A/N — I planned a series touching on a number of different characters but...it's not done. So I'll be posting the rest over the next week or so. Hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays to all! xoxo — kals
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Name: Sun and Sand
Prompt: in the Southern Hemisphere (I cheated a bit in the opening chapter)
Setting: roughly five years after season 5, generally canon
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Chapter 1: Eric and Courtney
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Eric Miller sat down on the chair next to the door to remove his prosthetic leg. While he appreciated having the option, the leg was far easier to manage when in public than crutches, his knee also ached by the end of the day and today he made the mistake of following Danny and Wolf onto the obstacle course to get a look at the new class of cadets. Eric knew instinctively that he would be paying for that error for a week.
Tricia must have heard the door, because she came tearing out into the hallway, and Eric stopped what he was doing to pull the four-year-old onto his lap. "I found a burrito! I'm going to eat her!"
"Stop, Daddy, I'm not food!" Tricia replied, squealing and laughing as Eric pretended to gobble up his daughter.
A moment later, two-year-old Lottie appeared. Setting Tricia down, Eric scooped Lottie up and planted a kiss on her head and gave her a tight hug. Then he set his leg in the cabinet by the door, grabbing his crutches and stood. "Is Mama in the kitchen?"
"Mama making pancakes," Lottie replied, and Eric wondered if Courtney was feeling okay. While Eric had no issues with pancakes for dinner, Courtney generally insisted on what she deemed a proper meal. However, they recently learned that Courtney was expecting again, and the doctor did mention that morning sickness could get worse with subsequent pregnancies.
Swinging his way into the kitchen, Eric smiled at the sight of Courtney shaping a pancake into Mickey Mouse, the way Danny taught her. Courtney might still appear prim-and-proper to outsiders, but Eric could see the little differences, changes she made in an effort to get to know Eric's friends and adapt to the military lifestyle. "Hello sweetheart. Do you want me to set the table?"
"No need," Courtney replied, smiling at him briefly before returning to the pancakes. "I'm feeding the girls and then they're going to have a popcorn-and-movie night. I have a roast in the oven for us."
His stomach grumbling at the thought of a roast, Eric frantically tried to remember what the occasion was. He pulled out his phone, confirming that it was December 4th. Not their anniversary or her birthday or a holiday. He was about to text the guys to see if any of them had a clue when Courtney added. "It will be nice to have an evening to ourselves."
Keeping his sigh of relief to himself, Eric sat down at the kitchen table to entertain the girls while Courtney finished the pancakes and then began making popcorn on the stove. It was a skill that Eric never managed, still relying on the microwave. Twenty minutes quickly passed while Eric listened to Tricia tell him about all the Pokémon cards that Frankie Green gave her and how mad his brother Mark got that Frankie didn't give any to him, until Tricia agreed to share her cards with Mark. Eric knew that Frankie and Mark fought constantly, driving Danny and Kara spare, and was glad that his girls seemed to have avoided that sibling dynamic.
"Okay, time for a movie," Courtney announced, opening the oven to pull out the roast.
Hopping to his foot, Eric offered. "I'll get them settled so you can focus on dinner."
"Thank you, dear," Courtney replied, although she seemed a bit distracted.
Eric turned to his daughters. "Dishes in the sink and then let's go wash hands and get in jammies."
Fifteen minutes later, hands were washed, and the girls were wearing matching Thomas the Train pajamas. The sight made Eric smile. Before they started dating, he was fairly certain that Courtney had never even heard of the cartoon and her mother had practically fainted upon seeing her grandchildren wearing clothes from Target. But Courtney stuck to her guns. While gifts were fair game, meaning that the girls both owned ponies that were kept at one of the Abbott properties, on a day-to-day basis they lived on Eric's salary and wore Target as opposed to Hanna Andersson. Courtney had even become something of a bargain shopper, frequently meeting up with Kat to check the sales. Eric arrived in the dining room just as Courtney lit the candles, moving to pull out her chair. Removing her apron, Courtney smoothed her skirt before sitting. Eric noticed that she had put him next to her rather than on the other end of the long table, allowing him to take her hand as they said grace. In that moment, holding Courtney's soft hand, he didn't think it was possible to love her more than he did right now.
