Disclaimer: I don't own the TBs or the Tracy family with the exception of Sam.
A/N: I'd like to thank those that take the time to review A Special Connection. It gives me a chance to see what is working and what needs improved upon. Also, this chapter is short but I was encouraged to post it like this. The guilty party knows who she is.
Chapter 24
"Dad, can I copilot on the way home?" asked Sam as they were loading their belongings into the plane. Scott and John were standing by the truck and arguing who was flying with their dad. Jeff looked up to where his oldest sons were arguing.
"Yes, Sam, you can because I don't want to listen to that," he answered. Sam glanced over at her brothers and whistled shrilly. They looked up at her.
"Knock it off you two," she called. "Now, get to your seats cus I'm copiloting." John and Scott looked at their sister and dad flabbergasted that they'd missed their chance.
"Now look what you've done," snapped Scott. He was glaring at John. John returned the glare with a frosty one of his own.
"Look what I've done? You're the one that wanted to argue," he shot back. He turned on his heel and marched into the plane and sat down in his seat. He pulled out his walkman and put it on. Soon the sounds of piano music were soothing his anger. He could feel the engines start and the plane beginning to taxi out to the runway. Fifteen minutes later they were airborne and Sam had come over the intercom and told them that they could move about freely in the passenger area.
"If there is a passenger by the name of John Tracy please come to the cockpit," Sam's voice said in a nasally and snobby attitude. Gordon and Alan cracked up at their sister's antics. John got up and made his way to the cockpit. Unable to resist, he smiled smugly down at Scott as he went by.
"Helps to have connections," he said quietly. He had just entered the cockpit when Sam turned to him. She held up a finger for silence. She had just heard a weather alert and wanted to make sure that she didn't miss anything.
"Have a seat," she said as she turned back to her duties as copilot. "You'll be taking over in about an hour. Dad wants you up here so that you can look around and get familiar with what you'll be doing. His jet is way more different than the little prop plane that we were using." After speaking to John she turned to her dad.
"Dad, there was a weather alert issued for the Midwest. It seems that a nice snowstorm is brewing. That's the good news. Now for the bad news, it could become a blizzard especially in…."
"Don't tell me, Kansas," Jeff groaned. Sam smiled apologetically at her dad.
"Sorry, don't kill the messenger," she said as she continued to listen to what was important information. "Um, Dad, you may want to detour to the south. It's a no longer could become a blizzard. It is one and that means no farm this time around." She looked kind of sad at the thought but not seeing her grandma at the holidays would be worse if they got stuck in Kansas.
"John, can you go tell your brothers that we're heading straight for the island?" Jeff asked. John stood up and walked back to where his brothers were reading or just relaxing.
"Dad wanted me to let you know that we're not stopping in Kansas due to a blizzard," he said. His brothers groaned but knew how the weather could be in Kansas. John went back to the cockpit and sat down in the jump seat. He quietly observed his sister and her role as the copilot. Jeff made sure that she understood each thing that he was teaching her about the plane. He was also making mental notes about what their dad was teaching her. Sam looked back at John and then to her dad.
"Dad, do you mind if John takes over?" she asked. Jeff looked back at John and nodded his head. Sam handed him the headset that she'd been wearing so that she could hear weather alerts.
"Have fun," she said as she made her way back to the passenger area. Virgil was sitting by himself and reading an art book. Scott was sleeping and was oblivious to the fact that Gordon and Alan had tied his shoes together. They looked up at Sam innocently as she walked by.
"Not buying it but not saying anything either," she said. Gordon grinned up at her. He knew that she loved seeing Scott get pranks pulled on him. To her it was another way to watch him squirm. She sat down in her seat and looked around. Virgil looked up from his book and turned to face her.
"What's wrong, Sam?" he asked. He had an idea but wanted to see if she'd say anything. Sam shook her head and continued to look around. She'd pick up her book and read a minute and put it back down and look out of the window. She repeated the process several times before finally leaning back in her seat to try and take a nap.
"Geez, I have never had this problem before," she muttered as she looked around again. She noticed Virgil watching her again.
"What Virgil?" she demanded as he smirked at her.
"Sam, why don't you sit next to me for a minute?" he offered. She shrugged her shoulders and went to sit next to him. His attention turned back to his book and Sam began to feel sleepy.
"Virg, can I use you as a pillow?" she asked.
"Sure, Sam, that was your problem in your seat. You're used to having John right next to you when we fly home or to school," he replied. Sam leaned her head against his shoulder and was soon asleep. She didn't notice the sudden drop in altitude until she heard the screams of her brothers. She sat upright and looked around trying to figure out what was going on. The oxygen masks had dropped and her brothers had put theirs on.
"EMERGENCY LANDING POSITIONS NOW!" screamed John's voice over the intercom. Sam grabbed her mask and leaned forward just as Virgil had done next to her. She'd seen Gordon, Alan, and Scott all get into position as she did. The plane jerked and unsecured book bags were thrown around the cabin. Suddenly, Sam felt a solid impact with the ground and was thrown to the floor. She had never refastened her seat belt when she'd switched seats. A horrible crashing noise came from the front of the plane and just as sudden as it had happened it was over.