Duke found the couch in front of the big screen coated in teenage girls in bikinis. Vincent lounged on the carpet in front of Persephone, his head an inch from her dangling legs. Three large bowls of popcorn were making rounds. On the screen, Ralph Macchio was holding court. Duke snuck up behind Jennifer and hugged her to him.
"Ewww! Conrad, gross, you're all soggy!" She hit back at him with the VCR remote, "oh, you're totally soaked, get off me!"
"Don't you love me anymore, Jenn?" He laughed, let her go, and wrung the front of his shirt out over her.
"Oh EEW, Con!"
Laura came to her rescue and threw a pillow at him. Duke countered by whipping off his shirt and slinging it at her. Got her right in the chest. She squealed.
"Oh, Laura, too slow, so sorry." Duke dodged another pillow, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and went into his room to shower. Erica's voice followed him through the door.
"Hey, Jenn, can you get him to do that again later?"
"What? Drip sweat on me? He's done that forever, the big jerk."
"No, take his shirt off."
Vincent snorted.
Duke hollered back through his door, "By the way, the pizza's here. It's on the table upstairs." The thundering of teenaged hooves on the stairs announced the herd was hungry.
Duke stripped off his shorts, kicked off his shoes and peeled his socks off. He climbed into the shower for the second time that day. He turned the water as hot as he could stand and stood under the showerhead with his eyes closed, letting the water run down over his face, down the back of his head, sluicing off the sweat.
Great. Propositioned at the custard stand and drooled over by teenagers. It's a Hustler article in the making…
Duke grabbed the soap and started to scrub himself off. As it usually seemed to do these days, his wandering mind meandered right back to her and the last time he found her running with him.
She usually isn't into the early morning runs. Not into early mornings period.
Duke smiled to himself. Getting out of bed on time happened, but he knew from Jaye's grumblings and years' worth of seconds-to-spare arrivals at muster that snooze buttons tended to get mashed and clocks had a way of ending up in pieces in the face of Scarlett's wrath. She was not a morning person.
I guess she was just up already. Couldn't sleep, maybe.
Whatever the reason, she'd caught up with him at the south end of the barrack buildings and joined him for his run out to and along the fenceline. By the time they'd reached the far rifle range by the Proving Grounds, the sun was coming up.
"One thing to be said having a base in the middle of the badlands; it makes for some spectacular sunrises."
They'd stood together watching the rays of light spread slowly over the distant mountains, waking up golds and reds and oranges on the rocks and crags.
"Oh Duke, it's gorgeous," she was barely whispering, perhaps not wanting to disturb the soothing calm that surrounded them. "This is what I miss not getting up early. Do you see this every morning?"
He'd turned his head to look down at her. Those blues were sparkling with the morning sun, and her lips were parted in a serene smile. He couldn't help but quietly agree with her. The scenery as he saw it was awful pretty.
"Can't say I've noticed it before, Red. Took you to make me really look at it." He shrugged. "Usually I just run till I get back, my mind's on paperwork or maybe breakfast."
She laughed and turned her smile to him, "Probably breakfast, knowing you." She stretched her arms languidly over her head and looked back at the scenery, "just look at that! I'm going to get up early every morning just to see it over and over."
He'd laughed at her, "Don't believe it for a second. 'Early' and 'morning' are two words I've never thought of in connection with you." That had not been entirely true. He'd often thought of seeing her in the early morning. Sleeping and awake.
She'd socked him playfully, "So you have no faith in me, Duke?"
"Didn't say that. I have perfect faith in you, Red. I just know you're velcroed to the sheets most mornings."
She hit him again. "Think about me in bed often, Top?"
"No." Yes. "Well, we'd better get back, my heart rate's dropping and, you know, I got work to do."
"Sure. Thanks for the run and the beautiful sunrise, Duke." She gave him a half hug with an arm. She'd been doing that a lot more, lately. Hugs. Arms around his neck. A hand resting on his shoulder. It took all he had to not grab her and hold her against him. Twice…no, three..well, several times he'd given in. So far.
Look, the woman needed help down from her Skystriker, and who else was there to save her from an enemy plane? She'd looked so upset after that incident with the ghosts. Duke knew she'd been thinking about her mother, and he just couldn't stop himself wrapping his arm around her for comfort. Then, yeah, it was a little sneaky the way he'd tricked her into clinging onto him behind that Russian dogsled, but hearing her breathing deep in her sleep just a tent away night upon night was driving him crazy. Two nights he'd lain awake, trying hard not to think of everything he wanted to do to her and failing miserably.
