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Hannah's Hero Ch. 01

By: carbinemaster



Note: This story is a long one, even after I broke it into chapters. If you want a quickie, sorry, look elsewhere. Also, be advised that there are incestuous overtones (but no actual incest), as well as anal sex and FF sex at one point. If that bugs you, then go elsewhere. Hope you enjoy, and as always constructive feedback is welcome. 

*

My name is Hannah, and I want to tell you about the hero I married. I first met Chris when I was in college. I was 20, studying nursing, and hopelessly self-absorbed. I had soft honey-blonde hair that I kept at collar length, and a great figure. Chris was the older brother of my friend Jennifer, and she clearly adored him. I have to say that as I myself was an only child, I was a little jealous of their relationship. Chris and Jennifer's father was out of the picture, having left their mother years ago for his secretary. Their mother had been the victim of a drunk driver during my freshman year -- just a few short months after Jennifer and I met as a matter of fact. Under those circumstances it would've been weird if they hadn't been close. 

Chris was a 22-year-old hunk at 5'11" tall. His hair was short, and was either dark blonde or light brown depending on the light. One thing that immediately caught my attention was that our eyes were almost the exact same shade of green. He was really cut, but not a body builder. Chris was really quiet and that suited me. Like I said, I was pretty stuck on myself, and I liked being able to talk about me without being interrupted. 

Jennifer was striking as well. She had been a cross-country runner since middle school and had the sculpted legs and ass to prove it. She liked to wear her black hair long. Unlike Chris, Jennifer was very outgoing. Unlike me, she was anything but self-absorbed. Most of my other friends wondered why I was studying nursing since I didn't seem to have a desire to help people. They never had to wonder about Jennifer. She was a naturally giving, loving person who threw herself into her studies with the same passion and drive she applied to her personal life. 

Through our college years, Jennifer and I grew closer, and I'm happy to say that the friendship with her worked to cure a lot of my character flaws. I was embarrassed when I finally came to realize how other people saw me, and worse how I had been treating other people. Jennifer never judged me, though. She just worked patiently to change me. As I changed, I started to notice people around me, most especially Chris. 

While Jennifer and I were studying nursing, Chris studied automotive technology. He graduated, and having previously agreed to a term of service in the Army to pay for school, was enduring basic training and AIT the summer of our internship at Community Hospital. He came back just in time for our graduation. Just three days later, we had our first real date with Jennifer's blessing. It was just dinner and a movie (Iron Man 2, I'll never forget it.) Normally, Chris is quiet and introverted, but during the movie, he kept doing terrible impressions of different characters. He had me giggling like a complete idiot. If the theatre hadn't been close to empty they probably would have kicked us out. 

After the movie, we had a great dinner at a little mom-and-pop Italian restaurant near campus. It was the Tuesday night after graduation, and just like the movie theatre, the place was nearly deserted. We lost track of time, not realizing how late it was until the sweet old lady who ran the place started locking up. 

Chris took me home. He and Jennifer had continued to live in their mom's house during college to save money since it was close to campus. I'd rented a room there for the last couple of years. Since Jennifer and I were both now working at Community Hospital, I decided to keep renting a room there until I had some money saved up for a place of my own. 

When we got in the house, I felt nervous. I wanted to invite Chris to my room. Well, honestly I wanted him to screw me silly, but for the first time since I'd started having sex, I was unsure of how to get things started. I really liked Chris, and I wanted him, but there was the little matter that I lived with him and his sister, and his sister was my closest friend. One of the many things I learned in college was that it was usually not a good idea to sleep with your room mate.

When I got to the door of my room, I turned around to face him. Anything I might have said ceased to matter, because he bent down, cupped my face in one hand, and kissed me slow, deep, and wet. I was no virgin, but I didn't have all that much experience. At that point in my life, I'd never been kissed like that before. 

For just a second I stood there like a statue while Chris kissed me. Then, while my brain was overloaded, my body took over. I started kissing him back with fervor. All by itself my right arm went around him, my fingers trying to dig into his muscular back. He let go of my face and wrapped his arms around me and crushed me against him. By then our tongues were dueling and we were both panting like runners.

There was a soft thud as I dropped my purse while I fumbled with the door knob; I didn't want to stop kissing him even for the instant it would take to turn and open the door. I whimpered into his mouth when I felt one of his arms loosen its hold. Then I heard the door open behind me. Without warning he scooped me up into his arms and carried me into my room, nudging my fallen purse in ahead of us and closing the door behind us. 

I moaned into his mouth as he carried me to the bed and settled into it with me, all without ever breaking our kiss. My body was on fire, I wanted him so badly. His hands roamed over me from shoulder to hip, skipping nothing in between. Still kissing, I felt his hands stroke their way down over my torso to my belly. He lingered there for a moment feeling my panty line, then moved upward again to cup my breasts. 

I arched my back, pushing them into his hands and finally broke our long kiss to lick and suck at his neck. I left a hot wet trail down his throat until I reached his shirt collar. Growling in frustration my hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, eager to remove the barrier. Chris hadn't been wasting time. Even while I was exploring his throat he found what he was searching for: the zipper of my little black dress.

Chris sat up and pulled me with him, then I felt him pull the zipper all the way down. Before I could do or say anything he was pulling my dress off over my head, and tossing it over a chair. I sat there, held upright in his strong arms in just my black strapless bra, matching boy short panties, and sheer thigh-highs. He was drinking me in, a hungry look on his face. For the first time since the kissing started I felt nervous. Did he like what he saw? Guys usually told me I was pretty, but like most women I know I felt insecure about it. Then he smiled.

"God you're gorgeous," he whispered softly. My confidence returned and I quickly pushed his shirt off of him and then went for his slacks. He trapped my hands in his and clucked his tongue.

"Now, now," he teased. "Ladies go first!" With a soft growl of his own he pushed me back down on the bed. His calloused hands made short work of my bra, exposing me to his gaze. Chris lay down against me, his hands caressing me again. He kissed my face but swiftly moved on, working his way down. He licked delicately along the line of my jaw and over the smooth curves to my neck, nipping my skin with his lips. When he reached my chest he ran his tongue down the sensitive skin to the valley between my breasts while his hands firmly cupped each mound. 

I gasped as he suddenly moved up the inside curve of my left breast to the pink nipple and sucked it greedily into his mouth. He flicked it with his skilled tongue even as he sucked and the sensation drove me nuts! His hands weren't idle, either. Even as he sucked my left nipple I could feel his fingers gently tweaking the pink tip of my right breast. 

"Chris," I whispered softly. His only answer was to move his mouth to my other breast. I could feel myself getting wet, and my own hands wandered their way across his sculpted back. His smooth skin and hard muscle were hot against me. He stopped suckling my pointy nipple for a moment to look up at me, an impish expression on his face. Then he continued his downward progress, kissing down my smooth belly. When he reached my panties he moved quickly, grabbing the soft fabric and tugging them off my hips and halfway down my thighs before I knew it. He was strong and for a moment I thought he had torn them off, but then I felt him moving off of me and lifting my legs so he could remove them. 

He carelessly flung my panties away to join my bra in oblivion. Wasting no more time he dove between my thighs, and this time there was no teasing: Chris meant business. His probing tongue slid over the lips of my pussy and pushed between them into my wetness. I could feel Chris sigh as he tasted me. I was doing my best not to bruise his ears with my thighs as his tongue moved over my womanhood. This was something new to me. I'd sucked a man's cock before -- in fact I liked doing it -- but this was the first time a man had gone down on me! Even better, he was really fucking good at it. 

I moaned lustily as he probed inside me with his tongue and fingers, then he moved up and started licking my clit. I thought I was in heaven. All by themselves my fingers burrowed into his short hair as he licked and fingered me. In no time I felt my orgasm approaching. I was babbling nonsense at this point, completely lost in the feelings he was giving me, arching my back and trying to crush his face into my pussy. It turns out he had saved his best trick for last. Chris used his tongue to push back my hood, and then started sucking my clit like it was a tiny cock. My orgasm hit me like a sledgehammer. I was saying his name over and over again. In fact, I might have been screaming it. I'd never cum that hard in my life up till then. He didn't stop until I had a second orgasm. I was a quivering wreck, shaking like a leaf from the intense feelings. Finally I managed to pull him up and away from my sopping wet pussy.

We kissed again, deep and slow, and I tasted myself on his tongue. Recovering somewhat, I pushed at his shoulders. This time he let me take control. I rolled him over onto his back and laid on top of him, still kissing him, while my hands busied themselves undoing his belt and slacks. While I wasn't as quick or sneaky as he was it didn't take long for me to strip him of slacks, boxers, and socks. I moved to take off my thigh-highs and he stopped me.

"Don't," he said, obviously excited. "They look so sexy, leave them on." I giggled girlishly and complied, moving closer to inspect the prize I'd just unwrapped. Chris had what I'm guessing was an average size cock. I was no virgin, like I said earlier, but I'd only been with two other guys in my life so I didn't have much to compare it to. I can tell you this, though, his cock was hard as a piece of rebar, and I hadn't even touched it yet! 

I knelt between his knees, bent down and took him in my warm, wet mouth. I heard him moan in pleasure as I swirled my tongue around the head of his cock while I sucked it. His hands moved over my shoulders, caressing them, then they moved up the back of my neck and into my hair. He didn't try to force my head down, he just ran his fingers lightly through my hair while I pleasured him. 

Chris surprised me when he gently lifted my face away from his cock. 

"Hannah, baby, that feels amazing! But, if you keep doing it I'm not going last long." He sat up and drew me into his arms. "I want to be inside you, and I can't wait!" 

I was grinning like a fool again -- what woman doesn't love hearing how much her lover wants her? I kissed him and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. Releasing him, I gently pushed him flat on the bed again. Taking his cock firmly in hand, I guided him to my entrance. The velvety head of his cock slid into me with ease as I mounted him. It had been a while for me, and his thick cock had me feeling so full I thought I might split in two. But, before I knew it my ass was resting on his upper thighs and he was buried deep in my wet heat. 

I sat there for just a second, adjusting to him. Then, gathering my knees under me, I started to rock back and forth on his cock. He slid in and out, my wet slickness making it effortless. In seconds I was having my third orgasm of the night, clenching his dick in the silky vise of my pussy. 

I pumped him slowly in and out of me for several minutes when he suddenly took over. One hand grabbed my ass and held me tight against him. His other arm went around my shoulders and pulled the rest of my body close to him. He rolled us over so that I was on my back without slipping out of me. He was firm but gentle as he spread my legs wider and started thrusting much harder than before. It felt like he was trying to drill right through me with his cock and I was loving it! 

My arms stroked up and down his chest as he thrust into me. Then, needing to be closer, I took hold of his shoulders and pulled him back down on me. My mouth met his as I wrapped my legs around him and crossed my ankles over his ass. This opened me wider and let him thrust into me. It also made him slow down some. It felt really good, but like I said it had been a while for me. I was so sensitive that if he didn't cum soon he was going to make me bow-legged! 

As if my thinking about it triggered him, Chris reared up, groaning.

"Oh god, Hannah, I'm gonna CUM!"

"Cum for me, sweetheart," I gasped into his ear. "Cum deep inside me, fill me up with it!"

Chris, panting like a marathon runner thrust deeply into me one last time, every muscle in his body turning to stone as he came. I could feel the splashes of hot cum flowing into my body like hot liquid silk. Gradually, he relaxed against me, his cock still deep inside me. I caressed his back, shoulders, and flanks, and kissed him all over. I had never felt so satisfied in my life. After a few minutes he lifted his head from my breasts where he had laid it after he came. He smiled at me, and it wasn't the "Ha, I just got laid!" look that I had seen on the faces of my former partners. Instead it was a kind of conspiratorial look, like he and I shared some secret the rest of the world wasn't in on. 

"Mmm, that was good, baby," I whispered. I was feeling that wonderful after-sex sleepiness and I hoped he wasn't planning on going to his own room. I needn't have worried, though. He gently pulled his softening cock out of me and rolled onto his back. Then, he pulled me close and held me against his flank, covering us both with my summer-weight comforter. 

"That was good, Hannah, really good." His voice and tone were soft, and his green eyes sparkled in the dim light filtering in through my bedroom window. It was my turn to smile as I tilted my head to share one last long, deep, wet kiss with him. 

"We should have done that a long time ago, Chris," I said. He stroked my bare skin gently. 

"Maybe so, baby. But we've done it now and that's the part that matters." Neither of us felt the need to say anymore. I laid my face in the crook of his shoulder and surrendered to that delicious sleepiness. 

I woke the next morning in an empty bed to the sound of Jennifer shouting my name. "Hannah, get up! For heaven's sake we're going to be late for our shift if you don't hurry. And if Nurse-zilla rears her ugly head and roars at us, I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day!" I couldn't help but laugh as she used our private nickname for the head nurse at Community Hospital. I wasn't surprised to find myself alone in bed, but I did feel strangely disappointed. I didn't really know why; it's not like Chris and I were married. Hell, we weren't even officially a couple at all. It was a night of sex. Really, really good sex, yes, but just a night of sex all the same. 

Without thinking, I kicked the comforter off and sat up. Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise. "Since when do you sleep naked, Hannah?" she asked. 

"Oh!" I said, grabbing my dress from the chair next to my bed where Chris had thrown it. 

"It's not like we haven't seen each other naked," Jennifer chided me. "It's just unusual for you..." Her voice trailed off as her mind started processing what she saw in my room. She looked at the cocktail dress I was holding over me, then she looked to where my bra and panties were lying on the floor, and finally looked back to me and saw I was still wearing a pair of sheer thigh-highs.

"You and Chris went out last night," she began, calmly. "Apparently, your date had a happy ending." In the privacy of my own mind I started to relax. Maybe she wasn't going to blow up about her best friend sleeping with her brother. 

She had to know what I was thinking. "Chris is a grown man -- and a trained soldier. If you two 'enjoyed' yourselves last night then that's your business, not mine." She smiled at me then. "I wondered why Chris was in such a good mood when he had to be up at 4 in the morning to do his P.T. I guess this explains it." 

Jennifer shook her head and laughed. Then, for a moment her expression got serious. "Of course you should know that if you break my big brother's heart I'll be forced to kill you." I laughed, and she smiled, but I'm not sure to this day how literally she meant that. 

Time passed, with Jennifer and I working hard as floor nurses, and Chris serving his first hitch in the Army. With his automotive technology degree, it didn't surprise either of us that he went to the motor pool, quickly becoming a specialist. We didn't see much of him as we lived more than an hour away from the base. 

In spite of that, Chris and I steadily grew closer. Just three days after our first encounter, we had another date, and it ended exactly the same way (the morning after went more smoothly, though!) Unlike previous relationships I'd been in, there was never any discussion about where we were headed as a couple. In fact, there was no talk about us even being a couple. It just kind of happened. When talking about him to my friends and coworkers, I called him my boyfriend. We never talked about being exclusive with each other, but we were. It was like we mutually decided what we wanted and agreed to those terms without having to actually say it out loud. 

Then it happened about a year into our relationship, Jennifer and I came home from an exhausting shift at the hospital to find Chris sitting in the living room watching TV. We both knew something was going on because he was still wearing his uniform. Usually when he came to see us he took the time to dress in street clothes. He turned around when he heard the front door open, and his face lit up when our eyes met. 

"Hi, baby!" he said, grinning like a fool. He stood and crossed the room to me, sweeping me into a tight hug and kissing me deeply. Releasing me he swept his sister up in a similarly crushing hug. He kissed the crown of her head, her brow, and her cheek before he let her go. Still in our hospital scrubs after a particularly rough shift, neither Jenny nor I could have smelled the freshest, but Chris obviously didn't care. For just a moment, he stood there looking from me to Jenny, drinking us in with his eyes. I was starting to get uncomfortable with the look in his eyes. The way he was looking at us, it was like he was trying to burn us into his mind because he might not see us again. 

Chris put one arm around me and squeezed me gently against his side. His other arm reached out to take hold of his sister's hand. Chris slowly led the two of us back into the living room. He sat down on the couch with me and Jennifer knelt down on the thick carpet in front of us, now holding his hand with both of hers. My eyes were wet with tears, and I saw that Jenny's were the same. I could only think of one reason for Chris to act like this and it was clear that Jennifer had reached the same conclusion. 


Hannah's Hero Ch. 01



"I have something I need to tell you both," he began calmly.

"No." I didn't realize I had spoken until Jennifer's eyes met mine. 

"I -- my unit, I mean -- we're being deployed to Iraq," Chris said in a flat tone. I felt a heavy weight settle over me. I had fallen in love with Chris over the past year. Things were going so well, and now this. I heard a sob, and when I looked up I saw big fat tears rolling down Jenny's face. I certainly knew my own face was wet. 

"No, Chris!" she said. Her face was a mask of grief and near-despair. "You can't go! You can't leave me! You're my blood, my family! You're all I have left! I..." voice trailed off into helpless sobs. 

The death of their mother had affected them both profoundly, but I knew that Jenny was by far the most deeply wounded of the two of them. Chris stood up and pulled his little sister to her feet, then scooped her into his powerful arms, holding her small frame as easily as a rag doll. 

"It's okay," he whispered to her, comfortingly. "It's all going to be okay." I stood next to him and pushed Jenny's hair away from her face. 

"Lay her down on the couch," I told Chris. I hurried into the kitchen and poured a small shot of Scotch into a glass. When I got back I saw that Chris had situated Jenny so that her head was cushioned on the soft arm of the couch. He tenderly stroked her face, hair, and sides while she cried. 

"Jen, drink this," I said, giving her the scotch. She took a small sip, sobbed again, and then sipped more. All the while Chris continued stroking her and murmuring words of comfort. After she calmed down some, I allowed myself an emotional reaction of my own, though more contained. I was crying, but it wasn't the near-hysterical sobs Jenny had suffered. 

"When...when are you leaving, baby?" I asked him. I very carefully didn't say "how long do we have" because I know the affect that would have had on Jenny. 

"Seventy-two hours," he said quietly. 

"What?!" I said, startled. "That can't be right! How --"

"It's an emergency deployment," he cut me off. "Under the circumstances I'm damn lucky I got this much warning." He looked from me to Jenny and back again. "I knew this might happen when I enlisted. I'm not thrilled about fighting and sure as hell I don't want to die. But I knew going in that with two wars going on my chances of getting deployed were close to a hundred percent." He settled a little closer to me and kissed the top of my head.

"I knew the risks. I got my education, and now it's time to put it to use. I need to know that while I'm over there, the two most important people in my life are going to be okay. Jen, I love you so much! When dad ran out on us, you and mom were my whole world. When mom died I did my best to be strong for you. Now, I need you to be strong for yourself." He caressed her again, then turned to me. 

"Hannah, when I first met you, I didn't even think you noticed me. I never dreamed I might end up being with you. I mean, really BEING with you, you know? Now, I realize just how much I love you. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you." He looked like he was going to say more, but he stopped. 

"I love you, Chris," I said, my eyes boring straight into his. "I love you more than I even know how to say."

"I love you too, Chris," Jennifer said. "I'm sorry I fell apart. It's just --"

"Shhh," he said, cutting her off. "You don't have to explain, Jenny. I know what you're feeling." He looked at his watch. Look, you two are exhausted, and you've both had a shock. Let's get some sleep and we'll talk some more in the morning." 

I surprised both Chris and Jennifer with a soft laugh. When they both looked at me, I explained. "He is the one heading into a war zone, and the biggest concern on his mind is will the two of US be okay? Isn't that just like Chris?" I smiled with love and pride and squeezed him tight. Jennifer smiled through her tears.

"Yeah it is," she said, beaming at her older brother. "That's him to a T." 

The three of us walked upstairs together. At the top, Jenny split from Chris and I to go to her own room. As she walked off down the hall, she looked over her shoulder at us and smiled. She was obviously just holding herself together until she was alone. My best friend looked so lost I just wanted to run to her and hold her. Chris put his arms around me from behind and held me close. 

"She needs some time, but she'll be fine. I know my little sis; don't let her emotionalism fool you. She's stronger than you think." His voice was calm and assured.

I turned toward him and buried my face in his shoulder, wetting his ACU jacket with my silent tears. The quiet sobs stopped after a moment, and I pulled him into my room.

"You're sleeping here tonight," I said, my tone making it clear there would be no argument. His boots rang on the hardwood floor as he snapped to attention.

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" he said, barking as if he were on the parade ground. 

I shook my head at him and sighed. "Why don't you lie down and relax. After a 12-hour shift at the hospital, I need a shower bad. It won't take me long, I promise."

"Alright, baby," he said, agreeably. 

I grabbed a couple towels and my robe and stepped into the adjoining bathroom. I stripped out my scrubs, bra, and panties and stepped in as soon as the water was hot. The steamy water did wonders for the muscles in my back and lower legs, and I stood there for a second before grabbing my body wash. I lathered myself all over with the body wash and rinsed. I had just started shampooing when the glass door opened and Chris stepped in. 

"Looked like you needed reinforcements in here, so I volunteered," he said. I moaned softly as his strong hands started massaging the shampoo into my hair and scalp. If you've never had your lover wash your hair, I highly recommend it. It may not sound erotic, but let me tell you it is! His fingers worked through my short hair. He was gentle and careful to keep it out of my eyes. Next he rinsed it out and applied the conditioner. He put it on thick, like I like it and rubbed it deep into my scalp. It felt heavenly, but what felt even better was his hard body pressing up behind me. 

After he rinsed the conditioner out, his hands dropped to my neck and shoulders. His touch, surprisingly gentle for such big calloused hands, worked the tension out of each muscle as he worked his way down. He pressed closer against me and I could feel his cock, already rock hard, pressing against the curve of my ass. By that point, his hands were low on my back, still massaging. I knew what he wanted. 

We had been engaging in anal play for months, finally having anal sex for the first time just three weeks ago. It's not something I'd choose to do every day, but it felt different and exciting. Chris was incredibly patient and gentle and would've stopped instantly if I'd told him to. That knowledge, combined with his patience and gentleness was what made me willing to do it again. I knew the second he stepped into the shower with me what he'd want.

Since that first time, I kept a pump bottle of lube by the bed, and he'd brought it with him into the shower. Chris used it now, applying it with his right hand while the left continued to stroke and caress me. Slowly, he slid one finger into my ass, twisting it around letting me get used to it. I bent forward at the waist, bracing against the tiled wall. As Chris stepped behind me again he drizzled a little more lube in the crack of my ass. He rubbed the head of his throbbing cock up and down the crack before sliding it deep into my pussy. 

I moaned in pleasure and pushed back against him. He thrust slowly back and forth, building a steady rhythm while he worked his heavily lubed finger in my ass. The sensations drove me crazy and in seconds I was cumming. He felt my pussy clamp down on him and pulled out so he wouldn't cum too. After he'd had a second to calm down, he again rubbed the head of his cock between my cheeks.

Finally, his cock head came to rest against my tight little asshole. He thrust slowly but firmly until the head of his cock pushed into my ass. I took a deep breath and relaxed. Chris took a firm hold on my hips and pushed harder, sinking his shaft deeper into me. I moaned again, the intense feeling overloading my senses. I know a lot of you won't believe me, but it felt really good! In a minute or so he had the whole length of his cock in my ass. I felt completely full. 

Chris leaned over my back and cupped my breasts with one hand, gently teasing my pink nipples before wandering his way down my belly to my well-trimmed bush. With gentle fingers he started rubbing my clit, slowly stroking his cock in and out of me at the same time. As I got used to taking his cock, I started thrusting my ass back at him, our bodies meeting with the slap of wet flesh. 

"Uhh, Uhh," I moaned uncontrollably. My second orgasm hit hard, and I felt my knees getting weak. "Oh Chris!" I shouted as I reached the very peak. His fingers released my sensitive clit as my muscles seized his thick penis like a hot, wet channel lock. A faint "Oohhh" sound signaled Chris was about to cum.

"Oh Hannah, oh baby," he whispered. He squeezed my hips and thrust hard against me jamming himself deep in my ass. "I'm cumming, I'm CUMMING!" he cried. Hot jets of cum shot into my willing ass, making it even more slippery for his still-thrusting cock. After a few seconds, he gently pulled out of me. I was still reeling from the force of my orgasm -- and his -- and was too slap-happy to do much. The water was cold now, so Chris worked fast with a wash cloth, cleaning us both off. By the time he was done, the cold water had shocked me back to my senses. We stayed close, kissing and smiling as we dried off together. 

We went back into my bedroom and Chris turned the covers back. I slipped into his ACU top -- which came down to the upper thigh on me -- and went to the door.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?" he asked.

"I need to check on Jenny, and I need to call Nurse-zilla -- the head nurse. I don't think either of us will want to leave while you're here." He looked at me and smiled.

"That looks so cute on you," he said.

"Well, I figured since I'm going to be a soldier's wife I ought to try it out." Chris stood stock-still, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Huh?" he said, struck stupid with surprise. 

"Downstairs, when you were telling me and Jennifer how much you loved us, you were going to ask me to marry you. I'm telling you yes. In fact," I continued, moving back to his side and laying my head on his chest, "I'm insisting."

We held each other for a while, and then I spoke again, looking into the glimmering pools of his eyes. "I love you Christopher West, and I will proudly wear your ring, take your name, and bear your children. Whatever you face, I'll face it with you in spirit, if not physically."

Chris held me more tightly than he ever had, and for the first time there were tears in his eyes as well. "Hannah..." Words failed him, and he just held me. Finally I stepped away from my fiancé and moved back to the door. "I won't be long, my love. Wait up for me."

