I stare at the picture of my wife and son. They're both smiling with sparkling eyes. I smile to myself. They don't know I'm coming home tomorrow, in two days for them.

I can't believe I haven't been able to hug and hold my son for 3 months. All I want is to go home and be allowed to be with him. I was allowed a week to go home whenever I wanted, and I decided to go home the week of his first birthday.

I only see him over Skype, and those can be rare occasions. I do try and call whenever I can but it's extremely hard to squeeze time in. I take a deep breath, stroking my finger against the photo.

"Is that your wife and son?" My friend, Private Lorde, sits next to me.

"Yeah." I nod, putting the picture in my helmet.

"How old is he?" He asks. I don't mind, him and I are close friends so I don't care if he knows anything.

"One this week, actually." I say, placing the helmet back on my head.

"Oh right, you told me you were using that one week you were allowed to leave." He says.

I stand up, grabbing a gun to clean out. The Colonel is extremely strict about how we keep the guns. "Better safe than sorry" he says. I don't find a need to keep them completely pristine 24/7, but I have to listen to my higher-ups. I know it's selfish to say, but I can't wait until I can boss around my lowerclassmen.

"How are you gonna surprise your wife?" Lorde asks. I shrug. I hadn't really thought about it. I knew where I was gonna go but I didn't know how I was gonna surprise any of them.

"Well, I'm going to her mom's house the night before they go but I don't have any ideas." I sigh, putting the gun I was cleaning back up on the rack and picking up another one.

"You gotta plan something. You're leaving tonight, right?" He asks, walking back up to me and crossing his arms to his chest.

"Any minute, really. He could walk in here right now-"

Literally at the most coincidental moment, a young private walks in. He looks nervous, a lot like I did when I first joined. I recognize him, I had to take him under my wing and sort of mentor him. I put the gun back on the rack and look at him.

"S-Sargent Ro'Meave, the Colonel requested you." He is very hesitant in his words. I can tell he hates being here and he's still not used to it.

"Thanks, Jeremiah." I smile at him, calling him by his first name. I walk past him and walk out of the flimsy doors.

My feet don't make a sound in the sand, or maybe they do. I just can't hear it due to everyone talking. I look around and see soldiers working on guns and talking and laughing like drunk idiots. I shake my head and walk into the Colonel's tent.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I ask, my heart pumping with excitement.

He gives me a smile as he looks up from paperwork. I stand there, quite awkwardly and trying to look as serious as possible.

"How are you, Sargent?" He asks me calmly.

"G-Good, sir." I try not to stutter, but I fail absolutely miserably. "Yourself?"

"I'm doing better than usual." He gets up and goes to the front of his desk, halfway sitting on it. "How would you like to leave now to go home?"

My mouth practically drops open as a smile spreads across my face. I try not to jump around like a giddy child. He laughs.

"Go home, Ro'Meave." He gets up and pats my back.

"Yes, sir." I smile to myself, practically running out of the tent and going to pack my things.

Lorde looks up with a strange look on his face. I smile at him, basically throwing my stuff into a bag. The other guys laugh and look at me with surprise. I pick up a bag and throw it over my shoulder. I smile at everyone.

"See you in a week, guys." My heart beats with excitement.

"Where are you going?" A female soldier asks.

"Home." I walk past all of them. They all smile at me, patting my back and nodding at me.

~.~.~.~

I step off the plane in the huge airport, my heart racing with joy. Even if I don't get to see my wife and son right away, I still get to sleep in a bed that's actually comfortable and shower.

I walk around the airport trying to see if I can see Zianna's mom. It should be easy, Zianna looks a lot like her. I keep going around, trying to find her through crowds. It's almost impossible, everyone looks the same.

Then I see her, sitting in a chair and texting. I almost sprint over to her. She looks up with a bright smile and drops her phone into her purse.

"Hey, Garte." She says, smiling.

"Hey." I say, hugging her.

"I was just texting Zianna actually. Don't worry, I didn't tell her where I was or what was going on." She says as she separates from the embrace.

I laugh. "Okay, thank you."

"Let's go. I bet you're exhausted and probably hungry." She inquires.

"Very." I reply, nodding violently.

She laughs and walks ahead of me. I drag my bag across the floor, trying to contain my excitement. We approach the car. I put my suitcase in the back and sit in the passenger's seat, staring out the window at the scenery. It's great to be back where I belong, in the city with my wife and son.

"How are you?" Zianna's mom breaks the silence. I sigh.

"Nervous. I don't wanna mess anything up while I'm here." I say, smiling to myself throughout my excitement.

"You won't mess anything up." She laughs.

"I know." I smile to myself. "But I can't help and think that I will."

