The Wings of Love

Chapter III

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Leo had tried to go talk to Piper at first, but had not found the nerve until now, even though she had smiled invitingly at him earlier. Going to the cockpit had been as much to give himself some time, as to see his friend. Right then, he was rather preoccupied with Cole's reaction, and it might have been why he was not nearly as nervous to talk to her this time around. As soon as Clay had left, obviously irritated, Piper had indicated the seat next to her.

"Hey, were you trying to avoid me," she asked in her very direct manner.

Leo smiled nervously:

"More like I wondered if you still wanted to talk to me at all?"

"Of course, silly you. Didn't I tell you so yesterday?"

She was smiling and Leo felt warm inside. He had enjoyed his evening with Helene, truly. However, this one had nothing in common with Piper, who was full of life, so open and direct. It was refreshing to him, and he had to admit, a good thing considering his own reserve.

He had been looking at her without a word for a long moment, and she commented:

"Hey, I thought that doctors liked to talk a lot more…"

Leo felt his cheeks warming, as he realized that he must have looked very silly right now. Still, her smile and tone of voice told him that she was not about to give up, and he was glad.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thoughts," he replied, trying to cover his slight embarrassment.

Phoebe intervened then:

"Would those thoughts have to do with the copilot being called back?"

Her question took him by surprise, and at first, he almost voiced his concerns to them. However, he stopped himself in time, thinking that whatever had worried Cole could be resolved quickly. There was no need to alarm anyone else.

"Oh no, don't worry about it. It was simply time for him to go back," he said instead.

From what he could read of her, he thought that she was unconvinced. Maybe Clay had told her otherwise… However, she did not question him further and he was glad.

"So," Piper said again, "we are going to be neighbors for a while. We might as well try to know each other better."

He turned back with a smile toward Piper, as she began to tell him about herself without a hint of restraint.

Meanwhile, Phoebe cast an anxious look toward the cockpit. She had never been comfortable on planes. In fact, was it not for the war, she probably would never have climbed into one. Until now, Clay's conversation had kept her busy. However, at this point, she felt a dread that she did not like at all. Hoping to find something to distract herself, she leaned toward her bag and while doing so, her arm brushed against the seat in front of her. Just then, the strange shimmering started again. This time however, it was not a sense of displacement that she experienced, but rather a vision, a powerful vision of the plane crashing down. She had pained retaining a scream, but still jumped as the vision dissipated along with the shimmering. Piper noticed her reaction:

"Phoebe? What's wrong?"

Phoebe tried to get her breath under control before answering. She was tempted to tell her what she had seen, but could not help thinking that her own fears must have inspired the so called vision. After all, there was no such thing as psychics. She had never believed in them and was not about to now. She turned toward them with a forced smile:

"Oh, it's nothing, I hit my arm, but I'm fine…"

"You are sure?"

Piper watched her curiously for a few more seconds. Then she went back to her conversation, oblivious.

Even if she firmly believed that it had been a hallucination however, Phoebe still shook inside.

The roaring sound that they all heard next did not do anything to calm her down…

In the cockpit, Cole was just looking back at the controls after having watched the Messerschmitt go by.

"Oh, oh, I am afraid that we just got our answer."

Even as he was saying this, he jerked the stick and sent the plane in a turn to try evading the attacker.

Clay asked nervously:

"How the hell are we facing a German plane here? Is he lost?"

Cole did not look at him, concentrating on the instrument and the flying, but he still uttered:

"As I told you, I am afraid that we are the ones who are lost. And this little turn of event tells me that we are not in friendly territory anymore."

He had barely finished saying this before the first barrage of bullets rained toward them. He could not tell if they had been hit or not, but he gave another twist to the stick sending the plane down and to one side. He had little hope to escape the attacker however, as this elephant of an aircraft was much slower and less maneuverable than the attack plane. Another barrage flew apparently right over their head and Cole's knuckles turned white from the effort and the tension.

For the first time in his years of flying, he experienced the actual fear of defeat. He silently cursed his commanding officers for having put him in this situation, no matter that he knew they had nothing to do with the circumstances.

Half turning toward Clay, he uttered between clenched teeth.

