Disclaimer: Don't own, this is purely for entertainment.

Feedback: is very much appreciated!

Thanks to my readers and reviewers./Nic. This chapter has been revised 27/10-06

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Chapter 3 Taking Off – Turbulence

Slowly walking towards the gate, Lisa began to put her defences up once more. She wondered what had gotten into her, talking to a stranger like that. No matter how charming - he was still a man. And men were all capable of…

There were still about fifty passengers waiting to board the gate, so she took a quick stroll past the restroom and splashed some water on her face. The feared flight was coming up, making her feel a bit unstable and she needed to get back on track before boarding. Seeing images of planes crashing, of hijackings and electrical system failures, Lisa tried to pep-talk herself out of it.

…if something happens, at least you die fast… - but what about the fall itself? Oh… There was just no way around this.

Just get ON that plane already!

Nothing's gonna happen!

"18 G, it's just down the aisle to the left. Enjoy your flight. Sorry for the inconvenience." The sweet stewardess met Lisa with a friendly smile.

Look at them. They do this every day, nothing to be afraid of.

Walking along the crowded aisle, Lisa couldn't help but check to see if she could spot Jackson. She didn't. She did, however, see a whole lot of other people she hoped she wouldn't have to sit next to, and exhaled in relief every time she saw that no, row eighteen was still a bit further.

Absorbed by reading the numbers at the edge of the lower ceiling above the seats, she reached eighteen and her breath caught when she saw who was already sitting there. He looked up at the same time.

Jackson.

Lisa couldn't believe her luck.

"Oh. Hi!" she said in a faint voice and smiled. "Again."

He shook his head, as if puzzled. "I figured you'd be in first class."

"Oh, no, no. Not me. I'm all coach all the time."

"Ah, me too," he said and smiled more broadly.

Lisa's heart jolted a little at that smile; their flirtation seemed to still be on. "Yeah. I… think that's my seat…"

He looked at the seat next to him and then back at her again. "What? You're not sitting here?"

"Well… I don't know. That says 18 G?" She held her boarding pass in front of him.

"You're kidding," he said as he looked at her ticket. "You're NOT kidding." He sounded pleasantly surprised. "Ahm, you need a bellhop?" he asked, jumping out of his seat to help her with the luggage.

"Oh, no. No, that's OK."

"Let me help. I insist."

"OK." She began backing into the narrow space at their seats and hit her head in the low ceiling. "Ah…" Making a face, she held her head and sat down.

"You OK?" he asked, gently touching her arm.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

You sound just like my dad. Just as caring…"I'm not normally such a lightweight." She sighed. "Those were strong Bay Breezes."

"Well, I'm cutting you off anyways, all right," he joked and finished loading her bag in the box above her head.

Lisa had to laugh at that. It sounded like they were already close. She wanted to get to know this man. He awoke feelings in her that she had buried a long time ago.

Are you letting him in, Lisa? Is that it?

-

-

Lisa came up to his seat, as expected. It would have been a huge disappointment if something had gone wrong there. He played surprised to the extent that it must have seemed like he almost didn't want her there.

She beamed at him, and he found himself liking that smile and those eyes more and more.

As he squeezed her bag into the narrow compartment above the seats, one of the stewardesses shoved him slightly as she walked by. He could feel his tension rise momentarily and his eyes narrowed briefly as he glared at her back. Are you gonna be trouble?

If looks could have killed, she would at least have gotten some unexpected pain.

Sitting down again, he turned to Lisa and put his charm back on.

"So…" he smiled. "What are the odds?"

"Yeah, I know." She frowned slightly, almost as if it made her suspect something.

Easing past it, he suddenly turned completely serious and frowned. "Wait a minute. You're not stalking me, are you?" He looked at her, deadpan, and just waited.

Her smile disappeared and she started to look unsure. You're so easy, Leese.

Sounding almost afraid, she answered, "N – no." and shook her head.

He kept up the charade a second longer and then let a twitch in his lips reveal that he'd been joking. They both burst out laughing and any suspicions she might've had earlier seemed long forgotten.

Goal achieved.

-

-

"You got me!"

He kept on laughing. "I'm sorry."

Lisa relaxed. Holy sh-… For a moment there, she'd thought that maybe he was someone really important and well-known and that she'd made a fool out of herself.

With a whisper of a headache throbbing behind her temples, Lisa rubbed the hurting spot on her head and sighed, "Oh, jeez."

