The night sky was clear and bright, showing millions of stars. The thin crescent moon shone down upon the man watching this spectacle, turning his blonde hair almost silver. The night was cold. Not so cold that it was unbearable, after all, it was early June. But to someone who had grown used to living in a sub-tropical climate for almost a decade, Scandinavia was cold. He glanced up at the sky again, wondering what they were doing right now. What she was doing right now. He looked down at the steel wristwatch he wore, and smiled. Almost 10pm here. In Orb, it would be 7am the next day. No doubt Stellar and Lily would be running around downstairs, trying to fix their own breakfasts, and making a great deal of noise trying not to wake their mother up.

He sighed. Their mother. Closing blue eyes, Mwu imagined her. At this time, she would be fast asleep still, the alarm set to go off at 7:15, unless the two little girls decided to wake her first. He could picture her curled up underneath the fluffy white duvet, dark hair covering her pale face, perhaps stirring before the alarm. Murrue was a pretty light sleeper most of the time, and since she had to get herself ready for work, as well as the two children ready for school and playgroup, she'd be rushing about as fast as she could.

If he were there, he'd be sleeping too, arms wrapped firmly around his wife's waist. Enjoying a last moment of peace before their daughters came to say good morning, and the rest of the day began.

But instead, I'm thousands of miles away. I'm grateful that the kids wanted me here, that they thought enough of me to request that I be their accompanying instructor. And I know that even if I'd been able to get a place outside the barracks, I couldn't have taken Murrue away from her work, or the girls out of school. But it still hurts.

"You okay, Colonel?" Mwu looked down in surprise to see one of his students, a quiet, studious type, standing beside him, his gaze also focused on the night sky and it's dazzling array. "Uh, yeah, thanks.." he replied, slightly confused. The student smiled. "You miss your family?"

The older man blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not to everyone. A lot of them have noticed that you're not exactly happy here, but most have put it down to being somewhere that's so different from home. Almost everyone's homesick to some degree. But most of these guys live with their parents still - they don't have families of their own yet." said the student thoughtfully. Then he looked back at Mwu. "But back home, I live with my fiancee. It hurt to leave her, hurt more than anything. And I think...that having to leave your family behind must have hurt even more. Am I right?"

The scarred man never spoke. He didn't have to. The student nodded. "I thought so." Then he smiled. "Here, this is my fiancee." He held out a small picture. It showed a slight, small woman, with sandy hair and freckles. She seemed plain, but a sweet kind of peace radiated from the photo. Mwu smiled. "She's waiting for you, huh?"

"She said she'd wait forever," replied the student, a faint flush to his cheeks. The older man chuckled. "Funny. My wife promised me the same thing. I know that she would, and I'd do the same for her.." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his pocketbook, leafing through until he found what he was looking for. A photograph of his Murrue, wavy dark hair tied back into a ponytail, amber eyes shining with happiness. Each arm was wrapped around one of their children. The toddler Lily was beaming through a curtain of blonde curls, cuddling close to her mother. Stellar's head was resting on Murrue's shoulder, bright blue eyes sparkling with amusement. It was one of his favourite pictures, and he noticed the student smiling. "She's real pretty. And the kids are adorable. No wonder you've been so quiet."

Mwu nodded, tucking the photograph back in his pocket. Then he smiled. "Why don't we go join the others in the bar? It'll do us good, I think, rather than focusing on the ones waiting for us.."

As the two of them walked towards the small makeshift bar nestling in the corner of the base, Mwu took one last look up at the sky, at the sugar-spun expanse across the blackness. You're always in my thoughts...I miss you...

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"You're still awake?" She didn't answer, just curled up closer in his embrace, her hair tickling his neck. Mwu sighed, and leaned to press a soft kiss to the top of her head. Murrue tilted her head to look up at him, her dark eyes full of pain. "Well, you're still awake, aren't you?" she asked, snuggling back down into his arms. He gently stroked the bare skin of her shoulder. "You need to get some sleep.." he reminded her, and she glared back up at him. "I know!" she snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry..I just..I don't want to sleep yet. It's childish, I know..but it feels like the longer I stay awake, the longer I can...stay with you."

Mwu chuckled softly. "Why do you think I'm still awake?" he asked. Murrue smiled, propping herself up on her forearms to look right at him. "I guess we both wanted the same thing.." she said, tracing the path of his scar with a gentle finger. Her smile faded. "It's a long time, isn't it?" she whispered, and he nodded. Taking her hand, he squeezed it. "But not that long. I've...been away, for longer than that, haven't I?"

