As I reload my gun, I glance up at my partner. Sarah doesn't notice, which makes sense because she is defending the military outpost that we are stationed at. As I reach into my cargo pants pocket for a new magazine, my eyes travel over my partner. Her dark hair is falling out of the bun that she spent almost an hour on this morning. Small ringlets of baby hair frame her freckled face. Her chocolate eyes rove the expanse before her as she seeks out possible enemies. I smile as her lips quirk up into that frustrated smile that I love so much. By now, I have put the magazine back into my rifle and I creep over to the broken window sill that we are shooting from. As I crawl past her, I gently bump her shoulder playfully. She glances at me out of the corner of her eye and smiles; a real smile this time. Her eyes crinkle at the corners and her pearly whites make an appearance. I grin at her before getting my head off of the love of my life and back on the situation at hand. The rest of the battle flashes before me and before I know it, we won the fight and we can finally put down our smoking weapons. As I sling my rifle over my shoulder, two arms wrap around me and I look down to see Sarah hugging me. I return the action and we stay like that for a long time. We begin to sway to invisible music and pretty soon, we find ourselves dancing the stress of the battle away. I twirl her around and although she isn't in some sweeping dress, she still manages to take my breath away. I pull her into a dip and we hold the pose. Her weight hanging in my arms while her slender fingers stay wrapped around my neck. We may not be at a ball, but this moment is the highlight of my entire dancing career, if not of my life. We stare into each other's eyes, brown on brown swirling together and becoming the sole focus for the both of us. I close my eyes for one second, the get a piece of dust out of my eye…
But when I open my eyes again, I am not in a war zone (thank goodness). I am not in my ACUs. And there is no woman in my arms. I am dressed up in a tuxedo standing in the pews of a cozy little church. Beside me stands my partner; however, it is not the beautiful Sarah Adler. Beside me is Angus MacGyver, my most recent partner. He lays a comforting hand on my shoulder as I stand as still as a statue. I accept the support as I watch Sarah walk down the aisle with her new husband toward their car and a wonderful life. The problem with my daydreams is that they show me what could have been, what I wish could have been. I enjoy every moment that I imagine, but every time I wake, I realize that my chance is gone and I can never get her back.