For 48 hours, I don't think that we left my hotel room.

The airport was entirely too crowded, and he didn't see her anywhere. He was tired, and worn out, and somewhat drained from the emotions of the past day. Lucas Yates had not slept, had not done much of anything but make plans for the past twenty-four hours. Frankie's call had set his whole week in an uproar, a chance to spend three days with his wife before she left for Israel. Before she left to get herself killed. Of course, Yates had jumped at this chance; he'd called Olivia to see if she could pull the strings to get him a ticket, and to see if she and Jason were in the country. Since they were, he'd left his two children with them. This was not going to be child-friendly weekend; not if he had his way. And he would. But first....first he had to find his wife. Frankie had promised to meet him, but he didn't see a uniform anywhere, much less one that clothed a gorgeous, though probably very tired, woman. A soft sigh of disappointment escaped him, and he turned in the direction of the men's room.....and stopped dead in his tracks.

That was no Army uniform, and if it was, he'd missed out by not enlisting.

Frankie....no, she didn't need a masculine name in a dress like that....Francesca stood in front of him, the dark brown dress that she wore set off her olive skin, her warm eyes, her soft hair....and every single asset that she possessed. Yates hadn't seen his wife in well over three months, and here she stood before him, wearing a dress that was a very adult and beautiful version of the dress that she'd worn when they first met. Before he could stop himself, he reached out, sliding his hand behind her neck, bringing her closer for a long kiss.
"I've missed you."
Her only answer was a smile, and she stepped back, taking his hand in hers. Yates wished that they weren't in the middle of the airport. He really wished that there weren't so many people around. This woman was his greatest and only love, and he didn't know how long he could look at her without re-enacting their first meeting.
"So, Lucas, would you rather get a bite to eat, or go and get some sleep. You look tired."

He wanted to laugh. There was no way he was sleeping, not when she was laying beside him again. Not when she was where she belonged. The laziest of smirks stole across his face, as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Let's go to a hotel somewhere."

He was only mildly surprised that she already had a key.

-----

Room service was a wonderful thing, Yates decided much, much later. He and Frankie had not left this room for....around forty-seven hours, to the best that he could figure. Yates had made sure that Frankie didn't have a reason to want to leave. The empty trays and dishes were piled by the door, and Yates didn't feel like moving them. Frankie was sprawled against him, their naked legs tangled up with one another, and her cheek pillowed against his chest. Nothing was softer than the dark brown hair that he ran his fingers through, and the sensation of her breath across his chest was one that he wouldn't forget for a very, very long time. Yates didn't know when this would be possible again, when he would be able to hold his wife while she slept again. Their time was slowly running out, and the wonderful high that he'd been on for the past forty-seven hours was also fading.

He was going to have to bring up a sensitive subject soon.

They were sure to fight over it, he knew.

Frankie was beginning to stir in his arms, and Yates kissed the top of her head, slowly rolling her over, and leaning over her to trail gentle kisses down her cheek and jaw.
"Lucas..."
Yates sat back, a sweet smile on his face in place of the usual grin. He wanted her, one last time. Just in case...he knew that after their argument nothing would be the same, and he wanted one last memory of her, in case she...wasn't able to come home to him. Pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, he whispered in her ear.
"I'm going to grab a shower..."

Frankie had laughed softly, following him into the bathroom.

------

Frankie was towelling her hair dry when Yates stepped out of the bathroom. She'd put her brown dress back on, though she was still barefoot and her hair was still an absolute mess. Yates thought she looked just as beautiful now, as when she'd met him at the airport. He came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, and placing a gentle kiss upon her neck.
"Come home with me."

Frankie pulled away from him, turning to glare at her spouse. They'd been through this, Yates knew, and he also knew that bringing it back up would anger Francesca. But he couldn't live, knowing that he hadn't done everything that he could to keep her home, and to keep her safe. Her eyes were angry looking across the room at him, but his eyes were devastated. He was losind her twice over, after all.
"Lucas, we've been through this!"
"But...Frankie..."
"Stop it!"

She was in denial. She wasn't even trying anymore! She had resigned herself to this awful fate, and she wanted him to stop to make it easier on herself! Well, Yates couldn't take it anymore. He was tired of Luke quietly mentioning that mom cooked better than this, and he was dead tired of Felicity screaming for her mother every night when he put her to bed. He hated having to be a part of the PTA; he loathed that he crawled into a cold bed every night alone. Most of all, he hated knowing that his wife was out in danger, and that all he could do was sit back with the children, and pray to a god that he didn't even believe in all that much.
"No, Frankie. I won't. Your little girl said her first word last month. Yeah....we found out when she started screaming for you at bedtime, because she misses you. Luke lost his first tooth last weekend. The tooth fairy didn't come, because I didn't know it existed! Frankie, we need you more than the military does. Come home...we'll invent an excuse. Maybe you're pregnant? It is possible..."

His voice was begging, and he hated that too.
"Yates, I can't alright. So just drop it."
"I can't. I can't do this without you, Francesca."
"You aren't making this any easier! Do you think that I want to leave all of you at home? Do you think that I wanted to miss Luke's first tooth, or Felicity's first word? Don't you think that I miss all of you, and the life that we have? I do, but I have a higher calling right now-"

"Then you aren't the woman I thought you were."
"What?"
"The woman that I married thought that nothing was a higher calling than her family."

Francesca froze for a solid minute, before she let the towel fall to the floor, picked up her shoes and her purse. Then she stalked towards the door.
"What are you doing, Francesca?!"
"Since I am not the woman you want me to be, I'm leaving. Oh, and while I'm gone, maybe you can find the one you lost!"
She worked furiously at her hand, yanked off her wedding ring, and hurled it at Yates, who caught it, if only barely.

"Fine! It's not as though I loved you, or anything!"

The only problem was, he did.

Yates spent the next twelve hours, curled on the bed he had shared with his wife, holding Frankie's ring close, and trying his hardest not to cry.

It was the last time he heard from his wife.