I've been trying to get this story done for over a year. Originally, I was planning to write it after Almost Seventeen, which would make sense chronologically. I was having a hard time coming up with what I wanted to write about Clay at seventeen, so I wrote several stories about Clay at sixteen, set chronologically between when he first joined Bravo and Almost Seventeen. Every story, I try to give enough information about this What Happens on Bravo Universe so that you don't need to read them all to understand. But the more interconnected stories I write, it gets harder to really understand the Universe without having read some of the earlier stories.
To make it easier for readers new to the What Happens on Bravo universe, I'm going to list how the stories take place chronologically so if you want to read them in order like one really long (lol) novel about these people in my Bravo universe you can do that.
This story is long, so hopefully you will like and stick with it until the end. I try to write what readers tell me they like to read, and I integrate reader suggestions if they work well in the story. As always, reviews or private messages with feedback are greatly appreciated. I read them all and take your thoughts into consideration when writing. I will respond to anyone who leaves a review or message as long as you are signed in - FF doesn't have a way for me to respond to guests, but I read and appreciate all feedback.
This is another young Clay story with young Brock and all the extended Bravo family. It contains family situations and recollections of traditional discipline in a family setting.
If you are a reader who has been reading and corresponding with me about the stories and this universe, I hope you like this one. Please let me know what you think :)
First Cake Ever
When he woke up alone in his room, Clay poked his messy blond head out from under his blankets and looked up and out of the window next to his bed. The open window was above him, and the apartment where he lived with Jason was on the third floor of their building, so Clay could just see the tops of the trees and the roof of the building across the parking lot.
It was late September, but the warm air off the ocean in Virginia Beach still smelled like summer. School had been in full swing for his friends more than a month, and not for the first time since returning from his last traumatic spin-up to Syria with Bravo, Clay was secretly wishing he could be grabbing his book bag and a PopTart for the road, giving his dad a quick kiss on the head and running out the door to catch the school bus he could hear coming to a stop in the lot downstairs.
Without having to look out the window, Bravo's underage rookie and 'baby' as he was regularly referred to by the decades older tier one operators who had become his big brothers and grumpy uncles, Clay knew that the other kids his age who lived in the building were boarding the bus that would take them off to school. JJ and his sisters, his friends and adopted Alpha 'cousins', wouldn't be on the same bus, but not too far away they would be hopping on their own bus and heading to the same high school.
Less than thirty minutes away, Clay's best friend Corey would be on the way to his school in Norfolk where he lived with his mom and dad, a retired Army Colonel. Corey was the little brother of Brock's wife Katie. Brock, who had become Clay's own much-loved big brother, protector and occasional co-conspirator had introduced the boys who were the same age shortly after Clay had been taken in by Bravo who were misled to believe he was a twenty-year-old recruited for his shooting and language skills.
It didn't take Trent long to recognize that no way was the new rookie who they had all balked at taking on anywhere near being a twenty-year-old young adult. The well-respected medic and long-time operator said out loud to Jason what they all knew in their hearts to be true when he called 'bullshit', insisting his team leader and longtime brother get to the bottom of whatever nonsense Navy brass and their CIA liaison together with the kid's useless biological father were trying to sell. Trent recognized Clay was a terrified boy trying desperately to be wanted. Nowhere near old enough for the dangerous, very adult job he was dropped into, and continually bipolar ping-ponging between fight and flight modes, trying to tread water on a tier-one level SEAL Team of mostly mature, grown men more than old enough to be his father.
Despite almost immediately recognizing Jason as the fearless, dependable, alpha-dog he had spent his entire abuse-filled childhood fantasizing would someday show up to rescue him, it was Trent that Clay had latched onto and trusted first for care, protection, and unconditional love. Bravo's supermedic, whose own rough childhood had given him an eye for recognizing as well as an inability to look away from a kid in crisis, had been alerted by their quiet but observant baby brother and dog-handler to an issue with their smart-mouthed, impulsive new rookie.
