One Week Later…

Joan groaned and rolled over when her alarm went off that morning. She glanced at the calendar and noticed David had a basketball game that day and then she had to pick up the new Wing Commander from the Airfield afterwards. She glanced over at the empty spot next to her; she had finally come to an agreement with Roland o he was currently in Baltimore doing the research study at Johns Hopkins. Now she knew what it felt like to be a single mother but thankfully Charlie was helping some to keep her mind off of Nicole not being home. Joan woke the kids up also went to remind David of his doctor's appointment two days later. The family arrived at the gymnasium where the game was taking place. Unfortunately the game was going into overtime. Joan looked down at her watch. It was 1:30 PM and she had to be at the airfield in two hours. Thankfully Charlie was taking the kids back to her house so Joan could go meet the Wing Commander. By the time the game ended it was already 3:00 so Joan had to make sure David and Sara Elizabeth before she could leave.

"Mom!" shouted David, "We won!"

"Yes honey, I was here the whole time," chuckled Joan as Charlie approached, "I'm actually running a little behind so love you, love you," she said kissing David and Sara Elizabeth on the cheeks, "Thanks for taking them Charlie."

"No problem Colonel!" shouted Charlie though Joan was already sprinting out of the gym. After another hour of traffic, Joan finally arrived at the airfield at 4:00 PM, much to the Wing Commander's dismay.

"Colonel Joan Burton?" she shouted.

"That's me," said Joan, "I'm assuming you're Colonel Katherine Young?"

Kat grimaced at the sound of her full name, but she wasn't going to tell Joan that right now, "My crew and I have been waiting here for half an hour waiting for your arrival. Where were you?"

"I am so sorry Colonel. My son's basketball game ran over, and I couldn't leave," explained Joan.

"You couldn't or you didn't want to?" asked Kat as Michael approached them.

"Colonel Young, nice to finally see you Colonel Burton," said Michael, "I'm trusting colonel Burton will be escorting you safely."

"If she could show up on time," scorned Kat.

"What do you mean?" asked Michael.

"Apparently she was running late due to her son's basketball game," said Kat.

"Is this true Colonel?" asked Michael looking at Joan and she nodded, "Once you're done dropping off Colonel Young, my office," he said walked away from the two women.

"I can assure you Colonel, my record says I've never been late," informed Joan.

"Well as far as I'm concerned Colonel, your record's 0 and 1."

Michael walked into his house after a long day at work. After an afternoon of reprimanding Joan and having Kat Young go against his every command, he had had about enough for one week, let alone one day. He heard his wife cooking dinner in the kitchen so he wandered in there and kissed her on the cheek, "Evening beautiful."

Claudia Joy turned around, smiled, and kissed him back, "Hey sweetheart, how was your day?"

Michael grimaced and said, "Don't ask."

"That bad huh?" asked Claudia Joy putting the food on the table.

"Well Joan was late because of David's basketball game which did not make Kat happy…" Michael began.

"Kat?" asked Claudia Joy confusingly.

"Colonel Katherine Young, the new Wing Commander," informed Michael and Claudia Joy nodded for him to continue, "Anyway, she also does basically the opposite of whatever I tell her to do, including running an aircraft test when I was in the middle of some important paperwork."

"Wait was that the loud aircrafts that flew over post earlier today?" asked Claudia Joy getting out her meter to make sure her blood sugar was at an okay level for dinner.

"Affirmative," said Michael, "And she just seems to know exactly what buttons to push to irritate me," said Michael sitting down and helping himself to some pasta.

"Oh honey, I'm sure she's not that bad," said Claudia Joy pouring the tea, "She's probably just trying to prove herself in a male dominated profession."

"Oh just wait until you meet her tomorrow, you might change your mind," said Michael, "Now if I'm not mistaking didn't you have a doctor's appointment today?"

Claudia Joy nodded, "Mmhm. Kidneys are fine, heart's fine, sugar levels are fine…"

"There's a but in there," said Michael.

Claudia Joy put down her fork, "Just that the doctor said I'll never be able to get off of insulin and it's hard taking 4-6 shots a day, that's all."

"What did Dr. Jernigan suggest?" asked Michael feeling he knew the answer.

"Insulin pump," said Claudia Joy, "She said it might also be useful in helping control my levels better."

"Well we can research them after dinner if you want," said Michael.

"Actually, I had a special dessert planned after dinner," said Claudia Joy with a twinkle in her eye, "Maybe tomorrow."

Michael picked up on the twinkle and put his fork down, "Okay yeah we can wait until tomorrow."

"Well if you want me, then you have to catch me," said Claudia Joy running up the stairs like a four year old.

Michael shook his head, "Even after twenty-five years she's still got it going on," he said and followed his wife upstairs.

Patrick walked into the Hump Bar hoping to have a beer and relax a little. His Dad had redeployed to Afghanistan a few days ago, much to Jackie's dismay since she felt he wasn't ready. Patrick kind of felt the same way: his Dad had come a long way but still wasn't entirely stable. But his Dad had always been stubborn so there was no telling him he couldn't go. A voice interrupted Patrick's thoughts.

"Can I get you something sir?" asked Gloria.

"One whisky sour please?" said Patrick handing the bartender his driver's license. He was twenty-two but he still looked like a sixteen year old.

Gloria took a look at the driver's license, only glancing at the date of birth and not the name, "One whisky sour coming right up." Gloria made the drink and handed it to Patrick, "So what brings you here at this hour?"

Patrick shrugged, "Just needed to take my mind off of things. My Dad just deployed, my Mom's all worried about him, and my sister is as difficult as ever. How about you?"

"I need money to pay rent," said Gloria, "Besides, the owner put me in charge since she moved to Tacoma a few months ago."

"Wait you're single?" asked Patrick shockingly.

"I am now," said Gloria, "My husband and I are getting divorced."

Patrick nodded, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. He cheated on me," said Gloria.

"What why would he make such a stupid mistake?" asked Patrick, "You're beautiful."

"Okay, I'm not going for that again," said Gloria.

"What?" asked Patrick.

"I know how the whole routine works when someone wants to sleep with me," said Gloria.

"No I mean it," said Patrick, "It really is your ex-husband's loss."

"Well, it's nice to know there are still some guys who are gentlemen," said Gloria, "I'm Gloria by the way."

"Patrick, 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army," he said shaking her hand.

"Really? For how long?" asked Gloria.

"Well let's see it's been about two weeks since I've graduated from West Point, so two weeks," said Patrick.

Gloria chuckled, "Well I really should be getting back to work. It was nice meeting you Patrick."

"Hey Gloria?" he asked and she turned around, "You want to go out to dinner sometime? I know I great Chinese place that's not far from post if that's okay with you?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" asked Gloria.

Patrick thought about it and said, "Yeah I guess I am."

Gloria wrote down her phone number and said, "Call me." Patrick also read the message after Gloria's number. "It's a date."