~Hunter's POV~

"Attention soldiers of the Plasma Fire Company, these are your pilots speaking. At this time we ask that you hold your bags and position yourselves upright in your seats. We are preparing our descent into Washir, Afghanistan's Camp Ormr and commence Black Out," came a voice through the speakers positioned around the aircraft that Plasma Fire was currently aboard while we made our way into the Washir District of Helmand, Afghanistan. The flight from Archi Island to Kandahar Airbase was seven hours and fifty minutes, not including any layovers. Once we landed there, we caught a smaller plane to take us into the Helmand Province of Afghanistan where Washir District is located. If it's not obvious already, Plasma Fire Company has been deployed for a second tour of duty which will last twelve months. We're stationing at a support base; Camp Ormr. This was home to the Defender Brigade.

The announcement came in October 2019, at least we were given more than a month to prepare to leave this time. The problem was that Afghanistan was rumored to be worse than Iraq, which brought on a lot of stress for the veteran soldiers who already served a tour and nervousness for the newbie recruits who just joined us in May of last year and had yet to see the battlefield. Treyden and I were still dating, happy as ever too. Officially, we've been together for seven months, eight on the 17th of January which was in eleven days. I glanced over and saw Treyden asleep on my shoulder; I kissed his forehead as he began to stir and awaken slowly.

"Hey, gotta sit up. Going into Black Out for landing in Washir, baby," I informed him lovingly. Treyden sat up and cracked his neck and gave a yawn with a stretch and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"How long?" Treyden inquired tiredly. At least he could sleep on the plane; I couldn't for the life of me.

"Probably ten-fifteen minutes, then another ten to deboard and high balling another fifteen to twenty to get to our Battalion location," I shrugged unsurely, Harry hadn't mentioned anything yet, but that's how it went in Iraq so I was assuming it would be the same.

"Did you get any sleep?" I heard Andrew question, and I shook my head to him. "That sucks man; you gotta be exhausted. We've been up since 4 am, boarded from Archi at 7, the flights plus time change has us at...what?"

"It will be close to 11:00 pm when we actually get to the barracks," I rolled his eyes.

"How in the name of Thor do you do that in your head so easily!?" Amber muttered in surprise.

"Addition?" Hunter shrugged. "Left Archi at 0700. We flew for three hours and fifteen minutes to the first layover. That set us at 10:15 am. The layover was an hour. 11:15pm. Left there and continued flying another two hours and fifteen minutes. Time became 12:30 pm. An additional three-hour delay gets us to 3:30 pm, then another 2 hour and twenty minutes put us at 5:50 pm. Reached Kandahar Airbase after a seven-hour and fifty-minute flight total then flew this last forty-five minutes into Washir, so that makes the time; 6:35," I explained.

"Then where the hell did you get 11:00 from?" Asher arched a brow.

"Time change. Afghanistan is three and a half hours ahead of Archi Island. 6:35 plus 3:30 is 10:05 pm in Afghan time. Factor in the landing and deboarding it will be about 10:30 pm. Then the ride to the Battalion will be elevenish at the latest," I mentioned with his eyes closed. "Now will you be quiet? I always get a headache on landing," I mumbled. All I could do was think back to when this started in October when it got announced that the second tour was upon us.

/Flashback/

~Normal POV~

It was October 18th, 2019. Hunter and Treyden just celebrated their five month anniversary of being a couple on the 17th, and the two were happier and stronger ever since the day Hunter almost had his mother arrested for her constant harassment of Treyden. It was something Hunter discovered on the drive into Berkton after telling Trey never to be afraid to tell him when something is wrong, even if it involved his family or friends. Trey revealed that he also got text messages and e-mail on the same day saying the same things with much more derogatory names and hateful words. Hunter had Treyden screenshot everything with the time and dates, then sent them to Harry to print out. Also, Hunter had Trey send the voicemail to be copied onto a tape. All of which items were secured in the report Hunter made after being kicked out and disowned.

Granted, these actions were not committed to Hunter, but they affected him since he was with Treyden. That's what Harry said anyway; even if Viola hadn't said those things to Hunter, she said them to someone he cares about and losing Trey because of Viola would hurt Hunter a lot. Hunter didn't care about the extra stuff, but he loved knowing that his mother going after Trey was enough to add to the report of crimes against Hunter himself. When the report had the additions, it was faxed over to the Berkton station and picked up by the two officers who initially arrested Viola while Hunter and Treyden sat in the truck. Theo and Andrew came as well for support and to sit with Trey while Hunter scolded his mother as calmly as possible.