It was almost a year earlier, and Bravo had no idea that their new recruit had actually just turned sixteen. Clay himself, who had spent the entirety of his life that he could remember being bounced from one bad situation to another, didn't know his exact age. They were returning home from an unexpectedly bad mission on a long, tense flight when Brock tipped off his own trusted caregiver Trent that the new kid was hiding alone in a dark corner of the plane.
Trent had gone to the boy who was on the verge of a panic attack without hesitation or fuss. Bravo Four did his job as always, getting their kid sorted, settled and sleeping in his hammock for the rest of the flight. Clay had curled into the older man's chest, clutching Trent's shirt as if he might disappear on him if he let go. The boy allowed himself to be held in the medic's strong arms when he realized that Trent was offering comfort rather than the scorn and punishment he expected. Bravo One had stood next to Brock, silently watching his brother settle their kid.
Jason knew from that moment on that this boy was Bravo. His kid. They were going to get to the bottom of the tangled web of lies and bullshit, and Clay was most definitely not going anywhere but home with his newly adopted family.
It had been just over a month since Bravo and Alpha had returned home from a really bad spin up in Syria. Brock and Clay were separated from the team in an unexpected sandstorm that left Bravo's youngest forced to seek shelter and an elusive water source while evading capture in the brutal Syrian desert. Brock, who was just twenty-four himself, a decade younger than the normal tier-one recruit, was left in charge of the sixteen-year-old rookie and his canine partner, Cerb.
Searching for their lost brothers was a combined force that included not only Bravo, Alpha and their support teams, but also two platoons of young marines who were in the area, and the handler from Team Three with his dog. Bravos Five and Six were located just over three days later, holed up in a deep cavern high on a steep, rocky ridge surrounded by hundreds of other caves, holes and narrow burrows. Both boys were exhausted, dehydrated and doing the very best they could to hold it together without their team of trusted brothers in a dangerous and terrifying situation. Clay had an infected leg wound and a raging fever that left him delirious and on the verge of life threatening organ issues. Brock was doing his best as the senior team member to hold it together and keep himself, the dog, and his little brother who was in bad shape and having seizures from the fever alive while evading capture and waiting for rescue.
Both boys had been hospitalized on a base in Syria for dehydration, infected bladders and exhaustion. Clay was held back at the base hospital for an additional three days after Bravo was sent home for observation and to ensure his kidneys were properly functioning on their own. Jason had left Trent to stay with him, knowing his boy was not only very sick, but barely holding it together emotionally after the traumatic three day
separation from the team in dangerous enemy territory.
"Hey, Sunshine," Jason called, standing in the kid's open bedroom doorway. "Are you moving in here? We need to get this show on the road. I have a meeting with Ellis and Blackburn first thing, so you're gonna need to either grab some cereal in the cage room or run over to the cafeteria and get some eggs or pancakes to eat while you're waiting for the guys to get there."
"Okay," Clay groaned, sitting up. "I'm coming. You want me to wait and shower on base so we can leave right away?"
"Your call," Jason said, leaning against the doorway and checking his watch. "If you want to leave now, I can run through Taco Bell and get you one of those breakfast burritos you like so much. You can eat and then shower before heading to the range."
Clay nodded, pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and tossing his work clothes in his bag. "Do you know how long the meeting is gonna last?" he said, looking up hesitantly at his adopted dad.
"Hopefully not too long," Jason sighed, moving to let his boy go through the door before following him into the kitchen. "But you know how these things go, shorty. I could be out in an hour or stuck there all day. Why? What's up?"
"Nothing," Clay shrugged, trying not to sound like a little kid who didn't want to be alone on his first real birthday. "I was just wondering. So it's just me and Ray at the range? Or the other guys too?"
"Actually, kiddo," Jason said, grabbing his keys and leading his kid out the door. "It's just you at the range today. Well, not just you, there will be plenty of other guys. But Ray will be with me at the meeting, and the rest of the team have their own things going on today."
"What about Cody?" Clay asked, buckling up in the passenger seat next to his boss-dad, avoiding eye contact. "Will he be at the range, or are he and Metal going to the meeting?"
