Descent into Darkness (Major Spoilers for House of Ashes)

Epilogue

Boston, Massachuesetts

2003

It had been 7 months since the ordeal in Iraq. Within those months, the special forces group had returned home to America. Gabrielle had been dating Salim for the past four months, the pair having moved in together, Salim in the country on a work visa.

Much to Gabrielle's relief and delight, her daughter Joanna had approved of and even liked the man. Salim's son Zain was in the UK studying at University, so it was just the three of them living in the house for the time being.

It was currently an early Saturday evening, Salim having had a long week at his new job as a nurse, he and Gabrielle were chilling and snuggling together on the sofa. The pair had initially been watching some tv, but their focus had gradually drifted to each other rather than what they were watching. "Is everything ok? You seem... distracted..." He asked with a concerned undertone.

She shot him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just a lot of stress on everyone having to keep what we went through a secret." She admitted. He'd never really understood the need to cover up what had happened, but had to accept that she had no choice but to follow orders. "Were you able to find the time to see Jason this week?" She questioned.

"No, but we did talk over the phone at least. He sounded like he was doing alright, all things considered." Salim answered. The pair had remained close friends with each other since the ordeal, which made Gabrielle happy. They both occasionally had a double date night with Jason and Hailey when the latter didn't have Beverly to babysit.

Joanna had gone up to her room, often liking to keep to herself, which gave Salim and Gabrielle the space to just sit around and enjoy each other's company. Cupping her face with one hand, Salim pressed a soft, gentle kiss to her lips. Gabrielle was quick to return the kiss, the two then pulling away a little. "I love you, so much." He muttered to her, pulling her in closer and resting his chin on her head.

She smiled again, nuzzling her face into his neck while he wrapped both arms around her waist. "I love you too." She responded, content with the show of genuine affection. He made her feel loved and cherished, and had treated her far better in 4 months than her ex-husband had in two years. Salim said nothing else after that, just wordlessly holding her in his arms.

The silence was rarely awkward between them, her thoughts going back to how they'd met in the first place every once in a while. Looking back on it now, it had felt strange for both of them that they were on opposite sides of the war back then. "How have the scars been healing?" He asked after a minute, remembering that she'd gotten a few injuries of her own from the experience.

"They've been healing well. They're still visible at the moment, but they'll fade eventually." Was her response. He nodded, pulling the sleeve of her shirt down to get a better look at said scars. "Yeah, they're looking much better." He agreed, pushing the sleeve back up once he was done looking the gashes over. 

The pair went quiet again for a few minutes, Salim caressing her arm out of habit. "Honestly, it still feels surreal that we survived all that bullshit." Gabrielle said. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at that.

"I suppose so, but all that matters is that we're alive." He began, before continuing on. "Getting home to Zain gave me all the resolve I needed, but I never expected to find another reason to fight for." He finished.

She knew that feeling, that much she could say for sure. "I know what you mean. After divorcing my ex, the only thing that mattered to me was Joanna." Gabrielle admitted, having to think about how to phrase what she wanted to say next. "The gaslighting had started to get less subtle when I found out he was cheating on me. He had the nerve to try accusing me of cheating with Jason of all people." Was what she settled on.

It was clear that Salim couldn't even comprehend the thought of that. "Yeah, Jason's definitely not the type to cheat on his wife." Salim agreed, then decided to change the subject. "Although, as much as I could sit here like this for hours, we should probably start getting some dinner on."

That was one thing they tended to either do together or take turns on, the cooking. She chuckled a little as they pulled away from each other. "Now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry." She replied. The pair then got up and headed into the kitchen, having settled on doing the cooking together this time.