When I got home, I saw that moms car was parked in the driveway along with Dominics. I parked out front and walked right into the house, a little concerned the front door wasn't locked. Guess that's what happens here when crime is almost non-existent. I barely shut the door behind me when I found Peyton coming out of the living room. She jumped a little when she saw me but came over to me and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked wondering what was up with the display of affection.

"Yea, this morning was rough with Dominic and I just could use a hug from you." Peyton said so I just held onto her tighter.

"I'm here for however long you need." I said and rested my cheek on Peytons shoulder.

"Where were you all day?" Peyton asked and slowly pulled away from me.

"I went for a run after getting all of dads stuff out of the truck then went and got a tattoo. As I was finishing up, I ran into Mallory and we actually had a conversation about things, clearing the air between us, at least for now. There's more I want to talk to her about but we laid it on thick and I think we both needed a breather." I said.

"It's about time, that girl is still in love with you Daniella, she always has been." Mom said from the living room. I gave Peyton a smile and wrapped my arm around hers as we walked into the living room together. Dominic and mom are both spread out on the floor with the content of the boxes all over the place.

"Did you read your letter yet?" Dominic asked as I sat down on the floor near them to take stock of everything they pulled out so far.

"No, I'll read it when I get home before I leave. I can't read it right now. Today was the first day since I got home I haven't felt numb and I needed it." I said and ran a hand through my hair.

"Let's see this tattoo then." Dominic said and moved closer to me.

I pulled my sleeve up a little bit to show them what I got. I didn't have to explain it much to them as they all knew what the poem meant to dad and I. After they all got a good look in, we moved on to going through the boxes. I started to go through a box of pictures, taken them out of the frames and collecting them in a pile next to all of the patches and challenge coins dad had. The only one I didn't take out of the frame was the photo of mom and dad from their wedding day. When I came across it I turned around and handed the frame over to mom. She gave me a watery smile and held onto the frame tightly before setting it down next to her on the couch.

It took a a little while to go through all of the boxes. By the time they were empty we were all ready for dinner. Peyton ordered us some Chinese food and we all took a break when it got delivered. As I was in the middle of eating, I was also checking my emails from the day and found out there is a plane going home to Fort Benning that is leaving on Saturday morning if I wanted to jump on it. I made a few phone calls and made the arrangements and got the rest of the details together before hanging up. Once I had all of that sorted out I sent my flight information to Morgan and asked if she could pick me up from the airfield. It didn't take long for her to answer a yes and I put my phone down to finish off my dinner.

When I finished up dinner I told my family about my travel plans and we all were pretty quiet now that I have an official plane ticket back home. It was then that I asked if we could take a trip out to dads condo tomorrow to go through some things while I have time. Everyone agreed and I let out a quiet thank you before I went back to the living room. Looking around there was only a few things I wanted to take home with me. Dominic joined me a few minutes later as I collected most of the pictures up.

"Is there anything you wanted?" I asked him as I paused holding onto a photo of dad, Dominic and myself. I flipped it around so he could see it and I watched a smile take over his face.

"I don't know. I was trying to see if there was anything but I thought that you would want most of the military patches and coins and those old photos of him with different units. I was just going to box everything else up for now. I can go back through this stuff later." Dominic said but took the photo from my hand.

"Okay, I'm going to make a box then and take it with me tomorrow for when we go through dads place. I have some clearance to bring boxes with me on the flight so I can take some stuff home with me Saturday." I said and put the rest of the photos into an envelope to keep them safe.

"Sounds like a plan. What time do you want to leave here tomorrow?" Dominic asked.

"Like 11ish. You can come with us and get his car, but you can leave whenever. I'll probably be there most of the day going through things." I said.

"I'll stick around to help, it's not like I have anything else to do this week. The shop gave me this week off." Dominic said and started to pack up the things I wasn't taking into the boxes.

We worked together and got the floor cleaned up again in no time. After that was done, I labeled the box I started for myself and left it open as I went up to my room. I grabbed the shadow box Ryan gave me and the paperwork from the General along with Dad's folded up flag before going back downstairs. I packed the paperwork at the bottom of the box then the shadow box. As I was going to put the flag into the box Peyton stopped me and came back into the room with a flag display box. Together teary-eyed, we put the flag into the box. Just as she was about to close the lid I remembered the shell casings I was given. I ran upstairs and grabbed them from my jacket pocket and returned back downstairs. I stuck them inside the flag box before closing it up and putting it into the box.

