Fly the Friendly Skies [Sam, Dean, Annali, Layla]

[Wil Marsh]

Alright, so there had been a bit of a snag at the airport involving Dean getting hauled off by security and Sam whipping out a Homeland Security badge. Greg wasn't sure what the story behind that was. Maybe these guys were con-men.

They'd all gone to get something to eat once that got straightened out. Dean had seemed increasingly nervous and irritated - Greg was starting to think he didn't like planes. And Sam had seemed alright, but ever since Layla pulled Greg off to the side when the others were dealing with the security guards, Greg got the feeling Sam wasn't too fond of him.

Great, Greg thought as they boarded the plane. Like I need any more enemies.

For some reason it seemed like these guys thought Greg was Don Juan or something. Like he'd come all the way out here just to steal their girlfriends. Sure, Greg was a flirt, but he wasn't a dog.

He looked down at his ticket and walked down the aisle to find his seat. It looked like Greg, Dean, and Annali were all in the same row with Sam and Layla in the row beside them, across the aisle. Greg put his laptop bag in front of his seat and looked around at the others.

"Anyone need to put anything in the overhead?" he asked, figuring the least he could do was offer to help them out if they needed it.

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

I'd like to stuff you in the overhead compartment you overly helpful bastard..

Though he wanted to yell and throw things and generally just vent his fears out in a nice violent way, Dean remained silent, clamping his mouth shut and gritting his teeth as he trudged down the aisle behind Annali as though he were taking his last walk down death row. He did not want to be here.

From the moment they'd arrived at the terminal he'd been on edge, but it had increased tenfold when he'd actually put his foot down on the plane itself. In his mind, he might as well have been looking for his seat in a giant metal coffin, ready to take off on route to certain death.

He knew why he didn't like planes, or what Sam had suggested was the reason he didn't like flying. It was the loss of control, the blind faith you had to put into someone else to get you to your destination safely. Dean was not good with trusting his life in anyone's hands but Sam's, but since Sam wasn't a qualified pilot, it was always going to come down to this when they needed to fly anywhere. He supposed too, that on some level it was also a fear of heights, or of claustrophobia - something that had gotten worse after waking up in his own pine box six feet under ground.

Come on Dean...it's only a thirteen hour flight...what could possibly go wrong? Oh, well how about we crash? Or the pilot get's possessed and then we crash? Or the wings fall off and then we crash? Or a bird flies into the engine, setting it on fire and then we crash? Or we get hit by lightning, lose all the electronics and then we crash?

His heart was beating faster and faster, the worry on his face becoming much easier to spot and his grip on the back of the seats as he waited for Greg and Annali to sit down got suddenly tighter. His knuckles might had looked white if it wasn't for the fact he'd gone very pale all over anyway. The only saving grace about this, was he had the aisle seat, opposite Sam. He dreaded to think what state he would be in if he'd been forced to sit further away from him. And there was also Annali on his other side, who'd refused to let go of him after the incident at passport control (or was it him that refused to let go of her?). Every now and then she'd give his hand a squeeze, or nudge his shoulder to assure him he was going to be alright and his heart would settle again until the next anxiety attack began.

You can do this Dean....just relax and try not to freak out...

[The Preceptor]

Annali followed Dean down the aisle of the plane and into the first class section. There wasn't really room for them to hold hands while moving to their seats, especially when Dean was gripping onto each seat for dear life as he passed, so she kept a hold of the back of his jacket. The flight attendant personally directed them to their seats and Annali gently set her hand on his shoulder as he settled into a comfortable looking seat. She felt a nudge of jealousy in the pit of her stomach when the stewardess fluffed Dean's pillow for him, because even a blind man could notice that she didn't do the same for anyone else.

