A/N: Okay, new chapter. Here ya go. Oh, and NO reviews for that cliffhanger? Man, what'll please you people...?
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"Jo...Jo...Joanna..."
I knew that voice...
Opening my eyes, I saw Rich directly above me, looking worried. Panting to get my breath back, I looked around to see not only Rich, but Latricia, Fiona, Elias, Bill, and Eric standing around me.
"Jo, are you all right?" Rich asked, still looking worried.
"I-I think so...what happened?" I asked, after I got my breath back.
I attempted to sit up, so Rich moved behind me, and helped me, making me lean against the wall as I sat on the floor.
"You passed out, Jo. I saw your eyes roll back, then caught you before you hit the floor," Latricia began to explain. "Fiona came in, and I told her to get Rich."
Rubbing my forehead, I nodded. "How long was I out?"
"Just a few minutes. Maybe about three," Latricia said.
"Oh, good," I mumbled.
"All right. Get back to the passengers. She'll be fine," Rich said, getting the galley cleared out.
When it was just me, Rich, and Latricia in the galley, Rich kneeled in front of me, as Latricia handed me another cup of water (the first one she gave, I had dropped on the floor when I passed out). With a 'thanks', I took the water from her, and sipped it. She left the galley to keep an eye on Eric, leaving me alone with Rich.
"Are you going to be all right, Love?" he asked, putting his hand on my cheek.
"Yeah, I think I just over-stressed myself," I said, but refused to go any further when he gave me a look. "If you want to know the story, ask Latricia."
"I will...Just stay here for a few minutes. At least until you stop shaking, then take it easy from now on. Okay?" he said, leaning closer to me.
"I'll do the best I can," I said softly, smirking slightly.
Rich kissed my cheek, then stood, and left the galley...I think he went to look for Latricia to get the details.
I stared down at the water in my hands, then took a long drink. I let go of the cup with my right hand and watched as it shook slightly.
"Damn it," I muttered, letting my hand drop onto my lap, and leaning my head back against the wall.
After a few more minutes, I got up from the floor, then leaned against the wall until I felt I could move without falling over. Just to be safe, I downed the rest of the water, then chucked the cup in a trashcan. Latricia came back into the galley, then.
"Feeling better?" she asked me.
"Yeah, a lot better...but I'll be even better when I get home," I replied softly.
"Yeah..." she mumbled, then rose her voice back to normal level. "Are you good to serve?"
"Yes."
"Okay. I'll get Elias and Eric if you want to start getting the food carts ready?"
"Sure," I grinned. "Oh, did Rich talk to you?"
"He did."
"Okay..."
Latricia then walked out of the galley to go get the boys, while I moved around the galley, pulling the carts out and filling them with food trays. When Latricia came back in with Elias and Eric, Elias asked if I was all right. With a grin and an eye roll, I said I was, and not to bring it up again. The four of us served the passengers their food; Elias with me and Eric with Latricia...I'm sure that was just so she could intimidate him.
Once the passengers were served, I took a seat, taking another drink of water, as Elias took care of the cart.
Things were calm for the rest of the flight. We didn't have any trouble with the passengers and no other trouble from Eric and Katerina. I'm pretty sure word of what happened and what I did traveled through the crew like a wildfire in California...and every one of the crew members came up to thank or congratulate me at some point.
After many hours, I felt Lars and Rich start to descend the plane. They turned on the fasten seatbelt signs, and after a few minutes, when the clicking of belts stopped, Latricia and I walked the aisles of our classes, checking the seatbelts.
About half an hour or so later, the plane touched down, and we set up for deboarding. The passengers could NOT deboard fast enough.
No one had any idea how much I wanted to get off that damn plane, into our car, pick up our son, and get back home.
Once the passengers were off, I had to wait for the rest of the crew before Latricia, Lars, Rich, and I got off. After they were off, I practically ran to get off the plane and into the airport. Once inside the airport, the four of us stood together as we said our good-byes. Lars left first, saying that he would see Rich soon…which I didn't doubt. Latricia then came up to me and gave me a hug.