Once it was all packed up, I said goodnight to everyone and made sure they knew what time I wanted to leave the house tomorrow morning before making my way upstairs for bed. It didn't take long to get settled into bed and just when I was about to close my eyes for the night, I heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand. I reached over for it and saw I had one new text from a number not saved in my phone. Curiosity got the better of me so I unlocked my phone and read the message.

Can't believe it took ten years to finally tell you the truth. I've owed it to you for so long, I'm sorry.

Mallory. Just as I was about to start typing a response, the three blinking dots appeared so I waited her out.

But the funniest thing about this whole situation is that I had to get your number from my son... I'll have you know, I almost had to fight him for the piece of paper. He wouldn't tell me where he put it so I had to wait until he went to sleep to search his room because that boy sleeps like the dead.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. This new found light that I can now associate with Mallory instead of the gaping black hole that capped off my senior year. I couldn't believe that we managed to make it through a whole conversation without ripping each others head off. Well, we did still manage to bruise our hearts. Her not telling me about her relationship with Troy still doesn't sit well with me, the fact that she completely shut down anything to do with her parents leads me to believe that she did end up having a falling out with them eventually over the past ten years. There are still so many unanswered questions I want to ask like why her and Troy are still married in the first place if she doesn't have a relationship with her parents anymore.

The never-ending questions started to pile up in my brain and instead of trying to turn it off for the night, looks like I just reawaken it. Another text pulled me from my train of thought and I looked down at my phone.

You're probably asleep by now, but I just wanted to say thank you again for hearing me out today. Also, make sure you wash your tattoo first thing tomorrow morning and let it breath a little bit before putting on the second piece of Saniderm.

I couldn't leave her hanging all night so I waiting until the last of the blinking dots disappeared before I started to type a reply.

Thank you for the tattoo tips, I'll make sure to clean it well tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing you on Thursday. Sleep well.

I didn't bother touching her comments about our conversation, it's to late to get into that can of worms now. I also didn't bother waiting for a reply from her. Making sure I had an alarm set, I put my phone down on the nightstand again and closed my eyes, willing my brain to be quiet and let me get some sleep tonight.

The next morning I ended up waking up before my alarm went off. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. I was barely able to get my bearings before I heard my phone starting to ring. Grabbing it off the nightstand I saw it's an incoming call from command. I woke right up once I saw the caller ID and accepted the call.

"Staff Segreant Donovan speaking." I answered.

"Sorry to call you so early Donovan but I just needed to go over your flight details back to Fort Benning and to go over the final flight plans for next week." My commanding officer Major Annabelle Collins said.

"No need to apologize Major, I needed to start getting up anyway. I'm getting on a supply flight back to base Saturday morning. I'll be back on base by 11:00 hours. I can email you my flight plan if you need it. As for our flight to Germany, I have nothing about it yet. I only have my cell phone to work off that's secure here so I don't have my normal level of access to look into things." I offered.

"I understand Donovan, it's okay. I do want to set up a meeting with you for Saturday when you return to go over what your assignments are going to be when you get over there." Major Collins said.

"Sounds like a plan. So the flight to Germany?" I asked.

"Yes, the flight will leave from Fort Benning at 01:00 Monday. You're going to land at Ramstein where you will be stationed while preparing for operation Black Spear. Once that operation is complete we will get more details about the second part of the deployment." Major Collins said.

"Alright, thanks for the update Major, I'll relay everything downward so my team is aware before I get in. I'll come and find you once I get settled." I said.

"See you Saturday Staff Segreant." Major Collins said and hung up the phone.

I felt like I just woke up in a dream, that phone call was the last thing I wanted this early in the morning or even when I was still here. Quickly, I forwarded Major Collins my flight plans for Saturday before I put my phone down and got up from bed. I got into the shower and changed into a basic t-shirt and a pair of shorts before going downstairs. Everything was still quiet and I knew I still had a lot of time before anyone would be up. After sending a text to both Rob and Monica about the details of my phone call with Major Collins, I made myself some breakfast and a cup of coffee before settling down at the kitchen table to eat.

Just as I finished up my breakfast I looked over at my arm and took in my tattoo. It looks pretty gross right now even after washing it off in the shower. I'm going to need someone's help getting the second piece of Saniderm on before we leave for dads condo. After I finished up breakfast I moved to sit down on the couch and turned on the TV. I honestly can't remember the last time I turned one on just to watch something by myself. It had to be at least half a year by now. I didn't have to channel surf for long before I found old reruns of Friends.

