Catherine gave him a resigned smile. "Oh, what a pity!"

"I'll get the door, Debby. Wait a minute," Steve said to the girl as he and Catherine dressed quickly.

Steve opened the door, and Debby was there with Joe and the stuffed gator. "Oh, no. There's no room in bed for Bob. The bed is small for me, Mom, Joe, you and Bob," Steve told Debby.

Debby made a sad face and decided to go to sleep in her own room, and Steve took pity on her. "Okay, Debby. Bob can stay, but only today."

"Okay, Daddy."

The next day, Catherine woke up and Steve was no longer in bed. She thought it was weird because it was too early and he was waking up late the last few days. She got up and looked for him around the house, but she couldn't find him. She looked at the backyard and then at the sea and saw something like a head. She then went to the beach and confirmed that it was Steve swimming like in the old days.

She sat on the chair and waited for him to come out of the sea.

Steve decided to come back when he saw her sitting on the chair waiting for him. "Hey," he said when he left the sea and kissed her softly.

"Hey. You're up early today," she said, still feeling the salt from the water he left on her lips.

Steve sat down on the next chair while he dried himself with the towel. "I couldn't sleep, Cath. Joe kicked me all night."

Catherine smiled. "I know what that's like. Debby and Bob pushed me all night, too, but I'm kind of used to it by now."

Steve laughed. "Bob pushed you?" He dried his hair and looked out to sea. "Since I couldn't sleep, I got up and looked at the sea and gave myself a huge urge to swim."

"It's because you did it every day for long years," Catherine told him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes, I mean it. That's what you did to stay in shape."

Steve stood up and stretched out his hand to her so she'd stand up, too. Catherine held his hand and stood up, too. Steve looked at her with a malicious look.

"What?" she asked.

Steve opened her robe and took it off, leaving her only in lingerie. He and pulled her out to sea saying they were going to finish what they had started the night before.

"At sea?" She asked.

"Yes. Here and now."

"But Steve... we have neighbors..."

'Forget the neighbors, Cath. They're sleeping."

That same day, Junior stayed with the children while Catherine went with Steve to the Navy office to tell how Steve had been found and he was examined by the doctor. After a long conversation, it was agreed that Steve would start a psychological treatment next week. The Navy would also compensate him for all the time he was lost without memory and he would also get his retirement.

He left the Navy office a little sad. "What?" Catherine asked him.

"It's hard to look at all this here and know that I was already part of it, but I do not remember. It's hard not to have a past."

"But you have a past, Steve, and you'll remember it," Catherine told him.

Steve stopped walking, looked at her and touched her face affectionately. "I'm lucky to have you, you know that?"

Steve had told Catherine that he was not ready to meet his friends, but as Junior had taken care of the children at Catherine's request, Steve talked to him at length. After Junior left, Steve went to the kitchen and told Catherine that he was ready to meet Mary.

"Good, because Mary is coming tomorrow. I already told her everything, I could not hide from her that I had found you. I hope you won't be mad at me."

"No, Cath. I'm not mad at you."

"Good," she answered.

Steve hugged her and kissed her neck. "How can I be mad at you if every day I fall in love more and more?"

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he answered and kissed her.

Catherine looked into his eyes after he broke the kiss. "I can say I fell in love twice with the same man."

"I think that's good, right?" Steve held her tight. "Thanks for not giving up on me. I know I'm not even thirty percent of the man I once was, but you love me anyway. Thank you for your affection and your love. Thank you for Debby and Joe, I can't imagine my life without those two."

Catherine smiled with his appreciation for everything she did. "I do everything for you and our family."

"I know, baby. I know."

"I saw that you were happy to talk to Junior," Catherine told him.

"Yeah, he seems like a nice guy," Steve told her.

"He was like a son to you."

Steve laughed. "I'm not old enough to have a son his age, Cath."

She smiled, too. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do." Steve kissed her forehead and went to play with the kids.

After dinner, Steve put Debby and Joe to bed and told them a story. He had bought a book with several stories when he left with Catherine to go to the Navy. The children slept after the second story and Steve covered them and turned off the light, leaving only the lighting of the lamp.

"Children asleep and mom and dad ready to date," Steve told her.

"Come here," Catherine opened her arms to him. Steve lay down and hugged her. He remembered the hard, lonely bed in the monastery. "So good to be in your arms, Catherine."

"I can say the same, Steve. And today at sea... well... it was amazing!"

"We can do it again right here and now."

Thank you for your review of the last chapter of "My sweet bodyguard". I don't intend to start a new story now because I'm getting ready for some special Christmas chapters of some finished stories. How are they now and what would their Christmas be like? I don't know if this will sound interesting to you, but it's something I wish to do. Thank you for reading, be safe.