Together we cleaned up our station and made our way out of the gun range. My three PFCs were already packing up their gear when we walked past so I just made sure that they would return home for the night before Morgan and I took our leave. Before we could leave I gave Major Collins one final request for Morgan's new rifle and attachments and then we found ourselves back in the truck.

We were quiet on the way home and only spoke when we stopped for burgers and milkshakes at a fast-food place not far from the house. Going to All American Burger has a pre-deployment ritual since we moved in together and I wasn't going to break it now. When we got back to the house, we ate our late lunch-early dinner together before we went our separate ways to pack up. I don't know if Morgan already started but I haven't, so I need to get a move on. I put on some music and started one load of laundry so I could wash the set of camo I wore today. With that working, I got back to my task.

My army duffle bag quickly filled up to the brim and so did my backpack. I knew I couldn't take more then both of them so I had to pack strategically to make sure I had a bit of everything I could think I'll need. Once I finished packing I left both bags in my room and grabbed my gun cleaning kits and brought it all downstairs. Morgan was pretty quiet so I think she might be up in her room packing. I grabbed my gun cases from where I left them by the back door and put them on the kitchen table. I opened it up and pulled out my pistol first before picking up my phone and calling Dominic.

I popped the magazine out of the handle of the gun and place it down on the table. Just as I slid the the slide off the top of the gun and place it down on the table he picked up.

"Didn't think I would hear from you until you ended up in Europe." He said as I quickly disassembled the rest of the gun.

"I have some time now, figured I would just call and check in to see how you're doing." I said and picked up my cleaning cloth and the slid.

"You said I had a day to be sad. Well, I was kind of making the most of that with Dina. We were having a lazy day together because I go back to work tomorrow and you are interrupting that." Dominic said and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Are you with her right now?" I asked and started to clean up the trigger.

"Yea, we are just sitting on the couch watching a movie together." Dominic said and I couldn't help but smirk as I hit the facetime button at the top of the call screen.

"No Dani, I'm not answering." Dominic said.

"Please, pick it up so I can meet her!" I teasingly said.

There was no sound coming from the other end of the phone but a few seconds later the video connected and I saw a not amused Dominic sitting by himself on a couch.

"If you weren't going to let me meet her when why did you pick up?" I asked and started to double check checking was oiled right.

"You can meet her, she just needed to put a shirt on." Dominic said and I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you cleaning your guns?"

"Yea, Morgan and I went for our pre-deployment All American, I finished packing, now checking over my weapons systems to make sure everything is in working order while I have the time to do it properly without rushing." I said and started to put together my pistol. Once it was reassembled I slid the empty magazine into the handle and cocked the gun to make sure everything was put back together in the right place. Once I heard the click of a bullet trying to enter the camber, I knew everything was in the order and I pressed my pistol into my gun case.

Next I pulled out my rifle and started to break it down. When I heard some nose on the other end of the phone I looked up to find a women sitting next to Dominic. I couldn't help the soft smile on my face as I watched the brunette push herself into Dominics arms.

"Already pushing Dominic around, I think I'm going to like you." I said as I pulled the barrel out of my gun.

"It's nice to finally meet you Daniella, Dominic always talks about you and it's just nice to put a face to the name." Dina said and settled in Dominic's arms.

"It's nice to see Dom finally got his head out of his ass. Only took a little bit of a push. But I do want to make one thing clear, don't hurt my baby brother." I said and as I continued to pull apart my weapon.

"Heard." Dina said a bit startled at my show of aggression.

Before I could say anything I felt around wrap around my chest and neck. I didn't have to turn to know it was Morgan.

"Babe, leave the kids alone. You need to finish this some time tonight because I want you to come to bed with me." Morgan said and I couldn't help but feel my cheeks start to blush.

"Wait a second, you finally got together with Morgan!" Dominic yelled jumping up from the couch, dislodged Dina from his hold.

"I'll give you a call when I get settled in Germany." I said quickly disconnected the call. "You really had to say that?" I asked Morgan as I put my rifle down on the table.

"Yes, you were teasing him and the poor girl. If you want her to stick around, you need to limit it. But seriously, you need to finish because I want you in my bed." Morgan said and kissed the top of my head before pulling away.

Morgan made her way around the kitchen, grabbing a protein bar and a bottle of water before retreating upstairs while I finished taking apart my rifle. After inspecting everything and giving all the pieces a loving clean, I put together my rifle and placed it in it's case. I packed my clean kit into my sniper rifle case and closed the lid. After making sure everything was locked up tight, I grabbed a protein bar and some water for myself and made my way upstairs to Morgans room.

She was waiting for me in bed, watching an old episode of the Golden Girls on TV when I started to shed all of my clothes except for my underwear. Once I was basically nude, I closed the currents to the window and shut the door and turned off the lights before crawling into bed beside Morgan.

