After a quick trip to the bathroom, Emmett and a few of my teammates made our way to our waiting ride. We were some of the first few people on board and had to navigate getting this wheel chair through a few mountains of gear that was already strapped down and ready to go. But finally, Emmett pushed me deep into the belly of the plane until I saw the waiting stretcher. It took a few minutes for me to stand up from the wheel chair again, the pain pills were finally kicking in and I was ready to pass out for the flight.

But finally I was able to move onto the stretcher. Once I was comfortable, Rob took my boots off before Emmett clipped me into a few seat belts and put a blood oxygen sensor on my finger. After the two of them were finished making sure I wasn't going to end up on the floor if the plane banks, Emmett gave me a few blankets to keep me warm and tucked a pillow behind my head.

"Rob?" I called out to him before he left my line of sight.

"Need anything?" He asked turning back around and coming over to me.

"You're in charge of Gold Team until further notice. Everyone is going to be on leave for now, but if anything happens, you're Gold One." I said needed to pass the baton off to him for now.

"I'll always be Gold Two, Gold One is taken." Rob said and gave me a warm smile.

"Can you call my moms and ask them to pick us up from Fort Bragg? I haven't gotten a chance to do it yet and we can't go back home still injured like this." I said leaving Morgan's name out of the sentence but he knew I was including her.

"I'll make sure they are waiting for you on the tarmac, get some sleep boss, we will be home before you know it." Rob said.

Now that my mind was at ease, I could barely keep my eyes open. I was able to hold out long enough to see Morgan get onto the plane and get into a seat not far from mine. She flashed me a smile that was meant just for me before I closed my eyes, dreaming about getting to wake up next to that smile forever now.

The flight home was a peaceful one. I was asleep for pretty much the whole thing. I only started to come too when my pain pills started to wear off. I'm pretty sure that Emmett gave me a heavier dosage of pill because my brain was so foggy when I started to wake up. When I was able to focus on my body for more then a few seconds, I noticed an oxygen mask on my face. I finally opened my eyes and looked around at the plane. Everything was still pretty quiet as it is still dark outside. I pushed the oxygen mask off my face and started to move around as much as I could while being strapped to the stretcher.

"Hey, Daniella, how are you feeling?" Emmett said then came from somewhere behind me to lean against the side of my stretcher.

"You gave me hard drugs didn't you?" I asked and cringed at how dry my throat felt.

"Yea, better off for you to sleep for the whole flight and it worked, we are landing in a about an hour." Emmett said.

"And the oxygen?" I asked trying to take the mask off my face.

"Leave that on until we land. With the pressure changing in the plane, your levels dropped after we took off. You were still breathing well but I wanted to make sure your oxygen levels stayed up. When we land I'll turn it off. Do you need anything in the meantime?" Emmett asked as he put the mask back over my face.

"Just some water." I said. Emmett nodded and was off in search of it. While I tried keep my eyes open until he got back someone took my hand under the blanket. When I opened my eyes, I saw Morgan sitting in a chair next to me. I couldn't help but give her a dopey smile.

"Hey there pretty lady." I said quietly while giving her a dopey smile.

"Hello beautiful, listen to Emmett and we will be home soon okay?" Morgan said as a blush rose on her cheeks and gave my hand a squeeze. I just nodded and pushed the mask off my face when Emmett came back with the water bottle. After taking down a few large gulps, my throat felt better and I was able to settle in for the last of the flight.

I was in and out of sleep for the rest of the flight as the medication was waring off and at some point Morgan let go of my hand. I was disappointed but tried not to let it get to me as I knew she would be getting off the plane with me. Finally when the plane bounced on the tarmac, I was really awake now. Emmett came over to me and turned off the oxygen and took the sensor off my finger. Next he unclipped the seat belts while the plane was taxiing on the runway.

Just as I started to sit on the edge of the bed, the hatch of the plane started to open up. I moved my feet and toes around to get some feeling back into them and when I looked up I found Rob standing in front of me. He knelt down and slipped my feet back into my boots and laced them up loosely. Once they were on, he stood in front of me and gave me a nod. I used my hands to push myself up off the stretcher but my legs didn't want to support my weight right now. Rob was right there to catch me and help me lean against the stretcher as Emmett showed back up with the wheel chair.

It took a minute but I was able to slide myself into the chair and Emmett was pushing me down the plane towards the exit. As we went down the ramp, I found my team lined up waiting to see me off. Emmett didn't need to tell me to go over to them and I slowly went down the line and squeezed everyone's hand as hugs would be too much right now. When I got to the end of the line, Monica was waiting for me. She knelt down so she would be eye level with me and I took her hand in mine.

"You're Gold Two for the time being, I already gave Rob the talk to keep everyone in line, but I know you are really going to be the one who is in charge. I think we are also going to have to have a more serious conversation about Gold Team's future leadership once I'm a bit better." I said.

"Oh I'm for sure going to be in charge while you're on leave, I thought you knew this, Rob is only the pretty face." Monica said and I couldn't help the laugh that came from my lips. It was short lived though with the pain that followed right behind it.

