Epilogue Five Years Later

"Hey, let's get a move on, ladies," Alexis shouted through the open window. Kate and their daughter Lilly came rushing down the steps toward the car.

They were laughing, and Alexis took a moment to appreciate the little family they'd created. Three years ago, Kate and Alexis had adopted Lilly after her parents had died in a tragic car accident, taking both of their lives and leaving the little girl orphaned. Kate had been friends with Lilly's father, and when they'd died, Lilly hadn't had a place to go. She was only seven years old at the time. The authorities wanted to put her into the system, likely a foster home or an orphanage. Kate had nearly come unhinged, desperate to shield Lilly from the grief and pain of loss and also unwilling to let the girl get lost to the foster system.

She'd gone to her chain of command and the legal office, and in a few days, they'd managed to pull together the required paperwork and schedule a home inspection. The process and approval would take ninety days minimum, but the foster system in Palstein moved slowly, since they were an overseas base. Colonel Williams had pulled some strings, and Lilly had been held on location for health reasons. They'd kept her with a local foster family and allowed Kate and Alexis to visit daily. After the ninety days were up, the approval finally came in. They fostered her until their request for adoption was approved. It took over a year, but it had been worth it to them.

Kate and Alexis had talked about the possibility of doing artificial insemination, adopting, or fostering a child. Lilly's need became the push Alexis needed to commit to them adding a member to their family. The little girl had dark hair and blue eyes, just like Alexis, and when she'd thought of how she'd felt, losing her own parents to a car accident, she'd known it was fate that had brought Lilly to them.

They got in the car, laughing and chattering, and Alexis turned to look at Lilly's new dress. "Beautiful. It looks so wonderful on you, Lils.

"Thanks, Momma," Lilly said, her wide grin lighting up the back seat.

"Put your seatbelt on, little rascal. We're going to be late."

Kate and Lilly buckled in, and Alexis turned off the radio as she pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the officer club.

"So talk to me about the plan for next week. Do we still have that appointment on Tuesday, or did they let you move it?"

Kate huffed in annoyance. "They rescheduled it after I explained that my child has a ballet recital and that I wouldn't be attending the appointment, and that if they couldn't reschedule me I'd have to find somewhere else to take the car for maintenance."

Alexis laughed, knowing that Kate was full of shit. She was too nice and would never give a salesperson an ultimatum. It was probably just what she'd told the person in her head.

"I didn't actually say that. Anyway, it's rescheduled. Monday I have to teach a seminar on emergency medicine, Tuesday is the ballet recital, and Wednesday you have to teach that combat rescue training course. They want you to talk about extractions, so I'm sure they're looking for our story of the retrieval in Syria."

Alexis grunted. "You'd think people would get tired of hearing about how I almost died."

Kate cleared her throat and looked back at Lilly in the backseat. Luckily, she had headphones in and was watching Frozen for the third time that day.

"Sorry. Okay. What about Thursday and Friday? Or the weekend?"

Kate hummed and looked at her calendar app. "Thursday through Sunday we are totally free."

"Ah, perfect. Then let me inform you I've just scheduled you for a romantic getaway that starts Thursday and ends Sunday."

Kate started to object, but Alexis held up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. No arguing. I reached out to Bowie, and he and his wife are taking Lilly for the entire weekend. They're taking Lilly and Aliana camping."

Wide eyed, Kate stared at her. "You planned this?"

"Of course. We haven't had much alone time since we started these new teaching positions. There's a lot of demand on our time now, with Lilly, so I thought that we deserve a weekend away. I didn't want to leave Lilly with strangers, and there aren't many people I'd trust to watch her for that many days. But Lilly knows them and is friends with their daughter. They're in the same class, and Bowie's wife is special forces. No one will get near the girls."

A smile spread across Kate's face. "Thank you for making this happen. You're so amazing. I love you. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Alexis laughed and shook her head. "Nope. It's a surprise.

The car fell silent as they pulled in the parking lot and looked at the many rows of cars already parked. Several people meandered around, slowly drifting inside. There were officers and enlisted members of every branch of the military present, and all non-civilians were in dress uniform. Civilians wore dresses or suits, and everyone looked put together and pristine.

They parked, and Kate reached across the center console to take Alexis's hand. She squeezed it affectionately.

"Are you ready to go be the guests of honor?" Kate asked her, and Alexis shook her head.

"Genuinely, you'd think people would get over this."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I guess if I'd known that Lieutenant Cassidy was the son of a general, I would have just let him die out there so you wouldn't have to accept a purple cross and I wouldn't have to accept a Soldier's Medal."

Her sarcasm was clear, but she'd whispered it anyway, unwilling to allow anyone to overhear such an inappropriate joke.

"You're never going to let it go that it's called a Soldier's Medal, are you?"

Kate huffed in mock indignation. "I'm not a soldier, Lex. Technically I'm an airman. But it doesn't matter either way. This medal, and your purple heart, are some of the highest honors that can be given. We are going in there, and you're going to be good and smile."

Alexis huffed again and looked back at Lilly, still oblivious to their conversation, totally engrossed in the movie on her tablet.

"Babe. To be honest, I just don't feel I deserve it."

Kate sighed and smiled at her softly. "Well then, accept it for me. If you hadn't been there that day, I wouldn't be alive. I don't think anyone else could have gotten us out of there and lived to tell the tale."

Alexis grabbed her hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a kiss to the underside of her wrist.

"Okay, fine. I'll be good, but just don't forget. I didn't save you because it was the right thing to do or for the award. I saved you because I love you. Without you, I wouldn't have made it out of there, either."

Kate smiled, her jaw trembling slightly and eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Same here, Lieutenant Cole. Same here. I love you."

They got out of the car, collected Lilly and turned to go inside. Alexis straightened her uniform and read the event sign standing near the door.

Congratulations Lieutenant Kate Cole and Lieutenant Alexis Cole

Please join us in the recognition of their valor, sacrifice, and courage

Purple Heart and Soldiers Medal Ceremony will commence at 1800

Kate smiled at Alexis and they each took one of Lilly's hands and entered the building, prepared to accept their awards, take some pictures, eat, have a few drinks, and then go home. Alexis didn't care how much socialization they were going to be forced into. She was just glad that after the evening ended, and every evening afterward, she'd get to go home with her wife, Little Lieutenant Kate Cole. Alexis wouldn't want it any other way.