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"Now if he's any trouble, just give us a call. Or hit him with a rolled up newspaper, that usually does the trick. And note, he is toilet trained, but when he gets excited, he's a bit like a chihuahua, and you might have to watch out for–"
Jolene finally lets out a short laugh. She covers her smile with her free hand for a second, then waves at Jensen. "Thank you for your help, Jensen, but I should be able to take it from here.”
"Are you sure? I made a list about care and feeding of your Cougar, I should have it somewhere on me," Jensen says, as he pats himself down. A small die hits his hand, and he yelps. "Ow, Cougs, that hurt.”
Cougar is looking rather unimpressed from his perch in the leather easy chair in the corner of the room.
"You should go ahead and get going, Jensen," Jolene says, as she presses her hand to Jensen's shoulder and starts pushing him towards the door.
This mission is terrible and awful and there's the possibility that some very bad men will come after her, and it's nothing Jolene hasn't heard before. It had scared her, once, but she knows Lin would never let anything happen to her. Nor would Cougar. Or anyone on the team, really.
Jolene has spent her fair time with the boys, but when she goes long stretches without seeing them, she still finds herself amazed at times. "Is he always like that?" she asks, as she comes back from showing Jensen out.
"Usually worse."
Jolene lets out another laugh. She switches William from her right hip to her left. "I need to start a load of laundry, mind looking over William for a few minutes?"
Cougar just shrugs.
Jolene makes her way over, and sets William down on his lap, careful not to nudge Cougar's injured leg. It's the reason why he's down, the reason why this mission is so serious. Jolene knows it had to be a pretty serious wound for him to stay down, when they all have a habit of walking around like injuries don't matter. She thought she liked being kept in the dark, up until Jensen had called Lin 'Legless Pooch' and she found it was better to know.
It took some time for them to see eye to eye on that position, but Lin volunteers that sort of information now. It assures her, and makes her a little smug, too, secretly– it's good to know there are matters she can so effectively persuade him.
Jolene has managed to develop a quick, one-armed laundry routine, much like she has developed a way to make all chores quick and one-armed. Her family is in Atlanta, Lin’s is in Charleston; and while Jessica has offered to drive down and take William for a few hours every now and then, most of the time, it’s Jolene is the only one taking care of William.
She takes the small moments when she gets them. And if that means taking some extra time on laundry, she’ll take it. William likes Cougar, and Cougar manages to settle William. They should be good for a few minutes on their own.
Better than that, even, Jolene finds when she finally returns to the living room. William is fast asleep in Cougar's arms. It's an hour before nap time, too, when William has recently discovered the joy of trying to not take his nap.
Jolene is briefly in love with Cougar. "Can I get you anything?" she asks. Because William may be napping, but he takes after some very distant relative, and wakes at the slightest movement. (Cougar, Jolene has heard, can stay in the same position for twelve hours without so much as twitching. It's not the wildest thing Jensen has told her, but she's still unsure of the accuracy of the statement. Still, he should be good for an hour at least.)
Cougar shakes his head.
"I am going to putter, then," Jolene says. She winks. "Give me a yell if you need anything."
He huffs a laugh, but just settles back into his chair a bit more, his own eyes sliding closed.
Jolene spends her hour puttering around the house, tidying up William's room, changing the sheets in her room, changed the sheets in the guest bedroom, cleaning the bathroom, going through her pantry and fridge on the lookout for expired foods, and thoroughly enjoying the mundane feeling of getting shit done. It's rare, with a eighteen-month old, but all the most satisfying for that.
When things are cleaned, she grabs the latest book in the series she hasn't had time to start yet, and returns to the living room.
Cougar looks like he's been dozing himself, and William is still sprawled against his front. His eyes open as soon as he steps into the living room, though, and gives her a small smile.
Jolene goes over to the couch, sits down, then swings her legs up and over the arm rest. She spends a few moments settling into a comfortable position, before she starts reading.
Jolene has never been a passive reader. Lin has sometimes teased her for it, but she likes to laugh out loud at the jokes, and makes noises of surprise when the presumed killer is killed, and enjoy herself as best as she can.
Cougar, of course, does not comment.
William wakes up at one of her louder laughs. Jolene is instantly on her feet, and scooping him up before his second cry. She murmurs calming nonsense to him, bouncing him lightly in her arms.
