-1Chapter 12- the dream
'The air is cool and crisp out here. The smell of it is soft and sweet from all the flowers and trees that are growing around us. The sun is shining brightly and there's hardly a cloud in the sky. The view around the area is amazing with the white capped mountains that surround us. And there stands Eureka, watching as our kids play in the front of our new home while holding our new baby in her arms. Wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, she looks like any other person out there other than her wings, which in my opinion add to her natural beauty. She's one of the most beautiful people I have ever loved, and nothing will change that. She then turns and looks at me with a warm caring smile and says "Renton."
"Renton!!"
"Huh, what?"
"Pay attention to what you're doing!" yelled Holland. Him and Holland had taken the 606 and the 808 out with Eureka and Talho for a grocery run when Renton started veering the 606 way off course due to his daydreaming.
"Oh crap!!" Renton yelled. He then reacted by turning the 606 and getting them back on course.
"What were you doing? Daydreaming over there?" said Talho.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Renton replied.
"It's ok. Just don't do it again alright?"
"Roger that. I'll try not to."
"Please see that you don't." Holland replied and the radio went silent. Renton then let out a heavy sigh and went back to concentrating on his flying.
"Hey Renton are you ok?" asked Eureka who was sitting behind him.
"Yeah I'm fine. I was just daydreaming and thinking that's all. But unfortunately I lost track of what I was doing as I did."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Our future family." Renton replied. Eureka smiled and blushed a bit at his response while she held her hand over her stomach. "What did you see?"
"You, the kids, our new home with our baby in your arms."
"Were you able to see what we had?"
"No, but I think I want to keep it a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yeah. You know, we wait until the baby is born to find out what we had together."
"That sounds nice." Eureka replied.
"Yeah it does. Anyways we should be back on the Gekko soon. It just came up on the radar."
"Roger." she replied.
Fifteen minutes later, the 606 and the 808 were landed and secured back onto the ship. The hangar was still a mess from the work that had continued on the Nirvash over the last ten days, causing them on occasion to hit things here and there whenever they landed.
"Man I appreciate what they're doing, but they sure are making a mess." said Talho.
"Yeah no kidding." Holland replied.
"When do you think they'll be done?" asked Renton.
"Not sure yet but hopefully soon." Talho replied as they tried to walk over and around the mess of supplies and tools.
"Do you guys want any help?" asked Hilda from the top of the stairs as she stood there and smiled.
"It'd be nice." said Talho. Right after she said that all you could see was a mess of food go flying through the air as Talho tripped and fell to the floor. "Ow that hurt!! Now I will be glad when they're gone!" she said in a frustrated tone.
"Are you ok?" asked Hilda as she came running downstairs.
"Yeah I am but I'm not so sure about the groceries." Talho replied as she got up off the floor.
"Actually it looks like all you had were the dry goods, so I think we're ok."
"Thank god for that." Talho replied as she brushed herself off.
"Anyways, where is Morita and his crew? Why aren't they working?" asked Holland.
"They're on their lunch break in the dining hall." Hilda replied. "By the way Renton and Eureka, how did it feel to be able to fly again?"
"It was great." Eureka replied. "It's nice to finally be cleared to fly again."
"Yeah. It's nice not sitting around on the ship anymore." said Renton with a laugh.
"Yeah I bet." said Hilda with a chuckle.
A little bit later after all the groceries were put away, Holland tracked down Morita so he could get an update on their progress.
"So when can we expect the Nirvash to be done doc?" asked Holland.
"Either later today or early tomorrow morning." Morita replied.
"Good." said Holland. "Talho tripped over some of your stuff earlier trying to carry our groceries inside."
"Sorry about that. Usually we're never that messy."
"That's ok. Thanks for the help though."
"No problem Holland. It's what we do. Now I had better get back down to the hangar before everyone starts to wonder where I'm at."
"Alright we'll catch you later then." Holland replied. Morita then turned and started walking towards the hangar.
"Hey Holland!" yelled Eureka as he started towards the ships store.
"Hey Eureka. Do you need something?" Asked Holland.
"Yeah. Have you see Renton at all lately?"
"Not since before lunchtime why?"
"Oh just wondering. How is the Nirvash?"
"Morita said that she'll be done either later today or sometime tomorrow morning."
"Great! I'm going to go find Renton and tell him myself!" Holland laughed a second and said "You go ahead and do that. I have to go to the ships store for a few things anyways. So I'll see you later ok?"
