Salute {Leah Clearwater}⁴

twenty nine - worrisome

"Liam!"

"Sammy, hey," chuckled Liam, hearing Josiah complain in the background.

"We miss you over here! How are you healing up?" Samuel asked, sounding out of breath which Liam could only assume was because he was running away from Josiah.

"Well I finally got rid of the wheelchair. My body is still sore from all the injuries, but I can move just fine," Liam answered, "And I can tell you have been causing problems for Jay."

The noises on the other end became louder causing Liam to hold the phone away from his ear as he listened to his two friends argue on the other end. Patiently waiting for either of his friends to pick up the phone again, Liam sat at the base of the porch with the moon reflecting through the dark night. From the corner of his eye he could see a shadow step out from behind a tree, making him look over to see Leah walking over with a smile on her face. The soldier waved her over just as Josiah's voice came over the phone, "Liam? You still there?"

"I'm still here."

"So am I!" Leah spoke up from beside him.

Both the soldier and the female shifter spent the next couple of hours hearing Josiah talk about his time over there as well as mentioning how they are looking forward to seeing him again in just a couple more weeks to come. The female shifter beside him could not contain her excitement as she talked with her imprint; while Liam remained quiet, a smile graced his lips as he listened to their conversation.

"Well," Leah stood up and stretched her arms over her head, "It's getting pretty late and I have an early patrol. I love you Eli, take care, I'll talk to you soon."

There was a moment of silence after Leah left which caused Liam to chew on his lower lip in confusion. He could sense that his friend had something to tell him without Leah's presence.

"What's going on?"

From the other end of the line he could hear his friend let out a humorless chuckle, "I can't get anything past you, can I?"

"Come on spill it, what is it?"

Josiah let out a sigh and Liam could tell that he was contemplating on whether to tell him or not. Patiently waiting for his friend to answer his question, Liam couldn't help but stare up at the shining moon that illuminated the dark sky.

"We're heading out for a new mission..." Josiah paused, making Liam even more anxious, "Arash Ghorbani is back on sight... and General Evans gave us our new mission to try again. Bring him in dead or alive."

Liam didn't know what to say. All he could think about was the immense pain and fear he felt when they tried the first time. He couldn't stop the nerves that made his heart jump to his throat in fear for his friend. To calm himself down, Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath ― he needed Josiah to be safe, not only for his sake but for the people waiting for him back home.

"Promise that you will be careful. Promise that you will come back home safe. Promise..." the words fell before he could stop them.

"Liam... you know I can't promise anything... that is the reason I didn't want to say anything in front of Leah."

Sighing, Liam understood that he couldn't possibly promise anything. He knew that more than anyone. "Yeah you're right... I'm sorry... it just came out."

Liam sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "So you don't plan on mentioning this to Leah?"

Not hearing anything back, he could only assume that he hadn't thought of it. "You have to tell her."

"I know..." Josiah paused, "I'll talk to her on our next call."

"You better."

Shivering from the rising temperatures, Liam decided to head back inside the house and towards the room he shared with Paul. "When are you heading out?"

"I'm not sure yet," Josiah answered, "They haven't told us yet but we are preparing in advance. I'll let you know when they tell us."

Liam nodded. "Alright."

Once again, silence fell between the two soldiers and it was causing major anxiety to well up inside of Liam. His eyes drifted over the dark room, over to Paul's side of the room where he spotted the picture Josiah always carried with him ― it had him, Nate, and Josiah.

"Make sure you get paired up with Samuel and watch each other's backs. Don't go off on your own. If the situation goes south, then you get out of there, no matter what."

Josiah let out a snort. "You worried about me that much?"

"Of course I am! You're important to me, you piece of shit!"

Although he tried to make it sound in a joking matter, he couldn't stop his voice from breaking at the end, making him swallow the emotions blocking his throat. Josiah didn't say anything after that. What could he say.

"Get some rest Jay. I'll talk to you soon."

"You too Pim, talk to you later. And... don't worry too much."

How could he not.