Cougar pushes himself up, grabs his crutch, and hobbles down the hallway.
When he returns, Jolene deposits William back on his lap, and starts on dinner.
“I’ll help next time,” Cougar tells her.
“Watching William is helping,” Jolene replies.
William slept too long in Cougar’s arms, and putting him to bed for the night is a lengthier process than normal. She makes sure Cougar is fine and settled, before flopping down on her own bed.
It’s early morning when Jolene feels a familiar rub on her back. She blinks awake, and looks over her shoulder.
Lin is smiling down at her. “Hey, baby.”
Jolene smiles. “Hey. Morning.” She blinks the bleariness out of her eyes. “Have time for coffee?”
Lin shakes his head. “Jensen’s loading Cougar into the car now, and we have to head out.”
Jolene stretches to give him a peck on the lips. “Stay safe. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He smiles wider, eyes crinkling around the corners. “I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
“I love you,” Jolene repeats, before she falls back asleep.
*
Lin is cryptic, which never bodes well. (He's always upfront about mission dangers, telling her everything he can tell her. It's just personal concerns, when he goes skittish on the details.)
When Cougar and Roque show up at her doorstep, at quarter past ten, she stares at them curiously, waiting for an explanation.
"Hello, Jolene," Roque greets.
Cougar taps the brim of his hat.
Jolene stares them down for a minute, then steps aside. "William is sleeping."
"We'll be gone by the time he wakes up," Roque says, as he passes into the house.
Behind him, Cougar shakes his head.
"What's up?" Jolene asks, as she follows them through her house.
Roque makes his way through the living room, and into the kitchen. He goes straight for the fridge, not bothering to turn on the overhead light. The light of the fridge washes half of the room in a yellow light. "Do you have any non-shitty beer?" Roque asks, as she pokes through the fridge, and the BudLites. "Is this what Pooch drinks? Really? This watered down piss?"
"The BudLites are mine," Jolene says. "I wasn't anticipating any company, or I would have picked him up a Bud, or a Chateau Lafite-Rothschild for you."
"Tequila," Roque replies. "Or whiskey. I’m not that picky, this is a college town, someplace should sell Patron or Wild Turkey."
"A Balvenie not to your standards, then?"
Roque turns around and stares at her. Jolene likes to think all the boys like her, but Roque is currently looking at her like he loves her.
Behind her, Cougar huffs a laugh.
Jolene smiles, and lets herself bask in being stared at as a goddess. "I asked you a question," she adds, as she starts making her way towards the cabinet where she hides the good stuff.
"A Balvenie would be wonderful," Roque says.
She gets down two glasses, and pauses. "A sip for you, Cougar?"
Cougar looks indecisive.
"Say yes," Roque says. "You will not regret it."
He shrugs. "Sure."
She gets don a third glass, pours out the scotch, making Roque’s two fingers instead of the one. She considers a second for herself as well, but decides against it. She carries the boys’ glasses in one hand, her own in the other, as she makes her way into the living room. Roque and Cougar follow, Roque heading to the couch, Cougar to the leather arm chair. She waits until they’re settled before she says, "That wasn't the question I was referring to, though. What's up?"
Roque sighs. "I'm not going to get a drink if I don't answer, am I."
"And here they said you weren't the brains of the operations."
Roque scoffs. "And what, Clay is?" He sighs after another moment. "Clay and I had a fight."
Ah. Jolene fights not to smile.
"Stop smiling."
"I'm not." She takes a sip of her scotch. While she does like her BudLites, she’s under no illusions about the taste or quality. But this… this is good. She doesn't take to indulgences like this very often, but if Roque is coming to her for relationship help, then she can think of no better reason. "What was your fight about?"
"What don’t we fight about?” Roque replies, voice tired. He holds out his hand, and she finally passes him a drink. He swirls it slightly, and smells at it. He only takes a small sip, and he lets out a sigh, relaxing back into the chair. He’s quiet for a long minute, before he asks, “How much do you know about everything that happened?”
“Lin told me you made a mistake, and you tried to fix it.”
“That all?”
“He also called you a right motherfucker, and several other things worse than that, but I don’t permit that language in my house.”
Roque raises an eyebrow. “I happen to know you swear like a sailor.”
“Not when there’s a kid in the house.” But she refuses to let him deflect, and she continues, “What have you fought about?”
