AN: I do not own anything but Dana.

In this story Lennox is not married.

"Dana, you know Dad didn't mean it," a twelve year-old Samuel Wit icky softly said with tears in his eyes.

His older sister scoffed as she continued to throw random clothes into a duffel bag. "Dad never says things he doesn't mean. You know that, Sammy," Dana said through tears of her own.

"He loves you, Dana," Sam exclaimed as he watched his only sibling pack her life away. Dana just ignored him.

Sam sighed. "I love you, Dana."

The eighteen year-old ceased her packing as she sighed. She turned to face her younger brother who had tears streaming down his face.

Dana quickly walked over to the other side of her room and threw her arms around Sam. The pre-teen wrapped his lanky arms around his older sister.

"I love too, Sammy. I always will," Dana said through tears and a sniffle. "I just need to do my own thing for a bit. I need Mom and Dad off my back," Dana added in as she let go of her little brother.

"And that includes enlisting in the army?" Sam said with a huff. Dana opened her mouth to speak but Sam cut her off. "You know how dangerous that is? You could be killed!"

Dana looked at her brother and tilted her head. "What's that saying old Witwicky saying Dad always preached to us?"

Sam's eyes hardened as he shut his mouth. He knew the answer but he didn't want to give Dana the satisfaction of him answering.

Dana smirked.

"No sacrifice. No Victory."

6 years later Qatar

"Oh, man, after five months of this, I can't wait to get a little taste of home. A plate of mama's alligators etouffee," Chief Warrant Officer Jorge "Fig" Figueroa stated as he let out a breath. "Mmmmmm…Hmmmm."

Staff Sergeant Dana Epps scrunched up her nose in disgust as Technical Sergeant Robert Epps spoke up, "You've been talking about barbecued 'gators and crickets for the last two weeks. I'm never going to your mama's house, Fig. I promise."

Dana nodded, "I second that."

"But Bobby, Bobby," Fig continued. "Gators are known to have the most succulent meant." The Hispanic man then started to rattle in Spanish.

"English," Captain William Lennox said as he let out a breath as he glanced over at Dana who gave him a small smile.

"Yes, please. I mean we don't speak Spanish. I don't know how many times I've told ya that," the blonde female soldier stated with a happy smile.

"Why you gotta ruin it for me, Chica. That's my heritage," Fig complained.

"It causes she's a woman. They suck the fun out of everything," Epps joked as he playfully punched Dana in the shoulder.

Dana raised her eyebrows in a challenge. "Oh yeah? Hmmm.. You remember that the next time you radio in for back up in a firefight. I'm going to be like 'huh? Epps is calling in reinforcements. No… there must be some mistake… there's no way a big strong man like Epps is calling for help…He's a macho man…He can handle it without getting shot in the ass. Even if he does, he doesn't need little 'ole me to dig that bullet out of his fat ass.'"

Lennox threw his head back in laughter. Donnelly spit out the water he had taken a sip of as Epps gave Dana a dirty look.

"That was one time, and I tripped," Epps said.

"It was one time too many. I'm never going to get that image out of my head.

This caused Epps to smile, "I do have a nice ass."

Dana just made a gagging sound as she pretended to throw up.

"Hey, you guys remember weekends?" Donnelly asked in his Boston accent. "Huh? The Sox at Fenway. Cold hotdog and a flat beer."

"Perfect day," Fig said as sighed and leaned back. "What about you, Captain? Got a perfect day?

Lennox sighed and gave a quick glance over at Dana who didn't notice. However, a certain Air Force Sergeant did. Epps shook his head as his friend, wondering when his friend was going to grow some balls.

"Just a cold a beer and football game," Lennox answered.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Epps sarcastically whispered to himself.

"What about you, Miss Witwicky?" Fig asked Dana.

Dana smiled, "A margarita on a beach with a cabana boy."

All the men in the chopper howled in laughter.

"Thank the Lord…solid ground," Dana exclaimed as she rushed off the helicopter. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see base."

"Here, Here, sister," Fig stated in agreement as he hauled his gear off the chopper.

Dana gave him a small smile as she struggled with her own gear. "Motherfucker," she whispered to herself as a pain shot through her right shoulder. It's only been four months since she was shot. The limb was bound to be sore for a bit.

"Here. Let me grab that," Lennox came over and reached for her backpack. Dana pulled away from him.

"No, I'm a big girl. I can do it." She said defiantly.

Lennox smirked, "I know you can. But it doesn't mean you have to."

Dana huffed as a piece a blonde hair fell in her face. She quickly blew it out of the way, the throbbing in her shoulder getting a little worse.

"Fine," Dana said as she handed some of her gear over to her Captain.

Lennox smiled in victory. "Okay, let's get you to your quarters."

When the two arrived to Dana's makeshift quarters, Dana automatically plopped down her cot face first. "Ughhhh…" She moaned in annoyance.

Lennox laughed at his sergeant. "Okay, get up. Let's take a look at that shoulder."

"No," Dana mumbled with her face still in her pillow.

Lennox raised his eyebrows as he put his hands on his hips. "Either I can look at it or I can order you to go see Dr. Rushmore over in medical."

Dana groaned not wanting to go see the cranky doctor. "Fine, Fine, Fine." The female slowly got off her cot. She removed her tactical vest and then her jacket until she was left in her T-shirt.

Lennox's hands went straight to her shoulder. Dana winced as he applied light pressure to it. The Captain lightly felt around the limb, his fingers looking for anything abnormal. She could feel his breath on her face, the warmth of his body that was close to hers.

"May I?" He asked as he held onto her sleeve. Dana nodded as Lennox slowly lifted up the sleeve of her T-shirt to reveal a dark red scar where the bullet had passed through. Lennox ran his fingers over the red mark gently. Dana sucked in a breath as her eyes closed in contentment. His fingers traced over the scar as Dana's stomach was set on fire. Her heart started to beat out of her chest.

This is wrong, she thought to herself. He's her commanding officer. Dana's mind then drifted off to another scenario that not only involved Lennox's hands on her, but his mouth as well. She thought of his huge frame pressed against her as they both moaned in pleasure.

"That was one of the scariest moments of my life," Lennox whispered. Dana quickly shook herself out the fantasy that would never happen. She glanced up at her Captain to see his brown orbs staring down at her.

"What was?" She asked as she stared up into the dirty face of William Lennox. He still had dirt covered cheeks and his hair was a complete mess.

He's perfect

"The moment I saw you get hit," Lennox said more to himself, "I swear my heart stopped."

Dana's eyes went wide as her heart stopped right there. He's your captain. It's his job to make sure you don't get killed. He probably feels like that when any of his men get hurt

"Yeah, it must be hard being a leader and watching someone under your command get hurt. I can't imagine the responsibility you must feel," Dana responded, trying to be confident in her words.

Her words must have snapped the Captain out of his daze because his hand completely dropped from her shoulder as he stepped away from her. Dana kept her eyes on him.

Lennox was about to speak when a young private poked his head through the door.

"Sergeant Witwicky, you have a call."

Captain Lennox took another step away from the female soldier as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It's probably my parents," Dana said softly as she put her jacket back on. "I should probably..." She said as she pointed towards the exit.

Lennox cleared his throat, "Yeah, go talk to your family. I'll see you at the debriefing."

Dana gave a small smile "Yes, sir."

Please let me know what you think and leave a review if you want to see it continued.

Thank you!