A/N: Hi, my dear readers. How are you? Here it is … the chapter I had been waiting for you to read. Enjoy!

Chapter-8: Mine

When you wake up with the only woman you've ever loved in your arms, there are a number of things you expect to be the first thing she tells you. What I heard, however, was none of the things I could dream up.

"I'm leaving tonight."

My eyes snapped open at her declaration. "But I thought you had a few more days?" I asked, hating how much it hurt to imagine her gone even though I despised seeing her in this godforsaken place.

She reached out to run a finger along my forehead, silently reminding me that I was frowning. "Eleazar was fuming mad at me for what I did yesterday. He talked to Carmen, my editor in chief, and said that I was a threat to all of his marines here," she said, the hurt plain in her voice even with the way she rolled her eyes.

"You could've been killed yesterday," I said at last, finally letting the idea of what could've happened get to me.

"Not you too!"

I grabbed the hand resting on my chest and said softly, "Bella, you do know it could've been a trap, don't you? And if it was, we all could've been dead by now."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, giving my hand a little squeeze. "I couldn't think. All I could see is that little boy all alone."

All alone.

I sighed, suddenly remembering how we had gone our different ways before.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

The sound of her voice brought me out of one of the darkest moments of my life. "What do you mean?"

She looked at me closely. "Edward, when I took this job, the last thing I expected was to find you here in the battlefield. I thought you'd be the CEO of your dad's company or something like that by now. You seemed so sure of your future seven years ago. What changed?"

"You," I replied simply. "Or rather, I did, I suppose. When you left me standing in your driveway, something inside me changed. Suddenly, I hated everything I had planned for my life because that life felt so fucking lonely without you next to me. The day after you left, I went to my dad and told him that I wanted to get a real job … something meaningful."

"You did?" The tone of surprise in her voice only reminded me how much of a spoiled brat I used to be back then.

I nodded. "Carlisle laughed in my face. He said I couldn't make a life for myself without his money to support me."

Her hand tightened in mine. "What did you do?"

"Told him to go fuck himself," I replied with a grin, recalling the look of shock and anger in my father's arrogant mug. "Then I joined the Corps."

"Just like that?" she asked.

"Just like that," I repeated and then laughed a little. "I was actually driving away to get my frustration out when I saw the billboard with the recruitment ad for the Corps. That's when I realized that the best thing I can do with my life is to make sure I can save as many lives as possible."

"Have you … killed ... people?"

Her question made me laugh sardonically. "It's kill or be killed here, baby. So I gotta take down the bad guys so the good guys can be safe."

She placed a hand on my jaw, making me meet her eyes when she asked, "Did you get injured in combat?"

I shrugged, not sure how to tell her that I had almost died from a landmine blast just a few months back.

"I didn't see any scars last night ..."

I tapped the tip of her nose playfully. "You were a bit preoccupied last night, babygirl."

She blushed before asking softly, "Will you show me?"

I complied, albeit reluctantly, but she proved my hesitance was unwarranted. Every scar she saw on my body, she placed a kiss there, as if she could kiss the pain away. And no matter how cheesy it sounds, it worked. No, it didn't feel like she was healing me, rather, it was as if the scars were never there in the first place.

This time when she climbed on top of me, we both took the time to learn each other once more … to rediscover what we had forgotten.

It wasn't until I had returned from patrolling later that day when a thought hit me with the weight of a thousand bricks.

It's been seven years since we were together. What if she has found someone else? What if she had a life of her own now?

As if she could hear my thoughts, that was the exact moment I heard her voice call my name from outside my tent.

"Edward?"

"Bella?" At my answering call, she walked in, dressed in jeans and the t-shirt I left in her tent that morning.

"Hey," she greeted me with a smile, walking up to sit on my lap. "I'm almost ready to leave. Can I take this with me? Please?" she asked, tugging at the hem of the shirt she had on.

I frowned. What does this mean? "You want to take my shirt with you?" I asked dumbly.

She nodded, biting her lip like in the olden days. "Since I can't take you with me yet, I'll have to make do with this."

"Bella," I started, feeling like an awkward teenager about to ask out the girl he's been crushing on once more. "Do you …? That is to say are you …? Fuck! I'll just ask it. Are you dating someone right now?"

She was silent for a moment before saying, "Technically … no."

Like the trained marine I was, my mind zoned into the bit that mattered. "Technically?"

"Yes," she responded slowly. "You see, there's this guy I love … always have, but he belongs to the United States right now. So until he finishes his duty to the country and comes back home to me, I can't go out on a date with him."

"You … you mean ..."

She didn't let me finish as she leaned in to kiss my lips softly. "Yes, if you'll still have me," she murmured against my lips before moving back a little. "Edward, I want to apologize for the way I left you. You told me how my leaving affected you. And you know what? Without you there with me, I didn't have anyone to share my life with. I turned into this robot, going through the motions of life. That's why I was given this job because I've become a heartless bitch. But then, you happened, and it felt like I was alive again for the first time in seven years."

I saw the tears shining in her eyes and couldn't help but kiss her once again. We sat together like that for a long time until an alarm beeped from her wrist watch. "I should get going," she said, starting to climb out of my lap.

"Just a minute," I said, jumping into action and going to search my bags for one of my most cherished belongings. When I had it in my hand, I walked back to her and pointed to the dog tags hanging from my neck. "Do you know what this is?" I asked.

"It's your identification, isn't it?" she asked, looking puzzled. "It holds a soldier's serial number, family name and first name, according to what I know."

I nodded. "Yes, it's our way back home in case something happens to us." Before she could say anything, I opened my palm to show her the shiny silver tags sitting there. "These were my tags from my first deployment."

She reached out to touch the spot with my name on it and said, "Must be very special."

"They are special, but so are you," I replied. "I want you to take them as a promise from me to you. I promise to get back home to you, Bella Swan."

She let out a shuddering breath, placing her hand on mine. "Put them on me?"

That day, in the dim glow of twilight, I bade the woman I loved goodbye as I watched her clutch onto the piece of metals resting in between her breasts now, marking her as mine.

A/N: So …. Thoughts?

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Thanks for reading.

Take care.

Ann