Roque sighs again. It takes him a minute, but he starts talking. Him and Clay, everything that’s gone down between them, all the small things they’ve managed to start arguments over. All the ways a comment from someone else from the team has said something that lead to a fight. Aisha come up a lot, Jensen a few times, Cougar once.
"So where’s my husband in all of this?" She’s Lin’s wife, she’ll understand if Roque doesn’t want to disclose where he falls in arguments, but she’s curious.
“Pooch is taking Aisha out on a date. They're painting the town red, while Jensen is keeping Clay company."
“Funny,” Jolene says. “So you two are both having supervised time-outs, while Lin is doing actual work?”
Cougar huffs a laugh.
Roque glares at her. “Basically,” he admits.
“You want my advice in all of this?” She wishes she had that second finger, but Roque looks loopy himself.
He’s loopy enough to nod.
“Talk to Clay.”
“Everyone tells me that. That’s what starts the fights.”
“Second step? Listen to Clay. You’re bringing up good points, sure. But you’re just talking. You two are similar, and I’m guessing he’s just talking too. Have you really listened to him?”
Roque doesn’t reply.
“Step three: acknowledge that you’re not always going to get along. Because you’re not. You’ll find arguments to have. Sometimes you can find fun things to argue about. Like Pintos. Just accept what battles you’ll lose, and what battles are worth fighting for.”
After a long moment, Roque just says, "Shut up, Cougar."
Cougar raises his hands, a smile on his lips.
Jolene is briefly jealous. She knows Cougar well, and can read his silences, but she still isn't as proficient as the boys.
“I need another drink,” Roque announces.
Jolene sighs. “Me too.”
In his corner, Cougar holds up three fingers.
She wakes the next morning to a note scribbled on her grocery list. Roque’s handwriting is miserable, but she thinks she can make out a ‘thanks.’ Cougar’s writing isn’t much better, but she’s still able to make out the explanation – they’re shipping back out again.
She very carefully rips the page off the pad, rewrites the few items on the list, and stores the note in her a drawer.
*
Clay doesn’t celebrate his birthday, so the boys pick a random day a year to celebrate his not-birthday. It’s usually picked when they have a few days off, when Jensen has enough time to visit Jessica and Jenny, and the other boys can indulge in their own rituals.
(Lin’s ritual is to come home to her.)
Jolene doesn’t exactly remember when Lin told her that they would be celebrating Clay’s not-birthday at their house, and she doesn’t exactly remember when she agreed, so it’s a bit surprising when Lin announces it the day of, but she finds she doesn’t mind all that much.
Cougar comes over first, arms laden with grocery bags.
Of the boys, Cougar is the most accomplished chef. Jolene still finds herself surprised when she thinks about it. Not Cougar specifically, just the fact any of them are accomplished at cooking. He explained to her once, that back home, everyone in his family helped out with the cooking.
She doubts it’s the same for the others. She had banned almost everyone from her kitchen immediately. Clay can't cook, Roque can't cook, Jensen can't cook to save his life, Lin makes an absolute mess while cooking, and Aisha has not been tried in the kitchen yet. Jolene had thought about offering, but Aisha is still too cautious around her. A few more times in, perhaps.
Cougar, however, can cook, keep his space clean, and shares his recipes with Jolene. He even emails her the recipe lists a few days prior, and pays her back. with appropriate cash attached (not that she ever uses it), and quietly cooks along side with Jolene.
This is not their first time cooking together, and Cougar knows the kitchen almost as well as she does.
"Cinnamon," she says, holding out a hand.
Without looking up from his pot on the stove, he reaches over and grabs the spice tin, and hands it back over to her.
The window over the sink provides a view of the backyard, the deck and lawn spreading out
As the afternoon progresses, the boys filter in. Clay is the first to arrive. He comes in, gives Jolene a kiss on the cheek, and hurriedly makes his way back out of the kitchen. He sits down on the most comfortable of the deck chairs, and settles down. Roque soon after, and Aisha after that. Jensen lags in a half hour behind. They all go to Clay first, but all stop by to greet Jolene.
Jensen has ended up as beverage-fetcher, though with each order, he stays longer and longer in the kitchen.
It’s nearing six when Roque comes back into the kitchen. “I’m grilling,” he announces.
Cougar looks at Roque.
