#i drew this after episode 3 or something so i had no idea what jake would be like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Leave No One Behind

Ch3- He Who Saves One Life Saves The World Entire Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: Ari and his team embark on their first mission…and a certain secret is revealed which threatens to rock Ari and Hannah’s already strained relationship further.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words.

Episode Pairings: Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: As always we strive to keep this as factually accurate as possible.

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 2 Part 2

"Something happened along the way, what used to be happy is sad, Something happened along the way, and yesterday was all we had… " After The Love Has Gone by Earth, Wind and Fire

“Of course it was Germans.” Sammy snorted, shaking his head as Ari drove the truck down the dark sandy lane, Hannah perched in between them both after her brother had insisted she ride with them, much to her annoyance. “Germans, it's always Germans.”

Ari gave a smile, as Hannah snorted.

“Yeah well, historically they don’t really like Jews do they?” she shrugged, scratching slightly at her neck where it poked out of the dark green t-shirt she was wearing.

There was a pause where both men looked at her and Ari shook his head.

“Fucking hell Han!” he snorted as Sammy simply stared at her, his mouth gaping slightly.

“Sorry, that was bad taste” she accepted their chastising, plucking at the sleeve of the oversized black and navy plaid top she was wearing over her T-shirt.

“Bad taste…” Sammy looked at her and she turned her blue eyes onto her brother “That’s an understatement.” She turned her eyes back to the road, her expression unreadable as Ari stole a glance at her side profile, before he locked eyes with Sammy who shook his head again, snorting. “Alright, here we go.” Ari said as they reached a turnoff on the road, just before a sign informing them that Gedaref was 5km away. It was another hour or so down a twisting, bumpy road before Ari took a turning off the lane completely and they drove further into the desert. Eventually the small track opened up into a large clearing, hidden by hills and sand-dunes. Ari stopped and the 3 of them climbed out, Hannah pulling down the front of the plaid shirt which she had knotted just above her right hip.

It was a clear, but dark night, and there was no sound at all bar the odd howling or yipping from the wild dogs that clearly resided near. Ari moved a little in front of the trucks, looking around the dark clearing as Max stood up on the sill, his hands resting on the roof of their vehicle looking round before he hopped down and walked forward.

“You ok Cracker?” he asked, looping an arm round her shoulder as the 5 of them walked in a line further into the clearing. She nodded again, casting her eyes round once more.

“Too bad he's not here.” Sammy said, stopping with his hands on his hips.

“We're two hours late.” Jake said softly, looking around as Ari continued his pacing, his sharp eyes looking between the various rocky outcrops and dunes that his the clearing “Maybe they couldn't get out.”

“He got 'em out.” Ari said softly but confidently, he had every faith in Kabede. “They're here.” Hannah looked at him for a moment and his eyes locked onto hers and she gave him a small smile which he returned. Sammy leaned back against the bumper of the truck as Max hopped up onto the bars of the other, glancing around. Hannah continued to turn, her eyes roaming the dark horizon, falling upon the far away lights of Port Sudan which were shining in the distance. There were a few more moments of silent stillness, and then they all heard the ever so quiet sound of a rock rolling down the surface of one of the hills. Max jumped down from the truck and Sammy stood up straight, as all 5 of them looked in the direction the noise had come from, Ari taking a few tentative steps forwards to where Hannah was stood slightly in front of them her eyes squinting.

“There…” she said softly, grabbing Ari’s arm and pointing to a spot just above them to their left. Someone was moving in between two large rocks. Ari let out a sigh of relief, squeezed her shoulder and then strode towards the base of the rock face.

“Kabede…” Ari said softly, his hands falling out to his side as the man dropped down into the clearing.

“Where were you?” Kabede asked softly “I was afraid you were caught”

Ari embraced the man, both slapping the other lightly on the back.

“I'm sorry…” Ari said gently, “I'll explain later” and at that Hannah felt someone squeeze her hand. She turned to look at Jake who was nodding back up the hill as the refugees began spilling over the top.

“Let's get them on the truck.” Ari continued to speak to Kabede who nodded and turned, beckoning with his arm as he called to the people now hastily scrambling down the rock face.

Hannah looked at Jake, then Max and finally to Sammy who was wearing a soft smile, before they all sprang into action. Hannah and Sammy began directing the people to the back of the trucks, whilst Max and Jake hopped up onto the steep rock surface to help the less steady people down. Ari and Kabede headed round to the rear of the vehicles to begin to load everyone up.

