This is my first fanfic ever. I was a little apprehensive about it because I never let anyone read my stories but i decided that it was probably time. This is a Brucas one-shot. You don't have to leave a review but comments are always welcome.

I watched Flags of Our Fathers the other day and I got this idea and had to write it down. It sort of is loosely related to the movie but it's not based on it. I got the title from the movie Letters from Iwo Jima but this one-shot has nothing to do with that movie.

Summary: It is a letter that Lucas has written in present day about his time in the war. He writes about his thoughts and journey during WWII.

A Letter from Iwo Jima

The date was February 22, 1945. I was there for four days and I already wanted to be back at home. I remember sitting in a dirt hole about three feet deep on the island of Iwo Jima. It was WWII and we were trying to take over the island. Four days. Four whole days of nothing but dirt and gun fire. Bodies were everywhere. Both from our side and the Japanese side. I had sat with my two buddies who were consequently drafted into the war. They are my best friends, my brothers.

To the left of me was my second oldest brother Jake and to the right of me was my youngest brother Nathan. That was how it always was back then; the three of us together, helping each other out. See, unlike them, I wanted to go to that war. I wanted to fight for my country and save the men who were injured. I was a U.S navy corpsman and I helped soldiers who were wounded or horribly injured. My brothers were in the Marines. Even though they didn't want to be there, they still fought with all they had in them.

They were waiting to get back home to their wives and children. Nathan is married to Haley Davis and Jake is married to Peyton Davis. Nathan and Haley had two girls. One was two and one was six months at the time. Jake and Peyton had one boy and one girl. The boy was four and the girl was one at the time. They were waiting for their husbands to return.

I had someone back home, someone special, and she is the best person in my life. She made me into the man I am today. She brightens my day and she was the one person that kept me alive there. I do have kids, three of them, but without my wife, I would be nothing. Her name was Brooke Davis. Well, it's actually Brooke Davis Scott. Like me, Brooke is the oldest of her sisters. Then it's Peyton and then Haley. We got married when we were eighteen and had been married for eight years. It's weird to think that the Scott brothers married the Davis sisters, which we were known as up until college. Once I had laid my eyes one her, I knew I would spend the rest of my life with her.

We have two six year-old twin boys, Dylan and Harlon, and one three year old girl, Sophia Katherine. They are the most beautiful children I have ever seen and I'm not just saying that because they are my kids.

Thinking about them during that battle I remember feeling jealous because Jake and Nathan had gotten shot and they were sent home. At home they could see their family and on that island all I got to see were hundreds of soldiers that I had come to know, dead in the dirt of that god forsaken island.

That next morning, February 23, we were told that we had to walk up the hill of Surbachi and capture the hill and make sure that there weren't any enemies hiding up there. It was strangely quiet and our Commander had wanted us to go raise the U.S flag at the top of the hill. That wasn't the first 'flag rising' but since one of the Colonels wanted the flag, we had to take it down and put another one up. As I walked up the steep hill with the gun in my hands, I remembered searching the mountain-like terrain for Japanese soldiers. When we got to the top, one of the runners that were sent up with the flag handed it to me while another soldier got the pole. I tied it onto the pole and me and five other men raised it and stuck it in the ground. Two photographers that were there were taking pictures of us.

Nobody really noticed the raising of the second flag but I guess it didn't matter. All that mattered was that maybe, just maybe, we would get to go home and that flag meant the battle was over and maybe even the war. I was too busy smiling and taking pictures with the five soldiers to notice three Japanese soldiers hiding. The photographers had just gone down the hill when the Japanese started shooting at us. I didn't even have time to move out of the way before two bullets hit me; one in the arm and one in the stomach. The only thing that was clear in my mind was not the men screaming or the guns being fired but it was my wife, Brooke, and the boys, and my little baby girl. I could remember every detail of my life up until that moment that I was shot, and the only thing that had kept me alive was the promise I made back in May in 1944 just before I had to be shipped to Germany. I had made my wife a promise and I was not about to let her or my children down.

Flashback

We were lying in bed that morning. The children were still asleep but we weren't. It was hard sleeping when you knew you could never come back to the life you had made for yourself. I held Brooke in my arms while she silently cried. I whispered encouraging words to help suppress the tears but I knew nothing I could ever say could make her feel better.

