Page 22 of Believe
“Let’s say you have a guardian angel,” smirked Gabriel. “We just received permission to take you home. You’re going to Bragg and you’ll be home for Christmas.”
The men who had babies on the way broke down and cried. Matthew, in his infinite wisdom, with his loving fatherly touch, and divinity, touched their heads.
“It’s alright boys. You’ll be home in plenty of time. You’re going to see the births of you first children and more. You’ll be fine.” The two men looked up at him, seeing an ethereal glow around the older man’s head.
“I-I don’t understand,” whispered the first man.
“No need to understand. You’ve done your work. You’ve done your time. It’s time to devote to your family now.”
The men slept until they felt the plane descending, shocked that they were already arriving in America. Their shock was amplified when they realized that their families were there, on the runway, awaiting their return.
“How?” asked one man. Then he held up a hand and shook his head. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. It doesn’t matter. I’ll never be able to thank you all for what you did back there. We were tired, exhausted and knew we were going to die. We’ve all written our farewell letters to our families. Because of you, we didn’t have to send them.”
The Gray Wolf team stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling, watching the reunions happening.
“How?” asked a woman hugging her husband. “How did this happen? We got word that you were headed home only a few hours ago.”
“Honey, I wish I could explain it but I just can’t. Those men got us home.” She blew a kiss to the men, hugging her husband once more. Her belly was swollen and ready, and now, so was her husband.
“Pops, this was the best mission I’ve ever been on,” said Alec. Matthew nodded at the men, smiling as he touched each one.
“Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
On the plane, the men chatted about that feeling of fighting once again for something you believed in. They reminisced, joked, laughed, and then were ever grateful that they’d all walked away.
“Matthew, that might have been one of the best gifts you’ve ever given me,” said Ghost. “I’ve fought a lot of battles, some I didn’t think I’d walk away from. I’ve fought side-by-side with my own men, my brothers and was always glad when we were able to come home. But fighting for those young men with their entire lives ahead of them, that made me feel better than any of those battles.”
Matthew smiled at Ghost, nodding.
“Same, Pops,” said Jean. “I feel exactly the way Ghost does but I think you knew we would feel this way. We fought for purpose but I think we’re all glad that it was the last time.”
The men stared at one another as Matthew just sat quietly.
“That’s why you did this,” said Rafe. “You knew this would be our last big battle and you wanted it to be special, to feel worthy. You knew we needed this.”
“I always know what you need,” smiled Matthew. “You have fought on the frontlines for decades. Literally. Never considering your own safety or your own mortality. You’ve saved thousands of people, civilians and military personnel alike. You’ve rescued world leaders, religious leaders, children and, much to my wife’s delight, animals.”
The men all laughed, shaking their heads at the truth of the statement.
“You’ve done your time. You’ve earned this rest, this time to do something else good. Your fighting is behind you now.”
“Matthew, you always know what we need,” said Trak.
“I think that’s my job,” he smirked. They all heard a ‘yip’ and turned to see Gaspar’s chest squirming.
“Gaspar? What do you have?” asked Miller.
“Well, uh, this little guy was wandering around and he begged me to help him. His mother is gone and he doesn’t know where his siblings are. I mean, look at this face,” he said pulling the puppy from his jacket. The huge brown eyes stared at the men, the little puppy dirty and dusty.
“He needs a bath,” laughed Baptiste.
Gaspar nodded, headed toward the bathroom. The men watched as he scrubbed the sweet little pup and laughed at his big, rough hands smoothing the puppy’s fur with soapy water.
“What will you call him?” asked Angel.
“I don’t know,” said Gaspar staring at the sweet brown eyes. He wrapped the puppy in a towel and then looked at the others. “He’s a survivor. I mean, how does a puppy survive that chaos?”