"Go check on them, and tell them to brace themselves. Then, come back in a hurry. I don't know how long we will last."

Very tense himself, Clay simply nodded and took off quickly.

When he got to the cabin, it was obvious that the warning was superfluous. The passengers, for the most part experienced with combat, were staying relatively calm, but they were preparing for the worst. Most of them had their seat belt on and cushions on their knees. He noticed that although Piper and Phoebe did the same as the others, Phoebe seemed really scared.

"As you can see and hear, we are under attack. We will do everything that we can, but take all the precautions necessary for a possible forced landing."

Many spoke between themselves, but Clay was satisfied that there was no actual panic as of yet. Right then, the plane jerked again, and he heard the bullets flying by. This time however, they had found their target, as a sudden flare appeared on the left wing. Fire continued burning afterward, telling him that it must have hit one of the tanks. He tensed even more. He wanted to reassure Phoebe, but only took the time to find her eyes and smiled at her before turning back quickly.

As Clay came back to his seat, Cole did not look at him still. He was now flying in zigzag, trying to give less of a target to the German pilot.

"Are they ok," he asked.

"I think so, for now," Clay replied.

The attack plane came flying in front of them suddenly, and they both knew that their time was counted. Cole pushed the stick and sent the plane even lower. They could see the ground looming toward them.

"Why don't you try flying high," Clay asked.

"I will attempt to lose him and land…"

Clay turned to him in surprise.

Cole pursued, giving him no time to question his decision:

"We are hit badly, we cannot continue on our way. Our only chance is to attempt the landing."

Clay would have wanted to protest, but thought better of it. In fact, he was surprised that Cole would take the safer way for once.

Cole had a sudden impulse, coming from who knew where. He was convinced that did he choose to, he could land the plane safely anywhere.

Even if it defied logic, something inside told him so. He began scrutinizing the approaching ground for a clearing, but another barrage hit, and this time, the left wing blew in half. The attacker had obviously assessed their weakness and pounded on it. The plane started spiraling down, totally out of control.

In the cabin, even the consummate military personal was now panicking openly. Objects were flying back and forth, hitting some of them, as they held on for dear life. Many were torn from their seats, and then thrown against the cabin walls. Their screams of agony were almost unbearable. Phoebe was terrorized, but even so, she had time to think back of the vision with an eerie feeling.

It all seemed to be the end for them, but suddenly the plane seemed to stabilize and hit the ground hard, but flat on its belly. It slid for a long time, hitting a few trees on the way. Then it came to a stop.

Clay turned incredulously toward his pilot, who was just as astonished by what happened. They found themselves thankfully under the cover of trees, which made them a harder target for the attacker. More bullets hit the ground somewhere behind them. However, it seemed that the German pilot believed them to be dead, most probably due to the fire still raging on what was left of the left wing, because this was the last attack.

Cole thought that he could never breathe again. His chest was still so tight from the fear and effort. In addition, he could not understand how he had managed to put the plane down in this manner. At the last minute, the nose of the plane had come up on its own. All at once, it was as if the controls had been returned to him… As if the plane still had its wing…

He had the impression that they were carried down, rather than fell. At this point however, he was not going to question their good fortune any further, as he was much more anxious about his passengers. No matter that the landing had been successful, the descent had been hell. The danger was far from passed, as the fire threatened to extend to the rest of the airplane. He gave a knowing look at Clay, and this one understood. The both of them, taking off the seat belts at the same time, hurried toward the cabin.

There, a few passengers were still strapped in their seats, in a daze. However, most were already tending to the wounded and others were trying to open the hatch. Clay went straight to those, as Cole went to his friend, who was treating a passenger with severe head injuries.

"Leo, are you all right," he asked immediately, while assessing the rest of the passengers at a glance. The place was a terrible mess, with papers and baggage littering the whole cabin. Some people were sprawled on the floor between the seat, some of them beyond help.

Leo turned a sad expression toward his friend. Ignoring his inquiry, he asked instead.

"What happened?"

"There will be time for this later, we have to move out of this plane, and quickly."

He heard the sound of the hatch bursting opened, and pulled Leo away from the patient.

