Leaving on a Jet Plane

"So kiss me and smile for me. Tell me that you'll wait for me. Hold me like you'll never let me go."

December 25, 1990

Henry McCord rolled over and looked at his sleeping wife. She was so beautiful and he wasn't sure how she fell for someone like him. When he first met her she was a sophomore, political science student who had plans to change the world. He was a grad student in the marines, focusing on religion and ethics. They were just married in November and he was already about to leave her for 6 months. He had found out a few days before Christmas that he was going to be deployed to Iraq. He didn't know when or how to tell her but he wanted to wait until after Christmas. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their first Christmas as a married couple by telling her.

He smiled when he saw her stirring and ran his hand over her cheek gently, "Merry Christmas gorgeous." He said softly as she opened her eyes.

She moved over to him, resting her head on his pillow "Merry Christmas handsome." She said with a smile, kissing him softly.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her a few more times, resting his forehead on hers. "Want me to make you breakfast?" He asked, kissing her nose.

"Can we just stay like this for a little longer? You're warm." She said with a laugh, cuddling against his chest.

"Of course." He said closing his eyes, dreading the news he was going to have to break to her soon.

They didn't have any major plans for Christmas besides spending time with each other and exchanging a few gifts. Since Elizabeth just graduated and hadn't started her job with the CIA yet, they were a little tight with money.

After a few more minutes Henry sat up, running his hand over her back "Breakfast will be ready in a little bit."

He moved from the bed and Elizabeth smirked at his bare butt showing. "Are you checking me out?" He asked, noticing she was staring.

She shrugged and sat up, holding the sheets against her body "You'll never know."

She watched as he got dressed and made his way out of the room, flopping back on the bed. She smiled up at the ceiling and shook her head. She was truly the happiest she had ever been in her life and it was all because of Henry. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

Elizabeth rolled out of bed and slid on a pair of Christmas pajamas, making her way downstairs. She smiled when she saw Henry at the stove making pancakes, "My favorite." She whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. It was no secret that Elizabeth was a terrible cook so she was thankful that Henry was also good at that.

"I wouldn't make anything else for Christmas." He said as he placed the pancakes on plates, kissing her cheek quickly.

After they ate, Henry started the fireplace and sat down in front of it with Elizabeth. He wrapped his arm around her and rested his head against hers, closing his eyes. He felt bad not telling her that he was going to be deployed soon but she was so happy, he didn't want to ruin that.

Elizabeth turned to face him, resting her forehead on his "What?" She asked, looking into his eyes. She could sense something was bothering him.

He gave her a small smile and ran his hand over her back, "Nothing. I'm just happy." He said, leaning in to kiss her softly.

"Me too." She whispered against his lips, deepening the kiss.

He kissed her back with equal passion and pulled back after a few seconds, smiling at her "Want your present now?"

Elizabeth bit her lip gently and nodded, "Sure. Just let me get yours." She ran back to their bedroom and got the box that was hiding in her closet. She brought it back and sat down in Henry's lap, "You first." She said, handing him the box.

He unwrapped the gift and smiled when he saw a silver watch with their wedding date engraved on the back with the quote "The day time stood still."

"That was my dad's watch…he would have wanted you to have it." She said with watery eyes, "I had it cleaned and engraved to make it more personal."

"I love it." He said softly, kissing her fully on the lips. He knew that anything involving her parents was a tough subject so he was touched that she would give him something so personal to her.

She nodded and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. Henry was the only person outside of her brother that she ever opened to about her parents so she knew he would appreciate the gift. The holidays were always a hard time for her because it made her think of her parents more and how much she missed them.

He noticed that she was fighting back tears and he nuzzled his nose against hers, "Are you ok?"

She looked him in the eyes and shook her head, "I don't want to cry on Christmas."

Henry sighed and hugged her, running his hand over her hair gently. Elizabeth was the strongest person he had ever met and he knew that she hated to cry. She thought it made her seem weak even though he assured her it didn't.

She nuzzled her face against his neck and let a few tears fall before pulling herself together, "I'm sorry." She whispered, kissing the side of his neck gently.

"Baby there is no need to be sorry." He said, offering her a smile when she met his gaze again.

She smiled back and kissed his lips quickly, "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

He kissed her back and handed her the small gift box that was hiding behind his back, "Your turn…"

She accepted the box and opened it, "Oh Henry…it's beautiful." She said, holding up the silver necklace with a royal blue, pear shaped pendant on the end. "I love it. Thank you baby." She leaned in, kissing him a few more times.

"It reminded me of you and I just thought that when you wear it you could always think of us. Even if we're not together at that moment." He confessed, running his hand over her cheek.

She nodded and turned her body so she was facing him, "I'll wear it every day." She whispered, looking into his eyes. She kissed him fully on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. When she felt him deepening the kiss she smiled and pushed him back onto the floor gently.

"Can we spend the rest of the day like this?" She asked, smirking at him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said, flipping them over quickly. He grabbed a blanket from the couch and threw it over their heads, causing Elizabeth to laugh loudly.

"You're crazy!" She squealed as he started kissing her all over.

Henry decided that he needed to enjoy this moment, it was going to be their last happy one for a while.

A/N: Hey guys! Here is my new story and I hope you guys enjoy. I got the inspiration from the season 1 finale when Elizabeth mentions to Henry that he went off to war when they were newlyweds. Let me know what you guys think by reviewing. I may switch this rating to M in the future but haven't decided yet.