It's been too long since I've been able to go shopping with Mom, and the few hours just being mother and daughter again feels great. Sure, we spent too much, but I've been wise with my money, so I don't feel bad wasting five hundred bucks on an afternoon with my mother.

“You know Ashley, you didn't need to buy me new earrings,” Mom says as she touches the platinum loops in her ear. She's the person I got my red hair from, even if hers is starting to lighten in the approach of gray, and I think the platinum looks distinguished in her ears. “Really.”

“Mom, Dad's going to love those on you, and besides... you didn't say anything about my new piercing,” I say, touching my stomach. “I thought you'd flip your lid.”

“You're a grown woman, Ashley. While it's not my style, I can understand you wanting to express a little individuality. Besides, you didn't go nuts with the design, it's a silver stud. And.... well, you could have gotten a lot of other places pierced,” Mom says, about as outlandish as Mom gets. I remember the first time she visited me in college out in Washington, and asked me what exactly a Prince Albert was, apparently it was on some poster around campus. That took a little more explanation than I'd like.

“Either way Mom, thank you. And this was fun. I know it's going to be a few months before we can get together like this again. I already talked with the people at the Transport School, they said that Christmas break is only ten days,” I tell her as we pull up at the house. Maybe it's larger than a lot of people's, but I like the fact it gives us plenty of privacy, which Simon and I have taken advantage of over the past few days quite liberally. “So can I help with dinner?”

“You certainly can,” Mom answers with a grin as she parks. “I know the military at least taught you how to wash dishes, right?”

“Sorry, that's for the enlisted. Us officers are above getting our hands dirty with such manual labor,” I say in a false snobby accented voice, and both of us start laughing, giggling. It's fun, and as I help Mom in with our shopping bags, I feel as far from a new Army officer as I think I can get, in a good way.

When we get inside, Simon's got this intense look on his face, and I set my bags down, worried. “Simon? Is anything wrong?”

“Yes and no,” Simon says, coming over to me and taking my hands. “Would you mind going for a little walk with me? Katherine, I know I'm probably stealing your kitchen assistant knowing the way you guys are, but I really need this time.”

“Go ahead, I'll just put you to work too when you get back,” Mom says lightly, smiling. I can see Dad behind Simon, and he's got a little smile on his lips as well, and I relax. Dad wouldn't be so happy if there was a possibility that Simon's news would be bad.

Simon and I walk out the back path of the house, off the property and into the pine woods, holding hands. He's silent for a little while, until it becomes too much for me, and I can't stand it any more. “Okay, okay, we're out here. Now please, stop giving me a heart attack?”

Simon stops and turns, pulling me in for a hug. “First, let me say something that I haven't had the guts to say before. I... Ashley, I love you.”

His words stop me in my tracks, and I push back, blinking. “Eh?”

“I said I love you,” Simon says nervously, his voice quavering. “I realized after the phone conversation I had today that I'm going to tell you about that... we've dated on and off for three years. And never once, in all the time that I've been with you, have I said it. I love you, Ashley.”

“I... I love you too,” I tell him, smiling. It feels good to say it, and even better to hear it finally. “I never thought … but I've loved you for a long time.”

“Me too,” he rasps, his voice choking. “I... after talking on the phone with Cara today, I realized something. I wanna be the man who you want to spend the rest of your life with. So, no more holding back anything, no more reservations or restraints. I love you, and I want to be all in with you. So... I'm here, however you want me. I love you.”

He's so vulnerable, so open, and I have only one reply as I step in and kiss him tenderly, our lips melting as we join our souls as much as our bodies. When we stop, I kiss him on the lips one more time, and I realize I'm close to crying. “I'm all in with you too. And right now, the thing I want more than anything else is to make love with you. But... tell me about Cara's phone call first?”

Simon smiles and his hands stroke up and down my back to rest on my hips, just above the pocket of my jeans. I know regardless of the phone call, we are going to make love. The only question is if it's going to be here or in the house. “We've been cordially invited to their wedding. Cara's going to e-mail me the details, but she said in about three weeks in St. Louis. It's right before I have to fly out to South Korea, but I told her that we'd be there. Is that okay?”

“Perfect,” I tell him, reaching down and squeezing his butt through his pants. “I can think of only one other place I'd like to be before you fly.”