When Greg offered to put their bags overhead, Annali reached into hers and pulled out her iPod and earphones before handing the bag to him. "Thanks," she smiled before settling into the seat next to Dean. She hooked her foot over Dean's, just for a bit of contact while she started scanning through the songs. Annali liked a good mix of music and tended to pick up different tastes from her environment... songs in movies, songs from Guitar Hero or Rock Band, songs that her dad liked, songs that Kelli liked, songs that Greg liked... Judging from the music she had heard in the car on the way to Ohio, she was fairly certain that she had an idea of what Dean would like. She found Free's 'All Right Now' and stuffed one of the earpieces into her ear, holding the other in offering to Dean.

"Thought it might help you relax," she offered with a timid smile. She waited until he had the earpiece in before starting the song and slipping her hand into his, interlacing their fingers and, hopefully, helping to calm him down a little.

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam followed behind Greg, Dean and Annali down the aisle of the airplane. At least in first class the seats were a lot roomier and Sam's long legs wouldn't be as cramped. That was a bonus. But, over 12 hours on a plane was not going to be fun.

Even after Layla had explained what her plan was with Greg, Sam was still feeling a little irritated. Why he felt so strongly he didn't know. He'd only known her a couple of days and here they were going off to Italy together and he was feeling jealous over something silly.

When they reached the seats Sam stepped off to the side so Layla could take her seat first. Sam was sitting on the aisle across from Dean just in case. Though it looked like Annali was doing a lot to comfort him and keep him calm. Sam looked up when Greg asked if they needed anything in the overhead compartments.

"No, I'm good. I'll keep my bag under the seat."

Sam just had his laptop bag with him. As soon as he could he'd probably have it out again and review some of he research they had. After Layla moved in and took her seat Sam sat down, buckled his seat belt and tried to settle in for the long flight.

[layla]

It wasn't easy for Layla to act as if she had been on a first class flight a million times. She actually didn't fly much and when she did, she certainly never risked what she had back at the terminal in order to get these tickets. She doubted that anyone even paid attention but she had done it in the hopes of maybe winning Sam's brother over a little. Unfortunately, she was afraid that maybe her actions had resulted in quite the opposite. She had never been around a bunch of people who seemed to distrust her more than these did. And she supposed that they had their reasons. After all, Layla was nothing if not mysterious. And it was difficult to make people realize that you were a good person with good intentions when you were keeping secrets like these.

Sam had stepped out of the way and she was moving in to her seat when Greg asked if anyone had any bags to put up. She looked over at him and smiled, shaking her head before sitting down. The leather seat was quite comfortable and cool against her skin and she sighed softly as she sank down into it.

"This is so exciting," she whispered to Sam as she buckled up and then pulled her oversized denim bag onto her lap. She unzipped it and pulled out a mess of dark material and a small, travel sewing kit. If there was one thing that Layla knew how to do, it was pass the time.

[Wil Marsh]

When Greg asked if anyone needed to put anything in the overhead, Dean sat down in the aisle seat without a reply. Greg was starting to figure out this guy wasn’t a fan of flying. Sam declined the offer; Layla declined with a polite shake of her head; Annali thanked him and handed him her bag. He put it in the overhead compartment as everyone settled into their seats.

And then as he looked around he realized he was the only one left standing, and he wasn’t really eager to sit down. He didn’t mind flying. It was being crammed up against a wall in a little box-like area for thirteen hours that bothered him. He’d thought about taking a tranquilizer before going on the plane, but he wanted to be awake and alert in case anything happened. He didn’t think these people were bad necessarily, but he didn’t exactly trust them. Annali seemed to trust them a lot, though, which worried him. She hadn’t really known them very long, and from the way she was holding onto Dean she was already pretty attached to him.

Greg made his way past Dean and Annali and sat down, looking out the window at the crappy view of part of the runway. He sighed. This was going to be awful. He could already feel the tension among all of them – at least, to him, there seemed to be tension. He couldn’t help the few appraising glances he tossed Dean’s way as they waited for take off. He tapped his feet and bounced his knees nervously, making him appear hyper. He had two pills in his jeans pocket – small ones, about an eighth of the size of a dime. They’d been prescribed to him by a shrink a while ago. He took them as needed in situations of stress, and he had a feeling this trip would be full of those.