"If you need me, I'm going to be here for a while, but my phone will still work in North Carolina okay?" I said on a more serious note.

"I'm holding you to that talk you mentioned but you have a pretty women waiting for you to take her home." Monica said with a wink before getting up and letting me go.

We didn't get far from my team when I saw Ryan and Raymond lurking around with there teams, getting there gear ready to go home. When the pair saw me making our way over to them, they came over and gave me a hand shake. Both of them wishing me well before Emmett and I were on the move again.

When I looked out to where we were going, I could make out a few people standing around an SUV. It took another few second for the figures to take shape in the light and I saw my moms standing next to Morgan. It took Emmett another few seconds before we got close enough to them that I made him stop.

"I need to walk to them." I said not taking my eyes off of either of them, afraid if I do, they'll disappear. Emmett pushed me a little closer before throwing the breaks on the chair and came around in front of me. He held out his arms and helped me stand up. My legs were pretty shaky but I was determined to walk to them. I wouldn't have the first time seeing them be in this stupid chair.

Emmett was on my left while Rob appeared to walk on my right. With them next to me, I walked a few steps to get my legs under me again before letting go of Rob and Emmett to take the final few steps to get over to my moms. Both of them were crying as I wrapped my arms around there waists and held onto them tight. Someone's hand was on my head holding me close to them while the other had a tight grip on the back of my waistband making sure I wouldn't go anywhere.

It took another minute before I had to let go of them as it was getting hard for me to stand. Before I made a move to get into the car, I turned around and found Emmett. I pulled him into another hug, just wanting to be close to him for a moment before pulling back. His eyes were watery and as he gave me a smile.

"Thank you again for saving my life." I said.

"You have it now, go live it." Emmett said and gave me a smile. It took a second for me to switch gears to get into the waiting car because it was getting hard to stand on my own. Once I was inside, with one final wave to Rob, the door was shut and finally I took a few hard breaths. I made it home. I looked over at Morgan and saw tears flowing down her cheeks and I couldn't help but reach out for her hand. We, we made it home, together, in one piece, alive.

I couldn't stop crying as Peyton was escorted off of the tarmac by MPs and then off the base. The tears didn't stop as I looked out the window and watched as the familiar sights great me. I couldn't help but open the window to be able to get a better look at everything in the dark.

"What time is it?" I asked finally noticing that there was nobody on the roads and most of the signs weren't lit any more.

"It's just after 1am chicken." Mom said her voice horse.

"And the date?" I asked so tired of missing time.

"The twenty second of December." Peyton said and turned to get onto the highway. I rolled up the window and tried to relax in my seat.

It was hard. This is the first time in a long time I've come home to a deployment and went right to mom's house. Most of the time, dad was always waiting for me when I was hurt and helping me get back on my feet again. For the first time, he isn't here and I don't think I realized that until now.

The drive was quiet and didn't take to long. When we pulled up to mom's house, I couldn't help but smile seeing it again. Peyton parked the SUV in the driveway and jumped out right away to bring our gear inside. Just as I pushed my door open, Dominic was standing in front of me. I couldn't help the sob that escaped my throat when I saw him and I had to force myself to get out of the SUV slowly so I wouldn't end up falling on the floor.

Once I was steady enough, I wrapped my arms around my little brother and held onto him. He kept trying to say something in my ear but I couldn't hear it over my sobs. Finally, I was able to pull it together enough to just lean against him and hear what he was saying.

"We have a surprise for you inside." Dominic said and looked up at him. It's like 1am and I've been traveling all day. The last thing I want right now is a surprise. I think my thoughts translated onto my face because he just smiled and wiped away the last of my tears before pulling me towards the front door.

I was able to walk through the door and saw Morgan and my mothers all standing around the couch whispering to each other. When they noticed us they gave me a smile before Dominic lead me around to the front of the couch. I quickly sat down but once I did I realized I wasn't alone on the couch. I turned and saw a little boy with a cast on his arm looking back at me with wide eyes. Kuzma.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds and before I could question if this was actually real or not, Kuzma launched himself into my arms. Pain blossomed through my chest as his little arms wrapped around me but I knew that this was real and I wasn't making it up. Even though I should have probably pulled away from him, I wouldn't, I couldn't. This little boy who brought us a little bit of peace on such a horrible night was back in my arms again.

I held onto Kuzma for as long as I could before the pain was too much to bare any longer and I had to pulled away from him. Even though I pulled away from the hug, Kuzma still rested against my right side, not wanting to be far from me. Just as I was going to say something Kuzma pulled something out from his pocket and held it out for me. He put it in my hand and I looked down at the piece of metal in my hand, dad's dog tag.

"Now we both safe." Kuzma said and I couldn't help the fresh wave of tears that came to my eyes.

"Yea buddy, we are both safe now." I said and leaned down to kiss his head.

"We match." Kuzma said looking at Morgan.

"Yea Kuzma, we do." Morgan said and sat down on the other side of him. Kuzma leaned over and hugged her just as tight. Morgan's face lit up with a bright smile, the first real one I have seen since we left for Ukraine. I just hope that it will continue to reappear on her face as we put more time between our time there and being home.

