Title: Homecoming
Author: scgirl_317
Summary: Drew gets home from Afghanistan, and he and Rick have to clear the air: Rick about getting shot, and Drew about why he's home so early. Also, Drew meets Bear.
Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to continue with these. RL went haywire for for a bit, and then I had to get ready for the holidays, but I finally have some time to write, again!
The house was quiet when Drew let himself in. He had purposely not told anyone he was on his way home because he wasn't quite ready to face the questions. "How are you?" he was sort of prepared for, but what he dreaded was the "Why are you home early?" The level of guilt he felt for Syd remaining in his place was off the charts, and he knew he needed time to gather himself before facing anyone.
He silently went through the motions of changing into civvies and unpacking before taking a look around the house. Rick had made a few small changes, like hanging new pictures and moving a few things in the laundry room to make room for the dog supplies, but it otherwise looked just as it had when he'd left. Drew wasn't sure how he felt about that.
Checking the clock, he saw that there would still be several hours before Rick got home. As much as Drew would like to wallow in the solitude, he knew he needed to see his husband. So after a brief hunt, he found his keys and headed to the training center.
A quick stop for directions pointed him towards one of the classrooms where Rick was apparently wrapping up review for an upcoming test. Drew stood just outside for a minute, listening to Rick interact with his students. They had both been surprised at how well Rick had taken to being a teacher. He still went out with local SWAT whenever he got the chance, but he enjoyed equipping new, young officers.
He stepped just into the doorway, enough to see inside, and saw Bear laying at his master's feet. That was another thing he was unsure of, exactly how the dog would react to him. Rick had assured him that he had no doubt that Bear would like him, but Drew was less than certain.
Almost as if he could hear Drew's thoughts, Bear sat up at attention, watching Drew. This caught Rick's attention, and he followed the dog's gaze. His eyes widened as he froze, causing several of the class to turn and see what had caught his attention.
"Hey," Drew said, suddenly feeling awkward. He had to admit, he hadn't thought this part through, yet.
"Drew?" Rick asked softly, as if he was afraid the other man would dissipate into the ephemera if he spoke too loud.
"I'm home," Drew confirmed, and that was all it took to shake Rick out of his stupor.
He crossed the distance in a flash, and latched on to Drew with enough force to knock him back into the corridor. For several minutes, neither man said anything, just held each other tight.
"You still had three months," Rick stated, breaking the silence but not letting go.
"CO decided to send me home early," Drew replied, giving all the answer he was willing to, at this point.
Rick pulled back at this. If he knew his husband as well as he thought he did, there was no way Drew would willingly leave a deployment week earlier than his orders stated, much less three months. Something was up.
"Wait one minute," Rick instructed, before returning to the classroom where his students were doing a very poor job of eavesdropping. "Okay, that's it for today. If you have any questions, you can go to Lieutenant Caplan. Got it? I'll see ya'll on Monday."
Rick grabbed his things off the desk, and with a quick command to Bear, he and Drew made their way out to the parking lot. They grudgingly parted so each could drive their own vehicle home, instead of leaving one there.
Rick was just getting the door unlocked when Drew pulled up. Bear just managed to slip inside before getting his tail caught, as Drew absently shut the door, already zeroing in on Rick. The latter found himself pressed between Drew and the wall, and while he reveled in the contact he had been so wanting for months, Drew's grip on his wounded shoulder was tight enough to draw a hiss.
"What is it?" Drew asked, pulling back and already checking Rick for injuries. His eyes locked on to the bandage covering the stitches on Rick's neck. "What happened here?"
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Rick protested, already knowing where this conversation was headed, but still hoping he could put it off.
Drew, however, was gently peeling the edge of the gauze back so he could inspect it for himself.
"Since when is a two-inch gash in your neck considered a 'scratch'?"
"It's okay, it's nowhere near as bad as it could have been."
Rick knew the moment the words came out of his mouth that they were the wrong thing to say.
"And just how bad is that?" Drew demanded.
Rick's shoulders slumped in defeat. Time to bare all.
"I got shot a couple weeks ago on a bust. There's a through-and-through in my shoulder, in addition to the graze on my neck."
"And you didn't tell me because?" Drew pressed emphatically.
