Perseverance (The Resident FF) by Frances51163

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO: Boys' Night

The helicopter ride was everything the two visiting men had hoped. Flying over the volcanoes gave the pair a sense of the true power of nature, the active areas glowing intensely red against the black surface. Logan proved to be an able Pilot and flew as close to the ground as he could within safety guidelines. After his passengers had marvelled over the scenery below Logan decided to head towards the plush green valleys along the coastline. The vivid, greenery a sharp contrast to the bleak volcanic rocks. Finally they headed back back to the small airstrip. Pete had just taken off in a two seater Robinson 22 helicopter and Logan had laughed at Conrads' expression when he noted there were only two seats. The fair haired man had no qualms about admitting the six seater they were in was the smallest one he would fly in. After obtaining directions to their friends' house and being given a spare key the two men headed back into the small town to pick up some supplies and some necessities for staying overnight. Eventually they pulled up outside a large wooden two storey residence with a wraparound porch complete with a pink swing seat. After gathering their stuff and entering the homely house it became evident that although Jenny no longer lived in the house her presence was much savoured still. The inside of the house was mostly wooden. The hall opened up on the left into a large living area and beyond a large kitchen stood with large windows allowing a view of the fields beyond. To the left of the hall there was a spacious winding stair base which they had been informed led to the bedrooms. Going upstairs both men made short work of settling into the two guestrooms they had been instructed to use. Deciding a snack was in order they headed downstairs.

"It's beautiful," Conrad admired as he stopped in the living area when Jude continued on into the kitchen, enjoying the homely warmth the place exuded with the large open red brick fireplace with four comfortable armchairs on either side. The two black leather couches facing the flat screen television at an angle were stuffed with large plush pink velvet cushions which matched the heavy curtains on the windows either side of the fireplace. Dark shelves stood on either side of the television filled to the brim with DVDs and VHS cassettes. Flowerpots with blooming white flowers stood in the corners of the room. Before a third slightly smaller window stood a round wooden table with various boards games and packs of playing cards stacked on its' second shelf. The area looked as if it was truly lived in. It was clean yet not obsessively so. There would be no raised voices if something was dropped accidentally in this house for it wasn't just a house, a residence it really was a home. As he made a few sandwiches after emptying the groceries they had bought Jude had been watching the array of emotions warring on his friends' features, the last of which appeared to be sadness.

"Hey you want anything besides a sandwich?" the Surgeon decided to get his companion talking.
"Nah thanks," Conrad shook himself out of his memories and walked over to the long counter where his friend deposited a chunky sandwich and a large glass of 7UP filled with ice cubes before him, "it's a lovely place."
"Can't argue with you there," Jude sank down beside his friend and took a large bite of his own sandwich, it had been a long time since breakfast.
"James is lucky with the boys. They share his passion."
"Must be nice to know they'll carry on his business after his gone," the older man concurred as he took a sip of cool beer and turned on hearing the front door opening, "James hope you don't mind ...,"
"Told ye my home is yer home. Stay where ye are," the Pilot walked in after shrugging off his jacket and taking off his sunglasses, "might make myself a sandwich as well."
"Made a turkey salad sandwich for you," Jude gestured to the large black double refrigerator, "seem to remember that was your favourite in the Mess."
"A man after my own heart," James gleefully retrieved the plate and helped himself to a beer, "and it has to be better than the ones we had over there."
"Food wasn't that bad," Conrad frowned.
"Nope but it's better enjoying it with friends when you know you're not going to be called out at any time."
"You got a point," Jude held up his bottle and both men clinked their drinks in agreement.
"You have a lovely place here," Conrad put in gesturing to their surroundings.
"Well Jenny put her heart and soul into this place. She said it was to be our forever home. Unfortunately forever didn't last too long for her but I can still feel her presence in this house. We had a huge argument about the pink curtains and cushions but in the end reached a compromise. She gave up on wanting pink couches!"
"You're a lucky man," Jude grinned.
"I know it!" James admitted honestly.

Later that night after the dinner dishes had been deposited in the dishwasher and Logan and Pete had departed on their respective dates the three men sat by the roaring fire and recalled old times.

"Hey you remember the time Timmons got his fingers struck in the sink?" James looked at the blonde haired man with a wide smile.
"What happened?" Jude asked curiously.
"The fool dropped his wedding ring when he went to put it on the shelf over the sink," James obliged, "it got stuck in the drain. When we found him he had jammed two fingers down the drain, mind you he'd lost a fair amount of skin. Not that he was worried about that."
"Think the alcohol in his system might have had something to do with him not feeling the pain," Conrad added with a chuckle, "it was his wedding anniversary so he'd decided to celebrate. Problem was once he got the fingers in there was no way to get them out."
"At least not easily," James put in shaking his head at the memory, "took us about four hours to take the sink apart ....,"
"Why did it take that long?"
"Well you see Timmons had been confined to base so we couldn't get the usual equipment we would have used to dismantle the washbasin and access the drain. Plus we had to be real quiet because it was 0200 when we found him. Conrad and I were the only two up. Most of the guys were solid but there were a couple who would have reported the incident so we couldn't take the chance. Sergeant Burke was a good man but he would have been in a tight spot if the matter came to his attention so we dealt with it."
"Did ye recover the ring?" Jude asked hopefully.
"Well that's the funny party," James started laughing, "turns out he had put the ring in his locker before he went out drinking with some buddies. He was washing his hands when he realized the ring was gone and just assumed because it wasn't on the shelf where he usually put it that it must gave gone down the drain."
"Damn," Jude grinned, "after all yer hard work."
"I know. It was only when we were reassembling the drain pipe that he remembered where he'd left it," Conrad smiled in remembrance, " you ever hear from him?"
"Actually he visited about two months back. Himself and his wife. They never had kids but you could tell despite the disappointment they're happy. He used to be a Salesman for tiles of all things. He decided after a while though he needed to do something he really liked so he's after becoming a Social Worker. They live in Denver. Came here for their wedding anniversary."
"I'm glad he's doing okay," Conrad stated thinking of those they left behind, "we were the lucky ones."
"We sure were," Jude nodded solemnly as he looked into the dancing flames, "mind you there have been times when I questioned that."

tbc