You would think returning home after being away for 10 years would lead to some grand home coming. That everyone you know would be lining the streets holding signs and flags to mark you arrival home for the first time in 3,650 days. But today, the only thing here to greet me is the late July heat and quiet suburb streets of my old neighborhood in North Carolina. But then again, how can I expect such fanfare when I didn't tell anybody the details of when my flight would be arriving.

So once the C-130 landed in North Carolina, I called a cab to take me home. The ride didn't take long, just a half an hour away from the base. To me, it felt like another universe, one I haven't been a part of in a long time. Since I left all those years ago and joined the Army, I have only been back a hand full of times only for a day or two at most. Then I just stopped coming back at all. Whenever I had down time in between deployments, I spent my time on base in Georgia at home in the house I bought with my best friend Morgan Alexander. She and I have been living together for the last 6 years and things are so easy with her. We never have to explain the late nights or early mornings or even getting the phone calls saying we are getting spun up and have to return to base ASAP.

The cab pulled to a stop in front of my mothers house and stopped short, pulling me from my reverie. I rolled my eyes at the cab driver and handed over some money before getting out of the back and going over to the trunk. Inside I had my large standard issue army duffle, back pack and the large gun case. I grabbed everything out of the trunk, slammed the lid and made my way over to the front door as the cab sped off in the distance.

I pulled the house keys from my pocket and put them in the lock. As I opened the door I could hear music coming from the back of the house. Mom must be in her art studio. I sighed and dropped my things inside the door before taking a look around. The house is just as I remember it. Framed pictures of my brother Dominic and myself are all around the living room along with Moms newest art pieces hanging on the walls. I tried not to let myself get pulled in too much as I closed my eyes and remembered what brought me home in the first place.

The walk to the back of the house wasn't long. I happened to be right, mom was in her art studio. She is sitting on a comfy looking chair staring out into space, some Journey song playing in the background. I took my hat off and ruffled my hair a little bit before knocking on the doorframe. Mom jumped a little and wiped the few tears that escaped her eye.

"When did you get in? I would have picked you up." Mom said and got up from her chair and came over to me. She crashed into me and I held her tightly in my arms.

"It would have been harder to get you on base then it would have been for me to just take a cab, especially now that dad" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Shh, I know chicken, I know." Mom said and held me just as tight as a few tears escaped my eye.

We stayed locked together for a while. It's been a few months since I've seen her and now I don't want to leave. But eventually we broke apart when we heard the front door open and close. It took a few seconds but I heard the rushed foot steps and found my step-mom Peyton stop short and look at me. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out so I just walked over to her and gave her a small smile before pulling her into a hug.

"It's so good to see you honey." Peyton said in my ear and I normal hard army shell started to melt.

"It's nice to be home." I said to her. We didn't stay together long, only a few more seconds before she pulled away.

"Dominic is at the shop still; he'll be home in a little while for dinner. He did bring a truck by the other day after we spoke. He said it was for you to use while you are here if you need to go anywhere. The keys are on your bed, why don't you go get settled and we can go over the arrangements later when Dominic gets here." Mom said and put her hand on my back.

"Sounds good." I answered. I left the pair in mom's studio and grabbed my bags from the hallway before making my way up the stairs.

My room still looked the same. It looks like mom hasn't moved or changed anything since I moved out. I dropped my duffle on the floor and backpack along with it before carefully putting my gun case on my bed. I unlocked the clips and opened the lid. My sniper rifle is still all in one piece along with my handgun. I pulled my handgun out of the case and placed it in the gun safe I had installed in my room before closing the lid on my gun case and locking it up and putting it under by bed.

I grabbed a pair of pajamas from my duffle bag before making my way down the hall to bathroom. I needed to wash off the 15-hour flight home before I did anything else. It wouldn't be long before sleep would be calling my name. The shower with actual hot water felt fantastic on my muscles for the first time in a few months. The phone call I got about dad snapped what would have been another 6-month deployment overseas. I was there for only three when I left.

I tried not to think about what happened on my last mission as I finished my shower. By the time I was done and changed and out of the bathroom, I heard another set of foot steps downstairs. They were heavier then my mom and step-mom who are usually light on their feet. That means one thing. I left the damp towel on my bed before rushing down the stairs. When I got to the landing I could see the back of my brothers head. He turned around when he heard me coming and I took him in. He let some stubble grow in on his chin and upper lip and I couldn't hide my smile.

I finished my way down the stairs and launched myself into my little brothers arms. Even though he is two years younger then me, he got the tall gene from mom's side of the family and is taller then me. I just used it as an excuse to tuck my head into his neck and stayed there for a while. His lanky arms wrapped around my shoulders while I just held onto him. We keep in touch more then I do with my mom. Dominic would always call and tell me about the new things he learned at the auto shop. No matter where I was in the world, I would always make time to talk to my little brother.