As the last person headed past Hannah and Sammy, the siblings exchanged a quick hug before they followed on, reaching the rear just as Kabede was speaking to one truck in Arabic. He made a zip motion across his mouth, clearly telling them to be quiet and then Max and Jake pulled down the tarpauling cover at the back, securing it in place before they folded up the tail gate, bolting it shut.

Hannah moved to help Ari to close the wooden doors on the other but stopped when Ari paused as he was just about to shut the right hand side, his handsome face splitting into a fond smile.

“Hey…” he said, bending down to speak to a small boy in an orange and white T-shirt “Hey, pal.” he gently reached out with his right hand, thumb wiping away the child’s tears as he smiled at him. “You're going home.” he held up his large hand and the boy gave a toothy grin, hi-fiving Ari. “All right.” Ari smiled before he shut the final door and turned away. He caught Hannah’s eye and she nodded to him, turning away not wanting to seem like she’d been intruding on the clearly tender moment between Ari and the little child. But, she was curious.

“What’s with the kid?” she asked gently as Sammy drew up besides her.

“The one in the striped top?” Sammy asked.

“Yeah…”

“Oh, the last mission we ran…he was left behind, lost in a field. Ari went back for him…nearly got himself shot in the process…you know, standard Ari.”

Hannah looked at her brother for a moment, before Ari spoke quietly but clearly.

“Let’s hit the road…” he instructed. They all nodded and made their way back to the cabs of their trucks.

Ari could feel the shift in the mood within vehicle on the way back. It had gone from a light, tentative, adrenaline-fuelled excitement at the thought of embarking on a mission to out and out nervous tension now they had trucks loaded with refugees. If they were stopped, they weren’t going to be able to explain this away as a night scouting mission for diving spots. Bar Ari contacting base to say they were on their way back with the ‘cargo’, no one spoke a word. Ari concentrated on driving, Hannah and Sammy focussing on the road as they all listened to the conversation going on over the coms, every so often updating base as to their location. When they reached the point they knew that they needed to launch the lifeboats, Ari called it in, Hannah casting her eyes to the side, glancing out of the windows.

“Yacht One, Yacht One…taxis are on the way.” Base confirmed.

This was it, it was down to them now to make sure they reached the rendezvous point safely.

And for the most part it seemed like they were going to do it. The trip went smoothly, Ari feeling buoyed by the fact that the plan seemed to be working, when, on the final stretch they hit a snag.

Ari spotted it at the same time Hannah did. She leaned forward, squinting slightly at the ever distant lines of light that looked like they were forming some kind of lane in the middle of the road.

“What the fuck is that?” Ari asked. Sammy grabbed the binoculars and peered through them before he let out a sigh. “A roadblock” he said, still looking through the sights “We gotta turn around.”

Hannah glanced at Ari who looked at her for a second, before his eyes retuned to the road and he kept on driving, ignoring Sammy.

“What are you doing?” Sammy lowered the binoculars and looked at him.

“Thinking.”

“Can you stop the truck and then think?” Sammy pressed. Ari looked at him, then back to the road, his jaw twitching as he desperately racked his brains for the best course of action. “Guys, you seeing this?” Max’s voice cut across the radio and Hannah reached for the mic.

“Yeah, we see it.” She said, glancing at Sammy then Ari, rolling her eyes “We’re discussing it…” she said, placing the set down before she added “or arguing, whatever…” “Fuck…” Ari shook his head as Sammy looked at him “We can't fail on our first operation…”

“Dying on our first operation is an equally bad idea.” Sammy snarked back “Did I ever mention a dry run?”

“Once or twice. Every hour. For like 2 weeks.” Hannah shot back, looking at her brother “Is now really the time for fucking I-told-you-so Sammy?”

Sammy glared at Hannah, but she held his gaze meeting his glower back with one of her own.

Beside them Ari looked straight ahead thinking about how Hannah was right. It was not the time for ranting, they had to think straight. A decision had to be made, and everyone was expecting him to come up with the right one. But his mind was stuck somewhere in the past. Hannah's determination in shutting her brother up had brought him to a place he had been visiting far too much for his liking, if he had to be honest, over the last weeks. That fierceness in Hannah's voice at her brother over a mere comment had gotten him thinking she must have absolutely hated his guts nine years ago when he left her.

Leave no one behind... bullshit. Ari Levinson was a liar. Right, Firefly?

