They left the field hospital early, two days later. Their trip to the hospital from the small airport had been in large minivans with comfortable seats and air conditioning. This trip was much different. They were loaded into the back of a large army truck with a canvas covering and their luggage stored at their feet. The last trip had taken just under two hours. This trip took just under three. One reason for the longer travel time was that the truck that was transporting them was not meant to travel quickly, and the other was that they were going further than the airport into the heart of the capital.

Chloe was at the end of the bench seat, near the opening of the back of the truck. Cindy was sitting next to her while Don and Robert sat across from them. Their conversation was general, and Chloe didn't feel the need to contribute as she watched the scenery outside the truck fly by. As they passed the airport and moved further into the city, it was evident that it was not the same as it had been twelve years ago when she had left. Buildings were dilapidated to the point of falling down, and the roads had potholes, proving that most of the city's infrastructure hadn't been a priority for a long while.

It was heartbreaking. The city had once been a beautiful, well-tended metropolis. Now it was sad and dingy looking. The truck made its way through winding streets, and the jolting was enough to rattle the teeth out of a person's head.

However, there were enough familiar landmarks left for Chloe to know where she was, and as they neared the hospital, she grew flush with excitement. She had a difficult time containing the soppy grin that was trying to take over her face at the thought that she was only minutes away from seeing her father.

The truck came to a screeching halt, and they all remained seated while they waited for someone to open the tailgate of the truck. It was Juric who took care of the matter and held his hand out for Chloe while Don and Robert made quick work of jumping out and then helping Cindy and the other women.

Chloe placed her hand in Juric's, and he squeezed it as if he sensed her excitement. She couldn't help herself as she let her smile take over, and her eyes filled with excited happy tears. It was as if, in that brief moment, they were transported back in time when they had always known what the other was thinking.

Picking up her duffle and brushing the thought aside, Chole saw Juric look over his shoulder and nod at someone waiting on the other side of the truck. Chloe knew it was her father, and taking a deep breath, she stepped around the corner.

Twenty feet away, he was waiting for her on the sidewalk. She forgot about Juric and the others standing behind her as she looked at her father. He was older and leaner than he had been. His hair was more grey, and many new lines were etched on his face. He looked as Juric did, as if he had been to war and back.

As she looked her fill, her father looked his. It felt like minutes but must have only been seconds that they studied each other.

"Poppa!" Chloe cried, dropping her bag and racing towards him. Her word yelled out in the silence caught everyone's attention, but she didn't care. She threw herself in his arms, and they caught her, wrapping tight around her. Unable to hold the tears back anymore, Chloe let them freely fall as she held onto her father.

After a few minutes, she stepped back, and he reached for her face, holding it between his hands as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"That's enough, Malyshka." Thomas Lockwood insisted, calling her by his pet name, which meant baby girl in Russian.

Chloe sniffed and smiled as she placed one of her hands on his. "I missed you, Poppa," she said.

"I missed you too, Chloe." He pulled her close for another hug.

There was so much to talk about, she didn't know where to start, but it sure wasn't on a sidewalk with an audience watching, so she forced herself to break off the hug and step away.

Her father understood and gave her a tender smile as he motioned for a woman behind him to step forward, then he turned slightly to address the rest of the American team.

"Good morning. I am Thomas Lockwood. Welcome to our hospital and your home for the next four months." He motioned for the woman behind him to step forward. "This is Doreen Bisset. She is the charge nurse. Nurse Bisset will help you all get settled and then show you around the hospital. By the time she is done, you will feel as if you've been here for years and not hours."

"I'm not sure if that is a compliment on my welcoming skills or an insult about how much I talk," Doreen said with a thick French accent before smiling at her father, then stepped forward to greet them.

Chloe's father gave her another hug and told her that he would let her get settled. Chloe wanted to ask why she wasn't going to stay with him, which is what she had hoped for, but she realized it wasn't the right time, so she nodded and watched as he held his hand out for a handshake to Juric, who stepped forward to take it.

He looked down at Chloe, who averted her face as he did. She didn't want him to see her tears. Before she turned away, she could see the muscle in his jaw working, which meant that he was upset about something. It was probably the scene she had made.

Well, too bad, he could stick it where the sun doesn't shine as far as she was concerned. She couldn't have greeted her father any other way after not having seen him in twelve years. The sad thing was that if Juric had welcomed it, she would have greeted him in the same way, despite her anger with him.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. She spent it settling into the nurse's home at the back of the hospital, where she had a private room. As they had toured the hospital, it had become clear to them all that it was desperately understaffed, and they would be a welcome relief, especially the doctors. The staff was almost giddy to meet Don. They desperately need someone with his qualifications.

The one thing that struck Chloe hard as she was moving through the hospital was that it didn't feel like home anymore. It was foreign to her, and only time would tell if it would come to mean as much to her as it once did. Had she been gone too long?

They said you could never go home again, and it was proving to be true.