After getting towed to the nearest gas station, Ned pays the tow guy and starts to fill the spare tire with air. Katie decides to stretch her legs and clean herself up in the bathroom. Her hair is a mess and she wants to properly wipe the lipstick off her lips.

She kind of wants a snack too. Plus they still have a forty-five minute drive home. She grabs a package of twizzlers, a water and a bag of caramel corn before checking out and making her way back to the truck.

Ned has the truck unloaded off to the side of the gas station. He is bent over the tire, arms flexed and sleeves pushed up. He has taken the blown tire off and put it in the back end. He is just starting to roll the spare tire over to it place.

"Hey," Ned waves, seeing Katie walking toward him. She is chewing on a twizzler, watching him intently. "Did you get snacks?"

She shrugs, walking toward her door. "Maybe I was hungry," she mutters, finishing off the twizzler before holding out to him. "Want one?"

"In a minute," he picks up the tire and places it on the wheel. He grabs the bolts from his pocket and cranks them on tight. "Alright. I just gotta wash my hands and we should be good to go. Do you just wanna head home, it's a little late to try and make it to the play. We're still an hour out and it starts in..." He looks at his watch, laughing. "Right now. It's seven."

"I'm fine going home," she sighs, smiling at him. She kisses his cheek before walking past and getting into the truck.

He knows she is disappointed about tonight. They hardly ever get the chance to do something like this, especially with everything that's happened lately.

He walks inside and to the restroom, washing his hands quickly before making his way back to the car. He is on a mission to give her the best night out possible.

"That wasn't too bad of a night out," she sighs, passing him the package of twizzlers as he gets in the truck. "Even if we never made it to the play."

"No. It wasn't," he says, taking one out of the package before placing it on the dash. "And it's not over yet."

"It's not?" She gives him a confused look.

"Buckle up," he says, turning the truck on. "We're gonna find somewhere to eat and take a trip to the mall. I know you've been wanting to get a new bra."

"Sure. I kind of want pasta," she sighs, turning the radio on. "And I guess a new bra would be kind of nice. All of my bras are a size too big." She looks at her phone, scrolling through facebook. She didn't want to talk about why her bra size has shrunk. It just kills her every time she is reminded that she carried a child for eight months and lost him.

They drive for another twenty minutes before Ned sees a billboard for a little Italian place a mile down the road on the next exit. He pulls off and she smiles at him as he squeezes her thigh when they parked outside.

"If you just want to go home tell me now," he says as he shuts the car off.

"I think dinner is a good idea," she says, taking a sip of her water. "It's a step."

He nods, kissing her hand.

They both have their moments, everyone did, but they are doing good right now, even after all of the bad days and that's all that matters.

He gets out of the truck and helps her out, kissing her punctually and linking his hand with hers. They start to walk away from the truck and Katie tucks herself further into Ned's arms away from the cold.

He squeezes her hand as they walk into the restaurant. It seems quaint, very small townish. They are seated quickly in a secluded corner well lit with candles and yellowish lights.

"This is nice," she snuggle into Ned's arms in the cozy booth. "I like how close I can sit with you."

He smiles, nodding at her and sneaking a kiss against her neck. She squirms away, his lips crashing against hers as the waitress fill their glasses with water.

"Can I start you guys off with some appetizers?" The girl asks with a perky smile.

Ned opens the menu and tilted it toward Katie, who peers at it. She hums as she reads each item intently, her mouth watering over the parmesan zucchini bites. She nudges him and he furrows his brow at the idea, but sees how much she wants them.

"We'll get an order of the parmesan zucchini bites," Ned says to the waitress, peering back over the menu. "And some of those garlic breadsticks."

"You got it," the girl says, slinking away.

"I love you," she laughs, kissing neck. "Just because you hate zucchini and you ordered them anyway."

"I'll try it again for you," he rolls his eyes, but cracks a small smile her way. "But I'm still getting old fashioned spaghetti."

"Fine," she beams at him, unable to look at him without smiling as she grabs her menu. "I'll let you get your stupid spaghetti, but I'm trying something new."

