The idea for this piece is based off of Jeff Wood's song "Use Mine" It is not meant to be a holiday piece per se, but fit well in that time frame. We do not own Army Wives or the song upon which this story is based.

December 22, 1998

Frank was crunching the numbers again while Denise, five months pregnant with their "miracle" baby, sat by his side. He sat back frustrated, "There's no way, Dee. With pay raises frozen, a new baby coming, I wish there was a way but there just isn't."

"Frank we have to, we promised him," she sighed. They'd promised their son if he was good they'd get him the bike he so desperately wanted.

"We can't, even with me moonlighting and you growing stuff and all that, we barely have what we need for the expenses and family services turned us down on a loan," Frank told her. "We can't afford it, I know it's not fair but he'll have to understand."

"He's seven Frank!" Denise was frustrated, she knew it wasn't Frank's fault but her little boy was good as gold and they could never seem to reward him with more than words, he never asked for anything, so when he did ask them for a bicycle like the other kids had, she knew it meant the world to her precious baby boy.

"I know," he sighed. "I am trying! Fix the supper and stay off your feet as much as you can, I'll talk to him after dinner."

She nodded, she knew this hurt him too, maybe even more than her.

He leaned over and kissed her, "Baby moving a lot?"

"Yeah," she said smiling.

"Good." They'd had one scare after another with that baby.

Denise fixed their meal, Jeremy's favorite and worked on little booties while Frank cleaned up. When he finished he knelt by Jeremy, "I need to talk to you, come on."

Jeremy nodded and followed his father.

They went to Jeremy's room and Frank sat his son on his lap. "Jeremy, about what you asked for this Christmas..." Frank couldn't, it was breaking his heart.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Mom and I...We tried, we did but...We can't get you the bike like you want," Frank forced out. "We can't...can't get it for you."

"Why?" he asked, his eyes big just like his mother's.

"We don't have enough money," Frank admitted. "Even with Daddy's second job we don't have enough."

Jeremy looked crushed but nodded. "Okay," he said sadly.

"This isn't because of anything you did," Frank assured him. "There is nothing more I want than to get this for you as soon as we have the money, we'll go pick it out together."

"Okay." His father kept his promises, it took a long time but he did keep them.

"Want to come have cookies?" he asked, he wanted his little boy to have a happy childhood, want for nothing, and he was failing him.

"Yeah," he said smiling and giving his Dad a quick hug.

Frank took Jeremy out to the kitchen; they ate some of Denise's cookies then sent their son to bed. Denise saw how much it bothered Frank not being able to give their boy what he wanted and needed to fit in here. On Christmas Eve night it was still bugging him. They finished putting the gifts under the tree, Frank kept starting at the little pile for Jeremy.

"Frank honey, he understands. Don't worry," she comforted. "He knows you love him."

"It's not that Dee," Frank sighed. "When I was a kid we always had stuff, but...he never asks for anything and the one time he does..."

"I know," she sighed and went and put her arms around him.

He held her a minute then, "That's it!" Frank exclaimed. "I don't know why I didn't think about it before."

"What?" she asked. Frank made her nervous when he did this.

"Just go to bed, I'll be awhile," he said. "You'll see in the morning. I love you." He kissed her lips. "Love you." He kissed her belly. "Night." He ran out of the house like a jack rabbit.

Denise just laughed and went to lie down.

Denise didn't see anything new under the tree the next morning she watched as Jeremy opened his gifts, there was no doubt he was disappointed.

"Maybe we can get it for your birthday baby," Denise said knowing why he was disappointed and wanting to fix that desperately.

"No," Jeremy said. "It's okay, I didn't want it that much." He was trying so hard not to cry.

Denise sighed and sat on the floor with him and pulled him into her arms.

He gave her a hug, Frank watched, "Jeremy, let's you, me and Mommy take a walk to the garage."

He looked at his father confused but nodded, the only time he was allowed in the garage was to get punished.

