Chapter 3: A month ... that's not so bad.
Late July 2002
"Major," Evan didn't turn around at first – his new title still sounded like it belonged to someone else and so still caught him by surprise at times. "Major Lorne?"
"Sorry - yes Lieutenant?" Evan looked up from the maintenance schedule he and two younger officers had been reviewing to the young woman waiting for his acknowledgement.
"You have a phone call at the front office Sir," the woman reported.
"Okay, thanks," Lorne frowned, wondering who'd be calling him at work. Pulling his mobile phone from his pocket, still the same one Elaine had given him for his birthday a couple of years back, he checked the display. "Damn," he muttered, seeing the blank screen. He'd forgotten to charge it the night before.
Evan had been assigned temporarily to the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at Travis. Given the importance of supplies and personnel into and out of Afghanistan he wasn't too unhappy with the placement, even though it was a little outside his field. It was light duty that gave him the time and energy to continue his PT so it suited him from that angle too. Nodding for the others to continue without him, Evan strode quickly from the room, down a couple of flights of stairs and across to the office.
"Sir," the phone was held out to him with a smile.
"Evan Lorne."
"Sorry to bother you at work honey," Grace Lorne's voice had his insides freezing - his Mom never called him at work.
"Mom - what's wrong?" he asked before she could say anything else.
"Everything's fine," Grace reassured him. "You told me to call you if Elaine heard anything about Drew's arrival," she reminded him.
"Right, sure," Evan relaxed, leaning against the wall as the relief hit. Elaine had received official confirmation from Cold Lake AFB that Drew would be returning from Afghanistan on the 25th July - only a couple of days to go. She'd packed up and gone home to be there when he arrived, despite both Evan and their Mom urging her to wait, to have Drew come visit them for a few days first. "He's back already?"
"That's just it," Grace said, the concern predominant in her tone. "Elaine just got an email from Drew saying his tour has been extended ... another 4 months. She'd upset and confused and ...,"
"And you were hoping I could find out what happened," Evan concluded, frowning at the news. As far as he'd been aware Drew's squad had all served their allotted time and were being replaced with another wing from Cold Lake.
"Could you?" Grace asked hopefully.
"No problem Mom, leave it with me," Evan agreed. "I'll let you know what I find out."
He barely waited for his Mom to acknowledge that and say goodbye before he hung up and immediately dialled another number.
"Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, how can I help you?"
"Can you put me through to Captain Cade Boston please?" Evan asked.
"Who may I say is calling?"
"Tell him it's Evan," Lorne replied, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for the connection. His leg was pretty much fully recovered now - he just felt a twinge in the muscles when he stood in one place for too long but that was it. In fact, he'd been hoping to make his next fitness test for the end of the week so he could get passing it out of the way and then get back to flying.
"Evan," Cade's familiar voice on the line refocussed his attention. "It'd good to hear from you buddy but we've got a situation here so this'll have to be quick."
"A situation?" Evan's eyes narrowed. "Would that be something affecting Drew's return from Afghanistan?"
"Damn, Sorry!" Cade returned. "Your sister - I should have thought of that! I would have called you but it's been a mad house here since yesterday. I'm sorry Evan."
"It's okay - just tell me what happened so I can fill Elaine in," Evan requested. "She got a message from Drew but apparently it was pretty light on details so she's confused and understandably upset."
"Right - you'd know we have three fighter wings planned for rotation through Afghanistan, four months each tour," Cade sounded purposeful as he explained. "We'd pretty much completed training for the one replacing Drew's wing - did the last training exercise yesterday. We still don't know what happened Evan ... one minute they're up in the air, doing fine, the next there's a collision and we've got two pilots ejecting, both pretty badly banged up. We had no choice but to rescind the relocation order for Drew and the others."
"Are your pilots okay?" Evan asked.
"They will be," Cade returned. "But they won't be shipping out any time soon and we just don't have anyone trained up to replace them. Even if we push forward the schedule for the third rotation it's gonna leave a big hole here. That's not all of it - we don't have the replacement aircraft either, not without leaving the base seriously under resourced."