"You all right?"

She turned to him. "If I say yes? Are you gonna ask me if I'm sure?"

"No. No. That's your dad's department."

Lisa shivered with delight; he was so easy to be around and he'd caught on so quickly to her way of being somehow. She loved how he'd been paying attention to what she'd said all the way.

It was almost as if he knew her already.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I… Earlier today, at the funeral, I had some cheap wine and combined with the cheap vodka…"

He nodded. "I see."

"I blame YOU for that part."

"Well…" He shook his head. "I feel terrible now."

"You should."

"I do."

While they were talking, a woman in the aisle was struggling with her luggage. They looked simultaneously at her, then looked away, trying to hide their smiles, glancing at each other. The woman kept struggling and looked helplessly at Jackson. She was a little too tanned, her hair a little too bleached, she wore a little too much jewellery, and obviously she found Jackson very attractive because she looked like she could eat him.

"I think somebody needs a bellhop," Lisa said in a low voice. Jackson smiled his beautiful smile and looked almost a little shy all of a sudden.

"Excuse me," the woman said in a pleading voice.

Jackson sighed, unbuckled his seat belt and rose. "OK:"

"Let me." He started to push her suitcase into the narrow compartment, and the woman kept looking at him as if he was cream and she was a starving cat.

Lisa studied him, now that she had the chance and his focus was somewhere else. He was significantly taller than her, relatively lean but still giving an impression of being in control of his body, of being well trained. He was one of the most handsome men she'd met who didn't seem too aware of it. He had a natural charm and ease about himself that she found… well… interesting. She turned cold as soon as someone was obviously hitting on her, and that had happened more than once these last couple of years. It threatened her, made her feel out of control. But this man – Jackson – hadn't pushed it…

And she found herself falling for him. As much as you could fall for someone you'd known for half an hour. But there was something about those honest blue eyes…

"Thank you SO much," the blonde woman said in a tone that was a direct invitation.

"You're welcome," Jackson said in a much more neutral tone, glancing at Lisa with a smirk, making her giggle.

"Just when I thought there weren't any gentlemen left…" the hungry woman pursued.

Jackson closed the hatch and said coolly, "You have a pleasant flight."

He turned around and remained cool until he sat down again, where he sighed, "Oh, my," which sent Lisa into a fit of giggles again.

The sweet elderly woman from the check-in line passed them and waved with the Dr Phil book that Lisa had given her after their discussion in the check-in line about his books, looks and methods of self-help. "I'm already in chapter two!"

Lisa nodded and smiled. "Oh, good."

Jackson looked puzzled. "Eh?"

Lisa waved her hands, dismissing the oddness about it. "Ahm, I gave her this book earlier… She's a HUGE Dr Phil-fan."

Jackson nodded. "Oh. I saw that. That's very nice of you."

"Well, that's me. People pleaser twenty-four-seven." She shook her head, knowing all to well that she never left her job, and that her job never left her…

Suddenly, Jackson's cell phone rang again.

"Well, you ARE popular," she said, feeling a brief hint of jealousy. Who called him so intensely? Did he have someone waiting for him in Miami?

-

-

"I'm sorry," he said, stretching for the phone.

"No. It's OK."

He shook his head apologetically. "It isn't usually like this." Just when I'm on jobs…He already knew who it would be. The question was what they were going to say…

Jackson made a thing out of looking at the display before he answered. "Hey. What's up?" In the seat next to him, Lisa looked away, giving him his privacy. Little people-pleaser…

Mike Terran at the other end of the line asked if they were on the plane yet and if he called at a bad time.

"Yeah. No, it's OK," Jackson answered shortly. There was never a need for a lot of words in his profession. It just messed things up.

Mike briefed him, telling him that the Russians were set and that the Keefes were confirmed to be on their way.

"So it's definitely happening?"

He got some more instructions. "Aha. Mm. OK, five thirty. Done deal."

He felt a rush of excitement. They were on. Lisa's fate was sealed. From now it would be a walk in the park. There was no way she would dare not to agree to her part in this. It was watertight. Flipping the cell phone closed, he shut it off.

"Work," he said to Lisa. "For the LAST time…" He made a face as if annoyed at being disturbed when they were having such a good time.

Lisa just nodded politely.

They HAD been having a pleasant time.

Which now sadly had to end.