There was nothing out there but a bunch of tools and stuff, "Close your eyes. You have a present left."

He did as he was told, usually not doing it was how he got to the garage.

Frank rolled out a bike, not the fancy kind Jeremy wanted, this was his old one with a coat of paint, new nuts and bolts, a reupholstered seat and wooden blocsk on the pedals since the bike was two sizes too big for Jeremy. Frank had been awake all night working on it.

Denise smiled brightly, she never had to ask herself why she loved him. "Frank this is great!"

"It'll do," he replied. He was more interested in his son's expression.

Jeremy's mouth was hanging wide open and his eyes were bugged out of his head.

"I know it's not what you wanted, Son," Frank said still feeling like he'd failed his little one.

"No it's exactly what I wanted!" he exclaimed and ran to his new bike.

"Not so fast," Frank told him. "Go upstairs, help Mommy clean up, then after breakfast I'll take you out to ride, okay?"

He nodded and they went back upstairs to clean.

December 25, 2053

"I think that was the best Christmas, I ever had," Jeremy told his wife and sister as they looked at old picture making a gift for their own personal hero.

"Was mom pregnant with me?" Molly asked. "Couldn't be but I thought…"

"No," Jeremy shook his head. "You were eleven years later, you know that!" He teased. "No, about three days after the new year Mom got sick, I mean sick, like called Grandma and Grandpa home from Florida kind of sick, the baby died."

"Oh," she said. She missed her mother so much. It was their first Christmas without her.

"They don't talk about it, ever. Not even with me." He turned the pages and started laughing when he saw a picture of him and Frank with the worst looking truck known to man.

"That is the ugliest thing I have ever seen!" Molly said laughing.

"Yea, Dad got it off a junk lot on my sixteenth birthday and fixed up and it worked like a charm but it had one orange door, and Christmas ball my senior year...I got up the nerve to ask Julie Ann Lewis the prettiest girl in school to the dance..."

December 14, 2007

"I did it Dad," Jeremy told Frank over dinner. "I asked her and she said yes. I did it just like you told me."

"Good job son," Frank said smiling, these moments of bonding and connection were rare.

"I thought she was going to turn me down but I kept remembering Mom actually married you..."

Denise laughed at that, she loved family time.

The night before the big dance, Jeremy was standing on the porch looking at his junked up truck. How could he take the prettiest girl in school to the dance in that truck? She'd never go out with him again.

Frank came out of the porch to sneak a cigarette and saw him, "Problems?"

"No," he lied. He didn't want his father to think him ungrateful.

"It runs, doesn't it?" Frank asked. "Back seat still go down?"

He nodded.

"You're all set except..." Frank reached into his pocket and tossed him a pack of condoms. "You know my feelings on that but you're your own man now, just be smart about it."

He nodded. "I will," he said but Frank knew something was up. Jeremy would never take something like that from him without looking at him like he was crazy.

He let it go and watched his son, and then finally he asked his wife. "What's wrong with him? Cold feet? He's not himself."

"No, he doesn't want to take that truck," she said leaning on her elbow. "He wants to take her out in a nice car."

He laughed, "I'm going to let him use mine."

She smiled at him. She knew he'd understand but Jeremy was convinced otherwise. He got angry when she pressed him to tell his father the truth. "Go tell him that."

"Nope, tomorrow after pictures," he replied.

"That's mean," she said laughing and giving him a kiss.

"I gave him the condoms tonight," he joked.

"Okay, yeah I really didn't need to know that." She rolled her eyes, she hated that he was so grown up.

"You want to be a grandma? Or God forbid related to those people for eternity?" he asked laughing.

"No!" Denise exclaimed, the only person she disliked more than Lenore Baker was Sarah Jane Lewis.

"Okay then so if my abstinence talk didn't stick, the condoms will."

Denise laughed, "Yeah, let's hope anyway."

He kissed her, "We made the boy in that truck, well one like it."

"Yeah, let's just hope we don't end up grandparents tomorrow night," she said returning his attentions. "We're way too young!"

