Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews! And here's the second-to-last chapter everyone. Hope you enjoy, please be awesome and review, and peace!

Don't forget that the next chapter will be the finale! ;-)

Chapter Forty-Seven: Decorations and Demons

1019 Hours, April 8, 2552. Europa Base, City of Cote D'Azur. "The Release," Planet Sigma Octanus IV. Twelve Days After the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV

Showered, fed, and rested, I walked down the hallway towards the room. Dressed in a fresh Class A dress uniform and sporting my two shiny new silver bars---the rank insignia of a captain in the UNSC Marine Corps---I was looking to kill some time before the formal services began.

Funerals were being held today for Captain Jeremy Kingston, First Lieutenant Tracey Graham, and the other sixteen Marines of Bravo Company who had lost their lives in the defense of Cote D'Azur. I'd tried to keep such depressing thoughts from my mind for the past few days now, and for the most part it had worked. Everything has a way of catching up to you, however, and this morning I'd woken up with the thought of today's somber functions. Including the two top officers, eighteen Marines from Bravo Company had been killed in the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, and nine of them had died after I'd taken over.

All this meant that my new company was down almost half of a platoon.

I took a deep breath and tried to get my brain to focus on something else. I knew I'd spend far too much time second-guessing my decisions during the battle when I was at the funeral, and I didn't want to start the emotional rollercoaster just yet. I'd held off for this long, and I figured I could wait a bit longer.

Immersed in my thoughts as I continued down the hall, I almost didn't notice when I passed by Petty Officer Second Class Michael Reynolds. He offered me a crisp salute as I strode past him, and it was the sudden movement out of the corner of my eye that finally made me stop. When I turned and saw who it was, I immediately smiled.

"Good morning, Captain," he said, flashing a smile of his own at me.

I returned his salute, and as the petty officer lowered his arm, I looked him up and down. His black hair looked like it had been recently cut, and his face was clean-shaven. After several days of good rest and sleep, the dark circles that had been under his eyes for weeks were gone now, too. Just like the rest of Bravo Company, the medic looked fresh and ready to take on the world again.

"Hey, Doc," I answered. "You're looking pretty sharp this morning, swabbie."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"So? What's the company status after all these days?" I asked him.

"Well, I spoke with the medics from second and third platoons yesterday, ma'am. Looks like about eighty percent of Bravo Company was wounded to some degree during the battle, Captain."

I nodded. Based on what I'd seen myself when I was going through the perimeter weeks ago, the statistics didn't really surprise me. "That's quite the chilling fact, Reynolds."

"Yes, ma'am. But you also have to consider that the vast majority were minor or treatable wounds, Captain," Doc Reynolds said. His blue eyes suddenly brightened as his lips curled into a smirk. "There's also the fact that a certain officer sustained rather significant wounds, but chose to ignore them."

"For good reason, Petty Officer."

"Of course, ma'am."

We grinned at each other.

"Heading towards the room, Captain?" Reynolds asked me.

"Actually, yeah. Have you used it yet?"

"I was just coming back from it. Sorry to tell you this, Captain, but I'm pretty sure you're gonna be one of the last to use it."

"I'm glad Bravo got their chance before me, Doc. They deserved it."

The medic's grin widened. "That's why we're happy to have you leading us, ma'am."

"Thanks, Doc," I said. "You know, I wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for you, Reynolds. You patched me up like what, a million times?"

"More like three million, ma'am."

I chuckled, then grew more serious. "Well, I'll catch up with you later, Reynolds. I've got to use up my allotted time before the funerals begin."

"Of course, Captain," the medic said, saluting me once more. "By your leave, ma'am?"

"Carry on, Petty Officer," I said, returning the salute.

I parted ways with my friend, then kept striding down the hall. I'd finally gotten to the last door at the end, and I was reaching for the doorknob when First Lieutenant Dean Lewis walked out.

"Captain Cooper!" he said, saluting me as soon as he'd cleared the doorway.

I returned the salute, and after we'd dropped our arms, I said, "You know, Dean, I'm kind of starting to get sick of all this ritual."

Lieutenant Lewis grinned. "You'd better get used to it, ma'am. You're Bravo Company's official commander now, after all."

"Boy, do I know it," I said, grinning back. "I haven't even started on the pile of papers on my new desk."

"Then it's a bloody good thing you've got me as your XO to sort things out for you, isn't it?"

"Dean, you know I wouldn't want anyone else. You're one of my best friends, buddy."

"Likewise, Captain," he replied. He paused for a moment, then added, "You know, I rather miss the familiarity of calling you by your first name. But I want you to know that you deserve your promotion one hundred-ten percent, ma'am, and I couldn't be prouder to serve under you. The whole of Bravo thinks so, as well."