"Ari?" he heard Hannah's voice, jerking him out of his thoughts.

His eyes flicked from the road ahead to her, who was looking at him expectantly.

Making a decision, Ari reached for the hand set, snatching it up. “Jake, full speed ahead.” he instructed, replacing it, his eyes locked on the road in front of him. He felt Hannah and Sammy’s eyes boring into the side of his head.

“You’re fucking nuts…” Sammy said, disbelief in his tone.

Ari shot him a glare, before he pushed down on the accelerator.

“Yacht One, what is the plan here?” Max questioned again.

Grabbing the handset again, Ari instructed clearly “Radio silence, lights out.” before he replaced it with a slam.

“Okay, we'll stop at the checkpoint and talk our way out of it...” Sammy started to reason and Hannah gave a sarcastic bark of laughter.

“Yeah, maybe they won't notice the 174 Ethiopians in the back of the trucks.” she looked at him, her voice loud.

“Han’s right…” Ari said sternly glancing at her then over to Sammy. “We're driving through”

There was a moments silence as Sammy studied his sister then Ari, before he threw his arms out to the side.

“Okay.” he said, his tone indicating he was anything but as he glanced out of the side window, before he looked back at the ever nearing obstacle. “Sure, let's do it.”

He turned to his left as Hannah also twisted to her right, the pair of them looking back at the refugees in the rear.

“Hey, everybody…” Sammy spoke loudly, as Hannah made a motion with her hand, indicating grabbing onto something. “Grab hold. Grab hold of something. Hold on…”

“That’s it…!” Hannah nodded as one of the refugees gripped the side of the wagon “Like that, hold on yeah?”

They both turned back and Hannah looked out of the window, as the radio crackled back to life.

“Yacht One, status report, please….”

“What do you want me to say?” Sammy looked at Ari.

“Yacht One from base…”

In a lash Hannah reached out and pulled the line out of the radio, effectively telling Sammy that they were saying nothing, her jaw twitching as she sat back, staring straight ahead.

“Okay, then…” Sammy mumbled, sitting back, folding his arms, shaking his head. “You’re both fucking nuts…”

Ari glanced sideways at Hannah, pride filling his chest. This was the Firefly he knew and fucking loved having on missions besides him and exactly the reason he’d wanted her out here with them. She was fierce, brave, loyal and once committed there was no swaying her either way.

Ari pressed the gas pedal as far down as it would go, leaning forward, almost as if he was trying to surge the truck on. They gathered speed, now hurtling towards the road block which was growing nearer and nearer by the second. He swallowed, took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair as they approached along the final 100 or so feet towards the lane which was made by a number of small fires, and Hannah could just make out the dark shapes of two jeeps parked at the far end of the lines, and a man stood in front.

Sammy gripped the grab handle over the top of the truck door with his right arm, his left extending out across the front of Hannah as at the last second Ari flicked on the lights at full strength, sounding the horn of the truck. He felt Hannah’s left hand drop to his thigh and she squeezed tightly, almost painfully as both of the guards jumped out of the way the front of their truck collided with one of the jeeps, smashing it clear out of the way.

They made it through the blockage, but then gunfire rang out as the men began to fire at the rear o the trucks,

“Fuck…” Ari exclaimed, reaching out with his right hand to force Hannah down out of the way of any potential bullets spinning into the cab, as Sammy did the same with his left, the pair of them ducking as well.

The shooting stopped and Ari glanced out of the window into the side mirrors, running a hand through his beard as Hannah and Sammy both sat back up straight, looking at one another. Hannah twisted in her seat, casting a glance back at everyone in the rear of the trucks.

“Everyone ok?” she asked, making a thumbs up gesture. There were nods and returns of the hand sign which satisfied her that everyone was ok and she turned back to the front, letting out a loud breath, her head falling back slightly, eyes closing as she swallowed, regaining her composure a little.

“You alright?” Sammy looked at her.

“Yeah…fine…” she breathed out, nodding.

“Yacht One, do you copy? Yacht One, do you copy? Yacht One? Yacht One, do you copy?”

The repeated demands echoed over the radio and Ari reached for the mic but Hannah slapped his hand

“Concentrate on driving, idiot…” she said, as she plugged the handset back in and passed it to him, Ari grinning at little at her forceful attitude.

“Yacht One to base, we copy…” Ari spoke, replacing the set back down.

