Page 16

Memorial Day, 2028

“Sugar, do you want chicken or steak?” Oliver’s voice echoed through the Sheppard’s living area.

He popped his head through the door, wearing swim shorts and the “kiss the cook” apron he’d had for years now. It was surprisingly warm for the end of May, so he and Nate had already started the swimming season in the pool Nate had bought last summer.

“Steak please. Medium rare,” Marta answered with a smile on her face.

“On it.” And with that Oliver’s head left again to get the food on the grill.

“Sushi and steak were the things I missed most during my pregnancy as well,” Lynn laughed while washing the potatoes that they’d have alongside the meat and salads.

“Steak was the worst because well done steaks taste horrible and Oli even left them on the grill a little longer to make sure they lose all of the good taste,” she sighed.

“Yeah, that really sucks. But the pay-off was worth it because now you have this absolute ray of sunshine.”

“That’s true,” Marta whispered while watching her son nurse.

It always made her feel at peace to have this deep connection to him, a moment between just the two of them. Of course it warmed her heart when she saw her Oli cuddle with their child, but it was a different kind of love to know that she was feeding him and keeping him healthy .

Marta had a hard time nursing in the beginning, as she felt stabbing pains while feeding him so they’d had to add bottles of formula to make sure their baby got enough nutrition. She was about to give up, when Oli booked a professional that helped her analyze what was going on and provide some tips. In the end they slightly changed their baby boy’s position while nursing and finally it worked. It still hurt her but, with a few gadgets, she was able to fully nurse him.

“He is so freaking adorable. Gosh I miss the time when the girls were that little. Although it was a little stressful with two babies screaming the entire time,” Lynn commented.

She had put the potatoes in a pot to boil and waited for the romaine lettuce to dry before getting the salad ready.

“I can’t even imagine how it is with two. Frank is already needing all of mine and Oli’s attention and time. How did you do it?”

“Well, it was helpful that I wasn’t fully nursing them, so we could easily feed them in parallel, but it’s true that when one girl started to cry, the other started as well, which led to a lot of stressful days.”

“And lack of sleep?”

“Oh hell yes. We’ve been zombies for so long. I think I only started to get proper sleep again after I started back at work and Nate took care of the girls overnight. He’s a real trooper.”

“And the king of naps.”

“That as well. Getting 5-10 minutes of sleep in as often as the girls allowed him. I admire him for that. I could never.”

“Me neither. Oli can do that too, napping with Frank laying on his chest. It’s adorable.”

“I can imagine.”

“Did someone say the name of my favorite boy?” Oliver had just entered the living room, walking towards Marta with long steps.

He was still wearing the apron and Marta could see some sweat on his arms, indicating that he had been standing in front of the hot grill .

“I thought you were getting our food ready?” she asked.

“Butch’s taking over for a while because I missed my little baby so much.”

Marta had just finished nursing baby Frank, having him over her shoulder for the eventual burp. It always amused her how adults think baby burps are adorable, but they’re disgusting when you’re a grown-up.

“I didn’t know you’d miss me that much, mi cielo ,” she commented, getting a confused look in return.

“I love you, Sugar, but I was talking about our baby.”

He carefully lifted Frank off Marta’s shoulder, securing his neck with both of his hands while holding him in front of him.

“Ohhhhhhhhh, he lost the baby scrunch?” Lynn said from the side, a bit of sadness lingering in her voice.

“Yeah, it started a couple of weeks ago. He’s growing so fast,” Oliver answered while holding Frank in front of his face to place kisses everywhere.

The little boy made squeaking sounds. If they were noises of agreement or disagreement was a mystery to all of them, but Oliver didn’t care, he was so full of love for their child that he had the strong urge to hold the baby close and shower it with love and kisses as often as he could.

Nate entered the living area as well, barbecue tongs in one of his hands, while swiping the sweat off his forehead with the other. He was only in bathing shorts, his upper body showing off how well he stayed in shape even in fatherhood and not being on active duty anymore.

“Do you need any help inside, Darling?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“No, I’m good. Thank you, Honey. The salad is almost done but the potatoes need a bit longer. The dips are all made and in the fridge, and the bread is baked as well. We can get everything outside if you want to. ”

“Did anyone tell you today how perfect you are?”

“Nope. Not yet.” Lynn winked at him and watched him step close to her.

“You. Are. Perfect.” Nate underlined every word with a kiss on Lynn’s nose. She giggled in response before taking the initiative and placing a long and loving kiss on his lips.

