"Are you excited Cameron?" Tony asked, giving all of his attention to his grandson as they boarded the plane. They were seated together with one remaining seat on Tony's right side, nearest the window. The airport was barely larger than their backyard, but by the time anyone realized they had used it, they'd be long gone. While his wife buckled Cameron into the seat between them, Tony noticed how badly her hands shook. She had been like this ever since he told her the plan, or at least the condensed version. She had had so many questions, but he had buffered them all. He had told her she knew all she needed to. If something went wrong, at least she would be blameless. He placed his hands over hers, his fingers wrapping around both of her wrists, and he pinned them to her lap, his thumbs lightly rubbing the inside of her palms.

"Are we meeting Daddy and Lizzie there?" Cameron asked seriously.

It was Lisa who answered and, to her husband's surprise, her voice never wavered. "We talked about this, remember?"

Cameron shook his head. "But I want to see them."

"And you will." Tony chimed in, his expression serious. "If they want you to come home with them."

"That's right baby." Lisa added, meeting his eyes. "Your daddy and Lizzie have the twins to take care of now."

Cameron crossed his arms. "They said they love me too."

"Of course they love you." Tony agreed, though it was hard not to grit his teeth. "But they know that you've got your grandma and I and the twins need them more. You understand?"

"I guess." Cameron sighed.

"You see, it's like this Cameron," Tony explained solemnly. "When you were a baby, you had both your mommy and daddy. Don't you think the twins should get to have their parents too?"

"But I'm supposed to take care of them too. I'm supposed to protect them." Cameron argued, rubbing his eyes.

"They don't need you to look after them." Lisa assured him, swallowing down her guilt.

"Yes they do. Who's going to teach Jake about hockey?"

"Your daddy. Just like he taught you." Tony replied.

"I'm supposed to help. Daddy said I was going to help."

"I think that's what your daddy wanted in the beginning." Lisa countered. "And then Lizzie came into the picture and now he's got to take care of their babies. She's not your mommy and would always treat you second."

"But she does all the things mommies do. Morgan told me that."

"Morgan? Didn't he lose his mommy too?" Lisa recalled.

"And now he has Robin and she's his mommy now."

"That's the difference between Robin and Lizzie. Robin wanted Morgan and Lizzie wanted your daddy so she had to take you too."

"Don't worry Cameron," Tony hugged his grandson to him. "If they want to take you with them, they'll meet us when we land."

Lisa turned just in time to see a very tall man shoving down the aisle with a hiking backpack strapped to him. She wasn't sure whether or not he meant to hit as many people with his carry-on (how on Earth had that been considered a carry-on?) because he was smiling brightly, his brilliant white teeth glowing behind his dark skin. With each step he took, the cabin lights bounced off of his smooth, bald head and people jumped out of his way. He had in a pair of headphones she assumed were connected to some sort of music player hidden in one of the many compartments of his backpack. He stopped directly in front of their aisle and did a slight bow as if he were a humble servant to the king and queen. Or he might have been trying to make out their faces through the thick lenses of his sunglasses. "Pardon me, but I think this is my stop."

Tony had his nose buried in one of the offered flight magazines so he didn't pay the peculiar passenger any attention. It wasn't until the man leaned across Lisa and Cameron his face mere inches from the old man's, that Tony looked up in surprise and swallowed a yelp. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Which subscription is that? I think I might have it." In a quieter voice, the man went on to say, "That's not exactly the sort of thing you should be reading in the presence of such a cute little tyke."

Tony's eyes widened, his cheeks turning a dangerous shade of red. "You...you hooligan! You've got some nerve! Scurry on back to the hole you crawled out of."

"Wish I could Gramps, but that there is my seat." The man nodded to the vacant seat nearest the window. "So, if you'd be so kind...?"

"Nonsense. That can't possibly be your seat. You're mistaken." Tony charged.

"Nope. That's my seat. It's my first plane ride and I requested the window seat."

"You've never been on a plane before?" Cameron asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

The man responded with a slow smile. "That's right. My first ride ever. Have you ever flown before?"

"Sure. Lots of times." Cameron bragged. "It's fun."

"I wish I could share some of that enthusiasm." The man said as he shoved his impossibly large backpack into the overhead compartment against the flight attendants' suggestion. "I'm a little scared."

"Just pretend it's a roller coaster. That's what my daddy told me." Cameron said matter-of-factly, nodding his head.

"That's some good advice." The man slumped down into his seat. He gave Tony a quick once-over. "Is this your dad?"

"That's my grandpa silly." Cameron laughed.

"When I was a kid, we all lived together, every generation. I called them all mommy and daddy because I just didn't know for sure."

"Cameron, leave the nice man alone." Lisa urged.

"He doesn't bother me." The man promised. "It's good to have someone to talk to."

"Why don't you talk to yourself?" Tony suggested.

"Well that'd be silly, wouldn't it?"

"It would." Cameron agreed.

"Cameron, what did I say?" Lisa scolded. "Here, you wanna look at this book with me? It's got a lot of nice pictures." She tried to steer her grandson's attention away from the flamboyant stranger to their right.

