Always Remember

by This Shattered Disaster

-From the moment I woke up that morning I knew the day was going to be a bad one.- When their safety is threatened can Bella help save flight 1792? Will she be able to keep the promises she made, or is all hope lost? Dedicated to the victims of 9/11/01.

I wrote this a week or so ago but decided that, considering the plot, it would be appropriate to post it as a tribute to those that died on 9/11/2001. Unfortunately I missed posting it on the right day by about an hour. Nothing in this was written with the intent to offend anybody, and if I do offend anybody I am incredibly sorry.

Rest in peace all the men, women, and children that passed away on that horrid day. You and your families are forever in our hearts.

Disclaimer: Smeyer owns everybody except Hallie, Lana, Molly, and Marcus.

I've never been to Seatac, so any details about the airport are from Heartsfeild-Jackson International.

I've never been in this sort of situation, so the only information I have was pulled from my imagination and shows like Air Emergency and Seconds from Disaster. This is purely fictional.

I don't even think they're in service yet but when I was looking for a good model to use I came across the Boeing 787 and let me tell you; it's intense. So, it's being used. Anything that sounds far fetched most likely is; for instance-the keypad next to the cockpit door. I highly doubt that's real.

From the moment I woke up that morning I knew that the day was going to be a bad one. First, my alarm clock decided that that was the day it would die. I woke up to the gate personnel calling to inform me that I was late.

Then, the hot water in the shower lasted for a whopping 30 seconds, successfully cutting my record time from seven and a half minutes to three flat. And after that; my blow dryer died. Feeling just a tad pissed I yanked the chord from the wall and slammed the offending machine into the tiny bathroom trashcan.

I stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut on my way. I threw the door of my closet open and yanked out the bag containing my uniform; long black slacks, a white button up shirt, and a black vest ending at my waist. I threw it all on and stalked back into the bathroom, running a brush through my hair and over my teeth before hurrying towards the door, grabbing my purse and carry-on and throwing my black heeled boots on in the process.

Shit. I was supposed to call Alice. I sighed and dialed her number as I drove. She didn't answer so I left her a message. "Hey Alice, it's me. I'm running way late this morning so I don't have time to talk if you call back. I should be in New York around three thirty. I'll call you when we land; can't wait to see you and Jasper again. It's been too long. And I got you a fantabulous birthday present!" I hung up the phone and concentrated on the road.

It took me only twenty minutes to get from my apartment in downtown Seattle to SeaTac International, and thankfully I'd only been late for clean-up/set-up, not take off. I parked in the employee level of the parking garage and grabbed my bags before hurrying off at a slight sprint, hoping to make it to the gate before passengers began boarding.

I skipped past check-in, running towards security. I walked past the two lines of people waiting to send their belongings through the x-rays and ducked under the roped off area before showing my I.D. badge to one of the security officers. He glanced at the bottom right corner of the I.D. and led me in to one of the walled off areas.

He searched my bags and then turned to me, holding out his hand. I pulled my gun out of my boot and handed it to him as he sneered at me. "So, you're one of them Defenders?"

"Uh...ya." I stuttered as he examined it, then used his hand held metal detector to make sure I had nothing else on me. He handed the gun back to me and I secured it once again.

He grimaced before spinning on his heel and strutting back to the security lines as if he owned the place. I zipped my bags back up and threw them over my shoulder. See, after 9/11 I, along with at least half of America's flight crews, refused to continue working without at least the chance to protect ourselves and others. Those that had threatened to quit had been given permission to carry either handguns or 9 mm's, and many flight attendants had taken group Tae Kwan Doe lessons. In the bottom right corner of our I.D.s were the letters CG, which simply stood for 'Carrying a Gun'. But only security officials knew that for the most part. Those officials that did know of our permission to carry concealed weaponry had dubbed us 'Defenders', and didn't tend to like us. I guess they thought we were stealing their jobs or something, though it's not like they could do anything when they weren't even in the air.

Still rushing, I went down the escalators to the underground transport trains and took one to concourse C. I got off of it, went back up the escalators and ran down to gate C28, flashing my badge to the woman standing behind the counter. I was about to go down the Jetway when she stopped me.

"Bout time you showed up."

"Sorry." I muttered, the heat rushing to my cheeks.

"No worries, you're hear now. I've got an unaccompanied minor for you and another kid doing his senior project...he wants to film the flight?"

"...What's it on?"

"The hell if I know."

"Just tell him to talk to me when he gets on. Where's the kid?"

"Over there," She nodded towards a little girl wearing blue jeans, a pink shirt, and a white jacket. "Name's Hallie Cullen, her crazy mother kidnapped her. She was in town overnight and a social worker dropped her off about twenty minutes ago, she's being flown back to her father, who lives in New York."

"Oh ya...I heard about that. Where's her seat?"

"One sec, lemme check...34A, B, and C."

"Huh?"

"Her dad wanted her in first class but it's booked so he bought her a row."

"Hm. Must be nice."

"Tell me about."

"Well, I better get on board. Sorry again, and thanks for calling me."

"No problem Hon." I turned and walked down the long hall and, and was internally thrilled when I walked onto a brand new SkyTrain Boeing 787. I hadn't even seen the entire cabin yet and I could already tell: this plane was intense.

I poked my head into the cockpit, hoping I knew the pilot. "Sorry I'm late guys." I said, catching their attention.

My oldest friend in the entire world spun around to grin at me. "Jacob, excellent."

"Excellent indeed." He joked. "I was one of the first to be trained on flying these."

"Aren't the flight attendants supposed to be trained prior, as well?"

"Well...ya but...I kind of requested you cause I knew you'd wanna go?"

"You're the best Jake."

"I know." He grinned smugly and I left the cockpit, walking down the aisle to see who I'd be working with this flight. My smile grew as I saw that Angela was on this flight, but it soon faded as I saw that Jessica and Lauren were on it as well. Great.

"Hey Bells! Nice of you to join us!" Joked Angela.

"Yes Bella, so kind of you to show up." Lauren sneered.

"Bella! You're hear!" Jessica giggled. Ugh.

"Oh just go prep first class or something." I snapped at Lauren before looking at Angela. "Sorry I'm late," I began to apologize as I shoved my bags into the last overhead bin. "My alarm didn't go off; the woman at the gate's desk called me."

"I know." She smirked. "I had her call you after you didn't answer mine or Jake's calls." I looked at my phone and sure enough, I had three missed calls, two from Angie and one from Jake.

"Well you know that the ring tone I've got for unknown callers is louder then the one for people in my phone book."

"Sure, sure." She smirked. "Come here, there's just a few things I've got to show you." She showed me the way the galley was arranged, where all of the emergency supplies were, like the fire extinguishers, and she showed me how to open the doors in case something went wrong. "Mostly everything else is the same, perhaps slightly more advanced. Oh, like this." She led me to the front of the aircraft. "Punch in the correct code and the door opens for you. This craft's code is 4-7-3-9-2. If you forget, it's in this book here, along with any other info you may need. Pretty much everything is covered here. So, are we ready for some passengers?"

"You know it! Let's do this thing." We called to the gate desk and told the woman there to begin boarding the passengers. Only a few minutes later the first people stepped on board, looking around in awe. I directed an older woman to her first class seat and when I came back I saw the little girl standing in the doorway, afraid to step on. I knelt down in front of her. "Hey there Sweetie. Are you Hallie?" She nodded shyly. "Why don't you come back here with me and we'll find your seat?"

"Ok." She mumbled quietly, not meeting my eye. I led her to row 34 and told her to pick a seat. She hopped up into the middle and settled back, looking scared. Her bright blue-green eyes held nothing but fear. I sat down next to her to get out of other passengers ways.

"Do you need anything out of your backpack?" I asked her. "Or can I put it in a bin?"

"Um...can I have my book and my doll?"

"Sure thing Sweetheart. Go ahead and get out what you need. My name is Bella, and I'll be right back." I got up from the seat and came face to face with a camera lens. "Ah yes...you. What exactly is your project on?"

"Uh...Planes?"

"Right...just...stay out of my way and don't go where you aren't supposed to...uh..."

"Tyler. And you got it Ma'am."

"Ya...don't call me Ma'am." I told him. "It makes me feel old. Now sit in your seat and stay put."

"Yes Sir." He smirked at me and I glared at him. "I'm very sorry miss." He sat down but continued filming. I walked towards the back to speak with Angela.

"All of the safety info is the same, right?"

"Yep, just about."

"Good, I'll take care of that then."

"Kay." She said absentmindedly, separating peanuts and pretzels. I stood next to her, watching the plane slowly fill up. Once most of the people were in their seats I went back to Hallie to get her bag into the bin. "Got everything you need?"

"Yes." She said quietly. She handed me the bag and I brought to one of the empty bins towards the back. "Uhm...Miss Bella...Daddy says I'm not aspose to talk to strangers but uh...will you...um...sit with me when we leave da ground?" She asked me as I came back.

"Sure Hallie, but I have to do a couple of things first, ok?"