END PART 1



Hannah's Hero Ch. 02



Note: This is a continuation of the story "Hannah's Hero Pt.1." See the earlier chapter for warnings about the content since they apply to this chapter as well. 

***

I stopped in the hall outside of Jennifer's door and listened for a second before slowly opening it. She was lying on top of her covers, still fully dressed. She watched me with red, puffy eyes as I entered and sat next to her on the bed. After a moment I lay down next to my friend and wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm okay," she whispered to me.

"I know, Jen," I said softly. "I just had to be sure."

"I like your new nightgown," she teased lightly, pinching the camouflage ACU jacket I swiped from Chris. 

"Thanks!" I said, smiling. "I'm going to call us in for the next couple days so we can be with Chris. Nurse-zilla (that was our private nickname for Judy Hoskins, the head nurse at Community Hospital where Jennifer and I are nurses) will understand. Her husband fought in the first Gulf War."

"He died in the first Gulf War," Jennifer said, very softly. Since I wasn't meant to hear that, I ignored it.

"I have something else to tell you," I said in a deliberately lighter tone. "He doesn't know it yet, but your brother and I are getting married the day after tomorrow."

"What do you mean, 'he doesn't know it?!'" she demanded.

"Well," I said, "He knows we're getting married, he just doesn't know we're going to do it so quickly."

Jennifer was astounded at this little announcement, but after a second she squeezed me tighter than ever. "My god, Hannah, that's wonderful!" I smiled back at her and kissed her tear-stained cheek.

"Get some sleep, ok? We're going to be busy tomorrow."

I walked quickly back to my room and slipped inside. Chris was waiting for me as promised, grinning like the Cheshire cat in the dim light. I took off his ACU top and draped it over the chair, being sure to bend over while I did it. When I turned around it was obvious my fiancé enjoyed the view. Next I got my cell phone from its charging cradle and made a quick call to Nurse-zilla. (As I predicted, she did understand.)

Afterwards, Chris lifted the comforter and I slid into bed next him. His powerful arms swept me in close, and I rested my head into the crook of his shoulder. The warmth of his skin, the fresh smell of the body wash and shampoo, and the smooth softness of the sheets against my skin lulled me into a deep sleep. 

That morning I woke at my usual 5:30am out of long habit. I started to get out of bed when I realized I was naked, and that I wasn't alone. Then the events of last night came rushing back to me. I stretched under the covers and snuggled back down next to Chris. He had rolled over to face me during the night, and I took the chance to play with the light brown hairs on his chest. 

A few seconds of that was enough to wake my soon-to-be husband. He smiled sleepily at me and kissed my forehead. "Good morning, soldier boy," I said in a cheesy accent. "You give me five dollar me love you long time!"

"Ok, so then what do I get for ten dollars?" he asked, brushing my nipples with his fingers. 

"Anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything!" I laughed as his fingers tweaked my nipples and moved down to my belly. I moaned as they pushed through my neatly-trimmed bush to the lips of my pussy. I could already feel myself starting to get wet. 

Chris pushed the covers off of us and slid down my body. I spread my legs eagerly, waiting for his skilled tongue. He kissed a hot, wet trail over and between my breasts, paying attention to each hard little nipple. Next his mouth journeyed its way down my smooth belly, tickling my navel with his tongue. I moaned loudly as his lips kissed my lower set of lips, and his hot wet tongue pushed between them. 

I shivered in ecstasy as he licked my clit, then growled in frustration as his mouth moved to kiss my inner thigh. There was laughter in his eyes as he teased me. He kissed down one leg, then the other, licking me behind each knee, lightly biting each ankle. When he suddenly moved back to my waiting pussy I gasped. He attacked me with every ounce of skill he had. He nibbled lightly on my pussy lips before darting his tongue inside me. Then, he pushed the flat of his tongue hard over the hood of my clit, applying as much pressure as he could. The intense feeling had me gasping and clutching the sheets hard. 

Chris finally used the tip of his tongue and flicked my clit back and forth, over and over, in a steady rhythm. I could feel my orgasm speeding towards me like a freight train, and I moaned. Chris held me by the hips, keeping his mouth locked on me as I bucked wildly. When I came, it was like someone was setting off fireworks behind my eyelids. I was really loud, but neither of us cared right then. 

My breasts were heaving as I tried to catch my breath. He moved up my body to lie beside me. After a second or two to rest it was his turn. I was too on fire to tease him much. As soon as I caught my breath I was on him, kissing him and tasting myself on his lips and tongue. I took his cock in my hand, stroking him lightly. It was his turn to gasp as I squeezed his balls. I didn't want to wait anymore, so I slid down and took him in my mouth. He moaned and worked his fingers through my hair as I sucked his cock. I bobbed my head up and down. I enjoyed pleasuring Chris with my mouth and I was really getting into it. I pulled off of him and swirled my tongue around the head of his cock before plunging back down again. I started humming as soon as I had as much of him in my mouth as I could. He gasped and then started to growl low in his throat. 

"Hannah, oh, I'm gonna cum," he said. I could tell he was fighting to hold back. I pulled off of him, stroking him with my hand as I said, "Cum for me baby! Cum in my mouth!" 

"Ooohhh," he moaned. I took him back in my mouth and started sucking as hard as I dared. I moved up and down on his cock, concentrating on keeping good hard suction on the upstroke and swirling my tongue around the shaft on the downstroke. He couldn't take that for long. Within a minute he was grabbing the sheets as hard as I had earlier, and cumming in my willing mouth. I felt the hot salty spurts as they jetted across my tongue and sighed in pleasure. When they finally stopped, I carefully lifted off his cock and sat up. I waited to be sure his eyes were on me. Then, while he watched I swallowed the hot mouthful of semen, making sure he could see my throat muscles working. 

The look on his face was a wonderful mixture of awe, love, and pure lust. I loved to do that for him because he enjoyed it so much; it made him want me even more. But, even a young man like Chris needed a few minutes to recover after cumming like that. I moved back up to lie beside him, my hand caressing him just above the line where his pubic hair began. I leaned into him and we kissed, each of us tasting the other in our mouths. He pulled me closer to him and I rubbed my hard-nippled breasts against his chest. 

It felt like only a moment had gone by when I felt his arms tighten around me. He kissed me again, and I felt the desire rising in both of us. He scooted out from beneath me while holding me in place with his hands on my hips. Chris moved behind me pulled me up onto my hands and knees. My pussy was still sopping wet from his attention earlier, and he had no trouble pushing deep into me. 

"Aaahh!" I gasped as he took me. He always went deepest when we did it doggy-style. Chris starting to thrust deep and hard. Normally he's gentle, but when he gets as ramped up as he was that morning, he's more hardcore. Doggy-style always presses his cock hard against the front wall of my pussy, and the extra pressure was driving me wild. I was moaning and gasping and panting like a dog; all of it just aroused Chris even more.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder at him. "Fuck me, Chris! Fuck me hard and deep!" I said, knowing how it turns him on. I was almost out of my mind with lust, lost in the sensations. I don't know how many orgasms I had. Chris grabbed my ass and thrust hard, slapping my clit with his balls. Suddenly he moved back. I was close to cumming again, and I whimpered in frustration as I felt him pull out. Moving quickly, he rolled me over onto my back, grabbed hold of my ankles, and pushed back into me. As he moved his dick in and out of me, he raised my legs straight up and pushed them together. It made me even tighter, and I could hear him gasping as he tried to hold out. He leaned his chest against the backs of my legs and held on to my thighs. I pushed my hips up off the bed to meet his urgent thrusting. 

Suddenly he threw his head back, roaring, "I'M CUMMING!" I could feel his thick cock throbbing inside me, then I felt his hot cum spilling into me. He pushed in deep and stayed there while his balls emptied themselves inside me. I loved that feeling! Finally he slipped out of me and released my legs. As he collapsed back onto the bed I put my arms around him and rested his cheek on my soft breasts. I gently kissed the crown of his head and stroked his sweaty cheek. I felt him shake slightly, and I continued to hold him. 

"It's alright, baby. Let it come," I whispered, as I lightly brushed the tears from his cheeks. I'd been expecting this. 

"I'm sorry," he said, thickly. "I don't know what came over me, I just --"

"Don't," I said, cutting him off. "Don't apologize for what you feel. I'm grateful that you trust me so much that you're willing to let your guard slip." I held my man close, feeling his tears against my breasts. 

I felt the need then to speak from the heart. There were so many things he needed to know about me. "Meeting your sister made me see how stuck up I was," I began. "I treated people like shit. Before Jen and I became friends, I didn't really have any. I hung around with snotty, superficial little bitches; in other words, people just like me." I kissed his head again.

"I don't think I was capable of loving anyone but myself then. I finally grew up and realized what a bitch I was, and I've been working ever since to be a better woman. Jennifer was the biggest part of that, but you, Chris...no one's ever loved me the way you do. Other's just wanted in my panties. I trust you, and now I know you trust me."

"To paraphrase the old song, grown men don't cry," he said softly. "I hate showing fear."

"Bullshit!" I said. "Chris, you should know better! Anyone going to war would be an idiot if he weren't at least a little scared!" He lifted his face and looked at me. 

"I'd never have had the courage to enlist in the first place, even if they gave me a six-figure salary. Do you seriously believe I'll think less of you for a few tears and fears?" 

"I need to be strong for you," he said. "I need to be strong for you and Jennifer both. You need me --"

"Yes we do - and you need us," I said firmly, cutting him off again. "Needing other people in your life doesn't make you weak. I know how strong you are." I looked him straight in the eye, wanting him to see how serious I was. 

"Jennifer told me everything when we became close friends. She told me about the day your mother died, and how you stopped your asshole father from stealing you blind. She told me how you prevented him from breaking into your inheritance and from trying to sell this house out from under you. I know all about what you've had to do and deal with so she could continue her education and live in peace." I smiled tenderly at him.

"She knows you tried to keep her blissfully ignorant of what was going on behind the scenes, and she loves you for that. I admire you as much as I love you, Christopher West. Don't be sorry for sharing your feelings with me, and don't ever be ashamed of them. When we're alone together, that's the time when you don't have to be stone-faced. The truth is --" 

"You're scared too," he said, finishing my sentence. 

"Yeah, I'm scared too -- probably even more than you are."

"I guess that means neither of us are idiots, then." He kissed me and whispered, "I think I could face anything if you face it with me." 

My own tears dripped down my face. "I think so, too." I let him go and got out of bed. He watched me walk over to the antique dressing table my grandmother gave me when I turned sixteen. With slow deliberateness I took the bottle of birth control pills out of the top drawer, showed them to him, and then walked into the bathroom and poured them into the toilet.

I walked back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "I meant every word I said last night, Chris. I'm yours, and you're mine. I want a family with you, and you're going to live to start it!" He got up with swift grace and took me in his arms, eyes still swimming with unshed tears. 

"I love you Hannah Crossen-West!" 

After a quick shower -- during which I'm sorry to say, nothing happened -- we went downstairs to find Jennifer cooking a truly enormous breakfast. "Well good morning!" she said, setting plates of food on the table. "I finally decided you two were going to spend the whole day in bed." She paused, a wicked twinkle in her eyes. "Unless of course the poor bed breaks! Damn you two are loud! The neighbors probably think we're either making porno films or starting a bordello."

I couldn't help it, I started giggling. A few seconds later Jennifer joined in. Finally, still blushing deeply, Chris laughed a little. "Sorry about that, sis." He took her in his arms and held her close for a minute. "We were just celebrating something." He glanced quickly at me.

"You and Hannah are getting married," Jennifer said, then laughed at the face he made. "Oh come on, Chris! Even if she hadn't told me herself I could have figured it out! And if you want my two cents, it's a great idea. Heaven knows Grant is never going to marry me!" Grant Thomas was an on-and-off companion of Jennifer's. They were comfortable with each other, but for some reason neither of them seemed ready or willing to commit to anything more permanent. I thought I knew why, but this wasn't the time to discuss it. 

Jennifer touched my arm gently, smiling into my eyes. "You'll take good care of my brother, I know you will." I held her hand in mine.

"I will. And he'll take care of us," I said, stressing the last word. Marriage meant I was joining the family, not breaking it up. To borrow an old phrase, Jennifer was gaining a sister, not losing a brother. 

We all three sat at the big oak dining table which should have been groaning at the weight of the food stacked on it. Jennifer had truly out gone all out. There was bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, pancakes, and sliced grapefruit. 

"Wow," Chris said, looking at the feast in front of him.

"You two are probably starving after all the calories you burned off this morning," Jennifer teased, and chuckled. "Besides, we're going to need the energy. We'll be busy as a team of one-armed paper hangers today. There may not be time for lunch. What's the division of labor, Hannah?" 

"I'll have to take care of the courthouse myself, of course. If you could run to Hiram's Bakery and see about a cake, though, I'd appreciate it. I figure we can do the ceremony and reception both right here at the house. The back yard is more than big enough, as long as no one drinks too much and falls in the pool."

"There's no time for invitations, obviously," Jennifer said, making notes on her phone. "Do you have a guest list --"

"Hang on," Chris interrupted. "What's going on?"

Jennifer and I both turned to face him. "I know you've slept since then honey, but I seem to recall a little marriage proposal last night," I said, patting his cheek affectionately. 

"Well yeah, but --"

"But nothing," Jennifer stated firmly. "We can get this done before you...before you leave Friday morning. Now, eat your breakfast while Hannah and I plan this out." I grinned at Jennifer and tucked into my own breakfast.

"This is great, thank you so much," I said after a few bites.

"Least I could do," Jennifer replied around her fork. 

After breakfast we all headed out on our own missions. Chris and I went to the courthouse for the marriage license first. The County Clerk, harried as she was, put a rush on it because she too understood the circumstances. Afterwards, we split our forces. He headed off to see about catering while I went to Kerry's Formal Wear. I had Jennifer's sizes. She was my maid of honor of course, and I had a couple other friends from the hospital who agreed on short notice to be bridesmaids. Hopefully there'd be no problems getting what we needed. 

Jennifer's prediction was correct; by the time we had finished doing all that needed to be done, it was way past lunch time. In fact it was after 9pm before I pulled into the garage. As I got out of my old Taurus, I noticed Chris's F-150 was still missing, but Jennifer's bright red Volkswagen Bug was there. I gathered the dress bags from the back and headed into the house. After carrying all them up to my room I was exhausted. All I wanted was food and bed, and not necessarily in that order. Looking out my window at the back yard, I noticed the deck lights were on, and Jennifer was sitting in the hot tub.

"That looks good, right about now," I said to myself. It took only a minute to hang the dress bags, and then I was changing into my yellow bikini. I grabbed a towel and hurried down to join my friend. 

"Hey there, gorgeous!" I shouted as I walked out on the deck.

"Hi, Hannah!" she yelled back. I could see she was tugging the bottom of her suit back in place.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked, hanging back.

"No, I had just finished. Sorry about that, it's just that listening to you two this morning had me feeling really revved up."

"Oh," I said quietly. It was my turn to be embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Jen. We should've been more considerate of you."

"Don't be silly, I'm so happy for you and Chris!" She leaned back in the tub again, totally relaxed, and I sank in next to her. "You know, he's been talking about wanting to marry you for a while. I'm a little disappointed in him that he waited till now to ask. I wish Grant and I could work things out." She sighed.

"What's the problem?"

Jennifer shrugged slightly. "Children," she said simply. "I want them and he doesn't. You already know how important family is to me. Grant does too, but...I just can't seem to bring him around." 

"I see," I said. That was a problem no amount of talking was going to resolve. "The sad thing," Jen continued, "is that I just can't let go and give up on him."

"I guess the sex must be good then," I teased.

"Oh, yeah, the sex is fantastic! But I want more than that and I think I deserve it."

"You do!" I affirmed strongly. 

"This is real, between you and Chris, right? I mean, you aren't just marrying him because he's going overseas and...you know."

I sat up and looked her straight in the eye. "It's real, Jen."

After a moment we hugged tightly. Then, she kissed my cheek and released me. "I'm so glad, Hannah. I can't wait to hold my little nieces and nephews!" she teased, eyes twinkling. 

The jets in the hot tub kicked off, and in the sudden quiet we heard the garage door closing. A few minutes later I heard the sound of Chris's boots on the deck. "Hey you two!" he said brightly. "Time to get out! I brought home a pizza since I figured you'd both be as hungry as I am."

"Sounds great, babe," I said. I stood and he helped his sister and I onto the deck. After a quick dinner, we went to bed. I was exhausted, and we would be having another early start tomorrow, not to mention having the wedding and reception -- and honeymoon! I snuggled in against my fiancé's side, resting my head in the crook of his shoulder, and sleep claimed me quickly. 




Hannah's Hero Ch. 02



That morning was a whirlwind of activity. This time, I made us breakfast. While I couldn't match the feast Jennifer made, I did pretty well. I made waffles, omelets with ham, peppers, and onion, and grits (I'm a southern girl, originally). After eating, I rushed off to the courthouse for the documents. Chris went to straighten things out with the caterer and pick up the cake. Jennifer went to supervise the company that was handling the decorating and lawn furniture. There wasn't much time. Plus, I had some last-minute stops to make. My last stop was the jewelry shop. I found the perfect ring for Chris. It was made of pure titanium, lighter and stronger than steel. It was beautifully engraved, and had our initials and wedding date inscribed inside the band. It was the perfect symbol of what I wanted our marriage to be. 

By then it was almost 11am, and I rushed to get home. Hurrying into my room with the packages, I found Jennifer was already dressed, and was waiting to help me. I hurriedly washed up, then sat in my new bra and panty set while she did my hair. 

Afterwards, she helped me into my wedding dress. It was a simple dress, but very well done. It was traditional white. The bodice clung nicely to my body. The simple round neckline showed just a hint of cleavage through the lace, but it was tasteful rather than provocative. The skirt was ruffles and lace, and had a modest train that I could manage on my own. To go with it, Jennifer had found a white lace garter belt, sheer thigh-highs with white lace tops, and low-heeled white shoes (I've always been clumsy in high-heels and I didn't want to kill myself at my own wedding.) 

Last came the veil. I watched in the mirror as Jennifer worked her magic with hair pins, setting it in place and lowering it over my face. "You look amazing," she said. I smiled at her and we hugged. 

"Alright, let's do this!" I said. We both hurried towards the back yard where the small crowd had gathered. Just inside the house my bridesmaids and my father were waiting. I was so happy he and my mom were able to make it. Given the short notice and the distance they'd had to travel it was a minor miracle they were there. My bridesmaids were visions in their soft green velvet dresses. My dad looked very handsome in his tux. I fell into his arms in a hug that lasted a happy lifetime. 

"Hello, angel," he whispered, holding me close. 

"Oh Daddy, I'm so glad you and Mom made it!" 

"We couldn't miss our only baby's wedding, could we?" His smile warmed my heart. He quietly took my arm and led me onto the deck. The crowd watched as my bridesmaids walked down the aisle. Finally it was my turn. "Here Comes the Bride" began to play from the speakers spread through the yard and everyone rose to watch as Daddy walked me down the aisle. He was beaming with pride. When I saw Chris, he momentarily took my breath away. He and his groomsman were wearing their formal dress uniforms. Their patent leather shoes were finished so mirror-bright they were almost blinding. Their brass shined, and service ribbons and rank emblems added a splash of martial color. 

All of the young soldiers at the altar gazed at me with open admiration, but I only had eyes for my man. Finally, Daddy and I reached the altar. I let him go and joined Chris, and the timeless ceremony began. I gasped when his best man passed him the ring and I got a good look at it. I had seen it one time before: it had belonged to Chris and Jennifer's mother! It was gold with beautiful engraving and diamonds set into the band. The matching engagement ring was there, too. We hadn't talked a lot about the rings. I had told him I had something in mind for him, and that I wanted him to surprise me. Well, he sure did that! 

"Oh Chris," I whispered. "It's incredible!"

He smiled wordlessly as he slipped it and the engagement band onto my finger. Then I did the same for him. He smiled as he saw the skillful carving on the band and the dates inside. Before I knew it the vows were said, he was lifting my veil, and we were kissing. I think I stopped breathing for a second as we drank deep of each other's mouths and his arms held me tight. I dimly heard humorous catcalls, laughter, and lewd suggestions from the audience before we parted. We turned to face our friends and family as the minister said, "May I introduce, Mister and Missus Christopher West!" 

I watched in surprise as an honor guard formed ranks in the aisle. They must have assembled while we were kissing because they sure hadn't been there when Daddy walked me down the aisle. I looked over at Chris, and he winked. "My whole platoon showed up for the wedding anyway, so I figured they could do something special for us. Watch."

As I looked, they finished forming ranks, and then acting as one, they drew their curved sabers and raised them, forming an archway under which we could pass. Walking beneath all those raised sabers was neat, and a little scary, and really special! 

The chairs and altar were quickly removed and replaced with a dance floor. I absolutely loved dancing, and spent most of the reception doing that. It goes without saying Chris and I danced together a lot, but I also danced with Daddy, Chris's best friend Mike, several other soldiers whose names I didn't get, Nurse Hoskins's husband...well, pretty much every guy there, to be honest. I was having such a great time, I should have known something or someone would try to wreck it. 

It really started when I took a break from dancing to introduce Chris and Daddy. They'd never met in person but knowing both of them I knew they'd get along well. My Daddy looks like a big sweet-natured teddy bear. His clothes hide the whipcord muscle of a man that makes his living in construction. There's not an ounce of B.S. in my Dad, and with the exception of my Mom, he won't take it from anyone. As the two of them spent time getting to know each other, I wandered over to the small wet bar for a drink. That's when I heard a loud female voice droning on.

"An auto mechanic, really? And, he's in the Army, just to add insult to injury. But, I suppose in this day and age I should be pleased she found a man that actually has a job. Still, is there anything more plebian that marrying a soldier? I give it a month, tops, before she comes to her senses and finds a stock broker. Honestly, I think maybe she's been knocked up!" Ah yes, there was no mistaking my dear mother's voice. She'd been drinking, obviously, and now she was doing her best to humiliate me at my wedding. I could feel the old anger starting to flare. My mother was so stuck on herself that anyone else around her felt like they were intruding. I should know since she's made me feel that way all my life. Even now I still can't believe there was a time I wanted to be just like her -- and came really close to succeeding! 

Even though I was used to this kind of thing from Mom, listening to her talk that way about Chris was pushing every pissed-off button I had. I'm not really sure what would have happened if Daddy hadn't intervened. Jennifer had a look of pure hate on her face and was heading her way. I was about halfway there myself, when Daddy swept in. He took a firm hold on her arm. 

"Now Catherine, you've been drinking. No one wants to hear you vent your spleen." Daddy led her away, apologizing for her behavior to everyone he met. Chris was at my side when Daddy got to me. 

"I'm sorry, darling," he said to me. "You know how your Mom can get when she's been drinking --"

"Oh, come off of it George, I haven't had that much!" my mom interrupted. 

"Enough, Catherine!" my Daddy said sharply. "You will not ruin our daughter's wedding, even if I have to stuff you in the trunk!" I'd never heard Daddy talk to Mom that way, and my heart swelled with pride and gratitude. Daddy turned to Chris and shook his hand.

"I'm glad to meet you, son, and I'm damn proud to have you in the family," he said loudly and firmly. "I hope to see you when you get back home. If there's anything I can do for you, don't think twice about calling on me." Chris nodded and smiled back. 

"Thank you, sir --"

"George," my Daddy said firmly.

"George," Chris repeated. Daddy smiled and released Chris's hand. 

"C'mon, Catherine. We need to have a long talk." Daddy gave me a quick one-armed hug, told me how beautiful I looked, and dragged my mother out. Miraculously, she was silent. 

I enjoyed the rest of the reception, dancing as much as I could and loving every moment. It was nearly eight in the evening when I left the dance floor with Chris. "Good night, everyone, and thanks for coming!" I shouted. "We'd stay later, but I want to spend some time with this guy!" I tugged Chris's uniform jacket provocatively, and our audience laughed. "Before we go, though, there're just two things we need to do. All you unattached ladies and gentlemen, gather round!" I slowly lifted the hem of my gown, and Chris got down on one knee to remove my garter. He surprised me and took it off with his teeth! This drew a lot of hoots, hollers, whistles, and laughter. (And a few scandalized looks, for that matter, mostly from the older ladies in the crowd.) 

I turned my back on the ladies and threw my bouquet over my shoulder. Stephanie Hurley, a nurse and one of my bridesmaids caught it. Then, Chris threw my garter and his best friend Mike Kirkland caught it. Then off we went. Daddy surprised us with a one-night stay at the Oakwood House Bed and Breakfast, which was a very posh place 20 minutes out of town. Chris and I got into his F-150 pickup -- which was copiously decorated by our friends -- and made the drive. 

I'd never been there before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it was an old manor house, lovingly restored to glory. As impressed as I was, I was impatient to get checked in to our room! It only took a few minutes, but it seemed more like an hour to me, horny as I was. Our room was on the second floor, and it looked out over the gardens behind the house. The sweet old man who led us to our room made a point of telling us that we would be the only guests in the place until late the next morning. With a knowing grin at Chris, he set our bags down in the closet, bowed slightly and left. 

As soon as the door closed we were attacking each other, pulling our clothes off and kissing desperately. I moaned into his mouth as he pinned me against the wall with his body. He had his left arm around my waist while his right hand cupped my face. I managed to get his uniform jacket and bow tie off while he removed my veil and unzipped the back of my gown.

