Page 2

February 18th, 2027

The graveyard was silent. No one else was here to visit their loved ones on this cloudy and cold day in the middle of February.

But today was a very special day for the Sheppard family, as their little girls turned three. Three years ago Lynn had given birth to them naturally, first Luna and then . The girls had turned their life upside down, but in such a good way. She wouldn’t want to go a single day without the chaos that went on in their house.

They’d already eaten a big chocolate cake together and enjoyed family time with her parents.

But it wasn’t only their daughter’s birthday today. Lynn’s sister was also born on February 18th. She and Nate weren’t superstitious but that the girls decided to arrive in this world on the exact same day that Lynn’s sister was born over 30 years ago, couldn’t be a coincidence. It was a natural birth, not a planned c-section. The girls went for that date and it meant the world to Lynn.

But her sister was killed a couple of years ago, in tragic circumstances, because of the terrorist az-Zawahiri. Nate and Lynn weren’t able to save her in time and losing the star of the Summers family almost broke the family apart. Thankfully, they found a way back to each other and, although was missed every single day, a part of her lived on in Lynn’s and Nate’s daughter. Named after the aunt she’d never meet and who would never be able to hold her or play with her.

Today was a celebration of life .

Not only the lives of their twin girls, but also of the sister that Lynn had lost. So they decided to visit ’s grave together as a family.

Luna was walking between Lynn’s parents, Thea and Jensen, each of them holding one of her small hands and swinging her in the air from time to time. Her laughter was a nice contrast to the solemn vibes the graveyard produced. As there was no-one around, they didn’t stop Luna from having fun. She wouldn’t disturb anyone with her joyfulness. was carried by Nate. As the natural empathic one, she’d started to become restless the moment they stepped in the graveyard. It was like she was drawn to Nate in that moment, hiding behind his legs and burying her face into his jeans as if he could chase the bad vibes away. She was actively seeking her father’s protection and of course he gave it to her without a second thought.

Nate knew that this wasn’t easy for Lynn. She’d talked to the girls about her sister as much as she wanted to. But until today she’d preferred to visit ’s grave alone. Because “she didn’t want to load that burden on the girls’ shoulders already”, although Nate couldn’t completely understand this reason. He wasn’t in the position to judge though. Everyone dealt with grief and situations like this differently and if Lynn decided that this was the right solution for her, he’d support her nevertheless. He’d always have her back.

He watched her walk in front of him, her brown hair slightly wavy, dancing around her shoulders while she set one foot in front of the other. Nate saw her tense shoulders and made a mental note to give her a massage tonight, because he knew she always got neck and back pain when things were bothering her mentally.

“How far is it, Daddy?” whispered.

“It’s at the end of that aisle, only a few more steps, Little Star.”

She buried her face into his neck again, arms wrapped around him while she sighed deeply. He wished he could do something to make his daughter feel better, but there was nothing he could imagine that’d help.

They reached ’s grave a minute later and even Luna could feel the tension in the air around her because she had stopped laughing and alternated her gaze between Grandma and Grandpa. Thea had stopped holding her hand and stepped forward to the gravestone, putting a kiss on her fingers before kneeling down to press them on the name of her first-born daughter.

“Hi ,” she whispered, but the wind carried her words around the graveyard.

The little girl on Nate’s hip moved, her face now curious while she took in the scenery around her. It took a moment until she realized that Thea was not referring to her but, when she did, she looked at her father with widened eyes. Nate nodded slightly in return, a small smile on his lips. Silently the girl signaled him to put her down and he followed immediately.

carefully toddled in Lynn’s direction, sliding her small hand into Lynn’s bigger one.

“Mama?” She asked carefully.

For a moment Lynn didn’t answer, her gaze locked with the inscription on the gravestone. But after a while she managed to turn her head around, looking down into ’s curious sapphire eyes.

“Yes, Baby?”

“Is this Auntie?”

A question so mindless, coming from a three year old that couldn’t even understand half of the sorrow, pain, and grief that came with it. Nate stepped closer to his wife, his hand caressing over the small of Lynn’s back like he always did when they visited her sister’s grave.

Grief was a long process with good and bad days.

Guilt was the parasite that could turn the good ones into bad within the blink of an eye .

Lynn had been dealing with both for almost five years now and, even when she was able to smile and enjoy her life fully, these feelings would always be a part of her.

