Chapter 10 – Where Danny and Kara get Some News
"Are you sure you have time to take me to the airport?" Jennifer asked, stowing her suitcase in Kara's trunk before sliding into the passenger seat.
"Absolutely," Kara replied. She had gone in early this morning so that she could take an extra-long lunch, giving her just enough time to pick Jennifer up at her hotel, stop for a quick lunch, drop her friend at the airport, and make it back to base. "I can't believe that you have been here for over a week and we've barely had any time to spend together."
"You did have a few things going on," Jennifer replied. "Work, a bridal shower, a wedding."
"Well, when you put it that way…" Kara laughed. "Where do you want to eat?"
They picked a small cafe just outside the airport, Jennifer updating Kara on her children's latest shenanigans as they waited for their salads to arrive. Now three, four, and almost six, Jennifer's boys were a source of both amusement and trepidation for Kara. Apparently they had spent the weekend collecting a variety of insects that they carefully packaged up to mail to Danny and Kara as a wedding gift. Kara could only be thankful that Kyle, Jennifer's husband, had realized what the package contained before dropping it in the mail. Although she was touched by the young boys' gesture, Kara had absolutely no desire to arrive home to a container full of dead bugs.
"I am so glad that I came," Jennifer said. "It was hard to leave the kids, of course, but I think Kyle appreciates me much more than he did a week ago. And the wedding was so lovely, Kara. You looked beautiful. Plus, all of those guys in uniform? It was better than a runway show."
Kara glanced enviously at Jennifer's ahi salad. Of all of the things that she had given up during her pregnancy, tuna had been the hardest. Ironic since Kara didn't especially like fish under normal circumstances. "I can't take credit for the wedding. It was all Alisha. She really could start her own party planning business. The whole day went off without a hitch. Well, except for my mother passing out. I should have known that she would find a way to sneak a drink."
Jennifer didn't respond, most likely because she couldn't think of anything civil to say. As a teenager, Jennifer had been a front seat observer to the worst of Debbie's excesses. She had seen first-hand the impact they had on Kara, spending numerous hours consoling her friend when (as she always did) Debbie fell off the wagon, and Jennifer's patience for Debbie's boozing had run out long ago. The day that Kara turned eighteen Jennifer had begged Kara to cut her mother out of her life, and could not understand why Kara failed to do so. Kara smiled grimly. She often thought that was the reason that she and Alisha had bonded straightaway. Unlike so many of Kara's friends, Alisha had not judged Kara's relationship with Debbie. Alisha had simply accepted the tumultuous bond between the two, probably due to her own complicated relationship with her mother.
Not that Amy Granderson was an alcoholic, of course, but her refusal to accept Alisha's sexuality had created a major strain on their relationship. A strain similar to the one that Debbie's drinking (and related behavior) placed on Kara and Debbie's relationship. And because of that, Alisha understood something that nobody else in Kara's life – not Danny, not Jennifer, not Burk or Nishioka or Cruz – did. Alisha understood why Kara continued to take care of Debbie, unable to let go of that final glimmer of hope that one day Debbie really would stop drinking. Because despite Amy's persistent denial of Alisha and Sarah's relationship, Alisha had that same glimmer of hope that Amy would one day embrace Sarah as her daughter-in-law.
"I do wish we had had a little more one on one time, though. I have no idea when I'll be getting back to Kansas," Kara added.
"Don't you worry about that," Jennifer replied. "I will come back to visit once the Junebug arrives. You let me know a good time and I will be here."
"I might take you up on that," Kara said, her voice suddenly more serious. "I am a little worried about how everything is going to work once the baby is here."
"You mean because Danny might still be overseas?"
"Exactly. And even if he is back, I don't know how long he will be here or what kind of hours he will be working. His schedule tends to be erratic even when he is on base."
Jennifer nodded. "I imagine it will be hard having him gone so much. But he's hot. And romantic. And totally in love with you. Which makes up for a significant number of other deficiencies."
Kara shook her head ruefully. Trust Jennifer to see the humor in the situation. Something Kara was having a tough time doing now that Danny's deployment was only a week away. "I do wonder about that sometimes."
