[MillietheWarrior]

She finally parted her lisp from his, noses inches apart as their gazes met. "I love you," Joe murmured, and M.J. smiled, knocking her forehead into his. "Love you too," she whispered, her heart racing.

M.J. finally pried herself out of his hold, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, before she stepped away, saluting sharply. "I'll see you back in the states, sergeant...I'll be looking forward to it."

Joe chuckled, closing his fingers around the ring, his dark eyes shining with happiness. "Me too, lieutenant. Me too."

--

"Ma?"

M.J. stepped through the threshold of the house. It was dark inside, as was to be expected at nearly a quarter to midnight, but she'd at least have expected someone to be awake. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. Not as though they knew she'd be home, right? She scratched the back of her head, and pulled her customary cap off, hanging it on a rack by the door.

"Ma? Ma, I'm home."

There was the sound of shuffling somewhere in the back of the house, and M.J. blinked and squinted her eyes when a light flickered on at the far end of the hall. Then, a familiar shadow, and an all too familiar voice made her heart ache and tears well in the corner of her eyes.


(Continuation of Chapter 9)

[MillietheWarrior]

"Mary Jane? Is-is it really you?"

"Ma…"M.J. dropped her pack and rushed forward into her mother's warm, welcoming embrace. She could feel her mother's chest heaving as she sucked in ragged breaths, and her own tears began to fall down her cheeks in tiny, silent rivulets. "Oh ma, I missed you so much!"

"Mary, my little Mary. My baby has come home at last!"

[MillietheWarrior]

The sleepy sound of a child yawning behind them and a questioning whisper pulled M.J. away from her mother. Her eyes widened as her little sister stood there in her nightgown, a chubby stuffed teddy bear clutched in one hand. "Ma? What's goin' on?" Nine year old Abby questioned, before her gaze took in the rumpled, battle-worn form of her older sister. "M.J.!"

She launched herself at her sister, and M.J. just barely managed to let go of her mother in time to catch her. "Hey there, little bear!" she cried, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. The weight of Abby took both girls tumbling to the floor, and their mother followed, wrapping them up in her arms and holding them close.

"You're back!" M.J.'s mother sobbed softly, cradling her children to her. "Our family is whole again. Oh my sweet, Mary. My sweet baby girl!"

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[MillietheWarrior]

"So what was it like over there, sis? Did ya get ta shoot a gun?"

M.J. regarded her sister over the rim of her coffee mug with grim silence, a frown creasing the corner of her eyes. Slowly, with deliberate movements, she set down the mug and the newspaper that was in her other hand, and folded her arms on the table. Her sister looked faintly confused, as though wondering why no immediate answer had come, but nevertheless, waited expectantly.

"Abby-girl, it was like nothing I've ever seen before. I ain't gonna tell ya all the bad stuff; maybe when you're older, but I sure can tell you that Austria is one heck of a pretty place. Greenest grass and prettiest country sides you'll ever even dream of seein'. I even brought you an' ma back some souvenirs."

[MillietheWarrior]

Abby's eyes grew wide and round with anticipation, and she clutched the edge of the table, beaming a smile at M.J. that was decidedly and conspicuously missing a front tooth. "Really sis! You brought us souvenirs? I wanna see! Can I see?"

Katherine, M.J.'s mother, shot her youngest a stern look as she set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of M.J., who immediately dug into them with a gusto the likes of which her family had never seen. "After breakfast, Abby," she chided, smiling faintly. "Let your sister eat first. She seems to be starving." She chuckled softly, folding her arms over her chest as she watched M.J. inhale her breakfast. "You eat any faster, and you'll break a world record, sweetheart."

[MillietheWarrior]

"Sorry, ma," M.J. apologized hastily between bites, too hungry to feel embarrassed. "I just ain't had nothing' like these eggs in such a long time. They're pure heaven!" She missed the frown that creased her mother's forehead, but she said nothing of her silent concerns.

What had really happened over there? Katherine was no fool, and she was certainly not blind. She could see the hardened look in her daughter's eyes, and the occasional wistful glance out the window, as if dreaming of some place far away. M.J. had changed so much since she'd been home almost four years ago. She looked older, more world wise, and tired, as if she'd need a hundred days of good sleep just to get a little bit of rest. It worried Katherine, but she knew it was nothing her strong willed daughter couldn't handle.

[MillietheWarrior]

Katherine had worried about her child; she had believed, up until a few months ago, that M.J. was working as a nurse in upper New York, near the shipyards, and then down in California. She'd never, ever imagined what her daughter had really been doing, and she'd probably have remained ignorant until Christof Alard, M.J.'s captain, had dropped by shortly after returning home.