"I understand." She says as we turn onto a street, getting closer to her house.

"How's Garroth?" I ask nervously, hoping to get a good answer.

"He's... doing better. He's not gaining much weight but he is getting big. He's talking a lot better and apparently asks for you every day." She hesitates at first but I think she tries to stay away from the cancer side, which is nice .

"Sounds like him." I laugh and shake my head.

The only thing I want right now is to hold him. I don't care about any good meal or a hot shower, I just want to hold my son and hug my wife. I'd give anything just to hold them for even 5 minutes. I play with my hands, it's obvious I can't contain any joy that's hiding.

We pull up to the light tan house. I can see the golden sun going down, it's light barely scanning over the sidewalk. Zianna's mom parks at the house. I practically jump out as she chuckles. She unlocks the door and I walk in, almost immediately sitting down on the couch.

"Are you hungry?" She asks, slipping off her shoes. "I can fix you something if you want."

"No, thank you though." I smile at her.

"Okay." She puts her hand on my arm. "Just tell me if you need anything."

"Alright, thank you." I say smiling.

She walks out of the room and disappears into her bedroom. I look at the pictures next to her TV. There's several of Garroth, which makes sense considering he's her only grandchild. There's one when he was just hours old. It's a picture of Zianna cradling Garroth in her arms, calmly smiling down at him. I can't wait to see them again.

I lay down on the couch with my hand on my stomach. My eyes begin to droop shut and my heart beats quickly with extreme excitement. I smile to myself as the world around me disappears.

~.~.~.~

I can feel the heat of the sun radiating against my face. My eyes gently open, but I turn my head away as the bright sun gleams into my eyes. Rubbing my right eye with the heel of my hand, I sit up. The smell of something really good fills the air with a sweet scent. Zianna's mom walks in the room.

"Morning, Garte!" She says, cheerfully to say the least.

"Hey." My groggy voice replies.

"Are you hungry?" She asks, sitting on the coffee table in front of me.

I give a brief nod, brushing my hair back. She smiles at me, standing up.

"C'mon. You like waffles don't you?" She says, walking over to the kitchen.

I smile to myself, perking up at the sound and smell of waffles. I practically jump up, almost sprinting over to the kitchen. I can't recall the last time I actually had a good meal.

"Slow down!" Zianna's mom laughs as she sets a plate down in front of me and sits down next to me.

I smile and cut into the waffles. Placing the waffles in my mouth, I savor the taste. Chewing it multiple times and then swallowing, I take another bite quickly. I can feel Zianna's mother slightly questioning my actions, but I don't care. I'm starving.

I hear her phone let off a notification. She takes out her phone and quickly checks it, staring at the screen for a quick second. My stomach jumps, hoping it's Zianna.

"Okay, Zianna says that her, Garroth, and Tobin are gonna be here at around one. She really wants him to take a nap in the car." Zianna's mom says as she puts her phone down.

"Did he sleep at all last night?" I ask, taking a sip of orange juice from a glass that was to the right of my plate.

"I hear it was kind of hard. It takes a long time to get him to go to sleep." She says, slightly sighing and smiling at the thought of her grandson.

I smile, finishing up my food and picking up my food and walking over to the sink, putting it down. And sighing to myself, my pulse racing with excitement. I can just picture myself holding my son, loving him more than ever.

"I'll be in the guest bedroom if you need me. Thanks for everything." I smile at her and begin to walk away.

Walking in and shutting the door, I shake to myself, hoping nothing happens while I'm here. I can't let anything bad happen to Garroth and then just leave for Afghanistan again.

I lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. I press my mouth in a line and breathe at a steady pace. Smiling to myself, I continue thinking to myself, slightly mumbling the words.

The hours go by quickly, Ziannas mom comes to check once in awhile. I don't do much, though I mostly stay in the guest room. After a few hours, at about 1:05, I hear the door open. Cheerful talking comes from outside.

I rush over to the door and press my ear against it. I hear muffled, yet distinct voices. I hear Tobin's voice, probably feeling fairly awkward around Zianna's mother, he doesn't know her that well. Zianna's voice is happy. I sigh to myself, smiling. It feels so good to not hear her voice through a screen.

I contemplate what time to come out. Zianna's mom and I hadn't discussed this, so I'm just waiting for the perfect moment. I bite my lip, shaking with excitement to see them.

"I just... Wish Garte was here." Zianna says, sadly laughing.

I know to come out. I take my steps as quietly as possible until Garroth sees me. He points at me and his face lights up.

"Daddy!" He exclaims, clearer than I've ever heard him say before.

"No, I'm sorry, daddy isn't here." Zianna sighs. Her back is turned to me and she is clearly occupied with Garroth.

