Alright so first off, can you tell I was angry when I wrote the part with Stella? I wasn't even angry at her but I really took it out on her and the story went a little sideways. The characters might all be OOC so you can blame me for that.

I NEVER intended to write a second part (which is why I marked the story complete haha) but a lot of people wanted to see it and that's why it's taken so long to get around to actually writing it, cause I had nothing planned and no inspiration, but I hope this is okay. Sorry about that, hope you enjoy tho.

Excuse my mistakes, I'll hopefully get around to correcting them some day :)

"If she throws the first punch I'm hitting her back."

"No one's gonna hit anyone, Sonny, put your fists down," Sonny lowers his clenched fists at Jason's command and grubbles bitterly. They're standing outside of Clay's apartment block, brooms and trash bags ready to be set to use, Clay's home and safe back at Jason's place, cuddling it up with Cerberus while the rest of the men are on cleaning duty.

"Cerberus would have been useful right about now, he could sniff and see if she's still in there," Ray comments with a look of disdain at the building and Brock rolls his eyes at the blatant disrespect for their four-legged team member, "he's an explosives dog, I haven't had the chance to train him to sniff out cheating girlfriends, though."

"You better get started then, at this point they're as dangerous as a bomb," Sonny says with a sneer, his grip on his broom tightening as if holding a gun, ready for battle."let's go," Jason orders and begins to walk into the building, the rest of the men following suit; they must look quite ridiculous marching into the building with brooms- Trent's got a rainbow-colored duster sticking up from his backpack- but they're men on a mission to help their brother, looks can wait.

They stop at Clay's door and notice the dried blood on the side of the frame from where he grabbed it on his way out, Trent opens his mouth to say something about it but just then a thud is heard from inside his apartment, confirming their suspicions that Stella hasn't left yet.

Jason inserts the key in the lock and turns it carefully, wanting to get the spring on Stella, "first time we've broken into a home and not kicked in the door," Sonny mutters just as the door opens and immediately they're met by the overturned couch and broken glass, "he sure did a number yesterday," Brock acknowledges quietly. They don't see anyone in the apartment at first glance but they can hear movement from inside the bedroom, Sonny picks up a dress that can only belong to Stella and chucks it into his trash bag daring anyone to say anything about it, "let's help her along boys," Ray scoffs and shakes his head but doesn't protest.

Just then the door to the bedroom opens and Stella steps out, her hair in a towel and a pair of sweats on, seemingly not in any hurry to get out of Clay's apartment, she pauses in the doorway like a deer caught in headlights and for a second it's quiet.

"What are you doing here?" Jason crosses his arms and stares her down, making her squirm in her spot, "I could ask you the same thing," Stella crosses her arms as well and tries to stare back, looking about as scary as a newborn kitten. "Did Clay send you?" cocking her hip she stands steadily in front of them like they're the ones in the wrong, "no," Jason answers honestly, shaking his head slightly.

"No he didn't send us," Stella raises a brow as if she doesn't believe him and Sonny cuts in never one to remain patient, "listen here Miss teacher kink, if your professor wasn't balls deep in ya' last night you might have noticed that he was pretty injured, so no, he didn't send us cause he barely has any energy to stand," Stella's face turns red and her mouth moves without any sound emitting from it.

"W-what I do on my personal time has nothing to do wi-"

"Lemme stop you right there, you know damn well this ain't a typical arrangement, that's what you signed up for when you started dating," Ray says through is teeth, forcing himself to hold back from shouting. "If one of your friends hit her boyfriend would you just say 'oh that's their business' or would you fucking do something about it?" Stella scoffs and looks away, a vein on her forehead pulsing with anger and her jaw tightening.

"Listen," Brock says calmly, his exterior seemingly cool and collected but on the inside he's boiling with anger for his brother and friend, "we came here to clean up this mess, that's it," Stella's gaze falls onto the man who she's never heard speak before and the tension in her body loosens a fraction, at least this man seems a bit reasonable, she thinks while studying him.

"'This yours?" Sonny picks up a mug with a lipstick print on it from the kitchen table and dangles it from his pinky, when Stella nods silently he lets it fall to the ground and crash into bits, "what the hell!" Stella exclaims angrily but all Sonny has to say to her is "oops."

