February 5, 2004
Guy's Hospital – London, England
0943 Greenwich/ 0443 Eastern
Lieutenant Commander David Coulter smiled as the door to the hospital room opened and a nurse wheeled Lyn Alexander into the room. The shaved head and the dressing that covered her wound did nothing to detract from her beauty to him. The nurse was followed by an orderly and between them, they got Lyn back into her bed and situated before departing. Lyn lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes for a brief couple of moments, as she sought to regain her equilibrium. All the movement had left her feeling slightly dizzy by the time it was over, so much so that for a moment she had thought she would become nauseous.
"Good morning, Lyn," David said, looking over at her.
'It is now that you're here," Lyn said with a winning smile. As they had talked yesterday and the day before, her memories of the times they'd shared grew and with those memories came feelings, some good and some bad. Yet, the good vastly outweighed the bad.
"Well, I had some things to take care and the doctors had told me last night that they had some tests scheduled for this morning, so I figured I could do them while you were otherwise occupied."
"Ah ha. And a good thing you weren't here, too. Far too many pretty nursing passing along for me to leave you alone."
"There could have been a parade and I wouldn't have noticed, because you're the only woman for me," David said with a grin.
"Oh, spare me," Lyn said back. "If you didn't look at a pretty woman, I'd have the doctors put you in one of these beds because something would definitely be wrong with you."
"I think you're confusing me with your brother Chris. He's the one who…."
Whatever else David might have been about to say caught in his throat at the look on Lyn's face and David cursed himself for his stupidity. Why had he mentioned Chris, when he knew that Lyn had been struggling to deal with her brother's death and the reaction of her family? The sight of her now, tears rolling down her cheeks, drove him from his seat. Gently, he sat down next to her on the hospital bed and took her in his arms, pulling her to himself as he whispered into her ear.
"I'm so sorry, Lyn. I was stupid and thoughtless and…" David told her.
"Dad's never going to forgive me for Chris being gone," Lyn said morosely, the pain clear in her voice. "And I'm not sure I can forgive myself, either."
"What happened to Chris wasn't your fault, any more than if he'd gotten struck by a bus crossing Summit Street. And you didn't make his join the Marines, he did that because he wanted to be a part of something, something that mattered."
"But that's not what Dad thinks. He thinks Chris would have never thought of the military if I hadn't."
"Lyn, your father sometimes confuses the fact that he's a minister of God with the belief that he is God. He's not perfect and sometimes I think he has trouble understanding that," David said, an edge to his voice that he tried to fight back down, not wanting to further upset Lyn.
Lyn closed her eyes at that, fighting the headache that was starting to come as well as the heartache that these memories were causing. Instead, she let her mind drift to more pleasant memories, including a delightful remembrance of a weekend in Cabo San Lucas she'd shared with the man sitting on the bed beside her.
Grove End Road – London, England
1828 Greenwich/ 1328 Eastern
Harm was standing in front of the refrigerator, trying to decide what he wanted to drink while he waited for the pizza delivery man to arrive. When he'd gotten home from work, he'd been met by Mattie who had begged from the dish to be served. Harm wasn't exactly surprised, since they'd not had any pizza since arriving in London, so he was more than willing to go along with the suggestion. Besides which, ordering in had a certain appeal to him tonight.
Beth and Mattie were both upstairs, with Beth helping Mattie with some trickier math problems. Harm was content to relax on the couch by himself, satisfied that he had an early night and no files dogging him. Still, he couldn't help feeling as if the other shoe was going to drop sometime soon, given how few cases were coming in. Much of the week had been simple legal matters that the young lawyers in the office had been able to complete without need of his assistance.
Things in Naples had been much the same, according to the status reports he got every morning. Harm was coming to appreciate having Commander Coleman as his deputy, as she seemed to be fully on top of things and had the staff assigned down there well trained. The three cases that had come up were quickly disposed of yet not just to be done with them, but rather fairly and with an eye towards the truth being revealed.
