On what had started out as a typical work day in early September, General Hawk's phone rang mid-morning. Alison was used to having multiple desks and varying noise levels in a single office, so she had long since learned to tune out distractions. She ignored Hawk's conversation at first as she continued to read the reports on her desk. But as she picked up on the general's somber tone, she paid more attention.

"I understand," Hawk replied. "Do you have any more information as to the extent of her injuries?"

Alison looked from Stalker to Beach Head who had both stopped what they were doing to listen in as well. "Thank you," Hawk continued. "I know this is a very difficult time, so I appreciate any updates you can get me."

Hawk hung up his phone and took a moment to compose himself. He then faced the Joes in the room. "That was one of the generals out of Okinawa. He reported that a couple of hours ago, a devastating earthquake struck central Japan. The Arashikage compound was destroyed." Hawk again caught his breath. "Both Jinx and Scarlett were injured, with Scarlett's injuries being the most serious. And Snake-Eyes was killed."

Stalker gasped and had to brace himself against his desk. Alison went to his side. "Do the Joes know?"

"Not yet," Hawk answered. "I have to call General Bradshaw."

As Hawk picked up his phone, Alison grabbed her as well. She quickly dialed Flint's number. She wanted to alert him to the news so that he could be the one to tell Duke.

Flint was outside, keeping an eye on the fight currently taking place in the makeshift boxing ring that was built earlier in the day. As what usually happened in the fights between Leatherneck and Wet-suit, no one was quite sure what started it, or why it escalated as badly as it did. He had his arms folded across the chest to give the impression that he wasn't happy with the event. But in reality he was enjoying himself. It was good to see the Joes blowing off steam, and he had a fifty on Leatherneck, who was currently pummeling the hell out of Wet-Suit.

This was one of the moments he was going to miss when he left the Joe team. Although, as he expected, that moment wasn't coming any time in the near future. Duke had been an easy sell on the idea. "Look, we both know I was selfish the last go around, when I forced your hand and nearly cost you everything," Duke had said once Flint told him his desire to transfer. "Luckily, I've come a long way, both physically and mentally, since then. I've finally come to terms with the idea that I'm never going to be the man I was before Serpentor's attack, but I do feel that I can be the Top this team needs. Ideally, I would want you by my side, but I understand why you need to move on."

Anvil too had been agreeable to the idea, with a caveat. "I knew at some point we would be revisiting this topic. To be honest, I thought you were going to bring it up right after your baby was born. But I do thank you for waiting until the team was at a more stable point." Anvil paused before he continued. "I'm also going to admit that Sergeant Hauser spoke to me about this. He assured me that he is back in top form, and that Falcon can handle many of your duties. I agree with that. However, I still would hesitate to let you go if the Joe team was at the level of activity it once had. But it's not. So even though I know you want to make this move for personal reasons, I'm ready to okay it if you make this a positive move professionally as well. Flint, you're too valuable a resource to the US Army. Find another active unit to join, and I will sign off on the transfer."

Flint had walked out of the General's office pleased with the conversation. He had done a lot of soul searching regarding his professional future, and while he felt a life of academia was something he wanted to pursue, he figured that was something that could wait until later in life. Flint agreed with Anvil that he still had a lot to offer the Army. He had immediately started a search to find a job he was qualified for in DC area to transfer to, but there weren't any available at the moment. It was nearing the end of the fiscal year in Washington, so he had to wait until budgets were finalized before a new set of job listings were sent out.

Luckily, October was only a few weeks away. He still hadn't told Alison about his impending transfer yet, as he wanted to wait until he had a concrete plan in place. He didn't want her to get her hopes up for no reason.

Flint's thoughts were interrupted by the calling of his name. He looked up to see Dial-Tone rushing towards him. "Alison's on the phone. She said it's important."

Flint patted down his pockets and realized he left his cell at his desk. As he took the phone from Dial-Tone he hoped nothing was wrong.

