Author's note: Hello again, it's been a while! I'm sorry these chapters are taking longer and longer to get done, but life has been hectic lately. I'll explain at the end, I've also got kind of an exciting announcement. Anyway, enough excuses let get on with the story. Enjoy.

What Will It Take?

Chapter 27

A headshake, "Again." A grunt.

A flying leg hitting the sandbag shaped as a man.

Another headshake, "Again." Another grunt.

Another kick on the bag.

"Again."

A weakened kick, delivering a fraction of the potency of the ones before it. Fatigue slowly setting in, sweat dripping from her face.

"Is that all you've got?" Her father asked

"We've been doing this for hours, I need a break." Ela said exhausted as she reached for an almost empty water bottle lying next to her. They were standing there since noon but even with the sun about to set, Jan showed no intent of slowing down.

For what was the umpteenth time, Jan vigorously shook his head, "Do you think your enemies will give you a break?!" He countered, with a hint of irony in his voice, "If you can't fight just because you're tired, your opponents will eat you alive."

Ela figured that he wasn't going to let up. Mustering up her remaining strength, she delivered one fatal blow to the training dummy. This time, the force was enough to knock over the contraption. She would have been proud of herself, if exhaustion hadn't finally caught up with her as she fell to the ground on her hands and knees.

"Get up!" Jan demanded, not concerned about his daughter's safety in the slightest.

"Father, please." She begged. She breathed heavily as her body begged for just a minute or two to recover from exhaustion.

"I said get up!" Without a warning, he reached down and grabbed her by the ends of her long brown hair and yanked.

She let out a scream at the abuse. She had no choice but to quickly jump back to her feet or risk having her hair yanked from her scalp. Once she was standing again, she could only look in horror at her father. He had berated her before when she performed poorly, but never physically. Ela stepped back until she felt a bit safer, an involuntary reaction of self-defense.

"A good soldier will always get back to their feet, even in the face of death! You can't even get up to face a sack of sand!" He glanced at his visibly afraid daughter rubbing the back of her head. He pointed at her hair before shouting again, "And that. In a skirmish, having such long hair only gives your opponent something to grab onto, another crutch. You're going to fix that."

She quickly took the hint; she would have to cut her hair.

It was only when Jan noticed that the house lights were now turned on that he realized how dark it was getting, he looked at his watch and grunted, "I have a meeting to attend to, we'll continue this tomorrow."

Ela shyly nodded as he walked past her to the house, the back of her head still burned, but that wasn't the pain that made tears to form in her eyes. Ela could only fight hard enough not to fall to her knees another time.

"I believe you still have homework for the night." He stopped just before the door, "I expect it all to be done by the time I get back."

"Yes, father."

The bust shaped in gold of the first President of the United States, George Washington, surrounded by a purple heart in a golden frame adorn is one of the greatest decorations of U.S. military. This medal is only granted for those who were killed or wounded by the enemy during military service. It is a reminder of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

"In grateful acknowledgment of the blood shed in the service of your country, it is my honor to present you with the order of the Purple Heart." Six announced.

The entire team Rainbow and other high clearance personnel had gathered for the ceremony. On the stage stood Meghan, Norman and Irvin. The blonde still needed the crutches to stand, but she's been using them for well over a month now and it's already become second nature to her. Once the warrant had been read, Six pinned the prestigious medal on to each of their uniforms, for Irvin, it was now his second time earning the award. Once all the medals were pinned to their rightful owners, Norman and Irvin saluted and marched off, taking their place back in the crowd. Meghan however, stood still.

Six then pulled out another warrant and began reading, "Under the orders by the Secretary of the Navy, I also appoint this sailor, Meghan J. Castellano, as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy." Six then brandished two gold oak leaves, "Who would you like to do the honors?"

"Elzbieta Bosak." Meghan answered.

Upon hearing her name, Ela stepped forward and took the insignias from the Team Rainbow leader. She swiftly removed the two sets of silver bars currently on the SEALs uniform and replaced them with the oak leaves, "Congratulations." Was all she said, formally while offering her a smile, it was a professional celebration after all.

Once Ela had stepped off stage, Meghan gave a salute to Six, which she returned, "Dismissed." The leader ordered, bringing an end to the ceremony.

Now that the ceremony was officially over, the other operators were able to let out their cheers for their friends before going up to shake each of their hands and congratulating them in person. As soon as most of the crowd had passed over the recipients, Ela once again took her place at Meghan's side. She gave her a quick peck on the cheek; showing affection while in uniform is highly frowned upon, but Ela definitely wouldn't let that stop her.

"Aren't you glad I had it dry cleaned?" Ela asked, a wide smile plastered on her face. She wanted to wrap her arm on Meghan's but felt like she was daring enough already.

