EVEN GROUND| JASON

He listened quietly. Gods...everyone had been at camp. So many friendships and connections were made. It was like....they were all part of this club he didn't get to join...he felt a sharp pain of regret at that. He would stay quiet though as she went into deep thoughts, chewing his lip as his spoke.

"He sounds like an amazing guy. What changed?"

It was obvious there was more to the story- you couldn't have complicated sexcapades without something having gotten in the way. Were they dating other people at the time? Were they forbidden to see each other? He had several questions but would let her answer them on her own tim.

"I hate to say it, but that bad decision of your sister's." The accusation in her voice was barely veiled, but it wasn't towards Jason. "I had just joined the intelligence department because I couldn't sit still, a lot like you. My lifestyle was too complacent. I couldn't sleep at night and I became afraid of large spaces because they gave too much of an opening. I had to get out. That's when I got assigned to the special ops team searching for our MIA's from both camps. Braxton was a captain then and convinced someone to let me have Octavia's case. I knew her better than anyone, in some ways better than he did. For weeks, I looked for her. We had leads, evidence. I thought we were almost there. Then I came home on a supply run and Ember Lynn forced me to call off the search. Brax never forgave me for that. I spent two weeks out in the field against orders looking, but it didn't do any good. She almost threw me in jail. Up until this week, I hadn't heard from him since then other than the random insult or orders."

Saying it all out loud made it sound better than it felt. Brax had his reasons for hating her, as much as she had reasons for hating him. The love was still there though.

Jason would turn his eyes on the water.

"He blamed you? That...doesn't make any sense. If he blames you because you didn't break the law and keep searching until you were arrested, why wouldn't he break the law and search too? It's his sister, right?"

If he were looking for his sister, he wouldn't stop no matter who told him to. Their laws wouldn't matter to him- he'd be out day and night for as long as it took, and blaming someone else for an order they were given...just didn't seem logical. Braxton should have turned his ire on the one who cancelled the search- Em.

"I can see then....why you seem to dislike her a little."

He wasn't angry, just speculative.

"He needed someone to put it on. Ember Lynn was a Saint at the time. I don't think he could've hated her if he wanted to." Melanie explained with a sad smile. "And Brax is a soldier, first and foremost. He can be mad at me for following orders as much as he wants to, but he wouldn't break them. I know he wanted to search, but he had his guys. He was a captain, and dedication like that is why he's a Colonel now."

At the comment about his sister, Melanie frowned slightly. "I would give my life for Ember Lynn and I follow her orders without question, most days. The days that I don't it's to keep my people safe in situations I don't think she understands. Until I actually get caught doing it, I will continue to keep that habit." It was true. Ember Lynn was the Chancellor and imperative to the safety and security of the island. Melanie just refused to accept her as a friend or care for her as an actual person. A figurehead? Yes. Melanie could love the idea of Ember Lynn, as long as she didn't have to actually be around her in the personal sector.

Jason put his hands behind his head and lay back on the wet stone, unfazed by the coolness of the water under him. He looked up at the glittering stone above them, stretching out his feet into the water.

"It's okay to just...say you don't care for her. I know you'll protect her because she means so much to this island, to me, and because she's chancellor. You can dislike someone and still do your duty to them. I dislike my brother, but I still care for him in the ways a brother should."

He would look over to her.

"I guess I can't judge Braxton or...anyone from those times. As I'm...continually reminded, I wasn't there, and I haven't been here long enough to really....comment."

He felt more than a little bitter about that by now.

"Oh don't worry. Give it a week and he'll give you more than enough reason to comment." Melanie said with a laugh. And he would. It didn't matter who Jason ended up working for. He would run into Brax eventually and the fight would be on. She could see it now. "Enough about me for a bit, though. What brigade did you end up in, again? I think you told me, but I can't remember." Everything was running together by now, a mess of information and figures.

He lay back down when she said that was enough about her. He wondered if Brax was a total dick. He hated working for total dicks. But he supposed in the military, you were bound to run into a few. She decided to pursue questioning him now, which was fine, as he had dug up quite a lot about her.

"I'm a Tribune Sergeant of the Phoenix, for now. My goal is First Captain. From there, if a position opens I might look for a Colonel but I assume the Commander will be around for a while so...I'm content with First Captain. We'll see."

He felt Phoenix was a better fit for him too. Not only did he get along with the Colonel, he liked the name. Small details matter, in everything.