"Dash, where were you? I've been trying to call you for the last ten minutes." He heard her voice catch. "I've got bad news."

Flint's heart began to pound. "Al, what's going on? Is it Marissa?"

"No, she's fine." Flint breathed a sigh of relief. He could handle anything as long as his baby girl was okay. Alison continued. "There was an earthquake in Japan. Snakes is dead. And Scarlett's badly hurt. We don't have many more details beyond that, but you have to tell Duke."

"I'm on my way. Are you okay?"

"Obviously, we're all pretty shook up. Stalker is taking it hard, but Hawk is with him."

"Alright, I'll give you a call later."

Ignoring Dial-Tone's questions, Flint raced for Duke's office. Alison was right that he should be the first to tell him. But he guessed he was too late when General Bradshaw announced an all hands meeting. He reached Duke's door, knocked, but didn't wait for the invitation to go in.

Duke had his head in his hands, and only briefly looked up as Flint walked in. "I'm assuming you heard."

"Yes. Allison just called and told me. Conrad, I'm so sorry. I know you've been with Snakes since the beginning."

Duke nodded. "I'd be devastated if we lost any of the Joes. But you're right, I do have a special bond with the original team. With Clutch, Grunt and Steeler doing God knows what God knows where, and now Snake-Eyes, I've lost a quarter of that group. And from what I hear, Scarlett's not doing," Duke couldn't finish his train of thought.

Flint put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "She's a fighter, Duke."

"I know. And I'm trying to stay positive. But all I can think about is how I put her in that position. I just wanted to keep her from getting hurt, and look what happened."

"You can't think like that," Flint began. However, he was interrupted by the ringing of Duke's phone. Duke sighed and answered it. He spoke for only a few moments.

"Anvil is looking for us," Duke explained after he hung up. "Go on ahead. I'm coming, I just need a couple of minutes."

"Take your time. I'll handle the general."

The all-hands meeting that followed was a somber affair. Flint did his best to remain stoic at Anvil's side, as the general made the announcement to the Joes. Many of the Joes gasped and or visibly wept. Duke had kept to his promise, and had joined the other leaders on the stage, but he refused to make eye contact with anyone, and left right after the Joes were dismissed.

Afterwards Flint debated talking to Duke again, but he decided that he probably wanted the time to be alone. Flint tried to reach out to the one person he really wanted to talk to, but Alison didn't answer her phone.

Later that night, Flint sat in the rec room trying to distract himself from his thoughts. However, the national news was on, and the top story was the earthquake in Japan. He felt a buzzing in his pocket, and was grateful for his phone's interruption. He was even happier when he saw who was calling.

He walked out into the hallway and answered the phone. "Hey, babe."

"Hey. Sorry I missed your call earlier, it was a pretty hectic rest of the afternoon."

"I understand. It was the same here. Any more word out of Japan?"

"Nothing concrete. There's so much conflicting information, which is understandable. We're still not sure what are the extent of Shana's injuries, but the good news is that it doesn't seem to be life threatening."

Flint made his way to his office and took a seat at his desk. "Thank God. And what about Jinx?"

"She seems to be okay. Hawk had a chance to talk to her briefly before the phone connection was lost."

"That's more good news," Flint said. The two then paused. He heard the sounds of cooing and babbling in the background. "Is that Marissa?"

"It is. I'm breaking my rule by bringing her into our bed, but tonight I just want her near me."

"I know the feeling. I really wish I could be with you right now." Flint wiped away at the wetness that formed under his eye.

"I wish you could be here too," Alison said quietly.

"I have to find a way to get out there in the next day or two."

"Actually, you probably don't have to. Hawk wants to have a memorial service at HQ, and he wants all of us to go. So I'm probably coming to you."

"That'll be nice. Will you bring Marissa?" Flint realized the idiocy of the question as soon as he said it.

Alison chuckled. "Well considering at four and a half months, she's not quite ready to stay a few days by herself, yes. I assume Stalker will be bringing Lydia and the kids, so I'll probably travel with them. Hopefully we'll get it figured out tomorrow."