"You have no right!" she shouts at them yet they remain unfazed, Jason turns away from her and claps his hands, "let's get cleaning," he orders and without a word the men begin to spread out in the room with a trash bag in one hand and some sort of cleaning instrument in the other. Ray tackles the kitchen and begins to sweep up broken glass and porcelain while Jason and Sonny take the couch area and Brock and Trent take the rest of the living room. All while Stella just stands there, still fuming over her broken cup and their presence.

"You can do the honors of cleaning the bedroom," Trent tells her and throws a trash bag at her, "sheets go in that," he explains and with a look of disgust sent her way he mutters, "we're burning those." Stella bitterly throws the bag on the floor and stomps angrily, "I'm not helping you clean! Clay's the one who created this mess!" she's really getting on their last nerves and Jason has to do everything not to drop his broom and walk over to her because there's no telling what he'll do then.

"The woman's pitchin' a hissy fit," Sonny mumbles with a nudge to Jason's ribs and the older man breathes heavily to keep calm, "well he wouldn't have created a mess if you hadn't gone and fucked a stranger behind his back, now, would he?" Ray snaps at her and she huffs angrily like a child, taking her out of the towel she throws it on the ground and glares. "You have no idea what it's like," she begins and every man in the room feels an oncoming headache because they know exactly what she's about to say, and she really has no right to.

"You have no idea what it's like to sit here at home constantly worrying about him, if he's hurt or worse, if the knock on the door is one of the neighbors or something worse-" she cuts herself off to wipe her eyes harshly yet no one feels any sort of sympathy for her, "it's so lonely here, just...waiting."

Sucking in a deep breathe Stella tries to swallow the lump in her throat, "I know what I did was wrong, but I needed some comfort and Clay wasn't here," that's about the dumbest excuse they've ever heard and Sonny doesn't hesitate in telling her that, "you know what most people would do? Break up," he tells her to which she rolls her eyes. "Well yeah, I tried that already," and boy did it go terribly, they remember exactly how Clay was acting back in Mexico after the breakup and they never wish to see him like that again, however, they'd take that over yesterday any day.

"And then you got back together," Trent finishes for her and Stella nods, a solemn look on her face, "I love him and I want to be with him, but it's just hard," and that's wherein the issue lies, Jason can't have one of his guys constantly looking like a kicked puppy and watching over his shoulder because he's afraid that his girlfriend might break up with him at any second, he needs security just as much as they need to feel secure with him.

"Your selfishness is what lead to this, you want to have more than you can with him, " Stella looks hurt by Ray's words but Ray couldn't care less at that moment, she's hurt his brother so it's only fair for her to feel a fraction of his pain, "if you want a guy to sleep with every night, a guy you don't have to worry about, a guy that won't return home with bruises littering his body, then Clay's not that guy."

"You can't have Clay and have all of that," Brock finishes off, plain and simple, and they all hope it'll finally go through Stella's head that whatever she and Clay had, it's over, and she's never getting it back. "I can try," Stella defends like a stubborn child and Trent sighs deeply, "you already did, and look how that ended."

Stella's stoic face falls to make way for a defeated one, one that would have made them pity her, had the circumstances been different. Now when they look at her all they can see is the guilty face of a woman who hurt their brother.

Just as Jason's beginning to believe that Stella might actually see things their way and get out their hair so that they can do what they came there to do Sonny has to go and ruin it, never one to keep his thoughts to himself. "If you ever date another military guy, for the love of God, don't go whoring around when you get lonely, cuz if your luck's run dry the guy might not take his anger out on the furniture like Clay boy did."

Jason shoots a glare of disappointment at Sonny despite agreeing with him, some things are better left unsaid after all, especially such controversial things and especially in the presence of someone like Stella. "Excuse me?" her voice turns cold and shaky as if she's physically holding herself back from pouncing at him and throwing a punch, not that she could ever succeed.

