-Chapter 2: Smile Through the Pain

Life was hard for Cassie.

In the days that followed the deaths of Kung Jin and Sonya, she had been left feeling despondent and at a loss. Not only had she lost a teammate and friend, but her own mother was gone too. The funeral for those lost was a quiet and private one, reserved for the Spec Ops already on site. Cassie stood with her father as the base chaplain presided over a single flag folded under one of Sonya's spare caps and a picture of her mother. The dog tags of the other fallen troopers lay on the same table as hers, as well as a single spare arrow recovered from Jin's locker. All of them were reminders of who they lost... and the empty spaces they left behind. When the funeral ended, Cassie locked herself in her mother's office and put her head down on the desk. She just needed a moment, a moment to breathe. There was a hole in her life now, one that she knew would never be filled. She could only pray and hope that some world-ending catastrophe would not enable her mother to return as an evil revenant.

But 'what ifs' were the least of her worries.

As the current ranking officer among the Spec Ops, all of her mother's responsibilities had now been thrust upon her. She had to lead and officiate, without any time to grieve her loss. Cassie felt aimless and struggled, and those closest to her could see it. But no matter how much they tried to help her, she continued to tell them she was fine and push them away. She was trying to be as dedicated to the job as her mother was... and it wasn't working very well.

Johnny knew Cassie needed some time to herself, but not too much. Too much wallowing and she'd break down faster than his previous relationships. That didn't mean he wasn't worried about her current, isolative state, though. He knew grief was a road best traveled with friends, even if you didn't feel like socializing with anybody. With Cassie seemingly pushing everyone away, he was concerned and figured he'd have to step in as her father sooner rather than later.

Strolling by the base's locker rooms late one day, Johnny Cage spotted a familiar figure out of armor and in civilian clothing. Liam's normal kit had been stashed away and he was now sitting on a bench in black jeans and a brown leather jacket. The thing is, Liam was supposed to have left already for some scheduled time-off. Curious, Johnny poked his head in.

"Liam?" The man looked up at the sound of his name, spying his girlfirend's father at the entrance.

"Mister Cage, hi." He quickly greeted, rising.

"C'mon, kid. What've I told you about calling me 'Mister Cage'? Makes me feel old, like I should be running a tv show with puppets." Johnny responded.

"Right. Sorry Johnny." Liam apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um... How're you doing?" He queried. Johnny shrugged and exhaled.

"Could be better. But could also be a lot worse." He replied. "At least I know she died with dignity and was doing what she loved. I guess there's some closure in that." He softly said. Liam nodded.

"Well... good. Like I said at the funeral, you need anything I'm here." Liam offered. Johnny nodded.

"Thanks. You're a good kid, Liam." He commended, patting him on the arm. "Thought you were going out with Jacqui and Takeda?"

"Well, yes, I'm going to." Liam answered. "But... we invited Casie to come with us. She needs it, you know? Well, she turned us down." He explained.

"Oh."

"I thought I'd linger, hoping she might change her mind and show up." He continued, sounding hopeful but also doubtful. Johnny understood, very similar thoughts having crossed his mind.

"You're right. This is the kind of thing she could use. She's been cooped up here since the mission and could stand to get out." Johnny agreed. "But... it's also a constant reminder of her mom. Maybe just being here is the one thing she feels like is her connection to her." He added. Liam nodded.

"I get that. I just hate to see her so... sad." He admitted. "Just wanna try and cheer her up somehow." At that, Johnny smiled.

"You better hurry up and propose, kiddo. I don't want any other man save you near her." He said, making Liam grin. "I'll go talk to her. See if I can't coax her into joining you guys." He offered. Liam brightened.

"Really? Thanks Johnny. I mean it." He said.

"Sit tight. I'll be back." Johnny said, using his best Terminator voice. He knew just where Cassie was...