"That sounds good. I know it's late there, so I'll let you get some sleep. Kiss the princess and give her my love." As he listened to Alison tell Marissa that her daddy loved her, his heart got heavy. "And, Alison, I love you too."

"I love you too, Dash."

Flint hung up the phone. He sat quietly at his desk for a few moments until a framed photo caught his attention. It was one of Alison and Marissa. He had several stashed around his office, room and the apartment, but this was his favorite one. It had been taken a few months ago, when Marissa was about a month old. Alison had staged the photo as a self-portrait of the two of them on the couch. It was just a shot of both of their heads with Alison grinning, while Marissa looked quizzically at the camera.

At the time he received it, Alison had captioned it as the two of them getting ready for a girls' weekend. She told him that she decided to take the photo to capture Marissa's newly learned skill of smiling for him, but despite several shots, she was never able to capture the moment.

Despite that, it was still the perfect photo for him. He could see that Marissa had been on the verge of a smile, and he loved the quizzical look on her face as she studied what must have been a strange object to her. It was also the time that her features began to change from a newborn into an infant growing into her own looks. Up until that point, Marissa had looked more like him. Flint had enjoyed comparing his own baby photos that his mother had brought him to Marissa, and seeing the strong resemblance.

But as the weeks went on, she started to look more and more like her mother. Flint had to admit he was a little disappointed to see the change, but he knew in the long run Marissa would be better off if she favored Alison more than himself. He looked forward to seeing how much she had changed again. Watching an infant grow was a reminder of how quickly life goes by.

And the earthquake in Japan was a brutal reminder of how quickly life can be taken away. That thought strengthened Flint's resolve to bring his family together full time.

Alison stood with Duke as they waited for Scarlett's arrival at the airport. Flint had been on a long list of Joes that had wanted to join them to welcome Scarlett back, but Alison thought it would be better if he stayed with Marissa. And Duke didn't want to overwhelm Scarlett when she first arrived.

Alison glanced over at Duke, whose face was hard and jaw was clenched. It was a sure sign that the Top was stressed. It had been more than two weeks since the earthquake and she knew he was anxious to finally see Scarlett. She had suffered a severe concussion and a broken ankle, but considering that she had been trapped under the rubble of one of the Arishakage buildings, she had been lucky.

After Scarlett had been released from the hospital in Tokyo, she had flown to Atlanta to recuperate at home. In agreement with Anvil, Hawk had postponed the memorial service until Scarlett was well enough to travel a second time. Once they got the news that Scarlett was cleared to make the trip, Hawk planned their own. The nice thing about travelling with a General on official business, was that they took a charter flight instead of flying commercial. A fact Alison was happy about since Marissa, in the midst of teething issues, didn't travel as well as she did on her first flight. Luckily, the full-fledged shrieking was kept to a minimum, and Lydia was happy to lend a hand to try and soothe the cranky infant.

They had arrived the previous day, and the memorial wasn't until the following day, so it gave Alison and Marissa time to acclimate to the time change. And Alison was glad she had arrived early enough so she could be there pick up Scarlett. She was also happy that Scarlett took up their offer to stay with them at the apartment.

Duke flinched. Alison scanned the arriving crowd, and she finally saw Scarlett being pushed in a wheelchair by her brother, Brian. "She doesn't look as bad as I was expecting."

Duke just grunted as they made their way over to them. "Ignore the wheelchair, I don't need it," Scarlett said. "But this was the only way he'd let me make this trip."

"It wasn't just me," Brian said. "Your doctor insisted."

Scarlett mumbled under her breath. She braced herself against the arm rests. Brian began to protest but she waved him away. "I just want to stand up to give my friends a hug."

Alison deferred to Duke who enveloped Scarlett in a bear hug. They held tight to each other, and by the shaking of their shoulders Alison could tell that both of them were getting emotional. She turned her head to give them a semblance of privacy. Once they separated, Alison stepped in.

