Chapter 36

A couple hours later, Mike returned home after his adventure of finding all the books Naz needed to learn about America and its history. It was easier than finding real food. Steak was damn near impossible to find but he'd managed to find it and he cringed at the high price but felt it was okay to splurge the one time.

Either way, he was happy to get home. He pulled into his driveway. He parked the car and got out with the food rations that were his and Naz's for the week. He locked the car, arms loaded when he stopped to look at the house.

He frowned as it looked like Halloween had been violently ill on his house and the front shrubs in a kitschy cute fashion than the terrorising manner. He cautiously moved across the lawn and up to the door afraid of something about to jump out of him. There were faux cobwebs, bats, plastic skeletons and pumpkins decorated all over the place.

He was about to juggle the bags of groceries and books in his arms to open the door when Naz opened the door for him.

"Hey." She said with a smile. She looked exhausted and judging by the exterior of the house; she had not rested.

"Thank you." He said as she held the door open for him.

"I heard the car pull in. Do you need a hand?" she asked.

"No, what's going on with the front of the house?" he asked carefully as he placed the bags on the kitchen table and began to unload them.

"I hope you don't mind. I had to snoop for the decorations. Candace the base commander's wife gave me a 'to do' list and inferred it would bad for your reputation if the decorations weren't up. You know, she is a class A, racist bitch." Naz told him.

"It comes with the territory; the bitch part as she's queen bee. The racism is unsavoury and probably just her upbringing." Mike said as he unwrapped the steak and showed it to Naz. He enjoyed the smile on Naz's face which made the price worth it.

"Oh, those steaks look amazing." Naz said as she looked at the steaks. "I'm already salivating. I'll have it medium rare." She ordered, Mike snorted a laugh.

"Consider it done, and don't let Candace get to you. She wants you to be problematic, so she can be catty to the other wives." He said as he wrapped up the meat before placing it into the fridge.

"She wants us to paint our house 'Eggnog' and has given me a to-do list." Naz informed him, she picked up a piece of paper that was on the bench and handed it to him.

"This is pretty extensive." Mike remarked as he read down the page. He definitely didn't like being told what to do with what was technically his property. But he knew better than to react. He'd just go to housing and ask for clarification and make sure he got approval.

"I will be polite to her but please don't tell me that I have to be friends with her. She told me that she thought I was touched in the head. More like she's touched in the head." Naz told him. Mike smiled wryly as he hadn't seen her so worked up before with exception of when she was trying to be polite about Tom.

"You can be friends with whoever you want." He told her as he wasn't about tell her how to live her life.

"That's a relief." Naz told him as she looked over the books.

"So, who helped you with the decorations?" he asked.

"I did it myself." She said, Mike knew she was lying.

"What does an Australian know about Halloween?" he asked her. She gave him a smile.

"Absolutely nothing. Sasha helped me. I feel like I should bake her a cake or something." Naz confessed.

"We could make that happen." Mike said.

"You know how to bake?" she asked him skeptically.

"I can follow directions on a box." He said in a defensive manner, Naz grinned as she knew he was downplaying it. She couldn't imagine Mike struggling to do anything when he put his mind to it.

"Finding a cake box might be a struggle though." Naz said.

"I prefer to think of it as a challenge." Mike told her with a grin.

"Hey, don't call your brother stupid. He's younger than you and still learning what you know." Tom told Ashley as he rose from the dining table to grab the phone that was ringing. His words went unheeded as his kids kept bickering.

"Chandler Residence. Tom, speaking." Tom said, he looked outside as lightning streaked across the sky in the distance. The wind was already picking up. He couldn't help but remember the last storm he'd encountered on the sea. How it had nearly wrecked everything, he felt like every time he saw dark skies, he felt trouble brewing.

"Hey." Sasha said, her voice carrying over the line. Tom blinked in surprise as he hadn't expected to hear from her.

"Sasha, hey, how was Washington?" he asked, inwardly cringing at how un-smooth he sounded.

