A Special Ops Christmas (3 page)

Everything closed in on her so hard she couldn’t talk. She
squeezed her eyes shut, holding it all in, even as an ocean of want, hurt, and
longing swelled up inside her.

“Vivianne? I love you.”

She tried to breathe and tried to answer, but it came out
like a sob. This man didn’t sound like the same one she’d been emailing with
the last three months. That man had walls around him and wrote curt emails and
didn’t like to call her because they argued. In short, he had tried to make
their problems go away by avoiding them. So how could she trust him again?

“Remember our first Christmas together, when we were dating?
We walked down to the park after midnight, and it started snowing. Just like
the night we met. Like God’s own blessing on us, you said. We danced under the
streetlight.”

She did remember. Even now she could see the flakes catching
the light, sparkling like white diamonds out of the darkness around them. Their
breath had billowed out as they laughed and talked.

“Yeah,” Vivianne said on a tearful laugh, “and the snow was
all gone by morning.” The enchantment had been just for them.

They’d danced in the falling snow during their first weekend
together at Big Bear too. Their happy memories were like those snowflakes:
there were thousands of shared magical moments. But now they were all melting,
vanishing, just like snow always did.

Or were they?

Picturing Aiden’s loving eyes as he had watched her dance in
the snow made Vivianne think of all the little things she loved about him. She
knew the SEALS had dirty mouths when they were together, but Aiden always spoke
to her like a gentleman. He left the cussing for time with his buddies.

Aiden was extremely neat and helped her clean when he was
home, but he was also perfectly happy to lounge around the house in his pajamas
all Saturday. They’d sleep in, watch a movie, and spend the evening sitting in
front of the fire, drinking tea and talking about their future.

Silence lingered as unspoken memories flowed between them.

“Remember when I proposed?”

He was pouring it on thick, but she didn’t want to fight the
memories. The bright, happy memories. She grabbed a tissue from the box on her
end table and swiped at her nose. With a strained voice, she said, “In the
snow.” Aiden had taken her completely by surprise. They’d been dating for a year,
and to celebrate he took her up to a historical mining site to hike in the
snow. After they had peered in the opening of the mine and played in the snow,
she’d turned to start hiking back to the car. Glancing over her shoulder to see
what was holding up Aiden, she found him— kneeling in the snow and holding out
a small red, velvet box.

Marry me, Vivianne. Marry me and make me the happiest man
alive.

The sun glinted off the ring, throwing light in a million
directions. It was even more brilliant and vibrant with the light bouncing off
the snow. It glittered like the purest, rarest diamond. When she pulled her
eyes from the glow of the ring, she saw the love and earnestness in Aiden’s
face. He wasn’t just any man. Aiden was tall, handsome, strong, and caring. He
was a deep thinker and had so many smart ideas about everything. She loved how
active he was, and yet he could sit and talk till two in the morning about any
topic she chose. They were perfectly matched.

It had been a surprise, but there was no question in her
mind. Her heart knew.
Yes!

Finally, Vivianne whispered, “Of course I remember.” They’d
been arguing about his work for so long… she realized they hadn’t held on to
their special times together.

“So you’ll hold off?”

She didn’t bother pretending that she didn’t understand this
time. “Yes, I can wait till after the holidays.” Even if they couldn’t fix
things, at least they wouldn’t end their relationship during the holidays. “But
time for what? We’ve talked and talked, and the same problems are always
there.”

 “Let’s save the talking for when we can talk face to face.
Just give me that, okay?”

She mumbled an
hm-hmm
. It was her way of not
disagreeing or agreeing, and they both knew it.

“I gotta go, Babe, but I want to talk to you soon. I love
you.” And he prayed she still loved him.

“Bye, Aiden.”

She hung up and wondered why she couldn’t tell her husband
that she loved him.

