Dying Fire

Eplilogue

Mike closed the door to his truck and stepped onto the street curb. Immediately upon entering the atmosphere, he was forced to smile. The kids next door to Cat's house were playing in both their own yard and hers. Back and forth they chased the dog tackling and rolling with it while laughing.

The passenger door to his truck creaked open as well, and the young man's foot met with the grass.

This wasn't where Caleb expected her to live. However, as long as it was hers, Caleb didn't care.

"Hi mIke!" The little girl waved from underneath Cat's dog.

"Hey kids." He smiled.

Caleb looked at them and smiled as well. However, approaching the garage, that's where a complete genuine smile reached his lips. Parked in place was a 1970 Chevy muscle car, white racing stripes running down the middle. Underneath it though, that's what he really wanted to see.

"I thought the doc said no strenuous activities." Mike crossed his arms looking down at her feet.

She was too busy being wrapped up in the under side of her car to even notice Caleb's feet.

Her voice was just as it sounded the first day he met her. "The only strenuous activity around here is you ya old basterd ." She grunted while turning something. "Swear to god my blood pressure went up 2 fold hearing that piece of shit coming down my street."

Mike chuckled. "Speaking of pieces of shit, you ain't got this thing fixed yet?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, nothing about it needed to be fixed. Just touched up. There is nothing wrong with her."

"Okay then, why don't we take it for a spin?"

At this, cat wheeled herself out from underneath the car. She had oil all over her arms and face, but a look of surprise matched it too. She looked between to two, shocked to see Caleb standing in her garage.  "Well," She breathed. "Good thing it's got seating for three then huh?"

Caleb smiled. "Hey Cat."

Helping her to her feet, Caleb locked his hand with hers and they quickly pulled each other into a hug. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I picked him up on my way through." Mike smiled. "Figured it would be a nice surprise."

"How you feeling?" Caleb asked.

As soon as the ship landed after the explosion, Cat was whisked away to urgent care a little faster than the others. That was he last time Caleb had seen her since the incident, Cat wanted to be in a healthy condition before she did that to him.

Apparently to mike, she was close enough.

"I'm good. How bout you?"

Caleb shrugged. "Looking for a job, so after that lands- I guess a little better."

Nodding, the two turned to mike as he started to talk. "We're having a grill out over at my house, figured I'd come ask if you wanted to come over."

Cat nodded. "I got the kids though, Johnson is out on a business trip."

"That's okay, we got plenty."

"Alright then." Cat turned towards the yard. "Hey!" She homered at them. "Go clean up we're going to mikes to eat!"

All the kids perked up as well as Mater. Within seconds, the dog was up in the bed of mikes truck and the kids were running into their house to get ready.

"Didn't know you were such a family person." Caleb smiled at her.

Mike just rolled his eyes. "Oh she's great with kids. You guys should have some!" Cat sent him a look. "No? Okay. Well, Caleb, you get the truck-" he tossed Caleb the keys. "-I get the speed racer."

Opening the door to the drivers side, cat climbed in and revived the engine to life. It turned over, roared, and the smile on Cat's face was as big as it had ever been. "Oh my god." Mike squeezed like a little girl climbing into the passenger seat. "I think I'm in love."

"I'm telling your wife!" Then, as the kids came out, cat distributed them into both her car and the truck out on the curb side. Once everyone was loaded up though, cat took the lead guiding the group towards mike's house.

Where she was, that's where cat wouldn't mind being the rest of her life.

She was happy, mike by her side and Caleb in her life. Her experience on the deep water horizon was traumatizing, and she had sleepless nights because of it. However, the outcomes of it made her life turn for that of the better. Now, she had all she wanted.

Her dream car running, her best friend at her side, a smile on their faces, and a good guy right at her finger tips whenever she was ready to engage something.

She had it good, but she had to go through the bad to get here.

Cat would do it all over again, she would suffer through every ounce of pain she had before to get to where she was now.

"Come on Cat-" mike encouraged her. "Give it a little gas. Open it up."

Smiling, cat gripped the steering wheel tighter and looked through her rear view mirror at Caleb in the truck behind them.

"Anything for you Mike." Then, she positioned her foot over the gas. "Anything for you."