AN: So I've been thinking about this concept for a while. I've had different ideas, and I think I finally figured out how I want to tell this story.

I hate to sound ignorant, but I'm going to put this out there right now: I do not know ANYTHING about the U.S. Army, or anything about any of the U.S. Armed Forces. What I'm going on is based upon my creative imagination, as well as, other fics and books I've read, as well as, movies I've seen. So, I apologize if you find faults in my writing, but I can't say I didn't warn you.

I got the inspiration for this fic when I finished reading JMLHCPKSfan's "Dog Tags to my Heart". I absolutely loved her story, and it inspired me to write an army fic of my own (I'm in no way taking her story and making it my own, this idea is different than hers). I do absolutely recommend you reading her story too, it's so heartwarming and touching, it will make you crave to read other army fics. That's what happened to me, lol.

I promise you this fic will have a happy ending as I do not like writing one-shots and fics that make you feel like things are incomplete. I also refuse to write something sad, like character death, so you can all breathe a little easier now. I promise, Logan and James will not die and they will stay together!

Kendall and Carlos are mentioned in this fic, and they're there for a little bit, but I didn't list them as characters because they're not essential to this one-shot. It's all about James and Logan.

Oh yeah, and in case you didn't catch it before, this is a SLASH FIC! James and Logan are romantically involved… If that aint your thing, then you don't have to read beyond this point, but I recommend you do read because if you're a sucker for romance like I am, sexuality won't matter.

There's another author's note at the end of the fic, and also I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors.

So without further a do…

I do not own BTR or anything you may recognize.

It's been 2 years. 2 long years since James signed up for the U.S. Army. 2 lonely years since James was shipped off to fight. 2 years since we've really spent a long amount of time together. And I'm sick of it.

When James first came to me to tell me about his decision, I can't say I was happy. In fact, to me, it was out of the blue, he never spoke about it before, and it made me wonder how long he'd been thinking about it. When he came to me, I remember he was sitting in our living room, I had just come home from work, and he gently told me to come sit with him. I honestly had no idea what to expect, he was so nervous and quiet, I thought he was going to tell me someone died. He took my hands in his and told me how he enlisted himself into the United States Army and that he was being shipped off to boot camp in 2 weeks.

At first I didn't know how to react. I knew if I started crying and screaming at him, it wouldn't change his decision. If anything, it would put more of a distance between us; he wouldn't be able to respect me in respecting his decision. My thought process then deduced to that I could feel however I want, as long as I can show I respect his choice, and look forward to when he can return home.

I barely slept the nights leading up to his departure. Of course, we spent practically all our time together, doing things we've always said we wanted to do, but never got around to doing. So when the time finally came for me to drive him to the airport the morning of his departure, I knew it was going to be hard. I did my best to stay strong, to show him I can handle it, but he saw right through me. He took me in his arms, whispered how much he loves me, and how much he'll miss me, and at that, I cracked. I broke down, and let out everything I've been holding in for the past 2 weeks. I was able to get myself together to say a final goodbye to him, and as much as I wanted him to promise me he'll come home, I know it's not a promise that he could necessarily keep. So with one last kiss, he was off, I sure hoped I would be able to see his handsome face again soon.

~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~

We keep in touch as much as we could; Skype and phone calls are our choice for communication, although we had some snail mail in between. He was able to get leave for Christmas and our anniversary, but those were only for a couple of days at most.

My friends and family have helped me feel less lonely, but that feeling always comes back whenever they have to go home. It also helps when I talk to James, but as soon as it's time to hang up, the feeling comes back. I guess I can't help but feel lonely; it's really nothing anyone can do to change that.

I've been feeling really down this past week- it's my birthday week. My other 2 best friends, Carlos and Kendall, have helped me get out of the house and, in their own way, have tried to help me celebrate my birthday. I've noticed James sounding and acting weird when we've spoken this week, and to be honest it's kind of freaking me out a little. I'm always afraid he found someone out where he's at, someone better than me and can be with him all the time out there so I'm not his burden. I always feel like a burden to him, that he has to call and Skype me whenever he can just because I want to talk to him. I try not to think about it.

