Author's Note:

Hey everyone :).

I usually try to keep one chapter ahead of each update I post, so I wouldn't normally post chapter 15 until chapter 16 was finished, but the last 2 weeks have been busy and exhausting, and I just haven't been in the mood to write... which means I've barely even started on chapter 16 yet :(.

I didn't want to leave you in the lurch though, as I'm about to go on vacation for 2 weeks, so, I'm posting chapter 15 today, but it's unlikely I'll get any more of the story written while I'm away (though I'll see what I can do). I'll update as soon as I can but I'm just not sure yet when that will be.

Chapter Fifteen

Early October 2019

Thirteen weeks along

Veronica tries to keep Ava sitting still on her lap in Sarah and Chaos' living room, as Sarah awkwardly sinks down into the comfy armchair in the corner. Her friend is thirty-seven weeks pregnant and has proclaimed herself 'as big as a house', which means she's struggling to get around quickly. Seeing her like this, Veronica's a little worried about how she's going to manage in a few months' time. Her own baby bump is already showing a little more than it was two weeks ago, though for now she can still disguise it under loose tops.

With all the stress and drama of the last few months, not to mention the weeks of morning sickness, and the fact that Sarah's been dealing with her pregnancy as well, they haven't spent a whole lot of time together lately. In fact, this is the first time they've hung out in over a month. Thankfully, though, the morning sickness seems to be mostly over now and she's getting her appetite back again, which means she's feeling up to socialising again.

"So, only three weeks to go," she says, when Sarah's settled, bouncing Ava gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh, well, for starters, the insomnia is a bitch," Sarah says tiredly, rubbing her belly. "And I need to pee all the time. I keep getting Braxton-Hicks contractions too, so there's this constant worry that I'm actually going into labour each time they happen. I seriously cannot wait to get this kid out of me."

"Sounds, uh, pleasant," says Veronica awkwardly, eyeing Sarah as she thinks, God, that's gonna be me in a few months.

Sarah sighs. "Sorry, I'm making it sound like it's a miserable experience, aren't I? It really isn't. I mean, I'm, like, nesting like crazy… my kitchen hasn't been this clean or organised in ages, not since just before I had Ava."

At her name, the little girl wriggles out of Veronica's grasp and slides down to the floor, toddling over to her mom and holding her arms up.

"Momma, up?"

"Sorry, sweetie," Sarah apologises. "Mommy's tummy is too big to lift you today. Why don't you go play with your toys for a bit instead?"

As Ava crosses the room and starts rifling through her toy chest in the corner, Veronica turns back to Sarah again. Several pregnancy-related questions pop into her mind, and she filters through them to work out what to ask without giving away why she wants to know.

Eventually, when Sarah runs her hand across her stomach again, Veronica goes with, "So, does he move around a lot?"

"Yeah." Sarah nods. "Well, he did until a couple of days ago… but he seems to have calmed down a bit now. Guess there's not much room left in here."

"No, I guess not," murmurs Veronica, eyeing her friend's huge belly. "What does it feel like?"

"Hmm, well, at first, it's just this weird, fluttery sensation, but as they grow, you start to feel actual movements… like, you can tell the difference between kicks and jabs, and sometimes you even see a foot or a hand pressing against your skin."

"Really?" Veronica scrunches her nose up uneasily, unsure she likes the sound of that. "It doesn't hurt, though?"

"Oh, no,' Sarah replies, with a shake of her head. "But it takes your breath away sometimes."

"So, when did you start feeling him and Ava move?"

"Well, with Ava, not until about twenty-two weeks," she says. "But I think that's normal with the first baby. I felt this one much earlier though, I think around twelve weeks."

She stops talking, her eyes narrowing as she studies Veronica thoughtfully for a moment, before her lips tug up into a knowing smile.

"Wait a minute… Veronica, are you pregnant?"

Oops. Busted.

Veronica gives a sheepish shrug. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you've never really seemed all that interested in pregnancy details before," Sarah reasons, "But, you've just developed this sudden interest. Add that to the fact that you've been strangely absent for the last few weeks, and it's not hard to put two and two together."

"Oh." Veronica looks down, her hand coming to her stomach. "Right."

"Congratulations," Sarah tells her with a wide smile. "I'm really happy for you."

Veronica lifts her eyes again, catching Sarah's gaze, her friend's grin infectious. "Thank you."

"How far along are you?"

