The kids are all back in school now and I have some quiet time to write here's the next chapter

Chapter 10

Mike rested his ankle in his apartment while watching out the deck doors for any sign of Laura. He was planning a nice home cooked dinner for her but after the way she sent the others home he was a little worried that she had forgotten about it or changed her mind.

Through the sliding doors to his deck Mike noticed Laura walking to the dumpster with a tall stack of cardboard boxes and watched as she stopped to look at the once again covered car in her parking stall. Noticing that she was leaning against one of the support post thoughtfully Mike made his way down to her side and stood there silently.

"It was my mother's car," Laura let Mike know she knew he was there, "My dad built it for her from scrap body parts then ordered a new engine to put in it for her birthday, He gave it to her just before she died," Laura finished her explanation, "She never even got to drive it."

"How did she die?" Mike asked and watched carefully for Laura's reaction.

"I was about 10 years old at the time and she was very pregnant with twins. About eight and a half months along, that's why she never drove the car she couldn't get behind the wheel she was so pregnant. One day while I and my brother were at school she started bleeding but just thought she was going into labor so she waited a little too long before she called my dad to come take her to the clinic. When he got her there they told him that her placenta was pulling away from the lining of the uterus and she needed an immediate C-section. They weren't equipped to do that at that clinic so they ordered an ambulance to take her to a hospital where they could. It was a forty-five minute drive and she bleed out on the way. Both her and the babies were dead on arrival."

Mike stepped closer and set his hand across Laura's shoulders trying not to be too confining.

"I really wasn't thinking straight when I tried to sell it. I was glad that Carlos took it but I never dreamed he planned all along to give it back to me. I wondered why he still had it up on blocks when I was staying with him after the camp closed down for the school year."

Mike started to rub Laura's shoulder and she turned her attention away from the car and looked at Mike. "So what brings you out here?"

"I was just wondering if we were still on for Dinner tonight?" Mike asked hesitantly.

"Yes I'm looking forward to it, what time and what do you want me to bring?" Laura responded with a smile and making no attempt to pull away from Mike. Still Mike played is safe.

"Dinner will be ready about six and just bring yourself," Mike managed to answer through his own smile.

00000

Mike had just changed into nicer clothes and was making yet another check on dinner when he heard the knock on the door.

He wasn't in the least surprised to see Laura standing in the hall way waiting to be invited in but he was surprised at how lovely she looked, She was wearing another form fitting blouse with a free flowing skirt and comfortable looking slip on shoes, her hair was pulled to one side and hung in ringlets at the side of her face that had a little more make up than Mike was used to seeing on Laura but she looked lovely.

"Come in," Mike welcomed her.

"Thanks for playing phone tag earlier," Laura commented. When she told her friend Carlos to call her when he got home she had forgotten that her phone wouldn't be operational for two more days. So when Carlos got home he called the only number he had for her which was Dixie's apartment, Dixie didn't have Mike's number but she managed to get a hold of Johnny who called Mike and then Mike ran down the hall to tell Laura the Carlos and his son had arrived home safely.

"Any time," Mike answered with a never ending smile as he guided Laura to the sofa, "Dinner will be about another five minutes I thought we could have a drink while we're waiting," Mike was quick to notice the hesitant look on Laura's face and quickly picked up the bottle from the ice bucket on the table. "I got the non alcoholic wine," He showed her the bottle and she sighed in relief and smiled warmly.

"Thank you," Laura offered and watched as Mike poured the wine.

As he handed Laura her glass Mike ventured to start a conversation, "I've been wanting to ask you about what you said when we arrived at Cap's house last night. Did you really get shot by someone else's wife once?"

Laura giggled nervously and sipped at her drink then with a bright red face looked up at Mike, "Yeah, I'm afraid I did, The woman was convinced that her husband was having an affair and convinced I was the one he was having it with, not true by the way, fortunately her husband was able to grab her hand that held the gun and I just wound up with a flesh wound in the leg just above my knee. That's why I had the taxi driver park at the corner and wait until I saw someone else drive up last night so I wouldn't have to enter alone."

"You did? So your arriving just as I got out of my truck wasn't a coincidence?"

"Nope," Laura grinned sheepishly. "Forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, I was mad at myself for not offering to drive you in the first place."

When the oven timer dinged, Laura was led to the dinning room table and seated in a chair as Mike retrieved dinner from the oven and placed it on the table taking time to light the candles and turn down the lights before he claimed his seat. During the course of dinner Mike learned that Carlos was a young man who had 'aged out' of foster care and Laura's father, who had endured a similar situation, took him under his wing and gave him a place to stay and helped him find work as a smoke jumper working forest fires. He later joined the navy but got sick during boot camp and was left so anemic that he received a medical discharge. After he regained his health and got a job with the fire department in Washington, he married and soon found out that he couldn't father children. Laura had helped he and his wife adopt a little girl and then when she was in China she worked to rescue the children from an orphanage that had collapsed in the earth quake and managed to arrange for several of the children adopted in the United States, Carlos and Malinda adopted two children and gave them American names, Robert and his sister Jasmine.