About three episodes later I heard the front door unlock and I turned to watch Dominic stroll inside. He gave me a smile before coming over and sitting down on the couch next to me. We managed to watch another episode together before we heard both Mom and Peyton come down the hall. They were both dressed for the day already so we just turned our heads back to the TV while we waited for them to have breakfast.

It didn't take long before both women were ready to go. I grabbed a few empty boxes from the ones we used to bring dads stuff home in and Dominic helped me load them into the truck before we headed off towards the base. It didn't take long to get over there and since we weren't going to the active base side, there wasn't a security check point to get through.

As I pulled the truck into dad's driveway I couldn't help but just sit in the drivers seat for a moment. Mom and Peyton already got out of the truck and started to move to the steps to get inside while Dominic and I sat in the truck. It took a moment to realize that Dom was focused on Dads old Chevelle. The midnight blue monster is sitting in front of us in the driveway and I know how much that car meant to Dom. They restored that car from the floor boards up, it took them years to do it but once they finally finished, it was dads third child.

I finally turned the truck off and hopped out of the drivers seat and walked over to the passenger side to open the door for my little brother. He took my hand as I held it out for him and together we made our way inside dads home. The house was still as we walked hand in hand through the foyer into the living room. We could both hear mom and Peyton in the kitchen moving some stuff around but we just stayed right here.

When I came back from deployments or when I came up to Fort Bragg for training, I would stay with dad. I ended up staying here more then I did at Mom and Peytons house. It was always easier just to be here. A lot of the time, dad wasn't here or was only in and out and I had the place to myself. But even when I was here alone, his presence was everywhere. The god ugly blue couch that dad always refused to get rid of. He always claimed it was his favorite piece of furniture. It also happened to be one of the few things he took in the divorce from mom. Looking at the worn sofa now, I think I now why he took it.

Dominic let go of my hand and walked over to the far wall to look at all of the pictures dad has hanging up. I watched him for a few moments before going over to the small end table and found the keys to the Chevelle. I picked them up and walked over to Dom. His focus is on a picture of him and Dad in the middle of the rebuild of the car. Both of them were covered in engine grease, standing in front of the open hood with the new engine proudly sitting inside. I picked up Dominic's hand and pushed the keys inside of them and forced his fist closed.

"It's yours now." I said looking in Dominic's eyes through the glass of the picture frame. Dom only nodded fighting off tears. "I'm going to get some boxes from the truck and start packing up my room if you need me okay?"

I waited a few seconds with Dom for him to nod before I went outside to grab the boxes. When I got back inside, I found Dom wrapped up in a hug with Mom, Peyton standing off to the side. When Peyton caught my eye, I nodded my head upstairs and she got the message. She came over to me, grabbed a box from my hand and then followed me upstairs to my room. My room here isn't much, just a desk a full-sized bed, nightstand and closet. I put my box on the bed and Peyton followed my move.

"Where do you want to start?" Peyton asked looking around.

"You can do the closet and I'll start on my night stand." I said looking around.

Peyton started to pull my clothes off hangers in the closet as I sat on the floor in front of the nightstand and opened the bottom draw. I sighed and looked at all the ribbon boxes and folders sitting inside. I started to take them out one at a time and opened every box to make sure the ceremonial medal is still sitting inside.

"I think you're the only person I know who looks like that going through their medals." Peyton said and dropped another piece of clothing into a box.

"I don't really like the idea of getting a medal for killing someone." I said and opened another box.

"What about when you get one for getting hurt in the field?" Peyton said eyeing the purple heart medal sitting inside.

"This one wasn't the first but I'm hoping it will be the last." I said and snapped the lid closed.

"How many do you have?" Peyton asked and looked at me.

"Three, what about you?" I asked and turned my attention to my stepmom.

"Two." Peyton said and grabbed another shirt from the hanger.

"How long were you in for?" I asked getting distracted.

"Seven years. The second purple heart came with an honorable discharge." Peyton sighed.

"Do you think you would have stayed in longer if it didn't?" I asked curious. Peyton never really talked about her time in the service. All I really knew about it was that Peyton was in the Marines before she met mom. Everything else I only just learned from seeing her in uniform.

