Chris approached the gates to the base but didn't even have to slow down. They were spotted and the gates opened wide, allowing them and the truck carrying Dutch and the rest of Support to pass through, then closing behind them. By the time he rolled to a complete stop, the truck had emptied and hands were reaching for Clay who Sonny handed down to Chuck and Greg, then jumped to the ground.

The commotion and activity could only be described as utter chaos. It was loud and noisy, people darted and ran here, there, and everywhere. Dogs barked, motors revved, doors slammed, people shouted. It was beginning to sprinkle and Ray took a second to offer a prayer, sent a thank-you heavenward that they had arrived back at base before the storm hit.

"What we looking at?" Jason asked Eric as simply stood and surveyed. "We clear?"

"They want him for debrief."

"Now?"

"Who's they?"

"Can't be now."

"No way."

"Enough!" Jason barked. The only thing that had gone their way today, was beating the storm back to base. "Blackburn?"

The heat, the noise, the frantic movement of so many people was overwhelming and Clay, forgotten while everyone argued, abruptly went down on his ass in the sand. Trent's helmet was gone and he blinked against the sun that, despite the gathering clouds, was still hot and bright. The move brought everyone and everything to a silent standstill.

Blackburn stood, hands on his hips, waiting for answers to questions he hadn't yet asked, expecting someone to speak. No one did.

"Really?" He sighed tiredly. His crack commando team, the cream of the crop, best the Navy had to offer, stood protectively, disheveled and unkempt, in complete disarray, around their ace sniper who sat on his ass in the dirt, wearing only his underwear looking like a dirty, disease infested, drug addict with no possible chance of stringing together a complete sentence. "Anyone?" He waited. "Anyone at all?"

Shuffling of feet and the general motion of the crowd signaled approaching new comers and the circle of legs around Spenser gathered and tightened. No one moved to get the kid on his feet.

Yeah, no one was getting near him.

"Uh, rough ride?" Ray offered lamely with a weak grin. Eric shook his head. "No? Then I got nothing."

Clay made a weak effort to stand. A valiant effort to get out of the sun. Settled for scooching backwards on his ass and palms until he found something solid against his back, relaxed his shoulders, head settling between plastic-clad knees. Maybe he should sit up straight, but the sun was finally out of his face and he was comfortable right where he was.

Jason looked down as Clay's hand found his boot and his fingers played with the laces, caught Eric's eye who glared, gave him a cocky grin, shrugged.

"He's under arrest!" Cap strolled up, several people behind him. "Arrest him. Take him into custody."

"Touch him, you'll lose a hand."

"Back off!"

"Woof!"

"He didn't walk off this base, you asshole."

"Your word? You think we're going to take that?"

"My word against his!"

No one moved, words were said, threats issued, taunts thrown, challenges given – a brawl was imminent. And Eric wasn't thinking about how to stop it, he was thinking, he was going to be the one to start it.

"What have we got? Where is he? Let me….move aside, coming through, stand clear! How long am I expected to wait? Didn't you bring him back? I thought….Good Lord! What have you done to him?!"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Here now, is that language really necessary? I say Trent, you couldn't bring him back, in, you know, clothes? He looks terrible, by the way. What the hell happened?" Doc tut-tutted, pushed his way through a wall of men who didn't want to move to let him through, but didn't stop him from nudging and jostling his way in either. "What is he doing out here? HE shouldn't be in the sun. He's dirty. Why is he so dirty? I can't work in these conditions. Eric," he complained, "You promised me an office with a view. You did, he did," he addressed the various men standing around, "He did."

Clay, face swollen and red, eyes puffy and dry, waved a hand in greeting, swallowed, managed a husky 'hey doc'.

"Look at him! Just look at him!" Doc shook his head, wrung his hands, took a breath. "Where to start!"

"The little prick is fine." Cap spat. "He can have some water in command while we debrief, get to the bottom of this."

"You will get him when I am done with him." Doc countered sternly, snapped his fingers. "Get him on his feet."

"You can look at him right where he is."

Blackburn didn't get a chance to argue or issue a counter command. He might have the pull to put Cap in his place on this mission, but there were men with higher rank than Eric on base and they had come with Cap and were not happy about standing outside in the rain.

