Old Flame, New Spark

Marshal Hercules Hansen signed and stamped the last piece of paperwork in the bulky folder on his desk, officially signaling the closure of the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

Herc leaned back in his chair and sighed, wondering how Stacker had managed to keep the whole Jaeger program running without going insane. He'd only been Marshal for the twilight of the program, and Herc had still managed to run into enough red tape to make him want to burn the Pan Pacific Council's political headquarters to the ground.

Someone entered his office, but the Marshal was too tired to open his eyes as he sat forward again in his chair.

"I thought I told you to go home, Tendo."

"Mister Choi did what you told him to, Herc," an unexpected voice answered, causing Herc's eyes to open wide as he snapped to attention. "It's just me."

The Marshal blinked a few times, unsure how to deal with the massive curve-ball life had just thrown at him.

Standing just inside the doorway, holding a large bottle of vodka and wearing her old PPDC uniform and a smile, was a woman whom Herc hadn't seen in what felt like a lifetime.

"Anna," he managed to breathe out at last, as his guest took a seat across from him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"And it's so lovely to see you too," Anna said, her one visible blue eye glinting teasingly as she reached for a pair of lowball glasses.

Her other eye was covered by a patch, that cheek marred by a long, thin scar running right down its middle.

"I finally got a chance to come pay my respects to my brother and Sasha," Anna explained, pouring the vodka. "As it happens, you have a lot more free time in your day when you're not running a country."

Herc's eyebrows arched at the news.

"They kicked you out?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink. It was smooth, strong and reminded him of many things he thought he'd forgotten.

"No," Anna answered, shaking her head. "I resigned. I wasn't going to get re-elected anyway, and it seemed neater. No need for a war hero in peacetime, after all," she finished, smiling bittersweetly as she took a sip. "And I'm still an advisor to the Pan Pacific Council, either way."

Herc suddenly found himself overwhelmed with things he wanted to say, but couldn't find the words for half of them.

"I never did apologize," he said at last, gesturing up towards Anna's covered eye. "That one was all my fault."

Anna shrugged, moving some of her long, dark hair away from her face with one hand while she used the other to take another sip of vodka.

"I still have one left," she said, with the blunt casualness that Herc had forgotten just how much he'd missed. "Besides, that drop in Vladivostok got me out of the Jaeger Program and into the Kremlin. I'd say that was a bit of an upgrade, wouldn't you?"

The Marshal chuckled, trying to ignore the slowly-building pain in his chest. He took another drink, collecting his thoughts before looking Anna in the eye.

"You didn't just come here for Aleksis, Anna."

"No," she admitted with a sigh. "I didn't. You must hate me for coming back now, of all times."

"I don't," Herc said. "You had your reasons, and we both knew it. Made my peace with that a long time ago."

Anna looked at him as she finished her glass, only speaking a few moments later. When she did, her blue eye was clouded.

"Did he know about me?"

"Of course," the Marshal answered with a smile. "Hard to hide things like that in the Drift. Said he was fine with how things were, though. That he wanted to earn his rank when he got it."

Anna laughed.

"He would've had to have earned it from me," she said, before smiling wistfully. "You two had quite the run, Herc. Even better than ours."

"Yeah," he agreed, finishing his own glass. "But that doesn't count for much now, does it?"

"No," Anna said, leaning back in her chair and reaching into her pocket to fish out a box of cigarettes. "You mind?"

"Thought you said you quit."

Anna pulled out a lighter engraved with the logo of Cherno Alpha, giving a small shrug as she lit a cigarette.

"I did. This is my first one in five years."

She took a drag and blew the smoke out slowly, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

"You know," Herc said at last, smiling with the memory, "I think Aleksis had it figured out. Never did say anything, though."

"Of course he didn't," Anna said, before grimacing and extinguishing what was left of her cigarette, flicking it into the trash. "He always was smart enough not to piss me off."

"Good thing I can't say the same for myself," the Marshal said with a laugh, "or I don't think I could've twisted your arm into co-piloting with me."

"I seem to remember that I was the one doing the twisting, Herc," Anna shot back with a smile, reaching for the vodka again. She poured half a glass for each of them, raising hers in a toast.

"Nazdarovya," she said, and Herc echoed the word as they drank their vodka in one gulp.

"You would've been proud of him, Anna," Herc said after a few moments. "He was yours, through-and-through. Up to the end."

"I've always been proud of him," Anna said. "That's never changed."

Silence settled between them again, until Anna broke it by getting out of her chair and rising to her feet. The Marshal followed suit, opening his mouth to speak before Anna preempted him by leaning across the desk and kissing him.

Herc was caught off guard at first, but that didn't last long. Anna seemed content to let the moment linger, and he wasn't about to stop her. She stepped back eventually, a hungry look in her eye as a smile played on her lips.

Anna turned and began to walk towards the door before Herc had a chance to say anything, but put her hands on the door-frame and stopped just shy of leaving.

"That reminds me," she said, turning back around. "The Pan Pacific Council has decided to re-instate the Jaeger program, on a smaller scale, to help with the global rebuilding efforts."

Herc chuckled to keep from screaming at the news.

"So all these forms I filled out don't mean anything? Typical."

"Well, the program still has to move from military to civilian status," Anna explained. "So it wasn't a waste of time. But I was wondering…" she paused, smiling again. "Would you want to tackle Vladivostok with me?"

"Think you'd be good to co-pilot again?"

"As long as you'd be covering my blind side, sure," Anna answered, her smile never wavering. "Still think you could do that, Herc?"

Herc grinned.

"I don't see why not," the Marshal said, before he thought of something and his grin turned into a frown.

"Something wrong?" Anna asked, and Herc shook his head.

"No. You'll just need to give Ranger Becket and Ranger Mori a while before they might be ready to get back into a Jaeger. Mori's expecting."

"That's great news!" Anna said. "Give her my best the next time you see her. And of course, she can take all the time she needs."

Herc nodded, and Anna turned back around to face the hallway.

"I missed you, Herc," she said in parting, the light coming in through the window catching and illuminating the shoulder patch on her uniform.

"See you soon."

And then she was gone again, leaving only her bottle of vodka behind to mark her visit. Herc took his seat again, smiled, and poured himself another round.

For once, he was actually looking forward to spending a winter in Russia.

…

…

A/N: Because you can never have too much Hercules Hansen in your life! This story happened as a result of my wondering what sort of person Chuck's mother might have been, and here we are.

Also, it looks like my one-shots have taken on a bit of continuity amongst themselves, even though I didn't plan it. The order in which they take place is: Anchors; Straight, No Chaser; Old Flame, New Spark; and then Eight Hours.

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!