"If I didn't get the second, I would have never met your mom. At the time, I thought my world was ending. What I later came to realize was that it was only just beginning." Peyton said and gave me a smile.

"I've been thinking about it lately." I said and turned back to the draw.

"The purple hearts?" Peyton asked and dropped another piece of clothing into the box.

"Getting out." I said as I closed the lid of the last medal box in the draw.

"How much longer do you have on your contract?" Peyton asked.

"Another two years, but I think that this might be it." I said and dropped the folders into the bottom of the box I have.

"You know I can't make the decision for you but I think that it's a good idea. 12 years by the time you're done, it's a life time. I know that they try to understand what happens over there, but unless you are actually there to see the carnage war does first hand, they'll never understand how it messes you up when you finally come home and don't have to go back." Peyton said with some emotion I've never seen from her before.

"I always thought being a sniper was so cool in the beginning. I literally held a persons life in my hands like some kind of God. But now, I think it's one of the hardest things to do. Often times you just have to sit there and watch your team work and if something happens, you're half a football field away and you're just forced to watch. I hate that helpless feeling I get when someone gets hurt and I can't do anything to help. I don't like having to watch as someone's head gets blown to bits from a shot I took." I said and clenched my jaw.

Peyton stopped working on the clothes and came and sat down on the floor behind me. Once seated, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into her.

"I know it's hard. I know it's not the best parts of this military life. But you can almost see the finish line now. Then once it comes, you'll get to join me and sit behind a desk all day." Peyton said and I couldn't help but chuckle and lean into her a bit more.

"Listen for a second please." I said and started to play with her fingers. I felt Peyton nod and I took a deep breath.

"If I come home in a box, can you please try to get me a spot near dad? There is too many unknowns about this trip that I don't like and now that he's gone, if I don't make it back, I would like to be near him." I said finally voicing the thoughts I had since I heard about going back overseas. Peyton pulled me tighter and nodded.

"Before you leave I'm going to give you a cell phone with some contacts I have that are already setting up in Ukraine. You know I'm not privy to the latest military intelligence and I don't know what your mission will be once you get there, but if things go sideways and you need more backup then what the army will give you, call them. They already know there is a chance you could be coming and they will have your back." Peyton was firm with her words, wanting me to make sure I knew the weight behind them. That is something truly went sideways; her contacts will be there to help if they can.

"Having kids was never in the cards for me, I always thought I would be a lifer, then the discharge came and I met your mom and you and Dominic came along with her. Now you're mine, the daughter I never thought I would have but was so blessed to get. We can't burry you too Dani." Peyton said, her voice cracking over the last word.

"You know I can't promise I'll come home alive, I just, thank you for being the best bonus mom I could have ever asked for and for always taking care of mom and Dominic when I'm not here." I said and felt Peyton tighten her arms around me again followed by a kiss on the temple.

We sat together like this for a little while, just soaking in the comfort of being together again. I know it will be a long time before I'm home again and these moments mean the most to me. Finally Peyton untangled herself from me and we got back to boxing up my room. It didn't take too long to finish it all up. With Peytons handwriting on the boxes, we taped the full ones closed and brought them downstairs.

I stacked them by the front door and started another box. Looking around the living room I saw that some of the photos are now missing from the wall. When I got to the other side of the couch, Dominic had them all arranged on the floor in front of him and mom.

"I'm going to go into his room now, not sure if any of you want to join." I said.

Neither of them said anything so I took the empty box with me to dads room. It took me a few second of standing outside before I worked up enough nerve to actually open the door. His room was still, everything in a permanent place since the last time he was in here. It almost felt wrong to disturb the peace that this room now holds. I set the box I had with me down on the ground just inside the door and looked around. Even when I came to visit in between missions, I never step foot in his room. Dad's room was his place of peace, where he went to try and quiet the voice of the fallen.

His bed is made, the blankets roughly thrown over as if he had to leave quickly. But other then that, everything else was neatly in its place. Three framed pictures sat on his nightstand, another photo from mom and dad's wedding day, a photo of dad, Dominic and myself from a trip to the park when I was probably a freshman in high school. The third is a photo from Dominic's high school graduation. I was able to come home and surprise him at the ceremony after dad pulled some strings to get me leave for the weekend to see it. The photo was all of us. Me in my camo, dad, mom and Peyton. It surprised me a little to see him include a picture of mom and Peyton together but I just smiled and just thought of dad's unwavering support for anything mom wanted to do.

