The Journey Home Ch. 04

Laura and Emma arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport three hours after they departed from Miami. Emma had to just about pry Laura's hands from the armrests as the seat belts sign went off. Laura, in a panic state, trembled as passengers exited the plane hurriedly. She was scared to death, but unsure why.

Emma and Laura remained in their seats to avoid a scene if she were to faint at any time during departure. "I can't figure out why I'm acting like this," Laura told Emma while they waited for the last passenger to leave the plane.

"It's okay dear, we're not in any hurry," Emma replied and then stood as she saw the last person stand and walk toward the back of the plane.

Laura also noticed the person leave and said, "Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be," as she stood and followed Emma down the aisle and off the plane.

They walked slowly through the tunnel that led to the busy terminal. As Laura neared the terminal she began to feel faint and Emma suggested that they walk over to the chairs by the window and take a rest. "You look as though you've seen a ghost, dear," Emma said as she wiped Laura's brow with a tissue.

Laura was sweating profusely. Emma did everything in her power to keep Laura calm. "Just close your eyes and sit back." Emma instructed as she took her cell phone from her purse just in case she had to call Dr. Tate for help.

"Excuse me, is she all right?" a flight attendant from the plane they had just exited asked.

"Yes, she'll be just fine in a few minutes. I guess she just doesn't like to fly," Emma replied hoping she was right.

Emma watched the clock on the wall across from their seats. Laura's health seemed to improve as the minutes ticked away. Emma was still concerned about her, yet at the same time she was concerned about their luggage. Laura lifted her head slightly and turned to look at Emma and said, "we should go get our bags," and then put her head back against the rim of the chair.

"I'll get our luggage when I know you are feeling better Laura, don't you worry about that," Emma said as she stared at the clock.

It had been almost a half hour since they departed the plane. The flight attendant tapped Emma gently on her forearm and whispered," I'll stay with her if you'd like to go check on your luggage. If you have more than you can carry by yourself just ask one of the attendants down there and they will give you a cart."

"Well, if you don't mind," Emma said, not quite sure this was a good idea, but knew she had no other choice.

"Laura dear, I'll be right back. I'm going to go get our luggage. I'll be back just as soon as possible," she said and then turned to walk toward the escalator to the lower level baggage claim.

"No! Wait!" Laura pleaded, in a quiet voice. "Don't leave me," she added as she tried to stand, but was unable.

Emma turned around quickly and headed back to Laura. "Don't worry. The flight attendant is here with you now and she'll stay until I get back. I'll give her my cell phone number so if you need me she can call. Okay?" Emma said as she sat beside Laura.

Laura agreed, she remembered the attendant from the flight they were on and Emma once again turned toward the escalators. She walked quickly as she checked her cell phone to make sure it was on vibrate thinking she probably wouldn't hear the ring with all the other noises around her. She put the phone in her pocket as she put her foot on the first step of the escalator and headed to the lower level.

Shortly after Emma walked away Laura had another vision, someone hugging her before she got on a plane. Again she couldn't see the face, but she knew it was a man. She bolted upright in her chair, her face flushed. The flight attendant calmed her, "It's okay if you'd like to take a nap," the attendant said.

Laura yawned and slouched in her seat. She had become very tired suddenly. She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep; she was exhausted.

It didn't take Laura long to fall into a deep sleep with all the excitement she'd had in the past few days. Her visions seem to take so much energy from her. The flight attendant stood from her chair and walked behind the ticket counter, pulled out a box and brought it back to where Laura was sleeping. She lifted Laura's feet and placed them on the box.

"Hey do you want this too?" A voice called out to her from behind the counter she was just at.

Another attendant tossed her a pillow and a blanket and she put the pillow in Laura's arms and the blanket over her. She saw Laura immediately clench the pillow.

Emma returned with a disgusted look on her face. "What's wrong, Emma?" the attendant asked.

"Well it seems they didn't have enough room in the plane we were on or something, but our luggage isn't down there. The man down there said it would be in on the next flight, but that flight had to stop in Chicago first." Emma told the attendant as she stood in front of Laura.

"I'm sure it'll be here shortly, Emma." The attendant said, as she tried to clam her.