~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~

"Logie… LLLLLOOOOGGGIIIIEEEE… HORTENSE LOGAN MITCHELL WAKE THE FUCK UP IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!" Carlos screams.

I roll over and look him dead in the eyes, "Carlos, leave me alone. I just want to sleep."

Carlos didn't take no for an answer and starts to rock my shoulder, "Nah-uh no siree bob are you sleeping the day away! It's your birthday! Kendall, your mom, and I have a whole day planned for you, so wakey wakey."

I groan, and finally accept that Carlos isn't going to leave me alone. "Ok fine, I'm awake. Where's Kendall? I'd expect him to be up your ass about something right about now."

"He's uh… He's saving a grizzly bear from being converted into a polar bear, yeah that's what he's doing." Carlos seems so proud of his lie.

"Whatever you say, Carlitos. Now, can you give me 10 minutes to shower and get ready?"

With a nod from Carlos, he left me alone so I can finally get myself together. As I jump into the shower, I begin to wonder why everyone seems so weird lately. Kendall is apparently "saving grizzly bears", Carlos is lying-horribly might I add, and James just has this nervous energy. When I spoke to him last night, he could barely keep on subject, and always bouncing around. I mean, usually James makes a big deal about birthdays and this year, he hasn't really spoken much about my birthday. Oh well, maybe I'll get a "happy birthday" from him tonight if he can get away to call or Skype me.

I make my way downstairs when I finish up, and I see Kendall, Carlos, and my mom sitting in my living room, looking like they're waiting for me.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!" They all shout, and even my mom comes forward to put a birthday hat on my head.

I look at my best friends and my mom, and I cant help but have tears come to my eyes. If only James were here, it would make it all feel complete. I turn to my mom; she always knows how to make me feel better.

"Logan, why don't you open your gifts, they're in the kitchen." She rubs my shoulder, and walks with me into the kitchen. I see on the table there are a few gifts. However, she directs me to a big gift, sitting in the middle of the room.

Kendall leads me away from the table, "I got this delivered to me this morning, it's your gift, go ahead and open it first."

I stare at the gift, not being able to even fathom what's inside. I walk around it, still amazed at how big it is, and what could possibly be inside it. I can tell everyone is getting impatient.

"JUST OPEN IT ALREADY" Yep, Carlos is definitely impatient.

I start by ripping off the wrapping paper. I can see in my peripherals Kendall holding Carlos back, I'm sure he wants to help with ripping the paper off. As I finish getting all the paper off, I see a huge cardboard box, with "LOGAN MITCHELL" written on the front. I can already tell this is James's gift, just because I know his handwriting like as if it were mine. Now, I'm super excited! I go to the top, where I see it isn't taped down, and all of a sudden…

"SURPRISE!"

"AHHHHHHH" and that is all I said before I fainted…

~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~

"Everybody stand back, let's give him room to breathe!" I heard the familiar voice say, albeit fuzzy, right near me. My heart begins to beat rapidly, and I already smell that familiar smell.

I open my eyes, and see the most beautiful sight right in front of me. I can't help but smile.

"Finally, I can do this!" And he comes forward and plants the sweetest kiss on my lips. "Happy Birthday, baby!"

My James has surprised me, and I cannot believe they all were able to pull it off, pretty much almost seamlessly. I truly had no idea what was going on, although I suspected something, but nothing like this.

Tears start rolling down my cheeks, and I look into his eyes. "Thank you, baby, for making my birthday the best one yet."

James melts, and places another kiss upon my lips. "You're welcome baby. I know you hate surprises, but I couldn't resist.

I smile in response, and finally stand up. James immediately comes and puts his arms around me, and I grip onto him as tight as I can go. James just grips on tighter, and I couldn't feel safer then at that moment. I know I'm going to be a mess once he has to go back, but for now, we won't think about that.

