SMALL SACRIFICES---Buck Wilmington
Buck Wilmington took another pull from the lukewarm tall boy and swallowed the bitter brew. His somewhat blurry vision was locked on the ranch house below, his normally jovial face pensive.
He shifted on the hard rock ledge, watching as a figure who was supposed to be resting and recuperating slowly limped from the barn to the house. It had to be Chris, although the man shouldn't have been out of bed. Buck snorted.
Yeah, like a little ol' car accident could keep Chris Larabee down…
Wilmington shook the can and taking a last swallow, killed it. Without looking, he pitched it into the bed of the pick up truck parked on the other side of the boulders, hearing the clatter of aluminum as it joined several of its already dead companions. The alcohol had caused a slight buzz, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to destroy his thought processes. And the predominant thought was: What the hell am I doing here?
Oh, he knew why he was there.
Chris had explained why he had been called back to the States, and the plans he had for building his special task force. Although his heart had shouted at him to scream yes, Buck hadn't readily accepted his old friend's offer. Chris had encouraged him not to answer immediately. It was a weighty decision and not one to be made lightly. After all, he would be sacrificing his military career.
He was a Navy pilot. He'd trained long and hard and the military had invested a lot of good tax payer money in him. A few more years, when he wasn't flying fighter planes any longer, he could land a cushy teaching job at PAX River, and take it easy until he retired, watching the young pups make fools of themselves like he and Chris had done in their younger days.
Or that was what he had thought. It was what he had always planned for his future… when he thought of a future. That is until Chris and Tanner had shown up at the airport.
He sighed heavily, leaning against the sun warmed rock at his back, watching as the sun continued its slow descent in the western sky.
A sobering thought raced through his mind. Ol' Chris was as constant as that sun. They had been through a lot of good times, and horrible times together, but Buck knew, when it came right down to it, Chris' friendship and loyalty could be counted on, just like that sun coming up every morning.
Despite their bitter parting those years before, it had been him Chris had come to first, drafting him without question to join his team.
Reaching in his pocket, Buck withdrew the paper and unfolded it. He could barely make out the typed words in the dying light, but he knew them by heart: TDA.
Temporary Duty Assignment
Chris was giving him an easy out. If he didn't want to stay, didn't want to go along with what Chris had offered, then Larabee wasn't forcing him. He was leaving that final choice up to him.
Buck dragged his gaze from the paper to the house below. Years before, he had brought Adam up to this very ledge, and they had enjoyed a happy afternoon of hide and seek from Larabee. He had told the child tales of his and Chris' adventures, his happy laughter blending with Adam's as they had watched the little boy's father search every possible hiding place, around the house and barn.
And Chris would never have found them if they hadn't made folded paper airplanes from the old newspaper on the front seat of Chris' vehicle and flown them off the ledge. The wind had been perfect, carrying several of the paper craft the required distance, clearing the brush to land at the edge of Larabee's yard.
He closed his eyes and could still see Sarah walking across the yard and picking up one of their paper airplanes which had sailed down, landing at her feet…. The one on which Buck had scribbled 'Big Brother is watching you…'
She'd unfolded it, read the words and shielding her eyes from the sun, had looked up, espying them on the ledge. She'd waved….laughing so hard she'd fallen down as Chris came out to see what the ruckus was about, loudly grumbling he was going to spank both Adam and Uncle Buck's asses when he got his hands on them.
Buck stared at the paper in his hand, a small smile coming to his face as he folded it in half, then folded the sides, forming a streamlined airplane.
Temporary be damned!
Chris had asked for him, so Chris had him. He launched the paper craft and watched as it caught the evening breeze and soared upwards…. Higher and higher….
Hell, he had done stupider things in his life… that Hardesty mess coming immediately to mind, but a long time ago, when they were all young and going to live forever, he had promised Sarah, come hell or high water, he'd look after Chris for her…
And even though she was gone, he wasn't about to sacrifice that steadfast faith Sarah had put in her 'big brother' to watch over her husband….
Smiling, he made his way to the truck and climbing into the driver's seat, he headed for the ranch house. He had something he couldn't wait to tell his oldest friend…
*******
SMALL SACRIFICES-- Nathan Jackson
Emptying the dishwasher, Rayne listened to the soft murmur of Nathan’s voice in the other room, and a frown came to her pretty face. She couldn’t believe he was actually following through with this stupidity! After all his big talk about their plans and their dreams, he was throwing it all away to join up with a complete stranger!
It might have impressed her a little more if the man was a doctor. She might even understand if he was an old friend or someone he'd known for awhile, but he was some outsider whom Nate had met on the street, for cryin’ out loud! What if the man was simply some crack pot and just talking through his hat? As the voice continued, she realized Nathan, in all probability, was throwing away his promising career….
