Point Two – Mister Cruger
"Where were you all?" Cruger asks, less aggravated than before but still not happy.
"Just out," Z shrugged.
"I apologize, Commander Cruger," Boom stepped forward.
"For what?" he asked.
"I don't really know," Boom scowled.
"Regardless, you never filed a resignation form," Curger frowned down at Boom.
"Fine, I'm still working here," Boom all but scoffed and shuffled out of the room.
"Rangers, you're dismissed," Cruger turned his back to them.
"Yes, sir," Sky muttered, following out Jack and having to bring Bridge by the arm.
Cruger sighed to himself once they were gone. He had felt nothing but misery, regret and guilt for how he had lashed out at Kat. Even if she had told Isinia that they had been together, it wasn't a reason for him to fire her, let alone take out his stress on her.
Isinia coming back had been a blessing, he had thought in the beginning. He had his wife back! Although he had felt badly that he never talked with Kat properly over their "get togethers". He had sought her out for comfort, her being his most trusted companion. That eventually turned into five separate occasions of stress release. They never talked about it but he was afraid to think too much into them. Surely Kat had suitors lining up for her outside of the command center. He was just a stubborn, old dog...
Then Isinina came back, and he thought he had his wife back. She was different, though. The first few days were all right, covered over with celebration, but when she refused to let him touch her, he had wondered. Then, he discovered, that she couldn't even look at him. He wasn't all that available either, in retrospect. He was too used to being a workaholic Commander, guarded all the time, to be there for his wife. Not that she had made an effort to reach out to him. They were both broken, the two of them, completely different people from who they were before the Troobian destruction. It was an impossible situation but he thought they could try to work it out. There were therapies and treatments they could try.
She left, though, and he still couldn't really figure out why. At the time, he had believe she left because of something Kat said, but that didn't make any sense. Not only would Kat never be stupid enough to say something – oh, gracious, he had called her stupid – but Isinia surely wouldn't leave just because of that. He really had no idea.
"Cruger, come in, Cruger," came a voice from the console.
"Oh, no," Cruger sighed before seeing the image of Birdy come on screen. "What?"
"Oh, cranky from the incident today with Doctor Manx?" Birdy mocked openly.
"What the hell are you talking about," Cruger growled.
"Well, never fear, she'll be well taken care of. Now, she has no reason to go back to you. Doctor Manx called me today telling me that her employment under you 'had been terminated'", Birdy held up air quotes. "So, I invited her back here to be my head technician in the engineering department. She'll be given the finest accommodations and once she has been on my payroll for at least a year I can promote her to the rank she deserves: Technologies and Engineering Commander."
Doggie growled at Birdy, though he was fully aware that Kat deserved the best rank in her field. She deserved the best in most fields, but as Technical Commander, she would literally control every branch of SPD in terms of their technology. It had been specifically designed for someone who had complete control over both fields. Doggie had suggested its creation himself, with Kat in mind. "Yes, that's very nice, Birdy."
"In all seriousness, Cruger, I was wondering what happened," Birdy said solemnly. "I know we're not exactly friends, but it was worrying to find out that the best asset to any SPD base had been fired?"
Cruger sighed and decided he had nothing to lose: "I...made a mistake, today."
"You could get her back, you know," Birdy started uncharacteristically. "Instead of giving us a digital signature on her final contract, she asked to be sent hard copies for time to deliberate."
"Why would she hesitate, you're offering her everything she could ask for in her career?" Cruger frowned at Birdy.
"We don't have you," the old pelican sneered. "Look, Cruger, as much as I'd like to have Manx on my staff here, the last time she came she was positively miserable without you and your ranger tots. I know she'd rather be there, so, if you can convince her to come back to you before our papers show up, she's all yours. If she signs our contract, though, there's no going back."
"Why are you telling me this, Birdy?" Cruger sighed and scowled simultaneously.
"I've been feeling generous lately," Birdy shrugged at Cruger. "Again, I know we're not friends, but we might as well try to be, and I'm genuinely fond of Miss Manx; I prefer her over you, at least."
"Very funny, you overstuffed Pelican," Cruger laughed genuinely. "Well, I appreciate it, Fowler."
"Just don't take her for granted, Cruger," and with that, Birdy signed out of the weirdest conversation either he or Cruger had ever had.
Cruger let it sit with him. He had taken Kat for granted, in more ways than one. He had seen the return of his wife as an all encompassing problem solver, as if that would undo the last five decades. Maybe he had fooled himself into thinking that if he could love Isinia the same as before, it would heal the pain he had felt for all these years. It didn't, though, and now he was more miserable than before. At least he had Kat before.
Pulling up a dialing pad on the console he typed in a number he knew like his own name. A ringing noise came, then a voice mail: "You've reached Doctor Katherine Manx, SPD branch 20XXDelta125NTCC, please leave a message, and I'll try to get back to you."
He sighed: even on her civilian cell phone line, she was professional. He missed her voice.
He missed her. Her absence left things hollow and cold feeling. There was no gentle scent of lilac and vanilla to waft gently under his snout. Her voice no longer bounced off the walls in its rich, saturated tones. There was no head of chestnut curls for him to see in his periphery. Her eyes were no where he could see. Her entirely comforting presence was entirely absent.
Without thinking he dialed again and got the same message. After a beep he tried not to stutter, "Kat, it, uh, it's Doggie... I'm, um...I'm sorry...for today. It was out of line, for me to fire you and take out my stresses on you. I shouldn't have lashed out at you and I'm sorry... I miss you... I guess that wasn't very professional... well, um, I should...go...I suppose. Again, I, uh, apologize, for earlier today. Um...take care...of yourself...g'bye."
Hanging up, he massaged his tired eyes. Normally, Kat would have made him stop working by now, but... He couldn't go on like this, he knew, even with his stubbornness. Still, if she wanted to take the job at HQ who was he to stop her? Apparently she wasn't happy about it, but...oh, dammit all. Sighing, he made his way to his quarters with two things in mind: call Kat, find Isinia.
