Base Pharmacy

Dan came back the following evening and every night for the rest of his ten days of no duty, one of the biggest unforeseen blessings of his life. After that, he and Charlotte spent as much time together as they possibly could with Wyatt joining them most of the time.

After just three weeks, Dan met Charlotte's parents for the first time who'd both been warned about their daughter's boyfriend being 'a little younger than her'. It took her a few hems and a few more haws to fess up to just how much younger he was, but she finally told them then waited for their reaction.

Neither of them had had much to say at the time, so she still wasn't sure how they'd react when they met Dan for the first time. But before he left that Saturday evening, he'd won her mom over with his charm and her father with his maturity and the way Dan treated his little girl.

When Dan's cast came off a couple more weeks after that, he was returned to duty but put on 'light duty' for two more weeks. He wore a brace on the ankle for those two weeks, and for several months after that it seemed to be just fine. But during a double running of the obstacle course, a physical challenge that beat up all but the fittest of Marines, Dan came off the wall on the second time through and knew something was very wrong as he collapsed like he'd been shot when his feet hit the ground.

Once again, two Marines helped him get into the vehicle with the corpsman in it as he was driven back to the base hospital. This time, pins were put in the ankle, and a Navy doctor who was a captain, the equivalent of a Marine colonel, told the lieutenant he would likely face a medical board.

"I know it's not what you want to hear, Lieutenant, but that ankle may never fully heal. Were you my age and/or rank, we could put you on a permanent light-duty status until you retired. But at your age, you won't be considered fit to serve the 17 or so additional years you'll need to retire."

"So does this mean I'm done, sir?" Dan asked, dumbfounded by the revelation.

"Not necessarily. It's hypothetically possible the board will find you fit to continue serving. But that seems unlikely to me having seen dozens of similar cases over the last 21 years. Even if they do certify you, you could very well break it again unless you were to become...maybe an admin officer?"

"A fate worse than death," Dan mumbled at the thought.

"I'll let your command know that I'll be getting the ball rolling on the medical board. In the meantime, stay off the ankle."

Dan hadn't yet called Charlotte, but as he once again found himself at the base pharmacy waiting for medication, he dialed her number, knowing she was at work.

"Hi, honey! What's going on?" he heard her ask cheerfully.

"I uh, I'm at the base pharmacy again."

The fear in Charlotte's voice was evident as she asked, "Is everything okay?"

Dan told her what happened, and even after insisting he was fine, he heard Charlotte telling her dad she had an emergency and would be leaving.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes, Dan," she said.

"You really don't have to do that," he said again.

"Dan? I love you, and I can't not do this, okay?"

Dan Knight had never cried since he was four or five, but the frustration of possibly losing the career he loved was so great it was all he could do to hold it together. But hearing the woman he loved say those words gave him hope.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you do," he told her as he blinked hard a couple of times then hung up before sighing deeply and looking down at the new cast that was a metaphor for what was down the road.

Dan was still seven numbers away from being called the second time when a very pretty, frantic, blonde woman appeared in the lobby and began searching for one particular Marine among many others. Because his unit had been PTing, he wasn't in uniform, but Charlotte spotted him in a second.

"Dan!"

He raised his arm a little then smiled as she rushed his way. When she got to him she bent over and hugged him then kissed him before sitting down beside him.

"Is it...is it really that bad?" she asked, her eyes filled with tears knowing how difficult this was for him.

"I think it is."

He explained what the orthopedic specialist told him, and when he finished, Charlotte laid her head on his shoulder and told him how sorry she was.

"So in 90 days, I could be a civilian," Dan said quietly and matter of factly.

"We'll get through this. Together," Charlotte said as she sat up and looked him in the eye. "I'll be here for you no matter what, okay?"

She wasn't crying only for Dan's sake, but when she saw his eyes get glassy, she couldn't hold it back any longer. Now it was Dan comforting her as she again laid her head on his shoulder and cried as quietly as she could.

"I'm sorry I'm so weak," she told him as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

"Hey. It's okay. You're all girl, right?"

The meaning of the phrase wasn't lost on her, and she even laughed which made the mess even worse.

"I am that," she agreed as she tended to the disaster that was her face.

She apologized for that, too, and Dan said, "Hey. Listen to me. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever known."

She looked at him and showed him her mascara-streaked eyes, her snotty lip, and asked if he still meant that. Ignoring it all, he leaned over and kissed and told her that he did.

