Earth: Colorado, 2003

I'm back at my home in Colorado, I just got back from my second tour in Iraq. I ran to my wife and embraced her. My three year old daughter came running out of the door. "Daddy!" I ran to her and picked her up, tears streaming down my face. She stuck her face into my chest and started crying.

"It's alright, daddy's here." A tear ran down my cheek. I had been doing nothing but getting shot at and the stress was starting to take it's toll. I looked at a picture of my daughter every chance I got.

Earth: Colorado, 2006

"I'm sorry babe, but I can't tell you where I'm going, doing so would be a breach of national security." I was standing in my living room, my wife sitting on the couch.

"Well it's just so hard, you know?" She started crying. "Us, your family, never knowing where you are or when you'll get back or even IF you'll get back." She wiped her face. "I just want my husband, the man I married, to be around for our daughter. I want him to be at every play, every recital, every soccer game. She misses you. I miss you."

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. "I know it's hard, I know. It's just something that I have to do."

She pushed me away and put her head in her hands. "No it's not. You don't have to do anything."

I slowly lifted her chin in my direction. "Listen, honey. I promise you that i will be fine. I will be at every play, every recital, and every soccer game." I put my head to her head. "I promise that this will be my last assignment."

she looked up at me through teary eyes. "You promise that this is the last one? You promise that I will get my husband back?"

I held her hand and kissed it. "I promise."

Earth: Colorado, 2007

"No Michael, I made a promise that I wouldn't go back to that place." Music was all around us as I took another sip of my beer. My friend Michael was sitting next to me drinking a glass of whiskey, he always did have an eye for the strong stuff.

"I know you made a promise, but we need you back." He set his drink down. "Fallujah just hasn't been the same war torn paradise with out you, bro."

I let out a chuckle "Is that the reason your'e going with?" I said taking another sip of my beer, the cold liquid felt refreshing in the summer heat.

"Fine, if you won't come back then can you at least be my wing man and help me get a little tail before I get shipped back?" He looked behind him to the pretty blonde sitting behind us, she gave him a smile and a little wave.

I looked back behind me. "Dude, she is way out of your league." I chuckled

"Just help me, jackass."

"Fine" I put down my beer and got up and walk to the blonde. She notices me approaching and quickly checks her self to make sure she looks good.

"Hey stranger." she says in a cool tone. "Can I help you?"

"No, but do you see that guy over there, the one at the bar?" she nods and smiles. "He's a friend of mine and thinks that your'e really cute." She blushes "He gets shipped back to Iraq tomorrow."

Her face lights up. "Oh, so he's a military man? What branch?"

"He's a Marine, and a bad ass one at that." Her smile grew even wider. "Why don't you go over there and talk to him, he might share some of his war stories." At that point I left the table and walked back to my seat.

"Hey man how did it go?" Michael asked, taking another sip of his drink.

I held up three fingers and slowly counted down. "Three. Two. One." Just then the women sat down next to him.

"So," She said seductively. "I heard you were in the military."

At that I got up. "Have fun Romeo." He lowered his hand and flipped me the bird as I walked off.

Earth: Colorado, 2008

The weather was horrible that day, it was raining hard. I was driving down the road with my daughter. We were coming back home from getting ice cream. "Thank you daddy for the ice cream."

I kept staring at the road. "No problem, anything for my special girl."

"Daddy, can we watch Tom and Jerry when we get back?" She asked, staring at me behind her ice cream cone which was now dripping onto the seat belt.

"Sure, if we get back before bedtime, and don't tell mom that we got ice cream." I said looking at her and back at the road.

"Don't worry daddy, I won't." She was now trying to wipe up the dropped ice cream. "Daddy can we go over the bridge on our way home? I like to see the water."

"Sure thing sweet heart." I turned down an old road that lead to the old bridge. We started crossing it when I saw a pair of headlights swerving all over the road. "Oh shit" I swerved and narrowly missed the truck, but my tires gave way and we started hydroplaning. I tried to gather control but we hit the side of the bridge.

"Daddy!!" She was screaming, we had hit the barrier and my truck slid part way through, the front right side now hanging off in what I could only sense as a thirty degree angle. The passenger door flew open upon impact. Kate started slipping out the door. I undid my belt and grabbed her hand. rain water pouring through the broken windows, soaking us.