"Ok." Eureka replied and she went on her way.
'The breezes of the ocean wave over us as we sit on the beach close to each other in a loving embrace watching the sunset. We are cuddled up close to a small campfire cooking fresh fish for our dinner. Eureka looks beautiful in the short lavender spring dress that she's wearing here on our honeymoon. We've only been here a few days but already it feels like a lifetime. We only wish it would never end.'
"Hey Renton."
"Huh? Yes Eureka?"
"Are you daydreaming again?" asked Eureka. She had finally found him sitting in the lower section of the cockpit.
"Oh yeah sorry. I was thinking about what our honeymoon could be like since we never got to have one after our wedding."
"And what was it like?" asked Eureka.
"About as beautiful and romantic as it can get." Renton replied.
"That sounds wonderful."
"Believe me it was. So did you need something Eureka?"
"No I just came to tell you that the Nirvash should be ready either tonight or tomorrow morning."
"That's great." Renton replied. "Is there any way that I can convince you to try to sneak out on a honeymoon at all after she's done?"
"I'm sorry Renton but no. I love you more than anything but abandoning the Gekko just isn't the right thing to do right now."
"Yeah I know." Renton replied. "It's just the way you looked in my thoughts though you looked more beautiful than ever before."
"I did?" asked Eureka. Renton then grabbed her in a loving hug as they sat there and said "Yes you did. Do you remember the way your hair looked when we were in the promised land?"
"Yes I do why?"
"That's the way you looked but instead of the uniform you usually wore at that time you had an elegant lavender spring dress on. You were totally breathtaking."
"I was?" Eureka replied while she blushed.
"Yes you were. You're beautiful the way you are now and the way you were in our wedding, but in my thoughts you just took my breath away." said Renton. "I don't know what it was about you, but it made the love I have for you even greater now than it was before."
"It did? Oh Renton thank you!!" Eureka replied as she planted a hard kiss on Renton. After she released her hold on Renton, she said "You wont' regret this!!" and ran off the bridge.
"What was that about?" Renton wondered to himself after she left.
"Talho, Talho!!" Eureka yelled as she ran up and down the hallways as she looked for her. Talho finally heard this and poked her head out their bedroom door.
"Whoa Eureka slow down!" Talho laughed. "What is it dear?"
"I need your help!" Eureka replied.
"Why what's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's something for Renton!"
"I see." said Talho with a smile. "Come into our room and explain it to me there. Then we'll see if I can help you."
A little while later after Eureka explained everything to Talho, she finally knew what Eureka needed.
"Ok." said Talho. "Basically we need to set up a romantic get away for two on the beach. I think we can do that even with the situation we're in."
"Really?" asked Eureka with excitement in her eyes.
"Yes." Talho replied. "Since we know what you want and need, I think a little shopping trip is in order, so go get ready."
"Right now?" Eureka replied.
"Yes now! So get going. I'll meet you in the 606 in ten minutes. I'll go tell Holland to watch our son while we're gone."
"Ok." said Eureka and she darted off to their room.
"This is going to be fun." said Talho to herself. Within about ten minutes time, Eureka and Talho were set and ready to go in the 606.
"You ready?" asked Talho.
"Yeah let's go!" Eureka replied excitedly.
"Alright. 606 launching now!!" and they took off to the nearest city.
"Hey Holland what's going on around here? asked Renton.
"I don't know. Talho just dumped our son on me in the middle of a meeting with Morita." Holland replied. "She then took off in a hurry."
"Sounds similar to what happened to me." said Renton. "I was talking to Eureka, she got excited, planted a kiss on me and ran off in a hurry also."
"Did she say why?" asked Holland.
"No she didn't." Renton replied.
"Well what were you two talking about?"
"About what our honeymoon would've been like if we were able to have one."
"Whoa wait a minute. You two were talking about a honeymoon, Eureka tells Talho afterwards, Talho gets excited, and so does Eureka. That could mean only one thing Renton."
"SHOPPING TRIP!!" They both yelled.
"Gidget! Did any of the LFO's take off at all?" asked Holland
"Umm, yeah the 606 did about fifteen minutes ago." she replied.
"We're too late." said Holland with a solemn tone. "There goes all my money for a while."
"I'm sorry Holland." said Renton. "I didn't plan on them doing this you know."