"In the rain?" Doc protested.

"It's barely sprinkling." Cap scoffed, but the men with him were nodding in agreement with Doc. They wanted out of the rain before it got heavy and they got wet.

"He's in the dirt." Doc frowned.

"I'm…good…." Clay grabbed hold of the material on the closest pair of legs, pulled himself up, accepted the hands that reached to help him to his feet. "I…can…uh, we…goin' somewhere?"

"Give us five." Eric said calmly. "Get him some clothes."

"You have no right to…." Cap began.

"Back off!" Jason stepped forward when Cap moved towards Clay, not that he stood a chance of getting close. Eric winced when Jason's palm collided with Cap's chest. Oh, no, Jason was not scared of reprimand for placing a hand on someone who highly outranked him. Not when it came to his men. "You're not getting near him."

"Five minutes." One of the men with Cap agreed. "If we have to send someone to get him…"

"We'll be there in five." Eric said firmly.

The various men, the MP's and Cap finally left, returned to command to wait for Jason and Eric to bring Clay in.

Doc snapped his fingers, Clay was swept off his feet and once again, was flat on his back in the dirt. He heard Doc ask questions, but not who answered. He heard voices complain about the rain; to hurry up before it got heavier; would it wash any dirt off him. He wouldn't mind laying right where he was for a while in the rain, it would be relief from the heat...he was so hot.

"Shot where? Not deep then? She used what? What'd you give him again? You got him awake? Good job."

Clay roused once, was put right back down, so he gave up. He was poked and pushed and rolled one way, then the other. A prick in one hip, another in his arm. Fingers kneaded his head, combed through his hair. His hip was bared, the bandage removed, the wound cleansed, patted dry, steri-strips applied, rebandaged.

Hands patted and slapped dust and dirt from his t-shirt, towels wiped his face, neck, arms hands, legs, ruffled his hair. He was picked up, set on his feet and led into the building where command operated.

"Hey," Clay blinked, sitting in a chair in a dim hallway. Brock was sitting next to him with a bottle of Gatorade and a clean towel wet with cold water. "Chin up here dude, almost through this, then you can crash and burn, okay?"

"Arms up." Someone told him, and despite Clay having 8 arms and a bottle in every hand, a long-sleeved shirt was worked up his arms over his head. "Good god, he's worse than dressing my kid."

"Gimme a foot," said someone else, "Your other foot….your other…no, not that one…the other…you have two feet, you know." and a pair of casual camo's were left at his knees until he stood up and pulled them up to his hips. He fumbled with the buttons on the fly, gave up, let someone button enough buttons they'd stay up.

"Okay? Good?"

His chin was held, given a slight shake. Someone patted him on the head, the shoulder, his back. He was taken by the shoulders, pivoted and with a pat on his ass, sent through a door where he was greeted by bright lights and blessed air conditioning.

He walked into the room and stopped, Jason and Eric flanked him and the rest of Bravo along with Doc and Support followed in, spread out, took up the same stance, stood quietly.

Ray counted twice, then turned to Jason, gave him a nudge, motioned to Support. They were short 3 men; Randy, Kenny, Karl. Jason frowned, shrugged, nodded. He'd deal with it later.

To anyone in the room who didn't know Bravo, it looked like they were relaxed, at ease and simply standing with their arms behind their backs but each and every man was ready to spring forward in a split second to catch Clay, should he waver and hit the floor.

"Hale and hearty, I see." Cap sneered. "Enjoy your little adventure? Sneak off base? Found your girlfriend, eh?"

Clay pushed a dirty hand through dirty hair, rubbed his dirty face.

"How'd you manage that? No one saw you leave. No video captured your departure. You weren't seen on surveillance." Computer screens flashed, time-stamped videos played, showing every gate and door on and off the base. No underwear clad Clay was seen.

Clay wiped his face with the wet towel he was handed, played with his bangs.

"Tallying up what it cost to fly Bravo here, arm them, send them out after your ass." Cap continued. Papers were pulled from files, handed out, passed around, shuffled back.

