CHAPTER 33: Fly Away Home

I held my phone in trembling hands. It only rang once before my mom answered.

"Xayne?! Oh thank God, is that really you?" she all but yelled. "Is Justin with you? I can't seem to get ahold of him either!"

"Oh my God, Mom! It's me, but no, Justin isn't with me. Mom, please tell me you just said all of that to get me to call you!" I said in a strangled whisper.

"Oh, Honey," she paused, "no, I'm sorry. I've been trying to get ahold of you for days. Where did you go? Why?" She fired off questions faster than I could answer. "We came home months ago when we found out your dad was sick, but..." she hesitated, sounding confused, "we only just remembered you and Justin about a week ago. It's like a switch was flipped and we've been frantic trying to find you. There's an Amber Alert out for you two!"

"I- It was," I struggled to put words together to explain.

"No. I'm sorry," she said again, "we can talk about that later. The most urgent priority is that you get home, right now," she said. "Your dad has already been on in-home hospice care for a week and he's not going to last much longer. You need to get here now," she urged again.

Suddenly, I was in Stiles' arms; my knees had given out. I struggled to breathe evenly as I said, "Tell him I'm coming. I'll call you with the details. I'm sorry, I have to go, Mom," I said, choking on the words. "I love you."

"I know, Xay. I love you, too. Hurry."

The next hour was a blur of relaying what was happening for the the majority of the room, looking up flights, remembering I had no money, and everyone, even Peter ("Godspeed, Baby Girl."), and the Winchesters ("Call if you need anything," before leaving their numbers and excusing themselves), insisting on chipping in to get me a ticket.

Blessedly Stiles seemed to read my mind and declared he would go with me (I did not want to make this trip by myself). He was concerned about leaving right when Kate had resurfaced, however, with a quick word from the sheriff ("You've lost a parent to illness and Scott was there for you, now you be there for her.") and Scott nodding in agreement, he flew upstairs and was back with his and my bags packed in less than 5 minutes.

Our flight was at noon and we were ready to head to the airport by 10:30. I gave a cordial nod to Peter and hugs to my friends, accidentally catching the Sheriff twice, before he insisted on taking us to the airport.

Everyone followed us out and stood on the driveway to watch us go. I saw the sheriff glance in Stiles' Jeep on our way to his cruiser. Stiles and I sat together in the back. We gave a final wave and were on our way. We rode to the airport in silence, Stiles holding my hand the whole way. It wasn't until we were pulling up outside the drop-off area that the sheriff finally spoke.

"Xayne, Honey, I'm so sorry about your dad. Please let me know if you need anything else," he said, hugging me gently. I could only give him a tremulous nod. Then turning to Stiles he said quietly, "Be safe, Son. I'll get some of the crime scene cleaners to detail the Jeep, ok? Let me know when you two land. Keep me posted," he pulled Stiles in for a hug. "Love you," he whispered before moving to the back of the cruiser and opening the trunk. He pulled out our bags and handed them to Stiles.

He gave simple instructions on where we needed to go, our connecting flight in Indianapolis, and then on to Virginia, where the nearest airport was still an hour and a half from Mystic Falls. He gave us one more shoulder squeeze and almost as an afterthought, he pulled out his wallet and handed Stiles a credit card. "Don't go crazy." Then, we were on our way.

When we got to our gate, we still had a 45 minute wait until we could board. I texted my mom to let her know the plan, our approximate arrival time so that we could get a ride, and that my boyfriend was coming with me.

She responded quickly and told me she and my dad absolutely had to meet 'my young man' and she would send Bonnie in my car to pick us up because there was no way she could leave my dad. My heart gave a painful squeeze.

"What's the matter?" Stiles asked me in a whisper right away. "Your heart rate changed."

I leaned on him heavily and listened to his too-slow heart. "My dad is so bad my mom won't leave him so she's sending Bonnie to pick us up," I answered. "She and Elena have really stepped in to help, apparently." I scrolled through the missed texts, even Caroline and Matt have helped." By the last one, I concluded the attitudes towards me from my mom, Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt, and Elena were panicked, deeply concerned, and pissed, respectively.

Oh dear. I needed to let them know what happened, but this wasn't something that could be shared over text. Focus on the positive... "He's well enough still, though, to be excited to meet," I blushed, "'my young man'."

He lifted my chin with a finger so that I met his eyes. "I am, you know," it wasn't a question. "I'm yours. I'll be what ever you need me to be. I'll do whatever you need me to do. Always."