I left the pictures alone and pulled open the doors of dad's closet. The closet was pretty full but it was neatly separated by colors and then his work attire at the end. But the first order of business was unlocking dads gun safe. While home, he always left it unlocked but the door firmly closed. So when I tried the handle and it opened without issue, I was relieved. Sitting inside are his guns. A shotgun that I have every intention of turning in to the armory. When I checked it, I was surprised to see it loaded. Carefully I slid the live shells out of the barrel and set them down back inside the safe. After checking the safety, I slipped the gun into the gun case that is leaning against the safe. Next I pulled out his M4 Carbine. Just like the shotgun I found before it, this was loaded as well. I pulled the magazine out of the gun and the bullet from the camber before placing it inside the gun case as well.

One thing I was surprised to see inside the gun safe was an M110 semi automatic sniper. Unlike the other two guns I've already picked up, this one was not loaded. I placed it inside the gun case with the others and thought to myself I might keep that one. At last I pulled out a pistol which of course was loaded. After the mag was out of the gun I put it into the gun case and looked at the safe. The only thing left in it now was the ammunition. The gun case was already mostly full but I found an ammo box in the on the other side of the safe that I was able to put all of the ammunition into.

After all the guns were safely locked away in the case, I put it all on his bed and turned back to the closet. Walking over to it quickly I grabbed one of his camo jackets and pulled it off the hanger. The oak left firmly in place along with Special Forces tab he always took so much pride in. I made sure there wasn't anything in the pockets and then put it in the bottom of the box I had. My eyes roved over the clothes that dad would never wear again and then I ran my hand through them all. My hand stopped on an old blue flannel and I couldn't help but pull it off the hanger and slip it over my shoulders. The flannel still smelled like him, bourbon and gunpowder. For the first time since he passed, it felt like his arms were wrapped around me again.

Tears poured from my eyes as I grabbed another flannel and threw it into the box. My vision blurry with tears as I continued to grab t-shirts and put them all in the box, wanting to take anything with me that will help make this feeling last. An old green army sweatshirt was next and I knew if I continued, I would just take everything hanging in the closet. Wrapped in the flannel, I sat on the floor and pulled the shirt tighter around me and I wrapped my arms around my legs and just cried.

I sat on the floor for a while and just tired to soak in the feeling of having dads arms around me. But finally my bubble was popped when I heard the door open behind me. I knew it was mom even before she reached me. Her long fingers carded through my hair for a few moments as she sat down next to me.

"I think we've been here long enough for the day, Dani. Dominic is ready to go home and I think we should as well." Mom said.

"Okay" I said but made no move to get up yet. It took another few minutes to get up with mom. I took one more look at the closet and the box I already had half full. A few second later I grabbed another flannel and sweatshirt from the closet and put them in the box. Once I was done mom closed up the box and gave it to a waiting Peyton who was lurking in the doorway while she took the other and I grabbed the gun case and ammo box and we left dads room together.

When we got to the living room I found that my two boxes were gone already, I'm assuming already in the bed of the truck. Dominic was also nowhere to be found. I took another look around the living room before following mom out the front door.

"I'm going to ride back with Dominic if that's okay." I said and helped mom put my third box into the bed of the truck.

"Of course it is. We'll see you guys later." Mom said and flashed me a smile before getting into the passenger seat with Peyton behind the wheel of the truck.

Dominic was waiting for me in the Chevy with the keys in his hand. He waited until Peyton and mom pulled out of the driveway before turning to look at me.

"While you were in dads room we kind of made a decision to just pack all of his stuff into a storage container until you come home and we have proper time to go through everything together." Dom said and swallowed hard. "We thought that you would have grabbed some stuff you wanted right away and then we'll have the time to go through everything later." He explained.

"Thank you" I offered and gave him a watery smile.

Dominic nodded and then started up the Chevy. The Chevelle roared to life and Dom just sat and smiled for a few moments before putting the car into gear and getting out of the driveway. I watched as the condo faded into the distance and sank into the leather seat. Dads flannel tightly wrapped around me made was the only way I was able to leave the condo behind.

a/n: haha don't hate me for the tears. I honestly cried my eyes out writing this story I think more then I ever have. song on the side is Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine. thought about the song towards the end of the chapter when Dani wraps herself in Peters flannel. you guys are definitely going to hate me for the next chapter.