Epilogue
TWO WEEKS LATER
The conference room at Blackout headquarters had been transformed.
Hudson paused in the doorway, taking in the scene.
Someone—probably Elise, Colton’s wife—had strung autumn garlands along the walls and placed small pumpkins as centerpieces on the long table that normally held tactical maps and mission briefings.
The overhead fluorescents had been dimmed, replaced by warm lamplight that made the space feel almost cozy.
Almost like a home instead of a military-style compound.
“You going to stand there all day gaping or come in?” Jake called from where he stood with Raven tucked against his side.
Hudson stepped inside, feeling awkward in jeans and a sweater instead of tactical gear. “I wasn’t sure I was still invited after everything that happened.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Elise appeared with a tray of appetizers, her smile warm despite the fatigue he could see around her eyes.
Being married to Colton Locke meant she knew exactly what kind of operation they’d just completed.
“You stopped a terrorist attack. You’re definitely invited to Friendsgiving. ”
“Besides,” Atlas added from his spot on the couch where Quinn was curled against him, “if we only kept company with the unblemished, this room would echo with loneliness. We're stronger for our fractures.”
“Hear, hear.” Maverick raised his glass, and so did Sheridan beside him.
Hudson grabbed a glass of something bubbly and found a spot near the window, watching as his teammates and their significant others laughed and talked. It wasn’t just his team here. There were other Blackout operatives as well.
The gathering had been Elise’s idea—a Friendsgiving celebration before the actual holiday, a chance to decompress after weeks of debriefing and testimony and paperwork.
A chance to remember they were more than just operatives.
“You did good work.” Ty appeared at Hudson’s elbow. His wife, Cassidy, stood a few feet away, deep in conversation with Raven about historical artifacts. “The chemical weapons are secure, Sigma’s leadership is in custody, and the intel we gathered is helping the FBI bring down the entire network.”
“Brass is alive,” Hudson said. “That’s something.”
“Is it?” Ty’s voice was gentle but probing. “He tried to kill thousands of people, Hudson. The fact that he’s your former teammate doesn’t change that.”
“I know.” Hudson took a long sip of his drink. “Doesn’t make it easier.”
They stood in silence for a moment, watching the others. Jake was telling some story that had Raven laughing. Atlas had his fingers intertwined with Quinn’s. Maverick and Sheridan were sitting close enough that their knees touched.
A moment of longing hit him.
“Where’s Natalie?” Ty asked.
There it was. The question Hudson had been dreading all evening.
“She’s not coming.”
Ty’s expression shifted to understanding. “She still needs time?”
“Yeah.” Hudson’s chest tightened. “Her father’s lawyer worked out a plea deal—Ravenscroft will serve five years for criminal negligence and obstruction. Natalie has been dealing with that, with the media attention, with trying to figure out what’s next for her life.”
“And you?”
“I’m giving her space.” Hudson forced himself to say it calmly, like it wasn’t tearing him apart. “She asked for time to process everything. I’m respecting that.”
“Even if it means you lose her?”
“Especially if it means I lose her. She deserves to make her own choice without me pressuring her or manipulating her.” Hudson met Ty’s eyes. “I used her once. I won’t do it again.”
Ty nodded slowly. “That’s growth, Hudson. Real growth. Not many operators can separate mission from emotion the way you’re doing.”
Hudson wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an observation.
Before he could respond, Colton called everyone to the table. “All right, people, let’s pray and then eat before this food gets cold. Elise spent all day cooking, and if we let it go to waste, I’ll be sleeping on the couch.”
Elise only smiled and shook her head.
Then they bowed their heads as Ty lifted a prayer, thanking God for their safety, for this team, for stopping the horrible terrorist attack before it happened.
After he said amen, they gathered around the table—this team of operatives and the people who loved them.
While everyone else sat beside their significant other, Hudson sat alone at the corner, trying not to think about the empty chair beside him.
“Before we start,” Colton’s voice took on that commanding tone that meant he was speaking as their leader rather than their friend, “I want to say something. This team has been through a lot over the past year. We’ve faced bombs and hurricanes and power grid failures and chemical weapons.
We’ve lost people—” His eyes flicked to Hudson.
“—and found people we thought were lost. We’ve been betrayed and tested and pushed to our absolute limits. ”
He paused, looking around the table at each of them.
“But we’re still here. Still standing. Still fighting.
And we’re stronger because we don’t fight alone anymore.
We have partners who understand what we do, who support us, who remind us why we do this impossible job.
” Colton’s hand found Elise’s, squeezing gently.
“So tonight, I’m grateful. For all of you.
