Trevor's jaw dropped as he fought off tears.
"Trev?"
"Olivia?" Trevor whimpered.
"Y-yeah, it's me. I know that it's probably hard to recognize me, but-"
"C'mere, love." Trevor spoke quickly before stepping forward and pressing a firm kiss to his wife's lips.
He had recognized her voice, but her face was scarred and her hair was buzzed off. He couldn't believe that his wife was there, and he just prayed that his children would be able to look past her injuries and see their amazing mother instead.
"I'm so glad you were still living here. I was worried that you moved after I went MIA."
"This is our home, Liv. I couldn't even think about leaving here, when this was the last place you and I were together." Trevor spoke before kissing his wife again and hugging her tightly.
They stood like that for a while, before Lane came downstairs to see what was taking her father so long to come up and tuck her and her sisters in.
"Daddy!" Lane yelled, and Trevor slowly moved away from his wife before looking at his middle daughter.
"Laney." Olivia smiled, when she saw her little girl.
"Yeah?" Lane asked, confused.
"Laney, it's me. Mama!" Olivia grinned, and after a short moment of Lane trying to figure out if it was really her mother, Lane sprinted across the floor and clung to her mother as she sobbed loudly.
///
The other two girls got to see their mother before being asked to head to bed. They all whined and fought their parents, but eventually they headed to bed and left their parents alone.
"So what happened?" Trevor asked, as he and his wife drank coffee in their kitchen.
"With the bombing?" Olivia asked, and Trevor nodded.
"Yeah. Like, why did it take so long for you to get back to us? Jamie is two and is a complete handful."
"I'm not surprised. He is your son." Olivia chuckled, as she tried to avoid talking about all the pain she went through.
"Babe." Trevor frowned.
"I really don't remember the first several days after the bombing... but I ended up waking up in some person's house. They lived right outside of the base, so I guess that I probably crawled there. My wounds were cleaned, but I was still really bad off. Trevor, my face isn't even the worse of the burns..." Olivia breathed weakly.
"Did you end up getting help?" Trevor asked softly.
"I did. I ended up in the army hospital. I lost my tags so they didn't know who I was. My finger prints were completely burnt off so they couldn't test those either. They just knew that I was a solider and they helped me until I woke up again and could tell them who I was... I asked them not to contact you because I am so disfigured." Olivia whimpered.
"You are still so incredibly beautiful, Liv." Trevor spoke softly, as he reached for her hand and gently ran his thumb across the scarred skin.
"Please don't lie to me. Trevor, I didn't even want to come back tonight. I honestly didn't want to come back at all because I was scared about what you would say. If you'd still like the way I look. Even if I sought out plastic surgery, I still wouldn't look nearly the same as before."
"Olivia, I didn't marry you for your looks. I married you for your sense of humor, your kindness, and your ass." Trevor spoke, and Olivia sighed as she reached out and gently grabbed her husband's hand.
"I think that I still have my ass." Olivia breathed.
"Love, I'm just thankful that you are home. With us... and you are still the most beautiful woman that I know."
"Can we go to bed? I'm tired..." Olivia asked.
"Of course! C'mon, pretty lady. Our bed is made and hopefully Jamie isn't sprawled out in it yet."
///
Being back was really hard for Olivia. After everything that happened, she was worried that everyone around her would judge her or treat her differently now that she's home. Now that half of her body is covered with second and third degree burns.
She didn't have to worry about her home life, since her husband made sure to tell her everyday that he loved her. That he thought she was stunning. The kids didn't care what their mother looked like, because they were just so damn happy to finally have their mother home.
"Are you going back, Mama?" Ruthie asked, about a month after Olivia got home. Olivia was putting her daughters down for the night, since Jamie was already asleep.
"Back where?" Olivia asked, as she smoothed the blankets on her daughter's bed before sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Back to where you were hurt."
"Oh... after I was hurt, the army won't take me back. I am getting honorably discharged soon, and I'll be here with you guys forever." Olivia smiled.
"So no more war?" Alyssa asked.
"Nope. I'm going to officially be just a stay at home mama." Olivia replied.
She leaned close and kissed Ruthie's forehead before standing and turning on the nightlight.
Olivia was just about to the door when Lane spoke.
"We are so thankful that you are back, Mama... the year that we didn't know where you were was scary. We all cried a lot... but now that you are home, everything is better. We missed you a lot."