The air positively tingled with excitement as the men tumbled through the door. Each reeked of sweat and looked like he had lived in a trench for a week; dirty, matted hair, filth streaked faces and mud-caked boots and clothes.

Plopping on a stool and kicking off his boots, Brij snickered, "Did you see the runt's face?"

"I bet the fucker pissed his pants" Dev chuckled as he grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge.

"Did not!" Etash growled. His murderous expression was a warning of nasty things to follow if the ragging continued. Being the youngest and newest member of this elite team put him at a distinct disadvantage. He was often the butt of all jokes, and as much as he enjoyed their antics, he often wished they would give him a break. He knew the boys meant no harm, and he often partook in their immaturity, but today, he wasn't quite in the mood.

"Did too!" Aalam yelled rolling up his socks and throwing them at Etash.

"You were all pussies!" JT remarked strolling into the room with an air of superiority.

"Yeah, yeah fucking showoff," someone yelled, and JT snickered. Today was a good day. In the last leg of the 3-day training exercise, he had set a new time record, beating that of the trainer's as well. The obstacle course had been a mix of various endurance testers such as a 5-km run with weapons, climbing a vertical and horizontal rope, jumping over fire ditches, a 60-m sprint, and swimming in battle fatigues.

JT's overconfident strut ended quickly enough. Just as he sat down, a trooper poured a glass of ice down the back of JT's shirt. The shriek and dance that followed had all the men laughing.

"He squeals like a bitch," is all Aalam could say before he found himself being chased around the room by a fuming JT. He didn't get very far. Etash stuck his foot out at the opportune moment, and Aalam found himself hugging the floor. Triumphantly, JT hopped on his victim's back and trapped Aalam's arms under his knees. At that moment, a half-melted ice cube worked its way down JT's back, and he wiggled a little to let it escape. The movement raised a few eyebrows and stirred another laughing spell.

"Practicing for the blond are we?" Dev chuckled as he made his way to the showers.

JT growled. "Don't," is all he said standing up. The runt was right. The men needed boundaries.

At Gwen's mention, JT found himself wanting to piece his phone back together. He hadn't been allowed to carry it during the training exercise, and he was curious to see if she had called. Questions flooded his mind. Did the cleaning crew turn up? Did she face any issues? How had she spent the last few days? Did she miss him? Had she tried calling?

Only one way to find out.

JT sauntered over to his locker and began rummaging. Now, where had he left the silly thing? Whose brilliant idea was it to remove the battery? Now he had to look for 'parts' rather than just the phone!

"Looking for something?"

JT grunted and turned around. Aalam stood leaning against the doorframe waving a cellphone in his hand. A mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"Give it back," JT muttered. He knew where this was going. The boys were like bloodhounds. Once they sniffed a weakness, they would go right for the kill. Ever since the bonfire, they had been teasing him about Gwen. And from his estimation, the teasing wouldn't stop anytime soon. Perhaps he could strong-arm his way through this situation? After all, he was their leader. They must fear him. And if they didn't know by now, he'd make sure that he would wear them down the next time they found themselves on the training field.

Aalam tossed the phone. Even though he was half expecting it and half wishing Aalam would play nice, the action caught JT by surprise. The phone soared past him and he fully expected to hear a crash as it connected with the floor. When he heard muffled laughter, he turned.

Dev! He should have known. JT mentally cursed as he made his way over. Only to have to turn around as the phone flew past again. Etash curiously looked at the screen and then grinned before tossing the phone ... again.

JT sighed. He was nearing the end of his patience with his group. Too many days cooped up with the boys and their antics. They were beginning to get on his nerves. Or perhaps he was just irritated because he really wanted to check up on Gwen?

Whatever the reason, he knew if he didn't get his hands on that phone, he'd end up throttling someone.

JT took a menacing step forward and then stopped as a shrill ringtone filled the room.

Silence fell over the room, and all eyes were trained on the screen. Taking advantage of the small distraction, JT reached forward and snatched the phone. A chorus of hey's and not cool dude filled the room. Grinning, JT took off, phone safely nestled in his huge hands.

