What If
Chapter 7
Despite the low morale, the unease about what would be happening in the next few days, and the short tempers; the entire crew was excited for Christine's 'baby shower.' Officers and enlisted alike was involved in the planning and neither Mike or Tom had the heart to change that.
The shower was taking place while they sailed between Vicksburg and Memphis. Even though the lack of people waiting for the cure at Vicksburg was critically low and caused the crew's morale to dip even lower; Mike and Tom were able to figure out a schedule for everyone to attend the shower that wanted to. The problem was, every crew member wanted to.
Bacon and Mary had come up with a menu that was very similar to what would be at a normal baby shower. Mike had attended the baby shower for Kaitlyn, had missed Hannah's because he was deployed and stayed home with the kids so that Christine could go to the one that was held before Lucas' birth. He would be attending the one that was being held for the twins. He had heard that somehow, they had even decorated for the shower. The one thing that was a stumbling block was the many crew that asked for the names for the twins. They still didn't know what they would name the babies.
He walked into the wardroom before he got Christine from his quarters. He was shocked by what he saw. Most baby showers would have pink or blue bunting and such. Not this one. In place of a sea of pink or blue decorations, there was red, white and blue decorations. Mike recognized the decorations as those that were kept on the ship for July 4th, Memorial Dad and other patriotic holidays. The table in the middle of the room had numerous food dishes on it. There were cold cuts, vegetable trays, fruit trays, a three-tier cake with white frosting, little smokies, meatballs and at least ten different kinds of cookies and other treats.
There was also presents everywhere. They weren't gift wrapped or even put in gift bags, since that was the one thing that Cruz forgot but they were stacked and organized with stuffed animals and other baby paraphernalia around them. There was also a stack of diapers and wipes sitting in the corner of the room. Mike turned when the door opened and was shocked to see Michener standing in the doorway. Mike immediately stood at attention and saluted. He didn't have a lot of respect for Michener, but he still respected the office he held.
"At ease. I really thought when Cruz suggested this, he was out of his mind but hearing the crew…they need this. The hope. The promise. The future. To the world, this is just a room full of food and gifts. Not so different then a lot of baby showers, but to this crew; it's a room full of hope and promise. Those babies embody that. For you and your wife, this is about having needed items for your babies but for this crew, this is so pivotal." Michener said as he looked around.
"Yes, sir. I am going to get my wife in a moment and the rest of the crew will be drifting through shortly. Are you coming by?" Mike asked. Michener was kind of like a wet blanket. Mike wasn't exactly thrilled to invite him, but it was the proper thing to do. Not to mention, the man had an odd almost obsession with Hannah. Mike wasn't sure why other then she resembled his daughter. Mike knew that Michener would never harm Hannah, but he was particularly over-protective of his children. Hannah was his little sweetheart. Her innocence and faith in people was refreshing.
"I might. Thank you." Michener said after getting a cup of coffee and leaving the room. Mike didn't realize that Bacon had come into the room until he sit another dish down.
"With respect, sir; that is one odd man." Bacon stated.
"Agreed. Thank you for all this. This is a lot of food." Mike remarked.
"It was all stuff we needed to use up before we got to St. Louis." Bacon remarked.
"Good. Well, I will be back with my wife and girls. Christine still doesn't know about this." Mike told him as he walked to the door.
"I don't know how but good." Bacon said as he rearranged the food items. Mike left and walked to his quarters to get Christine and the rest of the family. As he walked in, Hannah let out a happy yell.
"Momma, its time to go! We're having a party." Hannah told her and everyone started laughing.
"We are? What kind of party?" Christine asked as Mike helped her off the couch.
"On the same trip that they found your clothes, they also found some baby stuff, so the crew has gotten together and are throwing a baby shower. Now, it isn't a typical baby shower but its our own version." Mike explained.
"How sweet! I didn't mean for them to do that though?" Christine gushed.
"They wanted to." Mike told her simply. They had begun the walk to the wardroom which was interesting at best, given Christine's advancing pregnancy, helping Mary and the girls through the p-ways.
As soon as Mike and Christine walked through, there were several of the crew in the wardroom. As soon as Christine seen the decorations, the food and the presents, she started crying. Mike helped her sit down and the girls began retrieving presents. Christine marveled over every single onesie, sleeper and blanket. She was thrilled with the diapers and wipes. Even the formula and bottles were gushed over.
They stayed in the wardroom for several hours, eating and visiting with the various crew. Rachel had also stopped by for a couple moments. Despite her deep friendship with Christine; Mike could tell, baby showers was not her thing.
The massive amount of food was devoured, and more gifts had been brought in. Andrea and one of her crew brought in the bassinet and a mobile that she had made. Christine was still suspicious of Andrea but was grateful for the needed items. Mike didn't know how to ease the suspicions and was afraid it would only get worse. Tom would likely be promoted to a land position, which meant that Mike would be given the captaincy. In turn, Andrea would most likely become his XO.
Mike knew he would never cheat on Christine with anyone but apparently Christine doubted it. He knew that he was looking at years of deployments and would become an absentee husband and father. He would always love Christine and his kids but knew that his marriage would possibly unravel at some point and his relationship with Kaitlyn had already began to suffer. Hannah was still young and innocent enough that she saw Mike as a hero. It would change as it had with Kaitlyn.
Finally, the party ended, and they began moving the gifts and other items to Mike's cabin. It would only make a cramped area more cramped but there was nowhere else to stow the items.
Hannah had eaten entirely too many sugary items and was bouncing off the walls, or bulkheads, in their case. Mike was pretty sure that if they had looked, she would have been vibrating.
Getting both girls relaxed enough to go to bed was interesting. It took Mike and Christine both to read and cuddle with Hannah and Kaitlyn was staying close too, even though, in her words; 'I'm too old to be read to and cuddled.' The girls were just drifting off when there was a knock on the door. Mike stepped into the hallway to speak to whoever it was. He was shocked to see that it was Tom.
"So, we are in communication with some people in St. Louis. Securing housing and such. I have a secured a furnished town house for you. I wish you and Christine could pick out what you wanted, but I knew that Christine desperately needed to be settled before those babies showed up. It has six bedrooms. Its split level but there is a sort of an in-law suite on the first floor for Mary. There is also a master bedroom, bath and closet. The other bedrooms are standard sized; even slightly on the smaller side; but will suite the girls alright. Three and a half baths and I guess the kitchen is something of a dream. Its open concept and has a big backyard with a pool. I put your name on it so that it didn't get taken before. The first couple nights, you all might be in a hotel so that the house can be inspected, cleaned and readied for you all. I also have reserved two hotel rooms. One for you and Christine and then one for Mary and the girls. I hope she doesn't mind sharing?" Tom asked.
"Mary or Christine? Christine has been sharing a room with me for over fifteen years…oh, Mary. No, she won't mind." Mike answered.
"You need to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day." Tom said with a laugh.
"Yes, sir. Thank you for letting the crew do this today. I think it was exactly what Christine needed." Mike stated.
"It was also what the crew needed. See you in the morning." Tom said before walking away.
"Hey, thank you for the house. We appreciate it." Mike said before Tom was out of earshot.
"Your welcome." Tom answered. Mike stood outside of his cabin for a moment. He needed to gather his thoughts about the entire day and coming days
I didn't care for Michener's character, and that's the beauty of fanfic because you can paint characters however you prefer. I promise, nothing odd will happen with his obsession with Hannah! The reviews have been great!