Chapter 2
"$2000, do I hear $2200?" Nika asked, another woman shouted out a figure and the price drove up, Tom stood at the end of the runway sweating bullets under the bright lights, a blush burned his cheeks. She couldn't blame the man, he was a widow with two kids, probably hadn't even figured into his mind that women found him attractive. Or that he was about to set a record as the bid was up to $3000 and it'd only been less than a minute into the bidding.
"$5000, cash." A familiar voice shouted over the cacophony of the ballroom. The bid certainly floored Nika and the other occupants as silence descended into the room as everyone was shocked at the high bid.
"Do I hear any higher offers?" Nika asked, a brilliant smile on her lips as her friend had pulled through and was about to make an amazing donation to her charity. She just hoped the reconnect was worth the money for her friend. "$5000, going once, going twice... Sold!" Nika announced.
The room clapped a little enthusiastically at the end of Tom's bidding. "That Ladies and Gentleman brings the bachelor auctions to an end. I'll remind you that there are still silent auctions around the room. We'll announce the winners in the next hour for now enjoy your evening and let's give another round of applause to our Bachelors." Nika added, people applauded as the men came out onto the stage and took a bow before dispersing into the crowd. The stage lights dimmed and the live band started playing. Nika turned off the microphone and stepped away from the podium, she moved to Tom who stood waiting for her.
"Did you rig it?" he asked her.
"Rig what?" Nika asked.
"The Auction." He stated as he knew that voice.
"No, I didn't but I did put out a few calls to people I knew who'd be interested and willing to pay for your time. So, I would like to introduce you to Mrs Cooper. She was the one who bought an evening with you." Nika said as she turned and waved, Tom watched as the crowd shifted and a familiar face appeared in the crowd. Tom felt his heart skip a beat as it was like seeing a ghost from his past, hell she was a ghost of his past. Yet here she stood in a suit and loose collarbone length dark brunette hair and light blue eyes dancing in amusement.
"Sasha." He said a smile spreading across his lips as pleasant memories played through his mind as he remembered the good parts of their past. He had to admit he was really glad to see her alive.
"Tom." Sasha said warmly, she was just as breathtaking as he remembered her but in some ways more beautiful than before like she'd really come into her own. But then it had been over a decade since he'd seen her.
"$5000." He stated, he looked to his right to see Nika had disappeared from his side. The cheeky minx. "You could have just picked up a phone and called." Tom added even though he had to admit he felt a little mixed up about her buying him but also flattered.
"And miss seeing you sweat bullets on the stage with that stunned mullet look on your face. No way would I give up that." Sasha said with a teasing smile.
"You look good." he told her.
"You too," Sasha told him.
Mike made a beeline for the redhead who'd won him in the auction. "Hey," he said as he reached her table, she gave him a wide smile.
"Hey Sailor." She said salaciously, Mike frowned as it made this feel incredibly seedy to him. But then he wasn't interested in being this or any other woman's date for an evening. It was the whole point of having Andrea bid on him but he hadn't expected Andrea to be outbid.
"So, here's the thing I didn't want to do this. I'm married, so let me just write a cheque for the charity and we walk away. I'm not good company or interested in entertaining anyone's romantic fantasies on Valentine's day." Mike said being brutally honest.
"Not even my fantasies?" A familiar voice said from behind Mike. He didn't move at first, too afraid to turn around in case he was wrong about who it was but the need to know. He turned and face her, Christine smiled at him; tears in her eyes.
"Christine?" he said in disbelief and immense relief as she was here before him. Not wanting to waste anymore time wondering if he was having a mental breakdown he pulled her in close and kissed her. She tasted so good, so sweet. She felt so good in his arms, so familiar and comforting
"Hey." She said, Mike bent his head and kissed the tears that fell down her cheeks away before his mouth found hers again. This time he kissed her deeply and she took what he offered until they were both breathless.
"I should mention that you'll have to write that cheque as I'm broke." Christine informed him, Mike couldn't help but laugh.