The hot water ran out suddenly, and Duke jumped and dropped the soap as the cold water shocked him back to the present. He crouched for the soap and then let the water run over him again.
Because right now, I need a cold shower.
Goddamn Frat regs. Goddamn me insisting on following the fucking goddamn frat regs when fucking Flint flaunts them and I let him get away with it because…because…
Why do I let him get away with it?
Dripping, Duke stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel. He started with his close-cropped hair and worked his way down, ending by drying between his toes. He examined the scars for the umpteenth time. Like the few tattoos he had, they told the story of his life. They weren't unattractive, more character. He imagined her fingers tracing the damaged flesh and ink.
Shit, why DO I let him get away with it? Lucky bastard.
Duke pulled on a pair of boxers and yanked his jeans on over them. Right in time, too. His door opened and Jessica popped her head in.
"Oh, hey, Duke. I heard the water turn off and thought you were out. Your mother says you better come and get your pizza before Vince eats it. He saw it and fell in love."
Jennifer came up and pulled her back, "Jessica! You were supposed to wait for him to come out."
"I was? Gosh, sorry." She smiled and went back to the couch.
"Sorry about that, Conrad. Jessica's a little guy crazy."
"A little? Thirty seconds earlier and I might have had to marry her. " Duke pulled his T-shirt over his head.
"You're the one who tore his shirt off back there." Jennifer put her hands on her hips and grinned at him.
Laura pushed through the doorway next to her, "Way to go, Stud. Jessica's going to be writing 'Mrs. Jessica Hauser' everywhere for months, and she's not the only one."
"Do women really do that?"
"Sure, you should see what Jennifer, here, writes. Oh, Robert! Make me Misses Schwartzman!"
"Laura! Shut up! But Vince really is coveting your pizza. It's meat-tastic, Con."
Duke headed out past them to the stairs, stopping and putting an arm on Jennifer's shoulders, "Who's this Robert? Do I have to pay him a visit? Should I have a talk with him?"
She grinned, "Don't you dare, big brother. The last thing I need is you going all beast on him before the next formal." She wrapped an arm around his waist and they walked together upstairs.
"I swear, when you grow up, you're becoming a nun. I've already called Mother Superior at the convent."
"Geez, we're not Catholic."
"I don't usually let the details bog me down in these matters." Duke opened the door to the kitchen.
"Well, screw that. I want to be a cinematographer."
"Doesn't have the same ring to it. Hey, drop that slice, Kid!" Duke got to the kitchen table just as Vince was trying to sneak a piece of his pizza. He snapped the lid down on his brother's fingers.
"Oh, come on, Con, one slice. Look at all that meat!"
The pizza maker at Angelo's, following instructions to a T, had piled on sausage, steak, chicken, pepperoni, meatballs, capacola and Canadian bacon. Duke thought he could hear angels singing.
"Yeah, sure, take one. No, take two. I'd better have a few veggie slices."
Vincent loaded up his plate, grabbed a cup of soda and was headed beck to the basement when Mamma stopped him.
"Oh no, You stay here. I promised your little sister she could be free of you for a bit. Vincent, let the girls have fun on their own." She rubbed his head as he dropped into a chair.
"Fine. Whatever. Thanks."
Drew wandered in gnawing on a massive calzone, "Ha, ha, now you know how it feels."
"Not cool, Rabbit. He just wants to spend time with cute girls." Duke had a feeling Vincent was working on something with Persephone.
"Duke, how come you want me to be a nun, but you don't mind Vince drooling over my friends?"
Duke stopped short; it hadn't occurred to him. He stood behind Drew holding his pizza box in one hand and rubbing his chin with the other.
"Yes, Conrad, explain it to me." Mamma leaned against the counter and nibbled on a slice of veggie pizza. Jennifer stared at him intently.
"You know not so long ago, I was a teenage boy myself."
"And that explains what, dear?"
"Everything. I know where Vince is coming from. I know exactly what impure thoughts the boys are thinking about Jennifer."
"What are they thinking?" Drew finished the last few bites of her calzone and gazed backwards up at him.
