"Daddy, why is Miss Ellie in your bed?" John's eyes flew open at his daughter's attempted whisper. He didn't know what to tell her.
"Your daddy invited me to go to church with you today," Ellie explained, rolling over and leaning on John's side so she could face the little girl, "So it was easier for me to sleep here than for you and your daddy to drive all the way to my apartment to pick me up.
"Oh, okay," Alexandra shrugged, "Can I snuggle?"
"Yeah, Kid, come here," John grunted, lifting the little girl as Ellie scooted over, settling her in between the adults. To his surprise, Alexandra immediately rolled over and curled up against Ellie, "I feel the love, Kid." He grunted drolly, earning a soft chuckle from Ellie.
"You know, Marine, your arms are long enough you could snuggle both of us," Ellie pointed out.
Casey grunted in acknowledgement and turned on his side to wrap his arms over his girls as they dozed for a while longer.
To John's surprise, Ellie insisted on getting Alexandra ready for church school. As soon as she'd gotten out of the shower, she whisked Alexandra away to the little girl's room, giving him time to shower himself, get dressed, and start breakfast while the girls got ready. He'd just begun to portion out scrambled eggs and toast when Ellie and Alexandra emerged.
Ellie was radiant in a floral sundress that brushed her knees and the sandals she'd worn to the park the previous day. As it turned out, his mom had forgotten her hairdryer, which Ellie had been able to use to tame her long hair after her shower. Alex had her hair plaited back in a pair of French braids and was wearing a smock dress with fluttery short sleeves that went down to the girl's knees. On her feet she wore sandals and… her toes and fingers were painted. When was that done?
"Look Daddy, I'm wearing flowers like Miss Ellie!" Alex announced, twirling to show off the dress which, sure enough, had blue and purple flowers printed on it. "And she painted my fingers and toes, but I had to sit very still while they dried so that she could do my hair."
"I hope you don't mind. I had some nail polish in my purse, and it matched our outfits." Ellie gave him a slightly apologetic look.
"I don't mind it," John shrugged, "Although when you take it off of her, you're doing it in the back yard. Debbie was always painting and repainting her nails and that polish remover smells to high heaven… and lingers."
Ellie chuckled at his description, "Okay, I can do that." She watched as he brought the breakfast plates to the table, "Can I help?"
"Nah, I got it," John assured her, "Sit, and eat, we're gonna head to the church in about 20 minutes."
Ellie nodded her understanding and helped Alex into her booster seat before taking her own seat. The three of them ate their breakfast, John helped Alex brush her teeth and they were off.
Arriving at the chapel, John helped Ellie out of the car before going to retrieve his daughter. Holding her on his hip, and taking Ellie's hand with his free hand, he led them across the parking lot. As soon as they got to the grass outside of the church, Alex started wiggling to be let down. Reminding her that she had to stay between the sidewalk and the church, he let her down, watching her as she skipped ahead of them.
John and Ellie continued walking toward the church pausing once in a while to greet his fellow service members and their families, who he'd gotten to know over the past several months, proudly introducing Ellie to them. Soon enough Alex's voice rang out over the sounds of conversations.
"Pastor Joe, Pastor Joe!" The girl called out to the young chaplain who was standing near the entrance to the church.
"Hello, Alexandra," He smiled, crouching down to talk to her, "Don't you look nice today."
"Miss Ellie had a sleep over," Alexandra told him, "She helped me get ready for church school today."
"And who is Miss Ellie?" The chaplain lifted a knowing eye to John and the woman beside him, the couple blushing over the revelation.
"Daddy's girlfriend," Alex informed him, "She's really nice, and pretty. She's a doctor, Daddy likes to call her 'Doc.' She fixed my arm." She lifted her casted arm to make her point.
"She sounds like a great person," Pastor Joe commented, standing to greet John and Ellie who had approached, "Captain Casey, and I'm assuming Ellie?"
"Nice to meet you," Elle shook the minister's hand.
"So, a sleep over?" Joe arched an eyebrow at John.
