12404.17- 02:18- Peggy's Cove, Canada.

"No napping on the job McGee," Jacob grabbed the back of a fellow recruit's pack before he fell over.

"Thanks," McGee responded as he straightened up, "Didn't realize where I was heading."

"Keep your head straight; we can all make it through this." Jacob encouraged him as he rubbed his hands together to keep them warm. "Our objective is to reach that lighthouse without being detected. The reward is hot food."

"What is the reward for being last?" Fnarot joked sourly.

"Cold food, eaten in the rain on the beach in your skivvies," Jacob said.

The two men with him looked at each other, unsure if Jacob was joking or not. Shrugging, they followed Jacob into the marsh. They had initially been part of a four-person team, but their teammate had rung the bell after a ten-mile jog through the snow-covered woods, wading down the frigid river, with only a brief stop for food. When they had set out again, Pal Tali couldn't stand back up. They didn't have the strength to keep going. With a disappointing sigh, the trio left them to ring the bell and proceed.

"I shall never complain about the heat again." Fnarot shuttered from the tips of his Ferengi ears to his toes.

"Quit your whinging, Fnarot." Jacob pushed some tall grass aside, "Think of it this way, if someone asks you know far you are willing to go to reach your goal, you can say you're willing to freeze your ears off to reach it."

"Not funny, human," Fnarot grumbled.

"I've got sand places I never thought were possible, and you don't hear me complaining, do you?" McGee clapped him on the shoulder.

"Only because you are so tired you can't feel anything anymore." Jacob joked, "Stick to the shadows, stay quiet, and keep your eyes open. It's a long way up that hill the hard way."

13:51- Ravenswood- Main House

Soon as Christine appeared in the foyer, she began shambling toward the living room. She dropped her few items in a nearby chair before unceremoniously flopping down into her parents' couch. She had never been this exhausted before. Triage for the tornado, the habitat ring explosion, nothing compared to this. She had been the mission's head doctor, two days of simulated front lines trauma. She had been elected head doctor as she had the most real-world experience, but once she was in it, her experience couldn't compare with what was coming through their doors. When she could grab a mouthful of food, she would, and sleep came in brief spurts. There were things she could have done better, but it went well. She was glad to be home.

She had almost fallen asleep when she heard the door slam and the squeal of Brielle, "Chrissy!"

With a smile, Christine braced herself for the incoming hug, "Breezer!"

"I missed you!"

"I missed you too. What have you been up to while I've been at work?"

"Running me raged," An out of breath voice said from the kitchen doorway.

"Katie!" Tired or not, Christine asked her sister, "When did you get here?"

"Two days ago, I brought Daniel," Katie smirked mischievously.

"Mum…Mum. Aunt Katie took me dancing." Brielle fought to get Christine's attention back.

"Oh, did she?" Christine smiled at Brielle, "Where is your brother?"

"He is off camping with Daniel in the pasture." Christine raised an eyebrow. Katie's look told her she would explain later. "Josh wanted to camp if Jacob was camping."

"Indeed…" Christine smiled.

"Hey, Breezer, I think Chrissy needs a nap before we start telling her of all our adventures."

"Oh," Brielle pinked, "Can I tell you about it when you wake up?"

"Sure," Christine kissed Brielle's cheek. Then, with a giggle, Brielle ran off toward her room.

"It's good to see you, Katie bug." Christine stepped over and hugged her sister.

Katie looked into her sister's eyes, "He's fine, still giving them hell." Katie reassured her, "Go, get a nap. I'll save you a pint of mint chip ice cream. Brielle isn't the only one who has stories to tell.

20:06 – Ravenswood- Christine's Room

"I'm surprised you are not crawling the walls." Katie walked into the room, drying her hair with a towel.

"Who says I'm not?" Christine said around the spoon of mint chip ice cream.

"Considering you are halfway through that pint already, I'll consider it." Katie flopped down on the bed next to Christine. "Still, I'd expect you to be doing something besides calmly sitting cross-legged in the middle of your childhood bed eating ice cream."

"I can't take Draggs out for hours riding, now can I?"

"Point," Katie considered and laid back on the bed. "It isn't like you are completely alone between the kids and Ember."

"And you." Chrissy nudged her sister. "I didn't don't mean to barge in on your birthday, Katie Bug, but I didn't even know that you were home."

"Not only did you interrupt the birthday dinner with Daniel, Mom, Dand, and me, but you went on to steal my boyfriend, so I'm not too happy with you." Katie hit her with a pillow.

"Hey, I left you with a nice dinner in the oven. It wasn't pasta, but you did get my famous mac and cheese," Chrissy hit her back with the pillow," And for the record, I didn't steal Daniel. It's not my fault that Jacob's ex is a psychopathic stalker with a history of kidnapping Josh when his father is away." Chrissy playfully glared at her sister. "And your boyfriend has experience protecting the family members of high-profile star fleet officers. If anyone is to blame, it should be you for bringing him into this lunatic asylum."

