Of Broken Things

Chapter 4 - scene 4.

His conversation with Hikaru had left him feeling oddly nostalgic, and his gaze was drawn to the antique wooden bookshelf that Mary Ann had fondly called his "Trophy showcase."

With a sad smile, Aiden ran his fingers over his Flight Academy diploma. There was a hologram of him dressed in his brand new uniform next to it. Space had been his dream ever since he had been a kid. He had ran away from home to enroll in the Flight Academy because his parents had been dead set against it. He had been the youngest cadet to graduate and earn his silver wings. He had spent ten years in space, going back down the gravity well five or six times total. He had dreamed, lived and breathed space.

His fingers brushed against the case with his Medal of Honor, earned by saving his patrol ship and Hikaru's life.Their force field had failed that day, and a tiny piece of fast moving debris had breached the hull of the navigation cabin. Aiden had been closer to the hole then Hikaru and had managed to seal the breach before they had lost all of their air, but the damage to his face and lungs had been considerable. The doctors at the military hospital managed to save his eyesight, but his night vision never recovered. What had grounded him for good however, was the artificial lung they had to implant to replace the one they couldn't save. It couldn't withstand the G-forces necessary to bring a spacecraft out of Earth's gravity well.

He had been let go with a generous retirement package and a gaping hole in his heart that no amount of alcohol could fill. He had ended up stranded on Earth, and every night the stars laugh at him from above. He had been so close to the edge that even a small shove would have sent him hurling into the darkness. That's how Hikaru had found him - drunk, homeless, and hopeless.

Next to the medal was his Police Academy Diploma. Mary Ann had had it re-framed at one point to make it look all spiffy. Hikaru had been the one who persuaded Aiden to give it a try, and had saved his life by doing so. Aiden had discovered, to his own surprise, that he loved the job. There was something trilling about getting a new case and staring at all those seemingly unrelated pieces, then start slowly and methodically assembling them into one coherent picture. He discovered that once he launched into an investigation, he would not let go until he got all his questions answered. The worst thing that could happen to him was a case going cold. His persistence earned Aiden a few enemies in high places, but it also a few true and lasting friendships.

Aiden's breath caught in his chest and his fingers shook a little when he touched the next display piece - a small Plexiglas case with the bullet Mary Ann had pulled out of his shoulder. This had been how they had met. He and Ricky had been on a routine drug bust, but they hadn't expected one of the dealers to pull out an ancient, probably twentieth century Glock. Aiden still remembered the look of surprise on the guy's face when the gun fired, as if he hadn't expected it to work. He could also remember the impact when the bullet hit him and the excruciating pain.

Ricky had half-dragged him into where he was left to wait for over an hour to be seen by a doctor without even a shot to alleviate his suffering, Aiden had been on the verge of killing someone. When Dr. Mary Ann Hemsworth had walked into the room and asked him how he was feeling, he had verbally chewed her head off. Dr. Hemsworth had reacted with polite professionalism, completely ignoring his outburst. She gave him a shot of morphine, extracted the bullet, disinfected and stitched up the wound. And through all this, she had been an absolute sweetheart to him. Aiden had left the ER patched up and ashamed of his behavior. So much so that he showed up at the end of her shift one week later with flowers, an apology, and an invitation to dinner. To his amazement, she accepted both.

Staring at their wedding hologram, Aiden couldn't help but wonder, had she said no that night, had she said no later when he had proposed to her, would she still be alive today? Would she still be walking this earth, laughing, loving someone else? But where would he be without her unconditional love and support? Probably still working for the police, chasing down murderers, psychopaths, and crime lords. But more likely long dead and buried. He had made quite a lot of enemies in the criminal world.

Mary Ann had been the reason why he had retired from the task force and opened his own private investigation agency. Well, Jasmine's arrival had played a large role in that as well. He specialized in tracking down missing people and shadowing "wandering" spouses and had made sure to stir clear from any dangerous jobs. Not that it had made a slightest bit of a difference in the end...

Staring at his trophies now, Aiden had a sudden epiphany - everything he had loved in his life was right here, on this bookshelf, and it had all been taken from him. So what did he have left to live for?

His hands balled into fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, Take it one day at a time. Right now, you have a case to solve. That is reason enough to continue living.

Speaking of the case... Aiden picked up the transmitter and found the address Ricky had given him. Time to check out that mountain cabin and see if Jerry McDermoth had indeed gone into hiding.