"About what? Danny being hot? Because I can tell you that objectively he is fine."
"No, not that, obviously," Kara said, giggling.
"Oh my God! Please don't tell me the sex is bad because, one, I won't believe you and, two, how could a man that hot possibly be bad in bed?"
"Jennifer!" Kara snapped, her face burning. Jennifer might be her oldest friend, but there were some things that just shouldn't be discussed. Vaguely Kara wondered if Danny talked to his friends about their sex life. Probably. Danny tended to tell his team everything. And Frankie had certainly been aware that Danny and Kara were up to no good back on the Nathan James.
"I'll take those rosy cheeks as confirmation that the sex is good." Jennifer smirked. "And I know the man is romantic. He sent you two dozen roses this morning, for goodness sakes! Pretty sure his 'love language' is gifts."
"Danny does like to make grand gestures," Kara acknowledged, lips curling as she thought about the gorgeous arrangement sitting on her desk and the note that accompanied them. To Lieutenant Green. Forever and always. Love, Lieutenant Green.
"You don't seriously doubt that he loves you, do you?" Jennifer's fork clattered against her plate. "Kara Elizabeth Foster, er, Green. You have to know how ridiculous that sounds. That boy put a ring on your finger in a New York minute."
Kara leveled a look at her friend, gesturing down at her baby bump. "And don't you think there may have been a reason why?"
Jennifer shrugged, picking her fork back up. "Lots of people have babies now without getting married. Danny wouldn't have married you if he didn't love you. And you wouldn't have married him if you had any doubts about that."
Kara considered Jennifer's words as she flagged down the waiter to order a key lime macaroon. The woman was half right. Kara didn't actually doubt that Danny loved her. She would never have married him if that were the case. But Kara also knew that the catalyst for Danny's proposal had been her pregnancy (despite Danny's insistence that the pregnancy had changed only the timing of the proposal, and not the fact of the proposal). In many ways Danny was an old-fashioned man. He had grown up in a traditional family and he had made no secret about wanting the same for his children. Danny was also practical, and they both knew that there was a very real possibility that he might not return from some future deployment. By marrying Kara, Danny had done everything he could to make sure that she and the baby would be taken care of if something were to happen to him. Kara took a big bite of her macaroon, trying to shake off her morose thoughts. "I think the pregnancy hormones are getting to me."
Jennifer's lips twisted. "Kara, take it from an outsider. You and Danny are made for each other. You act like you have been together forever. I would never guess that you dated for less than a year before getting married."
"Dated? Don't you mean met less than a year before?" Kara snorted. "But you're right. I feel like I have known him forever. I have told him things that nobody else knows. Things about my mom. Things about my childhood. I guess from the moment I met him I knew this was serious. And that scares me a little."
"Things haven't always been easy for you, Kara. I'm so glad to see that you found someone who is treating you right. I used to worry a little bit. You kind of go for assholes."
"Alisha said the same thing when she met Jeremy," Kara admitted with a chuckle.
"You have got to be kidding. Jeremy is back in Norfolk? Why?" Jennifer's face was a mixture of disgust and horror. Jennifer had never liked Kara's ex-boyfriend (Jeremy's refusal to accompany Kara to Kansas to meet her mother and friends had certainly not been a point in his favor), but Jennifer's vague dislike had grown to hatred when, after two years of dating, Jeremy had requested a transfer to San Diego without so much as consulting Kara in advance. She had learned of the transfer only when Jeremy began packing. After she confronted him, Jeremy had suggested that she also request a transfer, but Kara had been smart enough to see the writing on the wall. Jeremy's easy acceptance of their break-up had merely confirmed Kara's decision.
"I have no idea why he is back and I didn't ask." Kara had been taken aback to run into Jeremy the week before. When the Nathan James had departed for the arctic, he had still been in San Diego. "Alisha was with me so I introduced them and she made a point of telling him that I was getting married."
Jennifer leaned in conspiratorially. "Was payback sweet?"
