What the doctor ordered.

My real names jared… but for now, everyone will call me Ivan. I was recruited to infiltrate a nazi base, even though HE died a month ago. Something about a new chemical weapon, I wasn't told the details. Then again, that is why I'm here.

“We’ll be there in about twenty minutes, Mr. Richtofen.” The driver of my car speaks perfect german. I expect nothing less, since I am here in the midst of everything. The mission’s already started, so if i screw up now… who knows how many people will be affected.

“It’s doctor,” I responded, also in german. “And don’t bother me unless it’s important.” For now, I have to keep up the facade. As i stare out the window, i find it ironic that the clear weather hides the darkness that may await me when i get there. This isn’t going to be easy, but i have got to try.

“My apologies… doctor” I hear him, but my mind won’t stay in one place. What will i find? What's waiting for me? Will I get caught? The only thing I know for sure is my mission.

“Listen up jared!” my commander's voice echoes in my head. “We don’t have a lot of time, so i’m just going to explain the basics. It doesn’t help that we don’t have a lot of info right now, so i’ll cut straight to the point. One of our other agents has gone dark. His last message mentioned something about a new chemical weapon. He was supposed to update us again this morning, but i’m afraid... He may have been caught. So we need you to go and find out about the chemical weapon.

“That’s your primary objective. Your secondary objective is to find the other agent. We’re expecting the worst, so don’t get your hopes up. You'll be shipping out tomorrow morning. This is going to be a quick mission. Don’t worry,” he snickered, We’re not expecting you back” that’s the last thing he said, before turning his back and walking off. I knew what he meant, it’s a suicide mission. He’s always hated me, and that’s probably why I was picked.

As the car rolls to a stop, I'm forced back into the moment. I look up to see a large building. Greatly run down, it looks to be an old school, or university. The driver steps out of the car, and then proceeds to open my door. As I step out, I see a uniformed officer approach. I can tell by his badges, he’s a general.

“Ah, welcome doctor richtofen. I’m so glad you could make it!” this man, I've barely met him and he already scares me. If he knew who i was, or even anything about me, i fear death couldn’t come quick enough. “How was your ride here? enjoyable i hope. The weather's lovely this time of year.”

“It is,” I say, looking up at the sky. It’s almost too lovely. It almost reminds me of back home. No, focus, I'm here for a mission. I can’t let my thoughts get side tracked. I return my attention back to the officer, “but we’re not here to discuss the weather no? I hear the projects almost finished. Am i to be helping with the finishing touches?”

He smirks, and without answering my question, “Follow me, I want you starting on the project right away. We’ve HAVE almost finished it.'' He doesn't say anything else, as he just walks straight for the building. As I follow, I can tell this is it my mission has fully started.

As he leads me through the corridors, I can see the damage from a battle. Black marks from explosions, bullet holes. I keep walking to see several holes in walls, windows missing, and even an entire room that has collapsed in on itself.

*cough* I look through a door to see a soldier. He’s weak, and barely holding on. I look forward, not wanting to know why he’s injured, but can’t help but be homesick. The feeling of knowing where i am, who i’m with… and what they’ve done.

As I continue through the corridors, I think back to my sergeant. I know why he picked me for this mission, he’s always hated me. After telling me I was on this mission, I tried to say no. I wish I could've. “You refuse this mission, and i’ll make sure anybody you know knows that little secret of yours, and your fiance’s.” if that secret gets out, it may potentially ruin my entire life.

As we reach the end of a hallway, the general opens a door, and gestures towards a lab workstation, full of various sized beakers and bottles. The colors of each vary more than the beakers. Then there's the woman working with the chemicals. “That’s dr…”

Before he finishes, she cuts him off. “Please, general.” she doesn’t even look up. “I can introduce myself.'' She looks up from the chemistry set, and sets down her papers. As she walks over to me, I can't help but notice her long black, sleek hair. It almost shines in the little sunlight that reaches this place. As she reaches me, she reaches her hand out. “You may call me Natasha” she states. I reach out, and shake her hand, making sure to maintain eye contact.

“That’s a pretty common name” I note, something doesn’t seem right already. Is she on to me? I just met her, how could she tell.

“You are right. I said you may call me natasha. I never said that's what my name is.” her voice sounds untrusting. I have to get on her good side, otherwise things won’t go well.

“Well then” the general states, sounding pleased with himself. “now that you two are acquainted, why don’t we get started on the first experiment.” shit. That’s right, if i don’t act like i know what i’m doing, then they'll kill me here and now.

