Chapter Twelve/Epilogue: Second Chances

Sidewinder had been off duty for the last two days and she felt that she was losing her mind. She would be off duty for close to a month, the medics' discretion said that this should be enough time for her to heal, but they highly suggested that she stop smoking. If she didn't, they couldn't guarantee that she would fly again. She was lucky for the skills of Doc, Lifeline, Stretcher and Dr. Talbot; they were able to fix her up. She was really lucky that there were no broken bones, but there was a lot of bruising; internally. She took most of the trauma in her chest and shoulders. The medics couldn't come up with a reason that she was coughing up blood from the first night, but they were glad that it subsided. She would be off duty for the rest of the week, but would be allowed to work in the hangars again after that. Sidewinder was in the small kitchenette, cleaning up the small meal that she made for Firewall and her when Firewall stood up and stretched.

"You need anything when I return from duty?" Firewall asked.

"I'm good Shelly, but I appreciate the offer. How long are you on shift today?"

Firewall sighed. "Too long, I'm afraid. I'm in comms from four this afternoon until well past midnight. At least I'll have company. I'll be working with Leonard."

"You're working with Scoop?" Sidewinder asked. "How did you get stuck working with him? Did you lose a bet?"

Firewall smiled. "No, actually he's installing new camera feeds. Duke's been on him to install new security measures. He's one of the only guys on the team that could pull it off."

Sidewinder shrugged. "Well have fun. If there's anything that you need me to do around here, give me a call." Firewall nodded, patting her cell phone. She walked over to Sidewinder and wrapped her up in a hug. Sidewinder knew that Firewall lost some team-mates that were close to her in the past. Sidewinder liked the attention; it made her feel validated. It was also a bonus that it showed her that someone cared. Firewall released her hug and walked to the door. She opened the door and let out a yelp of fright. Sidewinder turned from where she was cleaning and saw Ace at the door about ready to knock.

"Sorry Firewall. Are you okay?" Ace smiled.

"Geez, what the hell is wrong with you Ace?" Firewall asked.

"I was going to knock on the door, when it opened and I saw you there." Ace started to laugh. "I didn't mean to scare you." Firewall shook her head, while Sidewinder giggled.

"You have a visitor, Cassie. Do you want to see him or should I tell him where to go?"

"No, let him in Shelly. I was wondering when he would show up." Firewall moved out of the way to let Ace in. He entered the room and Firewall exited the room. She gave Sidewinder a smile that said for her to be strong before closing the door.

"Hey."

"Hey. You want a cup of coffee, Ace?" Ace nodded. Sidewinder started brewing some coffee. She got two mugs out one of the cabinets and set them down. She made her coffee and gave Ace his. He smiled a thanks to her and took a sip. She leaned on the wall while Ace sat down on the couch.

"You mind telling me what you're doing here, Armbruster?"

Ace looked up at her. "Actually I came to talk. I wanted to apologize to what I said to you a few days ago. I was angry and I just spoke my mind. I really am sorry about that."

Sidewinder sniffed. "I'm not too sure that I believe you. You see, even if you were mad; there was some truth in what you said. I know that I'm reckless, but I've had to be to accomplish anything in this world. I'm not excusing what I've done in the past, that's where it needs to be."

"Then what are you saying?"

"You said some really hurtful things to me the other day. I'm not going to forget them just like that. We're really going to have to work on some things."

"We?" Ace asked. Sidewinder nodded. "What do you mean by we?"

"I meant what I said back on the Rattler, before I ejected you. I love you and I want to work on us. I know that you've had some hard times with Marie, but I think that if we give us a chance, well things could work out."

"I'm willing to give it a better chance this time." Ace smiled.

"I hope that you mean it. I'm not going to be as forgiving this time. We're going to have some time before Firewall comes back home for the night. You can start by making up to me by rubbing my tired feet." Sidewinder smiled and sat down next to Ace. She placed her feet on the coffee table. Ace got down on the floor and reached out for her feet.

Firewall walked down the hallway to her room. She looked at her watch and noticed the time; it was eleven-fifteen at night and she was able to help Scoop get all of the cameras working and taping the grounds. Duke showed up and was pleased with the results. He sent them off to their quarters for the night and let the midnight shift monitor security and transmissions. Firewall was exhausted, but was glad that everything was working. She got to her door and heard Sidewinder laughing with someone. Firewall found her key and unlocked the door. She opened it and smiled to what she saw. Ace and Sidewinder were on the couch playing video games. Ace had the controller in his hand and was watching the screen with serious intent. Sidewinder on the other hand, was trying to help Ace with the game, but was laughing in the process. She looked up and smiled to her room-mate.

"Hey how are you, Shelly? Everything go okay tonight?"

"Yeah, everything's working fine Cass." Firewall smiled. "I see that you two worked out your issues?"

"Yeah, we did." Sidewinder said, standing up. She walked over to Firewall and gave her a hug. "I want to thank you so much for being there for me. Your friendship got me through a lot, Shell. I can't thank you enough." Firewall smiled back and let go. She turned to Ace and watched him get shot down repeatedly in the game he was playing.

"Having any luck there, Ace?" Firewall asked, as he got shot down again.

"No, not really Shelly." Ace replied. "This kid keeps beating me. He's pretty good."

"What's the screen name?" Firewall asked.

Sidewinder looked at the screen. "It says RocketMan14. Do you know him?"

Firewall started laughing. "Brad, that's Bazooka! You mean that David's been kicking your ass for most of the night?" Sidewinder started laughing as well and fell over on the ground. Ace looked up at the two of them in shock.

"Okay, I'm officially done with this game." Ace smiled, putting the controller down. "I should go anyway, it's getting late." He stood up and walked to the door. Sidewinder stood up, although with some difficulty. She walked him to the door. They stood out in the hallway for a minute or two. Ace waited for Sidewinder to collect herself before they talked.

"You done?" Ace smiled.

"I'm sorry, babe. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen." Sidewinder said, finally able to get her composure. "I'm glad that you stopped by. I'm even happier that we're on the road to us being closer."

"Yeah, I'm actually glad about that too." Ace said. He leaned over and kissed Sidewinder on the lips. "I'll see you at breakfast?" Sidewinder nodded. Ace smiled and walked down the hallway. Sidewinder smiled and walked back in. She looked at Firewall who was shutting off the 360. She smiled to Sidewinder.

"You think that this will work for you two this time?"

Sidewinder sighed and smiled back. "This is a second chance for the two of us, Shelly. I think that everything will work out between us." The two of them turned in for the night. Firewall was out in a moment, but Sidewinder was awake for some time. She was glad that Ace and her made up and that the future was looking bright for them.