Caboose got the bullet ready as he lay on his bunk. North and Wyoming had tried to cheer him up about the death of his little sister. But he knew the truth now. The director had pulled strings and sent her into a battlefield that got her killed. Serenity never got her chance to got to college like she had planned. According to the Director she was just another distraction that would have to have been removed sooner or later.

He raised the tip of the pistol into his mouth, he heard her voice.

Come on Michael, I want to go and join the army after my year in collage at france. She had begged him to come she loved her older brother. He said when he'd finished training he'd come up and join her.

Getting ready to pull the trigger he knew this was unfair on those he was leaving behind. But he couldn't be away from her. Serenity was to pure to be unloved. Smart funny brilliant soldier and pretty. At this he heard another sound of her voice.

Do you really think I'm pretty? Micheal I'm just plain. I'm just plain Serenity, I'm very plain with an odd name.

When she was recovered from the battle of Reach they put her on life support. She sat there while he held her hand and she smiled. She beleived that someone would save her.

According to the men on her team Serenity was shot and bashed by the enemy, because her friend on the field had stolen the last of her clips and grenades and done a runner.

They found him a few weeks later and he was shot by the commanding officer in the foot for letting her get hurt. Then got seven years in jail for treason, cowardness and abandonment. He didn't deserve that! Caboose was mad at him but Serenity forgave this abandoner.

She had even made a request that he see her. Micheal sat back on the bunk and remembered that.

The tall man entered Serenity's room with a few flowers to say sorry, she had kept the news to herself that the docs said too much damage had been caused and she was going to die. She didn't want Micheal to know that yet.

He was accompanied by two armoured guards. Serenity's entire hospital room was covered in different flowers, people really loved her even the doctors had sent in a boquet. She could talk barely but the pain killed her to move her lips.

"White roses my favourite!"She exclaimed smelling them.

Micheal knew she was telling the truth she loved the colour white, it matched her favourite time of year Christmas, today was it and she was lucky to have made it that far.

"I wanted to say I forgive you for leaving me there" She started slowly. "And I hope you now know that the army isn't for those who runaway, it's-" She coughed with blood coming up, Micheal rushed to her side and held her hand, while she rubbed her chest.

"It's for those who aren't afraid to let go and for those who aren't afraid to stay and face their fate" the look on her ex teammates face was filled with shame. But yet she continued.

"You left me, I don't blame you, I would have left me to. Everyone has a breaking point you reached yours on that field, I hope you know that and your forgiven, completely and totally forgiven" She coughed again. Picking up the bunch of white roses she gave one to him.

"Save that for a rainy day" She said placing it gently in his hands folding it over. The gards took him away.

Micheal came close and hugged her. He stroked her hair and murmed "You always had the strangest brown and red hair. I like it" he comforted her.

"Micheal promise me you'll let me go" She said. "Don't come after me until it's your natural time and your old and wrinkly" She made him promise it. He swore on their father's grave he wouldn't dare.

"Everyone dies Serenity, even me I'm okay with it but you are still to young, you're going to grow up and I'm going to take you to France" He stroked her hair singing gently to her.

Her life support maching started beeping and she started shaking and coughing wildly. The doctor came in hurrying and yelling so much that Micheal guessed they were saying he ha to leave while they operated.

Micheal raised the gun to his mouth. I'm sorry Serenity I can't keep that promise I have to see you again, he thought as he pulled the trigger.

York and North went into Caboose's room to confort him. They heard a gunshot and ran in to discover him on the ground in a pool of blood with a photo in his hand of a pretty girl with a white rose tucked behind her ear and in her hand. All while smiling at the camera and laughing. York picked it up gently examing the pretty face. He looked at the writing on the back. Micheal and Serenity's Christmas party. North felt Cabooses pulse realising it was still going.

"York get a medical team!" He yelled the team got there quick and rushed him to the medical ward. Caboose felt strange and odd like he was changing. He woke up a few days later.

"Hello where am I?" he asked childishly.