Laura already knew a lot about Mike from the time she spent trapped in a collapsed apartment building with his father but she was able to turn the attention away from her self and show off her knowledge of firefighting by using the proper terms to ask questions about Mike's fire truck and equipment.

When neither of them could eat another bite Laura helped wash the dishes and then Mike took her for a ride in his truck to the beach for a romantic stroll in the moonlight.

As they walked and felt the waves at their feet Mike became aware of Laura tensing up at his side. Her breathing was that of panic and fear.

"Laura, are you alright? You're not afraid of me are you? I'm not going to hurt you." Mike questioned as he loosened his grip on her hand but kept contact by holding her fingers in his open hand, she could have easily pulled away but she didn't.

"No, it's not you," Laura continued to breath heavy but then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let it out. Mike recognized her forced effort to relax and calm herself. She then tightened her hold on his hand and forced another relaxing breath then opened her eyes and looked around.

"Laura? Talk to me, what's going on here?" Mike persisted but managed to keep his voice calm.

"I knew they weren't really there but for a minute all I could see was bodies, Dead bodies on the beach."

"What," Mike spoke in confusion and then he realized something, "It was a flashback wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Laura whispered as she continued to look around. Her breathing was easing now and her facial features calming.

"Where was it that you saw bodies on the beach?" Mike focused hard on keeping his voice calm and pleasant as he reached up with his other hand and started to rub Laura's back. "Do you need to get away from here?"

Laura turned her attention to Mike and looked at him for a moment. "No, I'm alright now it was just so real there for a minute."

Carefully Mike guided Laura to a large rock away from the waters edge and brushed it off before he helped her to sit down. "Where was it that you've seen bodies on the beach?" He asked a second time as he watched her closely for her reaction.

Laura thought for a moment and then looked at Mike with a measure of surprise in her eyes. "I've never seen a beach that wasn't littered with bodies."

"Never?" Mike couldn't comprehend her answer.

"Well there's not a lot of beaches in Mountainair New Mexico the first time I was on a beach was after a hurricane came up the gulf of Mexico and struck the Texas coast line. We pulled the bodies from three shrimp trollers and one oil rig off the beach that day. There were tsunami's involved in the earth quacks in Pakistan, Indonesia and one of the after shocks in China and then the hurricane that hit Baja. There was a small village on the Mexican coast that was swallowed up by the sea and the people were spit out again on a beach nearly fifty miles north, some of the bodies were never found." Laura paused and looked out at the ocean then back at Mike, "this is honestly the first time I've ever seen a beach with out bodies laying all over it."

"I've been at the beach around lakes and the Sounds in Washington but they don't, they don't have the same wave action, the same sounds. Not like here." Laura analyzed her own feelings trying to figure out how to keep the flash backs from coming back again.

"Are you okay?" Mike questioned again after Laura had remained silent for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm okay I just had to think it out a minute." Laura turned to Mike again and then rolled her eyes around to see what was around her once more. "The sunset is really beautiful the way it reflects off the water."

"Yeah it is." Mike knelt down on one knee next to Laura and continued to hold her hand.

"One of my fellow rescue workers talked one night of digging clams on the beach and having a clam bake over an open fire and playing volley ball and swimming." Laura's gaze was distant as she tried to remember. "She thought of the beach as a real partying place."

"A lot of people do," Mike commented, "During the day this very beach is nearly covered with people laying all over trying to get a tan. But they're all very much alive, Kids running around chasing each other and building sand castles. Throwing bucket of water on their parents to try and get them to come play with them."

As Mike gave his description of a day at the beach Laura looked at him and marveled at the peace in his eyes, "Would you do me a favor?"

"If I can,"

"Bring me back here someday when it's like that so I can try and replace the memories I have with happier ones."

"What have you got planned for tomorrow?" Mike wasn't one to waist time.

"Tomorrow," Laura thought, "I need to get in some flight time in the morning and then I need to check on a few things but I could wait until the day after while you're back at work."

"Then I'll bring you back tomorrow afternoon," Mike finalized.

"I have a salad recipe that is a balanced meal and you throw it together at the last minute so it makes a really good picnic lunch," Laura offered.

"Sounds great to me," Mike smiled.

He then guided Laura back to his truck and drove her home worrying as he drove about how Laura was going to sleep tonight after he had brought back all those horrid memories.

Holding her hand he walked her to her apartment door where they proceeded to say good night.

"Do you want to go flying with me in the morning and make a day of it?"

"I'd love to." Mike answered and his next day was planned.

Reluctantly Mike let her walk through her door then walked down the hall to his own apartment.

