Two mornings later Alison and Marissa got the okay to be discharged. As Flint packed up the many items they had accumulated during the hospital stay, his phone rang. He answered it and heard his mother's voice. "Dashiell, we just landed! We have to get our bags, so we're wondering if you can still pick us up."

He silently cursed. He had forgotten about his parents' arrival. Which meant he had also forgotten to inform Alison of her impending visitors. She was not going to be pleased. "No, I'm sorry. We're still at the hospital, checking out is taking longer than expected."

"Okay, that's fine. We'll take a cab to you house."

"That sounds good. Sorry," he added as an afterthought. Normally he would have been a lot nicer to his mother but he had bigger problems he had to deal with. "We'll see you soon."

That bigger problem was shooting him daggers with her eyes. "We'll see who soon?" Alison asked.

"My parents. Did I mention that they wanted to fly in to meet Marissa?"

"No, damn it Dash, no! Don't even tell me they are on their way here."

"Well, no, not here as in the hospital. But they are on the way to our house."

"Are you kidding me? What is wrong with you? Why would you invite them to our house on the same day we come home? This hospital has been a nightmare, and all I've wanted the last forty-eight hours is to go home and finally spend some quiet time with you and Marissa. I don't want to have to entertain your family."

"They don't need to be entertained. They only want to spend some time with Marissa."

"I get that, I really do. But what I don't understand is why you didn't ask me about this first?"

Flint flashed her a sheepish grin. "Because you were sidetracked by your labor at the time?"

Alison let out such a surprising combination of curses that Flint felt like he should cover Marissa's ears. And because he was an idiot with a death wish, he called her on it. "Are those really some of the first words Marissa should be exposed to?"

She didn't even dignify him with a response. In fact she didn't speak to him again while they finished packing. They finally were cleared to leave, and Alison's mood was made even more sour when the nurse told her she needed to leave in a wheelchair. Marissa was already buckled in her portable car seat, so Flint grabbed her and their bags and followed the nurse and Alison to the parking garage. After getting the car, Alison got in the back with Marissa and the three of them drove home in silence.

Flint cringed when he pulled up and saw that his parents had beaten them there. While his father took photo after photo, his mother ran towards the car. She shrieked when she saw Marissa, which made the baby cry. Flint did his best to ignore Alison's glares as he tried to get everyone in the house.

Once inside, his mother reached for Marissa, who luckily stopped crying when she was picked up. "Nate, quick, take our photo!"

Alison slowly walked over to the dining room and grimaced as she sat down. Flint knew she was still in quite a bit of pain, which made him feel even worse for subjecting his parents upon her. He rubbed her back. "Can I get you something?"

"No, I'm fine," she said with disgust. She started to rise but then thought better of it. She sighed. "Actually, I do need a bottle of water."

The fact that she didn't even have the energy to continue to be nasty to him spoke volumes. He headed towards the kitchen. "Mom, Dad, can I get you a drink?"

His mother had made her way to the couch and was mesmerized by her granddaughter, so she didn't respond. His father, though, asked for a beer and followed him into the kitchen. "I'm sure your mother would take an iced tea, or lemonade or whatever you have."

Flint opened the refrigerator door and quickly realized they were severely limited in the 'whatever they have' department. There were various condiments, a few bottles of water, and hardly anything else. "Sorry, dad. With the exercise, it had been crazy the last couple of weeks. So I imagine Alison didn't have the energy or time for grocery shopping."

His father stared him down. "And you don't have to capability to run simple errands?"

Flint was overtired which meant he didn't have a good handle on his budding anger. "Of course I help out when I'm here. I spent most of the last month in Arizona, and only flew in a few days ago to support the exercise."

"You're still commuting back and forth from Arizona?" His father shook his head. "And you left her alone when she was nine months pregnant?"

It was amazing how fast Flint could be transformed into feeling like a misbehaving child. "I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter," Flint mumbled.

"Well, I hope you're working on fixing that. You have a newborn now. It's not fair to either one of you if you continue to spend all your time in Arizona while you expect her to raise the baby by herself."

