So it had been… for eighteen years.

  Until Caitlin.

  He didn’t care what he had to do, he would make it work. If he had to resign his commission tomorrow, he would. Geneva wasn’t so bad, after all.

  Static whistled in his ear before a voice carried over the line. “Freebird One, this is Base.”

  “Base, this is Freebird.”

  “Global weather net indicates some nasty weather in this part of the world. Suggest you return to the roost.”

  “Roger, Base. Back in seven.”

  “Roger, Freebird. Base clear.”

  Nick flipped the switch that engaged his O2 boosters, and the glider hummed to life around him. With a sharp yank of his joystick, the glider flipped back in a full one-hundred-eighty degree twist, pressing him into his seat despite the inertial dampeners. Earth loomed in front of him, swirling shades of blue, white and green. He glanced at his navigational controls and manually calculated his rate and angle of descent. With a punch of his thumb on his red initiator button, the glider shot forward, heading once again for Langley. And home.

  An hour later, he stood once again outside the door of their apartment. He pushed his hand into his pocket, his fingers curling reassuringly around the platinum and diamond ring inside. The metal was warm against his palm.

  This would work. It would.

  He opened the door and darkness greeted him. The same heavy weight that had hit his gut at dinner slammed into him again. Dropping his coat on the back of the couch, he walked into the living room.

  “Lights,” he commanded, and the ambient lighting slowly increased until the room was as bright as midday.

  Dinner sat on the table, just as they had left it. Leaning against the bottle of wine was a folded note, his name written on the front. Swallowing hard, Nick picked it up and opened the fold.

  I wish this would work. More than you know.

  Nick huffed a breath and closed his eyes.

  **********

  CJ stared into the dark night as her jet, bound for Switzerland, cut through the rain and weather. Her tears fell as fast as the rain, despite the exhaustion that pulled at her.

  The door to her private chamber opened, and she quickly wiped her fingers over her cheeks before Jairdan saw how devastated she really was.

  He sat down, his back stiff and his expression stiffer. Emotionless brown eyes, so unlike Nick’s, stared at her as she attempted to compose herself.

  “You have made a wise decision, Doctor Montgomery. Your skill deserves to be appreciated.”

  Sadness exploded in her chest and she looked into the night sky again.

 

 

  A Lifetime Ago, Gail R. Delaney - Phoenix Rebellion 00

 

 

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