Okay I failed to mention that that last chapter was by me, Jordyn. This one is by the awesome Ani so enjoy

Luke smiled as he heard the front door slam and looked down at Daisy who, he was relieved to find, was smiling back up at him. The weird thing between them was, neither was going to be entirely sure what Bo's reaction was going to be.

Daisy had taken it pretty well, as had Uncle Jesse….but Bo was that touch more emotional on things that mattered to him…and they were both unsure whether his initial reaction was going to be to squeeze all life out of his older cousin, or to burst into tears and high tail it the other way.

They could both hear him shuffling around out in the kitchen and then moving into the lounge, muttering things under his breath. Luke did so desperately want to go see his baby cousin, to surprise him and wrap him in a hug as he had done Daisy…but then again, it was Daisy that needed his attention more than Bo now. Bo obviously had his own agenda, was getting on with his life….it could wait if Daisy needed him.

"Luke….go say hi to Bo…"

Daisy smiled softly up at her cousin, even though she could now see the scar just underneath his hairline in the very dim light of the room. It only seemed to weigh her down more that she could see the proof of Luke's injuries, but she refused to start crying again. She really had had enough of that…all she wanted to do now was move on, laugh, play and hang out with her friends like Bo was doing. Maybe Daisy was wrong…maybe in fact Luke was a miracle worker…but only with their youngest cousin…was it because Bo believed so deeply in Luke that it allowed Luke to do anything for him? Had that faith in Luke that Daisy had once had now died…like she had been expecting Luke to do out in Vietnam.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a gentle tug to her arm and sniffed in surprise when she suddenly found herself on her feet, Luke smiling gently back at her. She hesitated as he started to pull her towards the door. Luke turned back with a gentle, encouraging but firm expression.

"Daisy….you need to get your life back on track now sweetheart. I know it's hard after everything that has happened….but you need to or you'll end up worse than Bo was…please Daisy…for me…fight this one battle for me…"

At the mention of battle, Daisy started a little and swallowed, realising the sub-conscious implications of that one statement. Battles…Luke had seen many, fought in many…he had seen so many new found friends, young and old, and friends from their very childhood getting mown down before them, holding them as they died, carrying them back to camp to try and save lives that no one else thought could be saved….how could she have been so blind and let Luke take the burden of dealing with her problems when he saw what she could only imagine every day.

It was one battle to get on her feet, Luke would fight in many both in the war and in his own head she knew, all he was asking of her was to fight one…one that would be on going for the whole time that the god-awful war was going on. It would have been a lot easier if she knew how to even begin…but there Luke was again….showing her the first steps…and that was to follow him, let him help her like he always had done. Just because Luke was a Marine now, that didn't change him. The love in his eyes for his family still shone through, the dead-set look he had when he was being firm but guiding with his cousins still stood strong on his face.

With a gentle nod and one last sniff, she moved next to Luke and wrapped her arm around his waist, careful to avoid leaning against him, knowing the pain he was feeling just from being stood up. He however had other ideas as he pulled her closer and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulder, thankfully she had taken the side where his ribs were at some sort of normality apart from the normal bruising that was nothing compared to the other side of his ribcage.

Together they slowly walked out of Daisy's room and down the hall out into the kitchen and Luke couldn't help but to laugh as his first view of his cousin was his legs sticking out from underneath the couch, the first time hearing his voice again after so long was to hear angrily frustrated muttered words to no one in particular. Bo however had heard from underneath the couch, someone walking into the room and a door opening.

"Hey Daisy that you?"

Daisy smiled a little and nodded even though Bo couldn't see.

"Yeah Bo…you looking for something?"

She was about to add 'cause I got something to show you' after that, but stopped herself when Luke tapped her shoulder, shaking his head and making a 'sshhhh' gesture at her, to which she responded with a slight giggle…Luke was going to scare Bo witless.

"Yeah Daisy I am….you seen my football? I can't find it and me and the guys wanna go down and practise fer a bit."

"Uh yeah….I think it was in your room under your bed last I saw."

