Chapter Two- The Flight.

I went back to see John after arranging an appointment. I felt bad keeping it a secret from everyone. But hopefully it would work out well. I got a photo off of John to put in a card and wrap up for Dan and then I found a shirt for Anthony that said 'Best Big Brother' to tell him the news. I made sure that I wrapped these up before Dan could see them.

We started packing for the trip a week before we left because we had to get presents in to open on Christmas Day. Anthony wrote his letter to Father Christmas explaining that he would be in Germany this year and that hopefully he would find him. It was so sweet!

Eventually, the 16 of December came. I woke early because I was feeling sick and then I went to make breakfast. Anthony came running down half an hour later, followed by Dan, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. We ate breakfast and then loaded up the car, ready to leave later. Mum, Dad, Mycroft and Greg came over to say goodbye and Hamish got upset that Anthony was leaving him. Christopher was quiet and kept to himself but that was Chris. Rory decided to run around the house and soon he had Hamish and Anthony copying. That's when they decided it was time to leave. We waved them from the doorstep and then had a bite of lunch. Keira, Mollie, James and Matthew were meeting us at the airport and saying goodbye there.

It took us about 50 minutes to get to Gatwick Airport. Luckily, the traffic was light. We planned to get to the airport early so that we had plenty of time to get through security and grab some dinner. Our flight was at 7 in the evening, so the plan was to get there for 3pm. As we drove into the airport carpark, we could see Keira, Mollie, James and Matthew waiting for us. Kiera had offered to drive the car home so that we didn't have to pay to keep the car at the airport. We had quick hugs and kisses whilst unpacking the car with our suitcases and bags.

"Bye Mollie, take care won't you?" I said, giving my sister-in-law a hug.

"I will. You take care as well." She said, hugging me back.

"Always." I picked Anthony up. "Anthony, give Aunty Mollie a kiss goodbye." Anthony obliged and kissed his aunt goodbye.

"Bye Keira." I said, hugging her. "Thanks for taking the car back."

"That's quite alright." She replied, smiling. "Have a fun trip and happy Christmas!"

I laughed, "Yes, happy Christmas!"

Anthony quickly kissed his Aunty Keira goodbye and we made our way inside the airport. We got through check-in relatively easily and made our way up to security. Dan and I had decided to let Anthony hand over his own passport and stuff as he was five now. We walked through the first lot of security without any problems and made it to the body and bag scan part. I showed Anthony how to lay out his bag. We took his belt and shoes off as he had metal parts on them and that would set them off. I took off my watch and placed it in my tray. I had some food and stuff for Anthony on the plane and I put them into a clear plastic bag. Then I walked through the body scanner to show Anthony there was nothing to worry about. Then Anthony walked through and straight into my arms. I walked him over to the bag part so he could get his backpack. Then I heard the beeper go off and looked over my shoulder. I let out a laugh. Dan had set the beeper off and so had to be body searched.

"Look, Anthony, Daddy's being searched."

Anthony looked over at his dad and smiled.

"Mummy, why is Daddy being searched?" he asked.

"I don't know." I smiled, "Come on, let's get your bag sorted."

Just as I had finished sorting Anthony out, Dan walked over.

"Don't laugh at me, Abigail Holmes." He said, smiling.

"Me? Laugh at you? I think you've got the wrong woman Daniel Holmes!"

Dan smiled and kissed me on the forehead. "I do love you." He said.

"I know you do."

We made our way through to duty free. Anthony's face lit up when he saw all the shops and restaurants. We decided to eat at Jamie's Italian and had a lovely meal. By the time we had eaten, it was now 6pm and we walked over to the departure board to find our gate. We were gate 57 and since we had nothing else to do, we walked over to the gate. We sat outside and I got some toys out for Anthony to play with. I snuggled back into Dan's arms.

"Abi?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for suggesting we take this trip."

"That's ok. I remembered how much you enjoyed the sixth-form trip and I always dreamed of taking my own family here for Christmas."

"Do you know why I enjoyed that trip so much?" he asked, stroking my hair?"

I shook my head.

"It was the first time we got to spend time together without my dad breathing down our necks and we had our first kiss under the Brandenburg gate."

"Oh yeah!" I smiled remembering the way Daniel had gently cupped my face and pulled me closer to him, his soft lips connecting with mine. The world seemed to melt away in that moment and nothing else mattered. The kiss only lasted 30 seconds but was the start of our lives together.

"Now we can make some new memories there." Said Dan, smiling.

"Yes, lots of new memories." I said, smiling, knowing what I was keeping secret.

Just then, the gate opened. We gathered up Anthony's toys and boarded the plane. Anthony handed over his ticket to the lady at the gate and bounced down to the plane door. Dan and I walked hand in hand and smiled at our son. He kept singing; "I'm going on a plane; I'm going on a plane!" He was so sweet, it was unreal. He showed his passport and ticket stub to the air hostess at the gate and she smiled and showed us to our seats. We sat Anthony in the middle of us for take-off, knowing full well that he would end up on one of our laps during the flight. The hostesses took us through the safety announcements and the plane taxied to the runway. Anthony looked up at me.

"Mummy, I'm scared now." He said, his beautiful brown eyes round with fear.

I smiled calmly at him and took his hand. "Don't worry, sweetie. Mummy's here. Shall I hold your hand?"

He nodded.

"Imagine it's like a rollercoaster ride." Added Dan, taking his other hand. "That's all it is!"

Anthony nodded again and held on tightly to our hands. We sat for a while at the end of the runway, waiting for clearance. Then we heard the engines start up.

"Here we go!" I said, grinning like my sixteen-year-old self again. There was nothing quite like the thrill of a plane taking off. The plane sped down the runway, pushing us all back into our seats. Anthony had his eyes clamped shut and was squeezing my hand so tightly, he might have cut off the blood circulation.

"Mummy, I don't like this!" he said as the plane pulled sharply up. We climbed higher and higher. I felt my ears pop and then, the plane levelled. I looked down at my son. His eyes were still firmly shut but now that we had levelled, his hands unclamped and I flexed my fingers. I looked at Dan and he was doing the same. We smiled at each other. Slowly, Anthony opened his eyes.

"That was…ok." He said, smiling. Dan and I laughed gently and I kissed my son on the forehead. The rest of the flight passed smoothly and we landed with a gentle bump in Berlin a little before half nine in the evening. Anthony rubbed his eyes. He was still awake but it was becoming more of a struggle for him. We grabbed our bags from the overhead locker and Dan carried Anthony down the stairs and into the airport. The night air of Berlin was freezing and the wind bit at our faces and exposed areas of flesh. Our teeth were chattering away by the time we made it to the terminal. I handed Anthony his passport and he handed it to the woman at the security port with a smile on his face. We then headed by taxi, into the night.