Archive of Our Own

After a semi-successful mission, you and the 141 squad were exhausted.

Missions usually didn't take longer than three days but being on constant edge and finishing up your tasks were no easy accomplishment.

"We need to camp somewhere.", Soap grunts out. You, Soap, Ghost and Alejandro leaned against trees, watching from a distance from your previous destructive position.

Each of you were scraped up, some a little more damaged than the others, but otherwise still standing.

You looked around, recognizing a familiar tree line past a hill and smiled a bit. "I got somewhere we can stay. C'mon.", you nodded your head and led them to a house big enough for a family of 6.

You ducked down, signaling them to do the same as you led them through a silent neighborhood to avoid questions. It was only hard because of Soap's constant questioning.

Ghost and Alejandro had to glare at him to shut him up, but he was just as curious.

Sneaking them in the backyard was the easy part.

Walking them up to the back door, you found a spare key in the plant pot next to the door and opened it. Peeking your head in, you looked around, finding the kitchen empty and walked inside.

The men cautiously walked in, looking around. Ghost took in the smell of coffee. It was bitter. He would've liked it if he wasn't in discomfort.

There was a shelf that held containers of Folgers coffee. They didn't look open, but he could smell them.

He watched as you looked around, finding the living room. He tensed up as you let out a patterned, cautious whistle.

A couple of seconds, they waited until they heard small, thumping footsteps. They got louder and closer from the stairway near the front door.

A little girl, seemingly no older than 8, came peeking around the staircase and brightened as she saw you. Her little curls bounced around her tiny ears as she ran to you, arms wide.

Smiling wide, you knelt down, taking the running girl in your arms as you two laughed. The men behind you looked shocked. Ghost was very curious. He felt like he intruded into something he shouldn't have.

"You're a mom?", Soap spoke up. You gave him an unimpressed look. "No.", you say. You might as well have been.

Ghost watched as you smiled at the men, holding the girl in your arms as if she were an infant, walking up to them. "This is Alice. My niece.", you introduced.

Soap and Alejandro smiled. "Could've fooled me. You two are identical.", Alejandro said, raising his hand to shake Alice's smaller one. "Encantado de conocerte, pequeña señorita."

You smiled. "This is Alejandro.", you introduced.

Alice looks at you with curious eyes. "Like my friend Alejandro?", she asks. You nod, "Yeah."

She turns to him with a big smile, "¿Eres amiga de mi tía?"

The girl's speech shocks the men. Alejandro's eyes light up as he nods enthusiastically. "Si. You speak Spanish?"

You shrug as she nods. "It's a learning requirement for schools around here. They're usually supposed to learn in middle school, but she's learning something.", you explain.

Soap raised his hand to shake hers next. "I'm Johnny.", he says, smiling. You, Ghost and Alejandro look at him in astonishment.

"Oh, she can call you Johnny, but if I do it, it's a problem.", you say, feigning offense. Soap looks at you with wide eyes, "I can't have her calling me Soap. She'll laugh at me.", he mumbles through his teeth.

You turn to Alice, eyebrows raised. "His name's Soap.", you say, much to Soap's disappointment as he looks at you with a dropped jaw.

Alice laughs, making you grin. "Kids are brutal.", Soap mutters. Alice turns to Ghost who hadn't said anything either. He hadn't bothered to speak up either.

You frowned a bit. Was he not good with kids? Was this a bad time?

He shocks his teammates, though, by stepping up and holding his hand out to the girl. Alice's smile never left her face and grew as she lifted her own and shook his giant hand.

"I'm Simon," He introduces. Your jaw drops. The man won't admit it, but he was unnerved. There was a child in the house. Surrounded by people that had weapons.

Was this really a safe place…? For them? For her?

Alice hums as she looks at the men, pointing to each of them. "Uncle Soap, Uncle Alè, and Uncle Simon."

You look at her with wide eyes as the two shorter men softened. "Okay, now.", you say, letting her down.

"Where's your daddy?", you asked the girl. She looked up at you. "Daddy went to go see his friend. He told me to hold down the fort.", she said, smiling proudly.

"You did a good job, too.", you praised. The men looked at you with a questioning look. You looked at them, rolling your eyes and mouthed to them, "He went to go fuck."

