A/N — last night my thirteen-year-old snuck downstairs in the middle of the night ... to steal the label maker and make labels for his lego sets. Teenagers are weird, y'all. xoxo — kals
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Chapter 28 — Wolf, Carlton, Tex, Erik and Danny
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Wolf nodded to Bacon as he strolled into the Hangout, suspecting from the amused grin that he received in response that he was sporting a loopy smile of his own. He considered leaving before the guys could catch a glimpse and begin the inevitable mocking, before deciding to hell with it.
Who cared if they knew that, after two years of turmoil and loss, he had finally found peace again?
All the meditation in the world couldn't compete with one night hanging with Jesse, even if she did need to turn around and leave at the crack of dawn for a delivery. She grounded him — her presence calming him in a way he had never experienced before. Which, Wolf supposed, was how he knew that what was going on between them wasn't fleeting. Nope, he had found the woman he would be spending the rest of his life with.
Not that he planned to tell Jesse that fact. He wasn't a complete dipstick.
"So, Captain asked Cooper to attend the opening of the opera with him," Danny was saying as Wolf settled himself at the table and helped himself from the plate of sandwiches. "But Sam got exposed to whooping cough so they were all in quarantine and Cooper went with Granderson instead."
Carlton nodded to Wolf. "Was that before or after he gave her those flowers she was allergic to?"
Danny snorted. "After. It's like watching a car wreck. You want to look away, but you can't."
"To be fair," Carlton began, "none of us knew that sandalwood and mistletoe were part of the same ..."
Danny cut him off with a wave of the hand. "The fact that we didn't know is irrelevant. Our role is to watch, judge and laugh. His job is to make up for screwing things up so spectacularly."
"Exactly the way I felt while watching you mess up everything with KFG," Tex interjected, earning himself a half-assed middle finger from Danny.
"Isn't there a vaccine for whooping cough?" Wolf asked before biting into his BLT. The second-best thing about being back in St. Louis was definitely enjoying Bacon's food again. Wolf made the mistake once of saying that it was the best thing in front of Jesse, and he would not be doing that again.
"Rios doesn't have enough so he's rationing. Sam got the original vaccine when he was younger, and Rios is hoping that he is still within the window and won't get sick," Danny explained. When every eye swung in his direction, Danny shrugged. "Rios gave us a whole lecture before Frankie got his shot last week."
Eric turned to Wolf. "I didn't see you and Jesse at the opera?"
Before Wolf could think of a suitable reply that didn't involve the truth — which is that there wasn't a chance in hell he was wasting one of his rare nights with Jesse at the opera — Tex reached over to slap Eric's back. "Does Jesse seem like the opera type to you?"
"Andrea went," Eric protested, gaze zipping around the table as though he wasn't sure whether to take them seriously.
"Yes, as a representative of the Navy," Tex replied. "Did you notice how Slattery wiggled himself right out of that one? And I didn't exactly notice Green volunteering."
"Hey," Danny protested. "We have a newborn. Technically I'm on paternity leave and shouldn't even be here with you assholes."
"But you are," Tex replied smugly. He lifted an eyebrow. "And I seem to recall seeing your mother-in-law's car parked right outside when I picked you up..."
Carlton laughed. "What did she do this time? Start talking about vibrators?"
As funny as it was to watch Green turn, well, green, Wolf also found Debbie Foster a bit much to take. The woman didn't seem to have any filters. Taking mercy on Danny, Wolf turned to Erik. "Jesse doesn't like crowds."
"That's too bad," Erik replied, apparently also eager to avoid a discussion about all the topics that Debbie Foster found appropriate for the dinner table. "I've never been to an opera before but it was really good. Even though I didn't understand what they were saying. Courtney said it was in Italian."
Tex laughed. "Our baby bird is spreading his wings and trying new things."
Flushing, Erik's eyes dipped to his plate. "It's cool that we're all dating someone. Or married," he rushed to add with a quick, slightly terrified, look at Danny.
Startled by the observation, Wolf sat back, eyes meeting Carlton's shocked ones before he moved on to study the rest of the guys at the table. It was jarring to think that, eighteen months ago, four out of the five of them were single. Twelve months ago, Tex and Andrea hooking up while the rest of them were pretending not to know. Nine months ago, Erik had managed to ask Courtney out without either vomiting or hyperventilating. Six months ago, Carlton actually didn't screw up a first date. Three months ago, Jesse came to find him in West Virginia. And now...
Wolf lifted his glass. "Cheers, Big Ears!"
There was a short silence, and then Erik hesitantly asked, "Is that an Australian thing?"
Tex rolled his eyes, lifting his glass. "Who cares. Cheers."
As confusion faded into amusement, each man slowly lifted their glasses. "Cheers."