"Well, my brother is here, with Major Peck..." Louise offered timidly. She was having trouble looking Tania and Maria in the face. "I didn't want him to go off alone, and they said he could bring one person. He's not old enough to be married so he asked me to come and wait for him..."

Maria sighed, and dropped her eyes at that. Bad enough her own husband and best friend, who were well old enough to be men, were risking their lives. Worse that a boy barely of marriageable age was doing so. "Which platoon is he with?" Maria asked, wondering if it might be her husband's--or at least one of the ones in the company that Kurt commanded.

Falling, falling, falling. Jesus Christ he hated falling. Airborne training had been the most difficult part of Officer Training School for Kurt; jumping out of an airplane felt too damn much like one of the roller coasters he hated--even worse in a lot of ways. Here he couldn't even close his eyes for fear of something going wrong. Fortunately this wasn't skydiving, and he only had to endure the sensation for a handful of seconds. Then the cord yanked out his chute, and he was pulled up violently--then abruptly found himself floating, rather peacefully, through the cold, clear air. Above him, nothing but blue, sun, and the beautiful Canadian Rockies on the horizon. Below him...nothing. A solid carpet of black smoke so thick it almost looked as if he could stand on it.

He couldn't of course, and, in spite of the special breathing equipment he was wearing, he instinctively held his breath as he came down through it. There were several seconds of smoky blindness, where he couldn't see in front of him at all. And then he let out the breath in a rather large, but silent, gasp. The forest below him--what was left of it--looked very much how he might have imagined Hell as a child. Nothing but dark blasted ground, greedy flames and sulfurous smoke as far as he could see. What the hell am I doing here?, he asked himself, trying desperately to hang on to his head now that he fully understood what it was they were up against.

"'Affix your courage to the sticking place,' Captain." Scott's voice came very quietly through the radio, almost as if he head read Kurt's mind. And whether it was the words themselves, the comfort of Scott's voice, or the shock of hearing Scottie Lansing actually quote Shakespeare for a change, it snapped Kurt out of the panic he had been trying to fight.

"Thanks Scottie," Kurt said, equally soft, as he took a deep breath and began searching for a good place to land--or at least a place that wasn't on fire. "I needed that. ...I'm almost down now. Get your boys ready."

"He's with the Pats, under Captain Golding," Louise provided, warming to Maria's gentleness. "How about you girls?"

"Captain Golding is my husband," Tania responded, still distant. She didn't want to be mean or cold, but it was rough for her to stay in touch with her feelings without breaking down entirely. "And Maria is Mrs. Lansing."

Alice pulled up to Keira and Soren's house, lugging out a little bag along with her purse from her car. She knocked on the door. "Keira! I've got something for you, open the door!"

Keira walked to the door, laughing a little bit, as she heard Alice's voice. "Just a minute..." she called, before to open the door. "Hi Alice!" she grinned, as she opened the door. "Come in..."

Reaching over to give Keira a one-armed hug, Alice said, "Goodness, can you even walk? You look so cute."

Keira giggled at Alice's remark. "Well… Thanks..." she smiled, putting a hand on her stomach. "Yeah, I can walk.... I just can't run a marathon right now!" she teased. They walked to the living room, and Keira sat on the couch, after she placed a pillow behind her back. "So, what's up?" she asked.

Alice shrugged. "Nothing. Did you go to the pro-am?" she asked. "I didn't see you there." She sat the bag for Keira on her lap. "This is for you two," she told her friend with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I was there… But we left right after it ended!" Keira answered. "My ass couldn't take it anymore to be sat on this super comfortable seat!" she teased, as her eyes widened a bit when she saw the little gift bag. "Oh... Alice... You spoiled me... err I mean us... a lot already..." she giggled, as she started to look in the bag.

"Your poor arse," Alice said sympathetically, with a laugh. In the bag was a bottle of very nice wine, wrapped in what looked like a baby blanket. "I thought you could use both of these," she told Keira, smiling, almost cheeky. "I sewed it myself; you can see all the needle jabs on my fingers for proof!"

"Oh ... Alice..." Keira said slowly, looking at the baby blanket carefully. "Wow, seriously I'm impressed.... You did a very good job, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Then, she giggled at the bottle of wine. "Don't you think he's a bit too young for this?" she joked.

"Not for him!" Alice chided. "I'm not going to lead that child into a life of sin and depravity," she joked. "For you two, congratulations and all. I've heard getting a bit tipsy with a screaming baby at night may be a good idea."