"This is ridiculous." Emma said, frustrated and then continued. "I can't just sit around here waiting for that plane. It'll drive me crazy," she said as she fidgeted with her cell phone in her pocket.

"I'll be here if you'd like to go walk around for a while," the attendant stated as she looked at the clock on the wall. "I'm sure she'll be just fine," she added glancing at Laura and then back to Emma. "She's sleeping now and should probably sleep for a while longer because she looked very tired before she drifted off."

"Are you sure it'll be all right?" Emma asked quietly.

With the confirmation that Laura would be looked after, Emma decided to go for a walk to burn off the excess energy and avoid a case of boredom. Emma headed for the shops as she waved to the flight attendant. "I'll be back shortly," she said with a smile as she turned and walked away.

Emma had never had the opportunity to travel out of Florida and was easily entertained and distracted watching people hurry around her and browsing through the shops. The time passed more quickly than she thought and when she glanced at the clock on her cell phone she noticed that she had been gone over an hour and she missed a call. Emma opened her cell phone to listen to the message as she stood in line at the coffee shop.

"Hello Emma, this is Betty, the attendant looking after Laura. I'm sorry to cut your walk short but my flight arrived earlier than expected and I must report to work. Laura is still sleeping and I've asked the attendant at the desk to keep an eye on her until you return," was the message on her phone.

Emma panicked, dropped her coffee and rushed through the crowd to get back to Laura. Because of her state of mind, Emma had gotten confused and taken a wrong turn somewhere. She couldn't remember how to get back to Laura. She phoned the number the attendant gave her but all she heard was a message. "I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now. When the plane lands I'll return your call."

Now even more panicked, Emma ran up to the nearest guard for directions back to the gate where she left Laura. The guard directed her. She tried to remember what he said as she walked through the different concourses. After walking for almost an hour she finally arrived at the gate where she and Laura arrived. Laura wasn't in her chair; all their things were gone. Emma's heart was now in her stomach.

"Shit!" Emma said to herself. "Where could she have gone?" Emma wondered as her eyes thoroughly panned the room.

^^^

Hey Ben, Ben, wake up we're home," Max said excitedly as he shook Ben's shoulder. Both men were excited to get off that plane. The flight was too long and the layover in Chicago was a nightmare because they were unable to leave the plane due to a security threat in the airport. Ben was unfortunate enough to be stuck beside an elderly man who grumbled the entire time.

When the plane landed and the pilot turned off the seat belt sign, Ben was the first one to remove his. Both Ben and Max stood, stretched and grabbed the carry on bags from the overhead compartment before they departed the plane. "First thing we should do is get our luggage and then look for Laura," Max suggested as he pushed his way through the overcrowded aisle.

"No, I'd rather wait for the crowd to thin a bit before we do. I don't feel like tackling that crowd right now," Ben said as he pushed his way through the stuffy tunnel that connected the plane to the terminal. "Let's sit over there and wait for all these people to get out of the way, okay?" Ben suggested to Max as a group of tourists passed in front of them and then he continued. "Besides it sounds to me like someone needs a smoke. You go outside and I'll save you a seat over there."

Once the path was cleared, Ben started to walk toward the section of chairs near the window that looked out over the tarmac as Max headed for the exit.

"Shit! It's too long of a walk just to have a smoke," Max said to himself and turned around to go back to Ben. As he neared he saw Ben standing in the aisle. "Are you gonna sit or what?" Max asked as he walked over to Ben, stopping beside him.

Ben blinked his eyes and rubbed them as he stood ad stared. "Oh my God!" Ben exclaimed pushing Max, almost knocking him over as he turned, not knowing he was so close. "Max! Look over there in that chair facing the ticket counter!" Ben voiced breathless as a smile covered his face.

As he neared, he rubbed his eyes again, looked away then back almost instantly and rubbed his eyes once again. He couldn't believe it. Laura was sleeping in the chair that captured his attention. Ben dropped the bag he was carrying and ran toward the chair. He stopped abruptly, not wanting to run into her legs.

Tears filled his eyes and his extremities shook, as he stood there unsure of what to do. "What if I wake her and she doesn't know who I'm?" he whispered to Max who stood behind him.

