AN: This was written off of a head canon that I saw about Preston joining themilitary after he graduates and ends up giving Macey his dog tags which she always wears. There are three sections in this that do involve a bit of a time jump.

I'm honestly not sure where this came from either.

Disclaimer: I'm not Ally Carter so I own nothing; I'm simply just borrowing the characters for a while.

448: After he graduates, Preston joins the military. To this day, Macey still wears the dog tags he gave her.

Symbols

Sunlight streamed through the open curtains, filling the room with light. The girl stood in the doorway, staring as the boy paced back and forth obviously lost in thought.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked him.

He stopped pacing and glanced up at her. "Mace, I've never been surer about anything else."

A small smile appeared on her lips before quickly disappearing again. As much as she hated to admit it, she actually liked his nickname for her. Though, she'd never let anyone else call her that.

She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. "What brought this up?"

Preston sighed. "I want to do something good with my life…I want to make up for whatever pain and destruction my father caused. I want to be able to serve my country and make a difference."

"You want to get away from everything that's happened lately," she said. It was a statement, not a question. She knew he was still shaken up over his father's untimely death, the Alaskan prison, and the circle in general.

He sighed. "That's partly the reason."

She let her arms drop and walked into the room. He gaze fell on the empty suitcase sitting in the middle of his bed, surrounding by random particles of clothing.

"You haven't packed yet?" she questioned.

He turned his head for a moment. "I was in the middle of packing but…I got distracted and lost in thought – ended up thinking over this past year. And a bit about the future."

"I'm not going to tell you it gets better, but it will become easier to live with," she told him.

"I still find myself wondering how my father, my family got involved in all of that mess," Preston said, eventually.

"That's something you may never know the answer to," Macey responded. "But constantly wondering and dwelling on something like that won't do any good to anything."

"I know," Preston admitted.

"Hey," Macey stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Despite this past year, I'm sure everything worked out for the best. Even if we're all different people now."

"We're all stronger because of it."

Macey nodded, agreeing. Things may be different, they may be different but everything they've been through since the campaign has made them who they are today.

And she wouldn't trade that for anything.

She gripped the dog tags in her hand as she crossed to her bed. She hasn't taken them off since the day Preston gave them to her – except to shower. And then they're always the first thing she puts back on afterwards.

She remembered that short visit last spring when he'd shown up and surprised her right before he was shipped out. Now he was halfway across the world in a foreign country where it was most likely morning where it was nighttime for her.

It didn't seem real that it'd already been almost two years since she'd last seen him. Not counting quick visits here and there or the few months he had off between tours.

She closed her eyes for a moment, wanting to relive the day he gave her the dogs tags.

She heard the familiar voice but couldn't believe it was real. He couldn't be here.

She turned around and felt a goofy grin creep up on her face and her gaze fell on Preston, standing there in front of her. She wasn't sure who moved first, but the space between them quickly lessened and she was standing directly in front of him.

He looked different, more fit than before and his hair was cut. No longer did he sport the thick wavy strands that always fell onto his forehead. Instead, he wore a close buzz cut.

It suited him.

Macey let Preston pull her into a hug and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his shoulder. She missed the feel of his arms around her and how easily she fit into him.

She reluctantly pulled back and looked at him. "Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to tell you in person that I'm shipping out tomorrow," Preston told her. "There's also something I wanted to give you before I left."

He stepped out of the embrace and reached up to the chain he wore, quickly pulling it over his head. He held his hand out to Macey.

Her eyes widen for a moment. "Your dog tags?"

Preston nodded. "I have two pairs of them and I wanted you to have these."

She smiled as Preston placed the chain over her head and let the dog tags fall against her chest. She kissed him and pulled him in for another hug.

She smiled at the memory.

Macey glanced down at herwrist, almost scoffing at the Spiderman watch she decided to wear that morning. Her reasoning was ridiculous and anyone who saw it would probably think she was weird, but she found comfort in the old, somewhat dorky and childish watch.

She felt the cool metal of the dog tags against her chest underneath her blouse, tucked away safely under layers of clothing. Another thing she always found comfort in.

It was one of those days where she was missing Preston. Again.

As annoying as he could be at times, she missed him. His one-side goofy smile, the eyes she could easily get lost in. How they could talk all through the night about nothing and everything. How they could sit in a comfortable silence, not talking and just enjoying the other's company.

She'd received letters from him every so often and when she found some down time between defending the president and his family, she wrote back.

The sound of static in her eye pulled her out of her thoughts and she rattled off a response.

Her eyes roamed over the crowd, even lost in thought, her senses were always on alert. One of the many things she picked up back at Gallagher.

She looked for anything that appeared off, her eyes floating around the room, taking everything in. Familiar faces of other agents, people she'd seen at other events and new faces alike standing around the room, all listening to what the president was speaking about.

"Hey there," a familiar voice said, reminding her of the day at the world expo the previous spring.

She spun around and standing inches away was none other than Preston. She felt herself moving towards him and throwing her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and spinning them in a circle before setting her back down again.

She didn't care that she was working or that they were most likely drawing attention to themselves. All she cared about was Preston and the fact that he was here. That she was in his arms again. She took a breath, feeling content when her sinuses were met with the smell of him.

She pulled her head back. "How long is this visit?"

"I'm home for good," Preston told her and pulled her in for a kiss.

Even to this day, years later, she never took off the dog tags.