Kara giggled a little at the memory of Jeremy's face. Even thought she had moved on long ago, there had been something … satisfying about the look on Jeremy's face when he learned that she was getting married. "More than I expected, actually. But we are working in the same building now, so we will probably run into each other on occasion."
"You said that you have a new assignment on base?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, I've been assigned to headquarters. Doing paperwork mostly," Kara lied. She was actually going to be doing surveillance interpretation and analysis, but that was not information that she could share with Jennifer.
"And you'll be there until the baby is born?"
"I will be on shore duty until the baby is a year."
"You are going to stay in then?" Jennifer asked, a question that Kara seemed to face at every turn.
"I don't know yet." Kara bit her lip. "Danny hasn't said so, but I suspect he is hoping that I will leave the Navy once my enlistment is up. Being a dual military family is tough. Plus, because I am an operations specialist, most of the assignments are on ship. And Danny could easily be deployed while I am out to sea, which means that we will need to find someone to watch the baby while we are both gone. There is no way I would leave a child with my mother. And while I like Danny's parents, I barely know them. I don't know if I could leave a baby with them."
Jennifer tilted her head to the side. "Why does it have to be you? Couldn't Danny take a civilian job?"
"Danny broke up with his last girlfriend after ten years because he didn't want to leave the Navy. There is no way he is getting out and I don't want to create tension between us by asking." Kara sighed. "It just seems unfair that I have to be the one to give up the career that I have been working towards for the past few years."
Jennifer opened her mouth, hesitated and closed it again before changing the subject. "Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?
"Probably a girl. I thought that Danny would want a boy but he says that he really wants a girl. Of course," Kara added dryly, "what he actually said was that he wanted a girl first. He assumes that we'll eventually have one of each."
"Did you tell him that you only ever planned on having one?" Jennifer asked, amused.
"Yes, and his mouth literally fell open." Kara finished up her macaroon. "We grew up very differently. I didn't mind being an only child. To Danny, that sounds lonely. He is really close to his sister and, despite the age difference, he and his brother get along well. I guess he imagines that our kids would be the same way. I told Danny that we'll see how the first one goes and decide then."
"Good luck with that." Jennifer finished the last of her salad. "That's how I ended up with three."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two hours later, and an hour after her extended lunch break had ended, Kara rushed into the office. Knocking on her new commander's door, Kara quickly explained that she had been stuck in a snarl of traffic resulting from a fatal traffic accident only two miles from the base. Knowing that Danny would not be home for a few hours and not wanting to fall behind, Kara stayed at her desk far later than usual. She was just finishing up the last of her paperwork when Commander Barker stopped by, catching her off-guard. There was no good reason for James Barker to be in this building after work hours, and there was certain no good reason for him to come by Kara's desk. Kara's mind jumped immediately to the worst case scenario.
Something must have happened to Danny.
But as soon as the thought came to mind she dismissed it. The Navy would never have sent Barker (who was not in Danny's chain of command) to inform her if something had happened to her husband. As Kara's initial panic faded, her concern turned to the crew of the Nathan James.
"Jamie? Is everything okay?" Kara asked, worry making her speak more informally than she normally would while in uniform.
"Captain Chandler's wife was killed in a car accident earlier today." Barker paused while the news sunk in. "Commander Slattery and I are trying to let the crew know before it hits the news."
Kara sank back in her chair. Darien Chandler. Kara had not known the woman well. She had spoken with her at a few events, as well as seen her each time the Nathan James departed or returned. But there had been no doubt that the Captain was devoted to his wife – to his family – often speaking of them, the love and pride in his voice unmistakable.
"Captain Chandler must be devastated," Kara said softly. As members of the armed forces, each one of them faced the possibility of dying when they left these shores. But nobody was prepared to lose those they left behind. They were supposed to be safe.
"Commander Slattery said that he was holding up as well as could be expected," Barker explained. "Commander Garnett will be setting up a fund for the Chandler children, as well distributing information about the funeral arrangements for those that would like to pay their respects."