She nodded vigorously. "Thank you." I nodded my head before walking the length of the plane, shutting the bins as I went. When I stopped at one that was particularly overstuffed I had to work to rearrange some of the bags. I felt someone watching me and I looked down. An incredibly creepy looking guy with malicious ice blue eyes and long blond hair pulled back with a rubber band was staring at me. I quickly averted my gaze from him, slammed the bin shut, and continued my way down the craft, but I could still feel him staring at me.

Once everyone was seated and the bins were closed I spoke quickly with Jake. "Alright Jake, looks like we're all set to go when you or whoever's ready."

"Thanks Bells!" I nodded and shut the cockpit door, double checking that it was locked and secured. I went back to the tail end and picked up the phone.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome aboard SkyTrain flight 1792. My name is Bella and I'll be working back here in coach with Angela. We've got Jessica and Lauren in first class and if you need anything at all please feel free to let us know." I began as the plane slowly moved backwards. "I'd like to ask you all to turn your attention to the screens in the backs of the seats in front of you or to one of the attendants in the aisle. As I'm sure all of you are aware, our flight today will be completed on one of Boeing's new 787's. The safety procedures are generally the same as any other aircraft however we still ask that you pay attention. In the event of a crash landing or an emergency landing those seated in an exit row will be asked to open the above wing doors. If you are under the age of twelve, are incapable of performing this task, or do not wish to perform this task please let myself or one of the other girls know and we will be sure to switch your seat as soon as possible. In the event of a water landing inflatable life vests can be found under your seats and your seat cushions will function as flotation devices. In the event of a loss of power lights along the aisle ways and at each emergency exit will light up, faintly, mind you, but they'll be there. And finally, in the event of a loss of cabin pressure oxygen masks will automatically drop down in front of you. Put your own mask on before assisting children and neighbors. The bag will not inflate completely, but rest assured, oxygen is flowing."

I stuck the phone back in it's cradle and went back to Hallie, sitting next to her as Jake's voice came through the speakers. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. My name is Jacob Black, and I'm up here with first officer Seth Clearwater. We're lookin' at about a five hour, twelve minute flight to LaGuardia International. As of now skies are mostly clear, we've got some great visibility, and low winds so sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight."

I made sure her seat belt was on, then clasped my own together. We taxied out to the runway in silence, but as soon as we began to pick up speed she started to cry. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "It's ok, Hal, nothing is going to happen. This is a safe plane, and we're already off the ground."

She opened her eyes and looked out the window, albeit hesitantly. She let out a small laugh. "Wow."

"Is this your first time flying?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No...but Daddy always holded me when we flyed. But then Tanya showded up and taked me away."

"But you're on your way to see Daddy, right?" She nodded. "So you'll see him in just a few hours."

"Promise?" She looked up at me, grinning.

"Promise." She sighed, content with my answer, and looked back out the window. We sat there and talked until it was time to pass out the drinks and snacks. I learned that she had just turned five, her favorite color was blue, she wanted a puppy named Lilah, and her American Girl doll's name was Melissa. I heard all about her dad and how much she loved him. She asked me questions, too, and I told her that I was single, my favorite color was blue as well, and I couldn't get a puppy as much as I wanted one because of my job.

"I have to go pass out drinks and snacks now, ok?" She nodded and I got up, going back to help Angela with the cart.

Ever so slowly we made our way down the wannabe hall; passing out Coke's and Sprite's, beers and wines, peanuts and pretzels. I felt the leer of the creepy man from before; and found a new creeper as well. A chubby blond with pale blue eyes was staring at me, not in a 'I want to kill you and eat the pieces' sort of way, but more like a 'holy shit I'd tap that so fast' sort of way. The woman next to him glared at me, her red eyes holding the same malice as creeper number one. I made a mental note to keep the two malicious creepers in my sight as much as possible. From that point I referred to the creeper with the ponytail as Creeper Number One, the chubby creeper as Chubber, and the woman as Fire Head.

I gave all three of them their refreshments without meeting their gazes and got away as quickly as I could. Once we had the cart safely back in its closet I went into the galley and put a pot of coffee on for Jake and Seth. While it was brewing I went back to Hallie. "Why don't you come with me?" I asked her.

"Well...where are we gonna go?"

"How would you like to see where the pilots are?"

"Really?" I nodded my head and she smiled excitedly.

"I would like that very very much." I held my hand out to her and she grabbed it. First we stopped by the galley. I poured the coffee into two Styrofoam cups and handed one of them to Hallie. She held it tightly and followed me as I led her down the aisle and to the front of the plane. I punched the number into the keypad and the door opened.

I allowed Hallie to step inside before me, shutting the door after I was in. "Hey Jake, brought you guys some coffee and a visitor!"

He spun around with a grin on his face. "Well well well, who do we have here?"

"This is Hallie, Jake. She's flying back to her dad."

"Well hello there Miss Hallie. I might just have something for you..." He rummaged around in his pockets and bag and produced a small 'Junior Pilot' pin. Hallie's smile grew tenfold as she took it from him and put it on her shirt.

"Thank you, Mister."

"You are very welcome. How would you like to sit right over there, in that third chair?"

"I would like that very much." She smiled gratefully at him and I lifted her up into it. She spun around, looking at the entire cockpit with wonder on her face. "It's so cool in here. Can I have your job?"

Jake's face lit up and Seth chuckled from his spot as they realized that the little girl thought they were cool. "Maybe in a few years." Jake laughed. "You should at least know how to drive a car."

"Will you teach me how to fly after I can drive?" She asked hopefully. This was not the same little girl, terrified of flying, that I had sat and spoken with a little while ago; this was a little girl that wanted to know anything and everything.

"We'll see, ok?"

"M'kay." She spun the chair around again to look at all of the instruments and gauges close to her. She began to ask Jake questions about what everything was and I took that as my cue to leave them for a little while.

"I'll be back in a bit, guys." Jake waved me off absentmindedly as he explained to Hallie how the throttle worked. I shut the door, double-checking again that it was secure, and made my way back to the rear of the aircraft, plopping down in an empty row next to Angela.

We caught up; not having seen each other in a few months. She lived in Connecticut and I lived in Washington; we only saw each other on flights. Of course we had each others AIMs and phone numbers, but it just wasn't the same as actually hanging out. Even now, sitting on a plane chatting, wasn't the same as high school. Before we moved to our respective cities we went to high school together in the small town of Forks, Washington.

Turns out she was engaged, something she hadn't wanted to tell me over the phone for some reason. She was marrying her high school sweetheart, Ben Cheney. We'd all sat together at lunch; he was a good kid. "I'm really happy for you Ange, Ben's a great guy. So when's the wedding?"

A giddy smile broke out on her face. "Next month!" We squealed together like gossiping middle schoolers.

"Congratulations!"

"And of course I want you to be one of my bridesmaids. So...will you?"

"I'd love to! Just let me know where to go and when to be there and I'll be sure to get where I need to be when I need to be there."

She looked at me as if I'd grown three heads. "What?"

"Just let me know when and where."

"I will." She smiled. "It wouldn't be the same without one of my best friends."

"Aw, Angie." I gave her a hug, but our friend fest was interrupted by the sound of an explosion and turbulence. Extremely violent turbulence at that. Why the hell don't they have the seat belt sign on? Shit! Hallie! I jumped out of the seat and ran down the aisle. Well, ran as best as I could while the floor jerked beneath me. As I ran I shouted out, "I need everyone in their seats with their seat belts on, now!"

I punched the code into the keypad and yanked the door open. Hallie was clutching the sides of the seat with wide eyes; Jake was hanging onto the steering mechanism for dear life. "What's happening? Aren't you supposed to be able to see turbulence before it hits, or something?"

"Bella, look at that! It came out of no where!" He shouted as Seth pointed out the direction for my eyes to follow. "Jesus Christ." I whispered. Just a few miles ahead of us was another 787, the entire tail section and right engine on fire, plummeting towards the mountains below us. "What happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea. Everything was smooth sailing and then BAM! That one came out of nowhere, at a freakin' million miles an hour, and just as it crossed in front of us the engine blew up and the tail combusted."

"SkyTrain 1792 can I get a confirmation on your location?" A female voice with a heavy southern accent crackled through the radio as I grabbed onto the back of Jacob's seat to keep myself steady.

"SkyTrain 1792, we are at approximately 42 degrees North, 104 degrees West." Seth answered as Jake fought to keep control over us.

"SkyTrain 1792 can you see Delta 8254 anywhere?"

"If Delta 8254 is the 787 currently plummeting towards the Rockies then yes control, I can see it."

"1792 what is goin' on out there? 8254 disappeared from radar about five minutes ago, more then five hundred miles south of you."

"I've absolutely no idea. Just a few minutes ago we had smooth clear sailing, and then as soon as that 787 crossed my path the right engine exploded and the tail combusted. Our captain is fighting for control, that explosion caught us up in quite the fight for control over our craft. However, 8254 seems to be fighting for control...it's leveling out." The we heard an even louder explosion then before. "No...wait...it just went down." There was another loud explosion as it hit the ground and I heard some of the people in the cabin scream.

"Good Lord...It's happenin' again!"

