"Hey, I am only leaving for three months. It's not even a real deployment. Just training with the black lines."

Felice gave Lennox a soft smile as they stood side by side at the airstrip in front of the hangar, watching the small crowd of aviators and their families say their farewells before they would be flown to the aircraft carrier. The sun was shining and both of them wore their sunglasses, but Felice didn't have to look in Lennox' eyes to guess his mood. His whole body language read tension.

It was obvious that the Colonel did not like the fact that she would be out of reach for the next few weeks and frankly, she didn't want to leave him either. Aside from their little argument in the mess the day she'd told him about Kevin Galloway, they'd gotten along very well lately. Felice was glad to have Lennox back as a friend yet most of their conversations resolved around work. Both of them carefully avoided more delicate, personal, topics.

"Hmm…"

"They need to get their carrier qualifications. Reigart insisted that it would be part of the program even though they all passed it in flight school."

Lennox snorted.

"Jesus, Will! You are such a…" she halted in her speech as he turned to her, fixing her with a glare. "Call it off, if you don't like it. You are the boss for heaven's sake!"

"It's not about the program."

"Then what is your problem?" Felice asked, truly bewildered by her friend's strange behavior.

The Colonel took a deep breath.

"I just think that training here is more than enough. Moving operations to the carrier makes this whole program…"

"… more real?" Felice finished the sentence quietly, sudden realization dawning on her.

Lennox nodded, taking off his shades while unconsciously stepping a little closer to her.

"I worry about you." he said quietly.

Felice returned his gaze. There was no longing in his voice, no trace of a hidden attempt to get her back, just sincere concern.

"I'll be fine." she smiled, touching his arm and squeezing it reassuringly.

Lennox reciprocated her smile, though a little doubtful. He then watched her heading towards her men, assembling them and heading for the helicopters, which would take them to the boat.


The alarm clock woke Lennox from a deep exhausted slumber. The past days training had been intense, yet he was not willing to loosen their daily routine while there was no imminent threat. Still drowsy, he rose and after a quick shower, he got dressed and made himself some coffee, his glaze flickering towards the calendar pinned to his fridge.

Another three weeks and Felice and her squadron would return from their training exercises on the boat. He'd not spoken to her lately because she was so wrapped up in work, but every few days he would get an email from her, giving him a brief heads-up on the progress of her recruits. Though she was not telling him directly, he read between the lines well enough to know that she was still having trouble with Kevin Galloway. He sighed, feeling a strong urge to help her, but knowing that she would turn down his offer at once.

His thoughts still with the Navy officer, he took his cup of coffee to the counter, sat down and switched on the TV to catch up on the morning news. He was about to take the first sip of his drink, when something on the news made him freeze in his movement.

"… Today at 0500, an F-18 Super Hornet crashed in the Atlantic. The jet was part of a joined Navy and Air Force program, yet verification of this information is still pending. The ministry of defense did not release information about the identity of the pilots involved and whether there are any casualties, but footage from the crash site suggests…"

Lennox did not hear the rest of the announcement for in that moment his phone began rang. With numb fingers, he took it from the counter and raised it to his ear.

"Lennox."

"Colonel Lennox, I believe you know what…"

"Are there any casualties?" Lennox interrupted General Morshower, whose voice he'd recognized at once.

"I've not spoken to Admiral Reigart yet because we've trouble establishing a line of communication. I hoped you could tell me more." Morshower replied calmly.

Lennox cursed. Why on earth was this happening every time communication was of the essence?! He ran his hand through his hair, pacing the length of his apartment.

"No, Sir. But I'll be at headquarters in 10." he said tersely, hoping to hide the hint of panic in his voice.

"I'll expect your report ASAP." Morshower replied and ended the call.


Lennox could not remember the last time he'd gotten to work that fast. Not sure whether he'd still have his driver's license by the end of this week, regarding the pile of traffic violations he'd just committed, he brought his car to a halt in his usual parking spot and strode briskly towards the entrance of NEST headquarters.

