Re: Say the Words - ch.36 -- The Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Fan Exchange

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Date Posted: 07:41:34 03/26/03 Wed
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Say the Words - ch.36
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Say the Words - ch.35" on 07:37:50 03/26/03 Wed

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

"You're late!" Alexander snapped at Sophie and Peter as they entered the makeshift hangar with coffee and doughnuts. It was exactly 7:06 a.m., Saturday morning.

They were obviously extremely happy - happier than they'd been in months - smiling broadly and holding hands as they arrived.

"Five minutes late�" Sophie mumbled with half a jelly doughnut in her mouth and the other half in her hand.

"Six!" Alexander tapped his watch for emphasis.

"Have you forgotten everything I taught you about the importance of timing in shows like these?" he sputtered, turning his back for a moment to check on the parachutes.

"He should talk about timing after last night�" Sophie muttered under her breath to Peter, causing them both to break into thinly veiled laughter.

"I'm glad you think this is so funny," Alexander reprimanded his tardy arrivals. "But this is my farewell performance and I'd appreciate it if my daughter wasn't distracted from her duties."

Alexander was none too subtly asking Peter to leave. "You understand, don't you, Peter?" his tone softened slightly. "I need my flight crew in top shape."

"Well, sure�" Peter felt suitably chastised, looking around at the extensive preparations already in place.

The warehouse was filled with all sorts of aviation equipment. There were wind charts and weather maps, trampolines and inflatable air mattresses for practicing jumps and landings, harnesses and parachutes - some even hanging from the ceiling. In addition to all that, standing forebodingly over in the corner of the room, Peter spied a tall, moveable, metal stairway and platform - something he was much more accustomed to seeing on an airport tarmac than inside a warehouse. Connected to the platform was an authentic cabin door. Obviously ripped from an old airplane, it provided a simulated - but very realistic - exit hatch from which to jump.

All in all, Alexander seemed to have everything. That is, everything except a flight crew.

"When's the rest of your crew arriving?" Peter asked Alexander curiously, since, currently, they seemed to be the only three occupants of the abandoned warehouse near Morgan's Field, which was serving as Alexander's air show headquarters for the time being.

"Sophie IS my crew�" Alexander explained with a slight sigh, unwilling to reveal too many details about his less-than-starry status in the Snowbird pantheon nowadays.

"At least until the 21st," he added hastily. "The rest of the Snowbirds will be arriving then."

"But that'll only give you two days to practice together before the show�" Peter's concern for Alexander's well-being touched the veteran pilot deeply.

"We'll be fine," Alexander reassured Peter with his usual cocky pride. "Precision at its best�"

Truthfully, Alexander would have preferred a little more time but, in the eyes of RCAF command, benefit performances in a tiny town like Agnes simply didn't warrant more than two days out of the schedule of the hotshot, in-demand younger stars of the Snowbirds.

"Maybe you should have some extra help on your team now then - before they get here?" In Peter's mind, the beginnings of an idea were starting to take shape.

"You know anybody else in this town besides Sophie who's a trained skydiver?" Alexander couldn't imagine there would be such a person in a town the size of Agnes.

"Well, no, not exactly�" Peter hedged. "But an expert mountain climber, biker, and all-around athletic wonder�" he grinned with boyish charm.

"You?" Alexander exclaimed, laughing out loud.

"You?" Sophie repeated, just as incredulously.

"Why not�" Peter whispered to Sophie amidst Alexander's hearty chuckles. "You could teach me� It'd be fun�And a great way for us to spend some time together�" he encouraged her to support his idea.

"Oh, I don't know�" Sophie was still hesitating when Alexander interjected again.

"Fun? Sophie is not here to have fun� Preparing for an air show is very serious work, Peter." Purposely, Alexander emphasized the training's rigorousness to test Peter's resolve.

"Absolutely, Sir, and I promise I'll do whatever you ask," Peter offered earnestly.

"And whatever Sophie tells me to do�" he added, hoping to prove his sincerity to them both.

"Really?" Sophie piped up, trying not to sound too excited at the thought of Peter at her complete command.