"Thanks for looking out for me, they sprung this ceremony on us out of nowhere." Meghan answered.

Ela took a moment to eye her girlfriend up and down while she was in her uniform, admiring the woman right beside her, taking an extra second inspecting the shiny new insignias on her collar, "It looks nice on you."

"Thanks." The blonde responded before leaning in closer, "It'll look better on the floor."

"Really now?" Ela couldn't help but blush at the naughty remark, "I guess we'll see tonight." She bit her lower lip, a secret turn on for Meghan. While their relationship advanced, both women were becoming more daring by the day. Neither Ela nor Meghan ever dreamed of discussing their nighttime plans out in the open like that, but now they just couldn't care less about it.

"Will you get a room, please!"

Meghan smiled when she saw a familiar redhead and blonde approaching them, "Hey, I've had to watch you guys for two years, it's only fair." Meghan countered.

Eliza wrapped an arm around her friend, "Congratulations Meg- sorry, Ms. Lieutenant Commander," the redhead mocked a salute when she stepped back, making Meghan roll her eyes at the silliness.

"Thanks."

"Well done." Monika formally congratulated as expected. She then did something strange; she went to give Meghan a handshake but offered her left hand.

Meghan wasn't fazed by that, but quickly spotted what the German wanted her to see, "Monika, is that...?"

"Yes!" She couldn't contain her excitement anymore. Adorning her ring finger, was the gold engagement ring Eliza had been hiding for the longest of time.

"What?!" Meghan gave each of them a hug, not minding that it wasn't the time and place for that kind of display, "When did this happen?"

"Last night." Eliza giggled like a little girl. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was scared shitless and felt a little proud of herself when she finally grew the balls to ask Monika's hand.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order for you two as well."

"Looks like a celebration is in order." Eliza declared, "Let's all go out tonight."

"Sure, I'll see if Lena and Amelie want to come along."

"Sounds good." Monika said.

"Sound good to you Ela?" Meghan turned to her girlfriend, only to find her missing. "Ela?"

"Why did she disappear this time?" Eliza asked.

"Because she saw me coming."

The group turned their attention to the new voice. It had been a week since Zofia had arrived and Ela had somehow managed to avoid her sister like the plague. Meghan and the gang had tried convincing the younger Bosak to at least talk with her sibling, but Ela wouldn't budge.

"Oh, hey Zofia." Meghan greeted.

"Congratulations, ma'am." Zofia said formally, seeing that Meghan now outranked her.

"Please, it's still Meghan." The SEAL insisted. Rank may have held a place in their respective units, but in Rainbow, performance outranked everything. Beyond that, everyone was on a first name basis, minus a few exceptions.

"Congratulations, Meghan." For the past few days, the two had made small interactions. Meghan still wouldn't consider her a friend, but the two respected one another, "I was hoping to finally catch her here."

"Yeah, she's proven to have a talent for sneaking away unnoticed. Especially if it's to avoid someone." Meghan commented.

"Well, she has no choice come tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Six just scheduled a training run tomorrow. It's mostly to test Grace, Chul, and myself, but all operators will be participating, other than you of course."

"I guess it was going to happen sooner or later." Meghan said. She didn't show it, but she was nervous for Ela. She had been trying to coax the Polish girl into meeting with her sister, but now, the two of them being forced into a conflict, even a simulated one, didn't sound like best means of doing so.

"Disappointed you won't be participating Meg?" Eliza taunted.

"I could still take you, even with only one leg, since you only seem to do cardio." The blonde responded with confidence, referring to the fact the redhead had been neglecting to join her and Monika for their workouts.

"You'd have to catch me first." Eliza shot back.

Ela had just finished putting away the last of her clothes along with some final hygiene products in the bathroom. Over the past few days she had been slowly moving her things from her own room to Meghan's. Today however, marked the last of it, she could now live solely in Meghan's room without ever having to go back to her own. It was only a few rooms down the hall, and nothing had really changed, the couple had spent almost every night together since they started dating. It was more about the principle she supposed, the two were in love and willing to now share their personal space as one.

She looked around the room, admiring the little changes. Two sets of pillows on the bed instead of one, two coffee mugs on the counter, two sets of towels in the bathroom. All of it brought one thing to her attention.

"There is a severe lack of décor in here…" She thought to herself. The room was bland and lacked any personality. Granted, neither of them really cared about the vanity of the room, but a painting on the wall or maybe some new curtains would liven the place up. Maybe her time studying art could finally be put to good use.

As she was picturing different methods of decorating, the door opened and Meghan came in, "There you are."

