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Chapter 16
Christine woke up in the middle of the night to Mike thrashing around in their bed. Having been a military spouse for so many years, she knew not to touch Mike mid-nightmare. She sat up and turned the light on, knowing it would wake Mike up. A minute later, he stopped thrashing around. His eyes opened but Christine immediately noticed the sadness in them.
"Tell me, Mike." Christine said gently as she brushed Mike's hair with her fingers.
"He…Lucas seems so…he seems so…healthy and happy. But he was so disappointed that I had to leave for the summer. He cried." Mike explained.
"Mike, he loved you so much. Yes, he was a little disappointed but he was looking forward to you being home for the holidays." Christine said.
"He loved Thanksgiving." Mike remarked.
"Yes. All the food. His favorite part was the turkey coma." Christine replied.
"And pumpkin pie with tons of whipped cream." Mike said with a sad smile.
"Mike—talk to me about happened. It won't ever get better if you don't." Christine said.
"I had taken the kids to this barbeque for the James crew. Lucas heard me talking to Tom about deploying and he ran off. Climbed this tall tree. I found him and he was scared to jump down and was mad. I begged him to jump, and he finally did. I was going to catch him, but then I realized I was too far away and he'd fall. And that's where I always wake up." Mike explained.
"Mike…Lucas' death was not your fault. If you have been home, he still would have died." Christine said.
"Yeah, but I could have been there for it." Mike answered.
"And you would have died too. And then where would we be?" Christine asked.
"Probably all dead." Mike admitted.
"Exactly. You wouldn't have wished that on those girls." Christine said.
"But I still miss him." Mike said as he laid back down, clearly already worn out by the talk.
"Me too, Mike." Christine said as she shut the light off and settled in next to him,
"I love you." Mike said simply.
"I love you and the girls do too." Christine replied. Mike fell asleep soon enough, and it seemed to be sound, but Christine stayed awake, worried about him.
He slept through the night and seemed to be in a better mood the next morning. They even finalized some plans for their 'wedding' and he played basketball with Katie, even after Christine warned him about his side. At least his relationship with Katie had warmed up and he'd always been close to Hannah.
They weren't doing anything to prevent a pregnancy but Christine still hadn't gotten pregnant. She was beginning to wonder if she even could get pregnant again and Mike was not in the mindset for it at the moment. They probably just be satisfied with the two healthy children they had. Mike would never openly admit it but Christine knew he hoped for another boy. Lucas had been Mike's pride and joy. He loved the girls but it wasn't the same. And maybe that was the issue between Mike and Katie. Only time would tell what would happen.