They kept Lisa in hospital for a week, but by that point she was physically well on her way to recovery. She'd suffered a slight infection in her burns, from days of exposure to dirt, but after almost two weeks on antibiotics and other pain medications her burns were healing nicely, and broken bones could be fixed, so they discharged her. Jennie was hesitant to let Lisa come home, but after seven days of nightmares and screaming, she thought that it might help Lisa to be in a familiar bedroom. She might feel safe; she might know that she was home while she was sleeping, and that might make her nightmares a bit better. Perhaps things would get better once she was truly home.

That last week had been the best and worst time of Jennie's life; she was grateful for every second that she spent with Lisa, knowing how precious they were. Yet she was worried sick, and every time Lisa would jerk away from her touch, or wake up screaming, it hurt Jennie to think about how much pain and suffering Lisa was going through. She wished more than anything that she could trade places with Lisa, or take her pain away. Anything to make it easier for her. Over the week that Lisa was in hospital, Jennie hadn't left her side. She'd slept in a chair in Lisa's room every night, and relied on her mom to bring her clothes and food. The only time she moved was when Lisa needed to use the bathroom, otherwise, she just sat by Lisa's side, reading poems to her or watching her sleep. For the most part, Lisa was silent, laying in the hospital bed and staring at Jennie as she listened to her talk. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't there, not mentally, and Jennie didn't know how to help bring her back.

The day that Lisa went home, it was raining, and Jennie had never appreciated the dreary weather so much before. She wanted things to be as different as possible to Afghanistan, in the hope that Lisa would feel like she was safe, and not be reminded of anything over there. She turned away from the window as the bathroom door opened and Rosé wheeled Lisa back into the bedroom. She was fully dressed in some of her clothes that were at Jennie's place, and she looked more like herself, except for the dark circles under her eyes and the gaunt look of her face. Jennie gave her a small smile as their eyes met.

"Are you ready?" Jennie asked her, zipping up the bag full of the things Chaerin had brought in over the course of the past week.

"Mom's just asking them to get her discharge papers ready," Rosé explained, picking up Lisa's coat and helping her put it on, much to Lisa's irritation.

"Let's go home," Lisa softly said, as soon as Rosé finished zipping up the front of her coat. Jennie gave her a small smile at the thought.

-----

They thought it'd be a good idea to take her home to Midvale, so that Lisa could have some quiet time in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the loud city. Chaerin had Jennie's jet readied for them, and was staying in National City to manage the company while Jennie was away. The flight felt longer than it was, and Jennie kept anxiously looking at Lisa to make sure the flight wasn't too much for her, but by the looks of things, it was uninteresting and boring to Lisa, who stared out the window the entire time. A few hours later they found themselves in Yuri's living room, each holding a cup of tea as they watched TV. Lisa was laying with her feet in Jennie's lap, scratching Kuma's head as the dog lay curled up on the floor next to Lisa. She didn't talk. She just stared at the screen, but her gaze was unfocused and she wasn't concentrating on the cooking show Yuri had put on – it was the safest option they could think of. Cooking shows weren't exactly full of sounds of warfare or loud noises. As they all sat in the living room, Jennie kept sneaking glances at Lisa out of the corner of her eye, just to make sure she was okay. As her eyes flickered over to Lisa yet again, her look was met with a sigh.

"What is it?" Lisa asked.

"What?" Jennie frowned, fully looking at Lisa.

Lisa closed her eyes for a moment. "You keep looking at me."

"Am-, uh, am I not allowed to?" Jennie asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Lisa's eyes flew open and she gave Jennie an exasperated look. "You don't have to keep checking up on me. I'm not going to vanish into thin air."

"Well I want to... check up on you, that is," Jennie told her. "I, uh, it's reassuring... and I like looking at you."

"Jennie," Lisa said, smiling slightly. "Just watch the damn show. You might need to know this, for the next time you cook chicken." Jennie let out a quiet laugh, and Rosé and Jisoo joined in as they watched the chef take the chicken out of the oven. That damn chicken. Lisa had been presumed dead for two weeks and she still couldn't let the raw chicken go. They watched the chef prepare the rest of the meal, and was interrupted by Lisa's stomach rumbling. Jennie shot her an amused look, arching one eyebrow as she smiled.

