Chapter Three

Olivia was throwing a fifty's theme birthday for one of her friends. She had enlisted the help of her son and his family for the decorating of her house. Drew was conducting a night drill for his recruits who believed they had the day and night off. They were in for a shocking wake-up later. Brianna had heard of a sock hop before, thanks to the movie Grease. Her sister didn't but it had fries, burgers and milkshakes so whatever it was, it was awesome.

Except for wearing a skirt part.

Trent said he would hanging out over at his son's house while his wife and friends had her friends had their party. He challenged his older granddaughter to a wii bowling tournament.

"Be careful," Rick said, kissing his husband before he left for the base. "I love you."

"I will," Drew said. "Enjoy your night with your dad and the kids. I love you, too."


Trent spent some time getting messy, painting a bird house with Cori before he bowled with Brianna. A bath would be needed for the four-year-old after that, She was curious why daddy would working tonight; Rick explained that soldiers needed to learn to do their job when it was dark outside, too. Daddy was teaching them. The explanation was good enough for Cori. At the base, if looks could kill Drew would have been on the ground. None of his recruits exactly appreciated being woken from their sleep to be led in the dark to a scene with "wounded" soldiers that they had to assess and "treat." Most of them did well all around after their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Drew didn't cut them any slack, from the field to the clinic where medical mannequins with the same injuries were used, something they would appreciate when they had to handle the real thing.

"That was rough, sir. If I can say so, sir," one of his recruits said to Drew afterwards.

The young man could have passed for a younger version of himself.

"You did well, though," Drew said.

"Can I ask you something, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"Does what you see in the field stick in your brain forever? And mess with you the rest of your life?"

"Some stuff does," Drew said truthfully. "As far as messing you up, they'll show some good to deal with what you see before you finished here."

That wasn't Drew's department but the army taught recruits some coping techniques to prevent PTSD though definitely not as many they should. The doctor kept that to himself.

Drew didn't get home until close to nine a.m..

For once, everyone had slept in and were just getting up.

Brianna was the first to meet him. She gave him a hug,

"How did last night go?" She asked. "Anyone fail your test?"

Drew smiled. "Naw. They did pretty good. Did I miss anything here?"

"Well, papa had quite the time painting the birdhouse. I think some of the paint on the table isn't going anywhere even with the newspaper. Cori has a pretty steady hand with the paintbrush though."

Cori was still in her pyjamas, eating toast and jam. Drew kissed her head.

"Morning, daddy," she said.

Rick kissed him at the kitchen counter.

"Hey babe," he said, touching his forehead to Drew's. How was your night?"

"A lot less fun than yours from what I hear."

Rick scoffed and laughed. "I learned my father likes to make a big mess more than lil' missy over there. I scolded him more than Cori."

"Papa wanted to put paint on the table. He even put his hand prints and mine. Daddy washed them off," Cori piped up.