Roque rummages through the silverware drawers. “You can grill your chicken if you want, but I’m in charge of the steaks. I know how Clay likes it.”
Jensen giggles. He’s on his fourth Corona margarita of the night, and Cougar makes them strong.
Roque turns towards him, gesturing the tongs at him. "Jensen–"
"Shutting up," Jensen says. "Put the tongs down."
“How much longer, do you think?” Jolene asks, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“The steaks take the shortest time to cook, and they’re not supposed to rest too long, so whenever Cougar’s ready.”
“Soon,” Cougar replies.
“Now?” Jensen asks. “I’m hungry.”
“Soon.”
“It’ll be worth the wait,” Jolene adds.
The food is delicious.
Or at least, judging by everyone’s reaction, it seems to be.
Jolene has tried to juggle eating her own dinner and holding William, and it has never worked out in the food’s favor. So she holds her son, listens to the light conversation, and waits for someone to finish eating.
To Jolene’s surprise, it’s Aisha who comes up to her.
“I’m not great with kids,” she says, “but I can hold him long enough for you to eat.”
“Thank you,” Jolene says, as she passes William over. William fusses, briefly, but relaxes in Aisha’s arms.
A moment later, Lin is at her side, handing her a plate, stacked high with a little bit of everything.
Jolene smiles up at him. “Thanks, baby.”
The food is delicious.
Conversations start back up. Lin pulls his chair over so his arm brushes against Jolene’s. Jensen takes William from Aisha, and returns to the loveseat where he’s sitting with Cougar. Clay’s telling a story and Roque is shaking his head, correcting him every other sentence, but they’re both smiling. One story turns into another, and the sun sinks lower in the sky.
After a lull in the conversation, Lin stands up. "C'mon, losers, dish washing time."
Roque looks around. "Why're you looking at me, Pooch?"
"Did you cook?"
"Do I look like I know how to cook?"
"Does Cougar look like he knows how to cook?" Clay asks.
Roque jabs his thumb at Clay. "Did he cook?"
"It's his not-birthday."
"What about Jensen?"
"He's entertaining William," Jolene answers for him.
"It's a valued position in washing dishes," Lin adds.
Roque frowns.
"Do the goddamn dishes," Clay says.
"What your language," Jolene says.
"You scrape, I wash, Roque dries?" Aisha says, as she pushes herself out of her chair. "Or bitches so long that the dishes dry themselves?"
"Language," Jolene replies.
Aisha shoots her a too-sweet smile. "Sorry."
"I don't–"
"Language," Jolene says, preemptively.
"You act like one, if nothing else."
"Aisha, play nice," Clay says.
Lin shakes his head. "I'm going to go do my part, you two can grow a pair and help out if you'd like, but I'll do it myself if I need to."
"I'm not going to abandon you like that," Aisha says, as she follows him in.
Roque tenses.
"Roque, play nice," Clay says, quietly.
Roque rolls his eyes, and strides back into the house.
"Do I want to know?" Jolene asks, turning to Cougar.
Cougar shakes his head. He’s slumped on the loveseat, facing the lawn, watching Jensen and William play in the grass.
Clay isn’t chatty after a large meal, and he just leans back in his chair, propping his feet up on the small table in front of him. His fingers lace over his stomach, his gaze settles on the treeline, and he seems content.
Jolene loves moments like this – she doesn't know the entire scope of the missions that they're all sent on, but she knows it gets noisy, and messy, and that they must enjoy downtime like this. She's glad she can be a haven for them. Lin is her husband, and she loves him dearly, but the rest of the team are an extension of their family, and she cares about them all as well.
It doesn't take more than a few minutes for Jensen to tire out William, who comes back over to Jolene, lifting his arms up to her. She smiles down at him, and pulls him up to sit on his lap. It's still an hour before his bedtime, but the excitement has worn him out, for which Jolene is very thankful towards Jensen.
Jensen just ambles over to the couch, and settles down next to Cougar, draping an arm along the back of the couch. It's casual, and oddly intimate in how casual it is.
She dozes off, some time while the only sound is the background noise of the rest of the neighborhood, and the muffled sound of dishes clinking against each other in the sink.
Lips graze her temple, and Jolene blinks the sleep out of her eyes, looking up at her husband. "Hey, baby," she says. She tilts her head back for a proper kiss, to which he obliges.
