“Mornin’.” She whispered the greeting, following it with a smile.
AJ’s heart did the familiar tap dance that happened every time she smiled at him, and he returned her greeting.
“Good morning.”
A quiet whimper from Howie caught Meredith’s attention, and she turned to the man beside her. Slowly, she stroked the frown away from his forehead, and he settled back into sleep.
When she looked back at AJ, there was a hint of moisture in his eyes. He looked lost when he turned his gaze towards her.
“Is he going to be okay?”
She bit her lip before she replied. “I think so. He’s going to have to work through this on his own. You guys can’t make this one go away, no matter how much you want to. You’ll be there for him. I’ll be there for him. Just keep telling him that you love him no matter what.”
AJ nodded. Their conversation was interrupted when the other guys started waking up. Nick moved closer to her and rested his injured arm across the top of her legs, burying his face in her side.
“Wha time izzit?”
Meredith gently patted his arm. “Early still.”
“Hmm.” He laid there for a moment, then sat up, rubbing his face with his hand. His hair stuck up in several directions, and Meredith and AJ laughed at him.
“Definitely a Kaos look.” AJ stretched as he sat up.
“I could seriously use some coffee.” Brian mumbled from the other side of Nick, slowly coming into view as he sat up.
“Me, too.” Kevin sat up behind the others, slowly leaning over until his head was resting on Meredith’s shoulder.
She reached up and tousled his hair as she looked at her team. Howie sat up with a start, his eyes darting around the room before they finally landed on his friends. He immediately looked down, twisting his hands together.
“Morning, D.” Her voice was slightly chipper, sounding like she always did when she saw him in the morning.
“Morning.” He mumbled the greeting, almost too soft for anyone to hear.
A knock on the door got them moving. AJ stood up and opened it, revealing Marcus holding several bags.
“Management sent this for you guys. They weren’t sure what you had in the way of clean clothes.”
Meredith untangled herself from the guys, patting several arms to reassure them. She stood up and wandered over to the table as AJ began to separate the clothing.
“Management knows what size you wear?”
“Management would like to know when we take a piss, but we like to keep some things to ourselves.” He finished sorting the clothes into five piles.
She laughed, then shook her head. “Guess I’m gonna have to do this the hard way and go downstairs to find something to wear.”
“I’m sure we can find something for you in this stuff.” He began to dig through the piles.
Kevin got up and reached for the phone, calling room service for coffee and some breakfast. AJ handed her drawstring pants from Nick’s pile and a t-shirt from Kevin’s. He then distributed the clothing to his friends. As AJ handed the pile to Howie, his hand rested on his friend’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Howie looked up and tried to smile, but it didn’t quite happen. AJ just nodded before moving away.
“Who gets the shower first?” Nick looked around the room.
“Age before beauty?” Brian looked up from picking out the clothes he wanted to wear.
“What happens when you’ve got both?” Meredith held the borrowed clothes in her hand.
They looked at her, and it took a moment before it registered.
“I think you get to go first.” AJ laughed and swept open his arm in invitation for her to head to the bathroom.
“Thank you, kind sirs.” She headed for the shower before anyone decided to jump in front of her.
Twenty minutes later, she appeared in the main room refreshed and more awake. She’d passed Kevin as he headed in to use the shower, and she took a moment to hug him. He returned the embrace, sighing, then let her go to get cleaned up.
Nick and Brian were in the living room, clean and feeling more alive, as they waited for breakfast to arrive. They’d cleaned up the bedding and moved the furniture back to its original positions.
“How’s the shoulder, Munchkin?” She pulled back the unbuttoned shirt to look under the bandage on his left shoulder.
“It’s okay. I just want to thank God for painkillers.” He looked up at her as she pulled the material back over his shoulder.
“Good job with the bandage, Brian.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, thankful for the training Leary had given him.
AJ and Kevin appeared a few minutes later, and they waited for the last member to show. Meredith looked at her watch after several minutes had passed.
“How long has he been in there?”
Nick looked over at the clock. “About thirty minutes.”
“Has the shower been running the whole time?”
He thought for a moment before nodding. She stood up and looked at the other four.
“Who’s going in there? I can, if you don’t think it will embarrass him too much.”
