Allahu Akbar!

Ashley laughed politely knowing that even in the government, where all kinds of 'fair-hiring practices' existed, it was still commonplace to hire someone based on personal preference, assuming they met all other requirements.

"I could stop by tomorrow if that works for you," Ashley told him.

"Great. How's 1pm?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then!" she told him as her enthusiasm about possibly staying in the area grew.

Bart landed the following morning around 10am and went straight to the rental car counter and picked up the high-end vehicle he'd reserved online.

It was just before 11 o'clock when he checked his iPhone and tapped in 'Sumner, WA'. He wasn't that far away, but he thought he should probably take a leak before heading out.

In the bathroom he realized something in his wound area wasn't right and once he'd washed his hands he went inside a stall and pulled off his jacket and then unbuttoned his shirt. There was some kind of fluid oozing out of it, and he was smart enough to know that couldn't be normal or left unattended.

He threw the jacket back on then headed out to the car where he did a quick search on his phone and found the nearest facility. He then entered that address into his GPS and headed off hoping this would be a relatively short detour.

He got there in less than an hour and to his surprise he was checked in immediately. To his even greater surprise he was seen within another twenty minutes. An RN took his vitals and let him know the doctor would be in shortly. True to her word, a young female doctor showed up about five minutes later.

"I know who you are," the fairly attractive MD said. "Thank you for you service and for your heroism."

"I was just at the wrong place at the right time," he said modestly.

She smiled then said, "Okay, let's take a look and see what's going on."

The doctor knew immediately but still ordered a CAT scan to be sure.

Just before one o'clock, the doctor told him, "As I suspected, you've got some infection at the entry point. It doesn't appear there's any internal bleeding so I'm going to give you some stronger antibiotics than the ones you were taking, and I'd like to see you back here in a week."

"I um, I never took the ones they prescribed," he admitted.

She wasn't about to scold him but she did shake her head.

"Okay. Well, let's get this under control starting right now, okay?"

"Okay, sure. And...I'm not sure I'll still be here in a week," he told her.

"All right. Just make sure to have someone check it to make sure this has cleared up, okay?"

"I will," he told her.

She was making some notes in his chart which was online as he got dressed.

"Doc? This is my first experience with the VA, and I gotta tell you, I'm impressed. All I've ever heard are horror stories."

She smiled then said, "It's amazing what lighting a fire at the top can do. Things have really drastically changed in the last year or so. I was on the verge of leaving when all the uproar about waiting months for an appointment started, and I decided to stick it out. Also, the VA has finally been able to fire people, and we got rid of a couple of career bureaucrats at this facility who just didn't give a damn. Ever since, things have been night and day better."

She finished her notes then said, "Okay, you're in the system. Just go to the pharmacy and take a number and they'll call you."

Bart smiled and said, "Yes, but when will they call me?"

The doctor laughed and replied, "They've gotten a lot better over there, too, so it won't be too long."

"I'll take your word for it, Doc," he told her.

As he got ready to leave she said, "Colonel Patterson?"

"Bart," he said politely correcting her.

"Okay. Bart. Listen, you're not my permanent patient and well, if you are still here next week, maybe you could call me and we could get together?" she said directly either ignoring or not seeing the ring on his left hand.

"You know, if I wasn't here because of a women I really like but barely know, I'd take you up on that," he told her with a smile.

Again, it wasn't her business who was seeing or why so she ignored the comment and said, "Ah, okay. Lucky girl. But if for whatever reason it doesn't work out, here's my number."

She pulled out a business card and wrote her private number and the back and handed it to him.

"Just in case," she said with a smile.

He took it and thanked her for her time and her help.

"My pleasure. And good luck."

Bart took a number and sat down wondering how long 'not too long' might be. He'd been there about fifteen minutes when he saw a man in a suit walking by who appeared to be showing the pharmacy to a younger women in a very nice dress. He only caught a glimpse of her, but even then he thought, "No. No way."

As they walked by, he clearly saw her face and realized it really was her .

"You gotta be shittin' me," Bart said quietly but out loud as he nearly jumped out of his seat.

He walked straight over to them and heard the man say, "So the waiting area is pretty standard as you can see, but where we really shine is..."

