The trip to New Zealand was uneventful and both Emily and Katie breathed a deep sigh of relief and happiness as they stepped out of the plane into the crisp, misty air. When they finally climbed out of the plane into Antarctica's negative-twenty-degree weather, they knew they were home. "I've forgotten how much I love this place," Emily sighed.
Captain Mitchell greeted them both warmly – Emily especially – and turned over their bunkhouse keys. "I'll need you both early tomorrow morning to help get all the summer teams out to their posts," he informed them before walking away. Emily cast a sidelong glance at Katie, smiling broadly. She had missed Captain Mitchell and all his gruff formality.
When they finally entered the bunkhouse that belonged to them, both girls sighed happily. Emily tossed her things on the floor and sank gratefully into the well-worn couch, sprawling herself comfortably along its length. Katie grinned at her and threw one of her bags at her. "C'mon Em, we've got some unpacking to do," she growled affectionately.
Grumbling good-naturedly, Emily got to her feet and followed Katie down the hallway, veering left to her room while Katie veered right. She haphazardly tossed her clothes in her dresser and spread her sheets over the naked bed. Then she unloaded her share of personal hygiene items – only mascara, foundation, and a little blush (plus refills for each) and her hair needs – in the bathroom cupboard. Contrary to her first belief, mascara was a necessity in the Antarctic, as it served a similar function to the black lines under football players' eyes in deflecting the dazzling sunlight. She finished and leaned into Katie's room, tapping lightly on the door. "You ready?"
Spinning around, Katie exclaimed, "You're done already?"
"You know me," she retorted dryly, "Unpacking is easy – just throw it where it goes."
Katie laughed. "I know, I know. Hold tight for a few minutes, I'm almost done."
Emily grinned and went to the kitchen to survey their food supply. They had plenty of vacuum-sealed freeze-dried dinners, but sadly lacked in good, fresh food. "There's nothing good to eat in here," she groaned so Katie could hear.
"We're in charge of the first food shipments, Em," Katie called from her room, "One of those will be for our set of bunkhouses, you know that."
"Of course I did," Emily said, appearing back at the door to Katie's room. "But that's your first shipment… I've got to take the crews to Victoria and Gretchen first. Didn't you check the roster, Kate?"
"Must have slipped my mind," she said airily. Her smile was a little forced at the mention of Victoria, which prompted Emily's curiosity.
"Speaking of Victoria, how are you and Jerry getting on? Are you two still wincing at the sight of each other?" she asked, watching her friend closely.
"We're friends," Katie said in a strained voice. "It's awkward still, but better than it was. It was almost a nightmare to go to Victoria without you around these last two seasons. I'm glad you're back."
"Mmm hmm," Emily murmured thoughtfully before returning to the kitchen to open and thaw something to eat for both of them.
"Hawkins!" Bryan Rice's voice rang out as she and Katie entered the hanger the next morning, dressed to the hilt in their fliers' uniforms. He waved and lifted the roster, pointing to what must have been her name. "You're back! Where have you been?" Emily grinned as Katie rolled her eyes. Bryan came out of the booth and leaned on the counter in front of it, eyeing both women flirtatiously. "So, did you ladies miss me?"
"Not at all," Emily responded, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Get back on duty, Rice, before I report you to Captain Mitchell."
"Sassy as ever, Hawkins!" he grinned as he ducked out of reach and back into the booth, where he located the keys for both her and Katie. Turning business-like, he glanced at the roster. "Yamesch, you've got to fly about halfway back to New Zealand, where you'll meet the supply ship and pick up the preliminary equipment for the first few teams. Hawkins, you have two drops to make: Gretchen's crew is ready to go and Victoria's will be ready by tomorrow."
"Thanks, Rice," Emily said, taking her keys and jogging to catch up with Katie, who was already halfway to her plane.
Katie turned as she approached and grinned broadly. "It feels great to be back, doesn't it?"
"Wonderful," Emily agreed.
They gripped arms in farewell and Katie climbed into her plane, firing it up and preparing for flight. After waving goodbye, Emily turned and scanned the hanger for Gretchen's staff, spotting them at the entrance. Kurt Von Hammel, the captain of the team, waved vigorously when he recognized her. "Miz Hawkins! Eet haz been long time!" he called in a thick German accent.
"Yes it has," she agreed as she gripped his arm warmly. "Well," she said, turning to the rest of the crew, "we're ready to go, so just throw your stuff in the cargo hold and we'll be off."
The drop was a quick one: the weather was superb and the crews usually brought very little with them, since they expected to gather equipment and scientific samples throughout the season. Within a few hours, Emily had made it to Gretchen and helped the crew unload before beginning the twenty-five mile trip back home. As she pulled into the hangar, she recognized the chunky outline and silver hair of Victoria's research captain, Andy Harris. He greeted her warmly when she got out of her plane. "It's been a long time, Emily Hawkins," he rumbled in a mild New England accent tinted with a little of his British upbringing.
"Too long," she agreed with a smile. "When does the rest of the crew get in? I'm your ride out there."
Harris's eyes brightened with pleasure. "I'm glad you are – I've never been fond of some of the rough-and-tumble show-offy pilots we have around here. Charlie's already here, so is Rosie. Jerry gets in with the dogs tonight, I think."
"Good. That means we can leave sometime tomorrow morning," Emily mused aloud, "We can probably get out of here faster if you, Rosie, and Cooper load your things in the plane now and we'll put Jerry's stuff in when he arrives. Would you mind?"
"Not at all," Harris replied. "I'll go get them. Care to come with me?"
