Chuck and Sarah's wedding was beautiful, and perfectly them. Chuck and his attendants, including Morgan's six-year-old nephew, Matty, or Mateo, served as ring bearer along with Alexandra as Flower Girl. Ellie had curled the girl's hair and pinned a floral wreath of gardenias to her hair, which Alex loved, going around the bride's room of the chapel showing off her outfit to all the bridesmaids. Due to his relationship with Ellie, John had been made a groomsman and escorted his fiancée down the aisle. When the time came for Sarah to make her entrance, on the arm of her older sister who then took her place as Maid of Honor, John couldn't help but imagine what Ellie would look like when it was their turn. Morgan, at his request, served as both officiant and best man, having gotten himself ordained online through the International Federation of Planets. Needless to say, that announcement earned a few chuckles as he concluded the ceremony and invited the newlyweds to share their first kiss as man and wife.
The congregation applauded and wolf whistled as Chuck gave his bride a passionate kiss, dipping her for good measure before setting her back on her feet so they could exit the chapel to greet their guests. John and Ellie waited patiently as Morgan tucked his binder under one arm and offered the other to Carina. John then stepped forward to meet Ellie in front of the dais, offering his arm to her to lead her out. Much to his and Ellie's amusement, they saw Mateo follow the example of Chuck, Morgan, and John and offered his arm to Alexandra who giggled and looped her arm through his, letting him lead her out of the chapel, close on the heels of her daddy and Miss Ellie.
The wedding party stood in a reception line, greeting the wedding guests as they made their way out of the venue. Once all the guests had left, the attendants made their way out to join the guests to wait for Sarah and Chuck to exit. While they waited small tubes of bubbles were handed out for the guests to blow bubbles rather than throwing bird seed at the newlyweds. Alex stood close by John and Ellie's side giggling as she and Mateo tried to pop the thousands of bubbles that began to float through the air as Chuck and Sarah passed them to get into the limo and be escorted to the reception, once the last of their pictures had been taken.
The venue for the reception was beautifully and tastefully decorated. An old friend of Chuck and Morgan, Lou Pallone had catered. Sarah had confided in Ellie that, when Chuck first suggested it, she was concerned that her reception dinner would be sandwiches but was pleasantly surprised by the Mediterranean themed spread the deli owner had put together. During the happy hour, there were appetizers of caprese salad and hummus with pita chips. Dinner was a Greek salad followed by the main course which was a choice of fish, steak, or lamb with rice and steamed squash and zucchini. The kids were given chicken strips and fries, but Alexandra was curious about the lamb Ellie had ordered and asked for a taste. She enjoyed it so much that a small plate of lamb was provided to the girl at John's request.
After dinner was the speeches. John was impressed by Carina's toast to her little sister, sure it included some of her expected humor, but toned down slightly out of respect for the children present, but it was also amazingly poignant reflecting on their lives and relationship growing up and ended with Carina welcoming Chuck into their family. Morgan's speech was equally surprising in its maturity and bringing tears to his own and the groom's eyes as they hugged it out afterward. Ellie was also asked to say a few words and kept it brief, talking about how proud she was of her younger brother and how happy she was that he'd found his other half in Sarah. She wished them many happy years together before giving her brother and sister-in-law hugs and leading the guests in toasting the newlyweds.
Chuck was handed the microphone and briefly thanked Carina, Morgan, and Ellie for their kind words and thanked the guests for joining them in celebrating their big day. "To that end, I think it's time we got this party started, so if I could please have my lovely bride join me for our first dance?" He offered his hand to Sarah and led her to the center of the floor as the DJ pulled up the song they'd selected, the Michael Bublé cover of "Feelin' Good."
Once their first dance ended, the DJ invited the rest of the guests out onto the dance floor to enjoy the party. Every so often the dancing was interrupted so that Chuck and Sarah could cut the cake and do the traditional bouquet and garter tosses. It really didn't come as much of a shock to those closest to the family when Chuck and Sarah deliberately aimed for Ellie and John who obligingly took their places in the center of the dance floor where Ellie took the chair Sarah had just vacated so that John could slip the garter up her leg to the teasing calls reminding John that each inch above Ellie's knee was another year of good luck for the happy couple.
