I know I've been sucking with the updates and I am sorry but I have a fifteen month old to keep up with so time is not my friend :D Anyway this really is just a filler chapter I promise the next will be better and please if you read it, review it, it really helps when I know people actually like this story.

XOXO

BloodyLyra

Chapter 20:

"Yaaay! First class!" Jackie shrieked, as they boarded the plane later that morning, "I am so excited!"

Eric grinned at her, "See? I know how to please my lady."

She turned her head to look back up at him as they moved forward in line to board their flight, "Yes, you do." She raised an eyebrow and gave a cheeky grin.

The pair giggled all the way to their seats. Jackie was beaming with happiness and excitement and Eric once again had to remind himself that this was real. He was bringing Jackie to his parent's house officially as his girlfriend.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, giving him a curious look as they sat down and got comfortable in their fully reclining seats.

He just shook his head, "This is going to be too much for Red, I hope we don't give him another heart attack."

Jackie grinned, "He's a tough old guy, I think he'll be able to handle it. Besides, he always liked me best… even better than you," she teased, poking him in the stomach.

"Ouch, burn!" he conceded, "True enough, I don't think you could ever piss him off. You just give him those big, sad eyes of yours and he gets all melty… like butter."

Jackie burst into a fit of giggles that drew attention to them from the rather snobby occupants of the seats around them. Eric shrugged at them and made the crazy motion with his finger just causing Jackie to laugh more and swat at him.

The captain making the pre-flight announcement and the demonstration by the flight attendants on how to properly fasten their seat belts interrupted their fun. The engines suddenly surged and Jackie gripped Eric's arm.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"Aren't you? I hate take off, it's my least favorite part," she admitted.

"Yeah, well try flying over two thousand miles of ocean in a thunderstorm that stretched on for four hours, I can handle take off better than the prospect of plummeting into the ocean," he said with a frown.

Jackie shivered and clung tighter to Eric as the plane began to accelerate. Jackie closed her eyes and she tried to breathe very evenly counting slowly between breaths. Eric felt his stomach drop as the pressure in the cabin changed as their plane left the ground. He put his arm around Jackie as she whimpered. He held her silently for several minutes until the plane leveled out and reached it's cruising height.

Jackie opened her eyes and smiled, "Sorry, I'm a baby about some things still."

"Don't worry about it… I am too," he whispered the last part, "Like spiders, I'm sorry, Jackie but I would never be able to save you from a spider."

Jackie laughed and brought his face to hers and gave him a lingering kiss, "It's okay, it's bad luck to kill spiders anyway."

One of the flight attendants had appeared beside them, "Can I offer either of you some champagne or another beverage?".

Jackie grinned excitedly and Eric nodded, "Champagne, please."

The flight attendant poured their glasses and left them to sip their bubbly and cuddle closely together in their seats. The captain had dimmed the lights so the first class cabin was quite dark, the pair was able to kiss and speak together quietly without interruption or draw further scowls from the other passengers.

"So, how exactly do you plan on handling this, Eric?" Jackie asked flipping her hair over her shoulder and fixing him with a serious stare, "Hi Mom, hi Dad, I'm home! And look! I brought my girlfriend, maybe you remember her, it's Jackie!'"

Eric winced, "If I say 'yes' are you going to hit me?"

She frowned and pouted her lip, "Eric, seriously, I mean what are we going to say when we just show up on their door step?"

He sighed, "Jackie, it's not a big deal-"

"Not a big deal? Eric, this is a very big deal!" she hissed quietly, "I see…" She pulled out of his embrace and huffed in her seat. She knew it was silly to react as aggressively as she did just then but hearing "no big deal" hit a nerve.

Eric panicked momentarily.

He knew better than to be so vague where Jackie was concerned and he certainly knew how bad of an idea it was to blow anything off, especially when it was something important to her.

"Come on, Jackie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I just mean that I doubt that Kitty and Red are going to make a big deal out of it. Like you said Red loves you and I know my mom loves you too, it'll be fine."

Jackie arched an eyebrow at him, "Nice save."

He smiled at her, "Yeah, I thought so."

He took her hand and pulled her back to him. Jackie relented and allowed Eric to hold her,

"Please don't worry, I promise it will be okay. We just have to be honest and up front with them right away so my mom doesn't get carried away with any crazy notions. I want them to know right away that you and I are together."

She nodded and buried her face in the crook of his neck and sighed, "Okay, good."

Eric kissed the top of her head and watched as the fasten seat belt light turned off. "Now I believe we had a mission to complete while we were here," he said with mock seriousness, "And as far as I can tell the bathrooms are free."

Jackie lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at him, "Meet me in two minutes," she challenged as she got out of her seat and slipped quietly down the aisle.