USA - July 22nd, 2003
NEW YORK

For the umpteenth time, you checked that you had locked the door before leaving. You always did it, every day when you were the last to leave the clinic. Just that, today was different and a few hours earlier, your brother hadn't stopped calling to tell you to come home early.

Sure, how could you forget your own birthday??

You sighed a little when you saw that you were a quarter of an hour late, definitely Jason wouldn't have waited for you to enter your house, since he had a copy of the keys...anyway when you arrived at the door, you saw him run from the other side of the street in the same way as you.

《Damn I thought I was the only one late!》 He said as he caught his breath. Meanwhile, you noticed a small package in his hands, thank goodness you had bought the cake!

《Don't worry, it's not another book.》 Jason joked as he followed you to your apartment.

《You know I like them, it's okay if you do it.》 You answered with a slight chuckle 《That's why I made you another cap, the other one you had was ruined by now.》

This time, it was the marine's turn to laugh and proudly adjusted the blue cap he was wearing, no way most of the caps he had were all gifts from you...anyway, a smile graced his lips in advance of what was soon to come.

《I see you're still studyin' it...》 Just then, Jason's eye fell on a bilingual dictionary left on the table, where it was clearly written Arabic-English on the cover.

《Yes. I've been busy lately so there are still some things left to look for...》 You explained as you set aside your work stuff to make yourself more comfortable with a ponytail and a home shirt 《...there are still words he said to me that I can't understand.》

After that, you turned to the fridge to open it, ignoring your brother's serious expression, as he understood who you meant. But his mouth dropped open when saw you with a big knife in your hand, ready to cut the big cake that had sprung up before his eyes.

《H-how did you find–》

《I went to the pastry shop this morning. I made it in time 'cause it was the last one left.》 You looked away with a satisfied smile when saw Jason practically drooling over his favorite cake since he was a kid. But before you sliced ​​it up, Jason quickly grabbed your hand and turned it to you with the palm facing the ceiling.

《Happy birthday sis.》 After that, Jason placed the package he was carrying on it, leaving you with a surprised, but definitely confused face...out of curiosity, you started to unwrap it, until remained just a letter.

《Jason...》 It was filled with marks and stamps, sign that it had traveled for a while and you instantly shuddered when read where it came from 《H-how did you–》

《It wasn't easy to get it back. You know, it's been stuck here for over a month...》 He crossed his fingers over the table when he said that, leaving you speechless, if not downright shocked.

《So? Don't wanna know who sends this to you?》 Jason let out a snort when he didn't see you open the letter, which you started to dismiss it with unexpected ardor, no doubt that you didn't know who was the author of the letter.

And just thinking about it made you smile, and more when you read Salim's name on the yellowish paper...

"I wrote this letter some time after your departure, I hope that somehow, it has reached you. The truth is, I've never stopped thinking about you and I hope that one day, we can see each other again...

I wish you every well. Goodbye, ¹habibti.

Salim."

A second later and almost giving your brother a scare when he saw you with tears in your eyes, thinking there was something bad written on there. Instead, a flickering smile appeared from behind your hand.

《I-I thought he forgot—! How he found me anyway?》 There, you looked at Jason with a wide open expression, before turning the letter and you clearly saw both yours and his addresses written.

《Don't know, but still remember CENTCOM kept our infos in the camp. Maybe he was able to take a look at them...》 Kolchek speculated as he took a slice of cake from the plate, enjoying that amazing chocolate and almond flavor in the meantime; when he found out Salim had been trying to contact you, he was busy finding a way to retrieve the letter, as much as he hated that someone had a crush on his sister...but the thing was, you suddenly became sad and all those arabic lessons you were doing on your own, well, they made sense of it all.

Since you felt the same way back.

《T-this is the best gift you could give me, thank you so much Jay...》 Your eyes and cheeks had reddened from holding back the joy of reading the Iraqi man's words, so much that you couldn't hold back your curiosity to translate the last Arabic word and now, you were literally dying in silence.

《No need to thank me, Y/n. I owed you.》 Jason looked down under his visor, now a little embarrassed, to see his sister extremely happy for another man. He swore he had never seen you like this even with your ex Evan.

