27Bloodoath of the Patriots
Chapter 1: Homecoming
"Kelly?" Hear me Kelly? Wake up girl…time to go. Your home."
A woman suddenly jumped from her seat tensely. She looked around and looked outside the window before seeing an airport outside her craft's vision, one that said, Casper-Natrona County International Airport before she blinked a few times." Oh, we are here already?"
"Seriously O'Neil? Thought we were suddenly going to land in Siberia or something? C'mon Kelly, its ok to not assume the worst, your home."
Kelly glanced at who was talking to her, and smiled at the black skinned woman with black hair in a ponytail before she smirked." Thanks Alysha. Guess, for a while now was not sure this would be anything more then a dream."
"Cut the nihilism talk right now girl, otherwise people are going to think your not happy to be back eh? Don't have to worry about making it when we did make it. Your home with out leaving anything back on the job, just let yourself feel happy about it, for your family's sake at least."
Kelly saw most of the people around her were departing the plane before she let out a weak chuckle and glanced at the reflection in the window.
She saw a woman with red hair in the shape of a bob in a blue military outfit, and looked at a small scar over her right eyebrow before she sighed." Well…left nothing physical behind but…beggars can't be choosers. Still…guess would be disrespecting everyone that left behind a lot more to not act grateful. Ow Dean, Sasha, and all the others in the squad that much at least. Let's do this."
She paused as she glanced at her neck and winced before she reached for the area around it. A drop of sweat formed as she looked back at her seat, but her tension stopped as she felt something jostle, and glanced again at the reflection to see a sliver necklace shaped like a four leafed clover, with one of the leafs broken off was on her back. Kelly took a deep breath as she realized the necklace must have flipped around in her sleep before she moved it back around, made sure everything was in order and moved out.
The duo got off the plane to go through the landing protocols that both women had gone through so many times they all but sleepwalked through it. The process was so routine to Kelly that as she stepped into the Casper airport's pickup area, the shift in the flow of warm air ironically caused a chill to go down Kelly's spine.
While she knew there was likely no danger awaiting her, she realized this feeling of anticipation for hope was causing her to feel more tense than she had felt in some time.
As she reached the pickup area, and saw no one she could recognize, she blinked for a few moments before letting out a sigh of resignation. She was about to turn around when she heard a scream, one of excitement.
She swerved to the right and saw the source of the scream came from a woman with black hair in a ponytail that, despite the wrinkles on her face and bursts of grey in her hair the woman still had life in her eyes, enough to look as excited as the ten-year-old girl to her right.
Kelly saw the younger man and woman besides the child holding up a "Welcome home Major Kelly" sigh before melancholy surged across her face and she let out a small smile." Ma, Aunt Meryl, Uncle Jensen, Sherry! You all made it!"
Kelly's mother laughed as she ran over to her child and hugged her so hard that the younger woman dropped her bag. Kelly could see her mother was on the verge of tears before the older O'Neil stroked Kelly's hair." Oh, baby doll…you really think I would not spend months making sure I could not be there to celebrate my kid coming home?"
"Aw come on ma, you're acting like we have not talked since I joined the army. Not like I was a prisoner or war or something. "
"C'mon on Kelly I know you don't want to get a swelled head but don't sell yourself short yah hear? Your coming home for good after spending over a decade fighting in a war, that's more then worth celebrating in my book."
"Trust us Kelly." Jensen uttered with swagger." Jenny gave us hell for even doubting we could make the big war hero's return and all. I mean…appointments and stuff are easy enough to reschedule but, these big family moments don't happen to often."
"Yah I wanted to see Major Kelly come home way more then see that gross dentist!" The young child besides Jensen cried out eagerly, which caused the woman behind her to grasp the child firmly." Well just be grateful your cavity's not to far along girl. Still, it is so great to see you back on American soil Kelly. We are all so happy that you fought the good fight and kept us all safe from those nasty terrorists but, just glad you got back before they could get yah."
"Thanks aunt Meryl. Not like they broke me or nothing, I just decided I pushed my luck enough."
"Don't worry, the O'Neil family could not be prouder girl. Only a damn fool would expect a superhero out of there child. You did what anyone could have asked any person to do and then some. I know it did not end how we wanted but well...you and all the other brave soldiers did all you could but if they were going to roll over at the drop of the hat then well...then it was there choice to be damned. Still...no matter what you did not get done, don't feel bad about that."
Kelly saw her mother was on the verge of losing her composure before she sighed and patted her mom on the back." Thanks Ma. Don't know if its that easy but, just will take it one step at a time."
"Don't worry Kelly, not going to rush you after all you been through, lets just enjoy each moment as it comes. Alysha right? You helped keep my girl alive for a few years as part of the same squad or unit right? Thanks for having Kelly's back."
