The Fugitive . . . ?

Last night Dave went to bed at 8:00 so he could get up this morning at 4:00 to go running BEFORE his usual morning routine starts at 5:00.  And I, of course, did NOT go to bed that early.  Probably could have, but I just wasn't into it last night.  A few e-mails and Facebook chats later . . . ahem, at MIDNIGHT . . . I headed off to bed.  But I had noticed that I'd heard a helicopter flying around for quite a while . . . a half hour at least.  I thought that maybe the fires in nearby towns (Palmdale and Tehachapi) were flaring and the helicopter was dumping water on them.  But it sounded closer than that . . . at least to my untrained ear.  So as I got into bed, still hearing it, I woke Dave.

Me: Dave -- there's a helicopter flying around outside, and it's been out there for like a half hour already.  Do you think the fires are out of control and they're taking water via air to put them out?
Dave: (half-asleep) Melinda, this is Edward's Air Force Base country.  They're probably running some test flights or something.
Me: At midnight -- in helicopters?
Dave: It probably isn't a helicopter; it's probably a _______ (insert name of plane I've never heard of before and therefore do not remember here).
Me: Dave, it sure sounds like a helicopter to me, and it sounds really close.
(Flying continues, like they are flying in circles or something.)
Dave: Yeah, I guess you're right - it does sound like a helicopter.  Good night!
Me: But don't you think that's strange?  Do you think it's the fires?  Should we be worried or check it out online to see if there are any warnings or something (they had been evacuating people in nearby towns -- like 15 miles from us, so this wasn't totally off-the-wall for me to think of it).
Dave: I'm sure it's fine.  Go to sleep, woman!

I laid down and was about to reach for a book but decided to just lay there for a minute and let my mind settle instead.  Then suddenly, Dave gets up -- like pretty quickly.

Me: What are you doing?
Dave: I'm just going to take a look outside.
Me: Okay.
(Dave goes outside, comes back in, doesn't say a word, goes to the office -- I assume to check the computer for information or evacuation warnings or something -- and then he comes back with his gun.  Eh?  Say what?)
Me: Did you see the helicopter?
Dave: Yep.
Me: And why do you have your gun?
Dave: Cuz it's a police helicopter and they are flying around, pointing a spotlight about two blocks from here.
Me: It's THAT close.
Dave: Yep.  Go ahead and look for yourself.
(Given the nature of what he has just said, I really have no desire to look at ANYTHING; so I stayed put.)
Me: Do you think we should check the internet to see if there are any warnings about THAT?  I mean, that's kind of big, right?
Dave: (Still loading his gun and getting everything "in order" for a potential intruder).  We could -- but it wouldn't really matter right now.
(He finishes what he's doing, does a second check on all the doors and windows in the house, and gets back into bed.  At this point, I KNOW I won't be sleeping tonight!  He knows it, too!  I laid there for a few seconds, mind churning.)
Dave: Melinda, you really should try to get some sleep.  I'm well-trained.  I know what I'm doing.  We'll hear anything that tries to come in.  It's going to be okay.
Me: Did I mention I hate California?  What are we doing here?  In 30 years, this never came even CLOSE to happening to me in ANY part of Idaho -- and now I feel like I'm living in one of those way-too-action-packed films where only the bad guys die but in real life, you know the good guys probably die more!  And it's not like the neighborhood has come out to investigate -- so maybe this is common.  Is there a prison nearby that I didn't know about?
Dave: There is ___________________ (another name I don't remember).  But it's a ways away from here.
Me: Oh.
Dave: (Sitting up, looking me right in the eyes for added effect, and trying really hard to be reassuring.) Melinda, we are just in a bad area.  We'll find a better one next time.  It's going to be okay.
Me: I think we should say a prayer!
Dave: Good idea!

About a half hour later, I'm still awake, listening to every breath, every passage of air, every molecule that passes through the air purifiers, all with great anticipation and concern, wondering how long it would take me to get to my babies, wondering how thick the walls were if a bullet were to pass through them, if someone could shoot at me or Dave and somehow kill one of the kids, etc., etc., etc.  The helicopter sounded like it had moved away some, but I could still hear it circling around somewhere.  At some point, I did, in fact, fall asleep, but my dreams were vividly haunted by so many different intruders and scenarios.

But maybe, whoever it was they were looking for, was like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive . . . totally innocent, not wanting to hurt anyone, just trying to avenge his love for his wife and her murder . . . I mean, Hollywood put that one out there too, right?

But chances are . . . . probably not.

And we didn't play outside today.  And Dave didn't go running at 4:00 this morning, either.