Author's note: A little 4th of July celebration for our favourite couples, and a chance to catch up with the gang from the Step universe. I'll be super honest and say that if you haven't read any of the other Step stories, this is probably not the best place to start. Check out my profile for a guide to this universe if you're interested, and maybe give one of the earlier stories a whirl! If you have read other Step stories, then this one picks up just after the end of Small Spaces, so about a year after the epilogue of The Next Step.
At this point, I can't envisage myself writing more for TLS in the near future, and certainly not another lengthy multi-chapter fic, so this is kind of a goodbye to that universe for now. Then again, I said that after The Next Step, so…
Anyway, happy Fourth of July to all my American friends, and hope everyone enjoys this story! Please review if you do!
Step Fourth
"This is where I fail as a parent," Rachel Slattery declared, "Just look at him!"
Standing in the Slatterys' living room, Tex Nolan and his wife Nina both regarded three year old Jamie Slattery and tried their very hardest not to laugh.
"It's not that bad." Tex tried, but Nina snorted, and that set him off, and thankfully Rachel decided to join in, as did Jamie, and Tex and Nina's son Jack, who was nearly two, although the kids weren't entirely sure what was so funny.
"What is the costume supposed to be?" Nina managed through her laughter.
Jamie was wearing what looked like a brown sack, his feet clad in socks adorned with brown twigs, and on his head was a terrifying yellow cardboard creation that sagged down over his face.
"He is supposed to be – he wanted to be – an eagle. The hat is the beak." Rachel explained with as much dignity as she could muster. Unsurprisingly, that just set them all off laughing again.
"Is there an alternative?" Tex asked, "Because no offence, Doc, but there is no way you can let the kid appear in that."
As if to signal his agreement, Jamie chose that moment to pull the hat off and throw it on the floor.
Mike Slattery came in from the kitchen and put his arm around his wife. "I hate to agree, sweetheart, but Tex is right. The kid can't wear that."
Rachel sighed, "I agree entirely, but every other child there is going to be in costume."
"Blue jeans, white tshirt, red hat." Tex said, gesturing to his own son. "They can celebrate the independence of the United States, plus Britain, France-"
"Holland," Nina added, "Iceland-"
"I'm impressed, Callaghan." Tex grinned at his wife.
"Right," Mike leant down and picked Jamie up, hefting the robust three year old into his arms. "I'll get him changed, you find his hat," He said to Rachel, "And you two just keep naming flags." He added to Tex and Nina.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, there was an afternoon garden party at military HQ for service members and their families, to which Tex had also been invited by dint of his being, well, Tex Nolan. Plus, as he said himself, there had to be some benefits of being friends with the CNO and Vice CNO.
As he and Nina lived outside of St Louis now, in a rickety converted farmhouse just a couple of miles down the road from Tom Chandler and his family, they'd driven in specially, and were planning to stay over with the Slatterys so they could make the most of the party.
Tom Chandler, on the other hand, had spent the morning in his office, trying as always to solve the perennial problem of too few Naval personnel for too many roles, and it was only when his cellphone rang and he saw his wife's name flash up on screen that he realised it was past 3pm.
"Where are you?" Sasha asked as he picked up.
"Near the drinks table," He hazarded, quickly gathering up papers into a neat pile as he pushed his chair back. "Where are you?"
"Here." She answered, as the door of his office swung open and she stepped inside, her expression a mixture of amusement and triumph. "I can't believe you tried to pull that trick." She commented, ending the call and dropping her phone into her jacket pocket.
Tom chuckled and held up his hands in surrender. "I lost track of time."
"Of course you did." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his head down for a kiss.
"Where are the kids?" He asked, holding her close for a moment, savouring the feel of her in his arms.
"They went straight out to the party. Sam wanted to come fetch you, but I outrank him."
"Yes you do." He kissed her again. "Let's go join in the fun."
Sasha cast her eyes around the office Tom shared with Mike Slattery, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You know, I remember a time when you were very keen to have fun right here…"
Tom started slightly at the reminder of the Christmas Ball, back before he and Sasha were married, although in truth that memory still presented itself with startling clarity on a regular basis, since he spent most days sat at the very desk on which they'd done something that was definitely a lot more exciting than paperwork.
"Sash…" He said, in a warning tone, and she smirked slightly as she stepped back.
"I was just reminiscing." And then she grinned and held out her hand. "Come on, let's see what havoc the kids are wreaking down there."
Out on the vast lawn – the same lawn that had once hosted Mike and Rachel's wedding – kids were tearing about, a couple of large barbecues staffed by Mess specialists were churning out food that disappeared as quickly as it was set out, and it seemed as though not only every branch of the service, but every uniform of every branch could be spotted, mingled with their families in civilian clothing, and of course plenty of kids in costume.
The first familiar face Tom and Sasha saw belonged to Kat Nolan, impeccably dressed in Marine Corps service uniform. The young woman saluted Tom politely before breaking into a grin.
"Hello sir, hello Sasha."
"Kat, it's good to see you." Tom clasped her hand, but Sasha leaned in for a hug.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant."
"Thank you, ma'am." Kat's grin widened. "People might be saying the new system is easier, but it sure didn't feel like it at the time!"
Due to the limited numbers of service personnel, military training now meant a combined first stage that applied to all branches of the service, then a second stage for each specific branch, then finally a combined Officer training for exceptional candidates put forward by their COs and instructors. For all that some long standing service members complained, from Tom's perspective the new system was producing some very high quality personnel, and some outstanding young officers, including Kat.
"We're all very proud," Tex said, appearing beside them with drinks as if by magic. "Even if she is about to be shipped off to the West coast."