"You know Elaine's pregnant right?" Evan focussed on a spot on the wall opposite him, wondering how he was going to make this better for his sister, or even if he could.
"Yeah, Drew emailed me a couple of months back," Cade admitted. "I know this sucks for her but my hands are tied here. I wish I could give you better news."
"Not your fault," Evan pointed out. "She'd due early December so he's gonna be cutting it pretty fine to get here in time."
"I can let my CO know the situation," Cade offered. "An alternative might turn up to get Drew home a little earlier."
"Thanks Cade," Evan said gratefully. "If you could keep me in the loop too I'd really appreciate it."
"No problem," Cade replied. "I have to go - I'll let you know when I hear anything."
Hanging up Evan stared at the phone for a few moments before dialling another familiar number.
"Hello," Elaine's voice brought a smile to his face, even under the circumstances.
"Hey Sis," he said in a light tone.
"Evan, did you find out anything?" Elaine got straight to the point.
"I did," he admitted. "Listen, I spoke to Cade. They had a training accident there yesterday - it took out two of the four pilots in the wing swapping for Drew's. They just don't have anyone to replace them right now."
"So Drew's really not coming home," Elaine's voice was small but it pierced his heart just the same.
"He's coming home Lainee ... just not ... right now," Evan returned. "Cade's going to talk to his CO, let him know your situation. Something might come of that."
"Drew's message said November - late November," Elaine pointed out, her breath hitching. "I'm due the first week of December Evan! I ... I really," she sniffed, "... he's missing everything!"
Evan waited, listening to her crying on the other end of the line and feeling useless. "I'm sorry," she finally calmed down enough to speak again. "I know I'm not the first military wife to be having a baby while her husband's overseas ... it's just ... I almost wish he'd never been scheduled to come back this week ... there were so many things I had planned and now I'll have to do them by myself."
"You could move back to Mom's," Evan suggested gently.
"No," Evan winced as he heard that stubborn edge in her voice. She was upset but clearly angry too and when she got that way nothing swayed her decisions.
"I thought you might say that," he replied. "Listen, Cade's gonna let me know as soon as he hears anything. But you call me if you need anything, okay."
"I need Drew home but that's obviously not going to happen any time soon," Elaine said stubbornly.
"Lainee," Evan pleaded for her to relent a little.
"Fine, I'll call you if I need anything," Elaine retorted. There was a moments silence and then she sighed. "I know it's not your fault Evan. And I know this is the kind of thing I signed on for when I decided to marry into the military - but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I guess not," Evan agreed. "I'll let you know if I hear anything new okay?"
"Okay." Lorne was just about to hang up when he heard her calling for him to wait. "Are they okay? The pilots who crashed?"
"Cade said they're banged up but they'll recover," Evan revealed. "He didn't give me names so I don't know who it was."
"Drew would know," Elaine said softly.
"Yeah, he would," Evan agreed. Drew would know those pilots and he'd be frustrated being so far away and not being able to see for himself that they were okay. That and being forced to give Elaine bad news via an email wouldn't be sitting well at all.
"I'll go see them," Elaine decided. "That way I can reassure Drew that they'll be up and back in the air in no time."
"Sounds like a good idea," Evan smiled, proud that she'd put herself into someone else's shoes so quickly - not that he'd say that to her of course, she'd just tell him off for patronising her.
Evan said his goodbyes and was about to hand the phone back to the desk clerk when he remembered he'd promised to let his Mom know the situation. Another quick call took care of that until finally he was free to return to his work. There was nothing else he could do, not that day at any rate.
He'd returned to the job but couldn't get his mind off his sister's plight. He stewed over it for a few days, days when he called Elaine regularly and got assurances that she was fine, even though her tone said anything but.
By the time the end of the week rolled around and his fitness test loomed he'd decided what he was going to do.