"A ghost town." Sasha replied, Tom wished she would be more verbose but he figured or at least hoped it would change in time.

"Get what you need?" He asked, knowing the question was for himself than about her. But he did genuinely want her to find peace. He knew the hardest part about losing Darien was facing the truth of how deeply he missed her, the pain of her loss. The fact that he felt untethered from the world as she had been the person he came home to. His partner, his lover and best friend. He missed having that, he felt lonely without her.

Hell, he felt lonely without his siblings and parents. He missed the connections of having a close-knit family. Sure, he had Mike and some other people like Andrea and the crew but it wasn't the same kind of relationship. There was a wall between him and them due his rank and how he led them during the Pandemic.

"Mostly, how's things?" she asked him.

"They are ok. Teaching is ok, we've instituted more technology like quiz aps on phones and laptops. It's perked up my students. Kids are good even if they aren't getting along. You?" he asked her.

"I'm good, I'm calling because Naz said you asked her to take Ashley shopping. I wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be joining her. If that's ok?" she asked him.

"Of course," Tom said, he was glad that Naz roped her into helping. He'd become aware with Ashley's changing views especially in regards to her own independence. She needed women to look up to. While Tom couldn't see eye to eye with Naz, he knew Sasha was the kind of woman he'd want as a role model to his children.

"Good, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning at Mike's." Sasha told him. He smiled as tomorrow was definitely going to be a better day.

"Will do." Tom replied.

"Ok, well I have to go-" Sasha started but Tom cut her off.

"Wait." He said, he wasn't ready for her to hang up on him. "It's good to hear from you." He told her sincerely.

"It's only been a couple days." Sasha remarked in a wry manner.

"I know, but it's still good. Anyway, I'll let you go. See you tomorrow." He told her.

"Ok, bye." She said, she hung up the phone. Tom hung up on his end, closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the phone in mortification.

"Everything ok?" Ashley asked Tom, Tom remembered to his embarrassment that the kids were witnessing his private moment.

"Yes, just a friend." He told them before he returned the phone to it's cradle and moved to the table. "So, plan tomorrow. We'll drop Ashley off at Uncle Mike's. She will go shopping with Naz and Sasha after they are done. We'll be going to SECNAV's house for Barbecue." Tom told them.

"Do we have to go?" Sammy asked making a face. Tom didn't blame him. Social functions were pretty boring for adults and even worse for kids.

"Family is invited. There will be other kids." Tom assured him, but he had no idea as he just got a phone call telling him he was ordered to attend.

"Like Frankie? Cause he's a baby." Sammy said making a face, Tom inwardly groaned as he wasn't ready for another teenager with opinions.

"I don't know, but I'd like you two to be there and Frankie is a toddler not a baby. But that's beside the point as there will be food, real food that is hand-shaken by yours truly." Tom told them, he saw their expression lighten up at the idea of being able to chew food again.

"Ok." Sammy said with enthusiasm. "But can I bring my Game boy?" he asked.

"Sure, Ashley?" he asked.

"I'm happy to go, I have my iPhone." Ashley told him.

"Or you can offer to look after Frankie and see if you can get some work as a babysitter." Tom told her, reminding of how she wanted to work.

"I want a real job." Ashley told him.

"Babysitting is a real job." Tom said in a smart ass manner, he grinned as Ashley rolled her eyes at him.

Mike woke up with a start. It wasn't the loud rumble of thunder which felt like the house shook that woke him up. No, it was Naz. She threw off the covers before she rolled to the side of the bed; taking cover.

"Naz." Mike said in concern. He turned to his bedside table and flicked on a lamp. He turned and crawled over to Naz's side and found she was still sitting on the floor. Her head in her hands. "Naz, it's ok. It's just a thunderstorm." He told her, a loud snap followed by crackle noises filled the air. Naz's shoulders jerked at the noise, her breathing became slightly panicked.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, not saying words of comfort as he knew she was probably beating herself up for being scared awake by a storm. She replied by placing her hand on top of his and gave a slow exhale.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I-" she stopped and took a moment to calm herself. "Normally, I'd be zonked on Nostos during storms." She said, she pushed off the floor and Mike helped her put the covers back in place. Mike pulled her into his arms.