"Yes.." she replied, barely audible. "Which is why I don't want to let you go again.." A single tear escaped from her eyes. Dismayed, Mwu pulled her close again. "Hey, c'mon, sweetheart. It'll be okay.." he soothed. "You'll be fine. You've got the girls, and everyone here, and you're the strongest person I've ever met. Don't worry.." She nodded, face buried in his chest, but he could still feel the tears falling onto his skin. "But you won't be here, will you?" was all she said. All Mwu could do was gently stroke her hair until her tears stopped. "You will miss me, won't you?" she asked after a while, with a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob.

"More than anything." he replied, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'll miss everyone, miss this place..but I'll miss you most of all." He gently tilted her head so that she was looking at him, her eyes still filled with tears. "You have to promise me something, okay?" he asked, and she hiccupped a little. "What?"

"That you'll take care of yourself. I know you'll take good care of the girls, but you have to look after yourself, too. No working too hard, or forgetting to eat. You promise?"

Murrue nodded. "I promise. And you have to promise me that you'll do the best you can, and come home just as soon as they let you, okay?"

He reached out to caress her cheek, smiling when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "Okay, I promise." he replied. "Now," he continued, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her close, "shall we get some sleep?"

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The sunlight poured through the thin gauzy curtains, causing the woman nestled in the soft bed to stir, rubbing her eyes. Blinking sleepily, she checked her clock. 7:10. Five minutes before the alarm would go off. Stretching, Murrue yawned, staring up at the ceiling. "Time to..." she murmured, half-turning to the right, then she sighed, the pressure of her loneliness returning. He wasn't there.

I dreamt of him last night. He was standing alone looking up at the sky, with that sadness in his eyes he never let anyone see but me. I wanted so much to go to him, to hold him close, but I couldn't...

Climbing out of bed, she made her way over to the window, pressing a thin hand to the glass. Outside, it was a perfect early summer morning, the sun shining brightly through wispy clouds. But it would be night there, wouldn't it? Past 10PM. Too early for bed. If he were home, at a time like that, the children would be long asleep. She and Mwu would probably be sitting together on the sofa, sharing a bottle of wine, perhaps chatting about the things they'd done that day.

I wonder what he'd be doing right now? Perhaps he was in the bar, the one that military bases weren't supposed to have, but somehow always did. She could imagine him there if she closed her eyes, he sitting among friends, laughing and joking. His scarred face plastered with the wide happy smile she loved so much...

"Mama?" Blinking out of her dream, Murrue looked down at her oldest child. Stellar was already clad in the blue gingham dress that was part of her school's uniform, and her dark hair was tied back with a red ribbon. "Aren't you going to get ready? Auntie Erica'll get cross if you're late for work.." Smiling, the woman nodded, leaning down to kiss the little girl. "Yes, sweetie, I am. I was just thinking for a moment, that's all."

"About Papa?"

The sudden question caught Murrue off guard. "Huh? I..." Stellar smiled, but she looked sad too. "I think about Papa all the time. If he's happy where he is." She looked up at her mother in sudden fear. "Papa is coming home, isn't he, Mama?"

"Of course he is!" replied the woman, lifting up her daughter. "Papa's going to come home just as soon as he can. What he has to do is very important, but he'll be home, I promise."

Stellar nodded, scrubbing at her eyes. "Okay. I just...I really miss him.." Murrue hugged her tightly. "I know, honey. I miss him too."

"Lil says...that you cry at night sometimes. I don't know how she knows, but she says you do.." said the girl softly. "Do you cry, Mama? 'Cause you miss Papa?"

How could Lily know? She sleeps like a log through the night...she's only just two. How could she know that I cry?

"Sometimes, yes.." she admitted, setting her daughter down. "I do miss your papa very much. But you know...your papa's been away for longer than this before, and I was okay. So don't worry." Getting her Morgenroete uniform from the closet, Murrue made for the shower, shooing Stellar towards the door. "Can you finish getting your sister ready? Your lunch is already made, it's in the kitchen.."

"Okay, Mama!"

It's true..she thought as she stood beneath the jet of water. Mwu has been away for longer than this. But it hurts now just as much as it did then. Back then, I thought that I would never see him again. But now, even though I know he'll only be away for a few months...it feels the same. Like he...won't come back.

But he would. And when he did, she'd never let him out of her sight again.

You're always in my thoughts. I miss you...

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( This is intended as a companion piece to my old story 'Hanareru', or 'Apart', in which Mwu was sent to Scandinavia for six months. I think this turned out better than the original...

Please read and review! )