The Holiday

Chapter One

I have used my OC from my other Step Up 2 fic, "Where We Belong"- so to find out more about Elodie, background etc, you could always read it

"Will you shut up?" Blake snapped as his brother hummed 'the Entertainer' for the third time in ten minutes.

"Oooh, somebody got out of the wrong side of his oversized bed this morning. Blake, may I remind you that this was your idea. If you hate flying so much, why did you book us a flight to Canada?"

Andie, Elodie and Denny trailed along behind, Chase pushing a trolley with enough luggage on it for an entire football team. Blake stopped walking and glared at Chase.

"Well it was that or spend more hours in a car with you than any human being would be prepared to do."

Andie laughed nervously and looked at Chase.

"What's up with Dicky C this fine morning?" she asked.

"He hates flying. And airports. And planes." Chase looked as if he enjoyed this fact tremendously. "Always has."

"I don't hate flying," Blake said defensively. "I just…. Don't like it."

Chase grinned like a Cheshire cat and continued to push the trolley through the airport as his brother sulked next to him. Andie grinned silently, and made a conscious decision, based entirely upon Blake's facial expression, to keep quiet. Elodie walked swiftly beside her, Denny holding her hand as she practically dragged him along.

"I hate flying too," Denny said sulkily. "I don't want to go on an airplane."

Elodie laughed, and Denny scowled.

"It's true; he knee capped an airport official once. But he swore he wanted to go to Canada, so I said he could."

Blake looked at Denny as he walked, then at Elodie. She looked really happy, and minus the airport plane business, he was too. The five of them were spending a week in Canada in the school holidays, to get away for a while. Blake needed it- this year had been so stressful, and with his relationship with Elodie developing he'd had to work harder at hiding it from the rest of the MSA world. Canada was far enough away for them to spend a week not having to check they weren't being 'caught.' Freedom, one might say.

"It's ok guys, the storm isn't due until a good hour into the flight," Chase teased.

Denny wrenched his hand from his sister's and clung suddenly to Blake's leg. Blake stopped walking and stood slightly awkwardly. He hadn't really had much experience of five year old children hanging off of his legs, and it took a few seconds to figure out a suitable course of action. He managed to loosen Denny' s grip and knelt down so that their faces were level.

"You want to ditch this lot, buddy? We'll go get a hot chocolate, and they can go scaremonger somewhere else. "

Denny nodded, pouting slightly. He took Blake's hand and scowled back at the other three. Elodie looked shocked, but shrugged her consent at Blake, who led Denny towards a Starbucks stand.

Chase looked defensively at Elodie and Andie.

"I was only having a laugh," he said innocently.

"He really is scared isn't he?" Elodie mused.

"Who, Denny or Blake?"

"Well Denny is five years old, and the only flight he's taken was really turbulent and was in the dark. But I had no idea Blake was like that." A tiny smile set on her face, as they sat down to wait for the long line at security to decrease.

Blake narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he removed his jacket and dumped it in a security box on the security conveyor belt to be scanned.

"Your belt too, please sir," the security attendant said.

"Blake took a deep breath.

"Is there anything you don't want?" he snapped, yanking his belt from around his waist and slamming it down in the tray on top of his jacket.

"Chill Blake," Chase said, removing his belt and putting it into a tray next to Blake's.

"And your shoes." The security attendant looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and hide as a muscle in Blake's jaw twitched. Andie fought to control the laughter that threatened to escape her, whilst Elodie hid her grin and helped Denny take off his shoes.

"Excuse me sir, is this your bag?" a pot bellied man shuffled out from behind the security scanner, holding Blake's bag.

"Yes," Blake answered shortly. "Is there some kind of problem?"

"Come over here please sir." Blake breathed out through his nose and followed the man. Chase and Andie cleared security and began to re-assemble their clothing, whilst Elodie hustled Denny through and retrieved their hand luggage. The four of them stood to one side to watch what was happening to the fifth member of their party. Blake stood with his arms out to the sides whilst a short, balding man ran a metal detector over his entire person, then felt his pockets and trouser legs. Blake looked like he was about to explode. The pot bellied airport official began to empty his bag, placing the objects onto the security counter as he searched. Suddenly he produced what looked like an egg timer from the depths of Blake's bag and held it up.

"Sir, can you tell me what this is?"

Blake looked shocked.

"Er, it… looks like an egg timer."

The official looked annoyed.

"Did you pack this bag yourself?" he asked.

"Yes. I mean… not that… but yes…."

Blake looked over at Chase, who was giggling uncontrollably.

"It was him." He growled.

"Sir, you are free to go, but I would urge you not to pull practical jokes at an airport in future, it is an arrestable offence. And I'm going to have to confiscate this." The guard walked off with the egg timer shaking his head, whilst Blake was left to stuff his things back into his bag.

"It's ok, I don't think we'll be cooking any EGGS," he muttered.

Once he'd rejoined the group safely through security, Blake slammed his bag down, causing the others to flinch.

"YOU." He looked about ready to kill Chase.

"Me," Chase said nervously. "Me what?"

"You put that in my bag."

"It wouldn't fit in mine!"

"AND WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT WITH AN EGG TIMER IN CANADA?"

Andie stepped in between the two brothers and held up her hands.

"Ok guys, just chill. No fighting in the airport. Let's just all remain calm."

Blake straightened his jacket and glare past her at his younger brother.

"Easy for you to say, you are not related to a moron."

Elodie buttoned Denny's jacket and looked up.

"She's not related to him but she is dating him. She gets her fair share of idiocy."

"I'm not sitting next to him on the plane," Blake said matter of factly, putting his passport in his inside jacket pocket.

"You sit between Denny and Elodie and I'll sit next to this cretin." Andie led Chase away to the duty free, whilst Elodie gathered her and Denny's bags. Denny took Blake's hand again and clung to it. Blake looked surprised, but Elodie grinned.

"Obviously he recognizes a kindred fear of flying in you."

Denny looked up at Blake, his childish features creased in concern.

Blake did his best to look reassuring.

"It'll be ok mate," he said. "Do you know how to play cards?"

Denny nodded.

"Elodie taught me."

"Well we'll play a long game or two on the plane. And I bet there will even be candy."

Elodie watched as Denny led Blake to a giant glass window and pointed at a huge jumbo jet turning around outside below them, on the tarmac. Despite the fact that he looked like he was about to be sick, Blake looked comfortable with Denny, and more importantly, Denny looked comfortable with Blake. She smiled and followed them to the window, looking forward to the week ahead.

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