"Come on Leo, help others, I will take care of him."

He said this while picking up the injured men.

Before turning toward the hatch however, he could not help looking out the window at the burning wing, and wondering again by what miracle they were not all dead.

Outside the plane, a strange light, seemingly surrounding the plane, was now rapidly dissipating. By the time the crew and passengers came out of the craft, there was no trace left of it.

The plane was on its belly on the ground, and there was no need for any ladder. Therefore, the men who could, quickly evacuated the wounded, while a few of the nurses began taking care of them a ways from the craft.

After the last one of them was out, Cole tried to return in to make a last sweep of the plane. That is when a large explosion threw him at least twenty feet backward, where he lay, dazed for a long moment, until a young woman came by his side. At first, he did not recognize her. Her hair was partly undone, and her features soft in spite of the frown of worry on her forehead. As the dizziness dissipated, he thought that he saw her squint to see better, even as she patted his forehead with a piece of cloth. This is when he realized who she was and looked up in surprise.

"Miss Halliwell," he asked, with obvious surprise.

Phoebe looked down with a hint of annoyance.

"Who else," she asked.

He felt a sudden relief, even in spite of the rebuff, at seeing her safe and sound. He had no idea why it should matter that much to him, but still felt it deeply.

"You look different," he said then, hesitantly.

"You just almost got yourself killed recklessly, and you are wondering about my looks," she exclaimed incredulously.

He was not too certain, but he thought that he could see concern in her eyes. Pride still made him say:

"I was doing my job, mam" This, as he moved to stand up.

"Wait," she said, "you might be hurt more than you think."

"I will be fine," he said, a little too harshly. Then, seeing her about to talk, he added in a softer tone of voice, almost apologetic:

"Thanks…"

He stared at her a few more seconds, still wondering why he had not seen before how beautiful she truly was. Then he shook himself, and forgetting the pain in his forehead, he headed toward the group of stranded people.

Phoebe wondered about her mixed feelings. On the one hand, she still thought of him as arrogant, and superficial. Yet, she watched him go with a longing that she could not define.

The anxious voice of Clay interrupted her musing.

"Phoebe, are you ok? I was so worried about you."

Phoebe took a moment before turning toward him. She was glad to see him well, but right now, she was confused.

When she stood up and faced him, he seemed surprised.

"What?" She asked.

"Huh…You look so different," he said with a widening smile.
Suddenly, Phoebe felt very self-conscious.

"My glasses, I had to remove them and they got broken. Now I can't see very well…"

His smile brightened even more:

"I can see fine for both of us. You look beautiful."

Phoebe was usually wary of compliments, as she thought that they were for the most part exaggerated and interested. However, Clay had been such a pleasant companion until now that she chose to believe he was sincere.

"Well, thank you, but it really isn't that important…"

Clay saw that she was uncomfortable and quickly added:

"Of course not, you are still the wonderful person that I have learned to know in the last two days…"

She smiled timidly then. This abundance of praise was a little too much for her however, and she changed the subject quickly:

"No matter," she said, while turning resolutely toward the others, "we still have a lot to do…Do we even know where we are?"

Clay seemed embarrassed at this, which did not reassure Phoebe.

"We will figure it out soon," he said then, hoping that it was the truth.

Cole still felt an annoying dizziness, but he tried to hide it from the others. He had become by default the leader of this group, and he had to give the image of calm. To himself, he had to admit that the situation did not look very good. They had no clue of where they were, and most of the survival kits were now burning with the plane. Fortunately, some of the men had the presence of mind to get a few packages out…

Cole worried about the panic when he told them of his suspicions and was reflecting on how to do so, when he saw Leo coming to him, all business.

He apparently understood the seriousness of their problem, and was not about to ad to Cole's burden by showing his fear and uncertainty:

"We lost ten people on the plane," he still said somberly. "However," he added quickly, "I am confident that the injured will recuperate…"

Although, Leo did not pry, Cole knew that he was full of questions. There was no point in delaying any longer, anyway.

"This is good news… However, we have another more pressing problem…"

Leo kept quiet, even if his chest tightened at the serious expression on his friend's features.

