After that tense meeting, there wasn't another briefing including team leaders until five days later. Major Collins has been keeping me abreast of the situation going on in command as much as she can, but even she has limits. She has been pushing for the reforms to the plans to include all the points I have raised and its helping that Major Roman has been standing firm with her.

Bravo team has also arrived on base. I got to meet up with their team leader Master Sergeant Raymond Cortez. Together him, myself and Ryan have been getting together for lunch. We have been exchanging intel and different tips and tricks we've all picked up over the course of our careers that have helped us lived to see another day. Master Sergeant Cortez also let us both know that the Major in command of his spec-ops team blew a gasket when he heard the current plans that came down from General Foudy. So needless to say, things are tense on base right now.

Even though I haven't seen any more footage of the airstrikes, I have been reading the briefings that Morgan has been delivering to the team to keep us on top of all the current events happening. All the news coming out of Ukraine is bad, civilians dead, Russian troops moving in, destroying everything in their wake, and there doesn't seem to be an easy solution to stop the fighting. The President of Ukraine has enacted Martial Law and has called to arms any male citizen from the age of eighteen to sixty to fight for their country.

So far the people of Ukraine are fighting back with any thing and everything they have available to them. Their president refused our offer to be evacuated from the country, wanting to fight alongside his people on the front lines. But it is quickly being clear to us that the Ukrainian military is no match to Russia's. They can secure parts of the country but it will be hard for them to keep up on all fronts.

Over the past five days, I have basically been living either in the gym or on the range, still too keyed up from the briefing to be able to sit still for more then a few minutes. I have also been able to talk to my family at least once as well. Needless to say it was hard to keep my frustration from getting in the way of those conversations. On the fifth day from that briefing I video called Mallory and got to talk to Logan. He was the only one who was able to bring me out of my funk. Getting to spend fifteen uninterrupted minutes talking to an innocent child who doesn't know much about what's going on, finally helped settle some of my anger.

It was also nice to talk to Mallory for a bit. After I spoke with Logan we spoke for ten minutes. She was not happy with the voicemail I left her last week and it took a few minutes of groveling to move past it. Once we did, I managed to get to hear all about how it's going with school starting again. The first week of school is in the books and she told me all about the kids in her class. By the time I had to go, my mood leveled out.

But the following day it tanked again when we got word there is going to be a new briefing with an updated mission plan. This time, only myself will be going to the meeting with Major Collins. When we got into the meeting room, Alpha and Bravo One were just settling into their assigned seats with their Major's not far away. Once General Foudy saw we were all accounted for, he passed out a new folder to the three of us before launching into an overhauled plan.

This plan is one I could get behind. We have clear margins for operating along with how we can aid civilians caught in the crossfire. Our main objectives haven't changed to much. Alpha and Bravo team were now going to capture, secure and hold Chernobyl for the time being. From there, they are going to set up a perimeter around the plant and expand it outward with those from the Ukrainian military to help keep it secure.

Now for Gold Team, we are going to still be pushing across the country towards Mariupol but now, we are going to try and capture, secure and hold the Mariupol Steel Plant. We are heading directly into Russian occupied territory. This steel plant is said to have bunkers were civilians have been hiding out from Russian airstrikes. As we push through to the steel plant, we are going to have a platoon of US troops along with some allied forces following behind us to secure the land we manage to take back. Gold Team is the first team of soldiers through the area and we have a big job to do.

If at any point, things are turning for the worst we can fall back to the waiting platoons and evac from there. Supplies will be hard to get the farther we move in country. But we are hoping that the platoons behind us keep the roads clear for supply runs to come in when needed. Lucky for us, we have two days until we are being deployed. Plenty of time for last minute preparations and getting everyone's affairs in order.

When nobody had any questions, General Foudy dismissed us all to deliver the updated news of Operation Tridion to our teams. As we all packed up and left the meeting room, Ryan and Raymond asked me to join them for dinner tonight instead of lunch. When I agreed, they left for their teams while Major Collins joined me on the walk back to our barracks.

I sent a group message to the team to let them know of the team meeting to go over everything. It didn't take long for the whole team to join me in the meeting room. Everyone look on edge and I knew it was going to last. I took the time before the meeting started to review the new intelligence that was given to us during the briefing. While not much else has changed, I did find out that every night since that first briefing Russia has been bombing the country at almost random times of the day.

As she was the only other one in the room with the clearance to read the intel package, I gave Morgan the folder when she settled into a seat. It didn't take long to go over everything we found out in the briefing and our deployment date. All questions my team had I answered to the best of my ability. Anything I couldn't answer I deferred to Major Collins who stayed quiet the whole time. She didn't have much to say, letting me take charge with everything. After the meeting concluded and I dismissed everyone, Major Collins closed the door behind a stalling Morgan. I knew I wanted to get some time alone with her some time tomorrow but I needed to come up with a plan first. But with Major Collins standing between me and the door, I couldn't go anywhere.

"Is there anything else you needed Ma'am?" I asked still kind of confused as to way she was blocking the door.