"Except kill me," I deadpanned and reached up to lightly stroke his bottom lip before I got lost in his dark chocolate eyes.

"I will do anything for you, but I won't do that," he murmured as he leaned down until his lips met mine. He was the balm I needed. I reached my hand to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. I savored his scent and his taste for several warm and pleasant seconds until I felt his fangs scrape my lip.

Knowing that meant his face had changed, I cupped his face to keep any possible prying eyes from seeing. He broke the kiss, careful to keep his forehead to mine, and took slow, deep breaths until his fangs retracted.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I know how you taste and just the thought of your blood..." he swallowed, "you're just so-," he pulled back a little and thought carefully, "tempting." He smirked at the use of my word from the day we met.

"Tell me about it," I blushed and bit my lip.

"What did I tell you about that," he all but growled and closed his eyes.

=^.^=

The coach seats were nearly full by the time we were finally boarded, Stiles excused himself to talk to a stewardess while I sent a very long group text to Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, and Matt. I told them when we should be there and that I would explain everything when we got there, if they would please hear me out. They agreed, but I could tell by their various replies that our little group's dynamics had changed in my absence (and partially because of it). Bonnie and Matt were empathetic, Caroline seemed distracted, and Elena still came across terse.

I was about to text Bonnie to find out what had happened when Stiles came back with a smile. "Grab your bag and come with me," he said. I put my phone away and did as he said. I followed him back up the aisle and I only hesitated when he went through the curtain that separated coach from first class.

At my hesitation, he turned and held the curtain open for me. "It's ok, come on," he said.

I gave a little gasp and stepped closer to whisper, "Did you-,"

"Yep," he said happily, before I could even finish. "It's too crowded back there, it's nearly empty up here, I have a certain set of skills," he wiggled his eyebrows at me, "and the stewardess said no one else was flying first class, so I figured, 'why not?' Accept my gift?"

I stepped up on my tiptoes and kissed his cool cheek. "You're the best," I murmured. He grinned and grabbed my hand to lead the way to our seats.

I spent the next 6 hours adding all my new friends and the Winchesters to my phone (it was a million times better than my newer but cheaper one) and trying to piece together what had happened since Justin had spirited me away. Between rereading each text series and texting my friends, I learned that Elena had dumped Matt and had since started seeing a new guy named Stefan. Caroline had recently hooked up with a guy named Damon who turned out to be Stefan's older brother. Bonnie seemed ok with Stefan, sort of, but didn't trust Damon; no one did by the sound of it. Although Caroline defended him, it seemed half-hearted.

They all seemed to be hiding something different from me, but I hoped we could clear the air when I got there.

I struggled to enjoy this gift from Stiles fully; I picked at the food and worried to the point of exhaustion, but I couldn't sleep, either.

I could tell Stiles had been thinking about how to help and after we disembarked in Indianapolis around 6 o'clock Beacon Hills time (9 o'clock Indianapolis time) for a 2 hour layover, he pulled me over to a secluded corner.

"I know you're tired and you need to eat. Worrying doesn't do any good; it won't change the facts. So, can I try something?" he asked.

I knew he spoke the truth and I trusted him, so I said yes.

He looked me in the eye, his pupils dilated and he said, "Relax. Tell me what you want to eat."

I could feel my anxiety fade away immediately and now all I could think about was eating. My stomach growled, pleased to finally be heard. "Sushi...and donuts," I answered.

Stiles smirked and pulled out his phone. "Now we're getting somewhere," he said. He searched for the best donuts and sushi and found Long's Bakery and Itchiban Sushi Bar & Asian Cuisine, respectively, on the south side of the city. We stashed our bags in a locker and called an Uber.

"Long's closes before Itchiban, so dessert first," Stiles told me.

"Ok," I said and reached up to cup his face and kissed him as we were driven out of the bright and busy and into the quiet and quaint.

Narrow streets lined with old-fashioned shops and cozy streetlights flashed by. When we arrived at Long's, the tiny shop was clearly a family owned business, but they seemed to be doing well as their whole parking lot was full even up until closing. We asked the driver to wait and she agreed. Fortunately, they had a fast turnover and we were in line within minutes. My mouth watered at the sweet scent that permeated the air from the multiple, fresh-baked options; from a simple glazed to a decadent coffee cake.

"What would you like?" asked Stiles.

