Forever and a Day

by Alexis Konsantino

  Ever so slowly, the jet’s nose inched its way up. In what seemed like forever, finally at three thousand feet and change they were finally leveled off. He felt the Captain pat his shoulder hard several times and gave him a thumbs up. The Captain took off his mask and shook his head at him.

  “Xander! If you hadn’t come in here, we would all be dead right about now!”

  Xander could only nod and blink, he saw the Captain’s eyes go to his co-pilot. Adrenaline shot through him again as he remembered the man who he was holding against the seat. He quickly felt for a pulse at the co-pilot’s thick neck. He pressed harder, then quickly undid his tie and then tore open Henry’s shirt and yanked down the undershirt then thrust his ear against the man’s gray hairy chest. He heard nothing and looked up into the man’s face: his lips were bluish. He shook Henry and yelled into the man’s face, “HENRY? Can you hear me?”

  Then he remembered Jorgen. Looking at Teuila who was watching wide-eyed as she dabbed the blood at her forehead, he yelled, “JORGEN! I think he was having a cardiac issue! I got this guy, go check him!”

  The Captain yelled, “Go Teuila!”

  Xander looked to the Captain, “No pulse, he’s unresponsive! I have to get him on his back, do you have autopilot?”

  “No! I have to stay at the controls. Do you know what you are doing?”

  Xander nodded rapidly, “I’m an Emergency First Responder, I got this!”

  The Captain pointed to where the seat control was and he managed to pull Henry out and dragged him out to the galley floor. He began rapid chest compressions as he looked for Teuila.

  Halo heart leapt into her throat as she lost sight of her Mystery man when the plane banked hard. She looked out through the window and saw the engine was on fire and just as quick, the flames were out. The plane soon began slowly righting and she leaned over the seat. Fighting to stay upright as the plane dived steeper, she saw Xander in the cockpit. She felt a measure of comfort knowing he was in there. Sure enough, the front of the plane slowly came up. She looked out her window when the plane fully leveled out and the ocean below looked much too close.

  She leaned over as Teuila came running out, her eyes followed her to Jorgen. Teuila was blocking her view of Jorgen’s face but she could tell he was in some sort of distress. She unbuckled and slipped into the adjacent seat then called out, “TEUILA! Is there something I can do to help?”

  Teuila turned and shook her head, then she ran into the galley and came sprinting back with a black and yellow bag. She watched as her hands shook as she opened the small bag. Someone coming out of the cockpit caught her attention, it was Xander and he was half carrying and dragging the co-pilot. As soon as he had him down he began chest compressions, she saw him look to Teuila then to her.

  She unbuckled and ran up to him and out of breath she yelped, “Xander! Can I help?”

  “Do you know CPR? Can you do chest compressions?” He asked in a hurry.

  She nodded fast at him. He pointed to where her hands should go, and hand over hand she began to compress Henry’s chest.

  “Harder! He is barrel chested use your weight! Yes, that’s it! I’ll be right back I need to see if they have another defibrillator!”

  She nodded to him as she continued the compressions. She watched as he began talking to Teuila and she shook her head at him. Teuila then quickly stepped away and let Xander look at Jorgen. In utter fascination, she watched him tear open Jorgen’s golf shirt and then he was quickly putting on leads to his chest. He pushed Teuila gently away and looked down at the yellow box. She heard a beep and saw its red light, light up. Xander stood away, yelled ‘clear’ and pushed the button.

  She expected Jorgen to lurch up at the shock, but he barely moved. She turned her attention to Henry, his lips were blue and she wondered if she should do mouth to mouth. She looked to Xander who suddenly was running back to her.

  “Xander! Should I do mouth to mouth?” She yelled.

  “No, can you keep at it?” Pointing to her hands.

  She gave him a nod and he quickly positioned Henry and gave him several mouth to mouths. He felt for a pulse and shook his head. “I’ll be right back; there is only one AED on board.”

  She watched him jump up and head to the cockpit. She knew what he needed to ask, it was going to come down to Jorgen or Henry. With as much effort as she could she used everything she had to keep the compressions going.

