21.

I couldn't face my husband so I paged my own pager, which was in my room in Dezi's home back in Switzerland. I was a coward. I knew that, I couldn't bear to face my husband knowing he wanted a baby. I just couldn't do it.

All that guilt made me feel sick.

When I got sick I lied and told Diana that it was everything that had happened over the night, and I was worried about the twins. I guess she believed me. While she fished a pair of boots out of the trunk I pretended to recover from a fake illness. I just sat in the passenger seat and wondered how I would ever face Gordon ever again.

The thought made me feel sick again, but I didn't throw up. Go me.

I ran my fingers through my hair that usually helped soothe me. Not this time.

It could have been the fact we were literally alone in the middle of snowy nowhere, or that the sun was just beginning to rise and my body was feeling sluggish.

Or I was getting really hungry.

It could have been a million things.

Except that I knew what my problem was.

I was a chicken butt.

The sound of crunching made me look up. Diana came over and dropped a pair of black combat boots in the snow at my feet. "Put those on. They're waterproofed and'll keep your feet dry."

I didn't argue.

I simply picked them up, pulled them on, and laced them up.

Diana then pulled the cell phone from her scrub pants and called someone. Once she started talking I figured out who it was. So while she chatted away I listened to her conversation.

"Good Morning Daddy…yes I'm fine, I'll be arriving at the base soon…around noonish…well I'm on foot! I'm walking on my two feet…it's in a snowy cow pasture with a broken axle…because I dated a mechanic and he taught me about cars, that's how I know. Daddy I can't talk to you when you get upset, yes you are, you're yelling, yes you are upset."

She paced around as I pulled my jeans down over the boots and watched her.

"Daddy! Well we're at the border and walking…ok, yes, I'm in scrubs. Daddy calm down, we'll be fine. Angela…I don't know her last name, her husband's training on the base. I highly doubt he's a Ranger, go up a notch…go up another notch…I think so…Ok Daddy, I love you too. We'll be on the main road. Got it, uh-huh, love you, bye Daddy."

She had my interest.

When she hit the off button and looked to me she simply said, "He's going to try and get someone out on the road."

I had figured that one out.

Feeling a little better I asked, "What do you think my husband does?"

For a second she seemed surprised.

She quickly recovered, "The same thing as Hoot."

Right. I knew Hoot had it bad for her, I wasn't blind at the hospital. But I still had to ask her, "What exactly is your relationship with Hoot?"

Since there was no way I was telling her anything about my husband. I was curious as to whether she was going to be staying around for a while, or if she was just one of Hoot's Booty Calls.

She made an annoyed face and looked upwards. Clouds of smoke came from her mouth, "If he had his way we'd be married by now. He's slowly weaseling his way into my life."

That sounded like Hoot.