A/N: I actually wanted to update this at the beginning of the month, but I just had too much crap to deal with: my first big filming project was due this past Monday and I was freaking out about it for a few weeks since I didn't know when I could get it done, I've had to write about 3 papers, I was in Canada this past weekend, and I've had hockey games every weekend...I could go on, but I don't think you all really want to know.....

So, on with the show! Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About ten minutes later, the plane touched down, and I let out a small sigh of relief. Small because just because we landed, doesn't mean the plane can't explode.

The door was opened down below and as I made sure the passengers deboarded all right, I took a glance out the window. There were flood, police, and ambulance lights, and FBI and police all over the place. Stairs and school buses were brought to take passengers further away from the plane.

Latricia and I grabbed our coats and bags (that we grabbed from the crew quarters earlier) as we followed the last of the first and business passengers down the stairs. We stood along the doorway with Fiona, Elias, Katerina, and Eric (Katerina's boyfriend and a fellow flight attendant). Latricia and I stood with Elias to the right (if you were going out) of the entrance/exit, while the other three stood on the left side.

Several long seconds went by before Rich walked in, followed by Lars.

"All set for deboarding?" Rich asked us as he walked by, a slight scowl on his face.

I was pretty sure he just about had it with Miss Pratt and everything about this flight.

Hearing quick footsteps and a call of 'captain', I looked back down the aisle to see Miss Pratt walking swiftly towards us, followed by Carson. She stopped just as she came into the entryway. Rich stopped at the door, not even bothering to turn around.

"Captain, look. I know I broke the law and I know I disrupted your flight but in a couple of minutes, we're going to find my daughter..." she started, but was interrupted by Carson.

"The crew can deboard now, captain."

"We're going to find my daughter," Miss Pratt said loudly to over power Carson. "And you're going to owe her an apology."

"Enough," Rich spat before turning around. "Miss Pratt, you're money has been wired, just as you asked. A G3 is waiting, just as you asked. Perhaps we can do without the pretense of a missing child now, hmm?"

As Rich made his little, annoyed speech, I kept my eyes on Miss Pratt and Carson. Pratt looked like she had no idea what was going and looked as confused as ever. Carson, on the other hand, looked like he could strangle Rich with the death glare he was giving him.

"What? What are you talking about?" Miss Pratt asked, sounding as if she was either taken aback or out of breath.

"Wait here, I'll get them," Carson said to Pratt as he walked to the stairs.

"Get who?" Miss Pratt asked softly.

"The agents," Carson said over his shoulder. "Wait here."

Carson then stepped out onto the top of the stairs.

I looked over at Rich and when he met my gaze, I rose an eyebrow at him, then after lowering it, I shifted my gaze quickly to Pratt before looking back at him, signaling that he should glance at the look on her face.

Surprisingly, he looked and what really got to me about his reaction was that...he had no reaction. I don't know if he was keeping it inside him or if he really didn't feel for Miss Pratt.

Miss Pratt then took quick steps to the top of the stairs. She looked to the right, then down to Carson.

"Carson!" she called down to him, then paused. "You get off the plane when I say you get off the plane!"

There was a moment of tension as I saw Carson come back up the stairs. The two of them then had some words with each other before stepping back onto the plane.

Rich stepped from where he was to the opposite side of the door. Miss Pratt took his place, while Carson stood next to Rich. Lars had moved back to stand next to me.

"The crew can deboard," Miss Pratt said, glancing at Rich before she glared at Carson.

Rich nodded to the crew that was standing in the aisle, and they immediately started exiting the plane. The six of us that stood in the entryway were the last ones to exit: Katerina, followed by Eric, Elias, Fiona, Latricia, then me, bringing up the last of the attendants. Lars followed me, and Rich was about to follow him, but I heard him speak with Miss Pratt briefly before he left.

At the bottom of the stairs, we were corralled onto a school bus. Since Lars and I were the last ones on the bus (before Rich) we ended up sitting in the front two seats. Latricia and Elias were behind me.

"Come on, come one, come on..." I chanted very quietly, as I kept looking out the window, waiting for Rich to step out.

When I saw Rich walk out then pause at the top of the stairs before descending them, I sighed heavily.

Carson closed the door as Rich left, and I quite frankly didn't really care what happened on that plane then; my husband, one of the two major loves in my life, was all right. (My other love was James, obviously.)

Rich reached the bottom of the stairs and I almost ran out to him, but restrained myself. I saw him put something in his jacket pocket before he stepped onto the bus. Once he sat down next to me, the bus driver closed the door, and we headed away from the plane, back towards the hanger.

Taking Rich's free hand (since he was holding onto his bag in his other) in my own shaking hand, I squeezed it as I looked up at him. When he squeezed back, I bent my head, resting my forehead on his shoulder. I kept my head there until the bus stopped and we were allowed off.