I walk up to her, wrapping my hand around her waist. I pretend to act confused and I can feel her body jump.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here." I say.

Zianna turns to me as fast as she can. With tears in her eyes, she hugs me like I'm the last thing she'll ever hold. I kiss the top of her head and hug her tight, but not too tight. She separates from the hug and wipes her tears away, laughing in shock.

"How did you get here?!" She says, smiling widely.

"The Colonel gave me a one week break and I chose this week." I explain, smiling at how happy she is.

"Daddy!" I hear Garroth scream.

"I don't think he can wait any longer." Zianna's mom laughs as she hands him to me.

I take him gently, careful not to hurt him in anyway. But he doesn't scream, or cry. He smiles at me and clings to my shirt. I smile at him and kiss his left temple.

"Hi, buddy. How are you?" I ask him. I know he has no ability to answer, but it's still nice to ask him. He likes to feel part of everything.

His bright blue eyes look happier than ever. His mouth is curved into a sweet and naive smile, his red apple cheeks standing out. He wears a small blue hat that covers his lost hair.

"How old are you today, bud?" I ask.

"You're one, huh?" Tobin asks, smiling at both of us. He puts up his index finger to show the number one.

"Wow!" I over exaggerate. "You're pretty big, huh?"

Garroth puts his arms up. "Big!"

"Do you wanna eat your cake, buddy?" Zianna asks him, rubbing her hand on his arm.

Garroth presses his lips in a line and looks at me. I smile at him, and he smiles back. I can see new teeth that have grown in since the last time I saw him.

"Is that a yeah?" I say.

Garroth nods at me, but I don't think he really knows what we asked him or what he's responding to. I smile at him and set him down in the highchair. He reaches his arms up back for me, but I don't take him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Garroth. Not right now." I say, taking his cap off of his head.

I almost am shocked by how much hair he has lost. I remember how he used to have little blonde curls that were always so fun to stroke. Now, he has little hair. But that doesn't change my view about him at all. My son is my son.

Tobin puts a white bib on him, smiling at Garroth. Garroth takes a big, joyful grin at him. Tobin boops his nose gently. Garroth scrunches up his nose and giggles.

"You excited, kiddo?" Tobin asks him.

Garroth practically shakes in his seat, probably because he's around everyone. Zianna's mom puts a small, blue smash cake in front of him. Garroth looks at it confused, unsure of what to do with it.

"You can eat it, little man." Tobin says, trying to convince him to eat the cake. I sit down in a chair next to him.

Garroth points to it, looking at all of us. He turns his head to me, directing my attention towards the cake as he points to it.

"Go ahead, G." I respond to him.

Garroth slowly puts his hand into the cake, taking a handful of it and placing it into his mouth. His mouth gets messy with frosting almost immediately.

"There you go, little man." Zianna says, standing next to him and putting her hand on his head.

He keeps going and eats the cake. His entire body gets messy and is basically blue. I chuckle and look down, standing up so we can take him to get a quick bath.

"Come here, half-pint." I say, picking him up. My white shirt gets covered in blue frosting, but I don't mind. I just want him to get a bath before he opens any gifts.

Zianna follows me to the bathroom and Tobin and Zianna's mother sit in the living room to wait. We walk into the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on warm water. I sit him down in the bathtub and begin to wash him off.

"How have you been, Garte?" Zianna asks as she sits on the side of the tub. Garroth smiles at her, kicking his feet in the water.

"Okay, I guess. You?" I put an arm on Garroth's back and turn to her.

"Same. We've missed you a lot." Zianna replies, putting her hand on my shoulder.

I put the other hand that wasn't on Garroth's back onto hers. I smile at her, and she smiles back. We share a minute of almost heavenly eye contact, but a splash in water distracts us.

"Okay, okay." I laugh, wiping the side of my face off with my arm.

I take his right arm, as gently as possible. I dip the washcloth in the water, but then I feel the bumps on his arm that were there when we first learned he had cancer. My stomach drops, they feel slightly larger.

"Z-Zianna..." I say, but she doesn't look concerned at all.

"I know. They're doing what they can with it, and they're planning to triple the treatment." Zianna says, smiling and waving at Garroth.

I nod and continue to wipe his face off from frosting. There are still small blotches of blue across his cheeks, but I didn't think of it. I know they'll come off eventually.

Zianna grabs a towel and I pick up Garroth. Handing him to her, Zianna wraps him in the towel and kisses him on the cheek. Garroth smiles at both of us.

"Hey, buggy." Zianna kisses his cheek again. Garroth giggles at her and turns to me, reaching his skinny arms at me.

I take him, holding him gently. It feels great just to hold him and see his eyes light up the way they do.

He's going to be just fine.