This one's just pure fluff. I had to throw in some chapters that aren't emotionally devastating.
What If...Carol Lived to Join the Air Force?
Nine months away from her family was too long. Carol valued her job, and she recognized the necessity of deployments like this, but that didn't stop her from wishing she didn't have to leave. And yet, the long absence always made the reunion that much more joyous.
Carol's high school girlfriend would watch video compilations of soldiers returning home whenever she needed a good cry. She made Carol watch with her one time, but she left after one clip. It reminded her of all the times her mom came home, and she didn't want to actually break down in front of Minerva. That had been the first sign they weren't good together, Carol being afraid to be emotional in front of her.
She'd never been afraid to be emotional in front of Maria. Not even close.
They both started sobbing within moments of laying eyes on each other. Carol spent nine months without a hug from her wife, and she wanted to make up for that lost time all at once. She threw her arms around Maria, who immediately dropped her head to Carol's shoulder.
A moment later, another, much smaller pair of arms wrapped around her leg. Without a single verbal exchange, Carol and Maria knelt down and released one arm to wrap the third member of their family into the hug. "Welcome home, Mommy," Amelia said.
Carol kissed her on the head. God, she'd grown so much. Only two months after Carol left, she turned four. Carol had managed to call on her birthday, but of course she missed the party. Her heart sank thinking of all the special moments she missed out on. Amelia hugged her even tighter. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, kiddo."
Maria asked, "You ready to bring Mommy home and show her your new room?
"Yeah!" They'd procrastinated converting the nursery into a bedroom more suitable for a growing child, with decorations to match the big girl bed that had replaced her crib. Maria finally got around to it a few months ago, and Amelia was in love. Carol couldn't wait to see it.
On the drive home, she glanced behind her at least once every twenty seconds to look at Amelia's smiling face. God, she'd missed them so much. She didn't even realize how much until now, with this happiness washing over her that she'd lacked for nine long months.
"Do you want to call Steve?" Maria asked.
"Yeah." Car ride home phone calls with her brother were a homecoming tradition.
Steve picked up halfway through the first ring. He must've been waiting for her call. "Hey!" he greeted. "The eagle has landed?"
"The eagle has landed," she echoed, rolling her eyes at the stupid code phrase he insisted on using.
"Hi Uncle Steve!" Amelia called from the backseat.
"Hey, squirt. Glad to have your mom home?"
"Yeah!"
"Me too."
"How's Dad?"
"He's Dad."
Carol hadn't spoken to her father since she and Maria got married, so she only heard from him via Steve. That was all she needed to hear.
"How's work?"
"It's going great. We're releasing a new game in the next couple months."
"That's great. Did you hide anything inappropriate?"
Steve hesitated. "Maybe. You'll find out if you play it."
"You know I don't play video games."
"Just the endings," he teased.
Carol laughed the kind of deep laugh that she knew would give her a serious case of the hiccups. But it was worth it. As kids, she'd always watch Steve play video games and then beat the last level for him when he wasn't home. All the exposition bored her; she just wanted to fight the big boss. Plus, it had pissed him off. Like most little sisters, one of her favorite pastimes had been making her brother angry. He only retaliated occasionally, when their dad wasn't around to find out about it. Dad used to warn Steve, "If you hit her, she'll grow up fearing men, and then she'll never find a husband." To this day, thinking about that warning cracked her up. Steve's roughhousing didn't teach her to fear men, it taught her how to take a punch—and how to punch back. Their mutual hatred of their father's old-fashioned and bigoted ways fostered the close relationship that they maintained to this day. Amelia didn't know this yet because she was too young to understand, but Steve was actually her biological father. He'd donated so that Carol's daughter could still be related to her even though Maria was the one to carry her.
"Have you ever actually played an entire game start to finish?" Maria asked him.
"Once. In college, I did a speedrun of Super Metroid."
"Dude, that game is so old."
"Hey, it's a great game. You're the one who still watches reruns of Ancient Aliens."
"I'm trying to break her of that habit so she doesn't infect our daughter," Maria explained.
Carol glared at her. "You'll never break me."
"Infect me with what?" Amelia asked.
"Nothing, sweetie. Mama just thinks that my favorite show is silly."
"It is," Steve said.
"Oh, shut up."
"Good to have you back, Cap."
"Glad to be back, loser."
"Love you. I'll come visit soon."
"You'd better."
He hung up just in time for them to arrive home. Amelia got herself out of the car—she'd graduated to a booster seat already, thanks to Maria's height genes—and grabbed Carol's hand to drag her into the house. She barely got a chance to breathe in the familiar scent of home before Amelia dashed upstairs. Maria stood at the bottom of the staircase, hands on her hips, laughing warmly.
"Close your eyes," Amelia said.
Carol complied. She listened to the door opening, the sound of Amelia's feet running into the room, and then the distinct squeak of somebody jumping on the bed.
"Open them!"
She opened her eyes to see Amelia happily bouncing on the bed, now with a new elegant floral comforter. The walls had changed from baby pink to a tasteful light blue, and a white dresser had replaced the old changing table. Beside the bookcase sat a huge beanbag chair that seated all of Amelia's stuffed animals.
"Do you like it?" she asked.
Carol toed off her shoes and hopped on the bed to jump with her. "I love it."
Maria appeared in the doorway and watched them, a fond smile on her face. "As happy as I am to have you back, you'd better not trash the place," she warned.
"No promises," Carol quipped.
"No promises!" Amelia parroted.
"Enough bouncing, before one of you gets hurt."
Reluctantly, Carol plopped down and stopped jumping. Amelia followed suit, then leaned in close. Carol wrapped an arm around her and planted another kiss atop her head. No matter how many times she did it, she'd never make up for all those months without kisses.
"Amelia, I can't have you breaking your mother just yet, we have a special party tomorrow night."
Oh right. Carol forgot about the gala. Maria told her about it last time they talked on the phone, and now she remembered complaining about the fact that it was the day after she got back. "I want to show off my hot military wife to all those government goons," she'd insisted, and only then did Carol agree to come.
"Right, that's tomorrow."
"But I don't want you to leave! You just got back," Amelia protested.
Carol turned and looked her daughter in the eye. "I know, but this is really important for Mama's work."
"Like you going away is important for your work?" she asked, eyes shining.
"Exactly, baby. But this time we'll only be gone one night."
"And your Aunt Monica is gonna babysit," Maria added.
That brightened her right up. "Yay! Auntie Moni! So when are you guys leaving?"
Carol laughed and poked her in the side. "Not until tomorrow. You're stuck with us until then."
Amelia giggled. "Okay."
"Do you want to watch a show while I help Mommy unpack?" Maria asked.
"Okay!" Amelia dashed back downstairs and plopped down in front of the TV. Maria turned on Amelia's favorite show—now with two new characters Carol didn't recognize—and let her be. When Maria headed back upstairs without pausing to grab anything to unpack, Carol suspected she had something else in mind, probably the very same thing that had been on Carol's mind for the past nine months. With eagerness in her eyes, she followed her upstairs.
Anyone know who she and Maria named their daughter after?