Chapter 16

Sydney Airport, Australia, February 11, 2017, 11:22pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

"Was it everything you'd hoped it would be?" Mac asked Chloe as the pair entered the departures entrance of the Sydney Airport.

"There were definitely some unexpected twists, but overall, it was a very nice trip. I learned a lot and managed to walk away with a tan rather than a burn!" Chloe said, smiling. "How about you?" She asked.

"I'm glad you had a good time," Mac started. "I agree with the unexpected twists, but I do feel good about how things went. I feel like I finally have closure."

"That's good," Chloe responded, not sure what else to say.

The two women obtained their boarding pass, checked their luggage, and made their way to the security checkpoint. Luckily the line was relatively short. When it was their turn, they removed their shoes, placed their items in the provided bins, and stepped through the metal detector. Neither one managed to set off any alarms and they were passed through with ease. Once through security, the pair looked for their gate.

"I think it's that way," Chloe said, pointing to the left.

"Looks like it," Mac replied and the two went in the direction Chloe had pointed. When they reached gate 8, they took a seat close to the desk so they could hear the announcements more easily. After about five minutes of them waiting, Mac heard a voice come up from behind her.

"Sarah?" The voice said. Mac turned around and saw Mic standing there with a bag in hand.

"Mic, we have to stop meeting like this in airports," Mac said, referring to the sort-of proposal the last time they had met in Sydney Airport.

"I knew there was a chance we'd be on the same flight. I just wanted to tell you why I'm going to D.C. before you make any assumptions," Mic said, sounding nervous for once.

Mac sighed. This was the last thing she was expecting - Mic going to the States again. "I'm listening," she said in a rather rude tone. Chloe raised her eyebrows as the tension around them rose.

"Long story short, there's not much left for me here and quite honestly, I don't want to stay here anymore. D.C. is the one place I at least know a little about and I'm licensed to practice law there. I'm going for a fresh start, nothing more," Mic said.

"What about your family?" Mac asked.

"My mum passed last week. I never really saw anyone else," Mic said. Mac could hear the sadness in his voice talking about his mother.

"Mic, I'm sorry to hear that," Mac said, sounding very sincere with her words.

"Thanks," Mic choked out. "Anyways, like I said, I'm going for a fresh start. But, if you do want to meet up, you know how to reach me, Sarah." Before Mac had a chance to process what Mic had said, he had already left to take a seat several chairs down.

Chloe and Mac both stood there in shock. Chloe wanted desperately to talk to Mac about what had just happened, but she knew Mac was the kind of person who liked to keep quiet about those things until she had time to dissect it. Mac wanted more time to think about what Mic had just told her, but their flight was due to leave in 33 minutes. That was not enough time for her to be stranded in a plane with him for the next several hours and then be in the same city as him for God knows how long.

"Take a deep breath," Chloe said, noticing the stress washing over Mac.

Harm's Apartment, February 11, 2017, 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time

Harm returned to his apartment after his late morning jog sweaty, but slightly chilled due to the outside temperature. Typically, he liked to run earlier in the day, but since it was a weekend and he didn't sleep as well as he had hoped to, he figured he could get away with a small change in his routine. Harm went up the few steps into the bedroom section of his loft apartment and began to strip off his athletic clothes so he could take a shower. When he saw the bed, his mind drifted back to his dream.

"Help me Harm, come on you promised."

"You promised you'd be there, and I'm holding you to that."

Harm couldn't help but feel a slight sense of guilt in those words. One of the last things he said to Skates was, We're gonna get through this okay. I'll see you down there, you have my word on it, Skates. To which she replied, You haven't let me down yet.

Harm made his way to the shower and when he turned the water on, it came on at a freezing temperature. In an instant, Harm's memory flashed back to how cold it was after the ejection. Only this time, he imagined how Skates must've felt. She was not a strong swimmer, she likely hadn't seen him eject, and she was alone when she was promised he would be there with her. Harm couldn't help but feel guilty and feel like he had now let her down.

After his shower, Harm put on fresh, dry clothes and laid down on his bed. Again, memories flooded his head. He was transported back to the bed in sick bay. Save me. It echoed in his ears. Those words that he had never remembered hearing until his dream last night. Now, they didn't seem to want to leave his memory. Harm also couldn't help but wonder how true those words rung today. He knew she was going through a very hard time. Harm thought that this was maybe why that memory revealed itself to him now. As he had been told by so many people, things often reveal themselves to us in times of greatest need.

Hawkes Residence, February 11, 2017, 12:45pm Eastern Standard Time

Skates was still sitting at the table in the kitchen even though she had finished her lunch over ten minutes ago. She was enjoying looking out the back door and watching as the snow began to fall. It had not snowed in over a week, and since it was a Saturday, she could take solace in the face that she could observe the beauty of the snow without the stress of driving in it. It wasn't long before Peter came down the stairs, fresh out of bed. As the mother of a teenager, Skates knew when to pick her battles and when to step down. Her son sleeping in until the afternoon on a Saturday was one she was willing to let slide.

"Morning," he said, heading to the refrigerator for something to eat.

"Good afternoon," Skates said, emphasizing her words and smiling at the boy. He smiled back. "There's some leftovers from last night, if you'd like."

"Thanks," he said and took the container of food out of the fridge. He fixed himself a plate and stuck it in the microwave to heat up. "Are you finished with that?" He asked, referring to her plate, as he walked over to where his mom was sitting.

"Yes," she said. When he took the plate and put it in the dishwasher Skates replied, "Thank you. That's new," she added, thankful that her son was finally stepping up to help around the house.

"You're welcome," he replied. "I figured I should do something considering how things have been the past week." With those words, his head fell and he avoided making eye contact.

"That's in the past, Peter. We can't change what happened, we can only change ourselves for the future."

"I know, but I feel bad. Especially for Captain Rabb. I know how hard you tried to make last night special," Peter said.

"He understands. He raised a teenager," she told him.

"How much older is he?" Peter asked, thinking that if he already raised a teen that he had to be significantly older than his mother.

"About five years, not too much of a difference when you get to be our age. He adopted a teenager when he was still sort of young and when the teen was in her mid to late teens," Skates told him.

"Five years is a huge age gap," Peter said. "If I dated a 19 year old right now, you'd kill me for sure!" Peter said.

"Okay, two things are wrong with that statement. First, like I already said, it's different when you're older. When two people in their forties are together, it is not weird. The second thing wrong with what you said implies that Captain Rabb and I are dating. We're not."

"Are you sure about that?" Peter asked. "You might want to tell him that…" Peter could see the look on his mother's face of slight annoyance, confusion, and wondering. Luckily, the microwave beeped. Peter grabbed his food and headed into the living room to watch a TV show with his meal.

Back in the dining room, Skates sat there with her thoughts. She hadn't actually dated anyone since her husband's passing. There weren't too many candidates, but whenever there was one, she never felt ready to move on. She rejected every opportunity. The fact that she hadn't rejected seeing Harm made her more confident in the fact that she only considered him a friend. However, Peter's comment of Harm possibly thinking this was a relationship made Skates feel uneasy. It brought back more memories of her husband and his passing. It reassured her that even after all this time, she was not ready to be with anyone in that way - especially someone with a life-threatening career. Once Skates was almost certain there was nothing between her and Harm, she had a flashback to a moment sixteen years ago.

"Have we dated?"