Up, Up, and Away

Katharine almost laughed when she saw Zayn perk up and even wave as he called out, "Hello, there!" when Morgan walked in.

It got even more interesting when she saw her brother offer her a hug which she accepted without hesitation.

"So how was lunch?" Zayn asked as they walked toward the counter together.

"Very nice, thank you. I have to say I'm really enjoying your city."

"ABQ...sorry, that's what we locals call it, like it quite well."

Morgan laughed then shared with Zayn how she knew it was called that.

"Oh, okay. So you heard Jessie Pinkman say it," Zayn replied referencing the failure of a chemistry student Walter White partnered up with to make meth in the Breaking Bad series.

"Oh, yes. My husband LOVED that show!"

"I can't say I blame him. To me, it was THE best TV series of all time."

"He would have agreed with you on that," a smiling Morgan said.

"Can I uh, show you around?" Zayn asked.

Katharine nearly laughed again as they were in a standard hangar where a balloon was in for repairs. Otherwise there wasn't much to see.

"Oh. Um...sure," she readily agreed.

As they walked by Katharine, she not only smiled she gave him a funny look.

"What?" Zayn asked.

"Oh, nothing," she replied, the smile still there as she went back to her paperwork. "Just don't forget your 2pm flight."

Zayn then gave her a look that said, "Yeah. Like I'd ever forget that."

A few feet further away Morgan asked, "Is there a brother-sister dynamic going on there?"

Zayn smiled and told her there was.

"I know it well," Morgan told him. "Hank and I don't even have to speak most of the time."

Zayn smiled again then said, "So far you and I both like ABQ, we both like Breaking Bad, and we both 'get it' when it comes to our older sibling."

Morgan laughed politely then asked their age difference.

"Three years."

"Really? Same as us," Morgan replied with another beautiful smile.

Zayn wanted to ask her age but knew that was taboo, so he tried being more subtle.

"I guess that means Hank is getting close to 40 then," he said as nonchalantly as he could.

Morgan stopped, looked at him, then started laughing.

"Why is that funny?" Zayn asked.

"Because if you think Hank isn't already 40, that means you think I'm ever further away from 40."

"I'm confused," Zayn told her as he shook his head.

"Hank just turned 43," a still-smiling Morgan informed him.

She was even more amused when she saw the wheels turning in his head as he did the math.

"No. No way," he finally said.

Morgan laughed again then said, "I could just hug you!"

Zayn was so surprised by her age he didn't hear what she said or he'd have taken her up on another hug.

"I...I'm not sure I believe you," he nearly mumbled.

Morgan laughed again then pointed toward an office and asked if it was his.

"Oh. Yes. That's mine. Katharine's is just to the left."

"Okay," Morgan said, as Zayn just stood there looking at her. She was expecting him to at least take her over to look into it if not go inside, but he still hadn't moved.

"Maybe we should just go back to the counter," she suggested in hopes of getting him to move.

For the briefest of moments Zayn felt panic well up inside him before he looked at his watch to make sure he wasn't late.

"Yes. That...that sounds like a really good idea."

Neither of them spoke until the got back to where Katharine was, and then Morgan thanked him for 'the tour'.

"Sorry. I really didn't show you anything, did I?" Zayn said apologetically.

Morgan smiled in an interesting kind of way as she politely said, "Oh, I'd say you actually showed me quite a bit."

The 2pm group was all there, and Zayn didn't have time to process what she meant, but later he realized she meant that he'd given her some insight into who he was, and more importantly, that she liked what she'd seen.

This time, there was no Dee-Dee to contend with and to his great delight, most of the time was spent next to Morgan as he either pointed out various features or answered her questions.

"You know, I have to tell you, I'm almost envious," she said toward the end of the flight. "I would absolutely love this job."

Zayn smiled then told her, "Well, I'm a certified instructor, so if you ever want to get your private pilot's license and balloon certification, just let me know."

His offer was sincere, but he was certain she was going back to Seattle in a few days, so it wasn't as though that was ever going to happen.

"You know, I'm going to give that some serious thought," Morgan told him before sharing with him just how much she was enjoying the desert and how ABQ was growing on her.

"If you need a realtor, I know several," Zayn told her with a smile.

"I may just take you up on that. Maybe we could discuss it over dinner tonight?" Morgan replied with another amazing smile.