"I hope Owain does continue to be the Commander. You never know though. He's a great guy and a solid leader." She agreed. "Phoenix is a good place. Fin works with me the most, so we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other. Plus, he's fair. If Owain ever does leave, I expect Fin to be his successor. Braxton is great, but he isn't a people person. As a Colonel, he doesn't have to be. The Commander...that's too much politics to not have that skill."

Mel tried to think of another question, but all of them had to do with work or the battle. Then again, he had mentioned a brother earlier. Maybe that would be a good place to start. "So, you have a brother? Do we have another Poseidon kid running around that I didn't know about, or is he half through your mother?"

He nodded. Fin did indeed seem like the type that would suit the role. Better than Jason would, in his opinion. Commander did indeed have too much politics and Jason wasn't terribly interested in that. It was the role he was speaking of earlier when he said "All the weight on his shoulders". That was the commander. Let finer men than him have that responsibility. He would think of his brother for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"Craig is....you know those movies where the big strong jock has two friends over each shoulder, and they high-five and use the term "bro" a lot? That's Craig. He's a lot like his father, and me and him never really got along. I liked building wooden boats and swimming and baseball. He went for football and weightlifting. And he's actually only my brother from my stepfathers side. My mom never really had kids after she remarried. Thank God..."

"I think I'll take sassy and nosey over that, any day." Melanie laughed, shaking her head. Thank the Gods that she hadn't ended up with one of those for a brother, at least not yet. At least her father seemed to be consistent. "Alright, that's two questions for me and one question for you. Pick your poison Jase." How bad could this one be? After all, he had already hit one of the most complicated topics of the evening.

No...he shouldn't. He really shouldn't.

"When you guys are in bed together, does he make you call him colonel?"

Assuming she turned to him in shock he would burst out laughing. He had to. He HAD to ask. If she didn't answer right away because she was in shock he would continue with the embarrassing questions. If she answered it he would still ask.

"He pretty decent size? Worthy of a Colonel? Does he got mad skills?"

He continued her laughter, thoroughly enjoying his questioning.

Melanie was laughing too hard to breathe, much less speak. By the time she had calmed down, more questions had been thrown her way. She was half-tempted to not answer, but this was just too funny.

"Assume that in bed is the only time I DON'T have to call him Colonel. Even in texts." She answered with a roll of her eyes. That was something they definitely needed to work on. " And I refuse to go in to specifics, but I will say this. Enyo's boys could beat Aphrodite's any day of the week."

He chuckled.

"Got it. Good in bed but his size needs work. There are pills he could take for that, you know...."

He never really thought of Mel talking about this sort of thing with him, let alone joking about it. For him, it was evidence of her committal to their friendship. This pleased him. He was blushing himself from his own jokes, but he didn't care. He would take several deep breaths, giving one last joke to top it off.

"Maybe not Colonel then. Maybe he makes you call him commander. Commander of that booty."

He laughed again, hands coming down to his stomach as he rolled onto his side. Ow....ow....his laughter was beginning to hurt his stomach, but it was worth it.

"Jason!" She exclaimed with an exasperated laugh. Melanie couldn't help it anymore as she reached over and lightly smacked his shoulder. What in the world had gotten in to him? It was funny though and she wasn't mad. "If you ever tell anyone what I'm about to show you, I will kill you in your sleep." No, Braxton would kill her and then kill him.

Pulling her phone out, she flipped through her text messages until she found the one she was looking for. "I told him I was going to let the hellhound out because he was in trouble and wasn't getting any and this is what he sends back after I told him I was the stalker in this relationship."

BW: Who is the stalker. I'm just responding to a cleverly hidden booty call.

Yupp, Brax was going to kill them both.

Jason laughed and the smack, obviously having been teasing. He would sit up on an elbow and reach over with his other hand to hold the phone steady as he read her text, then his. His eyebrow went up and he chuckled. "Daaaamn Colonel Braxton! Hahaha I never would have guessed." And that was the truth. She wasn't the only one who told stories of the Colonel, and he would never have expected that man to say such things. Still, he grinned he very lightly punched her shoulder, as though to say "right on".

"Niiice. So....it may be complicated but there is interest there. He's a man in command, so sometime you need to reaaaally get him worked up, then not fix it. That will drive him bonkers. And it will keep his eyes on you, which we both know you want. And I know talking bad about commanding officers goes against regulations but he'd be an idiot to pass you up anyway. Seriously."

He really meant that. She was withdrawn sometimes, but sitting here in a cove by the sea, just the two of them, her coming out of her shell...she had a great sense of humor, and put a lot of love into her friends. Even as a child of Hades, who were known to be...more cold than others, she had a brilliant personality.

Braxton would be a lucky guy.