Slade had seen his people come back from missions bleeding before.
Gunshot wounds.
Cuts.
Broken bones.
The occasional concussion.
None of that had been what made the team go quiet that night.
It was the sniper.
They’d been halfway through the operation when one of her teammates noticed the blood.
It was running down her thigh.
At first, he thought she’d been hit.
“Hey—you’re bleeding.”
She looked down.
Stopped.
Her expression changed immediately.
She hadn’t even realized.
It hadn’t been an injury.
Her period had started in the middle of the mission.
She’d simply been too focused on the operation to notice until someone pointed it out.
The teammate immediately understood.
“It’s okay. You’re not hurt.”
She said nothing.
She just looked mortified.
Slade had noticed the exchange from across the area.
He hadn’t made a big deal out of it.
He’d quietly redirected the team, made sure she had what she needed, and finished the mission.
No jokes.
No comments.
No questions.
But apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop the embarrassment from following her home.
The moment they returned to headquarters, she disappeared.
Her door stayed shut.
Then an hour passed.
Then two.
Then the entire evening.
By morning, she still hadn’t come out.
One of the recruits finally approached Slade.
“Boss.”
Slade looked up.
“She hasn’t left her room.”
“I know.”
“You think she’s okay?”
Slade was already standing.
He walked down the hallway and stopped outside her door.
He knocked once.
Nothing.
He waited.
Then spoke through the door.
“You’re not in trouble.”
Silence.
“You didn’t get shot.”
Nothing.
“And nobody on this team thinks you did anything wrong.”
Still nothing.
Slade sighed.
“It’s a period.”
He leaned against the wall.
“Half the population deals with it.”
A pause.
“You happened to get yours during a mission. That’s all.”
He looked down the hallway.
“Embarrassing? Sure.”
He shrugged.
“Unfortunate timing.”
His voice softened.
“But not something you need to hide from us.”
There was no response.
Slade stayed where he was anyway.
“I’ve had recruits piss themselves during combat.”
A beat.
“People throw up. People get nosebleeds. People have panic attacks. Bodies do weird shit when you’re under stress.”
He glanced toward the closed door.
“None of that makes them weak.”
Another silence.
Slade sighed.
“You’re my sniper.”
He paused.
“You came back from the mission.”
“That means you did your job.”
He pushed away from the wall.
“Take whatever time you need.”
Then, before leaving, he added,
“But eventually, you’re coming out.”
A faint pause.
“Because I’m not letting you hide in there for three days over something your body decided to do without asking permission.”
Slade walked away.
The team watched him return.
One recruit quietly asked,
“Did she say anything?”
“No.”
“Is she okay?”
Slade looked toward the hallway.
“She will be.”
And that was all he said.
Because there was nothing shameful about what happened.
She hadn’t failed.
She hadn’t embarrassed herself.
She hadn’t done anything wrong.
She’d simply gotten her period at the worst possible time.
And Slade was going to make damn sure she understood that.