"Have a seat." A chair was wheeled towards him, he didn't move. Standing with his feet apart, his weight slightly more on his left leg, he was able to stand still. For the moment, the cool air was welcome but if this took longer than 10 or so minutes, he'd no longer feel the a/c, would be hot and flushed, and fighting to stay on his feet. "We're going to be here a while, sit down, have something to eat."

Clay cast a glance at the table; sandwiches, milk, water, fresh fruit and cookies. He wasn't hungry but he did accept the offered ice packs and ibuprofen. He didn't sit.

"…..use of an unauthorized drone….."

Clay shifted his weight, felt lightheaded. He didn't like being yelled at and though Cap wasn't yelling, his voice was so fast and so loud, he was having a hard time following what he was saying. He answered what questions he understood until he wasn't able to follow the conversation any longer.

Cap was getting increasingly annoyed.

"You think they're going to believe you? Huh? You're no one! You aided and abetted the enemy! An enemy who killed American military men! Your own teammates! You have a history with a known terrorist! It's been proven. Do you really think your almighty Hayes can get you out of this?! Think he wants to? You pinning your hopes on Blackburn? Expect your team to lie for you? Don't. Don't think being on a Tier One team is going to protect you! You're on your own! Do you hear me? Alone! No damn Armstrong this time around to have your back, eh Spenser?"

Clay brought his head up, stared at Cap, head tilted. Brian? Really? The ass was going to drag a dead man into this? The hell was that about? Did he miss Brian? Hell, yeah, he did. He always missed Brian, would always miss him, but as time passed and he became attached to his team, he didn't feel the loss as deeply or as often. This was one of those times though, that feeling of loss – hurt.

What was Cap trying to do? Point out with the loss of Brian, Clay had no support or loyalty among his teammates?

He'd lost more than that. He'd lost the easy smile that always made him feel everything was going to be alright. He'd lost the voice of reason that knocked him and his ego down a peg or two. He'd lost the fist-bump or slap on the back, that told him, even though shit had gone sideways, it hadn't been his fault. He missed the casual, yet comforting hug always freely offered when something had turned devastatingly wrong. He lost the one person who knew him; knew what he thought, how he felt, the way he rolled, what he would do.

It fucking hurt.

And Cap knew it. He beamed smugly as Clay squirmed, ducked his head at the emotional stab to the gut.

"Enough." Eric cut in. "Move on."

"Nothing's getting done here…" Jason began but Doc, of all people cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Let's hear the man out." Doc said calmly.

Everyone turned to stare at Doc. Sonny bared his teeth, Brock growled, Jason was caught with his mouth open.

"Continue." Someone told Cap.

Jason turned to Eric, murder in his eyes. It took Ray three nudges to the team's Chief to get him to back down. And Cap rattled on.

"….you depend too much on your team….they won't always be there…..won't want to be responsible…..you just charge blindly…..expect everyone to back…take for granted….you go off half-cocked….think because you know languages….exceptional skill with a sniper rifle…..ability to calculate…."

Clay swallowed. That second stab that caught his breath in his throat was betrayal. From Doc? That one was hard. He licked his lips, took a drink from a bottle he didn't even know he held in his hand. He was so tired and disoriented he was uncomfortable and having a hard time keeping the pain in his hip at bay.

If anyone in this room had the ability to end this debrief, it was Doc and he'd just given Cap the opportunity to prolong it. Ouch. Yeah, that hurt.

All that did, was let Cap in his head, and he couldn't shake the thoughts that what if he was right and his team resented him? Doc? Did they merely tolerate him because of his abilities with languages and math? His talent with a gun? Ray certainly hadn't been happy with him, believed Clay had just up and walked off base, even knowing Bravo was on their way to get him, to go meet a terrorist. What was it he'd said? Oh right, when they got back to base, he didn't want to see Clay.

Oh, he knew anyone on Bravo or their Support team would level mountains and blow holes in the earth to get him back, but….but….he was their responsibility, an obligation, a duty….that was their motto; no man left behind. Was he their friend? Trusted teammate?

"Well now, truly alone Spenser." Cap smiled. "No one to bail you out? Back you up? Believe your bullshit? What are you going to do? How far do you think you can take this? You tell a good story, almost believable, but you have no proof to back it up. Even if your team testified, wanted to….."

