Thwarted Dreams -- Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Colonel Lydecker, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Caroline, etc.).

“I am so proud of you,” Mrs. Robinson said to Caroline nineteen-and-a-half months later. She gave her a big hug.

“You’ve only said that a million times when you and Dad were in New York for my graduation ceremony,” Caroline said, laughing. She hugged her mother back. “But thank you again, Mom. It still means a lot.”

“I can’t say it enough.” Mrs. Robinson grinned at her only daughter. “Not too many women can say that they’ve been through West Point, not to mention have gotten through it as well as you did. I am incredibly proud of you.”

“I am too, sweetheart,” Mr. Robinson said. He gave Caroline a hug of his own. “Way to go, princess.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Caroline said.

“That makes all of us grown up and done with college and out of the house,” Danny remarked. “Well, Caroline will be out of the house eventually.”

“Very funny,” Caroline said. “I’ve got a whole month before I have to report to my first assignment.”

Pete, who was also standing nearby, nodded. “Where are you off to?”

“Louisiana,” Caroline said.

“I’m just glad they’re not sending you overseas,” Mrs. Robinson said. “It’s bad enough that Danny is planning on trying to become a SEAL.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Mom, how many times have I told you not to worry about it?”

“I’m supposed to worry about it. It’s in my job description. You should read it one of these days,” Mrs. Robinson teased.

“Still worrying about your children, huh?” Lydecker observed, approaching the group.

“I always do, Don,” Mrs. Robinson said. She gave him a hug. “It’s good to see you again and it’s even better to see you doing so well.”

“Thank you,” Lydecker said. “Clean and sober for just over a year and counting now.”

“Good for you,” Mr. Robinson said. “How’s the job back in Casper?”

“Same old, same old,” Lydecker said. “Being a colonel doesn’t make it any less tedious.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that ‘you’d think being a colonel would make it more interesting’ crap from you for how long now? If I remember correctly, about two years,” Pete teased.

“Same old Pete Robinson,” Lydecker said, shaking his head. “Anyway, I want to say congratulations to you, Caroline. I knew that you would do as well as you did.”

“Thank you, Don,” Caroline said. She still didn’t like Don that much, though he had been nicer to her since Chris had died.

“I brought a friend along,” Lydecker said. “I thought you’d like to meet him.”

Caroline groaned. “Great, now you’re getting into the ‘let’s set Caroline up with a date’ act? It’s bad enough that my mother does it whenever I’m home and nags me on the phone occasionally when I’m not home but now my brother’s best friend is getting into the deal? Lucky me.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll like him,” Lydecker assured her. He made a motion with one of his hands and a handsome young man walked up to them. “Caroline, everybody, this is Patrick Nelson, a friend of mine who up until very recently was one of the soldiers guarding the medical research facility in Wyoming. Patrick, this is Caroline Robinson, the young lady that I was telling you so much about, her parents, and her older brothers.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Patrick greeted. He grinned. “I feel like I already know you guys.”

“I’m not surprised,” Mrs. Robinson said. “We’ve known Don here since he was only five years old.”

“So, Don said that you aren’t stationed at the facility in Wyoming anymore,” Caroline asked.

“No, I just got transferred,” Patrick said.

Caroline glanced around and saw that her parents and brothers and Lydecker had all left her and Patrick. “Yep, Don is trying to set us up together.”

Patrick laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know,” Caroline said. She looked at Patrick and smiled. “How about we get something to drink and talk for awhile and then I’ll make up my mind?”

“You drive a hard bargain, beautiful,” Patrick said. He grinned and he and Caroline walked over to a table where the drinks were and grabbed a beer for each of them and then the two of them walked outside and sat down on the front porch together. “It’s a beautiful sunset out today.”

“Yeah, it is,” Caroline agreed. “The colors are amazing.”

“So, Caroline,” Patrick said. “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

“Me? Moving up in the ranks, married, definitely a child or two or maybe even more,” Caroline told him. She grinned. “I can’t wait to be a mom. I know I can balance being in the military with being a mother. I just know it. What about you?”

“Something similar, I guess,” Patrick said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know about children. I never felt comfortable with the thought of being a father.” He saw the look on Caroline’s face and smiled reassuringly. “Hey, I’m only twenty-three. Give me some time. Maybe eventually I’ll feel ready to have children.”

“Maybe,” Caroline agreed. “Where are you from?”

“Originally I’m from New York City,” Patrick said. “My family and I moved away from there to Pittsburgh when I was only two years old, though. I only visited New York only twice that I can remember before my grandmother, my dad’s mom, died when I was four. She was my only living relative on my dad’s side of the family who lived in New York, so after she died we didn’t really have any reason to go back there. Don told me that you’ve lived here in Columbus your whole life, your time at West Point not withstanding.”

“Yeah,” Caroline agreed. “I was born and raised here. I love it here. Whether I’ll live here again I have no idea, but I guess we’ll see.”

They continued to talk for awhile. Caroline found herself warming up to Patrick. He really is a nice guy. He’s got a pretty good sense of humor, too. Those eyes…those eyes are something to kill for! Damn! I wonder if he could be the one. Could he?

“What are you kids doing out here? Anything that I should know about?” Mr. Robinson teased, sticking his head out the front door.

“No, Dad,” Caroline said. She laughed. “Patrick and I were just talking. We’ll be right in.”

Patrick stood up and held out a hand to Caroline and helped her up. “I guess the guest of honor shouldn’t be missing out on her own party.”

“I guess she shouldn’t,” Caroline agreed. They smiled at each other and went back inside the house.

TBC