Dawn started to rise as we left the apartment building. Morgan and I met up with Lionel and Warren to search the last apartment building and we found more of the same. Mostly D.O.A. or empty units. But there were a few with people stuck inside with injuries that needed help getting out of there unit. As we brought them over to the triage area, Rob called in again to say the town was secure. I gave them the okay to collapse back to the triage area to help out with the injured.

Emmett and Cosima have been working most of the night getting the injured treated. Those with serious injuries, Petro's men have been transporting to a local clinic that has become a field hospital. There were some that didn't make it and they were laying out in the grass a little ways away from the area covered respectfully. All of the walking wounded have just hung around the area for now but are starting to return to try and salvage the rest of there homes.

Rob and Monica's squads came and helped Emmett and Cosima when needed while I took a seat in the grass on the slope of the hill taking in the scene. I pulled my neck gaiter down and finally took a few sips of water from my pack. We've been on the go all night I've basically forgotten about it. Just as I finished the last of my water I saw movement from below me and saw a small body come from the triage area.

It took a second to place but once I saw the backpack and jacket, I knew it was Kuzma. I gave him a smile and held out a hand for him when he got close. Kuzma took it and crawled right into my lap. I know my vest isn't that comfortable to lean against so I leaned him towards the side and wrapped my arm around him. He didn't say anything but just watched the sunrise with me. Together we shared this moment of peace at the end of this horrible night and from this moment, I knew that I would want to try and give him anything I could to protect him from the cruelty of this war.

As the sun rose over what's left of the town, I knew we needed to get a move on. We still had a long drive ahead of us and we needed to start it. When I looked down I saw Kuzma was asleep in my arms and I didn't have the heart to move him. I pulled the SAT phone from my pant pocket and dialed the number for Collins. The call barely connected before her voice rang through the other end.

"Major Collins."

"Waiting by the phone for my call were ya?" I asked quietly not wanting to disturb him.

"No one in command has slept all night Donovan, your call is being broadcasted through command right now." Collins said and I sighed.

"Alright then, the town is secure, for now. There were two airstrikes and one missile I believe. Parts of apartment buildings were leveled. By my rough count, there are at least ten D.O.A. from just what I came across personally while searching for injured. Annabelle, this was just a town of civilians. There's nothing important here." I said trying to hold in my emotion but I knew it was close to breaking.

"Okay, anything else going on?" Annabelle asked.

"Emmett and Cosima are wrapping up the triage area we set up then we are going to move out towards our objective. We need to regroup first but we should be on the road again in a few hours." I said and felt Kuzma stir in my arms. When I looked down at him I saw his eyes open and then he looked up to see me. I couldn't help it; I leaned down and kissed his temple and took a deep breath. Kuzma just pushed himself into my arms tighter.

"It's just us now Dani, I pulled the phone off the broadcast channel. Any injuries to the team? And what was that? It sounded inappropriate." Major Collins asked.

"No injuries I'm aware of, if anything it's just cuts and scrapes. Morgan and I found a boy, no older then ten when we were searching through the apartments. His parents were killed in the blast but he managed to survive just with a broken arm. I'm going to try and see if I can find him somewhere to stay to see if they can find any relatives for him to get out of the country." I said.

"Alright, let me know if you need any help with from my end. I might be able to work things out here for him." Major Collins said.

"I'll call you again with an update when we get closer to Mariupol." I said needing to wrap up this phone call.

"Sounds good, stay safe Donovan." Major Collins said before I hung up the phone.

Even though I had no interest in standing up, we needed to get a move on. So carefully I stood with Kuzma still in wrapped my arms and we walked down the hill together. When we got to the triage area, mostly everyone was patched up and my team was gathered around with Petro and a few of his men.

"Alright guys, we need to roll out and get moving towards Mariupol. We are going to head back to the house to pack up and eat then hit the road. Petro, do any of your men want a lift back to the house?" I asked.

"I think I will come back with you. A few of my men are going to stay and finish up here but I have some people to call as well commander. But first, who is this?" Petro asked nodding towards Kuzma.