Charlotte teared up again out of love and gratitude, and somehow kept it together from then on. And just like before, she brought the car around front where Dan was waiting for her.

When he got in, he said, "This is like deja vu all over again."

"Okay, Yogi Berra," Charlotte said with a little laugh, trying to be cheerful. She took his hand, squeezed it, then let go and put the car in gear.

****

Three months later

"Lieutenant Knight. It is the decision of this board that you be recommenced for discharge under honorable conditions for medical reasons as cited below."

The Navy captain didn't read them. Dan already knew them by heart. He'd failed every test the Navy ran him through starting with an MRI to see whether or not the ankle was strong enough to remain on active duty, and he'd failed every one of them, and of them he failed spectacularly.

He'd be able to live a normal life free of pain when walking and even ride a bike, swim, and possibly even hike if he didn't try and carry too much weight. But any kind of sudden impact bearing the weight of his body could easily cause another more serious break.

"Do you have any questions for the board?" the senior doctor asked.

"No, sir."

"Then we are hereby adjourned."

And with that, Dan knew for certain that his career was over. It would take some time for the discharge to be approved, and in the meantime, he'd continue working in the S-3, or operations office, where he assigned quotas to various units within ANGLICO to go to the rifle and pistol ranges, annual swim qual, the PFT or physical fitness test, and other such training events.

Four years at the Naval Academy and three years on active duty were coming to an end, and Dan would now need to find work in the civilian community. That was a given, and so was the fact that he was even more in love with the beautiful, older woman he'd met at the base pharmacy. Because of that, he'd been putting aside as much money as he could for a special occasion.

That occasion came that weekend when Dan took Charlotte and Wyatt out to dinner at the nicest place they ever been. Charlotte wouldn't have had any idea this was any different than any other night if Wyatt hadn't smiled at her and then at Dan one too many times.

"What's going on here?" she finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Dan replied as though nothing was.

"You can keep a secret. Someone else can't."

She looked at her son who couldn't stop smiling.

"Is anyone going to tell me?" Charlotte asked as she looked at Wyatt then Dan.

"Maybe," Dan replied with a smile of his own.

"After dessert, right Dan?" Wyatt said as he looked at Dan, that smile still on his face.

"Okay. Fine. Keep me in the dark already," Charlotte said as her heart began to race as she realized what was happening.

Too anxious to eat dessert herself, Charlotte quietly waited for the men she loved to finish.

"Well. I believe it's time," Dan said rather ceremoniously after the server removed their plates.

"Now?" Wyatt asked, as his mom nervously looked at them again.

"Yes. Now," Dan said as he got up and inched his way toward Charlotte.

Wyatt did, too, and once Dan chose his spot, Wyatt stood next to him.

"What...what's going on?" Charlotte asked, barely able to speak.

Dan held out his hand, and when he did, Wyatt slapped a fuzzy, blue box in it the way a nurse would hand a scalpel to a surgeon.

Charlotte's hands were already covering her mouth, and everyone in the restaurant was now watching as Dan got down on one knee, the leg with the cast out in front.

"Charlotte, I had no idea that the day I broke my ankle—the first time—would be the beginning of the end of my career. But more importantly, I had no idea it would be the beginning of the best thing that ever happened to me."

Dan pulled Wyatt closer then opened the box.

"Charlotte Clark. I love you—and this guy right here—more than anything on earth. So will you..."

"YES!!" she said so loudly that everyone laughed as they began to applaud.

Wyatt helped Dan slide the beautiful diamond ring on his mom's left hand then let her hug and kiss her new fiancé before getting a hug and a kiss of his own. Dan then turned to Wyatt and said, "I love you, too, buddy."

"I love you, too, Dan!" the now 10-year old boy said as his dad-to-be hugged him while his mom joined in making the circle of love complete.

The following weekend, Charlotte's parents invited them over for a celebratory dinner. Her father, Duane Clark, had gotten close with this young man his daughter loved, and he'd become a sort of son the man had never had.

After they finished eating, Duane asked his daughter if he could have a few minutes alone with her new fiancé, so she and her mom went to the living room so the guys could talk.

"You know what you're gonna do yet when you get out of the Corps?" Duane asked.

"No. Not yet. I'm thinking about engineering and hoping that not working in the field for three years won't hurt me too much."

