I really hope you like this story! Enjoy!
POV Veronica
"Easy there, V." Lily said as she dodged a punch. We were in the ring throwing some punches for training and for the hell of it. Life on base could be pretty boring. Lily Williams was a Navy corpsmen, or in other words, a medic for the Marines corps. We were in a squad together in Iraq and we've been friends ever since. She had her long blonde hair pulled back and her white tank top clung to her. She banged her gloves together and put up to her face, resuming her stance.
"Come on Lily, give me a challenge." I replied, taking another swing at her. This time she blocked and hit me in the ribs. "Ohh, there we go." I said with a smile.
"Can I join you?" Rachel asked as she walked in with her gym bag. Her shoulder length auburn hair was a mess, which meant she probably either went for a run or just woke up. She sat down and started to wrap her hands in tape.
"Yeah, I'm done anyway." Lily laughed as I walked her last hit off. Lily stepped out of the ring as Rachel stepped in, putting her gloves on.
"Alright Woods, let's do this." Rachel said, raising her gloves and getting into position.
"Damn Adams, eager much?" I laughed as we started.
"Hey ladies! Captain wants you in his office pronto!" Evan said, walking in. I frowned.
"Fuck off Smith, we just got started." Rachel replied.
"Sorry man, but he called a lot of us in. You're going to want to hear this."
"This better be good." I mumbled.
A few minutes later and we were all sitting in the Captain's office. The Captain was an older man and was pretty hardcore. I looked around and frowned. It was only me, Rachel, Lily, Evan , and Jason. Oh yeah Evan, that's a lot of us.
"Alright," Captain said as he sat down at his desk. "Early this morning, one of our squads on patrol came across a man in the middle of nowhere. It was Alex Mason." Everyone grew quiet. Everybody knew Alex Mason. He and Frank Woods were legends in the Marines. Hell, they were legends in every branch of military. True heroes. Apparently awhile back, Mason went on a secret mission without Woods and ended up missing. Everyone assumed he was dead. So Frank ended up with Mason's son. But apparently we were wrong.
"Alex Mason? The Alex Mason?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, Adams." Captain replied.
"So, what do we do?" I asked.
"Well Mason and Woods had a lot of enemies. We fear that the finding of Alex Mason will cause such enemies to attempt to assassinate them both. I'm sending three of you to go and retrieve Sargent Frank Woods from a nursing home. Bring him here. We'll contact the Navy Seals and have them assist in securing the two's safety.
"The Seals? That's a little much, don't you think? I mean, they're used for higher operational missions." Lily replied.
"No, I want to make sure nothing happens to these men. Besides, one of them is David Mason, the son of Alex Mason. I'm sure he would want to be part of this."
"Right, well, who's going?" Evan asked.
"Adams, Woods, and Williams. I want you ready to go as soon as possible."
"So is it me, or is it weird that you and this veteran have the same last name?" Rachel asked as we drove to the nursing home.
"Its a very common name." I replied, keeping my eyes on the road. I lost rock, paper, scissors, so I was the driver.
"Yeah, but you have a different last name than your mom and dad. Plus, you don't look like him. At all." I sighed. We all had a running joke that I wasn't my father's and that I was adopted. All because I didn't look like my dad. My father had brown eyes and my mom had green. I have blue. My father's hair was red and my mom was blonde. I have black hair. They were never able to have kids besides me and their love died so long ago, that sometimes I wondered if they ever even loved each other in the first place.
"Do you think that this could be...?"
"No, Rachel. It's just a joke." I replied quickly.
"Are we there yet? We've been driving for hours." Lily said from the backseat. I glanced at the GPS.
"We'll be there in a few minutes." I replied. We took a few turns here and there, passing some houses. Finally, we pulled into the driveway. The red brick building was huge. But it had trees surrounding it, making the place decent. Rachel groaned.
"Let's get this shit over with." she mumbled as she got out of the car. I shut the car off and followed her.
"Two Marines and a chick from the Navy going to visit a nursing home. All in a days work." Lily said.
"Are you kidding? We do this shit all the time." Rachel replied. I laughed as we approached the front door entrance.
"Sargent Frank Woods, please." I said to the nurse sitting at the front desk.
"He is outside in the back with two other visitors, hun. Follow this hallway and make a right, walk a little then take the first left. The door at the end of that hallway will lead you outside." she replied.
"Thank you, ma'am." she smiled and we walked away.
"So who are his other visitors? Did another branch try and get him for themselves?"
"I don't know. It's not like he's an object Rachel." I replied.
"I feel like we're out of place." Lily muttered.
"Well sweetie, we have our camo on. And we're in a fucking nursing home. So yeah, we don't fit in here."
"Alright smartass," Lily replied. We walked outside and looked around. There was an old man in a wheelchair sitting by a bench with two men. One of the men were standing by the old man and his black hair was a mess and had a beard. The other guy was sitting on the bench and he ran his hand through his brown hair. They were in deep conversation. The beard guy bust out laughing at something the old man said and the other one just shook his head.
"That must be him. Shall we?" I said as we started walking toward the men. It was quiet since we were the only ones out here. The beard guy looked over and crossed his arms as we approached.
"Well hello ladies." he said when we finally reached them.
"What the fuck are you talking about? Did nurse batshit bring my smokes?" the old man asked as he turned his chair around to look at us. Rachel laughed.
"Two Marines and a Navy woman, sir." the beard guy replied.
