A/N: My muses really don't listen to me. Instead of conjuring up something for a chapter of my not-recently-updated fics, Danger in Dixie and Call Me Irresponsible, the Pilot decided to crash the party and demand another chapter. Then, the uninvited smexy graduate students, Sookie and Alcide, crawled into my brain and inspired a one-shot (Classroom Fantasies, if you haven't read it yet). You'll be happy to hear that all the noisy muses were locked in a dark room so I could have a little one on one time with the Author. The next chapter of Dixie is in the works, as you read.

This chapter of TA is a little different tone-wise from anything else that's come before it. Hope you enjoy it all the same.

Beta'd by chiisai-kitty, who loves me still even though I sent her an unfinished chapter. I really need to start remembering when I put place holders instead of finished scenes.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

As the alarm went off at too-fucking-early in the morning, I woke up with a tingling sensation in my arms, the same kind of weird feeling you get when a limb falls asleep. My half-awake brain realized that Sookie and I never untied me after our latest venture into bondage. She really seemed to enjoy the switch, at least that's what her multiple screaming orgasms led me to believe. That still didn't make up for the lack of feeling in my hands or arms.

"Sookie, wake up and untie me."

"Five more minutes. Go start the coffee."

"I can't start the coffee, I'm currently bound to the headboard."

She opened her eyes, looking up at me from her vantage point on my chest. "Oh, right. Whoops."

"Ha ha, whoops. Now untie me so we can get ready for work."

"You're grumpy when you can't use your arms. You weren't complaining this much last night."

I flashed back to the amazing sex we had into the wee hours of the morning. We were both feeling feisty after our dinner with Pam and enjoyed taking all of that energy out on each other. I could still feel her on top of me, riding me, using my body for her own evil and sexy purposes. The sight of her fingers rolling and pinching her nipples, teasing me since I couldn't do it myself. At least I had the decency to blindfold her, she made me watch as she pleasured herself. Now that was torture.

Sadly, all I could think about now were my tingly hands.

She grumbled as she worked the knots out then rubbed my shoulders to help get the circulation going again. She grabbed my phone to turn off the alarm, mentioning there was a text from Pam canceling on us for breakfast since she caught an earlier flight. How very Pam-like of her. Within a few minutes, I was back to normal so I went out into the kitchen, knowing I'd find her in front of the counter, praying to the caffeine gods to make the damn thing drip faster. I came up behind her, nuzzling her neck, grinding my now rock hard self against her.

"Coffee first, sex later. I didn't get nearly enough sleep yesterday."

"Because we were fucking all night. It's the best way to spend an evening. I'm sure an orgasm can wake you up just as well as any cup of coffee. We'll see who can finish first, the coffee maker or you."

I spun her around, lifting her up to rest her ass on the counter. I stepped between her legs, continuing my mouth's exploration of her neck. I opened the one button holding the shirt she was wearing, my shirt from last night, and slid it slowly down her arms. I pressed my body flush against hers, knowing the feel of my skin rubbing against hers was as big an aphrodisiac for her as anything else.

When I first moved into the apartment, I hated the low counters in the kitchen, but now, as I slid into her tight, warm, soaking wet pussy I wanted to hunt down the architect and kiss him or her square on the mouth. This kitchen was designed perfectly for me to fuck Sookie. She wrapped her legs around my waist and leaned back, finding the optimal angle so I'd rub her spot on every thrust. I'd love to just keep her up there and fuck her slowly, but time was of the essence. I slid my thumb through her plump lips and she sucked on it, wrapping her tongue around the digit. She knew what I planned to do with it and released me as soon as she wet it thoroughly.

I placed it on her clit, rubbing figure eights on the bundle of nerves in sync with my thrusts to have her screaming in no time. Instead of her usual eyes squeezed shut tight in ecstasy, she was watching where our bodies joined, completely turned on by what she saw. I was almost tempted to slow down to give her a better show, but my own orgasm was so fucking close I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I grabbed her hips and gave it to her harder, coming closer to her ear to replace her visual stimulation with an auditory assault.

"You like watching me fuck you? You like watching my cock disappear inside you? I don't like to watch, I like to feel. And what I feel is every muscle in your body working my cock. You're so fucking close, aren't you, baby? I know you are, I know every inch of that gorgeous fucking body, what every twitch and shudder means. So why don't you come, Sookie? Come hard for me. Scream my fucking name or out to Jesus, it doesn't fucking matter, just come. Now."

