blondexhurricane:

“You could always come with me, you know.”
The suggestion was genuine, despite the fact
that it more than likely wasn’t going to happen.
Teddy had been against Delia enlisting in the
Army from the beginning, so why would she
want to return to that part of her life herself?
“And just because you’ve watched everyone
else keep going back over and over again, it
doesn’t mean that I’m going to do the same
thing, you know. I’m not them, and I have a
really important reason to come back home.”

“Like your mother’s ever going to keep you away
from  the  field  once  you’ve been there,” Teddy 
sighed wistfully. “Delia, I’ve spent far too many
years  sending  my men to Iraq; to this day, I’m
still waiting on some of them to come back. Do
you honestly think I could let you leave, having
seen  what  I’ve  seen?  Please, Delia. Don’t do
this  to  me.” It was selfish;  it was hypocritical,
and Teddy knew it  ——  but she’d have moved
mountains  to  keep her daughter home. All the
years she’d spent teaching Delia to be a soldier,
and it had come to this: a nightmare carved into
her reality, fear and anguish and love all forged
into one.  A plea to keep her daughter safe and
sound,  as  cherished as the day she’d met her.