Chapter Thirty-Seven: Peaks and Valleys

The staging camp was quiet by the time I got back a little while later. Most of the extra equipment, ordnance, and vehicles we'd managed to procure from the Excalibur when it had first arrived were no longer being housed here, but already deployed in the fight against the Remnant and Prometheans on the island. More than quiet it looked empty, as even the company of Marines I'd left here in reserve to watch over the place - since rotated out with another of Major Brewer's companies - seemed restless, eager to rejoin the battle with their brothers and sisters in arms. It almost felt like a ghost town if it weren't for the field hospital and the mess.

Since I was without any weapons or armor for this trip, except my sidearm, I used my datapad to contact the Marines on guard duty to let them know I was back.

"Perimeter watch, this is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper. I'm coming up on the central gates. Hold your fire."

"Ma'am, this is Master Sergeant Ian Björn. Copy."

I passed through the entrance shortly thereafter, the Marines there giving me a nod of acknowledgment as I walked past rather than saluting. While it was probably no secret to the locals that I was the one in charge, the custom of not saluting your superiors in a combat zone remained in place.

Once I was safely inside the lines, I stopped by the mess for a moment for a quick cup of coffee and a bite to eat, then walked back outside to make my call to Captain Rhodes. Laraza's proposition was a dream one, but I wasn't so sure we could trust him - and with good reason. And yet he'd been right. It was still the best shot we had at ending all this.

"Colonel Cooper," I heard the Navy officer say over the link. "What do you have for me?"

"Something that might be of interest to all of us, sir," I replied. "I just spoke to Mayor Laraza about getting us some help out on Qamar. He's agreed to send us an additional two companies of his men."

"That's uncharacteristically generous of him. Originally the two of you had agreed on only one company in case of need, am I right?"

"Yes, sir. Looks like he wants the aliens off Khan as bad as we do."

"Hmm. But I get the sense there's more to the story there. What else did he say?"

I glanced around at my surroundings again, making sure that no one else was nearby to hear this before I spoke. "Well, he kind of dropped a bomb on me, sir. Not literally, although I'm sure based on our history he would like to. He said the rebs've got a stealth ship in orbit. Any way that might be true?"

The captain snorted. "It's Laraza. Anything's possible. If you're asking if we've noticed anything out here since we've arrived, then the answer is no. Then again it's a stealth ship, and if he's got one waiting on the far side of the planet - the half that was glassed - it's not too far-fetched to think we might've overlooked it."

Nodding to myself, I looked down at the ground. "So what does this mean for us then, sir? I know he could be bluffing and he's a homicidal asshole at least part of the time, but if it's true, we really need that ship to get rid of the Storm."

"Right you are, Colonel. This does put us in a bind." He paused for a second, then continued, "I'll send a mission update to Admiral Dartmouth about it. I think this should be up to the brass to decide. I'll let you know as soon as I hear a response back how to proceed."

"Understood, sir. And in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, keep up the good work. I know things've gotten dicey since the ruins were blown, but you did the right thing given the circumstances, Cooper. Just remain on track for now, try to stay a step ahead of the Prometheans and Storm on Qamar, and standby for additional orders."

"Yes, sir. Will do."

"Excellent. Rhodes out."

Only after everything was done was I finally able to get back to the hospital to see Willis. I'd stopped by earlier when I'd first arrived on the mainland, but it had been a quick visit, mostly just to say hi and leave him there with Matthew and Heat while I attended to business. By now it was nearly 2000 hours and I was beat, my body battered from the fighting on the island and my mind whirling from my talk with Hayden and Laraza and Rhodes - and what that might mean for all of us.

I decided that so far, it hadn't been one of the best birthdays on record for me. But I supposed there was still time for that to change.

When I walked into my husband's room, I was surprised to see him up on his feet and dressed. He was no longer stripped from the waist up lying beneath the blankets in his boxers and shorts, but wearing the pants of his fatigues, a T-shirt, and his socks and boots. The only part of his fresh uniform missing was his jacket, which was draped over the chair I'd sat on all the times I'd visited. His dogtags hung around his neck as they always had, and he stood leaning against one of the corners of the bed with his arms folded across his chest, looking upset. Matthew was standing by the door, also sporting a dour expression.

I frowned and looked from one Hawk brother to the other. "I'm guessing I missed something? What happened?"

Matthew didn't respond, but glanced over at his older brother instead. Willis released a long sigh before finally meeting my gaze.

"There's good news and bad news, Coop." He ran a hand over his light brown hair, and I noticed he could finally do so with his injured hand without wincing. "You've probably noticed Heat's gone now; I kicked him out. That's the bad news."

I made a face but didn't say anything, letting him continue.

"The good news is that Doctor Kiev came by and gave me my last check-up after you left. He says I'm good to go to leave the hospital tonight."

My eyes went wide at first, but that didn't hold a candle to the grin that spread across my face. "Honey, that's great."

"Yeah." A small smile crept over Willis's features, too. "So now I can help you celebrate your birthday. Didn't think I forgot about it, did you?"

"Nope," I replied, still grinning. "I knew you wouldn't."

Beside me, Matthew made an obvious coughing sound. "I think that's my cue to leave. Nat, happy birthday. Big bro, I'll see you again before we take off."

"Sounds good, little brother. Come here."

Willis drew his baby brother into a big bear hug. I saw that while Willis gave him a squeeze, Matthew was careful not to hug back too hard. He may have just been released from the hospital, but I knew my husband's ribs were probably still giving him some trouble - along with a fair amount of pain. After they let each other go, I gave my brother-in-law a wave and he was gone, off to the barracks for the night.

