A/N — and it's a wrap! Thank you for joining me on this romp (even if it did take me ... many months longer than originally anticipated, lol). It's always fun writing a mostly happy story about all of my favorite people and I hope that you enjoyed it as well. Until next time. xoxo — kals
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Chapter 29
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"Mmmmm," Kara murmured as she took a sip of her wine, tipping her glass in Sasha's direction. The woman definitely had good taste. Kara settled back in Tex's lounger, enjoying one major benefit to holding tonight's gathering at Tex and Andrea's place. The quiet. "Just what I needed to celebrate a child-free evening."
Maddie chuckled, lifting her own glass. "I'll toast to that. An entire evening without a baby monitor glued to my ear is exactly what the doctor ordered. Although I was a little surprised that the guys didn't try to join us."
Andrea snorted. "That's because tonight is the first time we've all been able to get together since the New Year. They're hoping that we get drunk and they get laid, like last year."
Jesse paused, glass not quite to her lips. "They get laid?" She gave Sasha an assessing glance. "Is that why you propositioned my boyfriend?"
Courtney's mouth actually dropped open, eyes swinging from Jesse to Sasha and back. "You ... and Wolf ... ?"
Rolling her eyes in less than discrete fashion, Alisha began to explain, "We made a resolution last year..."
But Sasha cut Alisha off with a wave of her hand. "Jesse's just trying to rile us up." She paused, smirking at Jesse. "Boyfriend? I thought he was just a friend."
"Oh boy!" Andrea replied, nudging Alisha, before both burst into laughter.
Seeing the confusion on the other women's faces, Kara explained. "When we first got to Norfolk, I introduced Danny to my mother as a friend."
There was a momentary pause as that sunk in, before Sasha broke out in a wide smile. "Now that I'm definitely going to use that next time Green annoys me."
Kara arched an eyebrow. "Annoys you how? Because, from what I hear, Danny's suggestions have been extremely useful in dealing with a certain Captain."
Ignoring Kara, Sasha turned back to Jesse. "If Wolf is now a boyfriend does that mean you'll be staying in St. Louis indefinitely?"
Jesse's expression was unreadable to Kara, but there seemed to be some unspoken communication going on between Jesse and Sasha before Jesse shrugged, taking a drink of her wine. "Wolf has asked me to move in with him."
"That's a big step," Maddie noted. "What about Erik? Is he moving back with his mother?"
"Actually, he's moving in with me," Courtney said softly, her face flushing as all eyes swung to her. She tugged a necklace from under the billowy shirt she was wearing to reveal a golden band and small diamond. "We've been waiting for the right time to tell people. Erik asked me to marry him."
"This calls for champagne!" Andrea announced, standing.
Sasha gasped. "I haven't seen champagne since before the virus hit."
"Ah, yeah of little faith," Andrea shook her head. "Tex can find anything." She hesitated before adding, "Although he only found two. We've been saving this one for something special like this."
"Congratulations!" Kara said, ignoring Sasha's muttering as she crossed the room to give Courtney a hug and admire the ring. Simple yet elegant, it felt like the perfect mesh of Courtney and Erik. Kara made a mental note to find out if Wolf helped pick the ring out. "I'm so happy for both of you."
"Have you begun wedding planning yet?" Maddie asked. "Your mother must be thrilled."
"Actually, she's a bit upset," Courtney admitted just as Andrea reappeared with a bottle and several glasses. She quickly added, "Not about me marrying Erik. Mama loves him, you know. But Mama says she can't possibly plan a wedding before September, at the earliest, and Erik and I want to get married before he ships out next month." Courtney paused to take the glass of champagne that Andrea was offering. "I've lost too many people that I love. I don't want to lose any time with Erik, even if it means getting married at the courthouse."
Kara glanced at Alisha before offering. "Short notice doesn't have to mean courthouse. Alisha managed a nice reception for me and Danny with only a week, and we threw together a pretty damn good wedding for Mike and Maddie in less than a month."
"It was exactly what I wanted," Maddie agreed, offering Courtney a smile.
Kara was thankful that Maddie omitted the fact that she hadn't actually cared very much about any of the details surrounding her wedding, giving Alisha carte blanche to do whatever she wanted. "I'm sure your mother is just feeling overwhelmed and needs a little help."
Courtney's face flushed, her expression hopeful as her gaze skipped from Kara to Alisha to Maddie and back. "If you think there's time..."
"Let's have lunch tomorrow at the Hangout and sketch out some ideas." Alisha leaned over to pat Courtney's hand and Kara made a mental note to have Debbie join them. If anyone could talk Mrs. Abbot into planning Courtney's dream wedding in less than a month, it was Debbie Foster.
Andrea lifted her glass. "A toast to the happy couple."
"Back to the original topic," Jesse said a few minutes later. "I need more information about this sex resolution."
Sasha shrugged. "That's pretty much it. Last year, we — meaning me, Andrea, Alisha and Kara — resolved to have sex this year. No emotions or relationships."
"Except Kara, of course," Alisha added. "Since she and Green were already married."
"Unless she married him just for the sex," Jesse replied, tipping her champagne glass upside down to get the last few drops. Licking her lips, she grinned at Kara. "Not that I care if you did marry him for the sex. The man is almost as smooth on his feet as Wolf. I'd do him."
"Jesse!" Courtney hissed, her face flushed.
"As hard as this might be to believe, I do love my husband, idiot that he may be," Kara replied, hiding a smile behind her wine glass. If asked a year ago, Kara would have said that her relationship with Danny was solid. Now she was certain that she and Danny could withstand anything life threw at them. A year spent working as a team to rebuild their lives, parent Frankie, and bring another child into this new world had created a bond between them that simply couldn't be broken. Not that Kara planned to take this new life for granted. If the virus taught her anything, it was how quickly everyone and everything she loved could disappear. "But I also do enjoy the sex."
"I got half of it right," Andrea threw in. "I definitely got the sex part. But turns out that I miffed the no feelings thing. Somehow I ended up married to the guy and washing his damn socks."
There was a round of laughter before Kara turned to Alisha. "I know things didn't work out the way you wanted, Al. But I did hear an interesting rumor about you and the new navigator..."
Alisha flushed, but her smile was bright as she admitted, "We have a date next week. I'm excited about it."
Silently, Kara reached out to squeeze Alisha's hand. Whether this woman was one-date or marriage material, Kara was glad that Alisha hadn't shut down after Azima left. Instead, if anything, she seemed more open to new possibilities. "I expect a full report after dinner."
"The morning is good too," Sasha added.
"How about you, Sasha?" Maddie asked, leaning forward to study Sasha. "Mike's being very closed lip about Tom after the fiasco with Sam almost breaking your nose with that golf club."
"For the record, my nose is fine," Sasha said dryly.
Jesse chuckled. "Notice that she didn't answer the question."
"I'm getting there," Sasha huffed, taking another sip of her wine. "It's..." Sasha paused and, for half a second, a smile broke through her usual unreadable mask. "Whether my future includes Tom, I don't know. But I am glad that we've talked and worked through some of what happened. I'm definitely in a better place than I was a year ago. Which is why I'm going to suggest a new resolution."
"It's February," Jesse pointed out. "You left it a little late."
Sasha shrugged. "Better late than never. What I propose is that we all figure out what each of us wants — whether it's sex, marriage, a baby, or spending more time with friends — and we go after it."
There was a pause as everyone considered Sasha's words. Kara sat, her mind blank, as she tried to figure out what she wanted, and that's when it hit her.
She wanted this year to be as good as last year.
Kara lifted her glass. "I'll drink to that."
