Fred and Danielle Sherwood were in high school when they met. They'd both spent their lives moving around the world, from one Marine Corps base to another, and in each other they found the kind of camaraderie that their father's talked about. The kind of camaraderie that seemed paramount, above anything and everything else. The kind of camaraderie that a kid who has spent their entire lives moving, unable to form the same kinds of friendships a lot of their peers were able to form, latches on to. That bond ran much deeper, though, and over the weeks and months that followed their first meeting, the two became inseparable. Where one went, the other followed, and the closer it got to their high school careers being over (as well as their father's being sent off to another base in another part of the world), the more they realized their world was much better with each other in it. So, in between Fred deciding he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and being shipped off to boot camp at Parris Island, the two found themselves married in a courthouse wedding with only their parents there to witness the happy event.

It was only a few months after they wed that Danielle learned there would be no real time for the two of them to adjust to married life in the Marine Corps because there was a little one on the way. A little one she and Fred had never factored into their plans. A little one that she wasn't altogether sure they were ready for. But, ready or not, they were going to be parents. Ready or not, they were going to have a little girl or a little boy to raise. To teach. To send back out into the world with nothing but the hope they'd done their job as parents. And they were both absolutely terrified of the prospect because they were still little more than children themselves. Still, they prepared for it as best as they could, despite the time they spent apart during the first year of marriage. Their parents helped, and the friends that Danielle had made at the very first base Fred was stationed at, did what they could as well. It didn't ease all the worries and fears the parents-to-be had, but it was better than nothing. With everything else, all they could do was learn as they went. All they could do was hope they'd figure it out when the time came.

It was a hot and muggy day in the middle of the summer when Danielle found her standing alone in the kitchen of her small house on a base in southern California, a puddle of water around her feet and her heart beating a mile a minute. She didn't know what to do, and if not for a well-meaning neighbor who'd taken it upon herself to bring pans of desserts over every afternoon, it's likely she would have given birth right there too. Thankfully, an ambulance was called immediately, rushing her off to the nearest hospital where she was carted off to labor and delivery to wait out the contractions. An hour turned into five before she realized how much time had passed, and then another five ticked by slowly as she nearly broke her husband's hand through every contraction that wracked her body. But with every push came a sense of impending relief, because it meant she was getting just a little bit closer to delivering her little one. It meant that she was one push closer to all of that being over. It meant that, soon, she would have a baby in her arms instead of pushing its way out of her body. That was the one thing she chose to focus on.

Benjamin Zachariah Sherwood - named for both his grandfathers - was finally born at four o'clock on a July morning. He was a tiny baby, at six pounds and four ounces, which added to Danielle's long list of worries. For the first few months after his birth, every little movement made her heart feel like it was about to burst from her chest from the panic she felt. He could roll off the bed. He could get his head stuck between the bars on his crib. The playpen could collapse in on him, causing him to suffocate. He could get tangled up in his blankets at night, and strangle himself while he slept. Despite her hovering, and every effort made at keeping him from moving about too much in an attempt at keeping the little boy from hurting himself, Benji - as he came to be called - wouldn't have it. Like most babies, he was naturally curious. Beyond that, he was also a quick learner, stumbling around on his feet - movements stilted and awkward - by the time he was nine months old and uttering his first real words - "mama, want" - shortly thereafter. Oddly enough, it was that thing which made Danielle ease up on her proclivity for hovering.

Growing up was a bit of a whirlwind for Benji. Between moving every three years, and even spending some of that time in a country where language was a barrier that he struggled to cross, there were times where he wasn't sure about much of anything. What he was sure of, though, was that he could lose himself in learning. He could devour book after book to teach himself anything he wanted to learn. So that's what he did. He focused on the things he could control, because the things he couldn't were too big for him to think about most of the time. Academically, he excelled. He impressed his teachers constantly, maintained a consistent 4.0 GPA, and even managed to fit in extracurricular activities when and where he could. Despite all of that, his dreams were to follow in the footsteps of the patriarchs in his family. He wanted to enlist. He wanted to be a Marine. He wanted to know what it felt like to have the same level of pride that he saw in his father and in both of his grandfather's. Unfortunately, health conditions killed those dreams before he could do anything about them, and it was his excellent grades that he had to rely on.

His freshman year was rough, though. Academically, he did as well as he had in high school. But the disappointment of not being able to do what he'd wanted to do, and of not being in control of something he thought he had control over, was always there. It followed him around. made him second-guess his decision, and almost made him drop out until he could pull himself back together. It was a single professor who made him stay. A single professor who became the reason he chose his major. And, eventually, he realized that all wasn't lost. Losing one dream only meant that he could find another. So he did. Four years of undergrad and a BA in sociology later, Ben found himself at Standford Medical School. Determined. Motivated. Ready to dedicate his life to helping others whose own bodies betrayed them, stealing plans and dreams and futures they'd wanted or worked hard for, like his had done. He wanted to make a difference, and though medical school was exhausting - enough to want to throw in the towel sometimes - it was the same level of excellence he'd exhibited in high school that got him through it all.

And then, before they knew it, they were living together. They were making plans. They were moving from South Carolina to New York. There were talks of engagements and marriage proposals in between raising a little boy who called Benji "dad" because he didn't know his biological dad. They lived and they worked and they figured out the little details of life. And it wasn't always easy. In fact, there were days where they found themselves arguing about everything and nothing because they were too tired to deal with problems like the rational, mature adults that they were. But, once cooler heads prevailed, they worked through their issues the way they should have. Perfect was a long-shot. It was something that they could only strive for and hope to achieve. Together. As a family. Which is exactly what they're doing. Step by step and day by day. Another chapter in their lives that takes them toward the happily ever after people read about in fairytales. And no one knows what the future holds, or what cards will be dealt, but that's sort of the beauty of living. One foot in front of the other. That's really all it takes to make it.

· Was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in his late teens when a heart murmur was noticed during the physical portion of MEPS. The MVP disqualified him from being able to enlist because of the presence of an irregular heartbeat.
· Chose to go to college because his mom wanted him to, but declared a major by the end of his freshman year. Midway through his sophomore year, he decided he wanted to go on to medical school and be a heart surgeon, and finished up all the medical school pre-requisites over the course of the next year.
· First met Jade at a summer camp where he worked as a counselor for three consecutive summers at Lake Hartwell in Fairplay, South Carolina. Though he genuinely loved working with the kids that passed through the camp's gates year in and year out, his reason for returning after the first year was the girl he'd developed a crush on his very first day.
· Though he never expected to reconnect with Jade upon moving to Charleston for his internship (and the start of his residency), he did hope that they would because he'd learned that when people said you never forgot your first love, they were absolutely right. He just never factored in her being divorced and pregnant into the scenarios he'd concocted over the years.
· random info here.
· random info here.