AN: Here's the second part! Get ready for some Mush/Blink fluff. Thanks to all my reviewers; here are your shout outs, and my first shout outs ever!
Shout Outs:
SpotLover421: Yeah, I only thought the whole roof thing was appropriate because it is Christmas Eve. It is kinda sad up until the end…poor Dutchy…
Chicago: I love it when my fics are appreciated. Hopefully your cousin will come home soon…maybe for Christmas?
Ink: NO! Don't die! There are two more chapters!
Sage1899: Yeah, our state (Indiana) has lost quite a few. I think around 8 or 10. It makes me sad. And that's my all time favorite Christmas song too! *gasp* We're psychicly connected!
Nakaia Aidan-Sun: They are cute together. Uber cute. And I definitely have plans for Blink and Mush, but not like you'd think.
Patriot: Yeah, I get sick of people putting our troops down when they're out there fighting and dying for us. And since I can't go fight, this is my little way of giving back.
Blink
"What do you mean, you overbooked the flight?"
The desk lady shrugged her shoulders, nervously tapping her extremely long fingernails on the desk. "The flight is full. You'll have to wait on the next one."
"When is the next one?"
She typed for a moment, staring at the computer screen as she chewed her gum loudly. The people behind me were getting impatient; after all, they too were trying to get home to their families before Christmas. I could feel both approving and disapproving looks in my direction, as I was the only one in line wearing desert combat fatigues.
"Let's see…on Friday we have a flight, San Diego to New York City, with three layovers in Denver, St. Louis, and Columbus along the way."
"Ma'am…Friday is the day after Christmas. I have to get home for Christmas," I insisted, trying to make my point without getting mad. Friday was two days away…I could get three fourths of the way to New York City in that amount of time. Not to mention I only had two weeks of leave, and every second I lost was one that I could be spending with my Mush.
"I'm sorry. That's all we've got," she said, shrugging again.
I stood there for a moment, hovering between breaking down into tears or throwing a tantrum. Then, I just muttered 'thank you' and walked away.
I sat down in one of the uncomfortable waiting seats and put my face in my hands, trying hard to hold back tears. I had been shooting at Iraqi soldiers, blowing up military compounds, and using a machine gun to mow down convoys from a helicopter for five months now…and I couldn't do something as simple as getting home in time to spend Christmas with Mush.
I promised him I'd be there. I promised him. And now I couldn't follow through because some stupid airline decided to overbook every single fucking Christmas flight.
I didn't even realize that I was crying until someone walked up to me and laid a hand on my shoulder, asking if I was okay. I looked up into the face of a man wearing blue jeans and a California shirt, obviously a tourist headed home from a vacation. I caught sight of his family just a few feet behind him, a little girl and a boy about ten or eleven, their mother entertaining them as their father spoke to me.
"I'm fine. Just…flight troubles."
His face contorted in confusion. "They're not going to get you home for Christmas, are they?"
I swallowed hard, wiping the tears off my face. "No sir."
"Where are you trying to go?"
"New York City."
He walked away, and I didn't pay any attention to the exchange. I simply fell back into self pity, longing for Mush's touch, the feeling of his soft, curly hair running through my fingers, his radiant smile…
"Here."
My head snapped back up, and the same man was standing in front of me, this time holding out a plane ticket. I looked up at him in shock, and he smiled.
"Take it. This will get you home by six 'o clock tonight."
"I couldn't. I mean, your family…"
"My family is fine with it. We can have our Christmas dinner late, when I get back. But you can't."
I looked at his family, expecting to see some kind of disappointment or anger in their eyes, but there was nothing of the sort. His wife was beaming, his son was watching with great interest, and his little girl was sitting on the floor, adjusting the whiskers on her tiger stuffed animal.
The man suddenly grabbed my hand, shoving the ticket into my palm. "Take it. You've done your share of the fighting. You need to go home."
"Sir," I choked back more tears, but these tears weren't from frustration. "I…I can't thank you enough. Is there anything I can do to thank you?"
He smiled brightly. "Just have a merry Christmas, Sergeant Mitchell," he said, glancing at the name embroidered on my fatigues.
They suddenly called for the final boarding on my flight, and I joined the man's family in line to get on the plane.
I took one look back at him right at the doorway, and he waved. Then I boarded the flight, wondering why the only person who was willing to do this for me was the very person who shouldn't have to at all.
I can't recall how many times I told the taxi driver to 'step on it'. Luckily he was one of the better natured ones, and he would simply chuckle and continue as fast as he could through the congested city streets.
I had him pull up a block from the house, knowing that Mush would be listening for a car to pull up. I thanked the driver, tipped him way more than usual, and then I sprinted down the streets and climbed the steps as quietly as I could up to the door.
I tried the door first, and it came open readily; no one in this neighborhood locked their doors much. It was a pretty good neighborhood. I slipped inside and closed the door quietly behind me, walking to the archway leading into the dining room.
Mush was the only one sitting with his back to me; the rest of the family noticed my presence immediately, but with one gesture I told them to stay quiet. They played along, as usual.
I crept up behind Mush as the family ate in silence, knowing exactly where to step to keep the floor from creaking.
I reached him and then put my hands over his eyes, and he jerked in surprise.
"Guess who?" I said, holding him there and not allowing him to turn around and look or uncover his eyes.
"Blink?" He asked tentatively, and I finally took my hands off his eyes. He stood up and spun around, attacking me in a hug and whispering, "I thought you weren't going to make it…"
I smiled and winked at his family, pulling him closer and praying to God that the man from the airport knew how thankful I was for him.
"I don't break promises."
AN: The next chapter will be quite different. It is Snitch/Skitts, and it will be based in Iraq. And I'll do shout outs again, so GO REVIEW!!!!!!