Except it wasn't just once.

Datz came to see her every day for the next week, always smiling brightly when she entered the room. He had gone out after their first outing and bought a small drone that fit in the palm of his hand, sheepishly asking if she would teach him how to fly it.

Sometimes he took her out somewhere. Sometimes they stayed out in the yard and just talked while she tried to instruct him to fly the drone. Sometimes Mr. Wright was there. Sometimes he was with Ms. Letah, or wasn't there at all. The only consistency was that Datz was always there, and he was always smiling at her.

Finally, after he had visited her for over a week straight, he brought it up at the end of another day of flying lessons. "Listen, Sarge," he said, his voice quieter and gentler than she'd ever heard it. "I know…that you don't have any family left."

Her shoulders tensed and she pressed her lips together. No. She'd gone so long without crying about their deaths. She refused to start now.

"But…if you'll let me," he continued, "I'd like to adopt you."

She looked up at him, still caught off guard even though she had been expecting it since the beginning. Why had he waited so long? Was he trying to make up his mind? She had so many questions but none would come out.

"…why?" It was the only word that she could push out of her tight throat, but it encompassed the most important thing for her to know.

Datz smiled warmly. "Because you're a good kid," he said, "and I want to be in your corner."

She blinked up at him, still not sure what to say – or even if she could form the words.

"It's your choice, of course," Datz assured her. "I'm not gonna push you if you don't want to. It's why I waited so long to bring it up." He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Ms. Letah's probably gonna kick me out soon, so you'll have time to think, alright?"

Sure enough, the caseworker appeared to tell Datz that it was time for Armie to eat dinner and get some rest, but that he was welcome to return in the morning. Her countenance toward the other man had softened considerably over the last week, as she smiled when he shook her hand and bid her goodnight. Datz knelt down to Armie's height, as he towered over her otherwise, and as he did every night gave her shoulder a warm squeeze. "See ya tomorrow, kiddo," he said, and he waved as he left.

Armie sat up half of the night thinking over everything that Datz had said to her. Her blonde hair slipped into her face as she leaned over, memories of her Mama and Papa coming to mind. If she let someone else adopt her, was it betraying the love of her family? Or would they want her to be happy?

Despite not being allowed to do so at the orphanage, she flew the drone around her room for a while; it helped her think. Though it wasn't equipped for full surveillance anymore, she was still able to take a few pictures using its camera. She parked the drone after a while, took out her small laptop, and tapped through the pictures that she had taken over the past few days. Mostly they were pictures of the places that she, Datz, and sometimes Mr. Wright had walked together. There was one in there that she had taken that really made her smile. You could see her and Datz standing on the ground far below the drone - so far you almost couldn't see them. But what you could see clearly was just how brightly Armie was smiling, and the way that Datz grinned at her.

"Because you're a good kid…and I want to be in your corner."

No word about feeling guilty for what had happened to her father or a sense of responsibility to her. Nothing about that…his words were entirely focused on her wellbeing, and that he wanted to be there for her.

The next morning, when Ms. Letah came to tell her that Datz was here again, Armie was already waiting with her bag packed and a small smile on her face.

Of course, things didn't happen right away – it took a while longer. There was the paperwork side of things, and then there was the fact that Datz had to get his apartment in Khura'in ready for a young girl. He was back and forth from Khura'in every other week or so, and every time he was stateside he was sure to visit and show Armie pictures of the progress that he was making. She kept bracing for the announcement that he had changed his mind and that she would be left alone at the orphanage, but it never came. Every time he left, it was with the same promise that he would be back and the same warm squeeze of her shoulder.

Finally the time came for her to relocate permanently to Khura'in. She thought she would be sadder about leaving the United States behind, but with her family gone and no friends to speak of, Armie was more willing to bid it farewell. Ms. Letah drove her to the airport, but to her surprise Mr. Wright was there as well. The ride was amicable, and Ms. Letah smiled fondly as she told Armie that she was going to enjoy her new country.

When she got out of the car, Mr. Wright joined her. He got down to her level, giving her a smile and his card. "Listen," he said gently. "I know you're about to go through some really big changes. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can call this number and ask for my daughter, Trucy. She's been through what you're going through, and I'm sure she'd love to help."

Armie shyly took the card and tucked it away into her bag. "Thanks, Private Wright," she mumbled, hiding behind her Sarge persona again to help calm her own nerves.

He smiled and patted her shoulder. "You're in good hands," he promised. "Datz will take care of you."

He waved goodbye as a kind woman approached her and guided her inside. She was one of the airport employees and was there to meet her, as Armie would be flying alone and had never been on a plane before. The bubbly woman explained that she was called an "Unaccompanied Minor" and that each of the flight attendants on her flight would be looking out for her and make sure she had everything that she needed. She also walked Armie through the airport, pointing out the planes outside of the window and showing her exactly the kind that she would be flying on, as well as reassuring her that she didn't need to be nervous.

She was a little nervous to leave everything she knew behind, of course. But as the wheels picked up and Armie watched the United States below her disappear, she began to feel a stirring excitement.

Datz, on the other hand, was starting to become a nervous wreck. He kept tapping at his phone, trying to refresh it to see how far along Armie's flight was. It was far – nearly 13 hours – but he couldn't help his nerves.