When we broke apart Peyton ushered us into the kitchen and sat us down at the table. Mom was busy behind the stove cooking up something while I just kept looking at Dominic.

"Are you going to keep this thing on your upper lip or shave it?" I asked and couldn't help but poke fun at it.

"Leave me be. I'm going to shave it later, I wanted to see what you thought of it first." He said and pushed my finger away from his face.

"The chin stubble looks good, the caterpillar on your lip needs to go though." I said and giggled as he moved it like a wave.

"Alright chickens, for dinner we just have chicken noddle soup." Mom said as Peyton dropped a bowl in front of Dominic and I.

We all sat down together at home for the first time in years and had dinner together. It was a quiet affair, not much to really be said until Dominic had his full and turned his attention back to me.

"Are we all just going to ignore the cuts on your face?" He asked tried to look me over to see if there are anymore.

"You know I can't talk about what happened." I said for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes you can, we don't need details, just a simple, oh I was running and fell would make me feel better about seeing my older sister come home from war with her face cut up." Dominic said. I sighed and pushed away the last of my soup, losing my appetite.

"Fine, we were walking toward our exit route then all of a sudden someone yelled out grenade. I couldn't tell which direction it came from or how close it actually was to me, the next thing I knew, it exploded and it sent me flying." I said giving them a very watered-down version of the truth.

"This is why it is better not to know Dom." Peyton said and sighed.

"Okay, stop this right now. Dom, if Daniella doesn't bring it up, assume she can't talk about it." Mom said getting annoyed. I just kept my mouth shut while Dominic apologized.

"Alright so, lets talk about your father. The army covered the cost and basically took care of everything. There is going to be a wake for him for family and friends only on Friday while Saturday any and all enlisted are invited to come. The funeral will take place on Sunday, the army will take him from the funeral home to Pine Lawn and we will follow behind." Mom said.

"Anything else?" Dominic asked.

"Nothing else right now. It is up to you guys if either of you would like to deliver a speech for him. But that doesn't need to be decided right now. You can decide to do it in the moment at the burial." Peyton said.

"Okay, I'm going to try and get some sleep, I got none on the flight back over here." I said and stood from the table.

"Alright, come downstairs if you need anything." Mom said and gave me a sad smile.

I just nodded and took my almost empty bowl to the sink. After it was in the sink, I gave mom a kiss on her head and followed with one for Peyton as well and ruffled Dom's hair before making my way up the stairs. With a full belly and the warmth of being home, all I wanted was to just fall into bed and not move for a few days. But for right now I'll just settle for a long nights sleep.

*

When I woke up and turned over in searched for my phone, I found that the clock on my nightstand was blinking 11:58am. I guess I really needed that sleep. I took a few minutes to myself in bed, going through the few messages on my phone, mostly they are either from Morgan or my spotter Rob.

After I cleared all of my new messages and made sure I didn't have any new communications from command, I got out of bed and made my way downstairs. The house was quiet and I knew that Peyton was probably at work. When I got to the kitchen I saw a note on the table waiting for me. There is breakfast in the microwave for you, had to go run a few errands. Love Mom.

I smiled and walked over to the microwave and hit the start button. While that was going, I made myself some coffee. After it was done, I grabbed everything and walked back to the table. I opened up the paper and flipped through it while eating a few pieces of the pancakes that mom made for me when a news headline caught my eye. It was towards the middle of the newspaper, if you weren't looking for it you probably wouldn't have found it. It read, US Military Takes Out Another Responsible for Suicide Bombers Who Killed 13 US Service Members.

My good mood quickly faded. Our work still isn't done yet. This was the last mission I was on before I got the call about my fathers passing. Command specifically requested Rob and I to be on this mission with the Delta Force while they went in to eliminate another person who was directly involved with the bombing of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the evacuation. While I wasn't at the airport during the bombing, my Ranger Unit was deployed shortly after to take care of those who targeted the innocent. We haven't gotten them all yet, still a few at the very top of the food chain but I know it is only a matter of time.

I ripped the page out of the newspaper before returning to my room. When I got there I pulled my rifle case out from under my bed and opened it up. I pulled the foam loose from the lid and placed the newspaper article inside to add to the growing collection. Whenever I find newspaper articles about our missions, I try to keep a copy. This is the most the American people will ever know about what we did. They will never know our names, or our faces, and we will never get the credit we deserve for these covert missions. This is the only recognition we usually ever get; the only other kind is when a mission goes wrong and one of us comes home in a box.