The door banged opened with enough force it slammed against the wall, silencing everyone in the room.

"Finally!" Doc muttered. "Bout time." He'd been told to delay until Randy could arrive, but he didn't know how to do that. His suggestion to hear Cap out had been ill-advised and it would take some time for the team to forgive him, even once they learned the reason he'd done so. Damn that smooth talking Blackburn anyway!

"Commander Capson Molnar, you are hereby, by the authority of the United States Navy, under arrest."

And Randy strode in.

And all hell broke loose.

Everyone was on their feet, including Clay.

"What? Wait! What?" Cap sputtered, outraged. "Me? ME! You have the wrong guy! ARREST HIM!"

"….for the attack and kidnapping of Special Warfare…"

"Get your hands off me!" Cap avoided attempts to take hold of his arms. "Kidnapping? Kidnapping?"

"…..Clay Spenser."

"You can't do this! I had nothing to do with….you will pay for his!" He yelled, pointing at Clay. "Don't think you'll get away with this. I outrank you! Outrank everyone in this room! You have no right…."

"….you are remanded into custody until such time your return to United States soil has….."

Clay's tongue darted out, licked, became trapped against his lower lip by his top teeth. The new commotion and noise that had erupted in the room were his undoing. He'd had enough, he swayed left and Jason's arm extended, reached for him, pulled him close. He didn't fight the tug, stepped into the hug, let his forehead fall to his boss's shoulder, left hand holding to his elbow.

"…..hearsay, speculation, guesses. You have no proof…." Cap's rant abruptly fell quiet when the man he'd hired to remove Clay from base and deliver him outside the gate was dragged, beaten and bruised, possibly broken, into the room, hands cuffed behind his back by Kenny and Karl. "What is this?"

"Proof, you say? This? How about, him? You know him, right? This would be the man you paid to knock Spenser out as he was walking back from getting a popsicle and handing him over to a local terrorist cell." Randy smirked at Cap's look out ourtage. "What? You didn't think I'd find out about that?"

"We have three of those men beaten to a pulp….uh….in custody as well." Kenny added.

Cap glared at Randy as his arms were wrenched behind his back, wrists crossed and cuffed too tightly in an uncomfortable position, wondered how in the hell, anyone had found about the phone call on the burner phone. How'd they had been able to track down the man he'd told to get the hell out of the country.

"You?"

"Shouldn't have served me that swill you said was coffee." Randy chirped, walked over to the table he'd sat at all day, lowered the lid on a laptop, disconnected from the power cord, tucked it under his arm, turned to face Cap. "Me." He handed the computer to Eric. "Don't worry, I have everything backed-up."

"You? You?! Everything? Like what? Where to fly your drone? You're….you….you're a fucking computer nerd! NO!"

"Me." He headed to stand in line behind Jason. "Guess you won't be putting a bullet in his," he jerked a thumb towards the captive, "head after all, huh?"

Cap paled.

"Shouldn't make phone calls from the base." Snarked Randy. "So easy to trace," he paused, added. "And record."

"Ain't that a bitch." Sonny spoke up, made an obnoxious buzzer sound. "Failure."

"Didn't get Jaber, Spenser's still alive and you're going to jail." Brock added.

"You couldn't! There was no way that could be done. None." Cap insisted vehemently.

Randy just smirked. "I recovered altered video that I can trace back to an IP address, bet you're gonna say you don't anything about that, huh?" He pointed directly at Cap's face which only infuriated the man more. "That everything. Don't fuck with my coffee, you dick."

"We're done here." Eric said calmly, snapped his fingers, pointed, made a waving motion. "We'll take this until you're court martialed and never see outside of a jail cell again."

Cap watched red-faced and irate as Blackburn held his hands out and goddammit all to hell, if that fucking, foreign language speaking, terrorist sympathizer didn't leave the support of Hayes and accept the extended arms and hug that was offered from his Lt. Commander. Hayes gave them a second than took most of Clay's weight back and together, he and Blackburn held onto Spenser and walked him out of the room. Everyone from Bravo and Support, hugging and patting Randy, fell in behind them.

When the door closed, he finally got it: Clay Spenser wasn't alone.

