Finn slammed the door to the common room. The door didn't reverberate with enough force to satisfy the ire brewing in his chest. Two hours at that law firm, forced to talk, rehash the crash, the details of his life. To her.

Emily was a mystery to him. Once upon a time, no one had known Emily Montgomery better. She'd shared all of herself with him, an open book. Where once Emily was the light in the room, full of curiosity, all eyes drawn towards her effervescent, joyful personality, now she seemed muted, a pale version of the woman he'd loved.

Lance Simpson seemed a decent enough fellow but Finn didn't know him and he'd liked answering his questions even less. Each one wound him up tighter than a snake sleeping in the sun. It was like this at every meeting with his superior, every interview.

The cab ride back to the base had lacked air conditioning and the late afternoon heat had his shirt sticking to him. Finn unbuttoned the stiff garment and peeled it off, intending on changing into sweats. A workout at the gym with Max was definitely in order. He needed to punch something.

A head of closely cropped hair poked up from the couch and whistled in a low tone. "Dude, what did that door ever do to you?"

Despite his current mood, Finn's lips turn north. "Campbell. What're you doing here?" He feigned looking around the room currently occupied only by his long-time friend. "Cindi kick you out already?"

"No." The bulky man stretched his muscled arms up over his head before dropping them down again as if in defeat. "Paperwork."

Finn and Campbell mock groaned together. Even in the military, you couldn't escape paperwork. Everything had to be detailed, documented, scanned and filed.

"I thought I'd stick around and we could watch the game." One of the only perks of being stateside was getting to watch hockey in real-time. Finn adored hockey, but for some reason, streaming the action hours after that fact when he returned from a mission didn't hold the same thrill as catching it live.

"Who're they playing?"

"Maple Leafs. We're set to break Toronto's winning streak tonight." Campbell picked up the remote, pressed a button and the large screen TV sprang to life.

"If you say so." Living close to the boarder, Finn and his brother had been fans of the Toronto team as kids and Campbell loved to mock him for cheering for a team that hadn't won the cup since 1967. "Wanna beer?"

Without checking for confirmation, Finn pulled two dark brown bottles out of the fridge and headed back to the sitting area. He tossed one to his friend, sank into the other end of the couch and stared at the T.V.

He scrolled through his phone, pausing on a text from Simon asking if he was available to watch the game tonight. Finn typed back "busy" and closed the app. After a good ten minutes of silence broken only by the guzzling of beer, Campbell cleared his throat. "Soooo. What crawled up your butt?"

Finn gnawed at the inside of his cheek internally cursing the man for knowing him so well.

Barrett Campbell was more than Finn's army buddy. The bond they had extended beyond friendship and respect, saving each other's lives on numerous occasions. The tally started when they first met in basic training. Campbell had recognized a similar anger in Finn and made it his mission to ensure the cadet didn't damage himself before the enemy even had a chance to take a shot at him. Campbell claimed it was his way of saving himself, having someone else to look out for.

Whatever the reason, Finn sure needed it. When he had arrived at the base for basic training eight years ago, he'd been a mess. A hot, angry at the world mess with a hair-trigger temper and a chip on his shoulder threatening to make Atlas jealous.

Right now, those emotions boiled again just underneath his skin. Anger at his own foolishness mixed with disgust in himself at the feelings that roared inside him upon seeing Emily in the law firm's waiting room.

"It's being here." Finn took a long sip of his beer. "This town..."

Campbell punched him in the arm. "It's only for a few weeks. You'll be back in the soup soon."

Finn swallowed. He needed to talk about it. Campbell was the best candidate. He knew the whole sordid story. Had pulled the details out of him early on – getting to the reason for his anger against the world. Had nursed him through drunken episodes when Finn begged Campbell to put him out of his misery, the pain in his heart threatening to overtake him. Had helped him carve out some semblance of normalcy, a means to get on without her.

"There's more." Campbell sat up a little. "I saw her again."

"I see." Finn appreciated Campbell instantly knowing he was referring to Emily. He picked at the label on the bottle in his hand. "The law firm handling the case. She works for them." Campbell sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. "I was just at their offices..."

Campbell waited for Finn to continue. Eventually he prompted Finn to talk. "Did you see her?"

"Stuck in a room with her all afternoon." Finn hated how his voice fluctuated. "She's working on Casey's Court-Martial."

"Really." Campbell set his beer on the table. "Is that good or bad?"

"Both." The word was barely a whisper and caught in his throat. His head hit the back of the couch and he closed his eyes, letting his frustrations at himself out. "What is wrong with me? It's been eight years. I shouldn't care. I should be over this. I wasn't good enough for her. Accept the reality and move on Wainwright. Everyone else does. But no, I sat there in that room thinking of ways to convince her to... I don't know."

Letting out a harsh chuckle, he continued. "Not even over my jet lag and I'm sucked right back - 17 again, chasing after her." Finn rubbed his chest like he could get the heaviness in his heart to move.

"There's nothing wrong with you. Maybe this could be your chance."

On the TV a woman in a red dress stepped out onto the ice, a microphone in her hand. Finn watched as she belted out the national anthem of the opposing team. Campbell's words hung in the air.

"My chance..."

"For closure." The beer in Finn's stomach threatened to come back up. He didn't want closure. He wanted Emily.

"Maybe," he hedged.

There was a pause as the crowd politely applauded the singer. Together both men stood up as The Star-Spangled Banner began to play. They stood at attention until the last note of the song petered out. Returning to the couch, Finn drained the rest of his drink.

"Another?"

Campbell held up his half-full bottle. "Can't, I'm driving."

Finn nodded, before making his way back to the fridge. Campbell had a wife and two boys to go home to. Unlike Finn who didn't have a home. The closest he got to a home was visiting his sister in Syracuse. Delora always kept a room ready for him, but he rarely made use of it. Their relationship shifted from brother and sister to more like mother and child when their parents had died.

Being the oldest and barely eighteen at the time, Delora had taken on the responsibility of looking after her two baby brothers. Finn was too young to understand what she gave up for him. All he saw was people abandoning him. First, his parents at thirteen, then a year later when Simon left town. Eventually even Delora gave up on him.

When Delora became pregnant with her first child and married Hanson, she tried to include Finn in their new lives. Feeling like an outsider, Finn pushed everyone away. His sister didn't have time for a newborn and a hormonal teenager. Left to his own devices and generally mad at the world, Finn quickly got into trouble. Often. Frustrated and overwhelmed, Delora kicked him out, sending him off to spend some time with Simon.

And lastly there was Emily. For the first time Finn felt someone cared for him and believed her when she said she would never let him go. They made plans for a future together. Emily made him hopeful and comfortable. He let down his guard and she poured into every fibre of his being. Then even she abandoned him.

Finn shook his head – that train of thought led to nowhere good. Taking a swig of his beer, he focused on the sensation of the cold liquid sliding down his throat. That's what they taught you in training, how to concentrate on the moment and what needed to be done, tamping down emotions.

"Earth to Finn!" Campbell was snapping his fingers in front of Finn's face. "You're blocking my view."

As Finn swatted the hand away, the announcer shouted, "He shoots, he scores!"

"Break Toronto's winning streak my ass." Finn leaned forward. "Marner's on fire."

Be in the moment, Finn reminded himself. Fixating on the here and now was what kept him alive.