"Major Lorne," Doctor Brian Yorke greeted Evan when he walked into the infirmary on time.
"Doc," Evan returned with a faint smile. He'd been checked regularly by the base doctor since he'd returned to partial duty at Travis AFB and the two men had formed a friendship of sorts.
"Ready to get started?" Brian asked. He'd gotten to know the Major over the past few weeks and knew the younger man was more than ready to be passed for full duty again.
"Yes, Sure," Evan said, wondering why he suddenly felt nervous. He'd had a full physical and taken the fitness test every year for fifteen years and had never had a problem passing. But he'd never been injured as badly either – never spent so much time on medical leave and then partial duty and that was enough to make a guy nervous.
"Right, well let's get the physical out of the way first," Yorke began.
Lorne patiently sat, stood, stretched, and in every other way followed the doctors instructions as he went through the long series of checks required for an air force flying physical. Everything was checked ... everything ... it was kind of intrusive but at the same time never left you wondering if you had some medical condition that hadn't come to light yet.
"Okay Major, all done," Yorke finally announced. "You've recovered well for all your injuries ... regained full mobility on your shoulder and leg ... you're lucky the scaring is so minimal, particularly that burn," he tapped Lorne's forearm where the phosphorus burn was still visible. "I know it still stands out like a sore thumb but that's healthy healing colour – when it's gone you'll hardly have any physical reminders of your time in Afghanistan."
"Thanks Doc," Evan wasn't the vainest guy around but it was still a relief that he'd come out of something that could have been lethal in such good shape.
"Right – fitness test," Yorke clapped his hands briskly and then motioned for Lorne to follow him.
Evan understood exactly what was involved and what to expect. Cycle ergometry - the Air Force cardiovascular fitness standard since 1992 – was all about measuring your VO2 rate, how well your body used oxygen. The VO2 MAX score was the maximum volume of oxygen the body could consume during intense, whole-body exercise, while breathing air at sea level. The test was predictive – the number you achieved during the test was used to predict your fitness level, using your heart rate response to a given level of work. Measuring oxygen consumption indirectly measured an individual's maximal capacity to do work aerobically - and you had to meet a certain standard to be fit for duty.
"I assume you know the drill Major," the doctor said, waving a hand for Lorne to get started.
"Yeah, done a few of these over the years," Evan agreed. The ergometric tester looked very similar to an exercise bike, except that it was white, had a covered section at the front where the wheel would usually show, and including curved handle bars to hold on to that assisted in taking the required measurements.
"Good," Yorke consulted his testing sheet, "the standard for a male in your age range is 32 – that's the minimum number you'll need to pass Major."
"Right," Evan muttered, getting on the machine to check the seat height and then off again to make a quick adjustment.
"We'll only be taking you to 75% of your predicted maximum heart rate," the doctor continued with the necessary explanation. "Stop if you feel dizzy, faint, or short of breath. You can also stop the test at any time, for any reason. Start cycling to warm up."
Lorne began cycling, warming up slowly until he'd gotten up sufficient speed to practice the required pace of 50 rpms.
"We'll begin the test now," Yorke said, changing the resistance on the bike to account for Evan's current heart rate. Throughout the test he'd continue to monitor Evan's heart rate, blood pressure, and the signs and symptoms of how he was coping.
Lorne was already into a nice rhythm – he was giving it everything and it felt good, the exertion itself and how his body responded smoothly. He'd gotten back to his daily run, and done pleny of sessions in the gym but it was only then that he really believed there would be no lingering after-effects of his injuries.
At the three, six, nine and twelve minute marks the doctor changed the resistance on the bike ... in between times he was taking other measurements and giving Evan a rating of perceived exertion – how well or otherwise he thought Lorne was handling the test.
"Okay, let's cool it down," Yorke finally announced. Evan continued to pedal for another 3 minutes, slowly reducing speed until he brought the bike to a smooth stop.
"How'd I do Doc?" he asked, breathing hard. He took the towel the doctor offered, wiping the sweat from his face before draping it around his neck.