***000***

All Clay wanted to do was return to his quarters and go to bed, but he didn't get his wish. He was whisked off to the infirmary where he was poked, prodded, and tortured under the guise of receiving medical care. Doc was gleeful, unapologetic, unsympathetic and while not brutal, not gentle either. Clay squirmed and flinched and ow'd his way through both the exam and treatment, getting through it by focusing on his reward: his pillow, blanket, bed and a warm dog on his feet for comfort.

Once he was clean via a Doc supervised shower, medicated, treated, stapled and bandaged, he was deemed fit and ordered to a bed in the infirmary. He pled his case over being allowed to return to his quarters, was told he was not to leave Trent's sight, Doc would drop by later to make sure he'd obeyed orders and allowed Trent to inspect the staples, clean any seepage, apply antiseptic ointment and tape a bandage over the wound.

Like Clay wasn't capable of doing it. Pfft.

"Straight to barracks." Doc advised, reluctant to let him go but knowing he wouldn't be able to convince the stubborn ass to stay in the infirmary. "These fine gentlemen will assist you back to Trent. I don't want to see you in here because you fell and burst the staples."

But Clay, drowsy and medicated, didn't know the 'fine gentlemen' and resisted their assistance.

"Hell, I can walk." He groused, slapped away the hands that reached for him, slid from the table, gained his feet without help. "I'll debrief, get it over wit…..OW!" He hopped aside, lost his balance, fell against a staff medic who steadied him.

"Yeah," Doc snorted, pocketed his glasses. "You can debrief." He drawled sarcastically, "Let's see you stand on your own two feet." He waited. "What I thought. Now, keep your weight off that hip and go back to your quarters."

Clay stared. Stand and his own two feet and keep his weight off his hip? Walk? He'd need crutches to walk without weight on his hip and no way in hell, was he walking on crutches.

"Hobble then." Doc sighed, waved him on. "Quickly. Be on your way before I change my mind and keep you here."

Clay gimped out the door on his own. His look and raised hands to ward off anyone's attempt to help him ensured no one was brave enough to risk his temper. His gait was slow and uneven, but he made his way to his quarters, eager to lie down, but seeking his bed was delayed. Despite the heat and the a/c on, the door was open and voices easily carried:

"Why is nothing ever easy with this kid?" Ray sighed. "Always the hard way with him."

"Ray…."

"We were almost here Jay. He was told to wait for us."

"He did."

"He was remanded to quarters."

"Christ Ray, he went to the cafeteria." Brock said. "He has a right to eat."

"Remanded to quarters does not include the cafeteria." Ray shot back. "It means his room. He never listens, never does what he's told."

"Well, actually," Trent spoke up. "He was doing what he was told to."

"Don't. Don't do that. Don't twist it." Ray shook his head. "Searching out a popsicle is not an acceptable reason to disobey orders and leave quarters Trent."

"Doubt he was thinking right Ray." Brock argued. "He hurt, he was in pain, he was tired, the flight….he was alone."

"Aspirin man, ibuprofen, he didn't need a popsicle."

"Aww, Ray, man, come on." Sonny wheedled. "He didn't mean any harm, only person who got hurt was him and Cap had it out for him. That's not on the kid."

"Oh, it's on Spenser! Him and his stubborn pride! None of this ever would have happened, had he just dealt with the woman who attacked him four, five days ago! But no, he didn't. He got hurt and couldn't fly home. He was left behind alone and made a stupid decision to respond to Cap's request. A man he has no respect for."

"That's on Trent."

"HEY!"

"And what we've learned about his history with Cap and women, doesn't sway you at all?"

"Jesus Ray, just stop! Alright, just stop! Stop pushing."

"He….."

"He knows! He knows what he did seven years ago – we know! He didn't do anything wrong this time. He didn't choose a….hell, a terrorist over his own team. He didn't Ray! And you know that!"

"Jason….." Ray tried. He was tired of arguing with his three teammates and getting nowhere.

"Kid ain't never changed as long as I've known him."

And oh, Sonny was riled up. He wasn't letting go.

"Did you ask him?" Brock asked quietly. "Did you Ray? Did you ask him?"