Kara nodded solemnly. She knew that every available member of the crew would be at the funeral. In every way that was important, the crew of the Nathan James was a family. And like any family, they stood together through the good and through the bad. Two days ago they had gathered for a wedding, and Captain Chandler had welcomed Danny into the fold. Now they would be gathering for a much more somber occasion; to support their Captain as they said goodbye to another member of that family, Darian Chandler.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Is there any way you could wait just five more minutes?" Kara pleaded, knowing that her eyes were filling with tears. She watched as the receptionist pursed her lips and could almost see the "no" forming. "Please, my husband is deploying on Monday and I really want him to be here."
The woman's eyes softened slightly. "You are the last patient tonight so I can wait a few more minutes but that is all I can do. He is already fifteen minutes late."
"Thank you."
Slouching in her chair, back aching, Kara checked her phone again. Nothing. Still no answer to either her calls or texts. Shoving the offending object deep into her purse, Kara took a calming breath, rubbing her hand in a circular motion over her belly, soothed by the slight fluttering that she had begun to notice in the last week. With Danny unable to take any time off before he deployed, Kara had snagged the latest time slot possible for this appointment. Danny was supposed to have left Little Creek by five, giving him more than enough time to drive to Norfolk. Kara could not imagine what had delayed him, and her mind kept wandering towards the worst case solution, Darian Chandler's car accident still fresh on her mind.
A minute later, the door finally swung open, and Danny strode into the room. A tear rolled down Kara's cheek as she watched him approach, torn between relief that he was alive and aggravation that she had spent the last twenty nerve-wracking minutes worrying that he was dead.
"I am so sorry, sweetheart. I forgot my phone in my locker and didn't have time to go back to get it." Danny leaned down to press cold lips against her cheek and Kara noticed that he was filthy, his uniform and boots covered in a fine layer of sand and charcoal, although he must have taken the time to wash off his face and hands. He was also missing his coat and gloves and Kara suspected that they, like his phone, were sitting in his locker back on base.
Kara just nodded, reaching for his hand as they followed the receptionist into the ultrasound room. There was undoubtedly more to Danny's story but Kara didn't want to discuss work right now. This would be the last time that Danny would join her for an appointment and Kara wanted this moment to be about the baby, about them, about the family that they were creating. Apparently sensing her mood, Danny sat quietly as Kara lay down and adjusted her clothing.
"Are you ready to see your baby?" The technician asked, squeezing cold gel onto Kara's belly.
"Absolutely," Danny said, squeezing Kara's hand, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"It is a little early so no promises that we can tell the sex but…" The technician's voice faded as their baby appeared on the screen. Once the amazement of seeing the baby – her baby – their baby – Kara began laughing. Danny joined in as well.
"I take it that at this age babies do not have three legs?" Danny quipped.
"No, they certainly do not," the technician replied. "This guy made it easy for me tonight. Mr. and Mrs. Green, meet your little boy."
"A boy," Kara whispered, trying to take it in. "We're having a boy."
"I guess we are going to have to think of a new name. Elizabeth won't really work," Danny murmured as they watched the baby turn, doing flip after flip while the technician attempted to focus on his heart and other organs. After a few minutes she gave up, moving on to the baby's hands and feet, and then his face.
Kara gasped as the baby's profile came into focus, amazingly clear. "He looks just like you, Danny."
"He does, doesn't he?" Danny said, his voice reflecting the wonder that Kara felt.
The examination was over too quickly. After booking Kara for another appointment to re-check the baby's heart (since their little boy's antics had made it difficult to get a good look), Danny and Kara were on their way with a handful of pictures. Leaving Kara's car in the parking lot to retrieve in the morning, they headed home together.
"Are you disappointed? That it's a boy, I mean?" Danny asked.
"No. Just surprised. I really thought that it was a girl. You?"
"Kind of," Danny admitted. "I was hoping for a little girl who looked just like her mama."
Stretching across the car, Kara pressed a kiss against Danny's cheek. "Next time."
"So you've come around to the idea of having a soccer team?" Danny teased.
Kara leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "Nope. Just decided that I need to even up the odds. I don't want to be outnumbered in my own house."