Part 8
PMDSXXX
After Della reunited with Perry, she found that his feelings for her never changed during their months apart. Since Della informed Perry about their baby, he has been elated and wanted transfers off the ship for him and Della, but first he needed to find the chaplain. As the morning rush of nurses filtered through the corridors, their voices woke Perry out of his deep slumber. The aerial planes flew over the ship and into the distance as the patrols searched for enemies nearby. He looked at his injured arm and sighed in deep relief that he was still alive since his pain was manageable with the late round of medicine that the night nurse administered to him. He licked his dry lips and reached for his cup of water which quenched his parched throat.
Although C.P.O. Drake wasn't injured in the attack, a fallen comrade in his unit was brought onto USS Solace. Drake heard that Lieutenant Mason was injured because he was on the upper deck of the ship when one of the gun turrets hit him. As C.P.O. Drake walked to admissions desk for information on the sailor, a familiar, young woman, Gertie, caught his eye. He knew he must tend to his fellow comrades, but his eagerness to talk to her was important since she may have heard news about Lieutenant Mason. Commander Burger was informed of Lt. Mason's ordeal; he would soon be arriving to make a visit.
"Could you please tell me where I can find Petty Officer Theodore Tucker? He was severely burned yesterday, and I know you are awful busy, but I….." Drake's smooth voice trailed as Gertie rushed past him without any acknowledgement of him.
"Hey….I know her….wait a minute! I'll be right back…." Drake said to the young nurse behind the desk before he hastily departed without an answer to his question.
Paul quickly rushed to and took Gertie by the elbow roughly at first before he released her elbow gently and looked at her. She was beautiful the day he met her on the island, and she had the sweetest smile upon her lips. As Gertie held her clipboard in her hand with a questionable look about her because she was on duty and needed to be elsewhere instead of conversing with C.P.O. Drake.
"Can I help you, Sir? I'm on duty, and I must tend to another patient of mine. Unless you need medical treatment, I must be going. We can talk at a later time, C.P.O. Drake." Gertie steadfastly told him in a professional manner because he knew duty called, and he enjoyed the view for a moment.
"I would like that, Ms. Lade. By the way, I asked about a patient, Petty Officer, Theodore Tucker. Do you know where he is? He is in the burn unit, and I wanted to check on his well-being." Drake somberly said since he wasn't sure if Theo had survived the night due to his injuries.
"Let me check my patient's list. Yes, he is the next one on my list and if you follow me, you see him for a few minutes, and I'll give you the report for your commanding officer." Gertie replied and walked to the unit where the patient was recovering. C.P.O. Drake followed close behind her and noticed all the injured sailors and soldiers, while he quickly checked to see if he knew any of the faces in the rooms. When Gertie rounded a corner, a familiar face caught Drake's eye, and he recognized the dark haired, robust man, Lt. Mason, laid in a bed with an injured shoulder that was in a sling. C.P.O. Drake didn't want to disturb him just yet because he was on his own mission, but he promised himself that he would stop and visit after he checked on Petty Officer Tucker.
As Lt. Street made her rounds, her feet ached since she had been on them all day without any breaks the night before and had eight hours of recuperation before she reported for duty. It was tough being a nurse on duty, and the endless needs and wants of her patients physically drained her now that she was pregnant. After she made her rounds and tended to the patients in the trauma unit, she checked in on Lt. Mason, who was asleep and walked up to his bedside where she observed him, as he exhaled and fluttered his eyelashes. She imagined their baby with Perry's facial features or her own, but she only wanted a healthy child and looks did not matter. She smiled to herself and felt a twinge in her lower belly and she smoothed her palm over her uniform. Lt. Mason slowly opened his eyes and saw Lt. Street gazing down at him lovingly before he reached for her hand and pulled her closer.
"Lt. Street, good morning. How was last night?" Perry kissed her hand and held onto it.
