My Home Bound Soldier

She's coming home today! My beautiful girlfriend is coming home from her final tour. I've been waiting ever since she left a year ago for her to return. That's when we first met.

One year ago . . .

I had just finished the paperwork that needed to be done for tomorrow when I heard someone ring the bell on the shop door. I took a quick glance at the clock and saw that it was only one minute to closing time. Wow, this person must be really desperate. I sighed and went to open the door.

When I did, I was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful woman in an army uniform. "Hello there, you here for some flowers?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm surprising my family and I wanted to bring something other than just myself."

I backed away from the door, giving her room to come in. "Oh, that sounds sweet. Why don't you take a look around and let me know if you find something that you like or need help with something." She nodded and went to look around.

I kept an eye on her the whole time. She was quite the sight to see. Dark brown hair, brown eyes that just screamed love yet held a deep sadness in them, and luscious curves. Just one look at her and you could tell that she was in shape.

As I watched her move, I noticed that every now and then she would touch this one spot on her chest. Her face showed that she was in pain. I didn't want her to be in pain. I didn't want this angel to do anything that she didn't want to do. What was going on with me? I mean, I know that I like women, but this was someone that I didn't even know. I had only exchanged a few sentences with her. Weird.

She ended up getting a bouquet of different flowers all in one. It was one of the most expensive bouquets in the store. I was surprised to say the least. You only buy really expensive flowers for someone that you're in love with. As I thought about that, my smile faded from my lips and my hopes just drowned in the sadness that I was feeling.

"That's an excellent choice. These are my favorite to make. They're so pretty and I think they say a lot to the person you give them to."

She smiled and handed me her card. Just as I was about to put it through, she stopped me. "Oh, crap! That's the wrong card. Let me get the right one for you." She searched through her bag for a couple minutes and let out a curse. "You've got to be kidding me. I'm so sorry but I seem to have misplaced my card. I can't buy those flowers."

I don't know if it was the look on her face or the fact that I just really liked her, but I wrapped up the flowers and gave them to her. "Don't worry about it. Let's consider this my thank you for protecting our country." The smile that came on her face was one that I will never forget. It was fantastic; she was fantastic.

She quickly said thank you and left the shop. I sighed at the thought that I would never get to see her again. I should've done something. I should have asked out for coffee or something. Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I went back to my office to grab my purse. I looked at the clock and noticed that I was fifteen minutes late to the dinner with my friend and her family. I grabbed my purse and rushed out of the store.

It took me another ten minutes to get to the house. As I was parked, I noticed another car that I had never seen here before. Huh, I wonder who that could be. I grabbed my stuff and went to the door. Just as I was about to go inside, I heard something to my left. I followed the noise until I saw who it was. It was the girl from the shop. She had the bouquet of flowers in her hand and was picking at the grass.

I moved closer and I guess she must have heard me because her hand snapped up and she looked frightened. As soon as she saw that it was me, she seemed to relax, but only minimally.

I continued to walk forward and stopped a few steps away. "Hey, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at some family dinner?"

She shrugged. "I am at the dinner, technically. I just haven't gone inside yet."

I laughed. "Well, that's kind of weird; this is the dinner that I'm supposed to be going to. My brother, Jasper Whitlock, is Alice Cullen's boyfriend. We have weekly dinners with the Cullens. How do you know them?"

She smiled. "They're my parents, of sorts." I was confused and it must have shown on my face because she continued. "When I was little my mom was killed in a car crash, so I came to live with my dad. A year after I moved, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. He's the reason that I went into the army. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure that what happened to me didn't happen to another little girl. I was only five when that happened, so I had to go into foster care. I was only there for a day before Carlisle and Esme took me in. Carlisle had to do a check up on me before I was officially in the foster care and apparently as he puts it, he fell in love with me. Ever since then, they have been my parents."

I was shocked. She had been through so much and still came out as this strong woman. "Well, I'm glad they found you or else I wouldn't have gotten to meet you. What do you say we go inside though? It's getting a little wet out here."

Her face dropped. "I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

She sighed. "I can't stand the way that they will look at me. I can't stand the look of pity. Sure, they're proud of me and everything but they are mostly sad about what I have to go through. I just can't stand it."

I sighed and nodded. "Alright, I get you. Well, we can take this at your pace, Bella."Her head snapped up at her name and I laughed. "You didn't really think that I wouldn't figure out who you were, did you? Esme and Carlisle talk about you every chance they get and they're always wondering if anyone has talked to you lately and if you're safe."

Her lips twitched. "They always did worry too much." She looked up at the sky and then back to me. "We should go inside. I wanted to surprise them, so that's what I'm going to do." I nodded and got up with her.

We walked to the door and opened it. It sounded like everyone was already eating. Jasper's voice drifted from the dining room. "Nice that you could make it, Rose. We were getting worried for a minute there."

Bella and I walked into the dining room. "Well sorry brother, but I got caught up talking to someone who just turned out to be headed the same place that I was."

Everyone looked up and when they realized that Bella was with me, the room erupted in chaos. Esme and Carlisle were attacking Bella with hugs and kisses and her "siblings" were trying to get in on it too. Jasper and I hung back, just watching the family reunion.