Making his way through the base, Johnny quickly found the singled-out offices and strode right up to the metal door marked by a bronze plaque upon which was engraved 'General Blade'. He briefly knocked before pushing it open and entering. The office lights were dimmed, reflective of the despondent mood Cassie was in. She lay facedown on her mom's desk, quiet and not moving. "Sweetheart?" Johnny wondered as he stepped inside. Cassie stirred ever so slightly, gradually picking her head up to reveal reddened eyes.

"Hey dad." She sniffed, wiping her face.

"How're you holding up?" Her father wondered as he sat down on a clear portion of the desk.

"I'm okay, I guess." She answered while rubbing her eyes, though Johnny could tell that was far from the truth.

"Been a rough few days, hasn't it?" He emphasized. Cassie nodded and cleared her throat.

"Did I tell you I got a message from Outworld?" She asked. Johnny nodded.

"I did too, hand-delivered by Magnus. A condolences letter from the Empress, even signed by her." He said. "Who would've guessd ol' butterface could be so nice?" Cassie cracked a small smile at his remark.

"She said pretty much the same thing in mine. A nice little letter saying how she's sorry for my loss but that it won't effect our alliance in anyway." She said.

"Why does politics always have to seep into everything?" Johnny mockingly complained, making Cassie chuckle a little. "You know what cured me whenever I had the blues?"

"A paycheque?" His daughter jokingly replied.

"Ouch. How shallow do you think I am?" Johnny wondered, clutching his chest and feigning hurt. "No, I'd go out and get blackout drunk with my buddies." He said, making Cassie arch an eyebrow.

"That doesn't sound healthy." She noted.

"Trust me, it wasn't." Johnny agreed. "After your mom and I got serious, I'd just have a casual drink with her. In those early days, she was a real listener, let me totally throw all my crap out in the open and just vent over a few bottles." He explained, and Cassie could see it happening.

"Let me guess... someone told you people were going for drinks?" She wondered.

"A little bird might've told me." Johnny admitted. "Cass, I get it. You're hurting, you're grieving. I am too. But you really shouldn't do it alone, or push people away for that matter. We're here for you. We want to help you." Cassie released a long-held sigh.

"I know, Dad. It's just... so much all at once. I couldn't think straight... even now, I don't think I can." She quietly said. Her gaze was drawn to the floor as she grew lost in thoughts of her mother, stirred only slightly when Johnny set a hand on her shoulder.

"Ever think about what your team's going through?" He wondered. "Sure, the General wasn't their mother. But she was their leader. Their inspiration." Cassie could see that. They likely felt listless, leaderless. "You lost your mother and they lost a friend. Jin was their teammate," Johnny continued, "sure, he was an ass sometimes,"

"That's a mild understatement." Cassie dully remarked.

"Okay, he was an ass a lot of the time, but he was still a friend. And now he's gone." Johnny paused to let that sink in, Cassie remembering the moment Jin's locker was cleaned out. "They're going through the same thing you are, Cass. Don't you think it's better to drown your sorrows together?" Johnny wondered. His fear returned as Cassie fell silent again and did not speak for many minutes. He knew this situation was depressing and had set in early, trying to pull her out of her deepening funk was an uphill climb and he knew it. But the movie star was running out of things to tell his daughter in an effort to pick up her spirits. He wasn't sure there was much more he could do if Cassie turned him down.

Then, Cassie exhaled.

"Yeah. Maybe." She finally said. Johnny smiled a little and gave her an affectionate back rub.

"C'mon kiddo. Liam's being a good boyfriend and waiting for you by the lockers." He revealed. Cassie looked up at the mention of her boyfriend. She could stand to spend some time with him, she realized, and stood. "Go on. Have a drink, be with your friends... your team." Johnny encouraged, helping her up. "Besides, I could use a night without all you kids in my hair." He joked.

"Whatever you say, old man." Cassie scoffed before she hugged him. "Thanks, Dad." Johnny said nothing and simply hugged her back, father and daughter taking a moment to be thnkaful for one another.