Flint debated explaining to his father the nuances of Army life, but he realized he already had Alison mad at him, and he didn't need to add to that list. "I know. I'm working on it. But in the meantime, how about I run to the store and get us a few beers and mom her iced tea."

"No. You stay here with Alison, and I'll take your mother to the store. Just tell me where it is, and let me borrow your car."

They walked out into the living room and Flint tossed him his keys. Once his father caught them he turned to his mother. "Marie, come with me to the supermarket, we need to pick up a couple of things."

"But why? I'm holding the baby."

"You have all week to hold the baby. Besides, didn't you say you forgot your cream or something?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked with such a look of confusion, that Flint had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing. But then she noticed the look that his father was shooting her and she clued in. "Oh yes, right, my cream. I forgot. Alison, where do you want me to put her?"

Before she answered, Flint chimed in. "I'll take her, Mom. And thanks."

She passed him Marissa, and then the two left.

Alison waited a few moments after the door closed. "Well, that was subtle. Did you ask your dad to drag her out kicking and screaming?"

"No that was his idea. Right after he chewed me out for still commuting back and forth. He said I've abandoned you in your time of need. You should spend some time chatting with him. I'd think you'd like him."

Alison nodded. "It's good to see someone in your family has some common sense." She paused for a moment. "Wait a minute, did your dad say a week?"

Flint noticed that comment as well. "I didn't get their exact travel plans."

Alison muttered under her breath. She then looked at her watch. "When they get back, they are free to hang out until Marissa wants to eat again, which might be in an hour or hour and a half. Once that happens, I want them out. I'm having enough problems trying to get her to eat without an audience cheering me on."

"Okay, that's no problem. I can call them a cab to take them back to their hotel."

Alison shook her head. "No. I want you to take them back. Go with them to dinner, go see the sights, whatever. But I want everyone out of here this evening."

Flint wondered if he was going to be allowed back home that night, or if he was going to need to crash in their hotel room as well. But he figured he was better off not asking the question. His parents returned a half hour later with a few bags of items. Marissa was sound asleep in her bassinet when they returned, and while his mother was disappointed she couldn't hold her, she was content to sit and watch her.

Flint had to admit that despite the drama of earlier, he was enjoying himself. And since Alison was holding up her part of the conversation, he hoped she was too. But despite whatever good feelings she may have had, as soon as Marissa opened her eyes and started to squawk, she shot him a look. She then picked up the baby, gave her to her grandparents for a quick kiss, and then made her excuse to go into their bedroom.

Flint turned to his parents with a huge fake smile. "So who's up for dinner and a tour of the monuments?"

A few hours later, Flint was satisfied with the impromptu tour of DC that he had taken them on. It helped that he had been able to get a hold of Stalker who had agreed to take them around the Pentagon. They seemed impressed with the tour. He hoped that made up somewhat for not getting the time to spend with Marissa.

He had then taken them to one of his favorite restaurants which they also seemed to enjoy. All in all in was a successful time, and he was a little disappointed when his mother asked to return to the hotel.

He pulled up in front of their hotel, and his mother went up to their room. However, his father stayed behind in the car. "Thank you for this, Dashiell. It was a truly enjoyable day." He looked towards the hotel and then back towards Flint. "I'm sorry that we barged in like this. I tried to talk your mother out of it, but you know how she gets."

"No, Dad, it's okay. I know how excited mom was to meet Marissa, and I am glad you came. But, don't hold it against Alison. It was my fault. I had gotten so wrapped up in Marissa's birth that I forgot to mention that you two were coming until this afternoon. So she just got overwhelmed by everything. I'm sure she'll be in a better frame of mind tomorrow."

Flint's father patted him on the thigh. "Son, I'm going to give you a couple pieces of advice that I have learned after raising three kids. First of all, the birth of a child, especially a first born, is truly a miraculous and amazing time. It's also going to be the most hellish few months of your life. And you won't have it half as bad as what Alison is going to experience. If you want your marriage to survive intact, you need to learn to ignore about ninety percent of what is going to come out of her mouth for the foreseeable future.

