
Captive
Another Moon, Another Sky
I blinked another tear as I watched the dusky sky outside the window of the CC-130J Hercules aircraft.
Going back home to my family, being emotionally forced to take time off, and leaving my fellow officers and wounded soldiers – all of it got mixed up and baked into a disastrous pie of sentiments at the tarmac. With all my might, I kept the tears at bay, especially with cameras rolling.
Tara had promised to come to visit when she goes home for Christmas. Jake stoic façade broke just a little when he said, “this is it,” as if it were the last time we’d see each other. In our line of work, that was always a possibility and my heart ached at the thought.
We’ve been in the air for about twenty minutes when our pilot finally announced that we could unfasten our seatbelts
“Where are you going?” Greg asked.
“Bathroom,” I mumbled then made my way down the middle aisle, passing Crosby’s seat that was two rows ahead to my right.
The rescued superstar was sitting beside General Neal, the Chief of the Defence Staff himself. The only more superior officer in the Canadian Armed Forces was the Commander-in-Chief – also known as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
On my way back, I came face to face with Crosby who was nodding to something the General was saying. Will Crosby be chatting with the General for the next 10 hours? Dear lord.
“Officer, join us, please.” General Neal pointed to the empty seat to his right.
When your superior’s superio’s superior asks you to do something, you do it.
“Yes, General Neal, Sir.”
Crosby leaned from behind the General and smirked at me, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“I was telling Mr. Crosby about the welcome home ceremony proceedings at the base in Nova Scotia.”
“Yes, Sir,” I said politely. I could see Crosby cover his mouth behind the General. My uneasiness seemed amusing to him.
“Now, I know that you are both looking forward to seeing your families; honestly, the whole world is waiting to witness that reunion. But, as you know, Captain, we salute the flag first and then you have to pass through the rows of…”
Although I kept nodding, I stopped listening halfway through. The General was right about one thing. I was quite familiar with the proceedings, though I was on the family side of things and the welcomed soldier was my brother; he did not salute the flag, he was wrapped in it instead.
“Shaw?”
“Yes, Sir. Apologies for spacing out, Sir.” My voice betrayed me.
General Neal sighed and placed his hand over mine. My eyes widened at the warm gesture.
“I was there. I was there,” he said with a tight but kind smile. I guess it was easy to figure out where my mind has wandered.
“What your father, brother and now you have given our country came at a high price. But remember, much like you did, your brother stayed true to his oath and values, till the very end.”
He patted my hand a couple of times before leaving. Crosby took his spot and leaned down to catch my gaze. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and ever so gently squeezed. He said nothing and I appreciated it.
“10 hours is all we’ve got before the chaos starts. Are you ready?” I said breaking the silence.
“I don’t know. I just want to go home.” Instead of excitement, there was some sadness in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I’m already dreading this said chaos,” he sighed. “Everyone would want a piece of me, of us.”
“How bad could it really be?” I asked
He shook his head and sighed again. “We have 10 hours to kill. So, what do you say you give me a tour of this weird looking airplane?”
“Do you wanna see where the big guns are stored?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.
“Sure.”
“Please don’t be this excited, Mr. Crosby,” I said sarcastically.
“You know I’m not a gun person.”
I frowned and nodded.
“I’ve got to learn how to use a gun though, you never know,” he said with a lopsided grin as he followed close behind me.
“Not a bad idea,” I chuckled though I didn’t find it very funny. I wasn’t ready to joke about our abduction yet.
“I want to see those ejection seats!” Crosby said excitedly as we reached the soldier transport unit.
“Sorry to break it to you, Crosby. You will find none in here.”
“No shit, the seats are not even real seats. Fabric, really?” He inspected the red straps, trying to figure out how to pull down the seat.
“Here,” I sat him and secured the straps on. “Your gear would normally go here,” I said pointing to the space between his legs.
Looking left then right, Crosby said, “Soldiers would sit packed in rows like that for like half a day? Wow. You sat here when you came?”
I shook my head and pointed to the section we were in. “I’m an officer, we have different arrangements.”
As I looked around, Crosby pulled me towards him briskly.
“What are you doing?” I said wide-eyed as I tumbled onto his lap.
“This,” he whispered before kissing me hard.
“Stop!” I pulled away as fast as I could convince my body to. “There are cameras everywhere in here!”
An “oh” formed on his lips and a blush appeared.
I smirked at his failed attempts to free himself from the straps.
“How do you get this thing off?” he said frustrated. I crossed my arms and watched.
“I don’t think you and a gun would be a good idea.”
He gave me a death stare and I was getting bored of waiting, so I pointed to the small safety harness.
The tour included all the permitted areas. We chatted with some officers on our way and gotten the tour of the cockpit, too.
“Are you gonna get some sleep?” Greg asked as we returned to our original seats. I shrugged. I wasn’t feeling that tired.
“I’m too hyped up to sleep,” Crosby chuckled.
Greg produced a deck of cards and invited a few other officers to join a game of poker after which I learned that Crosby could surprisingly hold his own.
“I was there in 09,” Greg said as we ate dinner with Crosby and another accompanying officer sitting across from us.
“Jamie and I, too,” I said and Crosby’s eyes widened.
