War is sadly inevitable in any generation. Sometimes wars are is fought for the most inane reasons. War doesn't matter if you have what the other side wants or if you have better weapons than that country has, or if there is an injustice you want to resolve on behalf of the victims who have become prisoners of said war, war will always be prevalent. War will tear down every part of the human spirit. The United States along with a Coalition of many other countries, thirty-five to be exact would be fighting a constant war that would last for over thirty years in the gulf region. It started with the invasion of Kuwait codenamed Operation Desert Shield and continued on with Operation Desert Storm. From there it moved to the War in Iraq. This war was the main focus of the coalition's actions.

By the time the Coalition had cleared out of Iraq and officially ended the war, a total of 198,574 Iraqi civilians lost their lives due to the effort to take out ISIS and Saddam Hussein. Some were killed by friendly fire from the Coalition, but most were killed by the Iraqi military. The Iraqi military had lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 38,000 military personnel. The Coalition forces had lost 25,071 military personnel. 117,961 of them were wounded. On 01JUL21 the U.S. forces were ordered to leave the region and they did so by simply vacating Bagram airbase by just turning off the lights and locking the door.

Bagram was where Rick and Kate had come to know one another when this war was in its infancy. From their first meeting, they both knew that they'd become more than friends, dare they say, husband and wife?

There is a moment in everyone's life that defines who you are. The one Kate will remember for the rest of her life was when Rick took his first step…..

Flashback…

Lanie had told her that the surgery outcome was perfect on her end, but that's not to say that he might have issues walking. Kate really hoped that the problem was not from his surgery or for that matter in his head. Kate had been burning the candle at both ends so to speak. Of all the CROs that were assigned to Bagram over the years, she was easily the one who had the most rescues by far. But with her duties as a combat rescue officer, she had also spent every off-duty minute with Rick. To say she was tired had been a gross understatement.

"Kate I don't know what to tell you! I can't walk a step. I know you want to see me do that but I just can't get my brain to move my legs! Can we take a break?" Rick asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Rick the more you deny your body of doing something, the more you will feel like not trying at all. Just do me a favor and put one foot forward. I know it is painful and I know you don't think you can do it but I know you can. I know you can!" She encouraged quite loudly.

She watches as he pulls the walker closer to the bed. Then she watches then as he grips both handles and tries to stand. He's strong, she knows that but he's got it in his head that he's going to be stuck in a bed for the rest of his life. She knows that's not true. He's to the point now where he's almost standing with the aid of the walker but he hasn't taken a step in any direction since the surgery was completed months ago he was given the green light to start physical therapy. She sits in the chair next to his walker and sees the determination on his face. Now she goes one step further. Her foot is by the right leg of the walker and she nudges her foot on the walker's leg moving it forward about three inches. He loses his balance but quickly regains it before falling flat on his face. She looks up at him and she can tell that he didn't like what she had just done but it got him to stand straight up and for that she is grateful.

"Come on Rick just move your right foot for me. I know you can do it!" Kate requests.

Again she watches to see the determination written all over his face. His forehead is covered in a light sheen of sweat and his grip gets tighter on the walker. He lifts his right foot barely off the floor and shuffles it forward about an inch and a half. Kate is beyond ecstatic.

"I knew you could do it!" Kate encourages him.

"Kate, even though it's a small step it will take a very long time for me to get to where I can walk like I used to."

"I know. But this is a step in the right direction. No pun intended." She gave him a smile.

It's then that Rick puts together all the pieces and realizes what he was trying to forget ever since the crash.

"You know that I will never fly a combat aircraft ever again due to my surgery. It will be the one thing I will miss the most. So why would I want to walk again?" He said sadly.

Kate felt bad for him. She knew that he was at his best in the seat of an A-10 Warthog flying by the seat of his pants. But she also knew that he had to get back into living again. She would never deprive anybody of anything that they wanted to do. And maybe instead of flying, Rick could do something similar. What she meant was he could possibly take a position to train new A-10 pilots in aerial tactics. But for now, she had to get him to accept that he wouldn't do anything unless he started walking again.

"Seriously?! You're playing the pity card?"

"Kate, I need to face facts. No one will put me in the pilot seat of any aircraft ever again. Hell, I probably can't even train a new pilot in a trainer. The Air Force has strict rules about that. And honestly, I don't blame them I just wish I could do more for my country."