“Oh?” he asks, cupping my ass and grinning. “Where's that?”

“In bed with you. But I think we can manage both.”

“Hmmm,” Simon says, kissing me again.“And what about right here in the woods?”

We've never done it this way before, and I like the idea. We're all in, right? Then let's have a little fun exploring new ideas. “That's pretty damn good too.”

* * *

I'm blinking, trying to hold back the tears as I watch Cara and Tammy, both in their dress blues, go back down the aisle at the church. Unwilling to say who was the 'groom' and who was the 'bride,' they entered together, and from there the ceremony got even more personalized and special.

It hurts my heart to see that nobody from Tammy's family attended the wedding, and on Cara's side only her brother found the time to attend, but it doesn't matter. Somehow, in the past two weeks Simon's pulled magic out of his hat, because the pews of the small church are at least half filled with classmates and people who know the two. Half of them are old Ironsides, including Mike Price and even Betty Lawton, while I recognize a few others, most notably Ronnie Mitchell, beautiful in her pregnant dress. “How'd you do this?”

“I happen to have kept in decent touch with both the Association of Graduates and my class President on Facebook,” Simon says. “And give your Dad credit too, he made some phone calls as well. What does he do, anyway?”

“Ahhh, political consulting I think,” I reply, “Dad is like you, he plays things pretty close to the chest sometimes.”

Simon hums, then shrugs. “Okay. Well, he pulled the right strings, I know Ronnie for example when I called her said that she'd love to, but that she had duty this weekend at Leonard Wood. Henry makes a call, and she's here. Seems the Old Grads still pull weight.”

Tammy and Cara finish their retreat down the aisle, now Tamara and Cara King (Tammy's request), the whole audience applauding for them. The reception is literally upstairs, the ceremony's being held in a hotel in St. Louis overlooking the Mississippi, and after the first dance, the party starts. Like most military parties, it's got a weird mix of class and crass, with polite, almost stuffy manners giving way to something that borders on a college kegger by the time the cake is gone. Cara and Tammy are inseparable, and when it's time for Simon and I to give our congrats to them, Tammy finally peels away to wrap her arms around me, not letting go.

“Thank you,” she keeps repeating, and I know what she's thanking me for, and it's not just coming to the wedding. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” I reply, finally getting a chance to breathe after her rib creaking hug lets up some. She's followed in Cara's footsteps, and while she's still feminine in my eyes, she's strong as an ox too. I hope nobody in the ADA ever mistakes Tammy's normally soft spoken nature for weakness, she'll straighten them out very quickly I suspect.

“My family didn't come,” she says, looking around. “Not my blood family at least. But you did. We've been besties for years now. Can we... can we be sisters too?”

I think I surprise Cara and Simon both when I grab Tammy's cute cheeks and kiss her on the lips, hard but not open mouthed. “You already are, Tammy. At least in my heart you are. And if you ever need me, you call me. Actually, I've wondered that. Why did Cara call Simon instead of you calling me?”

“Simple,” Tammy says, laughing when Cara grabs me in a bear hug and swings me around to welcome me to the family, “you didn't have a cell phone when you left school. Or at least you never gave me your cell number, all I had was your e-mail. And we figured it wasn't something to just e-mail you guys about, so since Cara had Simon's phone number....”

“Then I'll e-mail you my number as soon as I get back to our hotel room,” I tell her, to which Tammy gives me a raised eyebrow and looks over at Simon, who whistles innocently. “What? He told me he loves me. I think that's deserving of a shared hotel room, don't you?”

Tammy surprises even me by grabbing Simon and kissing him full on the lips and hugging him. “Then I have a brother as well as a sister. Took you long enough, dammit!”

Simon laughs and hugs Tammy back, patting her on the back. “Well, I'm not going to hold back any more. I love her, and I love her more each and every day. And if I ever forget to say it, you and Cara can both shoot my ass down, okay?”

“Careful, we may take you up on that,” Cara says with a smile. Looking around, she whispers in Tammy's ear, who giggles and whispers back, nodding. “Okay. Listen, we're going to pull our disappearing act, and start the honeymoon. I'd say you two should do the same.”

Simon's eyes are smoldering as he looks at me, pulling me close. We also wore our uniforms, so there's a little bit of restraint in his kiss, but not much. “Shall we?”