It seemed that it paid off because from mid-June to October now, Viola had not dared to set Hunter off again in fear of being sent to prison. Hunter didn't lift the temp restraining order until September and warned his mother not to make him regret doing it. Viola spoke to Hunter, but only when Salvatore or Caitlyn did so, she didn't seem to have the heart to contact him alone. However, Hunter made his efforts to come to the house again and even letting his family over for dinner at Treyden's a few times but no one else. Another event in June had been the graduation of Hunter's little sister, friends, and former bullies from High School. It was a sight to see, and Hunter had never been prouder of Caitlyn graduating at seventeen years old, two years ahead of what she was supposed to.

Tonight was a group dinner with friends and family at the Haddock household, Hunter agreed to come with Trey, but honestly, he was exhausted, so Trey was driving in his car to the house for the gathering. "You sure you're up for this tonight, Hunt? It's been a long week for you with the hours," Treyden asked softly as Hunter was falling asleep in the front seat. It wasn't a lie. Hunter had been up and out of Trey's house by 4 am as always, but he wasn't getting back until almost 8:20 pm. Tonight he was out at 6 pm, but that hardly made a difference given he was in at 11 pm after already working until 5 pm that day and had to go back.

"I'm okay. We'll stay for a little bit then...get back. Harry told me to be in at 3 am tomorrow," Hunter yawned as Trey pulled into the driveway and parked the car, then turned it off as Hunter sat up and rubbed his eyes before both of them exited the vehicle and reached the front door while Hunter knocked.

"I think you need to talk to Andersen about these hours, Hunter. I'm worried about you, it's been going on since Wednesday of last week, and you barely get time to rest," Treyden sighed with concern for his boyfriend just as the door opened and Caitlyn smiled broadly at the two.

"Hi, big brother. Hey, Treyden. Come on in; you're just in time for dinner. Daddy made lasagna and meatballs," Caitlyn chirped excitedly, it was one of her favorite meals. Trey and Hunter walked in to see everyone. Shocking that Drew and Eddie weren't there for once. Everyone else was though, might not be such a bad night after all.

"There you two are. We were starting to think you'd miss supper," Viola greeted as she hugged Hunter and Treyden. Hunter gave the woman points for trying, but there was still some...negative feelings towards her for the past. Hunter and Trey wouldn't knock the attempts at being civil though.

"Sorry about that, you didn't have to wait for us," Hunter replied.

"Nonsense, son. You're part of the family; we can wait a few extra minutes for you to arrive. Now come right in and sit down with us," Salvatore chortled. "Would either of you like a beer?" he offered next as Hunter and Treyden were getting to the table to take their seats.

"No, thank you, Mr. Haddock. Water will do tonight," Treyden responded with a smile. Salvatore got two water bottles and passed them down to the boys. After that, dinner proceeded as it always did. Going around the table, asking how everyone's day went and ate peacefully. For Hunter though, he was thoroughly beat and wanted to sleep before 2 am when he'd get up shower, then leave for 2:30 to get to work for 3 am. When supper ended, Caitlyn helped Viola clean up while everyone else moved to the living room to relax a bit. The time was already 7:30, Hunter had work in six and a half hours or at least had to be up to get ready and leave on time.

"How have things been at work for you two?" Renee inquired motioning to Treyden and Hunter who were coming in from the kitchen last and taking a seat on the couch next to one another. Once Hunter was down he closed his eyes while trying to relax.

"You don't quite look yourself tonight dear," Mikayla mentioned while looking softly to Hunter. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I have to agree with Mikayla here. You look as though you haven't slept in days," Gregory added in.

"He has, just not a lot. Work has been nuts, for him at least," Treyden sighed.

"What do you mean?" Audrey inquired curiously now.

"Last Wednesday, Harry called at 3 in the morning and told Hunter to come in for 3:30. Hunter didn't get home until 7 pm. Since then, he's been working between twelve and sixteen hour days. Like tonight, he was working since 11 pm last night, and that was after being out at 5 pm earlier that evening and starting at 4 am," Treyden explained.

"All that working isn't good for you. I know you're used to twelve, but sixteen for two weeks?" Salvatore made notion, "It's too much, you have to tell Harry to give you a couple of days," However, Hunter never answered. Looking at him, they all saw he was reclining on the couch with his eyes closed still and head tilted off to the side; clearly asleep.

"My point. He's exhausted. Hunter was falling asleep on the fifteen-minute ride over here, and Harry wants him in at 3 am tomorrow morning," Treyden sat back so Hunter could sleep on his shoulder and be comfortable.

"Why such harsh hours?" Viola inquired gently.

"No idea. Theo's, Andrew's, and even mine have stayed between nine and eleven hour days, but Hunter's have been all over the place. I'm not even sure what he's doing. It's been a lot of running around to other bases to drop off or pick things up and take them somewhere else. He also mentioned a lot of inventory and organizing which means heavy lifting," Trey replied to her.