"No problem Miss O'Neil." Alysha answered with a smirk." Its only right since Kelly's "eagle eyes" kept me and the rest of our "fox" pack alive more times than I could count."
"Maybe…but it still matters to me. You're welcome to celebrate with us if you want."
"Thanks, but I'll have to put a rain-check on that, if I don't double time it won't be able to meet my brother in Atlanta for what he has planned. I'll see you off before my flight though."
"I understand, family comes first and all. Well, now that all of our family is here let's get our girl home."
Kelly looked around before she raised an eyebrow." Everyone? But…but what about Malcolm?"
Jenny winced before she looked around." Oh, sorry Kelly but your brother could not make it. Sorry, its just he has things to do."
A flash of sadness went across Kelly's face before she readjusted her cap." Its ok…I get it. Job market's god damn brutal these days and got to do what you can to keep the family going. Sure, there will be plenty of time to catch up later. C'mon, lets get going so Alysha does not have to hurry to her connecting flight."
The O'Neil's, with Alysha in tow made their way out of the airport as Kelly tried to answer all the questions her family had for her. She only got time to say what her inflight movie was before they arrived at the parking lot.
She tried to remember her mother and aunt's cars but did not see anything like them around her, causing her to raise an eyebrow." Did you guys take a cab or a bus or something all the way here?"
Before her mother could answer she heard a snicker." What, expected the red carpet being thrown out for a hero? Well, even if its not a limo, not like we can't do something special for the special day and all."
Kelly widened her eyes before she glanced to the right and saw someone walking past a brown and green jeep parked right out in front. She saw the person was a man who was lanky, but in shape, wearing torn jeans and a black jacket over a plain white shirt. This male pulled back some of his long black hair behind the stars and stripes cap he was wearing. Around his neck was a gold four leafed clover with a few dents on it.
As the man looked into Kelly with his black eyes, he just was motionless for a few moments before he muttered out," Damn…you look like you been through hell."
Kelly saw the taller man was looking at her before she shrugged." Well, that's because I been through hell, and back."
The man was motionless for a few more moments, before he let out a wide, toothy grin." Sounds about right, us O'Neil's can even trudge through hell to get things done eh? I knew you would pull it off sis, have that Leprechaun luck after all. Still...trying to trade in the family heirloom or something?"
Kelly saw her brother pointing to her own necklace before she winced." Oh right. Was not a choice I had any say in really. In a ambush a terrorist hit the medal and took off one of the clovers. Rather not have had it go down that way but, at least it was losing a piece of that and not a piece of my face eh? That...might have been one of the things that pushed me to get away while I still had the chance."
" I get yah sis. Heh, guess using it to stay alive is better than finding a pot of gold at the rainbow or something."
Kelly smirked before she went up to hug the man." Malcolm, so you made it after all eh? Ma was making it sound like you were stuck working at home."
"Just wanted to keep the suspense up so I could have my thing stand out. Plus, someone needed to get the jeep ready so these bureaucrat leech's can't charge us extra. You were seriously worried I was not going to be here eh? Hell, I'll take missing a paycheck over everyone giving me hell for missing the" hero's" return for the rest of my life."
Kelly saw her brother had a playful look in his eyes and patted him on the back." C'mon Malcolm, I'm no hero. I did not win a war or anything, just tried to keep my team alive as long as possible."
"Don't pretend your something you're not Kelly, everyone already thinks your as big a war hero as Grampa O'Neil. Sure, maybe you did not take part in the battle that ended the war like how Gramps saw WW2's end, but lets be honest for a sec all the parts that were a war ended a long time ago in the whole damn middle east and I tell you what, it's just been a wack a mole hunt ever since.
No matter what you think, to the whole town you might as well be Wonder Woman."
Kelly saw a sharpness in her brother's eyes before she winced." I'm proud of the job I did, but it would have never meant anything if I did not have a solid crew to work with."
Malcolm saw Alysha eyeing him before he noticed the uniform and shrugged." Oh, this someone from your unit sis? Always a pleasure meeting a vet mam, thanks for having my sis's back when I could not."
Alysha saw Malcolm suddenly give a formal salute before she snickered." No need for that, we did all the official soldier stuff before we got on the plane. Still, glad to know you take your sisters life seriously."
"Of course, I wanted to be a soldier myself, but got screwed over so she took my place."
"Oh right, the accident right before you could start the tests? That's a damn shame, if you have half the talent your sister has then hell...could have had a two-cell terrorist wrecking crew."
"You better believe it," Malcolm uttered as he swept some of his hair back with a look of lament in his eyes. For a moment he looked up at the sky before he spat on the ground and snickered." But hell…life's what you make of it right? Just thanks for making a difference in this world and giving all those terrorists what they deserve."