After waking up every hour on the hour through the night Mike was aware of some one jogging past his door and noticed the time was 5:30 a.m. he rolled over and sat up on the side of his bed and after testing his ankle decided to get in the shower and get ready.

An hour later there was a knock at his door and he opened it to see Laura dresses in a pair of light colored one piece flight suit sporting the logo for Civil Air Patrol over the left breast pocket and on the shoulders, Major's clusters on the collar. Her hair was still wet from the shower and pulled back in a tight ponytail, she was carrying an ice chest and small duffle bag. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Mike answered with a smile as he reached out and took the ice chest from Laura. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and a pair of sneakers.

"I thought we could take my car for a change," Laura spoke as they walked.

"Ah, I don't think that would be a good idea," Mike changed her plans carefully, "I noticed yesterday that it hasn't been registered for several years and a, not in this state, and, a, you could get a ticket around here for that sort of thing."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that." Laura stopped and looked at Mike, "I probably better get some insurance on her too."

"That would be a good idea," Mike agreed, "And it would probably be a good idea to have it looked over good, some of the hoses may have rotted out while it was in storage."

"Boy, I've been out of the states way too much these last years." Laura then looked at Mike, "Okay but at least let me pay for the gas today."

Mike wanted to refuse but knowing Laura even as little as he did he thought better of it. "I'll go half with you."

Once they arrived at the airport, a small one Mike had no knowledge of Laura was met by a man wearing the same flight suit that Laura was wearing but his rank insignia was only lieutenant. After showing identification Laura and Mike were led to a hanger and Mike was surprised to find they plane they were led to didn't have an engine.

"A sail plane!" Mike exclaimed.

"Yep I don't have a license to fly anything that can be used in a rescue." Laura explained, "The last thing I want to do is fly a plane and take care of the patients at the same time."

The Lieutenant watched over Laura as she explained the workings of the plane to Mike and tested all the flaps then she and Mike pushed the plane out of the hanger and onto the runway. Mike was strapped in and Laura added several bags of weights to balance out their weight and climbed in the back seat. When the drag plane had reached the proper altitude Laura gave Mike the chance to pull the release and drop the tow rope.

Mike was surprised that they gained altitude once they were on their own but after the drag plane turned away from them and prepared to land Mike was even more surprised by the calm silence that surrounded him. No motors just a quiet swish of the wind and they were moving so slowly that he almost felt like they were floating in mid air. For the next four hours Laura maneuvered the plane around the airport never letting it out of her sight. This was one of the conditions for her first flight in this area. She even let Mike take the controls a few times and gained a new convert to the love of sail planes.

When they finally set down Mike was still on cloud nine. "Wow that was awesome."

"I still need another six hours before they'll let me teach the kids here. You want to go up again sometime?"

"Yeah! Oh yeah," Mike let his willingness be shown.

While they drove to the beach Mike worked hard to keep Laura talking so that he could judge her stress levels. "So is that one of your stress relievers? Flying I mean?"

"Yeah sometimes, It can be kind of stressful is certain weather patterns."

"Are there other stress relievers I can help you with?" Mike inquired having learned the night before that walking on the beach was not one of them.

"Back home there was this cliff I would always climb and then sit on this out cropping until I had thought everything out. I even spent the night up there a couple of times," Laura began to explain. "When I'm really stressed I find it easier to unwind the higher I get. I'm sure that had something to do with me climbing out on that ledge in the hospital. I really don't think I was planning to jump but then I really don't remember anything."

"NO, I was pretty sure you weren't thinking of jumping," Mike remembered the day he and his crewmates were called to pull her off the ledge. "It seemed to me that you felt safe there you kept asking us to give you time to wake up so you could think straight."

"Well that's a relief," Laura sighed.

"But it was still pretty dangerous for you," Mike added.

"I'll promise to find a safer place to go think and do my best to always be completely sober when I'm there," Laura assured her host.

"Johnny might be able to show you some places like that around here," Mike thought out loud.

"Mister Entertainment in the bedroom! No thanks." Laura quickly vetoed that idea and Mike felt a little relieved.

The afternoon at the beach went much better than it had the night before but it was clear Laura didn't find it as relaxing nor as romantic as Mike did but them with her memories Mike could understand. Laura's salad was great but she made so much that they had enough for both lunch and dinner. As they sat in Mike's truck on a scenic view point watching the sun set Laura was resting her head on his shoulder and Mike had his arm around her.

"Mike have you told your mother I'm back?"

"Not yet," Mike grinned knowing exactly what Laura was worried about.

"Your sister?"

"No way," Mike giggled.

"Good I think we need to set our own pace. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't let me hurt you. If I get out of control or start loosing it again Run as far away and as fast as you can."

Mike looked into her eyes that were starting to pool with moisture and pulled her closer to him. "I think I'm already in to far for that."

For a moment they just looked at each other and then their lips touched, lightly and carefully at first and then passionately and aggressively.