"Take care, and I'll call you as soon as Jerry and I figure out details," she said in my ear.
"Okay, good," I grinned, even though she couldn't see it.
We pulled apart, then after a quick good-bye to Rich, Latricia left.
"Can we please leave now?" I pleaded with Rich as Latricia walked away.
"We can. I just have to call Sharon to let her know we're on our way," he replied, taking my hand, and lifting it to his lips.
"Well, let's go," I said, starting to walk to the nearest phone. "I really want to get James and go home."
"So do I, Jo, but you have to be patient. I can't just snap my fingers and we'll magically be there," he said, stopping me, and looking into my eyes.
"I know that, but..." I sighed. "I just really need to have James in my arms, Rich. I have to see him."
"I'm completely aware of that, but if you get to Sharon's in the state you're in now, James will pick up on that and figure that something's very wrong."
"Yeah...okay," I sighed again, lowering my gaze from Rich.
Rich set his bag down, then wrapped his arms tightly and securely around me.
"I'm sorry. I just miss him so much," I said softly in his ear with a sniff.
"I know, Love. I know," he said, rubbing my back.
I pulled back after a moment, then kissed Rich. "I'm okay now. Can we go?"
"Yeah, let's just call Sharon first."
Nodding, we went over to the nearest phone and called Sharon telling her we'd be there in an hour or so. After Rich hung up, we quickly walked to the employee parking lot to get our car. Tossing our bags in the trunk, we then got in, and drove to Sharon's house...Rich held onto my hand the whole time, and he couldn't even guess how much that was keeping me calm.
More or less than an hour and fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to Sharon's house. I took a deep, shaky breath before getting out of the car. As soon as Rich and I opened the car doors, the front door opened to reveal Sharon, grinning. She then stepped to the side, and James came running out and down the stairs.
"Mummy!" he yelled, running up to me.
"James," I said, and kneeled down to his level, opening my arms to him. I didn't even care about my uniform getting dirty.
James ran into my arms and I closed them tightly around his small body. His arms wrapped around my neck. I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes and closed them, then my throat tightened as I held my son close to me.
"I missed you, mommy," he said.
"I missed you, too, sweetie," I responded, squeezing my eyes tighter.
Opening my eyes again, I glanced over at Rich, and when our eyes locked, he nodded then went over to Sharon. They went inside the house and closed the door, leaving me to be alone with my son.
I brought one of my hands up to rest on the back of James' head, while I rubbed his back. After another moment, I let go of his head, and pulled him away from me a little so I could look at him; I wiped at my eyes as I did so.
"Did you have fun with Cole?" I asked him, quietly.
"Yeah," he said, then I saw his eyes well up and his bottom lip quiver.
"What's wrong, James?" I asked, holding his face in my hands.
"I wanna go home, mommy," he said, starting to cry.
"Oh, honey, we'll be home soon. As soon as daddy's done talking to Aunt Sharon, we'll go home," I told him, hugging him to me once again.
"Okay," he squeaked out, crying and burying his head in my shoulder as he threw his arms around my neck.
My knees were staring to hurt from kneeling in the driveway, so I got a good grip on James, then picked him up as I stood. I rocked him in my arms as I walked us around the front yard until his crying slowed down.
As he was calming down, I walked us into the house to look for Sharon and Rich. We found both of them sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea.
Rich stood as we entered the kitchen.
"Is he all right?" he asked, walking up to us.
"He just wants to go home," I replied, rubbing James' back.
James picked up his head from my shoulder to look at Rich. He took his arms away from my neck, and held them out to his father, wanting to be held by him.
Rich stepped closer to us, then took James from my arms. James latched onto him almost instantly, and I smiled at them. Catching my smile, Rich leaned towards me, then gave me a quick kiss before going back to his chair, taking James with him.
"Would you like some tea, Jo?" Sharon asked, grinning, and standing from her chair.
