So ... this will be something.  A reunion. Of some sort.

I also am mixing historical accuracy with me just guessing, so that's also going to be something.

Enjoy! :)

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Today is the day that the soldiers and prisoners of war come home. Finally, three months after the war ended, they're coming home from being overseas for so long.

So many people wait at the great big docks at Ellis Island for the ships to start coming in.

Jack, David, and Sardinia (who had gotten discharged some time earlier) wait with eager anticipation. They are so excited to see Mush, Race, Spot, Chick Tucker, and Kid Griffo again.

But they are also nervous, because they aren't entirely sure if all of them are coming back.

But they don't want to feel nervous. They want to feel excited that finally, everyone is coming home.

It's the waiting that's killing them. Why, why with the waiting?

"We're going to see them soon," Jack repeats for the millionth time. "We're going to see them soon."

"We will," David assures him. "All of them."

Sardinia says nothing, just stands there looking at the sea. He knows that Dave isn't coming home. He says that he's fine, but they know that's a lie; they remember him breaking down when he put the gold star in his window.

Finally, the first ship comes in. They know that there are probably going to be many, so they can't get their hopes up about their friends being on the first ship. 

That doesn't stop them from hoping.

As people start getting off, they realize that these are the divisions that they never interacted with. There's no way for any of their friends to be there.

The second ship comes. And, even though they are extremely thin and looked even more haunted by war than before, there, coming down to them, are Kid Griffo and Chick Tucker.

Jack, David, and Sardinia shout their names and run up to them. When Kid Griffo and Chick Tucker see them, they instantly smile, and try to move down the ramp faster. Their legs are shaky, though, so Jack, David, and Sardinia tell them to slow down. They take their time, but they make it down. Jack, David, and Sardinia hug them instantly.

"Where's everyone else?" Chick Tucker asks.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Jack!" Kid Griffo exclaims. "We were so worried when you left!"

"I'm glad you're alive too," Jack tells him.

"You're the first of our friends to arrive," David tells him.

Kid Griffo turns to Sardinia. "How did you get here before us?"

"Eh, long story," Sardinia says with a dry smile. "Let's just say I got dishonorably discharged when I was 'acting suspicious' when asked where a certain pilot went."

David laughs sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

Sardinia waves his hand dismissively. "Nah, I like being here more than being over there."

Kid Griffo hugs his brother again. "I'm glad you're here too."

A new ship arrives. No one they know gets off of it.

Jack and David exchange nervous glances. Where's Race? Where are Spot and Mush?

Finally, a ship arrives, and they can recognize Mush instantly.

And suddenly, nothing else matters.

"MUSH! MUSH!" they shout.

Mush sees them and his smile instantly grows. It looks like he hasn't smiled in forever.

They barely wait for the ship to dock and Mush to come down the ramp. As soon as he is within five feet of them they engulf him in a hug together.

"Mush! You're back! You're back!" they exclaim.

"You're alive! You're alive!" Mush sobs.

They hold him closer.

When they finally let go, Jack realizes something. "Where's Spot?"

Mush looks down, about to sob all over again.

That's when Jack realizes why Spot's not with Mush now.

Spot never made it back.

"He didn't make it," Mush says, voice cracking, confirming Jack's fear. "He didn't make it." He bites his lip. "He ... he told me to tell you that he had a good life. To tell you that you'll be okay.  And he said ... he said ... Just stay together. Please. Don't let anyone drive you apart." Tears stream down his face. "We ... we tried to save him, but we couldn't."

Jack and David sink to the ground. No.

Their friend--their family--will never return to them.

They should have known that not everyone would survive.

Sardinia, Chick Tucker, and Kid Griffo come up to them. Kid Griffo and Chick Tucker put a hand on Jack and David's shoulder, while Sardinia wraps an arm around Mush.

And so they stay here, mourning their friend.

But they have to get up; not only are they in the way of people getting off the ship, but they have to stay strong for when Race comes back.

A new ship comes in. And then another, and another, and still, no sign of Race.

They pace nervously. Where could he be?

Finally, a ship with the rest of the American prisoners of war comes.

They can't stand the anticipation. They want--they need--to see Race again.

They don't see Race right away, but Jack recognizes his brother Antonio.

"Antonio!" Jack shouts. "Over here!"

Antonio sees them, and makes his way over to them.

Jack smiles. "It's good to see you again!"

Antonio offers a weak smile. "Yeah. Good to see you too."

"Everyone, this is Race's brother, Antonio," Jack introduces him.

Antonio looks down.

Jack's smile falters. He looks out at all the passengers coming off. Race would have been here by now. Now that he thinks about it, Race wouldn't have left Antonio's side. So there really is only one explanation for why Race isn't here right now.

"I'm ... so sorry," Antonio murmurs. "But my brother, he..."

Mush puts an arm around Antonio, lips pursed. "He didn't make it, didn't he." Not a question.

Antonio shakes his head forlornly.

