**Eight Bells and All Is Well**
The sound of the phone ringing startled Kat from where she was leaning over the kitchen sink, splashing her face with cold water and trying to settle her heaving stomach. "I'll get it." Luna's feet pounded down the hall. Even after eight years of dance lessons that girl still sounded like an elephant everywhere she went. Kat ambled out to the kitchen and set the oven timer for five minutes. They only got 15 minutes once a pay period, so she wasn't going to let Luna hog it.
"Tell me all about Madagascar Ray! Did you see lemers? I love lemers. They have a lemer exhibit at the Maryland Zoo you know." Luna was sitting in a sunny spot at the breakfast table, twirling her hair as she chatted with Ray. It always amazed Kat how much the kids had adapted to conversations with two second satellite delays. Kat could hear 14 year old Sadie and 16 year old Ethan knocking each other around as they came down the hall toward the kitchen.
"Shush, my chickadees! This week it's your little sister's turn for the first five minutes." They grinned and each leaned down to kiss her cheek before rummaging in the fridge for breakfast. She handed Ethan a handwritten list. "You need to stop by the PX and get this stuff on the way home today."
He scanned the list and shoved it in his pocket. "Yeah sure. Where will you be?"
"Got a late appointment." They accepted her explanation without question and took seats around the big table. Ethan reached one of his lanky arms across to switch on the speaker phone.
"Hey Ray."
"Hey, this week is my turn!" Luna returned to regaling Ray with the play-by-play from her last soccer game. "Coach Slattery says I'll be moving up to Varsity next season for sure. And she hired me last weekend to help her take the twins and the littles to the zoo so Riley and the Major could have some time for an important adult stuff." She stuck out her tongue as she said "adult stuff". "That's how I know about the lemers."
"That's great kiddo. You be sure to put whatever Coach paid you in your college fund because…"
"We know, we know. You still have seven mouths to feed!" After hearing it for the last six and a half years, the kids could finish the sentence for him.
The oven timer dinged. "Time's up Luna. Sorry guys, I need that phone and you lot need to get to school." She snagged the phone off the table amid a chorus of goodbyes. "I need to talk to Ray about something in private so I'm going to my room. Ethan, drive nicely on today please. We need those tires to last at least a few more months. And Sadie, don't forget to bring your clarinet. I don't have time to run it over before band." Ethan shrugged and returned to his food while Sadie rolled her eyes.
Kat's heart was beginning to pound in her ears. "Ok then." She switched the phone off of speaker and took it back down the hall where she closed the bedroom door behind her. "So seriously, how's the sparkley new ship? Did you get the rack situation all worked out?"
"Yeah, but I think the promotion to Senior Chief has gone to Miller's head. It took until we were halfway across the Indian Ocean for O'Connor to convince him that we should do a roommate swap and put all the newbies together." It had been years since they'd been on a ship together but she had a perfect image of him, using the phone at the desk in the goat locker, slouching against the wall like a degenerate teen but smiling and nodding at each of his men as they came in for their morning pick me up or an end of shift coffee.
"That's nice." She tried to be quiet but there was a loud crinkle as she opened a plastic wrapper. "Anything else interesting happen? Who was the first one to screw up and call it the Nathan James after the hull swap last week?"
"Well, Mejia did mangle it when he started his first announcement with "Welcome to the USS Nathan Ja-to-mas Chandl.." For a second the whoosh of the toilet interrupted and she missed what he was saying. She cradled the phone against her shoulder as she washed her hands.
Ray paused for a minute before asking. "Did you just pee while you were talking to me?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to do this alone. I've got to get into the office by 8 or Sasha's going to give me a hard time when I need to go early for my appointment. I can't afford to take any leave right now"
He sighed. "Since when did you start worrying about money? We're down to just the seven of us. We can relax a little. If you need a day off, you should take it. You know, Ethan's been emailing me about the academy. I think I've almost got him convinced. One more conversation with Burk and I think he'll go for it. Then you can finally get a car made in this millennium…"
She tried to interrupt him, "No Ray, that's not it." But she knew that once he was on a roll he was going to keep going.
".. and seriously, I don't want my 15 minutes of hearing your voice to be interrupted by peeing. Where's the romance in that? You're supposed to be all "Oh Ray, I miss you soo much and I'm supposed to be all Oh Gatita you don't know how lonely I am. I live for the 15 minutes that I get to hear your voice every two weeks."
Ray went on talking, the sound of his babbling made her smile but she tuned out as she watched the timer on her phone count down. "3, 2, 1" She murmured more to herself than Ray, but he heard it too.
"What are you counting for? My watch says we still have three minutes left. Don't cut me off."
