Previously in "A Soldier's Coming Home", Matt & April, Damon & Elena and Zach & Jules all say goodbye in their own ways. Matt and April share their first kiss and he declares his love for her. Elena gives Damon her locket while she keeps his scarf and Zach makes love to Jules before he leaves.
Authors' Notes: I hope that y'all enjoyed the first chapter of mine and Erin's new collaboration, because here we come with more!
Chapter Two
Saltzman House, Mystic Falls, Virginia – December 9, 1941
Jennifer "Jenna" Sommers Saltzman had always thought that she and Alaric would be the forever kind of couple that spent the rest of their lives together, but that was until she found him in bed with her best friend, Isobel Fleming. Now, she rocked the cradle that their daughter Hannah was fussing in, ignoring the pounding on the front door. "Jenna, you can't ignore me forever. I really need to talk to you. It's important," her ex-husband called out through the door.
Jenna rolled her eyes at that. What the hell could he possibly want to tell her that she didn't already hear? Deciding to at least humor him, she picked up Hannah and went to the door, opened it with one hand and let him in.
"All right, Ric," she said. "You said this was important, so go ahead and tell me what it is you want to say. But, it better not be about Isobel, because you know damn well how I feel about that tramp."
"I'm not here about Isobel," Alaric tells her before running his hand down his tired, ragged face, which Jenna noticed now as she looked at him. "I'm here because I don't know if this war will separate us for good or bring us back together as a family; because I hope that it does the latter, Jenna. I want to be with you again, I do. I realize that doing what I did was a mistake and I promise that I won't do it again."
His wife stopped his speech, shifting Hannah in her arms. "When you say war, are you saying that you have signed up to go…over there?" she asked in soft shock and he nodded in response.
"Yes, Jenna, I have," Alaric said. "I'm doing this for you." He looked at Hannah. "More importantly, I'm doing this for Hannah. I love both of you so damn much and I will do whatever it takes to get you back."
Jenna watched him as he spoke, not sure what to make of it. He sounded so determined, so sincere, and it made her regret her decision to throw him out. "Ric, you don't have to do this to get me to forgive you. I can do that with you here."
"I've already made up my mind, Jenna," Alaric said. "I'm going off to war, as have several others from this town. They all have their reasons for going into this war. Some are motivated by the loss of the men in Pearl Harbor; others are just looking to get out and see the world; well, what's left of it, anyway." He sighed. "Jenna, leaving you like this is hard for me, and I'm sure it's hard for you. But, I want you to know that I'm going to come back to you. It may be a few years, but I promise that when all is said and done, we'll be together again, like we wanted to be."
Jenna wanted to say something, but found that words were unnecessary. Instead, she grabbed the back of Alaric's head with her hand and pulled him to her in a deep, passionate kiss. Alaric returned the kiss without hesitation and moaned against her mouth as his tongue collided with hers. Their moment was interrupted by Hannah's little cries of protest. Alaric looked down at his daughter again and carefully took her out of Jenna's arms, cradling her as he kissed her little cheek. "Daddy loves you so much, Hannah," he said softly. "I'll think about you and Mommy the whole time I'm away." He looked at Jenna. "I want you to look after Mommy, okay? Be a good girl."
With a final kiss to Jenna's lips, Alaric disappeared back through the door from which he'd come into. Once he was gone, Jenna bounced Hannah a little bit, feeling the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. "Daddy loves us, doesn't he? He wouldn't choose that terrible, evil woman over us," she said in a soft murmur against the skin of her daughter's forehead. "He chose us, Hannah."
Donovan House – That Same Moment
Victoria "Vicki" Donovan Talbot rested gentle hands on her expanding belly. She looked up when her husband Alexander "Zane" Talbot came into the room, dressed impeccably sexy in his uniform. "I'm going to miss you, you know," she said softly.
He came over and knelt next to her. "I know you will. And I'm sorry that I won't be here to witness Riley arrive into the world," he tells her as he leans over and kisses her belly over the fabric of her dress.
"But Grandma will make sure to take lots of pictures," Kelly Donovan's voice said in a sing-song tone as she came into the room, hearing the soft conversation between her daughter and son in law.
Zane smiled at his mother in law. "Thank you, Kelly. I'd definitely want to see pictures of my son while I'm over there."
"Mom will remember to take lots then," Vicki said with a smile as she pulled her husband closer to her, kissing him softly. "She will take some of me as well, so you can have something to remember me by."
Kelly smiled as she watched her daughter and son-in-law. "Oh, don't worry, the pictures will come, one way or the other." She sighed. "Now, Zane, if you see Matt over there, I want you to protect him for me, okay? I don't want anything to happen to my son. He may be fighting for his country, but he still needs someone to watch his back."
"I'll be sure to do that, Kelly," Zane said. "Though, I'm pretty sure he can handle himself just fine."
"I agree with Mom, Zane," Vicki said. "Matt needs someone to watch out for him, and I'm not just saying that because he's my brother."
Zane sighed, knowing he was outnumbered. "You don't have to twist my arm. I said I'd watch out for him and I will."
Kelly nodded. "Good, just making sure."
Lockwood Mansion
"You better remember to come back to us, cousin," Adrianna Lockwood scolded her cousin Tyler as she smoothed out the jacket of his uniform.
Tyler playfully glared at Adrianna. "I'll come back, Ade. There's nothing a Lockwood can't endure. This war is no exception."
"I hope you're right about that," Adrianna said. "Otherwise, Aunt Carol and Uncle Richard are going to be devastated because their only son went and got himself killed because he was full of himself."
