Gone

37.

Amoura spends the remainder of the week training the unit with Coon since Row and Williams have shifter's training. "You alright there?" Coon asks as Amoura zones in and out of training. "Yeah just tired." Coon smiles at her, "someone keeping you up all night?" Coon smiles at her.

"You try living with a banshee. She's the annoying rooster everyone wants to shoot." Amoura complains as she ties her shoe.

"Stone that's not what I meant." Amoura looks at him, "I know what you meant, but when you tell me what those looks you and Row give each other I'll tell you about my late night activities." Coon looks away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Want to run live drills?" Smith asks them, "just three out of five Captains?" Coon asks as she looks at them, "well make it a search and rescue, Row and Williams are bound to get themselves captured."

Coon smiles before looking at Smith, "Smith you one team? You want to be the third party?" Coon asks Amoura, "oh, I wouldn't make a good third party. I'd save myself the drama and shoot the host- sure, they got to learn not everything goes as they wish when in the field."

"Alright everyone stop. Take a breather! We start live drills in ten. Stone's squad you're with Stone, Williams squad is with Smith, Rows squad you're with me," Coon calls out to the unit.  "Alright, Coon, Smith hand over two hostages," Stone comments as she gets up and walks to the live drills grown.

"Everybody up!" Stone takes the building at the center of the decoy town. "Stark, Hendy spread as far as possible take two rooks with you. Both of you lay there and play dead." Stone shoots them both with the paint bullets, "not every enemy takes them alive. I don't take anyone alive. You two, back windows. You, you're good with a handgun take the stairs. When this is over, please tell me your names, Kio I want you on the roof, Goodmen you and Halstead take the front windows."

"We have contact," Kio says through the earpiece. Stone gives them orders to take them out.  "A small unit has made it past me and is using the buildings to hide, headed to you," Hendy calls in.

"Grand do you know what to do if you're superior dies?" Grand looks at Amoura, "You're going to die?"

"Highly unlikely, but I might not always be around to give orders, so now answer the question what would you do next?" Stone asks as she leans against the wall.

"Well, Hendy is to the south so they'll be coming from Goodmen and Halstead's side. So I'd leave Kio to look at the whole view while I focused on this side."

"Grenade!" Smoke fills the stairs and a rook is covered in paint. "Now the man on the stairs is dead. Now what?" Amoura looks at Grand. "Shoot the first one who comes up." Stone gets shot before Grand shoots him.

"You're on your own now Grand." Stone walks down the stairs. "Captain-" Stone cuts her off, "trust yourself, Grand." Stone jumps out, "Oh ignore me, I'm dead." They look at her.

"We've seen you heal from worse, Captain." They speak up, "then pretend I'm still healing and ignore me. I'm trying to teach here." Stone jumps onto the small roof and sits on the second-floor window to watch.

Stone watches as Grand takes charge and wins the drill. "She's going to make a nice Captain one day." Stone jumps down and joins the others. "Since when do you die Stone?" Coon asks her, "sacrifices must be made when trying to teach." She replies as she removes the vest, "teach what?"

"I'll explain later," Stone mutters as she hands the vest over, "Alright you're all free till the afternoon training." Coon dismisses the rooks and Stone heads to the changing room.

Stone arrives at her dorm and sees McAllister waiting for her, "what now?" She pauses to look at him, "I came to check up on you."

Stone looks at him as exhaustion fills her, "I have nothing to say," Stone quickly removes her clothes before walking up to him to kiss him, she just wants his touch. "Amoura," He lays her on the bed, he looks at her and she silently begs for him not to turn her away, "I hope you know I have all night." He kisses her and lets himself explore every inch of her.

He holds her close even after she tries to push him away, "why must you be a cuddler?" She mutters annoyed as she moves around, trying to get comfortable. "You knew this when we first got together." 

"It was annoying then too," He kisses her neck as he holds her. "Go to sleep," he tangles his fingers with hers. "Yes, yes." For the first time in a while, Stone has a restless sleep.

Stone spends every day talking less and less to Williams if it has nothing to do with commanding the unit and less to do with personal emotions, Row and Coon were reaching an end to being the band that forces the two of them together. And every night sleeps in McAllisters' arms just to get a good nights sleep.

That weekend Coon finds Stone and leads her to the gymnasium. He walks right out after they walk in and locks the door behind him.

"Really you all are going to lock in a dark room? Last time I was in a dark room, I was tortured for ten months. Do you really want to see my ugly side?" Williams speaks up from the darkness. "And here I thought we've already seen it."

Stone turns to see Williams walking up to her, "very clever guys, come on open the doors." Williams is greeted by silence, "well we both know what this is?" Amoura looks at him, "No, I didn't have many friends growing up." 

"What are you talking about weren't you engaged?" Williams looks to correct her, "That's not the same thing, he was my fiancé out of need to create peace not because we choose it, though he was happy about it."

Stone walks around as silence fills the room. "Why is it that you can tell everyone else your life but not me?" Williams breaks the silence they were standing in.

"Let it go, Williams," Amoura looks away and tries to find a way out. "No. We won't get out of here till we fix whatever is broken between us, so start talking. Why is it that you can tell them but not me?"

"Because you're immature Williams, we don't talk because you don't know how to act like an adult." She states and he pouts, "I know how to be an adult." She looks at him, "my point exactly."

"Stone-" she cuts him off, "no. You either treat me like I'm fragile like a flower or a bomb theirs no in between with you, I don't need you to treat me as if you're handling glass. I went to hell and back I'm not going to break on you. I don't need to wrapped in a blanket, and I sure as hell don't need a savior."

"I want to help you, is that so bad Stone?!" He growls and Stone looks at him, "you're not trying to help me, you're trying to save me and you can't see that I don't need saving."

"Stone I do understand-" she cuts him off, "no you don't you, stop trying to fix me, and let me be. Understand this is who I am now. Accept that I'm different and there's nothing you can do. All you can do is accept who I am now, we'll never get along if you don't let go of the person I use to be."

Stone walks away from him as the familiar numbness swallows her whole. "You told him you came back. not because you didn't want to die," Stone looks at him, he over heard that.

"Who did you come back for then?" Stone looks at him, "you don't need to know that." Stone replies and Williams growls 'who?!'

"Just know it wasn't for you," The front doors open and Stone walks out, "do that again, and I'll lock you both in a closet." She walks past them, "that's not funny Stone." Row yells after her.