He moves to sit on the arm of the chair, and he wraps his arms around her shoulders. “You guys thinking of hitting up a bar?”
Clay shakes his head. “I’m good.”
“Good. Get out of my house.”
“You’re a terrible host,” Jensen complains.
“Damn right. Now who here’s still sober?”
Roque, Aisha and Cougar raise their hands.
“No you’re not, Roque.” He turns to Aisha and Cougar. “You’re driving.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be our transport guy?” Clay asks.
“Not when I’m already at home with my wife.”
Jolene smiles over at Aisha and Cougar. “Make sure they get home safely.”
*
Sometime before ten in the morning, Jolene's phone buzzes. She checks it, fleetingly, expecting it to be another text from a friend, reminder from her pediatrician, something of the sort.
But it's Lin's number.
Morning, is all it reads.
Jolene's heart clenches painfully in her chest, and she smiles softly to herself. Morning, she replies. A moment passes, and she sends a ?
0445
Jolene makes a face. And because she can, she continues to make that face, while she snaps a picture of herself. She looks horrible, but it makes her smile, and it'll make Lin smile that much more. You don't like being up that early, she adds with the picture.
Lin replies with a picture as well. He's making a similar face, though more exaggerated. Late. Haven't slept in 32 hrs.
Worry flutters through her. But Lin never texts her during missions, only after. He's alright. He's through the mission. He'll be heading somewhere to rest soon. Home, hopefully, soon after. Get to sleep soon? she still asks.
Hour or so.
Jolene snaps a picture of William. Still another two hours before his nap.
Cougar texts her. Buenos dias.
Jolene smiles.
A moment later, a picture gets sent. It's Lin, phone in his hand, a wide smile on his face, visible even through the small picture. He's very happy right now.
And you?
Another picture. Cougar's chin is on his chest, head lolling to the side.
Another second after, Jensen sends her a picture– Cougar still 'asleep,' with Jensen in the background, making an exaggerated expression. here we see the wild cougar asleep in his habitat
His habitat is somewhere with booths, Jolene noticed from Lin's picture. But Jensen's picture had a wider scale, and it almost looks like they're at a diner. She decides Jensen is the one to ask. Where are you?
donut shop. open all night. A second later, it's accompanied by a close-up selfie of Jensen smiling, a thumbs-up barely visible in the corner of the screen.
That explains the booths. Hopefully they serve coffee, and can get them through somewhere safe. Is that where you're supposed to wait out your extraction?
i'm sorry but that's classified ma'am.
Which means Jensen is just bullshitting. 'Classified' – properly capitalized – is what he texts when it's really something he can't say.
Jolene’s curious. Whose idea was it?
thats also classified. A second later, it was totally roque though
The thought makes Jolene laugh again. She gets down onto her knees, and snaps another picture of William, sending it to Lin.
To Jensen, she asks, How's Roque handing the morning?
he's a morning person. it's freaky. The next few texts are all one-worded, and come in a rapid succession. creepy. eerie. strange. ddd. alarming! surprising?
In the midst of them, Jolene sends Cougar, Is Jensen okay?
He just needs sleep, Cougar replies.
no i do not, comes a second later, from Cougar, and yet, obviously not from Cougar.
I love the dinosaur shirt! Is that new?
Yep! Jessica went shopping with Jenny, and Jenny thought it was cool. Jenny thought a lot of the baby clothes were cool.
What else?
And then Jolene picks William up. It's still half an hour before his favorite show, and he likes having his picture taken, especially when Jolene tells it that it's for his daddy.
She wishes that William was able to know Lin better, that his father was around. She allows herself a few maudlin moments, every now and then, and then locks the thought away. Years later, it won't matter as much – William will be old enough to understand that Lin still tried to keep in touch, did everything he can.
And if that involves Lin sending his wife picture requests of their son in different outfits while he’s in a donut shop at 4:59 a.m. after a mission, then that is perfectly fine with Jolene.
She gets a few texts while she's busy trying to wrangle William out of the dinosaur shirt (Jenny had somehow convinced him that it was cool, and he cries whenever Jolene takes it off), and he's in a shirt with a tuxedo print on it, when she looks over. The texts are mostly from Jensen, and a few pictures from Cougar.