John, wanting to tease his fiancée just a little, taking his sweet time and caressing her legs as he slowly dragged the lacy garter up Ellie's exposed leg and eventually up under the skirt of her bridesmaid dress. Thankfully for her embarrassment, and her blood pressure, John stopped about half-way up her thigh before standing to his feet and pulling her up and into a kiss that promised more later.
Carina made the rounds not too long after inviting guests to go and decorate Sarah's Porsche, which was serving as their getaway car that evening. The plan was that the newlyweds would go home after the celebration and after brunch the next day with their families, they would be driven out to the San Francisco airport where they would board their flight to Europe for their honeymoon, which would start in Paris, then head down to Rome and a cruise along the Mediterranean Sea before flying home out of Athens.
Alex jumped at the chance to help and followed Ellie and a few others out to decorate the car, but before long, it was clear that the excitement of the day was beginning to take its toll on the little girl's usually vast energy reserves. Ellie brought her inside so she could say good night to her daddy before being passed off to her grandmother who took her back to the hotel to get some sleep. John and Ellie didn't last much longer, staying just long enough to see Chuck and Sarah off before heading back to the hotel themselves to get some much-needed rest. Or at least once they enjoyed the round of love making John had promised Ellie for being a good sport during the garter incident.
The next morning, they all met up at a local restaurant that was a long-standing favorite of Chuck and Sarah's. The adults enjoyed mimosas with their brunch as Alex enjoyed sipping her own virgin mimosa, otherwise known as orange juice, while eating her order of French Toast. Soon enough, it was time for them all to go their separate ways. Chuck and Sarah had a flight to catch to officially start their honeymoon. Carina was driving them to the airport since she had to fly back for work, herself. After a round of hugs, kisses, and promises to get plenty of Alex-safe pictures of the honey moon they loaded up in Carina's rental and headed to San Francisco while John loaded his family up in their borrowed SUV to make their way back to Monterrey and their flight home.
The next few months passed quickly, and as predicted, Ellie's fellowship-related workload had lessened some as the clinical side of the program commenced. This allowed her to be able to sleep in her own apartment in Oceanside and she even got a few weekends off here and there which allowed her to spend uninterrupted time with her favorite Marine and his nearly five-year-old. Ellie had requested and had been granted a three-day weekend allowing her Friday through Sunday off so that she could join John and Hellen at Alexandra's pre-school graduation that Friday. In addition to Alex's graduation, both she and John were celebrating their birthdays.
Due to her having to renew her paperwork every few months to be allowed access to Pendleton, John had cottoned on to the fact that this Saturday was her birthday, making her one day shy of five years younger than him. Dispite her protests that she didn't really want to make a big deal out of it, John insisted that 30 was a milestone that should be recognized and would not take 'no' for an answer.
Instead of returning to her apartment after her clinic hours wrapped up on Thursday, Ellie headed to Pendleton. She hadn't needed to even pack a bag since a selection of her wardrobe had slowly migrated over to John's home. She had enough in there to dress in a variety of ways from casual and comfortable to sophisticated and elegant. She even had a few pieces of sexy lingerie that were meant for John's eyes only, which she'd worn on more than one occasion to jaw-dropping effect every time.
Yawning, she pulled her car into the line of cars waiting at the south gate to be allowed entry to the base. She got her license and access pass ready as she waited for the cars in front of her to be stopped and inspected before the gate lifted to allow them to pass. She turned up the radio to help keep her awake as she waited, slowly moving her car forward in the line. Finally, the car in front of her was allowed to enter the base and she pulled forward, lowering the volume of her radio before lowering her window and handing her credentials to the young Marine at the gate.
"Good evening, Doctor Bartowski," He greeted her, a small smile on his lips as he went through the formalities of checking her credentials were still valid, "What is the nature of your visit this evening?"
"Booty call," Ellie joked, earning her an arched eyebrow from the Marine, "I'm here to visit Captain Casey, his daughter is graduating pre-school tomorrow."
The Marine rolled his eyes with a slight chuckle and handed her credentials back to her, "Have a good night."
"Thank you," Ellie slipped her credentials back behind the clip on her visor where they were usually kept, "You guys stay safe out here."
"Will do, Ma'am," He nodded and lifted the gate.