“Why haven’t you told me?”
I shrugged.
“Isn’t it crazy?” Greg said. “The three of us were there when you brought the cup to Halifax. We didn’t know each other yet,” Greg said, pointing his fork at me. “And here we are 8 years later, because, once again, you brought the cup to us.”
“Small world,” one of the officers commented.
“You came to the celebration,” Crosby said with a grin.
“All of Nova Scotia was there,” I rolled my eyes, “don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“Shaw, did you have Sidney convinced that you are not his biggest fan?” Greg said amused.
“Oh for god sakes, Greg,” I said and dropped my fork dramatically.
“So, you are a fan,” Crosby said with another shit-eating grin.
I covered my face and groaned. “Yes. I am your biggest fan, I have two posters of you above my bed.”
Crosby’s eyebrows shot up, his grin was gone, “really?”
“Oh my God! NO! That was a joke; it’s called ‘sarcasm’. I never thought you were so full of yourself!”
He looked at me long and hard. I couldn’t read his expression so I tilted my head, waiting for him to speak.
“I could send you a few posters to choose from,” he said, but his voice was void of any humour.
I would have loved nothing more than to smack him on the head if we didn’t have company.
Following dinner, we went back to our assigned seats and tried to sleep. I guess I was hyped up too because I couldn’t even close my eyes. From my aisle seat, I could see the side of Crosby’s face. Like me, he sat wide-awake the whole time. Everyone else in the section was sleeping.
He would turn to look at me once in a while and would give me a tired smile, which I would return. We would idly chat then decide to try to get some sleep, only to fail once again. That vicious cycle went on for a few hours.
As time ticked closer to landing, the mood has shifted significantly. Crosby was not turning towards me anymore. The seven feet between us felt like it was growing with each passing minute. The reality was approaching and I reasoned that his detached demeanor was preparing me for it.
Fifteen minutes separated us from the descent. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. I looked at my reflection in the small mirror, and for the first time since our rescue, I really looked at my face. Tears pooled in my eyes as I braced myself over the sink. Being an emotional mess was Livvy’s thing. I don’t recognize myself anymore. I didn’t even know why I was crying.
I was going to miss Crosby, sure. My heart was growing heavy with a strange apprehension. We were getting closer and closer to go our separate ways. Though unspoken, I could feel it in the air between us. But that cannot be the whole story. I was no longer a prisoner and I was about to see my family; I should be happy, or at least happier than this.
A loud knock startled me. I wiped my eyes fast and opened the door to see Crosby looking all worried.
“Are you okay?” he said stepping inside. I nodded faintly.
“Captain announced that we should take our seats soon,” he whispered, his body blocking the open door. He stood an inch away from me and all I wanted to do was bury my face in his neck.
Crosby gently engulfed me in his arms and rubbed my back softly and my cheek found its beloved nest in the crook of his neck.
“Is there a camera in the bathroom,” he whispered in my hair. I chuckled and watched his heart-melting smile that made me forget about all the military personnel around.
I stood on my toes and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. As I reluctantly pulled away, he tightened his hold on me and kissed me deeply, pushing us further into the small bathroom.
The sound of the door closing interrupted our moment. He smiled against my lips, “we should put our seatbelts on,” he whispered, and I did not miss his faint frown.
I stepped outside behind Crosby to see Greg waiting for us. Never in my life did I feel this embarrassed. Greg raised his eyebrows at me but then frowned.
“Were you crying?” he whispered as he followed behind me.
“I’m fine,” I said shortly as I buckled my seatbelt.
“So, you and Sidney Crosby?” Greg whispered. I knew this question was bound to come up.
Greg waited for me to say something, but I didn’t.
“I mean you did sleep in the same room with the man for 3 months. It’s only normal that you develop some sort of connection after all this time spent together,” he spoke matter-of-factly. He did not seem surprised, and that surprised me.
I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“He seems to care about you.”
“Can you please drop it, Greg. I don’t think any of it would be relevant once he gets back home.”
“But you want it to be relevant, don’t you?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. I don’t think he wants the same anyway.”
“I think you’re wrong. You were in the bathroom for what, 3 minutes? He got all concerned. He asked me if you were okay, then knocked at your door because he couldn’t wait any longer,” he whispered and patted my leg. “You’ve always been blind to the effect you have on men.”
“Effect? Is that what you think is happening between me and him?” I asked curiously.
“Passion, attraction, love, whatever you kids call it.”
Our pilot announced that we are touching ground soon. “Captain Shaw, Mr. Crosby, look outside your window. Halifax is below us now. On the far left there, that’s Cole Harbour, Mr. Crosby, your home,” our pilot spoke.
“You took my seat!” I leaned over Greg to look outside the window. The morning rays of sunlight were blinding, but I couldn’t look away. It was October and the fall scenery of at home was breathtaking as usual. I looked towards Crosby, who was peaking his head from the other aisle to see. A huge smile graced his face and reached his wet eyes.
I realized that my eyes were watery, too. We were finally home.
Notes
My beloved readers,
Took me a while to update this time... life got busy... when is it not?
Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) thanks for reading!!
I’m obsessed. It’s so ducking good. Please tell me there is more to come! I literally beg of you.
2/5/21