"Thirteen weeks," Veronica says. "Due mid-April."

"Oh, this is awesome!" Sarah exclaims excitedly, making Veronica jump at the unexpected sound. "Our kids will be the same age."

"Wow… yeah, I guess they will," she says in realisation. "God, I've been so focused on getting through the pregnancy part, that I hadn't really thought about the end result yet."

"It is easy to get caught up in it all," agrees Sarah. "How's it been so far?"

"Honestly? Not great," Veronica admits. "Morning sickness has been a—" She's about to say 'bitch' but then remembers there are young, impressionable ears in the room, and amends it to, Nightmare."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." Sarah's tone is filled with sympathy. "How are you feeling now?"

"Well, for a while, I couldn't keep anything down, and I was spending all day in bed… hence being MIA lately…" she explains. "But it's improving now."

"That's good. I remember the morning sickness with Ava—it was not fun," says Sarah. "But now you're moving into the second trimester, you should start feeling a lot better."

"I hope so."

"Listen, if there's anything you want to know, or anything you need, just let me know, okay?" her friend says then. "And, you know, in a few months, I'll have a ton of newborn clothing that I won't need… you're welcome to them if you like."

"Thank you," Veronica says, touched. "That's awesome. I haven't even thought about things like baby clothes yet."

"Oh, believe me, I've been there," Sarah says with a nod. "Like I said, any questions, just ask."

"Thanks." Veronica gives her friend a grateful smile, before relaxing back against the couch cushions, her hand still pressed to her belly. "That would be great."

"Great work, everyone," Logan announces, finishing up his tactics lecture that afternoon. "See you tomorrow."

As his class files out of the room, he notices Chaos standing just outside the door. He gives his friend a nod and heads over to him when the last of his students has left.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

"Hey." Chaos nods in greeting. "The Commander wants to see you in his office ASAP."

Logan frowns. "You know why?"

Chaos shakes his head. "Nah, man. Not a clue."

"Well, guess I'm about to find out."

Logan locks up the classroom and he and Chaos walks over to the squadron building. He has no idea why his superior would need to see him; as far as he knows, he hasn't done anything wrong or given anyone a reason to make a complaint, plus he's been getting good feedback from his students at the end of their courses.

They reach Commander Sanchez's office and arrange to meet in the crew room afterwards, before Chaos leaves him to it. Logan knocks on the door and enters at Sanchez's command.

"Sir," he greets, standing to attention and giving a salute. "You wanted to see me?"

"Lieutenant Echolls." The Commander, a stocky, middle-aged man with a stern-looking expression, nods in greeting. "At ease. Yes, I did. Please, take a seat."

Logan does as he asks and waits for Sanchez to speak.

"You seem to be settling in well, Lieutenant," he starts. "You've been here, what, six… seven months now?"

"That's correct," Logan confirms. "Since March."

"I've been hearing good things." The Commander gives a smile. "Keep up the good work."

"Thanks."

His superior leans forward, linking his fingers and resting his hands on the desk.

"Look, I know you're only a short way into your shore rotation here at Oceana," he starts, "but as you know, tensions are high in the South China Sea right now, and there's been increasing pressure from the higher-ups to step up our operations in that area."

Logan freezes, the relaxed smile slipping from his face, his blood running cold at the implication of his commanding officer's words.

His tongue darts out to wet his lips as he asks, "And that has to do with me, because…?"

The Commander gives him a sympathetic look as he says, "They're asking for four of my best pilots to fly out to the Vinson and pick up some of the workload."

Shit. Logan closes his eyes briefly. Not now. They can't do this to me now.

"I'm sorry, Logan," Sanchez says. "But I don't have a choice here."

"When?" he asks, trying not to wince as he thinks about how Veronica's going to react to this.

"Friday."

"Friday?" he repeats. That's only four days away. "Seriously?"

"As I said, I'm sorry to have to deploy you on short notice like this, especially during shore duty, but my hands are tied."

Logan nods in resignation. "For how long?"

"Four weeks, six at the most."

Well, it could be worse, he thinks. Veronica's only thirteen weeks along, which means I should just be back in time for her next scan.

"Okay." He nods in resigned acceptance. "And it won't be any longer than that?"

"It shouldn't be," Sanchez tells him. "Of course, I can't guarantee anything."

"No, of course," he says. "It's just, my wife's pregnant, and she's been having a hard time lately. She's not going to be happy if I deploy right now."

