[A/N] I own nothing!
Sorry it's so short. Sorry it's not very good. This is the second to last chapter.

"I don't see why you're making such an effort," I heard Doggie say, his voice bewildered.

I ignored him and concentrated on getting my eyeliner straight. Tonight was to be the first time I'd sat down to a meal with anyone for a long time, since before I was even pregnant. Of course I had to look presentable.

I took a step back and examined the finished picture in the mirror.

"Come on," Doggie put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me, gently, away from the mirror. I looked at him, deep into his eyes, and smiled weakly. "Come on." He repeated.

We made our way down from our quarters, to the mess hall. The B-Squad always had their evening meal later, with Cruger, to avoid the crowds. I used to join them, always, but recently I had fallen out of habit.

I swallowed nervously as we entered the hall. It was so quiet and empty, except for my five favourite teenagers chatting and laughing at one table.

"Hey DC!" Jack called, looking up. Then he saw me. "And the lovely Miss Manx; it's been a while."

"Hey Kat!" Syd chirped, rushing over to give me a hug.

"Hey guys," I said, trying to be warm. It was a little hard, after what I heard them say. But I was here to prove them wrong, so I smiled and sat down. "What's for dinner."

"Pasta," Bridge stated. "Extra cheesy!"

My stomach growled in anticipation and Jack laughed, "I guess someone must be hungry."

I nodded in agreement. If truth be told, I hadn't eaten that well since giving birth, but I was unwilling to admit it.

"So how is everyone?" I asked, trying to break the ice. From far away, I was sure I could hear the sound of Soara stirring in her sleep and my ear twitched, but I tried to ignore it, instead focusing on the fact that Z and Bridge were holding hands under the table. Huh, hadn't seen that one coming.

There were mumbles of "good" and general nods all around.

Just then, the food arrived, and everyone tucked in. I stabbed my fork into the steaming plate of pasta, and shoved it into my mouth, trying not to look completely like a starving single, working mother of two, at the same time.

Conversation continued long into the night, and we covered a wide variety of topics.

It was well past two in the morning before me and Cruger returned to his room, to find the children fast asleep, the nanny cooing over them quietly.

We thanked her, paid and she went on her way.

I crawled into the camp bed, feeling sleepy. My stomach was satisfied for the first time in a long time, and I felt happy.

"Thank you so much, Doggie," I purred. "I can't even tell you how much this means."

"It's no trouble at all," he stated. "You and your girls are free to stay in this room with my pups and I, as and when you like."

"Really?" It felt odd to be sleeping in the same room as my commander again, and I couldn't help but wonder why he was being so generous.

"Really. I think it's having too much of a strain on us both, trying to do this alone. So what I thought was, we should make more of a habit of assisting each other. It worked when you taught me to be a dad, and it's working now. So why not keep it going as some sort of agreement?" I heard him pause for breath. "We will raise our children separately, like we would have done, but whenever one of us needs help we will always be there for them. A sort of 'I have your back if you have mine' agreement." Cruger sounded nervous to make this suggestion, but personally I couldn't agree more. Maybe in the past I had been a bit too stubborn about whether or not I accepted help. Maybe it was time to accept that even the most organised of people need help sometimes.

"Mmm," I made the vocal sound in an approving tone and nodded my head, hoping he would understand. I didn't have enough energy to do much else, and Doggie seemed to accept it when I instantly fell into a deep sleep, feeling safe in his presence.

It was the best sleep I'd had in a long time.