A.N.

Hi. This is my first fan fiction ever, so I hope you like it. It's a one-shot, because I'm pretty busy, and I thought it would be a pretty good thing to start with. Any constructive criticism or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks! I hope you like it!

She wakes up late, and her head's pounding. It's going to be one of those days, she can already tell. The sky outside her window is dark and dreary, and it looks like it's about to pour. The remaining snow from the night before is already turning into a slushy mess. Angry clouds swirl overhead, and she then hears a loud clap of thunder, which makes her head hurt even more. "Perfect", she thinks to herself. "Just how I feel and definitely foreshadowing how my day is going to be" She sits up and trudges to the bathroom where she pops two aspirin to try and reduce the pulsing inside her head. Recently she's been getting these awful migraines more and more frequently. It's not just headaches either. She's been really lethargic; sleeping until 2:00 almost every day. She's also been really emotional, yelling at someone one moment, crying the next. The doctors say that it's probably a result of too much stress, or maybe an old traumatic experience plaguing her subconscious. She has, after all, had a very disturbing young adulthood. They even speculated for a while that she was pregnant, a theory which was quickly dispersed after she told them that she was still a virgin. Her mother tells her that it's probably not a serious problem, but she sees the worried glances her mother sends her when she thinks Cammie isn't looking. Cammie knows better. She knows the cause of the headaches and it's certainly not just because of stress.

She walks to the kitchen in the house she and Zach share. Zach. He's been gone since July on a mission for almost 6 months now (229 days, if you want to be specific.). It gets kind of lonely in the big house. She can't deny that she really misses him, especially on these days. She wishes he was there to hold her, and tell her it will be okay. Make her chicken noodle soup and sit with her on the couch cracking corny jokes trying to make her smile. She especially misses his smirk, which she'll never admit to anyone. She just wishes she could at least talk to him. But she has no idea where he is or where he's going to be. By the time any letters or phone messages come in, the address is vacated; the phone disconnected. Everything on this mission is on a need-to-know basis and she guesses she just doesn't need to know.

Sighing, she pops a pop tart in the toaster, because that and cereal are about all she can make. The last time she made toast she almost burned the house down! Unfortunately, she's inherited her mother's cooking skills. That's another reason she misses him. He could actually cook, and was in fact very good (e) at it. He always joked that it was a good thing that one of them could actually cook., to which she'd retort that his cooking was mediocre at best, and then he would reply to her that that was better than she could do, smirk ,and then kiss her. Somehow the banter always ended in a make-out session. She smiles at the memory.

Wrapping herself in a blanket she sits down on the couch. She's cold, even though she jus turned up the heat. The circles under her eyes show she hasn't been sleeping, which is another reason for the lethargy. She hasn't told anyone yet, but the nightmares from the summer she ran away have been coming back, another reason she really misses him. He's not here to hold her at night and dry her cascading tears, to tell her its okay and help her fall back asleep; to make her feel safe. He's the only one who can really stop them. Zach. He's the reason. He's the real reason for all the headaches, the lethargy, the emotional rollercoaster she's been on. Ever since he left she's been a wreck. She's been through a lot and is a pretty strong person, so she's not sure why she broke down so quickly after he left. Maybe it's because he left s suddenly; telling her only 2 days beforehand and then leaving in the middle of the night. Maybe it's because she has no idea where he is or when he'll come back. But she thinks the real reason is that she doesn't know if he will come back. Until now, she never really knew what he'd been through when she had run away (towards, she corrects herself. She was running towards). But now she knew. She knew exactly what it felt like now to have someone suddenly leave you, and you don't know where they are or if they're okay. And you then wonder why it's affecting you so much and then you realize you already know. It's because you love them. You love them so much it hurts. Sure, you always knew you did, but you never knew how much you really did until now. How much they mean to you. You know that if they were to die, that you'd die too, inside. And that scares you a little. Okay, it scares you a LOT. But then you think about what these feelings all mean. They mean that you have found someone who's your other half, your soul mate. You see that he's the one. The thought truly makes you so happy inside, so happy you could burst. And you know more than ever that he HAS to come home. He HAS too. And he will, because he loves you too, and nothing will ever stop him from coming back to you.

Her reverie is interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. She briefly wonders if it's her friends. They've been truly amazing ands so supportive of her. They alone know he real reason why she's like this. They come almost every day, so she doesn't feel so alone. She loves them so much, but even they can't fill the feeling of emptiness. Still she looks forward to their visits, which is why she feels briefly disappointed in realizing it's not them. Remembering they're all busy today; Macey on a tour with her father; Bex on a mission in Pakistan; Liz in the labs working on her latest batch of truth serum. But her disappointment is quickly replaced with curiosity. She wonders who it could be. It's not her mother or Mr. Solomon (she still hasn't quite become accustomed to calling him "dad" or "Joe"). They have work today. Fleetingly she wonders if it could be Abby, but is pretty sure it isn't. Now her curiosity turns into annoyance. She doesn't want to get up from her comfortable, warm position on the couch and step outside into the frigid air. Why can't she just be left alone? She decides to stop thinking about it, and just answer the door. She'll find out soon enough.

The doorbell rings a second time. "Alright, alright, I'm coming", she says impatiently. She brings the blanket with her as she walks to the door. She opens it, and is met with a blast of cold air and a very familiar smirk.

"Hey, Gallagher girl. Sorry, but I kind of lost the house key. And I also sort of forgot where the spare is and I'm pretty cold so…"

"ZACH!" she screams cutting him off. She then attacks him, jumping into his arms with fervent joy. "Zach, it's really you. I missed you so much. I didn't know where you were, or if you were safe..."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But it's protocol…" he mumbles as she continues to ramble.

"… And I got really sick and I couldn't sleep and the nightmare's came back and only the girls knew why I was really this way. It was because of you! They were so supportive and caring, but it wasn't the same. But now you're back so everything's going to be okay! I just know it will be. How are you? Are you hurt? Why aren't you wearing a real jacket? Leather jackets don't really keep you warm, especially in February. No wonder you're freezing! Tell me what happened!"

"Whoa there Cam, slow down. I'm perfectly fine. Just a few scratches, nothing more. I really got lucky, that's for sure." He grins, picking her up and twirling her around. Then he smile disappears as realization dawns. "Wait. You were sick? The nightmares came back?" He looks at her, stricken. "Oh Cams I'm so sorry I wasn't there. This is all my fault and..."

"Shhh" she stops him with a kiss, blissfully melting into it. She's missed this so very much. She breaks away and smiles, jubilantly. "Zach, it's not your fault. And it doesn't matter now anyway. I'm just glad you're here, safe in my arms. You're really here!"

"I'm here baby, I'm here." Zach mumbles into her shoulder, enveloping her in a hug. Tears stream down their faces, tears of happiness.

"I love you baby, I love you so much. And I'll always come back to you. Remember that."

"I will, Zach, I will." Cammie sighs. "I'll never forget it."