There have been very, very few moments in my life when I was willingly awake in the morning. In fact, I'd venture to say that I have never been willingly awake at four in the morning.

This was the very first time.

"Stop fidgeting," Tommy complained as he pressed a firm hand on my bouncing knee. "You're making me spill my coffee."

"Sorry." But the minute he lifted his hand, my knee started bouncing again.

I wasn't the only one. The cavernous Hangar 7 was packed to the brim with breathless families. Some held signs, some clutched balloons and others cradled flowers in their arms. Excited children ran around, waving tiny American flags glued to toothpicks. A band of seven poor souls sat on a stage at the very front of the room, cycling through the bland songs of their repertoire, like "Smoke on the Water" and "The Tide is High." In a hidden corner, volunteers handed out styrofoam cups filled with weak coffee and stale cookies donated by local grocery stores.

It was a far different atmosphere to the last coming home ceremony I'd been to.

Thea, Tommy and I had arrived in Nashville the night before. After just four hours of sleep, we got up at two to drive an hour to get to Fort Campbell where we were escorted by grumpy gate guards to a parking lot almost a mile away to take a freezing cold bus to the hangar.

Despite all of these less than ideal circumstances, I was buzzing with excitement.

He was almost here. After two months we would once again be in the same room. I'd get to touch him, hold him, gaze into his eyes and kiss him.

He was almost home, and he was still alive. Nothing in the world could have dampened my mood.

"God, why did we have to get up so early if they weren't coming in until 4:30?" Tommy grumbled.

Thea and I both shrugged. Unlike him, we were a little more content to go coffeeless. The thought of seeing Oliver again was enough of a jump start for the both of us.

"Will we be able to take him home immediately afterward?" Thea asked.

"I think he'll have to go through a quick de-brief, but after that we can take him home," I answered. Both of my knees jumped at the thought of taking him back with us to Starling, and my heart fluttered again.

Tommy scowled. "Would you stop."

"Sorry."

A few more restless minutes passed. I watched as children raced each other up and down the bleachers, as families chattered excitedly among themselves, as wives and girlfriends combed through their hair, checked their makeup and adjusted their clothes. They were all dressed to the nines, waiting for their men to spot them and fall in love once again.

The thought made me smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed over the loudspeaker, "the flight is ten minutes away. I repeat, the flight is ten minutes away. If you would like to head out to the flightline, you will see your soldiers soon."

The room erupted with cheers and claps, and as if on cue, everyone around us stood up. We followed the crowd outside to a sectioned off area by the hangar. With Tommy's help, we pushed our way to the front, behind the waist-high metal gates.

"Can you see anything?" Thea asked, scanning the skies.

"No," Tommy answered. "It's too dark." This time he was the one fidgeting, and we all huddled in closer together, trying to keep warm in the cold November wind.

We stood there impatiently bouncing up and down on the balls of our feet, and I rubbed my mittened hands together, trying to keep myself warm. Thoughts of Oliver definitely helped. I tried imagining what he was doing, if he was as excited as I was.

There was a part of me that feared his feelings might have changed for me in the two months he was away. It's all well and good to tell someone you love them right before you're about to head off to war. Once he landed back on safe soil, would those feelings remain?

"You look worried all of a sudden," Thea commented. "Are you OK?"

I nodded, not saying anything. I didn't want to give voice to my thoughts, in case they would come true.

But Thea didn't seem to need me to talk. She was some sort of mind reader when she said, "Don't be nervous. I've never seen him more in love with anyone. The way he looks at you isn't something you get over. Trust me."

A slow smile bloomed over my face and I leaned into her and wrapped my arms around her waist. We squeezed each other, a sign of quiet solidarity and gratitude.

"There!" someone in the crowd shouted. "It's there! It's coming!"

In unison, everyone scanned the skies, looking for the telltale plane. Then, sure enough, we saw the lights slowly descending on the horizon and the shadowy plane loomed larger and larger until it finally landed on the tarmac one hundred yards in front of us.

The crowd exploded in cheers and applause and my heart sped back up.

An excruciating amount of time passed before the doors finally opened and the soldiers filed out of the plane, one-by-one, their duffles and their weapons draped over their shoulders.

The line passed in front of us, each of the soldiers waving to their families. Everyone in the crowd at that point had completely lost their minds, shouting, screaming, clanging their bells and whistles as loud as possible.

"Do you see him?" Tommy shouted over the din.

"No," Thea answered.

My eyes scanned over the coming line before they finally landed on him.

"There!" I shouted, pointing. He was still fifty yards away, but I knew his walk better than anyone.

We started screaming and shouting as he got closer and closer. Finally when he was within earshot, the three of us yelled in unison, "WELCOME HOME, OLIVER!"

