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She was just getting home from work, when her phone went off. Scrambling to swipe it from the center console of her car; she didn’t even look at the caller I.D as she answered.

“Hello?”

“Babes?”

“Tommy!” She gasped, being able to recognize that gravelly ‘Burg accent anywhere, tears sprung to her eyes as she leaned back against the seat of her car as all of her strength seemed to dissipate from her body. “Oh my god.” She choked up and put a hand over her mouth as she couldn’t stop the sob that worked its way up her throat.

“Hey now, why’re you cryin’?” Tommy crooned his voice soft.

“I just wasn’t expecting this, that’s all. I’ve only had letters for the past few months." That was when fear twisted in her gut, “Did something happen? Did you get hurt? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m okay.” She heard him sigh, “God, I missed your voice. Are you okay? How’s everything going? I don’t have long.”

“Everything’s okay, everybody’s okay.” She wracked her brain to see if there was anything major that she needed to tell him, “How did you get phone privileges?”

“'Cause…I gotta have someone to pick me up from the airport…”

“Pick…you up? What do you mean?” Her heart felt like it was in her throat, making her stumble over her words. “You’re not due home from another month and a half.”

“I’m coming home early, baby. They’re pullin’ us out.”

“Oh…my God! Oh my, God!” She shrieked loudly, not bothering to pull the phone away from her ear. “When?! What time?!”

“I’ll be back on ‘Merican soil by ten A.M Thursday.”

“Ten o’clock, Thursday, okay…okay.” Shelby couldn’t believe it. He was coming back to her, in three days. Three days and he would be hers again after being gone for almost one full year. “Tommy.” She wiped her eyes, “You’re finally coming home.”

“I know, babe, I know.” He murmured softly, and sucked in a breath, “I gotta go now.”

“Tommy—but, I—.”

She couldn’t think of a fucking single thing to say.

“Just think about Thursday, baby. Okay? Thursday. We’ve made it this long. It’s just three more days.”

“Thursday.” She whispered, and heard the line go dead, knowing that he’d hung up before he could think twice about it. She must have sat in the car for twenty minutes, staring at her cellphone before she managed to climb out of the car. Although her legs were still shaky, she made her way towards their bedroom. Digging one of his shirts out of his dresser drawer, she pulled it over her head after shucking her other clothes. Climbing into their bed, she latched onto his pillow but found she was too excited to sleep.

She was shaking, and it felt as if every bone in her body was rattling. She wrung her hands nervously, watching the screen as it tracked the airplane Tommy was on, closer and closer, until finally it was landing. She sucked in a breath then and turned towards security to watch for him. Her legs felt wobbly and her heart was pounding so heavily against her rib cage that it hurt.

The seconds ticked by, and she felt herself growing more and more impatient by the moment. People leaving the plane started to trickle out slowly, one by one greeting loved ones that had come to greet them from their flight. Her eyes moved from face to face, throat tightening when she saw a few other soldiers come through.

“C’mon Tommy, where are you?” She murmured to herself, standing on the tips of her toes and straining her neck to see over the throng of people now ushering out of the terminal. Moving forwards a few steps to see if she could see him, suddenly, she spotted him. Being one of the last soldiers to exit, Tommy was hooking his backpack over his massive Fatigue covered shoulders, looking down at his combat boots.

Her heart seized, and she let out a strangled gasp. All attempts at trying to stay calm were thrown to the wind. Her feet were moving before she could think about it. Her vision blurring from the tears now spilling over onto her cheeks, she tried to cut through the crowd and make a beeline straight for him.

“Tommy!” Her voice cracked as she slipped passed a family, nearly running head on into another soldier. “Tommy!!” She called again, and this time he turned his head towards her. The soldier that stood between them quickly stepped aside when he saw her, a grin on his face as he let out a whoop for Conlon. She didn’t hear it, or even see the soldier; she only had eyes for Tommy.

Once she was close enough, she threw herself at him. Wrapping her legs around his hips, his strong hands grasped the back her thighs, keeping her in place as she took his face in her hands and crashed her lips onto his. The world seemed to stop for a moment, everything slowing as she kissed him for the first time in far too long.

“Tommy.” She muttered in a shaky voice clogged with tears as she buried her face into the nook between his neck and shoulder, after wrapping her arms around their solidness, her whole body trembling. “I missed you, so much.” A soft sob escaped her before she could stop it.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He whispered one hand moving from her thigh to grasp the back of her neck lightly,

“I’m home. I’m home now.” His plump lips found her temple, brushing against the smooth skin there.

“Everything’s all right and I’m home.” He repeated to comfort her. All others in the airport ignored them as they reunited. His standard issued green undershirt was stained a darker green when he set her back on her feet, promptly threading his fingers through hers. “You gonna be a’right?” He teased, stormy blue eyes shifting down to meet hers as they made their way to the car.

“Yes,” She murmured as he brought the back of her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

“Good.” He paused, “Cause I’m fucking starving for some real food.”

She laughed then, shaking her head. Typical Tommy.

They arrived home without a hitch, content and with full bellies. She was in the kitchen, putting away dishes, listening to the sounds of another being moving around the house. Lost in her own thought of how long it had been since she’d heard someone else moving around, she startled when his voice rumbled from behind her, saying her name.

Whirling around at the sound of it, she was met with the sight of him clad only in a pair of basketball shorts, giving her the glorious sight of all of his solid body, corded with thick muscle, his dog tags the only thing against his bare chest, tanned from his time spent in the sun and tinged with red from the heat of his shower.

Grinning, she stepped forward as the scent of his body wash engulfed her. Taking the chain that held his dog tags in her hand, she tugged lightly, making him step closer to her so she could tilt her head up and press her lips to his, “Let’s go to bed, Solider.” She muttered, her lips brushing against his with her every word. “So I can give you the proper welcome home."