  Teuila came up to her, “Take a break Halo!”

  She moved her hands away and Teuila took over compressions. She was panting hard from her exertions and she tried in vain to find Henry’s pulse. Next thing she knew the Captain was slowly kneeling down next to Teuila. He looked like he was in pain as he looked from Henry to her, then to Jorgen.

  She watched the Captain check for Henry’s pulse, finding none he moved Teuila’s hands away, leaned over, and listened at Henry’s chest. That is when she noticed the Captain’s shirt was blood stained at his side.

  He turned to Teuila and nodded to her; with a sad look, she got up and came back with a red blanket.

  The Captain looked at Halo and sighed sadly, “Thank you for your effort Halo. I’ll have Xander check Henry one last time.”

  She nodded to him, “Uh where is Xander?”

  “He’s flying the plane.”

  “Uh what?” She exclaimed with surprise.

  Captain Charlie gave her a small smile, “Whoever hired him hit the jackpot, if it wasn’t for him we all would be gone. He explained he was some sort of EMT too, looks like he knows his stuff.”

  Halo sat there dumbfounded and managed a meek, “And he’s a pilot too?”

  Charlie nodded, “That too. Like I said, jackpot. Ok I have to address the passengers, could you please return to your seat?”

  Halo nodded and watched as Teuila covered Henry’s upper half with a red blanket then she helped the Captain to his feet. Halo turned to go to her seat and she saw all eyes were on her, she met JJ’s eyes and gave her a nod. She found her seat and heard the Captain tell them their situation. She heard him tell everyone Xander had just saved all their lives. She spun her head towards Joel as he began yelling at the Captain.

  “Who the fuck is flying the plane if the electronics are out?”

  “Xander is at the controls…”

  Joel’s screeching yell interrupted him, “What! That fucking actor is flying this tub of shit? Get your ass back in there right now!”

  “Mr. Miller! Xander is an accomplished pilot,” he lied, “I need Teuila to attend to my injury and unless anyone else is a pilot?” He glared at an agitated Joel.

  Halo saw Joel lean forward at the Captain straining his seatbelt, “You need to get this tin can on the ground right now!”

  The Captain pointed at Joel and bellowed commandingly, “Mr. Miller, I will land MY plane as soon as I possibly can! You will stay seated and keep your mouth shut! Or, I will take action to make sure you stay in your seat and have you charged with interfering with a flight crew when we do land! Am I clear?”

  Joel opened his mouth and thought better of it then turned away to look out of the window as his leg began quickly bouncing up and down.

  Halo watched as the Captain and Teuila went back into the cockpit. She turned in time to see JJ sit down next to her.

  “Are you ok?” JJ exclaimed as she squeezed Halo’s arm.

  Halo grabbed JJ’s hand, “JJ! Oh my! I dreamt this last night!”

  JJ’s eyes flew open wide, “What?”

  “It was Xander in my dream after all! He was helping me just like he did here! Holy hell, this is all so surreal!”

  “Wha—what else did you see?” JJ asked hesitantly.

  Halo’s eyes widened and she paused, “I, uh lost him… he was falling and I jumped after him, he wouldn’t take my hand. He was so, so sad…”

  “Ok I have the ‘Willies’ now, let’s hope that part is nothing.”

  “No kidding! How the hell did he get to me? I think I was blacking out. The
next thing I know I’m in my seat and I can breathe and Mystery man is helping me as we are in a dive.” She squeezed JJ’s hand hard, “Get this! After he gets my hair away… he just sits back and gives me a smile as if nothing in the world is wrong. If that shit isn’t the coolest move of the year he goes and saves all of our lives!”

  “He must be your good luck charm!”

  “No shit! I keep expecting to see a red cape pop out from under his shirt.”

  “Crazy shit for sure. Hey what the hell is up with Joel? He doesn’t look very good. When you were doing CPR he was bitching Sarah out, I thought he was going to hit her or something because she was crying.”

  “I know, he’s really out of sorts. We are all scared… I’ll try and watch him.” Halo said decisively.

  “Be careful! You going to be ok up here alone?”