Exceedingly tempting in theory, Sophie knew how fiercely competitive Peter could be, especially when he was trying to prove himself in a new sport. Skeptically, she wondered if he could value the training simply on its own merit; but, she decided to think positively and enjoy the opportunity the time together would afford them to rediscover their relationship. Hopefully, Peter's "lessons" could be a pleasurable experience for them both.

Against all his better judgment and with a sinking feeling that he might totally regret his decision, Alexander set aside his objections and agreed. Morgan's Field was to be his farewell triumph�his shining glory� But, for perhaps the first time in Alexander's life, the jump and the fame had become secondary to the happiness etched on his daughter's face that morning. Sophie's joyful expression was truly his shining glory.

Alexander couldn't begin to count the number of nights he'd stayed awake wondering how many men wouldn't marry his daughter because she couldn't give them a child. Anguish and guilt had been his constant companions for almost twenty years. But now, here was Sophie, happy, and in love with a man who, not only loved her with all his heart, but, seemed willing to jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet just to be with her. How could he possibly argue with that?

"You'll do everything we tell you to? You'll listen and learn? You won't try to do more than your ability?" Alexander conjured countless grim scenarios, as he looked Peter straight in the eye for any indication of fear or second thoughts.

"I'm only here to help�" Peter's eyes were bright and confident as he raised his hands in deference to Alexander's superior knowledge and talent.

"Okay then," Alexander agreed with a nod. "Sophie'll get you suited up�"

Peter's grin over his victory was contagious, though Sophie's smile was mixed with a healthy dose of disbelief at how easily Peter had overcome Alexander's dubious reservations. Somehow, Peter seemed to have her father wrapped around his little finger! Sophie had spent most of her life trying to figure out how to do that and Peter had managed it in only a few weeks!

Slightly miffed at Peter's accomplishment, Sophie found it impossible to repress her wounded ego. So, as Peter followed her to the lockers, bounding eagerly at her heels in anticipation of their new adventure, Sophie stopped, turned, and paused suddenly.

Impishly, she decided to take stock and assess Peter's self-proclaimed attributes for the job at hand. Still shaking her head at his earlier, astonishing bravado, Sophie took a step back and eyed Peter's body fully, first with the scrutinizing, professional stare of a seasoned skydiver and then, with the more intimate, appreciative stare of a woman in love.

Uncomfortably, Peter fidgeted under her intense appraisal and shifted his weight nervously back and forth on each hip, his hands clasped behind his back. Wickedly, Sophie enjoyed every minute as she raked him up and down, making him wait for her evaluation of his physical prowess.

Finally, it came. Three biting little words accompanied by a raised eyebrow and a playful smirk...

"Athletic wonder, huh?"

^^^^^^^^^^

"That's a cotton jumpsuit you're wearing," Sophie explained as Peter stepped into the khaki-colored garment. "Comfortable, flexible, lightweight, low bulk�the fabric offers a slow, controlled descent."

"It also helps protect against the temperature drops at the higher altitudes." Sophie continued her rapid-fire comments as she tried to place a strap around Peter's wrist while he zipped up his flight suit over his clothes.

"Soph, I've got a watch," Peter objected, struggling not to lose his balance as she dressed him.

"Visual altimeter�" Sophie corrected him, quite pleased with herself and her newfound position of power and authority.

"Think you could enjoy this a little less?" Peter quipped, pausing to take a look at the hi-tech device.

Sophie took a moment to consider the question and then replied sprightly, "Nope�"

Swiftly, she turned and headed toward one of the many folding tables, leaving Peter to chase after her.

"Step One," she barked with the voice of a teacher rapping her hickory stick. "Inspect and Put On Your Gear�"

"Here are your goggles, hard hat helmet, ground to air radio and your AAD," Sophie dictated briskly as Peter made as many mental notes as possible of the provisions before him.

"AAD?" he questioned, perplexed.

"Automatic activation device," Sophie clarified. "Every chute has one, she explained.

"If a diver is at 1,000 feet and still in free fall, the AAD opens and the reserve chute is deployed," she detailed patiently.

"Which brings us to your most important piece of equipment, young man." Sophie's merciless teasing had Peter seriously considering the penalty for seizing the teacher and kissing her soundly in the middle of class.

