Author's Note: Hey guys! So I know the holiday in this chapter is a little late, but I'm still in the holiday spirit and couldn't help myself.

I want to warn you guys that this is sort of a long one but I hope you like it! Something big happens in this chapter! Also, I think it's time to start the end-of-story countdown! There are only three chapters left of To Be Loved By You after this one! Can you believe it?!

The clang of weights, the whir of treadmills, and the murmur of voices filled Thea's head as she walked down the stairs from her office. She had been taking care of some paperwork so she didn't have to rush through it at the end of the month and needed to take a break. Usually, she wouldn't spend most of her day in the office but she was planning on enjoying her holiday; muddling through an entire month's worth of papers was not something she enjoyed.

Cool air hit her face as she walked under one of the ceiling fans out on the gym floor and it felt refreshing. As she walked, she chatted with the soldiers getting in a last good workout before spending the Christmas weekend with their families. She would be closing the gym like she usually did for the week between Christmas and New Year's. She was excited to spend the next week with her parents and Stef but would miss Logan.

She would miss Brad.

She had hoped that they would be able to get some time to come home for the holiday but neither had been able to get the leave time. They had been able to get some communication time so they could call on Christmas and Thea was grateful for that. She was also quite pleased that she had found out far enough in advance that she was able to send the soldiers their Christmas presents.

It brought her a small amount of joy that they would still have presents waiting for them when they woke up on Christmas morning. She just hoped that Brad liked his present.

Waving to a group of regulars as they came through the door, she looked outside so she could take a bittersweet glance at Brad's Bronco parked outside. Seeing it parked outside made her happy because it reminded her that he was a part of her life, but also made her heart sink because it was a reminder that he wasn't there with her.

Just before her eyes found the truck, she caught sight of her pop walking through the door of the gym. It was late enough in the afternoon that he should be with her mama getting ready for the bar to open that night. "Pop." She headed toward her father. "What're you doing here?"

"I have a surprise for you, girl." He stopped before he reached her, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Stopping a few feet from him, she asked, "And what's that, Pop?"

"A night off."

She was confused. There were just a few more hours before she closed for the holidays. Why on Earth would her father feel the need to work at the gym for her when he should be at the bar? "Um… Why?"

"He insisted." Her father took a step to the side and she saw a familiar Hawaiian shirt and mustache.

—

When he had first said that he wouldn't be coming home for Christmas it had been out of habit. He had never had any reason to leave the carrier for the holiday, so he hadn't. Taking leave time on deployment felt so foreign to him that he had forgotten it was even an option.

Phoenix and Logan had been all too eager to remind him that it was an option and that he needed to get some time to call Thea back as soon as he could and tell her. He had been on his way to the communications center to see if he could get one of the soldiers he was friendly with to get him just a few minutes when the idea had struck him.

He made his decision right then and there; he would surprise Thea. Logan had thought it was a great idea and had even decided to do the same for Stef. Phoenix had simply called them idiots but he knew from the way his friend rolled her eyes and laughed at them that she liked the idea as well.

It was hard to lie to Thea when they talked and the closer it got to the date his leave started, the more nervous he got. Maybe he should have just told her he was coming home. He had worried that she would be upset that he had lied to her about having to stay on the carrier, but Logan had assured him that lying for surprises was okay with Thea.

Most of all, though, he found that he couldn't stop the worry that she wouldn't be happy to see him.

The way she flung herself into his arms when she saw him in the entryway of the gym made him realize he'd had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Her arms came around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as she whispered, "You're here," and giggled. When she pulled away from him to cup his cheeks, he saw the bright smile and pink cheeks he adored.

He was home.

"All right," Bill started when the gym-goers began to clap and whistle at the scene they were making. "Get out of here." He waved his hands to shoo them away from the door.

Laughing, Thea pulled him to the side. "I have to grab the truck keys." She pecked him on the cheek and backed away from him so quickly he didn't have time to remind her that she lived upstairs; they didn't need the keys to the Bronco. She was back just as quickly and took his hand, pulling him through the door and toward the Bronco.

"Sweetheart," he laughed as he was dragged through the parking lot. "You live here. Where are we going?"

She stopped in front of his Bronco and turned to him. "I, um…" Her pink cheeks somehow got pinker. "I haven't been staying here."

He caught the keys as she tossed them his way, but it took him a minute to figure out what she was saying. "You've been staying at my place?" He had given her his keys so that she could go over whenever she wanted, in case she missed him and it somehow made her feel closer to him. It was the same reason he had encouraged her to drive his truck around. He knew he couldn't be there to comfort her and was willing to provide that to her any way he could.

"Yeah." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear and looked up at him. "Is that okay?"

Thea had told him that she went over to his apartment a few times a week, but he had no idea that she had started spending the night. "Does it make you feel better while I'm gone," he asked as he stepped closer to her. When he reached her, he took her hands in his.

"Yes."

"Then it's fine with me, sweetheart." One of his hands moved up her arm to cup her jaw and pull her face closer to his. When their lips met, every nerve ending in his body caught fire. He had missed her so much and knowing that she'd missed him, too, made him feel light and loved.

