After we left the cemetery, Kuzma looked a bit lighter. He pulled Morgan and I all over town and showed us different places he remembered going with his parents and friends. Apart from the part of town that took the shelling that night, the rest of Mykolaiv was the same as Kuzma remembered it to be. We had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants and after we finished up our late lunch we started to make our way back to Cosima's farm. As we got to the hill, I pulled Kuzma down in the same-ish spot we stopped at that night. He leaned into my chest and relaxed as we turned to watch the sun starting to set behind the buildings. Morgan took a second to join us but once she did, Kuzma reach his hand over to her and she took it.

Together the three of us watched the sun slowly set behind the horizon. Once the sun was gone, I knew it was time for us to finish our walk back to the farm. Slowly, we all got up and started our way up the hill. It was getting pretty dark by the time we reached the backdoor of the house. Cosima was waiting for us when we got inside and was quick to hand out mugs of hot chocolate to help warm us up from our adventures outside today. Anya wanted to start cooking us dinner but we were all pretty full from lunch so we just hung out in the living room with Cosima for the rest of the night.

The three of us turned in early that night as we were all pretty wiped from the day and all of the emotions running through us. As Morgan and I were laying in bed about to get ready to go to sleep, my phone rang. When I looked over at it, I saw it was Mom. I picked it up and put it on speaker phone as I didn't want to get out of bed and thought it would be rude not to have Morgan listen in since she was half laying on me already.

I kept the call brief, just an update to let her know we are doing okay and a little bit of a plan for our next couple of days here before we start our trip back home. Once I hung up Morgan and I fell asleep pretty quick, worn out from the long day.

One major difference since we got to Ukraine, that night was the first either of us were able to actually sleep in and get good rest. When we both crawled out of bed and downstairs in search of food, it was already pushing noon. Kuzma was outside playing soccer with Cosima and someone else neither of recognized. But that didn't matter at the moment. Morgan and I both moved around the kitchen for something to eat for breakfast and coffee. We settled on a few pieces of toast and took a seat at the kitchen table.

The day was pretty relaxed. Both of us just walked around the farm a bit with Petro catching up while Kuzma went into town with Cosima wanting to get a few things. This time when we went into the barn, we were surprised to see animals in the stalls and not cots and weaponry laying around. A few chickens, goats and pigs were cornered off on one side of the barn while three horses were in the stalls. Both Morgan and I were drawn to the horses right away. Two were a chestnut color while the other was a white spotted black. After walking around the farm for a while, we both went back into the barn and sat with the horses. There calm and gentle nature pulled us both right in and we enjoyed just being in there presence.

That night Anya was back to cooking up a feast for us which after we ate, Morgan and I cleaned up from. Anya was not happy about us kicking her out of her own kitchen to clean up but finally started to relent a bit and sat on the couch with Kuzma to watch some kind soap opera.

The next day Morgan and I went into town again to meet up with Svitlana for coffee. Kuzma was happy to stay behind on the farm with Cosima as she was going to teach him how to ride a horse. Petro actually offered to drop us off at the café as he knew where it was and it made me happy not to have to walk up that hill again.

When we got to the café, Svitlana was already waiting for us. Morgan took a seat at the table while I went to go order us all some drinks and a few pastries to munch on. Svitlana told us that Yelena was with an Uncle for the day so she didn't have to rush out. We told her a bit more about what we walked into that night and about Kuzma. For Morgan and I, it was hard for us to talk about everything. But we knew it could bring her some closure as to what happened to Marta, so that's why we didn't really spare much detail.

Svitlana told us that Marta returned to their apartment to get some more cloth and personal belongings before meeting them at her families house in the country. They were going to try and make it to Poland but didn't grab enough things when they left the first time the sky started to fall. So, they made a list of everything they needed before they could make the trip to Poland. Once it was written out, Marta went back to the apartment. She was only supposed to be gone for the day. But when she didn't return a few days later, Svitlana left to go search for her love. When she got to town and saw the destruction, she knew. Svitlana went up to there apartment and found the blanket and all the blood in the ruins of the apartment. The bags that Marta packed were waiting on the kitchen table.

