A/N: Previous set was so awkward I almost didn't post it. Back to '73 now...

Week 18 - UDC 10

86. Might

There were two envelopes now, Pete observed as he pulled clean underwear and socks out of the top drawer. Moving to also get a clear pair of socks, he contemplated the new envelope suspiciously before picking it up and opening it.

What he found caused him to stare, as he remembered this... this party at the hospital where the medical staff had finally let him see his mother after too long. Had it been two weeks? He wasn't sure of the timing, but it felt right.

"Pete, what's taking so..." Walt paused, then chuckled. "Oh. You found them. Good."

"Where did these come from?" Pete blinked at how raw his own voice sounded, as if he'd breathed in sand and it had coated his throat.

Walt joined him at the dresser. "Charlotte got her mother to make copies. She said the nurses planned the party for your mother, so she could see you on your birthday."

Pete frowned as he did the math in his head... it was two weeks, then.

87. Paralyze

He stood there, flipping through the pictures, reminded in black and white that he'd had a birthday party with his mother and the hospital staff... and Jane's kids and husband present. "Feels like a lifetime ago."

"It was," Walt pointed out quietly. "And it's okay to feel like it was. Get dressed, huh? We're going somewhere today."

Pete put the pictures back in the envelope and nodded. "Is this somewhere good?"

"Sure is." Walt nudged his shoulder and Pete looked up to find understanding. "If you want to talk about it, you know where we are."

Yes, and maybe he would.

88. Aspire

Getting out of the car, Pete immediately heard the tell-tale sound of a small plane taking off and looked to Walt with wide eyes. Walt smiled and motioned to the brown building on the other side of the parking lot. "Meet us over there after, Pete."

Pete nodded and quickly ran, while also being careful to watch for cars entering the lot, toward the sound. There, he got to see it finish it's take off from the runway. Grinning, he started to turn, only to smack into Nick and laugh. "Sorry?"

"Nah. I wanted to see it, too." Nick peered down the other end of the runway. "Oh. Another one, coming in for a landing."

89. Thwart

They watched the landing and then Nick pulled Pete's arm. "Come on."

Walt was waiting and rolled his eyes in amusement. "Well? Was it worth waiting to find out where and what?"

Pete nodded happily. "Yes!"

"What airstrip is this?" Nick wondered, frowning at his father.

"One that Alan suggested, since I wasn't sure where to start," Walt explained. "Sycamore Strip. Now, come on. Let's see what they offer in terms of training."

90. Measure

The lady on duty in the administration building glanced up to see them, then smiled. "How can I help you, gentlemen?"

Walt returned her smile. "Does this airport provide pilot training?"

She nodded. "We do, yes."

"How old does one have to be to do the ground portion, and what are the hours like?"

She launched into a frank discussion while also providing pamphlets and reading material for the airstrip's onsite flight school program.

A/N: So... in today's dollars, at this particular airstrip, it's $8,200 to do Flight School for a private pilot's license. No idea what it would have cost in 1973, as I could not get a straight answer from the search engine.