After dinner they go to the Bayview mall, which is open until ten. They mostly walk around until Katie pulls Ned into a store and gets him a new tie for when he starts work. Katie drags Ned into the bookstore and gets two new books to read and Ned picks up a Men's Health magazine with a good article about leg workouts.

They stop at the ice cream shop and shared a cone. She's never laughed so hard in her life when she pushes the cone into his face and he gasps. He's pushed it into her nose in revenge and she snorts, causing him to laugh and kiss her.

The ice cream melts in their mouths as they kisses, her arm wrapping around his neck.

"I love you," he breathes, pulling back, but pressing his face against her. "I'm happy we still made tonight fun."

"Me too," she nods, wiping the ice cream off his cheek. "Tonight was really good."

They cleans up with napkins after that and resumes their stroll around the mall. It is nearly nine when they finally saw a clock.

"Would you hate me if I popped into one store?" She asks with a smile as she swings her and Ned's linked hands.

Her husband groans under his breath. He hates the mall and they'd been there a while now. They'd had the perfect night and he'd almost forgotten the reason they came here. She wants to get some new bras.

"Sure, babe," he says with a forced grin. "Where do you need to go?"

She shoots him a sly little smile and said, "Victoria's Secret," she pulls him into the overcrowded shop.

He has absolutely no problem with a stop if it is there. (He wonders for the millionth time if the staff will let him into the dressing room with his wife when she tries on the goods. He assumes no when he sees about ten guys sitting on the weird pink couches in the back of the store. Damnit.)

"Ned, why don't you go look wait outside? It's pretty packed in here." She calls over her shoulder as she pushes her way through the group of ladies hovering around a table of on sale, barely there panties.

His favorite.

And if there is one thing Katie knows how to do, it is find a bargain for cute lingerie.

"More fun to be surprised anyway," he responds with a laugh.

He chooses to ignore the dirty looks the both the staff and the not -as- lucky guys on the ugly pink couches shot at him. Okay, so Ned really didn't hate the mall, per say, and the Bayview Mall is just so much better than the one in Grandview.

He and Katie are pinching pennies right now since neither of them have been working much, so they haven't gone shopping in forever. But if he gets a good score on his physical he';; be back to work soon and it is always nice to have some retail therapy.

He offers the losers holding their girls' purses a smug smile before stepping out into the busying corridor of the mall. Through a small gap in the flow of traffic he sees a booth set up and decides to take a look.

Maybe they are giving away free samples of something. It is too early for Hickory Farms or other awesome food but who knows. Maybe it is a raffle to win tickets to see the Jets or something.

He makes his way through the crowd and comes face to face with a table recruiting for the National Guard.

"How are you today, son?" An older man in a polo shirt asks as Ned steps up to the table.

"Fine, sir," he responds, his eyes glued on the pamphlets that are spread out over the tablecloth. There are a lot of them. A lot of different programs with different training academies in different places around the US. "How are you?"

"I'm great. You interested in being a soldier?" The older man asks.

Ned scrunches his eyebrows together and thought about it.

Sure, when he first got into the Police Academy and he saw the gleaming badges for their tours of duty and knew how great it would look on a resume. He thought it would be awesome to make a difference like that: save people, help people, do good.

It isn't even about being a hero. (Though he thought his mom would probably think he was one if he signed up. His dad was a soldier when he met his mother, and was on tour when he was born. He was nearly a month old by the time his father got leave to come home).

He knows he wanted to do something good and positive with his life, something worthwhile. He just didn't know if he is committed to being in the military for the next six years in between work. He couldn't get deployed.

"I don't know," He answers. "Wait. That's not true. Well, not entirely. I mean, yes. Yes, when I joined the police force I thought it would be good to have on my resume. But, I mean, a lot has gone on in my life. I got sidetracked and I've been fine without it. But it's always been an idea in the back of my head."

"Yeah, a lot of young men like yourself think about it," the other man says. "It can be really good. But if you think it's too much commitment I understand. I really do."

