“What?” Shenin asked, looking confused.
“Babe, I’ve let the fucking Air Force change my priorities, and now I’m changing them back. You,” she said, her look pointed, “are my priority and if the Air Force doesn’t like it, the Air Force is down a soldier.”
“But Ty—”
“No, Shen,” Tyler said, shaking her head, “there have been too many buts… I want to be here with you, but… I needed to be in Iraq with you, but… No, no more. I’m done. If they want to keep me they will transfer me to El Segundo, or I’m done. I will resign my commission. You are my priority Shenin, you need me, and I’m going to be here for you, no matter what that means.”
Shenin drew in a deep breath, nodding her head.
“I love you…” Tyler said, leaning down to kiss Shenin’s lips.
“I love you, Ty…” Shenin said, her hand at Tyler’s waist, curled around a handful of Tyler’s shirt.
“Now, there is something I am going to require of you,” Tyler said, her look serious.
“What?” Shenin asked.
“No more messing around with this depression stuff. I need to know that you’re gonna be okay when things get rough, and they will get rough babe, life just does that… I seriously want to look into medication and therapy, okay?”
Shenin swallowed convulsively, and then nodded. “Okay.”
“Good,” Tyler said, having been worried that Shenin wouldn’t want to think about that kind of thing. “We will get through this babe… I promise you that. I will be with you every single step of the way, but you’re going to have to take those steps, okay?”
“I know,” Shenin said, nodding. “As long as you’re with me, I can try.”
“That’s all I’m asking for, honey,” Tyler said.
***
In Malibu, Devin lay holding Skyler against her. They were both feeling relieved over the discovery that the helicopter had indeed been brought down due to mechanical failure and through no fault of Skyler or Jams. The helicopter’s vertical stabilizer had sheared off mid-flight and had caused the rotor blade and gearbox to separate from the tail section. Once again, Skyler was commended for her piloting skills, managing to bring the helicopter down on its skids, before it rolled, keeping them all from being killed on impact. The investigation determined that the only reason Jet had been hurt as severely as she had was because she hadn’t been buckled in at the time of the crash.
“Are you okay?” Devin asked, stroking Skyler’s hair.
Skyler blew her breath out, nodding her head.
“I mean, really okay, Sky,” Devin said, her tone strong.
Skyler pulled back, looking at Devin, her light blue-green eyes staring directly into her wife’s eyes. “Yes, babe, I am. Thinking that I’d done something wrong, that I almost got Jet killed… that was what messed me up.”
“I know,” Devin said. “I just need to know that you believe what that investigation is saying, and that you’re still not harboring some kind of guilt over this.”
Skyler shook her head. “No, I’m not,” she said. “What Jet said, made sense, I just didn’t know any of that at the time. All I knew was that we suddenly lost control. You start thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong, and it always comes back down to the pilot. Pilot error is the one thing you don’t want to hear when someone you love was almost killed.”
Devin nodded. “I understand that,” she said, her voice soft.
Skyler nodded, taking another deep breath and blowing it out.
She looked at Devin then. “I’m sorry if I scared you,” she said, knowing that her own PTSD had been amplifying her reactions to the situation.
She’d relived the crash of her Blackhawk years before over and over in her head, and had actually started to convince herself that crash had been her fault too. She’d started to think she was cursed and that she should never fly again… It had been a dangerous rabbit hole to go down. But Devin had been there by her side the entire time, holding on to her tight. She’d felt it, even in her darkest place.
“Thank you,” Skyler said, her voice solemn.
“For what, Sky?” Devin asked.
Skyler smiled softly. “For being here, for going through this with me… for just… being you.”
Devin smiled, tears misting her eyes. “I’m just glad you let me in this time.”
“And I will try to always let you in,” Skyler said.
“Good,” Devin said, relieved beyond words.
***
Jet was finally released from the hospital a week after the crash. It drove her crazy, but she was required to rest once home as well. Fadiyah was insistent. Jet’s parents also stayed to make sure that Fadiyah had all the help she needed with their hardheaded daughter.