"It's ok, just breathe." He told her as he felt her tense up after lightning flashed through the window. He was glad he put on the light because even he would've tensed up from awareness. Naz needed him to be calm, she needed him to be her rock. He wanted to be that for her.

Naz closed her eyes and nodded as she breathed through the noise. Her body screamed at her to take cover, her heart pounded and she had a nice sweat going on. The irrational side of her pulled memories to the surface of the Immune wars likening the thunder to explosions, and the rain that pelted the house of bullets. While her rational mind told her that it was just thunder and rain. The only true thing she had in her grasp quite literally was Mike. She wrapped her arms around Mike and tucked her face into his neck. Using his presence to make sense of her surroundings, the warmth, the scent of his skin and his steady heartbeat to keep her grounded and calmed her.

"The storm is passing." Mike murmured softly into her hair, she wasn't even sure of how long they had been standing there but he was right. The thunder and rain had quietened down. She felt calmer than she had been moments ago.

"Thank you." She said as she looked to him, and saw no judgement. She didn't expect any. A man with a long history as a cop and Sailor didn't come without his own demons. She cupped his face with her hands and pressed her forehead to his. She relished the quiet tension of attraction between them and being with someone who understood her pain and still saw her strength even when she was at her weakest.

She couldn't help herself as she kissed him. Part of her brain told her that friends with benefits did not get emotionally involved but Sasha was right. She wasn't nor could she fake that she didn't care for Mike. As he kissed her back, she sank into the pleasure and acknowledged that she wanted to be with him. Not for the original purpose of a green card or to satiate her physical needs. She wanted to be with him for the long haul.

The following morning, Naz happily accepted a watered-down coffee from Mike as she needed it. Not just for her raw nerves from the storm, or the revelation she deeply cared for a man who only wanted to 'help' her and then have her move on. It was also because it was 7 am and their kitchen was filled with four too many people in it.

Mike seemed to share her opinion as he was quiet and there was a tense edge to his demeanour. She knew he had something on his mind but now wasn't the time to address it. No, right now she had to help Tom and his daughter as she said she would.

"This is ridiculous." Naz said as she read the list and drank her coffee needing the caffeine given the restless night. She really wanted to stay in bed but she said she'd help Tom and his daughter. Something she was purely doing for Mike. She was going to get along with his friends even if hurt or was a pain in the ass.

"Something we can both agree on." Tom said, as he, Sasha, Mike and Naz stood in Mike's kitchen. Sammy and Ashley were in the living room pretending they weren't there as kids want to do when they were awake before they wanted to be.

"Yeah, except I'd not be stupid enough to try and change it." Naz told him, Mike snorted a laugh at Tom's frown. He had been telling them about his plans to change the dress code. He apparently had many supporters as he did haters. His daughter and son weren't impressed but then they thought it was embarrassing especially Ashley who had already told him twice to drop it.

"It's not a fool's errand. I will win because I know how to get things done. I can bend a school district board to my will. You just wait and see." Tom told Naz, his words were slightly practised as she wasn't the first person to tell him to not bother. But he felt his cause was just.

"Ok, good luck." Naz said uncomfortably as she didn't want to egg him on or get into a fight. "Well, I'm sure Ashley, Sasha and I can work out a new wardrobe while you're breaking glass ceilings for the women of America one dress code at time." She drawled sarcastically, Tom made a face while the others were amused.

"On that note, we should get going as I need to chew my breakfast for at least two days a week or I'll go feral." Sasha told them as she was looking a little rough around the edges as Naz felt.

"Yes, more chewing of food. Let's do that." Naz agreed, she downed her coffee and placed her empty cup on the counter and shared a quick kiss with Mike. "I'll see you later." She told him.