"Please," I replied, sitting next to Rich, who had sat James on his lap.
Sharon got me a cup of tea, then sat back down as she handed me the cup.
"Thanks," I said, taking the cup from her. "Where are Cole and Jeff?"
"They went to the store to get some food. I doubt they'll be back before you leave," she said, looking between Rich and I.
I nodded. "Did Rich tell you what happened?"
"No, not yet. He demanded tea, first," she grinned.
Laughing, I looked at Rich, then down to James. "Come on, James. Let's get your things." I then looked back up to Rich, silently telling him to tell Sharon about Pratt quickly.
Rich nodded once, then lifted James off his lap, and put his feet on the floor. James then ran out of the room with me chasing after him. I followed him upstairs to Cole's room. We gathered his things, put them in his bag, then after making sure Zeke was with us, we went back downstairs. I placed his bag by the front door, then we went back into the kitchen, where Rich was finishing telling Sharon what had happened.
I sat down in the chair next to Rich again, then sipped my now cold tea as I distracted James with Zeke while Rich finished the last part of our situation.
Once Rich was finished (and I finished my tea), we got ready to leave. At the front door, I gave Sharon a big hug.
"Thank you for watching him," I said.
"You're quite welcome. I'm here if you ever need me again," she replied, with a smile.
"I'll keep it in mind."
Rich then gave his sister a hug, while I took James and his things to the car. I opened the trunk and stuck his bag in, then opened the back door for him after closing the trunk. He crawled in and sat in his car seat, then I got in the seat next to him to strap him in. I handed Zeke to him, then decided to just sit in the back with him on the way home.
Rich got into the car after another minute, then he started the engine as he looked back at me.
"I'm going to sit back here with him," I said.
"I figured you would," Rich grinned, then buckled, started the car, and drove home.
I stared lovingly at Rich for a few more moments before my attention was diverted to James when he looked at me.
"Mommy, did you get me something? Like you said?" he asked.
Chuckling, I put my arm on the back of his car seat, then reached my hand down to move his unruly hair out of his eyes.
"Yes, we got you something, but you have to wait until we get home," I answered, continuing to smile at him.
"Okay," he pouted.
Leaning over, I kissed his forehead, then continued to look at him as I ran my hand through his hair. I glanced at Rich through the rearview mirror and saw him smirking before our eyes locked for just a moment.
A little over an hour later, we arrived back home. As soon as Rich parked the car in our driveway, he got out and went to the trunk to get all of our bags. I unstrapped James from his car seat, lifted him out, and kissed him before I set him on his feet in the driveway. Picking up Zeke, where my son left him in the car, I got out, and closed the door.
"Forgetting someone?" I asked him, shaking the bear slightly.
"Zeke!" he said, running back up to me and snatching the bear from my hands.
James took my hand and we followed Rich into the house. Rich, with his back to me and James, set our bags down by the stairs with a sigh. I walked over to him as James scrambled into the sitting room with Zeke.
"You okay?" I asked my husband, putting my hand on his back.
Without saying a word, Rich turned around quickly, and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and back. He rested his head on my shoulder; his face was in my neck as he breathed against me.
I tried to lift my arms up to reach at least the middle of his back, but he trapped my arms oddly, so I just wrapped my arms securely around his waist. Bringing my right arm up, I rubbed his back as best as I could.
"You're not okay, are you?" I said softly.
He nuzzled me before answering. "I will be. Just give me a minute or two," he sighed.
"Is this relief that we're home, safe, with James?"
He paused before answering in a whisper against my neck: "Yes."
I slipped my right arm from underneath his grasp and brought it up to rest on his neck, where my fingers gently massaged.
"Mommy, can I have my present now?" James asked, coming into the hall.
Rich wasn't about to let go of me.
Turning my head away from Rich to look to my right, down to James, I answered him. "In a few minutes, sweetie." I then had an idea. "Come here."
James sauntered over to Rich and I. I pushed on Rich's chest, so there would be some space between us, then I picked up James. We made a James sandwich (without crushing him) between our bodies.
