Hey! So here's the next chapter! It's kind of long, but I think it's pretty good and interesting. Enjoy!


Chapter 26

His plane ride back to Wilmington was eight hours long. His plane left on time at 7:30 and the flight went by smoothly. They ended up showing three movies; Fantastic Four, Steel Magnolias, which, coincidentally, was Allison's favorite movie, and the new Harry Potter movie; The Goblet of Fire. He watched Harry Potter and Steel Magnolias but, by the time Fantastic Four came on, he had a headache. He cut his screen off and sat his seat back and fell asleep.

By the time he woke up, the plane was descending. One of the flight attendants walked by and he asked how far away they were from Wilmington. She smiled,

"About five minutes."

"Five minutes?"

"Yes, sir." He smiled,

"Okay, thank you." She nodded and walked back down the aisle. He smiled again, not believing he was almost home after eighteen months of being away.

When they landed, he got his carry-on bag out of the cubby and followed everyone off of the plane. He was excited to say the least; His father, along with Allison's parents, would be waiting for him in the lobby. As he walked off of the plane and down the hallway to the main part of the airport, he was growing more and more excited. He went and found his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He walked through the terminal, into the lobby, and quickly scanned the crowd.

He didn't see them at first but, after a second look, he saw them off to the side. As soon as he saw them, they spotted him and he saw them all smile and start waving. He couldn't help but smile as he walked over to them. When he got close to them, he put his bag down and her mom opened her arms. He smiled and hugged her as she said,

"Oh my goodness; it's so good to see you!"

"You, too, Mrs. Johnson." He couldn't help but grin and pull back and look at both her father and his father. He turned to her father,

"How are you doing, sir? Allison told me about you going to the hospital a few months ago. Is everything okay?" Her father smiled,

"Yes, I'm fine, Ben, how are you doing?"

"I'm good." Her father smiled again and gave him a quick hug before Ben turned to his own father. They both smiled and he gave him a hug,

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, Ben, how are you?"

"I'm good, I missed you." His dad smiled as he pulled back,

"I missed you, too. I'm glad you're back; the house was so quiet without you." Ben laughed, happier than ever that he was finally home.

They stood talking for a few minutes before they made their way out to the parking lot. They had both parked beside each other and, when they reached the cars, they all turned to each other. He gave both her mom and dad a hug and her mom said,

"Well, I guess we'll see you in a couple of hours, then. We'll bring Allison to your house after her class ends." He put his bag in the car and turned to them,

"Well, I was going to ask you, what time does her class end?"

"4:30, why?"

"Do you think I could pick her up? I was thinking maybe I could surprise her." Her mom smiled,

"Of course you can, that's a great idea."

"Okay, thank you. Can you tell me where her class is?"


After getting the directions to Allison's class, he gave her mom and dad another hug and told them that, after he picked Allison up, they would come back to their house.

It took them about fifteen minutes to get back to their house and, when they pulled in the driveway, he smiled. The house hadn't changed a bit in eighteen months and he didn't realize how much he missed it. It was 4:00 when he got home and he only had a few minutes before he had to leave. Allison's class ended at 4:30 and he planned to leave at 4:10 to get there in time. He couldn't explain the excitement he was feeling. He had been away from Allison for so long and he couldn't wait until he finally saw her and held her in his arms again.

He and his father talked non-stop. Ben told him all about going on the two missions he went on and about teaching Tyler about being in the Air Force and how to fly the plane he was going to be flying. His father listened attentively and it immediately made him think of Allison. His father also told him basically what he said in his letters. His dad had not stopped smiling since he picked him up from the airport and Ben knew his father was glad that he was home.

When they walked inside, he went to his room and started unpacking his things. By the time he was done, it was almost time for him to leave. He decided to leave his uniform on; he wanted to stick out as much as he could, especially because everyone would be leaving their classes at the same time. He grabbed his keys and walked into the living room where his father was.

"Hey, dad, I'm going to head on, okay?"

"Okay."

"I probably won't be back until later."

"Okay. I know where you'll be." Ben smiled and suddenly felt bad; he had just come home after being away for eighteen months and he was already going out. He found himself shuffling his feet,

"Well after I pick up Allison we're going to have dinner with her family; why don't you come?"

"No, no, no, you two go ahead. I wouldn't want you to have to come back here and pick me up."

"Don't worry about it; I have to come home and change clothes anyway. I'm sure her parents would love it if you came." He thought about it for a minute before finally nodding,

"Okay, I'll come."

"Good, well, I better get going; her class ends at 4:30."

"All right, good luck. I know you're excited." He smiled,

"You have no idea."


It took about ten minutes to get to UNCW. He parked in the main parking lot and followed her mom's instructions on how to get to her class. He finally found the building after five minutes of searching. He sat down on a bench near the entrance and looked down at his watch, seeing that he had about five minutes until her class ended.