Jason reached over to tousle his boy's wild curls. The poor kid's pitiful expression and uncharacteristically quiet voice was about to break Bravo One's heart. He stopped himself from pulling the kid over for a side hug and assuring Clay that he had absolutely not forgotten that today he was officially seventeen. Jason didn't want to spoil the lunchtime birthday surprise his brothers had planned.
"Not sure, Sunshine," Jason said, smiling softly. "You not up for flying solo at the range today? I can check with Metal and see what Alpha Two is up to this morning. If Cody won't be there, I'll get Tim to have the support shooter meet you there."
Clay was conflicted. He definitely didn't want to be stuck alone all morning at the range with random instructors and no one to talk to or keep him company. Ever since being cleared and returning to active duty after Syria, Clay felt anxious without one of his trusted brothers close by or at least within shouting distance. But at the same time, he knew he was officially seventeen now. Nowhere near old enough to be a tier one operator, but old enough to enlist with parent permission. Still a minor and technically a child, but in his mind, not the sixteen-year-old baby everyone saw him as yesterday.
"I'm not a baby anymore, Jase," Clay said, softly. "You don't need to get me a sitter."
Jason snorted, reaching over to squeeze his anxious boy's neck and offer support.
"Sorry, honey," he said lightly. "You are still very much Bravo's Baby. And you're stuck being my baby from now on, since I'm an old man no longer capable of spawning anymore troublemakers. So, you might as well accept and roll with it."
Loosening his seatbelt so he could slide closer to Jason, Clay leaned against his boss-daddy. "You know I love you right?"
"I do," Jason said, lifting his arm so that his boy could sink into his side. "And I love you, more. And I will make sure that either Cody or the support kid is waiting for you at the range today. Just like I already made sure that Noah will be waiting for Brock at the kennels when he goes to pick up Cerb for their training this morning. Not because he's a baby or you're a baby, but because I'm the boss, and it's my job to be sure my team has everything they need. And because you and your big-brother Brock are my boys now. On and off the field. And it's my responsibility to protect and take care of you. Like it or not, son."
"I like it," Clay said, holding tight to the older man's shirt. "And Brock does too. We both love you so much. I wouldn't be okay if you weren't my dad anymore."
Pulling into the parking lot of Taco Bell and entering the drive-thru lane, Jason gently pulled Clay up, making eye contact, and gently rubbing his kid's cheek with his thumb.
"I want you to listen to me carefully, sweetheart," Jason said firmly.
"Yes, sir," Clay nodded, not letting go of his shirt.
"You are my son, and that's forever," Jason promised. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. And some day when you're grown, if you decide you want to do something different, or go somewhere else, you will still be my baby. I will still be your dad, and always there when you need me. Just like Emma and Mikey will always be my babies. That's forever."
"You promise, Jase?" Clay said, tearing up. "Even when I'm eighteen?"
"Yes, son. I promise," Jason assured him gently. "Even when you're eighteen. Or twenty-eight. Or thirty-eight. It doesn't matter. I will still be your dad. And you will still be my kid."
When they arrived at base, Jason took a minute to text Trent and Sonny while Clay was eating his breakfast at the table.
Jason: How far out are you?
Trent: Just picked up coffee. On my way in now. Be there in twenty.
Sonny: Leaving now. What's up?
Jason: Sonny, can you step on it and come straight to the cages?
Sonny: I can be there in ten if I haul ass.
Trent: What's going on? We spinning up? I thought Charlie was on deck.
Jason: No. We're good. I'm supposed to be in Blackburn's office. Ray is texting that Ellis is pissy. I'm leaving Clay eating his breakfast in the cages. He's anxious about being alone. If you were going to be awhile I was going to leave him with Alpha.
Sonny: No worries, Boss. Tell Trouble that Uncle Sonny is putting the pedal to the metal and I'll be there soon.
Trent: Is this I'm seventeen today, practically ready for the nursing home and soon to be dumped anxiety? Or is this post Syria I'm scared that if I don't have my boss-daddy or one of my grumpy uncles within touching distance something terrible might happen and I'll be alone which is when the bad things happen anxiety?