"Ah Michael Cabbose, it seems you suffered an unfortunate accident and lost a lot of your brain cells, I am the Counslar. How are you feeling?" A voice came.

"Good...pretty good. Where's my sister, she was supposed to be here?" Caboose asked.

"Your sister has been..sent away to a college in France can you describe her?" The voice of the Counslar came.

"She's...pretty and has pretty red and brown hair, when can I see her?" Caboose asked.

"I'm afraid you can't we're shipping you off to a place called Bloodgulch to serve in the war. Your sister Serenity asked you be placed where it's winning on our side of the war. Blue team, your rank is private and also Caboose you can never see her again if you don't win" The couslar said.

"Okay if that's what she wants" Caboose agreed.

Years later...

"Hey Caboose what should I get Church for christmas? Caboose why are you sad?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know I woke up and wished my sister was here, something about white roses I need to get one" Caboose said sadly.

Tex looked at Caboose, she knew what he had been through on project freelancer. He had been lost his sister to it, because of the Director. Tex knew because she was at that fight and was the one to shoot the abandoner in the foot only because Serenity had stopped her from killing him.

Tex may have been cold hearted. But she wasn't going to let Caboose mourn today without someone there. Even if he didn't know why he was mourning. "Caboose come on, there's something I gotta show you" She said.

"Okay" Caboose followed.

She took him to the outside of the caves. Near the water was a bush where there grew some white roses. She bent down and carefully picked them up. "She was a good person Caboose, she didn't deserve to... go away" Tex said .

Caboose still thought his siter was in france. Better for him to think her to be there than to be where she was buried. Tex gave him the flowers and keft leaving him confused. Who was Tex talking about. He wanted these for his sister.

Caboose grabbed a red ribbon and tied them in a bunch and went to the top of the cliff he placed them down gently with a kiss on one of them. "I'll see you soon I hope Serenity" he said.

Later that night when it was the darkest it ever got in bloodgulch, a women in green armour rushed by the cliff jumping down from the top of the canyon. She turned and saw that pile of sweet white roses. Cautiously approaching she picked them up and took off her helmet letting her red and brown hair free.

She looked towards blue base ad heard something on her radio.

"Lt. Serenity Caboose or Spartan B112 what is your location?" She left it for a minute and tuned it to blue base frequency, on top she saw a soldier in regulation blue armour come out. He took of his helmet and just looked around the quiet canyon. She grabbed her sniper riffle and raised it to his head ready to shoot until she saw his face.

She found him. Placing the sniper riffle o her back she sat and watched dangling her legs over the cliff like a child. The soldier went inside the base to bed. The women pulled out a picture which the Director of project freelancer had given her. The man she saw matched the guy in the photo.

She jumped down and went inside the base quietly looking for his room which she found him tucked up with a book on the end of his bed. She grabbed it and started reading aloud. It was a kid's book like the ones he read to her finishing it she placed it on top of his bedside table.

"That was a good story" he mumbled.

"Always was" she said stopping the tears, she leant over and kissed him on the forehead. "Get some sleep Micheal" she whispered.

"But you'll leave again" he protested.

"And if you sit here and just wait, and be patient long enough I'll come back" She promised. "I won't leave ever again" she said. Placing the photo of them at the christmas party down on his nightstand she sighed. Standing up after he fell asleep she went out into the hallway. Running into Tex who just stood there shaking her head.

"He's waited years and he did this to himself because of you. And your leaving again?" Texas accused.

"I loved him enough to stay away, even after they faked my death for the Spartan III project because I love my brother. He can wait a bit longer for me then I'm almost done. Goodbye Texas" she said about to leave but Tex blocked her.

"I hate goodbyes" Tex bluntly pointed out.

"And I hate giving them away because of change Texas, I promise one day I'll come back make sure he's still there for me and another thing..." She stopped in her tracks. "Make sure he still doesn't remember what the Director did by selling me out like that, because I'm a distraction and he's still my brother" Serenity left.

She looked back at the base one more time as her pelican came in to give her a lift home. She smiled bitterly. "I promise you Cabbose I'll come back to you after I end this war" She whispered.