Ellie made her way through the base, past the various restaurants and facilities which made up the communal and official areas of the base, interspersed with the residential areas which were home to hundreds, if not thousands, of military members and their families. Pulling up to a familiar intersection, she activated her blinker and turned into the subdivision where two of her favorite people lived. A few turns later had her pulling into John's driveway and activating the garage door with her remote to pull into what had long since become her space in the garage, parked next to John's beloved Crown Vic.
"Miss Ellie!" Alexandra's voice greeted her as the girl flung herself at Ellie, who lifted her up. Alex did not hesitate to wrap her arms around Ellie's neck while her legs did their best to wrap around Ellie's trim waist. "You're home, I missed you!"
"I missed you too, Bug," Ellie held on to the girl, her heart swelling with the love she had for the little girl and reveling in the feel of the girl's embrace and the smell of her strawberry scented children's shampoo. "Where's your daddy?"
"Right here, Doc," John's warm voice came from the entry to the kitchen and dining room. He was leaning up against the archway, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel, the small smile he reserved only for Ellie and Alex playing on his lips.
Ellie made her way over to him, setting a wiggling Alex down when she was still a couple of feet away from John. Alex scampered away, giving the adults a few moments to greet each other.
"Hey there, beautiful," John's small smile grew to a grin as he reached out to pull Ellie into his arms, pressing a warm kiss to her lips.
"Hey yourself, Marine," Ellie smiled up at him lovingly, "What smells so good, besides you that is."
John chuckled, "Meatloaf with cheesy mashed potatoes."
"Pulling out the big guns," Ellie teased, "I'm impressed.
"Alex's request," John shrugged, "It should be done soon, I was just doing some cleaning up when you pulled in."
Ellie nodded and looked over to the table, "I'll go get Alex washed up and we can set the table while you finish up." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, earning a grunt which was a mix of appreciation and agreement with the plan.
They had been working with Alex to learn some basic life skills like cleaning up after herself and helping to set the table. Ellie headed toward the girl's room, figuring she'd find her there. She found Alex playing with the kitchen playset she'd gotten from her daddy at Christmas.
"Hey Bug, clean up your toys, it's almost time for dinner," Ellie instructed her, "We gotta go wash our hands and set the table."
"Yes, Ma'am," Alexandra nodded and quickly put the few toys she had out away and followed Ellie down the hall to the bathroom to wash their hands. Alex moved her stool over to in front of the sink and stepped up to do as she'd been told.
The ladies made it into the dining room as John was pulling the meatloaf from the oven to rest for a few minutes. Ellie patiently guided Alexandra through how to correctly set a table, the girl was getting better, but still needed to be reminded which sides of the plate to put the utensils. Ellie helped her into her booster seat and went to pour drinks while John began to bring dinner over to the table. Once everything was on the table, John pulled out Ellie's seat and claimed his own. After a blessing over the food, another thing both adults had fallen out of the habit of, but had started doing again for Alex's sake, dinner was served up.
They chatted about their week and how excited they were for Alexandra's graduation the next day. Since the preschool was hosting a reception afterward, they weren't going to have a party, but would be going out to dinner with Hellen to celebrate the next night.
After dinner was finished, the adults cleaned up while Alexandra was allowed a bit more play time before it was time to start getting ready for bed. At her request, Ellie helped her with her bath and got her ready for bed. By the time John came in for Alex's bedtime story and prayers, the little girl was in her nighty with her hair plaited in a pair of braids. The girl really must have been tired, because unlike all the other times Ellie had come over since her fellowship started, she didn't ask for a second or third story and had dozed off pretty quickly after prayers and goodnight kisses.
As was their way, once John had made sure the house was secure, they settled down on the living room couch. Ellie enjoying a glass of wine while John sipped on a couple fingers of his favorite whiskey. Much to Ellie's surprise, John broached the subject of their wedding. Since neither had many preconceived notions on how they would like the day to look, they chatted over a few ideas before settling on a small wedding at the chapel where they attended church. They discussed who would be their attendants, deciding on just using Chuck and Sarah to keep things simple. When the topic turned to flowers, Ellie liked John's suggestion of using begonias. By the time they were ready to turn in, they had most of the wedding planned. They'd have to reach out to the chaplain to see when he and the church were available and settle a few more things.
