Disclaimer: As in Ch. 1
The Next Day
0800 Local
Okinawa Naval Base Hospital
Matt fidgeted with his blanket's edge as he waited for his wife to return with his discharge papers.
"Matt, could you please stop that nervous twitching?" Trey sighed, and his brother grinned sheepishly before stopping.
Finally, Elaine poked her head into the room.
"At last! Elaine, could you please get my brother away from here? He keeps fidgeting, and it's really annoying me!" Trey posed melodramatically with his hand on his heart.
"Just wait until it's your turn to get out of here!" Matt smiled playfully at his brother.
"Trey, Matt?" Albert poked his head into the room. "Oh, hello, Elaine."
"Hey, Al."
"You ready to leave, Matt?"
"Can't wait!" Matt grinned.
"Let's go then."
He almost bounced out of bed, hardly able to wait. He was finally going to breath free air again.
"Ah, no, you don't! Into the wheelchair, mister." Mac scolded as she pushed two chairs into the rooms.
"Mom!!!" Matt whined ineffectively before sending a pleading look at his father -- who just shrugged and smirked.
With a sigh, he reluctantly climbed into the wheelchair.
"Trey, come on. You, too." His mother ordered.
"Me, mom?"
"Yes, Captain Fox said that you could go out for some fresh air. What do you think?"
A flyboy grin was her only answer.
-----
0830 Local
Hospital Yard
They'd agreed that Harm will drive both Elaine and Matt to the hotel. In two days, the couple would be returning to States with their three children. Albert also wanted Trey transferred to Bethesda as soon as possible.
Currently, though, Mac had been pushing Trey around the courtyard for about twenty minutes, both of them just enjoying the beautiful view and fresh air.
"Trey, would you mind if I left you a moment and grabbed a drink?" Mac asked.
"I'll be fine, Mom. Go on. I'll be at the fish pond, ok?"
"All right, honey. I'll be right back."
Trey nodded and began to slowly push himself towards the nearby fish pond.
"Mac!"
She spun around, surprised to hear her name. "Clay!"
The CIA director ambled towards her, holding little Ryan in his arms, although Grace was nowhere to be seen.
"Hi, Ryan. You still remember me?" Mac smiled at the dark-haired boy.
The boy looked down and nodded shyly. "Yeah. You're Aunt Sarah."
"Ryan, would you do Grandpa a favor? Would you sit down on the chair over there while Grandpa talks to Aunt Sarah?"
The boy, glancing at the nearby row of chairs, nodded again. "Okay, Grandpa."
Clay smiled and tousled the boy's head affectionately before Ryan made his way over to the chairs.
"What's going on, Clay? When did Ryan get here? Where's Grace?"
Clay just tilted his head, indicating the far side of the yard. Grace was standing there, near the fish pond, but out of sight of Trey. Mac could see her lips trembling as she tried to hold back her tears.
"They arrived last night. Grace managed to get a hold at me after I left little Harm with Sturgis. She wanted to come here right away, but I told her that Trey was already asleep. She left me with Ryan this morning, and I assumed she will be here."
"You assumed right, apparently."
"Yeah, they really need to clear up things between them."
"I hope so. They've wasted so much time." Mac said softly
Ryan, who'd been bored sitting by himself, suddenly spotted his mother. "Grandpa! That's mommy!" The youngster leapt from his chair and sprinted to his mother.
"Ryan, get back here!" Clay tried to catch the boy but was far too slow.
Surprised by the shout, Trey smiled as the energetic boy raced past. His eyes followed the boy until he reached his mother. Trey looked up, ready to smile and offer a complement, but then he suddenly realized exactly who he was looking at.
Neither broke the silence as they stared into each other's eyes. The moment was broken, though, as Clay and Mac jogged over. "Ryan, why don't you come with Grandpa and Aunt Sarah? We'll go find some ice-cream. What do you think?"
"Ice-cream?! I want chocolate!" Ryan bounced happily off with the two.
Closing his eyes, Trey spun his wheelchair around and began to slowly wheel away from Grace.
"Do you really hate me so much that you can't even look at me?" Her voice was trembling.
Trey, at that moment, wanted nothing more than to spin around and pull her into his arms. "I don't hate you. I never did, but it's over between us, Grace. It's far, far too late." He said coldly and wheeled himself to his room.
Grace could only sit by the pond, stunned into silence. Silent tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
As a nurse helped Trey into his bed, he, too, succumbed to tears.
Miserably, the two stared at nothing and wished for a second chance.
TBC…
AN: Spare some time for feedbacks, folks.