0318 Hours, July 11, 2570 (Military Calendar) /

Sol System, Planet Earth

She rubbed her eyes as she tiredly made her way down the hall. Minutes before, she had awoken to an empty bed for the first time in years. Part of her was searching for a problem, something wrong. Another part was curious. Both parts decided it was best to get out of bed and look for him.

She swallowed a shout of alarm when she nearly tripped over something. When she bent down to pick it up, she could only shake her head. It was a small foam ball in the form of an M9 fragmentation grenade - her husband's idea of a 'perfect gift' for their impressionable children.

She continued her search, plushy weapon in hand. She was halfway across the house when she heard the first hint of his voice. She followed it, fumbling her way around couches and chairs toward the dim light peeking out through the doorway of their oldest child, Joshua. A smile made its way to her lips when she heard her husband and her son laugh together, continually creeping forward.

"So," her husband continued at a low volume, his voice gravelly with sleep and a smile clearly on his face, "after the knights saved the Knight Princess from the Evil Queen, they had to escape the evil orc army."

"And the dragons!" the four-year-old Joshua squeaked.

"Yes, and the dragons," her husband laughed. "Now close your eyes and listen."

She had made her way to the bedroom door and peeked in to see him put a hand over the top of the small boy's face. Joshua giggled, but did as he was told and soon the deep voice of her husband continued.

"So they ran, evading the dragons and the orcs. Finally they made their way to the castle, but it was surrounded by a moat and they needed time for the drawbridge to close. Do you know what knights do when they're backed up to a wall?" He paused for dramatic effect. "They fight back. And no one ever fought as hard as these knights. The Knight Princess moved so fast that the orcs couldn't even see her. Sir William ran straight up to a giant and used his bare hands to rip out its –"

Worried about just how graphic this story was about to turn for her infant son, she tossed the foam grenade at the back of her husband's head.

"To . . . to incapacitate the giant," he amended, glancing over his shoulder to roll his eyes. "Finally the draw bridge opened to let everyone across into the kingdom, but they couldn't let the orc army in. So Sir Kurt, the bravest knight, stayed back and defeated all of the orcs while Sir Frederic led the rest of the knights into the kingdom."

She could tell that Joshua was all but asleep. Evidently her husband could as well, because he stood up and slowly eased the little boy's blanket over him as he quietly asked, "Do you know what they did then?"

The boy murmured something entirely unintelligible. Regardless, his father nodded along. "That's right," he cooed gently, "they all lived happily ever after." He waited for a moment in silence to see if the boy's eyes would flash back open, but they remained resolutely closed. After another moment, he started to snore.

Her husband slowly rose to his feet and snuck out the door, leaving it ajar behind him. She was already backing down the hallway, and waited for him to meet her in the living room.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, his voice still low and gravelly with sleep.

"I woke up and you weren't there. Decided to investigate."

He nodded, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. "Jay had a bad dream," he explained softly. "I didn't want to wake you. Besides, I can get him back to sleep quicker anyway," he added with a playful wink.

Part of her wanted to take the challenge and fire back a snappy retort. Most of her wanted to get back to sleep.

"Good job," she said with a smile. Then she threw her arms around his shoulders and leaned her face against his neck, exaggerating her accent as she declared, "Alas, now I am too tired to return myself to my bedchamber. Carry me, Sir Frederic."

Despite the fatigue in his own face, Fred smoothly lifted her into his arms. "As you wish, fair Knight Princess," he answered.

Kelly smiled sweetly at her husband, then stretched up and kissed his jaw. Then she turned her face into the crook of his neck as he carried her back to their bed. She sighed happily, squeezing her arms tightly around his broad shoulders and breathing in his natural scent while he carefully picked his way through the minefield known as their children's playroom.

She was already asleep by the time he tucked her back into their bed, dreaming of dastardly orcs, deadly dragons, and brave knights.