Note: Of course I don't own any of these characters. I hope this is a little piece of fluff which will entertain. I have no clear sense of the canon time line I'm interfering with - call it author's license if you like. Lots of short chapters in this piece. I won't drag out the posting process any longer than necessary - having said that ... nothing more till Monday. - Dix
Chapter 1 - Mayday
Harm finished the walk around by waggling the wing. It was just after 11 am, the first Saturday in April and it was a perfect day for flying. The wind was light; the forecast was clear. The blue sky and the angle of the sun made the day irresistible. Still he was feeling unsettled. He shrugged off the anxiety with a roll of his shoulders. He zipped his jacket, slid his hands into gloves, and settled the cap on his head. He tucked the clipboard under his arm and pulled himself into the cockpit.
He ran the rudimentary pre-flight checks in the cockpit, strapped himself in and radioed the tower for clearance for take off. On the runway, the ground rushed past as he accelerated. The sensation of horsepower outrunning gravity was seductive. He pulled back on the stick and felt the overwhelming weight of the aircraft struggle against lift and then break free as the wheels left the pavement. The Stearman was airborne.
It takes a steady hand and a cool head to fly an airplane. Harm had both. At altitude, he radioed the tower as he turned onto heading and checked his clipboard to confirm his flying speed and gas use calculation. He glanced at his wrist watch. He had about 60 minutes flying time before refuelling would be necessary. He settled in and tried to focus on the flight.
This was an impromptu excursion to visit friends in Myrtle Beach. They'd promised a round of golf, a few beer, some fresh seafood and distraction.
For a lawyer, work never holds many surprises. In the court room, a good lawyer only asks questions he has the answers for. In the air, things go wrong, but a good pilot relies on skill, experience, and training to fly out of trouble.
On the ground in Sarah MacKenzie's orbit that's where trouble lived, Harm thought. He never knew the right answer with her and his experiences with other women in other relationships hadn't prepared him for her.
"Don't look back" that's what the Admiral had said. But he had. He'd looked back from the first moment he laid eyes on her. At first, all he saw was Diane; and now all he saw was Brumby. Harm seethed at the thought of the man. He'd pursued Mac with an intensity that made Harm uneasy. It wasn't that Mac wasn't desirable, it was simply that he was sure that Mic thought of her as a prize to be won. The man was a snake and Mac had allowed herself to be charmed by smooth words and relentless pursuit. She'd moved the ring. She'd agreed to marry Brumby. She'd moved beyond his reach. Harm couldn't imagine her married. He couldn't imagine letting her go.
His hand was on the stick and but his heart was running his head. So when the engine sputtered and then quit, for a moment, Harm couldn't understand what was happening. Then the plane descended like a stone and he was choosing between two very dicey landing spots and radioing MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. The plane came in on the rough field, bounced; the wheels caught a rut and the Stearman flipped end over end and lay crumpled and spewing smoke at the end of the field. Rabb lay limp and deflated in the cockpit. His jeans were torn and a cut on his leg dripped blood onto the harness that held him in the overturned plane.