"Care to clue us in, control?"

"I've just had one more report of explosions on a 787 that came out of absolutely no where; in Atlanta, it's goin' down towards the CNN center."

"Were either of them off course?" Seth asked worriedly.

"1792, both of them were off course."

"Then this is no malfunction..."

"No sir; I don't think it is. If anything seems out of place I want you to land at the nearest airport. You are flying an 87, correct?"

"Correct...and I noticed that the two we know of that have gone down were 87s..."

"Correct. Anything goes out of place get your ass out of the air."

"We will, thank you ma'am." I stood frozen, watching the spot where the plane crashed. This can not be happening. Not again.

"All those people... They're all just...gone." I whispered as the tears started to fall.

"Bells, get Hallie out of here, ok?"

"Ya." I nodded my head numbly and stumbled the five feet to where she was sitting. One look at her face told me all I needed to know; she knew what was going on. I unbuckled her from the seat and lifted her up. She clasped her hands around my neck and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"Is that gonna happen to us?"

I didn't answer her. I didn't know what to say. I threw open the cockpit door as another rough wave of air hit us and stumbled into the form of the kid with the camera. I narrowed my eyes at him. The camera was down at his side and his eyes were wide; mirroring my own from just a few moments ago, I'm sure. "Whatever you just heard is all we know. Now keep your mouth shut or I'll sock you." I stumbled past him, all the way back to Angela.

"Two 787's, one right back there at the Rockies and one at the CNN center in Atlanta. Both off course." Her eyes widened.

"Are we next?" She whispered, aware of the fact that Tyler had sat down right in front of us.

I shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea what was happening, nor any idea of what would happen. But I knew that the most logical explanation was that this was another attack on America.

~xXOXx~.

After Angela and I discussed what was going down I took Hallie back to her seat and got a movie started on the little screen in the back of the seat ahead of her. She chose Disney's Ratatouille, though she didn't pay much attention. I could tell that what happened had taken it's toll on her. I sat down next to her when she didn't want to be alone and she fell asleep just a few minutes later.

We were now somewhere over Pennsylvania; nothing had gone wrong with us and as far as Jake and Seth had heard nothing had gone wrong with any other flights since the first two. With just another hour and a half or so to go I didn't think anything would go wrong. I stood up to go and see if Jake had heard anything else when the cockpit door opened and he motioned me forward.

I walked swiftly down the aisle and up to him. "Heard anything else?"

"Ya, there's been another one. It went down near the White House, but the passengers killed the terrorists and someone who knew how to fly crash landed on the highway."

"Do we know if anyone survived any of the crashes?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Everyone on the Washington plane survived albeit the hijackers and one of the pilots, a few people died on the ground though. As far as we know no one survived the Rockies. There isn't a count on how many died in Atlanta."

"God help us. Jake get us out of here."

"Don't worry, I'm on it. I just wanted you to know." I nodded my head as he went back into the cockpit.

"Thanks." I whispered to the closed door. I didn't know what to do. I thought we were in the clear; that it was just those first to. But now there was a chance that it would happen to us. I punched the numbers to open the door in with a new ferocity. I shut the door behind me. "I think we need to keep the seat belt sign on for the rest of the flight because I am so not in the mood to deal with this shit and I promised that little girl that she would see her dad in a few hours."

"Bells, you know the seat belt sign won't stop anybody."

"I know that but I'll see when they get up. Did you forget what I can do Jake?"

"What are you talking about?"

I pulled my pant leg up and yanked my 9 mm out of my boot. "Jesus Christ!" Seth shouted. Jake hit him.

"Shut the hell up Seth, she's allowed to have it." Then he turned to me. "Ya, I did forget you could carry that. So go out there and keep your eye out."

I saluted him, trying to add some humor to the tension, and slipped back into the cabin. The first thing I noticed was that Fire Head was not in her seat. I walked down the aisle to where Angela was.

"Hey." She came up to me out of breath. "Fire Head has been in the bathroom for a while and every time I walk past it I can here her cursing about something or other. "

That can not be good. "Aw, shit!"

"What?" She whispered.

"One went down near the White House. That's three Angie." As soon as I'd said it Lauren started bitching at someone and Jessica started screaming. I spun around and saw Creeper Number One with a gun pointed at Jessica's head; the cockpit door half open. I looked back at Angela. "And it looks as though we're number four. God damn it did I not just say how not in the mood for this I am? From the moment I woke up this morning I knew that the day was only going to get worse. This just proved me right."

I ran to Hallie first. "Stay here Hal, and keep your seat belt on." She was as white as a ghost as she nodded. Then I took off down the aisle, noticing that Tyler was standing up in his seat, happily filming away, and that the rest of the passengers were white with shock. As I ran I bent down and pulled out my gun once more, shooting it at the man with the long blond ponytail. I hit him in the shoulder and the stomach and he went down. People, including Jessica and Lauren, screamed when they realized I'd had the gun with me all along.

I turned back around when I heard Angela scream and saw Fire Head creeping towards her with a knife in her hand. "Angela!" She glanced at me and as she did I flicked the gun to safety and tossed it to her. She caught it with ease and pointed it at Fire Head.

I looked around, trying to see if anyone else was not in their seats. Only one other as far as I could tell was nowhere to be found: Chubber. I looked around for him but saw him nowhere. I looked up towards the front and saw him grab Jessica, shove her into the cockpit, and slam the door shut. "Fuck! How did these idiots get all of this shit onto the plane, anyway?" I mumbled to myself.

I walked up to the front, kicking Creeper Number One in the head. He groaned but didn't move. "Watch him, Lauren. If he moves, kick him in the head as hard as you can." I took the gun that he had been holding and put the safety on, holding onto it for dear life.

I was getting ready to do the stupidest thing of my life; walk into the tiny room where a terrorist held two pilots and a flight attendant captive, but I decided to clue the people in first. "Alright everyone here's what's going down. Three 787's have gone down in the past few hours. One went down near the white house, one went down near Atlanta's CNN center, and one went down right by us over the Rockies. It looks like we're next. I'm about to do the stupidest thing of my life and barge in on that chubby blond guy and hope for the best. I want everyone's seat belts on and I want everyone in their seat until I say otherwise. You!" I directed at Tyler. "I will allow you to move around but I will not be held responsible for anything that happens to you, got it?"

"Yes miss!"

"And if I tell you to do something do it." I turned on my heel and walked quietly up to the keypad, muting it before punching in the code so that the beeping wouldn't alert Chubber that I was about to come in.

The door unlocked and I opened it a crack, trying to hear what was happening inside. Jessica was sobbing and Chubber was yelling at her. Seth was swearing and Jacob was muttering incoherently. I double checked that Creeper Number One's gun was not on safety and I threw the door open.

Jessica was cowering on the chair that had been previously occupied by Hallie. Seth was flying the plane while Jake struggled with Chubber. I held my gun up to his head, and when he noticed he pulled his own out and before I had time to react he'd shot Jake in the chest. "No!" I screamed. I lunged for him but he dodged out of my way. We continued our little dance of sorts for a few minutes. Unfortunately Seth had gotten onto the radio, trying to confirm a runway for us to use, and Chubber knocked him upside the head with his gun. I'd forgotten that Jessica was behind me until she screamed again. "Jessica, get out of here." I whispered while Chubber was distracted. She left the cockpit as quickly as she could, shutting the door just as his attention turned back to me.

I took the gun in my hand and aimed it haphazardly at his head. I pulled back on the trigger but all it did was click. "Shit." Could my life turn anymore Hollywood horror movie?

I dropped the gun and tried to look at Chubber seductively. "Come here." I said in my best 'sex voice'. He looked completely dumbfounded for a moment before grinning cheekily. I guess he was trying to be seductive, too. I crept forward, getting closer and closer to him, as he stood there slack jawed and staring. "What's your name, Babe?" I asked him.

"M-m-m-m-mike." He stuttered out.

"Well Mike, you wanna know something?" I asked, trailing my finger down his chest. He simply nodded. "You," I breathed in his ear, "are the worst terrorist in the world." I shouted at him as I snatched his gun from him and brought it down on the very top of his head. He dropped to my feet instantly and someone cheered. I turned and saw that Tyler was accompanying me in the cockpit.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Told you I'd stay outta the way." He winked at me, focused the camera on Mike, and then strutted back to the cabin. I followed after him and looked around the first class and coach cabin, pointing at two burly guys. "You two; I need your help, please." They nodded solemnly and got up before walking cautiously towards me. "I need you guys to pile Chubber, in the cockpit, right over here with creeper, then I need you to drag the pilots out of the way so that the plane can be controlled. Seth had it on autopilot when he was hit but we can't keep it going this way forever."

"You got it, Babe." They hauled Mike out and dumped him next to James, then pulled Seth and Jake out carefully, laying them next to the door. Once the people in the very front part of the plane saw the blood covering Jacob they screamed.

"That doesn't help anything!" I seethed as I pulled a towel from one of the galley's cabinets and pushed it against the bullet wound, trying to slow the bleeding. I turned to the burly guys.