Keira laughed. "I'll try to not remember that!" she joked. She put the bottle on the little table and then, she hugged Alice. "Thank you so much!!!" She grinned. "I can't believe how much people spoiled us with all these gifts... I have practically nothing to buy for him!" she giggled.

Smiling at Keira, Alice returned the hug. "That's what friends are for, we buy things for the baby," she said. "I threw a little card in there. I kept asking Christian what he thought and he said he doesn't care until the baby is here and then he wants to visit and spoil the kid rotten. He's a sucker."

Keira giggled again. "Aaww... He's cute!" she said, as she took the little card and read. "...I can't believe I'm almost done... It went pretty fast!" she said, with a little sigh. "Even the nursery is done!" she told Alice.

"Really? Can I see?" Alice asked, curious as to what they did with the room for the baby. "Do you want him to just come out already? My sister told me that the last month is the worst..."

"Sure!" Keira smiled, getting up. "There's a few minor things to fix it... But other than that, it's done! Soren and his father did a pretty good job!" she told Alice, as she led her to the nursery. She opened the door, and let Alice enter.

"To be honest... not at all!" Keira answered. "I might be crazy... but for now, I don't think it's that worse! Maybe later, I'll change my mind, but for now it's okay... I can deal with the fact I can't sleep on the back or the stomach!" she giggled.

"Oh, wow. It's lovely." Alice peered around appreciatively. "Men are funny when they get in those 'I want to fix things' moods, aren't they?" She rubbed Keira's arm gently. "You do look good, even though you can't sleep on your back or stomach!"

"Oh God.... They are..." Keira started to giggle. "Soren looks so cute, when he's concentrated on a thing that he has to fix it... and it doesn't work automatically. He has the dead-calm look, but by his eyes, you can tell that he probably swearing in his head." she laughed. "Thanks.. I do feel good! I might start to think to have a football team as a family..." she teased, as she put the blanket that Alice made in the cradle.

Alice grinned, chuckling to herself. "I think all men do that," she told Keira. "If you have another boy, you should have them play football. It would make me laugh."

"Yeah... but I have the strong feeling that he's gonna be a skater!" Keira giggled. "When I was at the Pro-Am, he was moving like crazy..." she told Alice.

"I wouldn't want any child of mine to be a skater," Alice mused, suddenly serious. "It's too hard, too-- no life experience. Or it was for me."

"I know... Well, even if it was hard, I never regretted it!" Keira replied. "And I won't push him into skating if he doesn't feel too... but if he's willing to try, well, I don't see why I should prevent him to do it... " she added.

Stepping away from the nursery, Alice shrugged. "Maybe for fun--but you'd want them to compete? It's tough, you know that. I wouldn't want any of my children to do it. I would tell them that but...I guess I would let them, if they really wanted to. It's not like I am in the situation to worry about it."

"Again, I'll see how it will go with him... Anyway, if he doesn't compete in skating, it might be in something else, so... I guess I'm in for it!" She chuckled, sitting down on the couch. "I think, not matter the situation, it's always good to have some ideas about the 'education' you want to give to your future kids... Even if your first ideas might change again and again when you will be in the situation." she smiled.

"You've thought about it more than I have," chirped Alice as she sat back down on the sofa next to Keira. "I remember when you were so anxious. You're happy now?"

Keira smiled at Alice, remembering how she was the day she found out that she was pregnant. "Yes, I'm happy!" she replied, grinning. "I guess when I told Soren and saw his reaction; all my worries went away... Even if he admitted that he was somewhat scared, he was truly thrilled about the news and he believes that we will be great parents..." she added.

Alice squeezed Keira's hand. "I know you two will be," she said, "and if you need help, Aunt Alice can come to the rescue." She snickered.

Keira giggled. "I hope Aunt Alicky will come to the rescue..." she said teasingly, totally knowing that Alice hated that nickname.

Alice's entire face scrunched up. "God, when you met my sisters in Torino, you just picked right up on that, didn't you?"

Keira laughed even more. "What ?!... Alicky... it's so cute!" she said, still laughing. "At least... you got a real nickname..." she pointed out. "My sister called me 'K'... so..."

"K. I should call you that." Alice grinned. "Does Soren call you anything?"