~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~

The party is in full swing, everyone enjoying him or herself. I still cannot believe James is standing right next to me. He looks so good, and I can tell he's gained some muscle since the last time I saw him. He looks leaner, and yet much more massive at the same time. It doesn't matter that he's telling the same story fifty thousand times, I'm just so grateful that I can hear his voice loud and clear and in-the-flesh, instead of the static from long-distance.

"So James, how were you able to pull this off?" I hear Lucy, a mutual friend of ours, ask him.

"Well, I had this idea for months now, and believe me, it killed me everyday that I couldn't share it with my Logie. I did let Kendall and Carlos know, and I was afraid that at least Carlos wouldn't be able to keep the secret. I landed at the airport really early this morning, after flying most of the day yesterday, and Kendall picked me up and brought me back to the house. Logan's mom had a huge box waiting for me, with a ton of wrapping paper, and well, you know the rest. I tried my best to make it seem like I didn't realize what day was coming up, I just wanted Logan to feel really surprised. And I think I did that, especially since he fainted." Everyone, of course, laughed at my own expense. But, how would they react if the love of their lives surprised them on their birthday by coming home from being overseas, fighting a dangerous war?

"I had a feeling something was up, but I didn't expect anything like this." I added after James was finished.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Let's move on over to the kitchen for some cake and presents!" My mom directed to everyone.

James takes my hand in his, and we walk into the kitchen together. I know I probably sound like a teenage girl with all this James talk, but I'm sorry, it's just how I feel. Just the feeling of being able to hold his hand is indescribable. Whenever he leaves, I always prepare myself for the worst, because you truly don't know if he will come home again. I always try not to take anything for granted when it comes to James now.

My mom brings out the cake, and everyone sings happy birthday. I see my mom got one of those photo cakes, and the photo is of James and me, probably from last Christmas. As my mom cuts into the cake and helps serve everyone, I bring James aside, because I'm dying to know something, and I'm sure I should probably wait, but I can't wait any longer.

"So, how long are you here for?"

"Let's not think about that right now Logie, it's your Birthday, you shouldn't be upset." James tells me as he hugs me.

"I've waited long enough, James, and no matter when you tell me, nothing will change the feeling of when you have to leave again." I try to reason with him.

James takes a deep breath, "Just, let's wait till later. Until everyone leaves, then we'll talk about that. Ok?"

I know I'm not going to get anywhere far with this, so I just nod and resolve into waiting just a little bit longer. James and I return to the kitchen, Kendall notices the frown on my face, and decides to help change that.

"Let's open some presents!" Kendall suggests, and he gathers everyone's gifts so that I can open them.

~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~

I appreciate all the gifts people have gotten me; many gift cards to my favorite stores, new books for me to read, a new watch from Kendall, a new indestructible phone case from Carlos. But, besides himself, James has yet to give me his gift. And I can see he's just as nervous about it as I am.

"So, I have a 2 part gift, well 3 if you count me earlier. But, I think I should give you this now," James starts.

He hands me an envelope with shaky hands, a normal letter-sized envelope. I open it up, and see that it's in letter format, addressed to James. I continue to read, and then I get to the bottom line, and I must read it out loud.

"I hereby declare, CPL James Diamond, a civilian of the United States of America. He has served his time fighting for freedom, and has proved worthy of this country. He is no longer needed for service."

And at that, I let out a loud, huge sob, and fell to the floor. Falling to the floor 2 times in one day has definitely set a record for me.

There's not a dry eye in the room, even Kendall and Carlos are openly crying, happy that they've got their best friend back for good. Mrs. Diamond has joined me on the floor, which leads me to believe that she, too, didn't know that James is now officially home for good. James wraps his arms around the both of us, also openly crying, because he's just so happy. Everyone is just so happy. We no longer have to worry about if James is safe. I no longer have to cry myself to sleep, and wake up plagued with dreams that officers came to my door to inform me of James's death. I have James with me to stay, and I am NEVER letting him leave my side ever again. I will tie him to the bed and never let him go if he decides to pull a stunt like that ever again.

