Shot Throught the Heart

six

Dominic and I sat together for a while. After he spoke, nobody else got up after him. A lot of the crowd talked quietly in their seats. Then there were a steady stream of uniforms going up to visit dad's casket and that's when I escaped the front row. I didn't want to watch all those in attendance salute my father one final time. I walked to the back of the room and took a seat in the couch against the back wall.

            Just as I was finally starting to settle the emotional storm that was brewing inside me, Ryan walked up to me. I stood from the couch as he shook my hand.

            "I think we've worked together enough for a hug." Ryan said and I sighed as we pulled each other into a hug. The hug probably lasted a little too long but neither of us minded. When he pulled away Ryan gave me a small smile.

            "I also wanted to say thank you for saving that mission. It was a good win for us when it looked like we were going to get pulled with nothing." Ryan said.

            "We were stuck on that roof all day; I wasn't going to be happy coming home empty handed. Getting to fire the shot myself made it worth it." I said.

            "I don't doubt that will be the last time we work together Eagle. But we are going to take our leave. My team and I have a flight to catch back over there." Ryan said.

            "It was nice to see you Ryan, thank you again for coming and for the shadow box. It really means a lot." I said and held out my hand.

            "Like I said before, Major was the best I've ever worked for and he deserved the best especially now." Ryan said and shook my hand.

            He didn't say anything else as he walked out the door. The rest of Alpha team was right behind him. All of the guys shook my hand as they left and once they were gone, I took my seat on the couch again. The funeral home was like a revolving door for a while. A lot of soldiers in uniform came and went as I took it all in from the couch in the back.

            Some time later I felt someone sit down next to me and I turned to see Mallory sitting next to me. Her blonde hair falling in waves that stand out from her black dress shirt.

            "Even though I've explained it about a hundred times to Logan that he needs to be quiet and respectful, he is too excited to sit still. Your friend Robert really took to him and has answered so many of his questions. Do you think I can borrow him for a while to entertain Logan until he crashes?" Mallory chuckled as we watched Logan sitting next to Rob.

            "That's because Rob's a dad at heart. He's a sucker for kids. His daughter is probably Logans age and he only got to see them for a day when we came home before he left again." I answered.

            "You were away?" Mallory asked.

            "Yea, we were in the middle of a deployment, just got back to base from a mission actually when I got the phone call. I flew here right from base overseas, Rob and Morgan at least got to go home for a day before coming here." I answered.

            "That explains the" Mallory said and pointed to the cuts on my face. I nodded and tried to piece together what to do to get away from her.

            "Are you okay though? Like were you hurt anywhere else other then that?" Mal asked sounding concerned.

            "Oh so now you care?" I asked and gave her one of my resting bitch faces.

            "I've never stopped Daniella." Mal said.

            "No, you don't get to do this, not now, not after all this time." I said and slid all the way to the other end of the couch trying to keep my decorum.