It was heartbreaking to hear her talk about walking back into what used to be there home to find that. We both knew this conversation wasn't going to be easy on either of us but now that every thing was out in the open, we were able to bring some light back into the conversation. Svitlana told us that it took a few days to find out where they removed Marta too. Once she claimed her body, they were able to bury her. After she was at peace, Svitlana and Yelena left for Poland for a while. They only came back a year after the war ended. Both women wanted to be near Marta still.

From there we moved onto our kids, all three of us were tired of wiping our tears away constantly. The rest of the afternoon at the café was spent with laugher of good times instead of recounting the bad. When we left that day, it was with a new friend here.

That night when we got back to Cosima's house, I had a mixed feeling in my chest about what I wanted to do for the rest of our days here. While Kuzma grabbed Morgan and told her all about his day with Cosima going around town, I left the pair and ventured outside and took a stroll down to the barn. When I got there, the horses greeted me and I couldn't help but smile at them. I went right over to the stall of the white one and scratched their nose. He let me do it for a few moments before he pulled his head back and looked at me for a long moment. I just stayed still when all of a sudden the horse nudged his nose into my shoulder.

I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck and just relaxed from the day. After a few moments, I pulled away and watched as he nodded at me as to say he understood before turning and walking over to his water bucket.

"I need to make that phone call, don't I?" I said out loud and watched as the horse moved around the stall for another few minutes.

With another sigh, I moved out of the barn and took my phone from my pocket. I ended up walking around to the other side of the barn and sat down in the same spot I sat when I was here the first time and dialed the number I saved in my phone. It only took a few seconds for the call to connect and for Artem to pick up. We talked for a few moments when he asked how the rest of my trip is going so far. Then I asked him about what has been in the back of my brain since I saw the President. I asked if it would be possible to get a ride via helicopter to Mariupol to see what the town looks like now. It left Artem speechless for a few moments before he told me he would have to get back to me about it. Even if he says no, I'm happy I had the nerve to ask.

I took another few moments to myself before I got up and made my way inside the house to find Kuzma helping Anya in the kitchen preparing dinner for us. He was explaining something to her in Ukrainian so I just moved into the living room and found my wife sitting on the couch relaxing with Cosima. She didn't say anything so I just lumped into her and tucked my head into her neck. Morgan wrapped herself around me and went right back into her conversation with Cosima.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Morgan was shaking my shoulder. It took a few seconds before I was able to really wake up but once I did, she was holding my phone in her hand. I saw Artem's number on the caller ID and quickly grabbed the phone from her and jumped off of the couch and answered it, taking the call outside.

Artem gave me a second to get it together before he started to explain. He was able to grant my request. The day after tomorrow, a copter will come and get us in one of the fields of the farm before flying us over to Mariupol at noon. He told me he will email me the final details and the official times once he gets it himself. I thanked him a few times over before we hung up with each other and I went back inside.

Morgan was pacing in circles in the dining room when I walked back inside. Once she saw me she looked pissed and rushed over to me to push us both back out the back door I just came through.

"You can't do that to me!" Morgan almost yelled, her chest heaving. I knew she was about to spiral into an anxiety attack so I just held out my hand for her. She looked at me for a few long seconds before finally putting her hand in mine. Together, I led us both over to the barn and pulled the door open. The white horse I was scratching before moved up to the front of his stall and nodded his head up and down. Morgan smiled at him as he nudged his nose into her shoulder a few times before Morgan brought her hands up to pet his neck.

"I asked Artem for a favor before, he was just calling me to tell me that he was able to make it happen. I asked if there was a way for me to get a ride to see Mariupol." I said.

I could see the tension rise back into Morgan's shoulders and her hands almost dropped off of the horse. He didn't let her get far though. Once she tried to stop, the horse nibbled her shoulder for a second before she got back to it.

"Why?" Morgan asked, not facing me.

"I need to see it. After talking to Svitlana about what happened with Marta, I think this can help me... be able to talk about what we did there and what happened." I explained. It took Morgan and another few seconds before she turned around to face me.

"I don't know if I can go back there. You almost died in my arms there and I don't know if I can face that again." Morgan said with a lump in her throat.

"That's okay, it's planned for the day after tomorrow so you have time to think about it more if you want too." I said and gave her a sad smile. "How about we go back inside to see what trouble our son is getting into."