"So Red, you bid on me." Tex said as he sidled up to table by Andrea's side. She rolled her eyes at his obvious ego boost.
"Don't get cocky. It's for charity." Andrea informed him coolly, Kat was smiling at the two of them finding it incredibly amusing. Danny and Kara had already disappeared with Alisha and Val to go be with their friends and tease Burk about being the cheapest bachelor of the night.
"Uhuh, you could have just donated the money but you chose me." Tex said, before Andrea could say something he turned to Kat. "You didn't even bid." he told his daughter.
"You said bid, you didn't specify on what or whom." Kat argued.
"On me, you were supposed to be on me; your old man." Tex told her.
"Technically you didn't say the words 'bid on me'. You just gave me the money and told me to bid." Kat said being contrary, Tex narrowed his eyes in amusement as he knew Kat was messing with him. But he liked to stir her because years of having Claire as a mother taught Kat how to speak like a Lawyer. So when they did argue it was like seeing a spark of the woman he'd lost but still held a piece of in Kat.
"The inference was there." Tex countered.
"Was it?" Kat asked innocent yet mocking manner.
"Your mother would lawyer me too. I don't like it." Tex half lied, it was fun but even so it had it limits luckily they hadn't reached it tonight.
"Well, I have to go check on my bids." Kat said leaving them. Tex couldn't help but laugh as he watched her go. He turned his attention back to Andrea.
"So you bid on me." Tex stated, he enjoyed the light blush and small closed lip smile on Andrea's lips.
"It's not a date." She clarified.
"Maybe not this year but next year's Valentine's will be a date." Tex offered in a meaningful way.
"If you play your cards right." Andrea drawled not closing off the possibility altogether which made Tex feel pretty damn good about his odds for the future.
"The only guy going home with a man is you." Cruz told Burk as those around them laughed at Burk as he'd been talking up his attractiveness and how he'd kick all their asses at being sold. That the women would be clamouring for him. So yeah, he was eating those words now. At least Miller was being humble as he could haven thrown in back in his face but decided to leave the group to meet his 'date' and see what their plans would be.
"He's very dapper." Wolf said as the man who'd won Burk came up to them. He was a man in his late forties dressed in a well cut suit.
"Lt Carlton Burk." The man said addressing him directly.
"Yes, Sir." Burk said with a nod.
"You will meet at this restaurant at midnight. If you fail to attend then I will inform your Commanding officer to garnish your wages for the auction bid." The man said, he held out a business card for a restaurant.
"Ah ok-" Burk took the card. "But-" he didn't get to finish his sentence as the man turned on his feet and left.
"Wow, he's very business like." Kara commented as they all felt a little stunned by the man's curt manner.
"If you don't report for duty tomorrow we'll at least know where you were last seen and know what the guy looks like." Danny said as he looked at the business card. Something about that made Burk feel incredibly uneasy.
"I'm sure it will be fun. Just keep an open mind." Val offered with a grin.
"I don't need an open mind." Burk told her.
"You might realise what you've been missing is a real man to tame you." Alisha teased much to everyone's amusement except Burk's.
"I'm not into dudes." Burk said darkly.
"Or you are and you're just covering up your homosexuality with being a player with the ladies." Val argued.
"Dude, if you're into guys then you should just say so. We don't care as long as you're happy." Cruz offered, the others nodded all enjoying the humour and riling Burk up.
"Finally you can be yourself and admit my hair is just sexy as fu-" Wolf started but Burk cut him off.
"I'm not gay. I love women." Burk told them firmly.
"So do gay men, they just don't want to have sex with them. You and Nika didn't do the horizontal cha-cha." Cruz argued and the others nodded.
"And you didn't have your way with Ravit and I guarded the door for that." Wolf added.
"I'm a gentleman." Burk said as he could see everyone was messing with him but felt the need to defend himself.
"Really? you kissed another woman at New Year's Eve and then dropped her like she were gross." Kara pointed out.
