A/N: Hello my lovelies! Dear God, it's been awhile. And guess what? It's almost freakin' Christmas! Woo hoo! Oh yeah! As you can see, I'm a tad excited. I get off school in a few days and then it's weeks of sleeping and eating and sleeping and eating. So, Merry Christmas, my dears! And Happy Holidays in general to those who are not celebrating Christmas! Now, on with the story!

blossomlite: You're not overenthusiastic, silly! In my opinion, overenthusiastic doesn't exist… unless you're so enthusiastic that you become really annoying, which you're not doing, so you're good. Bye bye, thanks for reviewing!

Sands-agent: I know, he is pretty wonderful. Thanks!

Vampiric Phantoms: I know, I know, it's true. Who can help but fall in love with Sands? I mean, really now! I really like this moist thing… moist, moist, moist, moist! Hee hee! Errr, anyway… I don't know if I've mentioned this to you before, but if I have, I don't care, so, yeah, I think your name is really cool. I just like it a lot! Thanks for reviewing!

Koyuki 14: Biggest fan, huh? I'm honoured, I actually have a biggest fan. Amazing. Anyway, I'm glad you like it so much.

Lol, yes he is a bit of a pervert but that's part of his charm, my dear! No need to slap!

I almost made you cry? Aww, there there. That actually makes me happy though. Not because I'm some psychotic who likes to make people cry but because I've read stories that have such a big effect on me that they make me cry at the sad parts and I've always wanted to have such a huge effect on someone with my own stories. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing and being my biggest fan (hee hee)!

Chapter 8: Delay

"Attention all passengers! This is your captain speaking!"

Sands was awoken by the sound of the captain's voice blaring throughout the plane. Sands shifted slightly and was suddenly aware of Alison still asleep, snuggled in his lap. He smiled slightly and felt for her face, brushing the silky brown strands away from it. She stirred slightly, nestling her head closer to his chest. Sands wrapped his arms tightly around her, relishing in her warmth. He was amazed at how right it felt.

"I repeat, this is your captain!" The voice boomed out. "There has been a slight change of plan as one of our passengers has tragically passed away. Therefore, we will be stopping at the closest airport and this flight will be put off for a day or two. Thank you, that is all."

Sands, like many of the other passengers, groaned. Fucking great. A detour.

All the noise caused Alison to wake up.

"Sands?" She asked blearily.

"I'm right here, Ally," Sands said, still mentally cursing the delay.

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it, sugar," Sands assured her. "There's been a change of plan but just go back to sleep, it's nothing."

Alison nodded sleepily and drifted back off to sleep. A few hours later, the plane touched down at a small airport and Sands gently woke Allison up. He hated doing it.

"Come on, Ally," he said. "We've got to go."

She blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She grabbed their luggage and handed Sands' bag to him before taking his hand and leading him off the plane. He squeezed her hand gently in thanks.

As they entered the airport, the sound hit Sands hard. People were shouting and complaining about the delay while employees tried to calm them.

"The lines are insane," Allison sighed. "We're going to be here for awhile."

"I'll sort us it out if you want to try and sleep some more," Sands offered. His head hurt.

"Are you sure you can?"

"Sure," Sands said before shouting, "Employee of the airport, get over here! Someone who fucking works here, come on! I'm blind and a police officer!"

People turned to stare at him oddly as three employees hurried over, asking what they could do for him.

"See?" Sands grinned at Alison. "No problem. Go rest, I'll yell for you when I'm done."

Allison laughed and put down her bag before making her way over to a bench a few feet away. She was exhausted still for some reason and managed to fall asleep again, despite the noise.

"Now," Sands said to the line of employees in front of him. "I need to know where the nearest motel is."

One of them ran off to find out.

"How many more of you are there?"

"Two, sir," one said.

"Okay," Sands said. "One of you take this luggage and put it in a cab. Then, stay beside that cab and make sure it waits for me. When I get outside, come over to me and lead me to the cab. Got it?"

One of the workers nodded and sprinted out front.

"What can I do?" The other one asked timidly.

"Fuck off," Sands said. "I don't need you." The employee looked disappointed and walked away.

The first employee returned and told Sands where the motel was.

"Thanks," Sands said. "Now, make sure you call me at that motel when the plane is ready to leave again, okay?"

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Okay, good," Sands nodded. "Now, go away." Sands shooed the man away before yelling, "Allison! Ally!"

There was no answer.

"Allison Welkin! Come on! This isn't fucking funny!"

Still nothing.

Then the scent hit him. It was shampoo and expensive French perfume. He could recognize it anywhere. He felt a presence behind him.

"Adrianna," Sands snarled.

"Hello, Sands," the voice was silky and cruel. "I know you can't see the scene just a few feet in front of you, so I'll describe it to you. There's your girlfriend. She's being held up by a friend of mine. His hand is covering her mouth, so she can't scream. She looks awfully scared, though. Two more of my friends are standing just behind them."

"I'll kill you." The rage Sands felt was indescribable. He wanted so badly to hurt her, but he didn't dare touch her. Not when her people had control over Allison.

"Oh, Sands," Adrianna laughed. "Such harsh words."

Adrianna nodded to her friend. He pulled a gun from his jacket and put it to Allison's gut. Allison's eyes grew wide. Adrianna nodded again. A resonating shot sounded and people started running around and screaming.

"What the fuck!" Sands cried.

"Have a nice day," Adrianna smirked and walked away, her friend dropping Allison to the ground.

Panic seized Sands as he was left alone.

"Allison?" He cried out.

"Sands." Her reply was weak.

Sands followed the sound of her voice, tripping over things but not caring. He at last reached her. She was lying still on the floor. Sands felt the blood pouring from her. He tore part of his shirt off and felt around for the source of the blood. He found the wound on her gut and pressed the fabric against it.

He didn't need to see the gunshot wound to know what it meant. The gut was a bad place to get shot, she could easily bleed out. He felt the blood soaking through the material of his shirt.

"Ally?" He said hoarsely. "Talk to me, baby. Say something."

"I think I'm dying, Sands," Allison whispered.

"You're not dying," Sands said, shaking his head frantically. "Don't be stupid. You're not dying."

"I'm exhausted," she said, closing her eyes.

"I know," said Sands, ripping off a new piece of shirt and replacing the old one. "But don't go to sleep. You already slept today, you don't need anymore."

"I need more," Allison said, her voice fainter.

"Stay awake, Allison," Sands said desperately. "I'm not losing you, not again."

"I love you, Sands," she said. "I really do."

"I know, sugar," said Sands. "And I… I do too."

"Really?" Allison looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"Yeah," he replied. His voice was hoarse. "So stay awake, okay?"

Alison was trying so hard to focus on what Sands was saying but she couldn't hear anything. She saw his lips move and desperately tried to make out the words but to no avail. She watched as he turned and shouted to the people around him, but she couldn't hear anything. Her vision was suddenly tinted with red and everything was getting blurry. Sands and all the people surrounding her were spinning and then everything went black.

A/N: Review!