"Later this week, we'll pork out on junk food and watch shitty B-movies." He promised, making Cassie lightly chuckle.

"Sounds like a plan."

Later that night...

Takeda and Jacqui were already seated at a table and half a drink in by the time Cassie and Liam arrived. Jacqui quickly spotting them and waving them over, making an appreciative nod towards their similar leather jackets.

"Well, look who decided to show. Not that I wasn't hoping you wouldn't." Takeda said, stumbling over his words a little.

"Shut up, Tak." Cassie playfully shot back. "When your Dad dies, come and compare notes and we'll see how you feel about going for drinks immediately after." She remarked as she sat down.

"Hopefully, that won't be for a few more years." Takeda replied. "He still wants to become a granddad."

"You want something to drink?" Liam asked his girlfriend.

"Whiskey. The whole bottle." Cassie replied as Liam trotted off to the bar. Jacqui took a sip from her pint-sized mug as her friend inquired, "What brings us to this little spot? Can't say as we've ever been to a bar in Pasadena."

"Tak wanted to try something new," Jacqui simply answered, "But I wanna know what got you out of the office?" She wondered.

"Dad had a few words of wisdom to impart." Came the reply.

"Well, at least he didn't have to kick your ass to make you come." Jacqui remarked.

"Apparently Hollywood can teach you a few things about emotions... once you wade through all the bullshit, that is." Cassie continued. "So, what're you guys up to?"

"I've already filed for time off, I'm going to go and tell Jin's family." Takeda said.

"I don't envy your task. But thanks for doing so, Takeda." Cassie offered.

"I'm going with him. After we tell Jin's family, we're going to spend a few days with the Shirai Ryu." Jacqui revealed, Cassie glancing back and forth between her friends.

"Feeling homesick?" She wondered of the boy at the table.

"Master Hasashi asked to speak with me. Figured I best not keep him waiting too long." Takeda explained.

"What about you, Cass? You could use some time off." Jacqui asked.

"Can't... at least, not yet." Cassie replied. "There's... kind of a void that needs to be filled... paperwork and bureaucratic shit." She explained, growing somber at the notion of having to take her mom's place, officially. "Dad pretty much forced me to take the night off. Not too sure if I'll get the day off too."

"Don't push yourself too hard." Jacqui said, a hand on Cassie's arm. "You should take some time to grieve properly. Go on a vacation with Liam." The Spec Ops commanded slowly nodded.

"You know, I think I will. Just let me get everything sorted out." She answered.

"Good girl." Jacqui commended with a smile. Just then, Liam returned with two bottles and two shot glasses.

"Figured I'd join you on that whiskey business." He stated as he sat beside Cassie, unloading the drinks.

"Thanks, babe." Cassie thanked as she promptly poured herself a full shot glass and downed it in one gulp.

The night carried on in a rather calm fashion, the friendly foursome conversing and drinking like it was any other night out. But a melancholic gloom hung over them and the noticeably empty spot reserved for Kung Jin weighed heavily on them all. They still talked, but their tones were somber. They drank, but the emptiness was never truly filled. There was no joviality to be found here, just the simple talk of the living... of the survivors.

They may have carried on like an ordinary outing. But this was a chance for them to talk. To heal.

It wasn't long before Jacqui was on her second mug and Takeda his third bottle, Cassie and Liam down half a bottle of whiskey apiece. The inebriation was slowly starting to set in, all of them feeling a little loosened up thanks to the influence of alcohol. A few more giggles, a few louder stories about their missing teammates, the group slowly fell into a reflective yet comfortable groove.

Filling up his shot glass once more, Liam held it out instead of drinking it. Then he poured it into the empty ashtray in the middle of their table, everyone watching him.

"For Kung Jin." He quietly said. They all nodded in agreement, Jacqui and Takeda raising their drinks in a silent salute. Cassie had an idea to follow up and repeated his motions, pouring out another one into the ashtray.