Considering Ellie still had her fellowship to wrap up, John offered to handle everything on the wedding front. "Planning a wedding isn't really all that different than planning an operation, logistically." He insisted, "Trust me, I can handle it."
"I trust you, John," Ellie agreed, leaning up to give him a brief kiss, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," John returned the kiss, "There's nothing I want more than for you to make an honest man out of me. All I want you to worry about is getting a dress, I can see about getting Sarah down here to join you and your girlfriends in finding something."
"I, uh, I actually already had a dress," Ellie admitted, standing up and walking into the kitchen, washing out her wine glass and putting it in the drying rack.
"You do?" John asked, following her, placing his tumbler in her outstretched hand, watching as she washed it out and set it in the rack next to her glass.
"Well technically speaking, Sarah has my dress," Ellie gave him a shy smile, "We, um, kinda picked it out when we were up for Thanksgiving and went shopping for our bridesmaid dresses. Sarah caught me looking idly at the bridal gowns and suggested… well insisted is more like, that I try on some. I wasn't really expecting to find anything, but the moment I put it on… I just knew it was my dress. Sarah insisted on buying it for me and holding onto it until you got around to proposing."
John was listening to the explanation with a bemused expression on his face, "I guess when you know, you know. Looking back, whether I wanted to admit it or not at the time, I knew you were the one for me that day in the urgent care clinic." He smiled at Ellie's blush, "I guess that is one less thing on your list of things to do. You didn't happen to pick out a bridesmaid dress for Sarah or a flower girl dress for Alex during this trip, did you?"
"No, but I do have a few ideas." Ellie shrugged, stepping forward to wrap her arms around John's waist and look up at him. "I'm thinking red for Sarah's dress, and since she's the only attendant, I'll let her choose the dress since she knows what mine looks like. I'll have final approval, of course, but I trust she can find something that works. I can take Alex to pick something out."
"Sounds good," John nodded, "But you know what else sounds good?"
"What?" Ellie smirked up at him, having a feeling she knew what he was going to say.
"You in my bed while I have my way with you," John gave her a wolfish grin.
"Hmm, that sounds pretty good to me too," Ellie nodded, "So long as I can return the favor."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," John swept her up in his arms, chuckling at the squeal she let out at the gesture.
"John, what are you doing?" Ellie giggled as he carried her down the hall to their room.
"Carrying my bride across the threshold, of course," John used his foot to nudge open the door so they could step through. Once he'd kicked the door closed behind them, he gently lowered her feet to the ground before pressing her up against the door and kissing her deeply while he locked the door to ensure that a certain litle girl wouldn't interrupt them.
Ellie returned his kiss with equal fervor as they made their way to the bed, stopping now and again to remove a piece of clothing here or press a kiss there. Soon they were tangled up under the covers, doing their best to pleasure the other well into the night before they fell asleep in each other's arms, at least for a little while, before waking and making love again. Eventually they got out of bed long enough to collect their scattered clothes and pull on some pajamas before unlocking the door and going back to bed to actually sleep this time.
Surprisingly, John and Ellie were up before Alex rolled out of bed. They were sitting at the table, sharing a cup of coffee while the German pancakes Ellie had made, insisting a special occasion required a special breakfast. She'd even made syrup from scratch to go with the pancakes.
Ellie happened to catch sight of the little girl, whose braids were starting to come apart from how hard she'd slept. "Hey, there's our little Pre-K graduate."
Alexandra gave her a sleepy smile before shuffling over to her daddy and climbing into his lap for some morning snuggles.
"Hey Kid," He kissed her head and tried unsuccessfully to tame the whisps of hair that had escaped her braids, "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," She mumbled into his chest.
"You excited for your graduation today?" John asked.
The oven timer went off before Alex could respond. Ellie stood and gestured for John, who had begun to move, to stay put, "You enjoy your daddy/daughter snuggle time, I'll finish up breakfast."
John gave her an appreciative grunt and nod before turning back to his daughter, "So how 'bout it? Are you excited?"
"Uh huh," Alex nodded.