"Hey." Ela greeted before pulling her in for the deep kiss she wanted to give her during the ceremony, waiting until they needed air before parting, "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Meghan responded.

"Look," Ela gestured to her belongings, "That's the last of my things, I'm officially moved in."

"That's awesome." Meghan said happily, looking forward to living with the Polish girl.

"Now, how about you show me that uniform on the floor?" Ela suggested with a mischievous smile as she sat down on the bed.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about a few things, since you ran off." Meghan desperately wanted to take her girlfriend up on her offer, but there were more pressing matters.

"Oh?"

"First, Eliza and Monika are engaged."

"Really?! Since when?"

"Eliza proposed last night."

"That's great for them." Ela was genuinely happy for her two friends.

"So, we're all going out tonight to celebrate, Lena and Amelie are coming as well."

"That sounds wonderful." The Polish girl said, looking forward to a nice love making session with her girlfriend followed by a night out, "What else did you want to talk about?"

Meghan sighed. She took a seat next to the green haired girl, "Your sister."

Ela rolled her eyes, "What about her?"

"You know you're going to have to talk with her eventually, right?"

The mention of her sister was really killing her mood, "I know."

"So, don't you think you should get on with it?"

Ela hesitated, "I'm trying to find the right time."

"Why not right now?"

"No!"

Meghan was startled by Ela's sudden aggression, "Then when?"

This was not a subject that Ela wanted to talk about right now, "Why are you so concerned about this now?"

"Because I'm worried about you, Ela." Meghan took Ela's hand into her own.

"Don't be, I was perfectly fine until you brought this up." Ela let go of her hand and stood up.

"Really? Because it doesn't seem like it." Meghan followed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You haven't been acting normal since she got here."

"Of course I haven't, you know about me and my family." Ela was losing her patience, "Why are you trying to resolve this now? You said you would support me no matter what I chose."

"Because you're not going to have a choice tomorrow." Meghan was also getting frustrated. "There's a training op tomorrow and everyone is going to be there."

Ela couldn't respond. Again, she knew this was an inevitability, but didn't want to accept it.

"Odds are, you're going to either face her or work on a team with her. How are you going to avoid her then?"

Ela thought hard about the possibility and what she would do if and when such a case occurred, "If I have to, I'll treat her as a coworker, saying only what's necessary to get the job done and leaving once it's over. Nothing more."

"So you're just going to pretend that she's not your sister, you know there's a chance we all might go to combat together."

"Why not? We're all a team but we're close with everyone. It's not as if you and Taina are close."

"But she's still your sister."

"It doesn't matter."

"Ela…"

"Why are you making this a bigger deal than it needs to be?"

"I'm worried about us."

"What do you mean?"

"You left me back there." Meghan explained, "Just like last week, you saw her, and just left. No warning, no 'see you later', you just walked away. You haven't done that since before we dated."

Ela recalled the two moments she desperately avoided her sister and realized that Meghan was right. She couldn't help but feel a shred of guilt, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you behind."

"I know you didn't." Meghan wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in close, "I just can't help but worry that by running away from her you're also running away from me."

Ela returned the embrace, "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to quit on you…on us."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You won't, I promise."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

For a moment, the two didn't say anything else.

"So, tonight?" Meghan asked, still worried and uncertain, but at least in this moment Ela was still with her.

"It's a date."

Zofia was sitting on her bed, meticulously cleaning her KS79 for what must have been the third time that day. She was excited, and a little anxious, tomorrows training would be her first chance to show her new teammates what she was capable of and she didn't want to mess it up, not that she thought she would. She also saw this as an opportunity to see just how far her sister had come, and maybe even a chance to finally speak with her.

Zofia reflected on her first week with Rainbow. On several occasions she tried to interact with Ela, every time she would slip away before she even got close, almost like a game of cat and mouse. She wasn't sure what to expect when reuniting with her sister. She knew her father's treatment would forever scar the younger sibling, and she had done very little to mitigate that. At first, she tried to help Ela with her struggles and their father's abusive ways, but the damage had been done, the two were now divided. She truly hoped that this would be her chance to undo what had been done all those years ago.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts. She answered the door to see Grace, "Good evening."

"Hey Zofi, just wanted to check in, making sure you're ready for tomorrow." The Korean operator greeted with a smile.

"I appreciate that." Zofia thanked, "You can come in if you want."

"Sure." Grace happily accepted the offer and practically bounced inside, quickly grabbing a seat in Zofia's rolling chair.

"I was just getting my launcher ready." Zofia said as she sat back down on her bed to inspect the gadget one last time, "What about you, is you're Logic Bomb ready?"

"Absolutely, software is up to date and it's got a full battery, I'm ready to override whatever they can throw at us." She reported with a smile.

