Title: Land of Sky Blue Waters
The autumn day was crisp with a slight chill in the air, but the Colorado skies were clear and cloudless, as usual. It was a good day to fly. The aspens shimmered their gold in the grove by the side of the parking lot, a slight breeze ruffling the leaves. Jack parked in the space reserved for private plane owners at the Castle Rock airport, and gestured Carter towards the lobby entrance next to the hanger. He could use the Springs airport; it was closer of course, but Castle Rock was smaller and had a distinct advantage -- Tom Hendrickson, an old friend, ran the place.
As he pulled the car into the lot, he thought about the connection. He'd known Tom for close on 15 years, since they'd been stationed together in Germany back in the late 80s. Tom had been straight Air Force, based at Grafenwoehr; he'd been Special Ops, dropping into the area on occasion to coordinate missions when he was given a new assignment in Eastern Europe. But even though their interactions had been infrequent, they'd developed a friendship through the missions they'd served on together. The end of a number of those had consisted of Tom flying a helicopter to pull his ass out of some godforsaken place when things got dicey. Jack had taken a likeness to the guy after the second time it had happened.
The irony of the story was that it was Hendrickson, not him, who'd ended up on disability retirement after the last time Tom had shown up for him and his team. That had been eight years ago. Tom, a Colorado native and grad of the Academy, had come back to the Springs after and had started up the Castle Rock airport. Jack had been coming around ever since; and especially since Abydos.
It didn't take long to locate Hendrickson. He was, as usual, in the back office finishing up paperwork. He looked up when Jack knocked on the office door.
"Hey, Jack, how's tricks?" His black, now slightly graying hair, longer than what the military would allow, flopped down into his eyes as he looked up, bending his large frame over the piece of office furniture Jack had always envied -- an "ergonomically INcorrect" desk.
Jack looked his friend over carefully. Tom seemed the same as he always had to Jack since he'd retired and after his injuries had healed as well as they could. He was clearly happy and a looked a lot younger and healthier than Jack felt at the moment, considering that they were nearly the same age. Maybe there was something to be said for sticking with early retirement.
Nah.
"Same as usual, Tom. How you doing?"
"The regular. It's good to see you back here again." Tom grinned.
"Yeah. Well, things have been busy lately."
"I bet."
Jack just shrugged.
"Yeah. I know. Don't want to hear it anyway. But I'm glad to see you're doing o.k."
"I am."
Tom shook his head, smiling, and then pointed out the window to the airstrip, where a Cessna Skyhawk 172R sat. "There she is, fueled up and ready to go. I had her checked out yesterday. I've logged your usual flight plan for you. Conditions are –well, here, look for yourself." Tom grinned as he handed Jack a print out.
Jack scanned the data. "Nice. Should be a good trip. Thanks, Tom." He looked up, trying to locate Carter, but she was already out of the door, headed for the Cessna.
He watched, amused, as she inspected the plane.
Tom and he followed after her, Tom's eyebrows heading towards the top of his head. Jack ignored him.
"She's a beauty, sir. A Classic. 1985, isn't she? That was the last of the best. They quit making the 172 after this version. I always thought it was a shame." Carter circled the plane. "She does what? About 230 kms an hour?"
"Yeah, although she's had a few upgrades. About 270 now if the wind is right. It's about a seven hour flight to Effie, give or take, depending on the conditions." Jack knew she hadn't heard a word he'd said. He grinned and gestured her into the cockpit when she tilted her head in that direction, smiling.
Tom broke in, staring at Carter as she got into the plane. "She sure is a beauty. "
Jack looked back at Tom, annoyed at the interruption of his thoughts, which were currently focused on enjoying Carter enjoy the plane. That, and the fact that he was pretty damn sure Tom wasn't referring to the plane, was distracting to say the least.
"Want to introduce me?"
Yeah, he was sure.
"Major Doctor Samantha Carter, Tom Hendrickson. Tom takes care of the Cessna."
"Pleased to meet you, Major." Tom was doing his smarmy best to capture Carter's attention, but her eyes were only on the cockpit's instrument panels. Jack somehow felt better.
"Pleasure, Tom." She managed to look up for a few moments and then went back to her inspection. "She's really sweet, sir. Look at the …"
He lost track of her meanderings as she her head bent down to look at the layout of the panels and her voice turned into incoherent mumbles.
Tom, admitting defeat, turned to him with an unholy look in his eyes. "You work together?"
"Yep."
"And you're off to Minnesota for a week? Alone? "
"Yeah."
"Nice."
Jack felt the need to defend himself, which was annoying, because he knew the trip was completely innocent. It had to be. He clarified for Hendrickson. "We're going fishing, for crying out loud. Fishing."
"Sure you are." If Tom didn't stop smirking, Jack thought it was possible that he'd just shoot him, or at minimum, knock him on his ass. He suddenly couldn't remember why he liked Hendrickson anyway.
He tried again. "She's my 2IC. We're going fishing."
Tom stopped grinning. The guy was ex-military, after all. He knew the regs.
They both turned and watched Carter, her smile luminous as she inspected the plane.
"Jack, you have always been insane. But this…"
"Yeah." Jack fiddled with his sunglasses. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do, given the weirdness of the conversation.
"Watch your back."
He sighed, and continued fiddling, watching the glasses open and close yet again. "No need. Carter takes care of that for me."
He damned well hoped he was right.
Thankfully, Tom said nothing more, and looked at his watch. "You're scheduled to depart in fifteen."
Well, that was something that he could deal with. He looked up into the Cessna. "Carter? We're set in fifteen."
Carter looked up from her inspection of the flight panels inside of the plane. "Sorry, sir."
She started to get out, but he waved her back in. "Stay. You can take her to the Sioux Falls airport. We refuel there. That's as far as she can last, given her capacity. It's about four hours, depending. I'll fly the rest of the way. Flight plan's logged in and on the panel."
"Really?" The smile she sent him was stunning. He found himself unable to breathe for a minute; then she looked back at the controls as she reviewed the plan. He swallowed, thankful that he was no longer the focus of her attention.
"Jack…"
Damn Tom for seeing the potential… uhh… problem and possibilities. He diverted the discussion to something innocent. "I know. I know I should have mentioned sooner that I'm letting her fly the Cessna, but she's completely certified on this and a dozen other birds." OK, so he was rambling. That was normal.
"I need the documents." Tom backed down, all business, thankfully.
"Major, give him your credentials."
"Yes, sir."
Fifteen minutes later, they were off the ground.
