Never again, he had told himself. He had promised himself that he would never again take on an AI unit. He couldn't say he hated them, but he wouldn't go as far as saying he liked them either. But in that moment, there was only one option: take Epsilon. If he didn't, Tucker wouldn't make it. Tucker's mind didn't have the resiliency to comprehend exactly what was happening. Epsilon was breaking down, shredding Tucker's thoughts and memory as he went. Epsilon couldn't possibly have known that this would happen or he wouldn't have done it. Or maybe he would have. He may not be the same Church the Reds and Blues had known, but Epsilon was still a dick most days much like Church had been. Now was the moment. Carolina looked over at him, worried that could only be seen in her eyes.

You sure you want to do this? He didn't quite register that she was talking to him as he laid back on the medical berth. Carolina gave his hand a quick squeeze as an oxygen mask was put over with mouth and nose. I'll be here when you wake up. With a blind, un-sensing nod, Agent Washington closed his eyes, deeply inhaling the sedative as the medics around him prepped for surgery.

His own groaned filled his ears as he sat up. Tucker leaned over the bed and purged the contents of his mostly-empty stomach into a trash can beside his bed. His head was pounding, aching all over. Spots were blurring his eyes. Dr. Grey hurried over. She pressed him back into the bed, shining a small light in his eyes. Tucker flinched hard. He saw them, the AIs, as he blinked. He could hear them pleading with Epsilon to stay. Tucker choked back his sob as the fuzziness around his memories ebbed away.

Dr. Grey shoved several different pills and liquids into Tuckers hands over the course of several hours. She cheerily glowered at him until he took them. The curtains surrounding his bed parted a little to reveal Carolina.

"How are you doing?" Tucker's hands were shaking a little and he wasn't able to look at her. His dreads were covering his expression.

"I don't know…" His voice was a mere whisper. He'd never felt like this before – like a child who needed comfort and a simple explanation. "I'm trying to sort through it… Them…" Carolina's eyebrows furrowed.

"Them?"

"The other AIs… they were there with Church – I mean Epsilon – and they helped… Theta was pleading… Delta said it was the only-only way…" His throat tightened to the point where he couldn't breathe for a few seconds. Silently, Tucker panicked until Carolina came over and put her hand on his shoulder. He relaxed just a little. It was then he realized he wasn't hearing them. It was echoes, their memories in his. His heart tightened faster than his throat. They couldn't be…

"What happened, Tucker?" Carolina looked down at him, truly concerned.

"They're gone." It broke his heart to say this. They couldn't be… after everything they had been through, those little guys couldn't have died. "Ch-Church is a fucking asshole." Carolina offered him a weak smile.

"And you're surprised about this?"

"They shouldn't be gone."

"What if I told you they weren't?" Tucker's head snapped up. His slightly glowing green eyes met her own emerald ones. He shook his head almost frantically.

"No! I would be able to hear them, talk to them. They're not here Carolina. They're gone!" He was angry. Why was she even suggesting otherwise? He would know if they were still in his head, rifting through his thoughts and emotions like books, delving into memories.

"You can't hear them because they're not with you anymore," she told him gently. "You weren't going to make it. Grey said your brain and heart were shutting down due to the stress of Epsilon fracturing in your head. We had to transfer them to another mind, a more stable one." Tucker processed this for several minutes, completely silent as his brain sluggishly comprehended what she was saying.

"…Who took them…?" Carolina looked away, not answering.

"Carolina, who took them?!" He was shouting now, yelling at her. She still didn't answer.

"Answer me! Tell me who took them!" She took a deep breath, clenching, and unclenching her fists.

"I can't tell you yet. You'll freak out and Grey said you can't handle any more stress." Tucker was on his feet now, right in Carolina's face.

"So help me God Carolina, if you don't tell me who has them, I am going to punch you in the fucking face!" Carolina sighed.

"Alright, alright. It was Wash."

Tucker's entire body tensed up. A cold dread flooded his veins as the harsh realization hit him like a Warthog. Wash, his Wash, had taken the fragmenting AI; the same AI that had caused his insanity, his distrust of AIs. Washington had done it for him. He had saved him. But was Washington okay? Where was he? Tucker had to see him immediately. He was already on his feet as he looked at Carolina again.

"Where is he?"

