Yours Always, Daniel.

Faith's heart throbbed painfully in her chest as she stared at the stark mahogany casket a few feet away. Silently, she cursed the solid barrier keeping her from seeing him one last time. She pictured Daniel lying there. Eternally resting in a peaceful sleep. Unaware of the heartache and void he's left behind.

His letter was neatly folded in the left pocket of her wool coat. She'd read it enough times over the past three days, she had the damn thing memorized. Word for word. Line by line. The last bit of communication she would ever receive from him.

Don't mourn me.

She closed her eyes briefly only to be caught off guard by the crack of the rifles. Faith rocked back on her heels, quickly reaching for her chest. The armor she carefully constructed for today came crashing down as each gunshot penetrated her flesh. Ripped through muscles and tendons. Pierced her heart and reverberated around her soul. She gasped at the overwhelming darkness that once again took hold of her.

Don't mourn me.

In the distance, the Honor Guardsman gave the final command, immediately followed by the bugle's somber tune. The music, hauntingly beautiful, was a final tribute and reminder of the ultimate sacrifice given, the life lost.

Faith squeezed her eyes shut as she desperately attempted to regain control of her emotions and block out the agonizing pain. It was a futile effort. Behind her lids, memories exploded in rapid succession disabling her consciousness and crippling her.

Strong arms wrapped around her seconds before she crumbled to the ground. "I've got you, Faith," Ryan breathed into her ear. She gripped the back of his jacket, frantically clinging to him. Her beacon in a sea of blackness. She tried to fight against the tide pulling at her. Guilt rode her as she thought about Ryan and his brother, Nate. She may have had a few precious years with Daniel, but they had a lifetime with him. Much closer than cousins, they always treated him like a brother. Inseparable and thick as thieves, his mother once told her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered against his chest. "He was yours, too." Ryan pulled Faith tighter to him. Her body shuddered against his with her quiet sobs. Tears ran down her cheeks. "We don't do goodbyes," she choked. Ryan shook his head and pressed his forehead against the curve of her neck. He was all too familiar with the line that followed, and hearing Danny's words fall from her lips in a broken whisper was a sledge hammer to his heart. "II'll see you later." And with that, the dam broke and tears trailed down his own face.

end.