Under the Mistletoe

Breaking the Ice

I was the first to arrive before everyone else trickled in and I found myself seated between Hangman and Coyote. Rooster ordered a round of drinks for everyone as we decided what we wanted to eat.

I settled on a salad and mac and cheese bites and once the food was served, our table went quiet as everyone ate, though I tried to keep up conversation by asking questions. My eyes kept darting to all of my new teammates as they spoke and it seemed like I would be a good fit for all of them.

"Sphinx, how the hell did they convince you to come out here?" Payback questioned.

"My dad doesn't ask, he gives orders," I replied with a small shrug. "I am excited to have been picked by him and Mav though to join you all."

"You seem close. You and Mav, I mean," Coyote chimed in.

"I practically grew up with him as my uncle," I replied. "He was my dads wingman for a time and was always around when I was a kid."

"Was it crazy growing up as Admiral Kazansky's kid? Did he ever tell you any crazy stories?" Payback questioned.

I laughed at the teams interest in my dad.

"I mean, I grew up fairly normal," I replied with a slight shrug. "I could tell you his stories word for word."

I was the first to finish my dinner and I excused myself to find the waitress because I wanted to cover the bill for my new team. Once I had found and spoken to her, I was on my way back to the table when I overheard Fanboy speaking about me and frowned deeply.

"Do any of you ever just miss Storm?" Fanboy questioned. "Sphinx being here makes it feel like Admiral Kazansky is spying on us."

"She's fine," Payback replied. "You're overthinking things."

"Oh," I replied as I turned the corner on my way back to the table. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

I grabbed my wallet and gave my card to the waitress to pay the bill, as promised, before quickly standing to leave. For the first time in my life, I felt mortified to have my last name be Kazansky because it led the Daggers to believe I was a threat.

"I'll see you guys around," I said over my shoulder as I walked towards the exit before pausing. "Oh, and if you thought I would choose to leave Italy to come back here just to spy, you're sorely mistaken."

I turned once more and pushed through the restaurant doors.

"Kazansky, wait."

I ignored whoever it had been that called me.

"Brooklyn!"

I turned on my heels and saw Hangman standing near the restaurant doors from where I stood on the curb.

"He didn't mean it like that," he said as he approached me.

"I know what he meant, thanks."

I turned to walk and a car zoomed by that would've hit me if Hangman hadn't reached out and pulled me back by my arm. My chest heaved as I looked at him, grateful that he was in the right place at the right time.

"Thank you," I whispered, my emotions from the last five minutes getting the best of me as my eyes filled with tears.

I pulled my arm away from Hangman and turned back to walk across the street towards my car but he followed me.

"Seriously, he was totally in love with Storm and was upset when he found out about her and Captain Whatshisface. Don't take it too personal."

"Yeah, well it sounded kind of personal," I muttered. "Thank Coyote for the invitation but I'm going to go home."

Jake sighed and opened my door for me, gesturing for me to get in.

"I'll talk to him."

"I'm a big girl. I'm fine," I replied softly. "See you all tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

Jake closed my door for me once I was in the car and walked back to the restaurant with his hands in his pockets.

I started to feel bad for leaving but Fanboys comment had made me uncomfortable. I made my way back to North Island and once I was inside, my door was open and water was flooding the hallway.

"What the hell?" I asked as I entered my room.

I looked around and the majority of my belongings were soaking wet.

"The water pipe burst," one of the men in my room explained.

"Yeah, I can see that," I replied as I tried to gather my items on the floor and threw them on my bed.

Each clothing item I picked up, I'd ring out before trying to find somewhere to lay it out. I knew I'd have a long night ahead of me so I tried to work fast but the water was so cold that working fast didn't seem like a viable option, especially in late November. Annoyed, I grabbed my phone and called my dad.

"Hello?"

"I know it's past your bedtime or whatever but I have a bit of a situation," I sighed.

"Situation? Brooklyn, it's your second night back."

"Yeah, well unfortunately I had no control over this one."

"What happened?"

"I just got back to the barracks and my room is flooded. I guess the pipe in the wall burst. All of my stuff is soaked, including my laptop."

"I'll call you back."

As Commander of the Pacific Fleet, my dad had a lot of pull when it came to what happened at North Island, which was extremely grateful for in that moment.

It took half an hour and he called me back but I wasn't thrilled with his response.

"There's no other available rooms," my dad explained. "Renovations have taken over two of the other buildings."

"So where do they want me to sleep? The beach?"

"You're more than welcome to stay here at home, Brooklyn. You know that."

I harshly blew air past my lips.

"I'm sure I'll be up all night cleaning this up. I wouldn't want to be in yours and moms way so I'll get a hotel. Thanks dad."

I sighed as I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket before finishing a long night of cleaning.