“What about the meat, pal?” Oliver asked, baby Frank still in his arms.

“If someone would be a bit more useful, I wouldn’t need to do everything on my own.”

“I’m sorry, but family’s my number one priority right now,” Oliver answered with almost the exact same words that Nate had used several times to deny the job opportunity Oliver had offered.

He rolled his eyes at his best friend before grabbing a few of the prepared food bowls and taking them outside with him.

“Luna. Ann. Can you help Mama get the stuff out of the kitchen and on the table?” His voice was heard from outside while Marta stood from the couch to help Lynn finish the salad.

“Who would have thought that we’d end up like this one day, huh?” She bumped her shoulder into Lynn who answered only with a smile.

Together they finished preparing everything and were ready to have lunch together. Oliver had put Frank into a baby carrier in front of his chest to give him more access to get food into his system.

They ate in peace for a while, the only conversation was by the girls explaining to baby Frank everything he needed to try as soon as he got teeth. Watching the girls interact with the newborn was something Lynn had totally underestimated having an impact on her. The girls were absolutely adorable with Frank, even holding him in their arms with Oliver’s support. It had warmed Lynn’s heart and she knew that it had the same effect on her husband’s. The sparkle in Nate’s eyes said it all, although he didn’t talk to her about having another child again. He had only started back at work six months ago and the girls had developed a lot of independence from going to daycare even more. Nate and Lynn enjoyed their life the way it was right now; no diaper changes, finally getting a good amount of sleep, and having more of their freedom and old life back.

It still wouldn’t be the right time for a third child.

“When are you heading out next week?” Marta asked into the silence, her eyes fixed on the tiny feet that were hanging out of the baby carrier.

“Thursday evening. A night flight is always nice to get some sleep in,” Nate answered.

“It’ll only be for a week, so an easy mission,” Oliver added before biting into his steak.

“Don’t say that!” Lynn commented, her face furrowed into a grimace.

“What?” Nate asked.

“That it’s gonna be an easy mission, because every time you said that over the last five years, one of the team ended up in my med-bay and I really don’t want any of you as a patient again.”

“We’re gonna be careful, Darling.”

“I still don’t like you being out there,” Lynn mumbled.

“Daddy’s going on an adventure!” Ann exclaimed happily, not understanding the extent of Nate’s work trip.

“It’s not really an adventure, Little Star. Uncle Oli and I are going to Afghanistan for work. We have to capture one of the bad guys.”

After their first two operations overseas, Nate and Oliver had realized that Nate was more effective leading their operations when he was with them. Not being on active field duty, but staying in a secure base somewhere and reacting to the happenings while actively cooperating with other forces on sight. It wasn’t exactly how they’d planned it in the beginning, but, after a long conversation, Nate managed to convince Lynn that it was not only the best for the job but also that he was ready. His therapist had assured him of that too.

“Like in the superhero movies?” Luna asked, excited.

“When did you watch superhero movies?” Lynn asked, sharing a knowing look with Marta and Oliver who tried to look as innocent as possible.

“Oh… we… did not,” Luna tried to get out of the situation, her widened eyes focused on Oliver. It was all Lynn needed to know and her gaze towards their friends was more of a “really now?” look. Oliver simply shrugged his shoulders before focusing on his steak instead.

“Yes, Luna. A little bit like in a superhero movie,” Nate answered, de-escalating the tense situation.

“But your dad won’t be involved that much. He decided to stay back to make sure he’ll be okay,” Lynn added, shooting Nate a loving smile.

“But I’ll be right there, making sure we get the bad guy and put him in jail,” Oli said proudly.

“Uncle Oli is a hero!” Luna exclaimed loudly.

“I hope everything’s going to be okay. Since I’m on parental leave, I feel like I don’t get any information. I don’t like that. I like to have control over everything that’s going on in the agency,” Marta said quietly, trying to cover the concern in her voice.

“When we were out in the field and you stayed back in Langley, you never had control, Sugar.”

“Let me stay in my little fake bubble of belief,” Marta complained and all four of them started to laugh.

“No seriously. It’s all gonna be okay. Nate is an amazing Ops Leader! He prepared everything so well for this operation and I don’t see any high risks.”

“Except for the bad guys shooting at you…” Lynn mumbled.

“We won’t let them hurt us,” Oliver argued .