"Passed with ease Major," Yorke revealed, smiling when Evan let out a small woo hoo of delight.
"So I'm free to get back to work full time, to get back up in the air?" Lorne confirmed.
"Yes, although I'd recommend an easy flight before you start putting your body under excessive g-forces," Yorke offered.
"That's exactly what I hoped you'd say," Evan grinned when the doctor looked puzzled. "Would a flight from LAX to Canada fit the bill?"
"That's what ... two, two and a half hours straight flying?" the doctor queried thoughtfully.
"Something like that," Evan admitted, hopeful he'd get the green light.
"I'll give you clearance Major, but no hot dogging," Yorke finally agreed.
"I never hot dog," Lorne insisted, grinning over the positive result.
"Be sure that you don't," the doc insisted, "because I'll revoke your flight status if I hear otherwise."
"Thanks Doc," Evan held out a hand, shaking Yorke's hand firmly, "and thanks for looking after me the past few weeks."
"You're welcome Major," Yorke returned. "Good to have you back among the fighting fit."
It wasn't as simple as just getting medical clearance, he had to convince Major Michaels to release him for a couple of days and he had to locate a plane free for him to fly. But Lorne was determined and never took no for an answer, even if he was subtle in his stubbornness.
And so, the following Monday morning Evan was strapping himself into the cockpit of an F-18, preparing to fly to Cold Lake Alberta. The situation itself had helped him get what he needed – his plane one of three being loaned by the U.S. Navy to the Canadian government, and specifically to the Cold Lake base to help them fill the gap the training incident had left. Since ultimately they'd be used in the war effort in Afghanistan it was in the U.S.'s best interests to assist their allies.
Lorne had needed to call in a bunch of favours to get one of those three chairs in the cockpit – because he hadn't flown a Hornet for a while and because the Navy had pilots already up to speed. He'd gotten the nod, confident he'd slip back into the F-18 with ease – a confidence that was born out in reality.
"Tower, this is Cougar One requesting clearance for takeoff." Evan couldn't help the small grin as he made his request to air traffic control at LAX. Man, did this bring back memories! The Navy had been good enough to get the plane he was flying to LAX - the other two were being flown direct from their present location, meaning Lorne was doing this as a solo run.
"Cougar One, Tower, you are clear to proceed, runway fifteen alpha."
"Tower, Cougar One, acknowledged." Lorne followed the directions, was held at the runway for a few minutes and then cleared to power up and take off.
In the air, the miles and the minutes passed as he flew over familiar terrain ... it had been a while since he'd personally flown into Canada but with regular visits to Elaine and Drew since their marriage he knew the route pretty well.
The long flight wasn't exactly taxing on Lorne's mental resources and he found his mind wandering in a number of directions. Chief amongst them was his concern for Elaine and Drew ... not that something would happen to them but that their first experience with children was somehow being ruined by events outside their control. Drew was missing things there was no way to get back ... and Elaine was spending too much energy worrying about her husband that she should be using preparing for the birth of her first child. And while it didn't affect him intimately, they were the two most important people in Evan's life and he wanted more for them than they were currently getting. It irked that he couldn't do anything about it too.
Lorne was thinking about the what next too ... he'd been promoted sure but so far hadn't actually taken on a new role with any degree of permanency. And he'd heard nothing from Air Combat Command about where they were going to place him. That wasn't necessarily unusual, especially because the end date for him recovering wasn't something you could set in concrete in advance, and they had the added complication of needing to man up in Afghanistan.
He wanted to go back to Kandahar ... he just wasn't sure it was going to happen. He'd been away long enough for them to replace him on the 389 and they'd already have the next wing rotating in to replace Piper and the others training in preparation. As he approached Cold Lake and radioed the Tower for clearance he acknowledged once again the basic inconsistency of his life. Evan Lorne was a man who liked being in control, in an occupation that put that control firmly in the hands of his superiors. He did what he could to influence it but at the end of the day his job was to obey orders ... getting promoted just got him one step closer to being the guy who gave the orders.
