In a room with painted blue walls and glow in the dark stars hanging from the ceiling, Sammy Koenig listened to his mother as she finished reading a chapter from the Narnia Chronicles. She smiled at him as she pulled the covers up over his chest and placed his teddy bear on the pillow next to him.
"Okay my sweet boy, it's lights out." She kissed his cheek and stood to leave his room
"Mommy?" Sammy called as his mother reached for the light switch.
Hearing something unusual in her son's voice, Helena moved inside the room, "I'm right here, Sammy." He looked a little scared so she sat on the edge of his bed, pushing his shiny brown hair from his eyes.
"Mommy, Geoff and Robbie told me that Daddy and Uncle Alan used to fight space monsters. Did they?" His little voice was anxious and his lips turned down at the corners.
Helena sat down on the edge of Sammy's bed and took his little hands. "What did they tell you?"
Sammy sat up in his bed so he could face his mother. "They said that Uncle Alan used to fly space ships and shoot aliens and so did Daddy. Mommy, what's an alien and why would Daddy shoot it?"
Helena smiled at her four-year-old son. She certainly didn't want to tell him the truth and briefly wondered how her nephews acquired the information. She thought for a long moment before she answered. "Aliens are beings that don't live here on the earth." She said simply.
"Why would Daddy want to shoot them?"
"Daddy tried very hard not to shoot at them." She said gently.
"But Robbie said that Daddy did shoot at them…that he killed them."
Helena shifted nervously. "Sammy, sometimes…well sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. Daddy didn't want to shoot or kill anyone but…" She shrugged her shoulders.
"But Daddy did have to kill one, an alien?"
Helena exhaled softly, "Yes, son Daddy had to kill an alien but he would have preferred not to."
The little boy looked down as his folded hands then back up at his mother. "Was he sad?"
Helena took the child into her arms; "He was sad, Sweetheart. He was very sad."
She held him for a few moments and kissed the top of his head. Sammy pulled back and looked up into his mother's eyes.
"Mommy?"
"What?" His mother answered softly.
"Is Daddy a hero?"
Helena smiled down at her son, "Oh yes, My sweet Sammy, your Daddy is a big hero."
The little boy smiled, "Geoff said the President says Daddy was a hero."
"He's right. The President gave Daddy a metal maybe tommorrow you can talk him into showing it to you."
"I'd like that." A yawn slipped out of Sammy before he could hide it from his mother.
"Okay Sammy, its bedtime." She pushed him back in and tucked him in bed.
He smiled up at her. "My Daddy's a hero."
Helena kissed his forehead and slipped from his room. Outside in the hall, she ran into John. Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek.
"What was that for?" He asked curiously.
"Oh nothing." She squeezed his hand.
"Helena?" He queried carefully.
"Your son wanted to know if his Daddy is a hero."
"What'd you tell him?"
"I told him his Daddy was a big hero. He's going to ask to see your Congressional Metal of Honor tommorrow. You should show him. Might do you both a lot of good."
"Really?" He folded his arms and eyed his wife.
"You need to talk about it and he needs to hear about it. Evidently, Alan has told his boys some stories about our years in space. He was asking questions about you shooting aliens. Talk to him but don't scare him, Okay?"
John smiled, "He wanted to know if his Daddy was a hero, huh?"
"Yes, he does. Talk to him." Helena brushed past John on her way to the their bedroom. He stood in the hall for a long moment. His wife turned toward him and kissed him on the check, "Know what?"
"What?" He favored her with a smile
"You've always been my hero."
He laughed lightly before he reached for her hand and followed her into the bedroom. She was right. It would do them both some good to talk about it.
John opened the door to Sammy’s room and watched him sleeping. He carried with him the medal that had been awarded to him by the President. He kept it tucked away in a drawer in his desk. He sat gently on the edge of Sammy’s bed. Sammy rolled over opened his eyes looking up at his father.
“Morning, big guy.” He said softly, brushing his hair from his eyes.
“Hi Daddy.”
“Your mother said you wanted to see this.” He said, holding the medal above Sammy.
His eyes grew big as it dangled above him. “Wow!” He exclaimed, reaching to touch it.
“The President gave you that.” He said, awestruck.
“Yes he did.”
“Why?” He asked simply.
John thought a moment before answering his question.
“That’s a long story, Sammy.” He said with a smile.
Sammy settled back on his pillow. “I like stories.” He said beaming at his father.
John smiled as he moved to lie next to his son. “Well let’s see. One time a long time ago, you’re mother and I worked on the moon.” He said.
“And then you went on a long trip.” He chimed in.
John nodded. “That’s right. And while we were gone we encountered a lot of people and things.”
“Aliens.”
John nodded again.
“Why’d you have to kill them, Daddy?”
“I didn’t want to Sam, but they were trying to hurt Alpha and your mother.”
“Momma!”
John nodded again.
“Daddy, did it make you sad when you killed the alien.”
“Yes it did. I wouldn’t have done it unless I had to; to protect the base and your mother, you know that. Sometimes we just have to do things we don’t want to.”
“You couldn’t let them hurt, Momma.”
“That’s right Sam. We can’t let anyone hurt Momma.”
Sammy looked at the medal that John held. “You are a hero, Daddy.”
John smiled and hugged his son.
“Tell you what, Sam, why don’t you keep this for me. Keep it safe.” He said handing the medal to him.
Sammy took the medal carefully, looking carefully at the engraved images. “Really!”
“Yes, you take care of it for me.”
“I will, Daddy, I will.”
“I know you will.” He said kissing Sammy’s head.
John moved off the small bed to leave. He turned at the door and saw Sammy carefully slipping the medal over his head. John grinned and left the room.
As he closed the door, he ran into Helena coming down the hall. “Well?” She asked him.
He smiled. “I think he understands.”
“Good.” She said moving past him. “See that wasn’t so hard.”
He smiled as he followed her to the kitchen. “So where does a hero, get a cup of coffee around here.”
Helena shook her head as she walked. ‘What have I done’ she thought.
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