I nod, whispering in his ear. “Tonight I want it to be special. So yeah, let's go.”

We make our way up to our room, where I immediately retreat to the bathroom and take off my uniform, leaving myself totally naked and take the little treat that I wanted out of my toiletry kit and palm it, walking back into the bedroom area to see Simon, already naked as well, laying on the bed. He's so handsome, even with the flaw on his face that I've traced so many times, either with my fingers when we've kissed or with my tongue when we've gone past simple kissing. His body is fit without being overly muscle bound, and he's still got that sort of aristocratic look to his face that first attracted me to him, a sense of inner calm that I know is the steely nerves that makes him a good pilot as well.

“What's that?” Simon asks, smiling as I bite my lip. “What? Come here, this is hardly the time to be shy.”

I blush and crawl onto the bed, kissing him deeply. The feeling of his skin, of his body under my hands is never anything but electric, and I can feel my body stir just from his hands stroking my arms. “I have a secret, I've never told anyone.”

“What?” Simon asks, kissing me again. His mouth is so distracting, I nearly forget what I want to tell him, and when he pushes me onto my back, I can't resist, and the warm tremors in my belly work their way lower to my pussy as he runs his hand along the back of my thigh. I'm actually moaning in disappointment when he stops, and kisses my nose cheekily. “I'm going to keep teasing you until you tell me, you know.”

There's a whine in my voice when I answer, and I am amazed again how quickly Simon can make me putty in his hands. “I... it's a cock ring.”

Simon arches an eyebrow, intrigued. “Am I coming too quickly?”

I shake my head, and push him back, Simon letting me and changing the mood to playful in one simple movement. “No, silly. Just... I've had a deep secret. I love your cock, I told you long ago I'm a size queen, but.... I've always had the deep desire to be literally fucked senseless, or even unconscious. That's a hell of a marathon to ask any man. Actually, until I met you, the only ideas I had for it involved toys or multiple men, which I wasn't interested in at all. But you.....”

“I'm honored that you think I could do such a task,” Simon purrs, kissing along my neck. “And I'll be happy to try.”

“One more thing,” I tell him, before his fingers and mouth drive all words from me. “I want it no condom. I think we can trust each other that much now, yes?”

Simon stops, and looks me in the eye. “Ashley, you know what you're asking. Even thought you're on the pill, there's a greater chance.”

“I know,” I reassure him, kissing his lips. “And if you want to know the truth... I want to take that risk.”

Instead of answering, Simon pulls me in tighter, kissing me deeply, his tongue caressing mine as he cups my ass and squeezes, my moan swallowed by his lips and mouth. Simon kisses down my throat and circles around my right breast until he lowers and sucks my nipple, gentle at first and then harder. Despite their size my breasts aren't as hyper sensitive as they seem, but still heat builds deeper in me, and I'm squirming when Simon moves off of me, laying next to me as his hand moves from my ass to the lips of my pussy, rubbing. “I love your fantasy, but I know even with the cock ring, your body is so wonderful, so tight and perfect for me, I'm going to need everything I can to please you. Is that okay?”

I hum happily, my eyes fluttering closed as Simon slides a finger inside and finds my g-spot. We've been making love so much that he knows exactly where it is, and the pleasure is immediate and intense. “Oh, that's so nice....”

I turn my head and kiss Simon again, his finger working with perfect strokes, not too hard, not too soft while his kisses on my lips and throat and along the curve of my ear, his breath tickling my ear as his finger brings me higher and higher. “After this,” his breath whispers into my ear, directly into my brain and hacking it, making me shiver with ever word, “I'm going to lick your pussy for another orgasm, and then, oh then my love... you know what's going to happen.”

I nod, groaning as my pussy tightens, and then I'm coming, my back arching as Simon's finger doesn't stop, but builds me higher, riding with me until I'm trembling again, a chain reaction I've never felt before, poised on another orgasm. Simon pulls his finger out and strokes my clit with the wet, slippery tip of his finger, and I'm clutching at his back again, swept away in a wave of pleasure that leaves me breathless. When I can focus again, Simon's smiling at me. “Should I stop?”

“More! Give me more!” I beg breathlessly, fear and arousal shooting through me as Simon kisses down my body, pausing to kiss my belly button stud before lowering his mouth to my pussy, the new sensation both energizing and paralyzing me it feels so good.