"Hungry?" Jennie asked. "Do you want me to make you something to eat? I'll cook you a chicken like hers."

"I could really go for some Chinese," Lisa admitted, looking over at Yuri. "Can we get it for dinner, mom?"

Yuri was silent as she thought for a moment. "Are you sure you'll be able to keep it down, sweetie? You've only been back on solids for a week, and, well, hospital food is quite bland. Chinese food might be a bit too rich for you to stomach."

"Please," Lisa begged. "I've been thinking about it for months. You know how much I love Chinese takeaway."

With a sigh of defeat, Yuri gave her daughter a smile. "Alright then. I'll order it now, for later on though. Do you want something small for now?"

"Thank you, and yes please," Lisa said, giving her a small smile.

"Um, we're going to head out for a little bit," Rosé said, getting up off the couch as Jisoo followed suit. "We won't be long."

"Where are you going?" Jennie asked.

Rosé shrugged. "Just out. We've been mostly cooped up in a hospital room for a week, I need some fresh air. It wouldn't hurt for you to do the same – both of you."

"Yeah, sure," Jennie agreed, knowing fully well that she was going to stay by Lisa's side all night. "Uh, stay safe."

"Don't worry, Kim," Jisoo smirked. "She's with me." Jennie rolled her eyes as Jisoo walked out into the hallway, followed by Rosé, who stopped to kiss her sister on the forehead before walking out. Yuri walked into the kitchen, clutching her phone in her hand as she went to place their takeaway order, leaving Jennie alone with Lisa. She peeked at Lisa again, noticing the unfocused look in her eyes as she stared in the direction of the TV.

"Lisa," Jennie murmured. She didn't even blink, and Jennie frowned slightly as she gave the foot in her lap a gentle squeeze. "Hey, Lisa, come back."

"What?" Lisa asked, turning her head to look at Jennie.

"Y-you weren't watching it," Jennie said, looking at Lisa with concern.

Lisa shrugged slightly, not meeting Jennie's eyes. "It's not that interesting."

"Oh... well we can watch something else if you want to," Jennie told her, reaching for the remote.

"Whatever you want," Lisa murmured, looking up at the ceiling.

"What do you want to watch?" Jennie asked her.

Lisa shrugged again. "I don't care."

"Please, just pick something," Jennie told her, frowning slightly at Lisa's disinterest. She hated to see her like this. The past two weeks Lisa had been uninterested in everything, spending a lot of her time just listening to Jennie talk, but not taking in the words. She couldn't concentrate on anything, she just kept replaying that night over and over again in her mind – not that she told Jennie that though. Even when her eyes were open, Lisa still relived everything in her mind – the blinding white fire through her night vision goggles; the weight of Altman as Lisa tried to drag her away from the wreckage; the screams destroying the silence of the cool night, along with the sounds of guns firing in rapid bursts. It all replayed itself in Lisa's mind over and over again, and it was almost like she was paralysed. Even when she was awake, listening to Jennie talk, it was like she wasn't really present in her body. A part of her was still in Afghanistan, and Lisa wasn't sure if she'd ever get that part of her back.

"I don't want to watch anything," Lisa admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Do you want to go to sleep for a little bit? Or listen to some music? I could read to you if you'd like," Jennie offered, trying to get Lisa to show some interest in something, anything. Instead she was met by silence.

"No," Lisa told her after a minute.

Jennie held back a sigh at Lisa's words. She'd promised herself that she'd be patient with Lisa, and mindful of what she wanted and needed from Jennie. Whatever she asked for, Jennie would give it to her. "What do you want to do then?"

"Nothing," Lisa mumbled, blinking slowly as she held her gaze on a fixed point on the ceiling. Jennie picked up the TV remote and hit the off button, plunging the room into silence. Her gaze was on Lisa, who didn't so much as acknowledge the sudden silence filling the room. She just stared up at the ceiling, as if Jennie wasn't even there. If she didn't want to do anything, then Jennie would do nothing with her.