Once again I offered my hand to Morgan and she took it in hers before intertwining our fingers together. When we got back inside the house, Anya and Kuzma were finishing up plating dinner of what looked like soup and rice with some vegetables on the side. Neither of us questioned what it was but just watched as Kuzma beamed at how much the soup reminded him of his mothers cooking.

After dinner, Anya banished Morgan and I to the living room to play cards with Petro, Cosima and Kuzma while she cleaned up. The night was quiet as we played a few rounds of poker for some coins and candies. Kuzma cleaned up and it left Morgan and I looking at each other as to how he knows how to play poker this well already.

We turned in early for the night and went to bed. Morgan tucked herself tightly to my side and we both fell asleep quickly. The night past with no nightmares and we were both grateful for the full night of rest. Today was spent on the farm with Cosima. She showed us both around, introduced us to all of their animals along with the horses. We even got to take them out to the fields for a ride. It was then I told Cosima about my plans for tomorrow. She showed us over to the biggest empty field they have. She told me she would go out there with the tractors later to make a large H into the grass so they know where to land.

With that settled we road around the wooded area of her families land for a while before we returned to the house for lunch. When we got back, I went through my emails and found the confirmation from Artem about the ride. I sent him one back with the coordinates of the field for tomorrow as well to try and make it a bit easier to find.

Now that was all set, I was able to relax for the rest of the day. Kuzma managed to pull Cosima, Morgan and I out into the field to play some soccer with him for a while after lunch before it got to cold. Once we started to slow down, Cosima broke away from us so she could head over to the field to get it ready for tomorrow. At first Kuzma questioned why she was leaving but I quickly took the ball from him and forced him to focus in on the soccer game we were playing.

When we got tired of playing, the three of us went inside to wash up and try and help Anya with dinner. Just like the nights before, she let Kuzma help while Morgan and I were banished to the living room to relax. Cosima came in shortly after and gave a thumbs up before heading up to the bathroom to wash up herself before dinner. The rest of the night was a quiet affair. After dinner was done, I pulled Petro aside and told him about tomorrow so he wouldn't be surprised about what was happening. He just gave me a fatherly hug and told me to be careful.

Morgan was quiet when we got into bed later that night and didn't turn into me like I thought she might. Instead, she faced away from me and tried to sleep. I knew she wanted some space and I wanted to give that too her, so I just pressed a kiss to her shoulder, where the bullet struck her all those years ago before settling down on my side of the bed for the night.

When I woke up the next morning Morgan wasn't in bed with me and I sighed. I tried not to let it get to me but it made me upset that me wanting to go back was putting her in this kind of place. I knew I couldn't take it completely personal, I knew if she blindsided me with this same idea, I probably would be giving her the cold shoulder as well until I could wrap my mind around the idea.

I dressed warmly and in comfortable clothes I could move around in and my boots before I made my way downstairs for breakfast. Cosima was sitting at the table dressed for the day as well. She pushed a mug of coffee in front of me and some toast before she went back to reading the paper. We didn't have to speak as I finished breakfast or after I washed up my mug in the kitchen. When I took the seat at the table again, she finally closed the paper and looked at me.

"Morgan is out in the barn, has been since the sun started to come up. I made sure to leave the heat on for her so it's not that cold. Not sure if you want to go see her yet." Cosima said.

"I'll go in a minute, uhm, would you want to come?" I asked unsure where she stood on this topic.

"If Morgan stay's I'll come, watch your six." Cosima answered.

"Thank you" I said with a nod before getting up to leave the house.

The walk over to the barn was quiet, the morning still waking up the country. The only noise right now are that of the crickets in the low grass and the few cows in the other fields not to far from here. When I got to the barn, I found Morgan sitting inside the stall of Pongo, the white and black spotted horse we have both come to love over the few days we've been here. Pongo was laying in the hay and it looked like he was sleeping.

"I'm staying" Morgan said without turning back to look at me and I sighed.

"Okay, Cosima is going to come with me so you and Kuzma can do whatever you like today." I said trying to keep things light.

"When are you leaving?" Morgan asked.

"In about an hour for the field." I answer and watched as Morgan nodded.