He stopped talking when he saw Ashley's eyes open wide and a huge smile break out on her face.

"Bart? Oh, my God! What in the world are you doing here?"

He smiled back and said, "That was going to be my first question to you."

He saw her eyes welling up with tears as the man in the suit said, "You two obviously know one another."

Ashley nodded and as she tried not to cry said, "This is the man who saved my life at the airport."

Suddenly, the man recognized him and said, "Oh, sure. Right! You're the Marine who got shot protecting..."

Bart looked at Ashley again, who hadn't mentioned the terror attack, as she said, "Oh, my God. This...this is unbelievable."

"It really is," Bart said before Ashley started crying.

"Hey, it's okay," Bart said as he moved closer.

He put his hands on her shoulders then pulled her close and just held her.

"I...I thought I'd never see you again. Or even get to thank you," she said, her words halting and full of emotion.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm just glad I found you," Bart told her.

It took Ashley a second to make sense of his words before she looked up and asked, "Found me?"

He smiled at her then said, "I had to pull a lot of strings to find out where you were, but once I did, I had to fly out here and see you. I just never imagined you'd be at a VA facility."

"I'm...I'm confused," Ashley said. "Why are you here and why are did you want to find me? Did they give you my phone number?"

She was trying to blink away her tears as Bart continued to hold her, and more importantly, she was trying to make sense of what was happening.

"No, no one gave me your number. I'm here, at the VA, because I had a little...leakage where the round entered my chest, and..."

"Oh, Bart! Oh, my God! Are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. I'm getting some antibiotics. It's nothing. Really."

"Are you sure? I've been so worried. And...and so thankful. Honestly, Bart. I can't ever thank you enough," she told him as she looked into his eyes.

"Well, with that in mind, the real reason I'm here, as in the area, is to find you, and now that I have, I was hoping maybe we could possibly, you know, get together and possibly..."

"Yes! Yes, of course we can!" Ashley said not bothering to hear what it was he had in mind and forgetting he was a married man.

Bart tried not to laugh and said, "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind, Ashley. I did want to make sure you were okay, but that's not why flew all the way out here."

"No?" she asked sweetly.

"No. I came here to tell you I'd...I'd really like to get to know you better. And I was thinking we might be able to have dinner or drinks or something and see how things go. If you'd care to, of course."

She looked down at his left hand and then she remembered.

As kindly as she could she said, "If you weren't married I would love to have dinner with you."

Bart also glanced at his hand as he held it up slightly.

"Oh, right. Um...my wife, Brenda, passed away a little over four years ago."

Suddenly Ashley felt terrible for assuming he was still married and asking her out.

"Bart. I...I don't even know what to say. I'm so..."

"It's okay. It never came up, and I don't talk about it unless I have to. I'm sorry if it confused you or..."

"No, not at all," she said. "I'm glad you told me, but I'm very sorry to learn that you lost your wife."

"Thank you," was all he said.

Ashley thought that this fighter pilot looked almost fragile and vulnerable for a moment and it touched her deeply.

More tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "Then there's nothing I'd like more, Bart. Nothing at all. I'd love to have dinner with you."

The man in the suit was still patiently waiting and finally said, "I uh, I don't want to keep you two from being able to talk so I'm gonna head back to my office. Ashley? Just let the folks out front know when you're ready and they'll buzz you in so we can finish up the tour."

"Oh, sure. Thank you for being so understanding. We won't be too long," she assured him.

"Take your time," the man said sincerely.

He turned to Bart then extended his hand, "It was an honor, sir."

"Oh, um...thank you," Bart said not at all feeling comfortable with any level of celebrity.

"So where are you staying?" Ashley asked as they sat down together.

"I guess that depends," he told her. "I made reservations for one night in a motel in...how do you pronounce it? Summer?"

Ashley smiled and said, "Sumner. With an 'n'."

"And what does it depend on?" she asked, her eyes now dry.

"Well, on whether or not you'd like me stay longer or I suppose maybe on how soon you'll be leaving to go back to Arlington."

"Oh, I see," she said sweetly. "Well, I've actually been thinking about possibly staying here. That's why I'm at the VA in Tacoma."