"You heard me," Sonny replies and Stella clenches her fists and furrows her brows, her knuckles turning white as she stands huffing in front of them, "see...this is why I never made an effort to befriend you no matter how much Clay pressed," not that Jason ever wanted to be friends with Stella, but it comforts him to know that while Stella was trying to steal Clay away from them, Clay wouldn't let her. "You military men are all the same, sexist pigs who like to kill for pleasure, you're no better than the people you're fighting-" Sonny launches forward to land a punch but the boys are quick to catch him before he can.

"What the hell did you just say!" Sonny shouts at her, his face red with anger as he tries to launch again ut Jason steps in his way and grabs him by the neck, "hit her and your career's over," Sonny's wild eyes fly up to meet Jason's, "she's not worth it, she's worth nothing, do you hear me?" despite Sonny wanting to tell Jason to show his logical arguments up his ass he makes for a very convincing case, and Sonny knows that while Jason might be able to save him from some assholes torturing him in some shithole country he can't save him if he decides to assault a civilian.

Ray decides, while Jason works on calming Sonny down, to address what they've just heard, because they can't possibly let her get away with it. "You have no right to speak on such issues until you've been in the mud, assholes firing at you, not knowing if you're gonna make it back home or if you're gonna die right then and there. You sit at home, grade papers, go for a jog, fuck around with people that aren't your boyfriend, and do you know why you can do that?" Stella levels him with a glare but Ray can tell she's listening.

"'Cause we're out there, in the mud, or in the sand, or in the water, or wherever the fuck they decide to send us, we're out there protecting you and when we come home we get told we're the monsters, we're the assholes, we're the dangerous ones. If Jason lets Sonny go," Ray points to where Jason's still got a tight grip on Sonny, "-then you'll truly see what a trigger happy man looks like, but don't think for a second that we're out there cause we're some psychopaths looking for prey, the psychopaths don't fight wars," Ray crosses his arms over his chest and stares Stella down, he's finally had enough of her pathetic glare,"- they're at home, running the big companies, the very same companies you buy from, profit from, all the while complaining about capitalism and sexism."

Ray knows he's ranting, knows he should stop and just kick her out, but now that he's talking he realizes that there's so much he's wanted to say to her for a while now that he can't stop. "Is there sexism in the US? Yeah, fuck yeah, and it sucks, but you don't know half of it until you've seen what we've seen, you wanna talk about sexist pigs, come with us on a mission and we'll take you straight to them."

It's not until silence settles on them that Ray realizes he's standing barely 2 feet away from Stella and he can tell that she's shaking despite putting up a cool front, she's scared of him and all Ray can think is good, you should be. Trent goes to open his mouth but whatever he was about to say is silenced by the front door opening and Davis entering, broom in one hand and a sweatband laced across her forehead, "Lisa," Stella says with relief, her voice is shaky and unstable but the relief is clear as day, finally someone who won't yell at her or call her a whore.

"Raymond Perry, step away," Davis practically orders through her teeth and Ray turns to her in disbelief, "wha-"

"Stella, come here," Davis reaches out with the hand that isn't holding the broom and Stella flies across the room to latch onto Davis as if she were a lifeline, "are you actually defending her?" Brock asks incredulously and the rest of the man turn to stare at her as well, Sonny looks betrayed, Trent looks disappointed- in that sort of sad dad way- Ray looks pissed and Jason...Jason doesn't look like anything, he simply stares at her.

"Stella let's go outside and talk," Davis mumbles and Stella immediately nods and together they head out the door. "Thank god you're here, they were absolutely awful in there! Sonny smashed my cup and tried to attack me and they called me awful things and-" the slap comes unexpectedly and Stella grabs her stinging cheek, her eyes filling with tears and she looks at Davis with betrayal. "Listen here, okay, I'm not your friend, I stopped being your friend as soon as you decided to betray Clay. I'm not gonna honor some invisible girl code or some shit like that, you're a grown woman and you know damn well what's right or wrong, I'm not gonna defend you, I'm not gonna protect you, I'm not gonna do anything for you. But you're gonna do something for me."

