Page 98 of Of Flesh & Bone

He visibly relaxes at this."Yeah, she's in my future.There's no one else for me."

"So, what are your plans for future deployments?"

Understanding blankets his face."Ah, I see.Is she ready for me to retire?"

"I didn't say that.I just asked what your plans are.Retirement is a conversation for you and V.I'm just curious where you see yourself in five years."

Without hesitation he says, "Loving V.Being with her as much as she'll allow me to be.Maybe having a couple of little Vaughn/Eli mixtures running around."

With fake incredulity, I snipe, "I didn't hear my name in that future."

Laughing, Eli comes over and hugs me tightly in the way that only he can."You're family, Evie Bear.Wherever we go from here, we go there together."

"Good.Are you ready for your present, then?"

"Evie."He uses his scolding tone on my name."You rented the bar for the party.That's more than enough."

"Oh.Okay.Well, if you don't want it then-"

"Now hold on there.I didn't say I don't want it.I was doing that fake 'you shouldn't have thing'.You know it's really rude to call me out on it."

I clap my hands together."Good.It's the jar I showed you."I hold it behind my back and present it to Eli with theatrical flair once I'm standing in front of him.

Eli accepts the gift, looking it over without opening it.

"They're origami stars.You can open one anytime that you need a pick me up.They're guaranteed to make you smile."

He gives me a quizzical look.

"Open one.You'll see."

He twists the lid and reaches a meaty hand inside the jar, pulling out a single star.It takes him a couple of tries to successfully unfold the paper without tearing it.As he reads the message, tears well up in his kind eyes.

"They're all like this?"

"Some variation of it, yeah."

"I love you, Evie Bear.Thank you.Thank you so much."He hugs me in the way that only a Big Bear can.

The message:

Today, while Vaughn and I were busy burning bacon, Vaughn said, "Eli makes the best bacon.I miss that bacon every second of every day."It's possible that you had to be there and see her face to get the real meaning behind those words, so I'll clarify it for you, BB.You're the bacon.

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