Jason: Either is a possibility. Or both. I don't know. I almost cracked and gave up the birthday surprise because he looked so pitiful, like I forgot all about this being the first time he actually knows it's his birthday. Then when I gave him the bad news he was going solo at the range today because Ray will be with me, he hit me with the 'I love you so much. And do you promise not to dump me?'
Sonny: Boss, I can go to the range with him.
Jason: No Sonny. We talked about this. Sunshine and Brock need to get back to a regular routine. They both went to specialized training on their own before Syria. And they need to know we are confident they can do it again.
Trent: I agree, Jase. But if he's already upset, I don't want to push it and have a flashback/meltdown situation like he had back in the shower room. He'll be in front of twenty snipers on the rifle range with no one he knows to reel it in before it's out of control.
Sonny: I'm pulling in now. Trent's right. He's just a kid, boss. If Brock hadn't been there in the showers to call for back-up and keep him relatively calm that could have snowballed into a full shit-show.
Jason: Relax. Both of you. I'm not going to push him out without a chute. I'm just saying that both boys need to relearn how to be out of our sight and know that they will be okay, and we aren't abandoning them. Ever.
Trent: So what's the plan?
Jason: I told Clay that I was going to touch base with Metal to see if Cody would be at the range today. And if he's not going to be there, I will have Tim send the support sniper to meet him at the range and shoot with him until it's time to come in for lunch.
Trent: What did Metal say?
Jason: He hasn't responded yet. Can one of you hunt down Metal or Tim and make sure the kid is set? I already checked to be sure Noah will be at the dog training, so Brock is good to go. If I don't get up there, Ellis is going to have a stroke.
Sonny: We're on it Boss. The baby is covered. You can go - tell the runt Uncle Sonny is on his way in the building.
Trent: I'll be there shortly, Son.
Jason: Copy that. Thanks. I'll be back in time for the cake.
When they finished at the range just after noon, Alpha's 2IC Cody walked Clay the long way around base telling the kid he needed to stop at the commissary to pick up a package his wife had ordered. There was a package, but the actual reason he dragged Clay along to pick it up was that Metal had told him to stall the kid until 12:30 so Bravo could set up his surprise birthday lunch in their cage room.
When Bravo's youngest opened the door to the cages, he was greeted by his team who were sitting around the table surrounding a fancy cake that was covered with frosting balloons. It said "Happy Birthday Clay!". There was also pizza on the counter and Baja Blast Mountain Dew. There was a Happy Birthday sign on the wall and matching paper plates and cups that said Happy Birthday as well.
Clay stopped dead in the doorway, speechless and frozen with his hand still on the door knob.
"Happy Birthday!" they shouted, smiling up at their clearly surprised kid.
Clay stepped slowly into the room, approaching the table, not sure how to respond. He'd never had anything close to a birthday celebration except for once back in Liberia when a nurse at the nearby aid station stuck a candle in a Hostess cupcake and sang Happy Birthday to him on a random day in June she declared his birthday when she discovered that no one knew how old he was and he'd never had a party.
The guys were smiling at the kid who was clearly overcome with emotion. His eyes were welling up with tears and he covered his mouth, trying not to lose it completely. When Jason made eye contact with Trent, his go to fixer approached the boy, wrapping him in his arms and kissing his head.
"Happy Birthday, honey," he said gently. "We love you."
Looking like he might lose it himself at the kid's stunned reaction and tears, Sonny stood and pulled the kid gently off Trent and held him to his side.
"Hey, now Trouble," he smiled, leading the kid over to the table. "None of that. This is a happy day. Grumplestiltskin there is right. We love you and we're all gonna have some pizza and cake. You better pace yourself, runt. If you're going to get this worked up over chocolate cake, I'm afraid you'll hit the floor when you finally turn twenty-one and Uncle Sonny takes you to Foxy's to meet my girls."
"I'm sorry," Clay smiled, wiping his eyes. "I just told Jason that I wasn't a baby anymore and now I'm crying like a little kid on my own birthday. I love you guys so much. Back when I was little, I used to imagine coming home from school and having real family there waiting for me with a cake just like this. I never thought it would really happen. I figured maybe you forgot or it wasn't really a big deal now that I'm seventeen."
