Miracles Can Happen

Author's Notes: Pretty bored this Christmas, so I quickly penned this idea. Please R&R.

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"Aaah," sighed Jack as he put his feet up, "This is nice, isn't it?"

"It sure is," replied Zack, "Thanks for inviting me brudda."

"No problem," said Jack in a friendly tone as he threw his long-time friend an ice-cold beer. Zack caught it with ease.

The day's produce was long-forgotten by its shipper and had been abandoned for comfy deckchairs and cold beer on that warm summer night. Zack smiled. It had been the first time he had relaxed in a long while.

As the two friends gazed on the vast emptiness of the fields, they spied three figures in the distance. After peering at them, Zack said, "Hey, it's Lillia, Rick and the Doctor!"

"Is it?" asked Jack. He too peered for a while. He could make out a frail woman with pink hair being assisted by a red-haired boy as a white-coated man looked on and made what appeared to be notes.

"Yeah, definitely," replied Zack, "Lillia always does a bit of walking at night; helps her to rebuild her strength."

"Nice woman," said Jack, deep in thought, "Nice family. I can't believe her husband would abandon her like that."

"He has not abandoned her!" retorted Zack, a little harsher than he intended. Softening his tone, he added, "He's gone looking for a cure."

"I don't buy that," replied Jack, shaking his head, "If there was a cure, he'd be back by now."

"You wouldn't say that if you met him," argued Zack, "He was the nicest man in the world. He was a war veteran you know? Got pretty badly injured in Vietnam; doctors reckoned he became infertile."

"Ouch!" Jack winced.

"Yeah," replied Zack, "Ouch."

"But hey," pointed out Jack, "Look at him now; he's got two wonderful kids!"

"That's right," replied Zack, "Miracles can happen." He sipped his beer and shuddered.

He really was the nicest man you ever met," he continued, "Unfortunately, he'd leave Lillia to go to squadron reunions in Alberta. Sometimes he'd be gone for up to two months at a time."

"Gosh," said Jack, "Must have been pretty lonely."

"I kept Lillia company sometimes," Zack replied, "She was young, healthy and beautiful back then. Twice we," he faltered, "Well, this is a confidential conversation, so… twice we became more than friends, if you know what I mean. January and September, I only remember the months for some reason."

A horrible thought crossed Jack's mind, "Hey, Rick was born in October and Popuri in July, so does that mean…?"

"I don't know what you're implying," growled Zack warningly, "but like I said, miracles can happen. So leave it, okay?"

"Okay," replied Jack hurriedly. He sipped his beer and watched the distant trio crawl on.

"Nice woman. Nice family," he said.

"Yeah."