"I'm so sorry. How are you doing?"

"I'm taking it one day at a time." Scarlett sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "You look great. I guess the one silver lining in this is that I finally get to meet Marissa."

"I have to warn you that she's teething, so I'm going to apologize ahead of time for any lost sleep she causes you."

Scarlett gingerly sat back down in the wheelchair. "It's all I've been doing the last two weeks, so missing a couple of hours of sleep won't kill me."

Brian squeezed her shoulder. "I'm going to get our bags."

"Let me help you," Duke said.

"No, Duke, stay with Scarlett. I'll go with Brian. And give me your keys, I'll get the car once we're ready."

Alison had two reasons for her suggestion. Not only did she want to give Duke and Scarlett some more time together, but she wanted to talk to Brian to find out the depth of Scarlett's injuries.

"How is she really doing?" Alison asked once they found a spot in front of the conveyor belt.

"Physically, she'll be okay in a few weeks. Mentally and emotionally, though? I think that healing is going to take longer."

Alison nodded. "Has she talked about the earthquake and Snake Eyes?"

"Not to me. And I don't think she's opened up to my brothers or Da." Brian exhaled sharply. "This is one of the many times that I wish our mother was still alive."

Alison knew she was a far cry from Scarlett's mother, but she still hoped that Scarlett would eventually confide in her like they've done in the past. Being caught in the earthquake was traumatic enough, but it had to be devastating to lose Snake-Eyes, a man that Alison suspected Scarlett had been extremely close to.

The conveyer belt alarmed, startling Alison from her thoughts. Once the bags were collected, Alison retrieved the car. They spent the ride to the apartment in near silence. Marissa helped lighten the somber tone, and Scarlett smiled for the first time that day.

"She's beautiful!" Scarlett said as Flint handed Marissa to her.

Scarlett held Marissa throughout most of the evening. Alison was happy to let her, especially since her daughter was continuing to bring a light of happiness to Scarlett. They spent the time telling stories about Snake-Eyes, some Alison had heard before, but most she did not.

After Marissa went to bed, Duke announced he was returning to HQ. Once he left, Scarlett said she too was ready to turn in. Flint and Alison showed Scarlett and Brian to the hastily reconverted guest room. "I borrowed the cots from HQ. They're not exactly roomy, but they should be comfortable."

"This is fine. Are you sure you don't mind evicting Marissa?"

"Not at all. She's sound asleep in her crib in our room," Alison answered. She wished them a good night and she went into her bedroom. Before she climbed into bed, she spent a few minutes leaning on the crib railing, and watched Marissa sleep. Flint walked up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I was holding off on telling you this until I had a concrete set of orders," Flint said. "But after what happened, I don't want to wait. I'm leaving the Joes."

Alison gasped and spun around. She wrapped her arms around Flint. "Please tell me you're moving closer to home."

"That's the plan. But like I said, nothing is set right now."

Her mind raced as she contemplated all of the positive aspects of Flint's announcement. She had many questions that she didn't want to ask at that moment. That would come later. Instead she kissed him long and hard and once again expressed her love for him.

Scarlett dropped to her knees in frustration. She and Snake-Eyes had been training all morning, and no matter how many times she tried to perfect the latest move, her technique was faulty. Snake-Eyes walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Once he had her attention, he signed that they should take a break.

"No," Scarlett adamantly said. "I almost mastered it."

Snake-Eyes paused, and she could practically read his thoughts that her statement was a lie. But instead of calling her on it, he just nodded and took his position. Scarlett too got into position. She took a few moments to calm her breathing and her thoughts. She closed her eyes, and took a couple of deep breaths. When she felt the ground start to shake, her eyes shot open. For a moment she thought her overtraining was catching up to her, but she noticed that Snake-Eyes also tensed.

"Earthquake!" he signed as the ground violently shifted. His reaction was much quicker than hers, and he dove on top of her just as she realized the ceiling was coming down. One of the beams fell across her ankle, engulfing her in pain. Moments later, her world went dark as the rest of the ceiling and portions of the roof collapsed on top of them.