I stayed at the stall door for another minute before turning away and heading back to the house to finish getting ready. My hair went into a tight bun at the base of my skull and I pulled my hat on my head. The handgun got tucked into my waistband and I strapped the knife Annabelle gave me to my ankle while the other one I have went into the left pocket I have on my thigh for quick access.

Once I was ready I went back downstairs and took a seat on the couch with Cosima to watch an old re-run of NCIS. She asked me a few questions about how I managed to get this set up but I just played it down as a friend owing me a favor. I couldn't tell if she bought it but she didn't question me after I changed the subject to ask if she has been back since. She told me this would be the first time too and we went back to watching TV. Kuzma came down to have breakfast a few minutes later and gave me a questioning look when he saw the both of us already dressed to go out.

"We are going to head out somewhere in a little bit, Morgan is going to stay here and you guys can make a day of it, okay?" I said and watched as Kuzma put some toast into the toaster before nodding at me.

I checked my watched and knew we only had about ten minutes before Cosima and I needed to head over to the field. So I took the time to use the bathroom and made sure everything I have on me is secure and in place. After I was satisfied, I left the bathroom and watched as Cosima raced upstairs to finish getting ready.

"K, can you get dressed, I want you to come see us off." I said. He nodded and shoved the piece of toast into his mouth before going upstairs to get dressed. It was then that the backdoor slid open and Morgan walked in.

"You want to come see us off?" I asked. She nodded before going upstairs to change.

It didn't take long for everyone to come down dressed and ready to go. Cosima told us we could take a work truck over to the field so they wouldn't have to walk. When we got to the field, I could hear the buzzing in the air of the incoming chopper. It's been a long time since I've heard the noise, but it got me amped up for the trip. When the chopper finally came into view I could hear Kuzma gasp in the backseat.

Cosima and I got out of the truck to get ready to jump on once they touched down but I heard the door open behind me. I turned my head to find Morgan get out of the truck and throw herself into my arms. She pressed a fierce kiss to my lips and I sighed at the feeling. When she pulled away, I pressed my forehead to hers.

"You come back to me alive this time, you hear me?" Morgan said.

"Yes ma'am." I answered and pressed a kiss to her cheek and pulled away to look over at Kuzma.

"So, does this earn your Mama some cool points?" I asked him as the chopper made it's final approach circle to land.

"So, so many." Kuzma said and pulled out his phone to either take a photo or video. I pressed a kiss to his cheek before meeting Cosima in front of the truck. I went to slip my hands under my vest but remember that was from a long time ago.

"You're not the only one who misses it sometimes boss." Cosima said as the chopper touched down. I chuckled at her and together we stalked over to the aircraft.

As we got close, I could tell it was a military aircraft and then the back door slid open and I saw Ryan and Raymond sitting in the back waiting for us. Cosima went for a seat in the chopper while I took a seat in the doorway. Ryan and Raymond leaned forward and waved over at Morgan and Kuzma who were watching from the truck. I could hear the engines start to rev up again and I knew we were about to take off so I waved one more time and braced myself for the lift. When it came I gave Morgan a salute and we were off.

Adrenaline was rushing through my veins as we did a circle over the farm and headed south. When we turned about, I slid backwards over to a seat next to Cosima and took a headset from above me. Once I had it over my ears, I finally was able to hear Ryan and Raymond speaking.

"It's good to have you aboard boss." I heard an accented voice say and I turn to look at the pilots of the helicopter. Sitting in the right seat was Commander Alexei. I could only chuckle as he turned and gave me a wave before turning to focus on the flight path.

"I should have known you would be the one giving me a ride." I said to him and he laughed as we continued to the flight. When I turned around Ryan and Raymond both looked smug.

"Totally not surprised to see you two here." I said.

"Good, when Artem called and told us, you know we weren't going to let you go alone with Alexei. We also come with conditions from Artem and Peyton." Ryan said.

"Which are?" I asked curious as to how Peyton knew what I was about to do.

"This" Raymond said and pulled a ballistics vest out from the side cabinet behind him.

"They really think someone is going to try and take a shot at me, now, after all these years?" I asked them as I held onto the vest. It was bigger and bulker then the ones I was used to wearing during my time in the Rangers but I knew that this would cover a lot more surface area on my torso.