"Things that will make me hurt them if I catch them."
"And Vince is thinking these things?"
"Uhh, probably."
Vincent blushed deep red. "Thanks, Con."
Drew looked confused, "and you're OK with that?"
"Yeah, well, not all of it's bad. Sometimes a guy wants to be around a girl just because he really likes her. Not every intention is a bad one, you know. Mamma raised us right. Vincent isn't a bad guy."
Vincent brightened, "Thanks, Con."
"But the guys who like Jennifer are?"
"Yes, without a doubt they are all are extremely badly intentioned horny bastards after my sister and I must put the fear of God into them by at least threatening to pummel each and every one into a bloody pulp. I'll do the same thing for you, Rabbit, when you're old enough and they come sniffing around."
"Oh, that's OK, then. I'm going to watch Airwolf. " Drew poured a cupful of soda and went into the den.
"Wait, I'm coming, too, squirt." Vince followed laden with pizza and an entire 2-liter bottle of orange soda.
Jennifer looked grumpy, "That's a double-standard, Con."
"I didn't say it made sense."
"But it isn't fair!"
"I didn't say it was fair, either."
"I bet the Joe women wouldn't stand for you doing it."
"You're wrong, there, I've had put more than a few guys straight about the women on base. On top of that, none of them need me to beat anyone into a bloody pulp. But I do kep the offer open. That's part of my job."
"Women in the military can have a tough time with the men, Jennifer." Mamma wiped her hands off on a dishtowel.
"Weren't you sort of hinting that you had the hots for one of the girls on base, Con? Which one was it again, the classy one?" Jennifer smiled sweetly.
"I swear, I'm driving you to the convent myself, Kid."
"Do you have impure thoughts, about her, Big Brother?"
Duke slowly put the box down and tensed to spring, "C'mere you little pain!" He lunged. Jennifer laughed and tried to escape, but he managed to grab her arms and pull her close enough to haul her up in the air. She screeched as he flung her over his shoulder and headed out the back door, over the deck and towards the stables and the paddock. Mamma followed and stood on the porch, shaking her head, watching them in the falling dark of the evening.
"Where are we going?" Jennifer laughed and tried to get leverage against his back.
"I'm going to baptize you in the trough." Duke swung around a little to give her a hard time.
"No!" she squealed with laughter, "No! Not the trough! No! I'm sorry." She tried to catch her breath.
"Oh no, too late, you're going in." He pulled her back over and into his arms, holding tight against her mad struggles. She was laughing too hard to put up much of a fight. "Last I checked there wasn't too much horse drool."
"No! Look, No!" She hollered, " Con, I'm so very sorry for bringing up the very classy woman you have the hots for and all your impure thoughts about her." Jennifer fell apart into gales of laughter.
He reached the paddock, threw her back over his shoulder and held her there with one arm and climbed over the railing using the other. When he got to the trough, he dangled his struggling and laughing sister over it.
"Last chance, Jenn." He grinned at her.
"Is she hotter than the two girls Drew said made a pass at you at Fritz's?"
He let go, and she fell with a splash into the dark, cold water.
He crouched down next to the trough and splashed her in the face when she came up, "good thing you're still dressed for swimming."
She splashed him back and laughed, then threw her arms around his neck. "It's good to have you home, Con. I was scared you were going to die."
Duke stood back up and held his sister tight in his arms, lifting her off her feet. "Kid, I'm just not that easy to take out."
"Just…just be careful, is all. There's supposed to be four of us, right?"
He lifted her out of the trough and carried her back to the grass of the back lawn. "If there wasn't, we wouldn't all be here, Jenn." He set her down gently
"So, you know, try and keep it that way." They walked back to the house, where Mamma was waiting. She had gone in to get a towel.
"I'll do my best."
Jennifer looked sidelong at him. "Is she nice?"
"Very."
"Does she like you?"
"I think."
"Do you really like her?"
"I think you've figured that out."
"Are you allowed to tell her?"
"No."
"That sucks."
"Tell me about it."
"Are you going to forget about it?"
"Tried that. Doesn't really work."
"So…what will you do?"
"I'll figure it out."
Mamma greeted them at the porch steps and wrapped Jennifer in the towel. "Your friends are wondering what's going on. Get out of that wet suit before you catch cold. Probably you should all change for bed, anyhow." She rubbed her daughter's back. "Conrad, for goodness sake, eat. There's some beer in the fridge for you."