My lips just didn't want to part from his, and we kissed with wild abandon as the clothes fell from our bodies. Once again, like our first time together, I left my thigh-highs and white garter belt on. Still keeping me pinned, Chris licked and sucked his way to my ear and found the super-sensitive spot behind it. I gasped when he started to kiss me there. His mouth moved down to my neck, licking and sucking the sensitive skin. I panted, hands clawing at his back as the palm of his right hand smoothed over my breasts, one at a time. The pressure against my breasts and nipples was light, almost teasing, while the pressure against my neck was hard and needy. The contrast was mind-blowing. I could feel that my pussy was sopping wet and he hadn't even gone near it yet. 

His left hand left my back and moved down to caress my ass, alternately squeezing and rubbing my cheeks. His mouth moved south, pausing to linger over the smooth line of my collar bone. I shivered as his tongue lightly traced over the delicate skin. Goosebumps rose along my arms, and my nipples sprang into instant hardness. His skilled mouth moved lower still, tracing over the upper slopes of my breasts. I trembled in want, waiting for his lips to capture my pink nipples and suck them. But he didn't. Instead, he veered to the side to lick the side swell of my left breast, following it to my flank. 

I growled, frustrated, and tried to move his face back where I wanted it. He laughed, caught both my wrists with his left hand, and held them behind me. Then, he went right back to doing as he wished, teasing me with his sweet, sweet torture. Finally his tongue licked its way back to the front of my breast. He licked my left areola so lightly I didn't feel it at first. Then, he opened his mouth and claimed the nipple. He sucked hard, and then released it to flick his tongue over it. Before long, he was doing the same thing on the right side. I was moaning and gasping like a mad woman at this point, but I was way too turned on to care. I arched my back, trying to push my breast into his mouth to get more pressure. He knew what I wanted, and he finally gave it to me, sucking each nipple in turn with firm pressure.

As he did so, his right hand stroked up and down my left side and his left hand abandoned my ass to explore my wetness. "Ooohh," I moaned as his fingers teased my pussy lips. Then he slid a finger inside me, brushing against my G-spot. I almost came right then, I was so turned on. Slowly he kissed down my belly until he was licking my clit; there was no teasing now. I lifted one leg and draped it over his shoulder and watched as he feasted on my pussy. His eyes looked right back into mine as he licked me, and that made it even more intense. I was cumming in seconds. I could see he was rock hard, but when I moved to take him in my mouth he stopped me.

Taking hold of my arm, he pulled me into the open doorway of the closet. He turned me to face the door jam and placed both of hands on it. I held on tightly as he grabbed my ass and took me from behind. We were both moaning loudly as his thick cock slid into my wet pussy. Chris braced his back against the left of the doorway, I braced against the right, and we repeatedly thrust against each other. The confined space paired with the position helped him to thrust both fast and deep. I was yelling by then, and pushing my ass back against him. He had a firm grasp on both cheeks, meeting my thrusts urgently. 

The desperate pace of our loving was so intense that neither of us could last long. Already sensitized by my earlier orgasm, I came first with an earsplitting, "OH CHRIS I'M CUMMMMMING!!" The strength of my orgasm had me seeing stars and I would have collapsed if I hadn't been holding on to the door jam. 

Chris started to stroke even faster in and out of me, until finally he buried himself deep and came. I felt his thick cock throbbing as he filled me with his seed. "AH, AH, AHHHHH!" he cried. He leaned forward over my back, one hand still holding my ass cheek, the other moving under me to cup my breasts. We stayed like that for a moment, both of us enjoying the closeness. Finally though, his softening cock slipped out of me. We straightened up and I turned to hold him close to me. 

Holding his hand, I led him to the bed, then went to the bathroom. As advertised, the bathtub was huge, easily large enough for three people. The staff thoughtfully provided beautiful aroma therapy candles, and a big stack of clean fluffy towels. I had brought along my own favorite bath oils and soap. As I started the tub filling with hot water, I felt some of my husband's cum running down my thigh. I know, you probably don't want to hear about it, but at that moment it played to that feeling of naughtiness that I love. In a fit of kink, I caught just a bit on my finger and tasted it. 

I lit the candles and arranged them around the tub, and poured in a small amount of jasmine-scented soap and essential oils. By then Chris had wandered in to see what I was up to. He swept me into his arms and kissed me, tasting a hint of himself on my lips. He grinned, and kissed me deeper. There was no need for words as we stepped into the tub together. He sat against the back and I sat in between his legs, leaning against him. He caressed me gently as we luxuriated in the hot, soapy water. I was pleased to see the huge tub had a built-in Jacuzzi. The jets swirled the water around our bodies. This, combined with his soft touching almost put me to sleep. I've never been as comfortable as I was in that moment; I felt safe, loved, and warm, and I was being touched just the way I like...it was a little slice of heaven. 

I'm not really sure how long we stayed like that. I just remember wanting it to last forever. After a while the timer turned off the Jacuzzi. In the sudden silence, I heard Chris whisper, "I love you, Hannah," into my ear. 

"I love you, Chris," I said, turning my face to kiss him. He tenderly caressed my face as we kissed. I turned slightly so I could lay my face in the crook of his shoulder like I did when we slept. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck, and then he kissed and gently nibbled my earlobe. "Mmmmm," I moaned softly in pleasure. Chris's hands spoiled me as they messaged my shoulders and breasts. His touch was firm and slow. He quietly dropped one hand underwater to stroke my belly and thighs. I kissed his chest as his hands wandered over my body. 

Slowly, the hand on my thigh moved up to my mound. Chris lightly stroked the outside of my pussy lips. After a few light strokes he pressed his palm firmly against my vulva and made a stirring motion. I purred against his chest as the gentle sensations tingled in my pussy. He slipped a single finger between the lips of my sex and stroked it over my clit. His touch was electric. The incredible intimacy of the moment is hard to put into words. He was holding me close, kissing and caressing me, and masturbating me at the same time. It was so sensual. He took his time, like there was nothing in the world he would rather be doing, making sure to touch me everywhere I wanted to be touched. He sensed my approaching orgasm and continued with same steady rhythm, but added more pressure against my clit. I shuddered as my climax poured over me like hot rain. Chris kissed the top of my head and held me close. 

After some time had passed, I moved away from him and started draining the tub. I climbed out and got towels for each of us. After we dried off we climbed into bed. I will never forget my wedding night; slipping into the king-sized bed that was so incredibly soft. Chris was so warm against me. I fell into the deepest, most relaxed sleep of my life. 

I woke up in the very early hours of Friday. I couldn't have slept more than four hours at the most, but it had been deep and restful. Now, I sat up in bed watching Chris sleep. He lay on his side, facing me. His face was peaceful as he dreamed, a slight smile on his face. A fierce sense of protectiveness washed over me as I watched him, and a sense of helplessness too. 

Morning was coming, and with it, his departure. This man, this wonderful person I had decided to share the rest of my life with, was leaving to go to overseas. He was going to face fire, death, and hatred, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I forced myself to stop these thoughts. I was determined not to spend these last few precious hours with him thinking about pain, horror and death. 

Instead, I sat up against the headboard and continued to watch him sleep. At some point I fell back asleep. I couldn't have been asleep too long before Chris woke me with a gentle caress. I opened my eyes and saw his, the same green as mine, looking back at me. I smiled at him and whispered, "When you leave, a part of me is going with you."

"A part of me is staying behind," he replied. "I know we both believe that when we die our souls live on. I also believe that after we die we'll be reunited." We hadn't spoken about this before, and he clearly needed to get this out. "If it does turn out that I die first, I'll wait up for you," his voice was quiet and sweet. 

"I want you to know I love you, Chris. I'm proud to be your wife, and I'm proud of you. When you come home, I'll be waiting. I'll -- "I choked up, bursting with emotion. There so much I wanted to say, but I didn't know the words. At last I sat up and pressed myself against him. There is always one sure-fire way for couples to say something when they can't find the words.




Hannah's Hero Ch. 02



Chris and I sat up beside each other, kissing and touching each other all over. I kissed my way down his neck to his chest, and teased his nipples. Next I gently pushed him flat on the bed and took his cock in my mouth. "Oooohhhh," Chris moaned as I pleasured him. I licked up and down the underside of his shaft, and then I sucked one of his balls into my mouth. He was starting to breathe more quickly and his cock was getting harder by the second. 

Moving up again I took him back in my mouth, swirling my tongue around the head. I kept light suction on his cock, enough to feel good but not enough to make him cum. I used one hand to hold his cock steady but with the other I grabbed the lube bottle from the nightstand. Chris moaned again and tried to push his cock deeper into my mouth. I laughed around his shaft, and sucked a little harder to keep him occupied. With my free hand I started to gently lube my tight little asshole. Sensing that he was getting a little too excited, I pulled my mouth off of him and stroked his cock one-handed while I licked his balls and fingered my ass. 

After a few more minutes, I sat up, pulling Chris up with me. He leaned back against the headboard and I straddled his lap, using one hand to guide his cock into my pussy. I gave a soft sigh of pleasure as I sank down on his dick. Chris leaned forward to feast on my breasts as I slowly rocked up and down. I grabbed the headboard with one hand and wrapped my other arm around his shoulders. The shallow penetration felt relaxing and exciting at the same time. I had a light orgasm after a few minutes, and that turned Chris on even more. He had stopped sucking my nipples and was now looking into my eyes, silently asking for more. 

I laughed and kissed him deeply. After sinking down on his cock one last time, I lifted off him and turned around. I got on my hands and knees and looked back over my shoulder at him, beckoning with my eyes. He hurried to move closer to me. I reached between my legs to grasp his cock, and steered it toward my crinkled asshole. His eyes got really wide when he saw where I placed his dick. 

Still looking at him over my shoulder, I could see I had his full attention. "Take me, my love. Take my ass," I said.

I relaxed my body as Chris thrust slowly and gently into me. I concentrated hard on relaxing as the head of his cock slipped in. There was a moment of slight discomfort, and then he was sliding in freely. "Ooooohhhh, Chris, that feels incredible," I moaned. He took a firm hold on my hips and started gently moving in and out of my slippery ass. Both of us were moaning by then. I savored the intense feeling of fullness as he pushed in deep. It felt so good! 

Chris was breathing like a marathon runner as we made love. His rhythm when we made anal love was to push in deep (once I had relaxed), hold himself in place for a second or two, and then slowly slide back out. Once he was three-quarters of the way out, he'd stop and slowly push back in. He's an incredibly gentle lover, and he's the only one I have ever allowed to take my ass. 

Once I felt relaxed enough, I started pushing back to meet him as he slowly thrust deep. My whole body starting trembling as my orgasm took me by surprise. "AH, AH!" I shouted in ecstasy. I came again seconds later as Chris pushed in deep again. Then, he very gently pushed me down until I was laying flat on my belly on the bed. He arched his back as he started thrusting again, faster now. The position was a new one for us, and the heavier pressure made me cum again. I was losing track of my orgasms, not that I minded. Suddenly, my husband thrust in deep and held it.

"Hannah," he whispered. "Oh baby, I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum!"

"Cum for me, Chris, cum in my ass!" He didn't need anymore encouragement. I heard him cry out in pleasure as he came. His cock throbbed as he shot his cum inside of me, and I moaned. He collapsed on top of me, his cock still deep in my ass, totally spent.

He kissed me all over my face, neck, and shoulders. "I love you, Hannah," he said, quietly.

"I love you, Chris," I said back. We fell asleep again like that, although we later made ourselves more comfortable. 

The alarm startled me awake promptly at 8am. I yawned and stretched, and turned toward my husband. "It's time to wake up, my love," I whispered into his ear. When he didn't respond, I gently nudged him. "Honey, you have to get up."

"Mmmfff," he muttered. He opened his eyes and I smiled at him.

"Good morning, Hannah," he said, his voice caressing my name. Memories of our sweet loving ran through my mind as we hugged each other. Finally, I released him and slowly rolled out of bed. Chris smiled as he watched me walk naked across to the bathroom. When I came back out, his expression slowly changed to panic. 

"Oh shit!" he yelled, literally jumping out of bed. "Hannah, grab everything and hurry! It's after 8, and we're more than 20 minutes from home!" He started muttering to himself, making a mental list of things he needed, clearly thinking he was going to be late for assembly and muster. 

"Chris, relax, baby," I said loudly as my husband flew across the room.

"Relax??!! Honey, you don't know Sergeant Foley. If my ass isn't back on base by 1200 hours, he'll do things to me that don't bear thinking about!" 

"Chris, it's all taken care of, trust me!" I said reassuringly. He turned a questioning look in my direction. 

"Sweetheart, Mike packed your kit bag for you. It's ready to go, and Jennifer will meet us here with it. I have a set of ACUs and a brand new set of boots packed in my bag. Jennifer will get here just after ten, and we'll drive you to the base. We have plenty of time." I held my arms open wide, and he stepped into them, crushing me against his chest. 

"How long has it been since I've told you how much I love you?" he whispered into my ear as he held me.

"Hours," I replied. "But there's still a little time to tell me again." I managed to hold back my tears, but it was close. We took a leisurely shower together, washing and caressing. It led to some of the most gentle, loving sex I've ever had. Chris held me close, and after a second I felt how hard he was. Looking deeply into his green eyes, I smiled invitingly. Then, I turned around, put my hands against the wall, cocked one leg out and looked over my shoulder at him. He took me easily, sliding deep inside my pussy. I sighed and moaned softly. 

As the hot water cascaded over us, we made love. Chris thrust into me gently and I pushed back against him. His strong hands held me around the waist. Gradually he moved his hands up to my shoulders and started to pull me upright. I was always happy to try something new, and so I let him pull me up until I was standing straight. He was still inside me, but the penetration was very shallow. It felt really nice, but it wasn't enough to make me cum, and there was no way at all it would work for him. 

Chris wrapped his left arm around me at breast level, and his hand rubbed over them palming my sensitive nipples. His right hand caressed down my belly, lingering there to tease my navel. I laughed and he eased his cock slightly deeper inside me. He lovingly stroked over my belly and into my trimmed patch of hairs, finally stopping at my womanhood. The palm of his hand pressed down firmly on the lips of my pussy, and he slowly started to rub back and forth. 

I moaned loudly as he increased the pressure. The shallow penetration and the rubbing of his hand was a powerful combo. Chris pushed his thick cock into me as deep as this position allowed. Then, he slid one finger between the lips of my pussy and started directly rubbing my clit. The sensation was unbelievably intense. Chris masturbated me gently but quickly, the direct pressure on my clit moving me closer and closer to the edge. 

"Oh baby, oohhh baby, I'm close!" I moaned, quivering. I could feel the familiar weak-in-the-knees feeling I get when a strong orgasm is about to hit me. I turned my face towards him and he kissed me. I started cumming the moment our lips met, and I moaned loudly into his mouth. 

"Hannah," he breathed, when we parted. "Baby, you're so tight, I'm going to cum." His voice was so soft I almost missed it. Suddenly, his left arm pulled me even tighter against him. His right hand had never stopped its attack on my clit, and I was still cumming when I felt the first jets of his sperm flowing into my pussy. I was surprised but it felt so intimate and sensual. The stimulation he was giving my clit had me cumming a second time before he finished his own orgasm. 

The water was starting to cool off, se we hurriedly washed up. I just barely managed to rinse the shampoo and conditioner out before it became unbearably cold. We climbed out of the shower, laughing together and drying each other off. I gave Chris his ACUs and boots, noting (not for the first time) how strange that digital camouflage looked. I finished getting dressed just as he settled the beret on his head. I sighed contentedly as I looked at him. He looked so strong and handsome, and he watched me as if I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. 

"You look great, my love," he said. I looked down at the thigh-length denim skirt, "Army Wife" T-shirt Jennifer had given me, and sandals I wore. It was a cute outfit, but nothing special. Chris cupped my face tenderly and kissed me for a joyous eternity. "It's not the clothes," he said, his green eyes laughing. "It's you. You are so beautiful, Hannah."

"Flattery will get you everywhere!" I said brightly. "But if we want breakfast before Jen gets here, we better move." I carelessly threw our clothes from last night into my bag, knowing I could straighten things out later. I took one last look around our room to see that I hadn't forgotten anything, and then we went downstairs. 

The sweet old man was downstairs at the desk waiting for us. He smiled when he saw us. "You can leave your things right here, young lovers. The dining room is right there on the left. My wife Janet tells me she has something special this morning!" He took my elbow lightly and steered me towards the dining room. At the doorway he let me go with a wink. Looking at Chris, he said, "She's a keeper, son." Chris laughed and nodded, and the old man left, still grinning. I blushed lightly as we sat at one of the rooms six tables. 

Breakfast was special, but for the company and occasion rather than the food. We had banana pancakes with butter and syrup, as well as eggs, bacon, and coffee. The old lady -- Janet -- was a doll. It probably wasn't hard for her to guess what the circumstances were, but she went out of her way not to pester us unnecessarily. We lingered over our coffee, talking about this and that, holding hands across the table and kissing. 

"Hey there, newlyweds!" Jennifer said, walking into the dining room.

Hi, Sis!" Chris replied. He turned in his seat to give her a one-armed hug. 

"Hi, Jen," I said, smiling.

"Your chariot waits for you, outside," she said, with an elaborate coachman's bow. Chris and I chuckled, and stood up. I took one last look around the dining room, wanting to burn this morning and this moment into my memory. Chris took my hand in his, and I saw perfect understanding in his eyes. 

"We'll come back here sometime," he said, low enough that only I could hear. "When I'm home, we'll come back and relax."

"I'd love that!" I said, leaning into him. I didn't want to let go of him. The moment was coming soon, so soon, that I wouldn't be able to touch him again for a long time. Chris slipped an arm around my waist and we walked to the door.

Debbie Crenshaw, a nurse and one of my bridesmaids was waiting by Jennifer's car. "Give Deb your truck key, Hannah. She'll drive it back to the house and you can ride home with me," Jennifer said.

"Okay. Thanks, Deb!"

"No problem, Hannah," she said, smiling. Debbie was 23, single, and curvy. Her eyes wandered up and down Chris's form, and she shook her head with a sigh. "I'm always a bridesmaid and never a bride." 

"Ha!" shouted Jennifer. "You, married? How could you deprive men everywhere of your feminine charms?"

Debbie's sexual adventures were well known among the nursing staff and she wasn't at all sensitive about it, so we all had a good laugh. "Speaking of," Debbie began as we put our bags into Jennifer's Bug, "I'll have to tell you about one of your groomsmen, Chris. He kept me going for -- "

"Whoa, hold on there, girl!" Jennifer said, laughing even louder. "Don't go and get my brother all revved up when he has to leave!" 

"Okay, I'll tell you two about it later, then. See you tomorrow!" Debbie hurried off to the truck, her round little ass swaying beneath her tight cut-off jeans. Chris stared after her as I climbed into the backseat of the car. After a few seconds he got in next to me. 

"Good God, is she for real?" he asked.

I smiled and shook my head. "Yeah, she's the real deal, Sweetheart. She likes to say she was built for one thing."

"What's that?" Chris asked just as Jennifer got in behind the wheel.

"Fucking!" Jennifer and I said together. After a second, the three of us were laughing again. I snuggled against Chris and he put his arms around me, resting his face against my cheek. The trip to the base took about 90 minutes, but in my head it lasted only 5 or so. A Military Policeman pointed out the lot designated for visiting families, and Jennifer parked. All around us soldiers and their families were saying goodbye. I felt less guilty about the tears streaming down my cheeks as I saw them everywhere else I looked. 

Chris stood before me, holding me close, whispering into my ear how much he loved me. Jennifer, her own face wet, came up behind me. Reluctantly, I let my husband go. I took the package she held and stood aside. Chris pulled his sister close and squeezed her tightly against him. I saw her shoulders shake slightly as she fought to keep from sobbing. He gently kissed her forehead and caressed her back. His own eyes were moist as she finally released him. Her hand reached up and stroked his cheek.

"I love you, big brother. Take care of yourself as well as you've taken care of me, and you'll be fine. I couldn't -- "She couldn't finish, she just stepped back and looked helplessly at me. 

"We have something for you, honey," I said, stepping forward again.

"Oh?" Chris said, one eyebrow raised. I showed him the small package I held, and he took it. "Wow!" he exclaimed when he saw the contents. He pulled out six polymer MagPul magazines. 

"The guy at Thor's Gun Shop told me these are as close to being sand-proof as anything can be. They'll work with all military ammo, and they'll fit the M-16 rifle and M-4 carbine both with no trouble," I said. "They're supposed to be way better than Army issue, and Jennifer and I wanted you to have the best -- " Chris interrupted me with another rib-cracking hug.

"Thank you! Thank you both!" he said. He leaned over and kissed Jennifer's cheek, lingering for just a second. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "I will see you again, and I'm going to have a lot of stories to share when I do. For, now, be happy for me. I love you so much, Jennifer. Goodbye." She smiled back at him, still sniffing as she tried and failed to stop crying. 

"Hannah my love," he said, sweeping me against him one last time. "I'm coming back to you. We'll start the family we both want as soon as I come home!" He leaned in very close to me and whispered in my ear, "If the worst does happen, there is a thick manila envelope in the safe with your name on it. Everything you'll need to take of things is in there, as well as a personal letter." A single, small tear dripped down his cheek, and I quickly wiped it away with the back of my hand.

"I love you, Hannah. No matter what, please don't forget that." He stepped back from me, still holding my hand. "Goodbye, my love. Be happy, for me."

"Goodbye Chris, my love. You'll always be in my heart, and you'll always be in my thoughts. I'll pray for you." I didn't want to let go, but I knew I had to. Letting his hand drop from mine was harder than I ever would have thought it would be. Finally, I released his hand. He smiled at us one last time, turned, and walked toward the assembly building. I stood there watching him, I don't know for how long. At some point Jennifer stood next to me and put a comforting arm around my shoulders. I was crying silently, and I didn't care who saw me. My husband was heading off to war, and the only thing I could do for him was pray. 

END PART 2



Hannah's Hero Ch. 03



This is the third part of the "Hannah's Hero" multi-part story. If you haven't read parts one and two, you may want to refer to them so you are up to date on the story. The same disclaimer warnings from precious installments still apply. 

***

I couldn't honestly say exactly how long I stood there on the tarmac. I do know that I waited and watched long after Chris had joined the line of soldiers headed into the assembly hall. I was there for a while after he disappeared inside. I was there even after many families had left, though I wasn't the last to leave. In particular, I remember one tow-headed little boy -- he couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old -- clutching his mother's thigh in a death grip, tears in his little eyes.

"Mommy, when's Daddy gonna be home? Will he be home for dinner?" he asked plaintively.

"No, honey," the woman said, her eyes still focused on the far off assembly hall. 

"Will he be home at bedtime?"

"No honey, Daddy's going to be gone a long time. Remember when Daddy explained he had to go on a long trip?"

"Yeah," the little boy said, "But I hoped he'd still be home to tuck me in." I tried not to listen in on their conversation, not just because it was rude, but because it broke my heart. Together, Jennifer and I got back in the car and slowly drove away. She took her time. Both of us had been crying, and we didn't want to crash on the long drive home. 

"I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is cook. Do you want to call Angelo's and get a table?" Jennifer asked. 

"Sure," I said, but without much enthusiasm. I wasn't really hungry, and the last thing I wanted right that second was to have a good time. But, that wasn't an attitude I was going to display for my best friend and sister. I wasn't the only one feeling anxious and scared, and I felt I had no right to retreat into myself and cut off the rest of the world. So, I pulled out my phone, did a Google search for the number, and called in a reservation. After I slipped the phone back in my purse, I felt Jennifer's hand squeeze my leg.

"Thanks for not tuning out on me," she said quietly. Her statement was so appropriate that I wondered for a second if I'd said something out loud. She laughed at the expression on my face. "No, Hannah, you didn't say anything. I've known you a while now, and I can tell what you're thinking. Not to mention the fact that I'm pretty much feeling the same way you are at the moment." 

I smiled back at her, and I felt a little better. We spent the rest of the drive home chatting and even laughing a little. We got home around 3pm. True to her word, Debbie had parked Chris's truck neatly in the garage and left the key on the pegboard. She'd also left a card for us. I was touched. She's a sexually-aggressive man-eater, but she also has a caring heart. Some people might think that's a strange combination in a person, but there you go. 

We went inside, changed into swimsuits, and spent about a couple of hours in the pool laughing and splashing. Afterwards I had a quick shower and changed into a nice dress. Angelo's is a fantastic little Italian restaurant that's belonged to the same family for 40 years. Chris took me there on our fifth date, and it quickly became one of my favorite eating spots. The atmosphere was nice, but the food was definitely the main attraction. When Jennifer and I were seated, I discovered my appetite hadn't left me after all. I picked up the menu and quickly decided on roasted chicken marsala and a glass of Chianti. As we ate, Jennifer and I discussed what our living arrangements were going to be when Chris came home. 

Personally, I favored leaving things the way they were. The house had more than enough room, especially since Chris and I wouldn't need separate rooms anymore. I did suggest that I move our things into the downstairs bedroom; that way, Chris and I were less likely to bother her with any noise we made. I agreed to pay half of all utilities, and if there were any maintenance issues we'd go half-and-half there, too. She liked the idea, for several reasons. 

I enjoyed the leisurely dinner with my best friend. It really helped get my mind off of my worries. But as it turned out, someone else was going to try to spoil it. I was on my second glass of Chianti and enjoying my strawberry gelato when Jennifer suddenly fell silent. Startled by the abrupt quiet, I looked up to see that her face had gone deathly pale. 

