His eyes fluttered open, and his muscles automatically tensed. For a سیکنڈ he was back in Afghanistan, alone, without his comrades, falling asleep unguarded behind enemy lines. He noticed how his arms were, like they had been holding someone, someone who is no longer there. Gemma.... The thought entered his head like a speeding bullet. The fact that she wasn't there made him think that she had never been, that he wasn't really home, and that he imagined the whole thing. But one look around the room, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight, he could tell he was in the club house. He really was lying on an actual bed, not some گھاس, ہے in a godforsaken desert.
His hand slid down to the sheets, the warmth radiating from them only confirmed it was real, and Gemma had only recently left. That was good. It meant that she finally accepted he was home, that he really was there. That she had completed her job as a mother for the دن سے طرف کی making sure her boy was محفوظ in her arms. Now she had to go and make sure the others were okay, that Clay was okay. His leaving hurt everyone, her the most, but definitely Clay as well. Her leaving was good; it meant she felt secure that he was staying and that she wanted him to sleep, to slip out like that, unnoticed, leaving him to his dreams. Though he had no dreams to speak of, and surley that was better than having dreams...... یا rather the nightmares that he should of had.
He was wide awake now, relaxed, but he still couldn't completely eradicate the feeling of alarm. He was ہوم but it would take a while for him to stop being on alert constantly.
He sat up, sighing heavily with the motion, letting all the pain that moved through his body out with his breath. It was late, extremely so, he had gone ہوم around 9 pm and now it was 2 in the morning, according to is watch. He slid off to bed, knowing he would'nt be able to fall back to sleep even if he tried.

He slid out the door, shutting it softly behind him, and then he walk down the hallway with practiced stealth. Coming to the main room of the clubhouse, he saw his brothers, spread out across the room, each passed out in the middle of some dirty deed Husky didn't even want to think about.

He entered a tiny kitchenette, pulling out the ingredients for some early morning coffee and turning the pot on. He leaned against the counter, his back to the coffee as he listened to the liquid drip down into the pot with an oddly comforting sizzle.

"You shouldn't be drinking coffee at two in the morning. It's too damn early for that." Bobby آپ want appearing as the shadows. Husky wondered how long he'd been there, how long he watched, no that wasn't right, he was ہوم now he didn't have to worry about that kind of thing

"What would آپ have me drinking? Whiskey?" He nodded toward the full and unopened bottle sitting on the counter.

"Well at least that would put آپ to sleep, which آپ obviously need." He replied, eyebrow raised in question, eyes rolling over him, taking him in.

"I don't drink anymore." he replied softly, his mind drifting back to the hellish memory he'd care not to remember but had no such hope. Bobby was there in an instant, as though sensing Husky was slipping into a bad place. His motions pulled Husky back to the real world, and he watch quietly as Bobby pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, filling each with coffee. Husky stopped him before he could add anything to his, he wanted his coffee black, no sugar, no milk, he wanted to taste the bitterness.

Bobby looked at him in surprise, first no alcohol and now straight black coffee? That wasn't like a Husky at all. The thought caused to glance at the whiskey bottle again, as though staring at it would somehow suddenly make it reality that Husky had drank some.

"I'm serious." Husky said, reading Bobby's thoughts knowing the older man didn't believe him when he کہا he didn't drink anymore. This was confirmed when Bobby mouthed the word 'bullshit', before heading over to the fridge. He pulled out a basket that was covered with a towel, then he started to walk towards the exit, motioning for Husky to follow.

A few منٹ later they were sitting side سے طرف کی side on the picnic table, Bobby staring at his مفن, چپاتی as though trying to dissect it, and Husky looking up at the stars, taking absent minded bites.

"I forgot how much I missed your muffins, Bobby. How good they were." he meant it too, Bobby was one of the best bakers Husky had ever met.

"Are." Bobby کہا pointedly, continuing when Husky arched his eyebrow, his face contorting in pain for a moment as the slight facial movement had sent a sharp dagger of pain through the gash on his forehead. Bobby didn't mention this though. "Are. Are good, they are still the best and muffins around, they didn't get any worse only better. And I'm willing to bet they're better than any shit you've been eating recently over there in Afghan."

Husky had to chuckle at that, everything he ate in the field had tasted exactly the same, horrible, like sand. Bobby's muffins were like God walking on earth for him right now.

"So what happened?" Bobby asked. Husky knew he was asking about the bandages around his abdomen, normally Husky wouldn't say anything, not wanting to drag anyone else into that nightmare world. But something about Bobby always had him telling the truth, he could never hide from, یا lie to the man.

"IED." He muttered with a matter of fact voice, like it was no big deal. Those bothered Bobby, combined with the cold, dead, distant look of Husky's eyes, it left him shuddering. This boy shouldn't have a look like that, so emotionless, so lifeless, like he was already dead. He was too young to be like that. " It was about a week یا two ago, I don't really remember, details are fuzzy. We were running, my platoon and I, at least what was left of us. Six men in only two and half coming out. We were running reconnaissance, things went bad real quick, sad to say my brother Ethan had been shot at least for times, little bastard was still alive though, I carried him out on my back, my buddy Matt backing us up. We ran as far and as fast as we could. And when we finally took a break, we realized we needed food یا water, anything, otherwise we weren't live. Matt went out only a few feet, I remember he jade a goofy grin on his face as he picked up a coke can. کہا something along the lines of 'Middle of a fucking desert and the bastard still need good ol' American soda.' we both chuckled, but that's when I heard it. That unmistakable click, Matt looked at me horrified, not sure what to do. I couldn't blame him." Husky paused to take a breath, he was shaking slightly and Bobby had to out a hand in his shoulder to make sure he stayed anchored to this world.

"I couldn't blame him one bit, because he had a damn brain in his head. He knew that it was an IED right below his feet and he was smart enough to know not to move. I however wasn't. I don't know what happened اگلے I just remember Matt laying on the ground a yard یا two away, a stunned look on his face. And me laying flat, and facedown over that IED hoping that I was enough to stop the blast from reaching my buddies. Then it was dark, and there was nothing, nothing but cold. Just cold."