"Well.... No, except for the usual 'Sweetie', 'Darling' and such..." Keira answered, thinking for a moment. "I wish he could find something more original... but it's alright!!" she smiled. "....And don't even think to call me 'K'..." she said, shooting a playful glare to Alice.

"You call me Alicky, or Allie, or anything, I can call you K," stipulated Alice. "Call Soren something ridiculous too, it's fun to see men get annoyed at stupid things like that."

Keira just wrinkled her nose "Pfff... Anyway... Well... I'm boring… but I can't find any ridiculous cute name for Soren.... How do you call Christian?" she asked.

"I am the only person who can get away with calling him Chris." Alice shrugged. "I don't have any cute names for him. He calls me 'baby' and things like that but em, only at certain times," she told Keira with an innocent look on her face.

"AAH... I see!" Keira giggled at Alice's innocent expression. She moved a bit on the sofa, to get a more comfortable position. "Sorry… I had to move... it's workout session in there!" she giggled. "He can get pretty annoying sometimes...." she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Ohh, is he going to be a footballer? Kicking about, driving his mum crazy? What a naughty child," Alice teased.

"I'm pretty sure Soren would be pretty happy to see him becoming a footballer!" Keira giggled, rubbing her belly. "I wonder if he's not trying to brainwash him already when he 'talks' to him..." she said. "Did I tell you how Soren talk to my belly each night, when we get in bed? ... And he talks in Danish, so I'm totally clueless about what he's saying..." she babbled, giggling.

Alice couldn't help it. She started laughing. "The image of Soren talking Danish to your stomach makes me laugh, sorry," she confessed. "Maybe he is trying to get the baby to be nicer to you."

"I understand you... I laughed a lot the first times he did this!" Keira laughed. "Now, I find it cute... and most of the time, the baby slow down for awhile, when Soren talks to him.... Because, of course, he often decides to start a workout session when it's time to get in bed..." she giggled.

"I bet it is cute," Alice said a little wistfully. She cleared her throat, pushing such thoughts out of her mind. "My oldest sister told me when you are up and about, the baby is quiet. Then when you want to sleep the baby decides to be a gymnast."

Keira noticed Alice's tone. "Yeah, most of the time, it's like that... it's too hard to make their schedules fits with their mommy..." she said. She took Alice's hand and put it on her belly. "... I'm sure your turn will come pretty soon... Don't worry..." she told her sincerely.

Alice smiled at Keira. "Thanks. But maybe I'm better off being the aunt instead of the mum. I'm learning to deal with it."

Keira squeezed Alice's hand. "I wish badly that you live this... seriously..." she said softly. "Have you and Chris considered other options... like in vitro... maybe it could work..." she added.

Alice shook her head. "No... I don't-- I don't agree with that. It's not like I can't get pregnant, just...staying that way. And they can't do anything to help it. I just gotta pray it works out, but I don't feel like putting myself through it again. I'll just be the nice matron aunt."

Keira sighed quietly. In a way, she felt bad for Alice... But, all-of-sudden, she took Alice's hands and she looked straight in her eyes. "Your turn will be soon... I can feel it!" she said, on a confident tone. "And you know what they said about pregnant women huh? ... They can predict the future... almost...!" she giggled softly.

"Where did you hear this? Put a sign on your lawn, say you're a psychic but only for one more month!" Alice laughed. "I'm not sure. I don't worry about it anymore. If it happens it happens. If not, well, God had other plans for us I guess."

Keira laughed. "It's silly... I know... it's my mom who told me this the other day... she was telling stories about her while she was pregnant and how she had often strong feelings about random things..." she explained to Alice. "To be honest... I didn't get any strong feelings... except for the sex of the baby... I knew it for a long time before the ultrasound that it was a boy..." she smiled.

"How did you know?" asked Alice, curious about such feelings. "You just had feelings about it?"

"Yeah... I just had the strong feeling just like this... I don't know how I got this.. I just felt it!" Keira said, with a shrug. "Each time I was talking about the baby, I was always saying 'HE'... not that I wanted badly to have a boy; to be honest, I didn't mind about the sex at all... But yeah... It's very weird!!" she explained. "So, when I had the ultrasound... I wasn't surprised at all when the doctor confirmed that we were having a boy!" she giggled.

Alice grinned. "Mummy's intuition," she told Keira. "Apparently my mum kept guessing we were all boys. I only have one brother. She was so wrong."

Keira laughed at this. "Are you serious?!" she exclaimed. "Well.... I guess we don't have all the same level of intuition!" she joked.