After everyone has collected themselves (and well, in my case, picked myself up off the floor), we proceeded with some other gifts, like a hefty check from Mrs. Diamond for both James and me to use on stuff, my mom got me a gift certificate from one of our favorite furniture stores so we can furnish the house a little more, Ms. Knight and Katie gave me a gift certificate for couples cooking lessons so James and I can learn to cook more, and The Garcia's gave me a very nice (and expensive Italian leather) wallet, because they know how much I've complained over the years that I need a new wallet. This was the best birthday ever, and I feel like I'm on cloud nine, and never want to come back down to reality.

~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~

After everyone but all of our families left (Kendall and Carlos's family also stayed behind), we all sat around in James and my den, the fireplace going, and just talking. There was a mutual feeling of relief and happiness that was tangible throughout the room because we know our James is not leaving ever again.

Suddenly, James cleared his throat.

"Well, I still have one more present to give to you. And I wanted to wait until it was just us that were left, just because I'd like to keep this as intimate as possible, while keeping everyone that we love with us." James then turns and gets me up off the couch; he brings me up with him. "Logan, we've been together for pretty much our entire lifetime. We've been best friends since we were five, and lovers since we were sixteen. As far as I'm concerned, we've been together forever, and there's nothing I would ever think about changing. You've been by my side through everything, and even the most recent deployment, you never abandoned me. I truly thought you were going to break up with me the day I came to you about me enlisting, and I couldn't tell you how happy I was that you not only respected my decision, but stayed with me through all of these hard times." James starts to tear up, "Things out there are not easy, and I've probably seen things no person should ever see, but because I knew I had you waiting for me, I was able to go forward, and come out of this alive. I love you, more than words can say, and," James gets down on his knees and takes Logan's hand in his, "it would be my honor to call you my husband. Will you marry me Hortense Logan Mitchell?"

I didn't even hesitate, "Yes yes yes yes yes!" And I jumped into his arms with my legs wrapped around him, and once again, sobbed like a baby. Not only do I have James home for good, but also now he's my fiancée. Hortense Logan Diamond… Hmmmm, I love the sound of that.

~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~

We finally got undressed and decided to snuggle together in bed. I finally got to see James shirtless since he's returned home and I must say, I can't wait to ravage him whenever I want to, there's no more time limit.

"So, when did you decide to come home for good?"

James kissed my head and responded, "After I returned back to camp from Christmas, I realized I couldn't do this back and forth thing for much longer. And when the opportunity came up to reenlist, I decided against it. I already reenlisted twice, and I felt it was enough. I still had my life, and I still felt prideful of doing what I could for this country, and my Sergeant didn't have an issue with me not reenlisting, so I took the opportunity to come home, and it was by coincidence that the time was your birthday."

I seemed to mull that over, and couldn't believe my luck. I once thought I was the unluckiest guy in the world, but I think today that has changed.

"Thank you, James, for everything. Especially today. You're my hero." And I said this while looking into his eyes.

James's eyes misted over, "You're welcome, Logie." And he leaned in to kiss me again. This time, letting the kiss get heated a little bit.

He pulled away for a second, but only to say, "Well, it still is your Birthday, so why don't we celebrate the right way?" And he started to do his eyebrow thing.

"Why, James Diamond, shouldn't we also celebrate how we can do this whenever we want to now?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

And with that, every single one of my wishes came true…

Happy Birthday to me.

So, this was on my computer left unfinished for months. I finally got the inspiration to finish this, as well as, the inspiration to continue on with my other multi-chaptered fics, so expect updates for those within the next few weeks. I apologize for being absent for so long. Besides grad school, work has me like… And well, hopefully, I'll be working somewhere new soon, so crossing my fingers that things get a little better.

I think this is my longest one-shot to date. I may be wrong, so don't sue me. Please review!

Again, that you to my wonderful friend, Kaylee (JMLHCPKSfan) for the inspiration. I hope you all enjoy

Xoxo