"Lt. Mason, it was exhausting, but you look like you're feeling much better today. The physician's has orders for you, and your commanding officer will need to sign the paperwork." She informed him and observed him with a careful eye. Once Perry sat up on his bed and moved off his mattress, he swung his legs over and pulled her between his open legs with his free hand since he needed to feel her touch and turned his attention to her belly.
"Ok, I'm probably going to be on light duty until I can get my transfer, and we get married. I'm sorry I can't hug you with both arms, but once I'm healed, I'll never let you go." He whispered to her and laid his head against her stomach. She caressed his hair with her fingertips, closed her eyes, and relished the moment.
She stood for a few moments before she heard footsteps approaching his room and reluctantly pulled away from him. Perry opened his eyes at the loss of her touch and looked up at her before Commanding Officer Burger entered his room and removed his cap from his head. He slowly approached Perry's bedside and looked at Lt. Street and his fallen Lieutenant.
"Lt. Mason has physician's orders, and you'll need to sign off on his paperwork." Della informed him and looked at Perry before she left the room.
"Okay, I will get the paperwork before I leave the ship, Lt. Street. Lt. Mason, how are you feeling?" Burger started as Della excused herself from the room.
"Commander Burger, Sir. I am sorry that we are meeting like this, but my shoulder was injured in the aerial attack on our ship. If it wasn't for the petty officer who pushed me out of harms way, I might not be talking to you right now."
"Yes, I know Lt. Mason. I heard everything the brave sailor did, and he will be honored once he is out of the Intensive Care Unit. Although, he is in stable condition right now, he is not out of the woods yet, and hopefully, he will be on the road to recovery soon." Burger stated with a worried tone in his voice.
While Lt. Mason and Commander Burger exchanged information on what transpired during the attack Della checked on another patient since she didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation. Perry scrunched his brow in deep thought while Burger looked at him with concern.
"What's wrong Lt. Mason? Is something troubling you?" Burger asked as he stepped closer to Perry's bedside.
"Yes, Commander, there is something troubling me. I have a serious question that involves me being transferred back on land. However, I will resume duties until I am awarded honorary discharge, Sir." Lt. Mason sighed deeply as pain shot through his shoulder again.
"I understand Lieutenant. I will look over the physician's orders, take your request under consideration, and I will advise Captain Tragg. You have another year of tour before you can be honorably discharged. In the meantime, I'm going to make my rounds with other sailors before I return to USS San Diego and put in your request with the captain." Burger placed his cap on his head and left the room.
The following weeks were grueling as he regained his strength back in his shoulder as different nurses made their rounds and documented his progress. Since Perry only had a few more days left on the USS Solace, he waited for the chaplain who made daily rounds visiting patients in the unit. When a few nurses walked by his room, he spotted Della with her clip board as she talked to another nurse. Although Della stopped and checked on Perry, she was needed elsewhere, but she always said good night to him. He needed to locate the chaplain while Della was in his eyesight; because he had no time to waste. Later that afternoon, Perry had his physical therapy for his shoulder, but he wanted to chat with Della today and hoped to run into the chaplain. As he walked into the hallway corridor, Perry spotted the chaplain who was conversing with a young sailor.
"Sir, may I have a word with you? I have a special request that I need to ask you." Perry called out to him as he slowly put on his officer's jacket over his broad shoulders with the help of the chaplain.
"Yes, I'm available. How can I help you, Lt.?" The clergy asked after he noticed the decorated jacket sleeve.
"My name is Lt. Mason, and I am in need of pledging my vows to a special lady on this ship. There is no time to waste. Could you properly marry us? Although this might be a silly request that I'm asking, this is very important to me." Perry eagerly spoke to him as Della walked down the long corridor. While he watched her, Perry placed his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring box that he bought on the island during shore leave.
"Lt. Mason, I have an obligation on this ship, and no matter how silly a request is, I will honor it. Where is the lucky lady? Is she is in complete agreement with your marriage request?" The chaplain asked as Perry watched Della walking further away from him.
"She is definitely in complete agreement." Perry told the chaplain as he placed his cap on his head, cleared his throat, and touched his breast pocket with the ring in it that rested close to his heart.
