4 weeks later....
Four weeks. For four weeks she had lain in a coma, attached to various scanners, a teammate by her side at any moment of the day, even if Dragaunus was to attack. Fortunately he was still seething over his last attempt to do in the ducks, and for the time being, could be placed on the back burner.
Four weeks. And for every free moment he had, WildWing had spent them on the roof of the Pond sorting his emotions. These had been the longest days he'd known since they'd first encountered the Saurians on Puckworld. But why?
He knew that a great deal of his grief was of course due to the fact he had nearly lost his brother. Strangely enough, he never was *that* upset. Dive had pulled enough stunts in his lifetime to sort of dull the terror that would normally accompany such events.
*Maybe there's something in the ink on those comic books he has?* He mused with a fond smile. No, NoseDive Avian always bounced back from the most tragic of events that occurred to him. *And yet, there's something behind that smile I seem to keep missing...*
His current train of thought derailed when something wet and clammy rubbed against his hand. He looked down to see a pair of soulful brown eyes set in a gray muzzle staring back. The mutt. Savior. Now he understood.
"I owe you an apology, pal. I didn't want to bring you along, then you go and save the day." He scratched the dogs ears and tried to avoid the overjoyed canine's attempt to lick his face. "Ha. Pretty smart fella, aren't ya? No wonder Dive likes you so much. sigh Too bad Tanya's allergic."
Tanya. Strangely enough, she'd been where most of his concerns had lain. She'd almost died under his care. Awake now, she was almost back to normal, already absorbed in a new gadget of some kind. But he was still consumed by this overwhelming desire to keep checking on her, to make sure she was okay.
It was her absence that made the weeks so long, he knew that. He hadn't realized how accustomed he was getting to her being near. The first morning after the accident, he was in a bit of shock when he found himself alone in the kitchen. *Her smile* , he thought. *That was what was missing.*
She was always in the kitchen with NoseDive, comfortably settled in her robe watching Dive chow down his Cocoa Krispies and half a carton of O.J.. He'd never ask her to, but upon seeing him, she'd get up and bring him a cup of coffee the way he liked it. (He wondered suddenly how she knew, since he never remembered telling her.) And always with a sweet, sleepy smile.
She brought a warmth to the kitchen as they teased his brother about his voracious eating habits. Every morning since then had made the North Pole seem like the Florida Keys. Even hockey practice had a lingering chill.
But now she was awake. She'd woken up and said 'hey' in a weak voice to him. So why weren't things going back to normal between them? Every time she chatted with him, he felt like there was a giant sign above her he wasn't seeing.
Then all WildWing's musings came to a point. Had he somewhere fallen for her somewhere along the line? Was that a smart thing to do? He was her Captain, she was under his command. Wing was sure Mallory could list all the rules against it.
But this was war, did the rules apply? They were the only space ducks on this beautiful little mudball, and only two of them were female. To take one of them out of the 'pool' could result in irreparable rifts between members that Dragaunus could use against them.
Then again, she may be the best thing that ever happened to him.
His mind called out his decision, and he purposefully walked towards the rooftop door. Savior looked on after the retreating male and sat down, tail wagging. Had anybody been on the roof to look, they would've sworn the long legged crossbreed was smiling proudly.
He had to do this fast, get it over with before he lost his nerve. He strode into the lab, and plowed right into her.
"Wha-? WildWing? What's wrong?"
Instinctively, he had caught her by her wrists, and given his present emotional state, her closeness was very detrimental. He let go as quickly as if he were holding hot coals. "Um, nothing, nothing's wrong."
"Then why are you, uh, charging in her like a, y'know, a crazed rhino?" Tanya asked amusedly, a smile on her face at her leader's odd behavior.
"I-uh, I just wanted...to ask you something." He had to force himself to keep looking at her, at the same time trying to keep his stomach under control. Jeeze, he hadn't felt this way since he was a thirteen!
She motioned him to continue on, now extremely curious and concerned by his obviously unnatural behavior.
"I-I thought maybe if you hadn't eaten yet, we could...get some dinner and see a movie-my treat-to celebrate your recovery." He spoke quickly and hoped the tremor in his voice hadn't been noticed.
"Well, that's fine by me," she smiled at him, "But I don't know if all six of us can agree on the same movie."
WildWing's heart sank. She thought he meant all of them? Oh, shards! How could she miss his intentions? "Well, actually, Tanya-what I meant by 'we' was you and me. Without...the others."
Wing succumbed to his awkwardness, sheepishly looking at the floor. Damn, damn, damn! Now he had made a total fool of himself! It would serve him right if she just laughed. His mind tried to formulate a platonic reasoning behind his invitation.
Tanya blushed brightly and shyly stepped forward, again derailing the train. "I can be ready by eight, I think." She replied softly.
