Reaching for The Moon Chapter 1: One if By Air, a dark angel fanfic

Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle

Disclaimer: I guess I'm supposed to do one of these even though it seems like Fox threw Dark Angel out with the trash and Mr. Titanic is off becoming the next Jacque Cousteau or whatever…anyway I don't own them but I couldn't stand them whining around because they wanted to play so I took pity on them and on myself..

Authors Note: Hey this is fun. Let's see guess I need to say something here…ummm…this is an AU fic in which some things have changed and others will remain the same. I don't have a clue as to how long this thing will be… it may go on and on and on…sometimes I don't know when to stop and besides see above – I can't stand whining and these guys are really really really good at that. They only shut up when I write about them. Oh yeah. This never would have even been written without my wonderful fabulous muse China Doll who has been pushing and prodding me about it. Takes a deep breath. So here goes nothing…

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Chapter One: One if by Air

In which the stage is set for our hero and heroine.

July 2015, A Learjet somewhere in the air above Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

"It's time to fasten your seat belt, sir."

The single passenger on the luxuriously appointed Learjet looked up at the attractive blonde flight attendant with a crooked smile. "I thought I told you to call me Logan, Marnie?"

The woman smiled back at him smugly. "That was when I was taking a…break…from my work duties, sir."

Logan Cale smiled at her but refrained from picking up on the obvious invitation in her look and tone. "I'll let you get back to work then." With that obvious dismissal, he turned back to the laptop he had been engrossed in only moments before.

"Your seatbelt." Marnie reminded him.

"Oh right. Thanks." He fastened the buckle and quickly went to work shutting down his computer. The whine of the engines changed and the plane banked, as the pilot made his approach to the landing strip.

Marnie waited a beat but when no invitation to sit next to him was forthcoming, she headed off to the cockpit to strap in with the other two crew members. Before she left she let her eyes wander over the man who was now turned sideways on the soft sofa that lined one side of the cabin, looking out the window at the landscape below. His hair was a dark blondish brown color, cut into short spikes and he had a two or three day growth of stubble. His most striking feature was his eyes. Like his hair their color defied description, varying between blue and gray, but it was their intensity that caught and held those who he favored with a look.

Marnie remembered those eyes looking down into hers not long before when she had shown him the virtues of the king sized bed in the plane's sleeping quarters. She had felt like she was the only women in the world at that moment…

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Outside of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

The limousine that had met Logan Cale at the airport turned into an inconspicuous road off of the main highway. Roughly paved and narrow it wasn't the kind of road one would expect to lead anywhere significant. About a mile in it changed. The paving smoothed out and the road widened. Vistas opened on either side and in the distance one could occasionally see what appeared to be large mansions. They traveled down this road for a time and then turned into a driveway. Large white gates opened smoothly to allow the car access and Logan saw that they were gliding smoothly down a tree lined strip. Several miles in the trees thinned, and as they rounded a turn, a magnificent mansion appeared in front of them.

Visible in the distance, the tall mountains of Idaho made a dramatic backdrop for the gleaming white house which was surrounded by lush greenery. Logan felt like he had somehow been transported from the Pacific Northwest into turn of the century British Colonial India. The house was huge, two stories high, and wide verandas wrapped around both stories. A circular driveway snaked to the front steps where several servants stood, obviously alerted to his imminent arrival.

The car stopped and the driver came around to open the door. Logan's luggage was already being unloaded from the trunk and another servant attempted to take his laptop case from him. Logan pulled it back with a smile.

"Nope. I'll keep that, thanks anyway." He started to turn to look around him but a familiar voice interrupted, and with a grin he looked up to see his friend and mentor Nathan Guevara hurrying down the short flight of steps to greet him.

"Logan. Welcome to my humble abode." Nathan dispensed with formality and enveloped Logan in a bear hug. He was an impressive figure of a man, big and burly, muscular rather than fat. His height easily matched Logan's own 6'2", although Logan was lean and wiry rather than overtly muscular like his host. Nathan had a short beard and his dark hair showed streaks of gray.

Logan caught his breath at the enthusiasm of Nathan's embrace and stepped back laughing. "Whoa. You forget your strength my friend. Knocked the breath out of me."

"It's been too long, Logan. My enthusiasm runs away with me. Come now, come inside. You need to refresh yourself. I'm sure the flight was boring."

Logan smiled at his quick thought of Marnie. "Not at all, Nathan. Actually I found it quite…entertaining."

Nathan looked at him narrowly and then laughed, shaking his head. "Which flight attendant shall I have mooning over you for the next weeks and days? Logan, some day you'll have to settle down and stop leaving a trail of broken hearts in your wake. Being the devil with the ladies is well and good for a young boy, but, my friend, you are now a man with a man's responsibilities."

A shadow crossed Logan's face at the last and for a moment he looked almost dangerous, not the carefree young man he had so far appeared to be.

"I'm well aware of that fact, Nathan. The day will come. But in the meantime can I help it if the ladies won't leave me alone? Who am I to disappoint them?" He had changed back into the smiling sophisticate but Nathan hadn't missed that quick flash.

Nathan threw an arm around Logan's shoulders and led him up the stairway into the house. "Come, you must meet my Annette."

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Unknown to the two men, a pair of eyes had watched the entire meeting from the balcony above. The young girl looked down at herself as the two men walked into the house, taking in her dusty jeans and somewhat grubby t-shirt. Her brow wrinkled in thought and she turned and headed inside through an open pair of French doors, calling for her maid as she went.

A middle aged maid quickly appeared in a doorway of the bedroom the girl had entered. She held a hangar in one hand and a dress in another, clearly interrupted in the act of putting away the piece of clothing.

"Yes, Miss Linetta?"

"Anita, I need my blue sundress. The royal blue one with the tiny straps. Have you found it yet?"

"No."

"Well find it and make sure it's pressed. I'm taking a shower and I want to wear it when I come out." With that the girl was gone through another doorway, dropping the clothes she was wearing in a trail behind her as she went. The maid raised her eyebrows wondering just what mischief her headstrong mistress was about to get up to, as she picked up the trail of clothes and then went to look for the desired dress. "…and don't call me Miss Linetta. My name is Max," came from the bathroom making Anita smile fondly.

TBC…