Sam’s been out on delivery for over a month, and one thing after another comes up each time he thinks he’s made progress. It was when he finally came to a small bunker just outside the city he was delivering to, deciding to stay the night instead of risking the extra few miles in the dark, that he took a moment to breathe. Unloading his gear and hanging it up in the decontamination case. The empty hole where Lou would sit gaped in his view, reminding him about what was back home waiting for him.

You and Lou. His family.

It made going out on these longer trips harder, thinking of you two each step of the way. Finding the empty space this time was extra heart wrenching as he ghosted his hand over the components sticking out from the black frame. Sam hasn’t heard from you at all today; maybe that was why he found the absence tugging on his chest more than usual.

When he goes out on trips like these, you always send messages, pinging through his ring terminal throughout his trip. Days like this are the ones that make his fingers itch for the picture tucked inside his backpack of you and Lou, arms stretched out wide as your expression shows the exact moment when Lou took her first steps towards you, wobbling around like a baby deer. Sam was behind the camera that day, just as shocked and proud as a heat bloomed in his chest that he didn’t often experience before, after everything that happened the last year.

When he pulled the picture out from his backpack, shutting the glass door, the decontamination process started. Then, he set the picture on his bedside table, running his thumb over your shocked face once before turning towards the shower.

Another tug bloomed in his chest as he thought of you again, silent today and reclusive. You and he have a quiet little bunker in the middle of nowhere, safe from anything posing a threat. So that tug churned into a worried ache, thinking of the two of you in danger.

He opened his terminal and scrolled to your name, pulling up the message box and typing up,

“Miss you babe, let me know you're alright,” before sending it your way and opening the shower door.

Your response came not as a message but as a call through the terminal as he finished drying his hair off after dressing. He let go of some unresolved tension as he answered.

“Hey you.”

Your voice floated through the room and eased the drilling in his skull, blocking out the white noise in his mind.

“Hey, beautiful.” He couldn’t see it, but he could tell that it made you smile.

“We miss you, Sam…”

Now you sounded defeated, the smile most likely fading, heartbroken that he couldn’t be there with you. It made him ache all over again as he sat down on the bed, ruffling his damp hair away from his face.

“I miss you too, baby. Both of you. It’s been hell out here.”

“How much longer do you think you’ll be gone?”

He knew the question was coming, hated the answer he was about to give, and hoped you’d understand.

“About a week…”

The silence that followed was gripping his heart, and he could picture you now. Most likely curled up in the kitchen chair, hair pulled up into a bun as you bit your lip, hating his answer. The aching breath that came through the line took the grip and tightened, strangling his heart completely now.

“Baby?”

“I’m sorry I just—“ you sniffled away from the terminal, most likely attempting to hide the fact that a few tears were falling down your cheeks.

“It’s just been a while since you’ve gone on a trip like this and- It's just been hard… without you.”

Sam had to look up to the ceiling and exhale, hoping to release some of the tightness in his chest.

He had to admit that it was killing him being gone this long. Knowing you two were safe put him at ease, but missing all the things Lou was doing for the first time rattled through his mind.

“God, baby, I know—I know, and I’ll be home to you as soon as possible. I miss you more than anything.”

He ran a hand down his face in hopes of relieving his pain but found that it only lingered worse.