“Yacht One…what's your status? Why was there radio silence?” Ethan’s voice filled the cab and all 3 of them exchanged a glace.

“Make something up, quick…” Hannah urged. After a split second pause Sammy grabbed the radio.

“There's a... battery failure. Lesson learned.”

“Copy that…” Ethan spoke again.

Hannah, Ari and Sammy looked at one another again, before Hannah’s spoke.

“So that was fun.”

Ari looked at her as she stared straight ahead, her mouth twitching into a grin. She glanced at Ari who began to chuckle slightly, before her eyes returned to the front. Sammy looked at the pair of them and snorted, shaking his head.

“Fun, right…mad bastards…”

15 minutes or so later they drove down to the cove which was 7 miles or so away from the resort, the rendezvous point with the Navy Seals, who were ready and waiting. Quickly and efficiently they began herding the refugees over the sand, directing them into boats. When the first line of rafts were full they all waded into the water, helping them through the first bow of waves before returning to short to fill up the second.

“Come on, that’s it, careful now…” Hannah said, taking an older woman’s hand and helping her over the side of the boat. The woman gripped her fingers tightly, pressing a kiss to the back of Hanna’s hand, looking at her, tears in her eyes. Hannah smiled at her, fighting back her own tears at the woman’s emotion as she placed her other hand over the lady’s nodding to her as she let go. She turned to help the next person in, pausing as she saw the small boy clinging to Ari’s leg. Ari paused for a moment, his large hand falling to the back of the boys head, then his cheek tenderly as he smiled and swung him up, wading back over to the boat Hannah was stood by. He dropped the boy into the back and then they began to push the boat out to sea.

Once it was clear, Hannah straightened up, walking backwards out of the ocean before she turned, just as a wave hit her a little strongly causing her to stumble forwards, slightly. She felt herself pitching downwards, when two strong hands hooked under her armpits, preventing her from falling straight into the water.

“I got ya Firefly…” Ari said, setting her straight up on her feet again and he looked at her, hands on her shoulders. “You ok?”

“Yeah, thanks…”

“Come on…” he said, gently looping his right arm round her waist as they made their way out, their pants completely soaked from the knees down, shirts slightly damp from the splashing about, but neither of them paid it any attention. They both turned and stood, watching as the boats made their way out to sea, Hannah’s eyes filing with tears. Ari’s grip around her tightened slightly and she lay her head against his upper arm and shoulder, her left arm looping around his waist, as the rest of the group drew up alongside them, Max to her right.

No one spoke for a moment, they all simply stood watching, drawing their breath as each and every one of them was heaving with exertion and emotion. To the left of Ari, Jake glanced down the line, giving a small huff of happiness, his face curling into a smile and Max dropped his arm round Hannah’s shoulder as her right hand rubbed at his back.

They’d done it. They’d fucking done it…

“He who saves one life saves the world entire….” Max broke the silence with an old quote, and Hannah glanced at him before she looked back out over the ocean.

“We just saved 174…” she said, her tone one of happiness and disbelief. She glanced up at Max whose arm squeezed around her shoulders once more as he smiled at her. She then turned to look at Ari who gave her another squeeze around her waist, and finally her attention turned to her brother where he stood at the other side of Max lighting a cigarette. He turned and walked away from the line, Ari watching him go as did Hannah, the two of them sharing a glace. Ari gestured with his head and let go of Hannah and she nodded as Ari followed Sammy back up the sand, Hannah remaining with Jake and Max, both men flanking her, Jake’s arm joining Max’s around her shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” Ari asked Sammy.

“What?” Sammy asked him softly, “Yeah, of course I'm okay.” he gestured to the ocean with his hand, smiling and letting out a quiet laugh. “Look.”

With that he turned to head back to the trucks, and Ari could tell from his body language he was pissed off, despite what he was saying. And he knew why too.

“Sammy…”Ari spoke to his back and Sam turned back to face him. “It was a random checkpoint. A dry run wouldn't have mattered.”

“Hey, it's all good. It's all good. We did it.” Sammy said, his tone still soft “I'm having the time of my life…” he smiled, gesturing towards Hannah. Ari turned to see her stood between Jake and Max, the 3 still stood in a line, arms round one another before he looked back at Sammy as he continued to speak. “..you two aren’t the only ones getting a huge buzz out of all this!”

Hearing her brother’s soft tone, and recognising the quiet anger it was carrying, Hannah turned to see him walking away, Ari’s hands dropping into his pockets. Giving the boys a quick pat on the back each she turned and made her way towards Ari as Sam spun back to face him.