"Thanks guys, but now I need you to put your seat belts back on, ok?" They nodded, and while all was quiet for a moment I had time to think. "Ange!" I called out. "What'd you do to Fire Head?"

"Shot her, I think she's dead, but I'm not sure."

"Anybody care to confirm whether she's dead?"

An middle aged woman, maybe in her fifties, got up and went back to the flaming haired woman lying in a puddle of blood on the ground. "She's dead, alright. You got her good, girl." The woman went back to her seat and I looked to Jessica and Lauren, both of them were falling apart.

"Jess, Lauren, go sit down and put your seat belts on. Angela, can you come up here and watch them?"

"Yep!" She shoved Fire Head out of the middle of the aisle with her foot and then came up to stand guard over the unconscious idiots.

I turned back to all of the worried passengers. "Does anybody have any experience, any at all, with flying a plane?" I asked hopefully. Nobody came forward. "Great." I went back to where the woman that confirmed Fire Head was dead was sitting. "Can you sit with an unaccompanied minor? I'm thinking we'll be crash landing and I don't want her to be alone."

"Of course, Hon." She got up and I led her back to Hallie, who was sitting up, straight as a board, with her eyes closed.

"Hallie?" She cracked an eye open. "Honey, this woman is going to sit with you so you aren't alone, ok?"

"I just want to be with Daddy." She whispered. "I don't wanna be on the plane anymore."

"Hallie I promise that you are gonna see Daddy soon, ok? Sit tight with..."

"Ms. Erikson, but you can call me Lana, ok?" Hallie nodded.

"Thank you." I mouthed to her, resting my hand on her shoulder as I side stepped around her. "It'll be alright, Hallie." I tried to convince myself just as much as her.

I left to go back to the controls, calling on my way, "Can the two guys that helped me before get the Captains into a seat with a seat belt, please? And be careful?"

They got Jake and Seth buckled in securely and I made one last announcement. "Nobody, under any circumstance, is to remove their seat belts. Hold on tight, Angie." She was still standing at the front, watching the creeps.

I pulled one of the hair ties out of my pocket and used it to tie the handle of the cockpit door to the handle of a cabinet, so that the door would remain open. Of course Tyler came in with me and plopped down in Seth's seat. I sat in Jake's seat and radioed the nearest tower. "This is SkyTrain 1792; both of our pilots are unconscious and nobody has any idea how to fly a plane. Can we get a little guidance here?"

The radio crackled for a moment before coming back to life. "What the hell do you mean both of your pilots are unconcious?

"I mean that one of them was shot and one of them was bashed upside the head. We've got a dead female and two unconscious males, as well, the three of which tried to hijack the aircraft."

"God damn it, that's number four, so far as I know."

"So we heard. But we'd really like to get out of the air. And in case you weren't aware, because I don't know how different it is, we're on a 787."

"Oh, I know. But I don't know how to have you land one of them, give me just a minute to find someone who can help you out."

"Great." I muttered. I glanced over and noticed that Tyler was examining the controls and gauges. "What're you doing?"

"I think...that I can land this. It's very similar to a GTA steering wheel."

"It is nothing like a GTA steering wheel!"

"How the hell would you know?"

"My best friends brother would've married the game if he hadn't married Rosalie first."

"Ok, so it isn't so similar, but how hard can it be?"

"Trust me, a lot harder then yo-" I was cut off by a small sounding explosion. "Jesus fuckin' H!"

"Jesus H?"

"Shut the fuck up and see if whathisface comes back on!" I unbuckled myself from Jake's chair and stumbled into the cabin once more, taking note of the flimsy black smoke coming from one of the back lavatories.

Angela turned to me, her eyes wide in horror. "I think I just figured out what Fire Head was cursing about before."

"Ya, it would appear as though she didn't hook up a bomb correctly. If the plane that went down near us before is any clue, then that explosion should have been big enough to have completely taken the tail off."

She nodded slowly. The smoke was slowly becoming thicker as I stumbled down the aisle, choking on the fumes. I opened the door to the bathroom and for a small sized fire burning and melting the plastic of the toilet and counter. "Fuck." I choked out. I shut the door and turned around. Right there was, you guessed it, Tyler. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me everywhere! And didn't I tell you to wait and see if whatshisface radioed back?"

"Oh, right. He didn't."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks." I turned my attention to the people once more. "I think that it would be in everyone's best interest if you all moved up, as far away from the smoke, as you could while still being buckled into a seat. No empty rows in front of anyone, no empty seats." I looked around, noticing the few small children with quivering lips. "If you have small children, under three or so feet tall, personally, I would try to fit them into your seat belt with you and hold on to them. I'm supposed to tell you to but babies on the floor in front of you and kids over three in their own seats. So I've told you that. So, do what you wish, but I suggest holding onto your children. And as soon as I yell to do so, brace yourselves, like this. Oh, and don't go back for anything after or before we land, leave your luggage! " I then demonstrated the bracing position and went back to the cockpit with Tyler. "Ange," I called as I sat down again. "Make sure they're out cold and then take a seat. This guy isn't answering and I'm gonna try to take us down into the large nothingness over there."

I studied the entire 'dashboard', so to speak, for a few moments before finding the autopilot, switching it off, and grabbing a hold of the steering mechanism. "Tyler, get on the radio, find out how to slow down and how to lower the landing gear."

He got on with a new guy this time, who told Tyler what to do in order to lower the landing gear, and spoke louder so that I could hear how to slow down, extend the flaps on the wings, and hopefully land semi-safely.

I said a quick prayer to anyone that may be listening and started the decent. The vast empty space was quickly approaching and I need to slow dramatically if I had any hopes of crash landing there.

In what seemed like slow motion the plane got lower and lower, but it seemed to go faster and faster as we lost altitude. All sorts of alarms started going off as we approached the ground; speed, altitude, fire, and I don't even know what else. "Brace yourselves!" I screeched as we came ever so much closer to our fate. Hope was all I had left; hope that I could save us, hope to see Alice again, and hope that I'd be able to keep the promise of Hallie seeing her dad again.

What they say about your life, flashing before your eyes, as you come closer and closer to your death isn't true. Although, I wasn't certain that I was going to die, so it's possible that that played a part. As the ground came up upon us all I saw was my best friend, and my father. I worried about what he would do if I died, I was there whenever I could get to Forks. He needed a good home cooked meal every once in a while; he couldn't always live on fish and diner food, could he? And Alice, who I'd known since college. She and I had formed a tight knit bond; nobody wanted to be friends with the hyperactive fairy, just as nobody wanted to be friends with the tall gangly freak that always had a book in her nose. We became instant friends and had been practically inseparable ever since. I would miss her.

I didn't have too much time to worry about anything else, though. All too soon the belly of the 787 was smashing into the field, but we didn't stop. The plane shot forward, burying itself further into the ground. We finally came to a stop, more than halfway across the open space, just a couple hundred feet from the edge of a forest. As far as I could tell there was nobody around, but I didn't have to much time to look through the window. Even more alarms were going off and I needed to get the people off of the plane; I already smelt jet fuel and it could ignite at any minute.

"Let's go kid, we're getting off." We got up from the seats and hurried into the cabin. He whistled, before bringing his hands together. Everyone soon joined in, applauding. I blushed, but didn't have time to dwell on the fact. "Thanks, but there's no time. We're getting off before that fuel you smell catches. If you're in high heels, take them off. Angela, Jessica, and Lauren, come here." They came over and we all opened the two front doors and inflated the emergency slides. "As soon as you're on the ground get away from the aircraft. Don't wait for people, you'll find them. It would be much easier if everyone would gather in one place, though." Once the slides were inflated Ange and I sent Jessica down one and Lauren down the other to help the passengers if need be.

"First off, Tyler, Lana, and Hallie, come on." Lana picked Hallie up, who shifted uncomfortably in the woman's arms and was clutching her doll and her backpack. Her face and hair were covered in black, it appeared as though she went against what I'd said and went back towards the fire for her bag. Whatever, the important thing was that she was safe. She, Lana, and Tyler were off and I was calling the elderly and people with kids forward. We helped them all off and then I had the two burly guys get Jake and Seth off as carefully as they could. The rest of the people came forth and jumped down with ease. Angela and I kicked the unconscious idiots down the slides and then went back into the smoke, dragging Fire Head to throw down the slide in case she needed to be IDed for anything.

The burly guys had gotten Jake and Seth laid out away from the plane, and were now dragging the terrorists away. I yelled to Jessica and Lauren that they could get away, then helped Angela get down before getting ready myself. "Shit." I muttered. I ran into the galley to grab the measly first aid kid we had and then threw it out to Angela before going into the closet to get the bottled waters and the packets of snacks, rolling them down to the waiting people.

I was getting ready, once again, to get off the damned time bomb when I remembered that I'd left Alice's present in my bag. "Double shit." I ran back to the last bin and snatched my bag out, running back down the aisle. I was having trouble breathing; the thick black smoke was suffocating, not to mention that it had spread throughout the entire plane. The smell of fuel was growing stronger and I knew it was only a matter of time before the aircraft blew. I was halfway to the open door when a shudder rippled through the floor, causing me to trip. I landed on my knees, which lemme tell you; hurt like hell. I got up, hurrying once again when a second shudder rippled around me, more violent then the first. I landed on my knees again, crying out. I jumped up as the the smoke billowed around me and got ready, for a third time, to get out. As soon as my butt was on the slide a massive explosion came from the rear.