"11am latest." He reminded her, she gave a closed lip smile as she warmed to his subtle prodding to not be late.

"I'll get her back in time." Sasha promised Mike before Naz could.

"Ashley, time to skiddadle." Naz said to Ashley, the girl stuffed her phone into her bag and joined them as she followed Sasha out the front door. "Ok, later-" Naz started until Mike caught her attention.

"Dress code list." Mike said holding up the paper. Naz grabbed the paper from him and raced out the front door.

"It'll be ok. They'll get along, right?" Tom asked Mike as he and Mike watched the ladies get into the car and drive away.

"I have no clue, I just know that I have to find if I gotta repaint my house eggnog or not." Mike said.

"What?" Tom asked incredulously.

"Candace Preston." Mike said as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Tom.

"That woman makes me yearn for the days of Ruskov and his tyranny." Tom said as he read the list. Mike gave him an incredulous look and Tom just gave a shrug as he was trying to inject some levity into the situation. "Is she joking with this?" Tom asked him.

"I doubt it but I'm going to cross my t's and dot my I's as she already pushed Naz into decorating the house for Halloween." Mike told him.

"I was going to ask what was going on out there. It's pretty insane for our neighbourhood." Tom said.

Half an hour later,

Sasha had brought them to a vegetarian restaurant that managed to survive on basic combinations of fruits and vegetables that were available. It was not cheap but Sasha felt it was worthwhile, as she told herself she'd be drinking Soylent for the next week.

"Ok, our aim is five tops and two pairs of pants and possibly a skirt. A couple cardigans, an awesome pleather jacket and another cool jacket style." Sasha said, she looked to Ashley who gave a nod while she ate her breakfast.

"Bomber jacket, though a nicely padded anorak would do well in the snow." Naz remarked, before she took a sip of her water.

"Sounds good." Ashley said in a non-committal manner.

"Well, it's your wardrobe, so if there's something you really want for your look. Now is the time to speak up." Naz told her.

"I just want to avoid detention." Ashley said frankly.

"Fair call. What about shoes and underwear, do we have to cover them too?" Naz asked her. Ashley nodded; the poor girl blushed as she was basically with two strangers talking about just the bare necessities of her life.

"That would be good. Maybe we could fit in a pit stop at the pharmacy? I need to get some stuff." Ashley said uncomfortably.

"Sure, what kind of stuff?" Naz asked casually.

"Period stuff." Ashley said in a low voice.

"Oh, yeah. I need to get that too." Naz remarked casually as if it wasn't the big deal. She didn't want Ashley to think her period was something she should have to hide or feel shame about. Part of that was openly discussing it as if it were normal, because it was for women.

"What did you do the past three years?" Sasha asked Naz with a frown, she seemed to know what Naz was up to and went with it.

"Diva cup and reusable pads, but I didn't get to pack my essentials when we left Sardinia. I also had birth control pills which gave me the luxury of skipping my period. 3 months off, one on." Naz remarked casually, she gave a shrug like it was a big deal. She wasn't going to mention that she hadn't had a period for over a year thanks to stress and lack of food.

"I use Diva cup as well." Sasha told her, Naz frowned.

"How do you sterilise it when you don't have a cook top to boil the sucker?" Naz asked her.

"I use a steriliser tablets in cold water. Usually does the trick." Sasha said, she and Naz were completely aware of Ashley listening intently to them. Taking in the knowledge for later use.

"What's a diva cup?" Ashley asked them, joining the conversation.

"It's like a small bell shaped cup. You insert it into your vagina and it collects the blood. The pros of it is that it's re-useable which means in the long run you save money." Sasha explained.

"Cons are you gotta sterilise it and empty it from time to time during your period. It's not for the squeamish, but it's something to keep in mind. Though you're young, so you got time to explore your options and find what feels best for you." Naz told Ashley, making clear that she wasn't going to judge at all.