"Jen, what is it?" I asked, slightly alarmed. She didn't reply, she simply gestured across the room. I turned to look in that direction and saw her boyfriend, Grant Thomas at a table with a lovely redhead in a strapless blue velvet dress. "Oh shit," I said softly. Jennifer had a little red spot at the top of each of her fair-skinned cheeks, and her fists were clenched. "Maybe she's his sis -- "

"No, Hannah," Jennifer cut me off. "Grant doesn't have a sister."

"Oh," I said softly. It didn't take a genius to see this wasn't going to end well. 

"I should go over there and kick his ass!" Jennifer said, vehemently. She paused, and then seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon. "Well, no I guess I probably shouldn't."

"Well," I began gently, "It would suck to get tossed out of our favorite restaurant and then get arrested."

"Yeah," Jennifer said, smirking, "But that wasn't really my concern. Grant and I have been together a long time, but he's made it clear he won't marry me. He's not going to commit to anyone." She sighed and drained her wine glass in one gulp. "I almost feel sorry for that pretty little thing at the table with him. She probably has no idea what she's getting into." 

"It's one thing to say he won't marry you. It's another thing entirely to start seeing other women without even bothering to break up with you first!" I said, outraged on my friend's behalf. She smiled sadly and shook her head. I put my hand on hers and squeezed it gently. The waiter returned and I paid the check. As we stood to leave I paused, feeling a wicked idea pop into my head. "Jennifer, I have an idea, but I need you to play along with me. How about it?"

"What are you planning, Hannah?" she asked cautiously. I took her hand and started leading her over to Grant's table. "Hannah! No, what are you doing??!!" she whispered desperately, trying to hang back. 

"Follow my lead, Jen, we are really going to fuck up his evening plans!" I hissed back, not letting go of her hand. I got within 2 feet of his table before the bastard noticed me, but when he finally did look up his face turned dead pale. 

"Oh, uh, hello Hannah...Jennifer, uh," he muttered helplessly. I'd never seen the deer-in-the-headlights expression duplicated so perfectly on a human face before. 

The pretty redhead looked over her shoulder at me, startled. I moved to stand behind her and casually rested my hands on the back of her chair. "Hi Grant! Hello there, pretty girl! I have to say, Grant, you have a talent for finding the most delectable young treats!" I said, brushing the back of my hand gently against the girl's delicate neckline. "I'm sorry we're late, but it took more time than I expected to get everything set up at the condo. But, we're ready to go now. I have the restraints, the whips, and the swing all laid out." Grant's face went even more pale, and his stammering increased. 

I smiled evilly at him, placing my hand on my waist and cocking one hip. "Do I have to be blindfolded this time? You know I love to watch the action. Besides, she looks so good, and I bet she tastes even better..." I leaned down and gently nibbled the girl's earlobe, and then kissed the side of her neck.

She stood up faster than lightning. "I had no idea you planned on having a...a...group thing!" she shouted, her expression shocked. "I thought it was going to be romantic! You never said you were into these kinds of twisted -- "

"Oh, but honey," Jennifer said finally, leaning over Grant and squeezing his shoulders possessively, "You'll like it, trust me! Twisting is what I do best!" Her tongue flicked seductively against her lips, making a clear invitation. 

"This is disgusting!" She shouted. By now, the whole dining room had its attention on us. Most of the men looked intrigued, and most of the women looked scandalized (but not all of them.) The redheaded girl grabbed her wineglass and tossed the contents all over Grant's tailored Armani suit, and stormed out.

When she was gone, I looked after her as if I couldn't understand what had just happened. Then I turned back to Grant. "Well, I guess we're going to have to start your fetish video series without her, honey. See you at the condo!" I took Jennifer's arm in mine and walked serenely out of the restaurant as if I didn't have a care in the world. 

By the time we reached my car, she was laughing like a mad woman. "Did you see his face?! That was priceless!" I laughed too, feeling extremely satisfied. Cheaters shouldn't prosper! 

I drove home very cautiously, and when we arrived, we decided to spend the rest of the evening in front of the TV. Jennifer's cell phone rang several times, and Grant's number kept coming up on the screen. She finally just turned the ringer volume all the way down and left it on the coffee table.

"You know, I ought to set it to vibrate and lay it over my clit so he can make me cum one last time!" Jennifer said. I'd just taken a sip of my Coke and ended up almost spraying it.

"Geez, Jen! That's twisted." I paused, then said, "It sounds like fun!" We both laughed. After a few movies we each went to our lonely beds. We both had to return to work in the morning, so getting to bed before midnight was essential. 

Saturday morning dawned, and soon the two of us were off to Community Hospital. Jen was on her E.R. rotation, and I was working the third floor, but we worked the same shift so we could still carpool. I had two new patients in my wing, and learning their specific needs and getting up to speed on their conditions occupied much of my time. When the shift was finally over, I felt like I'd been hammered. I drove the two of us home and cooked Hamburger Helper for supper, not having the energy for anything else. 

Time passed, even in the absence of my husband. Jen and I both threw ourselves into our work, and more often than not spent our free time together. Occasionally, we would go out with some of the other members of the nursing staff. We both had friends and acquaintances in plenty, and it was much more fun than going alone. Through it all, I prayed for my husband every night. It was the only thing I knew to do. 

It was nearly two months before I heard anything from Chris. I didn't know how to contact him by postal mail, and my emails hadn't been answered. Finally, I did receive a short reply. 

"I am alright. Join me for skype call tomorrow @ 0200 your time.

All my love, Chris."

I was thrilled and hurried to tell Jennifer. We both went to sleep very early. I woke at 1:45, woke Jen, and then rushed to make myself look good for my man. My laptop was already on. When Chris's face finally appeared on my screen I nearly kissed it. He was deeply tanned (no surprise there), and had obviously dropped weight. I didn't think that was necessarily good, since Chris wasn't carrying much spare flesh to start with. 

"Hannah, baby, it's so good to see you!" His voice was a little throaty with emotion. He noticed Jennifer as she came into camera range. "Jen! Lookin' good, sis! It's really good to see the two of you." 

"Chris, it's good to see you, too! God, I've missed you so much, baby!" I firmly clamped down on the waterworks. Tears weren't going to do either of us any good, and there was no way I was going to waste a single second of this call.

"Hi Chris!" Jennifer managed. She looked like she was going to start crying too, but she managed to hold it back. We spent 15 wonderful minutes talking, catching up on our lives. He told us as much as he could about goings on in Iraq (which was almost nothing at all). We told him about work. In particular I filled him in on plans for living arrangements, which he strongly supported. Then, Jennifer put an arm around my shoulders and leaned toward the laptops camera. 

"I know you don't have long, so I'll let you two be alone now. Don't forget that I love you, Chris."

"I love you Jennifer. I love you so much!" Chris said, smiling at his little sister. Jennifer quietly stepped out of my room, closing the door behind her. 

Chris and I stared into each others' eyes, and the distance fell away. I opened my heart to him and the words flowed freely. In that brief moment of privacy I let my guard down, eager for his comfort. Chris did the same, and it did a lot to heal the little wounds separation had inflicted. When I got to the part about Grant and his betrayal, there was no mistaking the look of cold rage on his face. Many men -- the good ones, anyway -- never stop feeling the urge to defend their younger siblings. Clearly it was the case with him. 

"As soon as I get home I'm going to rip his fucking balls --"

"We took care of it," I interrupted firmly. I went on to describe the encounter in detail, and in minutes the rage was replaced with delighted laughter. 

"You are wicked, my dear wife, and I love it!" he said, clapping his hands. 

"I know you do. I wish I could be wicked in other ways, but it'll have to wait."

"I know."

"Is there anything you need that I can send you?"

"Maybe some little things," he replied, and went on to explain how to send things to his APO address. Finally though, he gazed into his camera with deep regret. "I have to sign off now, my love. I don't want to."

"I know, lover." I said softly. "My heart is still there with you. I think of you every day, and pray for you every night."

"I'm doing the same for you. I'm worried about you," he said. I was a little surprised. He's fighting a war, I thought. Why in Heaven's name is he worried about me? 

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart, I'm fine. Your little sister will be fine, too. You just make sure you come back to me!" I said, leaning closer to the computer screen. "You have all my love, Chris."

He gazed at me like he did the night he told us he was leaving, like he was burning my image into his mind. He reached one hand toward his computer screen, like he could touch me through it. "I love you Hannah. I love you with everything I am. Please don't worry about me so much that you forget to live. If anything happened to you because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself." 

I smiled, a private smile just for my husband. "My dear love, I'm living everyday. When you get home, we'll start living together."

"Goodbye, Hannah. Sleep now. I'll see you in my dreams."

"Goodbye for now, Chris. Only for now." He smiled, touched the screen, and then his image was gone. I sat there for a moment, composing myself, then I shut off my laptop and went to bed. 

***

Chris had been gone for 12 months of his 18 month deployment. We had several more opportunities to talk over Skype, and there had been postal letters and email as well. With the semi-regular contact, I felt much better and I could tell he did too. On our first anniversary, I cooked a nice dinner -- for one -- and set my laptop on the table with my favorite candles. I had put on the same black cocktail dress I'd worn the night we first made love. When Chris Skyped in, he looked hard at his screen. 

"You look amazing, Hannah!" he said, his voice almost a whisper. He was staring hungrily at his screen, and I don't think all of his attention was on the food. 

"You look pretty good yourself!" I said seductively, bending over slightly so he could see down my neckline. Chris looked down at himself briefly, taking in his ACUs, still dusted with sand, and the sweat-soaked patrol cap he'd just taken off. "You always look good to me, lover," I said, not looking away from the screen. 

It was as close as we could come to having our first anniversary dinner together, and we both enjoyed it a lot. He watched as I took the cake topper from our wedding cake out of the freezer and took a delicate nibble. Then, he laughed uproariously as I hurried to spit it into a napkin. The freezer-burned taste was horrible, and the face I made was hilarious even to me. 

I was talking about maybe getting a puppy when Chris's head suddenly snapped around to look at something off screen. He stood up fast, and in the background I heard a distinct crack-crack-crack sound. I could see an M-4 carbine leaning against the wall of the room he was in, and he grabbed it. 

"Hannah baby, I hate to run, but I need to sign off. I love you!"

"I love you Chris!!" I yelled, desperate for him to hear me before the link was broken. I was getting an error message on my screen, and I didn't know if I'd been heard or not. 

That night was a long one. No matter what I did, I just couldn't get to sleep. Finally, I kicked the covers off in frustration. There was one thing I could do that might help. My right hand slid up under my nightie like it had a mind of its own. I delicately caressed my breasts and tweaked my sensitive nipples. 

It felt so good I moaned slightly. I gently stroked the satin-soft skin of my belly, teasing myself by ducking under the waistband of my panties but not quite reaching my pussy. Finally, I let my hand slide down over my hot sex. Over the winter I had let my bush grow out some. Now, I played my fingers through the soft, downy patch and tugged it lightly before touching the lips of my pussy. I was slightly moist; pressing down on my lips gave me enough pressure on my clit to start the journey toward orgasm. 

I totally let my imagination go wild. I saw myself with Chris on some tropical island. Instead of my hand pressing against my vulva it was his. I slipped one finger inside myself, testing my wetness, and then plunged it deeper. As the feelings got more intense it got more difficult to stay quiet. Before long one hand was rubbing my clit while the other thrust in and out of my needy pussy. 

The first shudders of orgasm hit, and I raised my hips off the bed to meet my thrusting fingers. One orgasm, I knew, probably wouldn't do the trick. Besides, I can go on and on. I must have cum four times before I finally slumped back against the pillows, sweaty and exhausted. I licked my fingers, enjoying my spicy taste and fantasizing that it was my husband I tasted. Sleep claimed me at last. 

Jennifer startled me awake at 6am. "Hannah, get up! You slept in way too late. If you don't get moving we'll be late!" She paused, seeing my disheveled appearance, and sniffed the air. "Wow, you must have been busy last night."

"Yeah," I muttered as I got up and stripped. I grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower without even waiting for the water to warm up. 

"Did you get to talk with Chris last night?" she asked as I rushed through shampooing and conditioning. 

"Sure did!" I said, keeping my tone bright. I saw no need whatsoever to tell her that her brother had to sign off early. I knew what that sound I heard in the background was. No matter what you might think, you simply CANNOT mistake the sound of automatic weapons fire for anything else. "We kind of had a romantic anniversary dinner, then we sort of made love. The trouble is I was doing it all myself!"

Jennifer smiled sympathetically when I stepped out of the shower. "I know." I observed my friend closely as I dried off and rapidly brushed my short hair. She had an air of happiness about her that mystified me. Then it hit me. 

"Didn't you have a date of your own last night, Jennifer?"

"Yeah I did!" she said, smiling. "You know, it was the most fun I've had since we went to the New Year's Ball!" I smiled, remembering. I hadn't wanted to go at first, but Chris had talked me into it. He'd told me that it was important that I remember not to cut myself off from the world. He'd been right; I had a blast dancing and spending time with my friends. And I couldn't help but notice Jennifer seemed to have paired up with a cute guy from the Radiology department. I think his name was Brad, or something like that.




Hannah's Hero Ch. 03



She looked sheepishly at me. "I was a little afraid you might hear us last night."

I grinned back at her as I hooked my bra and stepped into my panties. "I didn't hear a thing. In fact I didn't even realize you'd come home. I guess you and Brad (I hoped I got his name right) are more considerate than Chris and I were." 

"I can forgive you!" she said, playfully pushing me. "But only if you hurry!" 

We made it to Community Hospital with less than 5 minutes to spare, but we made it. I worked through the morning, but all day long I felt off kilter. I was absent-minded, and a little moody, although I tried not to let it show. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. It was a week too early for my period to start. I didn't feel ill or anything. I just didn't feel right. 

The feeling lasted my whole shift, and instead of easing off, it felt worse instead of better when I finally clocked out. Jennifer looked at me with concern as I drove.

"Hannah, what's wrong?" she asked. I didn't answer, I just shrugged. "Hannah, talk to me! What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know, okay? I've felt weird all day and it's getting worse instead of better." I went on to tell her the nitty gritty details, and she looked less concerned. 

"It's probably PMS," she said, only half-teasing. I didn't feel like arguing so I just shrugged and nodded. 

That night was even worse than the one before. I tossed and turned and punched my pillows into all kinds of weird shapes. I tried listening to music, turning on a fan, even drinking a glass of warm milk with nutmeg. As a last resort, I got out my vibrator and spent an hour pleasuring myself. Only afterward did sleep finally come for me. 

Again, Jennifer shook me awake, only this time she hadn't let me sleep in. After making sure I wasn't going to close my eyes again, she sat down next to me on the bed. "Hannah," she said, "Something's wrong. I want you to see Dr. Kovarubias. Today." Doctor Marina Kovarubias was a truly gifted and compassionate mental health professional, and more than one member of the staff had gone to see her at one time or another. 

"Come on, Jen, there's nothing wrong with my head. I'm just looking forward to having tomorrow and the next day off. That's all I need." I felt listless and the last thing I wanted was a fight. As I stripped down for the shower it looked as if she was going to let the matter drop. Relieved, I went through my morning routine of showering, dressing, and eating a light breakfast. 

That morning at work was much like the day before. By the time lunch arrived, all I wanted to do was leave. Jennifer met me in the cafeteria where we both grabbed salads and iced tea. When we got to the nurses lounge it was already crowded so we ate standing near the TV. I wasn't really paying much attention until I saw the "Special Report" graphic.

"Hey Jack," I said to the male nurse nearest the TV. "Turn that up, will you please?" He did so, and soon the whole room was watching.

"This is a Special Report," the cute blonde newswoman was saying. "Al-Jazeera, the Arab news network is announcing that insurgent forces in Iraq have killed a total of 11 U.S. and Allied soldiers in an ambush attack in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The network has also released the following video clip. We must warn you that this clip is extremely graphic and may disturb some viewers." Silence reigned throughout the room as the view switched from the clean news room to a dusty street. The sunlight was bright, and the camera was obviously held by a non-professional. The sound of automatic weapons was earsplitting, but nothing could be seen at first except running feet and sandy streets. 

Gradually the cameraman found a good position and the picture steadied. I could see an American Humvee and three or four heavy trucks in the middle of the street. The Humvee in front looked like a giant had pounded the crap out of it with Thor's Hammer. The driver was slumped back in his seat, and judging by the angle of his neck, was already gone. A second soldier was struggling in the front passenger seat, obviously caught on something in the wreck and trying to get loose. A third soldier was kneeling behind the smashed hood of the vehicle, using it for cover while he returned fire. 

An insurgent standing next to the cameraman threw a grenade at the Humvee, and missed. The blast still managed to knock the helmet off the American's head, and my heart started to race. That head looked very familiar. "Oh my God," I whispered in the quiet. 

As I watched, the soldier got back on his feet, fired a short burst from his M-4 into a rushing insurgent, and returned to cover. Next to the cameraman, another insurgent brought up some sort of shoulder-launched rocket. For an instant, the camera focused on the American soldier just as the rocket motor ignited. The name tapes on the man's uniform were clearly visible: "WEST, U.S. ARMY." Then, the yellow flame from the flying rocket blotted out the picture. The scene ended and cut back to the pretty blonde in the clean news room. 

"Once again if you are just joining our broadcast, the Arab news network Al-Jazeera is claiming the preceding video was shot by insurgents fighting American and Allied forces in Iraq..."

I didn't hear the rest. The sound of my salad plate and tea glass hitting the floor and shattering broke the silence. Every face in the room was watching Jennifer and me. They had all seen what I had seen. Three of the male nurses were already on their feet heading towards us. I was shaking like a sapling in the wind. I heard someone scream. It was a sound of intense pain, and soul-ripping rage combined. It took a second for me to realize I was the one screaming. 

I was falling, the edges of my vision were going black. I felt like I was choking, like I couldn't get air. "Breathe Hannah, just breathe!" came a man's voice. 

"Someone get Doctors Steiner and Kovarubias, stat!" shouted another. I didn't care about any of it. I felt strong hands catch me and gently lower me to the floor. Other hands were gently smacking my face, trying to rouse me, and checking my airway. I just didn't care. I let the blackness sweep me away into a merciful state of unconsciousness. I had just watched my loving husband die on national television.

END PART 3



Hannah's Hero Ch. 04



This is the fourth part of the Hannah's Hero "saga." If you haven't read the previous parts you might want to take a minute to do so. The same content advisory given in Part 1 applies here as well. As always, I welcome your messages and comments. 

***

I found myself lying on a beautiful white sandy beach. I was wearing a pink string-bikini with a warm breeze and strong sunlight caressing my skin. I felt strong but gentle hands rubbing my back and shoulders. I turned over and looked up into the smiling green eyes of my husband. His loving eyes, the same shade as mine, looked down at me in adoration. 

"Chris," I breathed, reaching out to touch him. His face was solid beneath my hand, with just a hint of roughness from the stubble on his cheek. His hand covered mine, and he smiled broadly.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said. He leaned down and kissed me deeply. I moaned into his mouth, wrapping my arms tightly around him. When our mouths parted, we both laughed for sheer joy. In an instant we were naked, rolling on the thick beach blanket.

His lips kissed over my breasts to the nipples, licking and sucking them. As he enjoyed my firm little tits, my hand found his balls. I gently played with them before moving to stroke his thick penis. Chris sighed in pleasure and kissed down my belly toward my pussy. I stopped him with gentle hands. 

"Not this time, lover," I said with a tender smile. "This time, you're going first." I sat up, putting my hands on his shoulders. I guided my husband onto his back and laid on top of him, kissing his mouth, cheeks, and throat. I kissed over his whole body, only going between his legs when I sensed that he was getting frustrated. 

I decided not to make him wait anymore, and took him in my warm wet mouth. He moaned loudly as his cock slid in as far as I could take it. I looked him in the eye and started sucking him, slowly sliding his dick in and out of my mouth. Little by little I increased the pace and the pressure, gradually sucking harder. When I felt him getting close I slipped him out of my mouth and started licking his balls and the underside of his shaft. 

Groaning at my sweet torment, Chris tried to steer my mouth back to his needy cock. I laughed as I ducked under his hands, but took mercy on him. My lips parted wetly around the head of his penis as I took him back into my mouth. My wet pink tongue swirled around his shaft as I sucked. As I pleasured my man, I felt his hands caressing my head and shoulders.

"Oh baby, I'm close," he whispered, barely louder than the breeze. I kept the same pace, feeling the tension in his body. Seconds later he erupted, "Hannah I'm cumming! Ooohh, I'm cumming!"

I felt the warm, salty spurts in my mouth and tasted the familiar flavor of my husband's seed. I swallowed it greedily. It had been so long. I'd barely finished swallowing his cum when his hands went under my arms and physically lifted me. He laid me on my back just as I'd done to him, and then his mouth was at my pussy. I was already excited from pleasuring him, and his tongue easily slid between my lips. 

Chris teased my rapidly hardening clit, and then darted inside of me. I gasped at the feeling, and my back arched to try to force it in deeper. It was his turn to laugh as his hands slid under me to grab my ass. Holding me steady, he thrust his tongue deeply into my pussy. I sighed and moaned loudly. Quickly, he slid his tongue out of my pussy and licked my lips, stopping to gently nibble them occasionally. After a moment, though, he couldn't resist going back to my clit. His slightly rough tongue licked over my clit, driving me closer and closer to the edge. Suddenly, he slid a finger into me and pressed it firmly against the front wall of my pussy, against my G-spot! The firm pressure and his flicking tongue drove me right over the edge and I came hard in his mouth. "Aaaahhhh," I yelled, my hips bucking against his face. 

Chris didn't wait for me to come down from the sexual high. Instead, he rose up over me and took me, plunging his hard cock deep inside. His hands pressed against the bottoms of my thighs until my knees nearly touched my breasts. He was thrusting deep inside of me, filling my pussy with his hardness. It felt so good I came again, squeezing him with my muscles. Chris's thrusts were coming faster as he got closer to his second orgasm. I was way past my own second orgasm. In fact I'd lost count again. Then his face came down to meet mine and he kissed me passionately. I felt hot shots of semen erupting inside of me as he came. I moaned into his mouth again as I felt him fill me up. 

He stayed on top of me, nuzzling my breasts and kissing my neck. Finally though, he released my legs, slid out of me and laid on his back. I rolled over and cuddled against him, laying my head in the crook of his shoulder. Chris held me and stroked my hair with long, gentle touches. I was feeling the familiar post-orgasmic sleepiness, but I didn't let myself surrender to it. Something wasn't quite right.

"Chris," I murmured against his neck. 

"Umm?" he muttered, squeezing me a little tighter.

"I feel like something's wrong, like I've forgotten something," I said. Then it all came rushing back to me. "No," I whispered, unconsciously gripping my husband more tightly. "I'm dreaming. This is a dream!"

"Yes," Chris said softly. "But it's a good dream, isn't it?"

"You died! I saw you die on the TV!" I said, crying.

He didn't reply, he just held me close while I sobbed helplessly against his shoulder. When I finally calmed down some, he loosened his hold. 

"How can this be?" I asked. He smiled at me and kissed me again.

"The mind can do amazing, wonderful things. You needed, more than anything, to see me and feel me again, so you made it happen." His eyes gazed into mine, and I could feel how much he loved me. 

"So this is all in my head, none of it is real." I looked around us at the beautiful beach, the hot sun, and softly swaying palm trees that surrounded us. Even the sound of the ocean was perfect.

"Of course it's in your head!" he said, still smiling. "But why should that mean it isn't real? Listen Hannah, I won't claim to know all the answers. For now, why don't you just accept this as a gift. One last, precious moment together. I know that I wouldn't have missed this chance for anything."

"I wouldn't have, either!" I said. I hugged him tight, savoring the feel of him against me. My skin was alive with sensation everywhere we touched. The thin field of light brown hairs on his chest teased my nipples. The warm, smooth skin at the crook of his shoulder was like satin beneath my cheek. His strong arms and hands held and caressed me. I felt safe and loved, and I didn't want it to end. Without realizing it, I was starting to squeeze him more and more tightly.

"Whoa, easy girl!" he finally said, laughing. "You should leave a few ribs intact, dream or not!" 

I eased off the pressure, but still held him tightly. He caressed my face tenderly. He kissed me and stroked my body with his strong hands. I closed my eyes and let him soothe me. Dream or not, his touch was heaven to me, comforting me and easing the pain. 

"I will always love you, Hannah. Always. Never doubt it, and never forget it. Now my love, it's time for you to wake up."

"No Chris, please! Can't I stay with you?" I begged.

"Not just yet, Sweetheart. One day, though, we'll be together again. I promise," He said, his voice gentle and understanding. "Wake up, Hannah."

"Wake up, Hannah!" This voice was different. It was a female voice, one I knew well. "Please, Hannah, please wake up!" I could still see Chris lying next to me, I still felt his body in my arms, but both sight and touch were fading. He smiled, but it was touched with sadness. 

"She needs you too, Sweetheart. Go to her." Chris's face was fading faster now. I could no longer feel him in my arms. "No, don't leave me!" He was gone now, the beautiful beach was gone with him. "No!" I screamed into the sudden dimness. My arms flailed outward until strong hands caught my wrists. I opened my eyes to see Jennifer's tear-streaked face, holding my hands in hers.

Slowly I became fully aware of my surroundings. I was in a dimly lit office, lying on a sofa. Jennifer, Dr. Marina Kovarubias, and a dark-haired male I didn't know were there. Jennifer was kneeling at my side.

I blinked my eyes a few times before finally sitting up straight. Dr. Kovarubias remained sitting where she was, her face full of empathy. I didn't know what to say; I didn't know if I should say anything at all, for that matter. Finally unable to stand the silence, I asked, "I passed out, didn't I?"