Scarlett sat up abruptly in bed, gasping for air. Reliving the earthquake had become a nightly ritual for her. Luckily, based on Bryan's rhythmic breathing, she hadn't cried out like she had a few nights in the past. As she laid there trying to calm her beating heart, she heard Marissa begin to cry. There was the sound of rustling from the bedroom next door, and Marissa's cries quieted.

Scarlett knew she wasn't falling back to sleep any time in the near future, so she grabbed her crutches and as quietly as possible, hobbled out into the living room. She turned on the TV and quickly muted it. She scrolled through a few channels before she settled on a rerun of an old comedy.

She paid no attention to the show. Instead she replayed her conversation with Duke from earlier that day in the airport. Once she had settled back into her wheelchair, he had stood by her side, both quiet for several seconds. Then Duke asked, "Shana are you alright?"

Scarlett contemplated how to answer that question. The pain in her ankle had all but dissipated in the past couple of days, and many of the symptoms of the concussion had faded. But while she knew Duke was concerned about her level of pain, she suspected it was a deeper question than that.

She decided honesty was the best way to proceed. "No, I'm not." Duke remained quiet waiting for her to continue, but she couldn't. Scarlett knew that if she started talking about the earthquake, her fear when she came to under the rubble, the anguish and horror she had experienced once she realized that Snake-Eyes was lying lifeless on top of her, and the aftermath of trying to deal with it, she would open the proverbial can of worms. She was fairly sure she would suffer something resembling an emotional breakdown and she didn't want to do that in the airport full of people.

Duke didn't press the issue, but instead he asked, "Have you given any thought to when you are going back to Japan?"

"I have and I'm not," Scarlett said. She swallowed against the tears that started to form. "I know that makes me a coward, and I should go back to help the Arishakage rebuild, but I can't go back there."

"Shana, you are far from a coward, and no one will blame you for making that decision. So what are you going to do? Work with your father and brothers at your dojo?"

"I haven't made any hard and fast decisions yet, but I don't think I can do that either. I love my family, and they would welcome me without any hesitation. But, I knew before I joined the Army that teaching at the dojo was not my calling, and that hasn't changed. So basically, I don't know what my life's goals are at the moment."

Duke nodded. "Take the time to recover, and don't rush into anything. But I want you to know that the Joes would welcome you back with open arms as well."

Scarlett scoffed. "I don't think Anvil knows how to open his arms."

Duke reached down and grabbed her hand. "If Anvil doesn't, I will."

Scarlett's tears began to flow freely. She wanted a moment to compose herself. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

"Do you want me to get Alison?"

"No," Scarlett replied forcefully. "I can take care of myself."

However, it hadn't been easy. It took her a longer than normal amount of time to take care of her needs and get a hold of her emotions. Luckily, by the time she emerged, Brian had returned with their bags.

Scarlett shifted on the couch in the Faireborn's living room and considered Duke's offer. Maybe she was reading too much into his open arms comment, but she was surprised by the depth of the emotion behind it. And she couldn't help but wonder if he meant it in a personal way, or only professionally.

Either way, she didn't have the energy or desire to deal with Duke. She meant what she said that she hadn't made and decisions regarding her future, and she wasn't going to until she completely healed.

Scarlett heard the back bedroom door open, and soon she was joined by Alison. "I'm sorry, did Marissa wake you?" she asked.

"No, I was already awake. I can't seem to shake the nightmares."

Alison sat down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Scarlett focused on the images. All she had to do was close her eyes, and she was transported back to the moments during and after the earthquake. Her ankle and head began to throb, and her heart started to race as she was hit again with the panic of being trapped. But none of that was as bad as dealing with the fact that she had lost Snake-Eyes.