He leaned in and affectionately kissed her forehead. "I'm always right, Ade, and I'm going to prove it to everyone, especially to Matt Donovan," he tells her softly. He and Matt Donovan had both come to care for April, but Tyler took a step back, proving that he was the bigger man so his best friend could be with April, even though the two of them were still holding each other at arm's length.
"Why must you always compete with Matt? You know that you'll never earn the way into April's good graces that way," Adrianna scolded as she adjusted his tie then fixed his crooked hat.
"April deserves nothing but the best," Tyler said. "Matt can try, but I doubt he can be what she needs."
"Oh? And you think you are? Tyler, if you do that to your own best friend, I'll never forgive you. I love you, but April shouldn't be the reason you two end your friendship," Adrianna tells him.
"Adrianna, April has always considered him a friend. She wouldn't know what hit her," Tyler replied with a smirk on his face. He turned when his mother came into the room, followed immediately by the boy that Adrianna was interested in, Tyler's father and his Uncle Mason, Adrianna's father.
Carol Lockwood tried to hold back her tears as she went over to her son and hugged him. "My brave little boy, going off to war," she said. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"I promise I'll be back, Mom," Tyler told her as he hugged her back. Carol nodded as she stepped back.
"You just make sure that you take care of Dean as well. I don't want either of you getting killed on the battle-front," Carol said.
"We'll be back before you know it, Mrs. Lockwood," Dean said in his sexy Southern drawl and Adrianna smiled as she kissed him softly on the corner of his mouth.
Richard nodded. "We want you boys back in one piece. God knows the Lockwood's have been struck by tragedy far too many times already."
"We'll be back, Dad, don't worry. And don't you worry either, Mom," Tyler said before putting an arm onto Dean's shoulder. "Come on, lover boy, you'll be back for her. Say goodbye, Adrianna."
"Goodbye, Dean, and goodbye, Tyler, stay safe out there," his blonde cousin did as instructed, kissing her boyfriend one more time as her cousin pulled him out the front door. She ran to the window to watch them walk down the pathway until they were out of sight, collapsing into her father's embrace when it came moments later.
Mason smiled as he held his daughter close. He had no doubt in his mind that Tyler and Dean would return safely, since they were strong young men who would take on anything. "He'll be back, Adrianna," he said softly into his daughter's hair.
Before she could respond, a smaller voice interrupted them. "Mommy, Mommy, where is Daddy going?" the voice asked and Adrianna turned to find her and Dean's little girl, Cassandra.
Adrianna knelt down in front of her little girl. "Daddy's going to fight some bad men, sweetie."
"When will he be back?"
"When the bad men are beaten," Adrianna replied.
Mason scooped his granddaughter into his arms, tickling her. "Your Momma is right. Daddy will be back once the bad men are beaten or have given up," he tells Cassandra.
She nodded, hugging Mason around his neck as he gave her a raspberry on the cheek. "I love you, Papaw," she tells him.
Mason smiled. "I love you too, Cassie."
Two Days Later – Salvatore Boardinghouse
Carol walked with Adrianna up to the boarding house, Cassandra between them, holding both of their hands. "Are you sure you want to do this, Adrianna?" Carol asked her niece.
"I said that I'd wait for him, but he'll know where to find me," Adrianna replied.
Stefan Salvatore heard a knock at the door and when he answered it, he saw Adrianna, along with Cassandra and Carol. "Mrs. Lockwood? What are you doing here?"
"My niece and her daughter want to stay here while Tyler and Dean are gone."
He nodded then called over his shoulder, "Mom, you've got some new customers!"
"I'm coming, sweetheart!" she called back. She was helping Elena and April with some new recipes so that they could learn to be more active around the house rather than just outside.
Elizabetta came to the door and smiled at Adrianna. "Adrianna, you and your little girl are more than welcome here. There's plenty of room here."
Adrianna nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Salvatore."
The dark-haired woman nodded then guided her inside, taking Cassandra out of her arms. "You are going to have so much fun here, Miss Cassandra! There are all kinds of adventures that you can get into and then you can tell your Daddy all about them when he comes home," she told the 2 year old.
"For now, I think you should go upstairs with Mommy so we can rest for a little bit," Adrianna said.
Elizabetta nodded. "Of course," she said then nodded at Stefan. "Stefan, honey, could you take Adrianna and Cassandra upstairs and show them where they'll be staying?"
Stefan nodded as he picked up the bags. "Sure." He looked at Adrianna and nodded toward the stairs. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."
Adrianna nodded then took Cassandra back from Elizabetta and rubbed her back as she curled up into her shoulder. Once they were all out of sight, Carol beamed at Elizabetta. "You have raised such good boys, Elizabetta. They have such impeccable manners," she told the boardinghouse owner.
"Unlike their father," Elizabetta said with a heavy sigh. She hated the way that Guiseppe had walked out on their family early on in the boys' lives, but she didn't care. She had picked herself up, dusted herself off and became the mother and father that the boys needed.
Carol nodded. "You managed to survive in spite of Guiseppe leaving. Your strength gave them strength." She placed a gentle hand on Elizabetta's shoulder. "Damon will be back. Zach will too."
Elizabetta nodded as well. "Thank god I still have Stefan. I'd be devastated if I lost him. I know he wanted to go with his brother and cousin, but its better this way."
"Elizabetta, we need help!" Elena's voice called from the kitchen.
Elizabetta turned to Carol. "That's my cue, I'm afraid," she said to the blonde woman, who nodded and left the boardinghouse.
Once Carol left, Elizabetta went to the kitchen to see what Elena and April needed help with, a smile on her face as she thought about Adrianna and Cassandra. It had been quite a while since there were children in the house, and it would be good to hear the sound of a child's laughter echoing through the halls.
Author's Note: Hmm, not very many reviews…I hope I don't lose my readers, because I love getting feedback on my stuff!