"I do think it would be good for me," he says, scratching his head uneasily, picking up a pamphlet about basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia. "I mean, right now it's just information right?"

"What's her name?" The older man asks, sitting down behind the booth.

"I'm sorry?" He looks up at him.

"The girl you're thinking about right now." The older man asks. "What's her name?"

"Sir, I don't …" He says, looking at his wedding band and shoving his hand in his pocket.

"Henry," the other man says, holding his hand out for a handshake. "And don't give me that I don't know what you're talking about line, son. I've been doing this job for twenty years and at least twice a day a young man walks up to this table and I see the look in his eyes – the one that says he thinks he may have just found what he didn't know he was looking for – but this guy? He always freezes up. And it's always, always because of a girl. So, I'll ask again. What's her name?"

"Katie, sir. Her name's Katie," he responds softly. He glances over her shoulder and didn't see her at the table she is perusing before. "And she's … she's my world you know? We've only been married for about nine months and we just went through this big… our son died." He spills his heart out to a stranger, but he didn't care. "And we're still rocky, but we're doing better and leaving for basic training would not be good for us. I don't know how she would take it. Or if she'd even be okay with it."

Ned watches as a smile begins to spread across Henry's face and then he feels a pair of slender arms wrap around him from behind.

"Hey, babe. What's goin' on?" Katie chirps, the little pink bag around her wrist.

"Nothing," he responds and turns to face her, his lips automatically seeking to find hers.

She wouldn't be distracted, however. After she gives him a quick peck she steps out of his embrace and glances over at the table.

"National Guard?" She asks, eyes moving from the packets of information to her husband and back.

"We were just talking babe. Honest." He replies.

"But you said once that you might be interested in looking into it," she remembers a conversation, but it seems like forever ago when they had it. "It's always been in the back of my head, just in case you ever brought it out. Do you want to get more information?"

"What?" He asks, clearly confused that Katie isn't freaking out at the idea. "Really?"

"I saw the look in your eyes when you told me that day, Ned. I think it would be really good for if you wanted to take LeTrai's place one day. So I suggest signing up on this list," she tells him as she grabs a pen and scribbles his name, "and taking these," she tells him as she shoves a couple of pamphlets into his hands, "and going to the recruitment meeting on February twentieth. Does that sound reasonable to you?" She asks Henry, a smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am," Henry responds with a nod. "Ned Banks? Where you from originally, son? Sounds like a last name I've heard before."

"Grandview," he smiles briefly.

"Knew a Banks from a Grandview once," Henry chuckles. "Good guy. He was from the city but settled in Grandview with his wife. He was on his last tour in Bagdad."

Katie grips Ned's forearm tightly and nudges him. He ignores the slight pain of her nails digging into his skin.

"What was his name?" He asks, his arm wrapping around Katie's waist.

"Charlie. Good guy. His wife just had a baby last I saw him. The baby was a boy, looked just like him. He was going home on leave and was waiting for his discharge papers. Had a picture of himself in this ratty chair," the man chuckles, remembering when they were in basic together. "We were bunkmates. Traded a lot of stories between us. Never did find out how he's doing these day."

"He died," He explains, his lips press together in a fine line. "He, uh. He was shot at an ATM when I was two. It was all over his watch."

"So you did know him?" Henry asks, but his voice is sad.

"Yeah, uh," he clears his throat and rubs at the back of his neck. "He was my dad. I had just turned two when it happened."

He stared at the young man for a moment before walking out from behind the table and offering his hand to Ned. When he takes it, Henry looks at him straight in the eyes and smiles.

"It's an honor to meet you, son. Your dad was one of the greatest people I knew. He was a couple of years older than me and taught me what it meant to be a good man. He scolded me a lot for smoking and was the reason I quit." Henry chuckles, giving him a firm handshake. "You should know he loved you. I remember when he got the call that you were born. He never stopped smiling that whole month that he waited for his leave papers."

"Thank you for telling me that," he replies, his voice shaky. He clears his throat. "So, uhm, February twentieth?"

