Chapter 04: Danger Line
Hours later and Elizabeth was standing beside Sonny's bed as they waited for Ray and Jason to decide that it was safe to enter the room.
"Liz, you're okay," Sonny took her hand from the hospital bed that he was half lying/half sitting on. "Liz,"
"Hey! I'm meant to be the one saying that," Elizabeth laughed, leaning over and kissing him as he moved to pull her into a hug even through the pain he didn't care.
"Remember the day we met?" Sonny asked suddenly, as he look at her with a smirk. "Think of the date," Sonny pulled her her onto the bed beside him.
"Fuck...no really?" she had almost forgotten the day but not quite. "Had it been any other day,"
"I still would have done the same thing," Sonny told her as Jason and Ray walked into the room, they'd been standing on the other side of the door listening.
"How much did you hear?" Elizabeth questioned, resting her head on top of Sonny's as he leant against her.
"Something about the anniversary of the day you met?" Jason answered, he knew a little about the day they had met.
"You told them?" Elizabeth exclaimed, granted she had told Kim, Tiffy and Molly about meeting someone new.
"Can't exactly forget meeting a lady with two screaming children at the airport in the middle of a storm," Sonny told her, taking a breath before he continued. "That was years ago...the day all this happened,"
Jason and Ray looked at them, and it was clear that the reason that Sonny had moved in front of Elizabeth the instant the second shot was fired wasn't just out of love it was because of what the day meant to them. Sonny and Elizabeth had met when they were both ready to give up on life, so it had seemed like the perfect time.
*flash back*
October 2009
Elizabeth stood at the window of departure gate, waiting with her two screaming children for their plane to be called. She was taking them to their grandparents house, as a middle ground for being in the middle of getting a divorce and needing to leave the country on a mission. Elizabeth was looking desperate and on the verge of pulling out her hair, and no one was paying any attention to her, just staring at the two children. Sierra at fourteen months old and Jack at 4 year years were both sitting on the floor at their mothers feet screaming and crying as they looked out the window.
Sonny had just arrived at the airport, and was walking towards the gate slowly, when he spotted Elizabeth and noticed the lack of support that she seemed to be getting when it was clear that someone should be helping. Sonny walked over to the seats, where he assumed her bags were and noticed a military tag hanging off of one. He placed his on the seat beside them – as the entire row had been vacated save her bags.
"Ma'am," Sonny was almost hesitant in talking to her. "Ma'am,"
"Lay off the ma'am talk," Elizabeth turned around briefly, while still not taking her eyes off of her children. "You must think that I'm the worst mother in the world,"
"The opposite, you look like you need a hand," Sonny told her, as he looked down at the two children and then back at her. "Thought I might offer one,"
"Elizabeth, and this is Jack and Sierra," Elizabeth answered, almost grateful that someone had seen her struggling enough to offer. "Thanks...this isn't normal trust me," she paused briefly realising that she didn't know his name. "And you are?"
"Sonny, first time flying solo?" he was curious, while also still wondering what he was doing there.
"Yeah, normally my cousin would be here but he's settling into married life," Elizabeth answered, that was all she was willing to say about Charles. "Do you mind?" Elizabeth motioned towards Jack who had temporarily stopped screaming and was now staring at Sonny. "Jack, sweetie say hello to the nice man," Elizabeth didn't let on that she had met Sonny years previously when she had visited her brother – it wouldn't be until they were checking in that he would realise who she was.
"Hi," Jack mumbled, before racing over to the window causing Sonny to follow him before they all heard their flight number being announced.
"Sierra, come here darling," Elizabeth crouched down in front of the infant and scooped her up. "Great...just what I needed another few hours of a delayed flight," she sighed resigning to sitting down on the seat and cradling Sierra in her arms.
Over at the window Jack had taken Sonny by the hand was pointing at the grounded planes telling him that was what they were going to be flying on when it stopped storming. There was a clap of thunder that caused both Sonny and Elizabeth to jump, both silently hoping the other hadn't noticed, she looked at the man holding her sons hand as they walked back over.
"How many?" Elizabeth questioned, hoping that he would know what she was asking.
"Enough, yourself?" Sonny answered motioning toward her luggage as he sat down beside her indicating that he knew hat she was.
