Chapter 23 — Maddie and Mike

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Maddie woke with a start, blinking at the unfamiliar ceiling for a moment before remembering that she was in the Greens' guest room. A knock sounded at the door and Maddie sat upright, worried that she had overslept. A glance at the clock reassured her that it was only 0700, leaving plenty of time to get ready. Not that there was much to do for the simple ceremony she and Mike had planned for later this morning.

"Come in!" Maddie called, expecting Kara. But, instead, Mike's head appeared. One look at his face and Maddie realized that there wasn't going to be a wedding today. "What happened?"

Mike started to speak then stepped fully into the room, shutting the door behind him. "I ... " he paused, clearly searching for words before starting again. "A year ago, Captain Chandler went undercover..."

"To find Allison Shaw," Maddie interrupted, mind snapping into work mode and not wanting to waste time on unnecessary explanations.

"How did you know?" Mike demanded, his face adorably befuddled.

Maddie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "All those questions about pilots I knew who were willing to do off the book missions? The way you always had to switch phones right after new intel was reported on Shaw's location? Combined with Captain Chandler disappearing off the face of the planet and the fact that you were the only person on the crew who hasn't once mentioned to me how strange it was that he dropped off the face of the earth?"

Maddie walked over to Mike, leaning up to brush her lips across his jaw. Funny how different Mike had seemed the first time they met, coming across that day in Monterey as just another pain-in-the-ass officer who thought that, if he could just argue with enough people, a fully trained squadron of helicopter pilots would appear. Her first inkling that there was more to Mike than met the eye came when he actually laughed at the joke she made under her breath about officers and assholes. It hadn't taken too long for Maddie to understand that, when you stripped away the title and the uniform, Mike was just a regular guy just trying his best in an impossible situation.

"You aren't much of a liar, Mike." Maddie shook her head, adding softly. "Chandler's lucky to have someone like you at his back."

Mike narrowed his eyes. "Nobody else figured it out."

Maddie snorted, checking to see if he was serious before continuing. "Probably because it would never occur to them that you could keep something like that to yourself. How many times have I heard all of you say there are no secrets on the Nathan James?"

At that, Mike practically squirmed, resembling Ray Diaz the last time Maddie called the kid out for being on the flight deck without permission. "I never thought it would last so long. I thought he needed a couple months away to realize that Shaw wasn't important. Or," Mike corrected himself, "not that important."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me," Maddie interrupted. She tipped her head. "Although Sasha might not feel the same way. Does she know?"

Mike's face looked like he had just eaten an onion. "I briefed her last night."

Deciding that Mike had already beaten himself up enough, Maddie changed the topic. "I take it that the op is in progress already?"

Mike nodded. "We managed to get eyes on her last night but we don't know how long Shaw will stay in West Virginia. We have to move today."

Maddie's heart leapt, before common sense interjected. We no longer included Maddie. A hand rose to the swell in her stomach. "Of course. I assume most of the guest list already knows, but I can call anyone else and let them know that the ceremony is off."

"Actually," Mike caught Maddie's hand, "I was hoping to move it forward. Russ is here now, to perform the ceremony. Andrea and Kara will be the witnesses. All you need to do is get dressed."

Maddie took a step back, studying Mike's face and trying to read his expression, before asking bluntly. "Why? Are you planning to get yourself killed?"

"That isn't actually part of the plan," Mike replied, winking, before he sobered. "Andrea told me that you think I only agreed to get married because you're pregnant."

That wasn't where Maddie expected the conversation to go. "We are only getting married because I'm pregnant," she pointed out. "That's the only reason you agreed to the divorce." Mike winced and Maddie wondered if she had been a little too blunt, rushing to add. "I'm not upset about that, Mike. I can't imagine how difficult it was to sign those papers." She shrugged. "There's no point in sugar-coating reality."

Mike reached for Maddie's hand, tugging her until they were sitting side-by-side on the bed. "Do you know why I got divorced? With Christine declared dead, I didn't need the divorce to get married again."

Maddie glanced away, not wanting Mike to read her thoughts. She had wondered. Just like there were nights when she wondered how the hell she found herself in the position of having a baby with her married superior officer. Adultery, anyone? But she also understood that they all had to deal with what happened in their own way. She cleared her throat. "Fear of a bigamy charge?"

"Because I wanted you to know that I made a choice," Mike corrected. Maddie's gaze flashed back to his face, trying to understand what he was telling her, knowing that it was important. "I know Christine is dead. Deep down, I've known since I got back to St. Louis. If I hadn't felt that way, well," Mike paused, then met her eyes, "I've never been a cheater, Maddie."

Maddie squeezed his hand. "I know, Mike."

He cleared his throat. "When we first found out about the baby, I decided to have Christine declared dead so we could get married. But then I realized that I was taking the easy way out. I got divorced so you would know that, even if some miracle happened and Christine showed back up today, it wouldn't change anything between us. That's why I got divorced. So you would know that I made the choice to be with you, Maddie."

Her lips parted, Maddie found herself utterly speechless. Of all the reasons for Mike to get a divorce, it never occurred to her that he did it for her. She fought to find something to say, but nothing seemed right. He was an idiot, of course. If Christine did show up tomorrow the entire situation would become a total shit-show. But that didn't matter. What did matter was that signing those divorce papers was Mike's way of showing her how much he cared.

"And you told me that you weren't good at romantic gestures," she finally managed.

Smiling, his prior discomfort disappearing, Mike arched an eyebrow. "So, what do you say, Rawlings? Ready to get married?"

Maddie reached up to cup his face. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until that ring is on your finger."