"Rick, don't you understand? You can do more for your country. Not that you did the most for your country already, but that doesn't end there. Sure you were an ace but that doesn't mean you still can't use the knowledge you have accumulated during your many combat missions to teach new pilots."

Rick thought about what she just said. They were both startled when a sergeant came into the PT room and asked for Kate to come and talk to him. When she was done talking she came back to Rick.

"Rick, I have to go out and rescue two army officers who were caught behind enemy lines. I hate to leave you now but as they say duty calls."

Before she can turn to leave Rick grabs Kate's hand and pulls her back to him. He looks her straight in the eyes and requests this of her,

"Promise me that you will stay safe out there."

"I will."

And then she is gone. Looking back over her shoulder she gives him a wink of her eye letting him know that everything will be fine.

Deb and Mike were so proud of their friend. Not only had she made more rescues than anyone else in their unit, but she had also done it with the professionalism that was expected from her. She made the person whom she was rescuing feel like there wasn't any situation that she could not get them out of. But today was so special because the Air Force was honoring her with recognition for a job well done.

It was a simple ceremony. It was held in the ready room where all the combat rescue officers gathered before going out on a mission. General Summers and his aide were the men who presented Kate with her commendation. When she received the medal and accompanying ribbon, she saluted and shook the general's hand. When she turned around she received the shock of her life. Her boyfriend was standing up clapping for her achievement. Not far behind him sat a wheelchair which he used to get to the ceremony.

She turns away from the general and winks at her boyfriend sitting in the center row now. She gracefully walks off the stage and meets up with her friend, her husband, and her boyfriend.

"Did you two know about this?" Kate asks Deb and her husband Mike.

"Honestly Kate we had no idea. But I'm glad it was you that received the award. You deserve it for all your hard work."

End Flashback…

She stands out on the balcony of the villa that they rented for a month in Tuscany. She can't really see much due to the fact that the sun has already mostly set and semi-darkness has set in. But she reflects on the last five years they've had together. Actually, they've had more than five years together but it's been five years since her service to their country has been completed. They had been here for two weeks and she was tired of the touristy things to do. She knew she had to tell them what she was feeling but there was something that was holding her back. She gazes out at the mountains that lay before her. She's mesmerized by their beauty. Right below her is the spa and the Olympic size pool which neither of them has had the opportunity to visit yet.

The trip was a last-minute decision just to get away from the rigors of everyday life in New York. She drops her hand to her swelling midsection and ponder's what might have been. Rick had become one of the premier combat instructors. But he was not doing it at Bagram. After his PT was complete and he was walking for what could pass as normal he was sent back to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At first, he declined the assignment due to the fact that he would be leaving the woman that he loved and who had saved his life. She had quickly put an end to that.

"Rick, don't you see? This could only be an advantage to your career path. There is nothing that we can't accomplish together as a couple. While I will be over here rescuing people who are in need, you will be teaching them how to navigate to skies without getting their aircraft shot out from underneath them."

"I understand what you're trying to tell me, Kate. But I'm selfish! I want you all to myself and I want to make sure that you are safe no matter what happens. I can do that better if I am here closer to you. How will I be able to find out how you are if I am over seven thousand five hundred miles away from where you are?"

"Rick this is what I signed up for. And you should know that because you are one of the top A-10 pilots in the Air Force. I'm pretty sure that we can survive what's left of this war."

Reluctantly he agreed with her assessment of their duties. Rick would go on to Colorado Springs and train a new breed of A-10 pilots who were going to be flying the new Super A-10 Thunderbolts.

She is started from her thoughts when she hears the cane on the floor and his right foot drag just a little. Even though he can still walk he does so with a slight limp. The cane does help him move around a lot better but she can tell when he comes up from behind her. The next thing she feels standing on the balcony are her husband's hands wrapping around her midsection covering her own hands.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asks in a low voice practically almost a whisper.

"I'm just hoping that the life that we have created here will be able to make it past the six-month mark," She said sadly.