She cried out, clamping down around me, which set me off. We sat there panting for a few minutes trying to catch our breath. She looked to the side and cursed, hoping off the counter top, looking as if she was about to cry. I followed her gaze and saw we'd knocked the coffee maker over at some point during our tryst. Thankfully, it fell into the sink so glass and burning hot coffee weren't all over the floor and counter, but the dark brown elixir was swirling down the drain instead of into our mugs.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and promised her Starbucks on the way to the airport. That perked her up just right. I'd hate for my girl to be miserable after a fuck like that.

Two very large cups of overly sweetened coffee later, we walked into the terminal to check out the agenda for the day. I was happy to see it was a relatively quick flight, just to Orlando and back with four passengers. I liked easy days, especially when they followed long nights.

Crossing the room towards the tarmac, I saw Alcide and Maria Star chatting with a family dressed head to toe in Disney gear. I had the sneaking suspicion that these were our passengers. The kids were adorable, neither older than ten. The daughter was dressed up like Cinderella and the son like Jack Sparrow. I was happy to see that the mom and dad had stuck with t-shirts as opposed to full costumes as well. Just because you had children doesn't mean you had to lose your dignity.

We had introductions all around and then brought them out to the Gulfstream. The little guy's eyes lit up with excitement as his dad explained to us that he was obsessed with planes. Call me indulgent, but I gave him the full tour, even let him sit in the cockpit with us while we did our system checks. Of course, Mom was snapping pictures the entire time, telling him to smile big, as if he needed the reminder. I think he was more excited for the ride than he was for Disney World.

When he left to grab his seat, Alcide and I did another quick scan just in case we missed anything due to the kid's presence. Everything checked out, so we radioed the tower and were cleared for take off.

Once we landed in Orlando, we stuck around the airport so the jet could undergo some routine maintenance. Alcide and the girls went inside since it was oppressively humid, but I stayed and watched the mechanics like a hawk. That Gulfstream was my baby and I didn't like people touching her when I wasn't around. Sure, other pilots used her when we were off but when I was captain, she was under my careful watch.

As night rolled around, our passengers returned, carrying one semi-unconscious child each up the stairs and buckled them into their seats. We took off smoothly, but something didn't sound right to me as the landing gear retracted into the belly of the plane. No indicators were going off, so I assumed I just heard something wrong or the jet was just adjusting after the tune up.

With about an hour left in the flight, I saw something flashing out of the corner of my eye. It was then joined by a buzzing. Alcide started flipping switches, a worried ridge forming over his brow.

"Eric, I think we have a problem."

"Alc, I really don't like when you say things like that when we're in the air and alarms are going off."

"The hydraulics system just crapped out. I'm trying to lower the landing gear and nothing's happening."

"You're joking, right? You're going to jump out of your chair and yell 'April Fools,' and punch me in the arm for being a pussy for falling for it."

"It's July. There's no April Fools in the middle of July. This is fucking serious."

"Shit. There isn't a whole hell of a lot we can do to fix it from up here, is there?"

"Nope. I'm trying the manual overrides but they're not kicking in like they're supposed to."

Fresh out of ideas, we radioed the control tower for assistance. By the air traffic controller's grave tone of voice, I knew we didn't have many options left. When he told us we'd have to make a hard landing, my heart dropped out of my chest. We'd be landing the plane with no wheels in the pitch black night. That meant the first thing touching the ground would be the belly of the plane. These types of landings very rarely go well. Sparks flying and the jet lighting on fire were on the good side of the spectrum of possible outcomes. On the bad side were events so catastrophic, I didn't even want think about them.

Fuck. What if this didn't end well? What would I do if something happened to Sookie? Alcide and Maria-Star hadn't even been married a month. My mind flashed to the family on board; there were two little kids. I would not be responsible for their deaths. We had to do everything in our power to make this bird touch down as smoothly as possible.

Even though we were close to Shreveport, we needed to stay in the air longer to burn off fuel. Less fuel in the tank meant a reduced chance for the entire thing being engulfed in flames, burning us alive. As long as we were fine in the air, I decided to leave Alc at the controls and brief the girls first, then the passengers, face to face. This wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to announce over a loud speaker.

I walked through the cabin, smiling at the exhausted family. I motioned to Sookie and Maria Star to head back to the galley so I could speak to them privately. Sookie picked up on my mood immediately, her concerned face letting me know I wasn't fooling anyone with my feigned smile. I filled them both in on what was going on, not bothering to sugar coat anything. I felt they deserved to know the whole truth. Maria Star started to tear up so Sookie wrapped her into a big, comforting hug. Once she was composed, I told her to go talk to Alcide, just in case things didn't end well. Sookie braced herself against the cabinets, taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.