"That's right. The address is on the last pamphlet your wife gave you. I'll see you there," Henry concludes with a smile before nodding to Katie and heading over to talk to a young woman who has wandered to the table. "Can I help you today miss?"

"Ned," she whispers in concern when he starts leading her down to the escalator. "Are you okay?"

"I think it was a sign," he says seriously. "I think … I think this is what I'm supposed to do. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to help people, protect people." He stops and turns to face her, smiling at her. "You're okay with this? I mean, you're not going to be mad if I get accepted? It's going to be a lot of time away from you. Basic Training is all the in George and is like a whole ten weeks long."

"I'm so proud of you for even considering it, Ned," she tells him honestly. "And if this is what you want to do I promise I will support you. You know I won't like how dangerous it is or long it will be without you, but you've supported me in everything I've done. It's the least I can do to return the favor." She stands on her tip toes and presses a kiss to his lips. "I'll be behind you no matter what you choose, Ned. That's my job as your wife."

"I love you," he tells her.

"I love you, too," she giggles in response.

"I need to get in better shape," he sighs, looking over the requirements. "It'll probably take me a few months and I'll have to study for the ASVAB exam. You know how terrible at that I am."

"I'll make flashcards," she says. "You can do this. I have faith in you." She smiles at him, rubbing his face lightly. "So much faith Ned." She peers at the requirements. "And you're in good shape right now. You'll have to step it up a bit to hit that weight, but you'll get there."

"Yeah," he shrugs. "I have to work on my running too." The minimum time for the two minute mile run is twelve and a half minutes. He knows he could get close to that, but he worried. His average mile these days is seven minutes but that is on a good day. He also needs to work on his push ups and gets past the thirty mark he's been at for the past year. He's always been good at sit-ups and has no worries on reaching that minimum. "And push ups."

"I'm like running," she nudges him. She did want to get back in shape sometime. Maybe this is a good way to spend time together and do that. "Maybe we could do it together? I bet my mile time is pretty bad right now."

"You know I think you're beautiful the way you are, right?" He says, smiling at her.

"I know that. You never let me forget," she rolls her eyes at him and then looks at him. "I still look six months pregnant Ned and I'm not pregnant anymore. I don't like it when people think I still am," she sighs, biting her trembling lip to hold her back her tears. "I am sick and tired of answering questions. Like the attendant in Victoria Secret asked me if I was pregnant and I didn't know what to say to her Ned."

"Katie," he pulls her close, knowing that a hug is all she needs right now.

"I need you to be behind me on this," she whispers, tears present in her voice. "I need you to believe in me."

"I am," he rubs her back, his lips touching he cheek. "I am behind you and I believe in you. I will love you no matter what you look like."

"Okay," she laughs, smiling at him. "Now how about we go home and maybe I'll give you a private fashion show of my purchases?"

She looks up at him with a grin as she wiggles the Victoria's Secret bag in front of him.

He honestly had to tell himself it would be inappropriate to throw her over his shoulder and run out of the mall.

The next morning, Katie and Ned pull up in front of Same As It Never Was.

"I'm gonna stay out here and look at this," he says, pulling the pamphlet from the visor. "You shouldn't be too long, right?"

"I just wanted to tell my mom about last night and maybe see my sister. If it gets to be too long then you can come in and get me." She laughs and kisses his cheek. "Okay?"

"Alright, I'll do that." He smiles, leaning over to kiss her before she hops out. "You look hot, you know."

She is wearing a black skirt with warm tights and a red sweater. Her boots matched her sweater and she's looked rather warm and soft over these past few days. She smiles at him and plays with her skirt. She always got so giddy whenever he flirts with her like this.

"Thanks Ned," she blushes, smiling at him. He always makes her feel like the sexiest woman alive whenever he looks at her. His eyes would take their time, looking over every inch of her before finally meeting her face with a soft lust filled smile. "I love hearing you say things like that."

"I know," he says, looking at the pamphlet now and waving her off. "Go on. Your mom is probably wondering why you haven't come in by now."