The lavatory that had held the bomb had blown. As I got to my feet at the bottom of the slide I waved everybody away from the plane. As I came upon the group Hallie came running to me, coughing. Her face and blondish hair were both covered in soot. "Come here, Hal." I took another hair tie from my pocket and put Hallie's hair up so that the soot in it wouldn't get into her eyes when the wind blew.

I tried to wipe some of it from her face, though it didn't really work, then put my own hair up into a ponytail. If she looked like that I could only imagine what I looked like after going back into the smoke numerous times.

I pulled out my phone, like many of the other people, but had no bars. "Does anyone have a signal?" Everybody shook their heads. "Damn." I growled. "Everyone walk around until you get one, then call the cops. But keep away from the plane!"

They all nodded before heading off. "Does anybody need any treatment? Cuts, scrapes, burns?" A few people came forward. I used the stuff from the first aid kit to clean out the burns and scrapes, then covered them with bandages. After that I started to pass out water bottles, which were in short supply. "Share with the kids, people." I took a large sip out of one, then gave it to Lana, who took a sip, who then passed it onto Hallie, who finished the rest of it in three large gulps.

I took the antibiotic spray to where Jacob and Seth lay, both still unconscious, and sprayed the liquid onto Jake's chest. His breathing was shallow and I knew that if help didn't come soon he wouldn't make it. I looked around and saw an elderly lady holding her husband's hand. I went over to check on them as the man was breathing very rapidly and coughing violently. The woman's breathing was slow, her expression one of worry. I wasn't sure if the man would make it either.

I handed him a water bottle, which he took gratefully, then went to see if everybody was alive. As far as I could tell, at the moment, everyone was well.

I sat down on the ground to survey the scene. I wasn't entirely sure what to do, they just didn't train us on what to do in this kind of situation. Finally someone came up and said that someone had gotten a hold of the officials and that they were tracking the signal from whoever it was's phone. The plane was now engulfed in flame, but had yet to blow. If it hadn't been so terrifying to watch it burn I would have watched it in awe at how fast the fire had spread.

I checked my watch. It had only been forty-five minutes since we'd been an hour and a half away. Soon enough the people at the airport would be knowing that we'd disappeared, but luckily, the emergency crews were on their ways. I relaxed, as much as one could relax in a situation like that, and watch as people interacted with each other. Soon enough I realized that I couldn't see the kid with the camera.

"Tyler?" I called over the roar that was the flaming carcass of the 787. "Tyler!" I got up from my not so comfy seat on the ground and went running towards the other side of the plane, looking for him. I found him by the back engine, filming it as it continued to rotate. I hadn't known how to shut it off. "Tyler get away from there!" I knew there would be gasoline in it, and that the fire was going to get there sooner rather then later. Sure enough as soon as I yelled at him, the engine's rotations became louder and louder. He backed away from it and as I was about to move from it I heard a cry next to me. I looked down to my left; Hallie was there, covering her ears.

"Dammit." I hadn't sworn as much as I had today since I'd been born. There wasn't time to move as the engine ignited; I threw myself on top of the little girl, bringing us both to the ground, as the engine burst and shot chunks of metal and pieces of flame into the air. I was about to get up when it happened again; screaming started as more debris rained around us. I kept myself over Hallie until I was sure it was safe, then I grabbed her hand and ran as fast as I could, dragging her behind me.

"Hallie, I said to stay away, Baby!"

"But you were there!" She argued. "You lefted me! You can't leave me." Her face was the color of blood and was smeared with tears and soot and smoke residue.

"I'm sorry Hal. It's my job, though. I need to make sure that everybody is safe. And you aren't alone. Lana is back there, and all of these people are in the same situation as us. Everybody is scared, nobody is sure what to do."

"What happened, Miss Bella?" She cried desperately. "Why's the plane burnin'?" She begged frantically.

"Because those blond men and that red headed woman were bad people. They wanted to hurt us, but they didn't know that I had a gun. They didn't know that it was possible for me to have a gun on the plane. I don't know why they did what they did but they did it. They tried to blow us up but the woman didn't do it right and the chubby guy was an idiot."

"Miss Bella, I don't want to fly anymore." She whimpered quietly. "I want to go back home with Daddy and never go anywhere ever again."

"I don't want to fly anymore, either." I told her as I led her back to Lana, as far from the plane as anyone could get while still being within hearing distance. "And don't worry, I promised you that I'd get you back to Daddy, and I'm going to." She nodded her head but remained quiet after that.

We got back to Lana who was currently on the phone with somebody. I sat down and pulled Hallie into my lap. She slumped her back against my chest, jumping slightly as she did, and sighed.

"Miss, I'm so sorry, I tried to stop her but as soon as she saw you running from over here she bolted after you."

"It's alright, the important thing is that she's safe." Lana nodded and returned her attention to her phone. We sat together for a few minutes. I watched all of the victims of today walk around, some on the phone, some sobbing, some just looking completely and utterly lost.

Hallie pulled herself up from me while I was looking around, startling me. I'd forgotten that she was sitting on me. She started to fight with the once white jacket she'd been wearing. I motioned her over with my pointer finger. Once she was standing next to me again I helped her pull the article off. I tied it around her waist so that it wouldn't be lost, should she get cold. Her pink tank-top was, from what I could tell, pink in the back and the sides, but it had a long stripe of black right up the front. Her blue jeans were spotted and smeared with black and her white sneakers looked as though they'd been pulled out of a trash can. The pink stripes were barely visible and the white base was smeared and scuffed.

She must have noticed me looking at the grime. "Daddy's gonna be mad, isn't he?" She sniffed.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Why on earth would he be mad?"

"I ruined my clothes." She said as though it were obvious.

"Hallie, Daddy is just going to be happy that you're alright. He won't be mad at you."

"How do you know?"

"If even half of the things that you told me about your father are true then I know that he loves you more then his own life. He won't be mad at you for something that you couldn't control." I told her seriously.

"What if they don't find us?"

"Who?" I asked, confused.

"The police."

"They'll find us Hal, they're already on their way."

She seemed to finally believe me, as she asked no more questions. "Ok," was her only response as she nodded her head twice.

She sat down next to me, mirroring my position. She had her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. As I took a closer look I noticed that her jeans had some rips and tears on them. I look at my own slacks; the bottoms were chewed up and torn and their were holes every here and there. I opened up the bag that I'd literally risked my life for and pulled out the hand held mirror I kept in there.

My face was darkened, my hair was black, and the white shirt I had on under my vest was now black and singed. I showed Hallie herself in the mirror and she looked horrified. I was trying to make her laugh, ease some of her worry, but it hadn't worked. "Don't worry Kiddo, it'll come off with a good shower."

She nodded once again. She was surveying the scene for herself. I looked to see what had changed in the past few minutes. The plane was just a bonfire of epic proportions. It emanated heat in all directions; I watched as the air seemed to waver all around. People were starting to make their ways from wherever they were to over where Angela was standing with Lauren and Jessica, who appeared to be calling them.

I wasn't sure why until I heard it, seconds later. The sirens of emergency crews were getting louder and louder. "I really am going to see Daddy?" Hallie asked me, out of nowhere. Apparently she really hadn't been convinced that we would be alright.

"Yes. You really are going to see Daddy." She looked up at me, then pushed herself onto her knees before hugging me.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?" I was curious.

"For sitting with me when we lefted the ground. For letting me sit in the drivers room. For letting me follow you after we crashed. For making me feel safe. For everything."

I hugged her back, rubbing her back. She cringed away from my hand, though. "You're welcome." I said before standing up.

I grabbed her hand and led her to where the group had gathered and listened in. "-What'll happen." I heard Angela say. "People don't tend to survive terroristic attacks, so you may or may not be allowed to leave. I'm sure we'll all have to be checked out at a hospital, and I'm sure the cops will want statements. I don't know how long we'll have to stay here, though, and I'm not sure when we'll be allowed to go home." She finished speaking as at least seven ambulances, four cop cars, some unmarked cars and a few vans, and nine fire trucks came speeding down the small hill that must have led up to a small road.

Whoever they were got right to work, taking pictures of our group, the field, and the plane, before the firemen got to work on trying to douse the flame.

A few of the cops came over to start speaking to us. "Here's what we know." One of them began. "You were the fourth plane to go down today and, for now, the only plane where all of the people on board survived." I raised my hand like in school. "The female doesn't count, Ma'am." I nodded, allowing him to continue. "These ambulances will bring some of the less injured to area hospitals and we have a couple of helicopters coming in to take the more severely injured to hospitals in New York, southern Pennsylvania, and Boston. If there aren't any critically injured then we'll just load people up. Do we have an injury count?" He turned to me, as I was the closest attendant.