"Well, let's let Hunter sleep a bit. He honestly doesn't look well, Treyden," Heather pointed out. Caitlyn reached a hand over to her brother's forehead and touched it lightly.

"Heather's right, he's warm, and the heat isn't on that high in here. Plus I noticed he didn't eat a lot either. I think he's getting sick because his body doesn't have time to recover from all the work or if you two are...having your fun," Caitlyn hinted.

"Nope. Hunter and I haven't done anything in two weeks. Last time was the morning he got called in at 3 am by Andersen. Since then, Hunter's just been too tired, and I can't say I blame him," Trey admitted. It wasn't good if Hunter was getting sick. Treyden was going to talk to Harry in the morning when he clocked in, this had to stop, and Hunter needed his rest for a few days.

Another half hour passed of light conversation when a ringing and buzzing brought everyone to be quiet. Before anyone could chest to see if it was one of their phones ringing, Hunter pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed answer while putting it to his ear while sitting up to rub his eyes a little. "Lieutenant Haddock here," he greeted slowly. Nothing was heard, but Hunter's eyes went from tired, to irritated at first. "Harry, you are literally killing me with these hours. What is so important that I have to come ba-" Hunter stopped as he'd been cut off, then his eyes showing attentiveness to what Harry was explaining.

"He can't be serious. Hunter, say no. You're too tired to keep working," Treyden protested quickly. Hunter shook his head to him then pulled the phone away and put it on speaker.

"I'm sorry about all the hours, Hunter. It's been in preparation for a mobilization alert. The company leaders got a warning alert last month and just found out which group it's for," Harry stated.

"And you didn't say anything right away? Who is deploying and taking all that stuff I've been busting my ass to inventory, organize and move for two weeks?" Hunter asked.

"We are, Haddock," Harry sighed as the room seemed to freeze. "I didn't know who the alert was for, just that it would be happening. I was preparing to leave Draco myself when I got the call from HQ. Plasma Fire is deploying. I don't know where we're going yet. HQ told me they'd let me find out when I had my platoon leaders here. I called Holgerson, Grove, and Rodriguez already, they are on the way. I know I'm asking a lot, but please, I need ya for two hours at most," he insisted.

Hunter used his fingers to massage the spot between his eyes and above his nose while sighing. "God...damn it, Andersen. You fucking owe me or someone at HQ does. I'm in Berkton right now; you're gonna have to give me at least an hour to get back to Bashwick to change and get my truck, then another twenty minutes to get to For Draco," Hunter stated.

"I promise as soon as we figure out all the details, I'll give you a week off to recover. I'll see you soon, Lieutenant," Harry sighed out in relief that Hunter agreed to go.

"That you will," Hunter closed his eyes and hung up before getting to his feet slowly.

"I'm going with you, Hunter. I'll stand outside the room or whatever but you're in no condition to drive by yourself," Treyden stood next to him.

"That's...fine, babe. Sorry we can't stay longer, and yes, I'll keep you updated as I find out more," Hunter told the others as Treyden started to lead Hunter out of the house slowly because it looked like he was about to puke. Once in the car, Trey opened the windows a bit to give Hunter some air then he faced the worried friends and family of Hunter.

"Take care of him," Salvatore mouthed. Treyden gave an affirmative nod before putting the vehicle in reverse after starting it up, then backing out and heading to his house.

(A Few Days later)

Back in Berkton, Hunter had the information his family wanted; the deployment location and departure date. Of course, Hunter was sick from all the sleep deprivation and barely eating because to was genuinely too tired to. However, as Harry promised him, Hunter was given two weeks off to settle with the deployment news and have some time to recuperate before returning for more tour prep. Trey was worried Hunter would be doing all those hours again, but Harry adjusted it so that Hunter was working no more twelve hour days with two days off for the time being. The time now was 4:30 pm since Hunter got done at 2:30 after being in at 2:30 am. Tomorrow he'd get a day off, thank the Gods for such.

Everyone was over including Gregory, Eddie, Drew, Shawn, and Mikayla too. Viola got off work early to be home for the announcement. Hunter and Treyden just arrived, and now it was time to tell them what they would surely flip out, and Hunter didn't blame them one bit.

"Alright, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. Most of you, except you two," Hunter motioned to Drew and Eddie. "were here last Friday when the deployment alert got specified for Plasma Fire Company. After a few days of meetings and conference calls, all the details are finalized. So I'm gonna ask you hold your flipping out when you inevitably do, until the end. Kay?" he finished.

"We can handle it, son. Just please don't leave anything out that you're...allowed to tell us," Salvatore asked.