"You'll never know unless you try man," Max said and then continued after wiping a tear from his own eye. "If you don't call her name I will."

Ben hesitated briefly then out of nowhere a deep quiet voice called out, "Laura? Laura Habernack," He whispered as he touched her shoulder gently and called her name again. "Laura, hey baby it's me, it's Ben. Wake up Laura."

Ben and Max both jumped when Laura began to stir in her chair. She stretched and yawned and then opened her eyes. She looked up at Ben and back to the floor. She jolted upright in her seat and again looked up at Ben, her eyes wide and motionless.

"Oh my God! Ben!" Laura squealed. "Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting here for hours for you. I thought you left me and..." she trailed off as she began to cry.

She jumped from her chair, knocking over the box that her feet rested on and the pillow she was clenching fell to the floor. Laura jumped in his arms and hugged him tight.

"You remember me?" he exclaimed as he glanced back at Max, tears flowing freely now and he continued, "She remembers me!"

"Why wouldn't I remember you? I've only been gone a few days," she said as her expression turned from a smile to confusion.

Ben and Laura embraced for quite some time before she noticed Max. "What's going on here? Do you know Ben?" Laura questioned, breaking her embrace with Ben.

"Hello Ms. Habernack." Max said as he tipped his hat toward her, smiled and then continued. "Ben, why don't you take Laura someplace quieter and explain what's happened? I'm going to go get our bags now," Max said as he pointed to the escalator.

"That's probably a good idea Max," Ben said as he hugged Laura once again and Max turned to walk away.

"I'll get your things then catch a cab home. You can get your bags later. Now go take care of your woman!" Max said in a loud voice as he got on the escalator.

"Will you come with me some place quiet so we can talk?" Ben asked Laura with a concerned look on his face.

She jumped in his arms again and kissed him hard, so excited that he was really with her again, not caring if they talked right away or not; she was never going to let him go again. Max returned with the luggage and saw Ben holding Laura and told him there was a secluded area downstairs where he and Laura could talk.

"It's really good to have you back again Laura." Max said smiling as he passed them. He patted Ben on the back and winked as he headed out the door to hail a cab.

Ben carried Laura down the escalator and through the crowds in search of the secluded space Max spoke of. As Ben walked through the crowd he turned a corner to avoid some rowdy teenagers and from the corner of his eye he spotted a broken conveyer belt for luggage. "There we go," Ben said as Laura nuzzled her face in his neck and inhaled deeply.

When Laura breathed in Ben's scent a vision came back to her. The vision of her and some girls waiting for a plane in the terminal she was just at. She began to tremble.

"Oh baby, what's wrong? You're shaking like a leaf." Ben asked as he held her tighter and walked toward the conveyor belt.

"What happened to me, Ben?" She asked as he set her down on the black belt.

"I don't know where to begin Laura," Ben answered as he caressed her face with his hands on either side of her cheeks. He continued, "What's the last thing you remember before you saw me and Max?"

"I remember talking to Emma, she said she was going to go get some food and go for a walk while we waited for our luggage," Laura answered, still trembling. Now she was more confused than ever as she remembered telling Ben she was waiting for him, but then in the next breath said she was here with Emma.

"Do you remember where you came from with Emma?" Ben asked, not wanting to throw too many questions at her.

"Yes, I had come here from Florida, but what I don't remember is how I got to Florida. I even had an apartment and a job. That's where I met Max, he came in to get a loan." Laura said confused, as she rubbed her forehead and then continued. "I've been seeing things in my head, just visions of things that seemed familiar, but I couldn't place them." Laura paused to catch her breath. "Why was I in Florida in the first place? When I left here I was with my girlfriends and we were headed to the Bahamas. Right?"

Before Laura could continue Ben began asking her more questions. "What do you remember about me? About us?"

"I remember," she paused again. "I remember," she continued as fear covered her face. "Oh God I remember coming here with my friends, saying goodbye to you and then getting on a plane and going to Chicago. We missed our plane and had to take a later flight. After that things are a blur. Where are my friends?" Laura asked as goose bumps covered all visible flesh and she began to tremble again. "Oh God Ben, what happened to me?" she concluded.

"Are you sure you want to go through this now?" Ben asked as he held her close, one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head smoothing her hair.