“You know, it may have been a random checkpoint this time, but thanks to you, the next one won't be.” he said, his voice a little louder, carrying over the sound of the waves. “Maybe…” he threw his hands out to his sides as he walked backwards a few steps, before he turned and walked away.

“Leave him Ari…he’ll come round.” Hannah said gently. Ari looked down at her, before he took a deep breath.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I need a drink…”

“Fuck yes.” Hannah agreed, nodding solemnly. Ari smiled at her, before he turned to Max and Jake and told them it was time to go.

*****

They reached the resort in the early hours of the morning, Rachel greeting them all with a hug as she told them the life boats had made it out to the open water with no issues. They all sat with a drink, huddled in one of the huts, listening to the radio and when the notification came through that all boats had made it back with no issues everyone jumped up sharing a silent cheer, hugging one another.

“It’s ok Sammy…” Hannah spoke to her brother gently “We’re ok yeah, try not to think on it too much.”

“I know…” he said, gently touching the side of her neck “I know…I’m gonna go hit the hay.”

He dropped a kiss to the side of her head and turned, leaving the hut without so much as a word.

One by one they filtered out, Hannah staying behind to help Rachel pack away the radio and coms equipment before she too emerged, standing still under the soft strips of bulbs which hung from building to building along the resort, taking a breath and a moment to process what had happened.

174 people. Safe.

She glanced up at the Sky, wondering for a moment if her Dad and Andy for that matter could see her now, what they would be thinking. Deep down she knew the answer to that, they’d be proud, probably a bit pissed at how reckless she’d been but, well, what was new? Smiling softly to herself she turned to head to her own room when she spotted Ari was sat on the sand further up the beach, out of the way of the main buildings. She hesitated for a moment before she made her way over.

"Trouble sleeping, Firefly?" Ari asked without taking his eyes from the ocean. "I dunno. I'll tell you when I go to bed. Besides, fireflies don't sleep, Ari. We come alive at night." she sassed.

Drawn to the light, she thought.

Ari chuckled softly.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

He turned around to look at her and nodded as he watched her sit next to him, her movements smooth and light. She flexed her legs before she bent her knees and hugged them against her chest.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked side glancing him.

"Well, you're the most caring of them all. So if anyone was going to come out here to check up on me, it had to be you." Ari shrugged and smiled at her.

"What makes you think I'm checking up on you and not that I just want to enjoy the ocean before sleeping?" she asked smirking.

"You asked if I was ok, Firefly. Don't be a smart ass." he smirked back at her.

"Fair point, Lobo." she nodded gazing at his eyes for a few seconds before looking back at the ocean.

“I can’t get over how quiet they were…” Ari spoke after a moment, looking at her. She smiled at him and he took a drag of his cigarette. Hannah reached for it, taking a pull herself and exhaling, her eyes closed.

“Since when did you smoke?” Ari looked at her, arching an eyebrow.

“I don’t, not really…only when the occasion arises.” she smiled, “For fucks sake don’t tell Sammy.”

He gave a soft chuckle and looked at her as she passed it back to him, raising it once more to his lips.

Ari looked at her as she watched the ocean and they fell silent for a moment. Some of her hair had fallen free from her loose bun in the heat of the struggle to get the Ethiopians on the boats, and were now blowing in the gentle breeze of the night. He couldn't see all of her face, being as it was the darkest night of the month. But the lights from the bulbs hanging all along the resort buildings together with a bunch of stars scattered across the night sky all reflecting on the water surface allowed him to make out her profile and he could see her smiling slightly as she hummed some sort of lullaby.

The moment seemed so intimate and he felt so at ease he decided to share some of his most personal childhood memories with her.

“Did I ever tell you my mother was on The Exodus?” Ari said, breaking the silence.

Hannah shook her head, looking at him. “I thought she was from America.”

“My real mother.” Ari said, his arms were looped around his knees and his eyes focussed out over the dark water. “After they took my father, she boarded with the other survivors and set with nothing. Just clothes on her back and... “ he paused, raising his eyebrows slightly as he tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette. “A little four-year-old boy.” he looked down between his arms as he spoke again “They sailed for weeks. Finally reached the Promised Land, the Brits didn't let them in. They turned them away.”

He turned to see Hannah watching him intently, and gave her a small smile.