Four weeks. For four weeks she had lain in a coma, attached to various scanners, a teammate by her side at any moment of the day, even if Dragaunus was to attack. Fortunately he was still seething over his last attempt to do in the ducks, and for the time being, could be placed on the back burner.
Four weeks. And for every free moment he had, WildWing had spent them on the roof of the Pond sorting his emotions. These had been the longest days he'd known since they'd first encountered the Saurians on Puckworld. But why?
He knew that a great deal of his grief was of course due to the fact he had nearly lost his brother. Strangely enough, he never was *that* upset. Dive had pulled enough stunts in his lifetime to sort of dull the terror that would normally accompany such events.
*Maybe there's something in the ink on those comic books he has?* He mused with a fond smile. No, NoseDive Avian always bounced back from the most tragic of events that occurred to him. *And yet, there's something behind that smile I seem to keep missing...*
His current train of thought derailed when something wet and clammy rubbed against his hand. He looked down to see a pair of soulful brown eyes set in a gray muzzle staring back. The mutt. Savior. Now he understood.
"I owe you an apology, pal. I didn't want to bring you along, then you go and save the day." He scratched the dogs ears and tried to avoid the overjoyed canine's attempt to lick his face. "Ha. Pretty smart fella, aren't ya? No wonder Dive likes you so much. sigh Too bad Tanya's allergic."
Tanya. Strangely enough, she'd been where most of his concerns had lain. She'd almost died under his care. Awake now, she was almost back to normal, already absorbed in a new gadget of some kind. But he was still consumed by this overwhelming desire to keep checking on her, to make sure she was okay.
It was her absence that made the weeks so long, he knew that. He hadn't realized how accustomed he was getting to her being near. The first morning after the accident, he was in a bit of shock when he found himself alone in the kitchen. *Her smile* , he thought. *That was what was missing.*
She was always in the kitchen with NoseDive, comfortably settled in her robe watching Dive chow down his Cocoa Krispies and half a carton of O.J.. He'd never ask her to, but upon seeing him, she'd get up and bring him a cup of coffee the way he liked it. (He wondered suddenly how she knew, since he never remembered telling her.) And always with a sweet, sleepy smile.
She brought a warmth to the kitchen as they teased his brother about his voracious eating habits. Every morning since then had made the North Pole seem like the Florida Keys. Even hockey practice had a lingering chill.
But now she was awake. She'd woken up and said 'hey' in a weak voice to him. So why weren't things going back to normal between them? Every time she chatted with him, he felt like there was a giant sign above her he wasn't seeing.
Then all WildWing's musings came to a point. Had he somewhere fallen for her somewhere along the line? Was that a smart thing to do? He was her Captain, she was under his command. Wing was sure Mallory could list all the rules against it.
But this was war, did the rules apply? They were the only space ducks on this beautiful little mudball, and only two of them were female. To take one of them out of the 'pool' could result in irreparable rifts between members that Dragaunus could use against them.
Then again, she may be the best thing that ever happened to him.
His mind called out his decision, and he purposefully walked towards the rooftop door. Savior looked on after the retreating male and sat down, tail wagging. Had anybody been on the roof to look, they would've sworn the long legged crossbreed was smiling proudly.
He had to do this fast, get it over with before he lost his nerve. He strode into the lab, and plowed right into her.
"Wha-? WildWing? What's wrong?"
Instinctively, he had caught her by her wrists, and given his present emotional state, her closeness was very detrimental. He let go as quickly as if he were holding hot coals. "Um, nothing, nothing's wrong."
"Then why are you, uh, charging in her like a, y'know, a crazed rhino?" Tanya asked amusedly, a smile on her face at her leader's odd behavior.
"I-uh, I just wanted...to ask you something." He had to force himself to keep looking at her, at the same time trying to keep his stomach under control. Jeeze, he hadn't felt this way since he was a thirteen!
She motioned him to continue on, now extremely curious and concerned by his obviously unnatural behavior.
"I-I thought maybe if you hadn't eaten yet, we could...get some dinner and see a movie-my treat-to celebrate your recovery." He spoke quickly and hoped the tremor in his voice hadn't been noticed.
"Well, that's fine by me," she smiled at him, "But I don't know if all six of us can agree on the same movie."
WildWing's heart sank. She thought he meant all of them? Oh, shards! How could she miss his intentions? "Well, actually, Tanya-what I meant by 'we' was you and me. Without...the others."
Wing succumbed to his awkwardness, sheepishly looking at the floor. Damn, damn, damn! Now he had made a total fool of himself! It would serve him right if she just laughed. His mind tried to formulate a platonic reasoning behind his invitation.
Tanya blushed brightly and shyly stepped forward, again derailing the train. "I can be ready by eight, I think." She replied softly.