"Honey can you come here for a minute?" Hayley yelled to Abigail, playing in her room.

"Sure ma!" and the girl ran into the lounge and sat down on the couch next to her mother.

"Honey, remember how soldiers do fantastic things and help people all over the world?" She asked her daughter.

"Yes."

"And you know that sometimes being a soldier isn't very safe yes?"

"Because of the angry men with guns right?"

"Right. Well, sometimes soldiers go missing."

"Do they come back?" she asked.

"I don't know angel," Hayley said as she kissed her on the forehead. Eliot had been missing for two weeks now. The last anyone had seen of him he was in the Congo on a Black Ops mission and, as far as she could tell, the army and the government had stopped looking altogether. She had done her best to explain to Abby what was going on, but she didn't think she understood. Every day the little girl asked whether he would be home for her birthday and 'I don't know' was all her mother could reply.

A few days later a government official showed up at their front door. Reluctantly she invited him in. "Have you found Eliot?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"I'm afraid not Hayley, is it? But we are doing our best."

"Bullshit," Hayley replied under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Bullshit!" she said, this time loudly and straight to his face. "You never even started looking! You knew this was a dangerous job. Eliot knew this was a dangerous job but he went anyway. That man would die for this country, for anyone who needed help, and you leave him out there to die! After everything he's done!"

"Now ma'am.." he began.

"Don't you dare ma'am me mister or I will sue your ass! Now, say what you came here to say."

"Ma'am," he said spitefully. "We have some funds which we think will help ease you in this difficult time."
"Are you trying to bribe me?" she asked angrily.

"I wouldn't say bribe.."

"You a government official is trying to bribe me? A lawyer?" She stood up and walked to the door; a gesture for him to leave.

"You keep your money, and your lawyers and your suits away from me and my daughter, cus I know they will come. Now get out!"

When the phone rang that afternoon she was quick to answer. "Hello," she said, her voice filled with hope.

"Hi Hayley," the voice on the other side of the phone, aged and southern, made her stomach churn.

"Dad," she said unhappily. "How's Jonny?" she asked, referring to her older brother.

"Same old, same old."

"And Mason?" She asked, this time about her nephew.

"Haven't really seen him since they split up. Look Hayley, I just heard about Eliot," Hayley didn't reply. "I was ringing to see if there was anything I could do."

"Oh, now you want to help?"
"Don't start Hayley."

"You didn't want to help when I was pregnant, you didn't want to help when Abby, your grandchild, was born, you didn't want to help when we had no money and now you want to help?" she yelled angrily. "What makes you think I would want your help after all you didn't do?"
"I just thought.." he started.

"You thought wrong dad. Now just let me get along with my life," she said as she hung up the phone.

Two nights later, while Hayley was sleeping, the phone rang again. She looked at her clock; 3 am. "Hello," she answered drearily.

"Is this the Spencer resident?" Asked a female voice on the other end of the the phone.

"Yes, this is Hayley speaking." She said as she sat up, knowing this phone call could only concern Eliot.

"Commander Spencer was found not long ago," Hayley gasped at the news. "He is in the hospital at one of our bases in the area and is expected to make a full recovery." All Hayley could do was cry with joy.

It was Abby's 6th birthday the day he returned home. When he walked through door he was covered in bruises, cuts and bandages; he looked like hell. In spite of that, however, he smiled when he saw them and the three of them engaged in a long, silent hug.

"Look what ma bought me!" Abigail finally said, breaking the silence. She was holding a necklace with two heart shaped, metal pendants, both engraved with her name and date of birth. "Now I can be like you!"

"Now why would you ever want to do a silly thing like that?"

"Because ma' said that you saved a lot of people and that's why you got hurt."

"Is that so," he said raising an eyebrow at her mother. Hayley had been told that he had been captured by people referred to only as 'the enemy', held there for over two weeks and had been beaten and tortured for information (which he did not give up) until he had, somehow, finally escaped. Abigail, however was under the impression that Eliot had got injured on some heroic mission, saving people's lives; her mother had decided that she was much too young to understand.

"So you're okay?" Hayley asked, concerned.

"I am now."

As always, keep the reviews coming. New chapter up soon my loyal readers

Ta.