One-Liners
Chapter 2
Tom: I see you've cooled off.
Mike: I'm fine.
Tom: What was that?
Mike: Just asking questions.
Tom: You were undermining her in front of the officers. I know, Mike. She lied to us for four months.
Mike: Yeah, and while she was talking to home every week, we didn't even get a chance to warn our families. We're just supposed to get over that?
Tom: Yeah, we are.
Mike: Well, she's got a long way to go before she earns my trust. That's all.
Tom: What about me? There's no Navy, no infrastructure, no food or fuel supply. We don't know what we are gonna find anywhere we go, and we are gonna have to improvise every step of the way. Now, I'm gonna need my XO to…
Mike: To fall in line?
Tom:To execute…whether or not he agrees with my decisions. Now, I am going to ask you one time and one time only- Are you with me?
Mike: I took an oath and I still respect the chain of command.
Tom: That wasn't my question.
Mike: I'm with you.
Years later; Mike had to wonder about the wisdom of his decision that night. Sure; he backed Tom, but it had been at the cost of his own family. So, every time Tom called him; wanting him to do something, a tiny amount of resentment managed to bloom. It wasn't Tom's fault that Christine and the girls had died, but Mike was sick of being alone, and Tom was the object of that resentment, and Tom knew it. But, the resentment didn't help with grief and it sure didn't bring Mike's family back.
Tom had called Mike, inviting him to Sunday dinner. He knew the upcoming holidays hurt Mike. No one to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with, no one to kiss on New Year's Eve and he had always made a big deal out of Valentine's Day with not just his wife, but also his daughters. He had flowers delivered to school and the weekend after Valentine's, he would take Katie out for one meal and Hannah out for another. He wanted them to know that they deserved to be cherished and loved. Christine always went along with it, because she loved helping the girls get ready for their 'date' with Mike and taking pictures of Mike in his suit and the girls in their dresses. As Mike got out of his truck, he swallowed back the resentment towards Tom and the dread of the coming hard days. He noticed there was an unfamiliar sedan parked in the driveway but figured either Ashley was visiting or Sasha was trying to set him up with someone again. Something he just couldn't do.
He was familiar enough with Tom that he just walked in, carrying the bottle of wine and shouted out that he was there. Tom and Sasha's house was a split level, and there were stairs leading to the living area. Mike deposited his coat, took his shoes off and headed upstairs and to the too modern kitchen; looking for his hosts. No one was around, but it was too cold to grill outside. He put the wine into the fridge and waited. Finally, he heard footsteps behind him. Too light to be Tom, so it had to be Ashley or Sasha.
"Hey; stranger." Christine's voice said. Mike swung around so fast that his hip popped, telling him he wasn't so young anymore. He grimaced from the pain but looked Christine over in shock.
"Its you." Mike finally said in a choking voice.
"It is. Tom found us and he wanted to be the one to tell you, but he burnt the chicken. He and Sasha and the girls ran to get take-out. Give us a few private moments." Christine explained. She looked older. Her dark hair was now more grey then black. There were worry lines and the same sadness in her eyes that Mike had in his. He and Christine had had some arguments before he left, but he adored her and he had missed her every moment of every day. Very gently, he took her hand in his and pulled her close until she was in his arms.
"I missed you; so, so, so much." Mike admitted into her hair. He wasn't afraid to hide the tears and he would apologize to Tom later regarding the anger and resentment. Right now, the only person in the world was the woman in his arms.
"I missed you too. So many regrets about those last fights." Christine admitted before kissing his neck.
"How about we don't talk about those right now. I realize we will need to at some point, but I just want to focus on you and the girls. Are they okay?" Mike asked.
"Yes, and so excited to see you. All they've talked about is what we'll do for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and our Valentine's Day dates." Christine said with a smile. She still had her arms around Mike and was smiling up at him.
"I'm going to really spoil you three this year." Mike said before giving her a long kiss.
"Enough of that in my house." Tom said from behind Mike.
"You shouldn't have left us alone." Mike answered. He gave Christine another kiss before opening his arms for his daughters, who both ran to him. He held them for a few minutes before he turned his attention to Tom, who he joined on the back deck. "Listen; I don't know what you did or how you found them, but thank you." Mike said, struggling to apologize.
"No thanks are necessary. I know that you've…struggled with me since. I asked…demanded that you stay on the ship, and all you wanted was to find your family. I was never the family man you were. Sure, I loved Darien and my kids, but my career was a priority. Your career was how you supported your family, but they were far more important. I forced you to sacrifice that for years and so when the opportunity presented itself to reunite you and them; it was my honor. I only wish I could be reuniting you with Lucas too." Tom said. He handed Mike an opened beer and they looked out to the backyard.
"I choose to come back to the ship. I couldn't find them, but I made the choice to come back. It wasn't all you, Tom." Mike said simply.
"True. So, that car is Ashley's but Christine has been using it. I've got her and the girls staying in my basement, but figured that you would want to take them back to your house. Unless, of course; you need me to keep the girls a night or two more so you and Christine can get reacquainted." Tom offered.
"Thank you but no. My family needs to be under one roof. My girls are old enough to understand that their mom and I will need sometime alone together." Mike said.
"Just remember; there are these things called door locks and I'm willing to bet you have one of them on your bedroom door. Use it. I remember what the two of you were like. For the amount of years you were married, you could barely keep each other's hands off one another. It was embarrassing." Tom remarked.
"Jealous?" Mike teased.
"A bit." Tom admitted with a laugh.
"Seriously, thank you. I held onto the resentment and anger far too long. I appreciate you finding my girls for me." Mike said.
"If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't have forgiven me either. You might have made the choice, but you were pressured. I cost you years, but I can make damn sure you and Christine have all the time you need to get to know one another, even if it means having the girls over." Tom said before walking back into the house. Mike knew it was Tom's way of apologizing and was as good as he would get. It was enough, because now that he had his family back, anger and resentment didn't matter so much anymore.
This is going to be one-shots, but I will probably come back to this at different points. This story will be equal parts humor and seriousness.