I look at him and nod. I then move over to the table with a spare coat, and goggles. As I'm getting ready, I see Natasha already starting the experiment. I watch as she mixes chemicals together. She glances at me, then at the general. “Could you hand me that solution on the table there.''

I look at the table she’s talking about and see a light blue liquid, and a clear liquid. Shit, why did they have me as a doctor, i don’t know shit about chemistry. Well here goes nothing. “This one?” I ask, picking up the clear liquid. Crap, it smells like plain water… If she tells me to grab the blue, it could spell trouble.

“Da” she said, nodding her head. Whew, that could've been bad already. As I walk over, I see the general smile. That smile, the smug, I own you smile. It’s this behavior that i was hesitant to do this job. Just remember, I have something to go home to.

“Well, since you two have started then I'll leave you to your work.” he starts to walk off. I notice Natasha staring him down as he does. He takes one last look at us, before closing the door. As soon as the door closes, Natasha immediately picks up a clear liquid and pours it into the beaker in front of her.

She turns to me, and in plain english “you are not so good at chemistry... are you” i take a step back. So she did find out who I am? Why didn’t she tell the general? What's going on? “Your friend. He got caught. He’s in jail, basement.” should i say anything.

I take a deep breath. If she didn’t tell the general, there might be a reason. I hope this works. “Why help us?” I ask, it’s obvious she knows who I am. I’m taking a risk assuming she’s going to help me.

“Stupid question, i’m helping you guys. I made the chemical weapon. He… released it in a camp… my father was stationed there… he… didn’t make it.” she looks away. She walks towards a table and picks up the blue chemical. “This is actually it… when you boil it, the gas it emits is so poisonous, that it begins to eat skin.”

I don’t even know where to begin with what she just said. Her father must have been a guard, but if he didn’t survive...“That… sounds terrible.” If the weapon is that bad, I can see why we need to destroy it.

She turns back to me. “I became a scientist to help people. To help create drugs, and other medicine. Not to kill people. So when I found out that my creation had been used to kill my father… i…” she looks away, as tears begin to run down her face. I can’t help but feel sorry for her. I’m still not sure if i should trust her, but she had the chance to turn me in and she didn’t. I keep listening in as she continues.

“I told myself I would do everything to atone for my sins. And that includes turning on those that gave me this lab.” I watch, as she takes the blue liquid and just turns it in her hand. She then takes it over to the nearby sink, and pours it down the drain. “I’ve debated using it to take out everyone here. That was my last resort… that is” as i watch her look up at me, i can almost feel the determination coming off of her. “Until your friend got captured. I knew they’d send in someone else, I had to convince the general to leave him alive.”

She walks up to me, the determined look still in her eyes. “Your friend and I made a deal.” she puts her hand on my shoulder. “He was to get both of us out of here, so i can be free of this madness. I’ll take you to him, then to a helicopter we can use to get the hell out of here. All you have to do is give me your word that when we get to a safe base you’ll tell them i’m on your side”

As I look at her, I can tell she’s serious. But i can’t help but wonder if i’m mistaken… “and what if we fail?”

She grabs my collar, and pulls me down a little “then you, me, you’re allie, and the general won’t make it out of here alive.” the look in her eye changes to anger. “I can’t let this chemical get out. If there's so much as a thought of it, then there's a possibility of it getting out. And I can't allow that.”

If she’s that desperate to make sure it won’t get out… “then i guess i don’t have a choice in the matter if i want to get back home then”

“No, you don’t. Sorry, but that's what i decided. So, are you going to help me or not?” as i take a deep breath in, i can tell she already knows the answer. She lets go of my collar, and then takes a step back. “Well?”

“Yea… so, where is he then?” i ask, hoping i’m not walking into a trap. My family would kill me if I died here.

“He’s in a room by himself, I'll take you to him, just let me get something real quick.” She walks over to one of the tables, and picks up a bottle of clear liquid, and a cloth. She puts the cloth in her lab coat, and the bottle in her inner pocket. She then opens a drawer of the desk, and pulls out a P-38 pistol.

“Whoa, wait a minute” I take a step back. This is it, isn’t it. She was just lying before, to get me to confess, wasn’t she. She walks over, holding the gun by the barrel. She holds it out to me.

“Here… I'm no good with a gun, and I'm not sure if we’ll need it. But better safe than sorry… I guess” i stare at it. If she wanted me dead, she would have just shot me. I look her in the eyes one more time, and nod. I take the gun, and put it under my belt.

