Yes, Ma'am!

Technically, Holly was still on active duty for another 63 days or so, but because she was on terminal leave, it wasn't quite the same thing. But just to make sure, she asked the new Group CO and the Wing Chief of Staff if it would be okay for her to attend Josh's change of command ceremony. As Captain Kennedy's date.

The new CO had been briefed on the relationship but never mentioned that fact to Holly. He knew she was seeing another officer in his Group, but as long as it stayed quiet he didn't care. And now that she was retiring, he wished her well and gave her his blessing.

The night before the change of command ceremony, they agreed to go public, and the first person Josh told was Vic.

"You can't be serious," Captain Watters said after hearing his friend tell him who he'd been seeing on all of those late-night dates, many of which turned into all-nighters, having begun with the magic and hypnosis show in Morehead City.

"I am. And it's getting serious."

"Jesus. You and Colonel Strader. Holy shit!"

"No. Me and Holly...Strader," Josh informed him. "She has no interest in being called 'colonel' or 'ma'am' anymore. She just wants to be Holly and quietly live the rest of her life in her post-Marine Corps world."

"Damn. If you were anyone else I'd say you're full of shit," Vic told him.

Vic smiled then said, "I have a million questions, but none of them are appropriate, so I'll just wish you guys good luck and leave it at that."

"Thanks, Vic. And from now on, she may be spending some time here. Are you okay with that?"

"Wow. Talk about...weird."

Vic shook his head then told his friend, "Yeah. Sure. That's cool."

When Josh told him they could double-date sometime, Vic held up a hand and said that's where he was drawing the line.

"Okay. But give her a chance first, because once you get to know her as Holly, you'll change your tune."

"Okay. Maybe," Vic replied with serious doubt, and that was as far as it went.

By the following morning the buzz was loud and growing louder by the minute as word spread through the battalion and the Group. It was supposed to be the outgoing battery commander's big day, but the change of command was eclipsed by the presence of one woman. A very attractive woman who, until a few weeks ago, had been the Group's acting commanding officer.

So when Josh pulled into the battalion parking lot with her in the passenger's seat of his Jeep, the Marines who saw them noticed and began spreading the word.

"You ready for this?" Josh asked her before going around to open her door.

"Yes. My career is over, but yours is still ahead of you. And I want to share all of your successes for as long as you and I are together."

Josh smiled then asked, "Will you be okay with me kissing you in public?"

"The only thing that would offend me is if you didn't kiss me," she told him as she leaned over and kissed him.

Several different Marines saw that and within minutes, dozens more knew.

Holly took Josh's arm as they walked inside were LtCol Armstrong was waiting to meet them.

"Holly. You look beautiful," he told her before they briefly hugged. His wife, Priscilla, was there, too, and they also hugged each other. They were roughly the same age, but Holly looked much younger than the CO's wife.

Josh shook hands with his boss who asked if he was ready.

"Yes, sir. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Anything beats being the Group adjutant, though, right?" he joked.

Holly loved being a passive observer. She'd never craved the limelight, and now she was able to just blend into the crowd. Or she'd be able to once the novelty of who she'd once been wore off enough for people to stop caring.

Just before the ceremony started, the Wing Chief of Staff arrived and made the rounds shaking hands with junior officers and as many Marines as he could before finding LtCol Armstrong, Holly, and her younger boyfriend.

"You're looking good, sir," Holly told him when he shook her hand and kissed her cheek.

He thanked her then asked Captain Kennedy if it was okay that he kissed his girlfriend.

Josh laughed then said, "Just don't make it a habit out of it, okay, sir?"

The 48-year old colonel chuckled, slapped him on the arm, then wished him success in the new job before going to talk with the outgoing battery commander and his wife.

The ceremony itself took less than 20 minutes, and ended with Josh taking the flag from his predecessor and handing it off to his first sergeant.

He addressed the Marines now under his command, thanked his predecessor for his leadership and hard work, then thanked the battalion CO for his trust in him and promised 'not to screw it up'. The line drew chuckles from the crowd before Josh said one final line.

"I'd also like to thank someone who's been completely supportive of me and who's also been a mentor of sorts. Her love and support mean everything to me."

He turned toward her, smiled, then said, "Thanks, honey."

Holly smiled happily as Josh turned back around being taking his position in front of his new command.

"Battery, A-TEN-SHUN!" he called as 125 pairs of boots came together at once. "Platoon commanders, take charge of your platoons and carry out the plan of the day!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" came to the reply in unison from two lieutenants and a chief warrant officer who, in turn, saluted then executed an about face before giving their platoons the command to 'fall out'.

The first thing Josh did after shaking the outgoing CO's hand was to walk over to Holly and kiss her in front of God and country.

"Congratulations, honey," she told her handsome boyfriend.

"Thank you, baby," he told her before kissing her again.

She hooked her right arm is his left, leaving him free to salute, then followed him around to shake hands and say goodbye to the people she would only rarely see again, and only when necessary.

Josh had the rest of the day off, and as they drove back to Holly's place an hour or so later, he reached for her hand.

"I can't tell you what it meant having you there today, Holly," he told her as he kissed her hand.

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," she replied with a smile.

She could tell he wanted to say more but wasn't saying it, so after a minute of so of silence, she asked him to tell her what he was thinking.

"I don't want you to think I've lost my mind," was all he said.

