Zone 8 (Closed with bhdire8 )

[bhdire8]

Stephan sat down besidr Talon, gathered him in his arsm as he looked at the drawing. He opened his mouth several times but was unable to utter anything. He massaged his stomach a bit, a customary attempt to sooth his always cramping organ with his warm hands. Finally he started. "Talon... I have received orders today."

[secretsparrow]

He knew this wouldn't be good, but he didn't say anything for a long few minutes because he couldn't find the proper words. Finally he found himself able to speak. "Orders for what?" Talon was afraid of the answer because he already had a feeling he knew what it would be.

[bhdire8]

"I was sent on a special mission. That's about all I can tell." Stephan said quietly. This was a top secret mission and he wasnt allowed to tell anyone of the destination and duration. His hand moved down from the stomach down to the swell beneath. Their child had started to grow and there was a bit of bulge from Talon's normally washboard stomach.

[secretsparrow]

It was barley noticeable unless you were looking for it. He looked up at Stephan, this had to be some sort of joke they wouldn't really send him away would they? Talon clung to holding on to his tightly. This wasn't fair, he knew things like this happened but they could have drafted anyone so why him, and right now? "You'll come back? You have to promise."

[bhdire8]

"Yes I promise I will try my best. I... I will always be with you, no matter what." They had both seen enough broken promises. Their comrades and friends perished despite their promises. There was simply too many uncontrollable factors out there in the field. Stephan could feel the tremble of Talon and hugged him tighter, putting light kissed on his face and murmurred "i will always be around, no matter what happened. Talon I love you so much, I promise you I would fight the best I can for you."

[secretsparrow]

Talon knew he meant well but he didn't want him to go. He looked up at Stephan and there were tears in his eyes. Normally he was the hard one, he had never cried before at least not in front of stephan. Though he could have also blamed it on the hormones.

[bhdire8]

Stephan was shocked by the teary eyes and it broke his heart to know his mate was affected so bad. He knew, hwoever, that the mission was dangerous and it very well could be their last moments together. He could do little else except to litter Talon's face with kisses, murmurring deep and soft words to his pregnant mate. "I am sorry babe, I love you so much. I would love you till the end of the day. Please don't cry you are breaking me from the inside..."

[secretsparrow]

Talon tried to pull him self together taking a deep breath and letting it out. "I love you to, what ever happens, I love you I'll be right here when you come back." He wasn't going to say if, he wasn't going to accept that as a possibility. He couldn't, they were going to have this child so Stephan had to come back.

[bhdire8]

"Yes you better be here when I return or I will be furious." Stephan smiled and kissed away the tears that finally rolled out of Talon's beautiful eyes. They hugged tight on each other that night until finally Talon couldn't keep his eyes open nearing dawn. He had been physically quite drained from the discomfort of his body and the strain of pregnancy, added now the emotional torment of having his mate away.

Stephan gazed on his sleeping mate and quietly put him back on bed when the time came for them to depart. Joining his teammates at the departure ground, they had all sat down and wrote a letter to their loved ones in case anything happened to them customarily. With a heavy heart Stephan closed the envelop and wished dearly that Talon would never have to open this letter.

[secretsparrow]

He had tried to stay awake, this would be there last few hours together for a long time. He tried vary hard to remain awake but eventually he had to give in to his body and drifted off to sleep. With everything that had happened he did not get much rest he had nightmares of Stephan going away and not returning and memories of the things he had seen and the people he had faced. He awoke late the next morning, he was aware Stephan would have left. he wished he could have seen him off. For a long few minutes he sat there tiredly eventually he found the energy to get up. He tried to eat some breakfast. just a piece of toast, Of course he didn't end up keeping it down.

He spent most of the day with his head down. There was nothing for him here, without Talon, he wasn't quiet sure why he stayed. Other then to wait. Sure he had a few odd jobs but it wasn't as if he was permited to do much. Nothing important anyway.

[bhdire8]

The situation at the frontline was bad and their ambush was successful, but not without a dear price. They had been successful in implanting a bomb deep within the alien's base, but they had also been discovered and forced to scurry away to the deep woods. Stephan and a few mates were trapped and it had been 3 days before they managed to get in contact with their base.