"I was drunk and she was gross." Burk said as the woman had tasted like cigarettes, tequila and regrets. "Lay off of me, I'm hetero." he said reiterating it as he didn't like his sexuality being mocked.
"But if you change your mind and want to fess up, it's fine. We accept you for who you are." Danny offered which earned him a glare.
"Married and betting on me, how does your husband feel about that?" Tom asked Sasha as they were at the hotel bar sharing a drink. He watched as her features fell slightly. She looked down at her wedding ring and gave a sardonic smile.
"We were barely back from our honeymoon when I got dispatched to Southeast Asia to investigate the mysterious viral outbreak. Things fell apart pretty quickly, and when I came up, well... everybody lost someone in the fire. I was sorry to hear about Darien." She said sincerely, Tom gave a curt nod as they had a shared pain. There was no competition or a counting of years, losing someone you loved was hard.
"Yeah, it hasn't been easy."
"Look, I know I bid on you for Valentine's dinner date but I just want you to know there's no pressure or anything. I just wanted to reconnect with you, so think of the dinner as two old friends catching up." she said, she didn't want to push him away.
She was still grieving for what she had lost in the pandemic and she knew it was too soon for Tom. They were both still wearing their wedding rings, and they were in very different places but when Nika called she just felt like it was kismet. The past months she had felt so disconnected from the world and people around her, yet seeing Tom. Being here with him now made her feel almost like she were herself again. She felt their connection, it was still there and she felt grounded in a way she had craved for.
"I'd really like that." he told her, liking how at ease he felt with her. Sasha smiled warmly and Tom felt like he was taken back in time to when they were a couple yet he was still firmly in the present. It was incredibly weird but great at the same time, as he felt like he was sitting with an old friend but part of him felt given the right circumstances and time, they could be together. But he was getting ahead of himself. "So how long are you here for?" he asked as he knew she'd come from Hong Kong.
"I have a week, then I have to go back." Sasha said, it should put a nail in the coffin of them trying to rekindle anything but Tom saw it as an opportunity for them to take their time. "So I was thinking we could have dinner, catch up and hopefully stay in contact this time." She offered.
"Sounds good," Tom said, he looked down at his drink. "I've lost a lot of friends, it'd be good to gain some back and I'm CNO now which means we'll be in each other's spheres a little more than before." he added.
"But you're not my boss. Just for clarification." Sasha said before taking a sip of her drink.
"No, thank god." Tom said relieved with that knowledge as her title was as a civilian not a member of the military.
"Hey, I'm an exceptional sailor." Sasha said defensively even though she wore an amused smile.
"I don't know, you're fairly insubordinate towards me at the academy." Tom remarked.
"Please, you just couldn't handle a healthy discussion." Sasha drawled mockingly.
"Healthy Discussion?" He asked sceptically as he would have called it heated arguments or debates if one wanted to be a little more PC about it. But she did like to butt heads with him back in those days. It wasn't so annoying after he kissed her, not that he'd tell her that.
"Yeah, you're way too used to people pandering to you." Sasha joked, Tom couldn't help but laugh.
Burk sat at the table in the Chinese restaurant waiting for his 'Date' to show up. This was going to be the most awkward meal of his life. He just knew it as he'd been shown to an 'intimate' table; the table in the corner with window views of the river. The toilets and kitchen far far away and the music lightly played so it didn't drown out the conversation. It was five past midnight, his mobile phone pinged.
He looked at the screen and rolled his eyes as Val had sent him a crude text reminding him that a man that spoke and gave orders like his bidder usually liked to be on top. Another text came through of Alisha assuring him that every man has a first time. He looked across the restaurant where Val, Alisha, Cruz, Miller and Wolf sat and flipped them the bird. They laughed and waved making kissey faces before their food arrived and Burk was forgotten.
