Early Birds

Resolve

Simon's few weeks of leave were coming to an end all too quickly, so he was imminently aware of needing to prepare for leaving Cassie again. There were still some concerns he held about balancing his time with her and his work, but he was more determined than ever that he wanted to be with Cassie and would work out a way to make sure he wasn't away from her for so long.

Checking in with Cassie about what her immediate needs were, they'd decided to head off to get her fire wood fully stocked in preparation for colder weather coming. Simon was happy to work hard on the now familiar routine Cassie had for felling trees, cutting them up, lugging them back to the cabin to chop up for firewood. 

He reasoned that if he was going to be away for a while, he would make sure that Cassie had everything she needed to be comfortable. He would feel more relaxed and confident knowing she was warm and happy when he wasn't there.

Cassie allowed him to take the lead, seeing how focused and happy he was to be working hard at the task, not to mention, she loved watching him work, using the chainsaw to make his cuts, how he stepped back to watch the tree fall, how skilful he was cutting each piece and how his muscles moved under his shirt as he carried the logs to the sled. 

He was handsome, strong, focused and effective in whatever job he did and Cassie still felt butterflies as she watched him work. Simon paused in his work and caught her staring.

'You liking what you see, love?' he asked with a cheeky smile.

Cassie blushed at being caught, but no longer hid 'I like it very much' she said with a coy smile.

'Damn love, do you have any idea what you're doing to me?' he said in a low growl.

'I have an idea' she said with a wink, feeling bold.

'Fucking hell' Simon exclaimed getting back to work to distract himself from the building fire.

After a large lunch, the two set to work chopping the logs up and filling the storage on the porch and in the shed. It was getting dark by the time they had finished, Simon, feeling satisfied that Cassie had a plentiful supply of firewood to keep her warm.

Sitting at dinner, Cassie was aware that this was their last night together. Simon was quieter than usual, deep in his thoughts of returning to duty and leaving Cassie again. They ate quietly before clearing up and settling on the sofa.

'You okay Simon' Cassie asked concerned that he was worried about leaving.

'Yeah, lot to think about love' He replied.

'Want to share?' She queried.

Simon hummed in response before clearing his throat 'Been thinking a lot about what you and Price have said about finding some balance and sorting out what's good for me. Never thought much about myself cos it wasn't usually good, so just buried myself in work all the time and would have just kept going till I dropped. I never expected to meet a little Worm and have her turn me round and flip me on my arse' he said chuckling and watching Cassie laugh.

'You showed me a different way of living, something I never thought I'd have and I like it. Never ever thought I'd like myself, but I do when I'm with you. You make me a better man, love, you give me purpose, something good to want in my life. Not used to that either, so it threw me, had me worrying about what the hell I was supposed to do when I wasn't here with you. Was worried I'd lose that, lose you. All the doubts and worry came back when I wasn't with you and figured you'd be better off without me. But, you made it clear you wouldn't. If I'm honest with myself, I wouldn't be better off without you, love'.

Simon paused to gather his thoughts and could see that Cassie had tears running down her cheeks. He held her chin and ran his thumb across where the tears were, looking at her intently.

'I love you, you daft little Worm and I don't wanna be without you. I want to be here with you, here where I feel at home, working with you, making this a better place, with you. I know I can't give up my work yet, but, I wanna make sure that I don't leave you so long, so I'm gonna take Price's offer to re-arrange my deployment so I can have regular leave and take on less missions that keep me away. If that's okay with you?. Simon exhaled and sighed.

'I love you too, you mad Grizzly bear. Of course it's okay with me' she said breathlessly, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his neck.

Simon put his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap, wanting to keep her close to him.

Cassie sniffed back tears as she lifted her head to look at him. 'I love who you are when you're here and I want this to be your home where we can work and make it our home. I don't expect you to leave your job, but I know I'll worry less if you're taking more leave and less missions, as long as you're okay with that' she said smiling.

'Affirmative' Simon said chuckling before leaning in to kiss her.

---

Their last morning started lazily and indulgent, kissing, caressing, taking time to make love slowly, relishing every moment. They lay for some time, not wanting to get out of bed, wanting to hold onto the moment for a bit longer. 

They both knew Simon had to leave before lunch to head back to the base, so they took their time having breakfast, chatting about what they would plan for next time Simon was on leave.

With colder weather coming in, Simon wanted to make sure that Cassie had everything she needed. He knew she was more than capable, but Simon wanted to reassure himself that she was provided for. 

Cassie reminded him 'I have survived five Winters on my own at the cabin, you know?'

Simon just shushed her by kissing her, before scolding 'Just let me fuss will you woman?'

Readying himself to leave, Simon still felt the pang of guilt at having to leave Cassie behind, but he felt more hopeful that he would be able to make this work for both of them. They'd continue regular messages and video calls when work allowed and as soon as he was able, he'd be right back. 

Saying their final goodbyes, Simon got into his truck and drove off, Cassie watching him leave.