“Young British officer felt sorry for her. Agreed to hide me…” he took a deep breath, averting his eyes from Hannah’s “She gave me up.”

He took another drag from his cigarette and Hannah smiled softly at him. “No, she saved you.”

Ari looked at her, a soft smile playing on his face before he turned away again, once more looking back over the ocean.

“British officer met an American volunteer and we moved to New York when I was seven…” he shook his head softly “New parents, new life.” Ari concluded, smoking once more. He exhaled and finished his tale “Moved back to Israel the day I turned 18…”

Hannah noticed there was an underlying tone of bitterness to his voice, one that she could understand. He had been surrendered by his mother, taken from his roots through no fault of his own. He was bound to feel some sort of abandonment issues, no matter who good a ‘new life’ he had been given. Maybe even a shred of guilt, that he escaped when thousands others didn’t. Suddenly the reason why he did what he did made a little more sense to her.

“Well…we're all just refugees, aren't we?” she said softly, looking down at the sand. Ari glanced at her and she looked up at him giving him a soft smile. With the hand that wasn’t holding his cigarette he reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear.

“You were great out there tonight Firefly.” he said gently, his hand dropping back to his knee.

Hannah watched his hand travel from her hair back to his knee. Ari's touch had caught her off guard and it had sent a wave of goose bumps washing over her skin. She felt herself shiver, so she adjusted her plaid shirt over her frame and, after swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she muttered

“Thanks."

"No. Thanks to you for backing me up." he said looking at her fondly "With Sam, I mean." he added.

He was about to tell her it had felt like old times but words got caught in his throat as he noticed her looking at him pensively, as if deciding whether to bring something up or not, and he realised the moment he had been dreading since she had accepted being part of the mission had arrived.

“I’ve never been able to understand what happened between us…” Hannah swallowed and Ari looked down at the sand. “I mean, I know what happened, obviously, we…well, you know but…then you disappeared, no explanation, came back complete with girlfriend and married her like 6 months later. So, you know, I moved but I still don’t understand.”

He had always known the time would come where she would demand answers, but he hadn't prepared himself to give them to her, not really. How can you answer something like that? How can you tell the girl you had loved that you left her behind because of what you thought was a good reason at the time, but a reason you knew she was going to absolutely flip her shit at.

“Do you want the long, self-pity version or the short one?” Ari asked eventually, deciding that he had to come clean if they were ever going to get past this and salvage something from the whole shitty mess.

“Well, it’s not like I got anywhere to go is it?” she shrugged.

"Remember the night of the party? At your mum's clinic?" he asked.

Hannah just nodded slowly trying to comprehend.

"Well Sammy somehow saw us, or maybe someone did and told him, I don’t know for sure…what I do know is he cornered me the following day, he was furious. Asked me how long had it been going on…”

Ari stopped to light another cigarette and took a long drag, waiting for his words to sink in before continuing.

"He told me... well, he forced me to break it off because I was no good for you." Ari said after breathing out the smoke. “He said the whole age gap thing was an issue and your training to be a Doctor was more important than whatever it was we had. I can still remember his word Firefly ‘It’s hard enough to train as a Doctor being a woman Ari. She doesn't need any distraction.’ And I believed him, Han." he finished with a sigh. "Few months later I met Sarah, and... you know the rest of the story" he said turning to look at her.

Hannah looked at him, her expression completely blank but he could see her eyes were flashing dangerously.

“Sammy knew?” she asked. Ari nodded. “How.”

“I don’t know.” Ari shrugged “Like I said, he just turned up the morning after…” he paused, swallowing “…the morning after what turned out to be the last night we spent together and punched me in the jaw, warned me off.”

There was a moment or so of silence before a bitter laugh escaped Hannah.

“All this time…” she shook her head, “All this time Ari, I never understood and I just thought, or wanted to, that you were being a typical guy, taking what he wanted for a few months and leaving when things started getting a little too serious , but in reality it’s because you thought I wasn’t worth the fight… and that’s even worse!” “No, Hannah…” Ari shook his head, she was so far off the mark it was untrue “That’s not true…”

He had tried to reach for her as he spoke but she slapped his hand off.

“Bullshit it isn’t true!” she blazed at him, shaking her head “I fucking loved you Ari…”

Ari swallowed, looking at her, his head reeling from her sudden admission. Fuck, she’d loved him. Like he had her. He had hurt her far more than he thought.