"Thanks, Dean. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I can tell you it won't mean a bloody thing compared to what's in that room, Captain."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, Lewis?"

The lieutenant winked at me. "You'll just have to see for yourself, ma'am. I'll see you at the funerals, yes?"

"Yeah. Go ahead, Dean."

After another exchanging of salutes, I was left standing in front of the door. What could possibly be in that room that's so great? I wondered. Of course, there's only one way to find out…

I twisted the doorknob and entered.

A week ago, as things had been winding down after the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV had come to an end, some commanders at Europa Base chose to do something special for Bravo Company. They said they'd set up a secret room for us, and we were only allowed to go in one Marine at a time for a certain period. For the past seven days, I'd kept myself from using the room to give my Marines a chance; after all, they had fought hard and loyally, even under my unexpected leadership, for almost two long months. Now that most of them had had their turn, however, I'd decided that it was finally going to be mine. When I shut the door behind me, I looked over the small room.

Maybe I was too excited to tell, and perhaps my mind was playing dirty tricks on me. But, judging by the screen and the control panel at the desk, it looked to me like someone had converted this tiny office into a live video COM station. I could call home, with real-time picture and sound.

"No way," I breathed. I wanted to jump with joy, except that it probably would have caused my still-healing ribs to protest like crazy. I settled for sitting down at the chair by the desk instead. As I took my seat, I noticed that there were instructions and rules on the COM station's use: one call per Marine, lasting no longer than fifteen minutes.

Ok, so who do I call? Mom, or Will? I thought to myself. Mom, I finally decided, mostly because I still had no idea where Willis was stationed on Earth. Then she can let him know I'm not dead.

Despite how giddy I suddenly was, I typed the planetary code and local numbers into the COM station carefully. I didn't want to waste my one call on a wrong number. When I'd finished typing in the information, the black screen suddenly brightened to light gray as it flashed the words:

//PROCESSING REQUESTED DATA//

I could already tell this wait was going to kill me. Finally, after what seemed like ages, a prompt appeared on the screen:

//CONNECTION ESTABLISHED. PLEASE CONFIRM IDENTITY BEFORE CONTINUING//

Can't you just freaking patch me through?! I wanted to scream at it. Instead, I calmly typed in the information the COM station asked for:

Captain Natalie McKenzie Cooper, Commanding Officer Bravo Company, 102nd Force Action Battalion, 603rd Special Infantry Regiment, UNSC Marine Corps. UNSC Service Number 38221-50486-NC.

There was a short pause before the words //IDENTITY CONFIRMED// flashed on the screen.

And suddenly, the dark letters on the light gray background resolved into a clear, live feed of my husband. He immediately did a double-take as soon as he saw it was me.

"N-Natalie?" he asked, incredulous.

"W-Will?" I croaked, surprised to see him.

He was the first to have his wits return. He gave me a huge grin as he cried, "It really is you! Natalie, you're alive! I can't believe this! I was so worried about you, Coop, and after all those media reports I went weeks thinking you were dead. God, am I glad to see you're ok!" He spoke in an excited rush, and then he finally stopped to squint at the screen. "Are those captain's bars you're wearing, Cooper? Shit, I'd better start addressing you as ma'am now, huh?" he said with one of his goofy grins. "Congratulations, honey. Listen, I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing here at your mom's, and I'll explain later. But first, there's a little someone who wants to say hi."

Willis had talked so fast---and I'd been so stunned---that I hadn't even said a word yet, other than his name. And just as I opened my mouth to speak, I saw Gabriel run up to his father and crawl into his lap. As soon as my son saw me on the screen, he gave me a wide grin and said, "Hi, Mommy!"

I guess that's what finally did it for me.

Suddenly, everything that had happened---all the emotions I'd accumulated in the past several months, from the battle in the Heathan forest to the fighting in Cote D'Azur---everything just sort of caught up with me at the same time when I saw my little boy. In a few seconds, all these pent up emotions I'd trained myself to conceal began to come out as my eyes started to water. Despite my attempts at regaining control, it didn't take long for the silent tears streaming down my face to suddenly transform into loud and heaving sobs---sobs that made my entire body shudder and sobs that I absolutely could not control.

The gruesome battles of the Heathan forest and desert, the weeks of recovery and surgery in the hospital, the long and hard-fought battle for Cote D'Azur…the shock of all those injured and dead civilians, the deaths of Private Beesner, Lieutenant Graham, Captain Kingston, and the other Marines of Bravo Company…the raw fear I'd experienced constantly in combat, the awful times I thought I was going to die, the painful wounds and close calls…and now this final, happy sight of my family alive and well…

I cried for all of it.