Della had finished with her last patient and needed to grab a bite to eat; however, Lt. Mason had other things on his mind and walked towards her. As a familiar hand grabbed her by the elbow and startled her, she turned around and saw Perry in full uniform with the chaplain. In the meantime, C.P.O. Drake had cornered Gertie at that moment, and Perry noticed that they were in deep conversation as Gertie smiled and chuckled at Paul.
"Lt. Street, may I have a word? I also want C.P.O. Drake and Ms. Lade to join us." Perry excused himself as Della looked at him.
"Okay, Lt. Mason, I'm not going anywhere." Della called after him while the chaplain watched while Perry hurried towards the other couple in the corridor.
"C.P.O. Drake and Ms. Lade, would you care to join me? Lt. Street and I have a special announcement, and we would be honored if you would join us." Perry asked and waited on their response.
"Sure, Lt. Mason, I'll join you and Lt. Street. Ms. Lade, care to join me?" Paul offered his arm to her, and she smiled at him.
"Of course, C.P.O. Drake, and Lt. Mason, I will be with you in a few moments." Gertie walked to the administration desk and turned in her patient's paperwork.
Meanwhile, Della looked at Perry as he talked and nodded at the couple before he looked back at Della and the chaplain. Perry slowly walked back to her and took her hand.
"Lt. Street, where is the bow of this ship, and could you please show us the way?" Perry lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Yes, follow me, Lt. Mason." Della replied.
As the pair walked together towards the upper deck to the bow of the ship, Paul, Gertie, and the chaplain was not far behind them. Della looked over his shoulder and saw the trio behind them which wasn't a surprise to Della about what Perry had in mind. She knew he wasn't waiting to get married until they landed on shore while she carried their unborn child. He wanted to make it official before they transferred off of their ships.
They all gathered at the bow of the ship. With the exception of the ocean waves that brushed up against the ship as the sea gulls flew high in the sky, the area was quiet. They heard a helicopter in the distance as it approached the other end of the ship. In their uniforms, Perry took Della's hands in his and stood before the chaplain as he flipped to a page in his book with the marriage vows. He opened the book and looked at the couple before he turned to his two witnesses- C.P.O. Drake and Gertie Lade.
"May I have your names along with the names of your witness's here? I need to record for proper documentation and once you are ashore, you can make it properly official at Annapolis, Maryland if you wish to do that too." The chaplain took a pen and waited on their response.
Before they exchanged their names, the chaplain cleared his throat and read the verse from the bible as Perry looked deeply into Della's hazel eyes. As she gazed deeply into his blue eyes, she thought about how how lucky she as she stood before her soon- to- be husband who would be changing their lives for the better. The chaplain spoke as they gazed into each other's eyes and listened to his scriptures. When he presented the rings, Della wondered where he picked up the rings, until she remembered the day, he gave her the necklace that he must have also purchased the rings for her also. He pulled the ring box out of his breast pocket and opened it to reveal a solitaire diamond engagement ring with a matching gold wedding band with diamonds around the band. Della knew that Perry must have spent a small fortune on the rings, but if Perry had bought a simple gold band, she would have been happy with it.
While she was stationed on another island, Della had purchased a gold band with a solitary diamond in the center, which she kept in her pocket as a keepsake until she met the love of her life. For several months, she waited and abide her time until she got married. She presented the ring to him which was a little smaller than she had realized when she tried to slip it on his ring finger. Perry placed it on his pinky and wore it as if it was a wedding ring.
"With the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife." The chaplain announced before he stepped back and gave them space.
After Perry and Della heard the pronouncement, he remained motionless until Paul cleared his throat, and Gertie giggled. Perry leaned toward Della, who wrapped her arms around his neck before he tilted his head and passionately kissed her. When they both parted for a breath of air, she tearfully looked into his eyes. He wiped the tears away from her eyes as she looked at her ring on her finger as her husband sealed their fate together as one.