“Follow me” she says, as she turns around and begins to walk off. I follow her, as she walks out of the lab. We walk from corridor to corridor. She walks with confidence that I can almost admire. She’s that determined, almost as if she’s done this hundreds of times.

She stops, “Wait” she holds up a hand. I stop as she says this, waiting by a turn. “He’s around the corner, there’s a guard… I don't want to cause a commotion just yet, so I need you to trust me alright?”

“So don’t shoot,” she nods, and I sigh “I better be able to trust you.”

“Just… don’t shoot…” I watch her pull out the bottle, and pout it onto the rag she has. She puts the cap back on the bottle, then puts it back in her coat, and the rag back in her pocket. I stand there, as she takes a deep breath, and exhales.

She turns the corridor running. “Help!” she yells in german “They’re here!”

“What!” I hear the guard. “Who’s here?”

“The americans!” she actually sounds frantic. “They’re getting ready to invade this place. Shit, we need to hurry, kill the prisoner, general's orders.”

“Ri..right!” I peer around the corridor. The guard fumbles with his keys, and then unlocks the door. I watch as the guard readies his rifle, but Natasha pulls out the rag and covers his mouth. Within only a few seconds, the guard drops to the floor, completely unconscious. I watch as she takes the rifle off the guard.

“Come!” she yells, holding up the rifle in one hand, ready for me to take it. I walk over to the guy who’s knocked out, and take the rifle. I kneel by the body, and take his knife as well. She nods at me, then proceeds into the room.

“Oh look who’s here,” i hear a male voice from inside the room “so you’re the one killing me?” I peer in and see the other guy. Medium height, blond hair, blue eyes. I see why they picked him. “Hey, who are you?” i simply walk up behind him “oh, not going to let me see huh? Fine, just get it over with!” he leans his head back, half looking at me, and half exposing his neck. “i already told you i ain’t saying shit!” I cut the rope holding his hands. He jumps up, turning around.

“So you’re the one they sent to help me.” he says, standing up. “I’m guessing they told you Natasha’s on our side?” I shake my head. Seriously, did they send me here without info on purpose? I hold out the pistol to him, as he rolls his eyes.

He grabs it, and pulls out the magazine. “Fully loaded, nice. Alright, i’ll ask questions later.” he grips the gun in both his hands, pointing it at the ground. Standard safety procedure.

Natasha quips in. “Nice to see you guys aren’t stupid. Shall we continue? I’d very much like to leave alive.” I look at the other guy. We both nod, as we walk out together.

“This way” Natasha leads the way as we follow her. Following her through various corridors, we see a few wounded soldiers. Most of them are sleeping, and the ones that aren’t seem to be too distracted to notice us. With some missing limbs, it’s no wonder they’re looking for an easy way to win this war.

As we continue, I see Natasha look into a medical bay. I peer in with her, but she quickly turns away and keeps moving. All I can see in there is a few soldiers, each of them with an IV drip. I know this all too well, these soldiers won’t make it back. Those IV’s are there so they don’t suffer.

As I look at them, I can't help but feel a bit of remorse. I miss my family, and I know these guys won't get to see their family’s again. I may not have kids, but I have a niece. She’s a cutie, little redhead with green eyes. I miss her, my brother, and especially my fiance. I can’t think about that right now, I have to keep moving. I continue to follow Natasha through the building.

We stop at a corridor, as Natasha turns to us. “Alright. This is where things get tricky. The copter is on the roof, and this is the only route that’s intact. The problem comes from the fact that from here to the copter, we’ve got a few soldiers.”

I look at the other guy, who readies his pistol. I look back at natasha. “Alright, I guess this is where me and him come in” I turned to him. “What’s your name”

“Call me brian” I looked at brian, then ready my rifle. We both nod at each other, as he readies his pistol, and ushers Natasha behind us. “You take point” he states, as I move to the front of the corridor.

I look at Brian, one more time. “Alright, loud and proud” I whisper, readying myself. “Three… two… one… go go go!” I yell, turning the corridor. Three soldiers, as I see them turn in confusion, I aim, and fire off a few rounds right away. I watch as the two to my right go down fast. I hear a couple rounds go off from behind me. The third one goes down.

I run up to the first soldier, and kneel by him. Two chest wounds. One looks like it grazed his heart, he died quick. I begin checking his gear. I hold up a magazine. Perfect, I'm probably going to need it. I turn to brian “find anything?”