Because she’ll never forgive herself that her sister died because of her. Standing before ’s grave triggered her guilt every single time, no matter how hard she’d tried to be positive that day. It never worked. That’s why Nate was by her side every single time, picking up the pieces that Lynn’s heart broke into as soon as they were standing in front of the gravestone and trying to glue them together afterwards. He’d done this multiple times over the last few years, but it never became easier.

To his astonishment Lynn kneeled down next to their daughter and suddenly a smile appeared on her face.

“Yes, Baby. That is your Aunt . The wonderful woman you were named after.”

“She’s your sister,” commented, remembering the stories Lynn had already told them.

“Yes. She was my sister. Like Luna is yours.”

“Did you sleep in the same bed as well?”

“Sometimes we did, but not every night. was two years older than me, so she had her own room after a few years.”

“Luna is older than me, too.”

That comment caused Lynn to laugh out loud, a sound that echoed from the stones around them and made butterflies appear in Nate’s stomach. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.

“She is, Little Star. But only by a couple of minutes. That’s not the same.”

“Tell Luna that.” had a pout on her face that made even Thea and Jensen laugh. With all the sombre vibes in a graveyard, it was so refreshing to hear some laughter and lighten the mood.

“You want to know a secret about your Auntie ?” Lynn asked and nodded enthusiastically, followed by Luna who was curious and had stepped next to her twin sister .

“ was one of the most wonderful people that I had the honor to know and grow up with. When I was about to graduate High School she asked me what I wanted to study and I told her that I’d go for business. It was a major that I’d easily get scholarships for so Grandma and Grandpa wouldn’t have to pay so much for it. But your Auntie looked me in the eyes that day, held my shoulders and simply told me that she didn’t believe me. I know you, Lynn. You never wanted to work in business. That’s not what you’re made for .” Lynn had changed her voice a little for the last part, imitating her sister’s voice.

“She was always able to read you like an open book,” Jensen commented, the smile on his face wide and honest while he probably mentally dove into memories.

“Yes, she really did. And she was the first one I confessed to that I wanted to become a doctor. Ever since our aunt died in the car accident. I can still remember the glimmer in her eyes before she pulled me in for a hug. You want to know what she said to me?”

Both girls nodded widely.

“She said that I’d become the best doctor she could ever imagine,” Lynn almost whispered, her voice breaking while she was fighting the lump in her throat.

“And then she said that I’d have to treat her for free for the rest of her life,” Lynn added before bursting into laughter.

Nate had to laugh as well. From all the stories Lynn had told him over the years he knew that he and would have gotten along pretty well. Sharing the same sense of humor their family parties would have been way more chaotic with the three of them joking around the entire time. It was a nice scene to imagine, although it would never be reality.

“Your Aunt was the business woman in the family. Of course she was trying to get an advantage out of this. That’s our ,” Thea added, the smile still wide .

“I’d never become a doctor if your aunt hadn’t kicked my butt all these years ago. I’ll be forever grateful that she encouraged me to follow my passion.”

“Auntie is cool,” Luna said without a care in the world.

“She really was, Little Moon. Did you know that was the one that started our orange juice tradition?”

“Really?” Nate asked. He hadn’t known about that fact either.

“Yes. One Sunday, decided that we needed a family tradition and the first thing that was in front of her eyes was the orange juice we had that morning. From that day on, we had a family breakfast with orange juice every Sunday,” Jensen explained.

“And we keep this tradition even with the girls now,” Lynn added.

“Thank you for the orange juice, . It helped me through a lot of rough times,” Nate whispered, so low that only Lynn and the girls were able to hear him, although he was sure only his wife understood what he truly meant. Orange juice had become the symbol for Nate’s recovery as he and Lynn drank it a lot when he’d just started fighting his nightmares. Almost every night he and Lynn had a glass, talking about his nightmares and trying to improve his condition. He’d not only fallen in love with the juice, but also Lynn over the weeks.

“Can we go home and have an orange juice now, Mama?” Luna asked, her eyes shining.

“Of course we can, Baby. You wanna say goodbye to your aunt?”

“Bye Auntie . We love you,” said first, patting her small hand on the edge of the gravestone. Luna followed closely, yelled a loud “Bye” and already started running back towards the car.

“This kid,” Nate sighed, hurrying after Luna to catch her.

“Can you take with you? I need a moment,” Lynn said towards her parents and Thea and Jensen nodded in understanding. Thea stopped a moment before Lynn, placing a kiss on her cheek, before the two made their way along the aisle with between them .

