Rainbow

Unlike their previous day at Disney World, this day had started off misty and rain was forecast for most of it. Dreary and nothing to look forward to. At least not until a knock came not long after breakfast and Bethany was pleasantly surprised to find Murdock at the door of their hotel room.

"Hi, Bethany - want to come play in the rain with me, Sunshine?"

"I'd love to. Give me a second to grab my things."

She ran a quick brush through her hair and got ready to go even though her sister was a bit disgruntled that she was leaving with a man who was practically a stranger instead of spending the day with her and her son. Never mind that all that she planned to do was to take her son to the hotel's indoor pool due to the rain. She still felt her sister should be staying with them.

Bethany had no such feelings on the matter. This was her vacation as much as her sister's and she was paying her own way. She told her sister plainly that would spend her rapidly dwindling time as she pleased. And it pleased her very much to spend them with this man who was, well, different. Very much a man and yet still able to take on the world with the excitement and enthusiasm of a child. Someone determined to experience everything that life had to offer with wide open arms. Even rain.

Taking her offered hand as she left the hotel room, he grinned and led her over to the rental car he had to get. There was no chance of B.A. letting him use the van and even less chance that Face would lend him the Corvette. He opened and held the passenger door for her as she climbed in.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to the other woman."

That rather took her off-guard and she wondered briefly if maybe her sister had a point about how little she knew Murdock.

"Other woman? You aren't - married, are you?"

That question gave him a case of the giggles as he answered.

"Oh heck no. You'll see. You're going to love her. Trust me."

She just sat back, deciding that even if this turned awkward, it couldn't be as boring as sitting by a pool. Murdock kept up a fairly steady stream of chatter, not all of which made a great deal of sense to her, but she found his voice rather like the ocean against the rocks. Rather pleasant to just listen to. Then she caught sight of where he seemed to be heading.

"Murdock? Is this an airport?"

"Not really, Sunshine. Just a little hanger and landing pad area for some helicopters. Faceman managed to get me one for the day."

"You can fly helicopters?"

"If it can be flown, I can fly it. It's not what I do, it's who I am."

Parking, he beamed over at her before climbing out and hurrying over to get her door. The rain was still coming down lightly, but the sun was out as well as he led her over to the waiting helicopter, assisting her into the passenger seat and helping her get buckled before climbing in and giving the controls a rundown before getting ready to lift off.

"So? This other woman? You have to fly to where she is?"

A merry laugh filled the cabin area even over the noise of the rotors.

"Sure do. Look around you, Bethany. This is the other woman. My first love has always been the sky."

Laughing herself, both in understanding and relief, Bethany did look around, but she found her attention drawn constantly back to Murdock. The expression on his face was one she wasn't sure she'd even seen on a person before. Contentment? Bliss? All of that and something more that she couldn't define - other than to say that she wished she could share that feeling with him.

Then she gasped as the sky in front of them suddenly filled with color. Leaning forward, she broke out in a huge smile. A rainbow. He had flown them toward a rainbow.

"See that? I knew she'd like you."

"You brought me out to see this? How did you know there'd be a rainbow?"

He glanced over at Bethany, watching her eyes dance as she continued to drink in the vivid colors before they began to start fading.

"It was bound to happen. Mother Nature brought the rain. I brought the Sunshine."

Feeling herself blushing but not finding the words to express how she felt, Bethany just drank in the sights he showed her on their short flight before he headed back to the landing pad with more than a little reluctance. He was right. This was him. She wondered if he had wings of his own if he would ever even bother to touch the earth again. She suspected not.

His wistful look back up after they landed seemed to confirm that. Then he shifted his gaze from it to her. The question in his eyes as he came around to help her back to the ground was so plain that she had to laugh.

"You were right. I love her."

Neither of them paid any attention to the light rain as he smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. And neither of them noticed when the rainbow reformed overhead.