Piper smiled. Then her stomach protested and she raced for the bathroom. She was sick.

She cried after she threw up, not able to get Edward's words out of her head. She wished she could stop feeling so bad.

Edward was waiting for her when she came out. "Are you okay?"

"I am. Must have been something bad I ate." He turned to leave. "Edward?"

"Yes?" He turned back.

"Would you teach me how to swim?"

He grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her against him. "Of course I'll teach you."

"You're so totally going to dunk me, aren't you?"

He got her in a headlock and laughed. "So totally."

True to his word, Edward taught her, and every day she got better and better until she was streaking across the pool.

"Damn, you're a fast learner. You've excelled at swimming in just three weeks."

They got out of the pool and headed for the house. The doorbell rang as Piper was going to go upstairs. She walked to the door and opened it. "Tyler!" she screamed, and threw her arms around him.

An hour later, he was settled on the couch, his leg still in a cast and his arm now in a sling. She set a tray on his lap. "Do you need help eating?"

"Naw, I learned to eat with my left." He eyed her. "How are you doing? You look like hell."

"Dex and I were...intimate. We had a fling," she blurted out, and Tyler stared at her, then blushed.

"Did you freaking break his heart?"

She dropped her head into her hands. "Yes, I think I did."

"Well, that's great. He'll be court-martialed and heartbroken." He dug into his meal.

"What did you say? They are not going to court-martial him!"

"Yeah, our CO was livid. Dex's got a meeting with him tomorrow. They'll strip him of his rank, bust him down to seaman and then throw his ass into jail with a dishonorable discharge."

"Over my dead body," she sputtered. She ran for the stairs and pressed her assistant's number. "Get me the next flight out of DC to San Diego." Then she was too busy packing and heading for the airport to think straight and question what it was she was doing. She must be out of her mind.

Was this what it was to feel completely alive? Had she just been marking time or had she been ignorant? She'd pushed away the guilt, Brad was gone and he was never coming back. Had she died a little each day to keep his memory alive? Paying homage to a man who could never be here and present for her ever again? No matter how much grief or agony she'd gone through, she hadn't died that day.

She hadn't died. Oh, God. She'd been living like she had. Until Dex. Until he'd come blazing into her life and showed her what heat was, what need was, what it was like to be a part of something...explosive and substantive.

Her hand went to the locket and with a deliberate move she unclasped it and set it on her dresser, then she pulled off her wedding band. The locket had given her what she needed to get her husband justice and the ring was part of Brad. She was ready to put that vow to rest and pledge herself to another man. What was now hidden in her heart was revealed.

There was no going back.

And she knew in her heart that even when Dex was deployed, he would be with her every day.

Naval Base Coronado,

Coronado, California

Dex slammed the door to his car as he made his way to his meeting with his commanding officer.

He had just spent the last four weeks recuperating and getting back into shape. Doing a lot of swimming, running and lifting. He felt he was ready for active duty.

His heart was still raw over Piper and he thought about her, dreamed about her.

Before he left DC, he went to Arlington Cemetery and visited each grave of the fine men he'd lost.

Then he'd left DC with Rock, who had supported him every step of the way. He went first to Philly to pay his condolences to Peter "Slim Jim" Camden's widow and their newborn son. Then to Cleveland, Ohio, to Jerry "DJ" Sanders's family and his beautiful, heartbroken widow. Then lastly to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he visited Mike "Spaceman" Carver's widow and his two adult sons and three grandchildren. He broke down. He'd never forget how Mike's widow was the one to comfort him.

He reached into his front breast pocket to take out his ID and stopped dead in his tracks when he felt something soft against his fingers. He frowned and clipped the ID to his uniform. Then he reached in and pulled out a pair of pink baby booties.

His heart stalled and his throat closed up. Piper must have put them in his pocket when she'd visited him in the hospital. He closed his eyes, overcome with his love for Piper. He wished things could have been different.

Tucking the booties back in his pocket, he gouged at his eyes. He would carry them with him always to remind him what he was fighting for.

He reported to the commander's assistant, who told him to go in.

Entering the office, he walked to the desk and stood at attention.

"At ease," Commander Hodges said.

Dex went into parade rest and waited.

"What you did in Afghanistan was above and beyond the call of duty. SECNAV called me personally and sang your praises. Not only did you protect a US senator from harm, but you solved several crimes along with vindicating those six men who died. Thank you for your exemplary service."

"Sir, are you giving me...?"

"Another medal? I'm afraid so."

"Is it necessary?"

"Also, I'm afraid so."

Suddenly there were loud voices outside the door. A woman's voice was raised in argument. Then the door flew open and Piper marched through with the commander's assistant protesting all the way.

"You can't court-martial him! I won't stand for it. I'll get the best lawyer on the planet to defend him." Her eyes were blazing and she was so angry her fists clenched at her sides. She looked delectable, mussed and elegant at the same time, her mascara smudged. She was dressed in a cute navy dress with epaulets. He figured she was subtly showing her support and solidarity with the navy.