"Okay, Shorty," Jason laughed. "You are seventeen, not seventy. And birthdays are always a big deal. It's your special day - and you surely deserve the best birthday ever since you never got the last sixteen birthdays you should have had."
"The boss is right, Clay," Ray said. "Every kid should be able to have a great time on their birthday. And we're glad that you are happy with your birthday lunch. Rumor has it that tomorrow Jason and Josh are taking you and your posse out to Dave & Busters for a birthday dinner and unlimited arcade gaming."
"Yeah," Clay smiled, pulling himself together and taking a seat at the head of the table. "Josh is going to pick us up in the van so we can all fit."
"Who made the guest list?" Trent asked, handing the kid a plate with pizza and cup of his favorite sugar filled soda.
"Thanks Trent," Clay said, picking off the pepperoni and eating it first. "Corey, JJ and the girls are coming. Derrick and Catherine are letting JJ, Corey and me spend the night at their place so we can watch Five Nights at Freddy's on the big screen and then have an all night Risk marathon - the three of us versus Derrick and Brock."
"Someone truly needs to give Catherine some kind of medal," Ray said, shaking his head. "She's babysitting The Three Musketeers in addition to Brock and the large child she calls her husband?"
"I told Catherine it wasn't necessary," Jason jumped in. "I said to send them back over to me after the movie for the Risk tournament. But apparently Catherine and Melinda have their own kid free party planned."
"Oh believe me," Brock scoffed. "They are going to be living it up. Derrick is footing the huge bill for the ladies to be spending the weekend at some fancy spa and resort in Middleburg. It's his penance for forgetting Catherine's birthday. But Derrick claims he'd happily shell out two month's combat pay to avoid mud baths, manicures and mimosas at some prissy resort. He claims it's a win for all involved."
"I have to concur that I'd take burgers and game night with the brats over mimosas and gossiping at the spa," Sonny said, going for another slice of birthday pizza. "But I think I'll opt for The Bulkhead and some quality time at Foxy's this weekend."
"Keeping it classy as always, Sonny," Trent laughed at his secretly big-hearted brother.
"What's a mimosa?" Clay asked, looking confused.
"It's a fancy drink the ladies like to enjoy with brunch," Jason said, cleaning up the pizza and lighting the seventeen candles on his kid's chocolate cake. "It's champagne and orange juice."
"Ugh," Clay said, making a face. "Why would you ever drink that?"
"There's champagne in a mimosa?" Brock asked, surprised. "I assumed it was vodka or tequila or something like that. Clay's right. That sounds disgusting. I can't believe Katie and her sisters chug that at brunch."
That got a chuckle out of the old guys.
Trent set the cake down in front of Clay before patting Brock's head fondly. "I'm going to agree with Derrick that a sleepover at his place is more your speed than a resort in Middleburg."
After the cake, Clay's much loved uncles spoiled him with gifts including a game he'd been after for the PlayStation, a gift card to Barnes & Noble, and a fancy new iPad with a pen for drawing on long, boring flights - to keep him quiet and busy according to Uncle Sonny. Then Trent disappeared briefly and returned holding a meowing cat carrier.
"No way, Trent!" Clay jumped up, opening the door of the small, gray carrier and pulling out a black and white cat sporting a blue bow tie around its neck. He held the cat in his arms and kissed its head. "It's Rocky. I thought he was gone for good."
Clay turned to face his boss-dad looking nervous and holding the cat, who seemed very happy to be snuggled by the birthday boy, close to his chest. "I can keep him?" Clay asked hopefully, turning up the big, blue eyes. "I thought you said no way because there's no one to take care of him when we're spun up."
"Well, Sunshine," Jason sighed. "I'm not convinced this is a good idea. But I've been overruled by your soft-hearted Uncle Trent who spoils you rotten, and your biggest fan and backside protector Aunt Catherine, who assures me that when Bravo is away she will take care of this flea motel you found behind the dumpster that we both know she's been helping you secretly feed after I told you absolutely no on the cat rescue."
