East Riverside, January 2015

Ty arrived at his flat in East Riverside and took a deep breath when he opened the door. He was finally home and in one piece. This last tour had been short – only 6 months – yet the deadliest he'd been on. He was sure that if the President hadn't decided to pull out the troops that he wouldn't have made it. In fact, it had been so deadly that they were given two months leave until they had to report back.

Ty shivered. The house was freezing. He turned on the heater and started unpacking. He longed for a beer, yet the fridge was empty. He momentarily pondered whether to nip out to the grocery store but decided against it.

"Tomorrow" he thought to himself as he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

He was startled by the doorbell ringing a few hours later. He blinked and realized that he must have slept much longer than he thought, as it was light outside. He got up and walked towards the door rubbing his eyes. He smiled when he saw Mary-Beth carrying coffees and a bag of food.

"Breakfast" she said cheerily as she walked past him into the lounge "Welcome back!"

Ty followed her and hugged her once she'd set everything down.

"You're a sight for sore eyes. How did you know I was back?" He looked puzzled.

"You told me in your last e-mail that you're coming back this week. I bumped into Carter yesterday at the mall and he told me you were on a flight due to land in the evening. I thought you might like some breakfast."

Ty nodded gratefully "I'm ravenous!"

He emptied the contents of the bag onto the table and popped a bagel in the toaster. When he turned back to look at MB he was surprised to see that she was crying. He quickly walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"MB, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Mary-Beth smiled through her tears "You're in one piece. I was so afraid you weren't going to be. It's over now. Afghanistan. It's finally over. I'm so relieved."

Ty felt tears stinging in his eyes as he held her close "It is. Unfortunately too late for some..."

They stood in silence for a couple of minutes, mourning the ones who hadn't been as fortunate.

They were interrupted by the popping sound of the toaster. Mary-Beth wiped her eyes.

"Time to eat" She said with a smile.

Once they'd settled down Ty asked Mary-Beth to fill him in on everything. Mary-Beth cheerily told him about her college life, Travis and her part-time job waiting tables at a restaurant across from college. Ty listened without interrupting; he enjoyed her carefree chatter and found himself relaxing as he listened to her. She stopped talking and he smiled at her.

"I'm so relieved to see you like this MB; it means so much to me that you're happy."

Mary-Beth sighed "I guess I'm happy. A part of me died when he did and I'll never be the same person again. Sometimes I feel guilty when I'm with Travis and I'm carefree. Like, I'm betraying his memory."

Ty put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it.

"Don't be MB, he wouldn't have wanted that. He'd want for you to be happy; he knows that you'll never forget him."

Mary-Beth nodded with moist eyes "I think you're right."

They sat together in silence. Ty rubbed his hands together and wiped his face.

"MB…tell me about her."

Mary-Beth frowned and then nodded "Yes…I thought you were going to ask now that you're back."

Ty nodded slowly "After you told me that you'd broken your promise I was angry. Hearing that she was with that frat boy doesn't exactly make me happy, but it was the choice I made. Is she ok?"

Mary-Beth shrugged "Not really. I don't hang out with her much anymore. She's on probation for trespassing and wrecking public property. She was doing some community service. She broke-up with Tank around the time I told her about you. Then she hooked-up with Emmett again. Now I don't know, because she claims she was raped by Tank while she was passed-out drunk and…"

"Whoahhh…back-up a little bit. Are we talking about the same person? Probation? Raped? What the hell, MB! How come you never told me?"

Mary-Beth looked up "You never asked about her. I didn't know if you wanted to know. I haven't been with her lately, its stuff I hear from Travis. Things were never the same between us ever since she started dating Tank."

Ty knew somewhere in his head that he was better off not knowing, that he should just forget her and move on with his life. His head said one thing, his lips spoke another.

"Tell me all you know." He looked at Mary-Beth.

Mary-Beth sighed loudly and spent the next half hour picking her brains as to what she knew. Ty looked incredulously at her.

"Bay breaking and entering and wrecking property? That seems nothing like her. I find that almost impossible to believe."

"Well, believe it or not, it's what happened. She confessed to the police, there were witnesses. Maybe there's sides to her you haven't seen." Mary-Beth retorted.

"Hmmm" Ty didn't look convinced "I hope I never come across Tank. I'll kill him!"

Mary-Beth looked upset "Ty, she's an adult, she has to look out for herself. Getting so drunk that she can't remember what happened is irresponsible and an affront to women."

Ty shrugged angrily and shook his head "MB, everyone gets drunk at one time or another. Did she consent to have sex with the guy?"

He was surprised at the pang he felt when he uttered those words.

"She doesn't know, Ty, how can you get so wasted that you don't remember?"

"So, she could've been raped." Ty felt rage seeping through his whole body.

"And she could've consented. She doesn't know. In the meantime Tank got expelled. Do you think that's fair?"

Ty snorted loudly "Do I think that's fair? He should've been jailed for all I care."

Mary-Beth got up "I'm not discussing this anymore. You're just like Travis. Everyone takes her side. Maybe it's because you're not at college. Have you seen how often these things happen?"

Ty also got up. He looked even angrier "No, MB, I'm not at college and I'll never be. I'm in the Army. Do you know how often these things happen over there? A lot! And while it's not always black and white, more often than not it's the fault of the guys."

"Suit yourself, Ty. I just don't see it. I couldn't care less about Tank, but he shouldn't have been expelled over this. Are you going to call her?"

Ty mulled over his answer "No, she's got enough on her plate. I don't think talking to me will help."

Hi everyone, I am back after a long time away. I hope you enjoy this new Fanfic, I have no idea where it's going as always. Any suggestions? I look forward to your reviews.