It was nearly Thanksgiving, and while John was able to get that Thursday through the weekend off as leave, it meant that they would have to fly up to make it in time for Thanksgiving with Chuck and Sarah. John was not relishing the trip due to the disaster the last flight had been for his daughter.
"What's wrong?" Ellie asked after he'd told her that he was able to get the time off from work, "Do you not want to have Thanksgiving with Chuck and Sarah? I can let them know we can't make it; we have enough time to get a turkey and have dinner here."
Of course, she'd noticed his hesitancy when it came to the trip. "It's not that," John sighed, "The only time Alexandra has been on a plane was when we flew here from Chicago, and it didn't go well. She freaked out at even the thought of going to the airport when Mom flew in."
"What went wrong?" She asked, "Did your plane hit bad turbulence or something?"
"No, at least not any worse than you usually get flying out of Chicago in the summer," He shrugged. "But her ears didn't clear, so she was in a lot of pain during the flight."
Ellie nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, well there are a couple things we can do to help that," She informed him, "I have a girlfriend who is a flight attendant, she said the best way to get a child's ears to clear is to get them to work their jaw. Chewing on something like gum or fruit snacks could help. Sucking on hard candy can work too. Anything to promote the jaw working and a swallowing motion, really. We also could encourage her to yawn as the plane take off or lands, which will help her open up her eustachian tubes and relieve the pressure from the altitude change."
John nodded, thinking over Ellie's advice.
"We also should sit her down and let her know up front that we will be taking a plane up to San Jose," Ellie advised, "Let her get most of her nerves out in advance where we can give her our full attention and assure her that everything will be okay."
"We could just sedate her," John chuckled only to be met with a disapproving look from his girlfriend. "...Or not."
"There have been multiple studies proving why that is a very bad idea," Ellie informed him, "The American Association of Pediatrics strongly advises against it... as does this pediatrician. In the long run, it's better to prepare her in advance and make sure to have ways to help her to clear her ears and distract her during the flight." She saw John smiling at her, "What?"
"I love how much you love my kid," He answered simply.
"Well, she's pretty lovable," Ellie smiled. "So, how do you want to do this?"
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Do you want to speak to her on your own or..." She led.
"I honestly thought this would be a family discussion," John shrugged.
"Alright, just let me know when and I'll make sure to give you the space to have your talk," She nodded.
"Why would you need to give us space?" John asked, confused.
"You said it was going to be a family discussion, so I figured you, Helen, and Alex." Ellie explained.
"You're part of this family, too, Ellie." John spoke earnestly, taking her hands in his, "We may not share a name yet..."
"'Yet?'" Ellie's eyebrows shot up, "What are you saying, John."
He blushed, "Ellie, you know how we feel about you, how I feel about you." He took a breath, "I'm in this for the long haul, and frankly Alexandra would disown me if we didn't keep you. I know we haven't been together for that long, and it's likely too early to even consider it, but..." He grunted at himself, "What I'm trying to say - badly - is that, when the time is right, I intend to marry you, if you'll have me."
Ellie smirked, "Are you proposing to me, John Casey?"
John's eyes opened wide, "I... erm... uh... yeah... no... not yet?" He gave her a pleading look.
Ellie couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips as she leaned in to press a reassuring kiss to his lips, "Breathe, Marine." She gave him a soft smile, "Tell you what, when the time is right, and you ask me for real, you just might like the answer."
John's eyes widened a fraction as he registered what she'd just said. He cleared his throat and got back to their original topic. "Might as well get it over with before supper."
"I can go get Alex," Ellie gave him a soft smile and squeezed his hands which still held hers before standing and heading toward the little girl's room. "Hey Doodlebug, your daddy and I would like to talk to you."
Alexandra looked up from her toys and nodded. A moment later, her toys were picked up and she was following Ellie into the living room where her daddy was sitting waiting for them.
"Come take a seat, Kid," John scooted over and patted the middle cushion on the couch.
With a nod, Alexandra did as her father said and climbed up on the couch, looking up at her Daddy expectantly as Ellie sat on the coffee table in front of them, taking the little girl's hands in her own.
"Alexandra, we wanted to talk to you about our plans for Thanksgiving." Ellie caught the girl's attention, "I don't know if you remember us talking about it, but my brother and Miss Sarah have invited us and your nanna up to their house in Palo Alto for Thanksgiving."
"Really?" The girl smiled excitedly and was met with Ellie's own smile.
"Thing it, it's too far to drive if we want to get there on time," John added and took a calming breath, "We are going to have to fly up to where they live." He saw his daughter's excitement morph into worry and the beginnings of a panic attack.
