The Ghost of Him |WWII Frerard AU|

-11-

It comes as a shock to everyone in Delta Company when we wake up on Christmas morning and find out we have the entire day off.

Definitely a shock, but far from a disappointment.

Although, it is rather saddening when I open my eyes and realize there are no presents to open with my family.  Usually--especially when Mikey and I were younger--we'd all wake up as the sun rose, rush down the stairs, and spend hours opening gifts from one another.  We'd light the fireplace and huddle in its comforting warmth.  We'd bake cookies and dip them in milk to eat.  We'd spend the whole day sitting around our cozy living room, sometimes in silence, and sometimes with words.  Christmas was our family's favorite time of year.

Now I have a completely new family to spend the holidays with, and although I've grown close with these guys, I can't ignore the aching pangs I feel inside my chest at the thought of my parents sitting at home, alone, without Mikey and me to fill the void.

Maybe I'll write to them.  Maybe that'll make me feel better.

I wait for the rest of Delta Company to leave the barracks for breakfast before I search for a piece of paper and a pen.  I know it's around here somewhere; as I look, though, I don't hear Mikey come back into the room.

"Whatcha doing, Gerard?"  The sudden sound of his voice nearly makes me jump out of my socks.  "You gonna come to breakfast?"

It's barely been three weeks, but my brother's already changing.  He's lost weight--not much, mind you, but I've known him forever.  He looks leaner, stronger, healthier.  I haven't noticed much of a change in myself, but he looks like the epitome of vitality.  If only our parents could see him now.  I bet they'd be proud.

I know I sure am.

"In a minute,"  I tell him, finally having found the pen and paper.  "I was gonna write a letter to Mom and Dad first.  Wanna help out?"

I haven't seen Mikey's face light up this much since we arrived at Fort Monmouth.  He eagerly joins me at the little desk in the corner of the room, and I start writing.

Mom and Dad,

We finally have enough time to sit down and write a letter.  We've been going and going and going these past few weeks, and we've barely had enough time to eat lunch, let alone write something to you guys.  I guess they decided to be generous and give us Christmas day off.

Anyway, we just wanted to check in--and I say 'we' because Mikey is watching over my shoulder as I write this.  We're both in Delta Company.  There are a bunch of other companies training here, too, but I think we have the best one.  All the people in it are so weird and unique in their own special ways.  You should meet this one guy named Brendon Urie.  He's one of the wackiest guys I've ever met in my entire life.  A few days ago when we played Capture the Flag with another company, he ran into the woods without a shirt on to distract them.  Crazy, right?  He's one hell of a guy.

There's this other guy Mikey and I have both really gotten along with, too.  His name's Frank Iero.  I don't know what it is about him, but you just can't hate him.  He's got this dry sense of humor that everyone in the company loves.  On the first day, our drill sergeant called him a midget.  Sometimes we still call him that to piss him off, but it's all in good fun.  He's a good guy.  I think you'd adore him.  Maybe if we can make it back home before we're shipped off to Europe, he can come with us and meet you guys.  That'd be fun, don't you think?

I'm not sure what our drill sergeant has in store for us next.  We've already run at least fifty miles, and yes, I nearly died the first time we ran.  It's safe to say our entire company wasn't very fit when we began, but now, we're all getting into shape.  It's kinda interesting to see the growth, actually.  You should see Mikey.  He's gained a lot of muscle mass in the past few weeks.  I can't really tell with myself, but man, he could probably kick my ass if he wanted to.  I think you guys would be proud of him if you saw.