But suddenly, Jason saw you get up to go to your room and turn on your laptop, it was there that you managed the income and expenses of your clinic, as well as your personal account...from the result, you had enough money to pay for a trip overseas.

A trip to the East, for example.

《I'll be leavin' for Iraq soon, now that the war is over I have the chance to go there as a civilian.》 You decided on your way back to the kitchen and hearing that, your brother's face changed radically.

《Well, this is where the bad news comes in...》 Though he had worked hard to find the lost letter, there was one thing Jason Kolchek still couldn't do, even for you 《And yeah the war is over, but the gap's still there between countries...for Americans, leaving for Iraq is estimated for the new year. I'm so sorry Y/n.》

You stared at him in confusion and disbelief, before realizing that nothing was a joke.

《So, you're tellin' me–》

《You can't see Salim. At least for now, things need to calm down before someone can set foot in another country without blowin' up...》 Your twin tried to play down but without success, as you stayed silent and lost in your thoughts for a while, maybe there was a way to avoid that...

But the only way you could do was wait, although reluctantly. You looked down at Salim's letter and right now, what you could do was answer him, let him know that you also hadn't stopped thinking about him for all this time.

《I wanna ask you...could you send me the letter for me when I'll write it?》 You said as you sat down again 《Can you do it, Jason?》

He sighed, surely this courier thing bored him a bit, but at the same time he couldn't say no to his dear twin sister, if that was what you wanted.

《Sure, I'm at your complete disposal.》 Jason threw his arms casually, but there was clearly something else he wanted to add 《Just, what do you find so special 'bout him? He's a son too, you really want to be a stepmom or what?》

You rolled your eyes in annoyance, still not understanding how your brother could speak ill of Salim after he bravely saved your life.

《Instead, I think whoever left that man made a big mistake. Salim has a pure heart and he really cared for me in the temple...and I know I can't let him go easily.》

When you said that last sentence, your heart pounded as you admitted your feelings for the Iraqi in front of the marine's stern expression, before smiling at you.

《Well, you seem to like him a lot. Maybe I misjudged him.》 You raised an eyebrow at his "maybe", because it wasn't entirely convincing to you.

Heck, Jason's really racist sometimes...

Finally, you started eating a piece of cake and strangely, that bite tasted bitter in your mouth.

Not like Salim's kiss, which was passionately sweet, instead.

《So? Where's my gift?》 At that point, Jason stood up when you pointed a finger at where you hid a red package. But soon, his enthusiasm was dashed when he saw a gray cap inside.

《Damn you really did it!》 You laughed in front of his grimace, as he observed the new garment carefully and on the inner fabric, small numbers had been sewn on it which your brother read aloud...

《...5/30/2003.》

You joined Jason standing in the center of the room for an intense hug, hearing him sniffle.

《Y/n, I— I don't know what to say...》

《Just a note of what you did to save your team and the rest of the world from an underground alien invasion.》 You added in a satisfied tone. Of course, you did that because you had read the 9/11 sketch on his old cap.

But this time, it wasn't just a memory of a tragedy that shook the world...remembering that he had survived, saving the world from an imminent catastrophe was something to honor and you wanted to give this gift to Jason.

《You're a brave big bro and man to me. Be proud of this forever, Jason.》 There, you took the cap off his head to place the other one. The First Lieutenant Kolchek wasn't the crybaby type, but this time he let himself go into your arms, definitely your support was what mattered to him more than anything else.

You took a long breath in the meantime, you knew that there would be better days soon for all of you...and among them, there would be one where you would share such happiness with Salim as well.

• • •

IRAQ - August 25th, 2003
BADRA-MANDALI

[You've got mail, baba.]

At those words, the man automatically turned to look at his son in front of the door, with a white letter in his hand.

[It comes from...America?!] Zain gasped when read the sender's address, before looking at his father with a puzzled expression [Do you know anyone there?]

Salim didn't say a word, smiling as he read the back of the letter. At that point, Zain raised an eyebrow as he tried to understand his father's expressions.

[...is it the woman you met a month ago, by chance? Is she pretty—]

The young boy had guessed right, because caught his old man blush on the cheeks, before being slapped on the back of the head by him. Actually, this was a clear yes and Zain just muttered at it.