"Hey," Ellie spoke softly, gaining the girl's attention again with a soft squeeze of her hands, "Your daddy told me that your last plane ride wasn't too fun and made your ears hurt. I know a few ways we can help your ears not to hurt, but you are going to have to trust your daddy and me. I also know you are scared to fly now, so your daddy and I will be sitting with you on the plane, okay?"
Alexandra nodded as she sniffed, trying to be brave and not cry.
"You're going to be okay, Alexandra," John spoke softly, realizing how upset his daughter was. He lifted her into his lap and cuddled her as she began to sob.
Ellie's eyes softened even more as she watched her strong Marine be so gentle with his little girl. She moved over to the couch and gently rubbed the girl's leg. "It's okay to be scared, you know." She gently advised, "We all get scared sometimes."
"Really?" Alexandra sniffled, "Even Daddy?"
"Yeah Kid," John nodded, taking a moment to wipe the tears from his daughter's face, "All the time. I get scared that one of the guys I'm supposed to protect will get hurt or go to heaven when we are on a mission. I'm scared that one day, I might not be able to come home to you, Nanna, and Miss Ellie. I get scared that I won't be as good of a daddy as you need me to be."
Alexandra gave he him a puzzled look, "But you're the bestest daddy in the world."
Ellie couldn't help but smile, "She's got you there."
John simply grunted his acknowledgement before getting back on topic, "You're going to have to trust Miss Ellie and me when we fly up to see Mister Chuck and Miss Sarah."
"And if you get scared, we will be right there with you," Ellie promised.
"Okay," Alexandra said quietly and gave a small nod of her head.
"I love you kid," John gave Alexandra a hug.
"I love you too, Daddy," She hugged him back.
"Go play," John instructed, "We'll call you when it's time for supper."
Alexandra nodded and slid off her daddy's lap. She paused a moment to give Ellie a hug, but then headed toward her bedroom.
"Well, that's done," John sighed, sitting back on the couch.
"You did good," Ellie affirmed, sliding over until she was pressed up against his side, his arm draped over her shoulders as she laid her head on his chest. "And like Alex said, you're the bestest daddy ever."
John chuckled at her statement, "I do my best."
"And that's all we can ask," Ellie informed him. They sat quietly for a bit until it was time to start supper, which they enjoyed as a family before it was bedtime for Alexandra. Once Alex was tucked in, John and Ellie enjoyed a glass of wine together, but soon enough, it was time for Ellie to head home.
John walked her to her car and gave her one last kiss before she got in the car, with the promise to text him when she got home, and drove away. He didn't know how much longer he could take having to send her home and began contemplating if they were ready to take the step that would allow them to not have to part company every night.
It was the day before Thanksgiving and John had just gotten off work and picked up Alexandra from daycare. He quicky changed and double checked their bags before loading them in the car and getting Alexandra strapped into her seat once more to go pick up Ellie and his mother. The plan was for them all to drive down to San Diego together and only pay to park John's car in the long-term lot for their trip.
John had given Ellie a call once he cleared the gate of the base, so she was waiting outside of her apartment when he pulled in. He opened the front passenger door of his Crown Vic and helped her in before closing the door and loading her bag in the trunk. As they pulled out of the apartment block that Ellie lived on, she called Hellen with their E.T.A. so that she could meet them when the arrived. It was a quick stop to pick up the family matriarch and stash her bag in the trunk, and soon they were heading down the I-5 to the airport.
Considering the efficient manner of their arrival at the airport, the wait for the terminal shuttle seemed to drag on. Soon enough the bus pulled up to their stop and the driver helped them load their luggage onto the racks near the front door as the ladies found their seats. Once John was sure their bags were stowed, he joined them as the bus picked up more passengers, dropped some off, and continued to the terminal to drop off everyone and start their route again.
Check-in was fairly quick, but they had to play the 'hurry up and wait' game once they got into the security lines. This time around though, John was relieved to have someone else to help him get Alexandra through the security check point. By the time they reached the stacks of bins that were meant to hold their shoes, jackets, and other miscellaneous items, Ellie had already toed off her flats and helped Alexandra do the same with her sneakers. John was amazed at his girlfriend's efficient movements as she quickly loaded up a bin with their shoes and jacket before pulling her laptop out of her tote and laying it in a separate bin. Once the bins and bags were securely on the belt to feed them through the x-ray machine, they went through the metal detector and reclaimed their things.
Ellie and Hellen had been smart, wearing slip on shoes, while John and Alexandra had to take a seat to get their shoes back on. Again, John was glad of his girlfriend being with him as he only had to worry about getting is shoes back on while Ellie knelt in front of Alexandra, showing her how to tie a shoe, something having to do with bunnies and holes, he wasn't really clear on it, but it seemed to make sense to his four-year-old who was paying close attention to the Doc's instruction.
