*~*Gerard's POV*~*
I didn't say anything about me getting drafted to anyone, especially Bandit. I took more time off of work, spending my time with my dear family. I had one week left until I was expected to be gone, that's when the next batch of soon to be soldiers would be leaving, off to join the nearest camp.

As time drew closer, Lindsey and I became more intimate with our relationship, wishing that the next week would never come, that we would never have to separate, that she wouldn't have to wait to know if I was alive or not while I fought for my life.

On the Friday before I left, just three days before I would be gone, I talked to Bandit. The Toro's would be coming over for dinner in less than an hour, which would be my last meal with them in who knows how long - just hopefully not forever.

"Hey Bandit," I said in a quiet, sing-song voice, patting my lap for her to sit in. I was in our living room, with Lindsey in the kitchen, close by for extra comfort.

Bandit walked over, oblivious to my somber mood, and jumped up to my lap, smiling and kissing my cheek. "Hey daddy," she said in her forever cheerful mood, flashing one of her toothy grins. I could see a gap between her front two teeth, one she had ever since she started to get her teeth.

I forced a smile at her, hugging her close. I could already feel myself tearing up. I wasn't a tough man, not by a longshot, but I wasn't one who cried at the slightest thing, either. "I have to tell you something. Something very important."

She leaned in closer, cupping a hand around her ear. I pushed her hand away, shaking my head slightly. She cocked her head, but I dismissed it, a thousand words running through my head at once as I tried to think of how to phrase that I'd be leaving soon.

"What is it daddy?" she asked, a little more serious, maybe catching on to my unhappy tone. She may only be six years old, but she is a smart one.

I took a deep breath, "You know the war? The one going on right now?" Her facial expression didn't change. "Well, daddy has to go fight."

"What does that mean?" she asked, her voice a little quieter, and a little sadder than before.

"It means daddy has to leave for a while," and he might not come back I finished in my head, determined to stay positive, at least around my family.

I watched as Bandit's bottom lip started to tremble, as realization hit her, and her arms wrapped around my neck. I hugged her close, her face digging into my neck. I saw Lindsey enter the room, and I motioned her over, and the three of us huddled on the couch, crying, for what would only seem as an eternity instead turning out only to be about twenty minutes.

Bandit eventually pushed herself off of me, running down to her room without another word, shutting the door with a slam. I looked over at Lindsey who wiped her bloodshot and puffy eyes on her sleeve, following Bandit's trail, leaving me alone on the couch, hiccuping as the tears slowly stopped. I heard a knock at the door sometime later, and I pushed myself off, reminding myself of the guests who didn't know my own fate and that we wouldn't see each other for a long while.

When I opened the door, I wasn't greeted with Ray's normal cheeriness, but with a sadder, more forced smile. "Hello, my favorite lawyer."

I stepped out of the door and the three of them shuffled in, shedding their coats. Annie went off to look for Bandit, and Lindsey came back, her arms wrapped around herself and she sniffled.

"She won't come out of her room," she said sadly. "She's locked herself in." Lindsey stopped as Annie moved past her, looking up for the first time and only just noticing Ray and Christa. She quickly turned around, trying to compose herself, I'm sure. I walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess," she apologized, "it's just...rough afternoon."

"I'm sure she'll come out soon," I said reassuringly, kissing her temple. Lindsey reached up and our lips met in a tear filled kiss, before she turned and headed back to the kitchen, with Christa following.

Ray stared at me, trying to get an answer and I shook my head. Annie came running down the hall, running up to her dad. "Bandit won't let me in, daddy."

"Why don't you go help mommy in the kitchen?" Ray suggested, "Bandit sounds like she needs some alone time, sweetie."

"But-"

"Dinner's ready," Christa said, poking her head out. She looked at me, and gave a sad smile. Lindsey must've told her, or enough for Christa to catch on, or something.

"You heard your mother," Ray said, turning his daugher around and leading her to the dining room. I followed behind them and took a spot next to Lindsey and we silently dished up our food, Bandit still missing from the table.

We managed to find a cheerful topic to talk about at the table, with Annie looking at Bandit's chair with a lost expression. Those two were so close, it was sad to see them without the other.

As food was passed around for seconds, Bandit came wandering into the room, her face splotchy, and without a word she took a place next to Annie, picking a bun out of the basket in front of her.

Just like that, dinner became a silent affair, and quickly ended after seconds.

Ray and I left the table, leaving the girls to clean off the table. I led Ray to the very end of the hall, which doubled as an office for me and a studio for Lindsey, or at least a storage room for her paints.

"I know there's something wrong, Gerard," he said as he shut the door behind him, stepping farther into the room. "Otherwise you hell wouldn't look as horrible as you do."

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"What can I say? Crying doesn't suit you."

I frowned. "Ray, I got a letter."

Ray's face seemed to go paler than before, as if he knew where I was going with my next statement. .

"...Ray, I got drafted," I whispered, choking back another sob. "I leave Monday."

The room was silent and I soon felt Ray's hands on my shoulders, squeezing reassuringly.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he whispered. He dropped his arms, straightening his posture. "I got the same letter."

I nodded, unable to say anything. I looked up at Ray, his face grim yet sympathetic. I knew what he was saying, and it was that we were both going off to war.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Ray left, whispering to Christa that I would be leaving with him on Monday. The two of us hugged and I kissed her cheek, and she whispered, "Stay safe, Gerard. I don't want to see you next in a box."

Ray and I shook hands once more, our expressions cold. Annie was hugging Bandit, and she wrapped her arms around me quickly before running after her parents in the night.

That just left me, Bandit, and Lindsey, alone, to spend three more days together.

I turned and saw Bandit standing in the hall.

"Come here sweetie," I said, holding my arms out to her, feeling the tears rushing up as she ran close to me and I lifted her off her feet.

I kissed her cheek, holding her close as I started walking towards her bedroom, "How about an early bedtime and then we'll go to the park tomorrow? Just you and me," I muttered as I opened her door. She nodded her head without saying anything. She didn't even argue with me as I put her nightgown on her, and when she asked for a bedtime story, she only made the rule that it couldn't be about war or 'anything bad'.

I tucked her in as I left the room after she fell asleep, closing her door quietly behind me. I shuffled down to my bedroom and saw Lindsey already in bed, her eyes closed, and a little not on my bedside table. I picked it up and walked to a still lit lantern along the wall, and opened it carefully.

It was a drawing, something Bandit drew, possibly when she locked herself in her room. It was the three of us, all with smiley faces, and the words "I love you daddy" written in her big and messy handwriting. I smiled, a tear coming to my eye. I unlit the lantern, and crawled into bed, snuggling up behind my wife, leaving the drawing on the nightstand.

"We'll really miss you," Lindsey whispered.

"I know, and I'll do everything I can to come back to you," I mumbled, closing my eyes and forcing myself asleep. And that was a promise.