"Kate! Hang on!" I held on as hard as I could, her hand slowly slipping from mine.

"Daddy, please don't let go!" The water was causing her hand to become slippery. I tried pulling her up, she managed to grab onto the glove box handle, I had her closer to me, I was going to save my daughter. Just then the glove box flew open, she dropped and her hand flew from mine.

“No no no no NO! KATE!!” I screamed, reaching for her as she fell.

“DADDY!” She hit the water and was sucked under. After that, everything just went black.
.
.
.
I awoke in a hospital a few days later, flowers had been dropped off for me. I read the card that was attached.

Dear Daniel Armstrong-
I'm sorry for your loss, she was a good kid and will be missed. We want you to know that if you ever need anyone to talk to,
Jane and I are here for you.
Signed, Michael Abbot

Memories of that night came back to me, my heart rate must have raised because a nurse ran in "He's awake someone page Dr. Frank!"

"Where am I?!" I grabbed the blanket, trying to get up. The nurse had to come hold me down.

"Your'e at St. James Medical Center, you've been in an accident." I calmed down.

"Where is my daughter?!" I grabbed the sheets again trying to get up. "Where is my baby girl?!"

Just then, a doctor with brown hair and glasses walked in the room. "Ah, Daniel Armstrong your'e awake."

"Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Doctor Frank Drucie" He had a very monotone voice, one that made me sick to my stomach just hearing it.

"Where is my daughter? Is she ok?" I said through gritted teeth.

The doctor paused for a moment. He pulled his glasses of his face and grabbed a chair and sat it down next to the bed.

"Your daughter was found just this morning." I felt a sense of relief, followed by concern.

"Is she alright?"

The doctor paused again. "When we found her, she had looked like she had been submerged for quite sometime, she had multiple cuts and bruises from being thrown around the rapids." He paused and looked up at me "Sir, I regret to inform you that your daughter did not survive. I'm sorry. If you would like, I could refer you to a thera-"

His voice became muffled, every word he said was lost on me. The only thing that made me happy was now gone. She was the reason I got up every morning, she was the reason I had happiness. Nothing made my day more than seeing her smile. Now she was gone, and it was all my fault.

Earth: Colorado, 2008 two months after wreck.

The fights had gotten almost unbearable. “I tried so hard to save our little girl. I’m sorry.” I sat in my chair with a beer in my hand. We tried to patch everything up together, but we both realized that she was the only thing holding this relationship together.

“YOUR’E THE REASON SHE’S DEAD!!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. I got up and faced her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save her, I tried, I tried so hard but-" She slapped me in the face.

"I don't ever want to see you again, don't ever talk to me again." She grabbed her bags and walked out, leaving me in our now empty, torn house.

I fell to my knees and looked at the bottle in my hand. I felt rage. I screamed and threw the bottle across the room, It hit the fire place, shattering into a hundred little pieces. I fell to the ground, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I couldn't save her!"

Earth: Colorado, 2009

"I'm glad you came to see me man, what can I do for you." Michael sat there, with a cold beer in his hand. He started drinking lighter ever since he and Jane met.

"I want to rejoin the Marine Corp." His head perked up and he looked at me wide eyed.

"Really man?" He had a look of complete surprise on his face. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." I slammed another shot of Vodka, the liquid stinging the back of my throat. "I want to rejoin."

"Why? You fought to get out and now you want back in?" He still had the surprised look on his face.

"I have nothing." I looked down at my glass of vodka. "Sarah left me, and I'm losing the house. I need something to make me feel whole again."

"Well then," He took another sip of his beer. "I'm sure Captain Matthews will be happy to hear about that. You know, he still asks me about you, saying 'He was the best damn marksman in my battalion.' or some shit like that." He snickered. "The Captain told me that if you still know how to handle a rifle, than you can come back in, but your ranks would be reset, and you would be the same rank as me."

I looked down at my Vodka, and downed it all in one slug. "Let's do it." We shook hands and we walked out of the bar.

Author's Note

New chapter
I hope you enjoyed it.
This is not the end

Oh also, if you enjoyed this chapter please leave a like or a comment

If not, then tell me in the comments what I did wrong. (I need all the help I can get.)