He leaned over and kissed her, trying to forget their baby was old enough to have a baby of his own. Denise spent the next evening crying, her little boy looked so grown up.

"Mom, stop that," Jeremy scolded.

"I can't help it, you look just like Dad," she sniffled.

"Denise do not insult our son like that," Frank joked.

"You know you're handsome," she said and snuggled him as Frank set the camera for another photo. Jeremy kept looking at the truck.

Denise was trying her best not to laugh knowing what Frank had in store.

As Jeremy took Julie's hand to lead her to the truck Frank called out, "Think fast!" He tossed him the keys to the new car, not a limo, but a clean, fresh smelling Nissan.

Jeremy smiled at his dad before turning to leave.

December 25, 2053

"Never needed those condoms," Jeremy recalled. "Dad and I fought a lot, but he's my hero."

Molly smiled. "Mine too."

"So," Tanya sighed. "We know why we're here, let's decide."

"I don't think we should," Molly said. "Mom never wanted that for him or herself."

"I think we should," Tanya said. "He's a lot of work; we're all busy with kids, careers, etc. We can't give him the care he needs."

"I'll quit work," Molly said firmly. "He can come stay with me"

"How?" Jeremy asked. "You're single with three kids and Dad is not in a position to keep after himself let alone kids."

"I'll figure something out!" she snapped."My dad will not go into a nursing home!"

"That's the only choice," Jeremy said choked up. "Come with me."

Molly sighed and went with her brother to their father's room. Their mother had died six months ago and since then Frank had gotten even worse. He'd been struggling for a few years but since Denise died and upset his routine he was floundering with very little hope of gaining his footing.

"Hey Dad," he said. "What's on your television?"

He didn't reply, he was too tired, the only one he'd really respond to at all was Jeremy and sometimes Michael when they visited with him at the Veteran's home where Jeremy planned to take Frank.

"Dad," Jeremy said. "Dad, look who came to see you?"

He looked at her "Who are you?" he asked confused and a little agitated.

"Dad, it's Molly," Jeremy told him. "You remember Good Golly Miss Molly? She's your baby."

He shook his head, he didn't remember.

"It's okay, finish your program," Jeremy said having proved his point and took his sister back out of the room.

"Molly looked at her brother with tears in her eyes, she knew there wasn't any choice.

"We'll take him tomorrow," Jeremy said. "Nice and close, we'll see him, but he needs more than we can give him. When Mom went what was left of him did too."

She nodded and swallowed hard.

Molly went home and Frank and Tanya got a bag of things for Frank. When it was time to take him the next day though..."You ready to go Dad?" Jeremy asked him. He was the only one he really interacted with at all.

"Where?"he asked

"Going to go down the street, where Uncle Michael is," Jeremy told him. "You can play battleship."

"Okay," he said with a small smile. He liked visiting Michael.

Jeremy waited for him to get up, he saw a few good tries but he couldn't do it. "Here," Jeremy said and stood so Frank could use his strength to get out of the chair.

Frank held on to Jeremy and stood up, he was tired just from that small effort.

They took a few slow steps and Jeremy stopped, this was his father, his hero, the man that built him a bike and loaned him a car and help him while he watched his wife have a baby from $7,000 miles away. He couldn't do this to him. "Let's go sit back down."

He nodded and they went and sat back down and Jeremy put in a movie for them to watch.

Frank smiled, "She's beautiful."

It was a home movie of them when they brought Jeremy's oldest Laura home from the hospital. Frank talked to his son, he laughed, and Jeremy's heart soared, even if this happened one minute, one hour, it was worth it.

It was late when Frank finally fell asleep in the recliner. His pillows were packed, his slippers, so Jeremy changed him and put his own slippers on his father, and gave him his pillow to use, just before he switched off the light he kissed his hero's old worn cheek...He heard his own youngest son fretting over a girl, he went and talked to him...knowing that all the time and effort he was giving would one day come full circle.