"This is Kuzma, we pulled him out of what's left of his apartment. His parents were killed in the blast. He's become my shadow since." I said and held onto him tightly.

"Well then, he comes too." Petro said and gave Kuzma a gentle smile.

My team gathered up all of our supplies and we made our way up to the trucks. Half way up the hill I had to put Kuzma down because it's been too long of a night and I didn't have the energy to get up this hill while carrying him. Even though it probably wasn't the best idea, I held him on my lap when we got to the trucks in the passenger seat. Warren drove carefully towards the farm house. Once we got there, I gave everyone there orders, meal, packing up and then we were gone.

Morgan took Kuzma into the house while I followed behind Petro into the barn for a moment. I watched as he took off his vest and helmet before sitting down at his desk to mark another airstrike on his map. When he was done I took a seat in front of him and place my rifle on the floor. I took a pen from the desk and an empty piece of paper and wrote down the number to the SAT phone and to Major Collins before holding it out to him.

"These are two very important numbers. Once you have them either memorized or stored in a secure phone, you need to burn this piece of paper. The first number is for my SAT phone. The second number is for my Major who is back at base. If something goes wrong here and you need help, she is the one you can call for support." I said and handed him the piece of paper.

"I do have a phone I can use, for now, it goes in pocket. Now for the boy, if he needs some place to stay, it can be here. Like I told you before, this place is off the map and unless you are looking for it, you aren't going to find it. Kuzma will be safe here until we find out if he has other family to go to." Petro said and it felt like I could finally take a breath.

"Thank you" I said. For only knowing the little boy for less then twelve hours, his wellbeing feels like my responsibility.

"You're welcome, come, lets see if your team is following orders." Petro said.

I stood up and followed behind him out of the barn. The house was quiet, everyone was mostly eating when we got there. I quickly pulled off my helmet and vest and made my way towards the bathroom to freshen up before heading upstairs to change into a fresh shirt and grabbing all of my things. I stored everything in the truck and then sat down on the couch with Cosima and and Morgan to eat some breakfast items from my MREs. Kuzma was sitting on Morgans lap but once I sat down he got up and came over to me. I shared some of my pop-tarts and a cookie with him. When we finished up I handed my phone to Morgan and asked if she could take a picture of the two of us. Kuzma gave her the biggest smile when she asked and took the picture.

After I got my phone back I knew that I need to break the news to him and with both Morgan and Cosima here, now would be the perfect time for them to translate.

"Can you guys translate what I'm about to say, I want to make sure he understands." I asked looking at both of them. They both nodded and I turned Kuzma so he could see me speak to him.

"I have to go back to work now, my team and I are going away. But Petro, Cosima's dad, is going to take you in and help you find some family." I said. Cosima translated it to him and when she was done Kuzma looked down at his arm. He spoke in Ukrainian and by the looks on both Morgan and Cosima's face, I wasn't going to like the outcome.

"He said he doesn't have anybody else." Morgan said.

"Okay, ask him for his last name and date of birth, I'm going to make a few calls." I said.

Cosima had Kuzma spell out his name, date of birthday, his parents names and even his address. All helpful information for me to maybe try and track someone down. When I was done Cosima asked if Kuzma wanted to go see the room he'll be staying in. While she went upstairs with him I rounded up my troops and gave them a twenty-minute warning. I did my final preparations for the trip and then went outside to to find Petro sitting on the back stoop.

He didn't pay me any mind as I walked away from the house and barn before pulling out the cell phone Peyton gave to me before I left. With one deep breath in, I turned on the cell phone and waited for the phone to get service. Once I saw the little bars on the top of the screen I hit the one number stored in the phone that I know by heart. It took a minute for the call to go through but once I heard the ringing I knew it would be okay. Just when I thought the line might go to voicemail the person picked up.

"Hello?" Peyton asked tiredly, I must have woken her up.

"Peyton, I need you awake and alert for the next two minutes." I said needing to keep this call short.

"What's the situation?" Peyton asked and I heard some rustling.

