Chapter Twenty-Five: Epilogue.

Captain Kate Beckett lay in bed on a lazy Saturday morning her husband had served her breakfast in bed, on their seventh wedding anniversary. She'd slipped her negligee back on because the kids would come in with their father. She knew that she needed to get up and shower, it was almost nine O'clock but it felt so good to lie abed. She yawned and stretched, wincing a little from being deliciously sore in a couple of places. Good Lord, twice last night and once early this morning. Seven years of marriage hadn't dampened either partner's ardor at all.

If anything her desire had increased after her tubal ligation and Rick's vasectomy. Three children were entirely enough, thank you and no more pills to mess with her hormones. Grinning she remembered that old joke about the newlyweds, the beans and a mason jar. They hadn't needed a mason jar, more like a bucket. And they still hadn't managed to empty that theoretical bucket. They might even have added a couple of beans. She got out of bed put her negligee and panties in the hamper and started the shower. She'd been in the shower less than fifteen seconds when the shower door opened and her husband joined her. It took them considerably longer than normal to get clean.

Out of the shower and dressed for the day Kate went to see what their children were up to. It was suspiciously quiet in the house. They'd sold the loft after the twins were born and bought a house in Scarsdale. Large and comfortable but not opulent, a two story it sat on an acre of land.

There was plenty of room for the kids to play, their dogs to run. There was a large garage to house their various vehicles with a small workshop attached. Kate looked out the window and saw the five year old twins sitting under an Elm tree while their half-sister Alexis read to them.

Alexis, Rick's daughter from his first marriage was now in her first year of Medical school. The red-headed beauty spent most of her free time at home. She lived in the dorms but spent weekends here. She went to find their son. James Alexander Rodgers was seven years old and normally rambunctious with his dad's energy levels, her stubbornness and their combined intelligence he was a handful. At the moment though he was engrossed in building a model of an FA-18, the type of plane his father flew in combat. She left him to it; it was a snap together kit so there was no glue danger.

She went to the kitchen to make coffee, poured herself a cup then went outside to see what had made one of the girls squeal. Rick had snuck up on them and was spinning Johanna over his head. She smiled and shook her head. She was fairly sure that the biggest kid in the house was her husband. That was fine with her. She loved the "nine year old on a sugar rush" and had worked hard to restore that aspect after his combat tour. Years later she had nightmares of Rick's plane crashing and Rick not getting out alive.

They had fights, all couples do but they'd had a doozy of a fight three years ago. Rick was due to end his tour in the Marine Corps reserve when the Marines offered him the star of a Brigadier General if he'd reenlist. She was dead set against it. Don't you remember what happened to you the last time you did what the Marine Corps asked you to do? You damn near died! I almost lost you. We have three children who need their father and I need my husband, alive, here in my bed. Not just a black-draped photograph and a memory. She'd stayed mad at him for a week and theydidn't make love all that week which was rare for them. By the end of the week she was as hurting as much as he was and pretty horny. She finally relented when they got it in writing that Rick couldn't be deployed.

She still didn't like it when he had to do his reserve week-ends as he was still flying high performance aircraft. On top of that, the Wings of Fury airshows were more popular than ever, as were the books. Although the day to day operations were now run by a professional staff, he was still chairman of the board and flew in a few of the shows. Rick was going to continue as chairman but knowing how much hated him being away he was negotiating with the foundation buying his aircraft and not actually fly at the shows. He felt that they used his celebrity status as much as they needed to. The Foundation was stable. He would sell the T-34, the F7F, the F9F and the A-37 to the foundation or to private buyers who would agree to fly them in the shows.

He kept the Beechcraft and the Cessna. He wasn't about to give up flying completely. More important than everything else, His wife and his children needed daddy at home. It took a year to get everything accomplished but the look on his wife's face was worth so much more than money or fame.

His book, Accidental Glory came out eight years after Kate and Rick got married and was an international best seller with the movie version debuting a week after their tenth anniversary. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge invited Kate and Rick over to England when the movie premiered over there. Kate Middleton had meant what she said when she asked Kate and Rick to visit as often as possible. That year also found Rick walking Doctor Alexis Rodgers down the aisle to marry the love of her life. Five years later the Rodgers was struck by a double loss. Martha Rodgers and Jim Beckett passed away within two months of each other. But families move past loss and grow.

And there you have it, dear readers, the last sortie for Wings of Fury. Weapons racks empty and all rounds fired. I want to thank all those who stuck with this story. There may be more stories in the WOF universe if the response is good enough.

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