“I’m sorry that I haven’t introduced the girls to you before. I was scared that they would ask questions I didn't want to answer. When I only told them stories about you it wasn’t so evident that you weren’t just living in New York, but lying in a coffin six feet under. It was selfish, I know. I’m sorry.” Lynn took a moment to breathe and sort through her feelings and thoughts.

“I miss you, . Every single day. I wish you could be here with us today, celebrating the girl’s birthday. You would have been the best aunt to them and I know you’d have spoiled them to death. Mum and Dad are already giving them way too many gifts, but you would have been even worse. I always wonder if you’d have had a favorite out of them and I guess it’d probably be Luna. She’s like a mini version of Nate. At least the person he is now. It’s crazy.”

The smile on Lynn’s lips was wider than ever before, her heart full of all the positive memories with her sister. For a moment she managed to put aside the negative emotions and only focus on the good things.

“Nate and you have a lot in common. Your humor, your way of seeing the world, the way you can both read me like an open book. But also the way you both always know exactly how to support me. You always find the right balance between letting me be and kicking my ass. I’ve never had this feeling with someone else other than you two. People say that you often marry the carbon copies of your parents. But I realized I married the carbon copy of my sister. And it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. ”

A Big Surprise

March 13th, 2027

“Luna, , grab your shoes and come here. We have to leave in five.” Nate’s voice echoed loud through the hallway while he quickly stepped into his own sneakers, before he would need to have his full attention on the girls.

wanted to take her stuffed animal with her, so the two had run back into the living room and into their “kids’ corner” as Lynn and Nate always called it. It had started with a simple wooden grocery shop that Lynn's parents had gotten the girls for their second birthday. But over a few weeks Lynn had completely re-designed the corner for their twins, including a small table with three chairs, a bookshelf, a fluffy rug, and a box with a lot of stuffed animals. Although Nate was the one staying at home, he had no idea how his wife managed to turn their living room into a kids’ paradise without him actually noticing.

He wouldn’t complain though, because having the girls around while he was cooking or cleaning the house was something he enjoyed more than he would ever admit. Hearing their laughter was the best sound he had ever heard, even better than Lynn’s.

Both girls paced around the corner and into the hallway, had her stuffed penguin and Luna her German Shepherd dog in their tiny hands.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, Daddy!” The girls exclaimed in unison. They took a seat on the stairs, patiently waiting for their father to help them into their shoes. Nate started with and continued with Luna and two minutes later both girls were in their shoes and jackets and ready to visit their mother at work.

Lynn had organized this visit two weeks ago, getting the paperwork done so that Nate and the girls were allowed to visit her in the med-bay, an area that was in the back part of headquarters and normally not accessible to visitors if they weren’t in need of medical attention.

Both girls were secured in their booster seats before Nate took his place behind the steering wheel.

It was only a seven minute drive as they were living very close to the CIA headquarters, which had been one of the conditions to allow Lynn to move away from the facility.

The girls were fascinated throughout the entire security check on the gate, the guard explaining everything in detail to them.

“Good to see you again, Agent Sheppard. And you too, little Agents-in-training.” He waved goodbye and Nate guided their car towards the big parking lot in front of the main building.

“So, girls, like we discussed before, you need to behave in there or Mama and I will be in trouble, understood?” Nate had helped both girls out of the car, Luna now walking on his left-hand side and on his right. His back was grateful for their growth over the last year as he didn't have to lean down so much to hold their hands anymore.

They passed the entrance hall with the memorial wall and the famous seal on the floor. A few years ago Nate would have been able to walk in and out of headquarters without a stop at the entrance desk, but things had changed since then.

“Hi, my name is Nate Sheppard. My wife, Lynn, is expecting us. We should be on the visitors list.” He smiled at the man sitting behind the counter.

“Sure, let me check a second,” the man said and Nate could see him type something on his keyboard .

He knew that every visitor needed to go through security checks and part of that was done now. The nervous flicker of the man’s eyes between the screen and Nate’s face informed him that the man had just learned about his background and the connection to the CIA. But it didn’t bother him anymore, because he knew that everything he had been through made him into the person he was now.

“Can we see Mama now, Daddy?” asked, excited.

“One moment, Little Star. We need to pass the security check first. This man knows if you did something wrong or not. Anything to confess right now?” He winked at his daughter, whose eyes went wide in shock. She exchanged a concerned look with Luna, who had pressed her index finger on her mouth to signal her sister to be quiet.

Watching the dynamic between the two was something Nate never got bored of.

“Uncle Oli let us eat chocolate last week,” blurted out, tears welling in her eyes because she couldn’t hold the secret any longer.

