A/N — warning for discussion of sex and ... related items, ahem. This was inspired by somewhat cringe-worthy real-life events and a funny discussion with Aspect. Hope you enjoy. ;) xoxo — tmtcltb

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Title: Gifts

Location: St. Louis

Date: December 27, 2013

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Kara fixed a bright smile on her face as they approached the hotel dining room, well aware of the concern in Danny's eyes as he watched her. Which, she supposed, wasn't that surprising. After all, it wasn't exactly an ego-boost when your new wife burst into tears as soon as you finish having sex the morning after your wedding.

I mean, it had been intense and emotional and slow and all the things that they normally didn't have the time or privacy for given the circumstances. But, as she tried rather unsuccessfully to reassure Danny, it wasn't the sex.

Or the baby, which was his second guess.

Well, pregnancy hormones probably didn't help, but she normally wasn't a watering can either. No, this morning was a freak conflation of the wave of elation Kara had been riding since their successful arrival in St. Louis and Danny's proposal crashing into the abrupt realization that this could be their last day together. Danny was leaving tomorrow, assigned to one of the ground teams spreading the cure, with no estimated date of return.

Who knew when, or even if, they would have time alone together again?

"There they are!" Tex shouted as Danny and Kara stepped into the dining room. "8:52. I believe that the betting pool goes to ... Gator!"

With mandatory shore leave for non-essential personnel, meaning basically everyone other than the Captain, XO, and Master Chief Jeter, the dining room was filled with about half of the Nathan James crew. Although Kara knew there was plenty to be done here in St. Louis, she understood why the Captain had put them on R&R. This was a marathon, not a sprint, and everyone was burnt out. Four days wasn't enough, but it was something.

Understanding why the crew was hanging out in the dining room did not mean, however, that Kara was thrilled as every eye in the room turned to her and Danny. Several of the guys groaned as they pulled out their wallets. Kara narrowed her eyes on her husband. "Did you know that there was a pool on when we would appear?"

A smirk crossed Danny's face. "You didn't?"

No, but she should have. Kara pursed her lips, shaking her head as she moved towards the table where Andrea and Alisha sat. "Point taken. But did you know who was going to win?"

"Nope, although Burk might have mentioned that ten sounded like the perfect time to make an appearance and Miller commented that he thought Bacon was shutting down the kitchens by seven so we should get here at six-thirty."

Kara snorted. "Miller picked six-thirty? On a day off? When we didn't get to bed until after midnight?"

"What can I say," Danny replied, both of them watching as a dejected Miller dropped a bill in front of Gator. "The kid is apparently an early-bird who has probably never gotten laid in his life." He waved Kara towards the table. "You go sit and I'll rustle up some grub."

Kara hadn't even sat down before Alisha leaned forward, her voice low. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kara replied, glancing around, but only Andrea and Carlton were close enough to hear. She glanced at Carlton, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you owe Gator money?"

Carlton chuckled. "You don't think I told Green the actual time I picked, do you? Got to be strategic about these things. Which is why I agreed to back Gator rather than pick a different time."

Rolling her eyes, Alisha grabbed Kara's hand, forcing Kara to turn her attention back to her friend. "I can tell you were crying. You have rings around your eyes."

Well, damn. Kara filled a cup from the coffee carafe in the center of the table. One cup wasn't going to hurt. "Everything just hit me this morning. Today is our last day together. Tomorrow, more than half the crew is leaving and the rest of you will be just as soon as the Nathan James is out of dry dock."

Silence fell for just a second, before Andrea took charge. "Since Green's leaving tomorrow, that means that you have to open your wedding gifts today."

"Wedding gifts?" Danny asked, setting a plate down in front of Kara. She murmured her thanks, despite noting that he had gotten her scrambled eggs, which she hated. Damn Rios telling Danny that she needed to eat more protein.

Andrea waved her hand towards the wall where a number of large boxes were stacked. Kara picked up a piece of bacon. "I don't remember those from last night."

"Things were hectic," Alisha agreed. She bounced up, coming back with a large, pink gift bag with pink gift paper, dropping it to the floor between Danny and Kara. "This one is from me."

Hesitantly, Kara reached in, pulling out an espresso machine. "Alisha! Where did you get this?"

Andrea was the one to answer. "Vice President Oliver authorized us to use credit at Costco until the banking system is up and running. If you need anything else after going through the gifts, I can take you over this afternoon to look through what's left."

By the time they hit the third gift — a toaster oven from Nishioka — Kara was feeling much more cheerful and their table was surrounded by various members of the crew. Carlton wondered aloud why Andrea gave them sheets when the hotel provided them. Wolf and Miller went in for a popcorn maker that had Danny's name written all over it. Captain Chandler had even given them a nice knife block and wooden cutting board that Kara suspected would have been out of their budget were they the ones making the purchase.

Danny selected the next gift, in a plain white box, and opened it, only to immediately slam down the lid, eyes narrowing on Tex. "Not funny, Nolan."

Looking genuinely bewildered, Tex threw up his hands. "Gotta say, Green, you're the first guy I know who objected to an electric blanket."

"That's not..."

Kara leaned over, immediately recognizing the handwriting on the top of the box. "Oh! Mom got us something."

"What?" Danny asked, looking slightly green. Kara frowned at him, reaching for the lid of the box. "Kara, don't..."

But the words were too late, as the entire table was now staring at the box filled with flavored lubes, glow-in-the-dark condoms, a cock ring, and a vibrator.

Frozen, Kara just stared, vaguely hearing Miller ask in a slightly-too-loud whisper what the thing in the orange box was and Wolf hiss something about anal beads, before Danny got the top back on the box. He fixed his gaze on the various members of the TAC Team. "Whoever thought this was a good idea owes Commander Green an apology and is going to be running about ten miles this afternoon."

But Kara knew better. She groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "It wasn't them."

"Who else could it have..."

"Debbie," Kara interrupted, lifting her head to take in the expression on Danny's face, which wavered between horror and disbelief.

"There's no way..."

"She's done it before," Kara said flatly. "That's the way she writes when she's disguising her handwriting. I learned to mimic it in high school."

Tex was the first to recover. "Let me see if I've got this straight KFG. Your mother gave you a box of items that made a SEAL blush?"

Face on fire, Kara nodded, glancing at Danny with an apologetic look. "She's very ... open when it comes to sex."

Danny was now looking more than slightly green, likely recalling the kiss that Debbie planted on him in Norfolk.

"Hot damn," Tex exclaimed, interrupting the awkward silence that had fallen. "Any chance that the fine Ms. Foster is into swinging? Because I could give that boyfriend of hers a run for his money."

Another long pause followed, until Carlton stood up, crossing the room and returning with a large cardboard box covered with a plastic bag. "I got you china. White with gold accents. Garnett said it was classy."

By the time Kara was done exclaiming over the rather generic plates that Carlton had chosen, the box of toys was gone and another gift had taken its place on the table. Twenty minutes later, all gifts unwrapped, gift givers thanked, and items stacked in the corner to be delivered to their room later that afternoon, Danny announced that it was time for a nap. Ignoring the fact that it wasn't even noon, Kara rose, tucking her hand into his arm as they made their way to the lobby.

Once they were in the stairwell, she glanced over. "Sorry about that. Debbie isn't great with boundaries."

"I only reacted the way I did because I thought it was the guys trying to get a rise out of you. Besides," Danny shrugged, "nothing I hadn't seen before. Actually, that vibrator was pretty damn high-end."

Kara started, then burst out laughing. She grinned up at him. "I could ask Tex for it back?"

Danny stopped, scowling, and then shuddered. "Not a chance in hell."