"More than enough and going back...look I'm sorry for dragging you into my little mess," Elizabeth told him before she rummaged through her bag and found a piece of paper scribbling her number on it alongside her name. "You really have no idea who these kids are do you?"
"I know enough to know that they're driving their mother crazy," Sonny answered before they sat in silence for what seemed like forever when it was only two hours.
Elizabeth stood up with Sierra in her arms, and Jack standing close in front of her before she grabbed her suitcase and took the two children to the line that was for military personnel. Although she wasn't wearing anything that identified her as such, her suitcase was clearly labelled that way. Sonny stood behind her, he too wasn't wearing anything to identify him as military personnel. Both of them had on them two different forms of identification – both military and civilian.
"Excuse me, Ma'am this line is for military personnel," the stewardess at the front desk said as Elizabeth approached with Sierra and Jack close to her.
"I am quite aware," Elizabeth said as she dug with her free hand into her handbag to produce her passport. "Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Reynolds. I think you'll find the passport matches," Elizabeth handed the stewardess the passports and boarding passes.
"Sorry, here you go," the stewardess scanned the passports and boarding passes before handing them back to Elizabeth. Elizabeth walked into the corridor but not before stopping and hearing the woman say the same thing to Sonny. They would have many more encounters just like that one.
*end flashback*
"Sonny and I met back at the tail end of 2009, it was eight years ago the day this happened," Elizabeth answered, she wanted to tell them about the mission that had happened. The moment she opened her mouth Sonny's doctor walked into the room and she quickly shut it again. "We'll be outside," Elizabeth stood up and grabbed hold of Ray and Jason leaving her bag on the chair beside the bed. "Only you know it wasn't the first time,"
"You know, you can stay in there with him," Jason said, as he watched Elizabeth shake her head profusely. "Or not,"
"Nope, I don't do hospitals..." Elizabeth muttered as they were out the door. "Kind of scare me actually,"
"So Sonny's one non phobia is your phobia?" Ray raised an eyebrow at her and she simply nodded. "Well I'll be,"
It took a moment for Jason and Ray to realise exactly what Elizabeth had said about the day that Sonny was injured. Jason looked at Elizabeth and quickly pulled her into another hug, to him and Ray she was one of them from the beginning.
"Liz, tell us from your view what happened the day you met Sonny?" Jason asked, they had heard it from Sonny's point of view multiple times and now they wondered if her version of events was any different.
"I remember that I was slowly going out of my mind, because both the kids were screaming and it was storming and that everyone was just staring at me," Elizabeth took a deep breath before she continued. "Sonny startled me, called me Ma'am could still strangle him for that comment," she laughed, Jason and Ray did too – they couldn't picture their friend calling her Ma'am. "Jack took to him quickly,"
"How did that go down with him?" Ray asked, as Jason glanced back into the room to see that Sonny was near falling asleep in the room while the doctor was talking to him. "Do you even know what he gets up to when you're not here?"
"Okay I guess, most men would have ran but he didn't...Bet he didn't tell you that I gave him my number without saying anything," Elizabeth almost muttered as the doctor walked towards them. "Of course I do," Elizabeth stopped for a second before she spoke again. "Sonny keeps forgetting that I met him one day when I was visiting the base to see Brock...I must have nineteen at the time,"
"Ma'am, may I have a word?"
Elizabeth didn't listen to anything that the doctor was telling her about what was involved in Sonny's rehab she couldn't handle it. She was continuously glancing into the room to see what he was doing. She knew that Sonny hadn't listened to a word that he'd said either, Jason and Ray both listened for them.
"Liz, did you hear any of what the doctors just said then?" Jason questioned, looking at her as the doctor left them to go fill out paper work.
"I may have lost concentration a little bit," Elizabeth answered, running a hand through her hair as Brock arrived with Cerberus and her two kids. "Hey, what are you two doing here?" now she was distracted by her two children turning up.
"Uncle Brock picked us up so we could see you and dad," Sierra answered, having called Sonny 'dad' since she was two and a half years old.
"Cerb and Rocky are here too!" Jack grinned, Brock laughed he had left both dogs outside with Alex who had arrived at the same time.
"Did he just and are they now?" Elizabeth questioned, both children nodded and ran over to their mother wrapping their arms around her.
"Yep! Mom, can we see him?" Jack answered looking up at his mother and then back at is uncle.
"In you go," Elizabeth motioned for the two of them who grinned before making their way into Sonny.