“!” Luna exclaimed, shocked that her sister was, again, not able to keep a secret.

“I want to see Mama.” tried to justify herself, but Luna only rolled her eyes at her. Three years old but already the attitude of a diva. Luna was trouble and Nate and Lynn had realized that very early on.

“Agent Sheppard, you and your daughters are allowed to visit Dr. Sheppard now. Normally you would be accompanied by guards, but I don’t think it’s necessary as you’ve lived here before.” The man shot him a warm smile, probably amused by the conversation of the two girls.

“Thank you so much, Sir.”

He turned around and looked at his daughters, trying to hide the grin of amusement on his own face. Luna had her arms crossed with her face turned away from as if she was trying to ignore her. had a serious frown on her face, looking at her father the moment he had turned around.

“You’re lucky, girls. The security check was clear, even with the chocolate incident. Let’s head inside and see your mother.”

He grabbed their hands, forming a living barrier between them in the hope that their little fight would be forgotten as soon as they saw Lynn. It was supposed to be a joke from his side, but sometimes he forgot that humor was something the girls still had to develop.

On the elevator ride to the main floor where the communal kitchen as well as the med-bay were located, he saw the excitement in both girls increasing. Luna was bouncing up and down on her heels while was tapping her hand on the metallic wall of the elevator multiple times.

With a loud “ding” the door opened and they stepped outside.

The hallway on their right led to different doors and Nate had a small smile on his face. This hallway had been his home for so long, he knew every dust particle within these four walls inside out. He remembered sneaking out of Lynn’s room while their relationship was still a secret to Marta and Oliver, and remembered entering the communal kitchen in the middle of the night to get something to eat or drink after a nightmare.

He'd spent some of his best and some of his worst days in this part of headquarters.

Both girls pulled on his hands simultaneously and only then he realized that he had zoned out while digging into the memories of his past life.

“Let’s go, Daddy,” Luna added, making sure her father would finally lead them to their desired destination.

But before they could step through the automatic door of the med-bay, a blond man stepped out of the communal kitchen and into the hallway.

“Did I hear the voices of my favorite girls in the entire world? ”

“Uncle Oli!” Both girls screamed loudly, their father forgotten while they ran towards Oliver, who had kneeled down on the floor, arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture.

The girls pressed their tiny bodies against their uncle’s chest before he wrapped his arms around them and formed a comforting cocoon of love.

Nate couldn’t understand the mumbling that happened between Luna, , and Oliver but they were probably plotting something again. Definitely something that the girls wouldn’t be allowed to do at home…

He jumped in surprise when the door behind him opened and Lynn stepped out of it, wrapping her arms around his middle from behind while burying her face into the fabric of Nate’s shirt.

“God, I missed you,” she mumbled, placing kisses along Nate’s spine and shoulder blades.

He gently placed his own arms on top of Lynn’s, humming the melody of “Mockingbird” in appreciation.

“Do you always smell so good?” The scent of cinnamon reached Lynn’s nose and she buried it even deeper in Nate’s back to be as close to him as possible.

“I hope so,” he snickered before enfolding their arms and turning around to face his wife.

“Hello, Sunshine. You look beautiful today.”

His lips met Lynn’s a second later, a firework exploded in his stomach, and he pressed her closer to him. Even after all these years she still had this effect on him and he hoped it would never change.

“I love you, Nate.”

“I love you too, Lynn.”

“Are you done with the love show now?” Oliver asked, a twin on each hip. He was the best uncle Lynn and Nate could wish for; he was super good with the girls. They’d visited him and Marta more frequently over the last year and it had been a delight for all of them.

Nate grabbed Lynn’s hand and together they walked towards Oliver.

“Good to see you again, pal.” Nate shot him a smile.

“Good to see you, too. I miss having you on my team. You can come back any time you want to.”

“Nah, I’m good. I enjoy being a stay-at-home-dad for those little princesses.” Nate booped his index finger on each of his daughter’s noses and both giggled in response before hiding their faces in the side of Oliver’s neck.

“I can understand. But just know that you’re always welcome here. I could use someone like you to help me handle the newbies.”

“But you have Peter for that, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same as working with your best friend.”

Nate rolled his eyes at Oliver. It wasn’t the first attempt to get him back into active service and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“He’ll ask you over and over again until you finally say yes, Butch. He’s very persistent when it comes to getting what he wants. Am I right, mi cielo ?”