"Yes, try to make sure you have everything you need packed up and ready to go by tomorrow afternoon. I'm going off base tomorrow night and my barracks are going to be empty. They are in the long-term section of the base and will be empty. Key card will be waiting for you on your bed before I take my leave. Use the time to be with the one you love before there isn't any more." Major Collins said. Wait what?

"Wait, you're letting Morgan and I use your apartment for the night?" I asked wanting to be on the same page.

"Yes, I'm going to be visiting a friend off base who will be putting me up for the night. I figured I'd let someone else use it, I've barely been in there long enough to even call it a home yet. Just change the sheets before you leave." Major Collins said softly.

I opened my mouth a few times trying to find the words to say to her but nothing came out of my mouth.

"Thank you" I was finally able to get out.

"You deserve it. Break the news to Morgan, try to come up with a cover story for your absence for the night. Don't leave the barracks to together but meet up to go over to my building together. I'll let security know you are coming for then night and slip out of the side exit in the morning so you aren't seen together. If you need anything else, let me know." Major Collins said before taking her leave.

With my head spinning, I took a breath and check my watch. I still had time before I was going to meet Ryan and Raymond for dinner. So I made my way over to our barracks. Only a few of my teammates were around, Morgan included. Her eyes snapped to mine once I walked in and I needed to figure out a way to get her alone for a minute. I nodded towards the bathroom and walked in myself. I didn't close the door all the way, just turned on the water and after a second I called out.

"Morgan can you come here for a second, I need help with getting my hair undone, my arm is killing me right now." I said loud enough to get her attention. A few seconds later she pushed the door opened and walked in, closing it behind her.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Tomorrow night, pack an overnight bag, just some pajama's and work clothes for the next day. I'll make a cover story, just meet me at the long-term apartments on base by 18:00. Try to slip out of the bunks unnoticed." I said in a hurry.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked confused.

"It's a surprise, I promise it will be worth it." I said and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Morgan gave me a little smile and took a second to calm down before leaving the bathroom. Once she was out, Emmett walked right in and took a look at the stitches in my arm. It only took him a few seconds of looking to decide to take them out. Instead of hogging the bathroom Emmett took me down the hall to our meeting room with one of his many med kits. He got himself set up and then put some gloves on before starting to take out my stitches. I tried not to pay attention to the pulling because it was grossing me out, but Emmett liked to work in silence. It took him about a half an hour to get them all out. After he was done Emmett gave me another lollipop before he started to clean up his supplies.

"Don't pass out on me again okay?" He said as I took the lollipop from his hands.

"I'll try not too. Please load up on as much supplies you can carry before we leave. I don't know how long it will be before we get a supply run once we leave." I said.

"Working on it now chief. You bring the fire power; I'll make sure you guys can continue to make it rain." Emmett said.

I gave his shoulder a squeeze before leaving Emmett to finish cleaning up. Right now I have some packing to do. Since we are going to be constantly on the move, packing is going to be a challenge. I don't know where we will be setting up a base camp once we start moving inland and constantly having to carry all of our gear with us is going to wear us down quickly. In the paperwork I scanned from General Foudy, I found out that we are going to be given a set of Ukraine's camo to wear. We are going to try and blend in with there ranks even though we will still be using our gear. I am also bringing our night camo's as well. Then I have a pair of work jeans a few shirts and tank tops, a bunch of socks and underwear and few different sports bras. With one pair of slides, I was packed. Tomorrow I'll make sure all my gear is in order when we get the new uniforms.

But for now it is time for dinner. The bunk room was busy as I was leaving as most of my team were packing still. When I got to the mess hall, both Ryan and Raymond were already waiting on line. I joined them in the line and they made me go right in between them and we continued moving as a group. It didn't take long for us to get what we wanted for the night. When we tried to pay at the end of the line, the crewmember working told us our meals were covered. Ryan tried to ask who covered our meals for the night but the crewmember working just told us everyone.

We tried to not let it get to us as we made our way over to an empty table by the wall. The guys and I tucked right into our meals, wanting to eat our food while it was still hot. Most of our dinner was spent telling stories and coming to realize that our journey's up the ladder were filled with hardships. I also came to realize we were all towards the end of our military career's. Raymond only has six months left on his contract and he isn't re-enlisting. He already has his replacement selected and everything. Ryan has a bit longer on his contract, another year to go and he is really thinking about hanging it up. Between the three of us sitting at this table, there is more then thirty years of experience.

The night ended not much longer after that. The three of us have big days tomorrow. All of us have to get the gear and make sure it all fits our team and get everything in order before loading up the trucks we are going to be using to move in country. We will be seeing each other again before we leave as we get loaded up in the trucks, so our goodbye will wait for tomorrow. When I got back to the barracks, everyone else was inside packing away there gear. While everyone was in here I made the announcement about the gear coming in tomorrow and what time I want everyone in the gear room to go over everything. Then I also told them that Morgan and I are going to be in wall-to-wall intelligence meetings for most of the night. It was a quick and easy excuse to cover for both Morgan and I. With all of that addressed I finally got into my bunk and settled down to try and sleep. It didn't come easy for most of the night with everyone else still getting there bags prepared for shipping out. But finally the noise level dropped a bit and I was lulled to sleep by the low voices.

