Despite It All by Reese Knightley

 

Roughly one year and nine months later…

Greene

“Greene!”

“Sir?” He stepped back so he could poke his head into his boss’s office.

“You heading out for the night?” Wolf asked.

“Yeah.” He smiled and stepped further into the doorway and leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb to the office of Captain Wolfgang Brandt.

Wolf was the interim head of the new Pegasus office. He reported directly to Giovanni Rossi, who reported to the Secretary of Defense. Wolf normally worked out of the main office just outside of Alameda, California, but had temporarily relocated to run this new facility. He and his husband Caleb had rented a place down here going on a year ago when the doors first opened. Finding a lead was proving difficult.

They’d come up with the name Pegasus when Declan Weller aka Eagle and Lincoln Beckett aka Link showed up about six months ago.

“Call ourselves Fury?” a new recruit had suggested during one of Pegasus’ first meetings.

“Nah, that’s old news. I say new team needs a brand spanking new name. Pegasus,” Eagle suggested from the back of the room at his and Link’s first meeting.

It had been unanimous when every hand had raised to vote yes. They had been known as Pegasus from that day onward.

Eagle and Link had retired as captains from the Army and had come looking for work. Wolf had hired them on the spot. Wolf and Link went way back, about as far back as when he and Eagle had met in bootcamp.

Having submitted his own discharge papers shortly after Forest’s brush with death, he, for one, had been glad to see familiar faces.

“Forest has a barbecue on the beach planned for tonight.” He pulled a hand over his short beard.

“Oh yeah?” The man’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah, you know Forest would love to see you both.”

“I’ll call Caleb.” Wolf grinned. “Now, get going before the Friday traffic makes you late.”

“Thanks, boss, see ya later.”

Walking through the hall toward the exit, he heard Mason talking with the new members of Pegasus. The newest ones were young, noisy, and rowdy, but eager and too fucking smart for their own good sometimes. And so fucking green, they gave him nightmares.

But he wouldn’t change his role as second-in-command of Pegasus for anything on earth. Being here had been the second reason that gave him a new lease on life.

Forest, his family, were the first reasons. They were the reasons he’d become the man he was today.

Ten minutes later, he parked in a semi-empty parking lot and entered the quiet, rust-colored building. This building was quiet, with only the low murmur of voices.

At the back of the fairly crowded room, he poured a cup of coffee and added those little packets of creamer to it. It wasn’t the best, not like his expresso machine at home, but it would do.

The man in the front spoke and people clapped. “Ah, there’s our guest speaker now.” Pat waved at him.

He walked to the front of the room and placed his coffee on the podium and thanked his sponsor. Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he closed his hand on a hard, round chip. He pulled it out, gazed at the two-year symbol on the front, and then kissed the cool metal before staring at the faces in the room.

Expectant faces, bored faces, some blurry eyed, some scared, but all holding a hope that he knew could be shattered by one slip. And he knew as surely as he was standing there that Jimmy, Scott, and Dean were smiling down at him from above.

“My name is Joshua, and I’m a recovering alcoholic.”

“Hi, Joshua,” the people responded.

He shared his story in the hopes that someone who was struggling could relate, but it was more than that. He shared because being there with people like him and sharing his journey and working the steps kept him sober and gave him the life he now had with Forest.

One hour later—because yeah, traffic sucked on the 101 going South on a Friday night and it didn’t matter where you lived—he pulled up and parked in front of his large, two story home.

The sun was just setting and the ocean rippled in the distance. They had bought this house about a year ago, just down the street from Forest’s old condo, only this one was much bigger.

It was theirs.

They’d bought it for each other as a present. A wedding present. With his thumb, he rolled the gold on his left ring finger and smiled.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside to the smell of baked cookies, vanilla candles, and something that smelled suspiciously like lasagna.

“Daddy!”

“Trevor!” he crooned and crouched, catching his three-year-old son in his arms. He held him tightly, nuzzling into the soft brown curls. Trevor reached for his novelty keychain and clutched it tightly in his small fist.

It was amazing and terrifying to be a father. And it was downright criminal at the number of children who didn’t have good homes. It was also beneficial to have the Secretary of Defense as almost family when wanting to adopt.

“Dad’s home!” His eight-year-old son Bradley yelled at the top of his lungs from the kitchen. Bradley came barreling out of the kitchen and he had just enough time to set Trevor to the side before the boy was launching at him. He caught Bradley and clutched him under one arm and rubbed his knuckles on the top of his head before pushing his beard into the boy’s sweaty neck to deliver kisses. Bradley laughed at the top of his lungs. It was a sound he’d thought they would never hear; the boy had come to them not saying a word for six months. He sat Bradley on his feet and the boy raced out the open patio doors.

