"I don't know what to do, dad…" Kim said, her head resting heavily in her hand with her elbow planted on the granite countertop. The conversation she and Kerry shared the previous night had weighed heavily on her mind, causing her to get little sleep. She'd awoken as soon as the sun had begun shining through the attic windows and had pulled herself out of bed, wandering to the deserted kitchen and onto the back deck. She'd come back inside to pour herself a cup of coffee when she found her dad, dressed in his running shorts and a tee shirt getting ready for his morning run. Right away he picked up on her sullen mood and, with minimal arm-twisting, had been able to get her to tell him about the problem.

The Marine sat across from his daughter, his strong hands clasped around his coffee mug. He studied the dark liquid, weighing the problem at hand. He and his daughter had always had a close bond despite the many months he'd spent away from home in the first twelve or so years of her life, but he found he was having a hard time figuring out how to help her. Sighing, he looked into the familiar eyes. "Are you really ready to start a family?"

Kim's eyes studied the intricate, disordered pattern of the granite. She fingered the cool stone lightly, thinking. "Yeah, I think so...I mean, I haven't been thinking about it that much, at least not until now, but I've always-"

The colonel cut his daughter off. "No, Kimberly, are you ready as a couple? You and Kerry, together?"

"Oh." Kim said quietly. "Uh…well, yeah. I mean. Yeah." She thought for a moment: were they ready? They both held stable jobs at County and, between the two of them, earned enough money to keep their feet firmly on the ground; their relationship was steady: sure, they bickered occasionally, but they had been living together without any significant problems for over a year, and their love and devotion to each other had been proven unconditional throughout their relationship. Kim looked up at her father, nodding to support her answer. "Yeah, we are." She repeated.

Ken nodded. "Well there you go."

Blond curls fell as Kim shook her head. "But that doesn't change the fact that Kerry's so unsure...I've never seen her so...so afraid of something, dad." Kim explained. "She really doesn't think she can do this, but I can just see how bad she wants it. I can see how afraid she is, but I know she can do it. I know it."

Kenneth sighed; he didn't know Kerry well, but from the way his daughter had described her, he knew she was a strong woman. That being said, he could also understand how her disability, one that seemed to hardly limit her otherwise, could cause her to have hesitations when it came to having children; he even admired her for thinking of the affect it might have on their unborn childrens' lives. He also could gather that, if Kim thought Kerry would be a fit parent, Kerry would be a fit parent. He wrung his hands together in thought: the only think he knew for certain was that Kerry needed reassurance, and a hell of a lot of it. "You need to make her see that she can do it, Kim…it's not enough for you to believe she can; she has to see it, too."

Kim's hands clutched at her hair in frustration. "But how? How do I do that? She's not exactly the most compliant person I've ever met…"

Ken mulled this over. Kim complaining about Kerry's stubbornness almost made him chuckle; Kim was, after all, one of the most stubborn, strong willed people he knew. "I remember the first time you signed up for a marathon" he began, his gentle voice cutting through the long stretch of thoughtful silence, "it was the fall of your freshman year at college. We had been training for months- remember the mornings we spent running all of these roads?" he asked.

Kim nodded slowly, unsure of where her father was going but enjoying the reminiscent memory nonetheless.

The Marine continued. "You were ready….you and I both knew you were and you were confident that you could do it; you spent your entire spring and summer preparing...I remember the first time you completed a full twenty miles. I knew you were ready as soon as we got back to the house and you still had a smile on your face. But then, the night before the race, I found you sitting out on the deck, staring blankly at the ocean."

Kim's eyes dropped as she remembered the night he was talking about; she had been so nervous, so suddenly convinced that there was no way in hell she could run 26.2 miles, and was a mere phone call away from scratching her name off the roster.

"You told me that you couldn't do it, said that eighteen weeks hadn't been long enough and that you'd surely drop after the thirteenth mile." He shook his head. "And then I told you that you'd be losing $250 dollars and eighteen long, painstakingly hard weeks of training. I told you that you were ready, that I knew you could do it and I wouldn't have said it if you weren't."

Realization donned on Kim and she nodded slowly, an understanding smile creeping to her face. "You convinced me…" she murmured.

Kenneth Legaspi nodded proudly. "That's right. You loved running and had spent the better part of seven years looking forward to finally completing a marathon." He leaned back in his chair, smiling at his daughter proudly. "And then you did it."

Kim nodded. "And then I did it…"

Kenneth smiled. "And you've been doing it ever since." He added, "All she needs is reassurance, Kim. If she wants this as much as you do, she'll come around." He promised. "You just need to make sure she knows that, together, you can do it."

Kim smiled thoughtfully. They could do it. She wanted it, Kerry wanted it, and they were going to get it. They could do it.

Now wearing a large smile, Kim leaned across the counter top and kissed her father on the cheek. "Thank you, dad."

Ken smiled at his youngest child. He knew she would be able to make Kerry see the truth and that, together and God willing, they would raise beautiful children.


Three chapters left and possibly an epilogue or sequel/spin-off if I can ever find some inspiration. Thanks for all of your awesome reviews and support!