She smiles, perhaps a bit too widely, at the picture that Jensen sends that in involves his arm wrapped around Cougar's shoulders, pressing them in close together for a selfie. Jensen is doing a duck face, but Cougar is smiling that soft smile he gets when he's truly content and happy.
Jolene replies with a duck face.
A moment later, Lin texts him with his own duck face. Jolene laughs. So does William, when she shows it to him.
Get one with Aisha.
He doesn't reply for a few good minutes, and Jolene wishes she could be there, listening to the conversation going on.
But it arrives, a few minutes after that, Aisha making a duck face at Lin. She also has a bruise purpling across her cheek.
Is she okay?
You should see the other guy.
Roque?
Did Aisha beat up Roque, or a picture of Roque? Lin asks. A moment later, it’s followed up with a (Roque is doing better after your Talk.)
The picture of Roque that follows isn’t a duck face, but he’s squinting at the camera. It’s a handsome look on him.
Next picture she gets is from Jensen. He’s making a duck face, while Clay is glaring at the camera, expression deadpan.
Jolene replies to Jensen, Tell him he’s a spoil-sport.
no way not even if my life depended on it.
Lin also refuses to pass along the sentiment.
Five minutes later, Cougar sends Jolene a picture of Clay flipping her off.
*
It’s a rare night off, thirty-six hour stopover between missions.
William is asleep in his crib, and Jolene and Lin are lying in bed. She’s half on top of him, and they’re idly making out. Only it’s not as idle as it had started, with most of their clothing discarded, and Lin’s hands slowly migrating down her back.
There’s the quiet chirp of her phone ringing.
They pull apart, and Lin groans. “Ignore it,” he says.
Jolene just kisses his nose. “Nope. Wait here. It won’t be long.” She rolls out of bed and grabs her phone.
It’s Cougar’s number. She takes it into the hallway -- she figures if Cougar wanted Lin’s input, he would have called him. “Cougar?” she asks. “What are you doing calling so late at night?”
“I’m at your front door.”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Jolene says, before hanging up. She sighs, then makes her way back into their room to grab a robe. Cougar doesn’t need to see her in her underwear.
“Who was it?” Lin asks, still lying on the bed.
“Won’t be a minute,” Jolene evades. She makes her way to the front of the house, tying her sash tight around her middle. She flicks on the overhead and porch lights, and opens the door.
“I know you don’t like the doorbell this late at night,” Cougar says, quietly. “Am I interrupting?”
Jolene loves Cougar too much to tell him yes. She also loves him too much to lie. “Come inside, Cougar.”
Cougar takes off his hat, and holds it between his hands. “Sorry. I need to talk.”
“It’s okay,” she tells him. She flicks off the overhead light, and leads him through the living room and into the kitchen. He follows her, quietly, but this is a different sort of quiet. She drops her phone on the table, and turns the light above the stove. “You want a drink?”
“Tea, please.”
She looks him up and down. “With or without a splash of whiskey?”
He considers it. “With, please.”
She fills the electric kettle up with water, and flicks it on.
There’s the sound of approaching steps, and Jolene turns to see Lin making his way into the circle of light. He’s put his shirt back on. “Shit, man,” Lin says. “You and Jensen on the outs again?”
Cougar sighs.
“You have been on the outs?” Jolene asks, pausing in the tea preparation.
“Is this about Rio?” Lin asks.
Cougar nods.
“What happened in Rio?” Jolene asks.
Neither reply.
“In regards to Jensen,” she specifies.
Lin sighs. “Jensen being Jensen,” he says.
“You,” Jolene tells him, “need to be a bit more specific.”
It gets a huff of laugh from Lin.
“It’s the small things,” Cougar says, quietly. He accepts a mug and takes a long sip of the spiked tea. And then he begins to talk, all the small things that have built up. He goes on for a few minutes, never getting angry enough for it to be a tirade, though if it were Jolene with the same complaints, it certainly would be. Cougar concludes his grievances, and goes silent, continuing to sip his tea.
It is the most Jolene has ever heard Cougar say, and judging by the look of surprise on Lin’s face, it’s the most he’s heard Cougar say as well.
“I,” Lin says, wrapping an arm around Jolene’s shoulder, “am lucky enough to be married to a bright, beautiful woman. She tells me when she’s angry with me, and I would tell her if I ever got angry at her.”