"It's just a precaution, Ray and I are both where our tech ones." Ryan offered as an explanation and I sighed. I took a look at the vest again before I pulled my jacket off so I could put the vest on. Once it was in place, I pulled the jacket back on and zipped it up a little bit.

"Am I the only one getting the special treatment?" I asked.

"Nope, Cos gets a matching one!" Raymond said with some excitement and pulled out another one and gave it over to her. Cosima just snickered and put the vest on before pulling her jacket on over it.

"Do she get a matching piece?" I asked the other question on my mind starting to be relieved that Morgan decided to stay at the farm.

"Already covered" Cosima said and lifted her jacket enough for me to see the handgun tucked into her waist band.

"Just like old times then." I said settled in for the rest of the two hour flight.

For a majority of the flight, I spent my time looking out the windows, wanting to see the country from above. It was hard to tell exactly where we were from the air but it looks like a normal country. There weren't any buildings in ruins or rubble along the roads. The only difference I was able to see was the large boarder fence the president told me a bit about that was constructed after the war.

When we were on our final approach, my stomach turned into knots but I knew it was too late to turn back now. As we landed in a field the pilot turned off the helicopter and the door slid open to relieve some military personal. Alexei was out of the co-pit quickly to explain to them as the four of us got out of the back and looked around.

Looking around, I could tell that we were standing where Azovstal was. Most of the old buildings no longer stood, everything looked new. Turning around in a circle I saw that there are a bunch of military personal walking around and what looked like barracks.

"After the war and reading through all the intel your team found, we decided to add a military installation here. Small but enough to be effective if things were to spiral." Alexei said standing next to me as I took everything in.

"Probably for the best" I said and tried to swallow the apprehension I had in my throat.

A few of the soldiers on the base came over to the helicopter to look it over after the flight as we started to move away from them. Most of the land was barren. All of the ruined buildings were removed but it wasn't hard to map everything out in my mind as I looked over the land.

"Is there anything we aren't allowed to do?" I asked Alexei not wanting to be in the way of those that are working here.

"Just stay out of the barracks. I have a truck waiting if you wanted to venture out." Alexei said.

I just nodded and looked around again before my feet started to move on there own accord. I knew that wherever I went, Ryan, Raymond and Cosima wouldn't be far behind. The walk from the landing pad over to where the original bunker door was, didn't take long. It looks like the old entrance was moved when they remodeled the bunkers as there was only an air hatch here now. I crouched down and ran my hand over the hatch looking over the area now. The large iron stacks that were here are long gone. I turned around and walked a few steps from the bunker door and closed my eyes.

I could remember talking with Alexei, exchanging the patches and coins. Watching his men hug in celebration of finally getting to this point to get there people to safety after all this time. When I opened my eyes I turned in the direction of the water. Raymond's call fresh in my mind of the incoming Russian battalion.

"We had what? Ten minutes before they were on us?" I asked out loud.

"Probably closer to five." Raymond answered as I turned my attention to where the buildings stood where we took cover. They were gone now, in there place was an empty grassy field. I tucked my hands in my pockets and walked in that direction. I probably should have been paying more attention because someone grabbed the back of my jacket to stop be from getting hit by a Humvee that was driving through the street. Once it past, Raymond took the lead in front of us and the hand on my back release my jacket.

"I told you I would have your back." Cosima said in my ear.

I could only nod once we started walking again. After we got to the field, Raymond stalled so he could walk in step with me as we walked over to where the buildings were. When I thought we got there, I turned around and almost felt my knees buckle. The spot I stopped was right. I could hear the bombs going off in the distance as we trapped them in the kill box, followed by the hissing of the rockets my team launched at the survivors. Bullet rained down as we tried to keep them contained in front of us.

Then Morgan went down. I turned my head to my left and moved a few feet over to where I saw her go down and turned to face where we just came from. I swallowed hard as I the next couple of second flashed through my mind. Trying to put pressure on her wound then hearing someone yell out about the RPG incoming. Then everything faded to black. I couldn't help but sit down on the grass as my chest heaved and pain settled into my ribs. My vision was spotty and it felt like I was going to pass out as I tried to get some deep breaths in to avoid spinning out into a full blown panic attack but it wasn't working.