Once they were all put back together and had their carry-ons, they double checked the monitors for their gate. Alexandra seemed to be doing okay until it was time for them to board their flight. She began to act nervous as they handed over their tickets and made their way down the jetbridge to board the large plane that had been painted in a bold blue, red, and gold motif. The flight attendant greeted them kindly and instructed them to find their seats.
Knowing he needed seats that would accommodate his long legs and, since the exit rows were out as he was traveling with his daughter, he chose to seat them in the first row. He allowed Ellie to take the window, strapped Alexandra's carseat into the middle, and he would take the aisle seat. His mother chose to take the window seat directly behind them. By this point, Alexandra's nerves were beginning to get the best of her. To his relief, as he was putting their carry-ons in the overhead bin, Ellie had already started to calm Alexandra down.
"Hey, Doodlebug," Ellie soothed, taking Alex's hand in her own, "Are you getting nervous again?"
"Uh-huh," The girl whimpered, nodding.
"That's okay," Ellie nodded, squeezing the girl's hand, "Here's what we are going to do. We are going to take some deep breaths. Can you do that with me?"
Alexandra nodded and began to follow Ellie as she guided the girl through taking some calming breaths. She was so focused on Ellie that she didn't even register that her daddy had sat down beside her until he took her small hand in his. Since they were some of the first passengers on the plane, they had to wait for everyone else to board up. Alexandra jumped a little when she heard the bells from the jetbridge begin to ring out as it was pulled back from the plane and the door was shut.
The flight attendants began their safety briefing, and the plane lurched a bit as it was pushed back from the gate. While the plan taxied, Ellie was talking quietly to Alexandra, holding her hand and keeping her calm. As they pulled up to the runway, Ellie released Alexandra's hand briefly to pull out a package of fruit snacks that she'd bought at one of the convenience stores after they'd cleared security. She handed a few of the fruit snacks to Alexandra as the engines spooled up and the plane started forward, picking up speed until it launched up into the air. Under Ellie's encouragement, Alexandra enjoyed her fruit snacks until the plan hit altitude and the flight attendants began to make their way through the plane to pass out drinks.
Ellie helped Alexandra pull her tray table out of the arm rest and unfold it across the girl's lap while the flight attendant poured a small glass of apple juice for the girl. Once Alexandra finished her juice, John pulled out her activity book and a small pack of crayons to keep the girl busy during the flight. He could hear his mom talking with the woman sitting next to her on the plane.
"We're not just going up for Thanksgiving," Helen was saying, "My son's girlfriend's brother is getting married, and she and my granddaughter are going to be in the wedding, so part of our trip is going to be spent dress shopping with the bride."
"That's exciting," The other woman had commented.
"Hopefully, it will serve as inspiration to my son to take the next step," Helen commented.
Ellie and John's eyes met as Ellie quietly giggled and John rolled his eyes. Ellie gave him a reassuring smile before turning her attention to Alexandra's coloring and commenting on how good she was doing with staying inside the lines.
Soon enough, the plan began its decent. John put away Alexandra's coloring while Ellie handed her some more fruit snacks. All in all, by the time the plan touched down and taxied to the gate, John had decided that the flight was a success, considering Ellie's friend's tips, along with the Doc's soothing presence, helped Alexandra to stay calm and clear her ears during the flight.
Since they had several things between them to remove from the plane, they waited until most of the other passengers had deplaned before collecting their carry-ons and Alexandra's seat and heading down to baggage claim. John grabbed a luggage cart while they waited for their bags to come around and quickly loaded them as they came up. They walked over to the rental car center and retrieved the paperwork for their vehicle, a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. Ellie got Alexandra's car seat strapped in and the ladies climbed in while John loaded their luggage in the back of the SUV.
The drive to Chuck and Sarah's house took about 35 minutes and soon they were pulling up to the house. It was a two-story home with greyish-blue siding and white trim, there was already a car parked in the driveway, so John parked along the street. Once their luggage was unloaded, they headed up to the house and rang the bell.
Chuck answered the door, accepting hugs from his sister, Alexandra, and Helen and shaking John's hand before calling out to Sarah that they'd arrived. Sarah joined them, giving them all hugs while Chuck went on to the kitchen.
"I'll show you where your rooms are," Sarah motioned for them to follow her down to the basement.
To their surprise, the basement was almost like a separate apartment, there was a laundry room just off the stairs, and as you made your ways down the hall there were two bedrooms and a guest bathroom. At the end of the hall was an open space holding a living area, a small kitchenette and breakfast nook.