He scooped up Trevor into one arm and turned to the tiny girl wearing red patent leather shoes and a white dress, patiently waiting near the stairs.

“Hi, baby girl.”

“Hi, Daddy,” Marybeth whispered, her brown pigtails bobbing. He bent down to scoop his four-year-old daughter up in his free arm, nuzzling his beard into her neck, causing her to giggle.

“Me, me,” Trevor pouted.

“Nom, nom, nom,” he teasingly chewed into Trevor’s neck. The little boy shrieked with laughter. They smelled of sugar, sweat, and bubble bath soap, and both of them clung to him as he made his way through the wide, colorful living room and to the open patio doors.

“There you are!” Forest’s mom said, coming from the long food table near the door. It was strewn with dishes and snacks.

He bent down so she could kiss his cheek, because he knew she’d get her kisses in regardless of how far he ran. Not that he ever ran.

She took Trevor from him and hitched him on her hip. “Want to come help Grandma get the cookies from the oven, sweeties?” Trevor and Marybeth both nodded.

With a last kiss to his daughter’s cheek, he placed her feet on the floor. Both children disappeared with her in the kitchen. They were still waiting on the final papers for both Trevor and Marybeth, but he was assured by Dave that the papers would be arriving very shortly.

He gazed outside, his eyes roaming the beach beyond the colorfully decorated patio for that bright head of hair. His heart picked up tempo, knocking against his chest like it did every time he came home to Forest.

His heart had been pounding for years for this man. Yeah, even way back when they’d first met, but he’d been too blind to realize it back then, thank the powers he’d woken up.

Unlacing and pulling off his boots, he rolled up his jeans and stepped off the cement patio and into the warm sand.

Ahead of Forest, Bradley played in the wet sand, building what looked to be a sand castle of humongous proportion.

“Hey, Sunshine,” he murmured.

Forest turned and it took him a moment to realize he held a baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

“Is that?”

“Come meet Autumn.” Forest smiled, his eyes so full of love that his throat tightened.

His husband was a natural born father and loved being a stay-at-home dad. Instead of staying with the FBI or taking a job with Rossi’s new team, Pegasus, Forest had chosen to stay home and raise a family.

With him. Their family.

When he drew closer, his husband pulled back the very edge of the blanket and he got his first look at the downy, blonde head. His heart squeezed in his chest and he reached down and kissed her, feeling the fuzz of soft hair beneath his lips. Their fourth child, an abandoned infant. He hadn’t even been sure they’d be able to foster her. But here she was, and if they could, they’d adopt her just like the others.

“Welcome to the family, little one,” he whispered.

Forest tipped his face up, and he leaned in and kissed him.

Those ocean blue eyes held all the love imaginable. His husband was a thing of beauty in heart and body. A man he fell asleep next to every night and woke up with every morning. A man who had replaced his nightmares with dreams of their happy ever after.

He leaned in for more kisses.

Forest

He laughed against the furry mouth of his husband and the baby squeaked.

“Here.” He carefully placed the little one in Greene’s arms. After that first initial jolt of shock, his husband rose to the occasion. When Greene bent his head to nuzzle Autumn, he turned toward Bradley.

“Hey, buddy, let’s go eat. Food’s ready.”

“Yay! Food!” Bradley jumped up and raced across the sand toward him. “Catch me, Papa!”

He felt tears burn the edges of his eyes at the happiness reflected in his son’s bright gaze. He opened his arms and caught the little boy, swinging him wide and then up into his arms before trailing through the sand after Greene.

Being a stay-at-home father had silenced his indecisiveness. It wasn’t a matter of switching agencies. When the opportunity presented itself to adopt, leaving the FBI for anything else but being a parent hadn’t even been an option.

At least, not to him.

Greene, of course, had made sure he was okay with it. In truth, he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Who knows, maybe after the kids are grown, he’d take up a few jobs here and there or maybe he’d talk Greene into retiring. They could watch their grandchildren from rocking chairs on their back porch. He’d need to buy those chairs first, but the Home Depot was only a few miles away.

“The party has arrived!” Summer called from the back door, and Bradley wiggled to get down.

