"We're almost there, sir," one of the soldiers said from the front seat as the Humvee rumbled forward.
"Whew, finally, we can go home," Jessy said beside Marcus.
"Yeah," Marcus replied, though his mind was elsewhere. On his lap were the two kids he had brought with him, both still sleeping soundly. I wonder how Taylor will react when she sees them. Happy? Angry? … No, she'll definitely be happy. Right? he thought, glancing out the window.
This was the last convoy batch heading back. Earlier, they sent the fallen soldiers' corpses first, followed by the rest of the units along with Troy. Naturally, Marcus stayed with the final group. Jessy stayed too—he was supposed to leave earlier, but because Marcus remained last, he decided to stay as well.
When they finally arrived at the Federation base, the two children were still asleep against him. Max approached right away.
"Sir, Alex is here."
"Wait—what? He's finally here?"
"Yes, sir. He arrived earlier."
"Hm. Alright. Max, take care of these two for me. I'm gonna get some sleep first. See you."
"Alright, Marcus," Max replied.
Exhaustion hit him all at once. Without another word, Marcus headed straight to his room. He needed sleep—badly.
POV: Max
When Troy and the rest of the convoy arrived—along with the fallen soldiers—I couldn't help but worry. Marcus was supposed to be here first. For Christ's sake, he stayed behind, which only made me more anxious. I had no choice but to wait for him.
When the final convoy finally rolled in, relief washed over me… followed immediately by surprise. Sitting on Marcus's lap were two young girls—kids. Troy never mentioned anything about this, and Jessy had already walked off to check on his Navy division. That left Marcus alone, looking absolutely exhausted.
He must've been pushing himself too hard.
He handed the two girls to me and told me to take care of them. I barely managed to tell him that Alex had arrived—without any details. I figured I'd explain everything later. Right now, he deserved to rest.
When Max ordered two soldiers to bring the girls to a comfortable room, the movement must have startled them. Both suddenly woke up, confused, and immediately began looking around for Marcus. Their eyes watered, and they were just seconds away from crying.
Luckily, Max managed to calm them down.
"It's alright. I'll bring you to Marcus," he assured them gently.
With no other choice, he led the two children down the hallway. They clung to him but walked on their own, small footsteps echoing softly. When they arrived at Marcus's room, he was already fast asleep on the bed, completely drained.
The maid by the door stepped forward, ready to stop the children from approaching him, but Max raised a hand and shook his head.
"Let them," he said quietly.
The two girls immediately climbed onto the bed and nestled beside Marcus, one resting her head on his arm and the other curling against his chest. Within moments, they had fallen asleep again, peaceful and safe.
Watching the scene, Max let out a long sigh.
"This isn't my fault, Marcus," he muttered under his breath. "Clearly… they're attached to you."
He turned to leave, but before stepping out, he glanced back one last time at Marcus and the two girls sleeping beside him.
"Hm. Not bad, Marcus," he said with a small smirk. "You're almost there—having a family of your own."
Far away, inside one of the Federation buildings, three women were gathered and talking.
"So… you've done it with him, right?" Shenna asked, leaning closer with a teasing smile.
Taylor's face instantly turned bright red.
"W-What are you even saying?" she stuttered.
Alexia joined in, smirking. "Well, you two should start preparing. You know… baby essentials, future plans—stuff like that."
"Baby essentials?!" Taylor's eyes widened. "You're moving way too fast, Alexia!"
"It doesn't hurt to be prepared," Alexia said with a shrug.
"Exactly," Shenna added. "Just in case."
Taylor let out a long sigh. "You two are unbelievable…"
She glanced toward the window, worry creeping onto her face. "Anyway… they're still not back yet."
Shenna nudged her lightly. "Hey, don't worry too much. You saw Marcus in action when he found us, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Taylor muttered.
"And your face turned into a tomato that day," Alexia added with a grin.
"Stop teasing me, Alexia!" Taylor protested as both Shenna and Alexia burst into laughter.
Just as the three women were about to continue their conversation, a knock sounded at the door.
"Miss Taylor, are you here?" a voice called from outside.
"Yeah, I'm here," Taylor replied.
The door opened, and a soldier stepped inside, giving a respectful salute to the three ladies.
"What is it?" Taylor asked.
"Ma'am, the leader and the rest of the convoy have returned," the soldier reported. "Sir Max instructed me to inform you. He also said that Marcus is currently sleeping and that you should let him rest for now and prepare to meet him later."
"Prepare for what?" Taylor asked, her brows narrowing in confusion.
Shenna and Alexia exchanged looks, both raising their eyebrows in silent curiosity.
"Well… I'm not sure myself," the soldier admitted. "Sir Max has the details."
"Alright. Thank you," Taylor said.
"My pleasure, ma'am," the soldier replied before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
"Hm… now I'm curious. What could that be about?" Alexia said, tapping her chin.
"Anyway, you heard the soldier," Shenna added. "You should prepare yourself later."
Taylor nodded quietly. "Yeah… I will."
"Oh, right!" Alexia suddenly perked up. "Did you guys hear about Sofia Vergara?"
"Sofia??" Shenna and Taylor said at the same time, snapping their heads toward her.
"Yes! That Sofia—the one ranked among the most beautiful women in the world! She's here, in our Federation right now!" Alexia announced, barely containing her excitement.
"What?? Is that true?" Shenna asked, her eyes lighting up.
Even Taylor froze, stunned. Sofia Vergara was more famous than her in many ways. The three of them could easily be counted as fangirls.
"She arrived by boat, along with others," Alexia added.
"Let's go meet her later!" Shenna said quickly, almost bouncing on her feet.
Taylor nodded again, this time with a small smile. "Yeah… let's."
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