"I figured John and Ellie would have the room with the king and Helen and Alexandra could share the room with the full and trundle." Sarah shrugged, pointing to the rooms, "I thought you would prefer being down here due to the small living room, give you a quiet space to end your day. My sister should be getting here in a little while, but she'll be upstairs so all of this is yours for your stay. The laundry room is down here, but unless my sister needs to do a load, no one should encroach on your space."
"Thanks, Sarah, it looks great," Ellie smiled at her sister-in-law.
"You're welcome," Sarah returned the smile, "I'll leave you to get unpacked, dinner should be here soon, since most everything in the fridge is for tomorrow, we figured we'd just order pizza. Come upstairs whenever you're ready to." With that she headed up the stairs to the main floor of the house.
John quickly distributed their bags between the rooms, and they unpacked their bags. Wanting to save time in the next day, Ellie got all their clothes for Thanksgiving dinner together and ironed any wrinkles out before hanging up the clothes in the closets of the rooms. While she was busy doing that, John did a quick inventory of the kitchenette, finding some basic food items and drinks along with enough place settings and glasses for a small family. Helen, seeing that John and Ellie were doing their own things, had sat down on the couch with Alexandra to read her a story while they waited to go upstairs.
Once they were ready, the four of them headed up to the main floor to join Chuck and Sarah for dinner. They enjoyed their comfortable meal while finalizing their plans for the next day. Once dinner was done and cleaned up, they said goodnight and headed downstairs to get Alexandra ready for bed. After the usual bedtime routine was completed, the adults settled in the living area with glasses of wine to relax before bed. Eventually, Helen took her leave and quietly entered the room she was sharing with her granddaughter. John and Ellie headed into their room not long after, they were just settling into bed when they heard the doorbell upstairs followed by murmured voices that must have belonged to Chuck, Sarah, and who they supposed was Sarah's sister.
Since it had been a long day for everyone, John pulled Ellie into his arms as they drifted off to sleep.
Ellie awoke in John's warm embrace to find him looking down at her lovingly. "Hey you."
"Morning, beautiful," He hummed, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips. The kiss soon advanced to touching and ended with a quiet round of lovemaking before they got dressed and headed into the kitchenette where they could smell coffee brewing.
Helen had already gotten Alexandra up and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and was setting a bowl of cereal in front of the girl as the pair entered the kitchen.
"G'morning, sleepyheads," Helen gave them a knowing smile, but said nothing about what she suspected they'd already been up to that morning, "There's coffee on. The milk and creamer are in the fridge; cereal and sugar are in the cabinet." She nodded toward a cabinet above the coffee maker.
John nodded his understanding and began to pour coffee for himself and Ellie, doctoring hers the way she liked it before handing the mugs to her to take to the table while he poured out some cereal for them and brought it to the table to join his girls for breakfast.
Once breakfast was done and cleaned up, they made their way upstairs. They got Alexandra settled in the living room with the Thanksgiving parade while the adults converged on the kitchen to help with the meal prep. They had just put the side dishes, which were waiting to be baked once the turkey came out of the oven, into the fridge when they heard the sound of footprints on the stairs leading upstairs.
"It's too early to be up," A woman's voice complained.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "It's almost 10 AM, Sis." She called back as the woman entered the room.
John's jaw nearly hit the floor, "You've got to be kidding me," He grumbled, earning an odd look from his girlfriend.
The woman looked up and her eyes widened a moment before they turned flirtatious, "Fancy seeing you here, Casey."
"Miller," He grunted.
Sarah looked between the two, "I take it you know each other?"
"We met at work," The woman shrugged before turning to Ellie, "You must be Ellie. It's good to finally meet you; blondie over here won't shut up about her guy's big sister. I'm Carina Walker, Sarah's sister."
Ellie looked over at her boyfriend then back to Carina with a confused look.
Catching on to Ellie's confusion, "I use Miller at work." She explained, "I work for the DEA, and using a different name in the field keeps my family safe. That's why Casey knows me by a different name, we've worked together before."
Ellie nodded her understanding, and the matter was dropped, knowing that John would fill her in when he saw fit. He'd slowly been filling her in on his background as he was given clearance to do so. She already knew that John also worked for the NSA as a recruiter of sorts, finding promising officers and NCOs to join the intelligence community. He'd also hinted that there was more to why he and Alexandra's mom separated before Alex was born but was waiting on clearance to reveal that part of his history to her.
"Sarah, you know your sister here is all manner of messed up, right?" John grunted.
"Oh, I'm aware," Sarah rolled her eyes then laughed when she saw her sister's pout, "Let me guess, only guy to ever tell you 'No?'"
