Anna was in the kitchen with Maria, talking when Bob walked in looking for breakfast. he heard Maria speaking.
"I know he is a good man. You'd have to ask Bob about most other things. Those two are as thick as thieves as far as anything else goes."
"May I presume that you ladies were speaking of Major Ferguson?" He asked.
"Morning sleepy head. Did you know it is almost eight thirty?"
"No, but thank you for telling me. Good thing there isn't anything pressing this morning. Good morning, Anna."
"Hi Bob. Yes, we were talking about Gerald. I was wondering if he was, well interested in any of the other women around here."
"Not to my knowledge. However he is a bit closed mouthed about anything personal. I didn't even know his first name, until you showed up. I just addressed him by his rank. He seemed happy with that, and never offered his first name, so I never asked."
"So you don't know."
"I know this much. He has never been seen in the company of any of the ladies around here, and has never asked me about any of them."
"Bob, this isn't anything 'pressing', but you need to speak with Kathy."
"Oh, is there a problem?"
"I don't know. There could be."
"I'll see her right after breakfast. Now do I get something to eat, or do I have to go out and kill it myself?"
Maria placed a plate of food in front of Bob, then said to Anna, "MEN. What would they do without us?"
As he had said, Bob went to see Kathy first thing after he had eaten. She invited him in, and asked him to take a seat.
"So, what's going on Kathy? Maria seemed to think it was important."
"Yes, she could say that. Tell me something Bob. When you found out that Mike was expecting, You said that you questioned the wisdom of bringing a child into the end times, do you still feel that way?"
"Much as I hate to say it, I do question the wisdom of it, but that is something that those kids have to deal with."
"Bob, it's not just them."
Bob never noticed that he passed five different people that wanted his attention as he raced home. He burst through the door with a loud "MARIA!" on his lips.
"So, she told you." she answered.
"Yes, but why didn't you?"
"I wasn't sure how you'd feel after what you said to Alex and Mike."
"Feel? Maria I love kids. I couldn't be happier."
"What about the whole end times thing?"
"I don't care. You are having a baby. MY baby. Lord, love you woman, I can't find the words for what I'm feeling. Are you alright? Come on, sit down, you need to rest." The words tumbled out of his mouth almost before he could form them.
"Bob, RELAX! I'm only a few weeks along, not an invalid. This isn't the first time for me you know."
"Yes, yes, of course I know. I'm just...well you know. But how did this happen?"
"You should know. After all, you had something to do with it."
"No, no, I mean I thought that you were old enough that you were past all that."
"I'm not that old. But if it means anything, I thought I was past it too. I guess you never know. I thought you'd be upset."
"Upset? Maria, I couldn't be happier than I am right now. Don't you know how much I've wanted this? I know, I never said anything, but if you couldn't, then why make you upset? Girl, I could walk on the moon I'm so happy."
"So do I break out the bubbly?" Asked Anna from the other room.
Director Ives wasn't happy at that moment. On the other side of the door was the messenger from the master. He knew the master was unhappy with his recent performance. The Russians had lost thousands of men and hundreds of machines in the recent defeat. The Americans on the other hand hadn't lost a man, and only one of their aircraft had suffered minor damage.
"The master is very displeased with you." the messenger said as he entered.
"I know that I've failed him. All I can offer is that I was up against the Nazarene. He prevented the satellites from picking up the American troop movements, until it was to late to do anything about it."
"At least you are bright enough to know who your enemy is, not like that idiot Claire. He thought he was only up against these monkeys. What are you going to do about this situation?"
"Please give me some time. We've only just recovered our stragglers. I need time to come up with a new plan."
"You have forty-eight hours. Starting now. It would be best for you if you don't fail again."
"Thank you. I'll come up with something."
After the messenger left, Ives sat down to go over the situation once again. The Russians had not only failed to gain any ground, they had also taken heavy losses in both men and equipment. They had also lost ground to the Americans on top of it all.