Jet was sitting up in bed, watching whatever random things were on TV when her father walked into the room.
“We have a problem,” he said, handing Jet an envelope.
It was an official looking envelope with an equally official letter inside telling Fadiyah that her student visa was being revoked due to lack of completion of her courses. The letter went on to say that Fadiyah would be deported in no more than thirty days.
“Well, fuck…” Jet said, looking at her dad.
An hour later, Fadiyah walked into their bedroom and saw that Jet was deep in thought.
“What is wrong?” Fadiyah asked immediately.
Jet looked at her, then touched the bed next to her. “Come here, we need to talk,” Jet said, her tone serious.
Fadiyah hesitated, worried that something had come up with Jet’s health, a test that came back or a new concern. She moved to sit in front of Jet on the bed, her eyes searching Jet’s face, trying to discern the new danger.
Jet handed Fadiyah the letter from the embassy. Fadiyah read it, then looked at Jet, looking shocked and already scared.
“What can I do?” Fadiyah asked, her voice trembling.
Jet drew in a deep breath, shrugging slightly. “I’ve got a solution, but you’re going to need to do something first,” she said.
“What do I need to do? I will do whatever I need to, I cannot leave you…” Fadiyah said, her tone worried.
Again, Jet blew her breath out. “Well, your part is pretty easy,” she said.
“Okay…” Fadiyah said, her voice trailing off as she tried to figure out why Jet looked so resolved.
“You need to say yes,” Jet said simply.
Fadiyah looked mystified. “To what?” she asked, thinking in terms of some kind of oath.
“To a question,” Jet said, her look direct.
“What is the question?” Fadiyah asked.
Jet tilted her head, her look thoughtful. “Whether or not you’ll marry me,” she said, her tone so casual that Fadiyah wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly.
“I am sorry?” Fadiyah said, blinking a couple of times.
Jet grinned. “Fadiyah Antar, will you marry me?”
Fadiyah’s mouth dropped open, then she began nodding. “I would love to marry you!” she said, throwing her arms around Jet’s neck.
Jet laughed, hugging her happily.
Fadiyah pulled back then, her look hesitant. “But if this is for me to stay in America…”
“Are you asking me if that’s the only reason I’m asking you?” Jet queried.
Fadiyah nodded her head, afraid to say the words.
“No, babe,” Jet said sincerely. “No, I knew when I woke up in that hospital room and I wasn’t dead, that you were the reason I stayed. I need to honor that.”
Fadiyah lay her hand on Jet’s cheek, her silver-gray eyes staring back into Jet’s. “I would be honored to be your wife.”
“Good, ’cause we’re gonna need to do, at the very least, a court ceremony quick,” Jet said, grinning. “But we can plan something more… formal later. Okay?”
“Formal?” Fadiyah asked.
“Yeah, you know, if you want something big like Sky and Devin’s, or whatever,”
Jet said, smiling. “Anything you want babe, however you want it.”
“Anything?” Fadiyah queried, looking quizzical.
“Yes, anything,” Jet confirmed, her light green eyes shining. “If you want it to be completely American, or you want to do a traditional Shia ceremony, or somewhere in between, I’m in, okay?”
Fadiyah smiled, tears in her eyes. It was no wonder she loved this woman so much.
There was a party held at their house a week later, ostensibly to celebrate Jet’s recovery. At one point, during the party, Jet got everyone’s attention.
“So, we’re having this party, but we need to invite you all to another one in two weeks,” Jet said, grinning.
“Is this going to become a habit?” Skyler asked, grinning at her friend.
“Nah,” Jet said, “just trying to keep up.” She winked at Skyler. “This next party will be held at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk.”
Everyone looked mystified, looking at each other to see if anyone else knew what that address was.
