"Here we just humor him."
I flip him off. He grins wider.
"He's a good team leader though," Santos says quietly. "Best I've worked with. Keeps us alive."
"By being bossy and controlling?" Gwen asks.
"By being tactical and prepared." Santos shrugs. "Sometimes that looks bossy."
"It is bossy," Garcia says. "But it works."
"See?" Gwen turns to me. "Even your team thinks you're bossy."
"They're not wrong."
"First time he's ever admitted that," Sullivan says. "This is historic. Someone write this down."
They trade more stories—deployment disasters, training mishaps, things that are funny now but weren't at the time. Gwen asks questions, laughs in the right places, gives as good as she gets when Sullivan pushes.
I watch her fit into this space with my guys like she's always been here. Natural, easy, no pretense.
"Okay, serious question," Garcia says eventually. "That eleven-hour surgery. How do you stay focused that long?"
"Practice. Training. Good team." Gwen leans forward. "It's like ops, right? You rely on your team, trust everyone knows their job, stay present in the moment."
"Exactly like ops." Garcia nods. "Except we're trying to keep people alive in different ways."
"Same goal though. Get everyone home safe."
"Can't always do that," Santos says quietly.
"No," Gwen agrees. "But you try anyway."
The room goes quiet for a moment. These men have seen people die. So has Gwen. Different contexts, same weight.
"Well this got depressing," Sullivan announces. "Who wants to hear about the time the captain accidentally?—"
"No," I cut in.
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"Yes, I do. And the answer is no."
"It's a funny story."
"It's classified."
"Everything fun is classified."
Eventually they leave. Santos gives me a knowing look on his way out. Garcia claps my shoulder with a grin. Hayes just smiles. Sullivan winks at Gwen and tells her she's too good for me.
When the door closes, it's just us again.
"So," Gwen says. "Did I pass the test?"
"What test?"
"The one where your team evaluates whether I'm worth your time and energy." She crosses her arms. "Don't pretend that wasn't happening."