Jack feels like he's been punched in the gut, again.

They lost Spot, and they lost Race.

Jack, David, Mush, and Antonio sink to the ground. Antonio's probably had some time to deal with this, but to them, this is new. And they can't imagine this being easy for him either.

They will never see Spot or Race again.

And so, far away from all the other people coming off the ships, they start crying.

They don't know how long they stay like that. They stay there for awhile, with Chick Tucker, Kid Griffo, and Sardinia standing there with them.

Now, between them all, they have three gold stars from the war. For them, that's three gold stars too many.

But, finally, they know they can't stay here. It's time to go home.

They help each other up. This was a lot for one day.

"Hey Antonio," Jack says. "Do you have some place of your own to go back to? Or do you need a place to stay the night?"

"Oh. Uh," Antonio pauses. "N-no. I'm fine. I'll figure it out."

David raises an eyebrow. He doesn't sound so sure. 

"You can spend time at our place until you figure things out," Jack offers.

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that to you-"

"What do you mean? We'd gladly take you in with us!" Mush adds.

"Just for the night," Jack says. "Maybe it'll be easier if..."

If we all mourn Race together.

He doesn't want to say it out loud.

"Maybe it'll be easier if we stick together."

"Besides, you're Race's family," Mush murmurs softly. "That makes you our family."

Antonio sighs. "Okay. I'll come with you. But just for the night. I don't want to stay too long."

Jack and David exchange glances. Then, Jack turns to Antonio. "Antonio, wanna know how I ended up spending several nights in a small house in a little village in Switzerland?"

"What?"

"Oh, yes. See, I escaped the prison camp-"

"You did what?"

"And I ended up being found by this nice elderly couple..."

And so he begins to recount the story for Antonio, and for Mush. They walk side by side with Kid Griffo, Chick Tucker, and Sardinia--who is going home with his half-brother. And while these two groups are going to two different places, they still only have one vision of where they want to go: home.

And so, together, they begin their journey home.

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Spot wakes up in a world that is not like the one he once lived in. This place is ... he doesn't know how to describe it. Big. Airy. 

Quiet.

That's the only thing that unsettles him. It's so quiet. He grew up in Brooklyn; 'quiet' doesn't exist. And in Europe, 'quiet' is hard to come by too.

So he knows he's not in either of those places.

And so, with nothing better to do, he wanders around.

He's surprised when he finds that his side is healed. Guess miracles can happen here, wherever 'here' is.

"Spot?"

He turns around, trying to find the source of that voice. It was someone trying to call out to him.

"Spot?"

He wants to know who it is. "Hello?"

"Spot?"

Spot recognizes that voice. It's Race's.

"Race?"

"Spot!"

"Race?"

"SPOT!"

And suddenly, Race comes running at him. "SPOT!"

A smile spreads over Spot's face. "RACE!"

They continue to run towards each other.

"I found you!" Spot shouts gleefully. "I found you!"

"I knew I'd see you again!" Race exclaims.

Finally, they close the space between them, and they hug. They hold each other close. Nothing else matters right now except each other.

As they hug, something changes. They pull back to look at each other's faces. To their surprise, they look different. They no longer look like they're 35 and war-weary. They're newly sixteen, with the triumph of the strike behind them, and a bright future ahead of them.

"How...?" they both ask, but then just laugh. They don't need to know. All they know is that they're sixteen again, and they are happy.

Race missed Spot so much. He's been so alone for ... he doesn't know how long.

Race cups Spot's face with his hands. Spot leans in to the caress. Then, Race brings Spot's face closer, and kisses him gently. Spot kisses back. They close their eyes. They missed this. They missed each other. So, so much.

They press their foreheads together.

"I love you, Spot."

"I love you too, Race."

Then they look at their surroundings. Still, a lot of nothing.

"Where are we, Race?" Spot asks.

Race shrugs. "We can be wherever we want to be."

"So what if I said I wanted to be at the docks of Brooklyn?"

Race smiles. "At sunset?"

Spot smiles. "At sunset."

As they picture what that would look like, their surroundings move around them.

And so, hand in hand, they walk down to the docks, the sun setting overhead. They tell each other stories. What their last moments were, and everything that has happened since they last saw each other. And many memories from their past. They are so, so happy.

Here they can get their happy ending.

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Okay, trying and failing not to cry, because that was both incredibly sweet and incredibly sad.

I know that there are a lot of different beliefs about what happens after death, so I am keeping the afterlife as vague as possible to not cater to one specifically. If I did, that was on accident.

No matter where I looked, I couldn't find any information on when exactly the American soldiers came home after WW1. I saw that in January of 1919 the prisoners of war got released and could go home, so I chose a random date in January for all of them to come home.

And so now they're back.

And now Spot and Race are in the afterlife together.

Just-just give me a second-my heart-

And now we only have one last chapter.

So ... what's going to happen?

Read and find out :)

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who is feeling a lot of feels right now and can describe none of them)