"Excellent."
Jennifer bounded through the screen door and into the house. Duke and Mamma followed her. She hollered down the basement stairs at her horde "Hey girls! Let's get into our pajamas! Then we can have ice cream and floats and watch Valley Girl!" Cheers erupted through the door, followed by a rush of girls. They flowed through the kitchen and into the den to head upstairs to change, shoving past Vincent as he came back for more pizza.
Vince smiled, "A pack of girls in bikinis running…these are the things that dreams are made of." He slid a few slices of pepperoni onto his plate, refilled his glass, and went back to the TV in the den.
"Drew tells us you could have had a date tonight, dear." Duke's mother smiled at him.
"And miss this?" He waved vaguely as he pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge, grabbed an opener from a drawer and popped the cap. Stacking a few empty boxes to clear a space, he sat down at the table and took a swig. He helped himself to a large bite of meat pizza.
"You're a grown man, Conrad. You're single. I would imagine you prefer spending your evenings doing something other than a slumber party with pizza. Cold pizza, at that." She moved the empty pizza boxes to the counter and sat next to him. "Drew says you threw away a phone number from a nice lady at Fritz's."
"Wasn't interested." Even cold, the all-meat pizza was fucking amazing. Worth a huge amount of focus and attention, more than the conversation his mother wanted to have.
"Really? Drew says she was pretty."
"Rabbit says space aliens came down one night and gave her super powers. You can't really trust her judgment."
"Conrad, aren't you lonely?"
Oh, here we go.
He took a bite of pizza, a swig of beer, and tried to stand up with his box and bottle, "I think I'll go see what's on tele-" She grabbed his arm and pulled him down. Just like before, he knew he could easily yank free, but he wasn't crazy enough to try it.
"Sit, Conrad. Please."
He sunk down and let the box and bottle go. She rested her hand on his arm and gently ran it back and forth. "I know Madeline hurt you deeply. But that was so long ago, dear. Don't you think you could find something a little more serious? A little more rewarding than what you're doing now?"
"Can we not talk about Maddy?" He stared down at his plate, refusing to meet her eyes. "That was over and done with years ago."
"Just because one woman rejected your proposal doesn't mean they'll all feel that way. Madeline fell in with a group of people who hated soldiers when they should have hated the conflict. She let that turn her love around."
"Mamma, stop." He put his hand over hers, holding it still. "Stop talking about this."
"She was one woman, dear. Love doesn't disappear so easily. Her love was-"
"SHE NEVER LOVED ME!" Duke snarled and slammed the table with his fist so hard it knocked his beer over and shocked his mother into silence. Jack stuck his head in from the den.
"Everything OK in here?" He looked at Duke and his wife in turn.
"We're fine, dear." She placed a hand over Duke's fist. With the other, she used a few napkins to wipe up the spilled beer. Duke stared at the tipped bottle and then slowly righted it. Jack nodded and slipped back into the den.
"She never loved me. She liked the idea of me. I should have seen it. She loved me in a football uniform. She loved me in a dress uniform. She never loved me. She never saw me. She just saw an idea. Some tall guy with muscles and a little excitement thrown in. When I was gone and someone came along with an idea that was more fun, she went with that one. I should have seen it. " He tipped the bottle back and took a long swig, all the warm feelings from earlier shot to Hell. "I didn't see it. She was screwing around with some hippie bastard and I was over there, sweating through my cammies and writing her love letters in between dealing with the tribesmen and patrols and that fucking POW camp, because I was blind."
"Conrad…"
"I came home ready to love her forever, settle down and try to forget the Hell I'd seen, and she called me a monster and took off to California in the back of a hippie freak van. Is that really what you wanted to talk about, Mamma? You think I'm stuck on one night stands because Maddy threw my ring back?"
"I didn't mean to make this painful, Kleiner, but if you couldn't see what she was doing, maybe you couldn't see her either. Maybe you loved an idea over the real person, yourself." She moved the bottle away from him.
"I was blind, too, is that it? All right, I'll admit as much." He grabbed the bottle and finished the last few drops, then spun it lazily on the table. "I'm not going back to drinking because of one conversation, Mamma."
