Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been really busy between being
sick and my schoolwork. Damn those teachers, giving us so much homework. ~
Thanks for understanding.
Chapter7/? Interspace
"Harm?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think," I faltered, "do you think Erin will be okay with all of this?"
"If she's anything like you and Mac, she'll be fine. You don't have to worry."
"Do you know how we're going to find Sarah?"
"What, you two don't have any twin telepathy thing?" He joked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I muttered. "If I think about Sarah, I can usually find a location where she is or has been. It's why she never won at hide and seek when we were kids."
"Right," Harm scoffed.
"Oh, we're here. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll see you." Harm cell phone rang, and he answered. "Yes, sir. We'll meet you there. The Admiral can't pick us up, but he'll meet us at the airfield. I'll see you around 0745 tomorrow, then. Or sometime around then. Night, Shannon."
"Night, Harm."
I reached Sarah's apartment, and the seriousness of the matter came flooding back. 'What if we can't save Sarah? What if we're too late? What if-No! I can't think like this. We'll find her, and it won't be too late. Okay, calm down. Need to pack and call Erin.' I reached for the phone, and dialed Maria's house.
"Hello, this is Maria. Who's speaking please?"
"Hey, Maria. The squirts in bed yet?"
"Not yet, Shannon. Why? Is something wrong?"
"No.I'm just coming home earlier than expected. Harm, Erin, and I are going to Australia to interrupt Sarah's vacation."
"Who's Harm? Never mind, I have to go. Tell me later."
"Maria, could you pack for Erin for me?"
"Sure, I can do that. Bye."
"Thanks, Maria. See you soon, bye."
THE NEXT MORNING
The alarm woke me at 0630. I took a quick shower, and made my breakfast. Lucky for me I had packed yesterday, because Harm showed up just as I was putting the dishes away.
"I'm just about ready. Give me a sec."
" 'Kay. Need help? And by the way, good morning."
"Morning, and nope, I've got it."
Harm watched as I carried my bag to the door. "Come on, Harm. Don't just stand there."
We barely made it to the airfield on time. We reached the gate to be greeted by a scowling Admiral. His look changed to one of relief when he saw us.
"We thought you two weren't going to make it," he announced.
"We, sir?" asked Harm.
"We, Commander." A man looked up from the paper in his hands. "Hello, Colonel. Clayton Webb, State Dept. At your service."
Harm snorted. I looked curiously at him. "What?" he asked.
"Never mind. Good morning, Mr. Webb. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," he replied.
"Webb, what are you doing here?" asked a clearly irritated commander.
"Commander, I asked Mr. Webb to accompany you in case things got messy." The Admiral stated.
"Messy, sir?"
"Messy, commander. If you'll dig through your memories and remember the shooting in the courtroom, and the MIG. That kind of messy."
"Yes, sir." Harm seemed embarrassed to me. We saluted Admiral Chegwidden and the three of us boarded the plane. Harm informed the pilot that we needed to make a layover at Camp Pendleton, for an hour. I napped until we began out descent, and when we landed, Harm and I rushed to Maria's house, leaving Webb with the plane.
"Be back in an hour!" he shouted after us.
Maria opened the door on the first knock, and engulfed me in a hug.
"Shannon, it's wonderful to see you again. Come in, both of you. Let me go get Erin."
She bustled out, and I led Harm into the livingroom. A minute later, my daughter threw herself into my lap.
"Mommy! Why you away so long? I mist you!" (AN: Imagine a little kid's lisp.)
"I missed you too, Erin. Did you have fun?"
"Loads and lots, Mommy! We goin home now?" She noticed Harm, who had been watching the exchange with an amused look on his face. "Is he my daddy?" she whispered.
"No, sweetie, he's not. He's your Uncle Harm, and he's going to help you and I find your Aunt Sarah."
"How come I never met him before?" she demanded.
"Uncle Harm lives far away, and it's not easy for him to come out here and visit often."
"Oh. We goin to see Aunt Sarah today?"
"We'll see her soon, Erin. In the meantime, would you like to see her picture?"
"Yeah."
I took out the picture of Harm and Sarah out of my wallet and showed it to her.
"You silly, Mommy. That's you and Unca Harm!"
"No, it's not. Aunt Sarah and I look the same. We're twins."
"Like Kyle and Kevin and school?"