"A Major Lorne is here to see you Sir."
Evan waited outside the door of the base commanding officer, not having made an appointment but hoping to be seen anyway.
"Send him in."
"You can go in," the Lieutenant said unnecessarily. Evan nodded, a faint smile in place as he walked through the door.
"Evan!" now Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Baker greeted him with a pleased smile.
"Sir," Lorne returned, stepping forward and shaking hands with his former CO.
"When I saw your name on the manifest for today's inbounds I wondered if you'd stop by, pay your respects," Baker said, his eyes twinkling.
"There's no way I could visit Cold Lake without coming to see you Sir," Evan returned blandly.
"Of course not," Baker agreed, his expression turning serious. "I suspect this time however your motives aren't exactly one dimensional.
"Ah ... no Sir," Lorne grimaced slightly.
"Well, have a seat then and let's talk," the Colonel waved a hand to the chair in front of his desk, retaking his own seat and leaning back to regard Evan curiously. "You're looking well."
"Fully fit," Lorne confirmed, not surprised Baker had known about his injuries.
"And wearing a new title too," Baker continued. "Congratulations Major."
"Thank you Sir – I'm still a little surprised myself," Evan said modestly.
"From what I hear you blew up half an al-Qaida village Lorne," Baker returned, smiling when Lorne almost winced. "That wouldn't have surprised me except they tell me you did it from the ground. Tired of dropping bombs are we?"
"No Sir," Lorne denied briskly, unable to resist adding "and it was only one building Sir. Given the situation I had no choice but to go in there on foot."
"Maybe," Baker watched Lorne intently as he continued, "maybe not. But there's no doubt you did well son."
Evan wasn't sure he had a response to that ... there was pride there in his former CO's tone to balance out the teasing. He'd expected the later but found himself floundering to accept the former.
"So, tell me, what can we do for you today?" Baker was amused at Lorne's reaction ... for a man who'd accomplished so much already in his career Evan Lorne still had humility and modesty in spades. That made Thomas proud too but he knew better than to mention it – Lorne was already embarrassed enough with his praise.
"I was sorry to hear about the training accident Sir," Evan began. "And not just because it indirectly affects me ... now more than ever both of our countries need all their pilots and planes in top condition."
"Both pilots are recovering well," Baker offered. "The investigation is still ongoing of course but the preliminary assessment suggests a malfunction in one of the jets rather than pure pilot error."
"That's good news," Lorne shifted, leaning forward a bit as he got to the crux of his visit. "I don't need to tell you how the incident affects my family Sir. Drew was only a couple of days short of returning home and instead it sounds like he'll be in Afghanistan for another four month tour. My sister's due the first week of December so there's a chance now he won't make it home before she has the baby." He paused, meeting the Colonel's eyes intently. "I was hoping to enlist your support for bringing Drew back sooner rather than later." Baker said nothing at first and Evan felt compelled to continue. "If there was any way to arrange it Sir I'd happily take his place over there so he could come home right now."
"Very generous of you," Baker finally commented. He looked at Lorne thoughtfully for a few moments before sitting forward. "I don't think that's going to be a solution your government will go for Evan, although I will raise it higher up the chain and see what response I get. In the mean time the best I can promise it to look for a replacement pilot for Captain Rider from our own ranks."
"Thank you Sir," Lorne had mixed feelings about the outcome and that showed in his voice.
"We've already decided to bump up the training program for the third rotation," the Colonel continued. "Now that we have replacement jets they can begin."
"So, if all else fails, Drew will still be back before December?" Evan clarified.
"I can't promise anything Evan, but I'll do my best to make that a reality," Colonel Baker replied.
"Okay, thank you Sir," Evan said again.
"We still think of you as one of ours Major," Baker said lightly, "and we look after our own. You tell your sister we'll do our best to get her husband home before she has that baby."
"I will Sir," Evan stood, holding out his hand. "Thank you again Sir."