If any of them makes one wrong move… he thought.

Greg pulled out his laptop case and unzipped a pocket, taking out a portable CD Player and a pair of old nineties headphones. The kind with a thin metal headband and tiny puffy speakers. He wasn’t vintage enough for cassettes, but he hadn’t crossed the line into MP3s yet. He put on his headphones and didn’t even check to see what CD he was listening to before he pushed ‘play.’ He listened for a second, recognizing Stone Temple Pilots, and decided that was fine for now. He tried to look out the window or close his eyes, anything that didn’t remind him of the fact that he was sitting in a tight space. Still, his gaze kept drifting to the others. Annali seemed perfectly content sitting beside Dean, sharing her iPod with him, holding his hand. Dean just looked like he was trying not to puke or punch something – Greg couldn’t tell which. Sam and Layla sat across the aisle looking fairly neutral. Greg wondered how he looked, but didn’t sweat it too much.

He took a deep breath and let it out as the “fasten seat belt” sign blinked. He fumbled with the buckle, trying not to think about the fact he was now tying himself down in this tight little space. He fastened it finally and closed his eyes, just waiting for the engines to fire up.

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

I hate planes. I hate planes. I hate planes...

There was an upside to this flight that Dean hadn't had on the previous one he and Sam had taken. Well technically there were three upsides. The first being that there was no demon on this plane though that did nothing to quash Dean's fears that they would all end up dying in flames anyway. The second was being in first class. He had to admit, even if this was a one way ticket back to Hell, it was gonna be a comfortable ride in the luxury leather seats especially when there were helpful flight attendants who had nothing better to do than fluff his pillow for him.

Of course the only thing that really made this the slightest bit less terrifying was having Annali next to him. Her little gestures, like hooking her foot over his whilst they were waiting to take off helped to take his mind off was he was about to endure, refocusing it on what sexy legs she had instead. When she offered him an earpiece to listen to, he frowned a little suspecting that she was going to subject him to some godawful modern pop music but was pleasantly surprised to have 'All Right Now' (ironic as that was) come drifting through into his ear instead. It seemed she'd been paying attention in the car on the ride out and that was kinda special.

"Thanks."

He smiled back at her, taking in a deep calming breath, relaxing a little when her perfume found its way to his nose too. The iron grip he'd had on the seat arms downgraded away from claws of death, sparing the leather upholstry from abuse. He was even able to free one hand and hook his fingers around hers, swearing to himself that it wasn't a sign of weakness that he needed to hold a girl's hand just to get on a plane. Staying fairly quiet, he concentrated on the lyrics of the song, willing them to be true, humming along to the music and continuing the long, deep breaths that Sam was always so eager to coach him with.

Alright now....yeah, this is gonna be alright...just so long as the flight attendant stops asking me if I'm okay...please lady, go away can't you see I'm trying to relax? Alright now....baby it'sa alright now....why does Greg keep staring at me...? Weirdo...

Just as Dean was settling down, the ping of the fasten seatbelt sign made him jump again and ruined the comforting atmosphere Annali had managed to build up around him. He remembered he was strapped into a flying death trap and started fidgetting again.

"Why aren't they taking off already?" He said, defecting his aniexty into suspicion instead, suddenly concerned that the plane had some major mechanical fault that would cause them to explode on take off. Before anyone had chance to answer, the aircraft began taxi-ing down the runway and the pilot began final checks, testing flaps and electricals which made a lot of random - yet innocuous - noises inside the plane.

"The hell was that?!" Dean's hands returned to clutching the seat arms tightly again, his eyes wide and terrified as he became massively aware there was no turning back now. He looked from Sam to Annali, to the flight attendants busy checking people were secured, then back to Sam for some sign of reassurance.