She pulled away first, little pants filling the air between them, and smiled that bright smile that made his stomach do flips. "I missed you."

His lips stretched into a smile to match hers. "I missed you, too." He took a moment to take her in, the way her cheeks dimpled as she smiled and her eyes shone with the same emotions he had been too scared to share with her. "Let's go." She nodded and let him lead her to the passenger door of the Bronco. When she was securely inside, he closed the door and ran over to the other side of the truck.

He was moved that she had been staying at his place to feel closer to him, but, as he pulled the truck out of the parking lot, he had to admit he wished their trip home was just a climb up her stairs.

—

Brad had sped the whole way back to his apartment and Thea would have reprimanded him for it, but she understood his urgency. She had waited over two months to see him and, even though he was just a bench seat away, he felt miles away from her. She wanted to be locked in the privacy and safety of his apartment where she could talk to him without other eyes and ears on them, where she could touch him and make love to him and enjoy the knowledge that he was right there with her.

When they arrived at his complex, they quickly made their way to his apartment hand in hand. It was only when they were safely behind the locked door that she let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

He was here.

A part of her wanted to be mad that he had lied to her about his coming home on leave, but how could she be mad that he was here with her? This was by far the best surprise she had ever received.

"Um, sweetheart?" He was standing by his couch where she had left a pillow and his blanket.

She was suddenly embarrassed again like she had been outside of the gym when she admitted that she had been staying at his apartment. If she had known he was coming home today, she would have cleaned up. "Yeah?"

He pointed at her makeshift bed and looked at her with confusion creasing his brow. "You've been sleeping on the couch?"

The first night she had stayed, she had simply fallen asleep and woken up the next morning on his couch. The next night she slept there, she had tried sleeping in the bed, remembering that Brad had said to make herself at home. She had missed him, missed sleeping next to him, and thought that sleeping in his bed would be close enough to the real thing. It wasn't and she had laid awake, acutely aware that Brad was gone, until she'd moved back to the couch. She hadn't tried again since.

"Um, I…" She found herself unable to speak under the weight of his gaze. How was she supposed to put into words how much she had missed him?

Instead, she nodded.

"I changed my mind." She let her confusion show as he moved across the room toward her. When he stood before her, his warm hands ran up and down the length of her arms. "It's not okay if you stay here if you're going to sleep on the couch."

Meeting his gaze, she opened her mouth to argue. What was wrong with sleeping on his couch? If it made her a little happier to be here, what was the harm?

Before she could say anything, however, he spoke again. "Sweetheart, we still have three and a half months." She wished he hadn't brought up the time that she was going to have to be away from him when he left again. "You can't sleep on a couch for that long."

She looked down, away from the warmth of his hazel eyes. She almost didn't want to admit that he was right. She had already found herself stretching out a kink in her neck every day and she'd only been sleeping on the couch for a couple of weeks. She hadn't let herself think about how painful the couch maybe after three months.

"Hey." He cupped her jaw, his thumbs under her chin to make her look at him. "Promise me you'll sleep in the bed?"

She knew he was right, she needed to stop sleeping on the couch, but she shrugged her shoulders and smirked anyway. "I'll think about it."

"Thea…" His laugh was breathless as his forehead came to rest against hers. He smiled down at her and she felt a fluttering in her belly.

Looking into the hazel eyes that made her knees go weak, she knew she couldn't deny him what was really a simple request. "It's just not the same if you're not there with me, but I promise I'll try." One of his hands moved slowly from her jaw to her neck to her shoulder and down her arm to her waist. Finally, the weight of his hand fell to her waist and he pulled her body flush against his. "If you give me something amazing to remember when I'm there."

Smirking down at her, he replied, "Oh, I think I can do that."

—

She was absolutely beautiful as she lay wrapped in the sheets next to him. Her dark lashes fluttered against her freckled cheeks and her lips parted as she breathed softly. She was sleeping so soundly that he wondered how long it had been since she'd had a good night's sleep. He had a feeling she hadn't since she'd found out he was leaving on deployment and wouldn't again once he left again for the carrier.

He wanted to let her sleep while she felt comfortable enough to do so, but he was getting antsy. The alarm on his nightstand let him know that it was just past midnight. It had been so long since he'd had someone to share this day with that he didn't want to wait until the sun came up, even though that's exactly what Carole would have made him do.

It was Christmas and he wanted to share it with the woman next to him. His fingertips trailed along her jaw to her lips. When that didn't work, he kissed the tip of her nose and her forehead, rubbing his lips gently against her temple so his mustache tickled her skin.

Her nose crinkled in the most adorable way and she squirmed against him, but her eyes stayed tightly closed. "Thea," he whispered, peppering kisses down her cheek and to her jaw, making sure to tickle her skin as he went.

"Stop." Her voice was thick with sleep but he could hear the laugh she was trying to hold back.

"You have to wake up, sweetheart." He placed lingering kisses on the column of her neck and reached beneath the sheets to trail featherlight fingertips along her stomach. He smiled when her giggles filled the room.

Grabbing his hand, she opened one eye to look at him. "Why?" She was doing her best to look stern, but wasn't doing a very good job; her lips twitched with her effort not to smile.

