Things got really busy for Percy on the business side and in her home life. Alexis was doing well at getting potty trained and then Sonja went on an extended deployment. The nanny told her it took two days for the little girl to realize that her mommy was gone again and the whole bathroom experience went south.
Sonja returned home to a distressed father. Alexis didn't even want to sit on the potty chair. Fortunately, her mother was able to get her back on track with reinforcement from Grandma LaSalle.
Somehow in all the goings on, Sonja missed a doctor's appointment. It was hard to reschedule when she knew she had more back to back missions coming up. It was everything she could do after her return from mission number two to keep food down. She knew she should have known better to eat water washed greens from that African Country. She made LaSalle stop twice on the way back from the airport so she could throw up. Two days later she was still sick and knew she had better make her way to her doctor to ensure that she did not bring a parasite home with her.
"Well Mrs. LaSalle, you are pregnant. About two months along I would say." Sonja couldn't be depressed. She loved her husband and to be able to bring another child into their lives would be an added joy in their family's life. Actually, Sonja was glad that it would be a spring baby. This meant she could have all the time she wanted at home during the Christmas season.
She had snuck into her home office during nap time to wrap presents. Oh, shoot she thought. She didn't have any bows left over from last year. She thought she would just run down to the store real quick.
Just as she was about to enter the store, she heard a woman hollering. Her little boy was right at Sonja's feet heading out the door to the drive and she reached out to grab him as he went running by. Somehow Sonja lost her footing with her baby weighted body, fell and smashed into the concrete sidewalk. She knew she was in trouble as soon as she hit the 'deck'.
The medical personnel were professional and attentive but there was nothing that could be done. Her own OB/GYN happened to be in the hospital delivering another baby. She hurried to Sonja's room just as the x-ray was brought in. The doctor stepped out for a moment to speak with Christopher. They returned to Sonja's side together. "I'm so sorry Sonja" she began. "We have two options. You can deliver your baby or we can go upstairs and remove him through surgery. They cried for two straight days at the loss of their second son.
Baby Cade had the same broad forehead as his grandfather and uncle. He looked like a china doll in the coffin. He was perfect since he did not have to exit through the birth canal. They let him stay with Sonja and Chris as long as they wanted. He was buried in a little sleeper that Cade had bought for his first baby nephew's christening a decade before.
Mother LaSalle came and stayed with them for a month while they were able to muster the strength to go on. Sonja had long learned to trust her mother in law. Like her own family members, there was something about southern women that was unique to them. Mrs. LaSalle would call and sometimes send snail mail letters of encouragement. She had some inane ability to know when Percy needed a boost of reassurance just at that particular moment. Chris and Sonja took a short little trip to the Poconos her last weekend in D. C.
Life went back to as close to normal as it could. Several new members were added to Sonja's unit. The bad guys kept coming and the missions remained difficult and sometimes deadly.
Her babies weren't babies any more. Alexis was now three. They had decided to enroll her into a bilingual day care. Sonja found the time to get her Spanish books back out and began to communicate with her daughter in the foreign language at home.
Six weeks after CJ started full time school, Sonja was called in to the Deputy Director's office. "Well Agent Percy, you must know that we are trying to gather ourselves back together after the four years that the agency was seemingly dismantled. We have moved several key operations to Redstone (Arsenal). I am going to ask you about transferring there in the Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center training program. I know you have a spouse and a family. While others may not consider the ramifications, I know how it is. My spouse is a lawyer and she was firm that she was not moving and starting over again after this D.C. posting.
Sonja replied "I'll visit with him tonight" knowing full well that Christopher LaSalle would not object to returning to the place of his birth and his precious "Roll Tide" nation! A winter move was not something she looked forward to including trying to sell the house. Much to their surprise they had made some inquiries with the agent who they purchased their home through. "It just so happens that I had a contact from an Air Force pilot who is rotating out of Europe to Mc Quire who wanted me to look for something for his family. His mother-in-law will be joining them this tour to help with their new infant. It worked out that they could spend Christmas in their current home and then fly down as a family to visit LaSalle's mother and sister and drive up to Huntsville and house hunt.
This move, LaSalle decided would be their retirement home. He found a plot of land outside of Huntsville. They modified a plan of the builder and built a beautiful raised ranch on 2 acres of land close to the Flint river.