Cal whistled mindlessly to himself as he made dinner while his beloved, noticeably older, black Lab Boomer snoozed on his new dog bed by the couch. As things had been rapidly moved around to accommodate the Dresden’s sudden change in Command, there were only the few personal affects Molly had in her DH Quarters that had been moved in and the massive collection of Cal’s personal furniture swapped down to his Quarters in Marine Country and Molly’s replaced with Fleet Standard. It had been a busy and brief home visit before heading back to the Dresden. Cal was happy they had let him stay on, but it would take time to get used to the notably smaller Quarters. Thankfully, when you & the new Skipper have been a couple for years now… you still get to crash in your old quarters whenever you want!

The table was set for two, candlelight… the only type of wine Cal could ever get Molly to drink… real dishes… and if Cal timed things right, Molly would be back from her tour of the ship and meetings about the time he’d finished. The ship would be underway soon, so nights like these would be a rarity for a while but he wanted to do something nice for Molly considering the stress he knew damn well she’d been under.

About that time, an incoming transmission chirruped on Molly’s screen at her desk. Cal turned the temp off and walked over to see who was calling. Seeing the name, he couldn’t help but smile and open the transmission. “Hey old buddy!” The Marine said as he settled into the chair, the smiling face of Lucas Holloway appeared smiling back at him. “I was expecting to see my niece, Calvin....” His smile as wide as Cal’s. “… but my favorite Jarhead’ll have to do!” He laughed as Cal rolled his eyes. “How can I help the great & powerful Lucas Holloway?” Cal replied. It was Lucas’ turn to roll his eyes. “Well… is Gracie around?” With a head shake, Cal responded. “Nah… the new DHs are running her into the ground. So Boomer & I came over to make her dinner.” Lucas’ smile turned warm. “You always have taken good care of her Calvin, seriously… Robert & I both think you two are perfect for each other. After seeing you two at Erin’s wedding, there was no doubt.”

Harris smiled warmly in return. “That means a lot, it really does.” After a pause, Lucas asked. “You at least got the ring before you left home, right?” Cal chuckled, causing Boomer to stir. “Of course I did Lucas… I would never pop the question with a goddamn replicat…” Lucas sharply cut his sentence off. “Watch your mouth Calvin! You’re talking about asking my Gracie to marry you. I don’t care how you talk with your Marines, but that girl is one of the most important people in the universe to me and everything regarding her will be with respect… do I make myself absolutely clear, Colonel?!” The change in tone startled Cal and he felt like he was 16 again, bravely facing down Nessie’s dad after they told her parents they were expecting.

///”You are planning to marry our Ness, aren’t you Alex?” He remembered being terrified that they would take Vanessa away from him so when her father asked about marriage, Harris hadn’t paused for a second. “Of course I am, Sir. With…” He took a breath. “… with your permission, of course.”///

“Calvin!?” Came the snap like a cracking whip from Holloway. Cal jumped slightly and then nodded. “Of course, I meant no disrespect.” Lucas looked pleased with the answer. “Of course not… look, when you get a chance… have Gracie give me a call, ok? No rush.” Cal nodded. “No problem.” The Marine still felt his mouth was dry from the scolding. “And Calvin…” Lucas began, Cal’s eyes focusing intently. “Take care of my little girl, OK?” There was not a moment’s pause. “I always do.” Cal replied before Lucas wrapped the call with. “I’ll talk to you later… you two be safe out there.” There was another nod followed by “We will. Talk to you later” Then Lucas killed the call.

Harris headed back to the kitchen and fired everything back up. His mind now on the small, ornately craved Cherry box back in his quarters. With luck, he’d be just about finished when Molly got home.

Cal