Yeah, you fucked up big time, Levinson. “It might only have been a fling to you but you knocked me off my feet when I first met you. You were my first, the first guy I ever slept with for fucks sake! I spent 5 years with you in my head and…now…”

“Hannah, it wasn’t just a fling to me, at all.” he shook his head, his eyes locking onto hers which were now brimming with tears. “You have no idea the times I thought about coming back to you, telling Sammy to go fuck himself…but then I got more and more involved with Mossad and…”

“Didn’t stop you with Sarah.” she snapped back and Ari dropped his head slightly, before he looked back at her.

“I know, and I won’t lie to you Firefly, I loved her. It was different to how I felt about you, I know that but…, well, it was good, good enough, and then she fell pregnant…” “No, you got her pregnant…” Hannah shook her head at him and he ignored her continuing.

“…and I couldn’t leave my child, not like my mother did…” “Then why the fuck are you here Ari?” Hannah scoffed “If Maya means that much to you, why on Earth are you in the middle of the fucking Sudanese desert running operations?”

“Because she’s safe with her mother.” Ari swallowed, looking at Hannah “And those kids in the refugee camps aren’t.”

“And I was safe with my mama Ari, that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss my dad growing up after he died.”

Ari had no response to that, because he knew she was right. The guilt of missing so much of Maya’s life ate him up on a daily basis, but so did the guilt of knowing about all those people out there who needed his help. He’d balanced his remorse over Maya, telling himself regularly that if he didn’t help those who needed it, then no one would and in his head it made sense…but here Hannah was, calling him out in the way she had always been able to and he was beginning to doubt himself.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, her next outburst left him reeling.

“You’re an arrogant, selfish asshole Ari.” she shook her head and he looked at her, frowning “You think you can do what you want, all of this…” she waved her hand around her “with no consequence. But look at the destruction you leave behind. Sam’s hand, Maya, Andy…me.”

Ari, who had been feeling shittier by the minute realised he couldn't possibly feel any worse than he did right there and then. He had hit rock bottom. Hannah was right and he knew it. She was right about the destruction he left behind. She was right about Sam. She was right about Maya. She was maybe right about her, what seemed the correct decision at the time was now nothing but a shitty excuse.

You didn't fight for me.

And she was right. He hadn't.

But what had shaken him the most was the fact that she had put Andy in the same bag. She had told him just a few days ago she didn't blame him for what had happened. But that was not entirely true, apparently. Why would she have brought up Andy if she didn't think he was to blame?

He felt his eyes start brimming up with tears and made a titanic effort to keep them at bay.

“Hannah…” his voice was thick as he spoke and she looked away, wiping her face.

“Sorry, that…” she took a deep breath “that was uncalled for…” “But not wrong.” he said gently, looking down, “You’re right. I am a selfish asshole...which makes me think Sammy was right, I don’t, or didn’t, deserve you.”

They both fell silent for a minute before Hannah sniffed and took a deep breath.

“Deserving or not, would you have still been with me if Sammy hadn’t warned you off?” she asked, looking at him.

“Hannah” he groaned “Does that matter now? After everything?”

“No, I suppose not.” her tone was blank as she stood up, and dusted herself down. “Goodnight Ari.”

Ari watched her go. Her movements smooth and light as always but she walked slower, with a heavy tread, carrying a burden she hadn't 15 minutes or so ago when she had come to check up on him. He had burdened her with an explanation, one that she deserved but hadn't anticipated. She was upset and had all the right to be, Ari thought as he saw her shoulders shake lightly. She was crying.

Exhaustion from the tension of their first mission mixed with the bitterness from the conversation with Hannah left him beyond emotional, and thus the tears he had managed to avoid were now running down his cheeks. He stood up with a sigh and started walking towards his bedroom building. He needed some rest. They all needed some rest.

Tomorrow, hopefully, they would see things in a different light.

**** Chapter 4

#leave no one behind #Ari Levinson #ari levinson x ofc #ari levinson x original female character #red sea diving resort #chris evans #chris evans characters

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Leave No One Behind CH3: He Who Saves One Life, Saves The World Entire

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: Ari and his team embark on their first mission…and a certain secret is revealed which threatens to rock Ari and Hannah’s already strained relationship further.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words.

Episode Pairings: Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode: After The Love Has Gone by Earth, Wind and Fire

A/N: As always we strive to keep this as factually accurate as possible. We really hope you guys are enjoying this as much as we are writing it.

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