Cosima knelt next to me and I vaguely saw her grab something from her pocket before she waved it under my nose. It was a smelling salt and once I took a few inhales of it, my chest opened back up and I finally felt the air hitting my lungs again. As I came back to my senses, I pushed her hand away from my nose and looked around the field. Nobody was paying us any mind as I started to get myself together.

Once I felt like I had control of my senses again I slowly stood up. The memories started to fade as kept looking around and seeing the green field of grass instead of the dirt and ruble from before.

"I died here." I said out loud rooted in place. There was no point in denying the fact. A part of me died here that night. Looking back at it now, I think it was for the better.

"You did actually" Cosima said next to me. I turned to her and took in her face. "You didn't have a pulse as we tried to get you an airway before the choppers got back. Your ribs were busted, your sternum was already bruised but it didn't stop Emmett and I from pumping out chest compressions. When the chopper got here you got loaded in, I shocked you while Emmett secured your airway. Once we got your pulse back, I moved around to help Morgan."

I could only nod as Cosima recounted what happened that night. It only makes my breakfast continue to swirl around my stomach some more.

"Morgan said she didn't want to come because I almost died in her arms." I said quietly and looked down at my feet.

"I don't know if she knew it at the time or not before we got you onto the monitors, but she's right, you did died in her arms that night. By the time we got into the helicopters, everything was in shambles and Emmett and I were yelling at each other and Morgan was screaming, forcing her way onto the helicopter that was barely on the ground for a minute before we were off again. I think Emmett and I were the only ones who knew at the time you were down until we got you into the helicopter." Cosima said.

"I know I've thanked Emmett a few times over the years, but thank you Cos, for saving me and Morgan that night. I know it must have been difficult under those conditions but you did it and now I'm standing here again." I said and looked over at Cosima. She didn't say anything but nod and I pulled her into a side hug.

Before we could say anything else, Alexei was back holding something in his hands. Once Cosima and I separated he gave us a smile and held up a pair of keys before throwing them to me.

"For the truck, I have some work I need to do here if you want to explore a bit. But before you go, this is for you." Alexei said and held out a plain white envelope. I sighed and took it from him and watched as he turned around and went back towards the office looking building.

I flipped the envelope open and pulled out a piece of paper. At the top of the paper, I noticed Presidential seal and I sighed. The letter was short and to the point, much like I have come to learn about the man himself.

I asked Alexei to give this to you when you arrived in the field. The current plans for the the field is to turn it into a park and soccer field for the new housing plans for the area. Once the park is complete, I plan on naming it Ranger Field, to honor you and your team and the work you did for our country. When it is done, I will forward you the information if you would like to come and see it in person. Thank you for coming to see the beauty of my country.

Signed by the President of Ukraine. I wiped away a tear from my eye and folded the piece of paper back into the envelope and tucked it into my pocket. With the keys in hand I hit the panic button and was able to find the truck waiting for us.

"Lets take a ride." I said and started to move towards the truck.

Since this trip was kind of about me, I took the drivers seat of the Humvee. Once everyone was settled, I revved up the engine and we made our way out of what's left of Azovstal. The first stop was right over the bridge. The building we hid in while we did recon of Azovstal before we went in. They were no longer standing. As I slowly drove down the street, most of the buildings that were here are now gone. Everything is mostly grassy patches, looks like they are still planning on what they want to rebuild.

When I made sure nobody was coming, I made a U-turn in the street and started to drive towards were my team stayed when we finally made it to Mariupol. Most of all the buildings that were bombed are gone. Empty plots of land take there place. There are signs of new construction all around and it's nice to know that people finally feel safe enough to return to there homes.

As I continued to drive, I didn't stop anywhere. There was really only one other place I wanted to see before we went back to Cosima's house. Unlike our second hiding spot, this building was still standing and it looks like it's now back to being a business. I parked the Humvee out front but didn't turn it off. It looks like the place is open is a mechanic garage. We all took bets on what this place was when it was open before the war and we all guessed on a garage just for the looks of the main floor.

I killed the engine and hopped out of the Humvee and stared at the building. It took a few moments for everyone else to join me.

"This is were we worked out of before we made the move to Azovstal. We were here for what? A month?" I asked and turned towards Cosima.

"A bit more." Cosima said.