He took a deep breath before entering the dimly lit room and made his way over to Scott, who was on the phone with somebody. The look on his team mate's face told him that it was about the crash. With mounting unease he waited for him to end the call and when he finally put down the receiver, he asked at once:

"What do we know?"

"Training accident. Skydive was involved and two F-18, but they are not releasing any names. SAR is still in progress." Scott summed up the conversation.

"How long will it take?"

"They're calling back as soon as the copper gets back to the boat." Scott replied, looking just as anxious as Lennox.


The next two hours where nothing short of torture. It took Lennox all his self-control to maintain his cool, yet his thoughts were wrapped around various scenarios involving Felice and a crashed jet.

One after the other, his team members arrived at work and having heard about the accident on the news and worrying about Felice with him. At some point, the whole NEST team was sitting in the headquarters, waiting for a word that their fellow team member, their 'girl' was alright.

When, after what seemed an eternity, the phone finally rang, Lennox put it on speaker so everybody could hear the news; good or bad.

"Colonel Lennox, this is Admiral Reigart." a familiar male voice came through the speakers.

"Admiral, what can you tell us about the crash?" Lennox asked; his hands propped up on the desk, staring at the phone, as if it would tell him more than the voice coming from it.

"Not much. Reconstruction of the events is still in progress, yet SAR has been completed. The pilots are alright."

There was a collective sigh of relief and smiles were exchanged. But Lennox pressed on.

"But there were rumors about casualties."

And to his astonishment, he heard the other man snort with laughter. Or had he?

"I beg your pardon, Sir?"

"I'll pass you through." Reigart merely said and the line went silent.

Lennox looked up to his team mates. By the hearing of Reigart's tone, he knew that this was no conversation that should be overheard by the whole team.

"Everybody, clear the room." he ordered and watched the men file out. He disabled the speaker-function and picked up the receiver, waiting apprehensively for the connection to be established.


"Manning." she snapped as she took that call by the first ring of the phone in the empty corridor. The last thing she wanted was to explain what had happened to some paper-pushing punk for the hundredth time. But as she heard the familiar voice at the other end of the line, she calmed down immediately.

"Felice, are you alright?"

She'd rarely heard Lennox sound so desperate and scared. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I am fine, Will. Relax." she replied in her calmest voice as she leaned against the metal wall next to the phone.

"Are you sure? We saw the news. The jet that crashed… They said there were casualties."

Felice snorted scornfully.

"Yeah, when you call a concussion a severe injury."

Lennox seemed to be taken aback by her reply because the line remained silent for a few seconds.

"Who was involved then?"

"Take a guess." she said with a mirthless laugh.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"Nope. Kevin Galloway put his nose right at Skydive who was not paying attention at that moment and could not avoid the collision. He got clipped at the right wing. The jet was no longer maneuverable and he had to eject. But aside from a concussion and some scratches when he went down he's fine."

"So you were not involved in the accident?"

"No, I was his wingman but as an instructor I am also responsible for…"

"What are you talking about, Felice?" Lennox cut through her speech. "He fucked up and he can be glad that nobody got killed."

"Yeah, but you know him and…" she trailed off. No, she could not tell him about Galloway senior. But Lennox appeared not to have heard her hesitation for plunged on in his rant.

"You let me deal with that…" he said something definitely not PG-rated that made her scold him, but she turned serious immediately.

"This is serious, Will. We have to be careful. There's a lot at stake here."

"I know." he replied. "I know. But I see what I can do."

"No, you've risked your career enough times for me." she said and this time it was without the slightest trace of anger about his past actions. She was – she realized now – grateful for what he'd done for her and the possibilities that had opened up on the way after all. "I was in charge that day. My orders, my responsibility."

There was a moment's pause before Lennox spoke again.

"Fine, but if there's anything you need…"

"I will call." she finished his sentence with a genuine smile and for the first time in months she felt unconditionally glad to have Lennox standing by her side, offering his help.