"I understand, Logan. I do have kids, you know," says the Commander kindly. "And if I could send anyone else, I would, but we're pretty thin on the ground as it is."

"Look, I really need to be back before Thanksgiving," he says, trying not to sound like he's begging. "I have to be home for her anatomy scan."

Cdr Sanchez nods. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir." He breathes a sigh of relief.

"I'll have your deployment paperwork ready tomorrow," says the Commander, sitting back in his chair. "Thank you, Lieutenant. You're free to go."

Logan stands, giving another salute before leaving the office, and heading downstairs to find Chaos, who's waiting for him in the crew room.

"Hey, you all right, man?" Chaos asks in concern when he sees Logan's expression. "What did Sanchez say?"

"I'm being deployed," he grinds out. "End of the week. They're sending me out to the Vinson."

"What the fuck?" Chaos curses. "You're on shore rotation."

"Tell me about it," Logan mutters. "I mean, it's only for a few weeks, but this is the worst fucking timing ever."

"Because of the baby?" Chaos says knowingly.

"What?" Logan's head snaps up at that, as he blinks at his friend in surprise. "How did you know about that?"

Chaos gives a smirk. "It was kind of obvious, dude. You've been walking on air for weeks after being so down in the dumps. We've lived in close quarters long enough for me to tell when something's up."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Knew you'd tell me when you were ready." His friend shrugs, then grins as he adds, "And fuck, we're bad ass fighter pilots, Mouth. As much of a drama queen as you are, we don't always have to talk about our feelings."

"Drama queen?" Logan's not sure whether to be amused or affronted by that assessment.

"Well, if the shoe fits…" is Chaos' airy response, before he drops the grin and turns back to the topic at hand. "So, how far along is she?"

"Thirteen weeks."

Chaos grins, stepping forward to clap him on the back. "Congratulations, man."

"Thanks." Logan smiles widely, pride welling in his chest.

"I knew it would happen for you guys," says Chaos. "Just a matter of time. How's she doing?"

"She's okay," says Logan. "Terrible morning sickness aside, everything seems to be fine."

"That's good to hear." Chaos nods.

"Yeah." Logan flashes a grin, before sobering. "But now I have to figure out how to tell Veronica I'm leaving."

"I don't envy you that."

"No kidding," Logan agrees, before turning the subject to Chaos. "Speaking of babies, Sarah must be getting close."

"Yep, three weeks left." Chaos grins.

"Wow, that's gone fast. How is she?"

"Honestly? She's swollen and uncomfortable and totally fed up," Chaos admits. "Just wants the damn thing out of her—her words, not mine."

"Wow… sounds like I've got plenty to look forward to," Logan mutters.

"Oh, yeah, it's a hoot." Chaos rolls his eyes, but then breaks into a smile. "But you know, when it's all over and you're a father, it's the best feeling ever. I mean, you have this amazing, tiny baby in your arms and you kind of forget about all the bad parts."

"I hope so," says Logan. "'Cause I have a feeling that after I talk to Veronica tonight, we'll be heading into one of those bad parts real soon."

Logan arrives home that evening to find Veronica in the kitchen, scooping vanilla ice cream into a bowl.

"Hey," he greets, stepping up to her and leaning down for a kiss as she tilts her chin up to meet him halfway.

"Hey," she says, before turning back to her ice cream and adding a spoonful of peanut butter to the bowl.

"Interesting combination," he comments, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's not finished yet," she replies, reaching into the cupboard for a bottle of BBQ sauce and pouring it over the top.

Logan's eyes widen, and he has to force himself not to gag as she digs a spoon in and takes a bite.

"Oh my God, that's disgusting," he tells her, making a face. "How can you eat that?"

"How can I not?" She smiles, collecting another spoonful. "It's delicious."

"If you say so." He eyes the bowl suspiciously. "But remind me not to kiss you again until after you've brushed your teeth."

"Whatever." She tuts. "You're just jealous."

"Of that?" He wrinkles his nose in disgust. "I don't think so."

She takes another large bite, giving an exaggerated moan of pleasure.

"Hey, listen, I have something to tell you…" he starts, resting his hands on the island as he debates how best to phrase the bad news.

"Oh, I do, too," she interrupts. "Sarah knows. She guessed this morning and I had to confess."

"Oh." Logan straightens as he remembers he did the same thing with Chaos a few hours ago. He reaches up to rub the back of his neck as he adds, "Yeah, so I actually have two things to tell you. First off, I told Chaos today as well—completely by accident. Apparently we have intuitive friends, because he'd already figured it out."