"I thought we were going to die every night with all the shelling's happening. By the time we finally left for Azovstal I think I slept maybe a total of 48 hours." I said.

"Nobody wanted to sleep, you weren't alone in that feeling boss." Cosima said and slid her hands behind her vest plate to keep them warm.

I pulled my phone out and snapped a picture of the garage before putting my phone away. As I took a few steps towards the garage I heard the crew follow behind me. There was a car in the garage with the hood up so I made sure to make some noise not to startle whoever was under it. A man about my fathers age popped out around the car and gave us a warm smile.

"Can I help you?" He asked and wiped his hands off on a rag.

"Are you the owner?" I asked.

"That's me" He answered.

"Did you own this shop before the war?" I asked. The man looked at me funny for a minute before putting the rag down on the hood of the car.

"My family did, I took over after." The man answered. I could see the emotion in his face, the loss his family suffered during the war must have been great.

"I want to thank you then, my team and I took shelter in your basement, this place kept us safe while we moved through the country." I said and pulled my sunglasses off my eyes before holding my hand out to him.

It took a few moments but the man met me in the middle and shook my hand. I gave him a smile and we let go of each other.

"I don't mean to disrupt your day, but would you mind if we take a look in your basement? I promise to be quick." I said.

"It's a slow day, go ahead." The man said and offered us a smile.

He didn't bother to show us the way as I pocketed my sunglasses and moved towards the stairs. Going down the stairs felt like I was transported back in time again. Except this time, there were boxes scattered around the floor. There was one thing I wanted to see down here. As I made my way over to where I slept, closest to the stairs, I moved the few boxes out of the way and pulled my phone out before kneeling down on the ground. I turned my flashlight on and blew the dirt away. There it was. Before we moved out, I carved my Army serial number into the concrete floor and a very subtle arrow pointing in the direction where we were moving.

"The day before we moved out, I made everyone go upstairs to pack up the trucks. While they were upstairs, I carved my serial number into the concrete. We never knew if we would make it out of here alive and I figured if we were killed or captured in Azovstal, at least there would be record of us somewhere." I said and took a picture of the carving before moving out of the way so Cosima could take a look.

"Sounds like we had a vacation compared to what you were dealing with." Raymond said from the stairs.

"This was no fun trip by the sea, that's for sure. That's all I wanted to see so we can head back now." I said taking one last look around.

As I was the last one up the stairs, I pulled my phone out again and took a picture of the room. I thanked the garage owner again before we got into the Humvee. When we all got inside, I started it up and drove away. We still had some time before we had to be back, so I took us on a detour and stopped in one of the parking lots along the Sea of Azov. I took a look around and saw the area was pretty empty. So when I got out of the Humvee I left the door open and pulled my jacket off. Once it was off, I undid the Velcro of my vest and put it in the drivers seat before I closed the door and walked over to the water.

Without my jacket and vest, I could feel how cold it actually is outside right now. I tried not to let it bother me as I pushed forward and jumped off the curb into the sand.

"Daniella!" Ryan said and I knew then that they noticed that I'm not wearing the vest anymore, but I didn't care. I pushed forward towards the water and blocked out them calling my name. I pulled my hair out of my tight bun and let it fall loose down my back.

When I got to the waters edge, I dropped to my knees and pulled the knife out of my pocket and flipped it open. My hat came off next and I put it down in the sand next to me. I felt something cold land on my forehead and I looked up to see it is starting to lightly snow. I turned my face up to the sky completely and closed my eyes. The water lapping gently at the shore finally has me feeling at peace in the place that almost cost me my life.

I grabbed all my hair in one hand before I quickly took my knife and sliced it all off. The hair went lip in my hand and I dropped my knife into the sand. When I opened my eyes again, I looked out to the sea and finally felt a level of peace roll over my being. The hair now in my hand felt like my past, finally dead and gone. Now the only thing left to do is burry it. I took half of the hair and threw it into the sea. It took a few long seconds for the current to take some of it while other pieces sunk to the bottom. Once those pieces were gone from my sight I took almost all of the rest and threw it into the sea.

Finally, some peace. I tied the remaining chunk I still had into a knot and stuck it into my pocket before I put my knife back into my pocket and picked my hat back up and put it on. Once it was on, I stood from the sand and turned to make my way back to the Humvee. Nobody said anything on the walk back and I avoided looking into there eyes. Once we got to the truck, I put the vest back on and put my jacket back on as well.

