Exhale

Joel knew Celeste was breaking. She wasn't use to his lifestyle. The army life is not meant for everyone, but he hoped she would be a little more understanding about what was happening in their lives. He was thankful he was able to release his monster and kill whatever was coming at him.

Celeste was locking up. She felt trapped. Joel was consuming her and it was never enough for him. Now they were on the run from Mort and Dean. Joel was becoming someone she didn't know, and she did not like him. This Joel scared her. Now, she wants to run. He wasn't going to let her go.

Joel is taking Celeste away from the world. It's his only option, but when he is forced to return to base with Celeste, life became all the more difficult. Bren was locked in a cell, Frankie was locked away, and Celeste was scared of him. When she married him without a fight, he knew something was going to happen. He was scared she was giving in and letting him control her. That wasn't what he wanted anymore. He wanted her. Henry warned him he was in love with Celeste. He had no reference to that emotion. But when she came to him to hold her, he did not deny her. He was the one that became lost. If she ran, he would chase her because he liked what she was doing with his heart.

There was one thing that would keep her at his side; he would have to share his life with her. Tell her his secrets. It was difficult to open up to her, but she accepted almost everything. His dominance over women was a trigger that caused her pain. Life was not going to be easy. As Joel confronted Jacob, hell opened up and began to swallow both of them.

Joel is forced to take Celeste to recover her files, but what was left of her home was burnt. Jacob, Mort, and Dean had left a very personal trail for Celeste. She was mad at him because he made her look at how well he was saving her.

Life pushed back at them at every turn. Neither one could let go of the hurt and pain. When Joel asked her to kill for him, so they could live, she was able to do it with help from Henry. The base was where they had to go back too. Celeste was slipping away.

Joel becomes increasingly entangled in his emotions as Celeste only releases hers when they are locked in each other's arms. Another fear leaks into Joel's mind and that scares him more than anything, pregnancy. He dives into her files to run from his emotions, but all he wants is her.

He had to shut it down. It was becoming too painful. Bren suicide over Frankie, Dean being killed in a raid, Mort being taken, along with Danny and Frankie were emotions he never thought about. Now Celeste's friend Erik was here, he wasn't sure how he was going to deal with him.

Thankfully, Joel was tasked with taking out Jacob. As he ended another threat in Celeste's life, he didn't realize she had become a threat to him.