[And yes, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.] Salim limited himself to saying as he took refuge in the living room to read his letter privately, thus ignoring the laughter of the son, now he knew his father had fallen in love with a foreign girl and more younger than him...anyway, when he opened the envelope, he found a white sheet of paper, obviously written in English.

"Dear Salim, I hope you are well. Although a little late, when I discovered that you had written to me, I couldn't contain my joy to answer you, to tell you what I think...but the truth is, that I have always thought about you and now I understand that I want to get to know you better, spend time with you outside of all this...but at the same time I know it's not possible now and I'm sure I'll write you again.

In that temple I found not only vampires and aliens. But also something precious that I never want to let go.

²Arak qariban, ya eazizi."

Salim read the message over and over again, until those words were imprinted in his mind and in his heart. He smiled immensely in front of your writing in Arabic and as you said in the letter, he would have liked to see you at that precise moment...

[I miss you too, Y/n...]

[Is that her name?] Suddenly, Salim raised his head to find his son peering into the letter [I see, baba is in love with her~]

[Don't you have any bags to pack, Zain?] The man replied with a grin on his lip, he knew very well how nosy that boy was [I remind you the airport is not behind here and you don't want to go there on your own...]

The eighteen-year-old sealed his mouth and ran straight upstairs to his room, still giggling nonetheless. Salim shook his head, he still couldn't believe that his son was of age now and that he would be leaving to study in London soon. It was going to happen sooner or later, of course, but he couldn't accept the fact that he would be alone.

That same evening, during dinner time, Zain stared at his father in a contemplative state, as if he couldn't stop thinking about something. A few hours earlier, he had seen him happy in front of that unexpected letter, but now it didn't seem enough anymore.

[You want to see her, right?] He guessed aloud and Salim stopped thinking [You should leave too, for America I mean...]

[It's not that easy Zain, surely I would be arrested if they found out that there's a soldier—]

Right there, an idea crossed his mind. Salim was still a lieutenant in the Iraqi Army and that was a problem, at least until the war was over. Maybe, if he were just a civilian...

[You've done so much for this country, the time has come to take care of yourself now.] Zain added seriously, he had seen what he had done during the war and now that it was coming to an end, his service was no longer needed [Besides, you're getting old baba, you need to stay healthy!]

[I'm not that old.] Salim snorted as he crossed his arms in front of the table, reflecting on the words of his son at the same time. He was right anyway, he had to give his military career a stop, before it took him back into the field to fight a war he didn't want to do.

[You haven't told me anything about this yet...do you like the idea of ​​your father dating a woman outside of our culture?]

Salim already knew what to think, but he wanted to hear from his son if he was ready to accept a woman so different from what his mother had been...

[...tell me baba, do you really like this girl?] Even when Zain asked him this question, Salim knew the answer perfectly.

[I can't stop thinking about her and everything about her...in that bad place, she was an angel from heaven and I've never seen anything like it. I think I love her.] The older man admitted his true feelings in front of his son, who just watched him with a relaxed expression. And if that was what made his father happy, then he could be happy too.

[Well, as long as she's okay with you being an old man—]

Suddenly, they both stood up from their chairs when Zain saw his father chasing after him, definitely he loved to tease him like that! Now that he knew his father would no longer be alone, the young Iraqi would leave with no more thoughts and worries and with a smile on their lips.

• • •

USA - September 30th, 2003
NEW YORK

You had just finished shopping when your phone rang. It was an unknown number, but you decided to answer anyway with a curious nod.

《Hello?》

The answer wasn't immediate, but on the other side you heard a long, deep breath. You still waited.

《...who's talking?》

After that, a voice actually came up and you listened to it carefully...and when you recognized who it belonged to, you were about to slip the phone out of your hand.

《E-Eric?! Is it really you?》

The Colonel looked a little amused to hear you surprised, however happy that he could talk to you.

《It's been a long time...how are you?》

《I'm fine, thank you.》 Honestly, you were a little nervous about talking with him, so you decided to speed things up 《I'm a bit busy right now, can you call me at another time–》

《Actually, I just arrived at the clinic. I want to talk to you in person.》 Eric cut you short and you didn't know what to think. You couldn't ask him to leave, of course, and you just quickened your pace to reach him.

When he saw you, the blond man got up from the chair where he was sitting and looked at you in silence.