"I didn't mean that, either. It's empty, and I don't want you knocking it over again." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I brought it up. Its just…" she caught his chin and made him look at her. "I want you to be happy. I want you to have someone around to comfort you when you need it. Someone to share some fun with. Someone to keep you warm. Someone you can take care of. Someone to come back to. I don't want you to be alone. I don't want you to…to die alone." A tear ran down her cheek.
He grabbed a napkin and gently reached over to dab her face. "It isn't easy, Mamma. Not with what I do. Long days, short nights, not a lot of downtime and the constant threat of…well, let's just say constant threat-over all our heads." He took her hand in his. "No civilian woman would really want to deal with all that."
"Which is why I was sort of hoping you'd tell me more about Scarlett. About maybe spending more down time with her."
"I shouldn't. I outrank her. You know I shouldn't. You know there are regulations against fraternization." He finished his pizza and pushed the box away, sighing.
"You know, Poppy Falcone says there's a way around every regulation." Jack's father had served in the Alamo Scouts, way back when.
"Poppy's right, but I haven't worked this one out yet. I don't want to ruin either of our careers."
She smiled warmly at him, "But it is worth working out? Worth throwing phone numbers away and staying home in the evenings when you'd rather go out?"
One corned of his mouth pulled back into a smile, "Oh yeah, definitely. But it's all a bit of a mess right now. Most of my focus is on making sure Cobra stays held down and my troops are safe. That takes pretty much all I've got."
"Well, you're free from that for a few weeks now. You can relax and maybe think about it, try to decide what to do. Or maybe not. It's up to you. It would be a shame to let a good thing pass you by." She stood up and came around behind him, lifted his face to hers and kissed his forehead. Then she held him against her tightly.
The door from the den opened slightly, and Jennifer peeked in. "Hey, can we come back through, yet? I heard shouting and then Pop told us to wait."
Duke and his mother parted, and he stood up and went to get another beer out of the fridge.
"Of course, Jenn. We're done here. Conrad, get the ice cream out of the freezer, please-both tubs." She pulled paper bowls and plastic spoons out of a cabinet. Duke found two massive tubs of ice cream, one chocolate and one vanilla, in the freezer and moved them to the counter. He turned back to the kitchen to find the teenage girls in various forms of pajamas: flannels, shorts and tanks, sweat pants and giant t shirts, one chrysanthemum kimono and something that looked like a long silk Mao coat. Everyone wore socks or slippers. Vincent and Drew wandered into the kitchen behind them all.
"I overheard Mamma say something about ice cream? Hey, Persephone, nice PJs. Those are awesome flowers."
"Thank you, Vincent." She blushed and looked down.
Duke caught Vincent's eye and tilted his head. Who'd of thought the kid would go for the quiet, mousy one? He watched Persephone examine the kitchen tile minutely. Well, why not? The quiet girls are usually the most fun to figure out.
Jennifer came out of the pantry, her arms full of caramel, butterscotch, chocolate sauce, chopped nuts, sprinkles and a can of spray whipped cream. She managed to make it just to the table before dropping it all.
"OK, girls, lets set up a little buffet, here," Mamma pulled the tops off of the ice cream tubs. "Bowls and ice cream on this counter, toppings and spoons on the table there, napkins and sodas at the end of the table there. You can make floats, but please be careful to keep it all in the cup!"
The girls swarmed over the ice cream and toppings. Vincent managed to get an arm in and get his own bowl. Mamma pulled Drew back.
"Not so fast, little one. You had about a metric ton of custard this afternoon and a Calzone the size of Texas for dinner. God knows how much soda you downed."
"Awwwww, Mamma, please, just a little."
"No, Drew, I'm sorry, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Any more, and you'll be sick."
"Please?"
"Not this time. Besides, we'll have a big breakfast tomorrow." She aimed Drew back at the door to the Den and gave her a gentle shove. "Go keep Pop company till I get in there."
Drew trudged to the door. When she got there, she turned, and addressed Duke in her best stage whisper, "Bring me your bowl! Chocolate and all the toppings!"
"Sorry, Rabbit, all I want is another beer. I'll join you in the Den, though." He popped the cap off his beer and poured it into a glass. "Is this some of Willy's imported stash?"
"Jack went over and got some for both of you while you were out with Drew this afternoon."