"No worries, Boss," Brock gave him the thumbs up. "I gave Rocky a full bath and flea treatment. And Trent and I took him into the vet to get his shots, worm treatment and the snip snip down below so that Clay isn't a grandfather to multiple kittens before he's old enough to drive after dusk."
"That's a great relief to me," Jason said sarcastically, shaking his head at Trent who was sporting a shit-eating grin.
"You are officially whupped," Sonny said solemnly. "I remember some years back when your baby girl Emma cried and begged for a puppy the neighbor was trying to unload on the Hayes clan. Not only did you veto the dog, but as I recall, you made what we all knew was a completely hollow threat to warm her naughty tail in front of everyone if she didn't stop the show."
"Jase, I thought you almost never spanked Emma," Clay said.
"I didn't," Jason said. "Sonny's right. I was bluffing. And he's also correct that you have me wrapped around your finger, because I don't even like cats. And there is zero chance I would have ever caved and let Emma or Mikey bring one home."
"You'll like Rocky," Clay assured him. "I know you will. He's scrappy and smart."
"He's got a point there, Boss," Ray teased. "You have been known to fall in love with scrappy, smart orphans."
"And we won't ever have to worry about mice with Rocky in the apartment," Clay added.
Jason rolled his eyes and shook his head. "And when have we ever seen a mouse or evidence of mice in the apartment Sunshine?"
"We haven't," Clay said. "And it's probably because the mice could sense Rocky was hanging around. One of my foster moms told me she always kept at least one cat and she never saw a mouse because mice can sense when there's a cat in the house and they are smart enough to stay away."
"Really?" Jason said, giving Trent the stink eye. "You are quite the cat expert, Squirt."
"Come on, Clay," Brock laughed, rubbing the cat's head. "Let's take Rocky over and show Derrick. Katie says Catherine hasn't told him yet that Rocky is bunking with them when Bravo is spun up. I look forward to hearing his thoughts on the new foster son."
"Wait," Ray said, looking over at Trent. "Isn't Derrick allergic to cats?"
"He sure is," Brock laughed. "Catherine says Derrick can start getting allergy shots and he'll be fine when Rocky visits."
Shortly after Brock and Clay headed across the hall to Alpha's cages with the cat, Metal came through the door looking fully amused.
"How in the heavenly fuck did you let this pushover convince you to let Trouble keep a stray cat?" Metal said, pointing at Trent.
"He and the kid's shrink double-teamed me," Jason snorted.
"Jesus H. Christ," Metal said. "That feral ball of ratty fur is some kind of comfort animal now?"
Sonny turned to bitch and grouch at Alpha's boss.
"The baby hasn't slept through the night in his own bed since I carried him down from that fucking shit-hole cave in Syria," Sonny said, glaring at his longtime brother. "Last week, he spent the night with me because Jason got called in for some late night powwow with Blackburn and Ellis. He woke up at zero dark thirty, afraid and confused, calling me Brock. Trying not to cry and asking if I was sure Bravo was coming to get them. If I didn't know it would have scared the shit out of him, I would have torn the room apart."
Sonny took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling to reign in his emotions.
"He fucking broke my heart, brother," Sonny said, making eye contact with Metal. "He's a barely seventeen-year-old child. And we've all gone along with this Ash Spencer created shit-show. So if the fucking shrink says a dirty, stray cat is going to help our baby sleep in his own bed with both eyes closed, then the boss-daddy is going to have to deal with it, and your pretty boy medic can suck it up and get his allergy shots."
Metal stared back at Sonny, his face expressionless.
"House cats are the only mammals other than humans who hunt and kill for sport," Alpha One said with zero emotion. "Cats are badass, and a shitload smarter than dogs. If Bravo is spun up and Derrick goes anaphylactic, Rocky can bunk with me."
Walking toward the door, Metal turned to look back at his longtime brothers who were silent.
"And if Jason ever has a change of heart, my offer stands to very slowly torture, kill and dispose of Ash Spencer," he said, deadly serious. "Any time. Day or night. Say the word, and it's done."