A knock at the door brought Harm out of the kitchen. The driver had their order, which Harm took before handing over a tip. He'd made sure to pay with his credit card when he'd ordered, rather than having to figure out the cash when the driver arrived. The man thanked him before turning back for his car, while Harm carried the pizzas into the kitchen and placed them on the counter. Then Harm went to the stair and called up to his family.
"The Pizzas are here, ladies."
Harm retreated to the kitchen, where he opened both of the boxes and found the one he wanted. His was a medium veggie deluxe, while Mattie and Beth were sharing a large supreme with almost everything imaginable short of pineapple or sardines. He almost shuddered at all the meat on their pizza, which earned a chuckle from Mattie when she caught sight of it as she entered the kitchen.
"Nobody's making you eat it, Dad," Mattie said with a grin.
"I don't even want to think about what all that is doing to your insides," Harm said.
"Hey, Mister, that pizza has all four of the food groups represented: meat, vegetables, dairy and breads," Beth said defensively.
"Besides, it tastes better than your veggie pizza ever could. Ham and pepperoni and ground beef and sausage. Yum," Mattie added, holding a slice up to Harm.
"I'll stick with my olives, peppers, mushrooms and onions, thank you."
"You don't know what you're missing, dear," Beth said with a grin as she took a bite and chewed it slowly, making a display of savoring it.
Harm stayed silent at that, though the look of disapproval on his face was enough to elicit grins from both Beth and Mattie as they tore into the meat laden treat. They were content to leave matters well enough alone, not to mention the fact that they mainly ate vegetarian dishes out of deference to Harm. So, the occasional meat feast was something he'd just have to deal with.
When Harm had eaten as much as he was prepared to, he wrapped the rest of his pizza up and put it in the refrigerator. He could either take it for lunch tomorrow or toss it, depend on how his tastes went. He then sat back down at the table and looked at Mattie and Beth.
"Are you caught up on your school work, now?" Harm asked.
"Just about. Only one or two more English assignments left. Why?" Mattie asked.
"Well, I thought we could take a little trip tomorrow evening. Get away for the weekend, as long as nothing came up for me or Beth tomorrow."
"Where to?"
"How about going up to Edinburgh in Scotland? I checked this morning and the trains takes around 4 and a half to 5 hours and the schedule is fairly regular, so we could leave around 1800 and get there before midnight," Harm said.
"I see," Beth said. "So we need to hustle tomorrow, is what you're saying."
"If we leave on Saturday that limits how much sightseeing we'd be able to do."
"It's a little cold outside to be going sightseeing, Dad," Mattie said.
"Ah, but the cold just gives me an excuse to snuggle with my favorite lady," Harm said with a grin for Mattie before turning his infamous flyboy smile fully on Beth.
"Favorite lady? I better be your only lady, Mister," Beth said with a frown.
"Oh, Beth, you know you are."
"Let's keep it that way."
"Other than Mattie," Harm added with a laugh, one that had him ducking the napkins that were thrown at him for that comment.
"Very funny," Beth huffed as she got up from the table to put her plate in the dish washer, stopping to get more to drink from the refrigerator on her way back to the table.
"So, what are the plans, then?" Mattie asked, wanting to get back to the discussion about the trip.
"I've got first-class tickets booked for Friday and a hotel for both Friday and Saturday nights. I found a brochure for Edinburgh and came up with a decent itinerary for Saturday and Sunday morning, before we catch the train back home. Saturday, we'll visit the Royal Yacht Britannia and a museum. For Sunday, we'll Edinburgh Castle and then do a little shopping."
Harm saw the women's eyes light up as he said the magic word. Still, he knew they would only be seeing a small slice of what their destination had to offer, but part of his rationale for taking the posting to London had been to expose Mattie to new experiences. He was also making tentative plans, yet undisclosed to Beth, for the family to travel to France or Spain over the Easter recess at Mattie's school. And that didn't even include the trips they'd be able to get in during the summer, including possibly visiting his grandmother for the fourth of July holiday.
