CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Mike laid in his king-sized bed; Andrea tucked snuggly into his side. He chuckled a little. Big ass bed and here they were tucked into the corner as close as could be.

He stroked his fingers along her shoulder and stared at the ceiling. He glanced at the clock and sighed. They had the day off today. Mike had a fleeting thought and hoped Tom was doing okay. He knew Tom's family was arriving from Norfolk today. Mike wondered what he and Andrea could do today.

They were still trying to be careful about their relationship, even though more and more people were figuring it out. No one seemed to have an issue with it though, so no one had reported it.

Mike nudged Andrea awake, then kissed her. She then snuggled into his neck and sighed happily. Mike smiled. His fingers stroking absently up and down her arm. He closed his eyes and soaked in the moment.

"What should we do today?" Andrea whispered against his neck. He smiled.

"This," he whispered. She pulled her head up and rested her chin on his ribcage, staring up him with a mischievous smile.

"All day?"

"Forever," Mike sighed, and Andrea chuckled. "Okay, maybe not forever.

"Forever sounds good," Andrea replied.

"I really do love you," he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her. She shifted in his grasp laying her head flat against his chest.

"I know," she whispered.

"I can't wait until you're Andrea Slattery," Mike said quietly as he shuffled onto his side propping his head up with his hand. Andrea adjusted herself into the same position. They stared at each other for a long time. Mike couldn't help but grin the whole time.

"About six months," Andrea sighed and put her left hand on his chest, showing off the simple ring he had picked out.

"It'll be amazing," Mike said and then he had another thought. He didn't want to have to live in a hotel. He wanted to come back from deployment, get married, and have a home while they planned the baby. Andrea was searching in his eyes, she knew he was thinking about something.

"Want to let me in on your thoughts?"

"A house," Mike breathed out. "A home…with you."

"Now?" she asked.

"Yes. I mean it can be in my name until we get back and the add you, so we don't draw suspicion."

"You want to go pick out a house now?"

"Yes," Mike said with a grin. "We can use the same program Tom just used to get him and his dad a house. The president has set aside some homes and funds for officers to settle here. Tom was telling me about it since they want to move the military home base to St. Louis."

"So, after everything, we're settling in St. Louis?"

"I can't ever go back to Norfolk full time. I don't ever want to. And here is as good a place as any. Tom's already settling here with Rachel, sounds like Tex is too."

"Maybe we can be the Chandlers' neighbors," Andrea laughed.

"Wouldn't be horrible. We lived in the same neighborhood in Norfolk."

"I know. I was a few blocks away."

"What do you say? Later today we look at houses?"

"I think that's an amazing idea," she whispered and then leaned in and captured his lips with hers.

An hour later they were still lying in bed, snuggling together. Andrea had dozed off and Mike was watching her sleep, wondering how he had managed to not screw this up. He chuckled a little and then smiled as he gently feathered his fingers in her hair.

He still had the darkness inside him, and sometimes it reared up, but having Andrea by his side, and her understanding of the darkness, had helped him grieve for his dead family. Mike felt a mixed bag of emotions as he was happy, he and Andrea had found each other the way they had but was devastated they both had to lose their families to get to that point.

But in the grand scheme of things in the new world, it seemed to be par for the course. Chaos seemed to be the new world order and Mike just wished it would settle down and return to somewhat normalcy in the long run. Mike reached for his phone and called into the realtor's office. A woman answered.

"Yes, hi, this is Commander Mike Slattery. I'm interested in getting a house here in St. Louis and the president and Admiral Chandler mentioned that your office was the place to call," Mike said softly.

"Yes, Sir, we sure are. We've contracted with the Navy to obtain housing for any interested Naval Officers. What type of housing are you looking for?"

"Well, I'm looking for a house with maybe three bedrooms, spacious yard, nice neighborhood, around other Naval personnel."

"I have a few houses in mind already. When were you thinking about purchasing."

"Today?" Mike said as he glanced down at the sleeping woman in his arm.

"You're in luck. I have an opening this afternoon. See you around four?"

"Sounds great. Thanks," Mike said and ended the call.

To Be Continued…