ever since Vic suggested Clay didn't like him. "I mean…I'm not really liking him much myself but, why don't you like him?"

"Don't trust him, at least, I mean-" Clay made a frustrated sound and rubbed his chin. "He's fine in the field, I think. I guess I just still can't shake this feeling, like he's bad news."

"He creeps me out." Jess muttered.

"He likes you." Clay told her frankly.

"Well he can unlike me," Jess said, a shiver crawling up her back at the idea. "The asshole just made me freak out on so many levels and ruined my coffee time with my friends!"

"One could argue he was trying to be nice-"

"Don't even try to play devil's advocate, Clay! He reminds me of- of my mom," Jess continued, finally able to voice what she'd been thinking since meeting the man. "All smiles, playing the room just to fit in and you never know what's really underneath. I can't get a read on his authentic self and I don't like it and then I don't like it even more knowing that he's supposed to be watching your backs!"

"That's kinda how I was feeling too," Clay admitted. "Only more because of how my dad is."

Jess grimaced and craned her head up, studying the hard lines on Clay's face.

"You seen him lately?" Jess asked, distaste clear in her tone.

"Not in a bit."

"Thank goodness for that. You know what? We really should thank our parents though. Because of mine I have an unhealthy suspicion of people, years worth of learned behaviors to unwrap, and a goldmine of trauma to unpack! However, it is useful for sniffing out dirtbags!"

"And mine gave me a wonderful sense of abandonment and an overpowering need to erase his influence from the earth."

"If I had coffee, I would 'cheers' you but I don't."

Clay smiled and shrugged. "That's ok. You warm enough?"

"Yeah. Scott 'acquired' this thermal longsleeve for me because I'm always cold. Like. Constantly." Jess gave a happy wriggle and tugged her coat sleeve back so he could see the under layer. "See? It's almost like a compression shirt and is don't wonders for helping when I feel really overwhelmed too! It works so good!"

"Why 'acquired'?" Clay asked, obviously curious.

"I don't know. He worded it that way." Jess tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Maybe because I get weird when people buy stuff for me. He never said he bought it, so I couldn't ask what it cost to pay him back, and then when I asked if he stole it since he kept saying 'acquire' he just grinned and walked away."

Clay laughed and shook his head, saying, "If, when I joined Bravo, you would have told me that Metal was able to act the way he does when you're around, I would never have believed it."

"He's not that much different when I'm not around…is he?!"

"Nahhh, mostly, I think he's still him. Swears a little more. Says a few more inappropriate things and gets slightly darker with his humor, but for the most part I guess he's not really different. Just has this reputation and he's never done anything to try to change it. If anything he feeds it for fun."

"What a weirdo," Jess huffed, laughing a little. "You heard he got a dog, right?"

"You bet! Bruno, right?"

"Yeah! That dog- Oh my gosh, Clay! It's hilarious! If you think he's nice to me, you should see him with that dog!"

"Oh, I've seen him with Cerb when he didn't think anyone was there. Growls at the animal like he hates him at the same time as spoiling him rotten."

"Exactly. I'm so happy he's keeping Bruno."

"Yeah, I think it's good for him."

They reached the cars then and Jess lingered reluctantly.

"So, you promise everyone is ok?"

"As ok as we can be. I'm on my way to meet up with Ray for a drink…you know…to remember her ."

"That sounds like a really nice thing to do!"

"Least I can do. You ok now?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I'll talk to Lopez."

"Double thank you!"

Clay pulled her into a hug, holding just a hair longer than normal.

"Thanks, kid. It was a good walk and I appreciate you listening."

"I don't remember a word you said."

Grinning, Clay let her go and ruffled her hair playfully.

"That's right. You didn't hear anything."

"Bye Clay!"

"Bye Jess. Text when you get home?"

"Yup!"

The news was on when Jess got home from class a few days later. The woman on the screen was talking about an incident in Yemen and the death of a respected Ambassador named Nicole Marsden. Smart enough to draw the lines between her conversation with Clay and the unhappy look on Scotts face as he watched the screen, Jess figured this was the 'bad spin up'.