"I don't know much about any of it." Ashley confessed.

"Don't worry, we'll set you up with a little bit of everything and if you want we can talk you through it. So, when your period comes. You'll be equipped." Sasha told her, she remembered how it was a mother daughter moment that Ashley would not have.

"Thanks." Ashley said with a grateful expression.

"But I will say, you shouldn't be afraid to tell your dad and talk to him about it." Sasha said. Naz laughed but quickly covered her mouth.

"Sorry, most men are pretty uncomfortable about it." Naz said.

"It's embarrassing." Ashley said making a face.

"He was married to your Mom. You don't need to get into details but it's good not to make a big deal of it. Once he knows, he'll probably want to buy you drugs, chocolate and leave you alone. I'm hoping that's what Mike will do when it's my lady time." Naz said with a grin. Sasha shook her head in amusement while Ashley wasn't sure what to make of her comment.

"The thing is it's important to not make it a secret or something you feel you have to hide. Sure, it's not polite conversation for complete strangers but between friends, it's fine to talk about it. It's just a natural body function of being female." Sasha said to Ashley.

"That no one talks about." Ashley said.

"We're talking about it. But I'm pretty sure Naz would talk about any of her body functions." Sasha said, Naz gave a shrug.

"We're best friends and we shared close quarters for about a month. There are no secrets between us when it comes to our bodies. In fact there is very little that I don't know about you." Naz told Sasha.

"There's a lot you don't know. And best friends?" Sasha asked teasingly.

"You can deny it, but it won't change the fact that it's true." Naz told her. Sasha just smiled, feeling the levity and joy.

An hour later, after a run and long hot shower. Mike inspected his face closely in the bathroom mirror and smoothed his hands over his chin making sure he shaved to his standard.

Once, he was happy with how smooth it felt; he double checked his hair and then walked into the bedroom to get changed.

He knew he didn't have primp and polish for a simple Barbecue but he wanted to look good. Not for his fellow comrade but for Naz. He knew she was putting in considerable effort to look good for him. It was only fair, he do the same which left standing in front of wardrobe deciding what to wear.

"I feel like you're not going to win with this dress code. But this is cute." Naz said as she pulled out a turtle neck and paired it with a midi skirt. "Not very teenagery but pair with ankle boots and you got everything covered that you have to cover up for school." Naz said, she made a weird face as she was struggling just as Sasha to find something Ashley liked and didn't look like something a 60 year old woman would wear.

"It's a little too much for school." Sasha said, she looked to Ashley who wore a deflated expression. "Hey, I know this is a pain but I say you live through the next few years of dealing with this restrictions and college will be all about how you want to express yourself." Sasha told Ashley.

"True, I wore a uniform for school. I feel it was better than this. But that doesn't mean you can't dress in better outfits outside of school. Oh!, here some long boyfriend jeans and we can pair them with the high tops you got on. They cover those ankles. You match it with lightweight crew sweater and collared shirt. No boobs and no clavicles but you can accessorise." Naz said.

"Yeah, accessories would be good like a chunky necklace or scarves. Crew neck t-shirt and a cute blazer you can put non political, not religious or profane badges onto." Sasha said.

"Nobody collects badges." Ashley said, with a sigh. "I want to wear skinny jeans." She added.

"I don't think your school will like them." Sasha told her, Naz was looking over the long list.

"No, you can wear skinny jeans as long as they cover your ankles, have no tears in them and are waist height. No, showing of skin between your torso and waistband." Naz clarified.

"Really?" Sasha asked, she could see herself wearing waist high pants but the dress code was doing her head in as it killed any kind of current trend that teenage girls had as they all included showing skin.

"Yeah, your choices are fairly limited as your crew neck t-shirts can't have imagery or words as it attracts attention to your breast area." Naz added.

"But plain colours t-shirts with boot cut jeans and a blazer with a nice necklace would look great in the winter. Or this dark blue t-shirt with this pink bomber jacket." Sasha said as she pulled out the bomber jacket and a plain navy marle t-shirt. It was one of the very few items that Ashley's face lit up at.