《I'm so happy to see you–》

《If your intention is to discuss things that don't involve your leg, then I have to tell you to forget it, Eric...I don't want to remember the past.》

You clarified in an almost harsh tone. Of course, Eric understood your discomfort, but was hoping you could hear what he had to say about a person...

《I didn't expect this too, but I'm here to inform you that Salim contacted me...he wanted to tell me about his retirement from the military.》 You were dumbfounded by those words, before telling Eric to follow you to your office.

《What? Why would he do such a thing?》

There, Eric remained serious before placing his fists on your table with a long sigh.

《Because he's giving away his rank to become a civilian. And although I wasn't the right person to ask, he needed some advice to doing that.》

You listened carefully to understand where he was going with that, until you saw him place something right in front of your eyes.

《What does this mean...》 You said when saw what looked like an airplane ticket.

《I understand why he's doing this, as I also know how much you care about him. That's all I can do.》 Eric answered by crossing his fingers, as you couldn't understand why he was doing it.

《Please, if this is a way to apologize for what happened—》 But you didn't continue because the colonel stopped you at the same moment you were getting up from your chair.

《It's not just this Y/n. What I'm trying to say is that for us military, it's still not possible to move to the areas that were affected by the war and this is in Salim's case...it will take time before he can ask for withdrawal.》

You already knew a little about that, because Salim mentioned something to you after his son left for London. But you still didn't understand why now the blond wanted to help you, since he hated Salim and you had rejected his feelings.

《You know, what happened to me and Rachel made me realize one thing...I don't want you to be alone like I have become.》 Colonel King added sadly, before rising from his seat in front of you 《And yes, you can consider this as an apology from me if you want...》

He said no more and simply walked away, without turning to you and leaving the piece of paper on the table. You didn't know what to say, honestly you were a little confused, until you decided to take a look at the ticket...there was a stamp that you had never seen on a normal plane ticket, but what surprised you the most was the departure date.

October 10th!?

You widened your eyes in shock when you also read the place of destination...that meant you had a chance to leave for Iraq sooner than you had thought and this sent a strong rush of adrenaline inside you, as well as extreme happiness.

That's why, the first thing you did was call your brother.

《Hey, you won't believe what just happened!》 Jason listened intently but he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in that moment.

《Please tell me we won a hotel stay, I really need a fuckin' break!》 You shook your head as your brother burst out laughing on the other end of the phone, even if the idea wouldn't be so bad.

《No, but something like that...I'll tell you about it at home 'kay?》 You ended the call after that, definitely your brother wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes...

• • •

USA - October 10th, 2003

Your heart was the only thing you heard drumming among all those people. Of course, you knew perfectly well that you were at the airport, just as you knew perfectly well that you were about to leave and go to the other side of the world completely alone.

There, some footsteps caught your attention and you saw Jason running straight towards you.

《Shit, I thought I was too late!》 He gasped as he was fixing his hair under the cap you had given him.

《You're always late brother.》 You smirked at him, amused to see him sweat even with a winter jacket on. Where you were about to go, on the contrary, you wouldn't need it...

《Are you really sure about this Y/n? We can always wait another couple of months and I could go with you–》

《That's okay Jay. Eric assured me it's a safe place now, at least where I have to go...don't worry, I'll send your regards as well.》

Jason snorted again, he didn't like the idea of ​​letting you go to Iraq at all, it didn't matter what the reason was...not even if his name was "Salim Othman".

《Mpf, don't bother doin' that for me.》

You didn't stop laughing until the voice on the megaphone called your flight. There, Jason walked you up to your gate, where he wrapped you tightly in his arms.

《Promise me you'll be careful.》 He said into your ear and you just nodded, the truth was you wanted his company for this trip to make you feel comfortable 《And don't stay away too long, the house is sooo empty without ya.》

You patted his back repeatedly, after all you wouldn't have gone away forever!!

You shouldered your backpack and dragged your bag into the plane, where you took your seat. You should have thanked Eric later for choosing a first class seat, surely he knew how to make up for it...

Anyway, you sit down for the next 13 hours and with the thought you would give Salim a nice surprise, since you hadn't warned him of your imminent arrival.

...had it really been the right thing to do??

- - -

Notes:

¹habibti : "darling/my love"

²Arak qariban ya eazizi : "See you soon, my dear".