"But..." Commander Hodges said.

She talked right over him. "If it wasn't for him, I would be dead. He saved my life so many times. Figured out this whole conspiracy and put some very bad people behind bars. That has to count for something." She leaned on the desk and got right in Commander Hodges's face.

He reared back and his mouth twitched. He looked at Dex, then back at Piper. "It does. We're not court-martialing him. We're giving him another medal."

It was her turn to sputter.

She reached out her hand. "Senator Piper Jones, with my big foot in my big mouth." Dex couldn't hold back the snicker and she gave him a wry look.

Commander Hodges chuckled. "I'll give you some privacy." He stepped out of his office and closed the door.

"What are you doing here, Bulldozer?"

She smiled and stepped closer to him. "Making a fool of myself because Ty told me they were court-martialing you. I had to come."

"Why?"

Her eyes welled. "Because I love you, Lieutenant Dexter Kaczewski. You came into my life to save it. And you did. You made me see that I'm so alive and I have so much to give. I am the woman you need, the woman who will stand by you no matter what. Be a SEAL. Be whatever you want and I will be with you, because I can't be without you."

"What do you want to do with your life besides be with me?"

Her eyes glowed. "It's important to you?" She reached up and held his face, and the look in her eyes almost undid him.

"Hell, yes. I want you to find what you want to do that will fulfill you."

"I don't know what that is right now, but thank you for saying that. It means everything."

"I want to be with you, but Piper, you understand I'm gone two hundred and twenty days out of the year. I've got a dangerous job and I don't want you to just say you can be with me, but be with me, stand by me. I'm putting my heart on the line for you. I love you beyond measure."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in. "I'm not scared anymore."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I know. You are so damned brave, babe, so brave." She let go of him and he cupped her face, kissing her mouth so softly. "This...this is my unbreakable woman."

She smiled into his eyes. "We're unbreakable together."

Epilogue.

Safid Darreh,

Pawan Province, Afghanistan

The dust kicked up by the six goats traveling the road into the entrance to Safid Darreh blew into the face of the man dressed in traditional desert garb who herded them. He kept them moving as they bleated, catching the attention of several of the villagers. Several small children ran along with them as the man traveled to the end of the street and stopped at the red door of the last house.

He knocked and Afsana Jamal answered the door, her face frowning at the unfamiliar visitor.

"These goats are for you." His voice was deep and he spoke the language like a native, but there was something about this man.

She petted one as it curiously snuffled her skirt. "Oh, my, they are beautiful. But why are you giving me goats?"

The man pulled the keffiyeh away from his face and Afsana smiled broadly.

"Dexter."

He returned her smile. "Well, Piper wanted you to have these as a way of saying thank you. They're excellent milk producers. Also, I was instructed to get your recipes for these dishes." He dipped under the tunic into his camo pocket, his hand brushing against the soft yarn of the pink booties for the piece of paper. He handed her a list. He wouldn't dare go back to California after this mission without them. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Piper.

He'd been deployed only two weeks after she'd moved to California. This current two-week mission was complete, but he'd taken a short leave to make this delivery to Raffi and Afsana. He would be heading back to Coronado tomorrow. He couldn't wait to see Piper.

"You came all this way to give us goats?"

"Yeah." He winked as she invited him inside. "Seems FedEx doesn't deliver."

She laughed as the door closed behind him.

Ocean Beach, California Piper was all finished making this beach house she was going to share with Dex as much a part of him as it was of her. She'd moved all his stuff in and replaced all the furniture. She'd loved his Moroccan headboard and a lot of his possessions that he'd picked up during his travels.

She didn't know where he was or when he was coming home, but he was right here with her. She could feel him and she knew he could feel her, the bond traveling across distance and time. She bolstered him every day with her thoughts, knowing that the soft pink talisman he carried protected him.

Her term had expired a month ago and she should have been feeling elated, but she was having a hard time keeping things down and she'd wake up in the morning all queasy. She hoped she wasn't getting the flu. She'd been feeling run-down for days, and achy.

She was due to start her new job as a fund-raiser for the International Humanity Foundation, an organization that worked to educate and feed children in Africa and Asia. Dex had suggested she try something like this with her background in raising money for Brad's campaign, and it had all just clicked together with very little effort. She was so excited to use her skills to help people.

She picked up the head scarf that she'd had framed and hung it over the bed, Dex's bars still pinned to the cloth. As soon as she stepped away, her stomach twisted and she ran for the bathroom.

She used the toilet, giving a sigh of resignation when she saw the dime-size stain in her panties. No wonder she was feeling so moody. She didn't have anything here and decided she'd have to run to the store. While she was walking to the register, she passed the pregnancy tests and felt wistful for a second, then she went stock-still, a fizzling sensation coursing through her. She counted back in her head, then closed her eyes, the fizzling sensation turning into a cold rush. Tired. Tears.

She couldn't be.

It was impossible. The scarring.

The complications.