"It's Christmas."

Both of her eyes opened wide as she craned her neck to see the glowing red numbers on his nightstand. When she turned back to face him, her smile was bright. "It's Christmas!" Her voice was a quiet little squeal of excitement as she pulled his face toward hers.

Her lips were warm and her naked skin was soft against his and he almost forgot why he had woken her up. It was hard to pull away, especially when he heard the whimper that left her, but he did it. "We have to open presents."

A little of the excitement left her eyes and her mouth fell into a little 'O'. "Well, I don't have one for you." She laid her hand on his chest and looked down, studying the invisible lines she was drawing on his skin. "I already mailed it because I thought you weren't going to be here."

Brad couldn't help the big smile that spread across his lips. He took her hand, placing a kiss on her palm, before untangling himself from the sheets. When she started to protest, he kissed her temple and whispered, "Be right back."

He moved quickly through the apartment, goosebumps covering his naked skin, and grabbed the duffel bag he'd left in the living room. The two packages he was looking for were right on top; he took the larger of the two in one hand and the other he hid behind his back.

When he walked back into his bedroom and she saw the present in his hand, she scrambled to sit up. "You have it!" He hoped that in her haste to take the present he held out to her, she didn't see him put the smaller present on his nightstand.

"I got it a couple of days ago." He climbed back into the bed next to her and pulled the cover over his lap.

She looked so pleased as she pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek and slid the brightly colored present into his lap. "Merry Christmas." Her wide smile made his heart feel light.

He ran a hand along the present in awe. He had done this a few times since he had gotten it on the carrier. He didn't like to think about how long it had been since he had shared Christmas with someone, since he had received a Christmas present.

"You're supposed to open it." The words were sarcastic and lighthearted and when he looked into her eyes, he saw the understanding there. Just like she always did, Thea somehow knew what this meant to him.

He took a breath and smiled. "Right." He gave the beautifully wrapped present one more time before he ripped the paper from the box. When he opened the box there was a note sitting on top of the tissue paper.

To replace the one I stole.

Looking up, he found her waiting anxiously. He was hoping for an explanation, but she just tapped the paper excitedly.

Laughing, he pulled the tissue paper away to reveal a mass of red, yellow, and gray colored flowers. When he pulled the material from the box, it revealed itself to be a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt.

It reminded him of one of the shirts his dad wore in his mother's photo album. It was one of the only shirts he could actually remember his father wearing and one he had worn so often when he was younger that he'd worn it out.

"Do you like it?" Her voice pulled him away from his thoughts. When he met her gaze, she was watching him nervously. "I mean, it looked so much like Nick's that I had to get it."

He should have known she had put more thought into this present than just getting him a shirt. She always put more thought than he thought he deserved into everything that she did for him.

"But if you don't like it, we can get something else." She was fiddling with her fingers nervously as she spoke.

With a hand on the back of her neck, he pulled her face toward his and kissed her softly. "I love it," he whispered as they pulled away. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Smiling, she answered, "You're welcome." She pecked his lips again before pulling away and he took the opportunity to slip the shirt on, leaving the buttons undone. Her smile was almost impossibly bright as she looked at him. "I like it," she beamed.

Pushing stray curls from her face, he returned her smile. "You should." He laughed. "You bought it."

She waved a hand dismissively between them and rolled her eyes. "Shush." As she laughed softly with him, her eyes landed on the present sitting next to him on the nightstand. Pointing a finger, she asked, "What's that?"

"Well." He took her hand and kissed her pointed finger. "I believe that is something called a present."

"Really?" She looked at it inquisitively. "Never heard of presents." She looked back up at him. "Is it for me?"

"Sure is, sweetheart." Smiling softly, he handed the small package to her. He'd had the hardest time figuring out what to get for her and hoped she liked what he had finally chosen.

She wasted no time pulling the paper away from the box and looking inside. She gasped and pulled the present from the box, holding the delicate silver chain and dog tag up between them.

Giving someone your dog tag was no small gesture. In fact, he had never given them to anyone else before. From the awed look on her face, he knew she understood the significance.

She looked at it only a moment more, before pulling it closer to her body and clasping the chain behind her neck. Running the tag between her fingers, she looked up at him and he wasn't sure he'd ever seen her look so radiant.

"What do you think," he asked softly. It had also been a very long time since he'd gotten a Christmas present for someone else. That coupled with the meaning behind the present he'd chosen meant that he was very nervous about her reaction.

She smiled brightly. "I love it." Scooting closer to him so that she could lean against him, she cupped his jaw in one hand. Her other hand still held the dog tag hanging around her neck. She pulled his face toward hers, so they were close enough that he could see the flecks of gold in her green eyes, and whispered, "I love you."

He had longed to hear her say those words for weeks, longed to say them himself but was afraid of moving too fast for her. He wanted to wait until she was ready, knowing that so much about their relationship had moved more quickly than she was probably prepared for.

He sunk into her touch, almost unable to believe he was lucky enough to be loved by this woman. "I love you, too, Thea."

Author's Note: There it is guys! This chapter was so much fun to write and I really hope you liked it!