“Yeah, because that has always worked out for you in the past.” Marta rolled her eyes but they had to disrupt their conversation about the upcoming operation, because Frank started to wail. Oliver carefully rocked his body up and down, trying to get his boy back to sleep, but Frank only screamed louder.

“What’s wrong, Baby?” He asked, concerned.

“Probably a full diaper,” Marta suggested and Oliver carefully started to unpack Frank from the carrier. Holding him in front of his face, he quickly frowned and made a gagging noise, making the adults laugh.

“Yep. Definitely the reason. I’ll be back in a bit,” he said before getting up from the table and heading inside to change Frank’s diaper.

“ That is something I definitely don’t miss,” Nate commented while loading more of the green salad on his plate.

“Me neither,” Lynn agreed before holding up her hand for Nate to high-five her. Getting the girls off diapers was one of the best things they’d achieved.

“The operation will be fine, Marta. We took so much time for preparation and we’ve got support from the police on site. Straponov doesn’t suspect that we know about the weapon delivery to Afghanistan, nor that we know he’s there in person to talk about upcoming deliveries. No need to be worried,” Nate whispered in Marta’s direction in an attempt to assure her.

“I know. It’s just… different since Frank was born. It’s not that I don’t trust Oli or you. You've both done an amazing job ever since I’ve known you. I’m just… scared.”

“We understand exactly how you feel. I feel the same. Every damn time,” Lynn said, reaching her hand over to place it on Nate’s thigh.

“How do you do it? How do you cope with the fear?”

“The biggest thing that helped was accepting that I can’t change it. Nate loves his job and it made him the person that I fell in love with. All the good and the bad that came with it, made him him . I trust that Nate would never do anything stupid and risk his life, because he knows that his family is waiting at home and we need him to come back.”

“But you can’t control what’s happening out there. Everything that happened to you, Butch, was not because you did anything stupid. It just happened.”

“That’s true., but I also know that if we’d have invested even more time in the operation prep, we’d probably have realized that Taylor was a traitor. That’s why Oli and I make sure to invest all we can in prep to prevent small mistakes like that from happening again,” Nate answered.

“You’ll learn how to deal with it better with every operation, trust me. It’ll never be easy, but it’ll get easier ,” Lynn added and Marta responded with a sigh.

Currently it felt impossible for her to ever accept the fact that her boyfriend was out there risking his own life while she was forced to stay at home and hope he’d return home alive and unhurt. Not that this was new to her, he was already an Agent when they’d fallen in love, but things felt different now that they had a child. She couldn’t imagine having to tell their baby that his daddy wouldn’t be coming home this time. The sheer thought of it made her heart turn into a block of cement.

“I promise you, he’ll return to you and Frank in one piece,” Nate saluted her, breaking the tense vibes once more.

Who would have thought that the man with the biggest mental health problems out of the four of them would be the man who was able to read the room best and lighten everyone’s mood. The grumpy Agent that hadn’t even known how to smile, now cracking jokes and making faces with his little girls.

Life hadn’t been fair to Nate and there were multiple occasions when he’d just wanted to give up and end it right then, but subconsciously he’d never given up hoping and dreaming for a better life. For finding happiness and love again. For defeating his demons and living a life he could actually enjoy.

When Lynn entered his life with a loud bang, he didn’t think it would have been his chance for a happily ever after, but she was the persistent pain in the ass that he’d needed to recover; to fight his demons and finally defeat them. Lynn had been by his side through the highs and the lows and she’d done way more than simply heal his mind. Together they’d embarked on a life that was full of laughter, happiness, memorable moments, nose kisses, pillow fights, and orange juice. A life that Nate never had dreamed of. A life he remembered from his childhood, before his father became sick and died. Lynn brought him all that and more. He’d never felt so supported and so loved in his life.

He’d got a second chance at life and he’d taken it without a second thought.

When ocean-blue eyes met chestnut ones on this sunny day at the end of May, Nate knew that Lynn was the best thing that ever happened to him and that he wouldn’t change a single thing in his life because everything had led to this moment.

The pain, the torture, the nightmares, the demons.

It had all led him to sitting in his garden, the love of his life’s hand on his thigh, their wonderful children fighting about who’d get the last of the sausages, and his best friends just starting their own little family.

That was how life was supposed to be. Full of love and happiness.

No matter what was ahead of them, Nate and Lynn would face it together. No matter how challenging the situation, how strong the demons were, they’d fight through it together and defeat them all.

Them.

Nate, Lynn, Ann, and Luna Sheppard.

The End