Somewhere along the Georgia/Plains Nation border...
"Are you sure we're in the right place?"
Tom sighs in annoyance, urging his horse to go faster.
"Hey Tom, did you hear me?" Jeremy asks, his horse falling in step next to Tom's.
Rolling his eyes, Tom looks over at his fellow Captain. "Yes Jeremy, I heard you the first time. And the second time. And the third time."
"Well are we going the right way then?" He asks impatiently.
"Yes we are. And if you tell me to stop and ask for directions one more time, I will shoot you myself and tell Miles and Bass that you were killed by a gang of rouge bandits."
Jeremy scoffs. "They wouldn't believe you."
"Wouldn't they?" Tom asks amusedly. "Miles still thinks Charlie believed in the tooth fairy until she was twelve and Bass still thinks that Miles doesn't know about about he and Charlie's pre-marital indiscretions."
Jeremy laughs, then frowns. "OK, so maybe Bass and Miles would believe you, but there's no way you'd fool Charlie. She'd call you on it in a heartbeat."
Tom shrugs. "I'll just blame it on her pregnancy hormones."
Shaking his head in amusement, Jeremy punches his arm. "You're a terrible person."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quit your yapping. I'd like to go home some time this year. Julia wasn't all that happy that I had to leave in the first place."
"Yeah, Maggie wasn't exactly excited about it either."
Tom turns to look at Jeremy with a raised eyebrow. "First fight?"
Jeremy shrugs. "I don't know. It didn't really feel like a fight. She knows that Charlie didn't mean for me to get sent in Miles' place and she understands why I was, but that doesn't mean she likes it."
Tom nods in understanding. "I remember the first time I got sent away. Julia was pissed. Didn't talk to Bass or Miles for six months. But trust me, the welcome home sex is fantastic."
They both laugh, catching a few of the boys from their squadron laughing as well. "If any of you ever repeat that to my wife, you're dead." Tom tells them with the most serious face he can muster.
"Yes, sir!" They call back, grins spread across their faces.
Later that day, after the camp has been set up and the watch schedule set, Tom and Jeremy sit across from each other on their cots with their meager dinners on their laps.
"I bet Bass and Miles are gorging themselves on something delicious right now," Jeremy grumbles.
Tom chuckles. "Nah, it's late. They're probably fast asleep in their comfortable beds with their women by their sides."
"What I wouldn't give for that right now."
Tom nods in agreement, stuffing a fork full of potatoes into his mouth just as a gunshot rings out in the distance. Both men freeze, their eyes locked on each other.
"Was that..." Jeremy whispers. Tom nods just as a young Sergent bursts into their tent.
"Sirs! It's an attack, we're surrounded!"
Jeremy and Tom share a look. "What was that you said about us being in the wrong place?" Tom asks.
"Shut up Dick."
XxX
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia...
"Babe, you're sweating."
"Hmm?" Bass asks distractedly, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "No I'm not."
Charlie shakes her head in amusement, turning her attention back to the doctor kneeling in front of her. "Well?" She asks, attempting to conceal her own worry.
Maggie smiles up at the worried couple as she pulls her ancient stethoscope away from Charlie's abdomen. "Everything seems fine. The baby has a strong heartbeat, your blood pressure is great, and I know for a fact that you've been getting plenty of rest."
"She has," Bass assures her unnecessarily.
Charlie rolls her eyes at him, plucking a handkerchief from her pocket and handing it to him to wipe away his excessive sweat. "I feel great," she tells Maggie.
"No more nausea? Any pain?"
"Nope."
Smiling, Maggie gently pats her cheek. "Keep it up and we'll have a happy, healthy baby in no time."
Bass swallows audibly, slumping down onto the couch next to his wife. Maggie gives him a look of concern and scoots over to look at him more closely.
"And how is dear old dad?"
He blinks rapidly, trying to bring her face into focus. "Never better," he murmers.
"Right." Maggie reaches out and grabs the flask hanging out of his jacket pocket, giving it a little shake. "Half empty? Seems like you're self medicating again."
"Am not." Bass attempts to snatch the flask back but Maggie pulls it away.
"We talked about this Bass. You need to cut back on the alcohol. It's bad for your blood pressure."
He huffs in response, rolling his eyes at her. "I'm fine."
"You are not fine. You're the President of a country and about to be a first time father at the same time. You're stressed, which I understand, but this-" she shakes the half empty flask in his face. "-is not the way to deal with it."
Charlie bites back a smile at Maggie's direct approach and takes her husband's hand. "I know you're worried, but this is supposed to be a happy time. At least try to enjoy it with me."
Bass takes a deep breath and looks down at her. "I'm trying," he whispers.
"I know." Charlie gives him a gentle kiss as an idea pops into her head. "Tell you what, if you can manage not drinking until the baby is born, I'll let you name them."
"Really? Whatever I want?"
Charlie grins. "If you can stay sober that long, then you can name them whatever you want. But if you can't, then I get to name them."
"Deal." Bass kisses her again while Maggie laughs. "What's so funny?" He asks her.
Rolling her eyes at him, Maggie starts packing up her work bag. "Oh, nothing. Just the fact that you've basically guaranteed that you'll have no say in what to name your child."
Bass scoffs. "I'll be fine. I've quit drinking before."
"Yeah, for like a day," Charlie giggles.
Bass gives her an indignant look, getting up off the couch to stomp across the room. "I can do this," he says insistently. "You'll see." He slams the door dramatically behind him, causing both of the girls to laugh.
"I give it a week," Maggie says with a smile.
Charlie thinks about it for a moment, then shakes her head. "No, it's for the baby, so he'll hold out a little longer than that. I give it three weeks."
"Three weeks for what?" Jason asks as he plops down next to her on the couch with Danny on his other side.
"How long Bass can stay sober," Maggie explains.
The boys both laugh. "I give it a day, maybe two." Jason says.
"I don't know, Charlie has a point about it being for the baby. I give him two weeks." Danny says.
Miles chuckles from his place in the doorway and they all turn to look at him. "What's so funny?" Charlie asks.
He shakes his head at them, reaching into his jacket for his own flask to take a sip. "You're all wrong," he tells them smugly. "Bass will do anything for that kid, even if it means giving up his drink. The real bet will be, how long can we all put up with a sober Bass? I give it a week before you all start begging him to drink again."
They all look at each other for a moment as his words sink in, panic slowly growing in every one of them.
"Oh no. What did I do?" Charlie whispers.
Miles laughs. "You just took away the only thing keeping Bass on the level and now you're going to have to deal with him, because sober Bass is not my problem."
Charlie turns to Maggie with wide eyes. "Why did you let me do that?"
But Maggie merely shrugs. "I said he should cut back, I didn't say anything about quiting cold turkey. That was your idea!"
"Oh God." Charlie puts her face in her hands, wanting nothing more than to smother her family as they laugh at her expense and begins plotting all of the ways she can slip alcohol into her husband's drinks without his knowledge.