Sophie was positively vibrant today - relaxed, contented - even the fact that she was still in her walking cast wasn't dampening her outlook. Peter's mind wandered as he looked at her, standing in front of the window, leaning casually against the table. She was so incredibly beautiful - not to mention incredibly intelligent.

Peter'd always known Sophie was an experienced skydiver but he'd never expected her knowledge on the subject to be so vast. There wasn't a question he had asked, she couldn't answer; and, her face lit up as she described every facet of the sport. He could listen to her all day�

"Peter, are you listening to me?" Sophie sighed, rapping her knuckle on the table to focus the attention of her one, wayward student.

"What? Oh, uh, sure�" he fumbled, snapping out of his daydreams, "my most important piece of equipment."

"Is your�?" Sophie waited for Peter's reply while he scanned the complex diagram she'd constructed on her clipboard during his temporary lapse - the one he had spent musing over how lustrous her hair shone in the filtered morning sunlight.

Quickly, Peter took the opportunity to move closer and he, too, leaned back against the table, now shoulder-to-shoulder with his very attractive tutor.

"My parachute�" he answered proudly, certain of her drawing's unmistakable form.

From the moment Peter moved beside her, Sophie felt her concentration waver. His arm and leg were brushing lightly against hers and, suddenly, Sophie was finding it very difficult speak. Maybe it was the fact that Peter looked so ruggedly handsome in his flight suit, or perhaps it was that his eyes looked so amazingly blue this morning�

Oh, who was she kidding? Ever since their dance last night at Rusty's, all Sophie could think about was how much she wanted Peter. They had moved together so effortlessly, fallen into each other's arms so easily. The idea of waiting until their honeymoon to be together again seemed nothing short of torture to her right now. In fact, if anyone but Michaela had championed such a notion, Sophie never would have given it a second thought. But, Michaela and Sully's commitment was so strong, their love so everlasting, that Sophie was willing to concede the possible merits of Michaela's position on the subject - especially after the abject failure of her first attempt at living with Peter and his unnerving display of mistrust in her commitment.

Sophie had almost persuaded herself that the wait might even add to their overall wedding excitement - that is, until she felt Peter's breath on her neck as he leaned over to examine the diagram more closely.

Peter could sense the effect he was having on her and decided to enjoy his lesson to the fullest. His voice was smooth and low as he asked mischievously, "Double my pleasure?"

Peter had inched nearer to the drawing while his hand slid provocatively around her waist. Sophie's pleasure had definitely doubled. It was all she could do to utter a vague and dreamy, "Hmmm�?"

"The sketch�" he smiled beguilingly. "I get two parachutes?" Peter's eyes sparkled in retribution for her earlier taunting as he innocently directed her attention to the picture she had drawn.

"Oh, umm, right�" Sophie squirmed as she sat a little straighter on the table and tried to remember what she was saying.

"Every diver must wear two parachutes," she recited, focusing her attention on the diagram and not on his smoldering eyes.

"You pack the main canopy, yourself," Sophie instructed as her breathing began to steady slightly. "The reserve chute is pre-packed."

Wondering if Peter was finding any of this information to be remotely interesting, Sophie paused, waiting for his reaction. But, Peter was honestly enjoying his lesson - as well as their physical closeness - and encouraged her with his questions.

"So my reserve chute is here?" he confirmed, his arm moving casually from her waist to rest possessively on her shoulder as he gestured to the second parachute.

"Right," Sophie smiled with a nod. She was pleased to see he was assimilating it all so quickly.

"The cutaway handle jettisons the main chute," she continued as Peter listened intently.

"The bridle, cascade lines, stabilizers and ripcords are all here, here, here, and here�" she indicated, hoping her voice wouldn't crack as she spoke.

Peter memorized each and every element of Sophie's outline, eager to proceed with his indoctrination to junior flight crew status. Consequently, when Sophie asked if he had any questions, confidently, Peter had only one.

"So, when do we do it?" he smirked, relishing the double-entendre.

Sophie raised her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head in exasperation at Peter's charms. "Think you're ready, huh?" she chuckled suspiciously.

"Uh-huh," Peter nodded with a twinkle.

"Then let's jump�" she decided with a laugh, tugging Peter by the hand onward to the next step.

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Replies:

Re: Say the Words - ch.37 -- dqfan, 07:46:12 03/26/03 Wed
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