"Good. Should be a smooth operation tomorrow. Hopefully we are up to the challenge, I would hate to make a negative first impression."

"Speaking of which, I may have a solution for that," Grace formed a cunning smile as she rolled closer to her Polish friend, "I have something that may help us out."

"What do you mean?" Zofia asked.

"I may have gotten past Six's cyber security and I may have found the list of who's participating in what rounds tomorrow." She said innocently.

"You what?!" Zofia raised her eyebrows in surprise, "That's got to be a violation of rules."

"Only if they find out about it."

"You hacked into their system, don't they have detection software or something?!"

"Well, yeah, if you can even call it that." Grace said almost nonchalantly, "Getting around them was child's play."

"I'm worried that you'll get in trouble."

"One, I won't. And two, you're not seeing the point here. Now we know who we are facing and when. That means we'll be better prepared, we'll perform better, everyone will be impressed. There, it's the good first impression you wanted."

Zofia wasn't sure how she felt about this, "That sounds like cheating."

"All is fair in love and war my friend."

"You act like a simple proverb is enough to justify this?"

Grace could see that Zofia was genuinely uncomfortable with this, "Look, how about we just do it just this once?" She offered, "We'll look at the list, we'll perform well tomorrow, make everyone like us, then we'll never do it again."

This did very little to make the Polish woman feel any better, "I don't know."

"What if I told you that we'll be going against your sister in round one?"

Zofia's demeanor instantly changed, "What?!"

"See for yourself." Grace turned on her tablet and showed her friend the list of operators, "You and I will be attacking along with Emma, Monika, and her girlfriend, the crazy redhead. Meanwhile, Chul will be on the other team, along with your sister, Mark, James, and that creepy lady who keeps staring at me."

"I'll be going against Ela?" Zofia asked, not from lack of hearing, she just didn't want to believe it.

"Yes. Sorry, I know that's not how you wanted your reunion to go."

"I guess it has to start somewhere."

"Have you spoken to her at all since we arrived?"

Zofia shook her head, "Every time I get near, it's as if she senses me and runs off."

"Still?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She frowned, "I'm starting to wonder if this may have been a waste of time."

"Don't think like that." Grace put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure she'll come around. The fact that you're putting in the effort might be lost to her now, but eventually she'll see that she has no reason to run."

This brought a smile to Zofia's face. Since they met, she always marveled at the Korean woman's ability to stay happy and upbeat at all times, "Thanks Grace, I needed that."

"No problem." Grace thought for a moment, "What about her girlfriend? Do you think she will be able to help you in this?"

"She's already tried, but Ela is too stubborn, a family trait I'm afraid." Zofia sighed, "Besides, I'm not sure how I feel about Ela dating an American woman."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not against her being gay, it's just that, growing up, she never struck me as being attracted to women. In fact, she never struck me as being attracted to anyone." Zofia explained.

Grace looked at her and raised an eyebrow in confusion, "So you thought your sister was asexual?"

Zofia let out a small laugh, "I mean she was never close to anyone. No friends, boyfriends, acquaintances. Even on group projects, she would treat her partners as more of a means to a passing grade."

The Korean nodded her head in clarity.

"I mean, I'm not even sure how intimate those two really are."

Grace blushed, but hid her face behind her tablet, "I think they're pretty intimate."

"What?"

"Nothing." Grace quickly deflected, "I mean, it's been what, sixteen years you said? A lot can change in that time."

"I know, I'm just concerned. I'm her sister, I should know everything about her, and now we might as well be total strangers."

Something about that last statement struck a note with Grace, "Maybe that's the key!" She yelled.

"What?"

"Instead of approaching her as your sister, approach her like a stranger." Grace explained, "Eventually you could move on to be acquaintances, then friends, then before you know it, you're sisters again!"

Zofia contemplated the idea, it would take a lot longer, but her current method wasn't working, "I think you might be on to something."

"And tomorrows training is the perfect place to start."

"I think I will give it a try." Zofia confirmed, "Thanks Grace."

"No problem Zofi."

"You're smarter than people give you credit for."

"That's right." The Korean woman said before realizing, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

Author's note: Again, I'm really sorry these are now taking forever. I've started a new job and that has been taking up all of my time. So unfortunately it seems that this might be the norm from now on, I'd rather take months to give you guys a good chapter than a couple weeks to give a mediocre one. Hope you guys understand.

Now for the more exciting news: Another thing that has been taking up my time is that I started dabbing in the art of video editing and I like so much that I've started a youtube channel. You guys seem to like my work here and always give excellent feedback so maybe check that out and tell me what you think of that as well? The link is in my profile, since links don't seem to work here in the chapters themselves.

As always, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review. Until next time.