Then : Rachel

It had been a day like any other. She had been out shopping with Quinn and Sam all day. Quinn had helped her with finding maternity clothes that didn't make her feel like a cow and Sam had enthusiastically tagged along to pick out as many dorky outfits for his niece. They'd laughed and cried over the sweet little outfits in the baby store and then headed back to her apartment. Sebastian had been there, insisting on cooking a big healthy meal for them all after such a big day of shopping. His tone had been endearingly snide in a way that only his and Noah's ever was. Blaine had just arrived with dessert when the doorbell had rung. Blaine had opened the door and as all of her friends had turned to stare at her in horror, time had just stopped.

It seemed strange now that Rachel remembered every detail leading up to that moment in perfect clarity. She remembered the colour of the onesie that Sam had sniffled over first (aquamarine) and the exact price of the maternity leggings Quinn had insisted she buy one of in every shade ($21.97). The pasta that Sebastian had cooked had too much pepper in it, the way she'd always loved it but she hadn't enjoyed it because apparently the baby preferred bland foods at that stage of the pregnancy. She remembered that Blaine was wearing the cologne that Noah had bought him for his birthday the previous year and that he'd been looking at Sebastian like maybe he'd finally made up his mind about where he wanted to be.

But as the two Marines stepped into her apartment in their resplendent uniforms and began speaking, time seemed to fade in and out. She remembers a hand in her own, the callouses there familiar and strong, reminding her at once of Noah but belonging to Sam. The words spoken were delivered brokenly, or perhaps she just received them that way.

"Corporal Noah Puckerman…special mission…under attack…in action…good man…we're sorry Mrs. Puckerman."

Everything had shattered around her. Blaine had spoken with the Marines and made the arrangements. The following week was a rush of doctor's appointments and condolences. And suddenly she was sitting in a military graveyard next to an empty coffin because there had been no body. And she was being handed a flag.

A flag in exchange for the empty coffin and future without her husband. Sam held her hand as they lowered the coffin and Sebastian wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulder. Her child kicked mightily in her belly at the injustice of it all.

And Rachel broke.

Then : Noah

Corporal Noah Puckerman swiped a hand over his forehead through the sweaty grime that covered his face. The cover of night was fading into the pre-morning haze of dawn. The mission had gone sideways 3 hours ago, leaving them exposed in a country where friendlies were few and havens were fewer. They'd missed their extraction and all communication had been cut off. His team had become separated from Corporal Celso's during the firestorm and Noah could only hope that her team had made it to the extraction.

His team had been stationed in Turkey for the last month training for this mission. An up and coming terror organization had come out of nowhere and all intel pointed to major players coming out of both Iran and Syria.

Noah's team and Celso's team had been dropped into the Qom Province of Iran by parachute at 1900 hours, just after darkness had fallen. Their mission had been to close in on the location provided by trusted intel. One of the leaders of the ever-growing terror network was in town and they needed to grab him before he moved on.

They were already in the building when Noah realized that it was a trap. One of Celso's men, Cafferty, had taken a bullet to the shoulder before the teams pulled back into a defensive stance and returned fire. They were heavily outnumbered. The Marines had only sent in 2 teams of four. More than 40 men waited for them at the stronghold.

Somehow Noah managed to get his team out of there with no casualties, though Jensen had a hole clear through her upper thigh that was bleeding profusely. Celso had lost one man in the melee before they'd separated.

Seven hours later and his team was running out of steam. Brown was half-carrying Jensen and Winchester had lost his helmet at some point. They were sitting ducks once the sun fully rose. They had been jogging north towards the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea. It was the agreed upon backup plan, though Noah didn't particularly like the idea of trusting in the Russians they might encounter once they get there. Politically, the States weren't in a great place with anyone over here at the moment. But Baghdad was just too far away and their enemies would be watching the Turkish border for their return.

By Noah's best estimate they had covered about 30 miles. As dawn threatened to break, his team took cover in an empty home in a village that had been left vacant long ago. He and Winchester cleared the building and then the village, looking for supplies as Brown started to work on Jensen's leg. He ordered his team to take turns resting up because the moment the sun set, they'd be jogging forward once more.

Their progress was slowed by having to take turns carrying Jensen. There was no offer to leave her behind. She knew better.

On their fourth day of jogging, Noah estimated they would reach the banks of the sea. Around noon his team began smelling the salt on the air. They picked up their pace. The sun was high in the sky when they lay against a hill and scouted the area. Jensen viewed the village through her scope and called out what she saw. There was little activity save for the first wave of boats coming in with the day's catch.

They had just crested the hill when the gentle sound of waves was replaced by gunfire and screams. Noah began calling out orders to his team as they dropped behind a rock wall. He tried to find his bearings and figure out where their enemies had hidden themselves.

"This is why it was so quiet on the way here." Winchester shouted over the gunfire.

Noah nodded grimly. They'd all thought it, but no one had mentioned the lack of attack. Jensen had her scope poked between some rocks in the wall and was trying to find their attackers. Her warning came too late. The telltale whistle was already in their ears as she screamed "RPG! RPG!"

He yelled for his team to fall back but the explosion had already hit them. His world was smoke and fire and pain as he and his teammates were thrown backwards. He thought of Rachel and their child and then he heard the sickening crunch of his skull against rock.

Everything went black.