Stella says nothing as she looks at Davis with sad eyes, "you're gonna go in there, head into the bedroom, strip the bed of its sheets and everything, then, you're gonna pack your bag and leave. And you're never gonna come back," Stella moves to protest but Davis holds up a hand and Stella flinches, thinking she's gonna get slapped again, "your other shit will be packed up in boxes and sent to you."

Seemingly satisfied with the fact that her stuff won't be thrown away or destroyed Stella nods tearily, "now, you're also gonna delete my number, Clay's number, and all the other numbers you have connected to any of us. And I know you might be thinking that they're all grown-ups too and you should be able to stay friends with whomever you desire, and that's true, but I can tell you right now that none of us want to be friends with you, not me, not Katie, not Maggie, not anyone. So you might as well spare yourself some time calling around asking and just delete the numbers now."

Sighing shakily Stella lowers her gaze for a second before looking up and meeting Davis', "I know I messed up, okay? I know, but you don't have to punish me like this," she pleads and Davis can barely believe what she's hearing, after all she's said, and after all she's sure the guys have told her, she still believes this is about her.

"This isn't about you, Stella. We're not punishing you, we're protecting Clay. None of us care what you do with your life after this, 'cause we're not interested in you, all we care about is Clay's well being, and he can't fully heal until you're out of the picture. You're simply a necessary sacrifice on the way to our goal, although you're not much of a sacrifice," Davis mutters the last part, yet doesn't bother to make sure Stella doesn't hear.

Stella feels a few tears trail down her cheeks and she angrily wipes them away, she's been yelled at enough as it is and doesn't want to hear anything about how she shouldn't be crying because she's the one who put herself in this position, which...is true, but it doesn't mean she wants to hear it.

The rest of the day passes by quickly, Stella packs quickly and quietly and before they know it she's out the door. Brock passes by Davis on his way to the kitchen and nods his thanks, he doesn't know what Davis said or did when she left with Stella, and frankly he doesn't care, he's just thankful that Stella's finally gone and they crack on with cleaning up the absolute mess that is Clay's apartment.

Later in the afternoon when most of it's been cleaned up and all the broken furniture has been removed and thrown away, they decide to head back to Jason's place, Davis stays behind to pack away all of Stella's stuff (the left that bit of work for her so that Sonny wouldn't smash it and Brock wouldn't 'accidentally' set it on fire) but right before they leave Jason pauses in the doorway, "hey Davis," she pauses with wrapping the cord to Stella's hair dryer and looks up, "yeah?" Jason's quiet for a second, like he's turning the words he's about to speak over in his head.

"How'd you get her to leave?" Davis shoots him a smile and snorts, "she just needed a little push...and maybe a slap," Jason's eyes narrow, "you hit her?"

"It was a slap, she barely felt it, won't even leave a mark," Davis defends and Jason sighs and pinches the space between his brows, "she won't tell?" Davis may not be part of his team of six but she's still a team member, a family member, and he can't lose her over someone as unimportant as Stella. "Believe me, boss, she won't tell, besides, even if she does, didn't she technically overstay her welcome in there? Clay said she had til' morning but I remember her leaving by lunch, those are some trespassing charges waiting to happen if she dares to utter a word."

Jason fakes a shudder and grabs the handle of the door, "you're scary when you're angry, Davis," he tells her with a small grin and Davis laughs quietly, "you coming over later?" she nods her head and gestures to the boxes around her, "as soon as I'm done."

"See you later then, and thank you, Lisa," she looks up at the use of her first name and sees Jason looking at her with grateful eyes, knowing Jason she knows he doesn't often turn into a big softy unless it's for his kids or Clay, so instead of turning soft on him too she replies, "you got it, boss," and with that he's out the door.

"She's not coming back."

"She's not coming back," Clay leans his head back on the armrest of the couch and looks up to the ceiling, Jason's seated in front of him on a chair and he's staring at him, watching his every move but Clay avoids his eyes. He's not sure what he's feeling, whether he's relieved or devastated. All he knows is that he's glad Stella isn't still sleeping in his bed, on his sheets, in his home, he's glad to know she's not there anymore.