"Ah, well… great minds, huh?"

"I guess." He tries for a smile, but it doesn't quite come off, his insides churning with nervousness in anticipation of what he needs to say next.

"So what was the second thing?" she asks, eating another spoonful of her gross ice-cream concoction.

"Yeah…" He starts. "So, um… I got called into the Commander's office today."

"You didn't buzz the tower again, did you?" Veronica teases playfully.

He manages to crack a slight smile, but can't bring himself to come up with a snarky response. Instead, he looks at her seriously and takes a deep breath in preparation.

"Veronica, I have to go away again."

"What?" He tries not to cringe as the smile drops from her face and her brows furrow with confusion.

"They're sending me out to the Vinson," he admits cautiously. "On Friday."

"Friday?" her voice comes out high-pitched as the spoon clatters into the bowl before her. "But… No. They can't. You've still got two years. They can't send you away again."

"Veronica," he says softly, rounding the island. "I'm sorry."

"Fuck sorry!" she spits out. "Tell them they can just fuck off."

"I wish I could, but I don't have a choice," he responds quickly.

She clenches her jaw. "So, how many months this time?"

"Not months." He tries to assure her. "Four weeks, maybe six, tops."

She nods tightly, not saying anything for several long seconds, and Logan braces himself for the inevitable outburst… but it never comes. Instead, her face crumples and her lower lip starts to tremble, and within seconds, there are tears rolling down her cheeks and she's sobbing uncontrollably.

It's so out of character that Logan just stares at her, stunned into silence, his mouth hanging open. It takes a long moment to snap himself out of it and step forward to pull her against him. Her arms wrap around his waist and she buries her face in his chest as she cries large, hiccupping tears.

"I'm so sorry," he says, cradling the back of her head with his palm. "I don't want to go."

"Did you explain about the baby?" she manages between sobs, her voice muffled against his shirt.

"I did." Logan nods. "And he understands, but his hands are tied."

"But you'll miss so much." Her voice is small and timid and Logan's heart goes out to her; it's discomfiting to see her wearing her heart on her sleeve like this when she's usually so conservative with her emotions. "What if you don't make it back for my next scan?"

"I will," he promises. "I told the Commander I had to be back before then. He's gonna see what he can do."

"He'd better."

She sucks in a large breath, her shoulders rising and falling with the movement, before pulling away, wiping her tears away with her sleeves as she takes a step back.

"Sorry," she apologises when she's got herself under control. "I don't know what came over me."

"Veronica, you're eating a bowl of ice cream, peanut butter and BBQ sauce," Logan points out with a smile. "I think an unexplained tearful outburst is pretty much par for the course."

"I guess it is." She looks down at the bowl, and tears seemingly forgotten for now, reaches for the spoon, eagerly swallowing down another mouthful. "God, this is amazing."

"Yeah… right." Logan fights the renewed urge to vomit as he averts his eyes. "So, uh, you okay now?"

"Sure." She nods, giving a noncommittal shrug, scooping up another spoonful of ice cream. "It is what it is. Just come back home to me, okay?"

"Of course," he replies, confused as he tries to keep up with the sudden mood swings. "I'll be home in no time."

"Logan," Veronica whispers urgently into the darkness of the bedroom late Wednesday night. "Hey… Logan."

When she gets no response, she reaches over and pushes at his bicep. He just makes an incoherent sound and swats her hand away, so she does it again.

"Logan!"

"What?" he grumbles sleepily. "S'middle of the night."

"I need chips. And marshmallow fluff."

"What?" He repeats, running a hand over his face, before squinting at her in the darkness. "Why?"

"Because I'm hungry," she explains with just a hint of exasperation. Why else would she need them? "And I can't sleep because all I'm thinking about is chips and fluff."

"So, go downstairs and get some," he mumbles, closing his eyes again.

"I can't," she admits. "I ate it all yesterday."

He sighs, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp, before turning to her again.

"Please?" She juts her lower lip out in a pout and looks at him beseechingly. "I mean, I think it's the least you could do, since you are abandoning me on Friday."

"Okay, fine," he relents with a sigh. "Enough with the guilt trip; I'll go to the store."

Veronica smiles, her heart swelling with affection for him. "Thank you. You're the best."