"The private medical room at the end of the hall." Tucker was already running down the hall before Carolina had even finished her sentence. His feet slid the last fifteen feet as he only had socks on. He practically crashed into the door before forcing it open. He froze in the doorway. The light from the halogen lamps behind him cast his shadow across the floor, long and tall. All the lights were off. Tucker was backlit in the doorway. In the far corner behind the medical berth, he could see a soft red and purple glow. It had been there for only a moment before vanishing. Tucker closed the door quietly.

"Wash…? It's me, Tucker. Washington…?" Tucker blindly felt about for the bed. When he finally felt it, he inched around until his fingertips brushed the wall. He slid his feet silently on the floor until he touched something that recoiled instantly. He had found Wash. Tucker crouched down, hand gliding down the wall to keep his bearings as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. His hand reached out for Wash once he was seated near him (at least he hoped he was near him). A soft whimper came from his right as Tucker's hand stretched farther away from his body. He felt warm cotton brush his fingertips. Before Wash could scuttle away, Tucker put his hand on his shoulder, anchoring him.

"Washington, it's me, Tucker. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. I promise." Another soft whimper and finally Tucker's eyes adjusted to the dark. He could see Wash's outline tucked as far as he could go into the corner. He could see his soft blue eyes looking wide with fright.

"Shh, shh, it's gonna be okay, Wash." Tucker reached out his other hand to take one of Wash's own. Washington flinched. In that moment, Tucker's heart broke. Wash had done this for him so he would live and now Wash seemed to be insane again. Carolina had told him in limited detail about what Wash had gone through, what he'd told them. Tucker felt that it had to be different this time.

Tucker sat there with him for some time, gently massaging small circles into his shoulder. Tucker talked in soft tones, his hand slowly moving down Wash's arm until it found his hand. Their fingers entwined automatically, which brought a smile to Tucker's lips. At least somethings didn't change. Carolina checked in on them, bringing a cup of soup for each of them. She switched on a small desk lamp before she left them. Wash's face was gaunt and a little pale, but not the wretched look Tucker had been imagining for the last few hours.

"I love you, Wash," Tucker murmured quietly, not knowing if he heard him or not. Tucker didn't notice the little purple and red figure next to Wash's left knee.

"He loves you too; he just doesn't want to talk right now." It took all his willpower not to jump or cry out. Tucker stared at the little AI fragment.

"Theta…what's going on?"

"He's in shock, that's all. He's going to be okay. Delta is helping him through it. I am too, but I thought you might need a friend for a second," Theta explained. Tucker looked at Wash's untouched bowl of soup.

"When do you think he'll come out of it?"

"Soon. He needs you, so don't go anywhere…" Theta's voice faded out as did his glowing figure. Tucker did as he was told and stayed by Wash, talking to him to try to draw his attention away from his mind. Tucker was worried Wash would never come out of it until Washington's upper body slid across the wall until his head landed against tucker's shoulder. He settled in, their hands still connected. Tucker relaxed considerably.

"It…it's a nightmare in here…"

Washington's voice was hoarse, cracked. Tucker pulled him into his lap, holding him protectively.

"I know. I'm so sorry, Wash."

"This…this isn't so bad… Not as bad as last time…" Tucker pressed his lips against Wash's forehead.

"That's good, and as an added bonus, you've got me to keep you safe as you recover." Wash tried to rolled his eyes, but winced with the effort. The strain made his head throb.

"I still see it, like before, not also not… I don't know how to explain…"

"You don't have too," Tucker reminded him gently. "Can I ask a favor though?" Wash looked at him, confused and worried.

"Can we move onto the bed? My ass is hurting." Wash cracked a small smile.

"Everything's always about you, isn't it?"

"Only like, ninety percent of the time."

"You also forgot to say something." It was Tucker's turn to look confused.

"What do you mean?"

"After 'my ass is hurting' you should have finished with bow chicka bow wow." Tucker laughed, hugging him tightly, kissing his temple.

"Oh yeah 'that was the worst blank ever, of all time,' you wanna judge?" It was Wash's turn to smile, nuzzling him gently.

"Don't make a me assign you another leg day."

"I literally just had a fucking prick removed from my head and you're threatening me with leg day?!" Wash laughed softly, the color slowly returning to his face.

"Which means you should be good to go," Wash said quietly, his voice getting stronger. Wash slowly got up and Tucker followed, moving to the medical bed that was there. Tucker laid down and Wash joined him, snuggling up to his chest. They laid there in silence for a long time. Wash's ear was pressed against Tucker's chest. Listening to Tucker's breathing and heart beating helped him relax and Wash fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Tucker wrapped his arms protectively around Wash, a soft smile on his face until he too fell asleep. Because there were no windows inside the private medical room, they weren't sure how long there were asleep or what time it was when they woke up. Tucker groaned softly, nuzzling him awake. Washington groaned back, rubbing his eyes.

