Our Merry Christmas

Chapter 5 - The Courtship

While Sonja thought that she was picky, she observed that LaSalle took forever to select his rental. She always knew that he was savvy, well in a country way. He always managed to let it slip that he was with NCIS. Every owner realized the advantage of having a highly trained law enforcement officer on site.

He eventually got a very large one-bedroom unit with a large workout facility. He was the third tenant in the newest building in the complex. It really did not matter to him as he spent an excessive number of hours on duty to learn his new community. His free time was spent sleeping, seeing his lady or missing her while she was 'wherever'. Percy wanted to stay invested her life venture and often stayed over at least one weekend night.

He would forever be grateful to Kasie Hines. He soon realized that she loved Sonja almost as much as he did. She was the one who suggested that he write her every day. Those notes/messages became a lifeline between the two of them. Sonja enjoyed being able to read them as she returned on the aircraft back to the states. Sonja would spend nearly the first week back asking clarification questions. It only took her first assignment away for LaSalle to realize that he needed to be precise in his descriptions. This new level of communication would serve as a foundation in their courtship, marriage and as they raised their children.

It only took Percy six months and a near death experience to confirm that she wanted a forever life with Christopher LaSalle. She could not tell him about the mission when her team was ambushed but she knew he realized something was wrong when she returned from the jungles of Tanzania. He asked her nearly non-stop for a week what was wrong only to watch the tears flow even more. A month later it was Percy who brought up the idea of a wedding.

"So, Country Mouse we are six months into the quest that brought you here to D.C. Have you reassessed what you thought you wanted back then?"

"No, Sonja, it is not needed. I know that I still want to live with you for the rest of my life."

"Well Christopher, my opinion has changed. I have come to the same conclusion."

"Really" he shouted. He grabbed her and swung her around in the air then stopped suddenly. The next thing Percy saw was him fall to one knee.

"Sonja Percy, will you marry me?"

"Of course, I will Christopher LaSalle!"

Two quick phone calls went out to their mothers. Charlotte LaSalle was beside herself with joy. Percy thought that her mother only pretended to be happy. Her spirits were later buoyed by the response from her friend Kasie who was jumping up and down while shouting "I knew it, I knew it!"

Their immediate concern was where to live. They already knew that LaSalle had a radius that he had to reside in. Two things played out in their favor. First it was rotation time for the cadre assigned to the Naval Academy and second that there was a large number of new constructions in the area.

They actually lucked out when one of the senior instructors at the Academy was selected for a 'star' in the early consideration zone. He had been given immediate reassignment orders and needed to sell his D.C. area home before reporting to NATO Headquarters in Europe. The only changes that they needed to do other than some paint was to finish out the basement with a mother-in-law suite for their expected nanny a few years in the future. It was economical for them to get the construction loan rolled into the mortgage.

Percy put her condo on the market and was pleasantly surprised to have it sell in one week. She spent most of the next month packing up all the things that she had just unpacked less than two years before. She was fortunate to have Kasie to help out. Her experience in cataloguing samples came in handy as they placed all the items in the packing boxes.