"I can't believe that you are actually here, standing next to me." Rory smiled as she put down the book that she was reading the back cover of. "You have perfect timing."

"Yeah, I guess so." Jess said, forcing a smile. Rory caught the look and watched as he walked to the other side of the table.

"What?" She asked, knowing something was up.

"Nothing." He said as he walked further from her. She followed him into the next section of books and watched as he picked one up, her best withering stare burning holes into the back of his jacket. Without even turning around, he sighed and put the book back on the shelf. "I wasn't here on business." Rory kept staring, waiting for him to continue. "Tristan called your mom and told her that you had locked yourself in the house with him and that you needed to get out and have some fun. He asked her to come up with something that would take your mind off of him for a while, and she called me."

"Tristan called my mom?" She said, surprised by the action. Jess nodded. "And she called you?"

"I would have come up if you had called me and told me what was going on anyway." He said. "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"About what?"

"About what? About him!" He raised his voice enough that people looked over to make sure the two were okay.

"I told you about him." Rory whispered harshly.

"You told me that you were writing a column and he was in it and I thought 'Isn't that a coincidence after all these years.' You never told me that you were living together or that you left the freaking country to go to a warzone because of him."

"Well, he needed a place to stay for a while. And as for Iraq, I should have told you I was leaving the country. I'm sorry." She said, a small smile appearing at his over-reaction to the topic.

"Oh, don't patronize me. Look, I came here to get your mind off of Tristan, so we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, but in the future, if you could inform one of your best friends of situations that involve you going to a foreign country or letting a stranger move in with you, I would be forever grateful."

"Okay." She said. "I'm sorry." She said, more sincerely this time. Jess glanced over her shoulder and put his hands in his jacket pockets. It was a move that was so uniquely his, she couldn't help but smile.

"What?" He asked, uncomfortable.

"I miss you."

"No you don't." He said, shaking his head and walking towards the front of the store.

"I do too! I miss you. Why do you have to live so far away?" She asked as she linked her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You moved. I haven't. Besides, I'm only like five hours away." He said, not bothering to shrug her off. He would never admit it, but he missed her too.

"You should move to Boston." She said, liking that idea. He laughed out loud at the thought.

"You must be crazy."

"Hey, last time I told someone to move to Boston, he did." She smiled triumphantly. "I just thought that maybe if I could be really persuasive..."

"Yeah well, you're not sleeping with me so you can't be that persuasive." He smiled.

"Touché." She said.

OOOOO

"Hello?" Tristan called out as he entered Josh's house without knocking.

"Hey. Out back." He yelled from the patio.

"What's going on?" Tristan asked as he opened the grill to examine what was for lunch.

"Eh, just trying to figure out why I'm going to have to lie to Rory." Josh stated from his chair without bothering to open his eyes.

"You don't have to. I'm here for lunch. Ergo, I'm not lying, and neither are you."

"Keep justifying it." Josh replied. "But seriously, why are you here? You're supposed to be on lockdown."

"I was, but so was she. She needed a break, so I called her mom and asked her to help me find something fun that would get her mind off of the last month and all the drama that's been going on with us lately."

"And?"

"She called Rory's best friend. He showed up today to surprise her."

"He?" Josh raised his eyebrow. "Who is this guy? Do we trust him?" Tristan liked that Josh and Drew took the time to worry.

"He," Tristan paused, "is Jess Mariano. Her step-cousin."

"Really?" Tristan nodded.

"Apparently, he's a publisher or author or both? I don't know. I haven't heard anything about him really. But I haven't seen her smile like that in a long time."

"So why are you here secretly?"

"I just figured that she needed some time alone. So I'm giving her space." Josh groaned at his choice of words. "Not like last time. I promise. This is strictly for her."

OOOOO

"Tristan's not back yet." Rory said, a touch of emotion in her voice as she shut the front door. The action didn't get by Jess, who knew every one of Rory's faces, even without looking at her.

"Okay, I know that I told you that you didn't have to think about it, but I went all day and now I have to ask." Jess said. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be better when he's better."

"That doesn't answer my question." He said.

"I don't know how I'm feeling. Sometimes part of me is so angry that he did this, and the other half just wants to hold him until it all goes away."

"Ror, what do you expect?"

"I know. Any other person would be dead right now. I'm just thankful that he's getting it sorted out."

"Do you want me to stay until tomorrow? I don't have to be back until Monday." She smiled.

"No, but thanks for the offer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. This is about him." She paused. "I am a little concerned that he called my mother though. Maybe I'm being too pushy."

"Maybe pushy is exactly what he needs right now." Jess said.

"What do you mean?"

"More than one guy has been straightened out by you." He pointed out. "Still, I must admit, you do a good job. I mean, you almost married the last fixer-upper." Rory closed her eyes, trying to ignore Jess's comment about Logan.

"Okay, so maybe I do have a genetic tendency to be attracted to guys that are bad for me." She admitted. "But I have honestly loved them all, even the reformed ones." She smiled at him. She stopped as she heard the front door opening and voices entering.

"Hello?" Rory called out, wondering who it could be.

"Hey. It's just us." Jess watched as Rory smiled. He had watched her go through a lot of boyfriends, but she had never smiled like that before.

"Who's us?" She asked as Tristan came through the doorway and into the kitchen.

"Who else?" Drew asked as he and Josh came in directly after Tristan.

"Boys, this is my cousin, Jess Mariano. Jess, this is Josh Masters and Drew Anderson." They each waved at the calling of their name. "The other two boys mentioned in my column from time to time."