Aiden ended the call and walked back into a silent,
expectant room. He looked at Daniels, wearing a dead-serious expression, and
then at Tank, another member of their team. Aiden and Daniels both trusted
Petty Officer First Class Charles “Tank” Edwards with their lives. His nickname
came from his sheer size and strength. Tank always had a crass wisecrack at the
ready. But even Tank was holding his breath, waiting to find out how Aiden’s
call went.

Aiden nodded, a smile creeping across his face despite his
best efforts to look nonchalant. Tank whooped. Daniels jumped to his feet and
pounded Aiden on the back. “I told you, you piece of shit quitter! We don’t
throw in the towel, not when it matters.”

And this did matter. It mattered more than anything else in
his life. If only Vivianne knew that.

“Okay,” Daniels turned, and Aiden noticed some writing
across the whiteboard. Blocky, red letters spelled out
Special Ops Christmas
along the top. And below that, in sloppier black cursive,
How do we get
O’Riley’s sorry ass home in time for Christmas?

“How’s this going to work?” Aiden asked, wishing he could
sound more positive and thankful.

“We’ll make it work.” Daniels stood with his feet apart and
his hands in his pockets. He watched too many movies and always acted like the
tough commander characters in them, like Master Chief Billy Sunday played by Robert
De Niro in
Men of Honor
.

With a burning in his chest, Aiden surveyed
the faces around the room one by one. He served with these men, trusted them
with his life, and he’d willingly give his life for any one of them.

The beginning of
the Navy SEAL Creed
played through his mind:

My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed
upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I
have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my
chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every
day…

He had also sworn to love, protect, and live for Vivianne.
Aiden took both vows to heart. At times he questioned whether he could commit
to both responsibilities at the same time—even though he wanted to do so with
every fiber in his being.

The room remained quiet. Aiden nodded and said, “Thank you,
all of you. But, guys, we won’t even get stateside for two weeks, and then you
know I can’t leave decompression. I asked permission already. We’re under
orders.”

Tank stood up. “O’Riley, we’re SEALS. And you need to get to
Vivianne.”

The door snapped open and everyone turned their heads. It
was Master Chief Petty Officer Kie Arora, a well-respected, yet demanding,
leader in the task unit.

“Daniels, what’s going on?”

Daniels stepped in front of the board and shrugged. That was
it. Aiden appreciated his buddies’ gesture, but he knew this idea wouldn’t get
far.

 “Daniels!” Arora barked.

Still looking at Arora, Daniels slapped the whiteboard
behind him. “We need a flight for O’Riley to get home NOW.”

Arora took three more steps and glanced at the messy
handwriting, then turned to Aiden. “What’s the deal, O’Riley, with Christmas?”
he snapped. “We all want to get home.”

“It might be my only chance to save my marriage.”

Arora’s eyes flickered. Silence reigned as he looked down,
considering, before raising his eyes to meet Aiden’s. “I’ll make it happen.”

Once Arora left the room, Daniels turned toward the board.
“Whoa, it looks like Special Ops-Phase 1 has just been arranged!  Now to figure
out the rest.”

 “Hold on,” Aiden said, stepping forward to physically block
Daniel’s view of the whiteboard. He actually liked watching Daniels take the
leadership role. Daniels had only recently moved up the ranks to Chief Petty
Officer, whereas he was used to that position. At least Aiden knew the group
would be okay without him. “Before we get into this, each one of you needs to
think about the consequences of your actions.”

No one in the room needed to be reminded of the penalties of
knowingly failing to obey a military regulation. Yet, despite visions of
punishments ranging from loss of pay to bad-conduct discharge to imprisonment,
the faces that looked back at Aiden all held identical expressions of
determination to help their comrade.

The call came much sooner than expected. “O’Riley, move—
move now! We’ve got a flight if you can haul your butt over there this second.”
And with those words, Special Ops Christmas was underway.

Daniels met his eyes. “Merry Christmas, bro, and that’s an
order.”