Duke was touched. He grabbed another bottle from the fridge and poured a second glass, then took it to Jack in the den. His stepfather was reading a book in his leather chair. Duke handed him the glass. They toasted each other with a clink of glasses, and Duke dropped into his favorite easy chair. Drew flopped back on the floor in front of the television. Vincent, still banished from the basement, took his ice cream upstairs, mumbling something about a model he was working on.
"Good stuff, Jack."
"Yep."
"Thanks"
"No problem. You've earned it, I think."
"Willy has people ship it over labeled 'live yeast samples'." Duke took a large sip, swishing it around his mouth. "He'll get caught one day, bending the rules like that."
"Probably. Speaking of bending rules..."
"You gonna talk to me about my love life, too? Was everyone listening to all that this morning?"
"You gonna bend frat regs?" Jack eyed him over the rim of his glass.
"Oh...probably."
"Worth it?"
"Definitely." Duke couldn't stop the smile that played across his lips.
"Really?"
"Sharpe knows I look the other way for someone else."
"Warwick does, does he?" Jack took a sip and put his glass on his side table.
"Yeah."
"Will he do it for you?"
"I'm not sure."
"Ah. She must be one Hell of a woman."
"Yeah."
"Be careful, Champ."
"Of course."
"Go get her, then, boy." Jack toasted him with his last swig of his beer.
"Yessir." Duke returned the toast and drained his own glass.
"Good boy."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Duke rooted out the sports section. Mamma came in with two bowls of ice cream and put one next to Jack's empty glass.
"Thank you, Darling." He pulled her down for a kiss and gave her a playful slap on the rear.
"Pop! Geez." Drew rolled her eyes at them from across the room, and then turned back to Hunter.
Mamma sat down on the couch and picked up the crossword. Jack had a spoonful of ice cream and picked up his book. A volley of gunshots burst from the TV.
A long time later, Duke broke the silence. "Cards are playing the Astros Tuesday."
Jack nodded. "Hmmm."
"Let's go."
"Sounds good."
There was another long silence. Jack broke it, this time.
"Doing well this year."
Duke nodded, "McGee and Herr." He had abandoned the Sports section for his book, Eliot's Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
"Yes. Tudor, too."
Quiet settled again, broken only by the swishing of turned pages and growling of Fred Dryer.
"So, we should go."
"Yeah." Jack took a final spoonful of ice cream and let the spoon clatter back in the bowl.
"Tuesday." Duke
"Should be a good game."
"Oh yeah."
Dramatic closing music announced that Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall had again solved the case, maybe only slaughtering a few perps in the process. Drew shut off the TV and came to climb up in Duke's lap. She wriggled under his book and cuddled up to his shoulder.
"Hey there, Rabbit." He adjusted her so he could still read.
"Hi Duke."
"Did Hunter make the streets of Los Angeles safe again?"
"Yeah. He got the sniper and shut up the IRS guy." She reached up to his neck and pulled out his dog tags. "What's the rubber for?"
"That keeps them from making noise when they bump together." He rested his chin on top of her head. She's almost too old for this. Almost, but not yet. She's still your Rabbit.
"Why?"
"So people can't hear me."
"Why?"
"So people can't shoot me."
"Conrad," Mamma looked up from her crossword, "I don't think we need to talk about that now?"
"I tend to like the idea of people not shooting me, Mamma."
"You know what I mean. Normal people don't have to even worry about it. Can we have some time free from having to think about you being hurt, maimed or killed?"
He sighed. Drew looked up into his eyes and smiled.
"You don't have to worry, Mamma. No one can take Duke out. He's the toughest." She played with his tags, rubbing them against each other and tracing the lettering with her finger.
Oh, Rabbit, I'm not indestructible. It would be better for you to understand that. There are parts of me that are already damaged.
But those were places within him that she would never need to go, parts of him Rabbit would never see. Parts of him he wanted no one to dig out. Duke shifted his book to one hand and used his free arm to pull her a little closer.
"What's 'A plus' mean? Is that because you're so good at being a soldier?"
Duke and Jack chuckled. Duke smiled at her. "That's my blood type, Rabbit. A positive. That's so a medic can see what I need if I can't tell him myself."
"Conrad."
"She asked, Mamma. It's not a bad thing. I'm not going to hide things like that from her."