She nods, closing the door and blowing a kiss at him. Katie walks through the front doors of the store a moment later, carefully maneuvering around a few customers and toward her mother.

"Hey you!" Melinda says, hugging her. "How was the play?"

"Wow. It is crowded in here." She looks around at all of the customers browsing at different items in the store. "Is it because of the light show?"

"Probably," Melinda shrugs, opening her ams to hug her daughter. "But I'll take all the business we can get."

"We never ended up making it to the play," Katie sighs as she pulls back from her mom's hug and Melinda excuses herself to talk to Katie in a better setting. "It's complicated. A tire blew out on the truck and we ended up just going to dinner and walking around the mall." Katie peers around for her baby sister and Melinda notices, smiling at her.

"Well I'm glad you were still able to save the night. I hope the tow truck didn't take too long. They can take forever sometimes." Melinda sighs, thinking of a time when she and Jim had a very long wait in a snowstorm in his truck on time. They'd had to snuggle to keep warm and used nearly half a tank of gas waiting. Melinda smiled as her daughter itches to see her little sister. "And Emma is down for her nap in the back in her bassinet. She might be awake by now and just calm and quiet like you used to be. You could lay for hours looking around at everything and everyone. You loved to just sit up in your crib." Melinda says, sitting at her desk. "You were a good advertisement to sell the vintage cribs. All of you kids were."

"I bet we were," Katie laughs. "And I didn't mean to be on such a mission but I just wanted to see her." She looks into the bassinet and sees her sister looking up at her wide-eyed. "Hi little sis. Did you miss me?"

She reaches down and tickles the three week old's belly. Her tiny fingers curl around her older sister's pinky. She watches the newborn peer through brand blue new eyes at what must be such a strange world after life in the womb. Her legs kick in a tiny jagged motion, looking for that resistance they were used to she guessed, but finding nothing but air.

She wonders if that's unsettling or a relief, it must have been pretty cramped in there. When she stretches her hands barely rose above her head and she thought of how strange they'd all look if they kept those body proportions as they grew. She knows she could pick her up if she wanted to, she is her sister, but she looks so comfortable.

She is such a doll.

Then she begins to fret and cry, everyone always told her how annoying that is and of course it is after two straight hours, but at first it's so cute she almost cried.

"What was Ned looking at outside?" Melinda says, grabbing a pre-pumped bottle from the diaper bag on the floor. "Just wait babygirl... your bottle is comin'."

"A National Guard pamphlet," she says picking up the little girl.

"Really?" Melinda asks, squirting a little on her palm. It is still warm from when she'd pumped it earlier this morning. "That's a big conversation. Is it just a conversation still?"

"He's interested because of his dad. Isn't that right Ems?" She cooes and holds her sister tightly to her chest. "Don't you think your Uncle Ned would look super good in uniform?"

"How long is basic training?" Melinda asks, handing her the bottle.

"I'm not thinking about the ten weeks of training in Georgia, am I Emma?" She says, positioning the infant in a football carry. "No... I'm just going along with what my husband wants to do because he's always so supportive of what I want to do."

"That's not too long. That's two and a half months, but still it could be longer." Melinda says, rubbing her daughter's back. "What's going on in your head?"

"I think it would be really good for him," she sighs. "Plus it would look really good on his resume if he wanted to climb the ladder. And If it what he wants then who am I to stop him?" She brings the bottle to Emma's mouth, who wiggles toward it. "You're a hungry little bug aren't you?"

"She does love to eat," Melinda cooes, her finger tracing over her daughter's cheek. "I think you and Ned would do fine even though ten weeks is good chunk of time."

"He'll probably cheat on you." A voice whispers in her ear.

"Go away," she mutters, glancing up at Amber. She doesn't come around often, but she likes to pop in every once and a while and stir things up. She has a knack for it.

"Amber?" Melinda follows the ghost as she walks around the room.

"That's our relationship these days," she sighs, looking over her shoulder. "This isn't going to make you feel better."