Simon's got a tremendous cock, and he knows how to use it, but where he's an absolute virtuoso is with his mouth and tongue. First he licks my labia, his tongue so light that I don't even feel it until it's already past, and there's nothing but humming, singing nerves that are crying out in ecstasy. When they're on the limit of not being able to take any more, he dips deeper, licking my inner folds and causing me to grab his head and grind my hips into his mouth, groaning and crying out his name over and again. I'm breathless again, washed in wave after wave of wonder and pleasure as Simon keeps me on the edge, and I'm reduced to begging. “Please Simon, let me come.”

He hums and laughs softly, the vibrations adding to the orgasm rolling inside me, ready to be unleashed, and looks up at me. His eyes find mine as he drags his tongue up and starts circling my clit, my eyes literally crossing it feels so good. He never seems to repeat the same stroke twice, and all of them feel amazing. My stomach clenches, and with a light scream I'm coming again for a third time, grinding my pussy into his lips and tongue, Simon pausing just enough to let me breathe before he turns me over and grabs my hips, pulling my nearly limp body up slightly roughly. “Main event time.”

I look back and see him strap the cock ring around his base, and I swear his already huge cock grows bigger, and I know I'm not just going to have a fantasy fulfilled, but a whole new fantasy created and achieved by the time he's done. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Simon says tenderly, but there's no tenderness in his cock as he thrusts into me hard, his hips smacking hard into my ass and sending a jolt of pleasure and a little bit of pain all the way up my backbone to explode in my head.

“Ugh!” I grunt, pushing back. Oh, he wants it like that, huh? He knows me well enough to know that I love athletic sex, and I abandon myself, pushing back into him. You want to fuck me, I'm going to fuck you too, and let's see who can hold out first, my loving man. I love you, but I'm not going to let you just pound me into the mattress. “Give it to me!”

Simon pulls back and thrusts hard again while I squeeze my pussy around him, both of us groaning and gasping as the nerves are lit on fire. Without any mercy he starts hammering his cock hard and fast into me, stretching and filling my pussy over and over, my body already feeling like I'm going to explode. I'm not holding back any, not tonight, and my first orgasm hits me like a punch in the chest, driving the breath out of me and leaving my hands clawing at the sheets. “Moreeeeee....”

Simon doesn't stop, grabbing my hair and pulling me back, growling deep in his chest as he keeps stroking, his cock pistoning in and out without any mercy or forgiveness. I'm his, I can't hold back any more, and even as my exhausted body tries to squeeze and massage him I sag onto the bed, Simon letting go of my hair and holding my waist while he thrusts over and over. I lose all sense of time, I just know that I'm being washed away, every rocking, quaking orgasm that sweeps through me breaking apart a little more of me, leaving me more and more breathless. Finally, with the last of my conscious mind, I groan. “Last one.... please....”

“Last one,” Simon gasps, his voice trembling on the edge of exhaustion himself. I hear a snap, and then he's thrusting with new, renewed power and strength, a final wave building inside me. It's huge, my pussy is puffy and raw from all the pounding, and I'm barely able to breathe from the sensation of Simon's cock rubbing over my g-spot so much. Even the way his balls slap into my clit with his thunderous strokes builds more inside me, and tears trickle from my eyes as I feel the biggest orgasm in my life growing inside me. Simon's right behind me though, I can feel it in the frantic movement of his hips, and with a long, hard thrust he's coming, his hot seed inside my body for the first time. It's enough and I come, trying to scream it feels so amazing but the breath is gone, my nerves are gone, and instead grayness fills my vision, and I'm left unable to do anything.

I don't know how long I'm out, or where I am when I come to, except that my body is warm, and that Simon is holding me carefully, exhausted but still stroking my hair. “Are you okay? You went into convulsions.”

“I... I'm okay,” I whisper, unable to even raise my voice. “That was... my dream.”

“You are my dream,” Simon whispers, holding me gently. “Don't ever forget that you are my dream, and I love you.”

I hum and close my eyes, letting the post-sex exhaustion whisk me off to sleep. I know that tomorrow Simon flies for Korea, but that's okay. Distance isn't going to stop us now.