Emily spent the rest of the day helping Rosie, Cooper, and Andy organize their belongings in the plane's cargo hold – ensuring room for eight Siberian Huskies was no picnic. When Katie's plane touched down around seven o' clock that evening, they had just finished. To Emily's surprise, Jerry climbed out of the plane after Katie, followed by Maya, Shorty, Shadow, Truman, Dewey, Old Jack, Buck, and a new black-and-white pup she didn't recognize.
"Hey," Jerry hailed cheerily as he clasped her hand and pulled her into a hug.
"Hey yourself," she responded into his coat, "I didn't expect you until tomorrow!"
"Yeah, well, plans change," he said quietly, so that only she could hear, "I wanted to fly here with Katie." His eyes looked sad.
Emily nodded in understanding and pulled him into another quick hug before turning to embrace Katie. "How was your flight?" she whispered.
"Tense," Katie replied tersely.
Deciding to drop the issue, Emily gave her friend a small smile and turned to Cooper, Jerry, Andy and Rosie. "Well, since we're all here, let's get Jerry's stuff in the plane and I can drop you guys off tonight."
"Hawkins!" Captain Mitchell called, crossing the hangar to their group. He approached, nodded to Andy Harris, and eyed Emily sternly. "You know better than to fly at night."
Blushing faintly as Cooper and Jerry laughed lightly, Emily stepped between them and pulled Mitchell aside. "With all due respect, sir, I thought it wise to drop them off as soon as possible so that I can make it back in time to catch the bulk of incoming teams. There's still about three hours of good light left before nightfall. I can make it."
Captain Mitchell hemmed and hawed over her words for a moment. Finally he sighed. "Very well, I trust your abilities. But stay overnight at Victoria. I still don't want you flying back in pitch blackness, understand?"
"Yes, Captain," Emily acknowledged, saluting him respectfully, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said gruffly, casting a glance between her, Katie, Jerry and Cooper with a slight twinkle in his eyes.
Emily took a deep breath and returned to her friends, grinning broadly. "Okay, we can leave tonight, let's get the dogs inside."
Katie hugged Emily briefly. "Goodnight, Em, I'm going back to the bunkhouse."
"No, you're not," Emily said in a low voice as she caught her friend's arm and pulled her back. She cast a glance to make sure Jerry didn't notice them. "Just because you and Jerry have broken up, I won't let the friendships we all share fall apart. You two will have to learn how to get along while I'm around."
"Emily, your determination to make everything better is going to get you in trouble someday," Katie grumbled, but she remained to help anyway.
Emily nodded in satisfaction and approached the plane in time to help Maya jump up and to collect her kiss from Shadow. "Who's this?" she asked Jerry as the black-and-white husky vaulted up behind Maya.
"Max. He's in training now… he's taking Jesse's place…" Jerry's eyes fell. "I forgot to tell you that she died this summer. The strain finally took its toll on her."
"I'll miss her," Emily murmured. Jerry grunted in agreement, his throat closing up. Tactfully, Emily turned away and motioned for the others to get inside. Taking Jerry's arm, she wordlessly led him to the passenger seat. "Just don't touch any buttons, and you'll be fine in the co-pilot's seat," she told him as she climbed in to the pilot's seat and fired up the plane.
When they coasted to a stop, Cooper literally dove out of the plane, falling gratefully on the ground. With some amusement, Emily dropped to the packed snow and grinned. "Come on, Coope, my flying wasn't that bad. There weren't even any cross-currents up there."
"That's not the point," he gasped, "I just hate –"
"You hate flying. Yes, I know."
"Ah, ignore him, Em," Jerry said as he jumped out of the plane and walked around to the cargo hatch to let the dogs out, "He's just a big baby." He lifted the latch, allowing the dogs to push their way past him and stream out into the frigid dusky air.
Buck immediately pounced on Cooper's downed form, slobbering him with affectionate kisses, while Maya frisked around Jerry with the rest of the dogs. Andy Harris helped Rosie climb out of the plane and then he pulled out his keys to open the bunker and usher them inside. Emily assisted Jerry and Cooper in unloading the plane while Rosie made up the beds and pulled out some frozen dinners. Emily declined, having already eaten before she left, and went to change into her sleepwear – a thick pair of sweat pants and a fluffy sweatshirt – while the rest of the team ate. Afterward, she joined Jerry, Cooper and Old Jack for a traditional game of poker and did poorly, but with good humor. Deciding to finish the game early, they agreed to turn in for the night. Cooper bid them goodnight and went to his room, but Jerry beckoned Emily to help him tie the dogs for the night.
"So, about this summer," he began as he fastened Buck to the end of the chain "what happened? Your family wasn't exactly pleased with my being there."
"No," Emily agreed. "Mom was furious that I'd even invited you. And Brockton behaved no better."
"Why did you invite me?"
The question caught her off-guard. "What do you mean? I should think it would have been obvious. You are my friend, after all." She fastened the chain to Shorty's collar before moving down the line to Truman.
"Well, I guess I'm a little surprised that you would be so forward in front of your family. After all, you didn't invite just anyone you knew from here. Bryan Rice didn't come." He made the last observation with a hint of a grin. He paused for a minute before continuing with a tinge of warning in his tone, "If you want more than friendship, Em, you'll have to look somewhere else."
Taken aback, she straightened suddenly, startling Dewey and causing him to growl softly. "That's not what I meant by inviting you! I didn't mean for you to take it that way!"
"Okay then. No problem."
Slightly put off, Emily refrained any further comments and finished her work in silence, leaving Jerry to tie up Maya while she went back inside. Jerry had seemed a little too quick to jump to the conclusion that she wanted him back. Ha! she thought to herself, not likely! Still a little irked by their discussion, she prepared for bed in stony silence.