"Yes, like them. Are you ready to go? We're going in a plane."
"Uh-huh. Aunt Mari made me pack last night."
Once again we raced the clock back to the airfield on base. Webb was waiting for us.
"What took so long?" he snapped.
Erin had fallen asleep in the car, and I was carrying her. I glared at Webb. "If you wake her up." I warned him.
"Shouldn't we get moving?" suggested Harm.
Once onboard, I strapped Erin in a seat. Webb, wisely, sat far away. I was glad. I didn't want to have to hurt him. When Harm returned from the cockpit, he sat opposite Erin and I.
"Tell me more about the meaning behind Sarah's message."
"You're not going to give up on this, are you?"
"Honest answer or complete lie?"
"Honest."
"Not till I find out what it means and check it with Sarah's version."
"Damn. Alright, I'll tell you. Jr. Flyboy is, as you know, me. I used to be an F-14 pilot before I crashed and was diagnosed with night blindness. Turns out it was a misdiagnosis and I returned to flying for a while. It's Jr. because my father gave me his name. He was an aviator also, and I followed in his footsteps. He went MIA over Vietnam on Christmas Eve when I was five. Ninja Girl is a nickname I have for Mac ever since I found out she was into the martial arts. Bugme is the name I have for Brumby, Mac's ex fiancé. There's just something about the guy that happens to bug me. Hence the name. Admiral Chegwidden is an ex SEAL, and he has two stars."
"So if you and Sarah know each other so well, why did she call her own apartment instead of yours?"
"Sarah and I normally check each other's apartment when one of us is on assignment. She figured I would be there."
Erin began to wake up, and I went over to her.
"Mommy?" she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she spoke.
"I'm right here, Erin."
"Where's here?"
"We're on a plane. We're going to find Aunt Sarah, remember? She's been hiding from us."
"Like we were playing hide and seek?" Erin clapped her hands in delight. Then she noticed Webb. "Who's that?"
"That's Mr. Webb," informed Harm.
"He's not my uncle, is he?"
"I don't think so, Erin."
She saw Webb looking at us, and asked him if he was her uncle.
"No."
"Gee, Webb. That was nice of you." Harm's voice was laced with sarcasm. "I think I'll go see how much longer before we land."
Chapter7/? Interspace
"Harm?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think," I faltered, "do you think Erin will be okay with all of this?"
"If she's anything like you and Mac, she'll be fine. You don't have to worry."
"Do you know how we're going to find Sarah?"
"What, you two don't have any twin telepathy thing?" He joked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I muttered. "If I think about Sarah, I can usually find a location where she is or has been. It's why she never won at hide and seek when we were kids."
"Right," Harm scoffed.
"Oh, we're here. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll see you." Harm cell phone rang, and he answered. "Yes, sir. We'll meet you there. The Admiral can't pick us up, but he'll meet us at the airfield. I'll see you around 0745 tomorrow, then. Or sometime around then. Night, Shannon."
"Night, Harm."
I reached Sarah's apartment, and the seriousness of the matter came flooding back. 'What if we can't save Sarah? What if we're too late? What if-No! I can't think like this. We'll find her, and it won't be too late. Okay, calm down. Need to pack and call Erin.' I reached for the phone, and dialed Maria's house.
"Hello, this is Maria. Who's speaking please?"
"Hey, Maria. The squirts in bed yet?"
"Not yet, Shannon. Why? Is something wrong?"
"No.I'm just coming home earlier than expected. Harm, Erin, and I are going to Australia to interrupt Sarah's vacation."
"Who's Harm? Never mind, I have to go. Tell me later."
"Maria, could you pack for Erin for me?"
"Sure, I can do that. Bye."
"Thanks, Maria. See you soon, bye."
THE NEXT MORNING
The alarm woke me at 0630. I took a quick shower, and made my breakfast. Lucky for me I had packed yesterday, because Harm showed up just as I was putting the dishes away.
"I'm just about ready. Give me a sec."
" 'Kay. Need help? And by the way, good morning."
"Morning, and nope, I've got it."
Harm watched as I carried my bag to the door. "Come on, Harm. Don't just stand there."
We barely made it to the airfield on time. We reached the gate to be greeted by a scowling Admiral. His look changed to one of relief when he saw us.
"We thought you two weren't going to make it," he announced.
"We, sir?" asked Harm.
