April—Mac exits her on temporary home. She heads down her walk way to the sidewalk. She wears a charcoal colored hooded sweatshirt with USMC scrawled in blue letters on the front, and a pair of charcoal athletic pants. She pulls her hood up to protect herself from the misting rain. She heads down the sidewalk at her usual pace. The endorphins begin to really kick in somewhere at the end of her first mile. Her body temperature rises. She can feel sweat beads rolling down her cheeks. Her unborn baby doesn't stir until the beginning of mile two. Her unborn daughter does somersaults as she runs.

She returns to her block at the end of her three mile loop. She finds her neighbors have finally joined the living. Many of them step outside their doors to collect the morning newspaper. Some of them take leisurely strolls down the block with their dogs. A couple of them push strollers down the sidewalk. She spots one Marine wife with one child in a jogging stroller, and one secured to her chest in a harness as she jogs through the neighborhood. By the time she reaches her house she's no longer jogging. She slowly approaches her house. She sees her next door neighbor out. She waves at him. He grabs his newspaper off his lawn.

"Morning," he greets.

"Morning," she forces a smile. Colonel Jason Malcom is a forty six year old marine with a wife, and a six year old son.

"So how much longer do you have until D-day?"

"Two months," she answers.

"You're still making your five mile jog, every morning?"

"I've cut back."

"I doubt that."

"She will only cooperate for a three mile jog. After that she starts to get pretty unhappy."

"How do you know that? She hasn't been born yet, and she certainly doesn't talk to you."

"After three miles she gets pretty agitated, and won't stop moving."

"So are you going to stay in the Corp after the baby gets here?"

"That is my plan."

"Do you ever think of what kind of example your setting?"

She furrows her brow, "Excuse me?"

"As a pregnant, unmarried female officer in the Marines? Have you considered that the right thing would be to leave the Corp, and get married if you want a family?"

"How long have you and your wife been married?"

"Five years."

"Your son is six," she points out, "I hardly think that you are in the position to be judging me."

"How do you expect to be there for your daughter if you have to leave town every time duty calls?"

"How do you expect to be there for your son if you have to leave town every time duty calls?" She throws the question back in his face.

"He has a mother. What about your baby's father, where is he?"

She shakes her head, and walks away without another word. She enters the house, and makes a beeline for the shower. She quickly showers, and dries her hair. She pulls on her uniform, and grabs a bite to eat. She takes a seat at her kitchen table. The table is nearly full of personnel files. She sorts through the stack until she finds the one that she is looking for. She carefully digests each detail of the file. She tosses her dishes in the dishwasher, and then heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When she exits the house she finds Mrs. Malcom standing in her front yard pruning a hedge near the edge of her property. Sarah decides not to let the opportunity pass her up. She stops at the edge of her yard, and smiles at the Colonel's wife.

"Mrs. Malcom I feel like such a terrible neighbor. I have been living next door to you for three months, and I don't think that I even know your first name."

"Karen," she pulls her hand out of a gardening glove, and offers it to Sarah.

"Sarah MacKenzie. Most people call me Mac."

"Colonel is there something that I can help you with?"

"Your son keeps leaving his bike in front of my driveway. I am afraid that I am going to run over it."

"I am so sorry Colonel MacKenzie. I will tell Jase to make sure that he puts it away."

"So you just have the one son?"

"Yes. We wanted more, but unfortunately I couldn't have anymore children after Jase was born."

"I should get going. I don't want to be late."

"Nice to meet you Colonel MacKenzie."

Sarah climbs into her car, and backs out of the driveway. The second that she steps through the door to her office the phone is ringing. She picks up the receiver.

"Colonel MacKenzie," she answers.

"Colonel MacKenzie this is Lieutenant Montgomery."

"How can I help you Lieutenant?"