"It's going to be okay. I've never had to land a plane like this before, but it's something that we all prepare for in emergency situations. The Shreveport Airport is ready for us, and will have emergency vehicles on site. We're doing everything we can to make this as safe as possible."

"I'm really scared, Eric. What would Gran do if something happened to me? What would I do if something happened to you?"

She started to cry so I pulled her into my arms and rubbed her back.

"You're all I'm going to be thinking about while we land. Well, you and the emergency procedures for doing this sort of thing."

I gave her a smile, hoping it would help keep her calm. I wiped away her tears, handing her a few tissues to blow her nose.

"Now, I need to tell the passengers what's going on. I'd appreciate if you were there with me. I need you and Maria Star to make sure they're properly strapped in and to let them know what they need to do to for the landing. Do not use the word crash. That's a big no no in keeping everyone calm. Make sure anything that can become loose and act as a projectile is stashed away. Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I can fake it. Just hold me tight and give me a second."

I kept her close to my chest, murmuring comforting words in her ear. I heard Maria Star come back into the galley and gave her the same run down I had just given Sookie. After a few more deep breaths, the three of us headed into the cabin to explain the situation to the family. The parents were obviously shocked and the kids started to cry. They tucked themselves into their mother's side and it totally wrecked me to see them so scared. Sookie's hand on my shoulder was the only thing holding me together.

I left the ladies to go over landing protocol while I went back to the cockpit. Alcide was as pale as I'd ever seen him, obviously as nervous as I was. We both had a lot to lose if anything happened to the ones we loved. It was getting closer to the time when we'd have to land. Alcide kept trying everything he could to get the wheels to drop down, but they were stuck.

"Hey Eric, I just want to say if this doesn't end well, it's been an honor flying with you all these years. You're my best friend, practically a brother."

"You shut the fuck up. Don't talk like that. Everything's going to be fine. It has to be. We've got two little kids back there. This plane can't fucking crash with two little kids. We've done everything we can to make this go right. We're going to hold her steady and land her as safely as possible. Got it?"

"Got it."

"But Alc?"

"Yeah?"

"Same here."

We were as low on fuel as we could possibly go and the tower was telling it was it was time to try to land. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer to anyone who was listening and ran down the checklist with Alcide one final time. It was go time.

We began our approach, the tarmac quickly appearing in my field of sight, lit up bright as day by massive lamps and the flashing lights of firetrucks and ambulances. We had to try to decrease our speed and land as flat as we could. The controls were shaking in my hands, or maybe it was just me, and then it all stopped. All the noise around me, Alcide counting down our declining altitude, the wind whooshing around the body of the jet just stopped. Time stopped.

Crap. Is this what happens when you're about to die?

No. This was total focus. All that needed to exist was me and the ground. I felt connected to the jet and completely disassociated from my body. Maybe I'm explaining it all wrong, but it was the weirdest span of time of my life.

It all came to a halt when we made contact. Then it was all metal on asphalt and police sirens. And screaming. Someone was screaming and crying in the back, but I couldn't focus on that. I had to stop the plane and prevent it from tumbling end over end in a horrific crash. I had to get my passengers and crew off safely. That was my duty as their captain. I owed it to them.

Then, it stopped again. The noise didn't but the movement did. We did it. I looked over at Alcide and he was just as shocked as I was. We were both upright and alive. He was looking at my shoulder strangely and that's when the stabbing pain hit me. I looked down and noticed it was completely dislocated, hanging away from my body in an unnatural way. Fuck my arm, I had to make sure everyone else was okay.

We made it out of the cockpit and were faced with two firefighters directing us towards the door. As my feet touched ground, I was never more thankful for it in my life. The EMS techs saw my arm and took me over to an ambulance to be checked out. I kept ignoring their questions about me and my pain levels; I needed to know that everyone was okay. The guy told me that there was no serious damage done; the others would probably have some bruising but were otherwise fine. I felt as if I could pass out from the relief of it all.

I looked back towards the jet and couldn't believe my eyes. The entire outer body was on fire, being sprayed by the firefighters attempting to put it out. We had survived that? With only some bumps and bruises? It was truly a miracle. I needed to take Gran up on her offer of going to church every Sunday morning.

Gran. Sookie.

"The flight attendants? Where are they?"

"Buddy, we got to get you to the hospital. I'm sure your boss will fill you in on the details later."

I grabbed him by the collar with my good arm, dragging him an inch away from my face. "The blonde is the love of my life. You tell me know that she's okay or not."

"I'm fine, Eric."