While John snuggled his daughter who was slowly easing towards wakefulness, Ellie busied herself cutting and portioning out the pancake, adding a little butter to each. After pouring the homemade syrup into the reusable dispenser, she began to carry everything to the table in shifts. By the time she'd brought over Alex's pancake and cup of milk, John had gotten her settled in her booster. Ellie made quick work of buttering and cutting up the pancake and adding a small portion of syrup to Alex's plate along with some berries before setting it in front of the girl.
"Special pancake for the graduate," Ellie leaned down to kiss the girl's head before taking her seat, since John had retrieved their pancakes while she was doctoring Alex's. "Thank you, Hun."
John grunted and took his seat. They both doctored their pancakes the way they liked them and enjoyed their breakfast. Since Alex was more awake, she was more talkative, chattering on excitedly between bites about what she knew about her graduation. By the time their conversation, and breakfast, were concluded, Alex's mouth and cheeks were a sticky, syrupy mess.
"I'll clean up if you can take care of her," John nodded toward the little girl who was licking the syrup from her fingers.
"You got it," Ellie smiled, standing and helping Alexandra down from her seat. The ladies made their way down the hall to the bathroom where Ellie cleaned Alex up and helped her through brushing her teeth.
"Since you are going to be wearing a special hat for your graduation today, do you want your hair down or do you want a braid?" Ellie asked as she unwound the hair ties that had secured Alex's braids and began to finger comb the girl's dark blond hair.
Alex looked like she was giving it some serious thought before deciding, "Braid, please, can you do the one that starts up here?" She pointed to the top of her head.
Ellie smiled, "Sure, Sweetie." She pulled out a brush and began to brush out any tangles and knots she'd missed the night before. "French braids can take a little bit, so how about we get dressed and I can braid your hair while we watch Dora?"
"Okay," Alex nodded and headed toward her bedroom.
Ellie knew that Alex had a dress that had been bought specifically for her graduation, but still gave the girl a choice. Alex chose the dress, citing that it was the dress her nana had bought special just for the day. Ellie put the other outfit option away and waited for Alex to change into the dress.
"Okay, I'm ready," Alex announced.
"Well, I still got to zip you up, turn around," Ellie made a circular motion with her finger to match her words. As soon as the girl's back was to her, she pulled the zipper up. "Okay go sit out in the living room, you can watch Dora, or you can read while I get ready."
"Yes ma'am," Alex nodded and skipped out the door.
Ellie chucked at the girl's enthusiasm before heading over to John's room to get dressed herself. She heard the shower running when she entered the bedroom and quietly locked the bedroom door before sneaking into the en suite bathroom. John was in the shower stall, steam only just starting to fog up the glass, not quite hiding his form just yet. His back was to her as he was working shampoo into his hair, Ellie quickly undressed and made her way over to the shower on silent feet. The sound of the shower door sliding open caught John's attention and he turned toward her.
"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly so his voice wouldn't echo too much.
"Figured I'd help you wash your back," Ellie shrugged, "Besides, we're in a draught, I figured if we shower together, it will save water."
"I think there's some figuring you left out of that equation, Doc," John snickered, placing his hands on her waist and turning them both until her back was to the showerhead.
He used his fingers to make sure her hair was saturated before grabbing her shampoo and washing her hair. He then turned them again so that his back was to the spray while he massaged her favorite conditioner into her hair. He knew she preferred to shave while letting her conditioner do its thing, so he took the opportunity to rinse out his own hair. Since she was still shaving, he grabbed the bar of Irish Spring from the shelf and washed up, ignoring the pout she sent over her shoulder at not being able to help him with his washing.
"Hey, we're on a deadline," He reminded her, "I'll make it up to you later."
"You'd better," She challenged him as she turned and nudged him out of the way so she could rinse the last of her shaving cream from her legs and her conditioner out of her hair. John had batted her hands away for the latter part, running his fingers through her hair to ensure the last of the conditioner had been rinsed out. Once he was satisfied, he stepped out of the shower, to allow her time and space to wash up with the flowery body wash and loofah she favored.
