[open] The Soldier's Comin Home

[Landon Archer]

Heat was a man's worst enemy overseas. Coming from the cool mountain air of Montana into the deserts of Iraq was extremely difficult. When you considered that he left home in May and went straight to the base in Iraq... It was only about 40 at home, and it was already well over 100 there. Needless to say it took a while to adjust to the heat, and a few times he'd very nearly given himself heat stroke because he was the sort of guy who would keep working until he passed out. About the tenth time that month that Landon had to be brought in to the medic for dehydration and borderline heat stroke, his superiors gave up on just telling him that he should take a break when he got too hot and appointed him with a supervisor to make him take breaks at specific intervals of time. He was a good soldier to be sure, and more dedicated than most, and they didn't want him killing himself by getting overheated.

Now that he was back, and the spring temperatures in Montana, felt quite cold to him, so he tended to not realize how exhausted he was when he went running. Since he had grown accustomed to taking breaks only when he was getting overheated, and the air here felt quite cool to him and he didn't get overheated, he would just keep right on going. He usually started running about 2 in the morning since his internal clock was all screwed up, and he often wouldn't stop for eight hours simply because he would get so focused on his thoughts that he wouldn't realize how long or how far he had run. Such was the case today. He had started early as usual, about two, and it was now just about eight, so he had been running for approximately six hours. Someday he was going to go into cardiac arrest because of this sort of thing... but until that day he would probably just keep right on doing it. He always started working the horses he trained about 9:30, so he still had some time before he had to be back at the barn, but even so...

It was fairly obvious that he was a military man. His hair, though growing out now, still had the military style cut, just a longer version of it. His build was... well obviously military. He spent a lot of time working out in boot camp and it was pretty obvious still. The dog tags around his neck were also a fairly obvious indicator that he was in the army. Most people had seen him in his stark navy blue uniform in the news when he had returned home, so some knew him as a military man from that. The tattoo across his back stating "Death Before Dishonor" was also a fairly good give away, and since he ran without a shirt it could always be seen. The way he held himself also screamed "army." There was a certain pride about his stature, straight and rigid, much like the way soldiers were trained to stand when they were at attention in order to look their best and more uniform.

Now Landon was a bit shorter than most men you would expect to see in the army. At only 5'9" most of the other guys were a good three inches taller than him. But that didn't make much of a difference to him. He was just as strong... and probably stronger than most of them, and he was an excellent marksman. Add into that a bit of reckless fearlessness, incredible leadership skills, and extreme determination, and Landon Archer was just about the perfect soldier. When he was out on the battle field he was always weighing risks, and he never, with no exceptions, sent his men in before him. When he made a decision to do something dangerous, you could bet he would be the first one out there risking his life. Passive leadership had never been an option for him. He earned his respect by never telling anyone to do something that he himself wouldn't do, and he proved that by being the first to do it every time.

Anyway, Landon was thoroughly soaked with sweat by this point, but he probably would have kept right on running if the exhausted dog struggling to continue running with him barked sharply, breaking him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the dog and could tell she was tired. He slowed his pace down to a walk for a minute, then stopped altogether when he realized that he'd been running for six hours, was soaked in sweat, probably about dehydrated, and just plain old exhausted. As soon as Landon stopped, the German shepherd moved off the path through the park and plopped down on the cool grass, panting heavily and looking just as tired as the man she was running with. Sorry Rave... Landon said breathlessly, sitting on the grass next to the dog and putting his hand on her her shoulders, You should have told me sooner. Okay yes he was talking to his dog as if she could understand him... but she was "his girl" so why wouldn't he talk to her like she could understand him?

Both Landon and Raven had come a long way since they first returned to the States. Initially Landon just found it impossible to fit in among the people that he had been fighting for simply because so many of them were so ungrateful for what they were doing overseas. Sure they would say "we support our troops, not their cause" but that was like saying "we support doctors who carry out abortion, but we don't support abortion and want to run them out of business." It just irritated him, and he found it increasingly difficult to live with that. When Raven came back it was on a stretcher. The dog had been on a site where they had suspected a bomb to be and had been heading in to look for it when it went off, and she was nearly killed. At first after all the surgeries and whatnot she had been standoffish and didn't want to be touched. She would growl at people who came too close, and especially disliked men.

Now he had been back for a few years, and Landon was finally starting to fit in with the people here again. Raven hadn't been out of the service for a more than a few months, but she was hopelessly attached to him, and could get a bit nippy at times, though she was much better now than she had been. She was a tough dog, that was for sure. Most animals after nearly being blown up would be in a much worse state than she was. The pair had become inseparable, and thankfully when people saw Raven's "Service Dog" tags they let her come in with Landon. It seemed the longer they stayed here the more people started appreciating them. More and more frequently people he had never seen in his life would come up to him and thank him for his service to the country. More and more frequently when people heard that Raven was a retired bomb dog who'd nearly been killed by a bomb they wanted pictures with her or wanted to pet her and thought that was just the most wonderful thing in the world. Now aside from the nightmares, Landon's life was slowly starting to become normal again.