James wrapped one of his arms around Rich's neck as he rested his head on his shoulder. He rested his other arm on my arm that held him.
Rich's right arm came around my waist, pulling my hip into him, as his left arm also supported James. My free, left arm slid along Rich's back as he leaned his head forward to rest his forehead against mine, closing his eyes lightly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James pick up his head from Rich's shoulder. He stared at us for a moment, then tucked his head underneath my chin; his arm was still around Rich's neck, and he looked uncomfortable. James may have picked up that Rich wasn't feeling to well, and tried to comfort him, giving up his own comfort to do so.
I tapped Rich's back until he opened his eyes. When he looked at me, I shifted my gaze down to James, then back up to meet his gray-green stare. Rich then glanced down to James and noticed the way his arm was awkwardly bent. When he returned his gaze to me, he nodded slightly, then pulled his head back.
"Okay, James, go into the sitting room and we'll bring your presents," Rich said, looking down to his son, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
James lifted his head and smiled broadly. He then tried to wiggle out of our arms, so we set him on the floor, and he went running off into the other room.
I watched my son run off, then turned back to Rich. Putting my hands on either side of his face, I looked directly into his eyes. I would have said something, but I didn't need to.
"I'm all right. I guess I just needed a moment with him...and you," he said, not taking his eyes away from mine for one second.
I stared at him for another moment before I slowly grinned. Taking my hands away from his face, I never let my hands leave his body as my hands slid down to rest on his chest.
When my hands came to a rest, Rich brought his hands up to my face, and held me still as he swooped in and kissed me fiercely, leaving me breathless.
"Mummy! Daddy!" James yelled from the sitting room.
Rich pulled back and we both looked towards the room.
"Just a minute, James," I called to him, panting slightly.
Looking back at Rich, I saw a very familiar gleam in his eyes, and knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Later," I mumbled, then kissed him briefly, before picking up my bag and walking into the sitting room.
When I stepped into the room, James was sitting on the floor in front of the unlit fireplace, clutching Zeke to his chest. I sat on the couch, putting my bag down on the floor before me. As I unzipped my bag to look for James' toys, Rich came into the room and sat next to me. He groaned softly as he sat and put his knees together, making me grin. (I'm sure his pants were getting very uncomfortable.) Once I located James' game and boat at the bottom of my bag, I looked up to him.
"Okay, James, do you want the big present or the little present first?" I asked, smiling at him.
"The big one!"
Out of my bag, I pulled the game. I watched James' reaction as I put the game on the coffee table, and slid it over to him.
His eyes widened and he put Zeke on the floor as he crawled over to the table. He picked the game off the table and smiled wide.
"Can we play now?" he asked, looking between Rich and I.
"Don't you want your other present first?" Rich asked through slightly gritted teeth.
I looked over at him, and he was clenching and unclenching his fist...he wasn't going to be able to keep us company for much longer.
"How about we give you your other present now, but we'll play later tonight, okay?" I asked James, looking back at him.
"Promise?" he asked, setting the game on the floor.
"Yes, I promise," I answered, holding up my hand.
"Okay," he said, grinning.
I went back into my bag, and pulled out the toy boat that was to join his bathtub fleet.
James screeched happily and clapped, then got off the floor (picking up the boat), ran around the coffee table, and jumped on the couch next to me, throwing his arms around my neck as he sat on my lap.
Laughing, I wrapped an arm around him. "Like it?"
"Yes!" he let go of me as he played with the boat.
"Good," I said, then glanced at Rich. He was grinning, but it was forced.
I couldn't take it any more.
"Go. I'll be right up," I whispered to him, while James occupied himself by imitating a boat as he moved it around.
Rich kissed me quickly. "Thank you," he whispered after a sigh.
He got up off the couch and took my bag, along with his, up to our room.
"Okay, James. Want to watch a movie before dinner?" I asked, lifting him up as I stood.
"Yeah," he said, ceasing to make boat noises.
"Thirsty?"