"Yeah, whatever," he mutters as he pulls on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. "While I'm at it, anything else you just can't live without at—" he glances at the clock "—almost one in the morning?"

"Ooh…" Veronica's eyes light up as the possibilities run through her mind. "Yeah, chocolate… oh, and hot salsa too."

"Really?" He looks sceptical, though he nods. "Okay. Back soon."

Veronica can hear him grumbling to himself as he shuffles out of the room and heads down the stairs, but she can't bring herself to feel guilty. She's pregnant, she's finally gotten her appetite back, and she's gonna eat whatever and whenever she damn well wants to. And has she mentioned, he's abandoning her in less than two days?

While she waits for him, she lies back against the mattress, her palms resting over her stomach. Even though it's been almost two months since they discovered she was pregnant, some days she still can't quite believe it's happening. Of course, those are the few days where she has no heartburn, cramps, or shortness of breath. At least the constant nausea has faded though; that's a definite plus.

After what seems like hours but is really only about twenty minutes, Logan finally returns home and dumps a grocery store bag down beside her on the bed.

"Your sustenance, ma'am. As requested."

"Oh my God, thank you so much," she says in a rush, reaching out to catch hold of Logan's shirt, tugging him down for a kiss. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah," he dismisses with a half-smile. "Me, too."

As she enthusiastically rummages through the bag, Logan strips back down to his boxers and slides into the bed. She opens the bag of chili potato chips and unscrews the tub of marshmallow fluff, and then proceeds to dip a chip into the fluff, bringing it to her mouth.

"God, this is so good," she mumbles between bites.

Beside her, Logan makes a face. "I seriously don't know how you can eat that."

"It's delicious." She dips another chip and holds it out to him. "Here, try it."

He raises an eyebrow, scrunching up his nose. "I don't think so."

"Aw, spoilsport." She pouts at him, before giving a shrug and bringing the chip to her lips. "Never mind, more for me."

"Well, while you have fun with your weird cravings," he says then, settling down against the pillows, "I'm going back to sleep."

"You are?" she says innocently. "'Cause when I've finished this, I was gonna thank you for running to the store for me, but, you know, if you're too tired…"

"Hmm." He considers that for a moment, one side of his mouth tugging up into a smirk. "Well, I suppose I could stay awake a little longer."

She grins, wiggling her eyebrows. "Good choice."

Friday morning dawns bright and early—too bright and early for Veronica, who has taken to sleeping until mid-morning lately, but Logan's leaving in a couple of hours and she wants to make the most of this time with him. Which is why, instead of letting him get up when his alarm sounds, she stops him with a hand to his chest and straddles his hips.

"Where do you think you're going, Lieutenant?" She looks down at him sternly.

"Nowhere, apparently." He grins lazily up at her as his hands slide beneath the hem of her shirt.

"That's right," she agrees. "You're staying right here."

His hands slide up, his palms flattening over her belly before moving up to cup her breasts. Veronica smiles as he gives them a gentle squeeze; Logan's certainly been enjoying the fact that her assets have become more enhanced of late. Of course, he only gets to experience the benefits of that, while she's the one dealing with the soreness, tenderness and itchiness.

His palms slide around to her back as she leans over to the nightstand, reaching for the bottle of mouth freshener Logan keeps there and giving a good spray before holding it out to him. Don't want to spoil the moment with morning breath.

"Hmm, that's better," she murmurs, feeling minty-fresh, as she lowers her upper body and captures his mouth in an eager kiss.

His fingers dance up and down her back and Veronica shudders, her hips involuntarily grinding into his, arousal building quickly as she resists the urge to moan. Along with her increased appetite lately, she's also been feeling horny as hell… which is another reason why she's pissed that Logan's leaving again, because she has no idea how she's gonna get through the next four weeks (and please don't let it be longer than that) without sex.

"You know what I want right now?" she murmurs against his mouth, her body thrumming with unbridled lust.

"Deep-fried pickles?" Logan suggests, breaking the kiss, his breathing laboured.

She smiles wickedly. "I want you to fuck me so hard I forget my own name."

He just stares at her for a moment, his mouth falling open, like he can't decide what to do with that statement, before a slow, leering grin spreads across his face and she feels him harden even more. His hands slide into her underwear, cupping her butt cheeks as he rocks his hips so his length brushes her clit through the fabric.

"Now that's a pregnancy craving I can get behind."

