I tried to remain still to prevent her from waking. Kat needed her sleep, probably more than I did. While awake, I thought about being at work and having them here in the hotel. I wondered if there was a way I could get off work early. My superior officer was a nice guy. He had a family of his own. I was sure if I explained everything to him he’d give me extra time to be with them. At this point, I knew I had to make some serious decisions. My injury to my hand was going to help with that. There was a good chance I wasn’t going to be cleared for duty. I could still teach, if that’s what I wanted to do. If someone would have asked me a week ago, I would have said that life was good. Now everything had changed. I wanted out of the military, because it meant that I was free to have a life with Kat, without being married to my career. My decisions were going to have to be rushed because time was of the essence. My girls needed stability, and I’d figure out a way to make it happen, even if I had to send them back home to D.C.