When the pair broke apart Morgan told Kuzma it was time for bed in Ukrainian. With another hug, the pair went upstairs with Mom while Peyton and Dominic stayed downstairs with me. I put my head in my hands for a few moments to try and wrap my head around everything that's just happened. When I looked up Peyton and Dominic were watching me like I was about to break.

"I have so many questions." I said.

"We thought you might, what would you like to know." Peyton asked.

"Everything." I said.

"That is a long story, probably better if we went over everything tomorrow. Your mom and I took your room upstairs so you and Morgan can stay down here." Peyton said.

"And I'm going to be on the couch for the next few days." Dominic said.

"Alright, when Morgan comes back downstairs we'll try and get some sleep." I conceded knowing I wouldn't win an argument right now. While I was waiting for my better half I went to use the bathroom and cleaned myself up a little bit before going into the kitchen to look for a snack. I managed to find a banana and eat it pretty quick. As I was washing my hands, I heard footsteps come down the stairs and I knew it was Morgan and my mom.

When they came around the corner I flashed them both a smile before we walked together down to their bedroom. I sat down on the edge of the bed and took a breath before I looked at my moms standing in the doorway. They both looked like they didn't know what to do right now and it just made me sad.

"You guys know I've been hurt in combat before, but this is the first time I've come here afterwards. Dad was the one to who always nursed me back from this shit. It's just weird that he's not here anymore to do it." I said and bit my lip, not wanting to make this situation worse.

"Well, hopefully, if you'll let us, maybe two mom's can make up for the lack of one dad." Peyton said, a hidden meaning in her sentence. We want to help, you just need to show us how.

"I think it will" I said and gave them a nod. Thank you.

From there, getting ready for bed was easy. Mom and Peyton helped me out of the uniform I was in and into one of dads old shirts. They even gave Morgan a hand with getting her shirt on. But finally we were alone, in bed together, for the first time in months. Morgan turned on her right side so she could see me, her left arm draped across my stomach and clenched tightly in her fist.

"I'm not going anywhere baby." I said quietly already feeling sleep on the edge of my brain.

"I love you Daniella." Morgan said.

"I love you too." I answered, hoping to always be able to say it back to her whenever she says it.

The next morning we woke up to Peytons alarm clock going off at 10am. Neither of us could tell if it was done on purpose or not, but we slowly were able to make our way out of bed into the kitchen to find everyone sitting around the table, slowly making there way through breakfast. Once Kuzma saw us he jumped from his seat and rushed over to us, only to slid to a stop right before hitting us as mom yelled out gentle.

Kuzma wrapped his arms around my waist and I held him close to me for a few seconds before letting go so he could hug Morgan. While the pair got there moment together I took a seat at the table and Mom pushed a plate of food in front of me. I didn't waist any time digging into it while Morgan and Kuzma chatted about something in Ukrainian. As I took a sip of orange juice I saw the paper sitting on the table and it reminded me of the paper Major Collins gave me in the hospital.

"Can someone bring me my backpack?" I asked not sure where any of my stuff ended up.

Dominic basically launched himself from the chair off to another room as Morgan and Kuzma took a seat at the table together. It didn't take long for Dominic to return with my backpack and I pushed away my breakfast plate so he could put it on the table. It didn't take long for me to find the paper, along with the leather folder the unit citation was in from the President of Ukraine. A little more digging and I was able to find the medal box along with the manila envelope he gave me before leaving. I pushed my backpack away and looked at the envelope for a long second.

"Is that the thing he gave you?" Morgan asked and I turned to look at her.

"Okay good, I wasn't just imagining that conversation." I said used one of the pocket knives I have in my backpack to slit the lid of the envelope.

"I have a picture of it if you want to see it so it was 100% real." Morgan said and pulled out her phone.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Dominic asked as I looked inside the envelope to see a stack of papers.

"The President of Ukraine." Morgan said and showed Dominic her phone. My brother almost feel out of his seat.

"Oh my god, you met the fucken president." He said taking in the photo as my head snapped up to look at him.

"Hey! Young ears." I said and pointed my knife in Kuzma's direction.

Everyone was mumbling around as I started to read the paperwork in front of me. I wasn't surprised to see that it was in Ukrainian. The first few pages were more of the same and as I flipped to another page, I stopped. Sitting in front of me is Kuzma's birth certificate. I put that piece of paper aside as I kept making my way through the rest of the documents. There wasn't many more in Ukrainian before everything switched to English. As I read the first page my breathing stopped. I read the page, once, twice and third time for it to sink in before I looked up and found everyone looking at me concerned.

"Uhm, the President of Ukraine just gave me all of the paperwork needed for Kuzma to seek asylum here, along with the already approved application and all the paperwork needed for him to stay with me signed by the US embassy." I said and felt tears start to fall from my eyes as I looked over at Kuzma. He was looking at the medal the President of Ukraine gave me when he felt my eyes on him. He looked up at me and gave me a smile. Seeing his smile right here and now just made everything worth it.

a/n: think I owed you guys some peace after everything I put you through. hope you enjoyed this reunion, balled my eyes out writing it. song on the side is Hold You Down by the X Ambassadors.