“Got a couple of clips, that's it. Knife might come in hand.” I nod, and begin to check the middle soldier. One wound to the neck, the blood spilled all over the ground, and his suit. I almost feel guilty, after all, I killed him. No, I can't right now, I have to get out of here if I don't focus, we might not make it. I set my rifle down, as I pick up another P-38. “got another P-38…”

“Hey what's going on!” I turn to see a soldier pointing his rifle at me. Shit, I quickly aim with the pistol, and shoot off two rounds, each one hitting him in the chest. He falls quick, dropping his gun to his side.

I look back at brian. “If he’s here already, things are about to get dicy…” as I finish my sentence, I hear sirens outside. I turn back to Natasha, “hey, how far is the copter?”

“Not far, but there’s at least five more guards.” shit, i turn my head back to the downed guards. Both me and brian stand up, as we look through the door where the guards were standing. I see a long hallway, with some stairs at the end. No guards yet.

I watch as three more soldiers run down the stairs. Great, jinxed it. “Brain, three more, get ready” he nods, as we both get ready. He kicks the door down, as I raise my rifle and begin shooting. I watch as the first soldier gets off a round, but I hit him quick. The right soldier goes down, as I hear two rounds from my left. I still see him standing, so I duck down, aim, and shoot.

He goes down, but I hear a grunt from behind me. I turn my head to see Natasha holding her arm. “Natasha!” i get up and move over to her. “Are you hit?” As I ask this, I remember she’s not a soldier. This might not be good.

I see the wound, but… “it just grazed me.” She looks at me with hate, but mostly determination. “I refuse to die here.” She looks forwards, and starts moving. “Next the roof.” I nod, then turn to brian.

He nods as well, holding the pistol at the ready. We both walk over to the bodies, scavenging what we can quickly. “Two P38 clips, and three for the gewehr.” he states, still searching the bodies. I noticed one of the soldiers took a bullet to the head. I slightly grin at the marksmanship, but immediately drop it knowing i just killed someone.

“One P38, and one gewehr.” I say back to him. He hands me one of the rifle mags, then picks up one of the soldiers' rifles. “We need to move.” I turn back to see five soldiers coming. “Brian, five on our six!” he turns and readies his new rifle. I kneel and aim as well. We both start shooting. One, two, three… “shit!” I yell as I feel a round hit my leg. No, I won't be able to walk well with this. I look up to see the last couple drop.

Brian reaches under my shoulder, and lifts me up “hey, come on, nobodys dying today.” He helps me to my feet, as I can feel my leg burning with the pain. I grit my teeth, just like Natasha, there’s no way I'm dying here.

“Heh, tell that to them '' I force a smile, but the pain is killing me… but the thought of not going home… I look up the stairs. “Let's move, we need to hurry, otherwise we won’t make it.” brian nods. I can tell by his face that he’s worried. I can also tell that he gets it, if we need to hurry, whether or not I'm injured.

As we hobble up the stairs I can hear various chatter from below. We keep moving, and I begin to see light from the top of the stares. Sunlight, almost there. All we need is to push a little more.

When we get to the roof, I see a lone helicopter, but nobody is guarding it. “Oh look at that, they left it there for us.” I joke, mostly to try and hide the pain. If i can’t keep pushing then i’m no use. No, if i don’t keep pushing then i won’t get home.

Brian props me up, “Lets go, almost there.” i half hobble, and half drag myself to the helicopter. As I watch Natasha climb in, I do my best to turn around, aiming. I won’t be able to fly this thing with my wounds. I’ll have to defend us if I want to keep us alive.

“You know how to fly this thing!?” i shout, hoping to god we can actually get out of here. I see another soldier run out the door, so fire a few rounds before he responds. Another soldier down. How many more will come?

“Yea! I’ve had quite a bit of practice, don’t worry.” I turn to see him sweating. Yea, that’s a lie… as i turn back to the only entrance to the roof, i can only hope he can get us in the air. I fire two more rounds as more soldiers begin to come up.

“Move!” Natasha yells, pulling him out of the seet. “You’re the copilot, I need you to hit that switch.” i keep firing, i can’t look at what they’re doing. If I do, someone could get us. I keep firing. *click* shit, i quickly eject the mag, then replace it with one of the full ones. I start shooting again. I watch as the bodies almost begin to pile up. I.. think i already used half the mag. My aim is getting worse.

I can hear the screeching of metal, as the blades of the helicopter start spinning. “There, I need you to fly this damn thing. I can’t with this arm.”