He barely made it to the door when curiosity took over and he glanced at the screen. An unknown number, hmmm. Perhaps one of those pesky sales calls. Not feeling the need for privacy, JT stopped a fraction of an inch from the threshold and answered the call.

"James?"

The silky smoothness of her voice washed over him. He closed his eyes for the briefest seconds. She did miss him! She had called. Perhaps before today as well. And then he caught on to the anxiety and desperation in her tone, and all his satisfaction disappeared.

Raising his hand to silence the boys, JT quickly spoke into the phone, "Gwen, what's wrong?"

For a minute she didn't reply. He heard ragged breathing at the other end. He knew the call hadn't dropped. So why wasn't she speaking?

Mentally forcing himself to calm the concern in his voice, he spoke again, softly this time. "Gwen, tell me what's wrong."

He heard her take a few deep breaths. This was more nerve-wracking than a mission!

Finally, she spoke.

"Can you come over?"

Her voice was soft, barely a whisper. He sensed she was still anxious about something but trying to bring some kind of courage into her voice.

"Mhmm, I'm a couple of hours out. I'll drop by as soon as I hit town."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Gwen, what happened? What's wrong? I can have someone else drop by if you need help immediately."

"No, no, please. Just you. No one else." The desperation in her voice had returned. JT guessed whatever it was she wanted to keep it private. Just between her and whomever she truly trusted. In this case, she trusted him.

"All right, if you're sure. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you," she said sounding more relieved.

JT wasn't sure if he should prompt her again to share what was troubling her. A minute or more passed while he mulled over what to say next. Merely saying goodbye didn't seem like the best course of action. Then it hit him; he had no way of contacting her if he needed to. After all, he had passed his number to her, but she hadn't, as yet, returned the gesture.

"Gwen, is this your number? Can I reach you here if need be?"

Gwen sighed on the phone and JT could just picture her nodding her head at his question. Under normal circumstances, he'd have taken the risk that indeed, the number she was calling from was hers. But he was having trouble remembering if she even had a phone. He'd never seen her use one, of that he was certain. But that didn't imply she didn't own one. He needed the confirmation especially given the situation.

"Yeah this is me," she said. She laughed softly. It was a fake laugh. He could tell. But he smiled nonetheless.

At that, his mind wound back to the day he first met her. Sitting in the café, she had said the same thing to him. JT could just picture her pointing at herself and smiling sheepishly. Well, if she still had her sense of humor, perhaps the situation wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. That was a comforting thought. Wishful thinking!

He tried once more. "Tell me what happened Gwen."

"He's here," she said, the fear returning in her voice.

"Who is he, Gwen?" Now JT was thoroughly confused. She was new in town. She hadn't indicated that she knew anybody. All the men JT had introduced to Gwen were right here with him, in this very room. So who could this he be? Why was he at her house? And what did he do to make her so fearful? He looked up to see all eyes were trained on him. No one had moved from the time the conversation had started. His group looked at him the same way he was looking at them. Worried and Confused.

"Tom ... He's here. In town." Her voice cracked. The courage she had tried so hard to muster up, finally leaving. She sobbed but attempted to cover the sound.

"What did he do?" JT tried. He really did. But he couldn't help the way his eyes narrowed or the growl that followed.

Another brief pause before she spoke. "Can we not talk about this right now please?" He heard the distinct sound of a spoon against ceramic and instinctively knew she was furiously beating her coffee.

JT wanted to smile at that. He really did. The mental image of Gwen standing in her bare kitchen, most likely barefoot, taking her frustration out on her coffee was amusing. The trepidation he felt, however, outweighed everything else he felt. So he confirmed his ETA with Gwen and ended the call.

"What can we do?" JT looked up to see Aalam standing before him. This is precisely why he liked his boys. They asked no questions. Just offered help. He was sure they'd want to see their family and girlfriends. But JT also knew they would put all that off when he needed them around.

"We leave in 10." With that JT stomped out of the room, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.