The man had explained everything to Katherine, from the dangers of the secret assignments, to what her daughter had really been up to for nearly four years. It hadn't lessened her worry any. In fact, it had nearly killed her to hear it all. But Christof had assured her that he was not only doing everything in his power to get her daughter home safe and sound, but that she was in quite capable hands while overseas.

[MillietheWarrior]

Katherine couldn't imagine the things that M.J. had gone through, seen, or done, and she didn't think she even wanted to try. "By the way, sweetheart," she said steadily, making her way back over to the counter to grab the coffee pot to refill M.J.'s mug. "A man dropped by early this morning while you were still asleep. I felt it was best not to wake you up; you just looked so tired…anyway, he dropped off a new uniform for you, and told me you were supposed to report at company HQ at 0900 hours."

M.J.'s head snapped up, and she glanced at the clock with a groan. "An hour? That's all I got? Man, I'd kill to be able to go back to bed for a few days." With a reluctant grace, she scooted back her chair and trudged over to the uniform her mother had motioned to hanging on the back of a door. It was protected by a white cover, and M.J. had dismissed it as her mother's laundry or something similar when she'd come in that morning.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Be right back," she grumbled, grabbing the hangar and shuffling off to her room to change. Abby giggled and swung her legs in her chair as she waited for her oatmeal to be warmed up for her. Katherine just smiled in faint amusement.

No more than twenty minutes later, M.J. remerged dressed in her new, crisp uniform. While the uniform was beautiful and new, the scowl on her face was certainly not pretty. "A skirt?" she growled, a string of expletives running through her mind that she didn't dare say aloud. "You're kidding me. I'll kill Christof. And when I'm done, I'll kill him again."

[MillietheWarrior]

She marched over to the table, something small clutched in her hands as she adjusted the hat atop her mop of dark curls.

"Oh honey, I hadn't noticed. You're hair!" Katherine exclaimed, reaching up to gently finger one of the short, trim brown curls. "It's practically gone! You cut it all off?" She seemed dismayed at the idea, and her face was practically awash with despair for her daughter's lost hair.

[MillietheWarrior]

"Oh ma, don't worry over it…I had to. Hair gets in the way over there. 'Sides, I hardly ever got to shower. Wouldn't do to run around with dirty hair, ya know? Anyway, here's them souvenirs I talked about." She practically beamed as she turned the tiny music box in her hand over and dumped the sparse contents onto the table. Her mother gasped audibly at the beauty of the rings, picking a silver one with a large sapphire up in two delicate fingers. "What do ya think, ma? I figure you could keep 'em or sell 'em and get somethin' nice. They sure are pretty, but they're worth a lot, far as I can tell."

[MillietheWarrior]

"Can I have one? I want one!" Abby cried, reaching for the rings. Her mother promptly drew her hand back, and shook her head.

"No, Abby-girl. Not these. But maybe M.J. has something else for you?" She glanced at her daughter hopefully, and smiled when M.J. nodded, little curls bouncing around her ears.

"Oh, you better believe I do, Abby-girl. Here." She held out the music box, a dark chestnut, intricately carved and glossed over so it was smooth and elegant to the touch. "It plays a nice little tune, too. Thought you might like it. I got this in Berchtesgaden. Real fancy place. Do ya like it?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Abby stared at the music box in wonder, turning it over and over in her small hands, before she beamed up at her sister. "I sure do!" she cried, her own mop of dark curls bouncing around her shoulders. "I love it! Thanks, sis!"

M.J. was just glad Abby was so easily distracted. She chuckled to herself as she pulled her jacket on over her blouse, before her mother's gentle hand on her arm stopped her. "Mary," she said softly, keeping her voice low so that Abby couldn't hear. "Mary, these rings really are worth a lot. Don't you want to keep them?"

[MillietheWarrior]

M.J. shook her head, looking faintly amused. "Nah, not really. I think we'd be better off sellin' them and gettin' some good money for a new house or somethin'. 'Sides," she continued with a conspiratorial wink. "Somethin' big might come up soon, and you never know when you'll need the extra cash."

She leaned forward and kissed her smiling mother on the cheek, before she ruffled her sister's hair, and headed towards the door. "I'll be home in a few hours, all right?"

"All right, sweetheart. Just don't go traipsin' off to Europe again while our backs are turned, you hear!"

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[MillietheWarrior]

"Christof, you dirty little son of a-"

Christof laughed as M.J. marched into his office, the reaction he knew he'd get from her once she was forced to don the dreaded and much hated 'skirt of doom.' But they were back in the U.S. now, with no war, no mud, and no need for combat boots. There were rules here, and like it or not, she'd have to comply with the regulation woman's army uniform.

"Mary, Mary. What will I ever do with you? Maybe I should wash out that mouth of yours with soap, hm?"