“Is there a problem?” Kevin looked toward the door.
“Going from my own experience, he’s either in there curled up on the shower floor or he’s scrubbing his skin off. Someone needs to check.”
AJ moved towards the bathroom door before she even finished speaking. He knocked briefly on the door, glad to hear that the shower finally turned off.
“Hey, man, breakfast will be here soon. You about ready?” AJ peeked inside to see Howie standing at the sink wearing only a towel.
“I’ll be there.”
AJ closed the door and walked back into the living room. Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged.
“He was out. Said he’d been here in a few.” He sat down on the sofa and rubbed his hands over his face.
“I’d really like for this to be an incredibly bad dream.” Brian closed his eyes and leaned against a cushion.
“Wouldn’t we all.” Kevin sighed. “I invited the other guys over for breakfast. I thought it might be good.”
Meredith nodded. “I’m going to talk to Captain Carruthers and see what the plans are for leaving.”
She got up and used the phone in one of the bedrooms. She dialed her CO’s room, hoping he was there.
{Carruthers.}
“Good morning, sir.”
{Davenport. How are the troops this morning?}
“The team in here is coping. The others are coming for breakfast, so I can check on them when they get here.”
{Good to hear. I supposed you’d like to know what the debarkation plans are.}
“Yes, sir. When are we going home?”
{Flight’s scheduled for 1500. It’s civilian, but we’ll be the only passengers. Make sure your people are in the lobby by 1330.}
“Thank you, sir. We’ll be there.” She hung up the phone and walked back into the room.
She immediately noticed the surprise on everyone’s faces as they looked at Howie. His entire face was clean-shaven, and she willed away the look of shock before he glanced at her.
“We’ve got to be downstairs at 1330. Our flight leaves at 1500. It’s civilian, but no passengers other than us.”
The guys nodded as a knock sounded on the door. Marcus opened it and allowed the bellmen to wheel in the trays of food and beverages. The other two groups followed behind, shaking hands with everyone as they entered.
Justin opened his mouth to ask why Howie had shaved when JC elbowed him and shook his head. The young man grabbed a plate and loaded it up, going to sit next to Brian. The three groups had no problem mingling after what they’d been through. When everyone filled their plates, Meredith looked at Brian.
“Do you want to say grace?”
He nodded, bowing his head as he thought about his words. Heads dropped and eyes closed as they waited for him to speak.
“Heavenly Father, it is with a grateful spirit that we come before you today. You have blessed us with family and friends who love and support us. You have blessed us with the food that we are about to eat. We are especially thankful that we are all here today to celebrate your many blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Fourteen “amen”s sounded after his. Meredith looked over at Howie as he pushed eggs around on his plate. She realized there wasn’t anything she could do except be there for him when all his emotions came to a head. She looked over and caught AJ’s eye. He nodded toward Howie, and she shook her head slightly for him not to ask any questions then. He slowly nodded before returning to his breakfast.
When they finished eating and were just sitting around finishing up their drinks, Meredith stood up and looked at the group.
“We’ve got to be downstairs at 1330. Our flight leaves at 1500, and it’s commercial, but there are no other passengers.”
Justin looked up at the ceiling as he translated the times.
“1:30 and 3:00.” Brian leaned over and whispered the conversion.
“Thanks.” Justin smiled at the other man.
At 1:30, three limos pulled up outside the hotel, and the three groups dashed outside and climbed inside. Within thirty minutes, they were at the airport and ready to board. They settled down into their seats, turning towards the front of the plane when Captain Carruthers stood up.
“I just wanted to commend each of you for your conduct through this ordeal. Professional soldiers could not have acquitted themselves better, and I would consider it an honor to serve with each and every one of you should the need arise.”
He sat down to a smattering of applause. As they got ready to take off, each person shifted into their chosen form of relaxation on long flights, all of them veterans at that aspect of the whole ordeal. Shortly after they reached cruising altitude, Nick swallowed a couple of pain pills and began the process of arranging his “bed”.
Meredith watched from her seat at the end of the row as he lifted up the armrests to make one long bench seat. She moved to get up, and he gently pushed her back down, laying a pillow in her hap. She smiled as she realized she was an essential part of his rest area. After he’d tucked seat belts out of the way, he stretched out on the seats and let his head settle on Meredith’s lap.