"No problem Major," Baker stood too, shaking the younger man's hand firmly. "It's nice to see some things don't change."
"Sir?" Lorne frowned, trying to interpret the context of that.
"You're still a devoted brother and a loyal friend," Baker said simply, "both core to the values we hold dear at Cold Lake."
"I look back on my time here fondly Sir," Evan returned sincerely.
"Any time you want to defect we'd be happy to welcome you back Major."
"I'll keep that in mind Sir," Lorne replied, smiling slightly. "It's always good to have other career options ... just in case."
"It was good to see you again Evan," Baker concluded.
"And you Sir," Evan took that the mean the end of his meeting, nodding respectfully before turning on a heel and exiting the older man's office.
It had been good to see Colonel Baker again ... the man had been supportive of Evan from day one and had been there in the past when he'd needed help. That helped Lorne look at the result of his meeting in a positive light, because he trusted Baker to do everything he could to live up to his words.
Having done all the paperwork to conclude his business at the base Lorne caged a ride from one of the maintenance guys. There was still something he had to do before he returned to duty.
"Evan!" Elaine's jubilant voice was all the greeting he'd hoped for. As she threw herself forward to envelope him in a hug his mind was assaulted with assimilating all the changes he noticed. She looked tired sure but also seemed to have an aura of suppressed energy about her ... Evan hesitated to label it a 'glow' because that was too much a pregnancy cliché for him. But she did look ... vibrant. Her face had filled out a little and her skin was translucent, she looked delicate – and there could be no doubt anymore as to her state of pregnancy. Her 'bump', though still small, pushed forward as if announcing itself, leading the way as she urged him to come inside.
"I can't believe you're here," Elaine commented happily once they were both sitting on the sofa in her front room, grabbing his arm and squeezing fondly in an excess of emotion.
"Why wouldn't I come visit my sister?" Evan returned.
"Because you only just got back onto full duty," Elaine pointed out. "How'd you manage to get leave so soon?"
"Ah – I'm not actually on leave as such," Evan admitted. When she looked at him quizzically he shrugged. "They needed a couple of Hornet's flown over from the States so I volunteered to fly one."
"You volunteered," Elaine repeated slowly.
"In a manner of speaking," Evan replied. "I wanted to speak to Colonel Baker myself and it made sense to kill two birds with one stone."
"You talked to him about Drew didn't you?"
"Of course I did," Evan frowned, trying to assess her reaction. She wasn't spitting mad that he'd tried to interfere but she didn't exactly look happy either. "I just wanted to see what the chances were of Drew getting home earlier than he told you in his message."
"And did you find out?" Elaine's tone wasn't hopeful but Evan could see the spark of interest in her eyes.
"Colonel Baker couldn't promise me anything," Evan began, "but they are trying to find someone to replace Drew and if that fails, they're already training the wing that would have rotated there after this current stint. They should be ready to deploy in a month or so. It's not as good an outcome as I hoped for but it's something right?"
"A month," Elaine said wistfully, her vision turned internally. Evan let her silence reign this time, waiting patiently for her to process the news. "A month ... that's not so bad," she finally said, smiling slightly.
"No it's not," Evan agreed. He refrained from saying it would go quickly because he knew, for Elaine anyway, it wouldn't. Drew would be caught up in missions and the adrenalin rush that went with that but Elaine was stuck living day to day life with the huge gap that existed because of his absence.
"Thank you," Elaine shifted forward and hugged him tightly.
"I didn't do much," Evan replied as he hugged her back. "It sounded like Colonel Baker was going to do all that regardless of whether I asked or not."
"Maybe, but I still appreciate that you came," Elaine insisted, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Anytime Sis," Evan promised. "Anytime."
Authors Note:
Fitness and physical test information from usmilitary dot about dot com – lots of good stuff there! As usual the credibility of Lorne being able to call in favours to get a seat in an Hornet is questionnable but difficult to verify, so artistic lisence wins through again! Thanks for reading.