"I suppose so, but I don't like to think of you out there."
"Someone has to go," he said quietly, "and besides I've always managed to come back. I'm getting pretty good at it now." He kissed her lightly on the end of her nose.
"Just keep on being good," she said. "I like having you around." She kissed him then, a fierce hungry kiss that left him breathless. "All right sailor, there's something for you to come home to. Now let's get your gear together."
Ellen followed him to the door. "I'm not going down to the field with you this time," she said. "Last time was enough. I don't think I could stand watching you disappear outside again. But I made something to take with you." She picked up a square flat package from the top of the recorder and thrust it into his hands.
"Another tape like the last one?" he queried.
"Not exactly like the last one," she smiled, "but it's along the same lines. You said you liked the other."
"I did. It was nice to hear your voice. And would you believe I never grew tired of hearing it? It gets lonely out there."
"It gets lonely here too. Now, off with you or I'll be tempted to kidnap you for the duration." She kissed him, a cool wifely kiss that was tender but passionless, pushed him gently away, and stood beside the door until his car disappeared around the corner on its way back to the Base.
She sighed and turned back to the house. That was all it was now—just a house—but for the past week it had been a home. She wondered when, if ever, it would be a home again. It was starting already—the worry, the hidden fear, the agony of suspenseful waiting.