"That sounds like fun, Dad," Mattie said.
"Yeah, it does, Harm. Even without including the shopping," Beth agreed.
"So, then, you'll be leaving your credit cards at home?" Harm asked with a teasing grin.
"Perish the thought! You've gone to a lot of trouble to make time for Mattie and me to get some shopping in, it would be inconsiderate of us not to do so. Besides, I can't not go shopping, it would ruin your preconceived notions and deprive Mattie of valuable lessons for later in life."
"Oh, and just what would those be?"
"How to spot bargains, how to manage her spending, lots of things," Beth said.
"Oh, God, why didn't you warn me?" Harm pleaded with an uncaring deity.
"Hush, Harm. Every woman has the shopping gene prewired into her. Some of us are just much better at controlling it than others, which is why I don't spend every weekend out at the stores."
Mattie looked back and forth between the two adults, a grin on her face at the banter that always seemed to fly between them. This was so much different than her old home life had been, where her mother's constant complaints about her father's drinking and his complaints about her complaints were the main topics of conversation. Which was probably why her mother had put so much effort into Grace Aviation, to avoid the fights at home. And that was just another reason to despise her father for, the time she'd missed with her mother while she was still alive.
With an effort, Mattie forced those thoughts down and instead focused them on the trip tomorrow. She was slowly coming to love being in London, where everything was essentially a blank slate for her. She was slowly making new friends and coming to find where way around their part of the metropolis. The different look of the money was taking some getting used to and often left her fumbling to find what she needed. Harm had starting giving her an allowance of four hundred dollars a month, so that she could have fun while out with the twins.
What Mattie didn't know was that the allowance was actually a test on Beth and Harm's part. They wanted Mattie to learn to manage her money, rather than constantly asking them for a few dollars here and there. Last month, she hadn't spent it all, which had pleased both adults greatly. This month might be a bigger challenge, as the weather started getting nicer the closer to spring they go, Mattie might be spending more time out and about as opposed to inside reading or watching television. Still, it would be interesting the first month she ran out and asked for more, just so they could sit down and talk about money management.
Dinner done and the table cleared, the family moved out of the kitchen. Given their plans for the weekend, it was quickly decided that packing their bags tonight made a lot of sense. That way, they could grab them on their way home from work tomorrow and go directly to the train station. Mattie made sure to include a book in her bag, figuring the trip might be a little boring, especially at night with nothing to really see outside. For his part, Harm made sure to put all of their passports in an internal pocket of his carry-on bag, which also contained extra traveler's checks and a small amount of cash as an emergency supply. Beth's bag had some cash as well.
Ready for the trip, Harm and Beth went to bed early, so they could be well rested. Mattie, on the other hand, was finishing up the last of her homework and praying that her teachers didn't given too much to be completed over the weekend. Otherwise, she'd have to try to get as much done before they left on Friday or be faced with taking it with her, which would be a real downer for the fun adventure that was planned.
Victor Galindez's Quarters – London
1951 Greenwich/ 1451 Eastern
Victor was sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, watching as Emily worked away at the stove fixing dinner. Whatever it was smelled wonderful to him from where he sat, yet she'd deflected all of his attempts to inquire about the meal. She'd told him it was a favorite of hers and she wanted him to try it. He's initially thought it was a beef stew of some kind, until her preparations extended into fixing a large pot of rice as well.
Victor was equally impressed at how she worked in the kitchen. She'd laid everything out before hand and when she was done using something, she put it back in its spot to await either further use or final clean-up once dinner was done. She also looked adorable in the apron she wore over her sea green blouse and black stacks. Her hair was brushed back from her face and down her back.
Her arrival this evening had been shortly after Victor's return home from work. She'd announced her intention to fix him a meal, after his preparing both a dinner and breakfast for her. Her arms had been loaded with the supplies as he'd let her in. The only work he'd had to do was open the bottle of wine Emily had brought and get out plates and silverware. The plates were left next to the stove, as she said she'd serve directly onto them once the food was ready.