Scott didn't say much about the spin up when she got back from walking with Clay that day. She did mention spending time with him, and that Vic had been at the coffee shop, but with how exhausted Scott seemed and the fact that Clay said he was going to take care of Vic, Jess downplayed it all.

Either she was getting better at hiding things, or he was truly wiped because Scott never questioned it.

"You ok?" Jess asked cautiously when Scott didn't greet her like normal. The dogs were the ones giving her the warm welcome now. Reisa wiggled happily about at her feet and Bruno leaned a gentle head on her hip.

"Yeah," Scott answered, the word clipped and short.

Not believing it for a second, Jess fought a wave of anxiety and moved to put her lunch containers in the dishwasher.

There was silence that lasted until the news story about Marsen was over, then Scott got up and paced for a spell before asking, "How was your day?"

Deciding to give him the truth, Jess replied, "It was alright. I got triggered on my way from the parking lot to the greenhouses. You know, in that spot where Harold and mom ambushed me?"

"Yeah?"

Scott's attention shifted, she could hear it in his voice. Even with her back turned she knew he was studying her now. Probably with that grumpy, worried half frown.

"Yeah. It wasn't as bad as the last time I got triggered, but the flashbacks and intrusive thoughts kept coming for like, an hour after. Was really hard to concentrate in class."

"Fair enough." Scott seemed to brush what she told him aside until he added. "I'm taking the dogs to the park on Dundas. You wanna come with me? "

"Sure! Reisa could likely use a good run!"

"Based off the way she tore around the yard when I got home, yeah." Scott was already hooking Bruno's leash on him.

They both knew he felt helpless to do anything for her when she admitted to being in a bad spot earlier in the day. His automatic response lately was to suggest they do something together; walk, watch a show, hell he even played the old game station that Rob had bought and left with her. She could kick his ass in Mario Kart.

"Ready?"

Scott shifted from food to food by the door, almost impatiently.

"Yeah!"

Making a mental note of the restless energy around the man, Jess chose not to share too much more about her day. The negative parts anyway.

Keeping the dog was the best decision he'd made, lately.

Coming home after the spin up in Yemen to the dogs was a welcome distraction from his own uneasy thoughts about the mission. Bruno was especially good at worming his way in and somehow thawing his stone cold walls so that he could feel, just a bit, without letting it all fall on Jess's shoulders.

And there was a lot that could have trickled down onto her shoulders if he wasn't careful.

The whole team was shaken after the Marson mission. Now Jason had an old injury that needed surgery and was spiraling hard as he avoided getting said surgery. He'd at least stopped fighting with the new team physiotherapist. Still, the man was edgier than ever and Metal thought he might knock his teeth out if he got any worse.

Not that he didn't get it. Being away when you're team leader? Especially with the tension that was going on this week?

Ray was supposed to be leading the team in his absence. Clay was on the verge of killing Lopez but he wasn't sharing why. Sonny seemed like he was about to murder Ray. Then he had Trent and Brock with him on the sidelines, shaking their heads and trying to figure out what the fuck was going on!

"So. How was your day?"

Jess's soft, almost hesitant question broke through his thoughts and Metal shook off the disquiet, growling, "It was fine. Lots of training and working out."

"Sound like fu-" Jess broke off when a van slowed down just up the street from them.

Reading her like a book, Metal rumbled quietly, "I see it. You here?"

Drawing a sort, ragged breath, Jess didn't answer right away and her feet stopped moving.

Reisa stopped too, watching the van and tucking behind Jess, worried. Bruno stood still, placing himself between them all and the van, but he didn't growl. He was stiff, watching and waiting.

"We're all ok, take it easy," Metal soothed patiently and his dog turned to look at him with a huffing sigh. "Jess?"

"I'm here. Mostly."

"Talk to me."

"Van. Just." Jess was still as a statue and hardly breathing now as she watched the van. "The van thing…like the last time this happened."