When Jennifer nodded yes, I asked, "How long was I out?"

"Roughly 20 minutes," Dr. Kovarubias said, her soft Greek accent making familiar words sound exotic. I felt myself slump against the sofa back. I felt drained and empty. My face was strangely dry, as if I didn't even have enough strength for tears. Jennifer sat down next to me and held me tenderly. 

"Nurse West...Hannah," Marina Kovarubias began, "My first instinct is to keep you here overnight for observation. The reason for that is that some people, when feeling powerful negative emotions, can do things they would normally never do. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Her dark eyes watched me until I nodded my head yes. 

"However, I'm willing to let you go home. I know you'll be more comfortable there, away from prying eyes. But, I want to see you first thing tomorrow. In fact," she paused, smiling gently at me, "I'm making a house call." 

Not knowing what to say, and really just wanting to be alone, I nodded my head again. The mature, rational part of my mind knew I needed some professional attention and was grateful to have access to a doctor of her caliber. The grieving, sobbing, hysterical side of me wanted nothing to do with the rational side. It just wanted to be alone with its despair. I won't lie to you; the grieving part was fully in charge of me at that moment. I would've agreed to anything the older woman said if it meant I could get out of that room. She seemed to know what I was feeling. She nodded her head to the dark-haired man.

"Jeffrey is an orderly from my department. He will drive you both home since I don't think you're safe to be on the road. You should both rest."

"Thank you, Doctor," Jennifer said quietly. She helped me stand, and then supported me as we walked to the door. In the hall outside, our fellow nurses expressed their sympathy with gentle pats and touches. Nurse Hoskins -- whom we jokingly referred to as "Nurse-zilla" -- was particularly sympathetic, since her first husband had died in Desert Storm. 

The drive home was mercifully short and silent, and then Jen and I were back at the house. I stumbled twice on the way to my room, but Jennifer kept me upright. She opened my door and helped me to the bed. I lay down, and the tears finally started. There was no sound. No screaming or throwing things, no hysterics, just a steady flow of tears. My rage would catch up with me later. For now, I was dominated with grief, pain, and loss. I looked up at my best friend and sister's face. 

"He really loved you, you know," I said to her at last. "More than anything, he wanted to protect you, and fill in for your absentee father. He wanted so much for you to be happy."

"I know," she said, her voice breaking on the last word. "He was a good man. I loved him so much, and I hope I told him often enough. But Hannah," she took my chin in her hand and made me look her in the eye, "I don't think he'd want either of us to totally fall apart." 

"I know that's true. I won't let myself break down like that." I let her see that I meant what I said. "By the same token, I'm sure he'd understand how I feel. He was really good at reading my mood. Even on that very first date, he could tell what I was feeling and respond in exactly the right way." Jennifer sank onto the bed with me and held me while I cried. 

"Yes he would have. In fact, he'd have been just as devastated if the situation were reversed. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to criticize you, Hannah, I --"

"Stop, Jen," I said. "You don't have to apologize to me, nor do have to worry about being brave. It's okay to just let it go. You've held me and given me every comfort you could. It's your turn. If anyone on Earth could claim a closer bond with him than me, it would be you. We're alone here, so let it out." 

Her body trembled against me, and I held her as tightly as she had held me. I stroked her hair and her shoulders while she wept. When she had finished, we sat in silence for a while. I felt a curiously refreshed sensation, as if the tears and the outpouring of grief had partially cleansed the wounds in my heart, so the healing could start at some point. 

Finally, the blessed mercy of sleep swept over us, and we rested peacefully in each others' arms. I think that we both needed the closeness. Jennifer was the closest friend I'd ever had, not counting my husband. As much as I felt like being alone, I needed more than anything to feel the bonds of family with someone. Yeah, I know that's contradictory and it doesn't make any sense. Regardless, we held each other close and offered each other what comfort we could. Sleep took care of the rest. 

The next day, I began what was to be a long process of finding my husband's remains and trying to get him home. I started making the first of what would be many calls to many offices. I started with the office of the Chaplain General and worked my way out from there. The papers Chris had left for me -- other than a very loving letter -- dealt mostly with financial stuff. I'm sure he didn't foresee things happening quite like this. The problem was I couldn't do anything until he was officially declared dead. 

Anyone who's dealt with the military in general -- and the Army in particular -- will probably be familiar with the runaround I was getting. I wasn't making much headway. I was asking awkward questions, such as "Why did I see my husband die on cable news before I get official notification?", and "Where is my husband's body?" 

After a week, our bereavement leave was up. Neither of us felt like going back to work, but back we went. The whole staff -- not just the nurses -- went out of their way to treat Jen and I with the utmost sympathy and respect. But things weren't going well. I still wasn't getting any answers out of the Army. My sessions with Dr. Kovarubias went alright. She truly is a gifted professional, but I just couldn't bring myself to hear what she was saying sometimes. 

My Daddy, though, was a big help. It was only a few days after that horrible newscast that he came to see me, flying all the way from Atlanta just to be with me and comfort me.

"Baby," he'd said, "You can always come back to the house if you need to. I'll take care of you. Don't you worry none about your Momma. If she says one cross word to you --"

"Oh Daddy! Thank you, but no," I said to him. I saw love and understanding in his eyes. 

"I liked that young man a lot, honey, and I could see how much you loved each other. You just remember that I love you too, and if you ever need me you just call." 

As still another week passed, though, and the Army continued to stone-wall me, I started to get worn down. I wasn't eating at all, I was losing weight, and my stamina and energy were at all time lows. Everyone noticed, but only Jennifer and Dr. Kovarubias said anything. I just brushed it off. I didn't have much of an appetite. 

Oddly, a patient in my ward snapped me out of it. His name was Brigadier General William Ellis, U. S. Army (retired). He was in the hospital fighting a losing war with pancreatic cancer. It was the fourth week after the newscast. I'd stopped to check on him during my regular afternoon rounds.

"How do you feel today, Mr. Ellis?" I asked politely. I didn't notice the way he was looking me up and down. I was too busy checking his chart and his IV drip.

"I feel like I've been pumped full of toxic drugs, then zapped with a focused beam of ionizing radiation. But since that's exactly what happened, I guess that's normal. How do you feel?" 

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," I said absently. 

"Really? I think that's a load of horse shit," he said. I was startled. The old man had always been very polite before, and the sudden rough tone and language were out of character. I was even more startled when his hand lashed out with sudden quickness and grabbed the waist band of my scrub pants. He tugged them away from my belly and let them snap back. 

"About what I thought," he said.

"What was that all about?" I demanded angrily. He looked me square in the eye without the smallest trace of apology. 

"You have lost a good deal of weight, girl. Your muscle tone is starting to slip because you aren't getting enough protein. Your cheeks are starting to look hollow and your eyes are dull. Tell me, Nurse West, what would those symptoms indicate to you?" He locked eyes with me, almost daring me to challenge his assessment. 

When I didn't respond to him he shook his head. "You looked pretty good when I first got here, but there's been a steady decline, so I've been asking myself what happened to you."

"It's none of your business," I said, color starting to rise in my cheeks. 

"I spent most of my career in Military Intelligence," he said. "And yes, I'm well aware that's a contradiction in terms most of the time. But back before you were born, in a shitty little war we like to call Vietnam, I kept myself and my men alive by noticing things that most other people didn't. I see something in you right now that I haven't seen since then." 

His dark, intelligent eyes surveyed me again. It wasn't a lustful gaze, it was more like he was evaluating important data.

"I know the gist of what's happened to you," he said finally. "The staff here's been pretty tight-lipped about it, but that damn broadcast," his voice trailed off and he shook his head in disgust. "People are going to talk about something like that, no matter how much they want to protect your feelings. It's human nature, and without it the intelligence business would be an even tougher one than it is." 

He shrugged slightly. "Learning things I'm not supposed to know is what I do...or rather, what I did." With surprising athleticism for a 70-year-old man who was literally dying, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. Automatically I moved closer to his side in case he fell, just as he knew I would.

He caught my hand in his and held it with surprising strength. I couldn't seem to look away from his eyes. "Tell me what else has happened. What is it that's eating you up inside?" His voice was a weird blend of deep sympathy and unyielding command.  

As if a dam inside me broke, the whole story poured out. He listened attentively, occasionally stopping me to ask a question. Afterwards he let me go and sat back in his bed, staring reflectively at the ceiling. Finally, he looked back to me. 

"I hate shit like this, but you aren't the first couple this kind of stuff's happened to. I may be able to help, but I'll need to call in a favor. Come see me tomorrow after my Chemotherapy treatment and I may have something for you." 

I was stunned. "Oh my God, thank you!"

"No!" he said, weakly. "No thanks are needed, Nurse West. You and I both know," he looked toward the chart in my hands, "what that thing says. My wife's been gone for 15 years, thanks to some liquored-up punk in an El Camino. Without her, and without the Service, I've felt like a useless REMF. I still have some...friends, I guess you could say, who owe me big time. If I can actually help you, then it'll be an honor and a privilege to do it." He smiled at me. "Our country will survive as long as people like your husband are still willing to fight, and sometimes die for it. Maybe I can help him come home."




Hannah's Hero Ch. 04



Being careful not to pull his IV drip loose, I hugged him and held him tightly for a moment. "Now, you go do what you need to do, and take better care of yourself. If that young man saw you like this, what do you think he'd say?"

"You're right," I said. "He'd expect me keep living and remember him with love." 

The old general smiled and nodded his head. "That's more like it. When it gets tough for you, remember this: if you surrender to despair, then they've won. They'll have ended two lives for the price of one. Never give up, and never give in! I'm at the end of the road, but I'm going to fight every step of the way. You honor his memory and do the same!" 

That night I had a restful night's sleep for the first time in weeks. And if that weren't enough, I surprised Jennifer and myself both by eating a quick breakfast before we left for work. I did my morning rounds, checking in on all of my patients. Mr. Ellis was sleeping, so I changed his drip and left him be. 

The afternoon finally arrived, and as soon as the orderly brought him back from infusion I went to see him. In spite of his illness he met me with an angelic smile, holding both hands out to me. I knelt in front of his wheelchair and took his hands in mine. 

"Hannah," he said, his voice weak, but choked with emotion, "Specialist Christopher West was not among those killed in action!" 

"What!?" I cried, staggering with the weight of what I had just heard.

"He isn't dead, girl!" General Ellis said, beaming. His smiled faded slightly. "I won't lie to you, he was shot twice, but he survived!" 

"When I saw...I saw him on the TV..."

"I know, my dear, I know," he said, soothingly. He pulled me into his arms for a weak hug. "I wrote down the details I could find for you. I'm afraid I don't have the energy for a long talk." He gave me a small wire-bound notepad, and smiled again. "Thank God I was able to serve one more time." He slumped back in his wheelchair and dozed off. I gently checked his vitals and his chart, and made a decision. 

It wasn't my place, but he would have done it for me. I called his listed next of kin, a daughter named Ellen. I knew from his chart that the old soldier was near the end of his battle, and I didn't want him to face it alone. I'd be happy to be by his side, but it would mean more if his family could be there. 

A little before the end of my shift that night, his heart monitor alert went off. Since I was still the duty nurse I rushed to his room. There was no need for the crash cart or the melodramatic "code blue" over the intercom. We all knew it was coming. I just wanted to be there. General Ellis's eyes were open, and he looked at me as I entered.

"I'm...still...fighting," he rasped. I went his bedside and knelt down, sliding one arm beneath his shoulders and holding him gently. Tears dripped down my face as I kissed his brow. "Will...you...stay?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, of course!" I said. I gently laid his sunken cheek against my breast, and whispered soft words of comfort. I could hear running feet in the hallway, and moments later Debbie Crenshaw rushed in with a 40-ish-looking woman in tow behind her. 

"Dad?" the woman said. "Daddy?" She hurried to the other side of his bed, reaching out to touch his chest. He stirred slightly and his eyes focused on her. I helped to support his weight as he reached out to embrace his daughter.

"Ellen...love...you," he said. His breathing was more erratic now. Debbie and I locked eyes for a second, and she nodded. She very quietly stepped out and closed the door. 

"Daddy," Ellen said softly, "I love you too. Brian and the kids and I will be fine. You've taken good care of us." She lovingly kissed his cheek and stroked his face. "Mom is waiting for you. Go be with her. Tell her we miss her, but we'll all be along in good time." The old man smiled, and then, as if he'd just been waiting to hear the words, he closed his eyes. His labored breathing faltered and stopped. 

I reached out with one hand to silence the heart monitor. Debbie stepped back inside, and while I gently helped the sobbing Ellen to her feet, she drew the top sheet respectfully over him. Ellen's sobs trailed off after a moment, and I let her go. Turning to face the bed, I drew myself into a posture of attention and saluted him. 

Maybe that wasn't appropriate from a civilian nobody who was just a nurse in a small town hospital. But I wanted to honor the old man who had given most of his adult life in the service of others. He hadn't been required to do a thing for me, but he had. He'd cut through the byzantine maze of red tape and endless request forms and pointless phone calls. Thanks to what he'd done, I had my hope back. My Chris was alive! The very least I could do was give him some comfort at the end of his life. I only hoped that I was able to help ease his passing, and offer some peace and closure to his daughter.

I lowered my right hand from my brow, and stooped to kiss the sheet over his forehead. "Thank you, from the depths of my being. May your soul fly free and find your loved ones as well as the peace that this life denied you. I won't forget you, ever."  

I turned and took Ellen's arm. Together, Debbie and I walked her out so she wouldn't see the orderlies come to collect her father's remains. We found her husband in the lobby watching over three sleeping children. He quietly went to his wife's side, and I watched as he held her close. A moment later I told them how to reach the Chaplain if they should need him and started to leave them in the privacy of their grief. Before I could leave, though, Ellen turned to me again. 

"Thank you, Nurse West, for calling me. I'm so glad I got to tell him goodbye!" she said. "I didn't get to talk to my Mom before...." Her voice trailed off, and then she went back to her family. 

Debbie was watching me carefully, waiting to see if this event was going to reopen a gaping wound in my psyche. "I really owe that old man," I told her quietly. I proceeded to tell her the good news. Her eyes grew wide with shock, and then she beamed in joy. 

"Oh Hannah!" she gasped. "That's INCREDIBLE!" 

"What's incredible?" Jennifer asked, digging her car keys from her purse as she stepped out of the locker room. I grabbed my best friend in bear hug, startling her. As we walked out of the hospital she was looking at me as if she thought I was going nuts. 

Finally I couldn't hold it back anymore and blurted, "Chris is alive!"

"A-A-ALIVE??!!" she shouted.

"Yes! He's hurt, but he's alive!" I said, simply unable to contain my emotions. We were outside in the parking lot now, and Jennifer looked up toward the night sky.

"Thank you," she whispered prayerfully. I too offered thanks. There were more tears, but these tears were different. Now, we cried happy tears.

Death has a way of putting things in perspective. As a nurse, Death was something I dealt with almost every day, but now it had taught me something beyond the purely clinical. From that point on I was determined to face each new day ready to fight, because every day we have is a precious gift. If we allow someone else to take that away from us, then they take our lives. Maybe we're still breathing, but the life in us drains away. 

I decided from then on that no one was going to take that from me. My love for my husband is a shield that protects me, not a weight that drags me down. I decided that if death should separate us, then I would honor Chris by living on and cherishing every memory of our time together. For now, I had the sweet knowledge that he still lived. My spirit soared as Jen and I drove home. Where there is life, there is hope!

END PART 4



Hannah's Hero Ch. 05



Welcome to Part 5 of the Hannah's Hero tale. The same warnings about content given in Part 1 still apply, of course. I love reading your comments! I'd like to take a second to tell everyone that, though this work is inspired by what my own younger sister and her husband have had to endure, it is a work of fiction. I know that I am not accurately portraying the internal workings of the military; that's not the focus of this story. My intent is to honor our veterans and their families, not to offend. Hope you all enjoy. 

***

For the second time, I found myself standing on the tarmac with Jennifer (and Brad) by my side. This time though, we were anxiously waiting for Chris's return instead of dreading his departure. As we waited, I couldn't help but think about the information General Ellis had given me. Thanks to him, I knew a great deal about what had happened to Chris. A long sequence of mistakes had been made in the aftermath of the ambush. 

The medics had informed Chris's platoon leader of his injuries, but by the time it reached the Company Commander the report was badly garbled. The people normally responsible for notifying family members of injuries and deaths hadn't been given any information. At each step in the chain, everyone had assumed someone else had taken care of it, not realizing that no one had. Chris himself would've made the Earth move to talk to me, except he was too busy being unconscious just then. I can excuse him for that, I guess. 

Consequently, no one in the multitude of offices I'd called had any idea what I was talking about. No wonder I made no headway. As things worked out, I finally made contact with my husband a little over 30 days after the newscast.

For reasons known only to God -- and possibly some filing clerk in a Pentagon dungeon somewhere -- the Army had decided Chris was healing quickly enough that he didn't need to be returned to the States. Instead, after being released from the field hospital in Kuwait he was returned to his unit and put on light duties. In other words, he spent his days shuffling papers and making coffee for REMFs (his words, not mine. At that point I'd heard that word twice and still didn't know what it meant.) 

The good side of that (for both of us) was that we got to speak on a regular basis, sometimes email, sometimes Skype. Chris was shocked to hear about the newscast. He'd had no idea there'd been a camera present. Of course when you're fighting for your life you should be forgiven for not stopping to smile and wave. God love him, he'd actually apologized to me!

"Oh God, baby, I'm so sorry you had to see that!" he'd said.

"Chris, how in Heaven's name could you have stopped it?" I'd asked with exasperated humor. 

"Well, I guess I could've shot the cameraman. I'll work on that next time, okay Sweetheart?"

"Ha! How about you work on making sure there isn't a 'next time,' instead, lover!" He'd smiled at me then, and looking at his handsome face on my laptop screen I'd silently given thanks. I then told him about old General Ellis, and how he had helped me find out what had happened to him. Chris was moved to tears, saying "I wish there was some way to thank him!" When I told what I had done, he nodded firmly in approval and said it was exactly what I should have done. He deserved nothing less. 

Later on in that same call I had (foolishly) asked him about the details of the ambush. It was a natural enough mistake for a person to make, but as his wife I should've known better. His face turned pale beneath his tan, and he quickly changed the subject. 

Now, though, the 18-month purgatory of Chris's deployment was finally over. Jennifer, Brad, and I (along with so many other families) were waiting outside the massive assembly hall, waiting for the green-painted buses to arrive. If I could've had my way, I would've met him at the Air Force base where he landed. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. 

"Look!" Jennifer called out, pointing. As we watched, a long line of buses began turning in through the main gate of the base. As the buses began parking in the roped-off parking lot, a small band starting playing. As the first soldiers stepped off the buses, a loud roar rose from the crowd, and families rushed to greet their loved ones. The Military Police could never have stopped the tide, and they wisely didn't try. Instead, they kept people out of the roped-off area so other buses could park. 

Brad stayed with the car while Jennifer and I waded through the crowd looking for Chris. I was happy to see a familiar tow-headed little boy jumping up and down yelling, "Daddy's home!" Next to him, his mother was pressed firmly against a tall man with sergeant's stripes. It didn't look like they were going to come up for air any time soon. 

After what seemed like an eternity of searching, we finally saw Chris stepping off a bus. My heart thumped hard in my chest as I saw him in the afternoon sunlight. His best friend, Mike Kirkland, was by his side. The two of them started to walk towards us. 

I don't remember running to him. All I remember was the moment I made contact with Chris. I hugged him desperately, my mouth seeking his, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. His strong arms wrapped around my shoulders and crushed me against him. Time seemed to stop, and for the space of that moment everything was perfect. I wasn't scared anymore. I could feel him, warm lips against mine, wet tongue brushing against mine, powerful hands gripping my back, and the feel of his own hard-muscled back beneath my hands. 

"Welcome home, my love," I whispered throatily when our lips finally parted. 

"Hannah," he whispered softly, his voice caressing my name. 

Reluctantly I released Chris from my arms so he could greet his little sister. Jennifer clung to him and sobbed quietly in his arms, just as I had.

"I thought you'd left me...us," she whispered quietly.

"I know," he replied. "I'm so sorry, dear one. I'm so sorry --"

"Stop!" Jennifer said. "You have nothing to be sorry for! It's those rat-bastards over there who should be sorry! I hope you sent every last one of them screaming into whatever they call Hell!"

Both Chris and I were a little shocked by the hatred in her voice. It was a normal enough human reaction, but coming from a warm compassionate woman like Jennifer it was alarming. By mutual consent, we agreed to let it go for the moment. I moved closer to him again, inhaling his scent and drinking him in with my eyes, as he continued to squeeze his sister tightly. 

"Mike!" a familiar voice called in a delighted yell. The four of us turned to see Nurse Debbie Crenshaw hurrying toward us. Mike laughed as she jumped into his arms, clinging tightly to him to the point of wrapping one leg around him. The two of them kissed long and deep, and Debbie moaned softly in pleasure. 

"Damn!" muttered Jennifer, blushing slightly. Debbie's pose (and her very short, short-shorts) revealed a lot more than they covered. When the two of them parted, Mike turned back to us, slightly out of breath. He was grinning from ear to ear. 

"You gonna be okay, Bro?" he asked Chris.

"Yeah man, I got it. Take off. I'll call you later this week," Chris said.

Mike let Debbie go for a moment and hugged Chris gently. "Thanks for saving my life, man. I'll never forget what you did for me." He looked deep into my husband's eyes, and the bond between them was clear. "I'm here for you, Chris, if you ever need anything." 

"Thanks, Mike," Chris said. 

Mike searched Chris's face one more time, and then he let him go with a sad little smile. He then turned and took me in his arms and caressed my shoulders as he kissed my cheek. Then he tenderly stroked Jennifer's cheek and brushed a stray hair away from her face. Finally, he turned from us and walked away with Debbie. It was hard not to see the way his hand slipped south of her waist as they left. Chris watched them go, and smiled. 

"I remember her," he said, waving a hand at the smooth round curves of Debbie's retreating ass. "I hope Mike remembered his energy booster, 'cause I bet he'll need the strength tonight!" 

"Huh?" Jennifer said, one eyebrow arched as though she didn't follow his comment.

"My dear sister, I believe my friend Mike is about to engage in a close-quarters battle in the war between the sheets!"

Jennifer blushed even more brightly and hid it by snuggling into his side. 

The returning soldiers all had two weeks leave. As we walked back to Jennifer's car, we talked lightly about different things we might do together. I walked on Chris's left side, leaning closely against him. He slipped his arm around my waist and squeezed. It was obvious that he noticed my thinness around the middle when he shot me a questioning glance. I looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

"You've lost a lot of weight. Want to tell me about it?" His eyes were kind and loving, and his tone was concerned rather than judgmental. 

"The night of our Anniversary, I couldn't get to sleep for anything," I began. "For the next two days after that, I felt strange, but I didn't know what was wrong."

"I was shot the day of our anniversary," he said softly.

"I know that, now. I think somehow, I knew it then, too. Somehow my subconscious mind must have known something had happened to you." 

"But that doesn't explain this," he said, stroking my belly through my clothes. "I can tell you're a lot skinnier than you were when I left, and it's not like you were big to begin with!"

"You have to understand, I thought you were dead," I said softly. "Jen and I both did. I stopped eating almost completely. I guess on some level I didn't...I didn't want to go on living." I'd never confessed that fact to anyone except Dr. Kovarubias, though General Ellis had guessed it. I hadn't even told Jennifer. His arm tightened around me, and I looked up into his beautiful eyes. I could have stared into them for a lifetime and been happy. I saw in those twin pools his love for me.

"I've been seeing a psychologist on the staff at the hospital, and I'm eating again." I took his hand and let him feel my bicep. "You can see my muscle tone is fine. I'm getting plenty of protein, my serum glucose is normal, and my ketones are back at healthy levels. I've actually gained a few pounds back." 

He leaned into me and kissed me hard. I felt him physically shaking with the strength of his emotion. "Oh my God," he whispered. "I didn't know, baby," he said, "If I'd had any idea --"

"You'd have what?" I asked. "You'd have not been wounded in the service of your country? Well, we all hope for that, but it happens anyway. Or, maybe you would've hesitated to save Mike's life?" I cupped his face tenderly in my hands. "This was nothing you did, Chris. This was me, this was my foolishness. I didn't listen to you when you told me you wanted me to go on if the worst happened. Don't take the weight of the whole world on your shoulders."

He clearly wanted to say more, but I stopped him with a gentle finger across his lips. "Save it for when we're alone, lover. No secrets between us, I promise." He must've seen the sincerity in my eyes, because he let the matter drop. The three of us walked in loving silence the rest of the way to the car. 

"Uh, who's that?" Chris asked as we arrived.

"Oh," Jennifer said quickly, "That's -- "

"Brad Donnovan," Brad finished, holding his hand out to Chris.

"We've been seeing each other for a few months, now," Jennifer said, sheepishly. "He's a Radiology Technician."

Chris smiled and shook Brad's hand firmly. "Glad to meet you, Brad."

"Likewise, Chris," Brad replied. 

The trip home was quiet, until we were about 15 minutes from the house. A song started on the radio, "Far Away," by Nickelback. Unbidden, the tears started again. Just tears, fortunately. I felt my husband's arms close around me, and he gently wiped my eyes. "I'm here with you, Hannah. I'm home," he whispered. 

