Summary:
Alternatively, the one where Meatball has been depressed because he's been separated from his first dad—DeMarco. He's been depressed because he's been separated from his mother—Kathryn Egan. He's been depressed because his other two surrogate fathers—Bucky Egan and Buck Cleven—have also been missing. So the minute that Kathryn Egan finds her way to the hospital wing, that dog is reuniting with his mom. Alternatively, the one where Kathryn reunites with the POW men when they return, and Meatball finally gets to have a family reunion.
Notes:
A/N: Just a short little blurb that I hope you all enjoy! As always, let me know what you think haha!
Chapter Text
Laura had just left Kathryn's bedside—and for a moment, Kathryn was left in the silence of the hospital wing. It felt strange, being back here. She had spent so much time here before, countless days and hours and shifts here with her friends. But Kathryn had changed, she was different now.
Waiting for Gale left Kathryn slightly impatient. He was going to come and see her after the mess-hall, and she was absolutely certain that he was likely going to spend the night in the hospital wing with her. But there was also a sense of trepidation. Things were different here on Thorpe Abbotts. She didn't want to get him in trouble with anyone.
"Meatball—no—Meatball!" Rosie's voice cut into her ears and suddenly, Kathryn was being tackled and licked by none other than her sweet dog Meatball.
At first, Kathryn was so taken aback by the sight of the dog—she had frozen. Because for the past few months in that camp, those dogs had been vicious. She had been bit in sensitive areas, had dogs snap their jaws at her any time she stopped working—and it had left her entirely on edge. Initially, Kathryn froze in panic, unable to stop the assault of licks on her face.
And then she was flinging her arms around Meatball and burying her face in his fur. "Oh my sweet baby Meatball, I've missed you!" She exclaimed.
Rosie stood awkwardly in the doorway, a sheepish expression on his face. "He saw you and got excited. I—"
"It's not a problem," Kathryn said in a lighter tone than he had heard thus far, hugging that dog to her as though he were going to disappear.
To say that Rosie was pleased to see his friend so happy and excited was an understatement. He hadn't seen that smile on her face in a long time. And she just looked so gaunt and sickly, ribs poking out against the loose clothing Laura had found her. There were deep bags under her eyes and scars that poked out from random places.
He hesitated for just a moment. "You doin' okay, Kath?"
Kathryn forced a tired smile onto her face. "I will be." Her hands slipped over Meatball's stomach, rubbing at the sweet dog who just had missed. "Are you?"
Rosie nearly gave a laugh. "You just escaped a camp and you're askin' me that?"
"You look worried."
His hands landed on his hips and he rolled his eyes. "Maybe you really are a menace. You gotta worry about yourself too, you know."
"So I've been told," Kathryn retorted. "You better treat my Laura right."
"Your Laura? I'm pretty sure she's mine—"
"She was mine first," Kathryn said, giving him a tired half-grin. "And she deserves the damn world, Robert Rosenthal."
"I know, Kath. I'll give her that," Rosie tucked his hands into his pockets. "That Major Cleven treatin' you right?"
"Always."
"Good. He better. You're...you're a good friend. And I'm glad you're back."
"Glad to be back."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeing Bucky was one thing, but when the rest of those boys arrived on base, Kathryn couldn't help but be excited and happy about the entire thing. This time, she stood on the tarmac, waiting patiently with Meatball and Gale—Bucky standing on the other side of her.
"Did you have to bring the dog?" Bucky questioned, glancing over at her.
"You really think DeMarco's first stop wasn't going to be this precious child?" Kathryn asked, swiveling her head towards her brother with wide eyes. "I don't think so!"
"She's got a point," Gale pointed out—eyes landing on the plane that was incoming.
Kathryn could scarcely contain the excitement she had—or the energy. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for their friends to land and disembark from the plane. And to be quite fair, she waited a solid thirty seconds longer than Meatball did. As soon as DeMarco's feet had hit the ground, Meatball had taken off.
Almost immediately, everyone could tell that this was a special moment. DeMarco lit up at the sight of Meatball—and he was tackled to the tarmac ground, Meatball practically cuddling against him in excitement.
The other men gave a laugh at the sight of it—it was the closest they were getting to coming home to a kiss anyway, what with the war still on. Bucky and Gale made their way over to the guys and Kathryn greeted her POW friends—all of them now tied together with invisible string through shared experiences.
And when Meatball finally climbed off of Benny DeMarco, he had no sooner climbed to his feet than he was met with another hug. This time from the Menace . "I'm glad you guys are okay!" Kathryn mumbled, nearly making the man freeze in surprise.
A slow grin spread across Benny's face. "I knew you missed me, you Menace."
Kathryn rolled her eyes and shoved away from DeMarco, shaking her head at all of these men. "You know what? My brother was right," she decided. "You are all just a bunch of dodos."