Yuri finished ordering their food and wandered back into the living room, handing Lisa and Jennie plates with sandwiches on them. She didn't even question the switched off TV and the silence as she sat herself back down on the other sofa and reached for a book. Jennie tore her gaze away from Lisa for a moment to look at Yuri, who gave her a sympathetic smile. There was nothing any of them could do, except help Lisa feel safe and loved as she figured this out for herself. She was confused, and she was hurting, and until she was ready to tell them the whole story, they would just have to create a safe space for her, to make her transition back into the real world as smooth as possible. The last thing any of them wanted was for her to be triggered by something relating to the ambush, for her to have to flashbacks of that night and the following week. All they could do was pray that they could keep her grounded.

Jennie felt a lump rise up in her throat as she picked up her sandwich and took a bite. Things weren't going to be easy. She just wanted her Lisa back.

-----

Lisa didn't talk much throughout dinner, except to comment on how amazing the food was and how much she'd missed it. Rosé and Jisoo had bought a chocolate pecan pie from the diner on their walk to surprise Lisa, and Jennie was grateful when she saw a spark of happiness in Lisa's eyes as Yuri set a slice down in front of her. It was the most emotion she'd shown since they'd all gotten their cries of relief out of the way when they'd been reunited.

After dinner, they watched TV for a little while longer, before Jennie suggested that Lisa get an early night's sleep – the flight had been tiring as well as the excitement of Lisa's homecoming, and Jennie didn't want Lisa to overexert herself. Yuri kissed Lisa and Jennie on the forehead, before carefully helping Jennie get Lisa to her feet. Rosé came and looped one of Lisa's arms around her shoulder, and Jennie copied her on the other side. Between the two of them, they managed to get Lisa upstairs, and Rosé helped Jennie set her down on the bed. "You good?" Rosé asked them both, looking from Lisa to Jennie.

"Yeah," Lisa assured her, and at Jennie's slight nod, Rosé kissed her sister on the top of the head and murmured goodnight. As the door shut behind Rosé, Jennie walked over to the dressed and pulled out some pyjamas for them both, and set about carefully stripping off Lisa's clothes and helping her dress in the pyjamas. Lisa was silent throughout the whole thing, and Jennie left her to her thoughts as she quickly changed into her own pyjamas and pulled back the bed covers. As gentle as Jennie was, Lisa winced as her ribs screamed in protest as Jennie helped tuck her in.

"Are you okay?" Jennie fretted, noticing the spasm of pain flickering across Lisa's face.

"I'm fine," Lisa murmured, looking at Jennie as she let her drag the blankets up under her chin.

"I'll go and get your pills," Jennie told her, gently stroking Lisa's hair as she looked at her for a moment longer. Lisa nodded slightly and Jennie gave her a small smile before slipping out of the room and going to fetch Lisa's pain medication. Returning a few minutes later, with a glass of water and some pills clutched in her hand. Propping Lisa up against her pillows, Jennie helped her hold the glass of water as Lisa's hand shook slightly. Downing the pills, Lisa settled down on her pillows, and Jennie put the glass of water down on the nightstand, before turning the lights off and crawling into bed next to Lisa.

It was strange to be in such a big bed next to each other, after so long cramped up on top of the narrow hospital bed, and Jennie ached to reach out across the empty space and touch Lisa. She didn't though. She didn't want to risk Lisa pulling away from her, needing some space. Instead, Jennie just lay there with her eyes closed, listening to Lisa's even breathing. Jennie's eyes flew open to the dark room as she felt the mattress move beneath her as Lisa wriggled across the bed and threw an arm around Jennie's waist. Smiling to herself, Jennie moved closer to Lisa and let her place her head on Jennie's chest, while her arms wound around Lisa's frail body and held her close.

Lisa inhaled a long, shaky breath. "I love you."

"I love you too," Jennie replied, pressing a kiss to the top of Lisa's head.