The sound of her hoarse voice snapped my brain back into gear. I looked over at her. She was visibly shaken, tears streaming down her face, holding her ribs as if they were tender. The seat belt must have done a little damage but bruised ribs are better than death any day of the week. Ignoring the medic's demands, I got up and wrapped her in the most painful hug of my life. There was all sorts of weird pressure being applied to my arm but it didn't matter. She was okay.

"Eric, I love you. I can't wait another minute to say it. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Sookie."

"I'm feeling the love, but you both need to go to a hospital. Now. Get in the ambulance. If it makes you happy you can both ride together back here with me."

We climbed in and the medic signaled to the driver to go. He gave me a shot of something or other for my pain which went straight to my head. I had to lie down on the gurney just so I wouldn't fall over. Sookie didn't let go of my hand once.

"Say it again. I really want to hear you say it again."

"What? Eric, you're slurring. Talk a little slower for me."

"Tell me you love me again."

"Eric, I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. Does that make up for the weeks you were saying it, and I wasn't?"

"Nope. Work a little harder while I take a nap."

There must have been a sedative in that shot he gave me because I couldn't keep my eyes open. Maybe it was just shock setting in from going through one of the most traumatic events of my life. Either way, my body was demanding sleep and I was all too happy to give in.

I woke up in a hospital bed. Sookie was sitting to my left and Alcide, Maria Star, and Terry were talking quietly in the corner. When they saw I was awake, I was immediately bombarded with questions. I told everyone to shut up since I was still feeling a little foggy from the drugs they had given me. Terry decided to go first, filling me in on what he knew. First words out of his mouth were that the family was fine. Looking around I saw that my crew was okay, too. Maria Star had a bandage over her right eye from hitting a wall on impact and Sookie told me her ribs were just bruised, not broken. Alcide was physically fine, but looked a little jarred mentally.

Terry then gave me the run down on the preliminary reports. There was a lot of fire damage but from what the investigators could see, one of the hoses that power the landing gear had been snapped, causing a system wide failure. The press was hailing me a hero and were dying for a conference of some sorts as soon as I was up to it.

Satisfied that everyone else was good, I finally took the time to check out my own wounds. My arm was in a sling and since I could wiggle my fingers, I assumed they had put it back in the socket. My neck was a little sore, probably because of whiplash. Terry said that pending a full FAA investigation, Alcide and I were both grounded, but we'd still be getting full pay and benefits. Sounded fine by me. Since now was as good a time as any, I asked Terry if he could set up a flight first to my parent's home in Long Island, New York then on to Stockholm. He shook his head, called me an opportunistic son of a bitch and walked out, telling me he'd have the itinerary for me by tomorrow.

I told Alcide and Maria Star to head out and get some rest, so they left after careful hugs and kisses. I made the same demand of Sookie, but she refused to leave my side. Turns out, Jason had brought Gran to the hospital as soon as they heard about what was going on. They had left after staying up with Sookie all night. For the first time since I woke up, I realized that it was daylight, the clock confirming it was a little after nine in the morning.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever done. I'm almost glad that we're grounded. I think Alcide and I need a little time out of the air to calm our nerves."

"I can't believe you'd even think about flying again after that."

"Bad shit happens sometimes, Sook. Flying is my life, it's my passion. These sort of freak accidents rarely happen. I can't let it stop me from doing what I love. Speaking of love..."

"You want me to say it again?"

"I won't complain, but I was hoping you'd tell me what changed for you."

"I think a near death experience is enough to push me into looking deep within my heart. When Maria and I finished securing everything and strapped ourselves in, I had a few minutes to think about what I'd leave behind. No offense, but Gran came to mind first and then I was stuck on you. I realized I was being a total ass for keeping my emotions under lock and key. You've been the most amazing boyfriend ever and I've held you at a distance. I love you. And I plan on saying it ten times a day, at least."

"I knew you'd say it when you were ready. It's the best thing my ears have ever heard. Well, besides the way you scream my name when I make you come."

"Eric! How can you even think about sex?"

"It's a celebration of life. Come on, a quickie before the doctor comes in?"

"Your arm is in a sling. You were unconscious but I got to watch them slide it back into place. Not a pretty image. We're so not having sex right now."

"If the other night proved anything, it's that I can still fuck you proper without the use of my arms. But I won't push it. I'll settle for you holding my hand while I pass out for a little while longer."

"That I can handle."

She dragged her chair a little closer to the bed, putting her head down on the thin mattress and fell asleep quickly. I ran my hand through her hair a few times before I couldn't fight the exhaustion another minute and let a deep sleep claim me. Even though it was, by far, the worst night of my life, I couldn't help but smile knowing that Sookie loved me back.