“On it!” I hear shuffling in between rounds. Shit, another clip gone. I reload quickly. I watch a soldier come up. No this isn’t a soldier, it’s the general. I aim, ready to shoot him *click* I look down at the rifle. Damn it, jammed.

I throw it down as I reach for the pistol. As I pull out the pistol, I can see the general smirking from this distance. He reaches behind him. As I pull out the pistol, my hand slips, and it falls out of the helicopter. No no no, so many thoughts run through my mind, as I watch him pull the pin on a grenade.

He pulls his arm back, and the only thought I can think of is going home. *bang* *bang* *bang* I hear three rounds go off as the general drps. I turn to see Natasha barely leaning over. She falls next to me, as the helicopter begins to lift into the air. She hands me the pistol, as I hear the grenade go off “I told you, I am NOT dying here.” I take the gun, and nod. No words necessary, she just saved my life. I look over at the entrance to see the grenade collapse the stairs.

As we begin to get into the air, I slam the helicopter door shut. I hobble over to a chair, as Natasha gets back into the cockpit. “Thanks,” she said to brian. “Just do as I say, and we’ll be good.” I slump in the chair. I don’t hear any gunfire, so i figure the ones on the ground still don’t know exactly what's going on. I look out the window, as we begin to fly off. It was a small base, so i don’t think they’ll send any air reinforcements.

I can feel my conscious fading as the pain in my legs intensifies… wait, legs. I look down. I took another hit in my other leg too? Crap, I won't be able to walk for a bit… my head… foggy…

Doctors? What's going on? Sky, I'm… still outside… Now I'm’ not… lights… several doctors… scalpels.. Can’t see clearly… i…

As my eyes shoot open, I see lights again. My vision’s better, but there’s still no telling where I am. As I try to move, pain shoots through my shoulder. The bandages wrapped around my chest have a little blood close to the chest.

“You’re lucky” as I slowly turn my head, I see a doctor come into the tent. Looking around, I finally notice I'm in a medical tent, one’s used for injured soldiers on the battlefield.

“Whe… where am i?” I can barely speak, but, i think i got the words out.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe. Your companion, brian, already debriefed us on what happened. We’ll still need you to tell us what happened, in your own words, but for now just rest up.” I nod, and lay back down. A sigh of relief comes out, almost instinctively. “The general will be in in a few hours, I'll let him, and the other two know you’re awake.”

“Wait, natasha?” I barely mutter, but I need to make sure she’s ok. She saved us, and who knows how many lives.

“Don’t worry, we were hesitant at first, but after brian's debriefing, she’s free to go. The general will fill you in when he talks to you.” I nod again, before laying my head down. I can feel my eyes getting heavy, even though I just woke up.

“Hey” my eyes open to see brian sitting next to me. “You are awake.” I groggily sit up in bed. “Good to see you’re still alive. Both me and Natasha are grateful ``I stare at him. Unable to process the words right now.

I look at the opening of the tent to see another person walk through. My eyes widen, as I try to salute. Pain rushes through my chest, and shoulder. “At ease” I hear him, and drop my arm. I look up to see his face, grey hair, short, and a strong face. “I’m going to need your debriefing soon, but i think there’s someone else who wants to see you two.” he steps out of the way as Natasha walks through.

“Na..tasha?” I mutter, still having trouble talking. My blurred vision barely makes her out.

“Yea, it’s me… but please… my real name is emilia.” I chuckle a little, ow… the pain once again courses through my chest. “Please, don’t.” she walks up, holding me up. “If it wasn’t for you… I wouldn't be here.”

“I think i’m supposed to say that to you. Considering.” I smile, at least that doesn’t hurt.

The general interrupts “now that all three of you are here, i’m sorry to rush things, but i do want a full report from all of you.” I nod, doing my best to sit up right. Natasha sits on the bed next to me, while brian sits in a chair.

The three of us explain, in as much detail as we can muster, exactly what happened. The entire debrief takes little more than an hour. After the general leaves, assumingly satisfied, Brian turns to me. I see that smirk as he mutters “I'll leave you two for a bit.”

Natasha… I mean, Emilia turns to me. “I was wondering. If, once we get to the United States, if you maybe wanted to grab dinner with me.”

I smile, welcoming the gesture. “I’m not so sure my fiance would like that very much. But I'm sure Brian out there wouldn’t mind at all.” she chuckles.