“I can see you all don’t know what’s located there,” Jet said, “so let me help you out. That would be the County Recorder’s Office, where they hand out marriage licenses…”
“Oh my God!” Skyler exclaimed, as everyone else gave varied shouts of shock and disbelief.
Skyler moved to hug Jet and in turn Fadiyah, as did everyone else.
“I don’t see a ring…” Sebastian said, his tone sly.
“You will,” Jet said mischievously.
Fadiyah glanced at Jet, but said nothing, surprised by her comment.
***
The weekend following the party, the group met up at their usual Saturday morning place of the gym. As always, the femme girls did Natalia’s cardio dance class, and the butch girls did mixed martial arts training or just used weights. Usually by the time Natalia’s class was winding down, all of the butches were there watching their respective girls dance. Sebastian had been included with the group since he and Kashena had arrived in LA, but now he was there to watch Ashley. His sister Juliet had also wanted to try Natalia’s class since she was there visiting. Ashley and Juliet had become fast friends.
Everyone in the group was now fully aware that Sebastian was in love with Ashley, and they all fully approved of the match. Kashena was thrilled to see Sebastian so happy and was grateful to Ashley for that. Sebastian had just walked back over to the half wall that many of the girls were standing at, looking for Ashley. He overheard Kashena, Quinn, and Skyler discussing one of the women in the class.
“She’s definitely butch…” Skyler said.
“I dunno, she’s got some pretty good rhythm and moves,” Kashena pointed out.
“Hey, we butches aren’t friggin’ robots,” Quinn said, grinning.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Sebastian asked, moving to stand next to the three.
“Oh, the usual,” Kashena said, grinning. “Checking out the new people and the endless game of is she or isn’t she…”
“Seriously?” he asked. “You bois have nothing better to discuss?”
“Bite me,” Kashena said, grinning. “It’s kind of a sport.”
Sebastian shook his head. “Okay, so who are we discussing?”
“The blond next to your girl, actually,” Skyler said.
Sebastian looked over, seeing the girl with the bleach blond hair that Skyler was referring to. She was on the skinny side, but the tank top and shorts she wore exposed a great deal of lean muscle. She definitely had a butch look to her. She also looked very young.
“Looks like a swimmer, maybe,” Sebastian said. “A lot of lean muscle, not bulky at all.”
The women looked back over at the girl, nodding as they agreed with what Sebastian was saying.
“What’s your gaydar say?” Kashena asked Sebastian.
“Oh yeah, definitely family,” Sebastian said, grinning.
“Baz’s gaydar is usually better than mine,” Kashena told the other two.
“Who?” Jericho asked as she and Jet walked up.
The class was down to the last song where they were doing stretching. Ashley was breathing heavily, feeling like she probably overdid it, but she always enjoyed the class and she knew she needed to stay in good shape to keep up with Sebastian. She grinned at Juliet, Sebastian’s sister, who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head; she’d had a rough time keeping up too.
Suddenly Ashley felt a wave of dizziness hit her. She figured it was because she’d just leaned over to stretch, so she moved to straighten up. Her vision went dark then.
“Baz…” Kashena said, as she saw Ashley start to fall.
Fortunately, the girl they’d just been discussing saw Ashley’s movement and turned in time to put her body in the way of Ashley falling to the floor. Holding Ashley’s arms, she carefully lowered her to the ground. Sebastian ran over, going down to his knees to reach for Ashley, and Juliet moved to Ashley as well. Sebastian moved to support Ashley, taking her from the blond haired girl.
“Thank you,” he told the girl.
“No problem,” the girl said, moving to stand.
Jet walked up, looking at the girl and recognizing her.
“Cody?” Jet queried.
“Jet, hey,” Cody replied, nodding to her.
“Is she okay, Baz?” Jet asked.
Ashley was already coming to, looking around bewildered.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You passed out,” Sebastian said.
“Oh, crap,” Ashley said, grinning.
“Another Natalia victim,” Quinn said, grinning.
