Chapter One

James stood there in the rain like a statue. The weather in the small Atlantic fishing town of Mahone Bay seemed to know that one of its own had come to her final rest. The majority of the town that knew Amanda gathered in the small family plot to pay their final respects to a young woman that was taken far before her time.

I stood next to Amanda's family. There were only three of the Harrison family left now. Amanda's father was lost at sea almost fifteen years ago, leaving his wife Melissa to raise three children on her own, who was standing with her now. Amanda's younger brother, Joshua who was only ten years old, was next his mother, while the oldest, Erin, a Commander in Starfleet now, who had just landed the first officers post on the USS Keewatin.

I shot a sideways glance at her, only to see her bottom lip quivering, almost at the point of losing her composure. She had lost her sister and the man she was going to marry during the war. I would have never have thought that my little brother Matthew would have caught the fancy of the woman next to me. They had met at the academy before the war started, and dated for ages. Matthew popped the question out of the blue at Graduation. He caused quite the stir at the party, too. Matthew always liked to show off, so he arranged for their favourite song to play and at the end, and under a spot light, proposed to her. We all couldn't have been happier. But all that was cut short the following day when we all heard news that the Dominion had officially declared war on the Federation, and we all got our marching orders.

I reached over and grabbed her hand, which she then squeezed. The rain let up at that time and the sun poked out through the miasma of grey clouds. The funeral was nearing its end. A Starfleet officer walked slowly up to Melissa and handed her the blue flag of the United Federation of Planets and said something that I couldn't make out. I knew what he said though. He was expressing Starfleet's sympathy for their loss. She then asked him to give the flag to her son. He then stepped back and saluted the family.

After the funeral was over, I sat on one of the benches and stared out over the graveyard, which had a view of the bay and the town below, a very beautiful site to behold. With the exception of a few more modern buildings, the town hadn't changed much over the centuries.

"Can I sit down?" someone asked.

Turning around, I was surprised to see that it was Erin. She had a mug of hot chocolate in each of her hands, and handed one to me after sitting down without waiting for me to answer. "How come you haven't come inside for the reception?" she asked. "You're going to catch a cold."

I took a sip of the hot drink, feeling its warmth cascade down my chest. "I don't know. I just… I just don't want to leave this place." I said, not sounding sure of myself for the first time in my life, which left me feeling very unsettled. I was a Career soldier. A Marine; one of "Starfleet's finest". I was supposed to be trained to make snap decisions. To be always confident, to never question myself.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Erin asked out of nowhere.

I nearly dropped my mug. She just brought up a subject that I was most likely not ready to face. My hands started to shake. I put my mug down on the gravel path in front of the bench and tried to steady myself. Tears started to well up in my eyes.

I felt her arms wrap around me. I couldn't stop myself from crying into her shoulder. After a few minutes I calmed down.

"Ever since that day, I've been running it over and over in my mind. Seeing if there was anything I could have done differently. To see if there was only something I could have done, maybe Amanda and Matthew would still be with us."

"James, they knew the risks when they signed up, especially in the field that the three of you picked out for your selves." She said to me. "And listen to yourself! What would you have done? Grounded them? Taken away their flight status? You were their CO; you of all people should know what taking away a pilot's wings can do. They would've never have forgiven you. You did you're job" she said on the brink of tears. "And they did theirs…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Anyways, there was a reason I came out here in the first place. I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"James, I'm pregnant." She said with a half laugh, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Wh… What? When did you find out?" I asked, embracing her in a hug, and for the first time in a long time, I had a smile on my face.

"My doctor told me about a day after I heard the news about Matt. I haven't told anyone yet, and I thought I should tell you first. Now come on inside, lets go tell everyone the good news." She asked, getting up and offering me a hand.

I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm going to be an uncle!" I said with the widest smile Erin had ever seen on my face.