“Well, i’m sure he would. Your fiance must be one lucky woman.” I smirk back. She stands up, and walks towards the entrance. “I’ll see you. Just because we aren’t dating, doesn’t mean we can’t keep in touch. I’d love to meet your fiance some day.” she smiles once more, before walking out of the tent. I chuckle again, and lay my head back down.

The next few weeks were boring, staying on base, and just waiting for a supply run so we have a plane to head back home. The only reason they really made us stay so long was because of my injuries, I assumed. It shouldn’t have been that hard to get us home.

A month passes, and we finally land back in the states. My first stop is to my boss. The one who shipped me off. After walking into HQ, and waiting for who knows how long, I finally get to see him again.

“Welcome back, jarhead Jared.” he laughs. “I didn’t expect the mission to be that much of a success.”

“You shipped me to die, and you know it” I glared at him, I could see the hate in his eyes. He didn’t want me to survive. He didn’t like me, and I always knew that. “After this mission, I quit.”

“Well good, you’re right, I shipped you to die, and you made it back. You know how lucky you are to get an honorable discharge?” I knew it. I honestly can’t tell which one I'd rather deal with, him or the nazi at least they didn’t find out my secret. “If i had my way, i’d shoot you right here. Now get the hell out of my office. I never want to see your face again.” I salute, and smirk. Before ending the salute, I flip him the bird. “Now!”

I turn and walk out of his office. To my surprise, Brian’s waiting there. “Hey, that didn’t sound good. And from the look on your face, i can tell it wasn’t. What happened? Wasn’t the mission a success?”

“Let's just say that he purposefully sent me on a suicide mission. Hoping that I wouldn't come back.”

“Shit, that’s…. Well I'm glad you made it. Hey, on a lighter note, I do have to thank you. N… Emelia’s great. We actually hit it off real well.”

The smile I form is a little forced. “I’m glad” that’s not a lie, I'm just still getting over the anger. “I really do hope you two have a good life.”

He pats my shoulder. “Thanks man. And hey, i did kinda figure some things out, so i want you to go home to your fiance, and maybe we can meet up in a month or two. Have a few drinks.”

I smile “sounds good. I’d love to” I really would love to hang out with him. Right now though, my only thought is getting home.

“Great, now get going, it’s my turn. See you soon.” I nod, and head for the exit. I’m glad I have a new friend I can count on. I can’t wait to go home. I wave down a taxi, and as it stops, all I can think about is being home… and getting away from this place.

I look up at the sky, at the beautiful weather. The same weather I saw on my mission. I still find it ironic, that the weather hides the darkness that can happen at any moment. At any time, and anywhere.

Me getting shipped out, it was so sudden, i barely had enough time to tell my family. I wonder if anyone was told that i was home. Mom, and dad too. I can’t wait to see them. But now, right this instant… All I want is to go home, and lie in my bed.

The taxi ride takes almost an hour to get home. Traffic in this city sucks most of the time, but at least i’m home now. I thank the driver, and pay him. Because of the urgency of this mission, I didn't have any baggage. Hard to pack when you’re told you’ll be living as someone else for a time.

I can hear the taxi drive off, as I walk up to my house. I take a deep breath in, then slowly let it out, as I open my front door. “I…” I want to say I'm home, but I'm not even sure if anyone is here. I’m worried, will he be mad?

“Welcome home” that voice. The calm, soothing voice… I've always loved to hear him talk. I look to the right, into the kitchen. There he is. That warm loving smile, short and luscious brown hair, those beautiful forest green eyes. I see tears run down his face.

“Thank you” I say, as I also begin to tear up. “It’s… so good to be home.” he reaches out, and I can't help but nearly collapse into his arms. My fiance, my love, and the man that I wish I could marry.

I can feel my eyes watering, more and more, as I also feel his gentle touch on my head. “Hey, i’m here. And you’re home. It’s ok” i wrap my arms around him, as i continue to cry.

I squeezed him tightly, “i’m so glad to be home.” the pain in my shoulder hasn’t dispersed, but i don’t care. All I care about is feeling him hold me. “I love you” I say, squeezing him tighter.

“Sshh, i love you two” i feel his hand move to my chin, and lift my head up. There they are again, those beautiful green eyes, and that warm smile. I can’t help but feel full of happiness, love, and all around just being content. Just being here next to him.

I close my eyes, as we both share a kiss. This, this is all I want. With him, I feel like I can let all my worries die. All my stress melts away, and all that’s left is this pure, unfiltered love. I’m so glad to be home.