I shook my head. "I sprayed people's cuts and scrapes with antibiotic spray and I bandaged them up. If anybody was worse off then some cuts and scrapes they didn't let me know."

He nodded. "Then we'll have to find that out." He began to yell over the noise of everything. "If anybody is in more pain then a minor level I need to know now!" He shouted out.

I looked around; nobody seemed to be that badly injured. Hallie started to tug on my sleeve. "Miss Bella." She whispered as loud as she could.

I knelt down next to her. "What?"

"My back is burned." She said sadly.

"What are you talking about?"

She turned around and lifted up the back of her tank top. When she pulled it out from under the jacket I noticed that the bottom of it was singed off. I hadn't noticed before; when I tied the jacket around her waist she'd been facing me. "Oh my God, Hallie, why didn't you tell me before?" Her back was red, raw, bloody and peeling, with blackened crap all around it. "What happened?"

"When the first splosion happened I was at the back, standin' on the seat gettin' my bag." She told me. "It burned my back. It hurts but I didn't wanna make anybody ascared or more sad."

"Hallie, it's ok to cry." I told her seriously. She nodded her head as the tears began to spill from her eyes. I pulled her to me, carefully, and rubbed the part of her back that was unburned. So that's why she'd cringed away from me when I rubbed her back earlier. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

She pulled the ponytail up and showed me where she had small burns along her hairline and neck. It looked as though when the explosion happened her hair had been pulled over one shoulder, leaving her neck exposed.

"Oh my God!" The burns were raw and bloody and peely and looked like they hurt a hell of a lot more then she was letting on.

I brought her over to the cop and showed him the burns. "I think these should be taken care of." I told him.

"Oh my..." He trailed off. "She's had the worst anyone else has come up with. We'll get her on the first helicopter."

"Alright; can she go to New York? That's where her Dad lives, I just think she should be close to him."

"Yes Ma'am, I'll get her on one of the New York ones."

"Thank you."

"No Miss Bella!" Hallie interrupted me."You can't leave me! You promised to take me to Daddy!"

"Hallie, Daddy is going to find you at the hospital. I have to stay here til they tell me I can leave."

"I'm not going by my aself." She said firmly.

"You have to Hal. This is my job; everyone has to be safe before I can go."

"Then I'll stay with you." She insisted.

Before I could argue the cop cut in. "Why don't you go with her? We've got it here. Just give us your names and tell your fellow flight crew that you're leaving so that they don't worry. We'll contact you when we need to talk to you, ok?"

I wasn't sure what to say to him; it was my job to stay and make sure everyone else was taken care of, but Hallie needed her burns treated and if she refused to go alone then I guessed I should go with her.

"Alright. Come on Hal, we need to go see Angela before the helicopters get here."

"Thank you." She said once again.

We went to talk to Angela, who was watching as some of the older people were loaded into ambulances and the terrorists were loaded into an ambulance of their own."Hey, Ange. Will you be alright here with the other two? Hallie needs to be treated; they're flying her into New York but she refuses to go alone."

"Ya Bells, we'll be fine. Call me later so I know you got there safely."

"I will." I gave her a hug and then went to talk to the cop once more. "Can you have the pilots flown to whatever hospital they take us to?'

"I can try, any particular reason?"

"Jake's my best friend, he shouldn't wake up in the hospital totally alone."

He nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." I led Hallie back to our spot from before. The more we walked the more awkward her steps were. She was clearly in pain. Why hadn't I noticed it before? I sat down on the ground and pulled her onto my lap carefully.

Hallie relaxed against me and fell asleep as we waited for the helicopter. Only a child would be able to fall asleep during something like this.

After another twenty or so minutes, I wasn't keeping up with the time that well, I heard the distinct sound of a chopper. I looked up and saw the cop waving me over. I got up, grabbed my bag as well as Hallie's, and carried the sleeping child over.

"A few things you should know before you go; the press knows what happened but we haven't given them a survivor count. The families that were waiting at the airport were alerted as well, one father tried to drive up here but was convinced to wait until the official count of everything was known. You are under no obligation to speak to the media. Now, what are your names?" He shouted over the sound of the spinning rotors.

"Isabella Swan and Hallie Cullen!"

"Cullen, eh? It was her daddy that tried to drive out here. We'll let him know what hospital you're being brought to; he'll probably be there before you."

"Alright. Thank you." He directed me to one of three helicopters. They strapped me into a seat and tried to strap Hallie to a stretcher but once I showed them the burn on her back they allowed me to hold onto her. After about five minutes of preparation they warned me to hold onto Hallie. They said it was incredibly unsafe and that the only reason I was allowed to hold her was because they didn't want to irritate the burns further by strapping her to a board.

The flight to the hospital took another forty five plus minutes. About halfway through she woke up, coughing. Shortly after I started to cough too. The air-meds said that it was likely because the smoke and ashes we'd inhaled were settling in our lungs. When she saw that we were in the air again she clung to me as though her life depended on it and in all honesty, she probably believed that it did. We landed in NYC, according to one of the air-meds. They led me, carrying Hallie, into the emergency care center. I signed us both in and gave the hospital my info, because they wanted to check me over too, and they took us into a treatment room.

They tried to look at me first but I refused. Hallie needed more attention then I did. The doctor lifted Hallie's shirt over her head, looking at the burns. She had to take the girls jeans off too to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else. After doing a total examination they determined that all that was wrong with her was smoke inhalation and the moderate burns on her back and neck.

The woman treated and bandaged the burn on Halie's back and put smaller band aids on her necks. She called a nurse in to watch over us as she went somewhere for a moment. What did she think we were going to do? A few minutes later she came back with clean clothes for Hallie. She helped the girl pull on a denim skort and a blue tank top, both a size or two too big.

The doctor turned to me next. After examining me she said that I just needed a shower, some Neosporin, and clean clothes. She'd explained to me that Hallie received clean clothes so that the ash from her other ones didn't get in the burns if the bandages came off. It wasn't a big deal, I didn't need new clothes, I just needed a shower.

She gave me some nose spray for Hallie and myself that was supposed to help us breath should we have trouble. Before she left I asked her, "Could you call me if Jacob Black is brought in? He was the pilot of the plane I was on and he was in pretty bad shape. His parents are dead, I'm his best friend and one of the only people left that he's got."

She nodded, grabbed something from the counter and handed it to me, then left to go somewhere else. I looked at the item that had been places in my hand. It was a packet of chewable pain medication. Since the pills looked like purple smiley faces I knew that they were for Hallie.

I opened the packet and handed them to her, then I pulled out my phone to call Alice. The phone rang but again she didn't answer. "Hey Alice, by now you've probably heard about what happened. I'm alright, I'm in NYC right now. I'm going to try really hard to see you tonight, even though I was just in the most traumatic experience of my life. Love you though." I hung up the phone and turned to Hallie. "Ready to go see what we do now?" I picked up our bags once more.

The nurse came back in now and handed me some papers."This is a prescription for a medication for her burns, and these are instructions on how to clean them."

"Oh, I'm not-" But she'd already left. "Thanks." I said to no one in particular. She looked up at me.

"I thought Daddy was going to be here." She whispered. "I thought that he'd find me."

I sighed and lifted her carefully. As I walked out of the treatment room I realized how busy it had suddenly become; I overheard someone speaking about a hotel fire. I decided to go outside and call Angie. Hopefully she'd be able to find that cop and see what was up with Hallie's dad. He'd said he would be here. As I headed to the door I saw a small commotion by the front desk. There was a man arguing with the staff.

I heard one of the nurse's telling him that they weren't aloud to disclose info on Flight 1792. He said he just wanted to know how bad his daughter was. I knew this was Mr. Cullen. I walked over towards him. Hallie didn't seem to realize that he was there. "Mr. Cullen." I said loudly, and her head perked up. "Mr. Cullen!" He whirled around.

"Listen, all I want to know is if my daughter is alright or not. I don't care that you can't disclose info-she was alone on the plane and-" His eyes widened. "Hallie!" She smiled brightly and reached out to him. He pulled her close and she cringed.

"Ow!" She cried.

"Wha-?" I stepped forward and lifted the back of her shirt up, showing the bandages.

"She was burned on her back and her neck during the initial explosion. I believe she had it the worst out of everybody."

The grown man started to tear up. "I'm so sorry, Baby, so sorry I wasn't there. I wish I could make it all go away, really I do!"

"S'not your fault, Daddy. And Miss Bella was there." She pointed at me. "She made me safe again. She didn't leaved me." She explained, wiping the tears away that had fallen from his eye.

He turned to me. "Thank you. Can I do anything to repay you? Can I give you a ride somewhere, or call someone?"

"Really, it was nothing. I appreciate that, but I'll wait for my... Actually...if you're heading that way could I catch a ride towards Manhattan?"

"I live in Manhattan, it's not a problem."

I nodded. "Then a ride would be great, thank you." He led me out the doors and to a fancy silver Volvo. He opened my door for me and then buckled Hallie carefully into her seat. While he was strapping her in I passed her bag and her doll back to her and set my own in my lap. He got into the drivers side and started the car.

"What happened today, Miss?" He asked curtly.