"Seriously? You're thinking about working here? At the VA?"

"I guess that depends," she told him using his line.

"And what does it depend on?" he replied using hers.

"Well, partly on whether or not you might be willing to stay here. In the local area."

"Oh. Okay. Are you saying you'd like it if I did?"

"Well, I guess that depends on how well dinner goes. But if it goes well and there's a second date and a third..."

Bart reached up and touched her face and said, "I knew you were pretty. I just didn't remember you being this beautiful."

Ashley smiled warmly and told him, "Thank you. And I definitely remember you being this handsome."

They were staring into each other's eyes just inches apart when Bart began slowly leaning in to kiss her when they heard a recording voice say, "Now serving ticket number 316C at Window Number 4."

He stopped, pulled back, and said, "I believe that would be me. Will you wait for me?"

"As long as it takes," she said just as sweetly as before.

As she watched him walk away, she became aware of the fact her heart was racing and her body was aching for him to kiss her. She knew he was quite a bit older than her, and yet as he watched his very tight...backside...get smaller with each step, she knew she didn't care. He'd not only saved her life, he may well have given her a new one as she realized the way she felt about him.

He was back in a couple of minutes and said, "This place is really shipshape."

"Yeah, I've been very impressed since I got here," Ashley told him.

"Me, too. This was not at all what I expected from the VA."

There was a brief pause before he said, "I should let you finish whatever you were doing."

"Oh, right. Yes. My informal interview."

"So...dinner. How about tonight?" Bart asked.

"Absolutely!" she told him without hesitation. "Since the network didn't pass on my number like they promised, let me give it to you, okay?"

Bart put her information into his phone and didn't ask about the network-number flub-up.

"Great. I'll text you once I'm in my motel and get settled, if that's okay."

"It's very okay," she told him, unable to stop smiling. "Bart? I'm so glad you came and I'm even happier that you found me."

"Me, too. Talk about serendipity."

"No, kidding. Think about the odds. This must be some kind of sign, right?" she teased.

"I never believed in such things, but after something this unlikely happening...who knows?" he said smiling back at her.

Ashley settled for a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye, but as she went to finish her interview, she couldn't ever remember feeling so happy in her life. And because of the handsome man who'd just walked away, she was still alive to experience that happiness, and she found herself anxiously looking forward to seeing him again.

When the interview ended, Ashley was told, "I'm very impressed. The job is yours if you want it."

"May I have a day or two to think it over?" she asked.

"It's been vacant for well over a month so I think I give you 48 hours," he told her with a smile.

Ashley thanked him, then as soon as she stepped out of his office, she checked her phone. There were no messages and her heart sank even though she knew Bart had told her he'd text her after he was settled in. The 'sinking' turned to momentary panic when she realized she didn't have his number. She'd provided hers to him but not the other way around.

"Get ahold of yourself," she said quietly as she walked to her car. "He's going to contact you. Soon."

By the time she got home, there was indeed a text.

"Hey. I'm in a motel here in town. Not too bad as far as dumpy, little motels go. How does 6pm sound for dinner? I'm still on east coast time, remember? And Ashley, I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Bart."

She smiled happily when she read the short text then replied:

"Six is just fine. I'm only now getting adjusted to the three-hour difference so I understand. See you then. Oh, I can't wait to see you again, either! Ashely."

"What are you so happy about?" her father asked when she came in humming and smiling.

Her mom noticed, too, and asked, "Yes. What's going on?"

"Well..." she began.

"I just interviewed for a pharmacist position at the VA hospital in Tacoma."

"Are you...are you kidding?" her mom asked, barely able to breathe.

"No, I'm not kidding, Mom," her daughter told her.

"You thinkin' about staying home?" her dad asked.

"Maybe," she said with a smile. "Not here at home, but in the local area."

"What else aren't you telling us?" he mother asked. She knew her daughter too well to think that was all there was to this unusually happy mood.

"I ran into someone," she said, unable to stop smiling.

"Ronnie?" her mom asked.

"Noooo," Ashley said with a frown. "Not...Ronald."

"Okay. I give up. Tell us already!"

"You'll never believe this because I still can't believe it and it happened to me," Ashley said not divulging anything.