[/size]

[Devon Cullen]

Black and blue she sat in front of the mirror at 5 in the morning wiping the tears away and putting make up on to cover up the bruises. Josh said bruises weren’t attractive. He said bruises didn’t sell. Apparently she didn’t give a 100% to the customer and he complained. Josh said complaints didn’t promote the product to other people. The more she messed up even just the slightest bit, the more he beat her. The more he beat her… the more makeup she had to wear. Last night was less than successful. In Josh’s words “You’re such a disgrace Devon. I should just leave you in the gutter like a piece of trash. That’s all you are, a piece of trash. Worthless, no good trash.” That followed by a firm reprimand was her punishment for being less than pleasing. If she failed to fit the bill or was a disappointment in any way that meant refunds and refunds meant less money and less money equals a very angry Josh. And from the bruises on Devon’s frame an angry Josh wasn’t a good thing at all.

She honestly believed he loved her, and why wouldn’t she? He said he did, he bought her pretty, shiny things, gave her a place to stay, and took decent care of her when he wasn’t angry with her. For all she knew this was what love was. It wasn’t like her parents gave her an example to follow. They were never around, always at some important party or meeting leaving her at home with the nanny or housekeeper. When she met Josh and he fed her all his lies, she had no reason not to believe him. Even though she knew deep down that what he was forcing her to do was wrong, she did it anyways believing that he truly loved and cared for her. As messed up as it seemed she had never experienced true love to know what the difference was sure her gut said to run… but her heart and her head were so mixed up and though she thought of leaving him, she was more afraid of life without him than she was of life with him. Besides, she knew if she left and he found her it would be worse than staying willingly. It was a tangled mess, but it was a tangled mess that she had lived with thus far and it was the only life she knew. Like everyone, Devon was afraid of the unknown and that fear kept her tied to the life she was currently living despite how horrible it was.

Josh didn’t love her, he said he did, and she believed he did, but when it came down to it…he didn’t, not even a little bit. Unlike Josh, Devon truly believed she loved him. She was sure the relationship she had with him was a loving one. The poor thing thought that this was her life. This was as good as it was going to be. When Josh called her trash she truly believed she was. She didn’t think she was good enough for anything else… and she also believed that she didn’t even deserve what he “so graciously” gave her. In her mind everything he said was true…and I mean everything. Every though she ever had, had already been thought and said by Josh. What he said was law there was never any questioning to it. And Devon knew better than to second guess him… she had already met those consequences. Devon wasn’t an insecure pr needy girl in fact she was probably very independent and secure, but so long as Josh was in her life she had no idea what she could be or what she was. She was what he told her to be. Like I said she didn’t know any better.

Life had always been controlled by someone else. When she was little she behaved like a perfect angel. Just dying for her parents to acknowledge her existence she did whatever they wanted. Folded her napkin onto her lap perfectly at the age of four, always said please and thank you, never got dirty, basically she was and acted like a puppet. Sadly they never noticed… and then Josh came into the picture. Even the slightest acknowledgement, from anything she did, by him and she was sold. She was the damsel in distress and as far as she was concerned he was her prince charming. And when she cried for hours after he beat her she would just make up excuses for him and defend him. Talking herself down on a daily basis and blaming herself always saying it was her fault not his. But she never let any of that show when she was around anyone else. She held her head high and played the sexy girl with a high strung attitude who never doubted herself not even for a second. If only she knew how much better life could be. She deserved so much more but she had no idea and Josh made sure it stayed that way.

After she fixed her makeup she got up the courage to come out of the bathroom. Josh was long gone, but even so she crept around the corners afraid that he was still around and still upset with her. Finally, when she was sure he wasn’t around, her body slowly and gradually began to relax and loosen up. She let out a soft sigh of relief and crossed her arms in an unsecure way. It wasn’t often that he left her home alone usually there was always someone around, left over from the party the night before or something of the sort. But right now it was dead silent, eerie even, it made her feel uncomfortable. Rubbing her arms softly she turned toward the door just wanting to get out of the house and get some fresh air, to leave the tormenting thoughts in the house and forget it for a little bit however brief that time may be. It wasn’t often that she was allowed to go out without there being a purpose. Sure there was a purpose to her going out this time but it wasn’t exactly the same. There was no one giving her a “pep talk” or reminding her how much they needed “this one.” No one yelling and talking aggressively or pushing and shoving her around like she was some sort of doll that they were playing with. It was peaceful and relaxing… and that made her even more nervous than normal.

