Steven watched as Colonel Hamilton pulled Captain Carter out of the dining hall in front of all their cadets. The cadets were used to them stealing away any time they could get in between when Colonel Hamilton was back on base. However, this time seemed different. Hamilton was angry—no, concerned. Steven could see the colonel's forehead scrunched in worry, his eyes glaring at his wife.

Steven picked up his tray and moved to the dishroom line, not because he was finished eating. The Hamiltons were standing right outside the door next to the dishroom. Steven could not control his insatiable desire for information. His buddy Stan came up to Steven, joking around with him. "Hey, get a move on."

"Shhh! I'm trying to listen," urged Steven as he balanced his tray on one hand.

"You're going to get in trouble, Steve."

"No, I won't. Come here! You've got to hear this."

___________________________________

Mark looked at his wife Grace, technically not under his command, as that would violate nepotism regulations. Her long, black hair was secured in a regulation bun. Her cover was perfectly placed two finger widths above her eyebrows. Her navy blue uniform was pressed and spotless. Looking at her, everyone would think everything was all right. However, he knew something was wrong. She had dark circles under eyes. The weight loss was unmistakable. And recently she did not even want him to touch her—the woman who used to be a siren in bed. The only think Mark wondered was how long she had been hiding it, how long she had been living a lie.

He lashed out, "When were you going to tell me, Grace?"

"Tell you what?" she asked sullenly, looking at the ground.

"That you're seeing the base quack!"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that! I'm your husband! We're not supposed to have secrets between us!"

"Is that so? But it's perfectly okay for you to yank me out of a dining hall to have this conversation, in full view of the cadets? I have a problem, yes. But I'm taking care of it. So, if you'll just let me go—" she tried to push past him, but he grabbed her by both arms and held her in front of him. As soon as he touched her, the tears streamed down her face.

"Grace," he said with love, pulling her close to him. "Grace, it's okay. We'll get through this together, but I have to know what's going on if I'm going to help you."

"What if I don't want your help?" she whispered, pulling away from him. "Mark, if I tell you, then you would have to take action officially."

"Maybe that would be best for everyone. If it would mean you would get the help you need . . ."

Grace turned her back to him, hiding the shame. "You don't want to know what's going on, Mark. If you knew, it would ruin your career, as well as mine."

"Gracie, I can't help you if you don't tell me," he pleaded as she stood with her back to him. "Please, honey, whatever it is, we can get through it together."

It took a few minutes before she replied. Mark gave her time. "I'm falling into a pit, and there's no way out," she mumbled. Mark hesitantly stepped behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"How bad?" asked Mark, sure that it could not be too bad. After all, the head doc had not removed her from duty or locked her up.

"If you . . ."

Mark turned her around, looking her directly in the eyes and shook his head from side-to-side. "Don't hold anything back."

Grace pulled her sidearm from her holster, unloaded it, and handed it to her husband. "This bad." Mark looked at the pistol in his hand. "I don't want to go on. I want to end it all, Mark. I'm tired of . . . everything."

Mark took her in his arms, pulling his wife close to his chest as she sobbed. "I'm relieving you of duty," he whispered.

"I don't want to go back to the doc," Grace cried.

"You have to. They know how to help you, Gracie. I don't." Mark ran his fingers down her face. "I can't bear to think of living without you, Darling. Please, don't take yourself from this world. There are people here who would really miss you. I love you." He kissed the top of her head as she buried her head into his shoulder, her eyes wide open in fear.