{"id":210,"date":"2026-09-12T15:26:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T15:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fantatv.com\/series\/daddy-s-boots-at-the-funeral\/chapter-2-the-last-morning\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T15:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T15:26:25","slug":"chapter-2-the-last-morning","status":"publish","type":"sr_chapter","link":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/?sr_chapter=chapter-2-the-last-morning","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 2. THE LAST MORNING"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Three months earlier, Sergeant Daniel Hayes had stood in the kitchen wearing those same boots.<\/p>\n

Noah was sitting on the floor with a toy truck.<\/p>\n

Daniel crouched beside him.<\/p>\n

I have to go to work.<\/p>\n

Noah immediately reached up.<\/p>\n

Daddy stay.<\/p>\n

Daniel smiled.<\/p>\n

I will be back.<\/p>\n

Emily watched from the doorway.<\/p>\n

She had heard those words many times.<\/p>\n

Military families learned to live around departures.<\/p>\n

Daniel kissed Noah\u2019s forehead.<\/p>\n

Then he looked at Emily.<\/p>\n

It should only be a few weeks.<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

Be careful.<\/p>\n

Daniel smiled.<\/p>\n

Always.<\/p>\n

Before leaving, he removed a small patch from his bag and handed it to Noah.<\/p>\n

For you.<\/p>\n

Noah held it proudly.<\/p>\n

Daniel walked through the front door.<\/p>\n

Noah ran to the window.<\/p>\n

Daddy.<\/p>\n

Daniel turned outside and waved.<\/p>\n

That was the last time Noah saw his father alive.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, Emily received the call every military spouse feared.<\/p>\n

Now, standing in the rain beside Daniel\u2019s coffin, she could still hear his final promise.<\/p>\n

I will be back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three months earlier, Sergeant Daniel Hayes had stood in the kitchen wearing those same boots. Noah was sitting on the floor with a toy truck. Daniel crouched beside him. I have to go to work. Noah immediately reached up. Daddy stay. Daniel smiled. I will be back. Emily watched from the doorway. She had heard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-210","sr_chapter","type-sr_chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/sr_chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/sr_chapter\/210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fantatv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}