George C. Marshall sat at his desk staring at the letter from President Lincoln. His eyes scanned and contemplated every word. His thoughts were interrupted when his office door flew open. The man immediately stood to greet his aide.
"Colonel, you should be gentle with that old door."
"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but…we have a strange situation," replied the aide.
Marshall slowly looked out of his office windows. His eyes noticed the employees stairing into his office. The man's gaze slowly shifted to just outside his office. He saw five young women; two blondes, a red head, a raven haired, and a brunette. The man's gaze switched to his aide as he nodded. The aide immediately ushered the women in.
"Good afternoon, ladies. How may I help you?"
Donnie spoke, "Do you know who we are?"
He shook his head.
"We are five of the women you drafted into the special forces. We have spent the last four years in combat."
The man's face lit up with recognition.
"I see. You each have made it back to the homeland. Have you come to collect?"
Jo smirked. "You could say that."
"We have a request," continued Donnie.
"And what would that be?"
"We want you to remove all special forces from the war, along with six valiant men."
The man slowly walked around his desk and sat down. He sighed as he leaned forward.
"That is a large request. Why?"
Montie handed Donnie a black bag. The brunette walked up to the desk and slammed the bag down.
"Too many people are dying." She opened the bag and spilled its contents. Jewelry and articles of clothing sprawled across the desk. "These are all of the identifiers from your private sector. There is a name to each and every one. I know for a fact that not all of them were orphans!"
A pregnant silence echoed through the small room.
"And if I refuse?"
She leaned forward and looked him dead in the eye.
"We go public."
Marshall sighed heavily. He looked from the objects to the piercing verdant eyes. After several excruciating moments, the man stood up.
"I am going to need the list of those men."
"And the women?" questioned Jack as she handed him the list.
"They will all be sent home."
All five girls grinned with excitement. Jack and Montie hugged each other. The others merely beamed.
Upham sat on a wooden crate looking at a letter. As he read it, his expression grew joyful. Reiben and Jackson, who were nearby, noticed.
"Whatcha got there, Upham?" asked the blond.
"Bo send you her picture?" teased Reiben.
"We're going home," he muttered. He looked at the rest of the squad. "We're going home!"
They all looked at him in disbelief. Mellish snatched the letter.
"Let me see that." He began to read it. "'Hey Upham, guess what? The deal's gone through! You boys will be stateside soon enough. We'll be waiting! -A.B'."
Mellish jumped in the air with excitement. Miller and Horvath grinned. The other three joined Mellish and his excitement.
A loud knock resounded on the wooden door. Donnie glanced up from her newspaper. She stood up and walked from the kitchen to the front door. She opened it. On those Brooklyn steps stood her closest friends. She grinned.
"You guys miss me all ready?" she joked.
"We're all heading to California to greet the boys," Montie explained.
Donnie quirked a brow. "Even you, Ryan?"
Ryan lowered his eyes sheepishly.
"They brought me home. I wanna be there when they come back."
The brunette smirked.
"Bo, call me when you get there."
All of their eyes widened.
"You're not going?" asked a shocked Jo.
"I promised Mrs. Reiben I'd go shopping with her. Then she was going to take me to lunch."
Bo grinned slyly. "Right," she drawled, "Gotta spend time with the future mother."
Donnie blushed. "Just get going. You'll be late otherwise."
The group of five all chuckled as they started walking away. The brunette stood at the door laughing to herself.
"Eris, are you ready?"
"Yes, Mrs. Reiben. I'm all set."
Jo paced back and forth in the airport. She twirled her red curls. Her mocha dress followed her movement. The other three girls watched her.
"Would ya sit down?" Bo finally said, "You're making me anxious."
"I'm sorry. It's just-It's been a while."
Montie and Jack gave each other a knowing look. Bo shook her slightly.
"It's only been a couple of weeks," Ryan encouraged, "I'm sure nothing has changed."
"Except, now I look like a girl. What if, ya know-"
"Listen, Jo. I'm gonna tell ya what I told Montie," Jack interrupted, "If he liked ya when you were all covered in dirt, I'm sure he'll like ya now."
"Plus you saved his life," muttered Bo.
Ryan squeezed Jack's hand. She turned and gave him a reassuring smile. Montie shot up from her seat with an excited grin. The other four shot their attention to her.
"The doors are opening," she squealed.
The five people hurried closer to the door. Montie squealed as she saw a pair of familiar blue eyes. She ran over and embraced Jackson. Grinning, he twirled her around. He kissed her forehead and turned to see his sister. Jack threw her arms around her brother excitedly. Next was Upham. Bo strolled over and grabbed his arm.
"Welcome home," she greeted with a nudge.
Upham was followed by Miller and Horvath. All of the girls ran to hug the men. Miller began to laugh while Horvath smirked.
"Where's my hug?" questioned a sarcastic Reiben.
Laughing, the girls hugged the ranger. Ryan walked over to the men and shook their hands. Jo stepped back from the crowd, still searching. All of a sudden, a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist causing Jo to gasp. She spun around to see Mellish. Acting on instinct, she grabbed his face and brought her lips to his. He responded immediately. Reiben let out a cat call.
"Don't forget to breathe," Bo teased.
The couple stopped and faced them. Jo's cheeks were burning red.
"Let's get you boys a home cooked meal," Jack declared.
The group headed toward the exit. Reiben stood still for a moment, searching. His expression was thoughtful.
"Reiben," called Miller.
The ranger looked over to the Captain. Miller nodded with understanding.
"Just a little longer," he commented while Reiben caught up to him.
Reiben walked up his steps and stopped at his door. He sucked in a deep breath. Just as he was going to grab the handle, the door flew wide open.
"Richie!"
"I'm home, Ma," he replied.
The woman threw herself around her son. She spoke to him rather quickly. Reiben rolled his eyes as he returned the embrace. After a few moments, she pulled him inside.
"You look so skinny," she said, "Have you been eating over there? I don't care what the rules are, you shouldn't starve yourself, Richie. How about I cook you some dinner? I just bought some more groceries. You know who I saw in the super market? Patty. You remember Patty, right Richie?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I remember her. Hey Ma, I'll be right back."
"Where are ya going?"
"Just to put my stuff in my room. It'll be quick."
"Well, alright."
The ranger walked from the kitchen and headed up the stairs. He opened his door and threw his gear onto the floor. He walked over to his closest and slipped into a white T-shirt and jeans. He walked back downstairs and into the living room. A small noise brought him to look on the couch. His eyes widened with surprise.
"Donnie?" he muttered.
He slowly tiptoed closer to the couch. The woman wore black pants and a green shirt. A book laid on her stomach as she slept. Her nut brown hair flowed off of the couch. Reiben squatted to her eye level. With a smirk, he began to wake her up.
"Hey Sweetheart, guess who's-"
He was cut off as Donnie tackled him onto the ground. One hand was behind his neck and holding his chin. Her other hand pressed onto his chin. Her eyes widened with recognition. She let go off his neck with a smirk.
"It's nice to see you too," he quipped.
"Welcome home, you idiot," replied Donnie.
She leaned closer to the ranger. Slowly, her lips danced with his. Reiben brought his arms around her, pulling her closer. After a moment or so, they both sat against the couch. Donnie leaned her head on Reiben's shoulder.
"Richie! Can you wake Eris? It's dinner time," called Mrs. Reiben.
The pair began to laugh with each other.
Oh my goodness, it's over! Thank you to everyone who has read this, you've all been so kind! If you are interested, I'm going to put up a series on one-shots as kind of a second epilogue. It will be entitled Epilogue. Thank you all! Stay amazing!
manyreasons