A/N: So I came here for David Boreanaz and Sonny freaking stole my heart. I love this burly teddy bear man and all his shenanigans. Ever since he got stuck in that torpedo tube I am HERE FOR WHUMPING HIM. So I did. Enjoy!

"Shit!" Sonny said in surprise and then, "Fuck!" as his second boot landed deeply in the mud beside his first. Within seconds he was up to his knees. "What the—"

There was a crunch behind him and he threw out a hand in warning, craning his neck around as far as he could since his legs refused to do anything except sink. "Wait! Hold up! Don't come down here!"

Clay's face appeared first, weapon drawn, his eyes narrow with concern. It took him a second to realize what he was seeing but when he did his face split into a wide grin. "Don't you say a word," Sonny warned as he tried to wade back toward him to no avail. He nearly face planted and it took every bit of core strength he had to keep himself upright. "God damn it!"

"You a little stuck there buddy?" Clay said.

"Will you quit smirking and get me out of here?"

There was more rustling and Jason and the rest of the team appeared through the trees. "Careful boys!" Clay said. "We've got a situation here."

"Sonny, we can't take you anywhere," Ray said with a laugh.

"I am not the only one who didn't know there was a mud hole through these trees!" Sonny said. He was nearly up to his hips at this point. "I just happened to be the only one brave enough to go first. So you're welcome that you're not all down in this mess with me."

"You know people pay a lot of money for stuff like this," Jason said.

"Yeah it naturally exfoliates your skin," Trent said.

When they all looked at him he shrugged. "What? I listen to the women in my life."

"You mean your mother?" Brock said with a snicker.

"Would you all shut the fuck up and get me out of here!" Sonny snarled as he sank another inch.

"All right, all right." Jason took a few steps closer and then braced himself, reaching for Sonny's arm. "One, two, three!"

In the end it took all of them hauling his sorry ass up the slope to free him from his muddy prison. "I fucking hate the rainforest," Sonny gasped when he was finally lying on solid ground again.

They'd been in Brazil for a week hunting down someone on Mandy's wanted list. It was the rainy season, hell it was probably always the rainy season, and they'd spent a good deal of their time hiking up and down the rainforest. It was a recon only mission and it had all gone exactly according to plan, meaning mood on the way out was fairly high, even if they did have to walk practically half the country to reach the exfil site. Apparently setting a chopper down in the rainforest was kind of a big no no.

"Yeah well it obviously hates you right back buddy," Jason said, slapping his shoulder. "Up and at 'em boys. We've got another six miles to cover today."

Six miles in his sodden, muddy gear. Perfect. Sonny tried to wipe some of it off but the stuff clung to him like glue. "Of all the damn places in the world, we've got to end up traipsing through the jungle," he grumbled as they walked.

"If we were in the desert you'd be complaining about the sand," Clay said.

"You know for a guy who knew what he was signing up for when he joined the team you seem awfully surprised that it's not always a vacation," Ray told him.

"I'm just saying would it be so bad to have a mission that took us somewhere that the nature didn't want to kill us faster than the baddies?" Sonny asked.

"And where exactly would that be?" Trent replied. "I don't think they authorize too many covert ops in the Bahamas."

"I said somewhere the nature wouldn't kill us," Sonny shot back. "They have sharks in the Bahamas. Do you know how many-"

"All right, enough," Jason said. "The next time they authorize a mission to Boise you can head it up. Until then, quit whining and walk faster. Emma's got some kind of recital thing coming up and if I miss it I'm going to have to add another award to my Worst Father of the Year collection."

By the time dusk arrived they were more than ready to set up camp. Everyone was tired and just wanted to get some sleep before their final hike out in the morning.

Sonny collapsed onto a fallen tree and began unlacing his boots. "Oh Sonny no!" Trent groaned and everyone else joined in the protest.

"Hey! I've got mud squashing between my toes. I ain't walking out of here tomorrow with half the rainforest in my boots!" he said.

"Well at least sit downwind," Ray told him as they began breaking into their MRE's.

Sonny glared at him and went back to trying to remove some of the mud and debris from his gear. It was pointless, but if he kept his boots off all night at least they'd be a little drier in the morning.

"I'll take first watch," Brock offered.

Sonny knew he was as eager to get home as Jason. The length of their mission and hike through the jungle with who-knew-what kind of animals hanging around meant the furriest member of their team had stayed home. Brock was missing him something fierce, even if he'd never admit it, and Sonny was too. There was something comforting about having the dog's presence with them. Without him it felt like somebody was missing from the team.

"You took first watch last night," Jason said. "Clay'll do it tonight."

"Fine with me," Clay said, shoveling in another bite of his dinner as if it was Texas BBQ rather than flavorless cardboard.

"No falling asleep on the job there kid," Sonny said. "If you let a jaguar eat me I'll kill you."

"It would take one bite of you and spit it right back out," Brock said.

