The Sky and the Stars - Tom and Sarah Kazansky

-16-

"Did you tell him you love him?!"

Sarah rolled her eyes affectionately at her mother's voice through the phone. She had called home to give her parents an update on Tom. 

"Yes, I did."

"Oh! I'm so glad!"

"You're not gong to ask if he said it back?"

"Oh, I had no doubt. From the moment that sweet boy showed up on our doorstep!"

Now Sarah laughed. "Okay, Mom."

"Well we'll let you get back to him - tell him we say 'hi'! Love you!"

"Thanks, love you too."

After hanging up the payphone in the hospital lobby, Sarah headed back to Tom's room. He was sitting propped up in bed, eating what the nurse had brought him. 

"How's your hospital food lunch?" she asked, resuming her seat next to his bed.

He winced, making her chuckle.  "As you'd expect. But I haven't eaten in hours, so it's appreciated." He finished up and set his tray off to the side.  "Command has ordered me to take a leave of recovery."

"Oh good." She kept becoming more and more relieved - not only was he going to be all right, he was  given time to properly rest and recover. 

"So I'm going home to L.A. to be with my mom and sisters to recover. I was wondering, would you like to come with me?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'd love for you all to meet each other, and to spend time with you while I'm on the ground. And you wouldn't have to stay the whole time if you didn't want to..."

"I'd love to," she jumped in. "I really would."

He returned her smile.  "Then it's settled.  Plus, I've met your family, so it's only fair."

Excitement bubbled up within her. "When will we be leaving?"

"Sounds like I'll only be in here another day or two. Which I'm glad about."

"Yeah, I've never been a fan of hospitals."

There came a tap tap at the door and the nurse stepped in.  "Okay Lieutenant Commander Kazansky, let's get you up and moving."

The nurse helped him up from the bed as Sarah stepped out.  Tom was still topless, and this was the first time she'd seen him get up out of bed. So without the blanket to cover him, she saw his top half covered in bruises and scratches.

Terror gripped her for a long moment, and she tried to take deep breaths and remind herself that it was okay, he was here and he was healing. He's going to be okay.

And despite the terror she felt in that moment, she was also overall extremely happy - she and Tom were together now. She was no longer stressing over her complicated rules and could just enjoy being with him, and it was wonderful. 

While Tom wrapped up his time in hospital, Sarah headed home and first of all showered and got some much needed rest herself. She updated her parents on her travels back to California and then headed into work to update them as well.

"My boyfriend was wounded in combat."

From across his desk, Jerry blinked back at her in confusion. "Pardon?"

She chuckled - it did sound really sudden and random. "When I was in California I met someone - Tom." She smiled as she said his name. "One of the pilots I was working with. We've kept in touch and well..." She smiled, trailing off, and he seemed to understand.  "But he was in a crash and is now recovering, and I'm going with him to stay with his family while he recovers - if that's okay, of course. I promise I'll keep on top of my work while I'm away."