They nodded in understanding. Ghost frowned. The circumstance reminded him of his brother again. Having to take care of him and get him to do better.

Alice's mom, your sister, died a couple of years ago. It hit you hard and was even harder on your brother-in-law. He had to deal with the fact he'd had to become a single dad.

You tried making it easy on him by co-parenting to raise Alice, but having to be taken by your job constantly, it made him step up a bit. You appreciated it, but he was still kinda half assing being a parent if he kept leaving her to go "have fun".

Alice's proud grin got wider until she really got a look at all of you. You all looked beaten and dirty. She caught onto the scraped, bloody knuckles of yours and gasped, causing all of you to tense up.

"You're hurt!", she exclaimed. You relaxed, a small smile coming to your face once more. "Go get your first aid kit.", you say, making her grin and rush off. "I get to use my hello kitty bandaids!", you all heard.

"Hello Kitty bandaids?", Soap asked. "You got a problem wearing the bandaids, MacTavish??", Ghost asks, a light teasing tone to his voice as you all made it to the dining room.

"She already destroyed my manhood by laughing at my callsign. What's the harm in getting cat bandages?", Soap said, sarcastically. You and Alejandro chuckled.

You heard small, rushing footsteps entering the room. The small girl happily caught her breath as she showed her kit.

"There we go.", you praised, picking the girl up and putting her on the counter of the kitchen bar.

"Who's got the most injuries?", you asked the men sitting at the dining table. Alejandro was first.

You helped him with stitching his side while Alice was thankfully distracted and distracted him by finding scrapes on his face, replacing the exposed injuries with bandaids.

Next was Soap who welcomed the care from the little doctor. He was used to having his nieces and nephews experimenting on him, so this was no different.

After the two were taken care of, they were sat in the living room, it was Ghost's turn. He quietly protested, promising it wasn't bad. But with a fixed look you sent him and a pleading look from Alice, he sighed through his nose and accepted his fate.

You checked his heavier wounds which made him tense that he couldn't have his gear on in an unknown place, but understood it'd make healing and patching him up difficult for you to do.

Alice, not bothering with his mask, settled on giving his arms and elbows bandages wherever she saw a cut.

You had to deal with the bigger cuts on his sides, disinfecting and patching them up. He couldn't say he hated it, though the same thought ran through his head as he glanced at Alice.

She shouldn't be a part of this.

After that was done, it was your turn, happily letting the girl patch you up.

Ghost didn't move in the living room. Instead, he stayed and watched you and your niece converse about her day. Seeing something as normal as this was… a light feeling for him.

He could feel the corners of his mouth turning up just by a little though. This was your life. Your normalcy. And even for a second, he was a part of it. He was appreciative.

He even nodded along to Alice's questions, answering them as light as he could, much to your surprise. The crawling dread in his stomach almost dissipated, just by a little, seeing the little girl was still as bright as he met her. Not a single thread of fear lingered off of the girl, unlike some of the kids he's walked past in his neighborhood.

You let Alice run off to her room after finishing her nursing before turning to your lieutenant. "Sorry about her. She tends to go a little overboard with her… equipment.", you say, giving him a smile.

He shook his head. "It's fine." He watched your smile grow, thankful for his sincere behavior.

"She acts just like you. Mother Henning.", he mutters, making your jaw drop. "I do not.", you counter.

He looks at you, a challenge in his eyes. "Mhm."

You scoff with a smile, washing up to make some food. You all were safe for the moment. Wouldn't hurt to have some food until you find your way back to base.

Without a word, Ghost helps, much to your surprise. "Didn't know you cooked.", you muttered. "Just a little.", he replied.

Well, he was doing much more than you expected and helped make plenty of portions of the meals you prepared.

You couldn't lie, it warmed your heart a bit to have your lieutenant: the hard ass, blunt, lonely ghost of a man, help with something so… domestic and soft.

Kinda the opposite of who he was, or at least what he showed on the outside.

While you were in your thoughts about his behavior, he couldn't help but notice your sudden soft smile as you cooked. Nonetheless, he knew you were happy he just couldn't bring himself to question it.