"Hey, out of this group I am obviously a jaguar's first choice. It ain't going for Clay's skinny ass. That's not going to get him very far."

"I don't know I think Jason looks like a pretty juicy jaguar steak," Ray said with a grin.

"Nah, he's way too tough," Trent said.

"You all keep this up and I'll feed you to a jaguar," Jason chastened them, leaning back against a tree and closing his eyes.

One by one Sonny listened to his brothers fall asleep. After so many years together it was easy to know who had nodded off. Trent snored like a lumberjack. Jason breathed like Darth Vader. Ray tossed and turned. Brock, who was typically a pretty quiet guy, muttered things. And Clay, always Mr. Go, go, go, got so still they sometimes wondered if he was breathing.

Sonny settled against his pack, staring up at the canopy above. His skin itched and his shoulders were stiff from carrying their gear. But honestly, for all his complaints, he wouldn't trade this for anything. Traveling the world with his brothers and blowing shit up along the way was the stuff eight-year-old Sonny had only dreamed of.

"Kinda pretty isn't it?" Clay asked.

"If ya like trees," Sonny said.

"Keep an eye out for snakes," Brock said, his hat pulled down low over his face. "Drop down from the trees and wrap you up before you even know what happened."

Sonny stared at him. Brock was a pretty serious guy, which meant you never knew when he was pulling a fast one. "Now why'd you have to go and put that thought in my head? How am I supposed to sleep knowing that there's tree snakes up there waiting to dive bomb me?"

"With your eyes closed," Trent said. "Shut up."

Despite Sonny's worries he must have drifted off at some point because the next thing he knew Ray was shaking his shoulder. "Come on. Time to move."

Sunlight had barely started filtering through the canopy. The others were already up gathering their gear. "What'd you guys have breakfast without me?"

"Tried to wake you three times," Clay said. "Thought about just leaving you here to live with the monkeys but Ray said it was too much paperwork."

"Ha ha." Sonny stretched, his shoulders and neck popping after a long night of sleeping on the ground. "You'd better watch out young Jedi or I might just let a croc get you on our way out of here."

"Sonny!" Jason said. "Let's go!"

Sonny shoved his left foot into his stiff, dirty boot and pulled the laces tight. His right foot went in next and almost immediately he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. "Ow! What the—ow!" Something stabbed him a second time and he quickly withdrew his foot.

He turned the boot over and banged it on the ground. A spider the size of his hand skittered out and slipped away through the undergrowth. "What the hell is wrong with this place?" Sonny asked as he jammed his foot back inside. The others had already started making tracks.

"Sonny let's go man," Clay said, disappearing through the trees.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Just had a spider the size of Mount Everest in my boot but sure, leave me behind. It's fine."

He caught up easily even with stabbing pain in his ankle. Damn thing probably jabbed him with its giant pincers or legs or antennae or whatever the hell spiders had.

"Don't you even start with me Jason Hayes," Ray was saying from the front of the pack. "You know you're the worst golfer on this team."

"You're not particularly good yourself there Ray," Sonny said. He shivered as goose bumps ran up and down his spine. "If I recall, last time we went out you ended up owing some pretty big dollars to the course for that golf cart you put a dent in."

"That was Clay's fault and you know it," Ray said.

"I was just testing to see if your SEAL focus could stay intact even on the green," Clay said with a cocky grin.

"Yeah how was your focus in the sand trap? Did you feel right at home there?" Jason asked.

"Just like being back in country," Clay said.

Sonny laughed with the rest of them and then paused to adjust his boot again. Now there was a burning sensation spreading down his foot into his toes. What in the hell?

He limped a few more steps and stumbled. Clay caught his shoulder. "Careful there buddy. Don't need a repeat of yesterday."

Sweat dripped down his neck. He pulled at his collar. Even in the early hours of the morning the jungle was like being inside a wet paper bag.

"So what's Emma doing at this recital?" Trent asked.

"Some song. I don't know. Something by Lady Gaga maybe? Isn't that who the kids are into?" Jason said.

"I say we get Sonny dressed up in that meat suit and then see how Cerb likes it," Clay teased.

Sonny's throat seemed strangely tight. He blinked, tried to clear the sweat out of his eyes as pain shot up his whole leg. He reached out a hand to steady himself against a tree and then found himself sinking down onto a stump.

"What are you doing?" Clay asked.

"I gotta take my boot off," he said, trembling fingers reaching for his laces. It felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly and he needed to fix it NOW.

"Sonny what's up?" Ray said.

"I can't," he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, "I can't get it off!"

"Well then just leave it and come on!" Ray said.

Sonny shook his head, his breath coming out in short gasps. Clay rolled his eyes. "All right Cinderella." He knelt and grabbed hold of the boot. Sonny had to grip the stump he was sitting on and bite his tongue to keep from yelling as the pain reached a new level of excruciating.

"What the hell?" Clay asked when it didn't budge.

"Come on Clay, Jay's not gonna wait for us," Ray said.