“Better, Munchkin?”
“Much. Thanks.” He yawned as the sedative effect began to kick in, letting his eyes drift shut as she slowly stroked his hair. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.
She looked up a few minutes later to see Justin sitting across the aisle, watching the two of them.
“Something on your mind, Justin?” Her voice was low so as not to disturb the people sleeping around them.
He looked up, startled, at her use of his first name. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Why do you call him Munchkin?”
She smiled. “We had a long talk one night about lots of different things. I told him he reminded me of my husband, that he was like the son we might have had. That’s how the nicknames got started.”
“So what happened to your husband?” He leaned against his seat as he looked at her.
“He was killed three years ago in a training accident. He was a Seal.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. He was a good man. He would have had fun with you guys.” Meredith smirked.
She continued to look at the young man across from her. “Where was Captain Watson?”
Justin rolled his eyes. “He had something he had to do in DC. Told us to not to fuck up, and he’d see us when we got back.”
“I’m going to put all of you in for commendations when we get home.”
He was surprised. “I didn’t think you could do that since we’re not really in the Navy.”
“There are medals for civilians, and you guys deserve the recognition for keeping your cool and standing strong despite the fear.”
Justin stared off towards the front of the plane before he turned back towards her and smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
He finally curled up in a seat and fell asleep, and Meredith leaned her seat back to rest.
She felt the plane descending, and her eyes popped open just as the captain came over the speakers and informed them they were on final approach and would be landing in about thirty minutes. Meredith carefully sat up and eased from beneath Nick’s head, making her way to the bathroom. She found a line of people waiting to use the lavatories.
“You’d think they’d have more on a plane this size.” She leaned against a seat.
“If girlfriends were here, I’d wonder what was going on in there.” Jeff rubbed his chin as he waited. He caught a glimpse of Meredith’s face as she grinned.
“Commander, I’m shocked. You’re a member of the Mile High Club?” He grinned as she rolled her eyes at him and the other guys who’d turned around when they heard his question.
“I was married to a Seal. You’d be surprised at the places I’ve made love.” She smirked at him as the line slowly moved forward.
“Like?” Joey turned around to get into the conversation.
“Sorry, Joey. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” She just smiled at him as he grumbled and turned around.
She finally made it into the bathroom, washing her hands and face when she finished relieving her bladder. She moved back to her seat and kneeled in the aisle to wake up Nick.
“Rise and shine, Munchkin.”
“We there yet?” He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.
“Almost, just a few more minutes.” She bucked her seatbelt and settled in for the landing.
When the plane taxied to a stop and the stairs rolled over to settle next to the plane, the stewardess finally opened the door. Stars twinkled in the sky above their heads as they slowly made their way down the steps onto the tarmac.
Irene came flying towards her sister, pulling her into a big hug. Then she reached over and grabbed Kevin, holding him close. She went down the line, hugging AJ, Howie, and Brian. When she reached Nick, she gently pulled him into her arms so she wouldn’t jostle his sling.
When she released him, she looked around, called out “group hug”, then wrapped her arms around Nick and Brian as the other four gathered close.
“You guys scared the hell out of me.” She looked at the faces in front of her as she herded them towards the SUV.
“Where are you going, Merry?” She looked at her sister, who’d stepped away and moved towards the other two groups.
“If you guys need anything, day or night, call me. I don’t care what time it is.” She held out a card with several phone numbers on it to Jeff, Justin, Drew, and Nick.
“We will. Thanks, Commander.” Nick took the card and tucked it into his pocket.
She hugged each of them before they climbed into a van headed for the BOQ. Meredith turned around and did the same for the other group, reiterating that they knew where she lived if they needed her. Each man was grateful for her hug, and she pulled all of them close to her for a group hug.
“Remember, anytime, anything.” She stepped back
“Yes, ma’am.” Lance smiled at her before they climbed into another van.
Turning, she headed back for her group and climbed into the SUV. Irene drove them home, keeping the music low and the conversation non-existent unless they initiated it. Prior experience had taught her to wait until they came to her, and that’s exactly what she did. She made sure they got their bags into the house, heated up some soup for them, and then let them head off to bed with a hug and a smile.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Four