"Yeah," John chuckled, "Forgot I had to drive Ellie home until after Alex had been put to bed, so she crashed with us and graciously offered to attend services with us today."
Joe nodded, turning to Ellie, "So, you're the beauty that calmed the beast? I've heard stories from some of the men and women who have served with Captain Casey in the past and the man they talk about is not the one I've seen these past few months."
"I can't take all the credit," Ellie shrugged, "I'm pretty sure, this cutie right here is the reason for the kinder softer John we see before us."
"That's me!" Alex crowed, earning a chuckle from the adults.
"Yeah, it is, Kid," John affirmed.
Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of a bell.
"I'd better get inside," Joe commented, "I'll see you in there."
John nodded and shook the man's hand before retrieving his daughter and claiming his girlfriend's hand again, walking them around the side of the main building to another longer building holding a series of doors. Walking about half way down, he released Ellie's hand and opened the door to a classroom filled with kids around Alex's age playing, being monitored by a couple women. There were a few other parents in the process of dropping off their children and checking them in with one of the class aides before heading over to the chapel for services.
"Good morning," The aide doing check-ins greeted them, "It's nice to see you again, Alexandra."
"Hi Miss Ruth," She smiled at the woman.
Ruth turned to Ellie with a puzzled expression, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."
"I'm Ellie," Ellie greeted the woman with a handshake.
"My girlfriend," John supplied, squeezing Ellie's hand reassuringly.
"Good for you, Captain," Ruth praised, earning an embarrassed grunt from the Marine. "Well, it is nice to have met you, Ellie, at least now we have a face to go along with the name. Alexandra can't stop talking about you. I hope we see you around more often."
"I hope so, too," Ellie gave John a smile.
"Well let's get Alexandra checked in so you two can get to service." Ruth nodded, noting on her clipboard that Alexandra was present, and pulling a name sticker off a sheet, placing it on the back of Alex's dress.
John put the little girl down and crouched down, "Alright, Miss Ellie and I are going to church now, you be good for your teachers."
"Yes, Sir," Alex nodded, and gave him a hug. She then turned to Ellie, who had crouched down beside John, and gave her a hug too before skipping off to play with her friends until church school was called to order.
"Shall we?" John asked, standing and assisting Ellie back to her full height.
"Let's go," She smiled, looping her arm through his as they made their way over to the chapel and found a couple spots in a pew about halfway down the aisle of the sanctuary. It seemed they'd made it in just the nick of time, too as the worship team started almost as soon as they'd claimed their seats.
The service was a little different from what Ellie had grown up knowing, but she quite liked the experience. She may not have known all the songs the worship team sang, but the lyrics were projected at the front of the sanctuary. She was even able to join in when they started on an old hymn she remembered from her childhood. The chaplain, Joe Blaylock, gave a compelling and interesting sermon from the book of Acts. After a time of prayer, and announcements, the worship team retook their places and led the congregation in another song before the service ended.
Just as like happened before the service, and to an extent during the portion of the service when the congregation was encouraged to greet their neighbors, John and Ellie were stopped by various service members and their spouses and families who wanted to know who the pretty woman with John was. Ellie greeted them kindly, exchanging small talk before greeting the next round of curious people.
"Captain!" An older man, with a woman a few years his junior approached. He was wearing his service uniform, and the woman with him had on a jean skirt and short sleeved peasant blouse.
"Good morning, General," John greeted him with a handshake before turning to the older woman, "Mrs. McGillis."
"Good morning, John," Polly McGillis replied, "How is your mom?"
"We just got her settled into her new place yesterday," He shrugged, "Seems a nice enough place, I'll miss having her around to help out with Alexandra, though."
"Well, it looks like she hasn't left you completely alone," Polly smiled, turning to Ellie, "Hi, I'm Polly McGillis."
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. McGillis," Ellie accepted the older woman's handshake.
"I'm sorry," John interjected, "General, Mrs. McGillis, I'd like to introduce you to Doctor Eleanor Bartowski. The woman I'm lucky enough to call my girlfriend. Although I'm not quite sure how I talked her into being with a devil dog like me."