I gazed around the glass cases and couldn't decide. It was our turn to order so I looked to the worker. "What's your best seller?" I asked.

A chorus of, "The Yeast!" came from all of the workers and customers, some even lifting up their own boxes of said donuts.

"Yeast it is- 4 please," I said.

Stiles paid and we headed out to a bench that sat under the eaves. He opened the box, they were still warm and the glaze glistened in the light from the windows as we each chose one.

"Cheers," he said as he tapped mine with his.

"Cheers," I smiled back and took a bite. The glaze was delectable and the donut melted in my mouth. "Mmm!" I hummed and closed my eyes. "Oh, my God, this is the best donut I've ever had," I moaned.

I tried to eat it slowly and savor it like Stiles was, but it was just too good. When he encouraged me to take another one I was only too eager. I couldn't help but moan in sugary bliss.

Stiles chuckled, "Will you still want sushi after this?" he asked.

"These will not be a problem; I can out eat anyone in my family," I said with a smile. The anxiety tried to push its way back at me, but Stiles' compulsion kept it at bay. Instead, I leaned forward to swipe a small flake of cooled glaze from Stiles' lip and licked it off of my finger. "You're going to need to hunt before takeoff," I murmured.

As I finished my donut, I scrolled around a map of the area on my phone. "There seems to be a lot of wooded area between here and Itchiban," I said, "What if we meet there? Call it a race, if you will," I raised my eyebrows in a lighthearted challenge.

Stiles opened his mouth to protest, but I placed a glazed finger to his lips. "You've helped me, now let me help you. I know you have to be hungry; I've been there. Please, do it for me?" I asked.

A smirk flashed across his face before he opened his mouth and pulled my finger in to suck the sugar off. "You taste so sweet," he murmured a moment later.

My breath hitched and I bit my lip. "You have no idea how much I ditto that statement."

He pulled away with a shuddering breath. "I have to go now or I won't be able to control myself with you much longer," he said.

We stood up and he handed me the credit card to pay for the Uber. "See you soon then," I whispered and turned to go back to the car. I turned before I opened the door but he was already gone.

=^.^=

The driver and I sat for a few minutes as she ate the last donut. I knew Stiles wouldn't mind because there was nothing a vampire (or transitioning vampire) wanted more than blood and he'd only ate the one to humor me.

After she finished, we left and arrived at Itchiban about 20 minutes after Stiles had left.

The outside wasn't all that impressive, but the inside instantly took you to an authentic Japanese atmosphere. Five itamae stood behind a glass case of sushi ingredients and prepared them fresh right before the patrons.

There were raised booths with drop-down flooring under the tables so that you were technically sitting "on the floor", but at eye-level, and a couple of the booths even had bamboo and paper doors for added privacy.

Stiles hadn't gotten there yet, so I chose the privacy option. I climbed the wooden steps and slid into the raised booth and within minutes, hot towels were brought to clean my hands. I ordered us both waters. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I downed my glass in less than a minute. I received a refill immediately and started perusing the menu. I decided to order a sushi sampler bento box and the Dreaming Duck dinner.

I had just finished my second glass of water when Stiles arrived. I waved at him. He smiled and nodded and mouthed ,'Restroom' and disappeared for a few minutes before he joined me.

"Great timing; I just ordered. How did the hunt go?" I asked.

He patted his stomach, "Big white-tailed buck," he said in answer. I grinned appreciatively.

"I'm going to run to the restroom before the food gets here. Be right back," I said as I extricated myself from the booth. By the time I got back, the food was already served and Stiles was lounging with the hot towel across his face. I slid the door shut behind me.

"I know this isn't what it's for, but this feels amazing," he mumbled without taking it off.

I chuckled as I opened my chopsticks and began eating. I chose the duck first as it was hot and the sushi was cold. "Mmm! Stiles," I hummed, "you have to try this." I caught another juicy piece and held it out to him.

He sat up, peeled the cooled cloth off of his face, and opened his mouth at the offered duck. "Wow," he said with wide eyes. He sat up with more interest and helped me eat our order. By the time we were ready to go, we only had 40 minutes before our plane was to leave.

Stiles called for another Uber and we happened to get the same lady as before, who got us to the airport with 20 minutes to spare. We grabbed our luggage from the lockers, Stiles compelled us upgraded tickets, and we found our connecting flight in no time. We watched the in-flight movie in silence while Stiles held my hand and occasionally kissed my knuckles.