"No shit." Woods replied. I looked at him. I really looked at him and noticed something. His eyes. They were the same blue as mine. My breath caught in my throat. No fucking way. This had to be a coincidence.
"So are you nurse batshit or can I have the honors?" Rachel asked glancing at me.
"I think I'll let you have this one." I replied.
"What's going on?" the brown haired man asked. I looked over and got a better look at him. He had the most gorgeous hazel eyes I'd ever seen. He stood up and I noticed just how tall he really was. There was no doubt that this guy was by far the handsome guy I'd ever seen. I became nervous. This situation was not the best. I directed my attention back to the old man.
"I'm Sargent Veronica-"
"Sergent Veronica Woods, yeah I know." the old man said. "Your Captain said something about you coming here."
"He told you about the mission?" Rachel asked, confused. The old man looked between me and Rachel. Something wasn't right here. I continued.
"Well this is Sargent Rachel Adams and Corpsmen Lily Williams. We're here to escort you back to base."
"Back to base? What the fuck for?"
"For your protection, sir." Rachel replied.
"Protection? I'm in a god damned wheelchair and in a fucking nursing home."
"Due to recent events-" Lily started.
"What events?" the beard guy asked.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Rachel asked.
"Mike Harper, Navy Seal." he replied.
"And this is David Mason. Another Navy Seal." Woods said pointing to the other guy.
"Now tell us what the hell is going on." Harper demanded.
"Sargent Woods-"
"Alex Mason has been found. Alive." I said interrupting Rachel. I was tired of beating around the bush. We needed to get to the point and get out of here.
"Holy shit. Where's the fucker been hiding all these years?" Woods asked.
"We're not sure. But we have to take you to base. We think that Mason's return will provoke an attack on the two of you." I replied.
"What the fuck?" I looked over at David Mason. Confusion was written all over his face.
"I know this is a lot for you to take in but our Captain insists that your Seal team stay on base with us as well."
"I'll ride with you and Woods. Harper, take the car and get the rest of the team." David began pushing Woods towards the building.
"Well that went well." Rachel said.
When we got Woods packed, we put him in the car with David. Lily sat in the back with them while Rachel and I sat in the front. And of course I was driving. It was awkward and quiet. Rachel sighed.
"I need some music." Rachel said.
"You need a lot of things." I said.
"Cute, V... Real cute."
"Just saying." Lily chuckled.
"How about some lunch?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.
"Hell yeah! I need a fucking cheeseburger." Woods said from the back and we all busted out laughing.
We stopped at a Burger King. Rachel and Lily ran inside to get food while David and I waited outside by the car. It was weird, but my whole body seemed... aware of him.
He wore a black shirt, a tan jacket and a pair of jeans. He didn't look like a Seal at all... And we were just standing there in awkward silence...
"I'm sorry." I said suddenly, breaking the ice. He looked at me, confused.
"For what?" he asked.
"It must be hard for you. Finding out your dad is alive and stuff."
"It must be just as hard on you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, your dad is in the car and you've been ordered to protect him and everything, but you haven't seen him in years."
"My dad? Oh no, I've never seen him before in my life. Besides, my father died a few years ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine. We weren't really that close anyway."
"I'm sorry, I just assumed... You have the same last name and you look a lot alike. He always said he had a daughter but he never talked about her much. Weird how things turn out I guess."
"Yeah... Weird." I said quietly. We lapsed back into silence. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shook up by all of this. It was weird. Hell, it was crazy. Maybe he was a distant relative that I didn't know about or something like that.
I sighed in relief as Rachel and Lily came back with the food.
A few hours later, we pulled into the base. Woods was sleeping while Lily and David were talking about the Navy stuff. I parked the car.
"We're here." I announced as I shut the car off.
"Awesome. I'll get Woods in the wheelchair." David said, jumping out.
"Hey Woods, we're here." Rachel said, looking in the backseat. He stirred.
"It's about fucking time." Woods replied in a gruff voice. I chuckled.
"Alright old man." David said with a smile on his face. We finally got Woods in his wheelchair and headed to the Captain's office. Rachel and I led the way while Lily walked beside David as he pushed Woods. We approached the Captain's door and I knocked. Hearing a faint "Enter", we walked into the office and I froze. I saw the Captain and an old man. But sitting with them was the last person I expected to be there. My mom.
"Mom!" Rachel exclaimed as she ran to give my mom a hug. Lily looked at me in confusion while everyone was quiet as Rachel and mom hugged. I sighed and approached my mom.
"Fuck off, Rachel. She's my mom." I said as I hugged her. My mom chuckled.
"Veronica darling, how have you been?" she asked. I drew back and stood by Rachel.
"Great mom. Just coming back from a mission."
"I noticed that." she said as she glanced at Woods and gave him an uneasy smile. Then she looked away and blushed. I frowned. What the fuck was that about?
"Yeah. So what's up?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you at base?"
"I can't see how my Marine daughter is doing?"
"Sure, but you hate driving to base and you never just show up randomly."
"Well I wanted to surprise you."
"Surprising Marines isn't always a good thing." Rachel said, laughing. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this Alex Mason." Captain said, putting an end to our conversation. We looked over at the old man as he stood up. He looked a little like David, except, well, older and he had darker eyes.
"Mason, this is Sargent Woods and Sargent Adams. And of course, that's our Corpsman, Williams." Alex stuck out his hand and we shook hands as we were introduced.
"I love to have reunions, but I think David and Alex have some catching up to do. Let's get Frank settled. Veronica, I'm sure you could give your mother a tour of the base?"
"Yes, sir."