"I guess not! My mum isn't known for her intelligence, anyway," Alice said with a smirk. "But I have too many sisters, I feel bad for her a bit dealing with five of me. We're all the same."

"Aaaww..." Keira teased. "Well… I guess your personality is coming from somewhere anyway... So, I'm sure she knew how to deal with all of you..." she said. "I wonder which kind of personality he will get..." she said thoughtfully.

Alice shrugged. "Probably something like both of you? You two are quite similar in some ways," she commented. "I don't know. It's funny, sometimes the kids end up like one parent or both or end up completely different. Like how Christian and his dad don't get along but they are so alike, but if I told him that he'd get irritated at me!"

"So, I guess he will be quiet!" Keira giggled. "Hopefully.... Little Joachim will be a nice guy like his father..." she added, with a little dreamy sigh.

Alice smiled at Keira. She didn't quite know what to say, exactly. "Well, you're his mum, so he'll be a good kid," she finally said.

"Let's hope..." Keira giggled again, caressing her belly.

By the time Kurt touched down--a little rougher than he intended, but at least he was safe--and scouted the area, his men, and Scottie's, were already on their way down. He watched them materialize out of the smoke, one by one, and glide to a landing. He rallied them all quickly as they landed; counting heads to make sure everyone was together and safe. And it was with some relief that he heard a voice echoing in his helmet, "coming in for a landing, captain!" just as a small figure in a large parachute came down beside him, and climbed out of his harness cursing lightly under his breath. "It's way, way to hot down here," he growled.

"I agree," Kurt said, with an emphatic nod. "So let’s start cooling it off a bit. Soldiers! Grab your water tanks and follow me!"

"Lieutenant Lansing," Maria confirmed with a nod. "He's in charge of Kurt--Captain Golding's--first platoon.

The girl's eyes widened a little. "Pardon me, Tania, but...you can't be older than me...or are you? I'm nineteen."

"Haha," Tania responded, grinning in spite of herself for the first time that day. "You think Kurt's old. I'm twenty, and he's only thirty-three. We have two kids."

Louise gave her another look. "Two?" she asked, trying to stay polite.

“Yeah, but one of 'em's not his," Tania volunteered, enjoying the shock and horror in Louise's face.

Maria snorted in amusement at that. "She is, however, legally his now that he has adopted her," she added, when she became worried that the other girl was too horrified to speak. "I would not judge too harshly."

Kurt's first assessment of the burning forest was that it reminded him of an image of hell--and that was rapidly growing as he and his men attempted to fight back the blaze. He lost all track of time; all that existed for him was smoke, heat and sweat as he did his best to direct his people and figure out the best way to contain the blaze.

"Captain!" Kurt turned as Scottie's platoon Sergeant came running up to him. "We've done all we can do here, sir. The fire's cut off from the town, and the boys have finished clearing the fire break. I don't think it's gonna get past that sir. And even if it did, we'd be clean fucked--no one could stop it then. It's time to get the hell out. Sir."

Kurt scanned the area, lifting the visor of his helmet for a better view and blinking back tears from the smoke as he did. He had seen more than one wildfire in his time, and he didn't like the way this one was starting to look. Between the wind and the fact that they had cut off one of its main routes, the fire was starting to swing around, back towards them. And Kurt did not plan on himself or his men being here when that happened. "Get on the radio to base then," Kurt ordered with a nod. "Let them know its time to send the choppers back for us."

The solider nodded, and dropped to one knee so he could more easily use the large radio he was carrying. "Sergeant Elias to base...Elias to base...Pats in the field ready for pickup. Send the helicopter for us ASAP--it's getting hot down here, over."

"Negative, Pats," came the slightly garbled reply, as Kurt and the Sergeant stared at each other. "Winds too high and smoke to thick for extraction. Two options are to wait it out, or move to better location. Over."

"Sorry, Louise," Tania giggled. "You just looked so shell-shocked I had to go there. Kurt and I were engaged shortly after I had my first baby, so it hasn't been very long." She was beginning to relax now, taking sips of her drink and managing to eat large chunks of her sandwich. "So, who is your brother?"

"Mark Gracey," Louise replied, still cautious. She wasn't sure if she liked Tania, although Maria seemed very sweet.

"I believe I have heard Scott speak of him," Maria said with a smile. "He said he is very young, but very promising. He is proud to have your brother with him--which, if you will believe me, he does not say about too many."

