TGM

Chapter 10: New Beginnings

The next morning, Angel and I go to our new commander's office. He greets us excitedly.

"Ladies, it's an honor to have you as part of our squadron. I'm Commander Jeffrey 'Gun' Mathis. I want to put you two on patrol. You'll come in for the dusk to dawn flight shift as per the agreed upon correspondence, but I may need you for missions eventually."

"Understood, sir."

"Wonderful. Dismissed, Lieutenants."

We go straight from base to Heather's daycare. The twins come running for me.

"Auntie Nik! Auntie Nik!" they shout.

"Hey, guys! Auntie Nik has surprises for you guys. Mommy is taking us home!"

"Yay!"

"Will we see Uncle Goosey?" Penelope asks.

"Yes, baby. You'll get to see Uncle Goose."

We drive home, and it is lunch time. Through the kitchen window, I see Nick and Pete cooking.  Leo and I each grab one of the twins before walking into the house.

"3, 2, 1," I quietly count down.

"What's cooking, good looking?" we all call out.

The boys jump slightly before quickly gathering their bearings and finishing up lunch. They plate the food and bring it to the four of us who are now sitting around the dining table. Goose greets our niece and nephew with tickles, and they giggle out a response. We pray and eat. Afterward Leo and I tell the boys our assignment. Since the two of us are on patrol team, Leo and I have plenty of time to watch the kids. The boys switch off with us. When they get home, they go to work. Our schedules overlap just enough for all of us to get adequate sleep whilst still watching the twins. A month or so later, we're flying patrol, and I have a bad feeling.

"Lion Two, we've got a bogey on radar just off the coast. We need you to figure out if it's a friendly or a hostile."

"Copy. Talk to me, Angel."

"It's at our 3:00. Two hundred knots closure."

"Tower, this MiG is trying for missile lock. I deem it a hostile."

"Roger. Do not fire unless fired upon."

"Copy. Angel?"

"You have my go-ahead, Rage."

I invert us to get behind the MiG to get missile lock on them.

"I've got good tone. They are bugging out. Nobody else in sight."

"Good. Come in for landing; you've got the ball."

"Roger, Rage has the ball. Lion Two landed."

Once we've parked, I quickly run to the bathroom to empty out my stomach. Ang comes in shortly after.

"Oh, Rage, honey, I'm so sorry this has you so shaken up."

"I'll be fine. I probably need to talk to Gun and fill out some paperwork about the MiG."

"Okay. I'll be in the lounge once you're ready."

I head to Gun's office after stopping in the medical wing where they do some tests to confirm my suspicion. I knock on his office door.

"Come in!"

"Sir."

"Lieutenant Seresin," he nods to a chair across from him, and he finishes flipping through the document in front of him. "What can I do for you, Rage?"

"I'm pregnant, sir. I just found out, and I'd like to get the proper paperwork, et cetera taken care of as quickly as possible."

"Well, congratulations. I'll talk to medical, and we'll try to figure out how much longer you can fly. I'll have everything written up and ready for you to fill out within forty-eight hours."

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem, Lieutenant."

I leave his office and head back to the medical center to do an ultrasound. The technician comes in fairly quickly.

"Hi, I'm Mary Quince. I haven't done an ultrasound to find a baby in a while. How are you doing, dear?"

"I'm doing okay."

"Let's do this."

She puts some gel on my stomach and moves the little wand around for a moment.

"Here we are! That's baby A, and it looks like we've got a baby B, too. Congratulations, Lieutenant."

"Uh, thank you, Ms. Quince."

"It looks like you are about seven weeks. You should be able to fly for thirteen or so more, as long as you are careful."

"Thanks."

"I want you back for a scan in five weeks just to make sure everything looks right. See ya."

"Bye."

I leave and drive to the24/7 store that's right near base. The lady greets me, and I ask her if she can help me find the things I'm looking for. She is able to find exactly what I want, and she so graciously wraps it up for me. I get home, and it is only0045. I set up my little announcement and sneak into the twins' room. I fall asleep wrapped in a little-arm sandwich.