"Oh, stop it," Ellie playfully smacked his chest, "You know you charmed me with those pretty blue eyes of yours." She then turned to the older couple, "You can call me Ellie."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ellie," Polly nodded, "I've known John since he was a teenager, his mom is a good friend of mine. I'm glad he's met someone who makes him smile like that." She nodded to the warm grin John was giving his girlfriend.
Realizing he'd been caught out, John blushed slightly and cleared his throat, "We should probably get going. We have to pick up Alexandra from church school and get Ellie back home."
"I hope we see you around more often," Polly smiled, and her husband nodded his agreement. The older couple exchanged handshakes with the younger pair and made their way out of the sanctuary.
"Why don't we go get the kid, go back to mine so you can get your things and I'll take you home." John suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Ellie nodded, "Although, now I wish I'd brought another set of clothes with me so I could spend more time with the two of you."
"We have our whole lives to spent time together," John commented, "We've got time."
Ellie grinned at the sentiment and, taking his offered hand, walked over to the classrooms to collect Alexandra. The whole way back to the house and then to her apartment, she enjoyed listening to Alexandra talk about her lesson on Jonah and the Whale as well as which friends Alex had played with that day. She really didn't want to get out of the car when they arrived at the apartment, but John assured her that they'd be seeing each other soon.
With one last kiss from her boyfriend and a hug from his daughter, she collected her bag once more and made her way up to her apartment, which seemed eerily quiet after such a full weekend.
"Alexandra Casey?" The nurse called into the waiting room of Doctor Clark's office.
John stood along with Alexandra and followed the nurse into the back of the pediatrics office. After the usual process of capturing the girl's weight and height, they were led toward an exam room. As they passed the nurse's station, they saw a familiar face.
"Miss Ellie!" Alexandra called, and ran to the woman, wrapping her uncasted arm around the Doc's thigh.
"Hey, Alexandra!" Ellie crouched down to the girl's level and gave her a hug, "Are you excited to get your new pictures so we can see if your cast can come off today?"
"Yeah," Alexandra nodded, "Can you hold my hand and count again?"
"The Doc might be a little busy, Kid," John tried to explain.
"I want Miss Ellie to hold my hand," The little girl pouted.
John and Ellie exchanged a look, knowing that now that they were seeing each other it would appear inappropriate for her to be involved in the girl's medical care from now on. Not knowing how to explain this to the four-year-old, John scooped up his daughter and looked toward the nurse to show them to the exam room. Ellie let out a sigh as she could hear the little girl crying just down the hall.
"Is she not here to see Doctor Clark?" Patricia, the nurse working the desk, asked.
"No, she is, I just can't be in there," Ellie explained, "Her dad and I..."
A knowing look came over Patricia's face, "Lucky girl. Marine?"
Ellie nodded, looking warily at the exam room from which she could still hear Alexandra's crying.
"Does Doctor Clark know?" The nurse asked.
"He practically insisted I give John my number," Ellie chuckled, "Told me that, technically, Alexandra was his patient not mine, so there was no ethical issues in pursuing the attraction between John and I."
"He's a smart man," Patricia nodded, "Tell you what, since you have nothing to do while Calvin is in with her, why don't you take off your doctor's hat for a bit and put on your Mommy hat for a bit."
"But I'm not..." Ellie protested.
"Do you think it makes a difference to that little girl?" Patricia challenged her, "Besides, I can see it's tearing you apart to listen to her cry like that. Give me your coat and scope, I'll file that chart, and go comfort your girl."
Ellie rolled her eyes, knowing that she wasn't likely to win the argument. In short order, she had removed the stethoscope from around her neck and shrugged off her coat, laying them on the counter in easy reach of Patricia, who set them on the desk next to her and took the chart she'd brought over to be notated and filed. She took a deep breath and smoothed down her purple scrubs before walking over to the door of the exam room and knocking softly.