Jolene laughs, and gently punches Lin’s shoulder. “You get mad at me.”
“When?”
“Hair in the drain.”
Lin makes a face. “Okay, I do get mad at you. But we talk about it.” He turns back to Cougar. “I know Jensen doesn’t do well with serious conversations, but you’ve got to try.”
Cougar sighs. “I know.”
A tinny rendition of Anyway You Want It starts playing.
“You might want to pick that up,” Lin says, after a moment.
Jolene frowns. Looks at her phone on the table, sees that her phone is ringing. “I don’t remember changing my ringtone.”
“Jensen likes changing ringtones,” Lin says. “It can be a pain.”
“Or funny,” Cougar says, quietly.
Jolene smiles at Cougar as she picks up her phone. “Hello?”
“Cougs isn’t answering my calls, I think I fucked up.”
Jolene moves to the edge of the kitchen. “Where are you, Jensen?”
“Outside. Cougs told me once that you don’t like the doorbell being rung after eight at night since it would wake up Little Willie, and I don’t know if knocking is the same principal–” Jensen cuts off as Jolene opens the door. “Hi.”
“Hello, Jensen.”
“Can I come in?” Jensen asks, even as he starts past her into the house. “It’s really quite nippy out.”
“Who said you could let your sorry ass in here?” Lin asks, as he and Cougar enter the living room.
“Oh,” Jensen says, face dropping. “I didn’t know you were here. I should probably go–”
“No. We should talk.”
Jensen nods.
Jolene gently squeezes his shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” she murmurs.
Jensen gives a small, grateful smile. “Thanks,” he mumbles in reply.
“We’re going back to bed,” Lin says, holding his hand out for Jolene. “You two losers can show yourselves out.” And then he tugs her back towards their bedroom.
Still, they wait for the click of the front door closing before they enter their room.
Lin sighs as he flops back down onto bed. “Next time we’re turning off our phones,” he says.
Jolene flops down next to him. “Of course, sweetie,” she says, indulgently.
He rolls over, and flicks off the light, and then returns to the center of the bed, wrapping his arms around her. Jolene wiggles in closer, and settles, lying half on top of him. They cuddle.
“You know,” Jolene starts, “if you gave me more heads up, I would be able to clean up my hair from the shower when you visit.”
Lin just laughs, his chest rumbling against her cheek. He reaches up, and tugs gently on a strand of her hair. “Deal.”
Jolene presses a kiss against his chest, and they fall asleep.
*
There’s a very definitive knocking at the door.
It’s the same loud, steady cadence when the Services had come to inform Jolene of the helicopter crash.
Jolene grabs the nearest chair, and spends a moment composing herself. Lin had been complaining that they were being sent on fluff missions. He enjoyed being able to stop by – she enjoyed it just as much, if not more – but he and the boys were starting to get restless. Did they ask for different assignments? Jolene had thought this was going to be a full week off. She had been with him on the phone just two days ago.
There’s another knock at the door.
Jolene draws herself up, holds her head high, and makes her way to the front of the house. She takes a steadying breath, and opens the door.
Then nearly sags against the door in relief.
Aisha rises an eyebrow.
Jolene spends a few moments telling her heart to stop racing. “Hello, Aisha,” she says, breathlessly.
“Hello,” she greets. “William has daycare on Wednesdays, right?”
Jolene nods.
“Do you want to go get a mani-pedi?”
Jolene stares at her.
Aisha stares back.
Jolene doesn’t really have any other plans for the day. “Sure,” she says. Aisha looks relieved, which Jolene finds relaxing. “I just need a minute to get ready.” She steps back. “You can come in, if you’d like.”
“No, I can wait out here.”
Jolene did most of her make-up before taking William to daycare, and so Jolene just straps her shoes on, makes sure all appliances and electronics are off, and locks the door after her.
Aisha has a red sports car, which she’s lounging against.
It’s a quiet drive over to an upscale salon.
Aisha asks about William, and Jolene isn’t sure if it’s out of curiosity or just conversation to fill the air. Either way, Jolene doesn’t mind talking about her son, and a few anecdotes are able to coax laughs out of Aisha.
“This has been fun,” Jolene says, as they return to the car.
Aisha nods. “It has been.”
“You don’t have to seem so surprised,” Jolene teases.