"It's ok it's not your fault Renton. All I can say is enjoy your honeymoon." Holland replied. He then turned and walked out of the cockpit with his son in his arms.
"What did I get myself into?" asked Renton to himself as he watched the earth slowly go by them.
"Hey Eureka over here!!" said Talho. The two had stopped in a small town called Estoria which happened to be the closest town in the area. While they wandered around the small town, Talho had finally found a small boutique store that would hopefully have exactly what they were looking for.
As they looked around the store, Talho yelled "Eureka I found something!!". As Eureka rounded a corner, she saw what Talho had found and said "Talho it's perfect!!". The dress that Talho had pulled from the rack was exactly what she wanted. It was a little bit lighter than the lavender color she was looking for, but it didn't matter to her. The straps that held it on were thin and it was cut low in the back which worked well for her wings. The front was cut low too, but a little higher than the back as not to show too much. The fabric it was made of was soft and comfortable since it was all silk. When Talho heard her reaction, she knew that she had hit the jackpot.
"Great!" Talho replied. "And it's just your size. Since you're not showing quite yet from your pregnancy, you should look perfect in it."
"Thanks Talho." Eureka replied.
"No problem. Ok next stop is the hair salon to get your hair done the way you told me you wanted it. After that it's accessories, supper, and then back home after that."
"Sounds great." Eureka replied. "Let's go."
Meanwhile back on the ship, final touches to the Nirvash were finally being completed. "Have Holland and Renton come down here." said Morita. "It's finally complete."
"Alright I'll go get them." said Axel. Ten minutes later Holland and Renton arrived in the hangar.
"What's with the long face Holland?" asked Morita.
"Our wives went out on a shopping spree with my money." said Holland.
"I see." Morita chuckled. "Luckily I've never had that problem."
"It hurts believe me." Holland replied.
"Anyways is she ready to go?" asked Renton.
"Yes she is and she's better than new." Morita replied.
"That's good to hear." said Renton. "Now to wait for Eureka to return so we can take her out for a test run."
"God only knows when that'll happen because when Talho gets the shopping bug, it's hard to stop her." Holland replied.
"Yeah I believe it." said Renton with a laugh.
"Anyways Morita, thanks again for the help." said Holland. "When will you guys be leaving?"
"Right away in the morning." Morita replied. "It'll give us time to clean up this place."
"Alright that's fine." said Holland. "Come on Renton, let's go get some supper. It'll probably be my last decent one after Talho gets done."
"Oh ok." said Renton with a laugh. They then left the hangar and headed towards the dining hall.
"Ok Eureka you all set?" asked Talho. The two had finally gotten done with their shopping and eating dinner out and were finally back aboard the 606.
"Yeah I am except for one thing." Eureka replied.
"And what's that?" asked Talho.
"Where are me and Renton going to stay for our honeymoon?"
"I already have that covered." said Talho. She then dug into her purse and pulled out several photos.
"Whose place is this?" Eureka asked as she looked over the photos.
"Me and Holland's." Talho replied. "We got it after the second summer of love and it's where our son was born."
"It looks nice, plus it's what we have been dreaming about."
"That's why I though the timing was perfect." Talho replied. "I want you two to use it."
"Are you sure?" asked Eureka.
"Yeah I am and don't argue." Talho replied. "Now lets go home before they send out the federation army to come look for us."
"Yeah, let's go home." said Eureka and they then took off towards the Gekko.
Thirty minutes later, the two finally got landed and secured back on the Gekko.
"Well, how broke did you leave me?" asked Holland as they climbed out of the 606.
"Not too bad." Talho replied with a laugh. "I left you some this time."
"That's good." said Holland. "Wow, Eureka, you look different."
"You like it?" she asked.
"Yeah I do. You look a lot more grown up."
"That's the effect we were going for." Talho replied. "Now hurry up and go get packed Eureka. I'm taking you two out tomorrow morning."
"Ok thanks Talho!" Eureka replied and she ran out of the hangar.
"Where are you taking them?" asked Holland.
"To our lakefront cabin on the beach." Talho replied. "And no arguments!!!"
"Ok ok no arguments!!" said Holland as Talho released his collar. "I just hope it's safe for them."
"It will be since it's luckily in federation territory at the moment, but I'll still have Jurgens keep regular patrols over there."
"That's fine. I just hope the two enjoy themselves out there." Holland replied.
"They will don't worry." Talho replied with a smile. She then turned and walked out of the hangar.
