Griffin burst out laughing, barely managing to set his mug down without spilling his coffee before falling back against the sofa. “I would know the difference if I was captured or in a formal interrogation. It’s much different than sitting across from a beautiful woman.” 

He gave it some thought and realized the only way he’d ever not fall for it was if he in fact did know he was being interrogated. He probably would spill his guts to Vynnie without much prompting from her.

“Well, I hope she does like me. Might want to go ahead and order that assessment if she does, though. I know I made a terrible impression, or I feel like it should have been. I’m sure she’s solid, though.” No, if he’d come across Vynnie in the same situation, he would have done whatever he could to alleviate her suffering. Hell, he would have found it endearing, even if she was mortified.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he reached for the coffee once more. 

“How’s Iris doing? Have you spoken to her recently?”

Zach smiled at the mention of his sister. She and Griff had dated when they were like… thirteen or something. Which had led to the three Murphy kids being unofficially adopted by Griff’s family. Or they might as well have been. They’d been there way more than they’d been at home, especially when his father was about. 

“She’s good, thanks. Got married recently. Dad was not invited. They eloped.” 

Griff nodded, his expression sobering some. “Good. He gave up his right to be included in anything after everything he’s done. I hope she’s very happy. I know you’ll let me know if we need to go have a ‘talk’ with her new husband about anything.”

Zach inclined his head. “Of course. Although, Dan is actually a really nice guy. I doubt we’ll have any issues with him at all. So, when did you get aboard? Have you reported in yet?” 

He’d known Griff was arriving, but since he was department staff, Zach didn’t get a notification of arrival, not unless he went looking for it. “Sorry I wasn’t there to greet you aboard. Things have been absolutely manic here.”

“That’s good to know. She deserves to be happy, so I’m glad she found a nice guy.” G waved a hand. “You know I didn’t expect a personal welcome from you. Not with all you have to do as the captain. And no, I haven’t officially reported in yet. I need to, though. At least I won’t be scratching my head like an idiot when I meet my new boss.”

“We’re family, of course I should have been there to meet you.” He rubbed his eye tiredly. It tended to droop a little when he was exhausted. “Your boss is Lieutenant Mason. You’ll know her when you see her. And make sure you’re at least five minutes early for shift.”

Griff nodded. “I know we’re family. I would have tracked you down sooner, rather than later to catch up.” He’d always been fond of Zach. He truly was the older brother he’d always wanted. Great guy with far too much on his shoulders.

“I know the drill. Heck, fifteen minutes early, or I’m late is what I remember,” he quipped with a cheeky grin. “Anything I should know about Lieutenant Mason beforehand?”

Amusement washed through Zach and he shook his head. “Scary would be the word I’d have used the first time I met her. If I’d been in my right mind that was. Was playing with the fairies though.”

Griffin furrowed his brow, caught off-guard. “I’ll need more details about the scary description, but first… playing with the fairies?” he asked, concerned. “I heard some things floating around, but since there were different versions, I wasn’t about to believe them straight away. What happened to you, Zach? Are you okay?”

“Oh, I am now, thank you.” Reaching out, he put his empty mug on the coffee table. “I ended up as a guest of some orions. There was some… unpleasantness shall we say?” He didn’t want to detail the interrogation outright, not even now. “The few brain cells I apparently possess took leave of their senses and I was not myself for a while.” Which was a very polite way to say he’d cut his way through an entire crew to gain control of the ship. “Ended up linking back up with a fleet ship. They got me to a doctor and a very good counsellor. Mason was my room mate in sickbay for a while, until I remembered who I was.” 

He grinned. “So best not to piss Mason off. Scary lady, that one.”

Brody had known Murphy most of his life, so he knew when to press for answers, and more importantly, when to leave well enough alone. This was one of those times. If Zach wanted to tell him anything else, it would be when and if he was ready to.

“Dare I ask what makes her scary?” he pressed, curious. He’d never known Zach to be afraid of anyone, but that’s not what he was saying. He’d just said she was scary.

“Or are you going to let me figure that out on my own?”

Zach slapped his hand to his chest in mock outrage. “Would I do that to you?”

Amusement danced in his eyes as he levered himself back up to fetch them some more coffees, talking over his shoulder. 

“She’s tall so you’ll spot her at first sight. Blonde. War veteran. Like from a really nasty war back on her home planet. We have a couple from the same planet aboard the ship, and more in the squadron. Believe me, llanarians are tough with a capital T. She was basically put in sickbay to put me down if I snapped again. And she did that while recovering from a couple of stab wounds. Called it light duties.”

“Put you down… as in…?” He blinked and realized that’s exactly what Zach meant. “Light duty. Okay, I’ll keep an eye on her and not give her any reason to dislike me.” Though he was rambling about the mysterious Lieutenant Mason, Griffin’s thoughts lingered on Zach. He must have gone through utter hell to be in such a bad condition he was being watched by someone capable of ending him if he lost it.

Zach handed him a fresh coffee. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s a lovely woman. Stunning actually. We’ve been seeing each other recently, on and off.”

G’s brow shot up. “Are you on right now, or off?”

“On,” he admitted. “She’ll be here later I would think. She’s doubling shifts at the moment to make sure all Hazard Team officers are getting enough training. But things have been a little weird lately.”

“Maybe I can help lighten the load for her now that I’m here,” Griffin stated, knowing with her background, he would need to prove himself first before that would ever happen. “Weird in what way? Like a lack of communication, weird, or something else?”

Zach stood, arms folded and his mug cradled in his hand, a thoughtful look on his face. “I found out that she’s married.”