They both heard the snapping of Bo's fingers and watched as he wriggled out from under the couch, covered in a thin layer of dust. Luke didn't say anything, just watched and waited for his cousin's reaction to seeing him…which actually was quite disappointing.

"Of course it is! Hey thanks Daisy, hey Luke."

With that he ran past the two and hurtled into his room, skidding under the bed and finally finding the ball, sliding out and tossing it up and down before whooping a little and running back out, calling as he went out the front door.

"I'll be back later Daisy, just going for practise with the guys."

And he was gone…Luke and Daisy stood speechless for a moment, looking to each other…Bo hadn't even seemed to care. Whatever reaction they were expecting that was not it…but slowly the grins came back over their faces as they heard the retreating footsteps suddenly stop…and then start heading back to the house at a faster pace. Luke breathed in a little deeply, careful to avoid doing it so it hurt more, although a little pain at the action was inevitable, and slipped his arm away from Daisy.

"Darlin'….you might wanna move away….chances are I'm gonna get tackled…"

Daisy nodded, biting her lip. Bo was unpredictable and while she knew he knew about Luke's injury…in the circumstances it was liable he was going to forget. She just hoped that Luke didn't get hurt worse because of it….actually she found herself hoping that he did…maybe then they could keep him home for longer…keep him away from the war.

Her train of though was broken off however as Luke leant against the doorframe that lead to the living room and counted down from three, grinning, as Bo burst through the door on one.

As long as they both would live, they would never forget the flabbergasted look on Bo's face as he took in the sight of Luke standing in the living room. At first he looked like he had seen a ghost, his eyes wide and his mouth wide open, almost it seemed about to literally hit the floor. Luke couldn't help but chuckle and that chuckle turned infectious as Daisy soon got a fit of the giggles.

Luke stepped forward and leant on one of the kitchen chairs, smiling.

"Hey Bo."

For a moment, there was nothing but Bo's blinking and Daisy's giggling and Luke was slightly worried that he had given Bo a heart attack or something. Finally he saw Bo snap himself out of the shock and whisper.

"Luke….you home…for real are you home?"

Luke nodded gently, standing up straighter as he recognised the signs that Bo was desperately fighting the urge to run at him and wrap him in a hug. He saw the gentle tears forming at the bottom of Bo's eyes and smiled encouragingly, opening his crossed arms.

"Yeah Bo…I'm home for now…I'm really here lil' brother."

Daisy watched as Bo swallowed….but as soon as Luke muttered the words and opened his arms he was straight into them, noticing with pride that he didn't slam into Luke that hard and also remembered not to wrap the firm hug he had around Luke's chest but around his middle instead and bury his head into Luke's camouflaged clothed shoulder, crying a little. He made no sound as he cried of course, but his shoulders shook giving him away.

Luke couldn't have cared less however if Bo had run into him with his full football gear on. As soon as Bo's hug wrapped around him and he felt the mop of blonde hair tickling his cheek again, all pain and all bad feelings were seemingly blown away by the little tornado that was his younger cousin, his younger brother.

He held him gently as he cried, the shock of actually seeing Luke still standing, seeing that he was still the cousin that had left him even though physical appearance suggested otherwise, overwhelming him. Luke knew that it was one thing to read that he was still alive and doing fine….it was completely different to actually see it for himself.

He rested his cheek gently against Bo's head and whispered soothingly to him, rubbing his back like when he was a small child and rocking him softly from side to side as much as his ribs would allow. He looked up at Daisy and motioned for her to come over, taking her into his other arm and holding his cousin's close, hot tears pricking at his own eyes as he felt his two younger cousins finally safe in his arms again…he was back home for a while, enough time to ensure he could comfort them and protect them, get them back on track.

He had missed his family and he would miss them still when he would be forced to go back and serve his country in a war that seemed so pointless to so many men he fought with. But for now he would not confront that, for now he would enjoy the comfort and security in the embrace he was locked in with his two young cousins and treasure the small amount of time together that he just didn't know if he would ever be able to experience again.