It takes all of Logan's willpower to leave Veronica drifting off to sleep again so he can get ready to leave. He wants nothing more than to get back into bed with her and stay there forever, but duty calls and he has to be on a plane to Japan in a few hours. He smiles to himself as he steps into the shower, noting the faint scratches on his chest. Who knew pregnancy would turn Veronica into such a sex fiend? Now that the worst of the morning sickness is over and she's feeling better, it's like she can't get enough of him.

Not that he's complaining, of course; it's awesome to see her embracing her sexuality; to see that light back in her eyes again. He hates to admit it, but the light was missing for quite a while, since they moved to Virginia. He knew she wasn't happy about moving, knew she was making a big sacrifice by coming with him, but she told him she was okay, and he chose to believe it; because, really, what was the alternative? Long distance again, with her in California and him out here? That would have been even worse.

He's in the middle of rinsing the shampoo from his hair when Veronica slips into the shower behind him. A grin spreads across his face as her arms come around his waist and her bare chest comes into contact with his back.

"How are you not fast asleep right now?" he asks. "You've gotta be exhausted after that performance."

Her warm cheek presses against his back and her fingers start walking down his stomach, following the trail of hair there. He feels a stirring in his groin and gives a small shake of his head.

So much for being exhausted, huh, Echolls?

"I'm not gonna see you for a month," she says softly, as her fingers wrap around his rapidly growing erection. "We have to savour these final moments together."

"Final moments?" he echoes, lowering his head and bracing his hands on the shower wall as she begins stroking him. "Geez, dramatic much?"

"Oh, just shut up and enjoy it," she chastises, though he can hear the smile in her tone.

"Yes, ma'am," he agrees quickly, his stomach muscles contracting as her thumb brushes across his sensitive skin.

She starts working her magic on him, pressing soft kisses to his back as her hand movements quicken, but when he feels the tell-tale tightening in his lower body, he reaches down to stop her.

"You keep doing that." His voice is strained. "And this'll be over before it starts."

"You let me worry about that," she says playfully, releasing him as she slips under his arm so she's sandwiched between himself and the shower wall. She grins up at him. "Think of this as your going-away present."

Logan can only watch from under hooded eyes as she drops to her knees in the small space. She wraps one hand around him, leaning forward and taking him in her mouth. His eyes slide closed, one hand tenderly cupping the back of her head as the other remains braced against the wall. As his climax builds, all the love and adoration he has for her spreads through him, accompanied by no small amount of sadness and disappointment because he'll be leaving soon. He's going to miss at least a month of Veronica's pregnancy, of his baby's development, and he hates to think about it. He quickly pushes down the negative emotions though, since they have no place in this moment, and focuses only on the euphoric sensations Veronica's mouth is creating as they build inside him and eventually spill over.

As he struggles to catch his breath, his forehead resting on his forearm against the wall, Veronica kisses her way up his body until she's standing upright. Logan smiles lazily, his arm snaking around her waist and tugging her up so he can kiss her.

"So… your turn?" he asks when they part.

She smiles affectionately, though there's a definite glint in her eye. "Oh, I think I more than got my turn back in the bedroom. This was for you."

Logan returns the smile, affection for her welling up in his chest. "I love you."

She nods, but doesn't speak, and he can see the exact moment her emotions take a nosedive. Her playful expression turns serious and she visibly swallows.

"I don't want you to go," she murmurs softly, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I hate that you won't be here for everything. A lot can happen in a month; Sarah's gonna have the baby… and, I mean… I'm gonna look different by then."

"I know." He nods. "I don't want to miss any of it either. I wish I didn't have to go."

"Why is it so important that you do?" she asks, looking up at him inquisitively.

He shrugs, shaking his head. "I can't say much, but you've seen the news; there's a lot going on in that part of the world right now, and the current manpower on the Vinson isn't enough. The Commander's been ordered to send his best men in…and, well—"

"Ah, so you're one of the best, huh?" Her expression is a little more understanding now. "Guess there have to be some disadvantages to go along with the perks of that job, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Look, I get it; I do," she says sincerely. "And it sucks, but we'll survive. We've gotten through worse before."

"We have," he confirms.

Veronica gives a small sigh, before saying lightly, "Just come back to me, safe and sound, ya hear?"

"I will." He nods, looking down at her thoughtfully. "Listen, since I won't be here, why don't you go back to Neptune for a while? I'm sure everyone's dying to see you."

She considers that for a moment, before a smile spreads across her face. "Yeah… maybe I will."