While she'd cooked, they'd talked about their days. Nothing much was happening at the Embassy, making for a fairly dull routine that Victor had to fight against becoming a routine for his Marines. That's why he had various drills scheduled for the next few weeks, because it only took one failure for a lot of good people to end up dead. As for Emily, she told him that there had been a break in her robbery case and hopefully it would lead to some arrests in the next day or two. Someone had talked and someone else had heard enough to tip the police in exchange for future considerations.
"There, it's done," Emily announced with a smile. She put two large helping of rice on the plates and then liberally covered them with the other dish. The look reminded Victor of cement, a light grayish color that looked singularly unappetizing. Yet, he could exactly say that to Emily, could he? So, he smiled back at her as she put the plate in front of him and waited for her to be seated.
"You never told me what exactly this is," Victor said, probing again.
"Try it first and tell me what you think."
Victor took a forkful and ate it, chewing it slowly as his mind registered the taste and declared its enjoyment of the offering. He instantly took another, bigger bite and then another.
"That's wonderful, Emily."
"It's a beef stroganoff recipe my grandfather brought back from his time in Washington. A friend of his used to make it," Emily said.
"I thought stroganoff was with noodles?" Victor asked, curious.
"So did grandfather, but his friend used rice instead of noodles. He claimed it was healthier. Personally, I think it tastes better this way, though I don't know how much healthier it is."
"What with all of the cream in it, I guess it's just in how you look at things."
"Everything is about how you look at things, Victor," Emily said with a smile. "Take us, for instance. I'm wondering how come some other lady hadn't managed to take you off the market long ago."
"Trust me, it hasn't been from lack of effort, certainly. But I've never found that special person, someone who seemed to understand me. All of me," Victor said as he looked Emily in the eye. "I'm think I finally have."
"Oh, God, I hope so, Victor. Because we've already said we love one another."
Victor had to laugh at that comment, drawing one from Emily as well.
"But seriously, Victor, I love you because you understand all of me too," Emily said.
"Unlike your family, you mean?"
"Yes, I guess. Speaking of families, what do you think your family's reaction is going to be when you tell them you have an English girlfriend?"
"I think they'll be thrilled, once they get to know you," Victor said. "My sister Maria has been hoping I'd settle down sometime soon, although she also wants me to come back home to New Mexico. As for my mother, she'll be happy as long as you make me happy."
"And do I make you happy?" Emily asked, looking at him.
"Very much so, my love."
The smile that came to Emily's face at those words was almost blinding, as were the tears that dotted her eyes.
"Look, Emily, I know we're moving very fast, but nothing has ever felt more right than this. Eventually, I want to marry you," Victor said.
"But what about my family?" Emily asked, wanting to be certain that Victor fully understood the consequences of their marriage.
"I love you and I want to marry you, not your family. So, they can make a choice to either embrace us for who we are or they can stay out of our lives."
"Well, I know Grandfather will be happy for us, but somehow I don't see the rest of them coming around. Not anytime soon, anyways."
"If you thought more time would be beneficial, I'm more than willing to take all the time you need. I don't want to cause a permanent rift between you and your family," Victor told her, taking her hand in his.
"Don't be silly, Victor. The rift is always going to be there, as long as I chose to be the person I am. The only way, in their minds, to close it would be for me to run back home with my head bowed and either marry a businessman and be the dotting little wife or go back to school and follow one of the family career paths. So, seeing as how neither of those things are going to happen, why shouldn't I marry the man I want to spend my life with?"
Victor could only shake his head at that, as well as how fast things seemed to be going. Whirlwind romance, hell. He felt like he was being carried on an emotional tidal wave, something that was very strange for the organized Marine. Yet, he was coming to hate those times when she wasn't around or when she eventually had to leave.
What neither of them knew was that their happiness was shortly to be threatened.