Nate’s head spun around to see Marta standing in the doorframe.

“Marta! Good to see you,” Nate exclaimed, stepping towards the brunette and giving her a hug.

It felt like the good old days, although so much had changed since the four of them last walked these halls together. It had been during Lynn’s pregnancy, before the Sheppards decided to buy a house in Langley and move out of headquarters. They’d wanted their kids to grow up in a normal environment and not in small rooms within the CIA.

“Are you hungry? I made lunch for my favorite people. The famous McGreen lasagna. ”

“Yeeeeeeeeees!” and Luna squealed loudly and they saw Oliver winced in pain.

Nate looked at Lynn with a frown, confused about the lunch offer, as Lynn hadn’t told him about this beforehand. But his wife only shrugged her shoulders and followed Marta into the communal kitchen.

The room looked almost exactly the same, except for the addition of some new couches. Steam formed over the hot casserole dish that contained the one meal Oliver could cook to perfection.

“That smells amazing, Marta.” Lynn commented while she chose a seat at the large dinner table.

She was used to her kids taking the seats on either side of her, but today they preferred sitting next to their favorite uncle. A small sting erupted in Lynn’s heart before she shook her head slightly and enjoyed having her handsome husband sitting next to her for once. Her hand made its way onto Nate’s thigh and she felt his strong muscles tense underneath her fingers. Nate had changed their garage into a home gym so that he was able to stay in shape even without working for the CIA anymore. Fitness had become part of his life a long time ago and, although he was willing to change almost everything in his life, this was the one thing he wanted to keep.

Oliver cleared his throat while they all loaded their plates with food. Nate raised his head to look at his best friend, seeing nervousness flicker in Oliver’s eyes.

“Spill the tea, pal.”

“What?”

“Oliver, I have known you almost my entire life. I can read you like an open book…”

and Luna had watched the conversation between their father and uncle, their small heads turning back and forth like they were watching a tennis match .

“Remember when you told me about your neighbors that were moving out?” Oliver started.

“Oh yeah, Charlie and Denise. They have to move because he got a new job in Silicon Valley.” Lynn jumped into the conversation.

“Yeah. After you told me about it, I contacted them and…”

“… we bought the house. We'll be neighbors soon!” Marta ended Oliver’s sentence, her face lighting up with a wide grin.

“Oh my God. That’s amazing!” Lynn exclaimed.

“This is really good news,” Nate added, the smile on his face so wide that Lynn could see the crow’s feet appear under his eyes. They had grown over the last few years as Nate was laughing and smiling more than ever. It was the physical evidence of his healing process and Lynn loved everything about it.

“Yeah, we thought it would be easier for babysitting, you know.” Marta winked at Lynn and Nate, but it was Lynn’s loud scream that confused Nate the most.

“Are you serious?” she asked in a high-pitched squeal. Nate alternated his gaze between his obviously insane wife and Marta, who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

What the hell was going on?

Marta nodded slightly and Lynn jumped off her chair, ran around the table, and hugged her as tight as possible. Their hug was so powerful that both women were stepping from one foot to the other, Lynn whispering words into Marta’s ear.

“I’m so happy for you, oh my God. Finally. You deserve this so much. Watching you with Luna and is such a delight and I can’t wait to see you with your own child. How far along are you?”

Finally Nate realized what was going on and he looked at his best friend with his eyebrows raised so high that they almost got lost in his hairline and his jaw was on the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were trying?” He managed to blurt out, partly happy for them but also hurt that apparently his wife knew but he didn’t. Neither Oliver nor Lynn had told him .

“I didn’t know she’d told Lynn. Sorry, pal.” Oliver grimaced, guilt flickering through the blue-green of his eyes.

Instead of answering him, Nate rounded the table as well and gave Oliver a hug before he repeated the gesture with Marta.

Only and Luna were still sitting on the dinner table. was watching the interactions between the adults, her head slightly tilted to the side while she tried to understand what the hell was going on. Luna on the other hand was still focused on eating her lasagna, unbothered by her surroundings. Food had always been her number one priority. A zombie apocalypse could break out right behind her, but she would finish eating first.

“I’m 14 weeks today,” Marta explained, caressing her hand over her baby bump. It was already visible, but she hid it perfectly under an oversized pullover of Oliver.

“What does that mean?” commented and it was the first time that the four adults realized that the two girls were with them in the room.

Nate stepped next to ’s chair, leaned down to her, and said:

“Aunt Marta is pregnant. She and Uncle Oli are going to have a baby.”