"Ask him what?"

"What? Why? For an explanation? Why he did what he did for her seven years ago?"

"What does it matter?!"

"He let her walk away. Despite what she did to his team, he let her go."

"Ask Jason. He let her go too. Didn't even ask her what happened."

"You know Clay."

"Thought I did."

"Then tell me Ray, tell me what you know, what you think, because I sure as hell have missed something. You know him! That kid would never knowingly endanger any of us. Or anyone on Support. No teammate. Never."

"And if you think he would, you aren't the man I thought you were."

"Are we taking sides now? You know me as well as you know Spenser."

"Thought I did."

"Here now." Eric stood up. "Enough."

"Where is he?"

"Still in the infirmary."

"If he does anything stupid…." Sonny warned Ray. "It's on you."

Eric whistled, held a hand up for silence. "I want to know one thing. And the only voice I better hear, is the one giving me an answer. Am I understood?"

Silence.

"Ray, before you jumped all over Spenser, did you ask him what happened?"

"No."

"Did you give him a chance to explain?"

"No."

"So, you acted on what knowledge you gained from Cap."

"I did."

"Well, then you can do damage control. Whatever the relationship between Spenser and Jabar is, we might not ever know. You have to trust him."

"We're going to ask him." Jason said wearily. "When he's had time to rest, feel better, get some sleep, we'll sit him down, ask him to tell us what happened to convince him to let her go."

"Just like that?" Ray shook his head. "You think he will?"

"Got a problem with me Ray?" Clay entered the room. "Got something to say? I'm right here, let me have it."

"Okay, yeah, let's have it out. Spenser, I get you felt the need to help her, but she killed American soldiers, sailors. I'm sorry, but no, she can't get away with that."

"Gonna hafta be enough for you Ray." Clay shifted his weight, hissed. "She will never again attack the American military unless it is retaliation. Let her go."

"Even if we can identify her?"

"She is trusting me. You gotta do the same." Clay took a step forward, put his full weight on his bum hip and…..fainted at Ray's feet.

"Really Ray?" Sonny was the first to move. "You happy now?"

"WHAT? What'd I do?"

"You went and upset him." Sonny complained without rancor. "Brock, grab a foot."

"Trent?" Jason questioned. He'd had time to shower and grab a sandwich while Clay had been in the infirmary and he was now ready for bed. Didn't matter what time of day it was. He was beat and he wanted to sleep.

"He's exhausted Jay. Been through a lot, last couple days. Week."

Sonny and Brock picked Clay up from the floor, dropped him on his bunk, stood back.

"He okay?" Sonny asked. "I need to get Doc?"

"He needs sleep." Trent sighed. "He's fine. He'll cool down, and when he's comfortable, he'll sleep."

"How long?" Sonny pushed.

"How long?" Trent repeated.

"Yeah, I wanna talk to him. Get some answers."

"Gonna be hours and you're going to leave him alone until he wakes up on his own." Trent put the back of his hand against Clay's forehead, took a peek at the staples. No fever, no signs of infection, Clay didn't tense or jerk at his light touch pressing the staples. "Just need to keep an eye on him for a bit, watch for infection but meds should take care of that."

"FINE!" Sonny threw his hands up. "But he wakes up with a headache and wants a popsicle, he ain't gonna go get one."

"Not letting him out of our sights." Brock tossed a blanket over Clay. Cerberus jumped up onto the cot, settled next to Clay's hip, dared anyone to make him move. "Cerb'll take first watch."

"Woof!"

The team was beat, it was doubtful they'd hear Clay should he chose to get up and wander off on his own for some stupid reason or another, but even if he were sound asleep and doggy dreaming, Cerberus would wake instantly should his partner in bed get out of it.

"You're released." Eric answered some question or another someone had asked. "Wheels up in 36 hours and come hell or high water, Clay will be on that plane."

Ray looked at Jason, then over to Blackburn. Neither one was going to push this any further. As far as they were concerned, it was done and over. Cap was under arrest and that was that. A trial would come later, Clay would testify, they all would, and what ever had happened, what anyone knew, would never be discussed again.

He looked over at Clay, stepped closer to the bunk.

He could live with that.