"It was right after the attack on your base, and I knew you had bigger things to worry about," Rick replied, leaving the entryway for the kitchen. "Besides, what could you have done from Afghanistan? TC patched me up and gave me a thorough lecture on the merits of ducking."
Drew huffed, following Rick, "So TC knew about this, and didn't say anything."
"Because I asked him not to. Besides, he never mentioned any of the others, why would he start with this?"
He started silently cursing a blue streak, as well as contemplating getting a muzzle.
Drew's voice got dangerously low, "Other. What?"
"Let's just say I was a little accident prone while you were gone," Rick answered, hoping that would be it.
"Explain."
Rick sighed. This is not at all how he saw himself welcoming Drew home.
"I decided to give rock climbing another try. Twisted my knee. Did a little late-night home repair, and ended up slicing my hand. Getting shot was strike three."
Taking a deep breath, he pressed on, "TC put the pieces together before I did. All I had to focus on was how I was stuck here while you were over there, and you know how vivid my imagination can be. It was leading to stupid mistakes. TC suggested getting a dog, so I would have something else to focus on."
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Drew asked, his initial anger fading away.
"What was I going to say? 'Hey, just thought I should tell you I couldn't sleep after I heard mortar fire in the background of our last call.' Or, 'I'm insanely jealous that you have a group of friends to hang out with and I'm not there.' Whether I told you about it or not, the fact remained that you were there and I was here, and neither of us could do anything to change that. It's just something I'm going to have to deal with."
Drew paused, considering his response. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that I wasn't thrilled at first, when you said you'd gotten a dog?"
"Yeah, I realized after the fact that I probably should have said something before just going off on my own," Rick admitted.
"That would have been nice, but that wasn't it. It just felt like I was standing still while life went on without me."
Rick paused to consider this, then grabbed his husband's left hand with his own.
"Hey, you see these?" he asked, indicating their matching bands. "This means we're partners. That's not just some hokey gay euphemism. I'm with you for the long haul. Your wins are my wins, remember?"
Drew nodded, recalling the conversation they had had when Drew made chief resident. Taking a deep breath, he leaned his forehead against Rick's.
"I'm just glad to be home. I've missed this."
There was that thing in Drew's voice, again. Rick was almost certain that something had happened that Drew wasn't telling him. He would have to get it out of Drew eventually, but he doubted that was what his husband needed right now. What Drew needed was to be reassured of them.
All was quiet as they lay in bed, bodies pressed together and limbs tangled. Rick had no idea what time it was, but the light streaming in through the window was casting much longer shadows. Personally, Rick was in no hurry to move.
"I messed up," Drew said suddenly.
Rick looked over at his husband in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Syd's serving out the rest of my deployment because of a decision I made."
Slowly, Drew told him what had happened with Sharbat and Akhmal, General Rozenfeld's order to turn the young girl over, and his decision to go against that order. Rick listened quietly, letting Drew confess. Finally, when Drew was finished, Rick leaned on one elbow so he could look down at Drew.
"You did what you thought was right as a doctor," he stressed. "You wouldn't be the man I married, otherwise. And as for Syd, that's not on you. If you beat yourself up for every time we were given an order we didn't agree with, you'd constantly be black and blue."
Drew nodded, but Rick could see he wasn't convinced.
"You're home now, and that's what matters. We can finally get to figuring out married life, and I think a good place to start would be dinner."
As if on cue, Drew's stomach growled loudly, causing Rick to dissolve into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" Drew protested.
Anything further was cut off by a yelp when something small, cold, and wet pressed into his back. Flipping over put him face to face with a pair of intent brown eyes.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you he likes to stealth nose people," said Rick. "Bear, be nice."
Drew couldn't help but smile as the dog obeyed, sitting and placing a paw up on the mattress, tail wagging.
"I was worried he wouldn't like me," Drew mused, reaching over to scratch Bear's ear.
"I may have had him sniff your clothes so he'd be used to your scent," Rick confessed. "It may still take him bit to get used to having to share me, but feed him bacon and he's yours for life, apparently."
"That sounds like the voice of experience."
"He's a professional-grade beggar."
Rick stood and pulled a pair of pants on to head to the kitchen, and Drew couldn't help but think that, right then, things were pretty near perfect. Tomorrow would bring its own troubles, so better enjoy the present peace.
Fin