Just the Way you Are

Return to Vietnam Part 2

Note: This is definitely an emotional chapter, so. You might want the tissues before reading this!

Hetty was feeling a bit tired so she laid down on her bed and wistfully remembered the rest of her and her husband's mission in Vietnam.

Seeing the gun pointed at him, 'whoa! Whoa, easy! It's just me!'

'Oh! Oh, I didn't know it was you! I, I thought, oh forget it!' Hetty blubbered, and put the gun away.

The rest of the evening, Granger tried to talk to her, but all she would do was nod or shake her head.

That night, the rains came.

Granger tried to sleep, but kept looking at Hetty, and seeing her shiver as she was sleeping, not knowing if it was because she was cold, or was having a bad dream.

Eventually, she huddled up next to him in an attempt to stay warm.

He not only felt her coldness, but also her fear of being so close to what had been an awful ordeal for her.

Seeing and feeling the woman he loved so broken and shaken up really hurt, and in a way, he wasn't surprised that much.

A few weeks after she was saved, Granger was finally contacted and informed on what had happened. He rushed home and went to see her. She was very relieved to see him.

He was relieved to see that she wasn't badly hurt, but very saddened at how her mentality was affected.

He knew that she had been nervous about going on the mission, but he convinced her to come along because he thought they wouldn't come close to that awful place, and there they were, in a Humvee, not far from that awful place.

'No, it's not your fault. Just keep her warm.' Granger thought to himself.

Wiping a small tear from his eye, he held Hetty closer to him, and hoped he would be able to give her comfort that stormy night.

Next morning

The rain had stopped. And they were slowly waking up.

'Hey, you feeling okay?' Granger asked.

'Mmm. Tired, and warm. I got cold last night, So I felt it best to snuggle next to you. And, it was nice.' Hetty responded.

'I enjoyed it also.'

'About yesterday...'

'Look, You have nothing to apologize for. I can't begin to imagine the horrors that were inflicted upon you last year in this area, and when I try to, it really hurts. It's okay to be afraid of being back in the same area where you were held captive. If anyone should apologize, it's me for encouraging you to come on this mission with me. I only did it because I thought we wouldn't get anywhere near this area.' Granger said.

Stunned, 'Thank you. I saw those buildings and I thought my heart would stop. I'm still shaken over last year, and. The thought of being back in the country where all this awfulness happened really made me nervous, I wanted to hide it the best I could because I didn't want to appear weak to this squad, much less to you.' Hetty responded.

Squeezing her hand, 'You are never broken to me, Henrietta.'

'Thank you, Owen.'

The squad was able to get moving to the meeting place later that day.

When the mission was over, and they were flying home, Hetty rested on Granger's arm and before going to sleep, whispered:

'Thank you for being here for me.'

'You're welcome.' He whispered back.

Hetty was awakened from a short nap by the sound of someone whispering 'Hey beautiful.'

'Oh! I must've fallen asleep.' She said sheepishly.

'No worries. I can wait on dinner.' Granger responded.

'I was thinking about the time we were in Vietnam, I was completely freaking out, and you kept me calm the whole way.'

'I remember.'

'It was one of those times where, I knew I loved you, but didn't have the courage to say aloud.'

'I remember having plenty of those moments.' Granger said.

'At least we're not afraid of telling each other that we love one another.'

'Indeed.'

They hugged. And said 'I love you' to each other.

All along I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

from Christina Perri's song A Thousand Years