"Are you angry?" Jason asks bluntly, deciding there's no use trying to gauge Clay's reaction when he's trained to keep his emotions in check, if Jason wants to know something he'll grab the bull by its horns and ask. "No," Clay chokes out, the lump in his throat making it hard to speak. Clearing his throat he looks away from the ceiling to meet Jason's eyes, "no, I'm not angry, at least not with you."

Silence falls between them as Jason leans back in his chair. Clay fidgets with his fingers, trying to think of something to say to put an end the stifling silence, "I wish we'd never gotten back together after Mexico," out of all the things the younger man could have said Jason was not expecting him to admit that.

"Yeah?" Clay nods and wipes his hand across his brow, "yeah…" he hesitates and his gaze flickers between his hands and Jason, "I haven't really been...feeling well, for a while now," Jason's brows furrow in concern and he leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "I've constantly been worrying about whether she'll stay or leave me, sometimes I've even lost sleep over it," Jason says nothing as he listens closely, this is one of the first times Clay has willingly talked so openly about his feeling and Jason's not about to ruin the moment.

"I'm sad that we're not together anymore, and I'm angry that she cheated, but I think this better...for the both of us," Clay meets Jason's gaze with tentative eyes like he's afraid of what Jason might answer. But to his relief all Jason does is give him a small, comforting smile and pat his arm as if to say what he can't say with words, I'm proud of you.

The moment's broken by the sound of the door to the garden opening and Maggie stepping in followed by Cerberus, "so this where you two are hiding, Sonny's about to start on the meat and-" Jason up and out of his chair before Maggie can even finish her sentence, "I told him no one touches my grill except for me," Clay grins and shakes his head and Jason turns to look at him, "I gotta run before Sonny burns my backyard down, but...good talk, kid," Clay simply nods as the moment requires no words and with that Jason's heading out the door. Leaving Clay alone with Maggie and Cerberus, "everything okay?" Maggie asks just as Cerberus jumps up on the couch and lies down with his head on Clay's stomach, before Clay can even answer Maggie snorts and sits down in the same chair Jason was just sat in.

"Sorry,that was probably a stupid question," shaking his head Clay tells her, "nah, it's alright, I'm better now," and as the words leave him he realizes that he's actually telling the truth, he does feel better now and it's barely been a day since he found his girlfriend cheating on him in his bed.

Maggie cocks her head to the side and studies him for a moment like he's a puzzle that she can't solve, he squirms under her gaze. "You know," she begins, her gaze turning to Cerberus, "as much as the guys put up a tough front, they'll all sensitive babies on the inside," with a frown Clay drags a hand through Cerberus fur and thinks over her words, what is she trying to say?

"All I'm saying is I'm sure you've gone your whole life hiding everything emotion from everyone, acting like nothing bothers you, like you're fine...but with them-" she turns around in her chair to gaze out the windows into the yard where the guys are all sitting around drinking while Jason flips the meat on the grill, "-you don't have to."

As much as Clay wants to tell her she's wrong he knows he's not, knows that they only make fun of him when they know he can take it. He knows that they're there for him, even when he just wants to be alone, and he loves them for it. "I know," he tells her quietly, but that's all it takes for her serious demeanor to crack and make way for a blinding smile, "good! Now, want to go out there and grab something to eat?" and as much as his leg still hurts and he's tired enough to where he'll probably fall asleep if he closes his eyes, he nods and lets Maggie help him up from the couch and out into the garden where his brothers are all in various states of drunk.

"Goldilocks finally decided to join us!" Sonny greets and Clay gives him a halfhearted wave, "how's the hand feel?" Brock asks as Maggie sits down beside him and Clay shrugs and makes a fist, "yeah, it's not a problem."

"Good," Brock acknowledges and takes a swig from his beer, "Clay boy here will be back on the field in no time, soon as that leg stops giving him trouble," and as an afterthought he adds, "the hand is only a papercut" Clay cracks a smile at that, and leans back to get into a comfortable position. Closing his eyes he revels in the safeness he feels surrounded by his brothers and friends, the constant buzz of their laughter and their conversations lulls him to sleep once more and he's only vaguely aware of the hand that brushes his hair and the voice that says, "let the boy sleep, Lisa," before he falls asleep.

Thank you for reading!