I apologize for the extremely late update! I have been very busy with school and life. Hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, please review!
Fourth of July…
Roxy knocked on the door to the Holden house excitedly. Claudia Joy answered the door a few moments later, "Hey there pretty lady!"
"Great to see you Roxy," said Claudia Joy embracing her, "Afternoon Lieutenant."
"Mrs. Holden, Happy Fourth," said Trevor.
"T.J., Finn, the kids are in the backyard," said Claudia Joy. The boys ran outback and Trevor joined the other men while Roxy joined the girls in the living room with Wyatt and Drew.
"Roxy!" said Jackie excitedly hugging her.
"Hey Jackie," said Roxy.
"How's Tacoma?" asked Denise.
"It's pretty good," said Roxy.
"Fort Lewis is a nice post," said Claudia Joy, "Right Emmalin?"
"Well considering the majority of my time in Fort Lewis was spent inside you and then as an infant, the memory is a little foggy," joked Emmalin.
"How's life here at Fort Marshall?" asked Roxy.
"Well Tim came back from treatment," said Holly.
"We've managed to move up our wedding date," said Gloria.
"When is it now?" asked Maggie.
"August 13," said Gloria.
"Aw, that's Michael and my's anniversary," said Claudia Joy happily.
"Really?" asked Gloria excitedly.
"25 years," said Pamela.
"Wow it's been that long," said Claudia Joy jokingly.
There was another knock at the door and Claudia Joy answered the door. She reentered the room and said, "Look who I found."
"Hey Roland, Colonel Burton," said Charlie.
"Hey everyone," said Joan.
"How's Baltimore?" asked Latasha.
"It's good. A little strange now that I'm no longer active military. Somebody likes to play pranks on me now that I've retired," said Joan scowling at Nicole playfully.
"Me?" asked Nicole playfully struggling to keep Nicholas from crawling all over the room.
"Is it okay if he crawls around because apparently he's all revved up and ready to go," chuckled Charlie.
"Here we can put him where Julia is," said Tonya. Charlie stood with Nicholas and followed Tonya into the family room.
"So how is being the mother of twin boys treating you?" asked Denise.
"It was like when T.J. and Finn were babies times two!" said Roxy, "Twice the feeding, twice the diapers, twice the expenses..."
"But it's also twice the hugs, twice the kisses, twice the 'I love you Mommy's'," said Denise.
"Yeah that's true," said Roxy. Charlie and Tonya came back into the living room and asked, "So how's parenthood treating all of you ladies?"
"Hectic," sighed Charlie honestly, "There are two of us, but there seems to be three of him."
"Isn't that the truth," chuckled Tonya.
"Well, I can't say parenthood is easy. But it will definitely be the most rewarding job you'll ever have," said Jackie.
"Ladies, the burgers and hot dogs are ready if any of you are interested. Emmalin, the veggie burgers are on the end," said Michael.
"Okay Dad," said Emmalin following the other women out to the backyard. Tonya, Nicole, and Kat gathered the babies and joined the rest of the group. Everyone gather their food and began eating, though for some reason Holly wasn't in the mood to eat.
"What's wrong hon?" asked Tim.
"Just not super hungry," Holly admitted honestly.
"You haven't had much of an appetite for the past couple of weeks," said Tim worriedly.
"I'll try to have a little something," said Holly pushing him away lightly.
Emmalin and Jordan were chatting while Kat attempted to try to keep Connor away from the food, "No, you don't have enough teeth to eat hamburgers yet," chuckled Kat, "I know you're always hungry and take after Daddy though." She kissed him on the top of his head.
"He's a growing boy," smiled Jordan taking her half-brother in her arms, "And you are a giant boy for your age."
"How old is he now?" asked Emmalin.
"Three months," said Kat, "Last check-up he's 16 lbs. even and 25, 3 inches long."
"So how is Colonel Richardson doing?" asked Emmalin to Jordan.
"He was going on a mission flying over certain hostile areas," said Jordan, "He's been out of contact for about a month now."
"Bet your Mom is worried," said Emmalin.
Jordan nodded, "She doesn't show it, but I know she's scared to death, especially because she's experienced personally what can happen."
Blake and Tonya sat down next to Jordan and Emmalin with little Julia, "someone wants to see two of her favorite pseudo-aunts," cooed Blake.
"Come here little one," said Emmalin taking Julia from Blake, "You're getting to be a big girl too. You're already six months old!"
"Don't remind me," said Tonya, "Stop growing up on me Pumpkin."
"Dad! The phone is ringing!" called Emmalin from inside the house.
"Okay," said Michael putting down his plate and going inside the house.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat Holly?" asked Gloria.
"Yeah, just can't stomach much and I've been tired all the time," admitted Holly.
"How long has it lasted?" asked Denise.
Holly shrugged, "A couple of weeks."
"Weird, the only time I was tired and nauseous all the time was when I was…" Pamela stopped suddenly in the middle of her sentence. Suddenly, Joan, Roxy, Pamela, Claudia Joy, Denise, Tonya, Jackie, Maggie, Latasha, and Kat all started to smile a little.
"What?" asked Holly confusingly.
Michael stepped outside the house with a saddened look on his face. Everyone picked up on the sudden change of vibe and the laughter died down tremendously. Michael walked over to the groups and stopped in front of Kat. She stood with Connor in her arms and said, "Is Chris alright?"
"Colonel we need to step inside and talk," said Michael.
"No," said Kat starting to cry, "Say it here."
"Colonel…"
"General, please tell me my husband's not dead!" Kat shouted causing the baby in her arms to fuss a little in the process.
Michael took a deep breath and said, "He's missing."