"We have no real idea of where we are, Leo." Leo reacted but still let him finish. "The little we know is not reassuring. I am almost certain that we overshot our destination, and ended up in enemy territory."

Leo could not help a worried exclamation this time.

"OH!"

"Which brings me to the next order of business," he added as calmly as he could, knowing that to show worry would only provoke the panic that he wanted to avoid.

"This plane is like a flare to any enemy troop that could be in the vicinity. Do you think that we can move these people away quickly?"

Leo looked back, trying to hide his anxiety. The medical personal was already hard at work, at least the ones who survived or did not get severe injuries. It was fortunate that most of them had experience in combat medicine, since they seemed to react appropriately, even in the dire circumstances.

Leo turned back to Cole:

"I think that we can manage within two hours, but some of them need to be stabilized before we can move them…"

Cole wanted to insist on the urgency of the situation, but he knew that Leo was a competent doctor and had to rely on his judgement.

"Do the best you can. Meanwhile, Clay and me have to do something. If we are not back when you are ready, start without me. You have to get these people out of here as soon as you can.

"But what about you?"

"It is just in case, Leo. We will be back in time, do not worry," he added, trying to sound positive about it.

He gave his friend a pat on the arm, and turned away without wait. Leo watched him going with dread, but he had a job to do, and he soon returned to it, quickly crossing toward the larger group.

Cole immediately saw that Clay was with Phoebe, now on their way toward the group. He experienced a pinch in his chest that was none too pleasant and incomprehensible to him. He tried to hide it, but his irritation still shone through, as he began talking to Clay.

"Clay, come with me. We have to assess where we are quickly," Cole said curtly, barely looking at them.

Phoebe surprised him when she asked:

"Are you sure that you are ok?"

He gave her an irritated side-glance, before answering:

"I'm fine… Why don't you go take care of the real hurt people, instead of flirting with my copilot."

Phoebe's anger flared:

"How dare you?"

Cole was not about to apologize however, as he turned to her completely with a disbelieving expression.

"I have no time for your sensibility mam. Clay and me have better things to do…"

He then turned away and started walking without waiting for an answer.

Clay gave her an apologetic look. Then, he reluctantly followed his pilot, while Phoebe stood there a moment longer, fuming.

Glaring at their backs one more time, she finally walked back toward the group.

Clay hurried to reach Cole and immediately said:

"Man, you have a way with words. What the hell were you thinking about? Those people are afraid. Treating them like this will certainly not help the situation."

Although, Cole knew that he had been extremely rude to Phoebe, Clay's intervention did nothing to help his mood.

"Keep your breath for the work, will you," he replied dryly, not looking back.

"You are such an irritating bastard…"

At this, Cole turned to him with frank animosity.

"You know, I have been enduring your criticism for just long enough, Clay. I am your superior officer, and you will do as I say, and if it's at all possible, show me respect."

The rebuff startled Clay, to say the least. This is why he simply glared back without a word. There was no lost love between him and his pilot. However, Cole was more the sarcastic type and rarely got that angry. After a long moment, Cole simply turned back and started walking again, apparently convinced that he had made his point. Clay hesitated only a few more seconds. Then, he reflected that Cole might simply be reacting out of character because of the situation.

Although, that did not make it any less insulting in his mind, Clay decided that for the time being, they should try to work together, for the sake of them all. Therefore, he followed his commanding officer. This one had found what looked like a vague path through the trees, and Clay wondered about the direction he had taken.

Cole walked fast, fuming not so much about them but himself for his outbursts. He was not in the habit of getting angry this easily, not even if he had a temper. Being a fighter pilot required control over one's emotions, and he usually succeeded very well at this. However, in the last five minutes, he had let out all of his frustrations on Phoebe and Clay. Even if he realized this however, it took him everything he had not to snap at Clay when this one came beside him, questioning:

"Do you have any idea of where we are going?"

Cole took a deep breath before answering, determined to regain control over himself.

"I thought that I saw a road back there while we were falling. There is a chance that it will give us an idea of our position. A sign or something."

Clay nodded in acquiescence, still noticing the irritation in Cole's voice, but also that this one made an effort to sound calmer. Unwilling to provoke another outburst, Clay followed Cole in silence, as the two entered deeper in the forest.

