Into the Honeyverse

That Pretty Girl's In Pretty Good Hands

The follow up to She Ain't Takin' Your Call!

"I'm proud of you, Vee.  I know leaving the only constant you've known your entire adult life wasn't an easy decision to make, but you did it.  And I'm so proud of you for being so brave," he compliments, knowing she needs it at the moment. 

"Honestly, Jake, I'm pretty mad at myself right now." Honey huffs through the phone.

"Why is that?"

"I didn't realize how unhappy I was until this very moment.  I've wasted so much time being miserable and I could have been-" she chokes on a sob.

"Hey!  None of that coulda, shoulda, woulda shit!  Jake and I are about 15 minutes away from you and are starving, so think about where you wanna go for dinner!" Natasha interjects.

Honey sniffs on the other line, clearly trying to collect herself.  "Ok, yeah!  I'll see you guys soon!"

The call disconnects and Jake's grip tightens on the steering wheel.  It doesn't go unnoticed by Nat.

"I know, dude.  I want to break a chicken's neck too.  I hate we didn't see how much he was chipping away at her until it was almost too late.  Whatever you said to her on her birthday changed it all," Nat says in appreciation. 

Jake grimaced. "You know seeing her lose her sunshine killed me, I couldn't let it go on any longer without saying something."

"You finally gonna tell her you've been in love with her for the last decade?" She teases him.

"You finally gonna tell Javy you're ready for more than friends with benefits?" He shoots back.

She blushes and grumbles. "Fuck off, Seresin."

Any further discussion on the topic was dropped as they stopped at the gate and handed their IDs over to be scanned. 

When Jake's truck backs into Honey's driveway, he smiles when he sees Javy's Jeep already parked there.  The three friends were there to help Honey pack the things she wanted to take with her.  Being one half a dual military couple, she typically kept to the bare bones at her naval issued house and made Bradley's bungalow in San Diego home.  So, between her Tahoe, Jake's truck, and Javy's jeep, he had no doubt they could bring all her stuff in one trip without having to enlist a moving service. 

Jake cut the engine to the truck and smiled when he saw the flash of dark hair that belonged to Phoenix crash into Honey in a soul healing hug.  They both cried bittersweet tears, but that changed the second Honey's eyes landed on Jake. 

She closed the short distance between them and flung herself into his arms.  Javy and Natasha discreetly slipped inside the house to give them a moment. 

While Honey had been married to Bradley for years, everyone knew that Jake was her person.  He was the one who always listened to her problems, only offering solutions when she asked for them.  The first one to call her on her birthday, usually at midnight, because he didn't want her to start a new year of life without knowing how special she is. 

It came as a surprise to no one that he would be the one to help put her broken pieces back together. 

Jake's arms wrapped around her back and he held her tightly while she sobbed into his shoulder.  Sure, she was heartbroken over the end of her marriage, but it was more than that.  He didn't have to ask, he already knew why she was hurting. 

He knew she felt like a failure.  He knew that she was worried what it would do to Bradley even though he was the one that broke her.  He knew she was feeling guilty that she was indirectly the cause of him being removed from the Daggers.  He knew she was mourning the loss of the career she could have had, had she put herself first.  But most of all, he knew she was shattered because she didn't think she was good enough.  Good enough to make Bradley happy, good enough to make her dad love her more than his career, good enough to be a fighter pilot.