Love Began with the First Meeting

Maggie fidgeted in her seat. It seemed to her that Edgar had two personalities and so did the members of the Eagle. Edgar and Daniel had the most visible symptoms of these split personalities. Just looking at Daniel she frowned inwardly. He had hidden his sharp talons in front of Cathy. The most feared Nighthawk had turned into a pussycat now.

Since they acted as if she wasn't there, Maggie had no choice but to close her mouth and sit unobtrusively during the drive to the hospital.

After they arrived at the hospital, Edgar met privately with Daniel and Cathy in his ward. Naturally Maggie was left alone outside. She leaned on the window sill and gazed idly out through the glass panes. Some soldiers were training out there. It struck her that it was time for recruiting again.

"What are you thinking?" a voice rang out. Maggie was startled to find Cathy beside her, while Daniel was still inside the ward talking to Edgar.

Maggie stood at attention automatically. Gesturing for her to be at ease, Cathy glanced out the window and sighed, "Time really flies. I've already been here for years..."

Maggie had heard many things about Cathy from Garth. She had previously been doing research on missiles and had grown up in a military family with a father who was the chief commander of S Army. Hence, she had been given the chance to get into this domain earlier than most.

But Cathy was different. She had passed the admissions test on her own merits. During her time at the university she had taken a break because of trouble with her eyes, but she had worked hard to keep up with the flow of the course materials and had graduated top of her class before starting at the bottom in the military.

"Cathy, how did you meet Daniel?" Maggie asked, her shoulders drooping.

Maggie was young and Cathy wasn't much older than her. Both of them were girls who had joined the army right after graduation. With a similar background, there were less inhibitions in their conversation.

Cathy pressed her lips into a smile. "Maybe fate had a plan for us? I believe so. Fate had spoken. Things always go down the path that has been prearranged by destiny." She smiled and added wistfully, "I knew Brian first. At that time, I had heard about Molly but I hadn't met her. Brian and Molly have been through a lot to be together. Things were much easier for Daniel and me. I'm grateful for that."

"So... which one of you made the first move?" It was a stupid question. Maggie realized it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. No wonder Edgar sometimes just looked at her with the expression as if to say 'You little fool'. "It must have been Daniel who took the initiative." There was no doubt about it. Daniel was so good to Cathy and treated her like she was his most prized treasure.

But... It wasn't the truth.

"Actually, I made the first move." The shock on Maggie's face made Cathy laugh softly. "You remind me of myself at your age. I was curious about everything just like you. Daniel always drove himself very hard and got promoted, from a new recruit to a member of the Eagle. He entered the sniper company first then. At last he was selected into the Commando." She gazed off into the distance. "By then he was already the vice-captain. Edgar is a legend. But compared to him, Daniel is not bad. Daniel has reached a spectacular height of achievement in a time so short you can hardly believe. He is masculine and aggressive. He carries something in his bones that attracts me."

Cathy looked down. "Then there was a new tactic piloted in the Falcon. So we had more contact than before, and things just happened naturally." Smiling, she turned to look at Maggie, who still had a stunned look on her face. "If we see a chance for happiness we should grab it and hold on tight. You see what you want and do whatever it takes to have it. The result is the most important thing, as long as you don't hurt others on purpose. This is how we do things here."

Maggie looked up at Cathy with hooded eyes. Somehow she had a feeling that Cathy was aware of something.

"Go for it. I have your back," Cathy urged. While Maggie was still in a daze, Cathy gave her a knowing smile.

Meanwhile the door opened and out came Daniel. He glanced past Maggie and nodded to Cathy. Then the two of them prepared to leave. Before she left, Cathy whispered something to Maggie and Maggie thought that she had a point there. "Remember, a waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first."

Without even knowing it, Maggie smiled. Her eyes flashed with cunning and excitement. After they left, Maggie pushed open the door to Edgar's room and walked in.

Silently she sank into the sofa beside the bed where Edgar was lying with his eyes closed. Soon, she heard his steady and slow breathing. There was something oddly peaceful about the sound.

From where Maggie sat, she could see Edgar clearly. The sunlight flooded through the window onto part of the bed, lighting his aquiline face like a perfect sculpture. She studied him, taking in every line of his breathtaking face.