"He had extended leave coming and wanted to meet the family." Katie harumphed. "Since mom said you and Jacob would be here, we thought you two would be a buffer for us."

"That didn't happen." Chrissy laughed.

"At least we got some good one-on-one time with Mom and Dad went we were at the Skyler Estate before things went sideways." Katie sighed.

"Oy, I already said sorry about that."

"Granted, the look on Daniel's face when Dad kicked him out of bed to help wrangle the kids while chores were done was priceless." Katie laughed.

"Wait, how do you know that Dad kicked him out of bed." Chrissy sat straight up in bed, "You weren't in his bed, were you?"

"That's a little personal, Chrissy." Katie glared at her sister, "Besides, you have caught Daniel and me in worse positions when you have randomly called."

Chrissy pinked, "I meant, did Dad catch you in bed together?"

"No," Katie pushed herself up and out of bed. "We don't have a death wish."

"Good." Chrissy sighed, earning a stern glare from Katie. "I'm just saying it was hard enough looking Mom in the eye when I came out of Jacob's room back in October. I wouldn't want my baby sister to face that look from Mom."

"Do you honestly think mom and dad didn't?" Katie shook her head, "You know I don't want that picture in my head."

Chrissy couldn't help a snicker. "Mom and I came to an agreement that I think would work for the two of you."

"Which was?" Katie raised an eyebrow.

"As long as no harm was done, she would ask no questions." Christine looked down into the nearly empty pint of ice cream.

"Meaning?"

Christine looked up at her sister from the ice cream, "I've told you about Jacob's nightmares, and you already knew about mine. The fact that we slept better being next to each other allowed the house not to be awoken by those nightmares. As long as we respect Mom and Dad and don't …."

"Wake the house?" Katie said cheekily.

"I was going to say disrupt the peace, but that works." Chrissy rolled her eyes at her sister. "Which brings us back to my original question, how did you know Dad kicked him out of bed?"

"If you must know," Katie pulled a fluffy pillow between her and her sister. "I've been sleeping here as Brielle and Josh are in my old room. I didn't think you would mind."

"You crashed in here more than we both want to admit." Chrissy poked Katie's pillow. "I'm surprised you didn't crawl in bed with Daniel at some point."

"Mom and Dad put him in Jack's old room, but he has been sleeping in the chair by the kids the past couple of nights." Katie shrugged, "It gives him a backache, but the kids seem to sleep better when he does."

"So, Daniel got Dad's 'Wake up Cadets!' routine on his first morning here?" Chrissy chuckled and shook her head, "Poor guy."

"He took it in stride, but the squeals from the kids managed to pierce through my sleep."

"Poor baby Katie." Chrissy teased. Katie stuck her tongue out at her. "Very mature, Katelynn."

"I went back to sleep after a kiss from him, but I had to explain later."

"Oh?" Chrissy finished the last of her ice cream and put it in the recycler.

"Would you believe Daniel thought we lived on an estate?"

"We do," Christine looked at her sister like she had lost her mind, "Ravenswood Estate. We changed the name after the carriage house upgrade. Considering two Admirals and two Captains live here, it seemed fitting."

"He was expecting something like Bea's family estate. All the posh landscaping, guild stables, and elegant architecture."

Chrissy burst out laughing, "Ok, the main house is a bit on the fancy side, but that is because of the upgrades Sam, Alan, and Dad have done. Our barn is 100 years old, and while functional, I wouldn't call it guild. Any landscaping we have is Mom's vegetable garden, the honey bee and butterfly flower garden next to it, and the cast iron rose and lily garden connecting the Nest and the Carriage house. The rest of the place is decorated in functional farm and shuttle pad."

"He was under the impression that we were Admiral Skyler's princesses." Katie dramatically flopped back onto the pillows.

"Princesses who save themselves and have dirt under our nails." Chrissy rolled her eyes. "Considering he is still around, I think he was happy about that."

"Me being a dirt fairy and growing up on a real family farm didn't make him run away. In fact, it made him want to stick around more."

Chrissy smiled at her sister, "You have a good guy there."

"I do." Katie sighed. And after a moment, she spoke again, "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Jacob, that you wanted to be with him. You accepted his betrothal. I know you did it so that you could care for both him and Brielle, but that all changed."

Chrissy thought for a moment, "In his arms, I feel safe and content. I don't know of a better way to say it."

"Together, you can face anything. Of course, you want to face those problems together and with no one else." Katie looked at the ceiling and sighed. "I always thought I would fall for one of my cast mates; how did I end up with a Star Fleet flyboy?"

"Mom's dumb luck?" Chrissy teased. "And I ended up with a devinare piano player."

"With the adorable little boy who stole your heart." Katie teased back. "Speaking of which, where are Daniel and the kids?"

"Waiting for the two of you to stop being giggly girls and come give goodnight kisses to Brielle and Josh," Lynn smirked from the doorway.

"How much of that did you hear?" Christine blushed.

"Enough to know that no matter how old you two get, you will never stop being the cheeky little girls I raised." Lynn stood and left the doorway.