The next morning when I woke up, I didn't want to move from bed. With so much left to do today, didn't think I was going to have enough time to get everything done. So with one final sigh, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Rob and Monica met me about ten minutes later in the mess hall and together we finished breakfast. After we were done, we reported to Major Collins who brought us over to the hanger where our vehicles were waiting. Sitting on the tarmac in the corner were three pretty standard looking pick-up trucks. We are hoping to make most of the trip by truck but I have a feeling that we are going to have to ditch them once we really push south.

Taking in the trucks, I could tell they were all made to be able to go off road with a higher sitting lift and a few modifications on the inside. We also found out that the Army spent the last few days retrofitting the exterior to try and make the truck more bullet resistant. While we were in the hanger we also started to load up some gear into the trucks. Mostly we added boxes of MREs, ammunition, additional gas cans and medical supplies. Since we were also getting three trucks, I spent the time splitting the team up into three smaller teams. Sitting with Monica would be Emmett, Felix and Micah. With Rob we would have Cosima, Dexter and Akito. Then with me it would be Warren, Lionel, Beth and Morgan. While we finished packing up the trucks, I made it clear to Rob and Monica that Morgan would be constantly on my hip at all times. Both of them agreed and we were able to move on quickly.

After we finished up with the trucks, we brought the new gear back to our ready room for everyone to start to build. It seems like everyone was given a uniform that fit well and I was happy not to have to roll up the pants like I used to. Time seemed to slip away from me then. By the time I finished making sure all the new camo fit, I only had about three hours to prep my weapons before I had to meet Morgan.

Even though Rob could also double as a sniper on the team, it was mainly my responsibility. I switched out the barrel on my rifle for the long one so I would be ready and able to take those kinds of shots. I was still planning on bringing my other barrel though. Once my rifle was taken care of, I moved onto my pistol to make sure it was in working order. Then I spent about an hour just loading magazines. I wanted to have a lot of them prepped so I wouldn't have to be looking around for extra mags in the middle of the fire fight.

After I thought I had enough mags, I put them all into an ammo box and locked everything up in my cage. I had to get ready to go meet Morgan. By the time I got back to the bunk room it was mostly empty. Just Cosima talking on the phone and Warren writing in a journal. I paid them no mind as I walked over to my bed and found the key card waiting on my bed, just like Major Collins said it would be. I quickly pushed it under my pillow for the time being and jumped into a shower.

Once I was out I didn't even bother drying my hair and quickly just threw it back up in a bun before getting dressed. It didn't take long for me to get everything I needed before I left the bunk room. I tried to keep my head down to avoid any of my team members as I quickly made my way across the base to the residential side. As the crowds of military personal started to thin, I picked my head up a bit more and looked around for Morgan. I spotted her sitting under a tree in a little park not far from where Major Collins apartment is.

Walking over to her I just smiled as she looked up from the book in her hands. Morgan looked soft in the blue flannel she is wearing along with her jeans.

"Hey pretty lady" I said and held out a hand for her. Morgan smiled at me before taking my hand and pulling herself up.

"Hey there hot stuff." Morgan replied as I wrapped my hand around her waist pulling her into my side.

Morgan bent down and picked up her bag which I promptly took her from hands before we walked down the rest of the block to the apartments. Just like Major Collins said, security didn't bat and eye as I waved us into the front door with the key card. The elevator took us up to the sixth floor and we quickly found the apartment label 648. I waved the key card in front of the lock and the green light flashed. Morgan pushed the door open and I could tell that Annabelle was long gone.

The apartment was still and quiet and we walked inside and locked the door behind me. I put our bags down on the island as Morgan walked into the living room space of the apartment. There is a nice brown couch facing a good-sized flat screen with a desk tucked into the corner under a window. I just watched as Morgan moved through the apartment, taking everything in, to afraid to move. I felt like if I did, this little dream bubble we found ourselves in would pop and everything would be ruined. But as Morgan checked out the bedroom and came back to me still standing in place by the kitchen island she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me into her.

"Relax my love, there is nobody else here but us. I want to make the most of the next 12 or so hours we have here." Morgan said in my ear before nipping at my neck. I tried to let some of the tension bleed out of my shoulders but it was hard to just let everything go after being so on task for the last few days. I focused on Morgan's fingers running circles on my stomach and took a few deep breaths. Slowly but surely I melted into Morgan's hold and I was ready to spend the night with her.

a/n: I wanted to jam Morgan and Dani's night into one chapter but it would have been way to long and I couldn't go into detail. Warning you now, there night together is more of a rollercoaster then you'll expect.

side note, note sure if I told you guys or not, we are currently going construction on our house right now. things are quiet literally everywhere and everything is a mess and I've been extremely stressed out about it. like I didn't have time this week to edit this chapter and have it ready for this morning like I usually do. updates might stall as things get worse. I'll keep you guys updated if I have to pause updates.