When we all got off the bus, we all stood, watched, and waited for something to happen on the plane. Fiona and Latricia stood to my left as Rich stood to my right for a moment.

"I'll be right back. There's something I have to give to someone," Rich said to me with a quick grin.

"What?" I asked, referring to what he was going to give.

"I'll tell you later," he said softly, then walked over to the nearest FBI agent.

As he walked, I looked around me, seeing if all of the attendants were there.

"Where's Stephanie?" I asked, looking back at Fiona and Latricia.

They both looked over their shoulders to search for her in the crowd. I also looked again...maybe I just overlooked her.

"I don't see her," Latricia said, looking back at me.

"Me neither," Fiona added.

She couldn't have been in on this whole 'missing child' thing with Pratt...could she...?

I looked back at the plane, and as I did so, Rich came back up to my right side. Taking my hand and lacing his fingers with mine, he looked down at me as he held my hand tightly.

"What is it?" he asked me, noticing the look on my face.

"Stephanie isn't among us," I responded, looking up at him, then back to the plane.

Without saying anything, Rich looked around him (I assumed he was looking for her also), then also looked back to the plane.

About five minutes later, we all saw a figure rush down the stairs from the plane and run across the snow covered ground, away from the hanger and the people. Barely making out the longer hair and the slight flare to the pants, I realized that it was Stephanie...she was in on it, but obviously backed out and tried to escape.

I looked up at Rich with a slightly worried look. He unlaced his fingers with mine, then put his arm around my shoulders, holding me against his side. I reached my right hand up (and across my chest) to grasp his hand on my shoulder, then looked over my shoulder to Fiona and Latricia to see if they saw what I saw. Their mouths were hanging open slightly, so I assumed they did. Looking back to where Stephanie ran, I saw a bunch of police officers and FBI agents run after her.

I took Rich's arm off my shoulders, and setting my bag on the ground next to me (not caring that the ground was wet and my bag would soak up the water), I held onto him with both hands, wrapping them around his arm. He set his own bag on the ground, then brought his hand up to cover one of mine.

About three minutes after Stephanie ran, we heard a clattering in the direction of the plane. There were lots of gasps as all of our attentions were back on the plane. Within another moment, the front part of the plane was engulfed in a fireball, signaling that there were indeed explosives onboard and someone detonated them.

As the plane exploded, I ducked my head behind Rich's shoulder as he turned his own head away and brought his right arm up to shield us.

"Good Lord, she did it," I heard him mumble as he lowered his arm and looked back at the plane.

Moving my head, I looked up at Rich before I myself looked back at the plane in a state of shock.

I heard a gasp and an 'oh, my God' from my left as Latricia and Fiona reacted.

Just as the explosion was calming, the landing wheels on the front of the plane gave way and collapsed, making the front portion of the plane smash into the ground, completely annihilating the windows of the flight deck.

I jumped slightly, then I heard more gasps and a lot of communication over walkie-talkies.

Without realizing it, I had gripped Rich's arm tighter than I would have wanted to; then when I felt his muscles twitch as he moved his hand, I released my death grip on him. Slowly letting my hands slide from him, I took his hand back in mine, and we both squeezed.

Moments after the fireball disappeared and only smoke remained, we saw a figure emerge from the plane.

"Oh, my God. She's..." I heard Eric start from behind me.

"What is she holding?" Fiona asked from my left.

"She's holding her...daughter," Rich said in disbelief.

Glancing up at him, my mouth dropped open slightly, before I shifted my gaze back to Miss Pratt as she walked out of the wreckage, carrying her daughter.

Upon seeing Pratt holding her daughter, I sucked in a sharp breath...I wanted so much to hold my son in my arms and sit on the couch in our sitting room with him on my lap.

"Her daughter," Latricia muttered.

The police vehicles, that were parked behind our group of crew members, started speeding towards Pratt as one of the helicopters overhead shined a spotlight on her. Ambulances and fire trucks joined the police squad.

Closing my mouth, I looked over at Latricia and Fiona. Both looked just as speechless as I felt. Just as they were stepping back, I looked back up at Rich.

He looked down at me briefly and I saw confusion, guilt, and a longing to help all mixed in his expression. He took a few steps forward, but stopped when there was a pull on our joined hands. Stepping back to my side, all we could do was watch as the emergency vehicles reached Miss Pratt. She and her unconscious daughter were ushered into an ambulance as the fire trucks kept going towards the plane to extinguish any remaining fire.

A cop came up to us.

"We're going to have to ask you to move inside the hanger, please," he said.

Rich and I both nodded numbly, then, with one last look towards Pratt and the E-474, we followed the rest of the crew into the hanger; we were the last to enter.

A/N: Well? What do you think? I have a lot more to get to, so it's not over yet...they have to get back home, anyway.