* * *

“Simon... just what did you do to this woman?” Tammy asks with a smirk as he and I stagger into the restaurant for an early dinner. Simon flies on the red-eye to Tokyo, where he's going to catch a military flight from Japan to Korea, so an early dinner is our last chance to spend time with our friends before I take him to the airport and head back home to spend next week getting ready for my own training.

“Everything I wanted and ever dreamed of,” I say greedily, hugging his arm. “I'll be paying for it on the ride back, but I'm fine with that. Besides, you two probably have no room to comment.”

“Except that our room was right above yours, and you put on one hell of a show,” Cara mock complains. “Sheesh, I know what to send you guys for Christmas... soundproofing!”

Simon laughs and holds my chair for me, a gentlemanly gesture that for some reason touches me a lot. “Yeah, yeah... let's not make our dinner obscene. Or else you two have to tell tales about what you did as well. Do you really want to go there?”

Tammy grins and looks at Cara, who actually blushes and shakes her head. “Okay, point taken. We may be close enough to be family, but that means there are some things that we don't normally discuss. Let's talk what's for dinner instead. I've had another friend who's been to Korea, and Simon, we're going to have to get you some Italian food, plain and simple. The Koreans kick ass at fried chicken, and apparently their burgers aren't bad either, but for a nation that does lots of their own noodles, they can't do Italian for anything.”

Dinner goes great, and at the end we exchange hugs, Cara and Tammy both getting into their Tahoe to drive back to Ft. Sill. “Remember, you need anything, you call us,” Tammy tells me as we hold hands through the window, unwilling to let go. “I promise you, I'll move heaven and earth to be there for you guys.”

“And the same goes here,” Simon says. “I promise you that.”

Cara and Tammy drive away, and Simon pulls me close, kissing me. “I don't have a father or a mother any more... but I think after this weekend I for sure have two sisters.”

“You don't even have to think,” I reply, kissing him again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Simon says before biting his lip. “I was thinking when I woke up this morning, we talked about going all in, right?”

“Right,” I tell him, curious where this is going. “Why, what's on your mind?”

“Well... Camp Humphries isn't a base that lets people live off post, except for the troops married to Korean nationals. But... well, what about instead of you and I living in separate bachelor officer's quarters, maybe we put in for a shared unit in family housing?”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” I ask, secretly thrilled. “As in making this even more formal than it is?”

“Gimmie time, Ashley,” Simon begs, laughing softly. “It took me three years to work up the guts to say I love you. And I don't have an engagement ring handy right this second. I don't even have an onion ring, we ate them all.”

I smile and kiss his cheek, nodding. “Tell you what. We've got eight months to talk about it, that's how long I've got until I finish up school and start coordination with Korea. So how about we talk about it, you check out base housing, and gimmie a few photos. I'm leaning towards saying yes, but if those BOQ's are sweet enough, maybe we can just stay over at each other's place instead of the rigmarole of family housing.”

Simon nods, not disappointed at all. “Okay. So, by my watch, we've got two hours before I need to be at the airport. Think we can spend that just... together? I'd say making love, but I think my penis is on vacation for a couple of weeks after last night, it's still in shock.”

“That'll be good then,” I tease. “None of those Korean mama-sans have to concern me for a while, do they?”

Simon laughs and kisses me tenderly. “You've ruined me to all other women. I love you, and that means I'm exclusive to Ashley Carlyle only.”

“Shucks, and here I was thinking I might see if I could get Cara and Tammy to join us for some fun some time,” I tease, and Simon laughs. I kiss him again, and smile. “It's something I enjoy hearing, though. I'm exclusive to you too. I love you, Simon.”

“Come on, let's not spend the whole two hours in a restaurant parking lot,” he says, taking my hand and leading me towards my car. “I'm sure there's something we can do between here and the airport that'll let me spend time with the woman I love.”

* * *

I didn't choose Transportation Corps for the fact that it's headquartered at Fort Lee. Sure, it's convenient that I'm going through school less than an hour and a half from home, and if I get rotated back to be part of a transportation battalion stateside, there's a very good chance that I'd be posted nearby.

No, I didn't choose Transpo because of that. I chose it because of the flexibility that it gives me, Transportation officers are assigned all over the Army. I knew even when I put in my choices, I wanted to be close to Simon, and Transpo is one of those branches that gives me all those opportunities.