"Yes," she replied pulling away from Ben and looked in his eyes.

"Yes you were here, but it was quite a while ago. Your girlfriends wanted to take you on a girls' weekend before our wedding. You did miss your flight and had to take a different one and then that plane crashed in the ocean. You were the only survivor." Ben paused to let the information register in Laura's brain.

She began to cry as she listened to his words. She remembered the flight that took her friends and she began to sob. "Oh my God Ben, I was so scared. I remember waking up in a hospital, but nothing looked familiar. I couldn't remember anything except my name."

Laura told Ben all about her visions and Dr. Stone and how he tried to help her. "It was his suggestion that I come back here to see if it would help me remember anything. I'm so glad he had me do this." Laura added as she leaned into Ben's arms and sobbed again. "Oh Ben, Please don't hate me for ruining our wedding plans," she sobbed.

"I know now that you couldn't help yourself. At first I thought you had this planned all along because you didn't want to get married..." Ben trailed off as tears filled his eyes once again.

Laura pulled from his chest, wiped the tears from his eyes and with a desire in her stare that he remembered oh so well, she pulled him to her and initiated a passionate kiss; a kiss that soon had him forgetting where he was as he laid her back against the conveyor belt and returned her kiss.

"Oh God! I've missed you baby. I'm so glad you're finally home with me," Ben said barely breaking the connection with her lips.

Laura didn't answer verbally, but Ben knew she was happy to finally be back in his arms as well when he felt her erect nipples press against his chest. Her hands groped at his back and ass. She was on fire and he was eager to help her extinguish the blaze.

The position she was in inhibited her full contact with Ben's body and she scooted so she was lying on the belt, her head toward the opening where the luggage was placed on the belt from the outside. Ben never lost contact with her lips as she moved and when she had finished squirming he pressed his body fully against hers.

A slight moan escaped her lips as she felt Ben's hard shaft against her pelvis, her hips ground into his. "Ben, Take me," she breathed into his mouth as their tongues danced to the rhythm of their kiss.

"Oh God baby! Whatever you want," Ben replied as he broke their kiss and started to slowly unbutton her shirt.

"Now Ben!" Laura pleaded. Her hands left his back and she slid them off his sides to her shirt lifting it up over her chest. Her hands returned to her stomach and she hurriedly unfastened the button on her jeans, pulling her zipper down.

Her hips never stopped teasing Ben as she assisted him with her clothing. Ben pushed off her slightly. He braced his body with his right hand as he pulled her shirt off her shoulders and then lifted her bra over her breasts, exposing her very aroused nipples and full breasts. Ben stared in awe at her as his heartbeat quickened. He just couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Suck on them Ben," she pleaded without hesitation and then arched her back and pressed her breasts into his face.

"Mmmm, I love it when you get wild, baby!" Ben said to her as he leaned in to tease her nipple with the tip of his tongue, which caused her to arch even more.

Their bodies writhed against the other as he suckled one nipple then the other and back to the first. Ben gently bit down and then slid his teeth against the firmness of her erect buds, driving her crazy for more of him.

"Fuck me!" she whispered with heavy breath. Ben ignored her, hoping to hear her say it again. "Ohhh, Ben! Fuck me please!" She voiced again, her voice deep and breathless.

Ben couldn't make her wait any longer and he reluctantly released his suction of her hard nipple with a pop and then slid down her thighs, his hands never leaving her flesh. He quickly tugged at the waistline of her pants and removed her pants and panties at the same time.

Laura's moans became louder when Ben pulled his jeans off as well, revealing his rigid member. With his jeans around his ankles he parted Laura's legs. He placed one leg on either side of his shoulders and pulled her closer to his throbbing shaft. She slid her legs off his shoulders and clenched them around his waist and then she crossed her ankles behind his back and pulled him in. She gasped when the mushroom shaped head rubbed against her wet pussy. "Ohhh Yes!"

Laura thrust her hips into Ben's. She was so wet and hot for him that the slightest movement caused his shaft to slide in easily. Laura wanted more of him as she began the thrusting motion once again, but Ben wanted to feel her muscles convulse around him a bit longer before he satisfied her need of him.