She put down the crossword and stood, "I think I'll go check on the girls." She grabbed the empty ice cream bowls.
Duke dropped his book and touched her arm as she passed, stopping her. "Mamma. I'm sorry. This is reality for me. Do you really want her to not be aware of the possibilities?"
"I just want a break from having to face them, Conrad. You're home now. You're safe now. Let's give her a few more years of magic, if we can. You can be made of steel for a bit longer." She kissed them both lightly and went through to the kitchen.
She's right. She's still your Rabbit. Still unaware of what evil things are out there. Keep her away from it for as long as you can.
Drew dropped his tags and snuggled into him again. He kept one arm around her and looked over at Jack. His stepfather gave him a half smile.
"She fell apart when they called us, Champ. You don't know." He nodded over at the portrait of the tall blond man next to the fireplace. "You're all she has left of him, and every day you're away, she knows she may lose you, too. Let's keep this leave all about being alive, huh? Let your mother enjoy having you here without hearing how she might not."
"Yeah. Right." Duke kicked off his boots and pulled the lever and set the easy chair back. He stared at the portrait of his father. If I could change things...stop it from happening, keep him here, would I? How would things be different? He glanced over at Jack, down at Drew, and then over at the latest family portrait on the other side of the fireplace. All this would be gone. Could you give this up? He didn't think he could. Jack. Vince, Jenn and Rabbit. Mamma. Sometimes, thinking of them was all that kept him going. Duke rubbed his baby sister's back and stared over at his father's likeness. He felt like a traitor.
I'm sorry Papa. Forgive me, I don't know anything different. I can't have it both ways. I miss you. I miss how it was, but I like how it is. I just wish I could somehow forget that day.
By the time Mamma came back and returned to her crossword, Drew had fallen asleep against him. He gently took off her glasses, folded them, and set them on the side table. She murmured and snuggled deeper. Duke felt a little drowsy, himself. He let his book fall closed and shut his eyes to rest them, just for a second.
He awoke an hour later to find someone had pulled a light throw over both of them. Jack had moved next to Mamma on the couch and had his arm around her. Both were reading. Two half full glasses of red wine sat on the table in front of them. Soft jazz played on the stereo. Drew snored softly.
Vincent came down the stairs, carefully carrying something on a board. "I finished, Pop."
"Shhhh, Vincent, Drew and your brother are asleep." Mamma put a finger over her lips.
"It's OK," Duke spoke quietly, "I'm awake. If Rabbit's still as heavy a sleeper as she was, you'd have to holler to wake her up." Still, he did his best to sit still and not move her.
Vince walked over to Jack, "It's a Willys MA. I chopped it out a little. I just put the decals on."
Jack sat up and examined the model on the board. "Very nice, son. Are you going to build a base for it?"
Vincent beamed. "Yeah, I figure I'll build up a few small hills and make a dirt road. Maybe some scrub. Make it look like it's parked on the edge of a field or something."
"Vincent, that's beautiful. You really have a talent." Mamma smiled as he brought the board close for her to see. "You could build miniatures for the movie studios."
"Bring it here, kid."
Vincent walked the board over to Duke. He held it just below eye level. It was, in a word, amazing.
"That's great, Vince. You get a lot of detail into these things. How on earth do you get all that into the dashboard?"
"I took a double ought brush and pulled half the sable out. It's tiny. Sometimes I use a pin to paint. I got a jeweler's magnifying glass so I can see."
Duke shook his head in amazement. "It's great. You're a master."
"Thanks. You still have that Skystriker I sent you?"
"Have it? I keep it on display on my desk. Ace is jealous. Tries to get me to wager it in poker games all the time. Not that gambling ever happens on base."
Vince rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I could make him one."
"If you do, make it so he can blow it up. That's pretty much what he seems to do to all the ones I get him." Duke's laughter caught Vincent with it. Drew moaned and shifted, but did not wake.
Mamma looked alarmed, "That must get expensive, dear."
"You don't even know."
"Well, this's gotta dry some more. I think I'll go to bed. Maybe I should say goodnight to the girls first?"
"They were just starting Sixteen Candles and doing makeovers when I left them, they're probably in the last 40 minutes of the movie, now." Mamma smiled.
"Oh God, never mind. I'll wait till morning." Vince started climbing back upstairs. "Goodnight."