She quickly opened her eyes with a sob and shook her head. Alison wrapped her arms around her, and the two women sat together quietly until Scarlett found the courage to speak. "Snakes loved me, and I couldn't reciprocate it. I did love him, but not in the way he wanted. There was a while that I thought I would give it a chance. That if Snakes and I tried to make a go of it, that eventually my feelings would change."

Alison shifted on the couch and grabbed Scarlett's hand. "Starting a relationship hoping that you'll fall in love doesn't seem very fair to either one of you."

"I know, and that's why I never did it. But he's gone now, and I can't shake the guilt. He was such a good man, and deserved better. Why couldn't I give him what he wanted?"

"You can't force yourself to fall in love. I admit that I didn't know Snake-Eyes as well as you, but I have to believe he wouldn't have wanted you with him out of pity."

Scarlett nodded and the tears began to fall. Alison reached over and hugged her. Scarlett knew Alison said was true, but it didn't make her feel any better.

Alison gently rocked Marissa in her arms as she watched the Joes gather in formation on the parade grounds while she stood in the shadows of HQ with the other wives. She was frustrated over the idea of being relegated to the sidelines. Snake-Eyes had been her teammate and she wanted to honor him alongside the Joes. However, the Joes were preparing a military open boot ceremony, and she was no longer military. She had debated taking up the matter with Anvil, but she didn't want to start an argument. Plus, she had Marissa so staying off to the side was probably the best course of action.

As if sensing her thoughts, Hawk walked over to her. "Would you like to join us on the field?"

"I would," Alison replied. "But am I allowed?"

"This has nothing to do with military status. This is about saying goodbye to a friend. Take the place next to Flint."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Alison said. She hesitated a moment as she thought about what to do with Marissa when Lydia came through for her yet again. She offered to hold Marissa during the ceremony.

Alison strolled across the parade field with conflicted emotions. She felt a sense of pride at being included in a close knit family that takes care of their own. However, she also felt an overwhelming feeling a sorrow that the ceremony needed to be performed.

Her tears were flowing freely by the time she joined Flint's side. He gave her a sad smile before they were ordered to stand at attention. The ceremony passed in an emotional blur for Alison. Most of her attention was focused on Scarlett, who stood in the front row along with the other members of the Joes that were closest to Snake-Eyes. One Joe that was missing was Jinx. She hadn't made the trip back to the States, since her help was needed in the recovery missions taking place in Japan. Duke stood close to Scarlett's side, apparently ready to support her in case she faltered, but she stayed strong throughout.

At one point, Stalker was overcome by emotion and collapsed to his knees. Alison's tears fell harder as she watched Hawk help Stalker back to his feet. Despite the fact that she wanted to break formation to check on Lydia and Marissa, or to even lock eyes with Flint again she held still.

When the ceremony concluded, they were allowed to stand down. However, they had been ordered to hold their position until they began their parade march back into HQ. Alison discretely turned her head to make sure that Lydia was okay with Marissa. She was, and as Alison resumed her position, she noticed that Flint too had turned to check on Marissa. She smiled at him as their eyes met.

They began the slow, somber walk back into HQ. Once they entered the building, Flint reached for her hand. It started Alison's tears anew, and she squeezed it. They walked down the hallway where they were reunited with Marissa. Flint reached for his daughter first. He gave her a hug and a kiss before he passed her to Alison.

Further down the hallway Alison saw Scarlett. Alison wanted to check on her, but she held back. Scarlett had Duke and Brian on either side of her, supporting her as she received condolences from the Joes. Alison wrapped her arm tighter around Marissa as she pulled Flint close to her. She leaned into him and watched the expressions of love and support from her teammates, once again grateful for all that she had.

A/N: This chapter came about a couple of years ago after I read the Death of Snake Eyes arc by IDW. The cause of Snake Eyes' demise is vastly different in my story, but what inspired this was issue #214, which was the silent Open Boot ceremony issue. When I saw the single panel of Flint and Lady Jaye holding hands as they reentered the Pit, I wanted to find a way to work that into my story. The last scene of this chapter relies heavily on that issue.