He placed the first slice of roast on Courtney's plate before helping himself to a large slice and spoonful of vegetables. His mouth was full of roast when Courtney spoke. "Kat mentioned that she and Ray were joining everyone in Australia this year, to celebrate with Wolf's family. She was disappointed that we couldn't join them."
Crap.
Eric coughed. "I meant to tell you that everyone would be gone this year."
Courtney smiled, then kept talking. "Kat seemed to think that I wasn't feeling well enough to go."
Double crap.
Perhaps for the first time, Eric understood why Danny never bothered trying to sugar-coat or keep anything from Kara. There were literally no secrets when it came to the Nathan James. He decided that it was time to fall on his sword. "I should have mentioned the invitation, but with you being pregnant and the girls so little, this didn't seem like the best time to go."
"Won't you miss them?" Courtney asked, and he realized that she was no longer eating.
Eric set down his silverware, reaching out to take her hand again. "I see them every day."
"Kara's pregnant and they're going," Courtney pointed out.
Eric shrugged. "Yeah, but that's Kara."
"What does that mean?" Courtney was frowning and actually sounding slightly upset.
Triple crap.
"Kara does stuff that nobody else would ever do," Eric tripped through the words, no idea what he was saying. "I mean, she once shot the five-inch directly at Danny's radio signal and hoped that we would all make it off the cliff without dying. She's married to a Navy SEAL and even he's afraid of her."
Thankfully, Courtney relaxed, laughing. "I have noticed that none of you argue with Kara."
"Anyway," Eric took advantage to add, "Kara wanted to go to Australia so they're going."
"Who else is going?" Courtney asked, picking up her roll, but instead of eating it, she began tearing it into pieces.
"Um," Eric supposed there was no point in trying to hide anything, "Wolf and Azima, of course, Kara, Danny, the boys, Debbie, Kat and Ray, Tom, Sasha, Sam and Ashley, maybe Clay, Mike and Maddie, oh, and Russ."
"Russ is going?" Courtney set down the crumbled remains of her roll. "Why didn't you ask me if I wanted to go before you said no?"
What was next? Quadruple crap?
"Well, um, it just didn't seem like ..."
Courtney sat straight in her chair, giving Eric a firm look. "It's because of my mother, wasn't it?"
Eric forced a smile. "I wouldn't want your mother to be here, without you and the girls, for the holidays."
But Courtney was still frowning. "But Debbie is going with them? So Mama is invited?"
"Yes..." Eric trailed off, uncertain how to say that he knew perfectly well that Charlene Abbot would never agree to join them in Australia for Christmas. After all, it would mean breaking all sorts of traditions and Charlene was very, very big on traditions.
"Then I don't see any reason why we shouldn't all go," Courtney announced, picking up her fork and stabbing the carrot slightly harder than necessary. "If Mama decides to stay here, that's her choice."
Eric reached over, taking Courtney's hand, waiting until she looked up and, sure enough, there were tears swimming in her eyes. "Courtney, sweetheart, I can celebrate with the team anytime. They all get why we can't go. Wolfman even promised to bring back some Vegemite. I don't want you to miss Christmas with your mother."
"And I don't want you to miss Christmas with the team," Courtney replied, bringing her other hand up to place it on top of Eric's hand. "They're your family, and I know how much they mean to you, especially since we lost your mother. They've all come to Mama's house twice already. It's her choice to come or not come, but I'm going to be spending Christmas with my husband and his family."
"Courtney," Eric tried again, but she cut him off.
"That is quite enough, Eric. I'm a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. If you want to stay here with Mama for Christmas, that's up to you. But the girls and I are going to Australia."
Eric stared as Courtney picked up her fork and knife and began eating again. He wasn't sure how long he just watched her, unable to speak around the lump in his throat, before he managed to whisper. "Thank you."
Courtney's smile made Eric realize that he had been wrong earlier. It was possible to love her more, and he swore that every day she found a new way to make him fall in love with her again.
She nodded towards his plate. "The roast will get cold. After dinner, you can tell me all about the arrangements."