-----

It was still dark when a muffled scream wrenched Jennie out of her sleep. Lisa's hands grasped fistfuls of Jennie's shirt as she screamed into Jennie's chest, and Jennie stared down at her in panic. She was frozen for a second, not knowing what to do. Her mom had told her to put some space between her and Lisa if she started thrashing around, and try and calmly talk her out of it, but she was pinned beneath Lisa. As gently as possible, Jennie wriggled out from beneath Lisa, who was still wordlessly shouting into the front of Jennie's shirt. Choking back tears, Jennie pressed one hand against Lisa's back and slowly flipped them over so that Lisa was on her back, her eyes screwed tightly shut as tears leaked out of the corners of them. Jennie straddled Lisa as she gently gripped her wrists and tried to pry Lisa's hands off her shirt.

"Lisa, it's me. It's Jennie. You're safe," Jennie murmured, trying to get Lisa to let go.

"NO!" Lisa yelled, and Jennie winced at the loud scream, knowing that it would've woken everyone else up. As Jennie pried Lisa's hands off her, Lisa started violently thrashing around beneath her, kicking her legs and flailing her arms. Jennie tried to recapture Lisa's wrists again, as she slowly moved off Lisa's lap and tried to put some distance between the two of them.

"Lisa, it's okay. Shh, you're not there. You're home," Jennie softly told her, trying her best to calm her down. "You're safe. Come back to me." The fight drained out of Lisa for a moment, and she stopped struggling as Jennie let go of her wrists, before letting out another yell as she flailed around, catching an unprepared Jennie on her cheek. At that moment, Lisa's eyes flew open and she bolted upright, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. Her eyebrows were knit together as she blinked away her confusion, her eyes focusing on her mom, still stood in the doorway, before her gaze landed on Jennie. A look of understanding and horror flickered across Lisa's cheek as she stared at Jennie, who had a hand pressed against her cheek as she stared at Lisa with concern.

The bedroom door cracked open and Yuri poked her head into the room, debating whether or not to help Jennie calm her daughter down. At the shake of her head, Jennie let Yuri know that she should go back to bed. She could handle this. Silently, Yuri closed the bedroom door, trusting that Jennie would come and get her if she needed help.

"I-I hit you," Lisa choked out, a shaking hand clapping over her mouth as she looked at Jennie in horror.

"Shh, you're okay," Jennie murmured, reaching out for Lisa, who scrambled away from her touch.

"I hit you," Lisa cried, and she looked at Jennie with wide, tear-filled eyes. Jennie gave her a pained look as she let her hand drop to the empty space between the two of them.

"It's okay," Jennie assured her, as tears made their way down Lisa's cheeks. "I'm fine. Th-that wasn't you. You were dreaming, I'm sorry if I-"

"Don't," Lisa furiously whispered as she shot Jennie a dark look. "Do not apologise. I hurt you, I-"

Jennie gave her a pleading look, inching closer, but still leaving enough distance between them to give Lisa her space. She didn't want to push Lisa to let Jennie hold her, to comfort her, but it pained Jennie to see her hurting and pushing Jennie away. "Lisa, please. It's okay. You didn't hurt me," Jennie told her. "I'm fine. It was just a glancing blow. I'm fine, I-I promise."

Lisa let out a breathless sob, and then she couldn't stop crying as she opened her arms for Jennie to come closer. Quickly, Jennie was laying on her back again, with Lisa gently cradled against her chest as her tears soaked into Jennie's shirt and she mumbled her apologies over and over again into Jennie's chest. Tucking the quilt in around them both, Jennie made soothing sounds as she reassuringly rubbed circles into Lisa's back. Eventually the tears stopped, and the sniffles faded into silence as Lisa was gently lulled back into sleep by the comfort of Jennie's steady heartbeat and two arms wrapped around her, making her feel at home. Jennie spent the next couple of hours quietly whispering to Lisa, even after sleep had already taken her, not stopping until the first rays of dawn seeped through a gap in the curtains, and Lisa's eyes fluttered open again.