The ride back to the base was quiet, nobody had anything else to say as we drove over the bridge to the military post. I parked the Humvee and got out. Before we made a move to head back over to where the helicopter was waiting, I pulled my phone out and took a few pictures of where the field is. Afterwards, I walked back over to the grassy field and found my spot again. When I got there, I knelt down on the ground and pulled out my knife. Carefully I dug a little hole in the dirt and buried the last chunk of my hair before covering it back up. The old me died in the rubble that day. I think it's finally time for me to be proud of the women that was born out of it.

After I was done, I made my way back over to my friends and found Alexei was watching me. When I got close enough, I threw the keys of the Humvee back at him and he gave me a smile before he came over and gave me a hug.

"You look whole." He said privately to me and I teared up a bit at his statement.

When we pulled away he told us that we would leave in an hour to give the weather a chance to clear up a bit more. He invited us inside the mess hall for a meal with a few of the team that is stationed here. When we walked in, everyone snapped to attention right away but Alexei brushed them all off. Together, the five of us had some soup and rice. A nice hot meal to warm me up from my little frozen moment by the sea. Alexei told us about some of his war stories and we had a few to trade back to him. He was keen to find out that my specialty was a sniper and went on for ten minutes about how he spent a few years as a sniper scout but gave it up because he didn't have the patience required to handle the job. It gave me a good laugh as we finished up our meal.

After we finished up, Alexei left us inside while he went to go check on our flight status. When he was gone, a few soldiers came over to us and gave us a few of there patches and challenge coins. Even though we had nothing for them in return, they told us it didn't matter. The fact that we were here with them was enough. The legends that we are, are here in their base again. They asked for a picture but I declined, I didn't want another photo of me going around the world. Everyone understood and just as we started to break it up, Alexei returned and told us that our ride was ready.

As we got into the helicopter, I sent a text off to Morgan to let her know we were inbound and gave her a rough estimate of when we would be landing. It didn't take long for us to get up in the air and get moving. The ride home was quiet, all of us in our own little worlds. I did take the vest off again, now that we were up in the air and out of the trouble. Raymond took it back from Cosima and I and put it back in the cabinet he got them.

As we started the final approach to the farm I asked Alexei if I could bring Kuzma on board for a few moments before they took off again. He was all for it and handed me a helmet for him to wear. After we made our final circle, Ryan pulled the door open and I took a seat on in the doorway. Ryan did attach a seat belt to my waist for safely but I just rolled my eyes as I spotted the truck waiting for us.

We landed a few minutes later and once we hit the ground, I pulled the seat belt off and kept low to the ground as I made my way over to Kuzma and Morgan. I gave Morgan a kiss before I put the helmet on Kuzma's head and pulled him towards the helicopter. He barely was able to give Morgan his phone before coming over with me. I made sure he was safe as we got close and he took a seat in the side door.

"This is so cool!" Kuzma yelled as he took a look around the cab and took everything in. I felt a pat on my back and Ryan gave me the signal that they needed to take off again. Kuzma took one last look at everything before I brought him back over to Morgan. I took the helmet back over to helicopter and jumped inside. Alexei was waiting and he held out his hand.

"Thank you!" I yelled over the rotor and clasped his hand.

"You're most welcome my friend." Alexei yelled back. When I let go I turned to find the guys still inside the body of the chopper.

"We'll see you again stateside." Ryan yelled. I just nodded and gave them both a hug before I got out of the helicopter and took my place by my family.

Ryan and Raymond kept the side door open so I gave them one final salute before they lifted into the air. We stayed in the field for a few long minutes and watched them fly back off towards the capital. When I turned around to face Morgan she gave me a smile and pulled me into a hug.

"You look different." Morgan said as she wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I'm finally free." I answered pushing through the lump in my throat and gave her a nod. Finally, free at last.

a/n: happy tears. the circle has come full. I really feel happy that I can leave this story finish at this point.

Song on the side is called Warzone by Bailey Zimmerman. Very fitting, please give it a listen about mid way through the chapter as Dani and crew get back to Mauripol.