“Summer!” And off his son went, launching himself at his best friend. She laughed and bent to give Bradley kisses. Summer was fully recovered from her kidnapping ordeal and was slowly but surely recovering from losing Rick. They both were. It had taken time, but time was a great healer. Summer had ended up quitting the FBI not long after the death of Parish. She now did odd jobs for Rossi’s new office and seemed content for the moment.

“I’ve officially arrived, now the party can start.” A voice drew his gaze to the doorway to find Eagle holding up a six pack of Dr. Pepper. Ah, right on cue, the soldier had taken his job of providing drinks very seriously. It was so nice to see how the men rallied around his husband, providing a tight net of security.

“You better have brought more than that.” Greene eyed the six bottles of soda.

“Link’s bringing in the cases from the car,” Eagle cackled.

“Oh, what have we here?” Summer gushed and was all over the baby in Greene’s arms. Before long, she had captured the little darling to cuddle.

If someone would have asked him what his life would be like two and a half years after the accident that killed his best friend, he would have never guessed it would be this magical.

Yes, magical. Looking over his family, it was the only word that came to mind. It was the only one that made sense, and he still had to pinch himself every once in a while.

Greene had proposed on a bright sunny day, like something out of a fairytale. Here at the beach over a year ago, and he’d said yes. Married a few months after that, they’d invited all of their friends to celebrate. The marriage proposal hadn’t surprised him, though, he knew they were headed here. They were meant to be together. It was fate.

Of course, it had been Greene quitting the Army that had thrown him for a loop. Not that his heart hadn’t slammed into his throat with joy, but he’d sat Greene down right then and there to make sure he was quitting because he wanted to and not because of him.

“I want to start the rest of my life with you,” Greene had said and pulled him close.

He’d slipped into his husband’s arms and held him tightly. “I just want you happy.”

“Oh, Sunshine, you make me so happy.”

The front door opened just beyond the patio doors and jogged him from his memories and back to the noise.

Wolf, Caleb, Mason, and Beckett arrived at the same time and jockeyed through the front door carrying food. Beckett was mulling over selling his ranch in Texas and moving to California. He’d sold his condo just down the street to Beckett, and they’d be neighbors when the sale went through.

Beckett had retired again and was tossing around the idea of working for Pegasus, reporting to Greene. Beckett arrived today alone—which was typical. He’d thought Beckett and Holden would get together, but as far as he knew, they hadn’t, and as talkative as Beckett was, he never spoke about what was going on between them.

Holden was still with Infinity on the base at an undisclosed location here in California. Although only an hour or so away, they never saw him much.

He spoke too soon about Holden not showing his face, when the front door opened and the man’s wide shoulders appeared in the doorway. Holden glanced around, looking ready to bolt, but his mom rushed to catch his arm. She’d been around them long enough to have heard the rumors about Holden and Beckett. In fact, she probably knew more than he even did. His mom had a way of working information out of a person, even if they didn’t want to share.

He wasn’t sure what Holden would do since Colonel Liam Cobalt was soon set to retire. Liam wanted to travel the world with his husband and leave the fighting to someone else. Since he’d hung up his own hat, he didn’t blame the guy.

Dave, of course, had been beside himself, but completely supported his good friend. Liam had some cleaning up to finish and then he’d be out the door. Right now, the colonel was flying out tonight for a belated honeymoon. He’d tied the knot with Spencer six months ago. The pair were traveling to Paris. Or maybe it was Rome, he couldn’t remember.

Holden flashed his mom a smile and tipped his head down to hear her whispered words.

Beckett stood frozen in the doorway before rubbing his palms down the front of his tight jeans. Holden glanced up and locked eyes with Beckett. Good lord, those two were mind boggling. He could clearly see the love between them. Beckett seemed to float across the room toward Holden as if pulled like some invisible magnet. Well, wasn’t that interesting.

Greene took a seat next to him and fished out a box of mint flavored toothpicks before tucking one between his teeth. He smiled; his husband had finally quit smoking over a year ago.

The revolving door of his home opened again and to his surprise, Liam and Spencer appeared. Guess that flight to Rome wasn’t taking off just yet.

“Whatcha thinkin’?” Greene murmured near his ear.

“About Rome.”

He turned and smiled into Greene’s eyes. The man blinked and frowned in that cute puzzled way of his. Removing the toothpick, Greene opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.

“No, I don’t want to go to Rome.” He cut off any offer Greene was going to make. His husband often tried to give him the world when he didn’t need to.

He had the world right here, gathered in their home.

“Why not?”

He glanced at his watch.

“Because I have kids to feed.”

Greene’s low chuckle filled the patio, his heart, and his life.

The End