Author's Note: We have finally arrived at the end of the story. I hope you enjoy this last little bit. I have several more stories either completed or in the works but I think I'll take a break from torturing Jaz for a week or so and enjoy reading the works of others instead.

McG's POV

We finally made it to the medical chopper where the supplies Jaz desperately needed were located. Top and I quickly unstrapped her limp form and placed her on on the waiting gurney. She had slipped into unconsciousness a short time ago. A blessing for her since she no longer felt the pain of her injuries but something that caused the rest of us a great deal of anxiety. The medics quickly moved to get an IV started to push fluids while I gave them the run down of all she had been through since our mission had originally started. They immediately started her on a much stronger antibiotic.

"McG, go with her. We'll meet you on base," Top yelled over the helicopter blades.

I nodded at him and turned my attention back to Jaz. We quickly loaded her aboard and I jumped on with the medics for the quick flight. I always was grateful to see our base after a long mission but this time it was even more appreciated. We would now have access to state of the art monitoring, medications, and equipment that just weren't available in the field.

I stayed by her side for hours as she was unloaded, checked over, worked on, and settled into a room. About fifteen minutes after I finally dropped wearily into a chair, the rest of the team crowded into the small space. They had clearly come here as soon as they had gotten off the truck.

Dalton's POV

My first glimpse of Jaz, since she had been loaded into the helicopter, was a relief. She was inclined in a hospital bed with multiple IV lines running. A monitor tracked her vitals rather than doing it the old fashioned way as McG had forced to do. She was where she needed to be. Safe for the first time in days.

"How is she?" I asked McG quietly.

"Stabilizing. They're pushing fluids to help with her blood pressure, giving her another unit of packed red blood cells, and she's now on a strong antibiotic. Her condition is classified as guarded. Barring anything catastrophic she should be home with us in a few days but it will be a few weeks, at least, before she's medically cleared to return to duty."

"Understood. Why don't you guys grab some rack time and I'll stay with her?"

I could feel the glances going on between my team members while I looked at Jaz.

"Respectfully, Top, I speak for everyone here when I say we aren't leaving until we see her awake and stable," McG informed me.

I looked up and absorbed the seriousness of their expressions. They weren't going anywhere. I couldn't blame them. I wasn't going anywhere either.

As we waited for her to wake up, images were rolling through my mind. Quiet times together looking at the stars. Adrenaline filled mission moments. Watching her sight down her rifle and hit every target she selected. The tears and devastation on her face as she held Elijah's body in her arms. The laughter and smiles when I talked her into line dancing with me on one of our team nights off base. Her hanging in chains barely alert enough to register what was going on around her. The last one was the hardest one to remember. I wanted the next image to be of her waking up and knowing she was safe.

Hours stretched by with the guys laid out on the floor getting some much needed rest. The nursing staff were being more than accomodating considering they literally had to step over them in order to check on Jaz. I had heard the nurses' whispers in the hallway. Envious that she had so many good looking guys who weren't willing to leave her side. Wondering what exactly she had that made her so special. I could have told them that it wasn't any one thing. She was the total package. Brave, strong, determined, and when she wasn't in soldier mode, so breathtakingly beautiful it made my back teeth ache. She completed our family.

Back in the beginning, I knew McG and Elijah had been skeptical about adding a female to our dynamic. Several snide comments had been made about needing to add feminine hygiene products to our bathroom supplies. But once they met her their tunes had changed. She had captivated Elijah on day one with her spunk and on day two she had McG smiling and laughing as she slaughtered him at the shooting range. Preach had always had great respect for women who chose to be in the military. He had watched her closely over the first week and told me he could tell that she was someone with a lot of history in her background. I knew from his tone that he didn't mean tea parties and dress up. He clearly respected her ability to survive such adversity. By the end of her first month with us, she completed our team so well that I knew I never wanted to let her go. This was the closest we had ever been to losing her.

I was leaning my cheek against the rail of her bed when I saw her eyelashes flutter. A few seconds later she opened her eyes and I was the first thing she saw. She even managed a small smile for me.

"Looks like we made it."

"I told you we'd been in worse positions before."

"I'm going to be okay?"

"You're going to be fine, Jaz. Not as quickly as you'd like, but before you know it you'll be back to yourself."

"Thanks. Everyone else is okay too?"

"You can't see them but they are sleeping on the floor around your bed. No one wanted to leave until they saw you awake."

"If they want to see me they should get their eyes open because I'm going to fall back asleep."

"It's the pain medication. They'll wait."

She yawned and her eyes started to close again.

"They shouldn't have to wait, Top."

But they would be waiting because she had drifted back off to a comfortable slumber. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the hallway was clear and brushed a kiss across her forehead before putting my lips close to her ear.

"They'll always wait for you Jaz. And, while I hope nothing like this ever happens again, know that I will always come for you. Always. I won't lose you. We have too much to live for."

As I sat back in my chair I saw the corners of her lips tilt upwards. She wouldn't remember my exact words but she had heard me. Heard the feelings that I normally couldn't acknowledge. Ones that someday we would be exploring.