part0036

Monitors beeped, and fans whirred in the background. Hatch sat beside the man on the bed, her scarred right arm resting on the mattress, their skin touching. Her left arm was still in a sling. Cruise was preparing for a second surgery that was designed to stabilize him before traveling back to California. He had been in Alaska’s Regional Hospital in Anchorage for the past two days.

Cruise looked up at Hatch. The light above shrunk his pupils, bringing out the cobalt and tiny flecks of gold lining the edge of his irises.

She had gotten lost in those eyes before, and since being back in the man’s presence, she found herself fighting the urge to do so again. His hand slid across the top of hers. He rolled a gentle finger back and forth, brushing the scar that lined the edge of her wrist. She didn’t retract this time, embracing the warmth of his hand.

Cruise had been given a heavy sedative and it was beginning to work its magic, as evidenced by his droopy eyelids and slow speech. "I can say without even speaking to Tracy, the Talon job is yours if you want it. I don’t think anyone’s ever shown practical skills like the ones you’ve displayed recently. And I sure as hell never thought boots could be used as a weapon," he said.

"Try walking a mile in my shoes," Hatch replied.

"I don’t know if I want to after what you did walking a mile in mine." He laughed at his own joke. "Look at us. Who would’ve thought?

"Let's not do this. Not now."

"No better time than the present. In my world, you know what they say about the only easy day being yesterday. But I like to look forward to some easy days ahead with you."

"Let’s talk about this some other time."

"It could've worked, you know. Us. No one gets you better than me, and vice versa. It'll take me a while to get back up on my feet anyway. It could be a good time to see if there's still something there."

The last few words dripped out slowly, like the IV taped into his wrist. Hatch started to reply, but he cut her off.

"Talon will be there if you want it, and it will be a distant memory if you don't. You know, you can go back now, free and clear. But what does that give you? I think you know the life that's waiting for you back there, and maybe if you looked deep inside yourself, I don’t think that life will ever be for you."

Hatch thought on those words. Cruise knew her well. He was part of her old world, the one that made sense. Also, the one that had turned its back on her. It presented opportunity again.

She patted the top of his hand just below where the IV was taped. "Let’s talk about this later."

"There's the Hatch I know. You getting ready to pop smoke and disappear?"

"I just said we’ll talk later."

"I know you. You won’t be here when I wake up. I can see it in your eyes. You want to run. I don't know if it's me or Talon you're running from, or maybe there's something you’re running to. Perhaps someone? I dunno, Hatch. We haven’t had a chance to catch up." He pushed his cheeks up into a weak smile and tried to wink.

"We had our run, and that was years ago. It was good. Hell, it was great, but it’s over. Life moves on. Things are different. Complications that weren't there then are present now. You and I have grown a lot in the time since we’ve been apart. Who even knows if we would like each other anymore?"

"That’s what I’m saying. Stick around long enough for us to find out."

Hatch wanted to push away. He was stripping down her walls. She didn’t like it. She felt exposed. She felt guilty. She thought of Savage. Yet, her eyes remained locked on Cruise, and she knew the power he held over her.

He continued. "And it wasn’t that we didn't work out before. The military tore us apart. We were in two different services thrown into different directions even though we were from the same world."

"Then what would be different this time?"

"We'd be on the same team if you choose. Or hell, maybe it’s time for me to step back." He weakly tapped at the leg going in for its second surgery. "I'm no spring chicken. I'm not asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to come back to California with me. I'm asking you to be here when I wake up."

Hatch opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Cruise was a good man and he needed help getting back on his feet. Hatch had already punished those responsible for this tragedy, and so for once, she decided to do something that she'd never done before. Hatch decided to stop punishing herself.

She'd looked death in the face so many times and had grown so comfortable with the thought of her own demise that it had overshadowed any chance of her own happiness. She looked down at Cruise, his eyelids at half mast, the blue tucked into a medical slumber, and she had a question that she didn’t know the answer to. Could Cruise be her chance at happiness?

Facing this fear was scarier than crossing the divide. This fear exposed what Hatch protected most above all else…her heart. She leaned forward, bringing her lips close to his right ear. Her breath tickled his flesh as she whispered the words, "I promise." Then sealed it with a kiss on his forehead just before his eyes closed completely.

Hatch sat back, and then to her surprise caught a glimpse of Commander Jordan Tracy balancing himself on a crutch and brace in the doorway. He held his hands up in defense and had a cheeky smile.

"No need to explain. This is off company hours, of course. But obviously, if you want to come work for us at Talon, any personal relationship you have must remain outside of work."

"That will never be an issue." Hatch felt embarrassed for even having to defend it. "About working with Talon, I'm gonna be honest, I'm still up in the air."

Tracy shrugged. "Well, I brought you in to show you the bells and whistles of how we run an op, and instead I showed you a complete and utter shit show. I do hope to have your decision sooner rather than later. With the team in its current state, I will be looking to add resources where I can."

"No need to apologize for how the op played out. If it had gone smoothly, maybe I wouldn't have seen the things that really mattered."

"If a unit's not truly tested, how will they ever prove they can rise in the face of adversity? I got to see Talon when you were knocked down on your ass. I got to see a commander willing to break some rules and make calls that others would’ve been afraid to make, and those decisions saved lives. I saw the way the team worked together when it mattered, and I saw the way they cared about each other when it went sideways. As far as my impression of Talon, it’s definitely changed. But let's just leave it at that for now. I'm gonna stick around for a little bit. I made a promise."

He started to retreat and stopped. "Hey, I was able to get that address you asked for. Here it is."

It was scribbled on a torn sheet of paper. Hatch looked at the address, and then folded it and put it in her pocket.

"After you take care of that business, head back to the hangar,” Tracy said. “A car will be waiting for you. Once Cruise and Hertzog are stabilized, we're gonna transport them back to California.”

"Any word on Lawson?"

"I just spoke to the doctor. He's critical, but they were able to stabilize his worst wounds. He's gonna make it."

"All thanks to MacIntosh. Speaking of MacIntosh, I know that the HRT commander had mentioned looking into his criminal history and getting some things straightened out. I was wondering, with Talon's skill at erasing and rewriting history, maybe you could give him a chance at having a truly fresh start?"

"I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more deserving," Tracy’s eyes were serious. "Aside from you. And for what it’s worth, seeing what you did up there on that glacier, and knowing your father the way I did, you honor him with your life and everything you’ve done with it. I hope you know that."

"Thank you, sir." Hatch extended a hand to the Talon commander, and then gave one last look to Cruise, his eyes still closed, the cobalt sealed until the medication released its hold.

Hatch headed to the hallway and down towards the elevators. She pulled the address from her pocket and punched it into her GPS.