He looked out the window to the water, wishing the man would show up so they could get this over with. His wish came true, just not in the way he expected.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Burk turned to see Nika stand at his table. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I'm supposed to be having dinner with my father. What are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled out her mobile phone.
"I'm meeting my date." he told her, Nika gave a huff as she dialled her father or so Burk assumed as she held the phone to her head and spoke in rapid Russian. She sounded pissed and looked it. The conversation lasted a few minutes before she hung up the phone and sat down opposite him.
"My father bought you for me." Nika informed him.
"That was your father?" Burk asked as he wondered what weird family situation he gotten pulled into.
"No, must be one of his agents. But he'll double the donation if I eat with you, as my disposition isn't as 'sunny' as he would like thanks to you." Nika told him, a waiter came up and was about to offer a menu when Nika waved off the menus and ordered for them.
"It's-" Burk stopped as Nika gave a look daring him to defend himself and his actions. "I'm sorry, I was drunk." he told her.
"Really?" She asked him mockingly.
"I also would have liked to order my own food." Burk added, man he wondered what he found attractive about besides her physical appearance. But then he remembered how she made him laugh and had that same spunk Ravit had. She didn't take his shit and she was a force to be reckoned with which belied the Bambi appearance of fragility she had about her. Best of all being around her, he felt he could be himself and there was a real comfort in that.
"You're incapable of kissing the right girl at New Year's Eve, I highly doubt you're capable of choosing the best dishes this place has to offer." Nika told him in a snooty manner. She felt she had the right to be as he made a fool of her.
"You have to cut me a break, I've said I was sorry and I want us to get back to being what we were before that night." Burk told her sincerely.
"You want a break?" She asked him.
"Yes." Burk said.
"Then come volunteer at my care facilities for 800 hours." She told him.
"I don't know anything about being around kids." Burk said honestly, he knew she did a lot of administration work but mostly she was in the institution interacting with the children. Teaching classes, playing and being a surrogate parent to many children.
"You'll learn and you'll get to spend time with me. It'll also give you a chance to prove that you're more than what you've shown me." Nika said, in that moment he saw that he had hurt more than just her pride. She actually cared about him and that night must have meant a lot to her.
"Ok, I'll do it." Burk said not putting any conditions on it even though he wanted to say don't put me on diaper duty for 800 hours.
"No stipulations you want to put on that?" she asked him.
"Nope." he said, she gave a small smile of happiness which made it worth it, that and he was getting a second chance.
"You sure they are still going to be awake?" Mike asked Christine as he parked the car in the driveway of where Christine and the girls had been living. He couldn't believe how close yet so far they'd been from him. Christine had lost her Military I.D. card and when the Nathan James became famous well there were a lot people who called in using names of family members pretending to be family of the crew or worse reporters trying to get an exclusive. Without her I.D. it was next to impossible for him to be contacted thanks to the complicated channels to get through. He couldn't find them as it was next to impossible to find people thanks to how displaced people were and there being no registry system in place. Infrastructure that they needed to find one another were in disrepair.
"Of course they will be. I told them you'd be coming home tonight." Christine told him.
"You sure about this?" he asked, pained because they'd left things on such a rough patch and the loss of Lucas was a shared pain between them. He couldn't forgive himself for not being present for it all. For choosing the mission above finding them. Christine who used to not be the most forgiving person just smiled softly at him, she brushed a hand across his cheek and cradle the side of his face. He closed his eyes at the simple gesture and the physical contact.
"Yes, nothing is or was perfect but all I've thought about all these past months since you left for the Arctic was getting our family together. For being with you again, I love you Mike." she told him, Mike took her hand that was on his face and gently clasped it in his own. He brought her palm to his lips and pressed a soft kiss into it; taking a moment to prepare himself for the family reunion that he'd wanted for so long. He pushed the bittersweet note as Lucas wouldn't be there but he still had Christine and the girls.
"I love you too. So, let's go." Mike said, he knew he'd always remember Valentine's day after this year as it was when he was reunited with his family again.
The End... for now. :)