8 a.m. flight
"I don't understand why you won't let us go with you," Nick says, watching as his wife places clothes into a suitcase. "This is going to be hard for you Miles and I understand that you just want to do this alone but I really think that this whole trip would be a lot easier on you if you had someone there with you," he tries, really wishing that she would just cave already and let him go with her.
"The kids don't need to go see her, okay? I don't want them to see her in this vulnerable state, that picture being their last memory of her. I want them to remember her as their happy go lucky grandmother and not the woman who barely has enough energy to smile because cancer has taken over her body, I don't want that," Miley says, turning toward Nick with a pleading look on her face just to stop. This trip is going to be hard enough on her and she doesn't need to have to worry about her kids wondering what's happened to their grandmother. She sighs when she sees Nicks defeated face and walks over to him, placing her hand on his chest. "I know you want to go and be there for me Nick, but it'd just be better if you stay here with the kids," she says.
"Fine," he groans, wrapping his arms around her neck, pulling her body closer to his, "just promise that you'll call me every night and tell me everything, no holding back because you don't want to worry me, okay?" he asks, placing his hand on the back of her head as he scratches lightly at her scalp.
"I promise," she says, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing herself even closer to his body.
In the morning—
Miley wakes up to the sound of her alarm going off, she sits up in the bed realizing that in just a few hours she's going to have to board a plane and leave her family for two months. She takes a deep breath and gets out of the bed slowly, not wanting to wake up Nick until she gets out of the shower.
She washes off quickly, wrapping a pink cashmere towel around her as she walks to her closet. She takes out a pair of worn out jeans and a random blue t-shirt. She slips the clothes onto her body and walks back over to her bed, crawling on top of Nick. She smiles down at his sleeping face, admiring his features for a few minutes before she shakes his body slightly. He groans, his eyes parting slightly. "Wake up," Miley says, smiling at him. He smiles back at her brightly.
"Good morning," he says, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her torso down to him, allowing him easy access to her lips. She runs her fingers through his hair, kissing him deeply. But after a few minutes she pulls away.
"I've got to get ready, will you talk to me?" she asks, wanting to talk to him for as long as she possibly can before she has to leave.
"Of course," he says. Miley smiles gleefully and gets up from the bed, walking over to her vanity. Nick pushes the covers from off his body and sits up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He stretches his body slightly then stands up from the bed, walking over to their closet and taking out a pair of jeans and slipping them onto his lower body.
And they talked until Miley finished getting ready. She stood up from her vanity, her hair now straight and her makeup lightly put on, and walked over to Nick, grabbing his hand. "Let's go wake up the kids," Miley says. They walk down the long hallway to their kids rooms. Miley walks into the room and walks over to the first bed.
"Kayli, baby, wake up," she says, shaking her daughter's body slightly. The little girl rolls and twists around in the bed. "Wake up and let mommy see your pretty eyes before she has to leave," Miley says, stroking her face delicately. Oh, how she was going to miss her babies. Kayli slowly wakes up, wrapping her arms around her mom's neck.
"Mommy, do you really have to leave?" she asks, looking up at her mom with those bright blue innocent eyes. Miley's face turns into a small frown as she looks at her daughter.
"Yes, baby, I do, but I'll be back in no time, I promise," Miley says, kissing her forehead. "Now, help me wake up your sister," she says, sitting Kayli down on the floor, watching as she runs over to Daniela's bed and Miley follows slowly.
"Danny, wake up, Mommy's leaving!" the little girl says, shaking her older sister violently, her sister rolls over and her eyes fly open.
"You're leaving already?" Danny asks, looking at her mom with wide eyes.
"Yes darling, but I'll be back soon, I promise," Miley says, promising both the girls the exact same thing.
8 a.m.
"Bye mommy!" she hears her little girls yell as she walks toward the plane. She turns around and blows them a kiss, mouthing 'I love you'. They 'catch' the kiss and throw one back that Miley catches in return. She waves and hesitantly turns back toward the plane, knowing that she needs to board now.
She walks up the stairs and she's on the plane, ready to go. She looks down at her ticket and finds her seat with no trouble. She straps herself into the seat, knowing that in just a few minutes someone will come over the intercom and tell her to do so. Then she takes her book out of her carry on, trying to get her mind off of the children and her husband that she was leaving behind.
With Nick
It's only been thirty minutes since Miley's plane took off and already me and the kids are home. "What do you guys wanna do?" he asks, closing the door behind them as they enter their home.
"Dolls!" they yell, running up to their room. Nick sighs, walking over to the couch, knowing that he's not wanted in their doll playing. He picks up the remote, turning on the television. Absentmindedly he turns it to the news, a habit since Miley's constantly asking him to turn it over to that station.
As soon as he turns it over to the channel though his eyes go wide. He watches as a plane crashes into a building, instantly making a cloud a smoke burst out into the sky. He listens closely, just waiting for them to announce what plane it was. And as soon as they do he blocks everything else out. Tears instantly flood from his eyes and a sob chokes from his mouth.
He watches the screen through his blurry eyes, as the date pops up on the screen, a date that he and many others would never forget; 9/11.
a/n: I wrote this for a contest on youtube, but I was kind of satisfied with the results so I thought I would post it on here :).