"I didn't mean to get anybody in trouble. I just figure if I keep my mouth going, I won't have time to be scared."

Tony bit back a groan. "There's nothing to be scared of. Flying is safer than driving."

"That's what Uncle Gary thought." The man caught a tear that had slipped beneath his shades with his thumb and brushed it away.

"What happened to Uncle Gary?" Cameron wanted to know.

"He learned the real meaning of gravity."

"Don't listen to him." Tony insisted. "He's just trying to scare you."

"But I'm not scared. He's scared. Shouldn't we try to make him feel better?"

"Thanks little man." He gave Cameron a high-five.

Lisa tugged on Tony's shirtsleeve. "Perhaps we should find other seats."

The man laughed a deep, soulful laugh. "I don't mean any harm."

"I like him Grandma. He's funny."

"I'm a comedian." The man said, taking off sunglasses and setting them on his head.

"What's that?"

"I make a living making people laugh."

"Do you tell jokes?"

"Sometimes. Usually, I'm just funny-looking."

"Tell me one." Cameron begged.

"It just so happens I have one right here in my pocket." The man felt around in his pants pocket for a scribbled sheet and unfolded it. "I always write down my jokes so that I don't forget them." He paused and met Cameron's eyes. "I don't suppose you saw what I did with my glasses."

"They're on your head."

"On my head? Well why would they be there?"

Cameron shrugged. "You put them up there."

"I did?" The man rubbed his bald head until his fingers found the sunglasses. "So they are." The sound of the engine caught his ears and he went completely still.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asked.

"I forgot for a second that I was on a plane. I'll be alright as long as we don't go anywhere."

"But that's what planes do. They go places."

"Maybe I'll be asleep when this one does. Or wait. No, I can't sleep. What if we crash?"

"We're not going to crash." Tony grumbled.

"That's what they always say right before the plane crashes."

"'They?'"

"The victims of plane crashes."

"This is absurd. Our plane is not going to crash. You've seen too many movies."

"You haven't seen enough! Let me out of here!" The man flopped in his seat, fighting against his seatbelt.

"Sir, please." Lisa insisted.

"No way. I'm out of here! Nurse! Stewardess! Get me out of here! Stop the plane! It's going to crash!" His arms and legs were flailing so hard, he couldn't get the seatbelt undone.

"Sir, please calm down." The flight attendant rushed over as she noticed the other passengers start to notice the commotion the man was causing.

"I won't calm down! How can you be so calm? Have you been to the other side? I'm not ready! I don't want to die!"

"Sir no one is going to die."

"Is that right? Well have you checked all the parts on the plane? No, that's not your job. You're gambling your life on a guy you've probably never met. Well not me." The man pointed to his chest.

"If you have a problem, why don't you just go?" Tony snapped. "The rest of us have places to be."

"Maybe you're ready to go, but I wouldn't be able to look at myself if I left this little guy here. Cameron, we need to get off the plane."

"You're silly." Cameron shook his head. "Sit down and we can go."

"No, Cam, my man, you don't understand. I'll tell you what's going to happen. First, we're going to twenty-thousand feet above the water and then something's going to give out. I'm not a pilot or an engineer so I can't tell you what it's going to be, but it's going to stop and then the other one is going to stop working too. Before we know it, we'll be heading for the water—"

"That is quite enough!" Lisa shouted, covering Cameron's ears. "Who do you think you are, scaring my grandson this way? I have to agree with my husband. If you're so worried, leave."

The plane jerked forward and the man unbuckled Cameron's belt. "Who are you going to see? You never told me."

"My daddy and Elizabeth."

"But I just saw them." The man promised.

"You did? Where?" Cameron asked excitedly. Tony lunged at the man. Forgetting about his seatbelt, he was thrown back into his seat.

"Right outside. Come with me." He held out his hand to the little boy. Cameron reached up for the man's hand.

"Now, Cameron, remember what we told you about strangers?" Lisa reminded him, tackling her seatbelt.

"That's right. Remember when that stranger tried to get you and took your aunt Lulu?" Tony pointed out.

"I'm not a stranger." The man persisted. "And I'm going to take you to your daddy." He scooped Cameron into his arms and ran for the front of the plane.

"Stop him!" Tony screamed as he and Lisa struggled against their seatbelts. "He's stealing my grandson."

The passengers and flight attendants crashed into each other in their haste to stop the stranger. Cameron's dark curly head disappeared off the plane, his screaming heard for miles around. Lisa and Tony shoved their way to the front and almost tumbled down the steps when they saw who was waiting for them.

"Hi Tony. Lisa." Lucky waved cheerfully as he reached out his arms to take Cameron from Taggert. "Fancy meeting you here."

Previews:

"You should be. You know you get absolutely no say in anything that goes on in my relationship ever again right?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh I beg to differ. Secretly eloping in Paris with my best friend's baby cousin? Nothing I could do would touch it."

"Must you say it that way? You make me sound like a..."