Second Chances: No Walking Away
When Oscar Goldman and Cecilia Simon disappear, the Simons and their friends
fight the government and a rogue agent to save them from death.
(Simon and Simon/The Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman all belong to Universal. I will return all characters in good condition except my original characters, which are mine and you can't have them!)
"Oscar, it's only the second time the President has ever made the trip himself to award this, are you sure you won't attend?"
Rick tried not to laugh as Oscar Goldman frowned at the voice over the speakerphone in A.J.'s home office.
"I'm certain, Mr. Secretary. I would be a first class hypocrite to accept the medal; after what he's done to the agency…."
Wincing at the angry tone the older man used, Rick was glad Oscar no longer worked for the OSI, he could freely speak his mind without fear of retribution from his former boss.
There was a sigh on the other end, then Rick could have sworn he saw the wheels turning.
"This was supposed to have been a surprise, but Colonel and Mrs. Austin and Rudy Wells are to be honored as well, they were personally requested by the President."
Now he couldn't help himself, and reaching over, Rick pushed the mute button, then laughed out loud at the resigned face Oscar made.
"Dad…I can't help it.."
"I know son, just wait until he's off." Oscar pushed the button again, then quietly said.
"All right, Mr. Secretary, I will attend, providing this is not to be used as a campaign commercial or endorsement of any kind. If we see one camera…"
"I promise, Oscar. I'll send you all the particulars, and of course you may bring a guest. I'm just sorry your daughter and son-in-law are not invited, but…there are only so many seats available…."
Too late Rick realized the government official didn't know he was in the room, and he nearly choked. Seeing Oscar furiously turning red, he mouthed "It's okay, Dad….calm down…"
"Oscar?" the Secretary was wondering at the silence, and Rick decided to cover for his father-in-law.
"Dad…oh, excuse me, I didn't see you were on the phone." He spoke up, then Oscar regained control over his temper and replied, "It's okay, son. I'll be off in a minute."
Standing up, Rick went and closed the door, then opened it to maintain the charade. Oscar smiled at him, then politely said, "I won't keep you, sir. I'll send the name of my guest with my response tomorrow."
"Fine, fine…Thank you for changing your mind, Oscar" the Secretary answered, then said goodbye.
As soon as the call was ended, Oscar swore and slammed down the receiver, then belatedly saw the understanding in Rick's eyes.
"Rick, thank you for doing that. For two cents I'd cancel out …..of all the nasty, hypocritical…"
"Dad, it's really okay. We're just proud you're being honored, and you know Steve and Jaime and Rudy wouldn't go through with it if you didn't want to." Rick hurriedly reassured him. Just then Laurie Simon entered the room, carrying some iced tea and snacks.
"Here, you two. I thought I heard angry voices in here; you're not ticking off the Secretary again, are you Dad?" she asked, a worried look in her eyes.
"No, no honey…just got my arm twisted a bit, that's all." Oscar explained wryly, then relaxed when Laurie put the tray down and hugged him, then dropped a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Dad. I know what it cost to put up with him all those years. I'm just glad you're home to stay."
"Thank you, baby. I am too. Now you sit down and have a bite with this man of yours, I have a guest to invite." Oscar got a twinkle in his eyes as he embraced her, then stood up and snatching up a cookie, left A.J.'s office.
As the door closed behind him, Laurie let out a giggle then slid over into Rick's lap and kissed him. "I love hearing that you are "my man".
"None other, darlin'." He whispered, then returned her kiss. Releasing her only to breathe, he took a cookie off the tray and fed it to her, then followed with another kiss.
"Hmmm, what a treat!" Laurie managed, then took her turn at "sharing" until they were both full of crumbs and had an empty plate.
"Did you two even think someone else might want a snack?"
Surprised, husband and wife looked up to see the mischievous face of their friend, Rudy Wells.
"Don't worry, Rudy, there's a whole jar full, Robin dropped them off yesterday." Laurie giggled. At once the doctor helped himself to a handful, then dodged Rick's attempt to grab one more cookie. "I thought Rex was a cookie monster," Rudy laughed, then sat at the kitchen table as Linda brought in a pitcher of iced tea.
"Did Oscar get talked into going to the award dinner?" she asked, pouring the older man a glass, then sitting down.
"Yes, you should have seen his face though…" Rick snickered, then stopped as Oscar came into the room. "I heard that, son."
"Well?" Rudy held out the ice tea and poured a drink for his friend.
"Yes, pal, I'm going……seems it would be an insult, besides, they're going to honor Steve and Jaime too." Rick saw the smile in the older man's eyes, and realized he didn't mind attending the affair if his friends were going to be there too.
"Well, I guess I might as well pull out my suit too." Rudy replied cheerfully. "Maybe Cecilia would like to attend?"
Oscar cleared his throat, and to Rick's surprise turned red. "Well, …"
"Don't tell me, Dad…did you ask Mom to go with you?" Laurie piped up, a playful look on her face.
"Well, yes…..sorry, my friend." Oscar had the grace to look chagrined, then both he and Rudy burst out laughing.
"Well, great minds think alike." Linda added gleefully, and Rudy gave her a hug. "That's my girl, say, how would you like to be my date?"
"I'd love it…..A.J.'s going camping with Ricky's Explorer troop, so I'm free!" she replied, "Sis, would you and Rick stay over with Melly and Robin? Ricky's on his science trip until Sunday, so it's just the four of you."
"Sure, we'll have fun, and speaking of the fun bunch…." Laurie got up and crept over to the partially open kitchen door, then opened it quickly and yelled, "Gottcha!"
Two shrieks followed, then she returned to the others, her arms around two squealing children.
"Finders keepers!" she told them, then Rick tsked and took Robin from her, perching him on his knee. "What were you two doing, eavesdropping?"
"I wanted a cookie, and I heard Unca Rudy say Uncle Rick and Auntie ate them all!" Melly declared, sitting on Laurie's lap.
"And I was trying to stop her from interrupting, Mom, but the cookies did look good…." Robin admitted, grinning at his mother.
"Well…..if it's the cookies fault, maybe you shouldn't…..all right, just one." Linda gave in at the look of disappointment on both of her children's faces and handed them each a treat.
"All right, you little spies, go out and play with Buster." Rick told them, then gave in when Robin pleaded, "Uncle Rick, can you come out too?"
"Sure, just send A.J. out when he comes back from the store, Linny…not like I should have all the fun." He quipped, letting his nephew lead him out of the house.
As Rick played catch with the kids, Laurie helped Linda put things away as Oscar and Rudy made their reservations for the awards dinner. Hearing Oscar give her mother-in-law's name, Laurie smiled then caught her friend's eye.
"Penny for your thoughts, sis?"
"I was just thinking, oh, don't mind me." Laurie cleared her throat and put the remaining snacks away in the cookie jar.
"Were you wondering if Oscar and Mom were…well, might get serious?" Linda guessed, and Laurie nodded.
"I'd love it of course; they've both been alone so long, but ….I sure don't want to get my hopes up."
"Well, I think it would be great…..guess we'll just have to wait and see." Laurie replied, grinning.