The pieces of my puzzle.

Thirteen

(Azara's POV)

I sighed as I got in my jeep and drove to the base. After crying for hours the night before and then attempting to pull myself together this morning, I was exhausted.

I made sure my makeup looked okay, I wanted to look as presentable as possible. Not that I usually cared about stuff like that, but I didn't want anyone to suspect anything.

I inhaled deeply, looked at myself in the small mirror of the car and made sure I have my cold composure intact.

I tried to muster up a smile when I reached the security gate and spotted Al. "Good Morning, Miss Azara." He kindly smiled at me.

"Good morning, Al, how are you today?" I flashed the brightest smile I could muster.

"I'm well, thanks for asking. How are you Miss?" He asked politely. My chest tightened slightly at the thought of the day before when I almost died because of Hangmsn's recklessness.

"I'm..um..ok thanks. Have a great day, Al." I responded, giving him a small wave. "You too Miss."

I headed straight for Admiral Simpson's office. The events of yesterday were the last straw, I am going to report Hangman.

I knocked softly on and asked permission to enter. "This is the younger Captain Mitchell, requesting permission to enter, sir." I asked formally, opening the door when I heard a 'come in.'

I folded my hands behind my back and stood in front of the Admiral's desk. "Good morning, sir." I greeted, my voice reflecting almost no emotion.

"Good morning, Captain. What is your business here today?" He questioned.

I cleared my throat and straightened my posture. "I would like to file a report." I stated. Admiral Simpson raised a brow in mild curiosity.

"At ease soldier. You may take a seat." He said. I nodded and took a seat on the chair in front of his desk.

"Now tell me who you would like to report and the reasoning." He said, scribbling something on a file in his hand.

"I would like to report, Luitenant-Commander Jake 'Hangman' Seresin." I stated calmly.

After that we filed the report and then I left the office.

I sighed as I closed the office door behind me, relieved that that was over and done with.

I was startled slightly when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. My mind was so focused on the event of the past few days, that I wasn't thinking properly. So I acted purely on instinct. I grabbed the arm, crouched down and flipped the person over my shoulder in one fluid motion. I stood up and whipped around to face them.

They just laughed. "Hey Az, you okay there?" Asked Inferno who was now lying on his back, not moving, fearing that he might get judo-flipped again.

"Lukas! You startled me!" I exclaimed, holding my hand out to help him up. He took it and patted me on the shoulder. "Sometimes I forget you do martial arts." He said with a chuckle.

We started walking towards the classroom together. "Well be careful next time, you could've been hurt." I said, nudging him playfully.

"But are you ok tho? You seem a bit on edge." He had a concerned expression on his face.

I tried to smile at him, but failed in making it convincing.

Inferno didn't know what happened the day before. He was visiting his wife in New York. So the only people who knew were Me, Rooster, Hangman and Admiral Simpson.

"I'm fine, really. One of the pilots has been working on my nerves, that's all."

***

The class went okay. Hangman didn't make eye contact or listen to anyone. So the usual.

Everyone has left for the day and I was packing up the last of my stuff when someone knocked at my office door.

I looked up to see Rooster leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest and his mustache tilted up in the smallest smile.

He probably went home to change, because he had changed out of his kaki flight uniform and into hid signature look with aviators and flip flops.

How many jean shorts, white shirts and open Hawaiian shirts did he have?

I smiled up at him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home?" I asked, quirking a brow.

He nodded. "Probably. But I wanted to check on you. You know, after everything that happened yesterday." He replied, shifting his stance slightly.

My heart warmed at his concern, but my inner line of defense told me not to get attached, if I did he would leave again.

I walked up to where he was standing and stopped in front of him so that we could talk face to face. "I'm ok now, Brads. And I really appreciate your effort." My voice softened as he grabbed my hand, his big hand almost covering mine completely.

"I know you're ok now, but you weren't yesterday were you?" He said, but it was more like a statement than a question.

I shook my head. "No, I was Fin-" I started to argue but he cut me off.

"Azara, we grew up together and you might be a different person than who you were back then, but I still know you. You were not ok and that's fine. You've been through allot and I don't blame you for reacting the way you did. Hangman is a jerk and you handled him the best you could."

He paused, shifting his stance again. "Azara," he began, tucking a strand of my dark hair behind my ear, affectionately. "You are not weak or pathetic, no matter what anyone tells you. You're a survivor, you may not think you went through allot but it was hard for you and you survived. You could've become bitter and angry, but you rose above all the anger and came out the amazing woman you are now." He continued smiling at me.

My eyes were pooling with tears at this point but I promised myself that I wouldn't let them fall. I was already showing too much emotion in front of Bradly.

"You're amazing, and you're smart and beautiful and talented. And you make such a difference in people's lives. And you're allowed to show emotion, you're allowed to have feelings. Yes, there will be people like Hangman who will judge you for it but you have Mav, Penny, Phoenix, Inferno and you have me. All of us are here for you, we won't judge you, we'll support you. All those people, they love you." By now, I  had broken my promise to myself and let the tears roll down my cheeks.

Bradly cupped my cheek and ran his thumb across them, wiping away my tears. "And I..I lo...um am here for you." He smiled, stuttering slightly.

"Oh Brads, Thank you so much." I smiled through the tears. And then I hugged him as tightly as I could. Feeling safe and warm in his comforting embrace.

He returned the hug, smiling softly as he rested his chin on the top of my head. "You're welcome, Az."

And for the first time since Bradly had been back I felt like everything would be okay.