He looked around at the campus and it was nice, really nice, actually. There were flowers planted everywhere and there wasn't a speck of trash anywhere. The grass was a beautiful green and the sidewalks were lined with flowers. It was a really nice campus and could see why students from all over came to go here.

As the minutes ticked by, he became more and more nervous and more and more excited. Like Allison had said in her letter, he had been waiting for this moment for eighteen months. The bell finally rang and he took a deep breath and stood up as students poured out of the building. His excitement level was through the roof and he could hardly stand still as he scanned the crowd for her. It took him a couple of seconds, but he finally spotted her. He felt his heart skip a beat and all he could do was stare at her.

She didn't see him right away and he stood where he was as she drew closer. He watched her walk down the steps and, when she drew closer, she finally spotted him. She glanced his way and, when she saw him, she froze. She looked at him for a second, obviously in shock and he smiled. When he smiled, it must have broken her free of the shock she was in because, at that moment, a huge smile came across her face.

"Ben?"

He smiled again and started to run towards her. She put her hands over her mouth and began to run towards him, as well. When she was close enough, he scooped her into his arms and she threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her up off of the ground and could hear her crying. He smiled and held her tighter, getting tears in his own eyes. He held her for a minute, both of them silent, letting the feeling soak in that they were finally together again, after a year and a half apart.

She finally pulled away and he could see tears streaming down her face. He smiled again, fighting the tears in his own eyes and she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. He smiled and she grinned as he brought both of his hands to her cheeks and wiped away her tears. He put his forehead to hers and closed his eyes and whispered,

"I'm back, right where I belong; right here with you" She smiled again as more tears fell down her cheeks. She finally gathered up the strength and said,

"I missed you so much."

He smiled again and leaned in and kissed her. And, at that moment, he knew no one on the face of the Earth could be happier than him.

They stood together for what seemed like years before he pulled away and looked at her,

"So, how was your class?" She smiled and laughed before throwing her arms around his neck again. He held her and put his forehead to hers,

"You have no idea how much I missed you." She smiled and closed her eyes,

"I can't believe you're here. I've imagined this moment for eighteen months and now I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." She smiled,

"I love you so much, Ben." He smiled and leaned in and kissed her again, knowing he loved her more than he would ever love anybody in his entire life.

After holding her for almost ten minutes, he finally let her go and they both smiled at each other. He bent down and picked up her book bag, throwing it over his shoulder as he reached for her hand. She held his hand with both of hers as they walked back to his truck.

"I just can't believe you're here."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You definitely did. It was the best surprise I've ever gotten."

He smiled and kissed her hand as they approached his truck. He let her and go and jogged up to the truck and opened her door. She smiled and reached up and kissed him. He kissed her back and brought his hand up to her cheek and kissed her again. He reached out with his other hand, still kissing her, and slammed the door shut as she leaned up against the side of his truck. He brought both of his hands to her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his waist. They kissed for a couple of minutes before she pulled away and smiled,

"I love you, Ben." He smiled and stroked her cheek, gently,

"I love you, too, Allison."


On their way back to his house, they talked endlessly. He held her hand as they drove and he told her what he had told his father; both of his mission and helping Tyler adjust to the base. She listened attentively, like she always did, and told him things that had happened; the things she didn't include in her letters.

The church had scheduled her tossing even more and she sang every other Sunday; she was actually singing this Sunday.

"Do you want to come watch me?" He looked over at her and kissed her hand that he was holding.

"Of course."

Since it was a Friday, she was supposed to have practice, but she had let them know that Ben was coming home and they gave her the night off. She had been perfect in the previous practices and they knew giving her the night off wouldn't affect them on Sunday.

She also told him that, yesterday, she had started interning at the hospital as an assistant to the pediatrician she had had the meeting with. She was nervous at first but quickly adapted and learned what to do in the first hour. She said the staff and nurses were welcoming and made her feel right at home.

It took about ten minutes to get back to his house. When they pulled in the driveway, he got out and quickly raced around the truck and opened her door for her. She got out and started to walk towards the front door. He smiled,

"What? No thank you this time?" She turned around and asked, calmly,

"What?"

"I just opened the door for you."

"And?"

"I don't know, usually when people open doors for you, you usually say thank you." She looked at him for a minute before smiling and walking over to him as she slipped her arms around his neck. He smiled and out his arms around her waist as she smiled again,

"Thank you."

"For what?" She laughed and punched his arm, playfully,

"You know for what."

He smiled and leaned in and kissed her softly. He stroked her cheek gently and whispered,

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


They kissed again before heading inside to pick up his father. Ben went and changed clothes and they headed to her parents' house. It took them about twenty minutes to get there and, despite the fact that it had been eighteen months since he had been to her house, he knew exactly where to go and got there without a problem.

When they walked inside, the dinner was already sprawled out before them; macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, rice and gravy, yeast rolls and pork chops. Ben turned towards her mom,

"Wow, this looks amazing."

"Well, thank you. Don't be bashful; let's dig in."

