**Grandma Got Run-over by a Reindeer, Elmo and Patsy**
Debbie put on her blinker hoping to make a left turn onto the freeway entrance ramp before the light changed. A few shoppers with umbrellas and arms full of bags shuffled through the early December rain. "Christmas traffic is my least favorite thing about the season." She murmured.
She caught a smug smile in the rear view window. "Well, aren't you glad that we went shopping ahead of time now?" Kara, who was sitting in the back seat folded her hands calmly over her now burgeoning belly. "I don't want to say I told you so…"
"I know, I know. You were right after all" Debbie grimaced and stepped on the brake to make a quick stop when an oncoming car cut her off, despite the fact that she had a green arrow. "Shhh…ugar plums." She bit off a swear as she thrust an arm out to hold her son-in-law into his seat as they lurched to a stop.
Behind her Frankie echoed her sentiment "Oh no Goldie Bear is down!"
"Sorry, Sorry." She honked as the offending driver, a young woman with a perky blond ponytail, held up a cell phone and shrugged.
Danny saved her from the tirade she wanted to unleash about drivers and cell phones. "It's been a long time since anyone has done that for me. Does something kick in when you have children that you automatically become a human seatbelt? And why is it that only women do that?"
In the back seat, Kara rolled her eyes as she struggled to recover Frankie's worn bear. "Go Nana!" Frankie kicked his feet against the back of her seat in delight. "See Daddy! Nana's not a bad driver."
Debbie accelerated onto the highway that would take them toward the airfield. "No kicking little man." She laughed a little nervously as Danny's cheeks stained a bright red. "Were you worried by my driving Danny?" She tried not to sound offended. She shouldn't be after all. At her age, she had been hearing all about it for the last 45 years. Normally, Kara would do the driving, but she was tired and Debbie felt like there were only so many things she could do to help out. And since Danny needed to be dropped off at the air field for his trip to Peru, she thought it might help to lend a hand. Plus she was worried that Kara could get a little teary eyed on the way home. Debbie had never seen her as emotionally labile as she was when pregnant.
"Frankie!" Kara turned as far as she could to give him a raised eyebrow. "What did I tell you about repeating the things Mom and Dad say?"
"I know. I know. Conversations are for the people who are there when they happen." He mumbled. Debbie couldn't help but smile to herself. It was something her late husband used to tell the kids all the time because gossiping was one of his worst pet peeves.
"Once the baby is born, I won't be so dependent on you to drive us around and you can have your freedom back mom." Kara spoke softly from the backseat.
Debbie reached back and patted Kara's knee. "You know I don't mind honey." Then she wagged her finger behind her. "But young lady, you are not to be born until your father returns, do you hear me? I am your grandmother and I am still the boss of this family." Both Kara and Danny giggled, while Frankie laughed uproariously at he idea of his grandmother talking to his unborn sister.
They merged into heavily backed up traffic. "I'm sorry if this makes you late Danny." She apologized, as if she could actually do anything about it. "I was hoping that we'd beat the rush from the warehouse district by coming around this way."
Danny sat up from where he had been twisted around, trying to recover the bear from the floor of the backseat. "It's fine. Best thing about running the mission, they can't leave without me. Besides, I scheduled plenty of time for saying goodbye and unexpected interruptions and all that." If she could have picked a man for her daughter, Danny was exactly the type. She had no doubt he could be a serious adversary when the time called for it. But with his family he was the most gentle man, and she loved him for it. She had to admit, she might tear up a little on the way home too. While her head fully understood why he had to take his team to South America this week, it also seemed like tempting fate to go abroad only three weeks before Kara's due date. Still, she knew her daughter and she knew she'd be fine. In fact, she seemed to be handling it better than Debbie was herself.
The thump of little feet against her seat brought her out of her reverie. "Turn it up Nana. This is our song!"
She clicked the volume button a little higher. "Christmas, Christmas time is here." Frankie began wailing from the backseat.
"Come on Nana. You can be Dave. I need to practice." He kept on singing. "Time for cheer…"
Danny laughed. "Sorry."
"Why am I Dave? Shouldn't Daddy be Dave?" She countered.