  Halo gave her friend a smile, “I’ll see if my Mystery man will sit next to me.”

  JJ stared at her friend for a long moment then patted her hand, “It will probably be the safest place on the plane.”

  They hugged and JJ left for her seat leaving Halo alone to contemplate and wait for her Mystery man to come back out.

  She did not have to wait long, their eyes met briefly then he kneeled down to Henry’s body and checked him one last time for a pulse. He covered Henry back up with a sigh. He stood up and looked at all the men on the plane then stepped into full view, “Pardon me, Doug? Would you please help me move Henry to the back of the plane please?”

  She watched as Doug came up and shook Xander’s hand. Then they were gone with Henry to the back. She watched Xander return and check on Jorgen. She saw him talking to him and rubbing Jorgen’s shoulder. He covered him with his blanket and with a gentle pat he turned and hurried back up to the cockpit.

  Joel’s bouncing leg caught her attention and saw a sneer on his face as he too was watching Xander, “Joel? What’s wrong? We are all scared here too!”

  He shot her a glare, “I’m not scared of shit!” Then turned back to looking out of his window.

  Halo could only stare dumbfounded at Joel’s deteriorating behavior.

  Flight 571

  Halo saw her Mystery man step out from the galley and hesitate as the clapping from all but Joel met him, she clapped as hard as her hand allowed and watched his face turn an adorable shade of red. She watched as he shyly said thank you. He turned and looked right at her and she felt butterflies come alive in her stomach.

  Oh! She thought, he’s coming over. She offered him her best smile as he held out his hand to her, smiling, “Miss Raines, I’m Xander Kostinos. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  She quickly unbuckled stood up and accepted his hand. She felt his warmth and his gentle grip; he must have seen her bruise she thought. For a long moment she enjoyed his touch, she had the biggest urge to just wrap her arms around him and hug him until he could not breathe. Instead, she brought her other hand over and set it over his and her own hand.

  Xander felt the sublime softness of her skin on his hand, it was soft like a rose petal. She is not responding he thought, but he did not mind as his entire body was involved in the enjoyment of feeling her touch. A thought came to mind: He could stand there and stare into those lovely blue eyes, for forever and a day…

  “Get a room already!” Doug called out laughing and was cut short by a smack to his arm from JJ.

  Xander felt his face go red and saw Halo’s cheeks flushing pink as well. With a final gentle squeeze, she let go of his hand with both of hers.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you too Xander, and please call me Halo! Please, if you can? Will you sit with me for a while?”

  Xander smiled, “Sure! Let me check Jorgen again, ok?”

  “Of course!” Halo said, “Do you need help?”

  “I’m good.” He turned red again, “Uh, I got it, thanks.” He mumbled and stepped over and checked on the big man.

  As Xander left to check Jorgen, she quickly applied some lip gloss and ran her hands through her hair and then swiftly adjusted her top. She then turned to watch him with Jorgen.

  Xander thought Jorgen looked the same and the machine was showing green. Checking his pulse, it still felt rapid but stronger. He glanced back at Doug and got a wink. Xander felt his face get hot again. He turned back and went over to Halo and with as much grace as he could muster; he sat down and buckled up next to one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

  Halo set her hand on his arm, “Xander, thank you again for everything you did for me, and us all.”

  She squeezed his arm, and all he could see was her soft pink lips, so full and inviting. They were right there; she was leaning so close… a kiss but a heartbeat away. He cleared his throat as the feeling shocked him and without thinking blurted out, “I wasn’t doing much at the time, uh just hanging around. Figured what the heck?” He followed it up with a big smile.

  Halo covered her mouth as she giggled. A sense of humor too? She thought, “Well good for us then!” She replied.