"Oh my God, Oh my God." She stared at the little stick in her shaking hand. "I can't believe it. I should do it again. Maybe I didn't do it right?" Of course she did it right. She'd done this plenty of times over the years.
"What pee? I think at 25 years old we can safely assume you've mastered the art of peeing."
"No you idiot, the pregnancy test!" She squinted at it. It was clearly a plus sign but maybe she should take another, just in case. This one was from the dollar store and despite the fact that Riley Simpson-Slattery swore they were the best, she still didn't trust it. Her legs started feeling a little like Jello underneath her so she slumped down on the edge of the tub.
"Que? Did I hear that right?" He lowered his voice. "Is it uh, good?"
She set the stick on the counter, as far away from her as she could. "Yes and yes. At least it's good if you like repopulating the country with mini versions of yourself." They'd talked about it for years. They'd been not not-trying for the last three. But when you were in the same zipcode for roughly three weeks out of every six months it wasn't easy. He should be happy. Everyone was having babies young these days. "Well I think it's good news anyway."
The phone fell silent. Then there was a loud crack like the phone hitting something. "Ray?" If he changed his mind now… "Ray? Don't you dare hang up on.."
"Ah Kat?" a different voice came on the phone.
"Miller?"
"What the hell did you say to him? He just fainted right onto the floor of the lounge. We're supposed to be taking an assignment from Sasha this afternoon. Well of course you already know about that." Miller trailed off.
She couldn't believe it. Ray, who idolized Mr. Stoic-Strength Chandler had fainted? "Ray? My husband? Chief Boatswain Mate Raymón Diaz just fainted?"
"Yes! Well he's lying on the floor anyway!" Miller was laughing so Ray must not be too badly hurt. "Wait he's coming to." She heard shuffling as Miller got down to help him. "Ray? Ray are you ok? You didn't hit your head, did you?"
Then she heard his voice in the background. Sounding as disbelieving as she was feeling. "Eight?"
"Eight what?" Miller asked.
"Eight mouths to feed you idiot!" Ray exclaimed.
Miller protested. "I can still write you up for mouthing off to me you know."
"Give me the phone." Over the ringing in her own ears she heard Ray's exasperated order and then his breathing as he put it up to his ear. She didn't say anything, waiting for him to say congratulations or whatever it was men were supposed to say. Actually, she had no idea what he was supposed to say.
In the background she heard Miller counting out names. "Well there's yourself and Kat makes 2. That leaves..Sadie…Ethan..Luna..I suppose the two in college still count and.."
Then she was deafened by the sound of Miller shouting. "Holy shit we're having a baby!"
"Well, you made Miller's day too." She could hear the smile in Ray's voice, but he still hadn't said he was happy about it either.
"I'm going to the doctor this afternoon."
That seemed to prompt more of a response. "You're ok right? Should I come home? I am sure I can get an emergency shore rotation if you need me to and.."
She laughed then, finally relieved, because Ray worried about the kids all the time but he never worried about her, at least not out loud. He knew what she could handle, and it was a lot. "No, you don't need to come home! It will be alright. I just wanted you to know as soon as I did. That's all." And then, because she couldn't resist making sure she asked, "It's going to be OK? Right? You are happy about this? Because if you're not you can just stay out there." Her stomach turned over as she waited for his reply.
"Seriously Kathleen? Were you really worried about that? It's going to be awesome! What's one more?" He paused and in the background she heard Commander Granderson making an announcement. It all sounded so normal. Her world turned sort-of right side up again. "Sorry, I have to go. I really wish I didn't." Ray apologized.
"Yeah, well now you really need to up your game and get that promotion." Miller interjected.
"Shove it Miller!" They replied in unison.
They said a quick goodbye. Ray made her promise to email a word by word retelling of the entire doctor's appointment later. She sat there a bit longer, just breathing, just being. She tried to think about what her dad would have said about it but all she could remember that even came close was from a conversation they'd had before she and Ray had even begun really dating. "Oh, he's a good one alright. No doubt about that. But you careful Kathleen. You're going to be attached to those kids before they know it and them to you. One day you'll be home making babies and he'll be half way around the world, not telling you he's been shot or worse, all because he doesn't want you to worry about him."
"That from experience Dad?"
"What do you think?"
She finally knew what she thought. He'd done a damn fine job taking care of her and her mom. And she'd never doubted for a minute that he loved her, even when she resented him for being away so much. She knew now that he'd worried she would forget him or grow up not needing him, but that had never happened. She knew exactly what he'd be doing right now. He's be running out in the street, hugging strangers, and announcing that he was going to be Grandpa. She patted her still flat little belly. "You will know love. Just you wait and see little one."