Metal took it in stride, stepping casually in the way so that Jess couldn't see it anymore and had to look at him. "Ok. Flashbacks or more intrusive thoughts? No- No, we're good. Bruno's watching and I am too. I can see in the reflection of the car behind you. Take a breath, pips."

Visibly reminding herself that she could and needed to trust him, Jess slammed her eyes shut and breathed, "Both. I've got like, fifty different scenarios screaming in my head right now."

"Ground."

"I can't. Not until it's gone!"

"Ground, Jess. Start with two."

"Is it-"

"Pips, two things. Just two. You can do it. I'm paying attention, we got the dogs. We're ok."

Another shuddering breath sent Jess's shoulders trembling and she clenched her hands around the leash. Her dark hair fell out of her ponytail around that sharp chin and fine nose when she dipped her head, reminding Scott she still needed to have dinner. Keeping the weight on her was a challenge and her doctor had a few concerns about it, but was happy to hear she had a good support system in place. Jess asked for his help coming up with a plan so that she would remember to eat, but even still she was forgetting or just refusing to because of stress.

"Traffic." Jess whispered. "Dog barking. Leaves blowing down the sidewalk."

"Good. Do three more."

"You said only two!"

"Yeah, but you proved you can do three, so do three."

He was glad to see the defiance at his pushing. Meant she wasn't too far lost.

"Your annoying, growling bear voice. A crow- which- actually crows are really cool! Did you know that they have the intelligence level of a seven year old?!"

"Do they?" Metal asked, not bothering to tell her she'd info dumped this topic on him before and he remembered a lot of it. "What else."

Jess opened her eyes, van partly forgotten and she skirted closer to him.

"Well," Jess said as she started walking again, eyes flicking to the van every few seconds still. "They recognize faces, so when scientists were doing experiments with wild murders of crows they had to wear masks or else the birds would follow them and either pester them for more treats or plot their revenge. And! They hold a grudge and it gets passed down through the family. They mate for life! OH! And they take care of their injured family members too!"

"Sound like a neat bunch, even if they are annoying as hell when you're trying to hide somewhere."

"They're super curious! And they can use tools to accomplish a task!" Jess relaxed the longer she talked. "They can figure out puzzles by using stones to raise the water level so they can have a drink, or use a stick to get the good treat! And they can have a concept of 'the future' too and- wait-"

As they entered the park that was dog friendly, Jess stopped short and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"I already told you all this, didn't I."

"Maybe," Metal answered, shrugging and silently congratulating himself on helping stop her spiral in record time. "I'm old and forgetful. You should probably keep telling me anyway."

A funny look passed Jess's face and she moved in suddenly for a hug.

It caught him off guard and Metal only just reacted in time to open his arms to her.

"What's this for?" He growled.

"You are pretty much one of the only people I know who lets me dump info multiple times about the same topic and not get annoyed with me. Do you have any idea how nice that is?!"

"Don't know what you're talking about, pipsqueak." Metal told her, gently shoving her away and making her laugh. "Go play with your dog."

Grinning at him and looking miles better than she had a few minutes ago, if not still a little pale, Jess moved off a bit to let Reisa off leash.

While they played frisbee and worked on recall, Metal threw a ball for Bruno obligingly retrieved it for him. The mutt was gaining stamina the more they did. He could run almost three miles now without cutting speed and he didn't drag his feet on walks anymore.

As he threw the ball, Metal kept a close eye on the rest of the park. It was this unspoken promise and habit that he had when he was out with Jess.

She trusted him to keep a look out and watch her back, so he wasn't going to fail.

The movement out of the corner of his eye was so fast he nearly missed it.

A golden-white blur was hurtling across the park, making straight for Jess while a young man sprinted after it, calling in vain.

"Jess!" Metal was moving toward her, hoping to intercept and knowing he wasn't going to in time. "Hey, pips! You got incoming-"

The dog nearly took Jess out at the knees, but before Metal could react, the girl was cooing and fawning of the yelping, howling, excited creature.

"LUNA! Awww, look at you, you perfect, wonderful puppy!"