At John's grunted response to enter, she slipped inside, "Hey," She smiled at them, noting the crocodile tears running down Alexandra's face. Taking a seat next to John, she reached over and wiped the tears from the little girl's face and held out her arms to take her. Alexandra gave her a small smile and climbed from her daddy's lap into Ellie's, curling up in her lap, her little head resting over Ellie's heart.
Another soft knock sounded on the door before Doctor Clark entered, giving her a questioning look.
"I'm not here as Doctor Bartowski, right now." She explained, "Alexandra needed her Miss Elllie."
Calvin nodded his understanding and pulled up his stool to sit in front of the little girl. "Were we having a tough day?" He asked soothingly.
Alexandra nodded slowly, "Uh huh, want Miss Ellie to hold my hand an count during the pictures..."
The older doctor gave her a soft smile, "Well, then it's a good thing she's here, then." He then turned his attention to the adults, "Radiology is waiting for us, so let's head over, see what they can show us."
They headed down to the small radiology suite where they had Alexandra's arm x-rayed. It wasn't long after John, Ellie, and Alex had returned to the exam room that Doctor Clark came walking in with a folder. He turned on the light box and slid the exposures over the lit surface. After looking at them a moment he turned back to the trio sitting on the chairs.
"Well, I've got good news, and I've got great news," Doctor Clark announced, "The good news is that it looks like the break is healing nicely. The great news is that Miss Alexandra's cast is coming off today!"
The adults smiled at the news and hugged the little girl.
"If one of you could please bring Alexandra over to the table, we can get started." The jovial doctor nodded toward the paper-covered exam table.
John and Ellie shared a look, having a silent conversation before John nodded and Ellie rose, bringing Alexandra with her. Sitting the girl on the bed, she quickly explained what was going to happen.
"Is it going to hurt?" Alex asked, tentatively.
"No, Sweetie," Ellie shook her head, "It just makes a lot of noise."
"Pwamise?" The girl gave her puppy dog eyes.
"I promise," Ellie assured her. "Tell you what, I'm going to hop up here with you and hold your hand while Doctor Clark removes your cast."
Alexandra nodded her head. Ellie smiled and hopped up on the bed, pulling the girl into her lap. She hugged Alexandra and gave her a small kiss on the crown of her head, as she had so many times before for her brother when he was younger and needing comfort. Taking Alexandra's right hand in her own, she nodded at the older man that they were ready.
Doctor Clark gave them a smile and started up the saw. Just as Ellie had said, the power tool was loud, but quickly cut through the fiberglass cast. Once the cast had been split, he pulled out a pair of medical scissors and cut through the gauze that had been wrapped around Alexandra's arm.
"It stinks!" Alex pronounced, "And my arm looks yucky."
This earned a round of chuckles from the adults in the room.
"We can wash your arm, Sweetie," Ellie told her, "It just smells and looks gross because we weren't able to wash it when we washed the rest of you these last few weeks."
Alex nodded as Doctor Clark pulled out a stepstool and placed it in front of the sink before assisting Ellie and Alex off the table. While he gave some after care instructions to John, Ellie stood Alexandra on the stool and began to gently wash the girl's arm, clearing away layers of dead skin and dirt that had accumulated beneath the cast. Once they were done, Ellie toweled off Alexandra's arm and took her back over to where the men sat.
"You did good, Kid," John praised.
"I think that deserves a high-five," The older man held out his hand and waited for Alexandra to slap his palm, "There we go! We are done for today, so you can head out. It was nice seeing you both."
"We'll be back in a couple weeks for Alexandra's pre-school physical." John informed him.
"I'll see you then!" Doctor Clark smiled and stood, walking over to the door and holding it open for the other three to exit, "I trust Eleanor knows the way out."
Ellie nodded and led John and Alex out to reception, where John was given a printout of Alex's after care instructions. She followed them out to the Crown Vic and said goodbye, hugging Alexandra then waited for John to secure his daughter in her seat before kissing him goodbye and promising to see him that weekend.
John returned the kiss, gave her a small smile and an affectionate grunt, then folded himself into his car and drove off toward the base and his home.