John quickly toweled off before wrapping the towel around his waist and crossing to the his-and-hers vanity that had come with the house. Wiping the condensation from the mirror, he did his best to pay more attention to the job he was doing shaving his face than to the fog-obscured vision of his fiancée with nothing but water and bubbles to cover her. It was a damned miracle that he managed to not nick himself in the process. After brushing his teeth and combing his hair, he made his way int the bedroom to get dressed while Ellie finished up. He was just buttoning up the shirt of his service uniform when he heard the hair dryer turn on. Knowing it would be a bit before she was fully ready, he headed out to see what his daughter was up to.
Entering the living room, he was surprised to find the TV was off. He didn't see his daughter at first, but heard a soft grunt come from the couch. Walking over, he saw his daughter studiously trying to buckle the white Mary-Janes his mother had bought to go with Alex's blue graduation dress. It was clear she was struggling but seemed determined.
"Do you want some help, Kid?" He asked, rounding the couch.
"No, thank you," Alex looked up briefly before turning back to her shoe's buckle, "I got it."
"All right," John nodded, continuing on to his favorite chair and opening a book on the Cold War he'd found in a used bookstore on one of their family outings. "I'll be over here if you need me."
"Okay, Daddy," Alex replied, not bothering to look up again.
Alex was still struggling with her shoes when Ellie came in, wearing a knee-length fit-and-flare dress in a shade of sage green that complimented her eyes, her feet still bare. She held a brush in one hand and a spray bottle in the other, "Hey Bug," She sat down next to Alex, "Ready for me to do your hair?"
"Almost," Alex replied before sighing, "Can you buckle my shoes first?"
"Sure," Ellie smiled, setting her supplies on the coffee table and quickly buckling the shoes, "Remember, these are your special buckle shoes with the snaps?" She unsnapped the buckle mount of one of the shoes and snapped it back into place. "You don't have to unbuckle them to put them on or take them off."
"I forgot," Alex admitted.
"That's okay, we all forget sometimes," Ellie assured her, "Now turn around so we can get your hair taken care of."
"Okay," Alex turned her back to the young doctor and sat more patiently than John was used to seeing while Ellie started on her task of combing and sectioning off pieces of the girl's hair, spraying them with the spray bottle, all before beginning to weave Alex's hair in a long single plait that ran from the top of the girl's head to her nape. Ellie continued to chat amicably with Alex as she continued gathering more hair into the braid until it was all being twisted into the last few inches of the braid that would hang down Alex's back.
"…and, we are done!" Ellie announced with a smile. "Close your eyes and your mouth real quick." Alex did so while Ellie produced a can of aerosol hairspray and quickly sprayed the braid to keep it in place. "Okay, all done."
"Thank you, Ellie." Alex gave her a hug.
"You're welcome, Sweetie," Ellie replied.
John checked his watch, "It's nearly time to go." He reminded them.
"Okay, just let me put this stuff away and get my shoes and I'll be good to go." Ellie informed him, gathering her supplies and disappearing down the hall. She returned a moment later, wearing a pair of nude pumps which were doing things to John's heart rate and blood pressure with the way they helped to emphasize Ellie's already shapely legs.
"Now that just ain't fair," John protested under his breath, earning a blush and a smile from Ellie.
"Really, and this is?" She challenged him gesturing to his uniform then added low so only he could hear, "If this wasn't such a big day for Alex, I'd send her your mom's for a 'Nana and me' day so that we could enjoy a 'you and me' day right here."
"Don't tempt me, woman," He growled low, giving her a playful swat on her behind, earning a salacious grin before Ellie switched back to what he'd secretly been calling 'mommy mode'.
"Hey Bug, ready to go?" Ellie smiled at Alex.
"Yeah!" She cheered.
John opened the hall closet, grabbing his barracks cover, then led his ladies into the garage to load up in the Crown Vic for the short drive over to the pre-school for his daughter's graduation. His mom would be joining them there. When they pulled up to the school, they saw other families from the base whose children were graduating from one of the two Pre-K classes. As they entered the schools multi-use space, or as Ellie's brother used to call such places, the 'café-gym-atorium,' there was a table for the families to check their graduate in. As each child was checked in, their parents were handed one of the small navy-blue graduation gowns, which had been used for multiple pre-k graduations, and a matching crepe graduation cap which each child would be able to keep after the ceremony.
John led them over to the rows of chairs that had been set up for the families to sit in during the ceremony to claim seats for their family. Once they'd cordoned off enough seats, Ellie grabbed a card of bobby pins from her purse and told John she'd be right back after getting Alex settled with the rest of her class. At his nod, she led Alex through the door many a mother and child had gone through since their arrival.