"Can I get you anything?" Tucker asked sleepily.

"Mmm… coffee? Can we get some coffee?" Tucker smiled gently, kissing the top of his head.

"Sure thing, Wash. I can get you some coffee. You gotta let me up first." Washington clearly didn't want to get off Tucker, with a moan and a groan, he slowly slid off him into a sitting position at the end of the medical bed. Tucker sat up too, stretching and yawning. His dreads were tousled and all over, a few hanging in his face. Wash smiled gently, slowly brushing his dreads away from his face. Wash cupped Tucker's cheek, pulling himself closer, planting a tender, chaste kiss to his lips.

"Thank you." Those two words meant more than just thanks for getting coffee. They were a thank you for not giving up on him, for staying with him for hours and hours, for just sitting there and waiting and talking, for always having his back, for literally everything. It was a very loaded thank you and Tucker knew it. His response was just as loaded.

"You're welcome."

Tucker got up and left, heading towards the lounge. Sitting there was the Reds, all four of them. Sarge gabbing away about how he led the army that destroyed all of their enemies while Simmons hung on to every single word, nodding and adding 'yes sirs' and 'we-couldn't-have-done-it-without-yous' every time Sarge took a deep drink of his overly large mug. Donut was gapping away about how the base needed a makeover and was trying to show Grif the plans he had drawn up. Grif was adding more whiskey than coffee each time he refilled his mug; when Simmons wasn't looking, he'd add some to his mug too along with a packet of Splenda. Tucker chuckled, a small smile on his face as he looked over at those red idiots. As much as he'd hated them way back when, inside, he was glad those morons had been on their for the last few years. As annoying as they were, as obnoxious and lazy some of them could be, they weren't the shit soldiers they'd once been. Hell, he wasn't the shit soldier he'd once been. That was mostly thanks to Wash and due to the fact that he was a cocky motherfucker.

Tucker scavenged two mugs that were only slightly less chipped that the others in the cabinet. He filled his cup up almost to the brim and filled Wash's about two-thirds the way full. He put the pot back on. Tucker wandered over to the fridge, bottles clinking together as the door swung open. Tucker bent down, looking for some coffee creamer, happy to find hazelnut creamer that wasn't even open yet. He smiled to himself as he twisted off the red plastic top and ripped the thin film off the top and spun the cap back on. He flipped the lid off and poured the creamy contents into the dark liquid. The coffee paled and turned to a light brown as Tucker fished in the drawer for a spoon. He stirred the contents up and looked around for the sugar. He had to steal it away from Donut who liked to add at least a quart of sugar to his coffee. He put a teaspoon of sugar into Wash's coffee and stirred it more. He walked with the two mugs in his hands back to Wash's medical room, silently laughing as Grif just started drinking the whiskey straight out of the bottle, not even trying to hide it any more.

"Mmm… coffee." The soft smile on Washington's face made Tucker's whole day. His heart soared as he kicked the door shut and offered Wash his mug.

"It's hazelnut in the fridge this week." Washington beamed.

"Thank God, 'cause I was getting real sick of that blueberry shit." Tucker laughed, nuzzling Wash, careful not to spill either of their drinks. Tucker looked at Wash very carefully, an emotion he couldn't quite name welling up in his throat and in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't dread or happiness or confusion… What was it? Suddenly, like word vomit spilling out, Tucker said very quickly,

"I love you, David Washington." Wash's eyes brighten, a smile coming to his face.

"I thought you didn't do 'love' and 'all that mushy, romantic shit'?" Wash said with a smile. Tucker rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You know what asshole, I take it back. I don't love you."

"You can't take back an 'I love you' you prick."

"Sure you can as I just fucking did."

"Nope! You can't, you slut," Wash shot back, grinning away.

"What?! I'm the slut? You're the tramp of this relationship!" Washington's eyes grew even brighter with delight.

"I thought we weren't in a relationship~" Tucker swore, setting his coffee down on the counter.

"Part of me wants to kick your ass and the other part of me wants to – " but he didn't finish his sentence.

"To what~?" Tucker was thankful his skin was so dark so Wash couldn't see him blush.

"Nothing."

"Well guess what you goddamn dick?"

"What?"

"I love you too, Lavernius Tucker." Tucker looked away to grab his coffee so Wash couldn't see the smile spreading across his face.