"Night, Kid."
"Goodnight, son. Nice work on the model"
Vincent turned and smiled at his father, "Thanks, Pop."
"Goodnight, darling, see you tomorrow. We'll have French toast and sausage tomorrow."
"Yum! Night, Mamma." Vincent climbed up to the upstairs hall and out of sight.
"Ah, pain perdue," Duke carefully brought the easy chair upright and threw back the blanket. "Sounds good. I'd better get this little Rabbit up to bed, too." He stood, carefully cradling her in his arms.
"Let me help, dear." Mamma put her book on the table next to her glass and rose. Together, they climbed the stairs. They passed Vincent in the bathroom and opened the door to Drew's small room. Toys were everywhere. Her plastic smurf collection overran her book case and half of her desk. She Ra and He Man posters adorned three walls. She Ra toys were scattered over the floor, joined by a few He Man and Star Wars action figures. Duke noticed that Battle Cat seemed to be chowing down on a few jawas.
Mamma cleared a herd of stuffed animals off of the bed and pulled back the covers. Duke gently laid Drew down and took off her shoes and socks.
"Where are her glasses, dear?"
"Oh, shoot, I left them on the side table down there."
"Why don't you run down and fetch them for her while I get her into her pajamas?" Mamma pulled a long nightshirt out of a drawer.
"You sure you don't need me to help? I can pick her up easier than you can." Duke moved to help out.
"No, dear, it's OK. She'll want her glasses if she wakes up." She sat on the bed next to her daughter. "Dear, she's getting older now..."
"I used to change that kid's diapers. Little streaker used to run naked down at the river. I had to chase her more than once."
"And now she's growing up. You're her brother."
And things suddenly get awkward. She can't stay little forever.
"Right. I'll get her glasses." He jogged downstairs, snatched the glasses of the table, and made it back in time to see Mamma pull the sheets up.
"See? It didn't take long. With four of you, I've learned to get sleeping kids into jammies pretty quick."
"She hasn't brushed her teeth." Duke put Drew's glasses on the bedside table.
"It won't kill her to miss one night."
"After a triple anchovy and onion calzone, it might kill the rest of us tomorrow."
Mamma laughed, "I'll make sure she brushes them first thing."
Duke picked a familiar creature out of the pile of stuffed animals, "Is she too old for Grumbles?" He'd given her the bear two days after she was born. Saw it in a toy store in the City and couldn't resist. It was worn and battered now. Burst seams ewn up many times. A well-loved bear.
"You were ten before you even entertained the idea giving up Mr. Schnupfnase at night. Even then, you kept him close by on your dresser." Mamma laughed. "He stayed right there until you left for Vietnam."
"Ah, yeah. Well." Duke tucked Grumbles in next to his baby sister, "Rabbit," he whispered, "here's your bear." Drew rolled over and grabbed on to the tattered bear.
"MmMmmrph."
Mamma leaned over and kissed her, and Duke followed her lead. "Night, Rabbit." He followed his mother out of the room, flipping off the light as he went and making sure the closet door was shut. Open closets could be scary in the night.
Not that any of Duke's siblings lost sleep for fear of monsters. Duke had seen to that. When he was a kid, he had banished Vincent's beasts by barging into the closet in their room swinging a baseball bat. He'd climbed under Jennifer's bed wielding the same bat to clobber the bogeyman under there. Years later, both had urged Drew to come to him with her terrors, and he'd shut himself in her room with the bat and his Randall knife, made a bit of noise for a few minutes and emerged bearing a chunk of old mountain goat hide a taxidermist friend had given him.
"Goddamn monsters don't dare set foot in this house, Rabbit."
Mamma turned to him as they walked back downstairs together. "I hope your first day home was a good one, Conrad."
"It was great."
"I hope you're not regretting not calling that custard woman."
"No regrets at all. I had a full day and still ended up with a cute girl in my arms. What more could a guy ask?" Duke grabbed up his book and flopped back down in the easy chair.
"Probably a bit more, but I imagine you'll get that all worked out soon."
"One way or the other."
"I wish you'd tell me about this woman." She settled in next to Jack, who wrapped her back up in his arms.
"Well, I dunno. Maybe I will. Let me think about it a bit more, OK?"
"Take your time."
Duke tried to focus on his book, but his mind kept filling with redhead.