Frankie shook his head emphatically. "No! Daddy is Alvin because they are both aweeeee-some. Mommy is Simon because she's our nerd. I am Th'dore because Daddy says he's the cutest and he has the best solo."
His voice rose in his finest line. "Me, I want a hula hoop!"
Debbie hummed along for a minute. "Sorry Mom." Kara shrugged in the backseat. "Should have warned you this was on the playlist." She smiled in return because Debbie wouldn't trade this for a minute.
"You know I can't sing a note, just like your Mama." She told her grandson.
"That's OK Nana. I'm the one that's gotta practice….Please Christmas don't be late."
"What are you practicing for?" His daycare Christmas pageant wasn't for two more weeks and she was pretty sure she was sewing him a sheep costume, not a chipmunk.
"Boychoir Nana! Daddy says it's real cutthroat." He dragged a chubby finger across his neck to emphasize cutthroat before warbling into another verse.
Kara rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you've gotten him so worked up about joining the choir. You better be planning to go with him because I cannot sing, as you well know."
"Don't worry." Danny chuckled. "You might be able to kicka…butt with the rest of the guys, but you still aren't eligible. And, it's for all ages so I thought we could do it together. Tryouts begin at age 5 so we're going to check it out once T-ball ends this summer. That way you can still have some quiet time with Swish a few nights a week."
"Mama, Goldie wants to know what a hula hoop is." Kara and Danny both burst out laughing.
"It's a plastic circle for playing with." Kara said. Now it was Debbie's turn to roll her eyes.
"Maybe you'll get one for Christmas. Nana could show you all sorts of tricks you can do with it." Debbie mentally added one more item to her Christmas list and wondered if she could still even move her hips that way.
"That doesn't sound like fun. Could you get me a dumptruck or a dinosaur or something fun instead?" Kids that age were so honest. She suddenly remembered the time Kara had embarrassed her in front of her mother-in-law by scorning a gift of make-up that any ordinary 13 year old girl would love.
"A frisbee is a plastic circle and it's lots of fun." Danny pointed out. At the word frisbee, Halsey stuck his head up over the backseat and whined.
"But I can play that with Halsey. Is a hula hoop something he could play with?"
Kara perked up. "A long time ago my father had a collie and he could do tricks with a hula hoop." Debbie remembered that dog. Butch had claimed it was going to help with the cows but mostly it just followed him around adoringly and made a pest of itself when he wasn't there.
"Well, Halsey is old, but he still likes to learn new things. Maybe you could help me teach him buddy."
Debbie put on the blinker for the air field. Part of her wanted to keep driving around all afternoon, listening to her family chatter, but Danny really did have to go. She'd only been here once before and she almost drove right through the checkpoint while she was looked around for signs where to go. Fortunately Danny called out "Stop at the booth!" with a great deal of alarm and she slammed on the brakes yet again.
He pulled a card out of his chest pocket and handed it over to the uniformed guard, who took it with a flustered "Good afternoon Sir." After scanning it the man nodded. "Sir your group is in hanger three, over there on the left. But we're code Charlie so I'll have to send an escort."
"That won't be necessary." Kara struggled to lean forward around her belly and hand up her ID. "I'll be with the group."
The man peered past Debbie through the window to Kara. "Ah, let me just scan that Mrs. Green and…" His eyes widened even further. "Yes Commander." He snapped a quick salute before handing back her ID. "Have a good trip Sir. Nice day Ma'am."
They pulled away and Danny pointed the direction toward the hanger. She found herself saying. "I'll never get used to the way people are supposed to treat people differently based on their rank." She'd never told her husband or her sons that, because they would have just brushed her off and told her she couldn't understand. But somehow Debbie knew that Kara and Danny would see her point.
"It can be awkward at times." Kara admitted. "But it also helps organize us when we need to work with people we don't know. The guy at the booth very efficiently figured out how to handle our group without needing to ask a lot of questions based on our ranks."
"I know some people get off on the idea that they have earned the respect it shows." Danny said. "But in my teams, we really have to work as a team. So I think of it as a reminder that I have people counting on me and a reminder that I better work my ass off for my people."