Basic Officer’s Leaders Course, or BOLC, is located inside the ‘Army Logistics University,’ a pretty damn pretentious title if I do say so myself. Sitting in the classroom with the other seventeen members of my class, I wish West Point had figured out how to make classrooms this good. Large, spacious desk with a decent chair, a power outlet built in so I can use my laptop as needed, and even a side spot where I can stick my backpack and a drink? Hell, all this desk needs is a mini fridge and I'd never have to leave it all day.

Class itself is going well. Up front, Captain Bali, our class mentor, points to a picture of a UH-60 Blackhawk that has a bunch of lines coming from it to highlight areas. “All right, so who can tell me the primary concerns you would have in organizing a movement operation involving Blackhawks? Carlyle?”

“Landing zone area, security, movement time, and slingload capabilities of the unit,” I state, remembering my notes. Captain Bali doesn't mind us using our computers at our desk, but we're supposed to be able to recall facts from our heads, there may not be a computer with you in the field. “It is very important to make sure you have every item to be slingloaded done properly with a supervising Loadmaster.”

“Very good,” Bali says, turning around. “Now, Lieutenant Offut, can you tell me the differences in landing field selection in the field between Blackhawks, Chinooks and Ospreys?”

Ospreys? Oooh, that's a tough one, and Offut stumbles, we just haven't had enough time to really get into the nuts and bolts of the Osprey. It isn’t used by the Army, but the Air Force and Marines. Finally, Captain Bali lets him off the hook. “Relax, Offut. A good rule of thumb, and this is true with any cross-service options, is to get on the horn with your counterpart on the other side. They know their equipment just like you're supposed to know Army equipment. If you can't do that, talk to the pilot. They want to cover their ass. All right, let's take a break for lunch. Be back here at thirteen hundred hours, we're going over the introduction to railhead operations.”

The class files out, and I rush outside, where I can get a good phone signal. As I do I rub my tummy, it's not feeling good the past few days, but then again with the first test coming up, I'm sure it's something to do with nerves. But my mind is focused on other things. I go into my e-mail, and type out a quick message to Simon. It's nearly one in the morning his time, and even though it's Friday night his time, I know he might have crashed already.

You up?

I don't have to wait long though, as my phone's Skype rings, and I see it's from Simon. “Simon?”

“Hey beautiful,” he says. While we will often use video chats when I call him at what I think of as our 'bookend' times before or after our duty hours, my phone's camera sucks. I didn't buy it for video chatting. “I was just thinking of trying you before crashing for the night.”

“Pilots aren't supposed to crash,” I remind him, making him laugh. “How was your day?”

“Not bad. Looking forward to waking up in the morning and talking with you before chillin' for the day. By the way, I've got a flight on Sunday morning, so we'll have to nix that long talk we planned for your Saturday night. I'm going to be doing flights Sunday through Thursday.”

“Awww,” I mock pout, but I really don't like it. We've been apart for a month, and I'm already counting the days to when I can go to Korea and rejoin him. “Even if I just wear my sexiest lingerie for the video? We can... play some.”

I hear Simon groan, and I know how he feels. After that night in the hotel room, once my body recovered, my libido's been on fire, to the point that some of our video chats have become long distance sex chats for each other. It's not something I'd normally have thought about, but I need him. “Baby....”

“I know, I know. We get started, and I'm going to be late for afternoon class anyway,” I huff, sighing in frustration. “My fault. Just... I keep dreaming about you, Simon. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Ash. And I talked with the people at family housing. I got some photos that I'll upload and send to your e-mail tonight before I go to bed. It's not bad, actually. Not great, but not bad.”

I smile, and hum. “So... you still want me to move in with you then?”

Simon's happy hum more than answers the question for me. “Yes. Ashley... there's other things I'd like to talk about with you when you get here, too,” Simon says, and I feel a little thrill in my heart. Ever since he said engagement ring in the restaurant parking lot, my mind's kept coming back around to that idea, turning it over and over in my spare moments, and liking it more and more each time. “Even just this month has meant so damn much to me, I know it showed me a few more things that I need to discuss with you face to face.”

“I understand. Okay, well then send your e-mail and get some sleep. If we can't play around Saturday night, maybe I can be convinced to wear that lingerie tomorrow morning or something. I love you.”

“I love you too. And I'll be thinking about you during the flight. 'Bye.”