Phoebe was still very miffed at the way the pilot had treated her, but her professionalism took over, as she began taking care of the injured. The medics were busying themselves at preparing makeshift stretchers, and she only then understood the implication of what Cole said about not knowing where they were. What if they were closer to the enemy than she had thought first?

The thought was chilling, and she redoubled her efforts, trying to calm herself down through work. However, a young nurse beside her, confirmed her worst fears.

"What are we going to do," she was asking to no one in particular.

Phoebe still replied cautiously:

"About what?"

"Didn't you hear? We have landed in Germany. Soldiers might be coming to kill us all at any moment."

Although she had believed this could be the case, hearing it only made it worse. Still, she understood the need for calm in the situation.

"We have to hope that everything will be fine," she told the nurse, who was on the verge of tears, even as she was bandaging a young man's arm.

"How," she asked, her voice trembling with the repressed sobbing.

"I am sure that it will be alright, don't worry. What is your name," she asked again, trying to distract her as much as herself.

"Paige…Paige Matthews…"

Phoebe tried to smile to the young girl:

"Well, Paige, I am Phoebe Halliwell, nice to make your acquaintance."

The girl half-smiled, obviously glad to have someone to talk to.

As they worked, they continued the small talk, which did as much good to Phoebe as it did to Paige, Phoebe had to admit.

After a while, Piper came to join them. She was obviously more optimistic than they were, and for once, Phoebe was glad that her cousin had such a carefree personality.

"Well," Piper said, "we are really the luckiest…"

Phoebe could not help a questioning frown at this.

Piper smiled at her before continuing:

"No really, think about it. We were positively falling out of the sky. We should all be dead and scattered over this field. Instead, the plane landed by some kind of miracle."

Phoebe still noted:

"Not all of us were so fortunate."

Piper became a little more serious:

"I know, but you have to admit, it might have been much worse…"

Phoebe nodded. In fact, the thought had crossed her mind. She had even been tempted to mention her vision to Piper, which in and itself was another strange occurrence. However, and in spite of what happened, she still could not believe that there was anything to it. Just a coincidence, she told herself for the umpteenth time…

It had been over an hour, and Leo looked back anxiously toward the forest. He had been doing this every now and then, worrying that both Cole and Clay would not return, or that an enemy was already on its way to them.

The temperature was cool but he felt sweat on his forehead from the effort and the worry. Turning back toward the group, he had a dizzying sensation. Everything became blurred for a moment, and he thought that he heard a couple bickering at each other, as if from a long distance. This puzzled him, but never more than what he saw next. As the blur dissipated, he saw a very different spectacle in front of him. Where there had been over 40 people a moment ago, only a handful was left… A man that he did not recognize was lying on the ground, wearing a torn pilot's uniform. A woman with disheveled brown hair was bending over him, a worried look on her face. She suddenly turned toward him:

"Can't you do anything more for him Leo?"

Eerily, he heard himself answering:

"There is nothing more to be done, Miss Johnson. I care deeply about Richard, I assure you. I have done everything that I could. Just give him some time and I am sure that he will recuperate…"

She had turned back toward the unconscious pilot then, barely reassured.

Another man in pilot's uniform, and with his arm in a large bandage, was looking upon them with a hint of irritation.

Another woman, blond with soft features, was busying herself on two more wounded. In that instant, he knew without knowing how, that her name was Lilian. Peeling his eyes from her reluctantly, he looked back at what was left of the plane. All he could see was a part of the cockpit and the cabin, while debris lied as far as he could see along a devastated trail. This did not make any sense. Everything looked wrong to him, everything that is, except the blond woman. He had felt an intense sense of recognition and affection at seeing her.

As he turned back toward her, she smiled weakly and that was the last thing that he saw before the blur came back as fast as it had dissipated. Then Leo found that everything had returned as it was before. He even had pain remembering why he felt so strangely out of place. For a long moment, he stared at nothing in particular, trying to figure out where the sensation had come from.

However, a series of gun shots, coming from the direction Cole had taken, brought him with a start to the present reality…