Fucking Jason.

"You don't look happy," Hank noted.

Chase glanced up from the foam tank he was refilling. He was confined to the airstrip today doing material prep. He supposed it was what he deserved for showing up early and appearing overzealous. He couldn't exactly tell his chief that his sudden enthusiasm stemmed from needing to get as far away from Sookie—and any ex-boyfriends—as possible.

"I'm doing grunt work." Chase made sure to grunt his response appropriately. "Forgive me if I'm not out dancing in the streets."

Hank had always driven his men hard, but recently the chief seemed to be working them harder than ever. As much as he complained, Chase didn't really mind it—usually. He had survived this long on the squad because he was a hard worker, and always pushed himself to go further, to do better. Putting up a protest was all posturing, all expected behavior, on his part.

If he was being honest with himself, he appreciated that the chief saddled him with so much responsibility. It was a stark contrast to his father. Chase didn't want to say he needed someone to impress, so . . . he wouldn't.

"You think this assignment is beneath you," Hank said as he began to pump his own tank. "But if you took a second to really think about it, you'd realize your chief is doing the fucking grunt work right alongside you. And he's faster at it. I'd leave you alone if I thought it'd make you more efficient, Kingston, but it's obvious you'd rather stew than get shit done. So what's up?"

"Nothing," Chase said.

"If you don't want to talk, I guess that's fair enough," Hank said. "I haven't exactly been welcoming our conversations recently." The chief really did seem willing to drop it, but a question itched in Chase's brain now. His tongue wagged against his clenched teeth.

"Who the hell is Jason, anyway?"

"Jason? Jason Lewis?" Hank paused in his work, looking genuinely surprised to hear the name. "He and Sookie grew up together. Everyone in town knew they were a match before they did, and, well . . . you know how small towns are. It was pretty much expected that they would get married."

Hank disappeared behind his foam tank and resurfaced moments later, wearing a meditative look. "Not entirely sure why they didn't make it, but I wasn't surprised. I always thought that guy was too serious for Sookie. She didn't need someone to control her, or try to fit her into some traditional small-town mold. Aggravating as she is sometimes, she was never someone who was meant to be tamed. A guy like Jason couldn't handle Sookie." Hank shook his head. "But they broke up after I left town. I have my opinions, but sometimes I'm not sure it's right I voice them. I wasn't the best brother to her for a while . . . and I didn't really keep myself up-to-date with her life."

"She may act like she resents it, but you have to know it means something to her that you're here now," Chase said. "Even if she can't admit it to herself."

Hank shrugged, looking unconvinced. "Jason Lewis . . ." he resumed thoughtfully. "It's been years since I thought of him. What's it all to you, anyway?"

Chase glanced up sharply, but there had been nothing in his chief's tone that implied an opinion one way or another. For once, Hank genuinely seemed as if he was just making small talk, nothing more . . . and Chase was damn suspicious of the sudden turn. Usually Hank took any interest in Sookie on Chase’s part personally. Usually the threat of flying fists seemed just around the conversational corner.

"It's not anything to me," Chase said, realizing only after the words were out that there had been no winning way to answer Hank's question. "I mean . . . it's just something to talk about. Jason's back in town, that's all."

Hank shook his head and muttered under his breath. A little louder, he said, "How'd Sookie take the news?"

Guessing we were together at the time, Chase thought. He busied himself priming the tank in front of him as he brainstormed a diplomatic way to answer. "Seems like she took it all right," he said finally. "She's going to catch up with him tonight, anyway. Doesn't seem like she's taking the idea of a reunion too badly at all."

"Something about coming back to your hometown after a long absence makes you see things different," Hank said. "It forces you to finally see all the things you might have done wrong in the past. And it puts you in a mood to fix your mistakes."

Chase's hands froze in their work. No matter how hard he tried to get them going again, they wouldn't cooperate. He avoided looking at Hank for as long as he could, but the silence stretched between them, and he finally couldn't take it anymore. He glanced up and was surprised to find Hank staring off into space. He had never known his chief to lose himself in thought almost mid-sentence like that.

Hank was obviously reflecting on something. Still, Chase couldn't help wondering if the warning was meant for him.

Hank snapped out of it eventually. "Don't worry about it right now," he advised. "You just keep focused on filling those tanks, Kingston."

"Yeah, yeah." Chase would have waved him off had he not been using both hands to prep said tank. "I'm going, I'm going."

But if Hank was right about one thing, it was that Chase's efficiency suffered from being distracted. Try as he might, he couldn't get Sookie out of his head. The memory of her wild laughter as he’d spun her around the dance floor last night persisted. When he replayed the image to its conclusion, he relived the moment he’d banded her tightly against him, followed by the moment she raised herself up to entwine her arms around his neck and seal her warm lips against his . . .

Chase shuddered and closed his eyes. He needed to back off. It would be the best thing for him—and the best thing for Sookie. He could admit now that he had failed in keeping his emotional distance—he was only human, after all—but the important thing was he had caught it in an early stage. Speculation that he was falling for his squad's Angel had been only that: speculation.

A little material prep, and he'd be ready to pursue his fling with Sookie again tomorrow. If she still wanted him. If Jason didn't manage to win back tonight what he had so idiotically let go in the first place.

Fucking Jason.