“Pooch doesn’t care for me much,” Aisha says. “I figured that you’d…”
“Agree with my husband’s assessment of someone instead of bothering to get to know them myself?”
Aisha shrugs. “It happens.”
“So, where are we going next?”
“Meeting up with Roque.”
“Where are we meeting up with Roque?”
“Where he is.”
Jolene frowns. “Why are we meeting up with Roque?”
“Because he asked us to.”
“Fine,” Jolene says. “Be as cryptic as you like.”
The corner of Aisha’s mouth flicks into a smile.
They drive in silence – one far more amiable than earlier – before Aisha pulls into a shopping center.
Roque is waiting in front of a liquor store.
Jolene lets out a laugh.
“Jolene, Aisha,” Roque greets, seeming the cheeriest Jolene has seen him in a while.
“What a coincidence meeting you here,” Jolene says. “I didn’t know we were meeting up with you.”
Aisha snorts.
Jolene smiles. “Why are we all here?”
Roque wraps an arm around her shoulder. “I am here to buy you copious amounts of liquor. You are here to be bought copious amounts of liquor. And Aisha here is here to pay for it.”
“And Roque pick me out a bottle,” Aisha adds. “He’s got one of the best palettes of anyone I’ve ever met.”
Whatever tension existed between Aisha and Roque has dissipated, and while they bicker extensively over tequila, the rest of the afternoon is spent wandering around the liquor store. While Jolene has her suspicions, Aisha and Roque do nothing suspicious, until the cashier starts checking them out, and they hang back to have a hushed conversation.
Jolene smiles at them benevolently and waits.
“I’m going to get the car,” Roque says, finally.
“Roque’s going to give you a ride back.” Aisha hands over one of the bottles of wine. “This is for you for tonight. The rest will be delivered later.”
“What’s tonight?”
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m catching up on sleep. And maybe a few reality shows.”
Roque pulls up to the curb, and Jolene pulls Aisha into a hug. “I have no idea what you’re doing, but chances I’m going to be thankful for it.”
Aisha has a small smile on her face when Jolene pulls back. “Make sure to compliment Roque on the car. He’s very proud of the fact he was able to rent a Jaguar.”
It’s a quick drive home, and there are a few more cars parked near the house than normal.
When Jolene starts up the walkway, Jensen strides out of the house. He has William in one arm, and his other arm laden with what Jolene knows to be his overnight bag.
“Jensen,” Jolene greets. “What’s going on?”
“Well since me and Cougs crashed your you-time the other week, we figured it was the least we could do.” Jensen smiles. “Besides, Jenny really likes Will, and I’m going to solidify my position as the Cool Uncle.”
“Aren’t you her only uncle?”
“That’s besides the point.”
“So… what? You had Aisha take me out for a spa day, Roque buy me liquor, and you’re taking care of William for the night?”
“And Cougs is finishing up the meal prep, and Clay is scrubbing anything we tell him to scrub. It’s awesome.”
Jolene is thankful she had cleaned her hair from the drain-catch in the bathroom.
She gives William a kiss good-bye, and goes into the house.
In the kitchen, Cougar is at the stove, Clay is at the sink.
Jolene spends a good minute watching Clay scrub at the dishes. “Thank you, Clay,” she says, finally. All the boys have their horror stories of the mundane chores they were forced to do when they were still new to the military.
“Don’t thank me,” Clay replies, as he pulls the rubber gloves off. “It was Cougar’s idea.”
“But you still went along with it. I know how you feel about dishes.”
Clay throws the rubber gloves under the sink. “For you,” he says, “I can make an exception.” He presses a kiss to her cheek, then walks out of the kitchen.
With Clay gone, Jolene turns her attention to Cougar. He’s placing all the spices back in their appropriate places. She comes up behind him, and wraps her arms around Cougar’s waist. “You,” she says, before she presses a kiss to Cougar’s cheek, “are my favorite.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not the jealous type.”
Jolene turns around.
Lin is standing at the edge of the kitchen.
He’s dressed up in a charcoal gray vest and slacks, with a light lilac dress shirt. The first button of the dress shirt is unbuttoned, and Jolene wishes the second was too.
“You,” she tells him, “are my husband.” She goes up to wrap her arms around his neck. “That makes you my special favorite.”
His smile makes heat curl in her stomach. “How special?”
She pulls him in for a kiss.