For this team. For this family we’ve built. ”
“Hear, hear.” Jake raised his glass.
They all followed suit, glasses clinking, murmurs of agreement and affection flowing around the table.
Hudson raised his glass with them, but the gesture felt hollow.
“Hudson.” The voice came from the doorway, soft and uncertain.
His heart stopped.
Was he imagining things?
He turned, and there she was. Natalie, wearing jeans and a burgundy sweater, her dark hair falling in soft waves past her shoulders. She looked nervous, her hands clasped in front of her.
But she was here.
“I hope I’m not too late.” Natalie’s eyes met his across the room. “For dinner, I mean. I got held up with—” She stopped, shook her head. “Actually, that’s a lie. I got held up because I was sitting in my car for twenty minutes trying to decide if I should come in.”
No one at the table moved. No one spoke.
They just watched, probably realizing this was a moment that needed to happen.
Hudson stood slowly, his drink forgotten. “What made you decide to come in?”
“I realized something.” Natalie took a few steps into the room, her gaze never leaving his. “I’ve been so focused on the lies you told, on the deception, on what you did wrong that I forgot to look at what you did right.”
“Natalie—”
“You saved my life. Multiple times. You put yourself between me and danger without hesitation. You shot your own teammate to protect everyone on that pier.” Her voice shook slightly.
“And when I asked for space, for time, you gave it to me. No pressure. No manipulation. Just . . . respect for what I needed.”
Hudson’s throat tightened. “You deserved that.”
“I did. I do.” She moved closer, until she was standing right in front of him.
“But I also deserve to be honest about what I want. And, Hudson, I want to try. I want to see if we can build something real, something based on truth instead of lies. It’s going to be hard.
I’m going to have trust issues. There will be days when I’m angry about what happened. ”
“I know.”
“But there will also be days when I remember that you came for me. That you fought for me. That you respected me enough to let me make my own choices.” Natalie’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“So if you’re willing to be patient, if you’re willing to earn back my trust one day at a time . . . I’d like to try.”
Hudson felt something crack open in his chest—hope, relief, joy all mixed together. “Are you sure?”
“No,” she admitted with a shaky laugh. “But I’m sure that I want to find out. You’re worth the risk.”
He wanted to pull her into his arms, to kiss her, to promise he’d never hurt her again.
But he’d learned his lesson about making promises he might not be able to keep.
So instead, he said simply, “One day at a time.”
“One day at a time,” she agreed.
Then she smiled—tentative but real—and Hudson felt like he could breathe again for the first time in two weeks.
“Well,” Elise said brightly, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room, “we have an extra place setting. Natalie, you’re just in time. Come sit down.”
Natalie glanced at the table, at all the faces watching her with warmth and acceptance, and some of the tension left her shoulders. “Thank you. I’d like that.”
Hudson pulled out the chair beside his, and she sat down. Their hands brushed as she settled in, and neither of them pulled away.
As the conversations resumed around them—Jake launching into another story, Atlas and Quinn debating something about weather patterns, Maverick and Sheridan discussing an upcoming FBI case—Hudson found himself relaxing.
This wasn’t perfect. Natalie was still processing trauma. He was still dealing with guilt. They had a long road ahead of them.
But she was here. She’d chosen to be here.
And that was enough for now.
“Hey,” Natalie said quietly, leaning close enough that only he could hear. “Thank you. For letting me choose.”
Hudson turned to look at her, seeing the woman he loved reflected in the warm lamplight. “Always,” he said. “Whatever you choose, I’ll respect it.”
“Even if I choose to steal the last dinner roll?”
Despite everything, Hudson laughed. “Well, within reason.”
She grinned and reached for the breadbasket, and Hudson felt something settle in his chest. Something that felt almost like peace.
The mission was over. Sigma was dismantled. The chemicals were secure.
But more than that, he’d learned something about himself. About what really mattered. About the difference between using someone and truly loving them.
And as Natalie’s hand found his under the table, fingers intertwining, Hudson realized that sometimes the best missions were the ones that changed you.
The ones that taught you how to be better.
The ones that gave you a second chance to get it right.
Around them, his team—his family—laughed and ate and celebrated. These people who’d fought beside him, who’d saved his life and let him save theirs. Who’d found love in the middle of chaos and held onto it despite everything trying to tear them apart.
Hudson squeezed Natalie’s hand gently, and she squeezed back.
One day at a time, he reminded himself.
But looking at her now, at the hope in her eyes and the tentative smile on her lips, Hudson thought maybe—just maybe—they’d have a lot of days.
And that was more than he deserved.
But it was everything he wanted.