Sam, please tell me we're not all gonna die....I won't believe you but it'll be nice to hear all the same...

[The Preceptor]

Annali felt Greg shift next to her when the fasten seatbelts light came on. She looked at him and smiled, temporarily releasing Dean's hand to buckle herself up before sliding one arm through Greg's and then taking Dean's hand again. It seemed, however, that her attempts at calming him down were wasted because suddenly he was back to his stressed out self. She barely managed to get a squeeze in before he pulled his hand from hers and put a death grip on the seat's arm rests.

She took a moment to lean toward Greg and whisper into his ear, thanking him for coming along so far just to help her and letting him know just how much it meant to her to know that he still cared so much. She hadn't had much opportunity to speak to him at all and honestly she was feeling rather guilty about that. His presence was not only helpful because of his knowledge and skills... but she just felt more secure knowing that he was there to keep her safe.

"The hell was that?!"

Annali turned her attention back to Dean and she noticed the panicked expression on his face. Slipping her hand from Greg's elbow, she twisted herself a bit in her seat toward Dean and reached up, gently turning his head to face her. "Remember I told you in the parking lot," she muttered to him in a hushed voice. She didn't want to draw attention to his fears by loudly announcing them to the other passengers. "You're safe here with me." Annali smiled at him, and gently pried his fingers from the arm of the seat, clasping his hand securely in her own.

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam settled in sitting next to Layla he looked over as she brought out her sewing supplies and got to work. He leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. Smiling he spoke quietly.

"You're always prepared aren't you? Nothing phases you. You just go with whatever comes your way. You're pretty amazing."

Sitting back in his seat he tried to just relax and wait for the plane to start moving. When the fasten seat belt sign came on and made the little dinging noise, Sam noticed Dean start fidgeting again from the corner of his eye. Sam turned his head and looked across the aisle. He could see that Annali was already moving trying to comfort him. Get him to relax again. He smiled a little bit at her then leaned over closer to his brother.

"Dean, dude. Don't worry... Everything is going to be fine. It looks like you are in very capable hands so just try to relax. We're just about to take off."

He spoke quietly, trying not to attracted attention. Then he sat back up in his seat. Leaning his head back he took a deep breath of his own and let it out slowly. Sam wasn't a nervous wreck like Dean when it came to flying but he wasn't exactly an experienced flier either. The sooner they got in the air and on their way,the better.

[layla]

Layla glanced out of the corner of her eye over to see Sam and Annali both focusing on Dean. Pairing that with his attitude at the terminal and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the older Winchester was not fond of this flying idea. She looked back to her sewing, not wanting to reveal that she had caught on to this little tidbit of interesting information. Still, the corner of her lips turned up ever so slightly, and she couldn't help using her little mind tricks to put a couple of explosive noises in Dean's head.

This didn't last long... Layla sure as hell didn't want to freak Dean out TOO much, and besides she had much better things to do with her ability that had nothing to do with Dean and everything to do with his sexy brother. She reached into her bag and rummaged around a bit until she pulled out a small, gold decorative button. As she started to sew it on, she kept her eyes focused on her work but broke into Sam's mind with her own, so that only he could hear the erotic, lust-filled moaning of his name that she was projecting.

[Wil Marsh]

As Greg sat with his eyes closed, trying to forget the fact that he was in a very tiny space and thanking God they weren't in coach, he felt a tugging sensation on his arm. He opened his eyes to see Annali had hooked her arm through his. One corner of his mouth turned up in a side smile. In all the excitement and shared suspicion, he'd forgotten why he was there in the first place.

He was there to support and help the first woman he'd ever really loved, and one of his dearest friends.

Greg slid his headphones off as Annali leaned in closer to him. She whispered her thanks to him for coming all this way to help her, saying it meant a lot to know he still cared enough to do that. He smiled warmly at her and shook his head. Her thanks wasn't necessary.

