"I think we have everything," Kathryn called as she loaded the dog into the car, then brushed frost off the window. The Colorado mornings were colder now. Fall was sliding toward winter.

"Great!" Tom said, poking his head in the back. "T.J., where are we going?"

"Going fishing!" the boy crowed, his red-gold hair bouncing as he nodded his head.

"That's my boy," Tom said as they got in the utili-hov "I think we will get there in time to do a bit of fishing this afternoon."

They were quiet for a few moments as Kathryn kept an eye on young Thomas, just to make sure he didn't unlock the dog's carrier again.

"You know, my pilots can't believe you wanted to celebrate our anniversary at the cabin, with T.J. in tow."

"Did you tell them you're coming along because I outrank you, Captain?"
"No, Admiral, I just said that I decided long ago that wherever my best gal wanted to go, I'd follow. So far, it's been a great adventure."

"Aww … sweet man," she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I love you dearly, but I'm not cleaning fish." He just grinned.

"Daddy, what's annafurry?"

"That's 'an-a-ver-sa-ry,'" Tom corrected. "It's the date that something special happened. In this case, the day Mommy and I got married."

T.J., unimpressed, went back to his vid.

Tom glanced over at his wife. "By the way, did you see Admiral Kessell yesterday?"

"No, Tech wasn't on his schedule."

"Ah, guess we in Flight Section were the victims, then. Admiral Ho'umai brought him by to say hello, being he knows Dad and all. Anyway, he kept staring at the image of us that's on my desk, like he couldn't believe we were still married."

Kathryn chuckled. "Just as well I didn't see him. I'm still irritated with him over our conversation after Quarra."

"Oh, because he kept telling us we could annul our marriage, and we kept saying no? I thought the transmission was cutting out. At least you shut him up by telling him you were pregnant."

"True. I thought his jaw was going to hit the floor. Though I would have kept my mouth shut had I known Owen was just off vid."

"He took it rather well, though it was the first time I'd ever seen my father at a loss for words."

After an afternoon of fishing, and dinner … that wasn't fish … Tom stood on the porch and looked at the night sky.

Life was good … especially for a guy who not all that long ago was a cynical, angry bastard who'd had nothing but jail time ahead. "All for the love of a good woman," he thought.

He heard the door close and Kathryn stepped next to him. They gazed at the sky for a bit. "Still miss it?" she asked softly.

"Sometimes. Then I remember how rough it could be. You?"

"I don't miss the responsibility, but sometimes, it would be nice to just be out there."

Someday, maybe, they would find the perfect mission, she thought. But right now, a quiet life here was just fine … perfect, in fact.

She was shivering a bit, and he pulled her close. "You know, it all seems like it was a long time ago. But it hasn't been."

"Going on three years, which is a long time in some ways. And we have been busy."

"Seems like we've been married for more than four years, too."

She laughed. "I unofficially count it as five, considering the time we were, er, sneaking around."

"Ah, yes," he said, lowering his voice theatrically. "The year of which we must not speak. It all worked out, though."

"Boy, did it ever," she chuckled as she pulled a tricorder from her pocket and handed it to him. "Happy anniversary."

He looked at the screen, then at her with a wide grin. "Really?"

"Yep, looks like the hormones are finally aligned so we can launch another little Paris."

He kissed her soundly. "You're OK to do this, right?"

"Are we talking age again?" she asked, gently elbowing him in the ribs. "Tom, I'm not decrepit. I have one more round in me. But I will need your contribution … several perhaps, to start the process."

His answer was to scoop her up in his arms. "Well then, let's go inside. I can't wait to get started on my anniversary present."