Morgan curled right into my arms as I relaxed and got comfortable in her hold. We managed to make it through two full episodes before we both started to doze off. Neither of us were fully conscious enough to turn off the tv though so we ended up being lulled to sleep by our favorite Golden Girls.

When morning broke, Morgans room was so dark that neither of us woke up. I only started to stir when the need to use the bathroom was greater then the want to stay asleep. Carefully, I slid out of bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom. After I was done with my business, I went back to Morgans room and found my phone to check the time. It was already pushing one in the afternoon and I knew we both needed to get up. After slipping on a sweatshirt, I kissed Morgan's cheek and saw a smile stretch onto her face. When I pulled away from her I opened the curtains and heard her groan in disappointment.

"No, come back to bed." Morgan groaned out.

"Can't yet love, I have some things I need to take care of first." I said and leaned down to give her another kiss, this time on the lips before pulling away.

Morgan made a few more whins of annoyance, but I slipped away from her room. Leaving the door cracked I went into my own room and sat down at my desk. I pulled a notebook out from a draw and started listing out all of the user names and passwords I could think of for all of my current accounts. Once that was done I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and took the passcode off of it.

Now that it was gone, I left my cell phone on my desk and started a new sheet of paper. I struggled for a few moments staring at the blank empty page before I wrote Dominic's name at the top. Ever since I read dads letter, I was thinking about writing a few of my own. First I started with one for my baby bother. His wasn't long, just a few paragraphs to tell him how much he means to me. Next was one for my mom and Peyton. I figured I would write them one letter and just make it a bit longer instead of two smaller ones.

It took me a few minutes of back and forth to decide on whether or not to write one to Mallory or not. I ended up taking a break and went down into the kitchen to get something to snack on while I thought it over. When I came back upstairs, I sat back down at my desk and knew what I would want to say to her and to Logan if I didn't come home alive. When I was done with their letter I made a note on my pages of passwords and accounts that I want one of my camo jackets to be given to Logan.

Then came the hardest letter I had to write, Morgan. Hers was the easiest and hardest letter I wrote this afternoon. Easiest, because I already knew what I was going to say to her but the hardest because I only wish I would have been able to say these things in person. Once I was done with her letter, I ripped them all of the out of my notebook, folded them up and put them in their own envelopes. I put them all into a larger envelope with a message on the front and left it on my desk. If something does happen to me, someone will be able to find this without issue.

After they were all done and everything was put into order, I grabbed my bags and made my way downstairs. I put my duffle and backpack into the bed of the truck and returned to grab my rifle case. With all of that away, I returned to the kitchen table and unlocked the clips on my sniper rifle case. I sighed as I pulled it out and placed it carefully on the table. I took out my cleaning kit and started to break it down.

With the last mission ending like it did, I never got the chance to break down my sniper and give it a good clean. After spending so much time on the roof top with all of that sweat and sand, I was happy I had the chance now to really take the time to get it cleaned up again before we left for Germany. As I started to reassemble it, Morgan came down into the kitchen and I watched her walk out the door to the garage with a few bags of gear in hand. Looks like she had the same idea as me.

Just as I put the last piece in place, Morgan came back inside holding a box of pizza. I gave her a smile as I pressed my sniper back into the foam of the case and closed it up. I took my gun case off the table and brought it into the garage and put it in the bed of the truck. When I got back into the kitchen, Morgan had opened the pizza box already and was digging into a slice. I joined her at the table and together we ate in a comfortable silence.

After we finished our meal, Morgan and I cleaned up the kitchen and returned to her room. Together it didn't take long for both of us to end up naked again in bed, adding to the collection of bite marks and bruises from the night before. Our love making went on for most of the early evening until we finally broke apart for a nap.

When Morgans alarm finally woke us up, I felt like my bubble finally shattered. I didn't stick around long enough after the alarm went off, I couldn't, not if I wanted to keep myself together. So with one final kiss, I got out of bed and went right into the bathroom to shower. After a minute, I couldn't tell what was water and what was tears but I just tried to push through, to try and turn my emotions off to get me through this.

After I finished my shower, I got dressed in my uniform and went downstairs to wait for Morgan to be ready. It was only a little after 23:00 hours but I knew I needed to get to base to get everything in order for the flight. I did one final sweep of the house to make sure everything was locked up tight. It didn't take too much longer before Morgan came downstairs in her uniform holding one more backpack. She only nodded and handed me the keys to the truck before walking out of the door, not looking back. With one final look at the little life Morgan and I have here together, I locked the door behind me and met Morgan in the truck.

With locking the door, I also tried to lock those feelings into the back of my mind. The drive to the base was putting more distance between Morgan and I. We both knew what was at stake if command caught wind of our relationship. We have been able to manage our feelings during the last six years we've lived together, now they were really going to be put to the test.