"Will do. The deployment will be to Afghanistan for one year," Hunter paused as they gasped. "I said to wait until I was done," he reminded as they stayed quiet and nodded for him to continue. "We're going to be in the Helmand Province, right next to Kandahar Airbase which is what we'll be flying into and then catching a smaller aircraft to Helmand and the base we're stationing at which is Camp Ormr in Washir District. Plasma Fire is departing from Archi Island Airport at 7 am. We've got two layovers; one for an hour and another for an unnecessary three,"

"The total flight time is seven hours and fifty minutes from Archi to Kandahar; then we have a forty-five-minute flight to Washir where Camp Ormr is set up. If nothing sets us back, we should be landing around 10:30, and settled into barracks between 11 and 11:30 pm. We were asked to make sure you're aware that Afghanistan is three hours and thirty minutes ahead of Archi Island time, bear that in mind for the sake of quick phone calls and what not," Treyden joined in so Hunter could take a breath.

"Also, we cannot give you the address of the base. You have to send letters or packages to Fort Draco, and they will forward them to us from there. It's a security thing. We all have a secondary address, and it's Fort Draco. When you put the name in, you have to use our rank in front of the name. So for me, it'd be; First Lieutenant Hunter Haddock. Fort Draco Military Base: 617th Street. Archi Island City, 06391-5824. I'll write that down too. As for internet and reception matters, I'm told it will be better than Iraq but still iffy," Hunter continued.

"And...when do you leave?" Audrey questioned.

"Couple months. Monday, January 6th, 2020. We have to be at the airport for 4 am so that means up at 3 am to get ready and reach Archi Airport," Hunter stated.

"So all the preparation with your long hours has been for this deployment then? I hope they gave you some time as Andersen promised he would so you're not working yourself to the bone," Viola mentioned.

"Harry gave me two weeks," Hunter nodded to her hopeful statement.

"And you're supposed to be resting, baby. You're sick, and the on base medic confirmed that when you nearly passed out in the meeting two days ago. You told everyone what was going on; now it's time to go back to my house so you can sleep. Please? I don't want to see anything happen to you?" Treyden pleaded softly.

"Alright, fine. You win, and we'll leave. Sorry, everyone, he is right though. I've been sick for a few days, but I wanted to make sure you got the information about the tour. See you when I'm feeling better," Hunter told them as he gave a wave and started leaving with Treyden.

"Don't worry about it, big brother. Hope you feel better soon!" Caitlyn smiled softly. Hunter nodded with a return smile and left with Treyden.

(A Month Passes)

It only took Hunter two days to feel like himself again but enjoyed the two weeks off. As Harry promised, Hunter didn't work more than twelve hours a day and got two days off per week; Wednesday and Sunday. Everything was the same as the first deployment with physicals, evaluations, training, etc. The only other big thing was between Treyden and Hunter to discuss how their relationship would be for the tour. No intimacy was a given rule, but they didn't know how far the limits went to what they could and could not do. So, one day after work, they talked to Harry.

The information was supplied as Hunter and Treyden could hug, hold hands, and share a quick peck on the lips within barrack walls. Anything outside of that was hugs and a kiss on the cheek. Also, there was nothing to be shown while on missions, patrol, or guard. Understanding the rules, they agreed. The next year was going to suck for them, hopefully though, they'd get their leave time together and could do what they wanted then.

(January 6th, 2020; 7 am)

Unlike last time because of how crazy it was, no one could come to say goodbye except immediate family. So, Mom, Dad, siblings. Hunter had said goodbye to the others the night before, and all wished him a safe flight and to kick ass in Afghanistan. When the clock struck 7 am, the soldiers boarded and were in the air within ten minutes heading for their location.

/End Flashback/

~Normal POV~

The jolt of the plane hitting the ground as it landed on the Camp Ormr airstrip brought Hunter from his memories about where all this started. Rubbing his eyes a little, the aircraft stopped, and the soldiers stood up and began to deboard, then move to the vehicles provided that would take them to their battalion location.

"Alright soldiers. We are one of six companies making up the A Stryke Battalion in section three of Camp Ormr. This is only a support base, and we're in a heavier spot of the fighting. There are planes and vehicles always on the move in this base, so you get used to the noise from that. Camp Ormr is under the command of Colonel Ross Pearson, and our battalion is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Henderson. The other companies around us are Wingblast, Lavarock, Exploder, Whipslash, and Spineflare. Got that all?" Harry asked.

"Harry, for the love of God. Skip the intro because you know we're gonna hear it tomorrow from the battalion leader when we inevitably get pulled in for greetings and information. We're exhausted," Brady stated. Harry couldn't argue, so the soldiers loaded up and were taken to their spot. Once there, the platoons split off to their six barracks marked twelve to eighteen. In truth, none of them unpacked upon arriving. The group of twenty-eight grabbed a cot, shoved their bags underneath, and went right to sleep. This was the start of another war they had to fight in.