Seconds later, the man joined them, puffing and panting from his sprint.

"Luna!- Shit- Jess, I am so sorry! She's never run off like that on me before!"

"Oh, hi Trevor!"

Standing back, Metal watched with narrowing eyes as Jess gave the young man the most incandescent smile he'd ever seen on her face while Bailey awkwardly waffled between trying to pull Luna away from Jess, greeting Bruno and Reisa and also greeting Jess.

He seemed to find his footing when he spotted Metal watching him.

"Hi! How's it going, Jess? You ok?" He waved a little to Metal, adding lightly, "Hey, Scott!"

Metal nodded, letting his tone drop just a bit so that it caught and rumbled more usual.

"Bailey."

Jess missed the shift completely as accepted Bailey's offered hand and got to her feet, gushing all the while over the dogs.

"Awwww….look! They're being insta buddies! I'm so excited!" She was pointing to Reisa and Luna now, who were already bouncing playfully and utterly at ease. When she looked up she gave Trevor another smile, clasping her hands and tilting her head to the side a little as she added, "I love Luna. I've been hoping she and Reisa would be friends one day!"

Bailey's lips turned up and his ears went a suspicious shade of pink when he said, "I'm glad they're getting along, but I'm still really sorry she nearly took you out like that!"

"Oh, that was nothing! I've had way worse at work, but not as bad as my one co-worker. She slipped in dog shit outside and got it all down her back and then all the dogs jumped on her while she was on the ground."

"Oh man, that does not sound fun!"

"It was pretty gross." Jess was thoughtful for a second before adding, "I'm not sure what's worse. Shit or vomit."

"Vomit." Bailey answered immediately. "I've slipped in vomit."

"I slipped in blood once." Metal chimed in, staying utterly deadpan and watching for a reaction.

There was a slight pause and Bailey's eyes flickered before he nodded grimly and said, "Yeah, that's no fun either. Especially when it's your own."

Interesting. Either Bailey had in fact slipped in his own blood, or he anticipated the future of this conversation if Metal was, in fact, seeing what he thought he saw.

"Seriously, Scott!?"

"What?!" Metal rounded on Jess, playing his grumpy and innocent card all at once. "You started it with your dog shit story!"

"I can't take you anywhere!"

"Pretty sure you're the one we can dress up and not take out, pipsqueak."

"Wow. Low blow, buddy. Low. Blow."

Jess folded her arms and turned to watch the dogs, mock upset.

"Why? Because it's true?" Metal asked, digging just a little harder.

"I'm not talking to people who insult me," Jess said with sass. "So, Trevor! Are you dog-sitting Luna?"

Bailey grinned and said, "Yeah! Sylvia's got a wedding this weekend and left earlier today. I've got Luna for the weekend!"

"Lucky! She's the best, aren't you Luna! Yes, you are!" Jess had her face near Luna and she paused in her playing with Reisa to wiggle happily around her feet.

"She is a great dog! I'd love to have one someday, but right now I'm too busy looking after everyone else's dog," Trevor chuckled a little and crouched down to pat Reisa. "So how did that test go?"

"It was really good!"

Metal tuned them out slightly when his phone went off and he pulled it out, knowing that sound by heart.

Jess was watching him with more subdued life when he looked up and Metal fought back a twist of guilt.

"Sorry Jess, I gotta go," Metal told her quietly. "You ok to take the dogs back on your own or do you want to come with me back to the house."

Clearly torn, Jess waffled between options befor saying bravely, "I'll be ok! Stay safe!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok."

That voice cracked sligthly and Metal turned a hard stare on Bailey.

"If she needs it, will you walk her home?"

"Absolutely." Trevor answered. There wasn't a hint of hesitation and he met his gaze without flinching.

"Good. Pips? Take the help, ok?"

Accepting the quick hug he gave her, Jess nodded silently. Her fingers dug into his coat and he could feel that unspoken plea for him to come back home soon.

Not answering was better than a false promise, so Metal walked away without another word trusting that Bailey would take care of her. They both knew if he didn't there would be blood.