"Sure. I'd like that."

They made small talk until the balloon was back on the ground then all the way back into the hangar where Morgan again thanked him profusely.

"Seriously. The pleasure was all mine," Zayn assured her.

"I guess I'll see you tonight then," she told him, her radiant smile on display and having some kind of powerful effect on him.

"I'm looking forward to that," Zayn said before she offered another hug which he accepted with pleasure.

Zayn hadn't been to The Artichoke Cafe since returning from the Air Force. It was one of the nicer places in town, and he was not only looking forward to the excellent food, but he couldn't wait to see Morgan again. He was trying to understand why as he drove toward Central Avenue where the restaurant was located, and none of it made any sense. Or almost none of it, anyway.

She was clearly beautiful. But he 'spent time' with beautiful woman fairly often. And those women were between 18 and 30 with only a handful ever having been over 25. It was also true that very few of 'his' women could carry on a thoughtful conversation, but many of them were as attractive as this woman he now knew was 40 years old. And while Morgan was very pleasant to talk to, conversation had never been his goal where women were concerned. Even odder was how his 'normal goal' was the last thing on his mind as he found himself smiling without realizing it until he glanced at himself in the rearview mirror.

Unable to sort it out, he pulled into the parking lot and decided to table the issue for now, because all that mattered was spending more time with her. And that thought made him realize she wouldn't be in Albuquerque much longer.

"Unless I can somehow change her mind," he said to himself as he walked inside the upscale restaurant.

A very pretty young woman met him immediately, but he paid no attention to her as his eyes scanned the room, first left and then right until he saw her.

"Sir? Do you have reservations?" she asked just as Morgan got up and headed his way.

When the younger woman saw him hug a seated customer, she assumed this was the third person in her 'party of three' and left him alone.

"Zayn. Hi! It's so good to see you again," Morgan told him after the hug.

"You, too, Morgan, and may I say you look...amazing."

She laughed and told him that was very nice of him to say.

"It's true. You look beautiful," he assured her as Hank stood up and shook his hand.

"Evening, Cap'n," Hank said with a laugh before offering Zayn a seat.

Morgan heard it and chimed in saying, "Yes! We should have been calling you Captain Webber, right?"

Zayn politely laughed then told her, "No, thanks. I was Captain Webber on active duty, and Zayn is just fine now."

"Yes. The Air Force. I want to hear about your experiences," she said with a level of interest that surprised him.

"And I want to know what's it like flying Mach 2 or however fast the plane you flew went."

Zayn laughed again then said, "The F-15 tops out at Mach 2.5 or 1,875 miles an hour, but..."

"Did you just say what I thought you said?" Morgan asked, not sure she heard correctly.

"I did," Zayn replied. "But no matter how fast you're flying you don't really notice it if you're moving in a straight line."

"So how many Gs can that thing pull?" a very-interested Hank asked.

"The real limit is how many Gs the pilot can handle without blacking out, and that's around nine. The airframe can do a little better than that, but it's a moot point if the pilot is unconscious."

"Unconscious?" Morgan asked causing Zayn to turn her way again and explain what happens to the body in high speed turns and how a G-suit counteracts them.

"I had no idea. So the suit inflates and the air pressure keeps blood where it's needed?" she essentially repeated after hearing the explanation.

"Correct. But we rarely get anywhere near 9Gs. I mean, I've never been in an actual dogfight except in training, because we haven't gone up against another Air Force since Vietnam. Well, unless you can't the few Iraqi jets that gave it a whirl back in 2003."

"And you gave all that up to fly hot air balloons?" a baffled Hank asked.

Not wanting to discuss anything personal Zayn smiled, shrugged his shoulders, then said, "What can I say?" just as their server came to take their order.

"Dinner's on me, Zayn, so have whatever you like," Morgan quietly told him.

"I know you offered, but I don't think I can actually let a beautiful woman pay for my meal," he said with a smile.

"I'm a traditional woman, but when you compare a free balloon ride with one dinner, it's hardly a big deal," Morgan told him.

"In principle, I suppose you're right, but..."

"Then it's on me," Hank interjected ending the non-dispute dispute.

When Zayn shrugged again, Hank said, "I'm neither beautiful nor a woman, so that's that."