"Did we miss it?" John turned and offered a handshake to the owner of the voice.
"Nope, Ellie just took Alex back," John assured their guests, "She'll be back in a minute and the ceremony should be staring in about 15 or 20 minutes. I'm glad you were able to make it, they're both going to be excited that you're here."
"We couldn't miss our favorite niece's big day," The other guest grinned.
John's response was cut off by a squeal as he and their guests braced for impact as Ellie rushed over.
"Oh my God, what are you two doing here?" She demanded, wrapping first her brother then her sister-in-law in bone crushing hugs.
"Come on, Elle, we wouldn't have missed this for the world," Chuck assured her. "We told Mr. Mason as soon as John told us the date that we needed the day off, how often are we going to see our favorite niece graduate?"
"Well, she's your only niece, or will be once John and I get married, and at least two more after this. High school, of course and college, after that." Ellie pointed out. "How long are you here?"
"Until Sunday," Sarah informed her, "We wanted to join you for your birthday tomorrow. When we told our bosses what all was going on, they were all for it, or at least Denise was. She basically forced Mr. Mason to let us come. Especially since it wasn't just us coming."
"It wasn't?" Ellie asked.
"No, Beth and Al insisted on coming down, too." Chuck informed her, "They crashed with Doctor and Missus Clark last night. They should be here soon."
"Speaking of the devil," John muttered, causing the other three adults to turn toward the entrance to see Hellen, along with the Calaviccis and Clarks, making their way over to join the group. Ellie gave Beth and the Clarks hugs while John saluted then shook the admiral's hand, thanking him for coming.
"I see you dressed for the occasion, Sir," John stated, nodding to the flagship officer's Navy service dress uniform.
"I don't much bust this one out," Al shrugged, smoothing his hand down the buttons on his shirt, "With all the congressional meetings I've had to go to over the years, my dress blues get more time in the sun than this, if I'm appearing in uniform that is."
"We should probably take our seats before we lose them," Hellen advised, "You all can catch up later."
Agreeing with the older woman's assessment, the group quickly found their seats. Their timing couldn't have been better since, within a few minutes of them sitting, the children were led out in their miniature caps and gowns to line up in not-quite orderly rows along the stage. The teachers led them through some of the things the children learned that year, starting with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a couple of songs and poems. The teachers then had their students move over to one of the wings of the stage.
As each child's name was called, they were expected to walk to the head teacher to receive a rolled-up piece of paper secured by a red ribbon. Most of the kids did as was expected, of the ones who didn't, some were the class clowns who goofed off, a few were shy and froze either on the edge of the stage or right in the middle as they suddenly became aware of all the eyes watching them, and others tripped or fell for a variety of reasons, a few got embarrassed and ran off crying, but the others got up, dusted themselves off, and went to get their prize.
Once all the scrolls, which the parents later found were their child's pre-k completion certificate, were handed out, the children were brought out on the stage while their families and friends applauded them. The teachers thanked the parents and families for their support and allowing the staff to teach the kids. They invited the families to stay for the reception that would follow, then released the kids.
As the families took pictures of their graduates, the staff brought out tables laden with goodies and punch, which were quickly consumed before the kids were taken home to pass out after the sugar rush of the graduation treats.
John and Ellie made sure that Alex thanked the Calaviccis and Clarks for coming to her pre-k graduation and graciously accepted the cards they gave her, which her adults promised she could open when they got home. Once the older couples had left, the extended Casey and Bartowski family made their way back to John's place. Once they arrived home, Alex was allowed to open the envelopes she'd received along with one that her aunt Debbie had mailed all the way from Chicago. Her nana and Uncle Chuck and Aunt Sarah also gave her cards. Most had cash, while a couple of the envelopes had checks.
Having anticipated this John and Ellie had discussed what to do with the money, John thought they should save it all in Alex's college fund. Ellie had agreed for the most part, suggesting using a small amount of the gifted money to buy something special with Alex. John agreed with Ellie's suggestion, so later that day, after Alex's snack time they'd take her while Hellen made dinner, which she'd offered to do for the event.