"You..." It takes a moment before Jake's mind can process what is being said to him. It wasn't that he wasn't handsome enough, or that he was too much of a spazz or a geek. It was because...

"You son of a bitch," he says, smacking him on the arm. "How could you do that and not tell me... and you did it because... I mean, you want..." He gestures between them. So very mature.

"Cougar..." He takes a breath and sighs. "You're my best friend and my unit and you will be part of my life whether than life involves making out and sex or not," he says, meaning it. "So what's harder than what I know? The man you are and all you've been through? The price you pay daily for all you've done for people? None of that is any different, Cougar. I didn't abandon you with them before on your own, why would that change if anything else did?"