Tina lay awake, unable to sleep, gripped by anxiety.  It had been several hours since she’d first lain down, attempting to sleep for the first time in nearly 36-38 hours.  Despite her lack of sleep over that period, however, Tina’s preoccupation with Bette, who had flown out to the same dangerous area where Mike and his team had been injured while being shot at, had kept her alert, awake.

She glanced to her right: the clock read 2:15 in the morning, but her eyes remained as wide open as they had been several hours ago, when she’d tried to sleep.  It had been an exhausting 36-38 hours since she and Bette had left their home for JFK in a rush, intending to finally go on the honeymoon that had been postponed by several months due to Tina’s workload.  Little did they know they would end up in Kabul, instead of starting their honeymoon.

Thinking that a happier memory could help her relax, given her current state, Tina smiled inwardly as she remembered the mad scene in their home.  She and Bette were running around the house, throwing last-minute things into their luggage, rushing through a few last calls, to bemused glances exchanged between Kit and Shane.  Angelica’s head swiveled between one figure to the other, as her moms rushed about, each one pausing to kiss her as they walk past — unlike the adults, she was more confused than bemused.

Bette and Tina eventually made it out the door, following many hugs and kisses to Angelica, and found, after hustling through check-in and security, that they were amongst the last to board the plane. Relieved they had finally made it, they breathe out deep sighs of relief once they’d boarded, plopping down on the spacious, comfortable adjoining seats.

As they sipped champagne they gratefully accepted from the friendly staff in the cabin, Tina had thanked Bette for insisting on getting their romantic honeymoon off on the right foot, appreciating the delightful things she spied around the luxuriously appointed, almost-empty, first-class cabin.  Bette had rescheduled their departure around availability of first-class seating, and Tina had wondered why.  Now she knew.

With relief they found the schedule also fit Kit’s and Shane’s, who arrived the night before.

Soon after take-off, having changed out to comfortable lounging clothes the airline provided, the couple had initially planned on relaxing all the way to Dubai.  It had been a hectic few months following their wedding, as each plunged into new projects at work.  They’d promised each other that they would leave all work behind, each feeling creeping exhaustion from all the hectic activity over the past six months: finishing the home reconstruction, then the wedding, and resuming heavy workloads thereafter.  They just wanted try to relax with one another now.