Career…
Nathan Jackson had wanted a medical career since the day she had first met him. Fresh out of the military, where he had been a corpsman, he had struggled to work two jobs during the day and taken the required courses for further medical training at night school. Many a time she had come home to the apartment they shared and found him exhausted, having fallen asleep over his books.
But no matter how bad things became, how tired he'd grown, he had worked hard and held on to the dream of someday having his own practice. And he had promised her, if she just stuck with him through the hard times, when he was finally established in his career, in his own practice, they would be married.
Rayne had stayed.
She'd stayed, helping him study, arguing and making love, offering encouragement, and listening when he needed a release for the emotions engulfing him when he was unable to help a patient. She stayed by his side, not because of the promise, but because she loved him.
The previous month, that dream she held closest to her heart, came another step closer to fruition when Doctor Cassidy, one of Four Corners’ up foremost family practitioners, had approached Nathan, telling him they had an opening at the Cassidy Clinic. It would be routine, entry level work, handling the least important cases but at least it would get Nathan out of the E.R. and one step further along the way to making their dreams happen. The hours would definitely be better and the salary would allow them to put a little money aside. In a few years, if that's what he still wanted, Nathan would be able to open his own clinic and she would be there, working at his side.
Splurging, they’d bought a bottle of champagne and enjoyed a nice dinner out on the town to celebrate. They'd laughed and planned for the future. Nathan had assured her soon she would be Mrs. Doctor Nathan Jackson….
Four nights later, he had encountered that Larabee man… In typical Nathan fashion, he had stepped up, volunteering his assistance to the man and his injured companion.
Nate had mentioned the meeting in passing, and that was the end of it. Or so she thought, until she had come home from work two days ago and found Nathan literally bouncing off the walls with excitement.
Larabee had called him…. It seemed he was putting together a special task force and he wanted him—Nathan Jackson!—to climb aboard as the small team’s personal medical officer. He would have a private clinic for his own use, stocked with the latest state of the art equipment. Nate would still be able to volunteer at the free clinic, helping those in need. It was a chance of a lifetime….
She had protested. Playing devil's advocate, she had formed a rebuttal for every reason Nathan had for accepting the man’s offer. What if the man was lying? Nathan had checked him out, and spoke with some judge who was Larabee’s superior. What if Nate agreed to accept the position and then found he didn’t like the men he had to work with? He could quit. He wasn't locked into a contract. What of Cassidy’s offer? He ran a solid established clinic….He assured her he wouldn't completely burn his bridges behind him. He'd talk with Doctor Cassidy and make sure the man understood his position at this time.
What if…?
She had argued long and hard against Nathan accepting the Larabee offer. It wasn’t just his life he could be screwing up, but hers as well...
In anger, releasing her frustration, Rayne slammed shut the cupboard door and sank into a chair at the kitchen table. If she was going to be honest with herself, she wasn't angry Nathan was throwing away the opportunity offered by Doctor Cassidy. Nathan had always been and would always be his own man. She knew, working at the clinic, he would eventually be dissatisfied treating the snooty upper class of society.
The compassionate man wanted his own practice. He wanted to be able to help those in need, no matter their financial status. That was something she understood and could deal with.
What she was having trouble dealing with was the fear.
Larabee was forming a Task Force. She wasn't stupid. A task force meant dealing with undesirable elements of society. It meant violence and the chance Nathan could --and probably would-- be putting himself in the line of fire. It meant possibly answering the door one day to have some stranger tell her Nathan would never again walk through that doorway because he'd sacrificed his life for his ideals.
It was the overpowering fear of losing the man she loved.
But Nathan seemed set on accepting Larabee’s offer. A second call from Larabee had made up his mind and now, he was on the phone...
She shook her head and quickly swiped away the tears that trickled down her cheeks as she heard Nathan thank Doctor Cassidy again for his kind offer, but no, he was quite sure he was making the right decision. Yes, he would call if anything changed.
Her frown deepened. She hoped the man she loved was not making the biggest mistake of his life. She would never truly be happy with his decision, but after all this time, she would stand by it and hope for the best, knowing it was truly what Nathan needed to do.
When it came right down to it, they had both made sacrifices for their dreams and their future. How could either of them be happy together if they forced the other to give up something they wanted so badly?
She knew with every fiber of her being Nathan loved her and had simply asked for her understanding. How could she deny him something so simple....so precious? Harder till, how could she ask him to walk away from something he wanted, without regrets?
She forced a smile, moving into the living room as he hung up the phone and turned to gather her in his arms.
Yes, she would stand by him. They'd continue to fight and make love. They'd continue to support each other's decisions and she'd follow him and his dreams to the end of eternity.
After all, after all they had been through together, she wasn’t ready to be sacrificed just yet.
THE END