"I like that." Ashley said as she took the jacket from Sasha.

"Try them on with these three types of jeans, see which one works for you. One of them are skinny jeans." Naz told her, Ashley nodded as she took the jeans from Naz and went into the dressing room.

"This is hard." Sasha told Naz in a low voice as they kept sifting through the racks. She didn't want Ashley to overhear them.

"We just need to start throwing the clothing options at her and see what she'll keep." Naz replied at the same level of noise.

"We're running out of time." Sasha said.

"All we need in two bottoms and a few tops. Then organise a proper day of shopping." Naz said with a tired sigh, which Sasha knew was more than the frustration of the finding outfits for Ashley.

"You ok?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, why?" Naz replied.

"You and Mike seemed off this morning." Sasha told her. Naz made a face as she clearly didn't want to talk about it. But she did.

"I got a little frazzled by the storm last night. I woke up and forgot where I was for a moment. It was not fun." Naz told her, Sasha had empathy for her as she knew what it was like to wake up and forget where one was.

"It not easy to acclimate after being where you've been for the last few years to this. So, be easy on yourself." Sasha told her.

"I'm trying." Naz told her, Sasha gave her an empathetic smile as she knew how tough it was. But before she could give any advice, Ashley stepped out of the change room.

"What do you think?" Ashley asked as she held out her arms to show off her outfit.

"Oh, I like it. How does it feel?" Sasha asked Ashley as the girl stood in denim blue skinny jeans that were just a touch loose and too long. Even so, they looked good as Ashley didn't look like she was being strangled by her jeans. She had a loose fitted, purple crew neck sweater with a long t-shirt underneath that poked its hem from the bottom of the jumper.

"Ok," Ashley said cautiously.

"Colours are great, here." Naz said as she picked up a long necklace from the accessories rack. She hung it on Ashley's neck and turned the girl back to the mirror. "See, just breaks up the outfit; so it doesn't look like you are just a block of colour." Naz told her.

"It's good." Ashley told her as she touched the necklace.

"This cardigan you have to try just for my sake." Sasha held out Pink and Grey geometric cardigan to her. "You don't have to like it, you just gotta put it on." she told Ashley.

"That would go well with the midi white dress." Naz told her.

"Ok." Ashley said as she took the cardigan. While she might have looked reluctant. She did look secretly happy.

Mike stood in the kitchen looking at the clock that read 11:30am, they were going to be late. But he let it go as Naz had been helping Ashley, from what Naz and Sasha said before Sasha left; Ashley was happier than she had been. So, it was worth being late but he was nervous.

"Ok, I'm done." Naz said a little breathless as she came out the bedroom carrying a pair of nude heels in her good hand.

"You look beautiful." Mike told her, Naz gave a smile as she smoothed down her dress with the other hand. It looked like an awkward affair given the arm was in a removable cast.

But it didn't stop Mike's appreciation as She wore a white broderie anglaise dress that had a crew neckline, fitted elbow length sleeves, fitted waist band and gathered skirt that finished just below her knees.

Her hair was in half up, half down do. Her make up accentuate her natural beauty and glow. She just looked healthy and well rested thanks to the magic of makeup. She looked happy, which he knew couldn't be faked with makeup.

"Thank you." Naz said before she smiled warmly and blushed.

"You bringing a jacket?" he asked her as he picked up his car keys.

"I'm fine. I have a slip under the dress to keep me warm. Wanna see it?" she asked teasingly.

"Later." He promised her as she managed to arouse him with just a mere thought of a slip dress. He really needed to keep his cool instead of being a giddy teenager who just discovered sex for the first time.

"I like your sweater." Naz said with a smile as she playfully pulled on his jumper.

"Thanks, let's go." Mike said casually as he could, but Naz saw right through it but she didn't say anything. Instead she smiled as she followed him out the house.