Chapter Two

He was woken, by the face of a blonde flight attendant, informing him that he needed to put on his seat belt because they were coming in to land. He smiled thanking her.

Glancing out the window he looked down at the brightly shining area that was Washington DC. It always marveled him how great cities, where air pollution was fierce, and often where they looked hideous from ground level, could be so magical during night and from above.

His mind drifted back to another moment when he was coming into land in a foreign country by night. She had commented that the place they were soon to arrive in looked just like a fairy kingdom. He chuckled, the excitement she had shown.

What he would give to hear her softly giggling voice again.

He sighed to himself, buckling his seatbelt, folding his tray away, and closing the magazine he had been reading, sliding it back into the pocket in front of him. He listened to the familiar noises of the air breaks, the engines blurring, then buildings rise from the windows followed promptly by the thud of the wheels hitting the tarmac.

He made no attempts to hurry, when the sign was given for passengers to leave the confines of the plane, and he heard the comments from the passengers who were, smiling to himself that whilst he was in laid-back mode, the rest of the world still existed.

Half an hour later he found himself sitting in the airport lounge, downing a coffee and perusing the local phone directories. He chided himself for forgetting Brandon's number, and leaving his book at home, but still he smiled. Eventually he found himself within the depths of Washington's airport, taking his time to exit the premises.

He looked around at the world surrounding him, watching those who were in a hurry, flight attendants heading to and from their flights, people mingling, saying goodbye and welcome home. He had heard stories of people who had decided to live in empty terminals in certain large airports, and wondered what possessed them to do so? Was it saying hello and goodbye to different faces? Or the removed nature the place had, how it felt big and empty, yet closed off at the same time?

Finally he found himself a pay phone, and began flicking the pages to the hotels guide, looking for a place to stay. Unfortunately, Washington DC didn't seem to want Dylan McKay to sleep within its walls tonight.

As he turned a page he glanced up and saw the familiar stride of the man he wanted to visit, at the far end of the room. He had no idea why he was in the airport, returning from a conference he guessed. However it was the brunette woman he met and kissed on the cheek, and the small child that ran and clung to his legs that caught Dylan's attention.

He knew that face. He recognized that jaw, that grace of step. He never thought he could possibly see her again. The small child, a boy, appeared to be no older than ten, and it brought a sudden cold feeling to Dylan's stomach.

Surely not, he thought as he watched the trio.

He grabbed his bag and made the tentative moves towards them. Without noticing the oncoming man, the adults linked arms, Brandon carrying the small child, and began leaving the airport.

Dylan hurried his step, following them, jumping into a cab and ordering the driver to follow them. He didn't care how odd it may have looked, but as the cab drove past the house the cab ahead emptied itself, he took note of the address, before instructing the driver to drop him off at the first hotel he had found a free room.

They timing of the day was wrong to begin chasing after old friends, and he decided to wait until the following day before beginning his chase.