He poured over the maps on his desk. Whatever he was going to do, it had to be done quickly. Not just because that is what the master required, but also because at this moment, the Americans had obviously stripped their lines of men and weapons. That gave him a window of opportunity, that he had to exploit. Then he saw it. The weak spot he had been looking for. When the Russians had moved their men and equipment to the west, they had left reserve units near Fargo, North Dakota. In stead of having them move westerly to re-enforce the lines, he would move them eastward. He picked up the phone and gave the orders. He would salvage something out of this mess. His freedom at least.
"So, you question the wisdom of bringing a child into these times, do you?" The voice came from behind Bob as he was already working on changing one of the rooms into a nursery.
"Hello Alex. I was expecting you to come by and rub my nose in it." Bob replied. "But you aren't going to get my goat today. I'm in too good of a mood to let anything spoil it."
"I'm not trying to ruin your day, I'm just enjoying the irony of it. I think it's cool myself. Mike is having a good time with her Mom. You should hear those two."
"Oh, I'm sure I will. What do you think about having a baby brother, or sister?"
"I think it's about time. Why didn't you and Mom have any other kids?"
"That was something that was her choice, but to be fair, I agreed with her. I told you before that she never had morning sickness. it fact, her entire pregnancy went rather smoothly. Up until the last month. You see, when a woman's' abdomen gets stretched out that far, the skin begins to itch a lot. While your mother, She itched from the soles of her feet, to the crown of her head. Poor woman was in torment. We tried everything. Ointments, creams, lotions, everything. None of it helped. The only relief she got was the shower. I'd wake up a two in the morning, and hear it running. So, after you were born, she informed me that there was no way she was going to do that again. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. I will say that later in life, she regretted the choice, but it was too late for her to try again. I've often wondered how different our lives would have been with another child or two."
"I guess we'll find out. You do realize that you are going to be a grandfather before you're a father again."
"Actually, I've been too busy to think about it. That's a strange one. Our wives will most likely raise our children together. Yet the younger one will be the aunt or uncle to the older one."
Alex laughed. "How do you manage to get yourself mixed up in these strange kind of things Dad?"
"I don't know, Son. I'll tell you one thing though. It certainly keeps life interesting."
It took another three days for Major Ferguson to get back from his mission. By the time he made it, everyone in town had heard of the 'Battle for Montana' as it was being called. He was treated like the conquering hero. What surprised him the most, was the fact Anna was waiting just outside of town, when he came pulling up in Bobs' pick up.
"Don't tell me you are thinking leaving us?" Was the first thing he said.
"Waiting for you actually. Mind if I ride with you?"
He opened the door wide. "Please. Climb in." Instead of heading into town, Ferguson drove slowly and took the long way around. "Have you decided to stay?"
"At least for now. Lets' face it Gerald, there are going to be a lot of people with wrong ideas about me, even after everything that's been said. I'm sure there are people with nasty little minds that have been making up things about Maria, Bob and me since I've been staying with them."
"You're probably right, I'm sorry to say. Don't worry about them. I've found those kind usually shoot themselves in the foot, sooner or later. Then only the other narrow minded people will listen to them. Even then, the others will try to prove them wrong, just so that they can 'prove' that they are right."
"Maybe so, I just wish there was something I could do about it."
"Maybe there is. I'd say that you just find some kind of job around town that will put you in contact with other people, and just be normal. The talk will stop soon enough."
"Gerald? I have to ask. What about us?"
"Is there an us?"
"I don't know. I think it's been a long time, and we've both changed a lot. Do you think there could be?"
"Why don't we just take it slow and find out. Not push it, just get to know each other again, and see where it leads."
"I think I'd like that."
"Me too."
Ferguson pulled the truck up to the shed where Bob kept it, and shut off the engine. Before he could get out, Alex came up to him at a trot.
"Major! You need to see Dad right away."
"What's the rush? I just got back."
"The Russians have broken through the American lines, and are on the move."
BW, Vietnam Vet