Before she knew it she was walking through the park aimlessly probably looked like a lost little puppy. She walked with power and grace considering that’s how she was taught and she never wavered from what she was taught. She looked down at her feet as she walked not wanting to test her makeup job to see if she covered the bruises sufficiently. Her hair hung over her shoulders around her face with her arms crossed like a little turtle pulling into its shell. In just shorts and a casual/grungy t-shirt she still looked amazing… if only she knew it… sneakers finished the outfit perfectly, and with the chilly spring breeze having her arms crossed so insecurely could be thought of just keeping herself warm… or at least she hoped that’s what people would think. Her phone half tucked in her back pocket was slowly slipping out… but her mind was far from where she actually was. So far gone in fact she didn’t even see the people that were around her. Nothing registered… not the happy giggles of little kids, or the barking of nearby dogs, or parents calling after their children or the panting of runners…none of it. The only reason she brought her phone in the first place was the fear of Josh looking for her and not being able to find her… Some kind of love that instilled fear into an innocent heart… So lost in her own thoughts she didn’t even notice when her phone fell out of her back pocket and onto the path behind her. She knew she should probably get back but she argued with herself until she decided 5 more minutes away wouldn’t hurt anyone… except for maybe herself.

[Landon Archer]

When it came to intelligence , Landon was said to fall short, at least academically. He was brilliant when it came to strategies and war time situations, but put him in a classroom and give him a test and you could expect him to fail. Most people didn't seem to notice, though, as it was overshadowed by his obvious military orientation. People never messed with him or anyone else for that matter when he was around. He was built like a grizzly bear, and his expression tended to resemble that of a man who was prepared to kill if he had to... and he was. If he went to some big city, no doubt he could get paid a lot of money to work as a bouncer or a bodyguard, but that wasn't his style.

He was the sort of guy who was extremely protective, that was why he joined the Army. When he saw the pain inflicted on ordinary citizens by the work of terrorists, he wanted nothing more than to put a stop to it. That was why he excelled as a soldier. He had a passion, a goal. He wasn't just fighting because they told him to. He was fighting because he wanted to be a part of ending terrorism. While he was overseas that protective instinct was only encouraged and grew to greater proportions. So when he came home and his protectiveness was no longer needed on a daily basis, he was struggling a bit. He always wanted to save everyone. When he saw things like murders or kidnappings, he desperately wanted to get involved, but he knew he couldn't.

For Landon, being in the war had been easier than coming home. At war he knew what he had to do all the time. He had to protect his men and protect his country. His job was to do whatever the pentagon ordered, and that was it. When he got back, there was no one to tell him what to do, and suddenly, after six years in the Army, he had to figure everything out for himself, and to be honest, he wasn't much good at it. It took him nearly a year to decide what he wanted to do with his life, and once he decided he had to figure out how to get involved in that, and once he figured out how to get involved he had to actually go through with it and do it.

Luckily, he just happened to run into Alessandra Ambrosio, the owner of the highly esteemed Rebecca Farm, and after they got to talking and getting to know each other for a while, she ended up offering him the job, sight unseen on his ability to actually train horses. Of course there was the whole trial period thing where if it didn't work out he wouldn't be asked to continue, but he was fairly sure he could do it. Of course, he had grown up on a ranch and worked with horses most of his life, but training race horses and working with cow horses were two entirely different things, and with only a year of experience in doing so... well, she apparently was very trusting. To this point, it had obviously worked out well, and he had been training there for several years now quiet successfully.

As he sat there in the grass, his dog stretched out on the ground beside him, one particular person caught his eye. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, and not in the usual perverted guy way of thinking either. Landon certainly wasn't the most virtuous guy in the whole world. He slept around, he was an alcoholic, he was a smoker... he definitely wasn't perfect, and he would admit that he was prone to "taking advantage" of women, though never against their will. Normally he would have seen this girl as "hot" or "sexy" but for some reason this girl struck him as beautiful; so much so that he would certainly consider her out of the ordinary.

He watcher her in silence as she walked by, unable to look away from her. He was so enthralled that for a moment he didn't notice that she had dropped her phone. A minute or two passed before he broke out of his trance and realized that she had dropped her phone. When he did finally realize it, he stood up hastily, forgetting about his exhaustion and the sweat that soaked his body, and picked up her phone, hurrying after her. Excuse me, miss, he said with that western politeness that had been pounded in his head all his life as he placed his hand on her shoulder, I believed you dropped this. Sure, he was fairly certain that she was still a teen, but she couldn't be younger than 18, and he was only 26... it wasn't that much of a difference.

He wasn't sure what he would say or do when he had given her phone back to her, but he didn't want to let her just walk away without at least getting her name. There was no telling how she would react to him, but he was willing to risk it. He was fascinated by her and he couldn't explain why, but he didn't care why. He was and that was all that mattered to him right now. Of course, there was a chance she would just thank him, take the phone, and continue on her merry way, and he wouldn't try to stop her. There was no way he was going to make her stick around if she didn't want to. He may be a guy and a bit of a jackass at that, but he knew how to treat a girl right, especially a girl he didn't even know. He could always try to say something more to her, but if she didn't want to have anything to do with him, he wasn't going to force himself on her.

Needless to say, his social abilities were one thing he still needed to work on. He really wasn't the best at interacting with other people. For one thing, he'd left the States at 17 to become a soldier, and by the time he was 20 he was a commanding officer. He got so used to being in charge and always telling people what to do, that he had nearly forgotten how to have a casual conversation with someone. Obviously he was better now that it had been three years since he was in the military, but even so, he still was definitely not a great orator... maybe it would be different in this situation. One could only hope.

[/size]