"Bella. And I'd rather not talk about it but you do have the right to know. Three planes went down before ours did. Angela, another attendant, heard one of the terrorists cursing in the bathroom. We didn't realize til it went off that she'd been creating a bomb. After we heard her cursing the other two got up. I pulled my gun out and shot one of them, then followed the other into the cockpit. He shot the captain and bashed the first officer's head. I'd given my gun to Angela when the one from the bathroom came out so I seduced the gun from the guy in the cockpit and hit him with it. After that I crashed the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. I kind of lost track of time after that. The emergency guys eventually came, the plane blew up, and they flew us out here. Oh, there was this kid...he had a camera and got essentially everything on it."

He nodded but remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. I took a few moments to study him. He had bright green eyes, a chiseled jaw, and laugh lines. He had the greatest looking bronzish colored sex hair that just made me want to run my hands through. He was incredibly handsome. Even in this awful situation, and even after the short tone he used, he took my breath away. I briefly wondered what it'd be life to kiss him. Amazing. That was for sure. I blushed and looked away, watching the scenery speed past us.

"So where am I taking you?" He asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. Today is my best friends birthday, I'm supposed to meet up with her for dinner with her family but she hasn't answered her phone all day. I don't know where she lives, exactly."

He nodded, then, in a nicer tone, said "Well, would you...erm, like to come home with me and clean up, at least? No offense but... you're a mess." He smirked at me and I felt myself blush.

"That would be awesome." I smiled slightly. I leaned back into the chair a little and let everything sink in. Today, I survived a terrorist attack. Today, I met a guy that took my breath away. Today, I decided that I was definitely going to try to keep in touch with this family. It was worth it.

I stopped watching the clock. Eventually we pulled up outside of a fancy looking apartment building. I recognized that we were in Manhattan. Mr. Cullen, I hadn't even caught his first name, ran around the car to open my door and then got Hallie out. A valet, a freakin' valet, took the car and drove it into the garage.

He led me through the front door and to an elevator bank. We remained silent, as we had for most of the journey. It was comfortable though.

The elevator opened up on the top floor and we stepped out. "The penthouse?" I asked. "Wow." He unlocked the door and stepped through. A medium sized black lab came running up to us.

"Down, Shadow." Hallie said sleepily, her eyes closed and her head on her dad's shoulder. Mr. Cullen went inside and shut the door behind me. He walked down the hallway and pushed open a door.

"Here's the gust bathroom." He said. "I'll go see if I can find some of my ex's clothes."

"Thank you so much, Mr-"

"Edward."

"Thank you, Edward."

He nodded. "Come on Hal, you need a bath too."

"No Daddy, you're a boy. Can Miss Bella help me? She's a girl, so it's ok."

He looked at me unsurely. I knew he didn't know me that well, so I was about to protest, but he shrugged. "If it's alright with Miss Bella."

She looked at me pleadingly. "Ok, Hallie. I'll help you."

"Thank you."

I nodded slowly. She reached over to me and I took her from her dad's arms. We went into the bathroom and I started the water.

Before I washed her off we looked at ourselves in the mirror. We sure were a sight for sore eyes.

For right now she could only use a wash cloth to get clean; the bandages needed to stay dry. I helped her out of her oversized clothes and sat her down on the shut toilet lid. Then I found a washcloth and some soap. I used it to help her clean herself off, then held her head under the warm water, getting her hair wet. I helped her get her hair clean, then helped her dry off. She left after that to get dressed and I got into the shower. It felt awesome to get clean.

The water turned black and I was amazed to see how much dirt and ash had actually been on me. After a good while I stepped out and wrapped myself into one of the oversized towels from the cabinet. I looked around and saw some clothes on the closed lid of the toilet.

I slid into the clean underwear and skinny jeans, then put the light blue button up shirt on that had been left for me. I ran my fingers through my hair and stepped into the hallway, following Hallie and Edward's voice to the living room. They were sitting on the couch. Hallie was laying on Edward's stomach, and they were talking to someone on the phone.

I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was six in the evening. Wow. I was about to say something when my phone started to ring. I found it in my bag in the foyer. "Hello?" I spoke and Shadow looked at me from his spot under the table against the wall.

"Bells?"

"Hey Jasper. What's up?"

"We've changed what's happening tonight. We're meeting at Hale's, my parent's restaurant."

"Alrighty, what time?"

"Around seven."

"Alright, see you later." We hung up and I turned around, smacking into Edward. I blushed and glanced away, when I glanced back he was crouched down, listening to something that Hallie was saying. He stood up and looked at me. "Sorry." I mumbled.

He looked at me awkwardly and again all I wanted to do was kiss him. This was a man that I'd met only an hour or so ago. The only thing I;d said to him was about what happened today and where I was going. And all I wanted to do was ravish his face. "This may not be the most appropriate time, but Hallie thinks that I should kiss you." He said as e leaned forward slowly, giving me time to pull away. Instead, my heart fluttered and I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. It was soft and sweet; everything I'd imagined it would be and so much more. He pulled away first. " I thought that I should too."

"I'm glad." I blushed and pushed my luck, giving him another chaste kiss. Hallie squealed and hugged my legs.

"Come to dinner with us!" She demanded, still sounding sort of sleepy.

"I'd love to Hal, but I have to see my friend. It's her birthday today. I'm meeting her around seven."

"We're goin at seben too." She said. "At Hale's. Sooo yummy."

"Hmm; I'm heading to there as well."

She gasped. "Is your friend Alice?"

I nodded. "That's my aunt! It's her birfday! You can come with us!"

I looked at her, then Edward. Both looked hopeful. "Sure. I'd love too."

"Great." Edward clasped his hands together, smiled, and pulled out his phone. He called the valet and had them bring his car to the front. I grabbed my bag and followed them out. Hallie took one of my hands and Edward took the other. It felt awesome. But I felt so guilty about being happy when so many other people were dead, in pain, or grieving today.

I got into the car as he buckled Hallie in. He got in next to me and I spoke to him quietly. "She seems much better."

He nodded. "I looked at the papers from the hospital, the pills she had were a high dose of pain meds; she'll be out soon. So," He continued. "You are Alice's infamous, previously thought to be made up, best friend."

"Thought to be made up?"

"Of course! Alice always talked about you but never proved that you were real."

"Ah. Well, that's Alice, I suppose."

"Hm." He agreed. "So...how long are you going to be around?"

"Not sure yet." I answered absentmindedly. "Eventually I have to go back to Seattle, but I'm just not ready to get back on a plane."

"That's understandable. Well...um...if you need a place to stay your welcome to hang with us."

"Thank you. Really." I said.

"And listen...about before...in the car...sorry about the way I acted. I could have handled the whole situation a bit more...maturely. It was uncalled for to ask about today as soon as I met you and it was uncalled for to ignore you after that. None of this was your fault and I'm sorry."

"It's totally acceptable. You were worried about your daughter, I'm positive any parent would react that way. But...all the same...thanks for the apology."

"Well, thank you for being there for Hallie."

"It was my pleasure, really. She's a great kid. And she's incredibly brave."

"She is. I guess she gets that from me, because her mother was a wuss."

"My mother was an idiot." She piped up from the back. "And she doesn't hold hands nicely."

"What are you talking about Hallie?" He asked urgently.

"She grabbed my wrist and dragged me yesterday. It hurted. I'm glad she got arrested."

He sighed. "Me too Hallie. Me too."

We sat in silence for a while longer and I thought about the situation I was in now. I was in a car with a man, apparently my best friend's brother, and his daughter. I liked this man, my best friend's brother, but couldn't help feeling awkward here next to him. He was gorgeous, and I was just...me. I hadn't known him for long but I wanted to know him more. I knew nothing about him but I could see myself living the rest of my life with him.

"Hello? Earth to Miss Bella?" I blinked, brought back to the real world by his hand waving in front of my face. What was I thinking? He wouldn't want to be with me, he was just being nice. He was grateful that I'd taken care of Hallie, that was all.

"Sorry, zoned out for a minute there."

"Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Ya, I'm fine, thanks." I realized we were parked outside of a quaint little building. This must be Jasper's parent's place. "We here?"

"Yep!" Hallie cheered from the back. I got out and unbuckled her this time, beating Edward to it. He took my hand and we walked into Hale's. I looked around and immediately spotted my pixie-esque best friend. She was sitting in a booth next to Jasper, across from Emmett and Rose, looking up at a large tv on the wall. It was a news report about today.

I pulled the small box that I'd slipped into my pocket and tossed it onto the table as we came into their view. "Happy birthday bitch. You better like that because I nearly died tryin' to save it."

"What are you talking about?" She asked stupidly. I pointed to the screen, which was currently showing video footage of the charred skeleton of the plane I'd been on earlier.

"That plane had a bomb in it's bathroom. That necklace was in the overhead bin next to the bathroom. When I was the last one left on the plane I remembered that it was back there. So, being the most awesome BFF that I am I went back into the smoke for it. When I was trying to get out of the plane, I tripped. Twice. So you're welcome."