He looked over at us, and there it was. The beautiful face I'd been missing for the past two months. He was here. He was safe. He was alive.

Oliver's blue eyes connected with mine and for a split second the world ceased to exist. The din of the crowd was no more. We were twenty yards away from one another, but we were the only people in the world. He was there, in my blood, humming in my skin. He was there, and he was mine.

In that moment, his face split into a gorgeous grin. My own face reflected his and tears immediately sprang to my eyes. There was not a doubt in my mind. He was still in love with me, and I was still very much in love with him.

The moment passed and he was joining the rest of his men on the other side of the building, turning in their weapons and preparing for a quick de-brief. I was pulled back into the present by Tommy and Thea shaking my arms on either side, jumping up and down in excitement.

"He's home! HE'S HOME!" Thea screamed. Tears streamed down her eyes and I couldn't help but laugh. At least I wasn't the only one crying.

Eventually all of the soldiers had made it off the plane and we were ushered back inside the hangar while the soldiers gathered around each other, waiting for the last commands from their officer.

Tommy, Thea and I settled back in our spots on the very bottom bleachers, waiting impatiently for the soldiers to come back in. Soon enough the hangar doors slid open and the band started playing a fanfare for the triumphant return. The phalanx of soldiers came marching through, led by their commanding officer, staring straight ahead. When they came to a stop, they continued staring straight ahead, standing completely at attention.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur, and I wasn't paying any attention. Someone came to give the invocation, another someone gave a short speech about duty or whatever. I didn't care. All I cared about was Oliver. Every molecule in my body wanted to rush the block to find him and throw my arms around him. But soon enough the band played the Screaming Eagles song, then the Army song and finally — finally — the commanding officer released his troops.

With an almighty yell, all the family members rushed onto the floor, desperate to find their soldier. But I knew where Oliver was. It was like my body was trained on his and I zeroed in on his location, right in the middle of the room.

We pushed through the crowd to where he stood, waiting for us with that incredible smile of his. Thea launched herself at her brother, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and crying so loud I could almost hear it over the happy cacophony all around me. Then it was Tommy's turn, and the two exchanged hearty handshakes and a warm embrace.

Then finally, it was my turn.

For once in my life, I felt struck speechless. He was there. After eight weeks of waiting, here he was. In front of me. Still alive and not in a flag-draped casket. He kept his promise and he came home alive and whole.

One moment he was standing three feet away from me. The next moment he was right there, just inches from me, wrapping his arms around my torso in such a tight hug I couldn't breathe. But that was all right. I hugged him back with equal fervor.

"You're home," I whispered, my eyes closed and relishing the feeling of being in his arms.

He squeezed me tighter. "I'm home," he agreed.

We eventually pulled away, and I realized by the wet spots I left on his shoulder that I had been crying. But I didn't get the chance to examine it very closely because in an instant his lips were on mine and I was floating. It didn't matter that his best friend and his sister were there watching. It didn't matter that we were in the middle of a crowded hangar, other families celebrating the safe return of their own loved ones.

Our lips moved over one another and together, in unison. Electricity buzzed in every skin cell on my body. I could feel my heartbeat pounding to the same rhythm of his pulse. The anticipation had built so much that when the moment came I felt as if I were exploding in complete, incredible euphoria.

I didn't ever want this feeling to end.

His lips left mine, but he kept me in his arms, his forehead pressed to mine.

"Felicity?"

"Hmm?" My eyes were still closed, reveling in the sensation of having him home.

"I have a question to ask you."

I gently brushed the tip of my nose over his. "What is it?"

He pulled away and my immediate reaction was to pull him back in. But I restrained myself as I watched him reach into his left breast pocket and pull something out.

It was a tiny black box.

"I bought this while I was over there," he said, his voice wavering with emotion. "I had every intention of waiting until we'd been dating a little longer, but...I just can't."

My heart jumped in my throat when I realized what was happening. A distant corner of my brain registered that Thea was squealing next to me, but all the rest of me was focusing on Oliver as he crouched to the ground on one knee. Then, slowly, he pulled the box open to reveal the contents.

Nestled into its foam mount was the most beautiful ring I'd ever set eyes on before. It was a thin, silver band cradling a square-cut emerald, framed by six tiny diamonds, three on each side. It sparkled in the bright lights of the hangar, like the sun reflecting its light on the white Nevada sand.

"Felicity Meghan Smoak," Oliver whispered. "Will you marry me?"

Words had escaped me. My heart was pounding loud enough for the entire hangar to hear.

Then the dam on my joy broke and I burst into tears.

"Yes!" I shouted jubilantly. "Yes! YES!"

Tommy and Thea whooped and screamed and in an instant Oliver was back on his feet, his arms around my waist. He picked me up and twirled me around before kissing me again. I returned it with all the fervor I had.

We were together. We were one.

We were whole.