The woman waiting on them looked to be around 40 or 45, and she smiled at Hank and told him she agreed about the woman part but disagreed about him not being...handsome...then looked at Morgan and wondered if maybe she'd just flirted with her husband.

"No! Not at all," Morgan said with a laugh after the woman apologized and told her why. "No, that good looking guy is my brother, and I happen to agree with you."

"Whew!" the relieved server said before asking if they'd like any appetizers or drinks.

Hank ordered a bottle of champagne and told her they weren't sure about the appetizers yet. Zayn noticed the way he was taking charge and smiling at the woman and assumed he found her equally attractive.

Morgan also noticed and said, "My brother is obviously smitten with someone."

Before he could deny it, she looked at Zayn and asked, "How about you? Are you..."

"Me? No. I'm not...seeing anyone."

He was surprised that her question caught him so off guard, and he wasn't quite sure how to answer it without sounding boorish. Somehow, "I only do hook ups," just didn't have the ring he was looking for.

"No worries and no hurry, right?" she replied, the same amazing smile on her very pretty face. "One day the right woman will come along and catch your attention, and she'll be the last woman you ever look at ."

"My sister is a hopeless romantic," Hank told Zayn as he leaned over his way. "She thinks everyone else is, too."

"I do not!" Morgan insisted.

"Yeah, you kind do, Morgan," her brother insisted back.

"I just think that when you find that special person, you willingly stop looking. That's all."

"For what it's worth, I agree with you," Zayn told her as he looked right at her in a way that told her there was more to his words than the words themselves.

Their bottle of champagne arrived, and the trio still hadn't looked at the menu, but they promised to so very soon.

The server, who's name was Cheryl, popped the cork and let the towel she was cradling the bottle in take the foamy overflow before pouring each of them a glass.

"Enjoy, and I'll be right back," she said as she gently touched Hank's arm as she left.

"Oh, yeah. Someone is definitely smitten," Morgan teased as she watched her brother's eyes follow the woman until she was out of sight.

"I take it you're not married?" Zayn tactfully asked Hank.

"What?" he replied before realizing he hadn't been listening. "Oh. No. I uh, I was married. For 12 years. But my wife wasn't one of those who um..."

He looked at his sister, but not in a mean way, then said, "Ever stopped looking."

"Sorry. That was none of my business," Zayn quietly said.

"No. It's okay. I was bitter for a long time, but I got to the point where I enjoy being single, so no big deal."

"And I'm finally at a point where I'm realizing I don't like being single," Morgan added with no hidden agenda. It was just a statement of fact.

"Hank mentioned your...family. I can't tell you how sorry I am," Zayn told her.

"Thank you. I wasn't 'bitter', but I was angry and then just...lost for a long time. But thanks to an amazing therapist, I was able to work through the grief and the hurt and well, I'm finally at a place in my life where I think I could even fall in love again."

"Okay, okay," Hank said as he raised his glass. "Enough of this, all right? Let's have a drink, but first...a toast."

He thought for a second or two then proposed, "To new friends and new experiences."

"I'll drink to that!" Morgan said with a laugh as they all touched glasses before taking a sip then turning their attention to the menu.

By the time Cheryl brought their appetizers, everyone was on a second glass and the conversation was flowing freely.

Morgan wanted to know everything she could about flying hot air balloons and Zayn was more than happy to walk her through the process, answering each of her many questions as he went along.

"I still can't believe how much I enjoyed being in one," she said once she ran out of questions to ask.

"Well, you could go up with me...us...again," Zayn told her.

"Oh, no. We have another three days here and still have quite a few things to see. And as much as I would love that, I do want to try and stay at least to being on-budget."

"Who said anything about paying?" Zayn asked with a tilt of his head and a raised eyebrow.

Morgan smiled at him then laughed.

"What's so funny about that?" Zayn asked.

"Were I at least close to your age, I'd swear you were flirting with me," Morgan replied with a laugh indicating that was a ridiculous idea.

Zayn rarely drank more than one beer and then only occasionally, and he was feeling pretty good after draining a second glass.

"What does age have to do with anything?" he said quietly but so seriously that it made Morgan stop laughing then stop smiling.

Hank was watching them both carefully, and his sister's reaction evidently told him something Zayn couldn't see as he started laughing and said, "Well, well. I do believe our young guest is flirting with you, sis!"

This time, Zayn saw something, too, as Morgan looked at him then at Hank before she replied.