"Nice to meet you." Jess said.

"How was lunch?" Rory asked.

"Good. Josh made burgers." Drew smiled.

"Really?" Rory glanced over to Josh, who was busy checking his phone. He nodded absent-mindedly. Drew glanced down as his own phone beeped as well.

"Yeah, I, uh, make a mean burger." Josh said, putting his best fake face on. Tristan could feel his guts sink to his stomach. There was only one reason why Josh and Drew would be getting an email at the same time. Drew's soft clearing of his throat told him that he was right. The kitchen fell silent as the three men looked at each other. Rory and Jess sat at the table and glanced at each other, unsure of what was happening.

"Well, I should get going. It's a long way back to Philadelphia." Jess said quietly, standing up.

"Okay, I'll walk you out." She said, figuring leaving the kitchen would be a good idea. Tristan watched as the two of them left and waited until he heard the front door close.

"Fight or Flight?" Tristan asked, wanting to confirm what they knew and he didn't. It was a saying they had created a long time ago. There were only two mass emails that were sent out that could cause those looks. Either someone they knew had died fighting or they were being deployed again.

"Flight." Josh muttered quietly.

"We leave for Afghanistan in four weeks." Drew said.

"Jesus." Tristan said. They had always been sent to Iraq. It never occurred to him that they would be sent somewhere else. He knew that this was going to happen eventually, but it seemed like it happened so quickly. They all looked to the door as they heard Rory enter the house again. She stayed in the living room, not wanting to disrupt whatever was happening in the kitchen.

"Should we tell her?" Josh asked quietly, wanting to know what Tristan thought. He shrugged.

"She's going to find out eventually. But if you guys don't want to tell her right now, I'll do it after you leave." He said, stepping up to the plate.

"No, it should be now." Drew said, his therapy voice coming out. "It should come from us." Josh sighed and nodded. He headed straight for the living room before he lost his nerve. Tristan tagged behind, not sure he wanted to hear the actual words come out of their mouths. He put on his straight face and headed into the living room. Rory was staring at the three of them, trying not to assume anything.

"I'm not going to ask." Rory said, breaking the silence. "I figure that you will tell me if it's any of my business." Tristan felt his heart fill up a little with gratitude at her statement. He knew how hard that must be for her to say. Her effort to make them all comfortable made him fall in love with her even more. On the other hand, if he were to let any emotions really sink in right now, he didn't know how he would handle it. He pushed the feelings back down to his gut and remembered why he was sitting here.

"It's your business." Josh said as he sat down next to her on the couch. "Our vacation is over. We got issued our deployment orders. We leave next month." Rory sighed and grabbed his hand.

"For?"

"Afghanistan." She exhaled sharply. They gave her a few seconds to process.

"Do you know how long you'll be gone?" They both shook their heads.

"Don't worry. We'll both be office guys from here on out. We won't be in any danger." Drew reassured her, and by default, Tristan. He knew that he would be just as worried as his girlfriend, if not more so.

"You know that for sure?" Rory asked. Drew nodded and smiled for her. "Good. That makes me feel a little better."

"And if you need anything, we'll just be a phone call away." Tristan told them. "Supplies, food, whatever." Rory looked at Tristan for the first time since he had entered the room. It hadn't occurred to her that he was going to feel left out, but she could see the look creeping onto his features. He shifted under her gaze.

"Speaking of food, why don't we order some pizza tonight." Rory suggested, reminding them all of her visits to the hospital. Pizza was their group thing, something the four of them first bonded over.

"Good idea." Tristan said, grateful for something to do. "I'll go order it right now." He smiled at her.

"Hey, and we'll write about everything. Keep you updated on what's going on. Maybe you can use some of it in your column." Josh smiled at Rory. She couldn't handle all the smiles. She knew that they were trying their damndest to comfort her, and possibly Tristan, and maybe even themselves, but it was too unnerving. She wanted the truth.

"Can we be honest here?" Rory asked, now that Tristan was gone. "Please?" She asked Drew, who she knew was the most mature and open one of them all. "What are you really thinking about all this?"

"Ror, this is what we do. It's our job. We've been doing this for ten years and we'll be doing it for another five, whether we are living here or there. If we didn't want to be there, we wouldn't have re-enlisted." Josh told her.

"It scares me to think about you guys being so calm about this."

"Do you remember Tristan on base?" Drew said, remembering Tristan's conversation with him about the Colonial. Rory thought about how he smiled, how he walked around, and falling in love with him simply from watching him walk towards her.

"Yeah."

"It's our home. It's where we are most comfortable. All of our brothers are there."

"I know you're right." She paused as she looked towards the kitchen and lowered her voice. "Do you think that he is going to miss it?" Rory asked.

"He's going to feel left out, maybe a little restless, but when that happens, you're going to have to remind him why it's important that he stayed here." Drew said. Rory nodded.

"And keep us updated if he starts acting up again. We can kick his ass over the phone." Josh said.

"I never thanked you for what you guys did. It meant a lot. To both of us." Rory said. They both shook their heads, not wanting any of the credit.

"Pizza's on its way." Tristan said as he came back into the living room. "I'm going to go out and get some beer."

"Awesome." Josh smiled without missing a beat. "I'll join you." Rory smiled as she watched the two men leave. As soon as they were gone, she looked at Drew with a pout. He just smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "You two need this. We won't be here to remind him of what he lost, and you'll be here to remind him of what he gained. This will be a good thing for him Rory, I promise." She just sighed and set her head down on Drew's shoulder.

"I hope you're right."