To the Wild Country

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything to do with "The Greatest American Hero." I'm just borrowing a couple of characters for fun and mayhem.

(Story title from the song by John Denver of the same name. The first several chapters are T-rated 13+. Turns seriously MA-rated from Chapter Ten and beyond.)

Chapter One.

Ralph pulled Pam to him, snuggling her under his arm, and stroked her thick brunette hair. He looked down at her, the glow on her face a joy to him, after they'd made love. This'll be the perfect time to break it to her, he thought.

"Pam, something's come up at school that I need to do."

"Hmmmm?" she replied dreamily, already half-asleep.

He cleared his throat and reached for the glass of icewater on his nightstand, sipping it, before he continued. "Um, yeah, I need to go to Vegas for the week."

Pam's eyes flew open and she sat up, completely awake now. "What? When? Why?"

Ralph ticked off the answers on his fingers: "I need to go to Vegas, all next week, for a regional teachers conference."

"ALL next week? When would you have to leave?"

"Sunday morning. All ten of us are flying out together, on a package deal the school district managed to land."

Pam resumed her snuggling position, not saying anything for a few moments. She finally replied, "If it's a package deal, then you HAVE to leave on Sunday? You can't wait two days till I finish up this case I'm working on, so we can go together?"

"Naw, we have to all go together. It's already been booked and I've got my ticket."

"Oh." Pam was quiet again, then said, "Well, why don't I meet up with you in Vegas? This case has to close by Tuesday, so I could head out Wednesday morning."

Pam sensed Ralph tense, and when he didn't reply immediately, she knew he was thinking of some excuse why she should NOT join him in Las Vegas.

"Um, well, I don't think that'd be a good idea, Pam. Nobody else is bringing spouses or significant others, and I don't think I should either. One of the main points of this conference is team-building; I wouldn't be able to spend ANY time with you, and...."

"Oh, never mind," Pam snapped. She flung the covers off, drew on the light robe she kept at Ralph's house, and stomped to the kitchen.

When Ralph didn't follow behind her, Pam was certain she'd read Ralph's "vibes" right: He doesn't WANT me to go! She took out a Fresca, cracked it open and swigged down half of it before stopping for breath. She gasped, breathing deep, and felt the resulting belch come up. Her eyes watered, not only from the fizz of the soda.

And still Ralph hadn't followed her to the kitchen, apologizing or making excuses or even asking, What's wrong?

She returned to his bedroom, standing in the door, glaring at him.

"What?" he asked in all innocence.

"YOU, that's what! You don't even want me to go, do you?"

"Pamela, I told you, it'd be tough to manage both the conference and giving you attention, and nobody ELSE is bringing...."

"I heard you the first time!" she exclaimed, raising her voice so it rang around the big room. She moved to the curtained window, pulling the heavy drapes aside to look out at the night. Friday night, and he's gone Sunday morning for a week. The two had rarely been separated so long; it always pained Ralph when Pam had to fly to another location in her role as an attorney. Neither of them liked having a long-distance relationship.

Ralph, sensing Pam crawling into a deep sulk, patted her side of his bed and said, "C'mon, Pam, come back to bed. This is something I'm already signed up to do, after all, I can't change my mind at this stage of the game."

She turned sharply to him. "'Signed up?' So you VOLUNTEERED for this?"

"Yes, I did," he said unashamedly. "You know I'm always going on at school about trying new ideas, new techniques, things I learned in college. Which was a lot more recent than some of the others going! We younger teachers are going to have a chance to use what we learned in our Education classes so recently, finally! And hopefully get a chance to incorporate that in the school administration and curriculum when we return." He paused, as he saw reluctant understanding settling on Pam's face. "If it's any consolation, at the time, I didn't know that it wouldn't be feasible for you to come along. I really didn't."

Ralph was relieved to see a small smile cross Pam's face. She returned to the bedside, slipped off her robe and crawled under the light blanket.

"C'mere," Ralph said, putting his arm around her, drawing her close for a kiss. When they separated, he smiled down into her lovely grey eyes. "How 'bout tomorrow, it'll be Pam Day, 'kay? You and me, that's it. No suit, no Maxwell, nothing but my utmost devotion to your every whim. It's supposed to be gorgeous, so maybe we can picnic at the beach or something."

Pam relaxed against him, resting her head on his neck and shoulder. He felt her nod, and she said, "That sounds fun, honey. Okay, tomorrow'll be my day, then we'll get you all packed and I can drop you at the airport Sunday morning." She sighed, "I only wish I could go, but maybe it's just as well. With it being high Summer, Vegas'll be what, about 120 in the shade?"

Ralph chuckled, "Yeah, if I'm lucky! Speaking of lucky, I don't even know if we'll have a chance to hit any casinos. They've got a full program for us all week, and part of the team-building might include being together the whole time, day and night."

Pam remained quiet, and Ralph pulled back enough to look at her once more. Good, she's not mad at me any more, he was glad to observe. She's already almost asleep!

"Pam?" he asked quietly.

"Hmmmm?"

"So, you didn't want to, um...."

"Hmmmm, no, honey, I'm too tired to make love again, I'm sorry. Catch me in the morning."

Ralph chuckled as he reached to turn the lamp off. "Will do."