Chapter Sixty Nine, continued
The phone rang, startling Ross awake. Hlukayrn's voice, "You have an hour and a half before they land. Did you get any sleep?"
"Yes. Where's Ricamonte?"
"He flew out to meet them."
Ross slammed his hand down on the kitchen counter. "That son of a ... I could have gone along!"
Hlukayrn laughed, "No. You were in bad shape. You'll meet them on the field, with all of the press watching."
"Is that a warning?"
"I know you miss him. I suggest you keep your greeting down to a hug and a kiss."
Ross found himself stuck between a cringe and a grin. "Ah, yeah. I could have gotten more if I'd gone with Ricamonte."
"You'd have collapsed at Envyss's feet, and what good would that have done either of you? Get yourself together, get down here."
---
Shower, shave, dress shirt and trousers, and the fliers' jacket. Ross was able to get a cup of coffee and a bite of breakfast before the plane was spotted by observers on the ground.
"Control tower verifies that they're on board." Hlukayrn waved toward a small group of cars and trucks approaching, "And here's the press."
"Is that a hint to behave myself?"
Hlukayrn grinned, "That's your call. You might not even get a vote, depending on how worked up your partner is. He might just drag you behind the nearest bush."
Since the nearest bush was actually farther away than a perfectly good apartment, that was an idle notion at best.
The cameras set up as the plane landed and taxied to where the boarding stairs were waiting. No bands, no banners... but all the technicians who hadn't collapsed completely, and all of the flier corps, welcoming their own back.
The plane stopped and the boarding stairs were rolled up and secured. The side door opened... Ricamonte's head popped out, and he waved. Hlukayrn nodded, and whispered, "Go. Meet them inside the plane."
Ross wasn't quite moving at a run when he got to the bottom of the stairs, but he took the treads two at a time. Then he had to stop and catch his breath at the top.
Ricamonte reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him in and closing the door behind. "There's nothing wrong. I just thought you might want some privacy."
Envyss was standing in the main cabin, peering out of a window. "No parade?"
"That's next week." Ross was surprised by how matter-of-fact the conversation sounded. Except that they were both grinning at each other like idiots. "You did it. Up and back again."
"I just rode the bus. You built it. I hear you had some problems for a minute."
"Yes. Ricamonte says you can't go up again."
"I know. My place is at your side, not hundreds of miles above you. But I got to go once."
---
Narayana tugged at Ricamonte's sleeve. "We're not needed here."
"I'll be needed here if one of them forgets to breathe."
She looked over her shoulder. "No, they're breathing, all right. I'm not sure _how_..."
Ricamonte nodded. Louder, "Ross. Reporters. If you don't show up soon, they're going to start to worry."
It really hadn't gotten to more than a long kiss and a hard embrace. "You're right. We can continue this after the press conference."
---
Ross and Ricamonte out of the door first, then Narayana and Envyss. Applause, cameras, but the reporters were held back by Security -- assassins were still a possibility.
Down at the bottom of the stairs, Ross gave the press part of what they were waiting for -- he took Envyss's hand and pulled him over for a hug and a kiss. then he startled everyone by doing the same to Narayana.
---
Ricamonte kept a careful watch on how long the press conference was, and closed it down. "Nara, we can have a car take you back to your quarters, and Security to hold everyone off until you have some rest."
Envyss shook his head. "No. She comes with us. Better security altogether."
Ross looked up, here? No privacy.
Envyss shook his head. "Home. Do you need to pick up anything here before we leave?"
Whoops. Ross hadn't locked the tapes away this morning... or the book. "It'll take a minute. I'll be right back down."
---