Throughout those days it had been very dangerous and difficult, but Stephan had boosted their morale by reminding them of their loved ones and eventually they managed to get back,even though they had to bury 2 of their best mates on the way.

[secretsparrow]

Every day Talon waited to hear from Stephan and when the others had heard nothing either Talon was not the only one fearing the worse. But he refuses to believe it. Someone was going to have to out right say Stephan was dead before Talon would believe it completely. Still, it did nothing to stop the worrying he face and the constant battle to try and not think of the worst.

[bhdire8]

Stephan had returned to their camp only to find they were considered MIA, and that one of the corpses they discovered downstream had coincidentally similar feature and birthmark on his arm. As the bloating of the body had made it difficult to distinguish, they had alerted both emergrncy contacts about this news. Stephan was furious of this. He barged into the message transmission room and argued with rhe administrative staff, picking him up by the collar.

"Do you know my mate is pregnant, how could you just send such ambiguous message out when you could have waited for a few more days for the dental comparison? Do you understand how much it will shake him with your recklessness?" The only thing that stopped him from hitting the jerk was his comrades who had been holding him back.

[secretsparrow]

So they had finally said it, dead. At first Talon had refused to believe it he wasn't breathing, gasping more really. It was some kind of sick joke Stephan couldn't be dead and yet thats what he had been told. He stood up slamming the door behind him, Stephan would return he would. He had to. But he didn't and all the signs pointed to the fact that he was gone.

There was a sudden sharp pain in his side. He groaned dubbing over, others must have seen it but he wasn't quiet aware. It hurt, thats all he knew and at some point he must have blacked out because he woke up in the infirmary a few hours latter.

[bhdire8]

It had been driving Stephan crazy that Talon must have thought him dead. He couldnt imagine how devastated talon would be, his mind fixated on the tears that he had seen him shed the first time that night. He desperately waited for the messenger to connect with Zone 8 to let them relay the news of his survival to Talon. They had to go through mulitple reroutes in order not to compromise their location, and it was seriously testing with his nerves.

"Is it ready or is it not! I need to get to my mate RIGHT NOW."

[secretsparrow]

Eventually there were able to connect, a simple phone line but they wouldn't be allowed to talk for long when the phone was brought to Talon he almost refused it, he didn't want to talk to anyone besides, he had just woken up he was tired. He was lucky to still be carrying the child he had almost lost it today.

"Hello?" He said softly, but his voice was unlike normal perhaps more hollow, empty.

[bhdire8]

"Talon? Talon can you hear me? It's Stephan, I am alright, I came out of the jungle and they apparently was so incapable that they had mixed up my identity with a corpse. Babe I am alright, please tell me you are too." Stephan yelled through yhe phone, he could feel the voice of his mate to be so unlike his usual one. He desperately wanted to hold him in his arms and console him, reassure him that he was indeed alright. "Honey stay strong, I will be back very soon you hear me?"

[secretsparrow]

Talon was quiet, unsure almost of what to say. There was a long pause in witch he said nothing. "S-stephan?" His voice broke, The connection wasn't the best he had only heard bit's and pieces but it was him. That was his voice "Your alright? Are you hurt?" He wasn't even sure his words would reach him. he wanted to tell him what had happened but it was better if he waited until Talon came back. He tried to say something else or get a reply but the connection had cut out.

[bhdire8]

"Hello? Hello?" Stephan was unsure how much of what he said have reached his love, he hoped he had been reassured by that crappy and short conversation. He knew they wouldnt allow for another call, not for such strictly private matters and defeatedly handed back the phone to the officer, and was escorted to the medical staff to tend to his wounds which were mostly cuts. He wasnt told whne they could be released or when would tbe operation end, he could only hope it would be soon.

[secretsparrow]

With everything that had happened between the stress of thinking he had lost Stephan and not being able to keep much down he was being cepting in the infirmary. He was on bed rest other then to get up for about an hour a day. He tried to assure them he was fine because he was tired of being watched and monitored all the time but because there was no one else to be there with him and Talon wasn't doing well on his own they kept him there.