"Out with it already!" her dad said in his best grumpy voice.

"I was walking around the pharmacy when there sat the man who saved my life at the airport. Bart Patterson."

"What? The retired Marine hero?"

"That's the one," Ashley said, her face beaming brightly again.

"What the hell is he doin' out here?" her dad asked.

"He said something about his wound getting infected or something. He went straight to the nearest VA after landing at SeaTac."

"That didn't answer my question," her father said.

"Right. Sorry! Well, he flew out specifically to...try and find me. Can you believe that?" she bubbled.

"When can we meet him?" her mom said with genuine excitement in her voice.

"Well, we're having dinner tonight. I could ask him to come in and say hello."

"Nonsense! I'm making dinner for all of us!" her mom said immediately.

"Cool your jet wagons," her husband growled confusing two newer, 'hep' sayings he clearly hadn't yet mastered. "They're going on a date, you dingbat."

"A date? Seriously? Is that true, honey?" her mom asked.

"It is. And I have to say I can't wait. I mean, it's probably just a how-are-you-doing kind of thing, but I have to admit I really like him, Mom."

"Oh, my. Well, this is...this is...wonderful!" she said.

"Hold on! How old is this guy? If he's retired from the military, he's gotta be at least...what? Maybe forty?" her dad said with his usual cynicism.

"I guess. Maybe. Or maybe a little older than that even," Ashley said. "But what difference does that make?"

"None, honey," her mom said protectively.

"He's damn near my age!" her dad bellowed.

Edwin Morgan was 58 and his wife was 56 so that wasn't exactly true, but Ashley understood his point.

"Dad, I'm almost 30," she reminded him.

"No, you're almost 29, and he might closer to 45," her father snorted.

"Who cares if they love each other?" Susan said, her voice strained and rising as she spoke.

"Love each other? Mom? Dad? Would you please stop?"

Her mom looked hurt while her dad shook his head and did his dismissive hand wave thing.

"This is the worst part about being back home. You two argue about everything and you drag me into it. I love you both, and I'll always be your daughter, but I'm not a child anymore."

Ashley paused for effect then said, "So stop treating me like one."

Neither of her parents spoke. Instead, they did what they normally did and pretended nothing had been said.

"I'll introduce you to him tonight, but we're going out to eat, okay?" Ashley said in a much more conciliatory tone.

"That'll be fine, dear," her mother said in a way that indicated she was hurt and trying not to let it show.

Ashley looked at her watch and thought she'd have just enough time to get her hair and nails done if she could get an appointment on short notice, even though both looked good enough to go to her interview. But this was much more important than a future job so...

Luckily for her, the owner of the shop her mom had used for years knew her and was able to squeeze her in. It didn't hurt that Ashley was something of local celebrity, and the woman who did her hair was dying to ask her questions and post her photo on their bulletin board.

As the woman washed, shampooed, cut, and styled Ashley's hair while another girl did her nails, she asked about the 'incident' at the airport and Ashley did her best to answer each question as honestly as she could as long as that didn't mean talking about that poor little girl.

Her stylist was moved to tears and when she was finished said, "This one's on the house, hon."

Ashley tried insisting she pay but the woman wouldn't hear of it provided she let her take a few pics to let everyone know Ashley Morgan had been in her salon.

Having saved around a hundred dollars, Ashley was even happier with the way her long, dark hair looked. She couldn't remember the last time she'd paid to have it styled. It was shiny and silky and full of body with a soft, gentle wave in it before turning under slightly near the end at her shoulders. Her nails were also flawless having been done in a very deep red that matched the tube of glossy lipstick she showed the girl who did them for her.

Luck was with her when she got back home and she was able to sneak upstairs without either parent noticing or commenting. She undressed then found the outfit she'd planned to wear and put it on before doing her makeup.

It didn't get as cold here as it did in the nation's capitol, but it was chilly or cold most of the year with highs of 45-60 being the norm for many months. She hadn't brought anything 'sexy' with her other than what she'd worn to the reunion, and she wasn't about to wear the same dress she'd worn to her interview. However, she did have a very nice looking dark-gray, long-sleeved sweater with a v-neck that would look perfect with a black pencil skirt and a pair of black heels.