"Josh? You're one of the smartest people I know. I promise I won't think that."

He looked over at her, smiled at her, then said, "Even if I were to tell you I love you?"

Holly's smile was both happy and immediate as she told him, "No, because I love you, too."

"Wait. You do?" Josh asked, surprised to hear her say that.

"Duh! I've loved you since the first time you kissed me—unconsciously."

She laughed and Josh laughed, too.

"Wow. Well, while I'm an a roll here...is it too soon to ask you to consider moving in with me?" he asked, pressing his luck.

"Yes," she said without hesitation or a smile.

"Oh. Okay," he replied, feeling stung but understanding.

"There's no way I'm moving into your dinky apartment, and especially not with Vic living there."

When he looked over at her she smiled then told him, "But you could move into my place any time you like."

"As in...today?" he asked as he looked back over at her again.

"If you're anything like the typical bachelor, you could throw everything you own in the back of the Jeep and be done in one trip."

"Hey! I have a bicycle and some free weights, you know!" he told her with playful defensiveness.

"Okay, fine. Make that...two trips," she told him before putting her left hand behind his head and feeling the sharp nubs from a fresh haircut.

By three o'clock that afternoon, Josh's things were at Holly's house, and the two of them spent an hour making love before showering together then going out for an early celebratory dinner.

"My treat," Holly insisted.

"Well, even after you formally retire, you'll still be making more than me, so, okay," Josh teased.

"Oh, so you just love me for my money. I see," Holly teased back.

Josh pulled her close then said, "No. I love you for your smokin' hot body."

"Yeah?" she asked as she put her arms around his neck.

"Uh-huh. That...and your money," he said before ducking and stepping aside.

Holly not only didn't take a swing at him, she pulled him back then said, "I don't think I've ever been this happy before in my entire life."

Josh gave her a funny look then said, "Geez. Are you sure? I mean, that's a LOT of time!"

This time she did hit him but not hard, and as soon as she did, she told him again that she loved him.

Ten Months Later at Josh's Change of Command Ceremony

This time, the day was his, and there was no one senior to the new Group Commander at the event.

Josh sincerely thanked the Marines who'd done so much in the previous ten months, then thanked his new battalion commander for his support during the last four months since LtCol Armstrong's departure and promotion to colonel.

"But above all, I want to thank the most important person in my life. And if you'll all bear with me for a moment, I'd like her to stand next to me."

This was unheard of, but Holly got up and stood next to the man she loved, not sure what might happen next. He'd told his battalion CO what he planned to do, and the new commander loved the idea.

Josh reached into a little slot on the podium next to them and produced a small box and opened it. He got down on one knee in front of everyone and said, "Holly Strader? I love you with all my heart, and I can't imagine living another day without you in it. So will you..."

The normally quiet Holly had tears running down her face and before Josh could finish she said, "Just shut up and put the ring on my finger already!"

Even the Marines in formation laughed as their outgoing CO did what he'd been told. They even cheered when he took her his arms, kissed her while dipping her then raising her up and facing her toward them.

Josh took her hand then said, "Good luck, Marines!" before letting his successor take charge.

The handful of wives in attendance were all teary eyed as they came up to Holly and congratulated her, telling her that was the most romantic thing they'd ever seen.

But as romantic as that was, the most romantic thing Holly ever heard was when her much-younger fiancé said to her that night, "Honey? I want to start a family with you."

She'd cried when he proposed, but this time her tears were very different. She was now 44 and had wanted to bring this up many times before, but didn't because she knew Josh was aware of how important it was to her. She'd concluded that whenever he was ready, he would mention it, and now that he had, she was extremely grateful she'd waited.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked as tears continued to fall.

"You know I do. And I want to start as soon as possible."

Barely able to speak Holly told him she'd go off the pill the next day. Roughly half of the women who did got pregnant within three months, and Holly was hoping and praying she'd be one of them.

Her prayers were answered just two months later when she came back from the base hospital with some very good news.

She'd made a very romantic candlelit dinner with Josh's favorite foods, and he knew something was up.

"So I saw the doctor today," she began when he asked what was going on.

"Yeah?" a very interested Josh asked. "And?"

When his beautiful wife's eyes welled up with tears he knew.

"So...are you..."

"Yes! We're going to have a baby," she told him.

Josh was every bit as thrilled as she was and kissed her and told her again how much he loved her.

After having endured so much sh... BS...things were still turning around for Josh Kennedy. The following week, he received orders to report to Quantico, Virginia, for duty as a student at Amphibious Warfare School in five weeks.

Knowing they would be leaving the people they both knew, he and Holly wanted to get married before they moved away. So just one month later, they were wed in the base chapel with Josh wearing his dress-blue uniform, and Holly in a gorgeous, white wedding dress.

She was just barely starting to show, but no one could really tell. It was a simple-but-elegant ceremony for which their family members flew in, and on their way out of the chapel, the officers from 2nd LAAD battalion formed a sword arch for them to walk through as they began their lives together as husband and wife.

On the day their beautiful, healthy son was born, an overwhelmed Mrs. Holly Kennedy asked Josh from her bed in the hospital where she'd given birth if he was as happy as she was.

He took the tiny little boy wrapped in blue from her arms, held him himself for the first time then smiled at his still-beautiful wife and said, "Yes, ma'am!"