“O’Riley?” Arora handed Aiden a sealed white envelope.
“You’re not officially cleared for any of this, so you might have problems
using your own ID. This contains your new ID along with tickets all the way to
the West Coast. However, I have no knowledge of what you’re doing, and I won’t
help in any other way if you get caught.”

“Understood, Sir.” This was more than he’d hoped for
already. The new ID displayed his face but with a totally different name. He
chuckled at the high quality of the forged documents. The expert work did not
surprise him since changing identity was often needed in special missions, and
the Navy SEALs only delivered the best.

Daniels slapped him on the back. Tank stood behind him,
grinning like a fool. “O’Riley, this is it. Get your butt in gear.”

Aiden stood, suddenly aware his hands were shaking. Strange
for a Navy SEAL, but this was his most important mission. “Will, do.” He
saluted them, just a casual flip of his fingers, but it was a show of respect
that reflected the love within this team. Saying thanks just wouldn’t be
enough.

Aiden boarded a plane full of excitement: relaxed and giddy
excitement in most of the civilian passengers and edgy excitement in Aiden and
his team. He couldn’t believe his luck—that he was on a plane right now,
heading home. It wasn’t luck, actually.

During the long flight, Aiden couldn’t call Vivianne, so he
started an email, pouring out his heart and soul. He wished he were better with
words so he could write poetry, something romantic and sweet and a maybe bit
risqué. Damn, he was so eager to tell her he was on his way home, but he wanted
to surprise her even more.

Vivianne, it was so good to hear your voice. I don’t
think you know this, but it’s you who holds me together. You are my center. I
do my job and I come back you, and that’s when I feel like the real me.

I want to be a rock for you too, but I often feel
inadequate to do so. I know I should express my self-doubt to you rather than
leave you guessing my feelings. If I am given the chance, I will show you just
how much my very essence is intertwined with yours and that I am incomplete
without you. I will commit to nurturing our union, including keeping the lines
of communication open.

Vivianne, I admit I am not the best at putting my real
feelings in writing, and that is why I ask you to please just hang on until can
I express them in person through my actions.

All my love, Aiden.

Not too bad. It said everything he wanted to tell Vivianne
and, maybe, it would show her just how deeply and fully he loved her.

He dozed on and off for the rest of the flight. As they
neared the U.S., he woke up and found he couldn’t settle his thoughts on a
single topic. On one hand, he felt unspeakable joy at the thought of seeing his
heart, his Vivianne.

Yet, on the other hand, he knew there was much work to be
done to restore their relationship. There was the old hurt over his stupid,
senseless flirting with that woman. He and Vivianne had talked and talked about
that, but he knew hurt remained. He knew how it’d shattered her trust. So he
questioned his ability to convince Vivianne of what she truly meant to him.
Would she fully forgive him for that, plus for not being there for her…and be
able to return his love? He had seen marriages dissolve even when the two
people still loved one another. That’s what happened to Vinny Daniels and his
wife. The love had been there, but not the will to save the marriage.

Now, sitting in this big flying metal bin, he agonized over
whether he and Vivianne would suffer the same fate, or if they could work hard
enough, together, to make their marriage last. The first question would be if
Vivianne even wanted to try.

Hopefully all this wouldn’t be for nothing. His friends, as
well as MCPO Arora, had taken a huge risk in order to pull this off. If the men
ended up paying the consequences, Aiden didn’t want them to learn his marriage
was over.

He didn’t know MCPO Arora on a personal level, so he wasn’t
sure why the officer had intervened on his behalf. But he didn’t for one moment
question the motives of his friends. He wouldn’t hesitate to do the same for
any of them, no questions asked. If only he could get rid of the nagging
thought that this was not the end of the matter; he knew they might have to answer
for their part in this plan. He, of course, planned to accept complete
responsibility for his role, but he just prayed that the fallout would not be
too costly for the other men.

The Captain announced it was time to prepare to land. He had
made it to the U.S. as long as he was able to get through security with his
fake I.D.