"Eureka are you sure about this?" asked Renton as they packed that night. "I mean we should stick around and test the Nirvash now that it's done."
"Yes I'm sure!" Eureka replied happily. "Talho gave us this chance and I'd hate to turn her down."
"Yeah I guess I wouldn't want to either."
"Besides, wasn't this your dream for us?"
"Yeah it was. I just didn't think you'd change your mind this fast."
"Neither did I until you told me about it." Eureka replied. "And when Talho did all this for us, there was no way I could say no to her."
"I guess not." Renton replied with a laugh. They then finished packing their things and went to bed for the night.
"Hey you guys ready to go?" asked Talho the next morning.
"Yeah we are." Renton replied. "We're all loaded up and ready to go."
"Alright. Meet me in the 606 in fifteen minutes. The trip will take a couple of hours from where we're at so I hope you don't mind being cramped up that long."
"We'll be fine." Eureka replied.
"Ok see you soon then." and she walked out of their room.
"Hey momma how long will you be gone?" asked Maeter.
"Only seven days dear. It'll go by fast you'll see."
"We'll miss you momma." said Linck.
"We'll miss you too Linck." Renton replied. "Maurice, make sure you watch over them for us ok?"
"I will papa." he replied.
"Alright we're off then." said Renton. "Let's go Eureka."
"Ok bye everyone! We'll see you soon!" said Eureka
"Bye momma and papa! Have fun!!" yelled the kids as Renton and Eureka walked out of their room.
Two hours later as promised, Talho, Renton, and Eureka made it to the lake front cabin of Holland and Talho. It was a very rustic looking and extremely cozy inside, which was a far cry from the modern interior of the Gekko.
"You're all set guys." said Talho after they unloaded their luggage. "Have fun and see you in seven days!" She then hopped into the 606 and took off for home.
"Well she sure left in a hurry." said Renton with a laugh.
"Yeah she did." Eureka replied as she looked out the door of the cabin. The scenery of the area was heavily wooded but serene. The view of the lake and beach with the far out mountains looking over them was breathtaking. The entire thing left her with a calm, peaceful feeling inside her heart.
"You ok Eureka?" asked Renton.
"Yeah I'm fine. It's just so peaceful and quiet out here. I absolutely love it."
"Yeah it is serene isn't it?" Renton replied as he finished unpacking their things. "Well, I'm done here. I'm going to go check out the lake and the beach. Do you want to come along?"
"I'll be down there in a few minutes so you go on ahead. There's something I want to do first."
"Ok see you there." Renton replied and he headed towards the lake.
"This is the perfect time to use my new outfit that Talho got me!" Eureka said to herself. She then ran to the master bedroom to get changed.
"It sure is a gorgeous view out here." Renton said to himself as he walked around barefoot on the beach. "The breeze is comfortable, the sun is warm, it's almost too beautiful to explain." he said with a smile. "Even the sand is nice and warm."
"Hey Renton." said Eureka with a lovely tone to her voice. Renton then turned to look at her and couldn't believe what he saw in front of him. There stood Eureka, looking as beautiful as she did on their wedding day. With the light purple spring dress and her hair blowing in the breeze, the effect left him totally speechless. There was no way he could say a word.
"Renton are you ok?"
"So beautiful. You look absolutely amazing Eureka." Renton replied.
"You like it then?" she asked.
"I absolutely love it. You look like what I had pictured you in my thoughts." he replied. "Did you do all this for me?"
"Yeah I did." Eureka replied.
"You didn't have to Eureka. I love you no matter how you look."
"I know, but I wanted to see that look you were giving me on the ship again." Eureka replied. "And I think I got it."
"Yeah you did. You also made my heart skip a beat. I just can't believe you would do this for me." said Renton.
"You still love me for it don't you?" asked Eureka.
"Of course I do. More now than ever before that's for sure." said Renton as he held Eureka in a tight embrace. "Thank you."
"Anything for you Renton." she replied. "Now how about we sit here on the beach until the sun sets. I brought down a picnic lunch and supper for us so we could eat out here."
"That sounds nice." said Renton. They then walked down to the middle of the beach and sat down facing the lake. "One more thing though."
"And what's that dear?"
"Thank you again for making my dream come true."
"Anything for you my dear husband." she replied. They then gave each other a slow passionate kiss and sat and cuddled comfortably on the beach until the sun went down.