Forever War

***Forever War*** is the 2nd episode of the fourth season of *SEAL Team* and the 66th episode of the series overall.

## Summary

Bravo Team reunites with Jason and Cerberus, then go underground to search booby-trapped tunnels for terrorist leader Al-Hazred.

## Recap

Shots are being fired all around Jason, he is trying his best to shoot and keep Cerberus quiet at the same time. Jason looks even more injured, but just in time the rest of the Bravo team show up and save the day. The team is not out of this yet. Bravo is notified that there are multiple groups of fighters around them, they need to get out of there. Bravo takes off on small off-road vehicles just in time as bombs start to go off around them. Jason is hydrated and ready to go again, others are wondering how is even standing after what he has been through.

The teams go after the camp, Eric tells them that some fighters are getting away. Bravo is moving fast but they have to be careful in the caves, booby traps make the caves turn into tombs. Inside the cave, they find their target, Ray tells them to take him alive, cuff him. But when he goes for a weapon, they have no choice but to shoot him. Bravo returns to base and is told they are heading home Friday, in three days. Jason tells Ray he was right, that op they had thirteen years ago did change them.

The next day, the men are cleaned up, tents are going down and being packed up. The place is starting to look bare. Jason takes the machine gun off the wall in the barracks. Meanwhile, Mandy and Lisa are on a plane, Lisa tells her that she should have known to trust her instincts. Mandy tells her that she can handle this job on her own.

Sonny then goes to see Lisa and tells her that she was right and he was wrong, and he is proud of her.

Eric tells the team that they are losing Ray for two months while he is offered the Chief Warrant Officer cabinet. Ray is thrilled, Jason congratulates him, so does Sonny. Sonny tells the team that fighting together makes them brothers, no matter where they go or what they do.

Jason says he was talking to Eric and NCIS is on a witch hunt to find out who wrote the letter to Ambassador Marsden’s husband. They are convinced that the letter came from someone inside the team. Jason says nobody wrote that letter on their team.

Ray arrives home, his daughter runs out and hugs him. His wife comes out of the house as well and she is thrilled to see him.

Jason is having a burrito with Mandy, she asks what time he is going to knock on her door later that night.. She starts talking about Afghanistan and he says he thought they agreed to keep that in the past and not talk about it. She says that serving doesn’t give them any time for them, tomorrow another snake will slither out, and off they will go again. She says she was a teenager when she got in, twenty years later, all the loss and the bloodshed, she can’t do this anymore. She says she doesn’t want to be that person anymore, she needs to do this now. She says if she doesn’t walk away now she will lose herself forever. She gets up, tells him she will see him around, and leaves.

Clay goes to see Captain Lindell, he asks him if the investigation in the letter is warranted. Lindell says yes and whoever wrote the letter put his future with the navy in serious jeopardy. Clay says he can’t stand the thought of her kids thinking she was anything but a hero. Lindell closes the door. He looks at Clay and says he wrote the letter, Clay admits it. He didn’t think the family would take it to the media. Lindell says he has more in common with the cowboys in the Bravo team than he thought. He will speak to NCIS, he will prefer to handle this internally. He tells him that if he expected just a slap on the wrist for this he was wrong, state 21 is gone.

Jason is home, he sits down in the kitchen and turns on the microwave.

The team is told that the offender has come forward, Clay admits that he wrote the letter and he is going to find out the final verdict. Ray goes after him and asks what the heck he was thinking. Ray says he wrote the letter, not him and he is doing the wrong thing by taking the heat for him. Clay tells him that if he tells the truth he can kiss the Warrant Officer goodbye. He has a brand new family, a new house, he is the reason he made Bravo – so he is doing this for him.

Cerberus is back, it will take him a few months to get back into duty. Jason says he was spooked on that mountain, and Ray says his three years are like twenty-one for them. Jason says it is time for Cerberus just to be a dog.

Rebecca shows up at Clay’s place and after a kiss and hug, he tells her that he is not going to state 21 and he took the fall for the letter. She gets upset with him, he said the team needed a fall guy and Lindell will take it easy on him. He says he volunteered to do it, she can’t believe that he did this. She walks out and leaves him.

Sonny is having a drink at the bar when Lisa shows up. He tells her that he patched things up with his pops, then he walks over to play pool. Jason walks into the bar, Ray tells him that he can’t believe he has one week with his family before he is gone again. Ray says he heard about Mandy being done. Clay shows up, he offers to buy a round. He tells Jason that he is right.

Ray tells Jason not to ride Clay about the letter when he is gone, Clay didn’t write it, he did. Jason tells Clay to grab everybody and have them come together. Jason tells them that he is a better warrior than a husband and a father, that is a choice that he made. He says the boys can take care of each other, war has been his refuge for too long, he is done. A better life for Jason Hayes.

## Cast

* David Boreanaz as Jason Hayes
* Max Thieriot as Clay Spenser
* Neil Brown Jr. as Ray Perry
* AJ Buckley as Sonny Quinn
* Toni Trucks as Lisa Davis
* Judd Lormand as Eric Blackburn
* Jusitin Melnick as Brock Reynolds
* Tyler Grey as Trent Sawyer
* Scott Foxx as Full Metal
* Jessica Paré as Mandy Ellis
* Dita The Hair Missile Dog as Cerberus

**Others**
* Adelaide Kane as Rebecca Bowen
* Parisa Fakhri as Naima Perry
* Emily Swallow as Natalie Pierce
* Kaliayh Rhambo as Jameelah Perry
* Jamie McShane as Captain Lindell
* Tim Chiou as Michael Chen
* James Ransone as Reiss Julian
* Sameer Ali Khan as Azfaar Al-Hazred
* Kenny Sheard as Romeo 1
* Michael Beach as Chaplain Walker