Alysha saw the fervor in Malcolm's eyes before she cleared her throat." Oh, you know…just trying to keep the enemies away from home right?"
Jensen sighed as he looked at his phone." You guys all deserve far more then yah get for what you risk for us. Just wish there was a way to give every soldier a million bucks without bankrupting the nation and all.
Still, not to knock you guys but if only you could keep everyone out. Heard on the radio another school was shot up in Florida by two would be" revolutionaries" who wanted to out due all the previous shooters, I think a classroom blew up."
Kelly winced as she looked down." Really? Damn…that's horrible! With how long the world was so isolated, I was kind of hoping people would not want to do things so horrible. Even the best soldiers can't be everywhere, but it always upsets me every time something like this was able to happen. Hell, it's because I was so upset that something like 9-11 happened that I joined in the first place and made an oath to do what I could to make the terrorist hurt till they did not come back."
Malcolm saw how distraught his sister looked before he sighed." Glad you still care so much even after being at war for over a decade Kelly. Still…don't beat yourself up about it. Not like you could have stopped a false flag operation or something. I tell you what…the lengths they go to try and control us makes me sick."
As Kelly and Alysha both raised eyebrows Jenny cleared her throat." Knock it off Malcolm. Your sister just came back and now's not the time for your jokes like that."
Malcolm saw how everyone was looking at him before he snickered." Sure ma, just a joke. Sorry if it came out wrong. Just mean even if it was a set up or like aliens or something it was out of your hands even if you were there and all."
Kelly saw the smirk on her brother's face before she rolled her eyes." And here I thought you stopped taking Men in Black movies seriously twenty years ago eh Malcolm? Its ok, I even miss your awkward jokes at this point, makes things feel a bit more normal. I get what you mean, no matter how good you are you can't save everyone. I…I had to learn that the hard way to not lose it. Still…my family's still alive so, I'll take what I can get."
"Damn straight sis sounds like something worth celebrating to me! Heh, or maybe its just to long since any of us could really celebrate anything. Heh…either way I'll take it. C'mon, we can chew the fat while driving back. Huston and some of the crew texted me that they just got a fresh elk ready to help make sure you have a Bona fide Wyoming homecoming party."
"Sound good to me. Alysha, thanks again for everything. Sorry can't do too much else to thank yah back."
"Don't give me that girl, I could do more but then I'd miss my own welcome home party eh? In the end, everyone's got to do there own thing to get back home for it to be legit. Just enjoy your new life Kelly, you bet I'll be visiting to check up on yah once things settle down yah hear?"
"I hear yah, thanks. Get home safely Alysha."
"Even if your leprechaun luck is not hovering over me should be able to handle a basic plane ride home" Big Boss". Just take it easy, sounds like your first job is to just remember how to relax "major". Good luck on that mission, I'll let you know how I do on mine."
The two women gave a hearty hug before Alysha backed off, looked at Kelly's family, and gave a salute before heading back into the airport. As Kelly saw her off, Malcolm looked at his sister before he took a deep breath." So…she was the only one of your Fox commandos that had the same flight?"
"More like she's the only one who still could walk back on a plane home."
"Seriously? So…they are all."
"Dead? No…not all of them. She's just the only one who was with me from the start, the rest of the team was replacements."
"You sure take your blood oaths seriously Kelly. If the old man was here, he would see you really were the biggest patriot in the family. Maybe then he would have realized how big a mistake he made turning his back on us."
Kelly saw how bitter her brother look before she glanced at the rest of her family." You or Ma ever hear from Annie? Is, is she still in Ireland?"
"Like hell if I care where that whore was sleeping around these days. Won't really change anything that's happened since he tried speeding away when he was caught cheating on ma. Would be nice if Annie at last gave the stuff pa gave her, not like we really needed anything left from that two faced liar eh? We don't need some magical letter or something else from him to have a happy ending right?"
Kelly saw the rest of her family getting everything packed before she chuckled bitterly." Well, despite everything still like to hope for the best. Still, I know that only goes so far."
"Hey, your one of the few woman snipers in the whole army and fought terrorists for over a decade without getting blown to hell so your luck shined through where it counted eh? Just enjoy your happily ever after before you jinx us eh? Now come on, lets get on the road before you collapse with jet-lag or something."
"Please…you think you get this far if you get held back by something like jet-lag?"
"Heh, glad those terrorists could not kill your sense of humor Kelly. Fine then, keep Shirley off my case when I'm driving home then."
Kelly saw her brother go to the car before she saw how her family looked and took a deep breath." Fairy tails may not exist but…guess this is as close to a happily ever after as you can get. Still…now what?"
Authors Notes: Hey everyone, this is a new story I'm trying out. I hope I know what I'm doing with this as I'm trying things I have not written as a whole. Hope it works out, if its something you like as always hope you like it enough to leave a review.