With the article in place with the others, I pushed the foam back inside and locked up the rifle before returning it back under my bed. After it was out of sight, I got dressed for the day. The late July heat was nothing like the heat we went up against in the desert, but it still didn't stop me from putting on a pair of our black PT shorts and green t-shirt. I grabbed my patrol hat from my duffle bag before leaving my room. It didn't take long for me to put my hair back in a bun and put my hat on. Once that was done I slipped on an old pair of sneakers that were laying in the back of my closet.

I made sure I had my cell phone and the key to the front door before I set off on a run. Even though I was home and was supposed to be resting, I didn't want to slack off running. Running a faster mile can be the difference between getting on a helio out of enemy territory or dying in it. Throughout the run I saw a lot of people out and about on the block. They were all looking at me, trying to figure out who I am no doubt, but I kept them guessing and just ran faster. When my watch started blinking I was already at 5 miles, I thought it might be time to take a break. The heat of the afternoon is really starting make this run a chore so at the last second I hooked a left and slowed up my run to find myself at a park.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I sighed and looked around. I used to come here all the time when I was younger. It was one of my favorite places, one of the few where I could be just a kid. I went over to the water fountain and gulped down a lot of water before splashing some on my face. With the water both cooling me down and cleaning up some of the sweat, I walked over to the empty swing set and sat down. It was pretty hot out today so I wasn't surprised to see only a handful of kids running around, most are probably down the road at the public pool.

After taking in the space a few times to make sure nobody was that close to me, I tilted my face to the sky and sighed. The warm sun was already drying the water on my face but I could feel the sweat still sticking to my back. I'm going to really look forward to taking a shower when I get back home. Just as I let out a sigh I heard little feet fast approaching. Looks like my peace at the swing set is about to end.

When I opened my eyes, I found a little body standing right in front of me. His bright blue eyes piercing mine. He didn't say anything for a few seconds and I thought something was wrong.

"Hey buddy are you okay?" I asked and started to look around for his parents.

"You're, you, you fight right? You're a solider?" He asked and his eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. I couldn't help but smile.

"Yes I am, I'm actually a Staff Sergeant in the Army in a special forces group called the 75th Rangers." I said and pulled the brim of my hat up a little bit more so the kid could see my face better.

"That is so cool! I want to be in the army too one day! I play army all the time with my friends!" The kid continued on for a few more minutes about how he plays with his friends and spares no expense. When he calmed down a little bit he hopped onto the swing next to me and I looked around. There was still no parent around us to claim him though and I started to worry. Did he run away from home?

"Hey little buddy, what's your name?" I asked and turned my attention back to him.

"Logan, what's yours?" He asked and continued to swing.

"It's nice to meet you Logan, I'm Daniella. Logan can I tell you something important?" I asked turning a bit in the swing to look at him more.

"What's that?" Logan halted to a stop on the swing and gave me his full attention.

"The motto of my unit is 'Rangers lead the way'. We are always the first in and last out when we go to battle and we never, ever leave a man behind. But it seems like you left someone behind, did you come to the park with someone today?" I asked.

"Oh yea, I'm here with my mom, she is talking with her friend over by the slide." Logan said and pointed over to the other side of the playground where the slide is.

"How about I come and meet your mom?" I asked wanting to give that woman a piece of my mind letting her young son wonder off alone in the park where anything can happen to him.

"Yes! You have to come meet her, she always says that soldiers leave and don't come back, but here you are." Logan said and stood from the swing and took my hand. That struck me a little odd. Why would someone say that to a kid about someone in the military?

"I will always come back because I'm a special soldier remember?" I asked and started to follow along the path towards the other side of the playground.

"You're a Ranger and Rangers lead the way, but not right now because I'm bringing you to my mom." Logan said and I couldn't help but smile. This kid is too adorable.

Logan asked me a few other questions along the way and I gave him some simple answers to keep him moving along the path. As we got closer to the slide, I could see a blonde woman running around the area looking for something. She was probably looking for Logan.

"Logan, is that your mom?" I asked and pointed to the women.

"Yea that's her, I told her I was going to the swings. Mom!" Logan yelled and other women instantly turned around and found him.

Seeing that he was okay, she made her way over to us but stopped a few feet away, looking like she saw a ghost.

"Mommy look, I met a really life soldier." Logan kept going on and on as we got closer to the women and once we were standing in front of her was when I stopped short.

"Daniella?" The women asked, the same women who has haunted my dreams for the last ten years, the reason I left home in the first place.

"Fuck"

a/n: you guys know I don't normally write stories with a ton of angst, but be prepared for this story to be full of it.

song on the side is If You Ever Come Back by The Script.