“Hey, hey!” Natalia exclaimed, walking up to the group. “Callete juera!” she said, winking at Quinn. “This was not my fault.”
“Think you can stand?” Sebastian asked Ashley.
“Yeah,” Ashley said.
Sebastian helped her up.
“I’ll take her to the bathroom, make sure she’s okay,” Jet said, moving to Ashley’s arm to escort her away from the group, sensing that Ashley was extremely embarrassed.
Sebastian looked at the girl who Jet had referred to as Cody, extending his hand to her.
“Again, thank you,” he said. “Sebastian Bach, that’s my girlfriend Ashley.”
Cody nodded, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Cody Falco,” she said.
“Well, you saved the day, Cody,” Jericho said, nodding at the girl, thinking she looked familiar. “Where do you work?” she asked.
“LAPD, TRACE task force,” Cody said, recognizing Jericho Tehrani, the Director of the Division of Law Enforcement for the DOJ.
Jericho nodded. “That’s where I recognize you from.”
Cody nodded and then glanced at the clock. “Well, nice meeting you all, but I gotta go,” she said, moving to pick up her gym bag. She put her hand up in a kind of salute wave.
The group watched the girl leave, seeing her take out a helmet and climb onto a black Ninja in the lot and riding away.
“Alrighty then,” Sebastian said, grinning.
In the bathroom, Jet leaned against the wall, looking at Ashley who was putting cool water on her face. Glancing at Jet, she grinned.
“What?” Ashley asked.
Jet narrowed her eyes, her lips pursed. “Does he know?” she asked.
“What are you talking about?” Ashley asked.
Jet canted her head. “Do you even know?”
“What?” Ashley asked, looking at her strangely.
“Ash…” Jet said. “You got sick at the house twice the other day, you said your stomach has been bothering you… Now you’re fainting…”
Ashley’s mouth dropped open, but then she closed it shaking her head. “No, it’s probably just flu.”
Jet drew her breath in. “Might want to check, is all I’m saying…”
Later that night Sebastian was lying in bed, partially sitting up, his elbow bent, his head resting on his fist when Ashley walked into the bedroom.
Sebastian looked up at he
r, and caught the caution in her eyes.
“What’s up?” he asked her.
Ashley moved to sit down, her look serious. Sebastian sat up, looking worried.
“What is it, Ash?” he asked.
“Sebastian,” Ashley said, her tone solemn. She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to get it out. “I’m pregnant.”
Surprise flickered across his face, but also relief and he let his breath out slowly.
“Okay…” he said, his tone guarded.
“I’m on the pill. But… I don’t know it happened,” she said plaintively.
He nodded. Ashley couldn’t read the look on his face.
“I know this is a lot. And I know that you and I are… well, I mean…” she said, finally letting her voice trail off as she realized she had no idea what to say.
His look was contemplative. “I need to know what you want to do,” he said, his tone even.
Ashley looked back at him; she hadn’t really thought about that part. She’d been so freaked out by the idea that she was pregnant that she hadn’t thought past having to tell him.
“I don’t know,” she told him honestly.
Sebastian nodded looking serious. “Would you consider marrying me and keeping it?” he asked, his voice subdued.
Ashley looked back at him, blinking. “Would I consider it?” she asked, her tone incredulous.
“Yeah,” Sebastian said looking a bit unsure. “I don’t want to lose you, or our baby,” he said then.
Ashley shook her head looking at him with disbelief. “You think I want to leave you and take this baby away?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his look almost fearful.
“Oh my God, Sebastian,” Ashley said, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to be anywhere but right here with you, and of course I’ll marry you, I love you.”
He smiled then, pulling her into his arms, and kissing her deeply. “Then I guess Jet’s not the only one getting married, is she?”
“No, I guess not,” Ashley said, with a smile of her own.
***
A week later, Jet woke Fadiyah with a kiss and then handed her a small box. Fadiyah moved to sit up, looking at Jet and then at the box.
Water under the Bridge Page 19