Brad steered into the driveway and parked. He got Chris's kit bag from the trunk while Jennifer and I escorted him into the house. As soon as he was settled on the sofa, Jennifer leaned over him and firmly kissed the top of his head. "I love you, Chris. Brad and I are going to go out for a while tonight. I won't be home until very late." She turned a loving gaze my way. "The two of you need some time alone to heal. We'll talk more tomorrow." 

Chris lifted a hand to his sister's face, and she held it in place with hers. "I love you too, Jennifer." She smiled at him tenderly, and left, locking the front door behind her. I had never taken my eyes from my husband. Slowly, I stretched out a hand and opened the collar of his ACU top. His hand covered mine as I moved to unzip the front.

"Hannah, I...I don't look the same anymore," he said. His eyes held trepidation, and that was never an emotion he directed toward me. "There's a lot of --"

I stopped him with a gentle finger across his lips, and held his gaze with mine. "Ssshhh, baby," I said tenderly to him. "Chris, I love you with all my heart. Under these clothes," I pressed my palm gently over his chest, "You will look just like you did, because you'll still look like my husband."

His hand released mine, but not without some hesitation. I drew the zipper down and carefully took the jacket off. With gentle hands, I pulled his T-shirt from his trousers and pulled it over his head. He shivered when the cool air touched his skin. After 18 months in temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it was going to take him a while to get used to late October in Indiana. He sat back and I looked at the two white gauze dressings that covered his wounds. 

I asked him lean forward so I could see his back. As I expected, there two more dressings covering the exit wounds. I looked at him questioningly. 

"Honey," I said gently, "Enough time has passed that these shouldn't be medically necessary." 

Chris sighed and looked down. "They aren't. I had Mike tape them on for me." His eyes came back up and looked into mine. I could tell he was afraid I would be repulsed by what was under the gauze. "I'm afraid that once you see what I look like, you won't...you won't think I'm...you won't like what you see."

I gently removed the four bandages, and Chris closed his eyes, looking away from me. I surveyed the wounds carefully and the clinical side of my mind took over, noting the pink coloration of the puckered scar tissue. One bullet had struck my husband in the left chest, above and slightly to the right of his flat nipple. The other had struck at an angle, entering below the left collarbone and exiting the back of his neck, horribly close to the spine. How it managed to miss the spine, not to mention his subclavian artery, I'll never know. I'm just grateful to God that it did, because that wound could have been fatal. 

Chris's back was more badly scarred because in addition to the ballistic damage, the medics attempting to save his life had left their mark as well. The muscles and tendons in his neck appeared to be healed. He'd had no trouble squeezing me tight earlier. It certainly helped a lot that he was in good physical condition before he was wounded. 

Honestly, given the placement of the chest wound, I was more concerned with his lung function than anything else. A skilled physical therapist could work wonders with muscles and tendons, but lungs were tricky things in my experience. 

Now that the nurse in me was satisfied, the wife in me came to the fore. The agony that that raw, puckered scar tissue represented brought me to tears yet again. I had seen enough in my medical career that I had no trouble imagining what he must have suffered through. The palm of my hand pressed against his chest as I leaned into him. I gently cupped his chin with my other hand and kissed him. After a brief hesitation, he kissed me back. 

The kiss deepened as I caressed his bare chest and stroked his cheek. When our kiss ended, I gazed lovingly into the eyes of the man I married. "It's true," I said softly. "You look exactly like the man I married, because you are." Tracing the lines of scar tissue on his back, I continued to hold his eyes with mine.

"Are you going to say that these," he gestured to the ugly welts on his torso, "Don't matter to you?" His voice hitched slightly. I could tell he was afraid of what I was about to say. 

"No, I won't, because they mean a lot to me. They mean that I married an incredibly brave man." He looked at me in surprise. I held his face with both hands and smiled, the kind of smile a woman has only for her husband. 

"I am so proud of you," I whispered. "I don't have to hear Mike's story to believe he meant it when he said you saved his life. You are a hero, Christopher West. You're my hero. I'm damn proud of you, and I'm damn proud to be your wife." 

We were alone there together, and in that intimate moment we both felt safe in each other's arms. With no one but me to see them, Chris's tears poured out. I pillowed his face against my breasts while he wept, tenderly stroking his back. 

"Let it go, Honey. I'm here. You're home, now. I love you so much, and I admire you just as much. Just let it go." I cast all my concerns aside and locked them into a closet in my mind. My man needed me desperately, and I was going to do whatever it took to comfort him. As I held him, it hit home just how deeply he trusted me to allow himself this kind of reaction. Most men would rather die than cry in their wife's arms. In my opinion though, it was a sign of Chris's strength that he could do so. It strengthened the bond between us, certainly. Maybe you don't agree, and if so that's your privilege. 

I held him until the shaking stopped and his breathing was steady again. When I was sure he'd finished for the time being, I pulled my wounded warrior to his feet. Collecting his shirt and jacket from the floor, I led him to our bedroom. There were so many things that needed to be said. There were tales that needed to be told. Now was not the time. The physical separation, the wounds both physical and psychological, had some healing left to do. As a nurse, I knew many ways to deal with both kinds of injuries. As a woman, and a wife, there was one in particular I favored. 

I led my husband to our new bedroom on the ground floor. He smiled when he saw it; obviously he must have guessed why I picked this particular room for our own. The furnishings were both mine and his, a homey collection calculated to make us both feel at ease. His eyebrows rose as he saw the recent additions to the room, but he kept silent for the moment. 

Chris sat on the bed as I stepped into the en suite bathroom and started the hot water running. I had already set out candles, a lighter, towels, and bottle of wine in an ice bucket. I couldn't wait for him to see the surprise I had for him. I peeled my clothes off and tossed them in the hamper. When I reappeared nude in the doorway to the bedroom, I had Chris's full attention. He gasped softly as his eyes drank me in. I leaned against the door jam with one arm, turned away from him, and looked back over my shoulder. I knew how much Chris loved the view from behind. Every woman knows there's a time for subtle seduction, a time for gentle love-making, and time for raw, needy, fucking. This was the latter. 

My husband was out of his boots, trousers, and underwear faster than I ever would've thought possible, and then he was off the bed and holding me from behind. His powerful arms wrapped around my body and pulled me fully against him. I moaned as his hot wet mouth pressed against the sensitive spot behind my ear, and his hands claimed my breasts. 

My heavy breathing provided the perfect background music for him as he kissed and nibbled his way down my neck and shoulders. I moaned as his hands wandered over my body, relearning curves they hadn't felt in more than a year. I could also feel his need, a craving for me that was far more than ordinary sexual desire. This was a soul-deep craving to reconnect with me, to cast off the shadow of horror that hovered over him. I knew that because I felt it, too. The heat between us was far hotter than the desert he'd left. 




Hannah's Hero Ch. 05



Chris tested my wetness with a finger; even in the face of his desperate need to mate, he was trying not to hurt me. "Oh, Chris!" I moaned as he entered me. After a year and a half with nothing more than my finger or my totally inadequate vibrator, I was so tight it felt like he was splitting me in two. This discomfort only lasted a moment, and then the feel of his thick penis inside of me gave me nothing but pure pleasure. I grabbed the door jam with both hands and clung to it, pushing my ass back at him. 

My slick wetness flowed freely as he thrust into me. Chris stroked hard and deep within me, driving me screaming into my first orgasm. The reconnection with Chris deepened the sensation, sending waves of intense pleasure through my body. He pressed his torso firmly against my back as he took me, needing as much physical contact as possible. 

"Ooohhh, Hannah, Hannah," he repeated, saying my name over and over as he neared his own orgasm. Every sense was alive as we coupled there in the doorway. The soft mantra of my name was broken by a sudden growl as Chris's orgasm broke. He thrust as deep into me as he could, and I felt him cum, hard. The hot spurts of life-giving seed poured into me, filling me and fulfilling me. Our needs were far from being sated, but after the hard, desperate fucking we needed a break. 

Chris still held me tightly, his still-hard cock throbbing in time to his pulse where it rested inside me. I gently dismounted him, hearing a very soft popping sound as he slipped out. 

"Don't," he whimpered softly.

"Sshhh, Sweetheart," I soothed him as I turned to stand face to face. "There's time for more. I took 2 weeks vacation, and tonight is all about you, Chris. I need you just as bad as you need me, Sweetheart." 

He cupped my chin in his hand and tilted my face upwards for a deep, wet kiss. Our bodies pressed together again, my skin tingling where it touched his. Our lips parted wetly, and I took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom.

"Wow," he said quietly. "How did you manage this?" He looked around in amazement. 

"Actually, this is all a welcome home gift from Daddy," I said. When I'd called my father to tell him Chris was alive, he had immediately flown to Indiana. I had no idea why until he arrived. Daddy wanted to do something really special for us, and so he'd decided to perform an update on the bedroom and bathroom for me and Chris. 

I'd mentioned how much we'd enjoyed the Jacuzzi tub at Oakwood Manor, and so he installed one. He retiled the floor and updated the other plumbing fixtures. In the bedroom, he put in a new in-wall entertainment center, new carpeting, and fresh paint. He'd hired local contractors he knew by reputation to help. In all, he had spent three weeks and an untold amount of money just to make us more comfortable. 

I lit the candles, and together we stepped into the hot, steamy water. As we settled down together I poured some Lavender-scented bath oil into the water and started the jets. Chris smiled and pulled me close to him. The sunken design of the tub allowed the water to get nearly hip deep on me when I stood. 

Chris found the built-in seat at the back of the tub and sat down. I sat down in his lap and kissed him again, before eagerly nibbling his earlobes and licking down the side of his neck. I kissed my way over his scarred collarbone to the base of his throat. The strong beat of his pulse beneath the skin was exciting.

Moving lower, I massaged and kissed his chest, lingering over the mostly-healed wounds as though I could erase his pain with my mouth. Beneath the bubbles and the swirling water, my questing hand found his manhood and stroked it firmly. I listened to his breathing and his heart beat as I kissed my way back up to his mouth and stroked his cock. 

I stroked him faster and increased the pressure, and he moaned into my mouth. When I felt him start to throb in my hand, I knew he was more than ready. Straddling his legs I mounted him. I moaned low in my throat as his cock slid into me. I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and slid slowly up and down in the water, moving him in and out of my pussy. 

He caressed me tenderly as we made love, touching my shoulders and back. His mouth found mine again, and we kissed deeply. When our lips parted he dipped his head lower to suck my sensitive nipples, deepening my pleasure. I kept the pace slow and steady because I wanted this coupling to last a while. When my orgasm came, it was almost a surprise. The hot slick walls of my pussy squeezed my man tightly as I moaned my ecstasy in his ear. 

Chris pulled me closer and I pressed the full length of my body against his as I moved up and down on his cock. His lips nibbled and sucked at my tender throat, and his strong hands stroked up and down my back. When his hands dropped to my waist, he pushed me down hard into his lap, burying his member even more deeply inside of me. I took the hint and increased the pace. I bent my knees more to take him deeper inside. The deeper penetration and faster rhythm had me cumming again in moments. Chris growled as he felt me cum, and his hands moved down to grab my ass. His hips slammed upward and drove his cock still deeper.

"I'M CUMMING!" he shouted, holding me tightly.

"Cum for me, baby!" I whispered fiercely into his ear.

"Oooohhh, Oh, Hannah," he gasped, as his cum flowed into me. 

I rested my face in the crook of his shoulder and held on tightly to him, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of him filling me. Feeling Chris reach orgasm inside of me never failed to make me feel special. It's an emotional thing, don't ask me to explain it. 

My husband wrapped his arms around my back and held me close. I was content to lie against him as his cock slowly softened and finally slipped out. He kissed the top of my head and caressed me. The steamy, lavender-scented water swirled around us. At last, I rose from his lap and drifted to the side of the tub to get the wine bottle and the two long-stemmed glasses. I poured the deep red merlot, and gave him one of the glasses. 

I raised my glass to him and said, "To my hero. Welcome home, my love."

His glass clinked against mine, and we drank. Together we enjoyed the wine, drinking until the bottle was dry. I'll never forget how happy I was to be there with him, my body still tingling all over from our love-making. I leaned against him and we talked. I got a lot off my chest as we soaked together in the tub. There'd been so much I wanted to say on our wedding night that I hadn't been able to find the words for. Over time, with the experiences we'd both had, and a nudge from a dear old man, I'd found those words. 

It was much more difficult, but I also told him about the day Jennifer and I had watched the Insurgent's video clip, and we thought he had died right in front of our eyes. I told him about passing out from the shock. I told him about the beautiful dream I'd had where we made love on a tropical beach, and about the agony of the days that followed. I confessed again that I hadn't had the will to go on living, and how General Ellis had snapped me back to reality. Finally, I told him as best I could manage how deeply I loved him. 

When I finished, Chris held me tighter than ever. "Hannah," he whispered, "My love, I'm so glad --" His voice broke with the strength of his feelings. "I thank God for the day I got the nerve to ask you out. I don't want to think what life would be like without you!" 

After sharing a soul-deep kiss, I gently let go of him and pulled the drain valve. We rinsed the suds off with the wand, and I quickly stepped out to get my shivering man one of the thick towels I'd set out. He reluctantly climbed out of the tub, and I watched as he dried off. I wanted to ask him about the ambush, but I didn't. He clearly wasn't ready, and there was no way I was going to make him relive that trauma before he was. 

Chris shivered hard as we stepped into the cooler air in the bedroom. Quickly I moved to get him the fluffy flannel pajamas I bought for this occasion. He smiled gratefully at me as he slipped into them. I put on a sheer babydoll outfit I'd got for him, and he grinned as he admired the view. He got into bed next to me and pulled the covers over us. I snuggled against his side, resting my head in the crook of his shoulder. For the first time in 18 months, I fell asleep almost instantly. 

***

I woke to the sound of shouting. I sat straight up in bed, momentarily disoriented and frightened. In seconds I realized what was happening. I grabbed Chris's shoulders firmly and shook him. His eyes were wide as he shouted at comrades I couldn't see, in grips of a nightmare. 

"Chris, baby, wake up!" I shouted.

"KIRKLAND IS HIT!" he shouted. "MIKE!! SHOOTER TO THE NORTHEAST, 20 METERS! Oh shit, RPG!"

I shook my husband again, and then I kissed his forehead. With a sense of horrified pity I realized he must be reliving the ambush. "Chris, please wake up!" I pleaded. He suddenly blinked, and then his eyes focused on me at last.

"Hannah?" he whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. He coughed, and I took him in my arms and kissed him tenderly.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," I said. We were both startled by a knock on the bedroom door.

"Hannah! Chris! Are you okay?" Jennifer's voice came through the door. I quickly got out of bed and hurried to the door. Opening it, I saw Jennifer, her eyes wide with fright. Brad was behind her, looking confused and concerned. 

"We were in the kitchen getting ice cream, and we heard --"

"We're fine," I said quickly. "It was just a nightmare. Everything's fine." 

Jennifer's eyes searched mine, and I'm not sure she believed me. Whether she did or not, though, she was willing to be reassured at least. 

"Okay, Hannah. Talk to me in the morning," she said very softly. I nodded my head yes at her and quietly closed the door. When I turned back I saw that Chris had sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He was holding his head in his hands and was slowly rocking back and forth. I sat next to him and slipped an arm around his waist. 

"Do you want to talk about it, Love?" I asked gently. 

"No!" he said quickly. After a few minutes, he relaxed against me. "I'm sorry, baby. I love you and I trust you. I'm just not ready...I don't want to go there yet." His voice didn't shake, but I could see something in his eyes that made me ache in sympathy. Sometimes even when you want to help, there just isn't a way that you can.

"That was a bad one," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I woke you, baby."

"Don't be sorry!" I said gruffly, keeping a firm hold over my emotions. "You can't help having a nightmare, for Heaven's sake!" I snuggled against his side and he responded to my nearness. I couldn't help a quiet giggle when I saw the bulge form beneath his pajama pants. 

"I think," Chris began, his tone lighter as he slid a hand up my thigh beneath my lingerie, "I need a little something to help me get back to sleep."

"You think so, huh?" I asked, and sighed in pleasure as his hand caressed my sensitive thighs. "What makes you think I have something for that?"

"Well, I just figured since you're a medical professional, you might be able to prescribe me something," he said in a teasing tone, his hand wandering higher. 

"I don't actually give out prescriptions, but in this case --" I moaned in delight as his fingers wandered beneath my thong and caressed my labia. I recovered my wits after a breathless second and kissed him hard. "In this case, I think I have just what you need!"

I was Chris's turn to moan in pleasure as I slipped a hand under his waistband to cup his heavy balls. With gentle pressure, he pulled my hand out of his pants and stood up. He quickly pulled off his pajamas. I took advantage of the momentary distraction. Moving quickly I got on my knees between his muscled legs and took his growing cock in my mouth. 

"Ooohhh, baby," he moaned low in throat. Chris -- like most men, really -- loves getting head and I've gotten to be really good at doing it the way he likes. Usually when we have oral sex, we're in bed or sometimes in the shower. I was in the mood to give him something different this time, though. 

I grasped the base of his cock firmly in one hand and licked up and down the underside of his cock, paying special attention to his favorite hot spot beneath his cock head. He moaned louder as I slid back down to lick and tease his balls. After a few minutes I moved up and took him back in my warm, wet, mouth. 

"Ahhh," he gasped softly as took him deep. I sucked him thoroughly as my head moved back, and he shuddered. When I had about a half-inch left in my mouth I started moving back down, choking very slightly when his helmet struck the back of my throat. As his thick cock slipped in and out of my mouth, I swirled my tongue around his shaft, using as much spit as I could. Chris loves it wet and slippery, and I wanted this to be perfect. 

I could feel his hands graze the top of my head and caress my neck and shoulders. Once -- and only once in our relationship -- he had lost control and grabbed the back of my head, trying to fuck my face. I didn't mind it so much until he got close to cumming. Then the hard thrusts had started to get painful and we had to stop for a few minutes. 

Now though, there was no pressure, just gentle loving caresses as I made love to him orally. I loved the way he touched me. Pressing my tongue against his shaft as I sucked him, I could feel his member starting to throb harder and harder. Even without that clue I could tell he was starting to get close. His breathing sped up, and his legs trembled. 

I turned my face upwards, my green eyes locking with his while I took him as deep in my mouth as I could. I held myself there for a moment before coming back up, sucking harder as I went. His breathing hitched as he threw his head back and moaned.

"Hannah...baby...I'm really close," he gasped.

I would've told him to cum for me, but I didn't want to talk with my mouth full! Besides, this was about what my man wanted. I was happy to let him cum in my mouth in my mouth if he wanted to. It's not like he didn't blow my mind with his tongue, too. 

I kept to my steady rhythm, sucking hard and swirling my tongue while I held on to his thighs and bobbed my head. His hands moved back to caress my neck again as I pleasured him. I continued to enjoy the way his cock throbbed against my tongue as I swirled it around his shaft. 

Chris moaned loudly, and his hands firmly but gently squeezed the back of my neck. "Hannah," he said, his voice low and throaty, "I'm gonna cum...oh, I'm gonna cum!" 

The sound of his words and his moans of pleasure were music to my ears. I sucked harder and applied more pressure with my tongue. I grasped his thighs more tightly and took him as deep in my mouth as I could without gagging, all while looking him in the eye. Chris gasped and started cumming. He moaned out loud, looking right back into my eyes as he came. 

I drank his seed greedily, swallowing each spurt as it shot into my willing mouth. I hadn't tasted him for 18 months, so I held him in my mouth and just savored it for a moment. Chris combed his fingers through my hair as I held his cock in my mouth, my tongue coaxing the last of his cum from his balls.

After I'd finished swallowing the last of his semen and had savored the experience for a few wonderful minutes, Chris gently pulled his cock out of my mouth. Reluctantly, I released it, licking it as it went. He shuddered in ecstasy at the touch, and leaned over to kiss the top of my head. 

"Baby," he whispered, still breathing hard, "That was incredible!" 

"Good, I was afraid I was out of practice," I replied. I slowly stood up, slightly stiff from kneeling so long. Chris wrapped me in a tender hug, then surprised me by picking me up. Cradling me in his arms, he kissed me passionately. 

"I love you so much, Hannah," he said. "Why are you so good to me? I don't deserve you!" 

"You're just as good to me, Chris! You're my husband. I love you more every day, and I want you to know it!" I said. 

My husband carried me to the bed and tenderly set me down. His loving hands tugged open the ties holding my babydoll outfit together and I let it slide off. Next he sank into bed with me and kissed my shoulders. I moaned in sheer delight when his mouth slid down over the slope of my breast to suck my tender nipples. His hands were busy wandering over my body, stroking and caressing me. 

I touched his back and whispered, "Chris, I love you!" He slid down my belly, kissing me all the way until he hit the barrier of my thong, Growling, he took the waistband in his teeth pulled them all the way off. He tossed my thong on the floor, then he grabbed my left ankle and firmly sucked each of my delicate toes one at a time. I gasped and twitched but he held me firmly.

He caressed my leg with his other hand, slowly moving it closer to my womanhood with each stroke. By the time he finally touched my pussy lips, the combination of toe sucking and caressing already had me pretty wet. But, my loving husband wasn't done yet. He released my toes and started kissing his way over the sole of my foot and down my leg, leaving a hot wet trail.

His fingers stroked firmly over my mound, teasing and rubbing my pussy lips and pressing my clit beneath them. In seconds his mouth arrived. Chris nibbled one of my favorite hot spots, the crease where my thigh joins my crotch. 

"Oohh, Chris," I gasped as he licked and nibbled that special place. Then, he moved his wet tongue gently back, teasing my soft patch of hairs before slipping into my vulva. I felt my breathing quicken with excitement as he licked me. Gasping, I spread my legs wider and stroked his hair. Chris feasted on me, nibbling my lips gently, and licking my clit. 

He paused to look at me, a wicked smile on his face. Then, he slipped a finger inside me as his tongue hurried back to my clit. My head sank farther into the pillows and I moaned as he pleasured me. Chris had always been very good at oral sex, and he was obviously giving me his best effort. Granted, I'd already been excited from pleasuring him earlier, but still...

His finger started pressing against the front wall of my pussy, and at the same time he started gently but firmly sucking my clit. My body reacted instantly. I felt my shoulders pressing deeply into the mattress as I arched my back, trying to push my womanhood into his mouth. Knowing what I wanted, Chris held my clit with his lips and flicked it repeatedly with his tongue, holding my hip with one hand and pressing the front wall of my pussy with the other. 

"Chris! Oh, baby I'm cumming! I'm cumming!" I gasped. He moaned against my clit as the walls of my pussy squeezed his finger hard. He rode out my orgasm, not stopping his attentions for a second, and moments later I came again. It felt so incredibly good I didn't want it to stop, but my clit was starting to get too sensitive. 

As if he could sense that, Chris gently backed off, letting my hips settle back down on the bed. His finger slid out of me, and I dimly saw it move between his own legs as he stroked his cock. It was already standing strong again.

Chris moved slowly up my body, kissing my skin tenderly as he went, until we were face to face again. He gently pushed my legs apart with his hips. One hand moved beneath me and grabbed my ass while the other circled beneath my shoulders. With one smooth, strong motion, he took me. 

"Yes, baby," I whispered, my arms going around him. I pulled him tighter against me, and then we were kissing. We moaned our pleasure into each others' mouths as he thrust his thick cock into me. I crossed my ankles over his ass and rocked with him, helping him sink deeper into me. My tongue slid against his as we kissed. We made love gently this time. There was no need to rush. The soft light of the harvest moon shone through the window, making silvery highlights in my husband's eyes. 




Hannah's Hero Ch. 05



The feel of him sliding in and out of me, spreading my warm wetness over both of us, was amazing. The sex was always good between us, but this... this was very special. I felt myself cum after a while. I moaned loudly into Chris's mouth, and I saw his eyes grow wide with pleasure as he felt my orgasm. 

Together, we sped things up, our bodies moving faster. Chris slid his lips down along the line of my jaw to my throat, kissing and nibbling lightly. He moved on to suck my nipples. In just a few short minutes I was coming again. By then I was gasping in pleasure. It just felt so good I couldn't hold back. Suddenly Chris's head came up from my breasts. He kissed my lips again, and I felt him cum. I cried out as he shot into me, feeling the hot wetness spill into me and fill me. 

I don't how long we stayed coupled like that. It might have been minutes or hours for all I could tell. After a while, though, Chris softened and slipped out of me. Kissing me tenderly, he lifted off of me and settled back down at my side. I rolled to face him, caressing his cheek and basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking. 

I looked deep into Chris's eyes, noting for the millionth time how they so perfectly matched the shade of my own. Gently, I pulled him against me and pillowed his head against my breasts. In seconds we were both deeply asleep, and this time there were no dreams. 

***

In the days that followed, Chris and I at last began settling into our married life. Things were going well. He started his own sessions with Dr. Kovarubias. I never asked him about it, knowing in my heart he would tell me when he was ready. His return to a normal routine at the base actually helped. He'd been a serious gearhead ever since I'd known him. His dream was to open his own garage once he left the service. 

Jennifer and Brad were steadily getting more serious. They spent the night together at our place or his at least three times a week. I was delighted for her. Chris liked Brad pretty well, and as far as I was concerned that was a major mark in Brad's favor. 

The third week after his homecoming, Chris finally shared the story of the ambush with me. I won't relay to you all of the details, but here is a brief summary: At the peak of the fighting Mike's Humvee was hit by a rocket. Mike survived the hit but he was trapped in the wreck. Chris managed to get to him, but couldn't get him out of the wreckage before the insurgents attacked on foot. 