When we arrived on base, we were escorted to the belly of the plane where our gear was collected to be stacked together with the rest of my team once they arrive. Once all of the gear was unloaded I handed the keys off to one of the MPs who was going to drive our truck to the long-term parking section. While all of our body armor gear was already created up, I still had to go the cages to grab my secure phone and laptop. After our gear was taken by the aircrew, Morgan left me to go meet up with her CO one final team for an updates in her orders.

The cages were empty when I got there and I made quick work of grabbing my last-minute things I needed. I checked over everyone else's cage to make sure they all have there gear and it looks like everyone got everything they needed yesterday. With my thin backpack in hand, I locked down the cages and walked over to Major Collins office. I wasn't surprised to see her sitting behind her desk reading a file.

"Just check in Major, anything you need me to do before I head back to the plane?" I asked and watched as Major Collins looked up at me.

"Come in for a second and shut the door." Major Collins said and put her file down as I shut the door behind me. I took a seat in the same seat I sat in the day before and waited for Major Collins to speak.

"All of your supply requests are already loaded on the plane, I personally watched the aircrew load it all up, Lieutenant Alexanders rifle is among them as well. Did you square yourself away when it comes to her?" Major Collins asked. I tried to keep my face as even as a I could.

"There's nothing that needed to be squared away ma'am." I said and took one steady breath in and held it for a few seconds before letting it go.

"We are about to go into something so dangerous the president is barely keeping it on paper Daniella. I have our deployment orders to Ukraine right here in this file. You have permission to speak freely right now. I have eyes, I'm not blind. Did you square away your feelings for Morgan?" Major Collins asked again.

"As much as I could ma'am." I said and bit my lip to stop from saying anything more.

"This is something that will always stay between us. I know that you know what could happen if someone else knows about it but I'm telling you right now, that will never be me. You and I have a hard enough time, being a women in power in an extremely male dominated career. I see myself and my wife in you guys a lot. She just got out a lot sooner then myself."

This was the first time in the five years with working with Major Collins that she has ever brought up her personal life. We have always made guessing and jokes about it but knowing that this women, has a wife waiting for her at home, humanized her a bit more for me. She used to only be the bringer of bad news on most days, but now, I'm finally starting to look at life outside my three-foot world. Major Collins turned a picture around on her desk of herself and another women. Both of them have big bright smiles on their face and if you were just looking in passing, you could assume they were only friends. I have no doubts that picture was chosen by design.

"I didn't mean to pry into your private life Daniella, I never would if I didn't have a reason. I know you had time at home to try and heal from the death of your father but seeing you together with Morgan today I just wanted to check in with you. Now that we are going abroad you just have to reign it in, she is an officer and you're an NCO, you know that I will defend you in any way I can, but sometimes things are just out of my hands. Morgan is most likely finishing up her meeting with her CO about now. We will talk more about Ukraine after operation Black Spear is concluded. But I think it's time to get back to the plane before your team starts to arrive." Major Collins said.

"Thank you Annabelle, truly, that means a lot to hear that from you." I said and bit back my emotions so I could get that sentence out. Major Collins nodded and together we got up from our seats and left her office for the last time and road over to the air strip together. When we got there I saw Rob was already setting up a second hammock. I gave him a hug and put my backpack in the other hammock to claim it.

I caught a glimpse of Morgan standing in front of the map table when I broke apart from Rob but quickly gave him my attention. Together we walked out of the belly of the plane and waited for the rest of my team. It didn't take long for them to amble along to the plane. Most of them are pretty quiet, either from the late nature of the flight or where the plane was taking us, probably a combination of both.

As the final member of my team arrived and we all counted off, I reported to Major Collins that we were ready to go. Just as she went off to let the air crew know I went over to my team to speak to them for a moment.

"Alright guys, listen up, I'll make this quick. Get some sleep now because once we touch down, we are going to get our gear and get settled. You'll have about an hour to get something to decompress from the flight, drop your gear in your assigned rooms, get something to eat before you have to be dressed and ready to meet up with Alpha team to get a full brief on our mission." I said looking around the plane.

"Yes ma'am!" My team responded. I nodded and went over to my hammock and climbed inside. I could already hear Rob snoring away letting me know he didn't hear anything I just said so I just rolled my eyes. I barely got settled into my own hammock before I heard the rumble of the planes engines start up. I took some time to watch my team settle into the first little bit of the flight before my body relaxed enough and I was lulled to sleep.

a/n: I'm back, for the moment at least. my trip was nice and even though I was delayed for almost six hours in the airport in St. Louis because two planes wings clipped each other at LaGuardia and they basically shut the whole airport down while they dealt with it. we made it home in one piece, even though I'm sick at the moment with COVID.

Also i just wanted to point out that if you guys don't understand the military slang in these chapters leave a comment and i'll break it down for you.

song on the side is when the party's over by Billish Ellish. thought it fits well with the whole theme of the chapter, the party is finally over, Dani and the team are on there way to Germany. I think things should be stable enough for me right now that I'll be back to my normal Sunday updates, but that can always change.