"Secondly, she sacrificed the last nine months of her life creating your child. That's something you can never fully pay her back for. But you can start by trying to give her whatever she wants, again, for the foreseeable future. The good news is that if you do this right then she may like you enough to work on making baby number two. And the even better news is that the second one is not nearly as hard."

Flint thanked his father and told him he would see him tomorrow. On the way back to his house, he stopped at the supermarket to pick up a bouquet of flowers. He then picked up the makings of a breakfast that he planned to cook for her.

He quietly entered the house, and saw she was still in their bedroom. He hoped that all had gone well with her time alone with Marissa. He had put the groceries away, and the flowers in a vase when she came out. She looked awful, but she didn't shoot him a dirty look. He took that as a sign that he could go to her.

"Hey, babe, how did it go?"

"Terrible," she admitted as she wiped at her eyes. "I don't think she's eating enough. I want to say I feel bad for her as I watch her sucking so hard, but it hurts so much that I only feel bad for myself. And I can't believe I have to repeat this torture again in about forty-five minutes."

He held out his arms and she collapsed against him. "My dad said that eventually it'll get better."

She pulled away and looked at him in horror. "Please tell me you didn't spend tonight talking about my breastfeeding problems."

Flint too was horrified. "No, I would never do that. He just gave me good general marital and parental advice."

"That explains the flowers," she said with a smile. "They are pretty. Thank you."

"It's the least I could do, after how I subjected you to my parents. I'm really sorry about that. It's no excuse but I got so wrapped up in Marissa's birth, I honestly forgot."

"So do they totally hate me?"

Before Flint could answer there was a cry from the nursery. Alison's shoulders slumped. "I guess I was wrong about the forty-five minutes."

"Maybe she just wants attention. Go lay down. I'll get her and if I can't calm her down, I'll bring her to you."

Alison nodded. She turned towards the bedroom, but Flint reached for her and pulled her in for an embrace. "I love you."

At first she resisted, but then she relaxed against his chest. "I love you too."

The next morning after breakfast, Flint drove to his parent's hotel to pick them up. As they climbed into the car his mother asked how the first night at home went. "Okay, I guess. Marissa slept about three hours at a time." He didn't admit to the fact that he basically slept through the 0430 feeding.

"That's really good for a baby her age."

"I'm sure it is. But Alison is still so wiped out."

"Poor thing. And that's why we're here. We want to help her out so she can catch up on her sleep during the day."

It sounded like a solid plan. Flint only hoped that Alison would overcome her stubbornness and accept their help. Especially since he wanted to go to the Pentagon to check in with Hawk and General Bradshaw to get an update on the search for Zartan. "I have to go into work for a little while today." Flint ignored the look of disappointment that his father gave him from the passenger's seat. "I should only be gone a couple of hours."

When they returned to the house, Alison met them with a tired smile. "I had hoped that we would both be bathed and dressed by the time you arrived, but this morning is going slower than expected."

"That's the story of motherhood," Marie said. "Do you want me to give her a bath?"

Alison hesitated but then she nodded. "That would be great. I watched them do it in the hospital, but I haven't tried it by myself yet."

Flint grinned as his mother happily took on the task. As they set up the infant tub in the bathroom, she gave them both tips on the best way to bathe a newborn. Flint stayed to watch the process and to take a few photos. Once Marissa was redressed, Marie took her into her arms and brought her into the living room.

Flint put his arm on Alison's shoulder. "Take advantage of my parents' help."

"I am. I'm going to take a shower and then go lie down." She then eyed him. "What are you going to do?"

Flint ran his hand through his hair. "I'm going to head into the Pentagon to check in with Hawk to see if there are any results from the exercise yet." He purposely kept the news about Zartan from her.

Alison sighed. "Fine, but don't be gone all day."

"I won't. I promise."

Flint kissed her and then walked out into the living rom. He quickly left before his parents could give him a hard time about deserting his family.

