Simon 'Ghost' Riley - The Spiders Web

12

When she had met them back at the base after a mission they'd gone out on, they had been the happiest she had ever seen them. Even for the ones with more glum dispositions like Ghost.

"I never thought I'd see your pretty face again." Gaz had brought her into a one armed hug while she had smiled down at the floor, accepting the embrace with equally tight arms.

Soap had patted her on the shoulder with a grin and Ghost observed her, scanned her up and down with folded arms.

Her hair was longer than before, grown out to halfway down her back. She had it tucked behind her ears. It was a strange thing to see, so used to her bob.

"Good to have you back in one piece, Spider." Ghost commented, nodding in greeting to her.

Her eyes lit up a little bit, more than they had since the incident had happened, and they all saw it. Even with her hopping up to perch on one of the tables they began chatting amongst the group while Tina silently observed, Soap being the loudest of course. It made her feel warm as she fiddled with her fingers stiffly in her lap.

If anyone noticed that she hadn't said much they didn't mention it.

They all bid a quick goodbye with promises they'd celebrate after showering and changing out of their gear, to which she had pulled a face when they'd gone past.

Ghost had been the only one to have caught it, the last one to follow them back to their assigned rooms and even if she couldn't see it, there had been amusement in his eyes as he left.

When they came back in their regular clothes one by one quicker than they'd ever done, she had quickly plastered a smile on her face.

She hadn't taken her fingerless gloves off despite the others having done so. But she had curled her legs beneath her in the chair, perching her arm across the back of it, the first sign of calm they'd seen in her in a long long time.

Soap insisted they crack out some beers and she had accepted one. Price even came out to join them in the betting over their card games, which took up most of the evening.

It felt good to be apart of the team again and she appreciated their attempts to keep everything normal, even if she still felt a bit disjointed.

"Yer fucking having me on." Soap pointed at her with narrowed eyes across the table while Gaz chuckled. They were all either sat or standing around it, watching the match. "You told me you didn't know how to play last time!"

"I said I hadn't played much." She corrected him, voice quieter than the usual, confident Tina they came to know. She had on a sly smile, finger tapping the back of her cards.

"And she won then, too." Ghost said dryly.

"We'd have thought you'd have figured it out by now." Price shook his head.

"Nah, I just assumed you got off on the humiliation." Gaz stated while sipping his drink.

Tina rose an eyebrow, lounging back in her chair.

"This is just depressing, now." Price shook his head, patting the men on the back as he went by. "I don't think I cant stand watching more of this massacre."

He gave the others a raised eyebrow to ask if anyone else was going to follow but Ghost and Gaz shook their heads. "Never."

The man with the mask nodded. "I'm waiting to get my winnings."

Soap narrowed his eyes up at his friend. "You're a fucking traitor, you know that?"

"And smarter than me." Gaz scratched the back of his neck, leaning down over Soaps shoulder to spy at his cards that he quickly hid against his chest. "I should have never bet on the underdog."