Maggie liked handsome and pretty people. But she had only the one Adonis in her heart, Edgar. It would be better if she could just forget his sexually inappropriate past.

Cathy's words still resonated in her heart. Maggie was never a shy girl, and she had been coveting this man for a long time. Even her parents had given their tacit consent to this relationship.

A sweet smile spread across her face as if they had already committed to each other. The ache in her heart vanished to be replaced with a burgeoning joy. She licked her lower lip, her eyes flashing.

All of a sudden...

Maggie blinked and then rose hastily to her feet. She wasn't mistaken. Blood was spreading across the white sheet. And... She stepped closer and lifted the quilt to check. Sure enough, there was blood pooling under his body. Frightened, she pressed the call bell repeatedly. In a matter of seconds, Tompson arrived with nurses. By then Edgar was aroused from slumber, his mind in a daze.

"What happened?" he asked groggily.

Maggie gazed intently at him, a thin sheen of panicked sweat on her forehead. "You're bleeding, Captain."

Tompson was busy dressing his wound. He stole a glance at Maggie and then lowered his head to continue his work. "I told you, your wound was ripped..."

"It doesn't matter!" Edgar cut him off, his face impassive. "Just patch it up. I can sleep on my side."

Tompson rolled his eyes. "You've got a gunshot wound in your chest. And the burn on you back is not fully healed. The most severe part of the scab is still forming. How can you sleep on your side?"

Edgar frowned with a quick glance at Maggie. Maggie was looking straight at him, her eyes distant as she heard all this.

He couldn't explain it. It would only complicate the situation. So Edgar didn't say another word as Tompson checked him over. Tompson muttered something and then fell silent.

But Maggie wasn't an idiot.

Tompson finished his treatment quickly and said, "I will get you a cushion. It's your fault that you are putting yourself through all this..." He shot Edgar a sour look, shook his head and left the room. Wordlessly, Maggie stared at Edgar, trying to draw some comfort from him. But Edgar looked tired and closed his eyes after Tompson finished speaking.

"Captain..." Maggie called his name tentatively but Edgar did not respond.

After a while, Tompson returned with a cushion and propped it under Edgar's body. Edgar could now rest more comfortably without pulling the wounds on his chest and back.

Maggie stood rooted to the spot. When Tompson left the room, she glanced at Edgar and then followed Tompson out.

Tompson walked slowly. He knew Maggie so well that he could tell from her expression that she wanted to say something to him.

"Em..." Maggie hurried to catch up with him. She pulled herself together, gathered her courage, and asked, "Edgar has wounds on his back?"

Tompson could feel his stomach turn over. This was not something which he wanted to discuss with her. He had slowed down his pace to wait for her. He should have known that she was here now for Edgar. He should have walked faster and let her chase behind him. "Right." "So... when did he get hurt?" Maggie pretended that she knew nothing about it, though she had burning suspicions. "I thought he was here with the Eagle all the time."

Tompson shrugged, "I have just returned from the exchange study. How could I know about that? But I heard something from Hackett... that a student soldier blew up the laboratory. To protect the soldier and the research files, Edgar gave up his fire suit, wrapping the soldier in them, and he got grievous burns on his back. But most of his wound is healed. It's the scab on his waist which hasn't fully healed. The scab is still very thick there and leaks occasionally."

Maggie bit her lip. Realization sank in and as she stared at Tompson, her eyes reddened. She discovered that she had been crying a lot of late. It wasn't her style.

He noticed her distress then and asked carefully, "Maggie, don't tell me you were that student soldier. Is that so?" He couldn't regret it more as the words came out. How fate was conspiring against him!

The student soldier who was doing the projectile research... How could he have been so stupid? He had just helped to polish up Edgar's image in her mind! There was no way that she would even consider Tompson now.

Maggie bit her lip and nodded, a bitter feeling lingering in her heart. She had never known exactly what had happened during the fire. Edgar had said nothing about it. No one told her that Edgar had gotten so badly injured while saving her.

She sniffed and without another word went back into the ward. Abandoning all the courtesy she asked Edgar, "Why? Why didn't you tell me that you saved my life?"

Edgar frowned slightly. His eyes opened slowly and fell on the girl in front of him. He answered with a cold voice, "I just saved one of my soldiers."