"Aside from Chuckles, yeah. But in my defense, Casey doesn't wear a ring, how was I supposed to know he was off the market?" Carina grumbled
"You realize a lot of service members don't wear their rings on deployment, right?" John countered.
"Not my problem… or theirs," Carina shrugged, "I've heard no complaints."
"You're a walking 'Conduct unbecoming…" charge waiting to happen," John grumbled.
"You don't know what you're missing," Carina sent him a lascivious wink.
"That's where you're wrong," John said, "I know exactly what I'd be missing if I even considered what you are suggesting. You ain't worth risking it all, lady."
Carina huffed as her sister cracked up, "He got you there." Sarah laughed then changed the subject, "There's some fruit in the fridge, pastries on the counter, and coffee. We can't make anything more for dinner until the bird is done baking, so why don't we join Alexandra in the living room to watch the parade."
The adults all got refills of coffee and Ellie got a cup of hot chocolate for Alexandra to enjoy before they made their way into the living room to enjoy the colorful floats and performances of that year's parade. Once the parade ended, Chuck popped in "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" for Alexandra to watch as the grownups socialized while intermittently basting the bird and prepping the dining room for their meal.
The last hour or so before they ate, the kitchen became a flurry of activity as the bird was brought out of the oven to rest and the sides were put in the oven to bake as the gravy simmered on the stove. Finally, just after 2pm, they were sitting around the dining room table. Helen, as the oldest family member at the table said the blessing. John took the turkey into the kitchen to carve up, returning a short time later with two large plates, one holding dark and the other light meat from the bird.
As they enjoyed their meal, they went around the table saying what they were thankful for. As expected, Alexandra began naming everything and everyone under the sun before Ellie gently curbed her list so that John could give his input.
"I've had much more to be thankful for this year than years past," He started, "Found out I was a dad and finally got to meet my kid. Thought I lost my chance at being a dad a long time ago, but I'm glad to have been proven wrong. I'm beyond thankful to have Alexandra in my life. Mom, thank you for all you have done for Alexandra and me, I don't know where we'd be without you." He then turned to meet his girlfriend's eyes, "Ellie, you have given me the second chance at love I never thought I deserved. I don't know what I've done to be so lucky to have earned your favor, but I'm grateful beyond measure that you've turned that favor on me and Alexandra. I love you more than words can say."
Ellie gave him a misty smile, "I love you too, John."
The table was quiet a moment before the silence was broken by Alexandra resuming her list of things that she was thankful for, earning good natured laughter from the adults around her.
After diner was finished and cleaned up, they enjoyed dessert while watching one of Helen's favorite holiday movies, "It's a Wonderful Life."
"This was one of our mom's favorite movies, too," Chuck mentioned, "Before…"
Ellie nodded and gave a soft smile to her brother, "Yeah, it was… I remember watching it with her, as well as the old stop motion Christmas movies that Dad loved so much."
Chuck laughed, "Kind of appropriate since our chosen family is a lot like the human version of the Island of Misfit Toys."
"Why did you have to bring Morgan into this?" Ellie teased, "I'm actually a little surprised the bearded hobbit isn't here."
"He and Anna stayed in Hawai'i this year," Chuck shrugged, "Her parents flew in from Taiwan to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. They had to choose between coming here for Thanksgiving or the wedding."
Ellie nodded in understanding.
"Speaking of the wedding," Sarah added in, "Our appointment at the boutique is on Saturday."
Ellie and Carina nodded their understanding as everyone turned back to enjoy the rest of the movie. As the sky drew darker, John and Ellie said their goodnights to the rest of the family and took Alexandra down to wind down from the excitement of the day and to get ready for bed.
"I had fun today," Ellie commented later that night as she and John lay in bed after making love.
"I did too, especially that thing you did with the…" John started, earning a playful smack on his chest as he and Ellie laughed.
"You know that's not what I meant," She playfully chided him, "Although I liked that too. I meant enjoying the day with our family. I hope we can have more days like this in the years to come."
"Me too," John agreed, "It'd be nice to get Deb out to join us during the holidays once she's done with school. Maybe we can convince her to come out our way since Mom, Alex, and I are out here."
"That'd be nice," Ellie nodded, "But what if you get transferred?"
"I try not to think about that," John said, "Bridges with crossings far in the distance, and worries borrowed from tomorrow make my job that much harder to cope with. I'd rather just focus on the here and now and hope for a better tomorrow."
"Good point," Ellie conceded, snuggling into her boyfriend's arms, "I love you, Marine."
"Love you too, Doc," John leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips before they both drifted off into sleep, dreaming of family holidays for years to come.