"A little."
"Okay, let's get your cup, then put a movie on," I said.
Walking around the coffee table, I picked up Zeke, then we walked into the kitchen.
I went to the cabinet to get his sippy cup after I set him on the floor, then went to the refrigerator to get the milk. If he drinks warm milk, he'll fall asleep for a while...which was what I (and most definitely Rich) was hoping for. While I warmed up the milk, I watched James as he played with the boat on the kitchen floor. Within seconds, I had the warm milk in the sippy cup, and we went into the family room, where I put one of James' favorite movies in the DVD player.
So, I had everything set up: his attention would be fixed on the television, and he'd fall asleep soon because of the milk. As long as he was able to watch his favorite movie, he'd be glued to the television.
James jumped up on the couch and made himself comfortable with Zeke on his lap. I put a pillow next to him, so he had something to rest his head on when he was feeling sleepy. He was still clutching the boat when I handed him his cup. Grabbing a blanket off the chair that also occupied the room, I brought it over to James.
"Arms up," I said, holding up the blanket.
James lifted his arms (one hand holding the boat, the other holding the cup), and I placed the blanket snuggly around him...another incentive for him to fall asleep.
"All right, sweetie. Daddy and I'll be upstairs for a little bit. After your movie, we'll have dinner, okay?" I asked, picking up the remote to the DVD player.
"Okay," he replied, taking a drink from the cup.
I smiled at him as I hit the play button for the movie. Setting the remote on the table next to the couch, I kissed James' forehead before leaving the room. Just before I left the room, I looked back at James.
"Do you want the light on or off?" I asked.
"Off," he answered, not looking away from the screen.
Grinning, I turned off the light and left the room.
He was okay by himself. Just as long as he fell asleep before his movie was over, Rich and I would be fine also.
I walked up the stairs, down the hall, and into our bedroom, closing the door behind me. Rich was standing at the window, looking out to the front of the house...and he was shirtless and barefoot.
"Where's James?" he asked, not turning around.
"In the family room, watching his favorite movie, and drinking warm milk," I replied, sitting on Rich's side of the bed to watch him, and took off my shoes.
"So he'll be asleep soon?"
"Most likely."
Tossing my shoes to the corner of the room, I stood up and walked over to Rich. Standing behind him, I put my hands on his lower back, right above the waist of his pants. I lightly ran my fingers up his back to his shoulders, making him shiver and moan softly.
I snorted quietly as my hands slid down his biceps to his elbows, where I moved my hands to his hips, wrapping my arms around him, and kissed between his shoulder blades before resting my head there.
Rich put his hands over mine (where they rested on his chest and stomach) and his fingers ran up my arms until he couldn't reach any further, then reversed the trail back down my arms, where he pried my hands off of him just enough so he could turn around, then put my hands on his back.
I looked up into his eyes and saw that the same look from earlier was still there. His gaze was intense as he looked into my light brown eyes.
Rich's hands traveled up my arms to my shoulders...our eyes never leaving the other's. His arms snaked around my shoulders and he pulled me tightly against him as he kissed me. One of his hands slid to the back of my neck and up into my hair to deepen our kiss.
Within another few minutes, Rich slowly maneuvered us towards the bed. As he nudged me backwards, Rich's hands left my shoulders and hair to come to my front, where he went for the buttons of my shirt. My hands went to his belt and pants.
Just as he got the buttons of my shirt undone, the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed, making me sit. Shrugging out of my shirt and tossing it to the floor, I grabbed Rich's arms, and pulled him down on top of me.
While James was entertained downstairs, Rich and I were entertained upstairs for a while.
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A/N: So I was on imdb .com and I noticed that most of my characters are the wrong people...oh well, but that was not updated like it was when I started writing this. I tried.
Oh, and I asked my team mate, who is also a pilot, about whether 'Rich' would be his first or last name...it's probably his last name, unless the airline prefers to be casual.
So, let's just pretend that they are lax, for the benefit of the story.
Reviews would be awesome...