Snowbound Eagle 16

Princess and I stood there holding each other. A stiff icy wind whipped up around us, as we huddled together, weeping for our comrade.

I wanted to comfort him, but I knew he needed his space right now. I knew there would be a time and a place for us to talk things out.

Princess, however, always seemed oblivious to a man's need for space at a time like this.

"I need to talk to Jason." She whispered.

I didn't want to let her go, and I was especially worried about how she might be received by an angry, grieving Condor. I watched her for a few seconds to make sure she would be ok, and then turned toward the woods nearby to report to the Chief.

I raised my arm and curled my wrist toward my mouth. "Come in Chief, this is Mark…"

The response was filled with static, and I had to listen carefully to understand the Chief.

"Mark, we were getting worried. I hope your lack of communication was not due to negligence on your part."

"No, Chief," I responded. "Transmission was cut off due to the snow storm and an avalanche…"

"Avalanche? Is everyone ok?" The Chief sounded worried. After all, he thought of the team as if they were his own children.

"We are now. We also infiltrated a Spectra base and destroyed hundreds of Zoltar clones." I grinned. I knew the Chief had to be backing up and sitting down at his desk right about now. There was a slight pause, undoubtedly from disbelief.

"Clones?"

"Yes, sir…I'll give a full report when we return." I thought for a minute. "Have you heard from Keyop and Tiny?"

"They're having a wonderful time on Aquatica. More peaceful than you three, of course. I'm glad to hear everyone will be returning in one piece."

"Chief?" I interrupted. "Would it be ok if we stayed here a little longer? I mean, we really haven't had much of a vacation…" Although I wanted to spend time with Princess, I was thinking of Jason. He really needed to relax and get himself together.

"That would be fine." Anderson replied. "Just keep the lines of communication open…"

"Thank you, sir…I will."

As I ended the conversation, an eerie feeling crept over me that something was about to happen.

I heard a faint rumbling among the rubble.

I immediately twisted around in time to see something moving in the ashes. I shouted out a warning to my companions.

Jason rushed over to the site of the commotion, and shouted, "Prin!"

I galloped up beside Princess and watched as he pulled his Swan, like a Phoenix, from the ashes.

Princess and I smiled at each other as the two embraced.

"Uh… maybe we should give them some privacy…" She suggested.

"I was thinking we might want a little privacy ourselves." I smiled.

Now, I could stop worrying about Jason and focus on what mattered to me the most…Princess.

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The four of us stumbled through the snow together, finding our way back to the ski lodge.

Jason, Princess and I de-transmuted before we walked inside. The clone couldn't de-transmute, so Princess rushed back to her room, to bring back some suitable clothes for her clone.

"Sorry…" She apologized, as she handed the clone an extra pair of striped jeans and a number 3 shirt. "I don't have a lot of extra clothes."

"That's okay." Jason's Swan smiled. "I'm used to these. And what else were you going to bring out...the slipdress?"

"Now, can you get the gentlemen out of here, so I can change?" she murmured.

"Sure thing…" Princess winked at her.

I grinned and elbowed Jason, "I think that's our cue to leave…"

"Aw, man, Things were just about to get interesting!" Jason quipped.

We both turned and reluctantly flew the coop.

We sat down in front of the fireplace and grinned at each other.

"Well, Skip, another case solved by G Force…" He spoke quietly and leaned back on the couch with his arms propped behind his head.

"Yeah," I agreed. "And another Swan enters the picture. How are we gonna tell them apart?"

"Oh, I can tell the difference." Jason snickered. "My Swan is much cuter and way more outgoing."

"Yeah, right. You're just saying that because she happens to have the hots for you." I chuckled, leaning back into the soft cushion. It felt good against my achy body. I was glad that Jason seemed so happy.

"I've just been relying on the way Princess reacts to me…" I admitted. "It's a little scary, having two of them now. Know what I mean?"

"We'll manage…" Jason winked.

"Oh, by the way, I made a report to the Chief earlier. He said we could stay here a little longer, since we didn't have much of a vacation." I recalled. Then I realized that the Chief didn't know about the clone. "You know? He doesn't know there are two Swans now. I better let him know."

I raised my arm, and Jason stopped me. "What's the big emergency? Besides, it could be fun playing tricks on the old guy. We could really yank his chain!" Jason cracked up at the thought of a thoroughly befuddled Anderson.

I chuckled a bit myself. "No, I need to tell him. This is really important."

I walked off for a minute to relay the message to a very surprised superior. Then I joined Jason back on the couches.

"He says he wants to see…Princess…uh…the clone…tomorrow. He needs to run some tests."

"You mean MY SWAN…" Jason retorted. "This sucks! So now we only have one night together? Better make it count…" Jason smirked.

Princess and Jason's Swan walked up behind us.

"I know what I'm going to be doing for the rest of this trip." Jason murmured to me.

I hoped the girls didn't hear him. He could be so crude sometimes.

As the girls approached, he jumped off of the couch, took his Swan by the hand, and disappeared down the hall.

"Uh… I guess I'm not going back to my room tonight…" Princess mumbled, embarrassed.

"That's okay." I replied. "You can stay with me."

I wanted to pinch myself to see if I had been dreaming. Things could not have worked out more perfectly.

"All right…" She hesitated.

I hoped I wasn't being too forward.

I took her by the hand and led her down the hallway to my room.

Once inside, I sat down on the bed, and motioned for her to sit beside me. She looked like she needed some reassurance that I wasn't taking advantage of her. I'd take things as slow as she needed to. I just wanted her love and companionship…and getting physical with her wouldn't bother me any, either…

I took a deep breath and began my speech. It was time to admit my feelings and get everything out in the open.

"I think we need to talk, Princess."