Kat shrugged, "I go where I'm told, you all know that."
"Dad!"
Tom turned at the sound of his son's voice, and smiled as Ash and Sam approached, each carrying one of the twins, who were now close to their first birthday.
"They got so big!" Kat exclaimed, bending to pinch Amelia and Jed's cheeks.
"Babies do that." Mike Slattery observed drily, clapping a hand on Tom's shoulder in greeting as Kat straightened and saluted. "Ah, none of that. This is a party."
An hour later, they'd managed to find a spot on the lawn to form a loose circle of chairs, the younger children corralled in the middle to limit the mischief they could get up to. Jamie was enthusiastically trying to boss Jack about, and the twins gurgled happily as they practiced their new trick of walking a step or two before dropping down onto their bottoms and laughing at the bump.
Ashley had disappeared to find her boyfriend, whose mother was a Naval officer, and had been replaced in the circle by Lissy, Mike's elder daughter, and her Army boyfriend Aaron. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding her father, however, something which Sasha noticed immediately.
"What's that about?" She asked Rachel quietly, and Rachel made a face.
"Aaron proposed to Lissy, but Mike won't give them his blessing. He thinks they're too young."
"They are young," Sasha acknowledged, "But she's eighteen, and military marriages tend to be earlier-"
"I know, I know. Believe me, I don't need persuading. Mike, on the other hand…" But then Rachel's voice was drowned out by a chorus of male voices chanting, not very tunefully, the wedding march.
"Dum, dum de dum, dum, dum de dum…"
Both Rachel and Sasha turned to see what was going on, as did the rest of the group, only to be confronted by the sight of Danny Green, Carlton Burk, Eric Miller and assorted others trying to carry Wolf Taylor on their shoulders.
"What the hell?" Mike spoke for everyone, but Tex had already started to laugh.
"Those crazy kids." He raised his eyebrows at Rachel. "Don't you know what's going on?"
"Did they-" Rachel clapped a hand to her mouth as she saw Dr Hope Riley in stitches of laughter watching Wolf trying to get back to the ground, a bouquet of roses dripping water onto the front of her simple cream dress. "Riley?!" She shouted in disbelief, leaping to her feet as the grinning blonde approached.
"Guess what we did this morning?" Riley asked, and Rachel let out a very undignified squeal as she threw her arms around her friend.
As the afternoon wore on into evening, the crowds on the lawn gradually thinned, parents taking tired out children home, and those who lived out of town hitting the road before dark. Tom and Sasha had departed with the twins and Sam, leaving Ashley to attend a teenage party and sleepover with a girlfriend.
Tex and Nina had offered to babysit Jamie so that Mike and Rachel could stay at the party, and the Vice CNO and his wife were making the most of the rare opportunity to be alone together, joining a handful of couples on the makeshift dance floor, including Wolf and Riley, who were dancing close together, their eyes locked.
"Remember our wedding?" Rachel asked, looking over at the newlyweds.
"I do." Mike's gaze followed hers. "I hope they'll be as happy as we are."
Rachel looked up at him and smiled. "Sometimes you say the sweetest things, Captain Slattery."
"I try my best." He touched her cheek, "I wish they'd get rid of that rule about displays of affection while in uniform."
"Oh really?" Her smile turned naughty, "What sort of affection did you want to display, Captain?"
"If you hadn't opened our house up to Tex and Nina, I'd take you home and show you."
"You used to be more creative than that." Rachel countered.
Mike tightened his hold just a little, "Is that a challenge, Doctor Slattery?"
"That depends," She stretched up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, "Can you remember to lock your office door this time?"
Back at the Slattery house, Tex and Nina had got both Jamie and Jack to bed, their redheaded son sleeping happily in a travel cot beside his new hero.
"They're adorable together." Nina noted, as she settled onto the couch next to her husband.
"Just wait til he becomes a big brother," Tex laid a gentle hand over her belly, "You tell anyone about this yet?"
She looked up at him and shook her head, "It's too early."
"Twelve weeks, Callaghan. Doc Patrick said it was safe."
"I know, and that's why we told Kat, but I just want to wait a little longer." Her forehead creased into a frown, "It still scares me, Kansas, even though we want this."
"I know." He kissed her gently. "But it's going to be okay."
She snuggled into his arms. "How did I get so lucky?" She asked.
"I don't know darlin', but I was just thinking the same thing." He replied.
Tom and Sasha had made it home, fed the kids, dealt with bedtime for the twins and setting an Xbox curfew for Sam, before finally retreating to the sanctuary of their attic bedroom.
"I was hoping you would be wearing the white summer uniform today." Sasha commented as she lolled on the bed in her underwear watching Tom undress.
"I don't like it." He shrugged.
"I know, but I do." She reached out a foot and ran her toes up the side of his leg. "It reminds me of the dress whites, and you know what those do to me…"
He turned and grinned, "I think I remember."
Sasha laughed and rolled onto her front, regarding him carefully through those bright blue eyes. "Sailor, you want to fool around?"
"Damn straight." Tom replied, but he looked like he was holding back laughter at the same time as he discarded his shirt and undershirt and started to undo his pants.
She scrambled to her knees, "What's going on?" She asked suspiciously.
"You remember St Patrick's Day?" He started chuckling.
"Yeah…" Then Sasha worked it out, "You didn't?!" And then she had to stifle a shriek of laughter as he dropped his pants and she was treated to the sight of her husband, the eminent CNO Tom Chandler, wearing nothing but a pair of Stars and Stripes boxer shorts.
"Happy Fourth of July!" He declared, before joining her on the bed and silencing her laughter with a kiss.
THE END