She feels fresh tears pooling in her eyes at her last comment. It's not like they weren't trying to have a baby the first time but when the child she was carrying didn't make it past the fifth month she had been apprehensive to start thinking about trying again. She knew that it was a risk for carrying a baby to term at her age but they tried anyway. He had convinced her that life was worth living. And if you didn't live it you were in essence dead. So she agreed with his decision regarding their situation and now she is due to deliver her baby in less than three months. Rick had to guarantee that they would be back from their trip before the delivery in order for the doctor to sign off on her to go to Italy at the beginning of her third trimester. He had every intention of keeping his promise to the doctor.

"Do you ever think that we'd be here right now?" Kate asks Rick.

"Kate, I know that you've been through hell literally. When I left Bagram to go back to the Air Force Academy as an instructor I hated every minute of it. I knew this because I was separated from you. But I know that in the end, you would be the person I know you could be. And for that, I am proud of you."

Kate had completed over twenty-three years of dedicated service as a combat rescue officer. Rick on the other hand had flown over 272 sorties during the war. He was an ace having shot down seven enemy aircraft during both wars before he was shot down himself. At the time of his being shot down, he had already completed eight years of dedicated service to the Air Force. For the next fourteen years, he spent that time at different air bases around the globe teaching pilots combat tactical maneuvers. He was officially attached to Colorado Springs but temporarily assigned to many air bases around the world. Kate had followed his progress from the time he left Bagram until the time she retired.

"We have one more week left here Kate, what would you like to do with the time that we have left?"

"Well, there are a couple of things that I would like to nail down before we leave Tuscany. I would like to suggest that we have our old friends Deb and Mike as godmother and godfather to our baby."

"Have you talked to them lately honey? I know that they live out in the Midwest and they are living their own lives, I'm just wondering if they're up for making the trip to New York?" Rick asks.

"I don't think that they would want to miss anything like this if they could help it. I haven't spoken to her in about five months but I'm pretty sure that she be okay with becoming our bundle of joy's new godparents."

"Then it's settled. Deb and Mike will be our baby's new godparents. Let's just make sure we let them know when we return from Italy."

Mike and Deb had just as much of a career as Kate did while they were combat rescue officers. Mike retired as a Lieutenant Colonel while his wife Deb had retired as a Major. When they were discharged, Deb had decided that her life in the military was over. She had completed her twenty years of service and for her, that was more than enough. Mike on the other hand had decided to go one step further. After his twenty-one years in the Air Force, he went into the Air Force Reserve. When he had finally decided that enough was enough he attained the rank of Brigadier General six years later. The fact that he nor his wife were no longer active in the combat rescue officer role made his decision easier for him. Knowing that their military career was complete, they both decided that they would retire back to the state where they had enlisted. Iowa. This was their home state and they would never decide to live anywhere else.

Payback and Foxhound were two of the last few A-10 pilots to actually leave the gulf theater. They were instrumental in taking down the Republican guard that defended the Royal Palace. But in the end, Saddam Hussein was hung for his crimes against humanity. Being that his reign over Iraq would cause people to speak out against him, the Sunni tribe had removed his body from the grave it was buried at in Western Baghdad and relocated it to a secret location only they knew of.

The first thing that Kate did when she returned back to New York City was to call her best friend. The conversation was short due to the fact that Mike had a doctor's appointment. They talked briefly about what was going on in each other's lives and then Kate needed to bring up the fact that she wanted Deb and Mike to be the godparents of their baby.

"So Deb are you comfortable with becoming a godmother? I know that you and Mike are pretty much retired in a sense but this would be an honor that I would love you to have."

"Kate wild horses couldn't drag me away from becoming your child's godmother. And I'm pretty sure that Mike feels the same way."

Kate told Deb about Rick's current condition and how he was coping with being retired. The phone call ended with each wishing the other the best.

Two and a half months later Kate gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Joanna Marie Rodgers was twenty-two inches long, eight pounds ten ounces, and had all of her ten fingers and ten toes. She had her father's eye color and he mother's hair and facial expressions. They loved every part of her.

When she took the oath as an Air Force officer she never imagined that she'd land where she had. She loves her life and the people in it.

~Fin~

A/N: I'm not sure what's next on the horizon in the form of stories for Castle Fanfiction from me. I have a couple of ideas kicking around in my head but they will be a long time in coming. Thank you for supporting me and the stories I have written here for the past twelve years. I am forever grateful.

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