When he arrived at the Pentagon he walked into Hawk's office who was in deep conversation with Duke. They took a break as he entered, and Duke walked over to give him a hearty hug and a pat on the back. "Congratulations. I'm hoping to visit Alison and meet Marissa before I head back."

"That would be great. My parents are in town for a few days and they will all love to see you."

Duke smirked. "It sounds like a full house. I guess that explains why you came in on your day off."

Flint let out a chuckle as he nodded. "That, and I wanted to get an update on the Zartan situation."

"We were just discussing it," Hawk said as he waved towards the chairs in front of his desk. Both men took their seats and Hawk continued. "Have you been keeping up with the news the last couple of days?"

"Other than what Beachhead told me the other day about Zartan escaping, I haven't."

"That's understandable, so let me give you a recap. What should come as no surprise, the power outage was no accident. It appeared to be a coordinated attack that took out several key pieces of equipment. Therefore, the current theory is that the Dreadnoks are behind it."

While the theory seemed plausible, Flint didn't buy it. He looked from Hawk to Duke. "Do you believe that?"

Duke smiled. "No, but I want to hear why you don't," he said and pushed a folder towards Flint.

Flint read through the information, which gave him a more detailed account of the attacks. Once he was done he shook his head. "I can understand that the Dreadnoks needed the outage to help them get to Zartan. But what happened to the grid went way beyond that."

"Some say it's because they really wanted to make the statement that you don't mess with the Zartan family," Hawk replied.

Flint still wasn't buying it. He lay down the map which showed which substations and transmission centers were attacked and pointed to the one closest to Fort Meade. "Taking this one out turns off the power where Zartan is being held. That makes sense. If they wanted more of an impact, I can see hitting these other nearby targets to add Baltimore and DC to the list. That's quite a statement, and probably a big enough distraction for what they were planning.

"So why go beyond that? Why extend the outage north? They would have needed to send at least a couple of guys to attack the stations in New Jersey and New York, which sets up the potential of being shorthanded when they went to break Zartan out, which was their main goal."

"Unless they had help," Duke said.

Flint leaned back in the chair. "Now that's the truly scary thought. Alison did say it seemed like something Cobra would do."

"That was our thought too," Hawk said. "You learned firsthand that Mindbender is still up to his old tricks. Destro and the Twins are giving the appearance that they are walking the straight and narrow now, but it wouldn't be a stretch that they were secretly funding the remnants of Cobra."

Flint nodded. "It's possible about the Twins, but Alison seemed pretty convinced that Destro has turned away from his evil ways."

"Maybe she's right. And I have always trusted her judgment," Hawk said. But right now while it's important to track down who the puppetmaster is, the simple fact that there may be one is what's worrying me more."

Flint digested the information for a moment. He then let out a sigh. "This is making me miss the days of Cobra Commander taking over the airways to announce his latest plan for world domination. At least then we knew what his endgame was."

"Which is exactly the question we are left with. What was the motive for the outage? Was it simply to break out Zartan? Or is there more to it? Is someone or somebodies out there putting America on notice?" Duke asked.

It was a scary thought. There was a time a few months ago when Flint would have relished the idea of tracking down a new threat, and making his days on the Joe team feel meaningful again. But now, all he could think about was Marissa, and wanting to protect her from the evils in the world. "So what's the plan going forward?"

"I've done about all I can here," Duke said. "I'm going back to HQ before the end of the day. General Bradshaw is on board to send a couple of teams out to check out the Dreadnoks usual stomping grounds. Especially since we might have some additional funding because the Joes passed the abbreviated version of the exercise."

"You did good work out there Flint," Hawk added with a smile. "Admiral Ledger gave you a glowing review."

Flint took a moment to bask in the glow of Hawk's praise. "What do you want me to do?"

Hawk closed the files on his desk. "Go home. Help your wife, entertain your parents and take care of your little girl. You have twelve days of leave left, and I want you to use them. I don't want to see you back here."

Flint rose and saluted Hawk. Like the good soldier he was, he planned on following his CO's orders.