"For General Blade." She stated, her own way of saluting the memory of her mother. Jacqui and Takeda nodded in agreement.

"For those we lost." The ebony woman continued.

"For those who are still with us." The Eurasian man concluded, Cassie and Liam holding up their bottles as they all clinked them together in a toast.

Jacqui and Takeda left first, Cassie and Liam following later after another drink each. They walked arm in arm, taking a casual stroll down the sidewalk. To any passerby's, they would never recognize the Spec Ops commander and her soldier boyfriend. They were just some couple going for a walk. Taking a detour through a nearby park, the two took some time to fondly remember the fallen. A certain memory made Cassie smile.

"You remember when mom caught us making out?" She wondered of Liam.

"You were half-dressed and pinning me to the couch." Her boyfriend chuckled. "Had to be the most awkward moment of my life."

"Even more awkward than that time you took a wrong turn and caught Jacqui in the locker room?" Cassie pried.

"Like I said, Cass, you were half-dressed." Liam reiterated. "No, the really awkward part came when she handed us some beer and sat us down for 'the talk'. Or at least a grown-up version of it." Cassie gave him a sideways look.

"You and I remember that very differently." She determined. "Mom was livid to find out I was in a relationship with the son of her nemesis." She recalled. Her statement switched on a light for Liam.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I was scared shitless and jumped behind the couch." He agreed, causing Cassie to giggle.

"That you were." She agreed, remembering the whole scene as more humorous rather than flirting with death as they had been in the moment. Her recollection of the encouter with her mother prompted another memory to surface. "You remember, a few months back, we were sent to those islands for some 'team-building' exercises?"

"Your mom's way of giving us a vacation without actually giving us a vacation." Liam surmised. "Yeah, I remember."

"Remember when Jin said he was gonna stay out a little longer? Check out the city nightlife?" Cassie prompted, earning another chuckle from Liam as he remembered.

"You could feel just how excited Takeda and Jacqui were." He emphatically replied.

"You and I were too, if I recall correctly." Cassie remarked with a playful elbow. "We'd gone three days of this absolute need, and then we suddenly get a room to ourselves."

"I've never seen Jacqui close a door faster." Liam mused.

"Or you get undressed faster." Cassie teased, remembering just how eager her boyfriend had been. They shared a mutual chuckle as they collectively recalled that night.

"And then... Jin comes back at the worst possible time." Liam reminisced. Cassie burst out laughing at the memory.

"The look on his face." She giggled. "We totally forgot he had a room card."

"Of course you and I just had to get the 'guys' room. Surely it would've been a lot less awkward if Takeda and Jacqui were in there instead." Liam suggested.

"Probably not. You're pretty much walking in on the same thing." Cassie responded through her laughing. The levity died down as Liam sensed a lightness in Cassie. The pain of her mother's death was still there, but she wasn't nearly as withdrawn or quiet anymore. He slowed their pace, turning to face her.

"You feelin' okay?" He wondered, wanting to make sure. It took a moment before Cassie nodded.

"I'm... better now." She admitted, the time out with everyone having done her more good than she first thought. Cassie glanced up at her boyfriend and offered him a smile. "Thanks for waiting for me, Liam. I... needed this. I needed it more than I thought I did." She told him.

"You don't have to grieve alone." He promised, gently stroking her cheek. Cassie slowly nodded, taking hold of his hand and holding it.

"I know. Guess I just needed my ass kicked into gear to realize that." She said.

"I'll let your Dad do the ass-kicking." Liam replied. "There's other things I'd rather do to that ass." He then suggestively whispered in her ear, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Cassie laughed again, appreciative of her boyfriend's sense of humor. It passed as quickly as it came, but Cassie's soft, sad smile remained.

"I still miss Mom." She quietly told him.

"That won't ever go away. But that's okay, not all tears are an evil." He promised.

"Sounds like something Raiden would say." Cassie mused with a snort.