Chris provided covering fire for him, managing to successfully hold them off until they fired another rocket. That one had thankfully failed to explode (which the video clip hadn't shown). Before help could arrive, Chris was overcome with sheer numbers and was shot. He evidently looked dead. Still trapped, Mike played dead convincingly enough that the idiots stopped to celebrate. Chris didn't know anything more until he woke up in the hospital. I'd held his hand as he spoke, tears running silently down my cheeks. Afterwards, though, the nightmares came less and less often. 

Then, three days before Thanksgiving, I missed my period. I'm almost always predictable, and so it was a big deal to me. I tried not to get my hopes up but it was hard. I decided to wait for a while before testing. 

Chris, Jennifer, and I enjoyed a fantastic holiday dinner. My Dad flew out to join us (he had ended up leaving my mother, and to tell you the truth I didn't blame him). Brad had stopped by after his shift, and had presented Jennifer with a question and a stunning ring to go with it. Of course she said yes. In all it was the best Thanksgiving Dinner ever, even though all three of us had had to work the first part of the day. We were together that night, and that's what counted. 

After almost a month had gone by without any sign of my period, I took a home pregnancy test. It came up positive. As excited as I was, I held my silence. There was a chance the thing could be wrong after all. Before I let my hopes get the best of me, I wanted to be sure. I rarely ask friends for favors, but this one time I did it shamelessly. On Monday of the week of Christmas, I had my blood drawn during my lunch hour, then worked the rest of my shift anxiously waiting (favor or not, patients had first priority in the med lab.) 

At the end of my shift that day, I still hadn't heard anything. I'd just resigned myself to having to wait until the next day when Debbie Crenshaw came to the nurses' station with an envelope. 

"Hey Hannah, wait!" she called when she saw me. "Yvette in med lab asked me to give this to you." She handed me the plain brown paper envelope. I held it, bursting to open it but afraid at the same time. Jennifer walked up just then and set her clipboard down behind the counter.

"Our reliefs are here. Ready to go, Hannah? Hey, what's that?"

I didn't answer at first, still staring at it. Finally, I gathered my courage and tore it open, reading the contents quickly. As I absorbed the words, my heart filled with an indescribable joy. I felt like I was on top of the world. I was smiling like I'd just won the lottery when I turned around to face my friends.

Unable to contain my joy, I told them, "I'm pregnant!!!" 

END PART 5 



Hannah's Hero Ch. 06



This is the sixth chapter in the "Hannah's Hero" cycle. All the same content advisories from chapter 1 still apply. Thank you all for the encouraging comments and the votes. Enjoy!

***

"I'm pregnant!" I announced, unable to contain my joy. My friends stared at me, momentarily at a loss for words. Jennifer was the first to break out of her spell, running forward to hug me. The other three women at the Nurses' Station weren't far behind, offering hugs and congratulations. There were more than a few damp cheeks in the crowd.

"Oh my God, Hannah, that's WONDERFUL news!" Jennifer exclaimed. 

Debbie squeezed me next. "I'm so happy for you, Hannah!" she said, beaming at me in delight. 

"Just wait until we get home!" Jennifer said, excited. "Chris is going to be in seventh heaven!"

"How are you going to tell him, Hannah?" Debbie asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come one!" she said in an exasperated tone. "This is your first baby. You can't just come out and say 'I'm pregnant.' You have to make it special!"

"Okay," I said, drawing the word out some. "What do you suggest?"

That turned out to be the wrong question to ask, since everyone there seemed to have a suggestion to make. That's not to say there weren't some good ideas offered, because there were. The problem was that everyone wanted to offer them at once! After the verbal onslaught had gone on for a few minutes, I put a stop to it.

"Alright, alright, girls!" I said, good-naturedly. "I think I have enough good ideas! I'll let you all know how it went when I see you tomorrow morning." 

Laughing, Jennifer and I put our coats on and headed out to the parking lot. "I'm so happy, Jen!" I said, wrapping an arm around my best friend and sister. 

"Happy about what, Hannah?" said a voice from behind us. Jennifer squealed in delight as Brad came up behind her and lifted her up into his arms. They kissed deeply before he set her back down. 

"Wait till we get home, Buster," I said, winking at my soon-to-be brother. 

"That sounds kind of ominous," he said, sobering some. 

"Not at all," I replied. He kept his gaze on me, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, he shrugged slightly. 

"Okay," he said. "I can wait."

"We need to make a quick stop at the market on the way home," I said to the two of them. "That's not too much trouble is it? I can drop you two off home first if so." 

"No," Jennifer said. "We'll go with you. It's not too much trouble." Brad slipped an arm around his fiancé and nodded in agreement. The arrangements agreed upon, we walked quickly to my old Taurus. 

When it was her turn to drive, Jennifer liked to park well away from the building in the hopes of preventing damage to her Bug. My car was already so beat up that I don't think I'd have noticed additional damage. As a result, I parked as close as I could manage. Brad held the door for Jennifer, and I hid a grin. They were such a lovely couple, and I was overjoyed that Jennifer had managed to find someone capable of loving her the way she deserved. 

When we finally got home, I was pleased to see that Chris wasn't there yet. The three of us made short work of carrying in the stuff from the store and I got to work on dinner (as luck would have it, it was my turn to cook that night.) I fixed hearty beef stew with baby carrots, baby corn, and new potatoes.  I also fixed a fresh salad – with baby spinach! As a crowning touch, I baked some fresh bread, and fashioned a small loaf for each of us. As soon as they were done baking, I wrapped each loaf in a cloth napkin and placed them in their own little bread baskets. The resemblance to babies wrapped in swaddling blankets couldn't have been more obvious. 

Chris got home just as Jennifer and I were setting the table for dinner. The way she was acting, I was afraid she was going to give things away, especially when I brought the bread to the table. 

"Oh, that's a nice touch, Hannah!" she said. I glared at her, and she quickly shut up. Chris and Brad both gave the two of us funny looks, but neither chose to say anything. 

We sat down to eat, and as we always did we talked about our days. Jennifer kept giving me sidelong glances. It was clear she was barely able to restrain herself from asking me when I was going to make my little announcement. For my part, I sat calmly enjoying my dinner and the conversation, waiting and wondering if my loving husband was going to notice a theme to supper, or if I was going to have to clue him in. 

At first Chris didn't seem to notice anything odd about dinner, although his eyes squinted humorously when he saw the miniature loaves of bread. As the meal progressed, though, I saw him start to take notice of the stew ingredients and the salad as well as the decorative garnish of Baby's Breath that Jennifer had thoughtfully put in a vase at the table's center. 

My husband is anything but stupid, and once he realized there was a theme going on, his eyes got really big. When he looked at me, it seemed he was barely breathing. His expression was a mixture of wonder, awe, love, and joy. 

"Hannah," he said very quietly.

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you...I mean, are we..."

He didn't seem to be able to complete a sentence. I could've taken pity on him and just said 'Yes I'm pregnant,' but that wouldn't have been any fun. Besides, he's so cute when he's fumbling for words. I just sat there, sipping my iced tea, smiling, waiting for his brain to catch up with his mouth. Brad was looking at Chris and me with a confused expression on his face. Then, his eyes lit up as he realized what was happening. I saw his mouth open and then close abruptly when Jennifer covered it with her hand. 

"Are you pregnant?" Chris finally managed to ask. 

I scooted my chair away from the table and turned toward him. Leaning forward, I took both of his hands in mine and looked deep into his beautiful green eyes. "Yes, my love, I'm pregnant!"

Chris bolted from his chair and picked me up, spinning me around as he laughed and kissed me. Brad smiled, and Jennifer shed a few joyful tears. They both knew how badly Chris and I wanted to start a family. Even wrapped up in the moment as I was, I noticed my friend send a meaningful look toward her husband-to-be. Then, the intensity of emotion between my husband and I overloaded my senses and the world went away for a moment. His eyes, the same emerald-green as my own, captured the whole of my attention. 

"I love you, Hannah," he said when our kiss finally ended. "You're going to have my baby! I'm going to be a Daddy! I love you so, so much!" 

"I love you too, Chris," I said thickly, unable to say much more. I'm like that when my feelings get the better of me. 

Without putting me down, Chris looked over and caught his little sister's eye. She smiled and made a shooing gesture with her hands as if to say, 'Go on, go take care of her!' He didn't need any more encouragement. Chris carried me quickly to our room were we had some of the most gentle, tender, romantic sex I've ever experienced.

When the door to our room had closed behind us, Chris carried me to the bed and set me down. In seconds he was next to me on the bed, urgently pulling my scrubs off, kissing my skin wherever it was revealed. I gasped loudly as he traced the curves of my shoulders and breasts with his tongue. 

"I can't think of a more beautiful gift you could've given me for Christmas than this," he whispered as his strong hands tenderly caressed me. 

"It's a gift we gave each other, Honey," I said, and moaned as he licked my nipples. "I couldn't have done it without you, after all." 

Chris kissed his way down my body, lingering over my belly. He gently pressed his hand against me there as though he were trying to see a change in my body already, even though he knew there wouldn't be any just yet. Gently, he kissed me right below my navel. The touch of his lips was light and tender, as though he were kissing our child. Afterward his eyes looked upward and caught mine. I could see my own joy mirrored in his eyes. 

My husband lingered there for several minutes, and then he moved down between my thighs. He kissed his way through my neatly-trimmed bush and brushed his full lips against the lips of my pussy. His powerful arms wrapped around my hips as he pulled the backs of my thighs against his shoulders. Then I felt his hot, wet tongue stroke its way up and down my lips, leaving a warm wet trail over them. 

Moments later I gasped as he slipped his tongue between them, first licking down to my entrance, then licking up to brush over my clit. The gasps turned into moans of pleasure as Chris sucked one of my pussy lips into his mouth and very gently nibbled on it. I caressed the top of his head and shoulders as he pleasured me, encouraging him with moans, gasps, and soft cries of pleasure. 

Finally, Chris slid his eager tongue back between my lips and started licking my clit. The firm pressure sent waves of pleasure through me like electricity, and I came hard. I pressed his face hard against my sex as I moaned and rolled my hips. My husband didn't stop, though. He continued to lick my little nubbin, and I felt him slide a finger inside of me as well. 

I hadn't yet come down from my first orgasm when his finger found my G-spot. The pressure on it combined with his tongue on my clit quickly had me cumming a second time. I lost my composure and thrust my hips against him hard, moaning loudly. Chris knew I was starting to become over-sensitive and backed off of my clit. He kept up the pressure with his finger, though, and his mouth continued to wander over my womanhood. He loved my taste and my scent, and he feasted on me as I moaned and shook beneath him. 

Chris teased me by lightly licking my lips while his finger worked its magic inside of me. I was pretty much lost to pleasure at this point. My hands had released his head, but I was continuing to writhe under his touch. When I came a third time, my hips arched completely up off the bed as if I were trying to bury his face in my sex. As the warm post-orgasm feeling washed over me again, I collapsed back onto the mattress and purred. Chris very gently let his finger slide out of me as he settled himself comfortably back down at my side. 

After a moment I recovered, wanting more. I rolled onto my side to face him, kissing him. My taste was still fresh on his lips and that aroused me even more. As we kissed, my hand wandered down to find his cock. I wasn't surprised to find it was already getting hard before my hand wrapped around it. 

I leaned into Chris as I stroked his cock, kissing him deeply. His arms folded around me and pulled me closer still. A throbbing sensation in my hand told me how ready my husband was to enter me. Gently, I pushed Chris onto his back, straddled him, and guided his thick cock into me. I was still so wet from his oral attentions that he slid right in, all the way to his balls. I gasped at the feeling as my pussy stretched some to accommodate him.

Chris moaned as he grasped my shoulders and pulled me down against him. My mouth found his again as I rocked up and down on him. His thick shaft throbbed within me as I slowly moved up and down. My nipples, already stiff from arousal, started getting harder as they brushed against his chest. I felt his strong hands caress my back and then slide down to cup my ass. 

I kept rocking up and down on his cock, the slow and steady rhythm making us both quake with pleasure. I was getting close to cumming for a fourth time. Slowly and tenderly I ended our long kiss and sat up. Leaning back, I rested my hands on his upper thighs and moved faster, sliding up and down on his cock. The friction against the front wall of my pussy had me cumming hard in just seconds. 

He groaned beneath me as he felt my vaginal walls grip his cock and squeeze. After my orgasm I quickly pulled up off of him. I didn't give him much time to wonder what was going on before I bent at the waist and took him in my mouth. His eyes widened, and then closed as I sucked his cock all the way in. I let him feel the muscles at the back of my throat work on his cock for a minute or so, enjoying my own taste yet again. Then I moved up some, sucking on the head of his cock while I stroked the shaft with my hand. 

Gradually, I went back to using just my mouth, bobbing my head slowly up and down, sucking hard on every upstroke. "Hannah," he whispered, caressing my name with his voice, "I'm really close. I gonna cum hard, baby!" 

I took him all the way into my throat one last time, then released him. Moving carefully, I mounted my husband again, and laid the full length of my body against his as his manhood filled me. My mouth locked over his and we moaned into each other mouths as he came. I felt the hot jets of sperm shooting into me, the delicious sexy feeling setting off my own orgasm. 

Chris held me tightly against him and rolled over so we were facing each other. We kissed again, and then we snuggled. I was very close to sleep at that point, but I could feel Chris was still hard as a rock. I had cum multiple times but he had only cum once. Sometimes that's enough, other times he needs more attention. I considered using my hand, or sucking him off, but before I could do either I felt his hands take my shoulders.

"Roll over, Sweetheart," he said. Still sleepy, I did as he asked, rolling to face away from him. I could feel his hands caressing me, massaging my back and my ass. He gently pushed my right leg forward, moved close, and took me from behind. 

I moaned again as he slid into me. This was a new position for us but I was rapidly starting to like it. He couldn't get as deep inside me, but it gave me a lot of friction and pressure against the front wall of my pussy as well as rubbing against my g-spot. Chris wrapped his right arm around me, his hand flat against my belly as he thrust gently into me. I wouldn't have thought I could feel even closer to him than I did, and yet at this point his tenderness was doing exactly that. 

My sleepy feeling was completely gone after just a few minutes as Chris took me from behind. I felt soon myself cumming again and moaned loudly.  Chris kissed my ear and nibbled on my throat while he continued his thrusts. His hand caressed my belly, hip, ass, and thigh. Then, I suddenly got a wicked idea. Stretching out my arm, I just managed to grab the lube bottle from the nightstand.

Chris growled low in his throat when I reached behind me to hand it to him. Chris loves it when I let him have me anally. Truth to tell, I get into it too. His cock was already slick from our combined juices. All that was needed was a little extra slickness for me. My husband's legs slid against mine as he thrust into my pussy, and I felt his nimble fingers slip between my cheeks to spread the wetness over my tight little asshole. 

With infinite care, patience, and gentleness, he slid first one and then two fingers into me, all while never breaking the rhythmic thrusts in my pussy. I tried to help but he stopped me with a gentle hand. "I want to do this for you baby," he whispered. "Just relax and enjoy this." 

"Mmmmm," I moaned, enjoying the attention. 

Chris took his time, lubing me thoroughly, making sure I was relaxed and ready. Even knowing we both had to be up early to start our days, there was never even a hint of rushing from him. His tender ministrations continued. I don't really know how long they lasted. I was lost in the pleasure again, the combined feelings of his cock inside me, his fingers exploring my ass, and lips kissing my neck and ears having swept me into my own world. 

I was pulled back to reality when I felt him pull out of my pussy and rest the head of his cock against my crinkled little asshole. My husband gently but firmly pressed his cock in to me. I relaxed (it wasn't tough after all the gentle pleasure he'd been giving me.) Slowly his manhood slid in to my slippery ass, inch by tender inch. I moaned again when the full length of him came to rest inside my snug ass, and the coarse hairs on his balls tickled my sensitive pussy lips. 

We stayed still for a few moments, each of us patiently waiting for me to adjust to his thickness in my ass. When I felt ready, I gently pressed my ass cheeks back against his loins. Chris responded tenderly, pulling himself halfway out, thrusting back in and holding, then withdrawing again. This gentle rhythm was deeply exciting for me. It felt so good I just moaned wordlessly. 

Once I had warmed up to the penetration, I found myself pushing my ass back at him as he thrust. He was firmly in control of himself, tenderly sliding his cock in and out of me, hitting all the nerve ending just right. I came again, seeing bright lights against the backs of my eyelids. 

I felt Chris adjust his position slightly, snuggling closer so that his chest pressed against my back. I reached behind me and caressed his thigh with my free hand, letting it wander over his warm skin as we made love. His breathing sped up, letting me know he was getting close. Gradually, he picked up the pace of our loving. I tilted my head over my shoulder as far as I could so we could kiss. My ass moved back to meet his thrusts almost as if it had a mind of its own. The feelings overwhelmed me, and I just babbled his name senselessly, "Chris, Chris, oooohhhh Chris, yes Chris!" 

Chris's hand left my belly, sliding upwards to cup my breast. He plunged deeper into me, thrusting hard. Then suddenly, he was moaning hoarsely as he shot jet after steamy jet of semen into me, filling my ass with his essence. Afterward we lay like that together. His cock slowly deflated, slipping out and allowing a little of his cum to drip free. I felt very loved, safe, and satisfied, having had both my ass and my pussy filled. Chris's arms still held me very close. I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep until the harsh rasp of the alarm clock woke me at 4:30 am. 

My husband was already rolling out of bed while I lay there blinking in the pre-dawn gloom. "You can go back to sleep for another hour, Honey," he said tenderly, as he pulled on his running clothes.

"Thanks, Love, but no thanks." For the last few weeks I had been getting up and going with him on his 3-mile P.T. runs at least 3 days out of the week. I didn't do it for the exercise. I did it just to be with him, and being pregnant wasn't going to stop me...for now, anyway. 

We quickly dressed in sweat suits, sneakers, scarves, and knit hats. Even with the cold of December we didn't bother with more clothing than that. We knew we would be sweating, and that is a dangerous business in winter weather. 

We did our stretches in the living room, then put on yellow reflector vests and charged out the front door. When I first started joining Chris for his runs, he had slowed his pace considerably for me. Still, I was ready to collapse after the second mile, to say nothing of a third. Over time though, it got easier. While the exercise toned my leg muscles (and gave me more energy during the day,) I did it more for the quiet time with Chris. I needed all of my breath to keep pushing my body forward, so talking wasn't an option. I was still close to my husband though, and his nearness shored me up, reassuring me on an unconscious level that he was still here with me. 

Jennifer ran everyday as well, having done it everyday since Middle School, but she preferred to use the treadmill in the basement. That was just as well, because I'm pretty sure she could have dusted both of us easily. Chris liked having changing scenery when he ran.I'm pretty sure Brad thought we were all raving lunatics for getting up before the sun to run ourselves all over the neighborhood. He preferred to use the weight bench with Chris in the evenings after dinner. 

As we ran through the quiet streets of our subdivision, I enjoyed the Christmas lights on the houses we passed. Almost every house had at least a few, and they were so beautiful. I was a little sad there hadn't been more than the lightest dusting of snow this year. It just didn't seem like Christmas time without it, but it did make running a lot easier. 




Hannah's Hero Ch. 06



As a rewarding bonus for running together, we got to shower together afterwards. That was always a sensual treat even when we didn't fool around. That morning, we lathered each other with my favorite body wash, and then held each other close. We kissed tenderly while the steamy spray from the shower head rinsed us off. 

Again, I felt Chris press his hand tenderly against my belly, offering our growing child a tender caress from Daddy. I smiled at him as he held me close. I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh at how silly he was or cry at how tender he was. We both had to get our mornings back under way though, so with regret we stepped out of the shower, dried off, and dressed. Even after living together for a while now, I still marveled at the way Chris could dress faster than me, even though he wore a lot more clothes than me. He had his base layer, socks, boots, and ACUs on while I was still struggling into my t-shirt and scrubs. He slapped the velcroed name-tapes on his jacket and settled his beret on his head and waited while I tied my shoes, grinning wickedly the whole time. 

Our goodbyes at the front door after breakfast lingered a little longer than usual, but Brad and Jennifer were very understanding. Afterwards, I slid into the back of Brad's Jeep Liberty and off we went. I couldn't help watching as Chris's truck dropped away behind us, taking the turn-off for the base. I was going to be a mother, and Chris a father. I was excited and happy, but also a little scared. What do I know about raising children? I know how to change diapers and fill bottles, but how do you actually raise a child? 

I resolved to study the matter as soon as I was off that afternoon. My child wasn't going to lack the support of an enthusiastic mother – or father! I was so deep in my thoughts I didn't even realize we'd arrived at the hospital until the doors opened and the cold air startled me. 

That morning was a whirlwind of activity. The other nurses were eager to hear how my little announcement had gone, and were delighted with the tale. In addition to my regular duties, during my lunch break I scheduled my first appointment with my OB/GYN. I was sure that was going to be...interesting. In all, there was so much to keep me busy that I almost for got that the next day was Christmas Eve. Thankfully I already had my Christmas shopping done, but there were still the things I needed for Christmas dinner. I had invited Dad. (Mom was already involved with somebody else, and hadn't even answered my invitation.) We were going to have a crowd this year as I had also invited Chris's best friend Mike Kirkland and Debbie Crenshaw from the hospital. They'd apparently been dating a while now and it was getting serious enough that Debbie was in danger of becoming attached to just one man. 

That shift flew by and before I knew it I was fighting crowds at the market after work. When I finally made it home, I was beat. I collapsed on the living room sofa while Jennifer made supper and Brad "helped." Chris got home just as she was serving, and we enjoyed delicious spaghetti with homemade meatballs and garlic bread. 

Christmas Eve dawned clear and cold. After our run, Chris tenderly rubbed me down in the shower, and kissed me while we rinsed off. I pressed myself close to him in the warmth of the shower stall, my mouth firmly locked against his. Again after breakfast, we parted, but today was slightly different. By the luck of the draw, Chris had a rare treat: he had managed to get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. Jennifer, Brad, and I weren't so lucky. At least I was supposed to get New Years off. 

The workday passed quickly, thank goodness, and soon Jennifer, Brad, and I were headed home. When the three of us finally arrived, I laughed out loud. Chris had cooked supper for us. He had made each of us our own little meatloaf, putting them each in their own little pans like little babies. He'd also fixed roasted red potatoes, and green beans. 

Later that night after Jen and Brad had gone to bed, Chris and I lay together on a blanket by the fireplace, watching the twinkling lights on the Christmas Tree, and listening to Christmas music so old it was actually recorded on vinyl albums. We were facing the beautiful tree, my back pressed against his chest while he caressed me. I noticed with amusement that while he stroked me all over, his hand always lingered over my belly, applying the tiniest amount of extra pressure there. It was so precious that I just couldn't say anything. I was sure he didn't realize he was doing it and I didn't want him to get embarrassed and stop. 

The clock on the wall quietly chimed, signaling midnight. That made it official. "Merry Christmas, Christopher," I whispered, turning my head back towards my husband.

"Merry Christmas, Hannah," he replied. We kissed each other then, and his hands slid beneath my blouse to glide over my silky skin. His gentle touch was loving and tender, offering but not demanding. When the kiss ended, I stared into his loving green eyes. 

"I love you," I said, stretching out a hand to cup his cheek. "I'm yours forever, Chris. I hope this child is just the first."  His arms tightened, squeezing me gently against him. 

"I love you, Hannah," he said. "You're the reason I get up every day. You're the light of my life. The little one you're carrying is the most perfect example of love I can imagine." He stroked my belly again, and kissed me again.

"He – or she – is part of both of us. We've started a brand new life. I can't think of anyone I would want to do that with, other than you." Chris rolled me over to face him, pulling me close and staring directly into my eyes. 

"You've made me happier than I've ever been, Hannah. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else." He kissed me. Once again I was caught in the intensity of his emotions, and I basked in his love and returned it with interest.

"You're still my hero, Chris. You're my world!" My hand dropped to my belly. "I love you so much, Chris. No matter where life takes us or what it throws at us, I will love you." We spent the night there on that blanket, enjoying the warmth of the fire, the sound of the music, the glow of the lights, and heat of our love. Deep inside we both knew this perfect moment couldn't last, but that didn't matter. Time froze for me inside this moment of true happiness. Some of you out there reading this may have felt similar in your own lives. At least, I hope you have. 

Cradled in his arms, I slept peacefully. Chris gently woke me at 5 on Christmas morning. "I decided we'd take just this day off from running," he said mischievously. "We'll make up for it with a different form of exercise tonight!" His gorgeous eyes were shining as he helped me up from the floor. I leaned against him for a moment and enjoyed his warmth.

Holidays at work are a little hard for me. I love Christmas – most people do for one reason or another. So many of the people in my wing, though, did not get a single visitor. I hoped it was because they didn't have families, because as sad as that would be, it would be better than having a family that just didn't care enough to see them on Christmas. I hate to see people in pain, whether it's the physical kind or pain of the spirit. 

This year though, we brightened things a little bit by adding a 13-inch tree to the counter top at the Nurses' Station. We'd also hung stockings at the foot of each patient's bed. Every time one of us went on rounds, we dropped something in each stocking. Sometimes it was sugar-free candy, sometimes it was a puzzle book or magazine, sometimes it just a comfortable pair of slipper-socks. We just wanted each of them, both the ones with visitors and the ones without, to feel loved and remembered. 

One patient I was particularly concerned about was Norma Wilkins. She was 91, and had chronic lung disease. She'd been in a nursing home for years, but they had sent her to the hospital when she developed a respiratory infection they weren't prepared to deal with. She wasn't responding to treatment, or anything else for that matter. She just lay there day after day, staring at the ceiling, or the wall, never seeming to notice visitors. 