Debbie had no doubt that her son-in-law did indeed bust his ass for his team. When he was home he was constantly on the phone checking every detail, including checking on his people and how they were doing. As she pulled up in front of the building he indicated, she saw several of them smile and wave. She clicked into park, unsure of what to do. He own husband had a no kissing in front of the men policy so good byes were usually said at home. Danny leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for the ride Debbie. I promise to keep safe and come home in one piece."
She felt a little tear spring into the corner of her eyes. They all made that promise knowing full well it wasn't entirely in their control. "You do that." She assured him.
He slid out and opened the door for Kara behind him before going around to stick his head in on Frankie's side. "You gonna practice real hard buddy?" He stroked an hand down Frankie's arm.
"I will Daddy. I'll be belting it like…What's that other Frankie guy's name again?"
"Frankie Valens?"
"Yeah. Ooohhhh myyyyyyy looooovvveee. Myyyyy daaaarrlin'…" Frankie began to sing again.
"You practice every day, and I will too. You and Goldie Be good for Mama and Nana ok? I'll be back before you know it."
"We will." Danny kissed him on his forehead and then ducked back out of the car.
Kara had already opened the back for Halsey to jump out. "You sure you're ok with me taking him?" was all Debbie heard before he shut the hatch. That argument between them was old news, but no matter how many times Kara assured him that she would rather have Halsey protecting Danny, and that they had Vince to look out for them in case of trouble, it still reminded her of how strong her daughter was. She had weathered the Red Flu, the Immunes, and Alison Shaw, and she would handle this now. Debbie was thankful that she would never have to worry that Kara would hide her fears in a bottle. Somehow, despite all the ways Debbie had run away, she'd managed to raise a daughter who looked problems straight in the eye. Debbie watched as Kara waddled toward the open door of the hanger. She remembered those days when she would try to eek every last second out before having to really say goodbye.
"Nana, will Santa come even if Daddy is away?" Her little man saved her from her maudlin thoughts.
"Oh yes. He comes to everyone, no matter where they are." Cold was beginning to soak into the car now so she started the engine back up. Kara hadn't said how long she'd be inside. Frankie danced his bear along his knees, humming a bit of Jingle Bells. A few other cars pulled up and various personnel in uniforms got out to say their goodbyes. The groups of two or three young men and women were boisterous and joyful, like they were headed for a vacation, while the men or women who said goodbye to a partner or family clamped their jaws and strode purposefully, without a minute to spare.
After a few minutes Frankie stopped abruptly to ask, "Even in Peru?"
"Yes of course. Why? Are you worried that your dad might not be home in time?"
"Nope." He spoke with the absolute certainty that only a three year old can have. "But I think Halsey needs to be home before Santa brings him his present." Kara came back out of the hanger and walked, as briskly as one can when they are toting 20 pounds of extra water, back to the car.
She felt her brow line pinch in confusion. She'd been over the list with Kara two or three times, and the letter to Santa, and the note from the Santa at the mall, and she couldn't remember any presents for Halsey. Then she remembered that last year Danny had given Halsey the bone after they had devoured the Christmas roast. "Oh, Halsey's present can go in the freezer if he's not here, but I'm not worried, he'll be here."
"Oh Nana!" Frankie waved his bear at her as if trying to get the attention of the village idiot. Kara opened the passenger door and carefully folded herself into the seat Danny had occupied only a few minutes earlier. "Not the bone! The puppy!"
Kara gave Debbie an arched brow. "What puppy?"
Frankie burst out in giggles. "Well, when you asked Daddy what he wanted for Christmas, he said a healthy baby." Debbie smiled to herself. Kara had gone on a mini-rant the other day because Danny wouldn't tell her what to buy him for Christmas. "Well Halsey says he wants a healthy puppy for Christmas. Not a whole litter, just one."
Kara laughed nervously. "Oh yeah, that's what he wants for Christmas? I don't know…A puppy is a big responsibility. Does Halsey really feel up to that?"
"Oh course Mama. Halsey is a very good doggie."
"Did you give him this idea?" Kara whispered to Debbie as he launched into a long winded explanation of why they should get a puppy now.
"Nope! Not me. I'm staying out of this one." But, as they drove the rest of the way home, she said a quiet prayer of thanks for the brief distraction which kept both Kara and Frankie from lingering on their loneliness the rest of the evening.