Introducing Alex, Misty, and Julia Ross I'll get to the meaning of the title of the post in a minute. The last couple days have been hard as you might imagine. We've been to countless funerals and services, including ones for Rod Portman, Bethany Jacobson, and some of the other agents we knew from Kastle Klingon. Beth and Rod both received posthumous medals for their part in stopping Carrie. The Chinese had seized the base and recovered many of the bodies. We've still got more scheduled in the coming days. We've also had to sit through exhaustive debriefings as the government tries to put everything together, and there's more to come of those. We've been staying in Misty's flat. When we first arrived, it had no electricity or heat, and everything had been covered with sheets and a layer of dust. We cleaned it the best we could. She's gotten her car out of storage and we had power restored the next day. We converted one of her rooms into Julia's, but we plan to move to a larger place as soon as possible. With all the refugees from London looking for homes, the market is a little tight right now. On Friday a man arrived at our door, and handed me some paperwork. Apparently Ellie named me as the heir to her fortune. He also gave me sealed envelopes containing the account numbers and passwords to her secret off-the-books accounts. I haven't checked yet, but from what she's told me, these accounts are far into 8-digit territory. I think I'm pretty set for life. To my surprise, she also mentioned Julia in her estate, giving her a small sum as well, although a note suggested I use it to bribe Filipino officials so our adoption paperwork goes through smoothly. Now for the big news. After talking it over with Misty, we realized that our best bet was to get married as soon as possible, so that we could begin the adoption process without delay. Our plan is to head to the Philippines for our honeymoon. So this morning, in a small ceremony, we were married! Misty's parents were there, as well as her two older brothers and their families. My dad made it out, as well as my brother Brad and his wife Marcia. Everyone was simply thrilled with Misty, and treated Julia very well. It's amazing that we found a wedding dress and tux on such short notice, especially with the chaos that is London. I think I did well with Misty's relatives, and they got along with mine. Also attending were Commander Jeffries and General Tam. Some day when I have my US passport restored, I hope to return to America and have another ceremony where all my friends and more distant relatives can attend. Misty thinks her government can speak on my behalf, but it may take a Presidential Pardon before I can enter the States again. After the wedding, I took a few of the flower arrangements, and Misty and I drove down to the River Thames while our parents entertained Julia. At the river's edge, I said a few prayers for Ellie and Carrie, and tossed the flowers into the water. They would have no funerals or services, no headstones or monuments. I hoped to contact their parents some day and try to explain things, but I had no information as to their respective whereabouts. Well that's about it folks. Hopefully I've put my life back together, and I really think our lives will be pretty good from now on. If not, then at least somewhat sane. Drop me a line at alex_ross@dawnsrise.com if you ever want to find out how we're doing. Peace! Posted: Sunday, November 30, 2008 @ 3:33 PM