"Good morning Norma!" I said as I stepped into her room. "Merry Christmas! The cafeteria has something a little special on the menu for today. Or if you'd like, they can send you up some soup, or even a cup of hot chocolate." Not seeing any response, I checked her vitals, adjusted the drip on her I.V. antibiotics, and took her hand in mine. I hoped maybe some human contact would help, but it didn't seem to. Just as I was about to let go however, her hand squeezed mine. It wasn't much. In fact, I thought it might have been a muscle spasm at first, before I saw the ghost of a smile pass across her age-lined face. 

I squeezed her hand in return, and gently brushed a strand of her silver hair away from her eyes. "You're still with us, aren't you Norma," I said quietly. "I'm glad. If you need me just press the call button." Her eyes closed but I'm sure that for just the briefest second they flicked toward me. If it really happened, it would be first time since she'd developed that nasty infection. I let go of her hand and finished my rounds.

When I got back to the Nurses' Station, Debbie was standing there grinning like a fool. Jennifer, Brenda, and Dawn were standing there too, all with barely contained laughter on their faces. What are they up to? I wondered silently. Before I could ask the question out loud though, Chris, Brad, my Father, and Chris's best friend Mike popped up from behind the counter and showered me with confetti from a little plastic bucket. 

"Merry Christmas, Momma!" they said together. 

Surprise is too weak a word to describe how I felt. But before long I was laughing along with everyone else, and I helped them to sweep up the confetti. First my Dad, then Chris squeezed me tightly for a moment before Mike claimed hugging privileges. "You get to hug her all the time," he pointed out to Chris. 

After everyone had their hugs, Dawn Williams passed around foamy mugs of fresh hot egg nog. "Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic," she said, grinning at me. "It won't hurt the baby, and it won't turn him," she nudged Chris with an elbow, "into an uninhibited fiend!" 

"No uninhibited fiend?" I asked, my face drooping with mock disappointment.

"Well, not here. Later though..." Chris said as he held me again, kissing me lightly. After that moment of Christmas cheer, I kissed my husband and started on my paperwork. Brad went back to radiology, and Chris and Mike wandered off. Dad took my key and said he'd wait at the house. The other nurses returned to their duties. I spent more time at the computer than I realized. By the time I'd finished it was time to do another tour of the wing. 

A few hours later the shift was over. Jennifer, Debbie, and I found our men in the downstairs visitors' lounge watching "It's A Wonderful Life." Brad had arrived just before we did, and was still putting his coat on.  Chris was watching the screen half-heartedly. When he saw me and Jennifer, he moved to get up. All of a sudden Mike grabbed his arm, pulled him back down and snuggled into his side. "Oh, don't leave now, this is the most romantic part!" he said, and made smooching noises at him.

Chris jabbed him playfully in the ribs. "If you want to get romantic, there's a plunger in the men's room!" Jennifer and I giggled, and Mike laughed. "You ladies ready to leave?"

"More than ready!" I said for the three of us. Together, we moved out to the lot. Jennifer and I had prepared most of Christmas dinner ahead of time. The turkey had been slowly roasting since before Chris and I had cuddled by the fire. The potatoes were peeled and diced, waiting only to boiled and mashed. The pies were baked, and the other dishes wouldn't take long to prepare.

When we arrived home, everyone, even our guests pitched in. Dad hadn't been idle while we were gone. He'd started boiling the potatoes, and had the green bean casserole ready to throw in the oven. I kissed him gratefully on the cheek and leaned into him for a brief moment. 

In all it was the best Christmas I can remember in a long time. Chris gave me a beautiful gold necklace. I don't even want to know how much it must have cost, but the weight of it told me it had to have been a lot. I gave Chris a new set of steel-toed boots with Gore-Tex liners. They were approved for military use, but were far more comfortable than the standard-issue ones (only the best for my man.) Other fits were exchanged.  

After the gifts were given, we all sat in the living room around the fire. Jennifer snuggled against Brad, speaking quietly. Dad drank coffee while he and Chris and Mike talked about goings on in the Middle East. Debbie and I were looking through our movie collection for something suitable for Christmas night, and finally settled on "A Christmas Story." After the movie, Debbie and Mike headed home. Dad retired to the guest room and Jennifer practically dragged Brad to hers. 

When we had the room to ourselves, Chris made sure the house was locked up, then joined me by the fireplace. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. I'd put on some soft music, and we danced together. There was small sprig of fake mistletoe hanging in the archway leading to hall, and every time we danced close to it he kissed me. "I have to say I love that tradition," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh please, like you need an excuse to kiss me!" I said, laughing. 

"No I don't, but it's still a nice tradition," he said with mock seriousness. Finally, we doused the fire, shut off the music, and headed to our room to make beautiful music of our own. I didn't have to work the next day and Chris had a half-day, so there was time to relax and enjoy ourselves. 

In our bathroom, I started the tub filling with hot water and shed my clothes. Chris surprised me with a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne. I smiled as he set the ice bucket and glasses on the ledge of the tub. "Christmas will be over in less than an hour but I still feel like celebrating," he said, stripping off his clothes. 

"Me too," I said softly, pulling his nude form against mine. We kissed, and it lit a fire deep inside the two of us. It felt like our first time together; I didn't want to take my hands off of him. Chris pulled me hard against him, his hands grabbed my ass and lifted me. He pressed me against the wall, devouring my mouth with his before he moved down to kiss and suck the sensitive spot at the base of my throat. I moaned and wormed my fingers into his close-cropped hair. Steadily moving downward, my husband suckled each nipple to a hard peak. 

I gasped as he worshipped my tender breasts, savoring the feeling. He caught me by surprise when he suddenly spun around and set me down on the ledge of the tub and dove between my thighs. Knowing how hot I was, he didn't tease me. Instead, he licked the outside of my lips to get them pleasantly wet, then slid his tongue between them to get at my clit. I almost screamed in pleasure when his tongue made contact with my hot little button, and Chris wasn't done yet.

Even as I was gasping in pleasure he gently sucked my hard little clit between his lips as if it were a tiny little cock. I came almost instantly, moaning in ecstasy, my hips bucking wildly. Chris held on tight and kept pleasuring me until I literally screamed my way into another orgasm. He backed off after that, knowing that I could easily get over-sensitive if he didn't. 

Desperate to have him inside me, I grabbed his cock and found he was already rock hard. He got up from the floor, and as soon as he was standing I took his thick cock in my mouth. I sucked him lightly, using as much spit as I could work up. I wanted him nice and slick, but I didn't want him to cum. After a few minutes I released him and stood. 

We started kissing hungrily again, and he lifted me into his arms as we did. Chris rested one leg on the ledge of the tub with the other still on the floor, while I wrapped my legs around him. I reached into the narrow space between us and grasped his manhood, guiding the head of it into my sopping wet entrance. Chris eagerly sank his shaft the rest of the way inside until my groin came to rest against his raised thigh.

I grabbed my husband's strong shoulders and pushed off, levering myself slowly up and down on his rigid cock. Gasping, he helped me, lifting me by my ass.  I could feel my internal muscles gripping him hard: I've never been so tight! I threw my head back, an animal moan escaping me as I impaled myself again on Chris's rigid pole. 

"Oh God, baby, I love you so much! It feels so good, oh Chris," I gasped as we made love. 

"Hannah," he whispered back, "Oh baby yeah, it feels so good!" 

My orgasm snuck up on me and I was cumming before I knew it. My head fell forward as I buried my face in the crook his shoulder, growling in pleasure. He held me against, riding the waves of my orgasm with me. Then, he gently lifted me off of him. Knowing exactly what he wanted, I stood up and turned around, giving Chris a wicked grin over my shoulder while I bent at the waist and held on to the edge of the deep tub. 

Chris surged forward and buried his cock inside again. Even knowing it was coming, I still gasped as his cock slid into me. He was huge, bigger and harder than I've ever felt him! He held my hips firmly as he rapidly thrust in and out of my eager pussy. I moaned and gasped, pushed back at him, helping him slam into me. 

"Hannah I'm cumming," he gasped, his voice barely audible. 

"Yes Chris, fill me! Cum for me, lover!" I said, pushing back at him as he thrust deep into me. In seconds I felt his seed spilling into me in hot, thick spurts. When he finished, he gently pulled out. I stood up again and pulled him close to me. 

Together, the two of us stepped into the hot water and I started the jets. "Now there's the uninhibited fiend I was looking for," I said with a laugh. Chris grinned back and held me. It was the perfect end to the perfect Christmas. Chris snuggled me close, kissing me and giving me sips of the champagne. "Now," he said, "We need to figure out some baby names!"

END PART 6



Hannah's Hero Ch. 07



Welcome to Part 7 of the tale of Hannah's Hero. Sorry it's taken so long to get this part out, but with all my other responsibilities it can be tough to get it out of my head and on to the computer! Thank you so much to all of you for the votes, comments, and messages. Even when they aren't positive, the fact that you took the time to make them means a lot. Hope you all enjoy! 

*

My husband Chris got a real workout for much of the first trimester of my pregnancy. I've heard that some women completely lose their sex drive when they're pregnant while some remain pretty much unchanged, and still other women become insatiable near-nymphomaniacs. I don't know if I could be put in that last category or not, but I have to say that my already healthy sex drive was definitely kicked up a couple of notches. It helped that I was one of those lucky women that avoided suffering morning sickness. Well, I've also been told that my continuing to run with my husband almost every morning also helped. As I said before, while I was getting a healthy amount of exercise from it, that wasn't the real reason I ran with him. 

The truth is, while we've always been close during our relationship, during my pregnancy I never wanted to leave his side. Maybe it was hormones, or maybe it was the fact that we were taking things to the next level; I couldn't really say. All I know is that I spent every moment I possibly could at his side. I went with him on outings that I normally wouldn't have, like when he took one of our vehicles to the station to gas up. I even went with him to Thor's Gun Shop to pick up the ammo he ordered. I wanted every waking second possible to be with him. I guess the hormone theory is out, because come to think of it, a lot of the togetherness was coming from him, too. 

The ultrasound I had at the twelve-week mark held a little surprise for us. Chris and I were at the regular OB/GYN appointment. Dr. Stevens, a kindly man in his early sixties, was beaming when he stepped into the exam room. 

"It's TWINS!" he said.

"TWINS?!" Chris and I said together.

"Yep," Dr. Stevens replied, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. "I haven't delivered a set of twins in at least 6 months. I hope you two are as excited as I am!"

I spun around on the exam table to look at Chris's face. His expression could only be described as stunned. Slowly he turned his face towards me and it suddenly lit up like a kid on Christmas. 

"Oh Hannah!" he whispered. "It's even better than I hoped for!" He put his arms around me and kissed me hard. My arms went around him too, and in moments the kiss deepened. I'm not sure how far things might have gone if Dr. Stevens hadn't cleared his throat. 

"Hey you two, remember me?" he said, smiling at us. 

"Uh, sorry, Doc," Chris said, his face turning red. 

"Oh, that's quite alright," he replied, kindly. "You can't deliver babies for a living without knowing how the process gets started. I'm just not keen to be an audience." 

I blushed red, and settled against my husband. The rest of the appointment went smoothly. Dr. Stevens confirmed that everything was fine with my pregnancy. Chris and I left the office walking hand in hand. 

"Twins," I said softly. Chris squeezed my hand tightly. 

"I know," he replied. "I can't wait!" He gazed at me, his eyes burning with passion. 

I smiled and leaned into his side as we walked towards his truck. "Me either," I whispered to him with a lover's softness. 

At times, the days and weeks of my pregnancy seemed to fly by; at others it seemed to crawl at a glacial pace. My perception of time varied greatly with my mood and with how I felt. For most of the first trimester -- like I said earlier -- I was especially horny. There was one night that sticks in my memory.

I had had two days off work in a row (a really rare thing, since I didn't have much seniority at the hospital yet). After going with Chris on his morning run I joined him in the shower, then cooked him breakfast. The kiss we shared before he left for work was deep and wet, and it really lit both of our fires. He pulled me close to him as our mouths met. After a few passionate moments we parted and looked deep into each other's eyes.

"That's a promise for tonight, my love," I whispered.

"I'm going to hold you to it," he whispered back

He smiled and left for the base. I went back to the kitchen and spent a few minutes making a little more breakfast for Brad and Jennifer, knowing they'd be up soon. That night, I slipped into a sexy red silk teddy-and-thong combo and then put on an old sweat suit over it. I pulled my hair back into a comfortable pony tail. I applied some make-up to my face, but not much; really it was nothing more than some lipstick and very light touch of eyeliner. 

By the time Chris got home I had dinner ready. Jen and Brad walked in just minutes after he did. We enjoyed a quiet supper, then Jen cleaned up. I stood away from the table and stretched, catching my husband's eye. As I passed him on my way out of the attached dining room, I noticed his nostrils flare as he caught my scent. I do wear perfume, but only on special occasions. It's an irritant to people with certain lung problems, and is a no-no in some health-care facilities. Usually I wear lightly-scented antiperspirant and lightly-scented moisturizer to keep my skin supple. I believe that a woman produces all the good smells a man needs, as long as she keeps herself clean. (They're called Pheromones, ladies! Accept no substitutes!)

I could see him following me with hungry eyes as I left the room. Knowing him as well as I did, I figured he'd be coming after me very soon. I wasn't wrong! I'd not been in our bedroom longer than five minutes before he stepped in and closed the door firmly behind him. Before I knew it I was wrapped in his powerful arms, being pressed gently but firmly into his chest as he kissed me. 

Chris's hands stroked up and down my back, rubbing my shoulders before dropping down to cup my ass. I moaned into his mouth as we kissed, and the sound of our wet lips moving against each other drove me wild. When we finally came up for air I gently disengaged myself from him and stepped back. Giving him my sexiest smile, I peeled off my sweats and released my hair from the pony tail. I could see myself in the mirror; I'd achieved the effect I wanted.

Chris growled low in his throat as his need started taking over. I began to dance in front of him, making sure to leave just enough space between us that he couldn't touch me -- yet. As my hips swayed before him, I caressed my body with my hands, running them lightly over my breasts, down my flanks to my hips, and finally back over across my mound and up my belly. At the time, my belly was just beginning to swell with the life growing inside me. While I was still able to wear regular clothes, there was a soft, subtle roundness to my lower abdomen that revealed my condition to those that might care to look. Chris found it incredibly sexy and I knew it. 

I swayed gently to the rhythm of the soft music I'd put on. After twirling and teasing him a few minutes, I started undoing the buttons on the front of my red silk teddy one at a time. It was filmy enough to be mostly transparent anyway, but I was enjoying teasing him like this. 

When my lingerie finally hit the floor, I stood before him in just my read silk thong. Now it was time for the surprise. Taking Chris by the hand, I led him to our bed and made him lie down. I asked him to close his eyes, and as he did so I quickly pushed the thong to the floor. I climbed into bed next to him and took his hand again, guiding it to my mound. He gasped when he felt the smoothness there, and I smiled again. 

Chris opened his eyes and feasted on the site of my freshly shaven womanhood. I'd never done that for him before, and seeing as how I'd be doing it for the birth anyway I figured I do it now and see what the effect -- if any -- would be on Chris. The effect was exactly what I'd hoped for. He gently pushed me onto my back and kissed his way down my belly to explore my womanhood. 

I gasped in pleasure as his hot, wet tongue traced along the outside of my labia, slowly teasing them open. He alternated wet licks with soft kisses, arousing me. Soon, Chris was sliding his tongue over my clit while his fingers gently held my lips apart. My belly was still small enough that he could look me in the eyes as he pleasured me. The eye contact made it that much better for both of us. Chris's tongue dipped into my pussy, savoring the rich taste of my arousal before returning to lash my clit. As my excitement grew, his hands wandered away from my mound of Venus to wander over the rest of my body.

He stroked my breasts, being careful to stay away from my hyper-sensitive nipples for the moment. My own hands were busy stroking his close-cropped hair, trying to pull his face closer to my needy pussy. 

"Oh, baby," I moaned as my hands caressed him. "Suck it, suck my clit!"

Still holding eye contact with me, Chris continued to stroke my clit with the flat of his tongue. Clearly he intended to tease the heck out of me before he gave me what I wanted. 

"Please, lover," I gasped. "I'm so close, please suck it!" I tried to pull his face harder into my pussy, but he resisted. Finally, when I felt like I couldn't stand it anymore, he took my clit between his lips and sucked it like it was a little cock. Instantly I felt myself cumming -- hard! My whole lower body tensed and shook with the force of my orgasm. I moaned loudly, not caring at all about the noise level as my hips rose off the bed to press against my husband's face. Chris rode out the quakes, keeping my clit firmly in his mouth. He never let up on the suction, and seconds later he drove me to a second orgasm. My hands left his head and flailed wildly for a moment before I grabbed the headboard and held on for dear life. 

After that orgasm -- which was just as hard as the first one -- Chris backed off my clit. My husband knew me just as well as I knew him; two orgasms is the limit. After that, I get so sensitive it starts to hurt! He continued to stroke my body and kiss my labia gently while I came down from my sexual high. When my breathing returned to normal he rose up to lie next to me. 

"That was incredible, baby," I said as I snuggled into his side. We kissed again, deeply, both of us enjoying the light sweet taste of my sex. I moaned into his mouth while we kissed, and my hand followed the trail of soft hairs down his flat belly that lead to his cock. It was already semi-hard, and a few firm but gentle strokes of his shaft were enough to prime him for action. Next, I pushed Chris gently onto his back and kissed a wet trail down to his cock. During our relationship I'd learned to love giving oral sex as much as getting it. 

As I took him in my mouth and swirled my tongue around his shaft, I heard his deep sigh of pleasure. I relished the soft sounds he made while I pleasured him, but I didn't want him to cum yet. I slowed the pace down, but increased the suction in order to get him as hard as I could, and it didn't take long. 

When I'd accomplished my goal of getting him fully erect, I lifted my mouth off of him. He gave a soft cry of disappointment only to gasp in renewed pleasure when I swung my leg over his hips and mounted him. His thick cock slid into me effortlessly, and I moaned in ecstasy at the penetration. I settled atop his hips for just a moment to savor the feel of his manhood filling my pussy. When I felt his hands slide up my thighs, I knew he was ready for more. 

Wanting this to last, I started rocking up and down on him slowly. His cock massaged me from the inside as he slid in and out. At first, his strong hands caressed my thighs. As I continued to move slowly up and down on his cock, though, he moved them back to cup the cheeks of my ass and squeeze them. I loved the feel of his hands on my ass and started moving faster, grinding my mound against him on every down stroke. The extra speed and pressure brought me to orgasm almost before I was ready. I felt my pussy tighten up and then my dam burst.

"OOH," I cried as I came on my husband's cock. "Oh BABY! Oh, you feel so GOOD!" I rocked and rolled my hips with abandon, sliding up and down on his cock as the wave of pleasure washed me away. Slowly my orgasm faded, and I opened my eyes to look down into his, noting for the millionth time that they were the exact same shade of green as my own. I fell forward, pressing my breasts tight to his chest as I kissed him. Without breaking that kiss, I started rocking up and down on him again. 

I could feel Chris's hands squeeze my ass tightly as he started to pull me my hips up and down on his shaft. His thick cock was pulsing within me, signaling that he was very close. I broke our passionate kiss and pulled back slightly so I could gaze into his eyes again.

"Do it, Chris," I whispered. "Cum! Fill me until I can't hold any more!"

Chris moaned softly at first, but he quickly got louder as his pleasure built. His passion was driving mine. I found myself approaching another orgasm of my own as he held my body tightly against his. 

"Hannah," he whispered, "Baby, I'm close!"

"I know, darling," I said, gasping as he pulled my hips down hard against his pelvis. "I'm close too. Let's cum together if we can. I want to feel you cum, Chris! Give me your essence!"

My orgasm snuck up on me. I felt the walls of my pussy clutch his thickness tightly, and then I was cumming again. I moaned loudly and buried my face against the side of his neck, kissing him there. My orgasm triggered his. I could feel his shaft throbbing as he came. Even better, I could feel him pouring his seed into my body. The sensation was as intense as always; the hardness of his shaft, the hot, silky-liquid feeling of his semen, and the amazing sensation of being filled never failed to overwhelm my senses. There's nothing like being on the receiving end of your lover's orgasm...nothing I can think of, anyway. With Chris, it literally takes my breath away. 

I stayed like that for some time, my body draped across his, while I recovered my senses -- and my breath! Finally, his softening penis slipped out of me. With gentle hands, he brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and kissed me. His eyes locked with mine, and I felt like we were looking into each others' souls. 

"I love you, Hannah," he said, softly.

"I love you, Chris," I said.

***

As the days and weeks turned into months, my belly continued to get bigger. I was starting to feel the babies moving in my womb. You women out there who've been pregnant know what I mean; it's like nothing you've ever felt. It's always a reminder of the miracle of life...and when they kick your bladder, it's a reminder to not let yourself get too far from the ladies' room! 

The closeness between Chris and I continued. We were both so excited about the babies. We went to Lamaze class together. We went to pregnancy yoga class together (and no, before you ask, I had no idea there was such a thing until after I got pregnant myself.) 

The farther along things got...okay, I'll just say it...the bigger my belly got, the harder it became to have intercourse. To be fair, though, just getting myself dressed in the morning was a challenge. Things that used to take minutes or seconds were now taking a lot longer. I knew that I wouldn't be able to make love to Chris for quite some time after the birth of our twins, so we decided on the obvious answer: oral sex! Just as I've learned how to please Chris, he's learned how to please me. In some ways I found the experience to be even more intimate an act than the usual intercourse. There's something deeply passionate about taking your lover in your mouth. Maybe it was just a case of us making the best of things, but regardless it was really good. 

My due date came and went, and nothing happened. Dr. Stevens explained to me that this wasn't all that unusual, especially when it came to a woman's very first pregnancy. "Don't worry though, Hannah. If the twins decide to room in for too long, we'll induce you," he said with a wink. "For right now, just take it easy. No lifting or strenuous exercise. Save your strength for the labor to come!" 

I did as he said. At work, I called the orderlies anytime I needed something lifted. To their credit, they never grumbled where I could hear them. Chris had some leave time accumulated, and he had decided to take it. He came to see me nearly every day during my lunch break, and there was the occasional "afternoon delight." I really loved those! There were all kinds of storage closets and nooks and crannies in the hospital that we could sneak off to. 

The risk of getting caught added some to the excitement as I rested on my knees and pleasured him. It must have had a similar effect on Chris too, because it never took long for him to cum in my willing and eager mouth. By the same token, the feeling of his hot wet tongue slipping through the folds of my womanhood to tease my clit had me cumming in record time as well. On the whole, we were being really naughty. 

Finally, Dr. Stevens decided to induce labor. I made the appointment with him over the phone during my break one afternoon. I had just hung up the phone, and ironically, for some reason my water broke right there at the nurses' station. I was startled, and let out a little squeal. My supervisor, Nurse Judy Hoskins (Nurse-zilla) hurried down the hallway from her cramped little office down the hall.

"Hannah, dear, was that you?"

"Yes," I said, gritting my teeth and breathing through the sudden strong contractions beginning in my middle. 

Judy called Jennifer and arranged for her to meet me in the OB wing, then wheeled me down there herself. As she handed me off to my sister, she gently stroked the sweat-damp hair away from my face.

"Don't worry about a thing, honey," she said with a twinkling smile. "You've already done the paperwork for your maternity leave. I'll take care of finishing your shift today." She glanced at Jennifer. "I'll find someone to cover you too, Jennifer. I think you should be with her. Please call me after Hannah delivers, no matter how late it is."

Jennifer must have called Chris but I don't remember it. I was too busy concentrating on my breathing. I don't even really remember getting to the delivery room. I just remember focusing on my breathing exercises. Jennifer was a close, steady presence. She helped me undress and put on a hospital gown. She tenderly caressed me and encouraged me. Then suddenly, Chris was there.

Between the two of them, I doubt any mother-to-be has been so well cared for. They gently wiped my brow with cool washcloths. They helped me sip water. They held me steady while I walked slowly around my room. When the time came to push, Chris kissed me tenderly and held one hand while Jen held the other. At last, Dr. Stevens announced the arrival of the first of our twins. 

"It's a girl!" he said gleefully, gently smacking her little bottom to start her breathing. Chris and Jen both gasped in delight, but I was still pushing too hard to take much notice. Soon, my second child emerged.

"And another girl!" Dr. Stevens said. 

After a gentle cleaning, I beheld my babies for the first time. The were red, wrinkled and screaming...and they were the two most beautiful things I had ever seen with my waking vision. I cradled them against me, with my husband and sister close by. Tears of joy were clouding our eyes as we gazed at the two newborns, crying their little eyes out. 

"Have you decided on names?" Dr. Stevens asked, as he discretely wiped away a tear of his own.

"Yes," Chris and I said together.

Pointing to the first-born twin, Chris said, "We decided to name the first twin Brittney Claire, and the second twin Bethany Marie." 




Hannah's Hero Ch. 07



Jennifer started slightly, looking at her brother. "Yes," he said, without her needing to ask, "We gave both girls one of Mom's names. That way they are each named for her."

Jennifer smiled. "Mom would have really loved that!"

"Yeah, we thought so too," I said, tiredly. After the OB staff took the twins away, I was taken to my room where I slept peacefully. I had two beautiful babies, the most loving husband in the world, and a sister who was also my closest friend. Life was as good as it could possibly be.

END PART 7