Beh'leeb Inmee gave him a polite smile as he checked his phone for the tenth time in a half-hour. "Are you waiting for something, Datz?" she asked, shifting Faitah into her other arm. The baby gave a soft sigh and nestled closer.

"Hah," he laughed quietly. "I guess it shows, huh?" Quickly he explained to Beh'leeb why he had been so absent the past few months and just why he had gone to the United States in the first place. She listened intently, softly rocking Faitah as Datz spoke.

"…so I guess I don't know what I'm getting into," he sighed, shoving a hand through his short hair. "I want to help her and be there for her, but…" A wry smile tugged at his lips. "I hoped you might have some advice, being a mother and all."

Beh'leeb chuckled gently. "Datz," she reminded him, "Faitah is only a baby, and Armie is a twelve-year-old child. You've certainly taken a step above me in your child's development."

His cheeks turned slightly pink at her words. Your child. He had tried not to think of Armie in those terms, mostly because she had family before he'd come along, but the papers had all been signed. She really was his child, in a sense.

Beh'leeb reached out with her free hand and lightly rested it on his shoulder. "You're going to be a fine father," she said warmly. "I've seen you with Faitah, after all…even if the little one is not impressed with your displays of manliness." She giggled to herself. "And the way you talk about Armie, I can tell that you truly care for her. I believe that you two will be happy together." She gave his arm a soft squeeze. "Once she's settled, I'd like to meet her."

He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, I can do that," he agreed. "Thanks, Beh'leeb." Carefully moving so as not to jostle Faitah, Datz leaned over and gave Beh'leeb a hug. "I'd better get going, though. AJ and Yuty agreed to go with me to the airport to pick her up, and I don't want to keep her waiting."

Beh'leeb returned the hug and patted his back fondly. "You and your daughter are always welcome here," she said. "Just remember that."

Datz practically bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited at the arrivals gate. Nahyuta and Apollo gave each other an amused glance, privately sharing the thought that they had never seen their friend so wound up.

"Datz," Nahyuta tried. "Armie is not due to arrive for at least half an hour. Are you sure that we should just stand here and wait?"

Datz seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, and Nahyuta looked at Apollo in exasperation. Apollo could take a hint and he stepped up, putting a hand on Datz's shoulder. "Hey, Datz – "

"YIPE!" The older man jumped almost a foot and flailed himself into a fighting position, as if he'd forgotten that the other two were there. Apollo yelped in return and disengaged to avoid being struck (Datz had nearly hit him with his flailing once when his stapler snapped loudly in the quiet office – he could never figure out what had brought that on).

"Jeez, I'm sorry, Datz," Apollo said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

He laughed weakly in return. "No worries, AJ. Sorry, Yuty. I guess I'm just a little high-strung."

Apollo nodded understandingly. He knew Armie, of course, having helped work to pull the truth from her during the trial for her father's death (though the credit really all went to Athena for that). He'd been completely blown away when he'd heard Datz tell Mr. Wright that he wanted to adopt the girl; Apollo had been half-waiting for Datz to break into his usual laughter and wave it off, but he'd seen the man's face when he said it.

Datz had never been more serious about anything in his life.

So he was a little more understanding of Datz's nerves; the poor man was so worked up that Apollo didn't need his bracelet to see the tension setting his shoulders and the twitching of his fingers. He gave Nahyuta a glance to try and get him to understand, but it was like appealing to a rock wall.

Or so Apollo thought. There was a pause before Nahyuta spoke up. "Datz…it seems in my haste to follow you and Apollo, I neglected to eat something. Do you have anything with you?"

Apollo gave him a strange look. He'd seen Nahyuta eat something back at the office earlier before they left, but the prosecutor's sharp glare warned him against saying something now. A slow smile crossed his face as he recognized what his foster brother was trying to do.

"Huh?" Datz's attention was on Nahyuta now. "Sure!" He reached into his seemingly never-ending pouch, pulling an apple out. Deftly he removed his machete from his belt (Apollo paled; didn't he ever think maybe he should leave that thing at home?) and began to peel the apple. The skin came off in one perfect stripe, which he discarded as he tossed the apple to Nahyuta. "There ya go, Yuty! Hope that helps for now."

Apollo noticed that Datz's fingers had stopped shaking while he peeled the apple and he spoke up. "Hey, Datz, um…sorry. Can I bug you for one, too? It was a busy day between the investigation and this, so…" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Datz's smile softened. He recognized what they were trying to do, though it had taken a moment. He obliged them, however, and decided not to say anything. Just as easily as he'd done for Nahyuta, he peeled an apple for Apollo and tossed it to him. Datz tucked his machete away and wrapped an arm around each of them, tugging them closer.

For a moment, he felt a hole in his heart when he realized that it was just him left to look after them. Dhurke had raised them and Datz had been in the background, but now he felt more of a sense of responsibility towards them. His grip tightened minutely. They were grown men now, but he would always remember the two young boys running behind Dhurke wherever he went and looking at their father like he was the sun.

…would she look at him that way, too?

He was startled from his thoughts when he heard the announcement that flight 7625 was now landing, and he set his shoulders a little straighter as he released Apollo and Nahyuta. He strode forward, grinning when he saw Armie, shyly clutching her drone close, exiting the doors.