After a flight, and a short car ride she finds herself standing in the exact spot she had stood four years earlier. She stares at a headstone that reads, Gabe Edward Cooper, 12/25/86-1/26/2006, A Courageous Hero. She ignores the cold, as a tear falls from her eye, and begins to travel down her cheek. She hears footsteps and turns to find a familiar figure standing close to her.

"Wilhelmina," he greets.

"Greyson," she answers.

He pulls an envelope out of the pocket of the jacket of his suit. He hands it to her.

"What's this?"

"Something that I should have given you four years ago," he admits.

She looks at the writing on the front of the letter. She instantly recognizes the handwriting. "I didn't read it."

"Thank you."

"I should have given it to you earlier, but I wasn't ready to let him go, and you were so angry."

"I'm still angry."

"I know."

"I can't blame you, because it wasn't your fault, not entirely."

"Why don't we have lunch?"

"Now you're trying to be amicable?"

"I'm trying to be a better person. Gabe would have wanted that."

"Gabe wanted a lot of things while he was living, yet you never gave him any of them."

"And I'll regret that until the day that I die. Please, can we try to be civil? We both made mistakes. We should try to move past them."

"Greyson I'll never be able to move past your mistakes."

"What about yours?"

"I live with them every day of my life."

"And they've made bitter, and intolerable."

"You're unbelievable."

He looks at the headstone, "I'm sorry. I'm being out of line. I'll go now."

"Don't leave. I don't want to have to mourn alone," she admits.

"We shouldn't have to be in mourning at all. I still don't understand what happened."

"You let a seventeen year old child enlist, and now he's dead. It's simple."

"It's not that simple Wilhelmina. You don't know how long I struggled with that decision. You of all people should know how strong-willed Gabe was. He would have found a way."

"I'm sure that he would have, but maybe he wouldn't be six feet under right now if you had made him wait."

"It isn't my fault. I had no control over what happened."

"What happened exactly? You never explained it to me."

"I don't know exactly. There was an explosion, and Gabe was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"With all your connections that's all you know about your own son's death?"

"To be honest, I don't want to know Wilhelmina. I don't want to know because it would kill me if I found out that he had to suffer for even a second."

"That would kill you? What you did doesn't eat at your soul?"

"I've got to go," he answers.

She places flowers on the grave, and heads to the car waiting on her. After a quick meal she heads back to the airport. She's back in New York before sunset. She's staring at the letter laying on her counter, from Gabe when the phone rings.

"Hello?"

"I know that I'm the last person that you want to hear from right now."

"You're absolutely right Greyson."

"Don't hang up."

"What could you possibly say that I want to hear?"

"I talked to some of my connections this afternoon."

"Get to the point."

"They were unable to collect all of the remains because of the blast."

"What is your point?"

"They sent home what they believed to be twelve sets of remains."

"And?"

"There has been some chatter that at least two of the twelve soldiers were taken as prisoners of war."

"What are you saying?"

"Maybe you weren't wrong," he answers. He hangs up.

She throws her phone against the wall in anger. The pieces fly all over the room. She tries to collect herself. She pours a glass of wine, and slowly drinks it. After she's certain that her head isn't going to explode she sits the glass aside. She locates a broom and dust pan. She sweeps up the pieces of the phone and dumps them into the trash.

She pours another glass of wine, and grabs the letter off the counter. She hoists herself onto the counter of the island. Her legs dangle over the edge as she sips her drink. She slips out of her shoes. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as the Manolo Blahniks hit the floor. She attempts to pull herself together, but as she looks at the letter she begins to fall apart. She opens a drawer that is beneath her and to the left. She pulls out a letter opener. She hesitates as the cold metal blade finds its way under the flap of the envelope. She exhales, and slides the blade across the envelope. She looks inside and finds a few pieces of folded stationary, and two pictures that are held together with a paper clip.

She slides off the paper clip to look at the first picture. On top of the picture is a yellow post-it note. Found this the other day. Thought that you should have it...just in case. She pulls off the yellow post-it note and carefully lays it aside. She smiles upon seeing the picture. It's a picture of Gabe as a baby. A much younger Wilhelmina is asleep with him laying on her chest. She lays the picture aside and takes a look at the second one. The second picture has a hot pink post-it note on it. The good old days. She pulls of the post-it note and studies it carefully. Gabe is front and center, with a person on each side of him, with his feet off the ground. The boy in the picture beams. On his right is Wilhelmina, and to his left is Greyson. Greyson is the only one looking at the camera. Wilhelmina smiles at the little boy, and Gabe looks up at the two adults.

Wilhelmina flips the picture over to find writing on the back. She instantly recognizes the writing on the back as her own. Gabe 20 months. She places the post-it notes back on the pictures and then paperclips them back together. She carefully places them back in the envelope, and reaches inside for the letter. The stationary is folded three times. She cautiously unfolds it and begins to read it to herself.

I hope that you never have to read this, but I wrote it just in case. Things have been crazy lately. I hope that I get to come home safely. I need to see you. I have things that I need to tell you, like how sorry I am. Please don't blame Greyson if anything happens. It's not his fault. I know that you'll never be able to forgive him, and you have every right to be angry at him, but he's not the only one to blame in all of this.

There have been a lot of explosions lately. They get closer with each day, and they happen more frequently. There has been talk that some of our men have been taken prisoner, but no one will confirm it. As much as I hate to admit this, I think you were right. I should have waited. I've got a lot of things to do before I have to be this grown up.

I've been thinking about things a lot lately. It's hard to sleep, so I have a lot of time to think. I miss you. Tell Nico that I miss her too. I hope that you're not working to hard...even though I'm sure you are. When I get done with my tour I'd really like to come see you. I know that we didn't leave off on the best terms. I said a lot of things that I didn't mean, and I'm truly sorry. I keep reminding myself that everyday is one day closer to being home. I never thought that I'd miss home so much, considering how much I hated it while I was there.

Gabe

P.S. I don't say this enough as I should, Mom I love you, I always have.

Tears stream down her face. She tries her hardest to make them stop, but they don't. She sobs and her heart shatters once again. She gets off the counter and finishes her glass of wine. She wipes the tears, and the mascara from her cheeks. Consumed by anger she throws the wine glass against wall. It shatters and shards of glass fly everywhere. She leaves the kitchen and goes to the bathroom. She fills the bathtub and climbs in. She closes her eyes and holds her breath and submerges herself in water.