A/N — well, I wrote this chapter and hated it, so I rewrote it. Hopefully it's not a complete jumbled mess. Only a couple more chapters so I'm in full wrap-up mode. xoxo — kals
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Chapter 24 — Sasha, Danny, Wolf, Tex and Miller
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Sasha leaned back against the SUV that the team commandeered upon their arrival in Auburn, West Virginia, population 73 before the virus hit. She watched as Danny began cleaning his M4 for at least the third time while Tex continued sharpening his knife and Miller dug through his pack looking for something that he hadn't found despite twenty minutes of trying. Only Wolf wasn't pretending to be busy, instead sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating. In more than a year of working together, Sasha had never seen them take even half this amount of time to pack up their gear and it didn't take a genius to figure out why they were stalling. They obviously didn't want to acknowledge the celebration occurring on the other side of the parking lot that Mike established as a staging area.
A celebration that featured one Tom Chandler as the main attraction.
Not that Sasha blamed those jostling for Tom's attention. Besides the excitement of seeing Tom again, they were all still buzzing over the successful operation to take down Allison Shaw.
Irritated that her team apparently felt the need to babysit her rather than join the crowd surrounding Tom, Sasha straightened, managing to catch Danny's eye. "We're done here. You should all go say hello to Captain Chandler. I'm sure he will want to see all of you."
She expected an easy smile in response, perhaps a joke as he made his way across the lot. But, instead, Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Plenty of time to catch up once we're back in St. Louis. I was thinking about hitting the rack. The 0300 wake-up call messed with my beauty sleep."
Given that they were bedding down in a ranger's station the size of an outhouse, the suggestion that any of them were going to get more than a couple of hours of shut eye was absurd. Pre-virus, the only thing that this no-stoplight town was known for was kayaking and those people apparently did not feel the need for less rustic accommodations. Sasha pursed her lips. "Danny."
"Sasha," he replied, in the same tone, before adding. "God, County, Corps, Cooper. That's the way we roll."
She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a Marine."
"Tomato, tomahto." Danny said with a shrug. He nudged Tex. "I hereby vote that Cooper is appointed a Marine. Do I have a second?"
"Second," intoned Tex, as he slid his knife back into its sheath and passed the sharpener to Miller. "Not like that, kid. You have to hold it at an angle."
As the group descended back into silence, Sasha realized that there had been a major plus to Tom's appearance here this evening. She had occasionally wondered if she had been fully accepted by the original crew, knowing how firmly their efforts to develop and spread the cure bonded them together. Tonight answered that question with an affirmative yes.
Deciding that further arguing would be petty, Sasha sat on the asphalt next to Wolf, letting her voice drop so they wouldn't be overheard. "I'm fine, you know. No need to hover."
Wolf didn't open his eyes. "Actually, Coop, that's part of what's freaking us out. You're too calm. I'm wondering if you're in a bit of shock."
For an instant, Sasha was in Mike's backyard again, taking in the guiltily expression on his face as he admitted both that he knew where Tom was and knew why Tom initially left. Mike — along with Wolf and Andrea — clearly expected Sasha to be furious.
And Sasha was furious — just not at Mike.
A year ago, Mike and Sasha were strangers bound only by a shared mission. There had been no reason for Mike to trust her with something as top secret as Tom's decision to go lone wolf to track down Allison Shaw. In fact, Sasha strongly suspected that she would have done the same if the circumstances were reversed. Part of Sasha was hurt that Mike didn't say anything later on, once they had gotten to know and, she hoped, respect each other. But by then Tom had been gone so long, Sasha couldn't really fault Mike's decision not to open that can of worm. No, while she might nitpick Mike's choice, Sasha wasn't angry at him.
Tom, on the other hand, damn well should have known better.
Scratch that. Tom did know better. He knew that if he told Sasha what he had planned, she would have insisted on joining him and, more likely than not, would have found Allison Shaw in half the time that it took Tom. But instead of letting her help him, Tom left without a word. The only thing Sasha wasn't certain about was why he left without telling her his plan. Was it because she might have talked out of going? Or because he wanted to give her time and space to heal from all that she went through during the pandemic?
Her head suspected the former, while her heart was praying for the latter.
"I've had a lot of time to think about what happened last year, Wolf," Sasha said quietly. "I had no hold on Tom. He doesn't owe me an explanation of what he was doing the last year."
Wolf's eyes opened then, his jaw tightening. "After what we went through together, he owes us all an explanation, Coops."
Funny, Sasha hadn't considered whether the team's decision to sit out the celebration might be driven in part by their own disappointment over Tom's choices. Wolf nudged her. "He's headed this way, you know."
Oh she knew.
Just like she had known the instant the SUV pulled into this parking lot that Tom was present. She could feel him. Sasha set a hand on Wolf's arm. "You're a good friend, Wolf. I'm not sure I told you that before."
"Hello Sasha."
This wasn't the first time they had spoken today. After all, they were here to take down Shaw and both of them were professional enough to know that the middle of an operation wasn't the time to air personal grievances. Yet hearing him say her name sent a chill down Sasha's spine. She rose to her feet, nodding her head. "Tom. Congratulations on finding Shaw."
While Tom greeted the rest of the team, Sasha took a moment to examine him. Tom looked good. The rings under his eyes were gone and the slight sag to his shoulders, as though the weight of the world rested there, had disappeared. Maybe, like Sasha, Tom had used his spare time over the past year processing everything that had happened since the virus first hit. She waited, silently, while Danny filled Tom in on Kara and Frankie, before demanding to know if it was true that Commander Garnett was now also Mrs. Nolan. Tom took his time speaking with each of the guys before turning his attention back to Sasha. His head tipped to the side as he studied her. "Mike said you've been an incredible asset to the team, Sasha. My thanks to all of you for coming so quickly. It took me too long to realize that I couldn't do this one by myself."
Sasha met Tom's gaze, trying to determine if Tom was being sincere or if this was a speech he had given out a dozen times already. But for all their shared past, at the moment, Sasha couldn't read Tom at all. She held his gaze as she replied.
"All you had to do was ask."