"I'm calling you from the phone you gave me, you'll get the signal for where I am but I need you to try and pull strings to get information on any surviving family of a nine-year-old boy named Kuzma. I'm going to list off the details I have if you're ready." When Peyton gave me the go ahead, I gave her all the information I had and told her that he will be staying with Petro for the time being. I also sent her a copy of the picture that Cosima took of us together.

"Who is he to you?" She asked once I was done.

"Morgan and I pulled him out of what was left of his apartment, his parents didn't survive. He said there wasn't any additional family members and if there isn't, Peyton, I know this is a long shot, but can you try to get him over to the states, to you for me. I need him safe. If this is the one good thing I can do here, please let it be getting this boy somewhere far, far away from this mess." I said trying really hard no to cry.

"I'll see what I can do from here Dani, let me work my magic. Go, we've been on this call for too long now as it is. I love you, know your mom loves you too. Stay safe." Peyton said.

"I love you guys too." I answered before hanging up the phone. Once I did, I powered the phone down and tucked it back into on of my many pockets.

Walking back to the house I saw almost everyone was ready to go. Cosima was hugging her father and I knew this was going to be hard. When they pulled away from each other, I went over to Petro and shook his hand.

"Thank you for letting us stay here and thank you for watching over Kuzma. I may have a team coming for him. You will know it's them because they will mention me. Also please remember what I said about those phone numbers." I said. Petro gave me a nod before pulling me into a hug. I sank into the fatherly embrace for a moment before pulling away.

"Kuzma will be safe for as long as he is here. Please try to keep my daughter safe and always know that my home is here if you ever need a place to stay again." Petro said. I nodded and turned to head towards the truck when I saw Kuzma standing on the stoop. I went over to him and he pulled me into a hug. When I pulled away he put his unbroken hand on my cheek making me focus on him.

"Come back." He asked. A lump lodged itself right in the middle of my throat making it hard for me to say anything back to him.

I pulled the Velcro back on my vest and reach into the inside pocket to pull out my dads dog tag. I took his hand and pressed the piece of metal into it before closing it tightly into a fist.

"I will for you, and for this. Keep it safe for me ya?" I said. Kuzma nodded and gave me another hug. When I pulled away from him I kissed the top of his head and fixed my vest in place before going over to the truck.

"Keep him safe and bring him home to us dad." I said to sky before I got into the truck.

When I gave Warren the go ahead we pulled out from the back of the house. Kuzma stayed by Petro's side and gave me a wave as we road off into the distance. The ride was mostly silent. Before we left the town, we managed to top off our gas tanks at the only working gas station in town. When we rolled through, the man working the counter recognized Rob who came inside with us to pay. He refused to take our money and gave Rob a tight hug.

After we got back onto the road, we got through the first difficult part of the drive relatively easy. We had to cross the bridge over the Dnipro River. At first, I wasn't sure what we would encounter and I made sure everyone was alert and awake when we got close. Warren pulled over and we watched the bridge for about an hour to observe what was going on around the area. It looked like it was just a normal bridge. It did have a good amount of through traffic, probably because it was one of the few bridges in the area that was left standing after the bombardments.

Crossing the bridge, everyone held there breath. It kind of felt like once we got to the order side, nothing was going to stop us now. We were home free, now we just had a seven-hour drive to get there. We hugged the northern coast of the region along the Dnipro River as I knew from the last intelligence package we got before we left, once we crossed this river, we would be in Russian claimed territory.

I didn't really like the idea of stopping along the rest of the route but I knew we would need to take breaks every once in a while. While on the road, Morgan got an email update from Major Collins. Our reinforcements that were supposed to be following us were redeployed and heading towards Odesa to help out the search and rescue efforts. They were hit severely last night and the troops are needed there for the time being. But there was some good news in the update, that there is a resistance pocket in the town of Melitopol.

After hearing that news, I knew we needed to head south and make our way towards the town. We needed a place to stay for the night because I knew most of the team is going to be too wiped from last night's little amount of sleep to make it all the way to Mariupol. We stopped one more time along the river for a bathroom break and then got back into the truck and made our way south.

a/n: not gonna lie, Kuzma stole my heart when I wrote this. At first I was on the fence about bring a child into the mix but I thought Dani needed a little something extra to fight for.