1620 Hours, December 13, 2552 (Military Calendar) /

Southeast Idaho, URNA - Planet Earth, Sol System

The Battle of Earth was fierce. Savage. More lives were lost than had even been properly estimated.

But the battle was over now. The refugees were slowly trickling back from the stars, and Earth was beginning the process of rebuilding. The rural state of Idaho in the United Republic of North America - one of the few parts of the former United States of America that had begun to overcome the soil issues that had led to the nation's eventual collapse - was lucky enough to have avoided the majority of the fighting.

Still, that did little to ease the ice cold fist gripping Lieutenant Colonel Jake Prescott's spine as he returned home.

Reencountering with his wife was a miracle, as far as he was concerned. The only soldiers that were given more high-risk missions than ODSTs were Spartans. The odds that one of each could find each other after a battle of the magnitude that had been fought for the past several months over the Sol System were astronomical.

Now, Jake could only pray that their good fortune hadn't been used up already. His entire family - mother, father, six siblings, and a brand new daughter - had all been left to wait out evacuation. Over the months-long battle, both he and Maria had waited with baited breath to hear any news about his family's status, but they had nothing until after the war ended.

"You're trembling," Maria said quietly, distracting him from his thoughts.

He realized that he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had turned white and his hands were shaking slightly. He tried to relax his grip on the wheel, but he realized that it was harder than he had expected.

From the passenger seat, his wife rested a calming hand on his knee. "Try to relax," she said gently.

Jake tried to smile, but it came out more like he was baring his teeth. There was something ironic in the fact that Maria was trying to comfort him. Having been sequestered as a child and raised by the UNSC, Maria Prescott was far from the most open and socially gifted person to survive. But over the years since they met while serving together and subsequently fell in love and married, she had become the most supportive person in his life.

"I will," he promised her as he turned onto the dirt road that led back through the hay fields to their home. "I just need to hold our daughter."

Maria squeezed his knee and smiled encouragingly. "Me too," she whispered.

An anxious silence fell over them. Jake appraised the fields around them as he drove, pleased to see that things seemed to be largely in order. Maria tapped her fingers along with the old country music he had playing on the radio. They both worried. They had no idea of the state their home would be in when they arrived. There were no guarantees that anything would be the same after this.

So, white-knuckled and tense, Jake drove on.

The house was empty when they arrived. So, to occupy his mind, Jake walked around the yard. The fences could use some repair - no doubt damage caused by fleeing animals driven away by the tiny spot of combat the area had seen. The barn was still standing, which was something.

Finally, after all but starting to mow the lawn, Jake heard a car horn sound several times from the front yard. The marine took off at a dead sprint around the side of the house, heart racing with anxiety. By the time he made it to the front he found an old SUV parked in the driveway. In the front seat were his parents, both looking healthy and no worse for the wear of the past few months.

As happy as he was to see them, though, he was far more ecstatic to see the tiny bundle his wife was already pulling from the backseat. It was small, decidedly pink, and crying grumpily.

Sofia.

Jake all but flew to his wife's side, wrapping both she and his daughter up in his burly arms. Maria rested her forehead against his as they both let out shuddering breaths somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"We're home," Maria breathed as if saying it too loudly could cause that fact to disappear. "We're home."

Jake had no words. He just squeezed his arms tighter around his family, and resolved to never again let go.