**Author's note (PLEASE READ):

Requirements in order to read this story: You've already read Part I: Safe on the Edge. Just to avoid any confusion :)

I am SO excited to have you all read this! To recap from the first A/N in Part I: Part II dives further into past events to fill in the blanks of Part I and adds extra events while being a "Prequel Sequel," meaning you'll be reading about Rita's version of resetting in Verdun in the present chapters before she sees Luke again. Part III will carry on after the events of Part I's ending in the present chapters and fill in more blanks/tidy things up in the past chapters.

Some housekeeping before we get started to avoid me repeating it in each chapter:

1. This story will touch on topics such as abuse and violence. If you've read my work, you know I keep it to a "T" rating and don't get explicit, but be advised: there are triggering things mentioned and explored in this story.

2. The chapters are going to switch between past and present events, so please watch the headings so you're not confused. As a reminder: the events of the story are a mix of canon and AU, so I'm not exactly following canon 100%; some changes will be made here and there.

3. I will be constantly editing and reworking this story as I post chapters. I might even have to go back and fix/change things as I continue writing Part III (although I hope not). If I do, I will let you know to reread whatever I fix/change. I'm a little more behind on Part II (I didn't get to finish it entirely before posting it), so I might not get to do weekly updates, but I will try.

4. Medical facts, army/military stuff etc. I always use Google for as I'm not an expert. If it's not right, please PM me and direct me to where I can find the correct information, and I'll fix it.

5. I sometimes use my favorite actors/actresses to help myself visualize some of my OC characters as I like their personalities in films I've seen them in. You don't have to visualize them if you don't want to, and I don't do it for all of them.

Please enjoy! There won't be long author's notes in the rest of this story until the last chapter (and maybe not even then), I promise. As always, I look forward to hearing your feedback :)

Song I listened to for prologue (moving forward, I will just be putting down the song titles and artists' names at the beginning of the chapter):

Mayday by Immediate Music

FULL STORY SUMMARY:

Rita Vrataski never dreamed she'd be a soldier, yet here she is. When all feels lost, she gains the power to reset the day, giving her a chance to save the world. She only trusts Hendricks with the truth in order to gain his help, and after many resets, she's found herself allowing him and her team to know her better, but it helps that they won't remember. In the end, though, with death surrounding her every single day and feeling hopeless about seeing her loved ones again, Rita starts hardening and building up walls again, but it also makes her reflect on her history with Luke Wright, and it becomes clearer that she really does need him and want him back in her life. But how does one come back from breaking a heart into a thousand pieces?

Prologue

2020

She didn't know what she was doing here. What was she trying to prove? Nothing ever took away the pain of losing him, of leaving him behind. It had been her choice to go, but one made from fear and anger. It was something she regretted so much but had no idea how to come back from.

"WATCH YOURSELF!" a voice shouted by her ear, startling her, and she tripped, falling down the hill in a roll until she hit the bottom. Winded, she propped herself up. The Mimics were everywhere. This felt like an ambush.

"WOOOOOO YEEAAAA!" someone bellowed gleefully, and she turned her head to see them get struck down and killed in an instant. She swallowed the bile that was rising. She forced herself to get up. She forced herself to keep moving.

"Come on, come on, come on!" another was yelling. "Is that all you got? Is that all you go-ahhh!" She turned away as that person was pounded into the ground. She fired her gun, feeling hopeless.

What the hell was she doing here? She was never going to find him here. He was lost...probably long dead. It broke her heart to think it, but she had to be logical. No one could survive this. She hated herself for not stopping him, for not realizing he would even want to join this fight at his age or that someone would be stupid enough to not see he wasn't actually 18.

"LOOK OUT, LUV!"

She whipped her head around to see the Mimic bear down on her. Her hand reflexively went for the bomb on her vest, and her very last thought was that she wasn't going to die in vain, that she was doing it for both of them: her lost loves.

Then it was dark.