"Hey, who wouldn't cross an ocean for a friend?" he whispered back with a wink and a smile. His tone was light, but the smile was sincere. She would know he wouldn't cross an ocean for just anybody.

Greg was about to put his headphones back on when he heard Dean yell, "The hell was that?" and glanced over. What was this guy's problem?

Annali unhooked her arm from Greg's to turn her attention back to Dean. Greg sighed and put his headphones back on. If Dean needed someone to comfort him in his hour of need, Greg sure as hell wasn't the one to do it. He leaned back and closed his eyes, bracing himself for that uncomfortable pulling feeling take-off always gave him. He thought about how much he'd had to lie to Annali all this time - lying by way of keeping secrets and offering half-truths. All to protect her from something she got tossed into anyway.

To say he felt guilty didn't even begin to cover it.

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

I'm so gonna die.

I survived getting my heart fried and having it nearly ripped out through my ribcage by a friggin demon wearing my own father's meatsuit...slipped out of reach of not one, but two reapers...didn't drown when a demon in my brother's body shot me and left me for dead at the bottom of the docks (and seriously? What's up with my family getting possessed all the damn time?)...managed to not die when goddamn witches attempted to kill me from the inside out...hell, I'm still here after getting shredded by hellhounds and dragged to actual Hell for fourty years but this plane? This plane I've willingly strapped myself into is gonna take off in a minute and then there'll be no turning back from the fact I'm not getting off it again unless it's in pieces, on fire or in pieces and on fire. That is assuming I'm not obliterated into nothingness when the plane does explode in mid air.

Now would be a really great time to be suddenly unconscious...

Fate seemed to have a better plan for Dean right then though as Annali put her hand on his cheek and turned his fretful face so he was looking closely at her and only her.

"Remember I told you in the parking lot,"

No...wait yes I do...damn you've got sexy eyes... Dean nodded and willed himself to believe her rather than getting distracted by how stunning she was up close.

"You're safe here with me."

There was something so very soothing about her voice, the soft touch of her fingers against his skin and the calm and loving look in her eyes that Dean found it easier to breathe again. The tightness in his chest eased off as he repeated her words inside his head like some touchy feely mantra that he was so not telling Sammy about. She'd pried his hand from the seat arm and wrapped it carefully in her own and strangely that felt quite relaxing. He didn't grip hold like he had the seat arm, which he suspected that Annali would be thankful for. She probably liked having the use of her fingers, but it was more because he really did feel safer with her holding his hand.

Sam would have a field day with that sissy piece of information...God I hope I don't bring it up some night I get really drunk...

The aircraft was speeding up now and he couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut when the velocity pushed him back into his seat. This was what he dreaded the most, take off. Being launched into the air by noisy and scary sounding engines, but miraculously he was dealing with it without freaking out too much. He hadn't even snapped back at Sam for his efforts in comforting him which was a first. That said, he was humming Metallica fervently - definately a given - but holding hands with Annali was kind of working. He even managed to open his eyes and give her an uncertain smile.

"Nothing to this." He said with a nervous chuckle, playing up his bravado to show her he was just about okay as the plane tilted up at a high angle. His stomach was doing flip-flop sommersaults but he could do this. Just so long as Annali was holding his hand and nothing out of the ordinary happened, he'd be-

KABOOM!!!!

Something between a strangled curse, a gasp and a whimper came involuntarily out of Dean's mouth, his eyes went impossibly wide and he began to search for the cause of the explosion sound he'd just heard. Unfortunately, he didn't realise that it was Layla playing tricks on him and he was stunned to find that no-one else appeared to have heard what was undoubtedly something disaterously wrong with the plane.

KABOOM!!!

"What was that?!" The tension was back in his now rigid muscles, jaw at breaking point with teeth aching from being pressed so tightly together. All of Annali's efforts were undone in less than a second.

"Didn't you hear that?"