Mended

Goodbye my love the country is in need of me, and I heard there were signs of war. So I'm going over seas...all is fair in love and war, so I'm going overseas- Letters from Vietnam, B.o.B

Her palms shook as she gripped the hem of her shirt. She swayed on her heels staring to the entry way that she knew he would come through, the entryway that he had left her standing at a year ago.

He would be back from his tour. Back from a year of fighting for his country. Back from a year without her. She couldn't help but feel scared. He might not walk through those doors, and she knew that. She also knew that it had been a year since she last saw him. Things change, people do too. She knew all of it.

Tris looked to the crowd of people surrounding her. People all ages, a few kids even. A lot with military hats, some just here for their friends or family. A kid rushed by and hugged a man who stepped out of the gate. Another couple was hugging in the corner. Tris didn't know if she should push her way to the front, or the back of the crowd. She wanted to see him so much, but she also was nervous to see him.

It could be good or bad, he could be happy or sad. They had tried to keep in touch, but lost track of it. Tris knew he was out fighting to save everyone's lives. She knew that she wasn't the most important thing in the world. But to her, he was. She missed him so much, and things changed over the time he was gone.

Tris glanced down at the small carrier on the floor. A pair of dark blue eyes stared back at her. Her thoughts drifted to the night before he was deployed. Just thinking about the memory caused her to blush. She thought about it for a while then her mind remembered the visit to the doctor's office two weeks later when she found out she was pregnant. She wanted to tell him, but she didn't want them to end at that moment, and she thought she could tell him in person. She was regretting that instinct now.

He had been through so much, and now she felt as if she was adding something to his life that he wouldn't want. It was for sure a death sentence on their relationship, but she loved him too much to just throw it away. Besides, it was good to have a mini reminder of him every time she looked at the little boy who looked just like his father.

Tris bit her lip. His flight would land in ten minutes, she could feel the clock thumping with every beat of her heart. She picked up the carrier and walked to a bench sitting near the international gate. She would be able to see him, but he would not be able to see her until he turned the corner. Even so, he wouldn't be looking for her. She told him she couldn't make it, (because of work) but really needed a backup incase she couldn't face him for the first time in so long.

People started walking through, uniforms, hats, bags. She watched one after the other, people she recognized from the photo's he sent. This is his group... Tris spotted Zeke walking out, an old time friend of her's. The amount of veterans thinned out, and he was still nowhere to be seen.

Tris felt a lump in her throat, her eyes burned, she couldn't breathe. He didn't make it back. She wiped at her tears, and gripped the hem of her shirt tightly. The small baby in the carrier fussed, and she soothed him quickly before looking back to the gate.

He walked through. Tobias, her Tobias. A sling on his left arm, and a duffle bag in his right. Tris felt more tears flow down her cheeks. She was happy, he was here, she missed him. Her heart ached as he walked closer. He grabbed out his phone, and Tris watched him. He looked stronger, older, than when she last saw him.

Zeke walked over and patted his shoulder, his fiancée Shauna next to him. Tris wanted so badly to go and hug him tight, but her legs felt like jello. Her hands shook and her lip was already bit raw. It was a few seconds when Zeke's eyes caught her own and he tapped Tobias's shoulder. Zeke appeared to whisper something in his ear, and suddenly Tris caught Tobias's own eyes.