"We, Commander." A man looked up from the paper in his hands. "Hello, Colonel. Clayton Webb, State Dept. At your service."
Harm snorted. I looked curiously at him. "What?" he asked.
"Never mind. Good morning, Mr. Webb. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," he replied.
"Webb, what are you doing here?" asked a clearly irritated commander.
"Commander, I asked Mr. Webb to accompany you in case things got messy." The Admiral stated.
"Messy, sir?"
"Messy, commander. If you'll dig through your memories and remember the shooting in the courtroom, and the MIG. That kind of messy."
"Yes, sir." Harm seemed embarrassed to me. We saluted Admiral Chegwidden and the three of us boarded the plane. Harm informed the pilot that we needed to make a layover at Camp Pendleton, for an hour. I napped until we began out descent, and when we landed, Harm and I rushed to Maria's house, leaving Webb with the plane.
"Be back in an hour!" he shouted after us.
Maria opened the door on the first knock, and engulfed me in a hug.
"Shannon, it's wonderful to see you again. Come in, both of you. Let me go get Erin."
She bustled out, and I led Harm into the livingroom. A minute later, my daughter threw herself into my lap.
"Mommy! Why you away so long? I mist you!" (AN: Imagine a little kid's lisp.)
"I missed you too, Erin. Did you have fun?"
"Loads and lots, Mommy! We goin home now?" She noticed Harm, who had been watching the exchange with an amused look on his face. "Is he my daddy?" she whispered.
"No, sweetie, he's not. He's your Uncle Harm, and he's going to help you and I find your Aunt Sarah."
"How come I never met him before?" she demanded.
"Uncle Harm lives far away, and it's not easy for him to come out here and visit often."
"Oh. We goin to see Aunt Sarah today?"
"We'll see her soon, Erin. In the meantime, would you like to see her picture?"
"Yeah."
I took out the picture of Harm and Sarah out of my wallet and showed it to her.
"You silly, Mommy. That's you and Unca Harm!"
"No, it's not. Aunt Sarah and I look the same. We're twins."
"Like Kyle and Kevin and school?"
"Yes, like them. Are you ready to go? We're going in a plane."
"Uh-huh. Aunt Mari made me pack last night."
Once again we raced the clock back to the airfield on base. Webb was waiting for us.
"What took so long?" he snapped.
Erin had fallen asleep in the car, and I was carrying her. I glared at Webb. "If you wake her up." I warned him.
"Shouldn't we get moving?" suggested Harm.
Once onboard, I strapped Erin in a seat. Webb, wisely, sat far away. I was glad. I didn't want to have to hurt him. When Harm returned from the cockpit, he sat opposite Erin and I.
"Tell me more about the meaning behind Sarah's message."
"You're not going to give up on this, are you?"
"Honest answer or complete lie?"
"Honest."
"Not till I find out what it means and check it with Sarah's version."
"Damn. Alright, I'll tell you. Jr. Flyboy is, as you know, me. I used to be an F-14 pilot before I crashed and was diagnosed with night blindness. Turns out it was a misdiagnosis and I returned to flying for a while. It's Jr. because my father gave me his name. He was an aviator also, and I followed in his footsteps. He went MIA over Vietnam on Christmas Eve when I was five. Ninja Girl is a nickname I have for Mac ever since I found out she was into the martial arts. Bugme is the name I have for Brumby, Mac's ex fiancé. There's just something about the guy that happens to bug me. Hence the name. Admiral Chegwidden is an ex SEAL, and he has two stars."
"So if you and Sarah know each other so well, why did she call her own apartment instead of yours?"
"Sarah and I normally check each other's apartment when one of us is on assignment. She figured I would be there."
Erin began to wake up, and I went over to her.
"Mommy?" she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she spoke.
"I'm right here, Erin."
"Where's here?"
"We're on a plane. We're going to find Aunt Sarah, remember? She's been hiding from us."
"Like we were playing hide and seek?" Erin clapped her hands in delight. Then she noticed Webb. "Who's that?"
"That's Mr. Webb," informed Harm.
"He's not my uncle, is he?"
"I don't think so, Erin."
She saw Webb looking at us, and asked him if he was her uncle.
"No."
"Gee, Webb. That was nice of you." Harm's voice was laced with sarcasm. "I think I'll go see how much longer before we land."