That left Willis and I alone in the room. I crossed the remaining distance between us and kissed him, glad that I didn't have any armor or a rifle on me this time to hamper things. And that he was well enough to be walking around now. He kissed me back, pulling me closer by threading one of his hands in my hair. It made my bun look a little messy, but I didn't mind.

"I missed you, Cooper."

"I missed you, too, Will."

We kissed a second time, then a third, before realizing where we were. The door to Willis's hospital room was still open, so we broke apart for the moment while I went over to close it. Then I turned to face him again, curious as to what had gone on while I'd been busy meeting with Oliver's widow and Laraza.

"So? I take it your talk with Heat didn't go well."

My husband shook his head. "No." Then he sighed again. "Jesus, Natalie. I get that he made a mistake, and it can happen to anyone, even the best of pilots. I can't even really say it was his fault; I know he's not incompetent and he'd never risk my life like that on purpose. But...he's still the one who put me here. I can't fucking fly because of him. And that hits a damn huge nerve whether I want it to or not. You know the only other thing I'd get worked up about is something happening to you or the kids. So I just...I can't be his buddy right now."

"I get it. I gave him a pretty hard time at first when he told me, too," I said. "Actually, I was pissed as hell at him over it for almost two weeks, up until you woke up from a coma. I told him I'd never forgive him if you died, and I meant it." I swallowed before going on. "But I've talked to him a little since then, Will. He was afraid to come see you but I could tell he was really torn up about it. I know you'll probably need some time with this, just like I did, but try not to make any rash decisions about your friendship yet. At the end of the day, we've all known each other for years and he's been like a brother to you, and helped us out with Gabriel once to boot. So just...keep all that in mind."

Willis snorted. "I have a brother, Natalie. I don't need him anymore."

I frowned again and wanted to say more, but I didn't want to push him on it - or spend the evening arguing. It'd taken me quite some time to not actively hate Brandon for what he'd done, so I knew this was probably worse for Willis.

"Okay. Nevermind." I nodded to his get-up. "What's the deal with your injuries? You're looking a lot better these days, but I didn't think you were ready to get back out in the wild just yet."

That brought a ghost of a smile to his lips. "What can I say? I guess some of your encouraging words and quick-healing magic rubbed off on me."

"Oh, now you're just flattering me."

"You're my wife, honey. How can I not?"

I rolled my eyes at him, though a small smirk remained on my face, too. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Maybe." He moved in a bit closer to nuzzle my neck. "Or maybe I can show you."

I let out a brief chuckle and closed my eyes for a moment before reopening them. I was enjoying his proximity to me - and the sudden rush of emotion and desire that sprung up because of it. For now, though, I forced my brain to get ahead of my hormones in this case and asked him, "Is that even something you're...cleared to do now? Would it hurt you?"

"I don't know yet. But we can try."

His lips found mine again and it felt like my mind had shut down. I noticed that he was slowly backing me up towards the door, but not much else besides the way his closeness was making me feel. I'd had a hell of a long past month dealing with the invasion, then thinking he was going to die, then watching him slowly struggle to recover the past few weeks - all while trying to manage everything on Qamar - that I just didn't have much brain capacity left. But that was okay with me, because I was about ready to let the world figure out its own damn problems for a couple hours.

My husband's hands had already reached for my jacket when I was able to think enough to stop him. "Will, we can't do this here."

"Why not?" he asked, his voice low.

"Because we can easily get caught here, and I can't afford that," I answered. Then I smirked at him. "But did I tell you I have my own private quarters in the barracks?"

Willis grinned in return. "Lead the way, Colonel."

I was pretty sure I'd never walked anywhere so fast in my life. Willis followed closely behind, demonstrating that he'd indeed healed up very well in the last several weeks since his crash.

Once inside, neither of us stopped to admire the luxuries I'd been afforded thanks to my rank - we were too focused on each other and getting to the bunk for that. I thanked my lucky stars I'd already pulled off my bulkier pieces of gear - my helmet and armor plates - when I'd first arrived, then enjoyed an extended make out session as my husband resumed trying to unbutton my jacket.

He was halfway done and I'd already pulled his own shirt up and over his head when he suddenly stopped. Breathing hard now, I opened my eyes and looked at him, concerned.

"What is it?"

He glanced down at his hands in disbelief, his chest heaving as well. "Fuck. I'm sorry, Coop."

I followed his gaze and saw that it led to the two fingers he'd broken when his Pelican had gone down, healed up now but obviously still painful with certain motions.

"My fingers...these buttons are giving me hell."

"Will, it's okay. We don't have to do this if you're not ready."

"No. I want to. I can. I just...I might need some help."

I wasn't sure why but his vulnerable admission made me smile, and I loved him even more for it. I took his head in my hands and gave him a deep, passionate kiss, careful to be gentle with the rest of him.

"Don't worry. We'll take it slow and I'll do the work. Just tell me if something starts bothering your ribs or your fingers again." I flashed a mischievous grin. "And remember when I got shot a couple months ago? We had to get a little creative because I was hurt, but we still managed."

Finally the smile returned to his face. "That was a really great night, Cooper."

I finished undoing the buttons on my jacket and threw it on the floor, then pulled my own T-shirt off and gradually pushed him backwards toward the bunk. "Yeah, it was."

We got rid of the rest of our clothes quickly, and then Willis situated himself on the bed first, lying on his back before I got on with him, crawling over him. When I did, he leaned up and kissed my bare arms and my shoulders and my chest, making me close my eyes and shiver at the sensations. This was exactly what both of us needed right now - time for us. Time to recover. Time to forget.

"I love you, Willis," I whispered to him softly, finally leaning down to kiss him again.

"I love you, too, Natalie," he said, kissing me back. Then he smirked. "I'm thinking tonight's going to be even better."