"It won't come off," he said in confusion.

"What?"

"Guys," Sonny took a breath and gritted his teeth. He'd tolerated a lot of pain in his life, he'd been blown to hell, shot, stabbed, but nothing compared to this. "I need you to get it off. Now."

"Okay, all right, relax," Ray said calmly. "Jay!"

The rest of the team stopped and turned around. Jason spread his hands. "What the hell are you three doing?"

"I can't get his boot off," Clay said.

Jason stared at him. "His boot? Why are you taking his boot off?" he looked at Sonny. "Why are you taking your boot off?"

"Jason, I swear to you, there is a god damn red hot poker in there and I need it off now," Sonny said. He felt something akin to panic rising in him as the pain continued to increase. It was making his chest tight, his breath wheezing in and out like he'd run a marathon.

"Well just pull it off!" Jason said.

"I think his foot is swollen or something," Clay said. "It won't come off."

"We could cut it," Ray suggested.

"We still have two hours to hike. What's he going to walk out of here with one boot on?" Jason asked.

"Sonny can you put weight on it?" Trent asked. "Whatever's going on we can't fix it until we get out of here anyway."

His hands were shaking and he felt dizzy. "I can try."

Clay and Trent helped him up and the instant he put weight on it he let out a howl and went to his knees.

"All right, all right sit down," Trent said, pushing him back onto the stump. He looked up at Jason. "I think it's gotta come off."

Jason nodded grudgingly. The small part of Sonny that wasn't in excruciating pain felt guilty for holding everybody up but he was in true agony and didn't think he could move even if he tried.

Brock handed Trent his knife and the medic carefully began to slit the laces. Every movement caused a flare of pain. "Oh my god Trent," Sonny said. "Just rip the damn thing off if you have to!"

Trent didn't even spare him a glance, just kept working steadily away until he was finally able to ease the ruined shoe off.

Sonny thought he would feel instant relief but as Trent peeled his sock back alarm slammed through him. His entire foot was red and swollen with two distinct sets of puncture marks along his ankle. "What the fuck is that?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Looks like a bite," Trent said turning his ankle back and forth. "When did this happen?"

"I uh, maybe it was the spider that was inside my boot this morning?" Sonny said. His heart was starting to flutter uncomfortably inside his chest.

"A spider? How big? What did it look like?"

Even in the worst agony of his life Sonny spared a half second to glower at him. "Like a fucking big spider Trent."

Trent rolled his eyes and continued his inspection. "Looks like an allergic reaction. Not much I can do. Long as it doesn't spread you should be fine." Privately he was a little worried about how quickly Sonny's foot had blown up, but with no good medical help for several miles the only thing to do was keep on. He smeared antibiotic cream over the punctures and made Sonny take a couple Benadryl then nodded to Jason. "We're good to go."

Jason and Clay hauled Sonny to his feet. "Oh god," he croaked as his vision blurred. His stomach turned and he swallowed hard, trying not to vomit.

"Tough it out Sonny, come on," Jason demanded as they began to walk. He sounded harsh but Sonny knew him well enough to pick up on the subtle note of concern. If Jason was worried he must be in deep shit.

The next hour was the most miserable experience in Sonny's recent memory. His foot burned like it was on fire. Sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes, and breathing seemed almost impossible. His stomach churned in his belly and was accompanied by stabbing pains there as well. His heart was beating so loudly he could feel it in every part of his body. He wondered idly if the others could hear it as they dragged him along.

They made it another fifteen minutes before Sonny felt his knees give out. "Whoa!" Clay said, taking on his full weight.

"Trent," Sonny gasped, "something ain't right."

"All right let's get him down," Jason ordered.

Clay and Brock helped lower him to the ground. Clay shoved his pack underneath as a makeshift pillow while Trent appeared directly above Sonny's head. "What's going on? Talk to me Sonny."

"I can't uh, I can't breathe," Sonny said gasping for air. It felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest if he didn't die of asphyxiation first.

"Let's get his gear off," Trent ordered, his fingers already stripping off anything he could reach. Clay helped and in short order they had him stripped to his undershirt and pants.

"TOC this is Bravo One we have a situation here," Jason said into his radio.

"I—" Sonny tried to speak but his stomach cramped violently and everything that he'd eaten in the last twenty-four hours came right back up.

"Whoa! Get him on his side!" Trent yelled.

Sonny choked and retched until there was nothing left and then the guys rolled him unceremoniously onto his back. Trent reached for his wrist and began taking his pulse with one hand while he shoved a syringe at Brock with the other. "Open this," he ordered.

Sonny's head was swimming and he was having a hard time following what was happening. "Trent—" he rasped.

"I'm right here Sonny. You're going to be fine." But Trent's face said he was worried. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"'m dizzy," Sonny said, closing his eyes as Brock returned the needle. "And my chest is—"

His whole body seized.

A/N: Second chapter coming soon! Leave your love in the reviews!