"That's...that's just...ridiculous!"

She looked back at Zayn then said, "Right? Please tell my brother he's completely lost his mind."

When she looked at him again, Zayn only smiled before saying, "I can't. I can't because he's absolutely right."

"What? That...that makes no..." Morgan began as her brother nearly roared with laughter.

Zayn looked over at him, and that made Hank laugh even harder, and that, in turn, made Zayn laugh.

"I hope you two are having fun," Morgan said with a sound of hurt in her voice.

"Relax, Morgan. We're not poking fun at you. We're just laughing because you can't see what's right in front of your face!" her brother told her.

The conversation waned after that, and at one point Hank said he needed to use the restroom. What he really wanted to do was talk to Cheryl—alone—but neither of the other two people thought that as they were still mentally grappling with the flirting comment from before.

Once Hank was far enough away not to be heard, Zayn turned to Morgan and said, "I hope I wasn't out of line."

"It's okay," a very subdued Morgan told him as she mustered up a weak smile.

"No. No, it isn't," Zayn replied. "I realize now that well, with you being a romantically-minded woman who's ready to, you know, maybe one day get serious again, it wouldn't be funny at all to joke about such a thing."

Morgan quietly thanked him, but Zayn didn't stop.

"The truth is, I wasn't joking or trying to be funny. At all."

She looked at him but didn't speak, so he continued.

"I was flirting with you, Morgan. I never thought Hank would, well, react that way, and what was meant as sincere ended up seeming silly and...mean. And if I hurt you in any way, please accept my apologies."

Morgan watched him as he spoke, and now that she knew he was being completely honest with her it touched her deeply.

"No. It's fine, Zayn. I think I'm just a little sensitive, because I've been so hopeful lately, you know?"

"Hopeful?"

"Yes. That I really will meet someone new. Someone I can fall in love with and..."

"And not ever look at anyone else again?" he said, showing her he'd been paying attention.

"Yes. That," she told him, the warm, happy smile he loved now back.

"You will, Morgan. I promise you that. You're an amazing woman who's smart and pleasant, and...very beautiful."

She was still watching his eyes very carefully, and when he said those words, they hit her so hard she had to look away as she tried to play off his compliment by saying, "That's so sweet of you to say."

But when he gently reached over and touched her forearm and said, "I'm still flirting with you, Morgan. I may not be doing a very good job of it, but I'm trying very hard over here."

Just the touch of his fingertips on her bare skin caused her entire body to react in an old, familiar way that took her by surprise.

"It...it's just so hard to believe you're serious," she told him as she forced herself to look at him again.

"I'm not too good at this because I never flirt. Well, not like this anyway. So all I can do is try my best and hope it's working."

It had been so long since she'd felt like this, that Morgan wasn't sure what to do or even what to say. What came out was, "Zayn. You're a really great guy, but you...you know how old I am, so..."

He touched her arm again then repeated what he'd said before.

"What does age have to do with anything?"

Neither of them saw Hank heading back their way as Morgan sat there, her eyes rapidly darting between Zayn's as her brain tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Guess who has a date for tomorrow night!" Hank announced as he surprised them both.

"You did not!" Morgan said as she smiled at her brother.

"I most definitely did. Got her number, too," Hank proudly announced as he wagged his phone before setting it down.

Under almost any other circumstances, Zayn would have offered Hank a high five and said something like, "Nice!" or "Way to go, Hank!" But because of what had just happened, he only smiled politely and said, "Congratulations. She seems very nice."

Hank wasn't listening. He was smiling and looking across the room where Cheryl was standing and smiling back at him.

"Yes. Congratulations," Morgan said as she turned to get another look at the woman who was waiting on them.

"Hey! Why don't you and Zayn join us?" Hank suggested out of the blue.

"What?" Morgan asked, the look on her face one of surprise and confusion.

"Well, Zayn was flirting with you, and it's pretty obvious you didn't mind, so..."

"Oh, my goodness!" Morgan said, the confusion turning to frustration and embarrassment.

Now Hank said, "What?" as he looked to Zayn for support.

"You know what? I think I'm the source of the problem here," Zayn said. "It might be best if I just..."

Just as he was getting ready to push back, Morgan reached over and touched his forearm. Zayn stopped moving, looked at her, then saw her smile.