Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own characters.

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January 2021:

Hammersley's Commanding Officer Mike Flynn missed his family.

He'd been away for three weeks, without a prospect of being home for at least another one. He'd missed his twin sons' first day of school and his daughter's music recital.

Taking a moment, he stepped into his office and sat heavily in his chair. Looking up at the photos lining his shelves, he smiled at last.

Twelve year old Wyatt had a huge grin on his face. He remembered the day they'd taken that photo, he hadn't wanted to sit still and they'd snapped a photo of him on the run, capturing the cheeky grin of the boy who was the splitting image of his father.

Brushing the photo, he moved on to the next one: his two gorgeous daughters. They were only 13 months apart and eleven year old Jasmine and ten year old Georgia were constantly together and frequently mistaken for twins. His Jazz and Georgie girl had their arms wrapped firmly around each other, both flashing their dimpled faces at the camera, their brown hair plaited just like their mothers.

Then there was his four (almost five!) year old surprises: Noah and Kenton - Nobo and Kendy. Of all his children, these were the two that had the blonde hair of their mother - though that is where the resemblance ended. It was hard to believe that they were twins - they were so different in every aspect: Noah was the outgoing child who was happy to meet absolutely every person who crossed his path, whereas Kenton on the other hand always looked like he knew a secret that he wasn't going to share.

Feeling better already, he turned his head to the last photo which held the most important person in his life in it - his wife and the mother of his children.

He plucked the photo from his shelf, contemplating it with a soft smile. He loved this photo. It had been a carefree day, and Mike remembered holding his wife back against his chest, arms firmly folded over hers as they both grinned at the camera. He couldn't remember the joke, but he grinned nonetheless, remembering the feeling of her laughter reverberating on his chest.

His reverie was interrupted by a knock on his door.

'Sir? We've found it.'

Mike nodded, snapping back into his CO persona. The quicker he can finish this, the quicker he can get home to his family.

Kissing the photo, he placed the image back up on the shelf.

'I'll be home soon Kate,' he murmured as he left for the bridge.