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It starts mostly by accident, a few days after they’ve gotten back from Iran.
Jaz doesn’t know how the hell she got a video of Dalton, drunk as hell, baby-talking to Patton, but she does know that it’s fucking hilarious and that if she laughs any harder she’s going to bust her already bruised ribs.
“Jazzy?” McG wanders into the room, a worried expression at the ready. Jaz just waves him over and presses the restart button. The image is darkly lit and the outline of Dalton reclining on a folding chair is only barely visible against the glow of the fire.
“What is it?” McG asks, setting on hand on her shoulder gently and leaning against the couch to peer over her shoulder.
“My new reason to live,” Jaz says, before dissolving back into laughter because, fuck, this could not get any better.
A booming laugh escapes McG, one that reverberates through the couch into Jaz.
“Is that Top?” he asks. Jaz nods as they both dissolve into laughter, McG jumping the couch to sit next to her.
The video is only a minute and a half long, but Jaz keeps hitting the replay button. Her stomach aches and her eyes are watering and McG isn’t fairing much better. They’ve watched it three times, and now their laughter has turned into howling and everyone else is wandering into the room.
“What’s gotten into you two?” Preach asks, eyeing the iPad dangerously. It’s got to be something if both Jaz and McG are laughing like this. Especially with how understandably withdrawn Jaz has been the past few days. How understandably withdrawn they’ve all been these past few days.
Jaz can’t draw enough breath to answer, so she just hits the replay button and passes the iPad to McG, who holds it up for Preach to see. Jaz wraps her arms around her stomach to contain the laughter.
“Is that-?” Preach stops, his head swiveling for Dalton.
“Hell yeah it is,” says McG,shit-eating grin spreading across his face. “He’s the best boy.”
“Oh no,” Amir mutters, almost unheard.
“What do you mean ‘oh no’, Amir?” Dalton asks, voice sharp.
“I didn’t,” Amir mutters to himself again, scrambling for his phone. He swears in French when he realizes what’s he’s done. Jaz absolutely cackles, feeling lighter than she has in days.
“It was an accident, Top. I meant to send it to-” He stops talking abruptly.
“Send what to who Amir?” Dalton demands as he makes a grab for the iPad.
“No- keep it away from Top!” Jaz huffs through her laughter. McG positively leaps off the couch, the iPad securely in hand.
Dalton scowls at them. “Really?”
“We’re children,” McG says, one arm stretched above his head, as if he’s daring Dalton to jump or tackle him, “sue us.”
Jaz cackles again and the entire room seems to lighten. Life begins to seep back into the quonset. Everyone has spent the last few days licking their wounds alone; now it feels like they can band together again.
“McG, he can’t delete it anyway. I accidentally sent it to all my most recent contacts,” Amir shrugs.
“You have contacts?” Jaz manages to snark, but the effect is lost in her laughter. Amir scowls at her but it falls into a light smile before he can help it.
Dalton’s face is set stoically- and something in his eyes softens when Jaz makes her first quip in days- but he’s tenser than a spring. “Sent what to who, Amir?” He repeats stonily.
McG turns the screen to him, still across the room, and presses play. Dalton squints at the dim screen but the volume is loud enough that his recorded voice fills the room. Jaz shakes as silent laughter overtakes her again.
Dalton goes so still he turns to stone.
“It’s just a video, Top,” Amir says, backtracking. “I meant to put it in my cloud but I accidentally attached it to a work email and sent it-”
“To all of us!” crows McG, looking at Jaz’s email, “we’re all in the cc. And- oh damn, Amir.”
Dalton snatches for the iPad again, but McG is quicker than he looks. He jumps further back, iPad cradled to him.
“Breathe, Top, it can’t be that bad,” Preach attempts to sooth him as he scrolls though his own phone. “Oh.”
Dalton breathes slowly, waiting.
“The Deputy Director,” Amir supplies.
Some of the tension releases from Dalton shoulders. “Only Patricia? That’s not... bad.”
“And Noah. And Hannah. And one of the support members filling in for Noah while he fills in for Patricia.” Amir’s trying to be gentle as he breaks the news but it’s tempered by the laughter of everyone else.
The secured laptop lights up as it chimes. The entire team stills and stares at it. Dalton doesn’t blink and the chime goes once, twice, three times.
“I got it!” Jaz jumps from couch and regrets the movement, but hurries to the computer anyway. The pain and possible reaming out from McG are going to be so worth it.
“Jaz, no!” Dalton says just as she hits accept. Noah’s face comes over the screen.
“Sergeant Khan. Good to see you-” Noah stumbles over the words, clearly not expecting to see Jaz, and especially not Jaz smiling.
“Don’t ask questions, just check your email,” she says and McG’s laughter booms through the room again. Through the connection, someone else is laughing. Something like a rolling-chair sounds and Hannah’s face appears beside Noah’s.
“Oh, we already have.”
Dalton swears and stays out of the frame as the rest of the team coalesces behind Jaz.
“I laughed so hard I think McG is going to have to re-stitch my lip,” Jaz says. Behind her Preach is chuckling and McG is hunched over and Amir is looking less and less embarrassed at his mistake.
“We really just called to say we got the paperwork and thank you for the video,” Hannah says, “it made everyone’s day.”
“Everyone?” Dalton blurts, mortified.
McG claps a hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter.
“Everyone,” Noah confirms."It got opened on the main screen." He looks apologetic, but also like he’s biting his cheek to keep from laughing.
As if nothing more could happen, Dalton’s phone pings. It’s sitting on the counter and Preach snatches it before he can.
“Preach,” Dalton huffs.
“You’re going to give yourself a tension headache if you don’t laugh, Adam,” Preach teases. “Besides, it’s good news.”
Dalton reads the text and shoves the phone back at them all.
“I’m taking Patton for a walk,” he mumbles, “you all better be done laughing by the time I get back.”
“No promises,” McG chirps, earning himself a scowl and a middle finger from Dalton.
As he calls the dog and storms out, Jaz snatches the phone. It’s a message from Patricia. Jaz snorts as she reads it, before flipping it toward the computer screen.
We’ll pull some strings to get the best boy home with you after deployment ends. Promise. –Patricia.