He'd come home. He always came home.
And this time, he had even more reason to make sure he did.
COMING TOGETHER
Fort Liberty, North Carolina - Six Weeks Later
The C-17 touched down at 0600 and Logan had never been more grateful to be stateside. Six weeks in Afghanistan. Six weeks of operations and firefights and living in conditions that made the DFAC look like fine dining. Six weeks of no communication with Mara except for two brief satellite calls that had lasted less than five minutes each.
But the deployment was done. Mission successful. Everyone coming home alive. And somewhere in Louisiana, Mara was waiting for him.
The team went through the standard post-deployment processing. Equipment turn-in. Medical checks. Debriefs that could have been emails but weren't. Logan went through the motions on autopilot, his mind already in Louisiana. Already planning the drive to the airport. Already thinking about seeing Mara's face when he walked through arrivals.
"You're gone already," Bulldog observed as they cleared the final checkpoint. "Mentally checked out the second we landed."
"Can you blame me? Six weeks of radio silence. I haven't talked to her in four weeks." Logan grabbed his personal bag from the pile. "I'm going to Louisiana. Soon as I can get a flight."
"Yeah, I figured." Bulldog grinned. "Go. Get out of here. Rest of us will handle the after-action paperwork."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Hawk already approved it. You've got two weeks leave starting now. Don't waste it standing around here."
Logan didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed his phone from his locker and powered it on for the first time in six weeks. It took a moment to connect, to download the backlog of messages and voicemails. Most were from his sister. A few from his mom. And seventeen from Mara, spread out over the weeks he'd been gone.
He scrolled through them. Short messages. Updates about operations and life at L'Abri Sûr. Nothing that required a response, just her way of staying connected even when he couldn't respond. The most recent one was from yesterday.
"Heard through Quinn that your team's wheels down tomorrow. Call me when you can. I'll be waiting. Love you."
Logan hit dial before he even left the building. She answered on the first ring.
"Logan." Just his name but he could hear everything in it. Relief. Joy. The sound of someone who'd been holding their breath for six weeks finally exhaling.
"Hey. I'm home. We just landed." Logan stepped outside into the North Carolina morning, the phone pressed to his ear. "I'm okay. Everyone's okay."
"Thank God." Mara's voice was thick with emotion. "Six weeks is too long. Way too long."
"Agreed. Not doing that again if I can help it." Logan checked his watch. "What are you doing right now?"
"Right now? Sitting on the dock pretending to review Quinn's latest intelligence but actually just staring at my phone waiting for you to call." A pause. "Why?"
"Because I'm getting on the next flight to Lafayette. Should be there by this afternoon. That work for you?"
"That works perfectly for me." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I'll pick you up. Same as always."
"Can't wait."
Logan booked the flight from his phone while walking to his truck. Three hours until departure. Just enough time to go home, shower, grab clean clothes, and get to the airport. He drove faster than he probably should have, his mind already in Louisiana.
The apartment felt empty when he walked in. He'd been gone for six weeks but it looked like he'd left yesterday. Bed made. Kitchen clean. Everything exactly where he'd left it. He showered quickly, washing away six weeks of deployment grime, and packed a bag with clothes for two weeks.
Two weeks with Mara. Two weeks of the vacation they'd planned before he deployed. Two weeks of being regular people instead of operators and soldiers.
He couldn't wait.
The flight to Lafayette was packed but Logan barely noticed. He tried to sleep but couldn't. Tried to read but the words didn't stick. Just sat there counting down the minutes until landing, until he'd see Mara again, until six weeks of distance collapsed into nothing.
When the plane finally touched down, Logan was the first one off. He didn't bother with baggage claim, had everything he needed in his carry-on. Just headed straight for arrivals where Mara would be waiting.