"That's a noble pursuit," the man said.

He paused then said, "How would you feel about staying here?"

"If I could find a decent job, I'd consider that."

"How about helping Charlie run the company?" he said, using his favorite nickname for his daughter.

"Running it?" Dan asked.

"I just turned 71, and I'm ready for a little R&R. I've always wanted Charlotte to take over someday, but I never thought she'd come home. She did, but then she met you, and I just assumed you'd get orders and she'd be gone again."

Dan smiled and said, "Yeah. That's not gonna happen."

"I'm really sorry about your leg and all, but well, you're like family to me, Dan. Hell, you are family. I was planning on asking Charlotte to take over in a few months, but I wanted to see how you felt first."

"Wow. I don't know the first thing about running a business. Especially not this one."

The older man laughed then said, "That's why I'm hanging on for a few more months. I'll be there to teach you both. Charlotte's got quite a few things down pat already, and as smart as you are, you'll pick things up in no time. So?"

"Let me talk to Charlotte, and I'll let you know."

"Charlie? Come here, honey!" her dad hollered.

Dan tried not to laugh at the amount of time he had to mull things over and 'talk to Charlotte' before her dad told her what he'd just proposed.

"Business is booming, and even with me taking a healthy draw for my retirement, you two will be sittin' pretty," Duane assured them.

"What do you think, honey?" Charlotte asked.

"It's the best job offer I've ever had," he told her before saying, "it's also the only job offer I've ever had, but yes. I'd love to."

"Dad? You've got yourself a deal!" his daughter said.

"Then let's celebrate!" her father said. "Beer's on me!"

Charlotte laughed knowing beer was her father's version of champagne, and after the four of them toasted to their new job and new life together, they took a first sip then settled in to talk trucking. Or...truckin' as Duane called it.

By the time Duane was ready to retire, he felt extremely confident that the new owners could handle things. Besides, he assured them, he'd only ever be a phone call away if something unusual came up.

Knowing roughly when this would take place, Dan and Charlotte had planned their wedding for the same period of time, and as it worked out, they would have just enough time for a short honeymoon before taking over.

Dan's parents and several of his buddies from the Academy flew into town, and two others were stationed at Lejeune who were all too happy to join the celebration.

Although no longer on active duty, Dan Knight wore his dress-blue uniform the day he married his beautiful bride, who looked more amazing than he'd ever seen. Wyatt was wearing a little tux and looked so handsome it nearly made his mother cry when she saw him.

"Thanks, Mom, but you're the only who looks amazing," he told his mother in white. "No wonder Dan loves you so much!"

"I'm a very lucky girl," his mom said. "I have the two most handsome, most wonderful men on earth to love me."

"And we always will!" Wyatt told her as he gave his mom a hug.

Charlotte's parents kept Wyatt for a four-day weekend so the newly-married couple could have that brief honeymoon, and as they arrived at the little cottage her parents owned, they both told said yet again how much they loved each other.

"And to think this all started because because I couldn't figure out how to use the card reader at the base pharmacy," the blushing bride in white said as her handsome husband held her in his arms.

"Amen to that," Dan told her as he looked at her and told her how beautiful she was.

"Beautiful enough to make love with?" she asked as though that was a serious question.

"Beautiful enough even to maybe add to our ready-made family," her husband replied.

"Are you...are you serious?" she asked, her eyes open wide in surprise.

"I love Wyatt like my own son, and if we don't ever have another child, I'll be more than content for the rest of my life."

"But?"

"But were to have a baby, I don't think I'd mind at all," her husband replied with a twinkle in his eye.

"Dan Knight? Do you know how happy I am right now?"

Dan smiled at her then said, "Yeah. I kinda do."

"Then help me get this dress off so we can get to work."

"Yes, ma'am!" he told her as he found the zipper in back and gave it a tug.

It was two years later, but Dan and Charlotte Knight did have a baby, a little girl they named Mia Marie Knight.

Her big brother grew out of his asthma by the time high school started, and four years later, Wyatt Clark Knight graduated having lettered in two sports with a 3.98 GPA, good enough to secure admission to the United States Naval Academy where the man he called 'Dad' had once gone not that many years before.

The first time Ensign Wyatt Knight sat at a base pharmacy, he told an interesting story to the woman sitting next to him.

By the time he finished, the woman was drying her eyes and said, "That was the most romantic thing I've ever heard."