  God that was stupid he thought to himself, he wanted to say he would have done anything and everything to save her. Maybe he should? What the hell, he decided. He leaned ever so slightly closer to her and looked from those oh, so kissable lips to the deep blue pools of her eyes, “Uh, what I really wanted to say was… uh as long as I’m here I promise I will do everything possible to help you.” He felt himself once again turn red, “I guess what I am trying to say is that you are not alone here.” He groaned, “Ok that really sounded corny…”

  She listened as he stumbled out his words to her, so heartfelt and gallant? Yes! Gallant, she thought. A thought struck her heart: He likes me! Her butterflies were swarming in her belly now, “Oh my… not corny at all! Xander thank you, I—I don’t know what to say, I do feel better knowing you are here next to me… and I am having difficulty expressing my gratitude,” She laughed, “and for me being at a loss of words? That’s rare!” She laughed, covering her mouth and watched his green eyes. “Hey, could you do me a favor? Lean forward for a moment, I want to see something.” She replied with a silly grin.

  “Oh, sure.” He leaned forward and watched her hand reach out then run up and down his back which sent pleasurable tingles thought out his body. It was difficult to not tremble or moan with pleasure. He then saw her forehead furrow, as if she was expecting something.

  “Nope! I don’t see one…” She gently pushed his shoulder back towards the seat.

  “See what?” He asked confused. What was she looking for? Although he wished she would look again…

  “Oh? I was looking for your red cape, silly!” She giggled. Now that is corny she thought, but what the hell!

  It was Xander’s turn to furrow his brow in confusion as he mouthed out the words ‘red cape’ then it hit him—he laughed and slapped his knee, “Red cape! Oh, that’s a good one! Ha! At best I am Clark Kent’s shoe shine boy!”

  Teuila came up to them, “Sorry to interrupt… Xander, the Captain would like a word when you have a moment.”

  “I’ll be right there Teuila.” Xander replied.

  He turned to Halo and caught her staring at him, “Uh… Halo, I know what the Captain is going to tell me. I don’t want to alarm you…” He waited for a response from her and she gave him a serious look then a nod. “I don’t think we are going to make it to dry land. It’s going to be a water landing.” He watched her stiffen and he wanted to reach out to her, but thought it improper. Instead he leaned close to her, “Halo I will be right here next to you. If it is in my power, I promise I will not let anything happen to you. I don’t make promises that I can’t or won’t keep.” He saw her smile just a little and she set her hand on his arm again.

  “Xander, thank you. That really does makes me feel better.” If he only knew how much, she thought. She felt him return her pat. She watched him unbuckle and with a nod, he got up and disappeared into the cockpit with Teuila.

  She remembered her dream, and him falling into some dark
depth, she looked at the Goosebumps standing up on her arm and shivered.

  Halo kept peeking around and up towards the cockpit and eventually saw Xander at the controls once again. She watched as the Captain’s head came up from a hatch in the floor behind the pilot’s seats. Teuila leaned over and helped him out of the hatch. His look was grim as he shook his head at Teuila. She saw him speak with Xander and Xander was nodding. The Captain looked back and saw her peeking at him; he gave her a nod and shut the door.

  She looked over to Jorgen and saw the light was green on the machine. He still looked very pale and was unconscious. She met JJ’s eyes and smiled at her. She wanted to warn her about what Xander said, but she decided against it, as he might be wrong.

  She settled back into her seat and thought about her Mystery man… who was he really? Could it really be that he simply was an actor with some life skills? She recalled his resume and it was to the point. Obviously, he understated his abilities. He moved about like he was in control, she did not see one bit of fear on his face and that made her feel safe. She decided there was more to him that met the eye and if she had the time, she was going to find out all she could.

  As soon as she finished that thought, Xander came out of the cockpit and closed the door behind him. As he came close she waved to him he smiled to her and kneeled down in front of the open seat. “Xander um, can you sit for a while?”

  “I’d like that Halo. I’ll check on Jorgen then get my things.”

  Halo watched him intently as he slid his bag under the seat next to hers; he really was a hot looking guy. His lips were full and looked soft… she realized her heart was hammering in her chest, she took in a deep breath to steady her nerves. Then he looked into her face and smiled with his green eyes sparkling at her.

  She quickly recovered and blurted out in a whisper, “Can—can you tell me anything?”

  He nodded, “Teuila is going to announce the water landing in a while. I’m to stay by her side, the Captain doesn’t trust Joel. He… uh, he would rather I take Joel out right now and cuff him. I talked him out of it… was it a bad choice?”