"Just a little," the ghost laughs and appears in front of her. "Ooh! Is this the newest little ghostbuster I got word of?"

"Hands off," both women mutter.

"Ooh. I pissed off the mother and the sister," the ghost whispers. "I love pissing you off Katie, but your mom gives me a whole other boost of energy that is rather appealing."

"Back off Amber," she mutters.

"She's powerful, even for a baby." The ghost replies, her fingers grazing over the little child's forehead slowly. "Maybe she'll do better than your son would have ever done. Too bad your little friend crossed him over for you."

"Leave her alone," Melinda replies and moves in front of her children as Katie feeds Emma. "You can mess with me however you'd like but you leave my children alone."

Amber's energy isn't as strong as usual, that is something Melinda could read very easily. She'd use that to her advantage. Amber glares at her, but Melinda stands her ground and levels her gaze at her.

"Go," Melinda speaks flatly, not in her usual perky tone.

"Whatever," the ghost mutters and disappears.

"I need to get her crossed over," she sighs and hands over her little sister to her mother. "But she's so stubborn."

"Let me know if you need my help," Melinda says placing a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "And also let me know if Ned makes his decision."

"I will. Just keep this between us though," she says softly. "I don't know if Ned's ready for Delia to know until it's a bit more finally." She kisses her sister's head then, smiling at her. "Bye Ems."

She walks out into the bustling store to see Delia overwhelmed at the counter.

"I can check someone out up here," Katie says, stepping up to the second register. Ned can see how swamped they are and smiles toward the truck. She motions for twenty minutes and he nods, grabbing another pamphlet from the visor to read up on.

She quickly helps Delia get rid of the crowd and the store is cleared quickly.

"Teamwork!" Delia laughs and they high fived. "Thank you Katie. I never could've gotten through that crowd without you."

"You're just lucky I've been helping out with tourist season since I was little." She says hugging her mother-in-law. "I better get going. Ned's been waiting for like ever."

"I didn't even know he was here," Delia says peering out the window at her son. "Is he looking at what I think he is?"

"Yes it is," she smiles. "He stopped at a recruiting booth while I was in Victoria's Secret. He liked to be surprised at what I buy."

"And you're okay with it? It's a very demanding process in the beginning but after can be a whole new can of worms. He can be deployed and that can get really hard. I remember it with Charlie and it was so lonely when he was gone." Delia explains, blushing when she went back over what Katie has said to her. Victoria Secret. Ned likes to be surprised when she gets lingerie. "Wait... did you say Victoria Secret?"

"Yeah. It's in the car. I'm excited for tonight. I was just so tired last night and I'd forgotten it in the car," she laughs and then blushes, realizing this is Delia and not her own mother. "Oh. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable…"

"You didn't overstep," Delia chuckles, waving her okay. "It's just… I was never close with Ned's girlfriends and then there's you and I've been here since you were born. I was there the day you were born and now you're married to my son." Delia smiles at her, rubbing her arm. "Ned loves you so much. I can see it every time he looks at you and you love him very much, I've always known that."

Katie laughs, remembering how in love with Ned she'd been as a preteen. "I was a little over the top then wasn't I?" She says, shaking her head.

"Never," Delia laughs, hugging her. "I'm glad you and Ned are doing better."

"We really are. Our date night didn't completely go to play, but it was really nice to just be with each other and get out of Grandview for a bit," she smiles, holding her at an arm's length. "Well I better get going. I've got a ghost to try and cross and Ned has paperwork he wants me to help him with." She sighs, rubbing her forehead. "And I feel like we never get to hang out. Would you wanna come over for lunch tomorrow? I can whip something good up."

"Lunch would be so great Katie," Delia smiles and waves to Ned who looks up from the pamphlet and waves to her. "And tomorrow works. I'll be over around one."

"One it is," she kisses her mother in-law's cheek before sneaking out the front door and hopping up into the truck.

Ned kisses Katie before she even has the time to buckle and laughs as she kissed him back. And Ned's mother smiles, happy to see her son so happy with his wife, even after all of the darkness this year has brought them so far.