They made their plates and Ben sat in between Allison and his father. They ate and laughed for hours, talking about random things and about both Ben and Allison's childhood. Even though they both winced at parts, they laughed for hours. He and Allison held hands underneath the table and, more than once, did they look at each other and smile.

They talked long after the finished eating and it was 7:00 before they all stood up. He knew it was nearing time for him and his father to leave, but he wasn't quite ready to say good-bye to Allison just yet. Her parents started talking to his dad and he leaned over and whispered in Allison's ear,

"Will you come with me?" She looked at him and smiled,

"Anywhere." He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before their parents slowly stopped talking. Ben stretched his arms before saying,

"Well, it's getting kind of late; do you want to head on, dad?"

"Yeah, if you're ready." He turned to her parents,

"Thank you for the dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson; it was wonderful."

"No problem, honey, anytime; we're so happy you're back home." He smiled and turned to her father and gave him a quick hug,

"Thank you again, Mr. Johnson."

"You're welcome; like Rachel said, anytime."

He smiled again and his father stepped in and thanked both of her parents, also. They hugged each other and Ben turned to Allison and she smiled as he reached for her hand. When they were done saying their goodbyes, they walked outside and her parents stood on the porch and waved good-bye to them as they backed out of the driveway.

It was 7:30 when they got back to his house. They went inside and his father hung up his jacket,

"That was fun; I'm glad I went."

"It was fun; we'll have to do it again." He looked at Allison and he smiled and looked at her while he said,

"Well, me and Allison are going to head on okay, dad? I've got to take her back to her dorm."

"All right, be careful."

"We will."

They said a quick goodbye to his father and walked outside to his truck. While they were walking, she turned to him,

"You're not really taking me back to my dorm yet, are you?" He smiled and shook his head,

"No, not just yet."


They ended up spending the entire night on the beach While she was saying good-bye to his father back at his house, he had quickly grabbed a blanket. They spent the whole night laughing and cuddling, wrapped in each other's arms. As she laid beside him in the sand, he couldn't help but stare at her. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and she smiled and snuggled up to him and said,

"Tonight was fun."

"Yeah, it was. But I think I'm enjoying this a little bit more." She smiled and pulled back to look at him,

"I am, too." He smiled and leaned in and kissed her softly. She snuggled back up to him again and he held her close, thinking that he could imagine himself doing this very thing every night for the rest of his life.

They fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms. He awoke before the sun rose and he lay there, watching Allison sleep peacefully in his arms. He stared at her for almost thirty minutes before she slowly opened her eyes. He smiled and kissed her forehead,

"Good morning." She smiled,

"Good morning."

They laid in each other's arms for another hour before the sun started to peak over the horizon. They sat up and he wrapped the blanket around both of their shoulders and she scooted closer to him. He held her as they watched the sun rise up out of the ocean.

After the sun had risen, they decided to pack up. He drove her back to her dorm and kissed her good-bye, promising to be back in a couple of hours.

He drove back to his house and got about an hours' worth of sleep before waking back up. He took a shower and then put on his bathing suit and a white t-shirt. He slipped his sandals back on and grabbed his sunglasses before going to the living room. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a quick note to his father, telling him that he would be gone for most of the day.

He picked Allison back up at her dorm and they headed to the beach. On the way, they stopped at an IHOP and split a platter of pancakes before driving to the recreation center. They spent the rest of the day lazing in the sun, well, at least Allison did. After about ten minutes of lying beside her in the sand, he had to get up.

"I'm going in the water, do you want to come?"

"Not right now, I'm working on my tan." He smiled and leaned over and kissed her before getting up and heading down to the water.

He spent the next couple of hours bodysurfing and letting the waves roll over him. He kept an eye on Allison, making sure he didn't let the current take him too far down the beach. After bodysurfing for almost two and a half hours, he got out of the water and walked back up to where Allison was still tanning. She had on her sunglasses and he guessed that she had her eyes closed because she didn't move when he walked up. He quietly bent down beside her and shook the water from his hair, drenching her. This got her attention and she quickly sat up and snatched off her sunglasses,

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, what are you doing?" She sighed,

"I was trying to get a tan."

"Did I interrupt?"

"Yeah, kind of. It's hard to tan when you're soaking wet." He smiled and shook his head,

"You know that's not true, right? You tan more when you're in the water."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." She put her sunglasses back on and looked at him over the top of them,

"Then how is it that I'm tanner than you?" They both smiled and he leaned in and kissed her. He loved the fact that he had two weeks home and he loved, even more, that she was here to experience it with him.


:D How adorable. Hope you guys liked it! And, just to clarify, right now the story is set in 2005 and so the movies I chose at the beginning were the movies that were out in 2005. Like Goblet of Fire isn't the new harry potter movie, of course, it's The Deathly Hallows. But I couldn't say the Deathly Hallows because the story's set in 2005. Kind of confusing, I know. Well, hope you guys liked it! Please review! :)