"Shit shit shit SHIT!" Scott exclaimed quietly, after Kurt had relayed the information to him. "So what do we do? We can't stay here. The place is gonna fall apart on us any second."

"No, we can't," Kurt agreed grimly, pulling off his helmet entirely for a few moments to wipe his face. "Alright, I don't know where we're going, but right now anywhere is preferable to here. Gather the men together Scottie. Masks and oxygen on. This fire is gonna get closer before it gets farther, and we've got to have enough air in our lungs to run."

"Right boss," Scott answered, and instantly disappeared to begin getting everyone ready to move out. Kurt, meanwhile, remained kneeling on he ground, and swallowed a small amount of water from his canteen. They were all perfectly willing to follow him--that was the easy part. But where, oh where, oh WHERE in God's name was he supposed to lead?

Louise immediately brightened. A happy, proud smile lit up her face at any positive mention of her brother. "He's a good one," she replied. "He's my favorite relative. We're really close. I'm only a year older than him, so people ask us if we're twins sometimes..."

"Aw," Tania replied, trying to be more supportive. "I have an older sister. We fight sometimes. I'd be worried about her if she were in the service, fighting fires, though..."

“I think we can agree we're all worried," Maria agreed, with a small smile. "But our boys know what they are doing. They have been well trained, and know exactly what they have to do to stay safe."

If Kurt could have heard Maria's faithful declaration at that moment, he would have laughed right out loud--that was, if the ever-thickening smoke hadn't prevented any sound above a hoarse whisper. They were away from the worst of the flames now, though still surrounded by them, but there was no possible place to go to escape the smoke that was slowly choking them even as it prevented their rescue.

Kurt signaled for a stop, with his hand since it was impossible for him to project enough for the entire group to hear his voice. "Scottie," he said, pulling his friend closer to him, "we've gotta stop here. No immediate danger from the fire, and running's gonna kill our O2. Gotta stop and stay still."

Scott nodded, and quickly relayed the orders to the rest of the men, who followed Scott's example as he lay flat on the ground and breathed as shallowly as he could take. Kurt, for his part, remained standing, keeping an eye on the direction and proximity of the flames, and making sure everyone was present and accounted for.

"I'm still worried, though," Tania frowned. "And Louise looks petrified. Even worse than me!" And it was true. Louise was still very white, her lips pursed into a tense line, like a tightrope.

Louise nodded, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm really worried, actually. Although I suppose I have less to lose than your babies do, Tania."

"We all have something to loose," Maria said quietly. "That's the nature of this thing, I'm afraid. But, I am sure they will all come home safely. They have to. There is no other option."

Edward walked up to Parker and clapped his friend heartedly on the back. “Mornin’ old man.” Edward, despite having his ex-wife trolling the rink trying to ruin his happiness, was happy. His life was full and more blissful than it had been in many years and he knew much of the thanks for this went to Skye. She was such a golden fantasy that it made Edward want to share and promote that sort of happiness to all of his friends, this included Parker.

Parker turned to Edward and smiled. “You do know that you are much older than I am?” Parker teased. He was actually surprised how much he and Edward had in common. It was nice to have made a new friend. Kurt and Nicky were both very busy with expanding families, so he was alone perhaps a little too much after things ended with Emily.

“You’re only as young as you feel and I feel about 25,” Edward said beaming in a sickening sort of way.

“Well you look about 60,” Parker joked. “So, what has got you in such a good mood?”

“Well… I’ve talked to Natasha and she has agreed to have dinner with you.”

“Really?” Parker smiled and couldn’t hide his excitement. “When and where?” He asked, like a eager puppy.

“How the hell should I know? OH, no man, I didn’t ask her out for you. I simply asked if she would go out with you. How tacky would it be for me to ask a woman out for you? We aren’t in primary school.” He said in a matter of fact sort of way.

“Ed, if I had known that I would have to… I don’t think I am ready for this…”

“You are, just do it.” Edward said, knowing he had to be tough on Parker. “You like this woman, so ask her out, and don’t be a prat and keep her waiting too long.” Edward glanced up at the clock. “I’ve got a lesson in five minutes. I’ll call on you later to see how it went.”

And before Parker could protest Edward was gone. Parker hadn’t so much as thought about dating in months and now he was going to ask out a drop dead gorgeous woman…

“What have I gotten myself into…”