"I got that one from Magnus, actually." Liam answered. "But he probably got it from Raiden." He surmised. Cassie hummed in agreement as Liam held her gaze for a moment longer. "If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you babe." He vowed.

"Thanks babe." Cassie quietly replied, reaching up to kiss him. Liam reciprocated, holding her close. After several days of cold loneliness, the warm embrace of her boyfriend was soothing and comforting to the Cage girl. She wanted more of this, wanted to feel safe and close to someone, wanted to feel loved...

When they broke apart, Cassie had an idea as to how the rest of the evening might progress. "Let's get outta here." She said in a low voice.

"Where too, milady?" Liam inquired.

"My place." Cassie replied with a soft grin, which Liam quickly returned.

Cassie's place was one of several Cage family homes around the country, all of them bought and owned by Johnny but free for his family to use. This particular one was a beachfront condo with plenty of space and more than enough privacy for the couple to enjoy. Liam had barely closed the door before Cassie pulled him further inside and into another kiss, this one more energetic and passionate. Their jackets were quickly shrugged off and left on the floor, Cassie jumping into Liam's arms as her limbs wrapped around him. Liam held her close as they embraced again, breaking it off shortly after with a gentle nip to each other's lips. "Love me." Cassie breathily whispered between pants. Liam replied with a kiss and slowly moved them down the hall towards the master bedroom, carrying her the whole way.

The morning after...

It was hardly their first time, hell, it wouldn't be their first time in this house. But neither Cassie nor Liam cared for facts and figures, not when they were entwined in an intimate embrace for most of the night.

Their clothes surrounding the bed, Liam and Cassie were caught up in a tangle of sheets and limbs, their hair sufficiently tousled to a point where any visitor would know what they'd been up to the night before. Cassie was the first to awake, groaning a little as a mild throbbing in her head from last night's imbibing struck her conscious senses. It wasn't nearly as bad as some hangovers she'd had, but she'd definitely need some painkillers before she started into her day. The sheets slid away from her pale, unclothed body as she checked her phone, discarded on the nightstand before she got into bed. A single message was revealed in her notifications; a voicemail from Johnny. Cassie quickly pressed play,

"Mornin' kiddo! Just figured you should know that you don't have to come into work today. Neither does Liam. Secretary Blake is willing to cement the transition next week, so you can have today off as well as the weekend. Take some time off, relax, hang with your lover... just don't spend too much time in bed! I got a library of B-movies to check out and I blew my credit card on junk food! See you 'round, sweetie." Cassie smiled a little as the recording ended, surprised but rather elated by the fact she didn't have to get ready to leave soon. Now she could spend her day with Liam... how much of it would be spent in bed remained to be seen.

Returning her phone to the nightstand, Cassie sank back into bed just as Liam woke up with a rumbling groan. Rolling onto his side, he faced Cassie and offered her a sleepy smile.

"Mornin' beautiful." He greeted. Cassie smiled.

"Hey babe." She replied, shifting to give him a quick peck on the lips. "I got good news: Dad's netted us the day off."

"Sweet. I gotta shrug off this headache anyway." Liam remarked as he also shifted position, draping an arm around his lover. "How're you feelin'?" He wondered.

"You mean apart from this headache?" Cassie joked, sharing in Liam's pain. "Like I miss my Mom," she solemnly admitted, Liam nodding in understanding, "but also like I'm gonna be okay." She eventually added, her gaze a little more perky. Liam smiled broadly this time.

"You need anythin', I'm here babe." He said. Cassie scooted closer and curled up to him, ready to engage in some early-morning cuddles.

"Just don't you or Dad die on me." She stated, closing her eyes. She'd had her fair share of boyfriends while growing up, but Liam was the one guy she felt connected to, the one man she could see herself spending the rest of her life with. And she had every intention of going through with that plan.

"I better not die, I haven't even proposed yet." Liam remarked, Cassie giggling in response.