She had been angry at me for signing up and I really don't blame her. I wanted to prove that I could fight and protect our country. She had told me I was foolish for nearly asking for death. At the time I didn't care but now that I think about it, I really wish I wouldn't have signed up.

As I slowly got up to leave, she tried with all her might to hold me back down. When I turned to her, I saw that her eyes were swollen and her nose was red but she was still so beautiful.

"Do you really have to go?" She asked. Her voice was shaky and quiet.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave. I can't be late."

I saw her eyes tremble like she was going to start crying again but she held it together because in the hall you could hear our kids getting up. I kissed her and the got up to leave the room. When I got downstairs I saw Dylan and Harlon sitting on the couch playing with their toys. I walked up to them and kneeled on the floor so that I was eye level to them. They both knew I was going away and they seemed to be holding up okay. I told them I would be back soon and that I loved them. They gave me a small smile and hugged me. As soon as they hugged me, Dylan whispered, "be safe daddy," and Harlon whispered, "I'll miss you." That brought tears to my eyes. I didn't know how long I would be gone and I didn't want to miss anything that they would learn how to do while I was away at war.

"Take care of your mother and sister for me okay?" I told them and they had nodded.

Standing in the doorway watching was Brooke, who had Sophia in her arms. I walked over to her and picked my little girl up and hugged her. She kissed my cheek and told me she loved me. I kissed her forehead and said that I loved her too. When I set her down she walked over to the boys and sat on the couch with them. I turned to my wife and smiled even though it killed me to leave her, I smiled. I was trying to make light of the situation but she saw through my smile. She hugged me and when she broke away I kissed her with all that I had.

When we stopped for necessary air, I put my forehead to hers and looked her in the eye. She only said two words.

"Promise me."

"Promise you what?" I asked with curiosity.

"Promise me that you will come back alive from this war. I don't want you to leave me or the kids. I don't think I could go on alone without you." Tears started to cloud her vision.

"Yes you could. You could go on without me because you are strong like that. If anything were to happen to me, I know for a fact that you would be alright. It might take awhile but you would be alright."

She kept shaking her head. "No…promise me. Please. I don't want to have to live without you. You might be right but I wouldn't want to live without you. It would be to hard."

I smiled and said, "Of course I'm right." She quietly laughed and then she got serious and looked me in the eye. "I promise you that I will come back home alive. I promise and I will not break that promise to you." With that said I kissed her one last time and grabbed me bags and walked towards the door. Before I left I turned around and when I saw her I just couldn't move without saying something. I quickly walked back to her and lifted her up in my arms and kissed her on the forehead, nose, and both cheeks. I then kissed her on the lips and said, "I love you." She smiled through the tears and heartache and said, "I love you too." I placed her down and gathered my things and left. Tears started to appear in my eyes, but I promised myself I would be strong and not cry but it was too hard to leave her and my family behind. I didn't look back because I knew if I did, I would never leave.

End of Flashback

The last thing I could recall after that, was being carried down the hill back to the base by one of my unit's medic and my friend, Zach. I never got to thank him; I soon learned that he had died saving me. He was the reason I am alive and got to see my family.

The day I got home was when the war had ended. It was September 2, 1945. I had to spend seven months healing and recovering in the hospital in Washington D.C. Apparently, no one had known when I was coming home or even if I was okay for that matter. They just knew that I had been shot and that I was in critical condition.

When I walked up my front porch to the door to my house, I looked into the window. It was early in the morning and I could see Brooke lying on the couch with tear stains on her face. It broke my heart to see her so hurt and I felt so bad that I couldn't get in touch with her to tell her that I was alright. I knocked on the door waiting patiently for her to open it. I waited close to eight months for this but I still wasn't going to barge into my house and scare her. I waited for her to wake up and open the door. I knew what she was doing behind the door. She was silently crying but trying furiously to stop the tears from flowing so she could look presentable for whoever might be on the other side of the door. As she opened the door she didn't look up until I had lifted her chin and smiled. She smiled so big, showing off her dimples and that only made my heart leap for joy to finally be able to see her. She jumped into my arms and the only thing that I said was, "I promised, didn't I?"

Looking back as I write this letter, I remember how horrible it was for me to be away from the love of my life and my family. Yeah it was only five days of battle on that island, but it was a year of war and seven months of recovery where anything could have happened.

The End