I put Hallie down on her feet and butt bumped Alice to the side, sitting down next to her and grabbing a slice of bread from the basket in the middle. Alice sat there looking dumb-founded. "You were on that plane?" I nodded. "Why the hell didn't you call me?"

"I called you twice today Alice. You didn't answer."

"Well my phone's at the bottom of the Hudson."

I glared at her. "Then how the hell did you expect me to call you?"

"Oh...well uh...Hallie what happened to your hair?" She asked, changing the subject.

"It hurts to brush it." She explained. "So I didn't." She climbed up into my lap as she said that, being careful not to lean her back against me. "Can I have some bread? I haven't eaten since the happy faces at the hospital."

"Hal those weren't food, they were to help make the pain in your back and neck go away." I told her.

"Is that why they were yucky?"

"I think they were supposed to be grape."

"Well they were yucky."

"Wait wait wait wait. What hospital? What the hell happened today?" Alice demanded.

I pointed to the TV screen. "That."

"What else?"

"Why can't you just watch the tv and be happy with that? I don't wanna talk about it."

"Spill it, Swan."

"You're such a bitch, Hale. Four 787's were hijacked. Ours was one of them. Jacob was shot in the chest. He may or may not be dead. I don't know, nobodies called me. Seth, the other pilot, had a gun bashed on his head. Angela, a flight attendant, shot a terrorist after she set a bomb. I shot one who was trying to shoot Jessica and Lauren, the other flight attendants. Then I seduced the gun away from the man that shot Jake before bashing him on the head with it. I crashed the plane into a field in Pennsylvania, gave some water to an old man they may or may not have lived, and took Hallie in a helicopter to a hospital in Albany. You can watch the tv for any other info you may like." Just then a woman that I recognized as Jasper's mother walked by. "Excuse me Mrs. Hale, could I get some water?"

"Of course, Doll."

She walked away and I shifted Hallie to the side before banging my head against the table. "I'm sorry, Alice." I apologized as Emmett's hand came under my head, stopping me from hurting myself.

"No, I am. I shouldn't have been so forceful. You didn't want to talk about it and I was a bitch about it. So, I'm sorry. So...how do you know my brother?"

"You weren't even listening, were you? I was the attendant on that flight," I said, pointing my finger at the screen, "that just so happened to be Hallie's flight. I took her to the hospital afterwords and your brother gave me a ride back to Manhattan and let me use his shower."

"Wait, Hallie, you were on that?" Rose piped in.

She nodded her head. "It was scary...but Miss Bella made me safed. And she tooked me to fix my back. And my neck." She stood up at the questioning glances and lifted the back of her dress, exposing her underwear and bandaged back. She dropped her dress then lifted her hair carefully, showing the burns there.

"Edward I swear to God, your wife is dead."

"Emmett, I've been divorced for three and a half years." Edward said awkwardly.

"Since when?"

"You jackass, you went with him to get the papers!" Jasper shouted.

"How the hell would you know?"

"I was the lawyer!"

"Emmett, did you get into anything this morning?" I asked politely.

"...Maybe."

"Oh God, Bells, look." I followed Alice's finger, looking back at the tv.

The subtitles were telling me all I needed to know. "We've just received confirmation that three people fell victim to the planned deaths of all of the passengers on SkyTrain Flight 1792. Jacob Black, Captain, just passed away at an Albany, New York, ER. Marcus Chamberson passed away a little while ago from a heart attack and his wife, Molly, passed on shortly afterwords. Doctors found nothing wrong with her and decided that she passed from a broken heart."

"I have to go." I said suddenly.

"What?" Hallie cried.

"I'm sorry guys, but Jake was my best friend. I should've stayed at the hospital. I should've been there for him. What if he woke up first? He was there alone. Everyone in his family is dead, I was practically all he had left and I just left him. I have to go, I have to plan a funeral for him, I have-"

"It can wait til morning, Bells. You need to eat something, rest, take a breath. Jake knew you loved him and I'm sure he can see now that your were taking care of Hal. It isn't your fault."

I shook my head, unable to say anything. It was my fault.

"Shh." Edward said as he pulled me up from the seat. "Come on," He said, kissing my head, "I'll take you."

"Thank you."

~xXOXx~

Two Weeks Later

~xXOXx~

It had been a week since Jake's funeral. The service had been amazing, and everyone from the plane had come. Seth and I had become good friends since then; he'd helped me organize the service since he'd apparently been Jake's other best friend.

We were the last plane to go down that day. James, as I'd learned was Creeper Number One's name, had died on the way to the hospital. Victoria, aka Fire head, had been his wife and partner in all of it. Mike was sentenced to life in prison with no parole and I'd found out that he'd just been a college kid that'd needed extra money, so James had picked him up to help out. Idiot; obviously if the plane had crashed like it was supposed to crash he wouldn't have lived.

James had been the mastermind behind the attacks. Mike told the police that James hired a bunch of people to take over and crash all of the 787's in the air that day because he knew that some guy, named Riley, was on one of them. Apparently Riley had tried to rape his wife so he wanted to kill the kid. He was an idiot too, again, obviously if the plan had gone like it was supposed to he would've died as well. Well, he did die, but that's not the point.

The only other people to die from our plane had been the old couple, the Chambersons. The hijackers, as I now referred to all of the previously believed to have been terrorists, and one of the pilots had died on the plane that went down in Washington. Seven people died on the ground, and all of the passengers survived. In reality the plane had not been anywhere near the White House, it had been just outside of DC, technically still in Virgina.

Nobody died on the ground, but everybody on board died on the plane that went down in the Rockies. That had been the only plane that was off course, the woman we spoke to on the radio was over exaggerating considerably.

The plane the crashed near the CNN center was about a halfway split, half of the people on board died, half lived. One of the hijackers lived and the other two are locked up right alongside Mike. There still wasn't a confirmed count on how many people died on the ground.

I had yet to go back to Seattle and in the mean time I had no plans to head back anytime soon. I was currently living in Alice and Jasper's guest room. I'd submitted my resignation to SkyTrain and was currently looking into going back to school to be an elementary school teacher. After spending time with Hallie I decided that I wanted to work with kids.

At the moment we, as in Edward, Hallie, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Seth, and myself, were all sitting in Edward's living room, getting ready to watch the footage and then some from Tyler's camera. They'd taken it and put it into a tv special, along with some pictures from the other three accidents and commentary.

I'd been in the kitchen getting a glass of lemonade when Alice called out to me, "Bella, hurry! It's starting."

"Coming!" I called back, picking up my glass and walking across the hall and into the living room. I set it on the end table next to the couch and plopped down in Edward's lap. He let out a little 'oomph' before smirking and wrapping his arms around me. I settle back against his chest and laughed as Shadow jumped up and curled up next to us. Hallie climbed into my lap just as the special started.

Tyler had captured a lot of things that I hadn't realized. He had footage of the airport, of the three creeps sitting together in the waiting area of the gate, he'd gotten video of me shutting all the bins, passing out drinks, being stared at by Mike and James and glared at by Victoria. There was footage of me bringing Hallie to her seat, putting her bag in the bin, and bringing her to the cockpit and then bringing her back. He'd captured the fear in both of our eyes, and then the fear in our voices when I told Angela. He'd captured the turbulence over the Rockies and he'd gotten the audio of the conversations in the cockpit. He'd gotten James almost shooting Jessica, me shooting James and Angela shooting Victoria. He'd gotten Mike shooting Jacob, hitting Seth, and me seducing the gone from Mike. He got the burly guys that helped move the guys out of the cockpit, our ridiculous conversation about GTA steering wheels. He had excellent video of the crash, and of the semi-chaotic scene that unfolded afterwords; the shudders and explosions, everything. Me taking care of peoples injuries, everybody on their phones, the emergency guys coming, the helicopters. It was truly amazing.

They started showing pictures of the other crashes, and they started talking about the situation. As it turns out, Riley wasn't even on any of the flights. I let the pools of tears drip from my eyes and I felt Edward lean forward and kiss them away. "You were amazing, Love. And how you were with Hallie; just...thank you." I nodded my head and buried my face in his shirt, sobbing. He rubbed my back and kissed my head.

At the end of the special there was a recording of Tyler. "Hey, Miss Swan," He said. "Just wanted to let you know that I got an A on my project." He winked, and a single tear fell from the corner of his eye. "Thanks for letting me keep my camera on."

The video of him faded and was replaced by two words and two dates.

Always Remember
September 11th, 2001
September 11th, 2009

I'd been so caught up in everything that I hadn't even realized that it'd happened on the same date. I continued to cry, praying for everybody that had died on the two days, as well as anybody else that had died in any situations similar. We would always remember, we would never forget.

Edward pulled me closer to him, and I pulled Hallie closer to me. "I love you, Bella." He whispered into my ear. I turned my head to look at him.

"I love you too."

So in a situation like this I don't think that they'd allow you to just leave, and I think that they'd probably make you stay in the hospital for observation, but remember, it's fiction. Again, no offense was intended.

Let me know if you think I should add a second chapter, in Edward's point of view of the crash and aftermath.

Edited to add: I do have plans to eventually go back and add a second chapter someday.