Seeing as the search for her wedding dress didn't take as long as she'd expected, Denise decided to fly home a day earlier. She didn't see the point of staying in New York when her fiancé was back in Los Angeles waiting for her, and when there were still plenty of wedding errands to run. She went online and bought herself an economy ticket back to Los Angeles on a Saturday at 12:42PM on Delta Airlines on flight no.423, which she was now waiting for in the departure hall.

Chris' heart leapt when he got Denise's call informing him she was coming home a day early, and he was not at all surprised when she told him she was returning with the exact same items she'd left with. Her dress had been left in Sebastian and Luca's care, they were to safeguard it until they flew to Los Angeles next. They were then to hide it at their apartment, as far away from Chris as possible until the wedding day. It would've been a risk if she kept it at home. As much as Chris would've tried to wait, his curiosity would've bested him. They talked, and she admitted she wouldn't have made a big deal out of it if he did see it beforehand, but it was eventually agreed he'd regret it if he ruined the surprise for himself.

It was 12:30PM, another twelve minutes until Denise could board the plane. With her earphones, time passed quickly. It wasn't until she saw that it was 12:30PM that she closed her music app so she could call Chris. She wanted to check in, as well as remind him she was coming home today instead of tomorrow. He probably didn't need the reminder considering how happy he sounded over the phone when she told him, but she wanted to hear his voice anyway.

"My love," Chris chimed upon answering Denise's call. "What are you doing calling me? Your flight on 'Delta 423' to Los Angeles, California is in eleven minutes." She stifled her laughter, shaking her head in disbelief. "I know, I know," he chuckled. It was adorable how well they knew each other, it was as though he could see her reaction in his head. "I'm a clingy, needy dork. Can you blame me, have you met my fiancée?"

"I have and I can't say I see the appeal," she quipped.

Chris gasped and she giggled. "How dare you?" He playfully chided.

"I'm just calling to check in," she answered his earlier question. "They're currently boarding all the first class folks and the families, it's going to be a while." On the other end of the phone, Chris was grinning like a fool. The idea that they'd soon be one of the families that got to board first made his heart flutter. "Let me guess," she spoke when he didn't. "You're thinking about how we'll soon be one of the families that get called to board first."

"You know me too well." He chuckled and she rolled her eyes with a smile. "It's not the boarding first that I envy," he elaborated. He didn't need to, she knew exactly what it was about the concept that excited him. "It's having kids, being a family. That was what I envied, that had always been my life plan."

"Having kids was part of your life plan?" She gasped sarcastically. "What a shocker, I have never heard you say that before." She smiled because she could practically hear Chris rolling his eyes. "Anyway, how are things at home? How's my boy?"

"Everything's great, nothing's burned down." He joked and she chuckled. "Oh, and I checked a few more things off our wedding checklist. And to answer your latter question, I am-" He cut himself short, furrowing his brows. "You meant Dodger when you asked that, didn't you?" He quizzed. He chuckled when she hummed her response. "Yeah, that should've been obvious. Dodger's great, he misses you. Much like your other boy. Or should I say, man?"

"Boy will do," she teased him.

"Ha ha ha," he bit sarcastically.

"But I still love you, Peter Pan."

"And I appreciate it, Wendy Darling."

Denise looked up when she heard the attendant announce "'Delta 423' is ready to receive passengers from the economy class. If your seat is between twenty and twenty-nine, please make your way forward." Denise glanced at her ticket, noting she was in 6D.

"Is that you they're calling?"

"Nope," Denise leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs. "I've still got a little bit of time to talk, but not too much because I think my phone's running out of battery." She took it off her ear to confirm her suspicions; the phone was at twelve percent. "I couldn't sleep last night so I binged-watched SpongeBob, I fell asleep and forgot to put my phone on charge. Honestly, I'm lucky just to be able to make this phone call."

"You and SpongeBob, I swear," he laughed. She adorably scrunched her nose, suppressing her urge to laugh with him. "Well, don't you worry. I'll be waiting right outside the arrival hall with roses and a clipboard, you won't need your phone. And you won't miss me 'cause I won't be late. Your plane's landing at three-forty-two, so I will be there at three forty-one."

"Just because my plane lands at three forty-two doesn't mean I'll be out at three forty-two, you don't have to be so on the dot. My plane's full so it's going to take a while for me to disembark, then I'm going to have to wait in line at customs. You can be a little late, it'll be okay. I can wait at Starbucks," she told him.

"I don't want you to have to wait at Starbucks."

"Well I don't want you to be bothered by paparazzi and fans."

"Ditto, that's why I'm going to be on the dot," he insisted. "Don't worry, I'll be incognito."

"Okay, just-" she huffed, "be safe, please." She looked up when more passengers around her joined the queue to board the plane. She figured it was passengers from her boarding group, bringing her to gather her stuff, and onto her feet.

"They're people, they're not sharks," he chuckled.

"Sharks aren't as relentless as people," she retorted.

Chris understood her bitterness, he had it too. At the airport, on the street, in a grocery store- they'd suffered numerous invasions of their privacy and personal space. After decades in the industry, Chris had grown somewhat immune to the attention. He still got anxious and annoyed, but he had enough experience to know how to deal. Denise, however, had only been in the limelight for two and a half years. She was slowly learning, but it was still a struggle for her. It wasn't so bad when she had Chris with her but it was hell on earth when she was by herself.

"You also can't sock a human in the nose to get them to leave you alone."

"Well, not without getting in trouble," she quipped then laughed when he did. "Babe, I'm going to turn off my phone now." She informed him. "If I let the battery die completely, I'm afraid it won't turn back on. It's starting to fritz out, I'm thinking I need a new phone."

"I tried to get you an iPhone seven but you said you didn't want one because you like your six. 'Chris, the AirPods look stupid'," he mimicked what Denise said to him when he offered her a new phone. "'I don't want a new phone, I like my old one'." She rolled her eyes. "You know I can hear you rolling your eyes, right?"

"I'm sure you can," she quipped sarcastically. "Okay, I'm in line to board the plane so I'm going to hang up now and I'll see you in a few hours." He hummed a 'mm hm', smiling eagerly at the thought of holding his fiancée in his arms again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

• • • • • • • •

Chris had a shower before he headed out for the day. He made sure to refill Dodger's food and water bowl before he grabbed his car keys and left. It was 1:38PM and he had quite a few errands to run before he had to go to the airport to pick Denise up. He got into his car and immediately turned off the radio, plugging the AUX cord into Denise's iPod instead so he could listen to Ed Sheeran. Because of the concert, and Denise's constant playing and raving of Ed's songs- he, too, had become an avid fan. The man was a talented musician, only a fool would've argued otherwise.

Even with Ed Sheeran blasting through his stereo, Chris' drive to the supermarket was quiet without Denise; he didn't have his carpool karaoke partner to belt out the songs with him. A smile surfaced when he thought of her, the light of his life. Everything good in his life had something to do with her, she was the reason he woke up happy each morning. Similarly he was Denise's reason to live, laugh, and love.

It was comforting to know he had her to spend the rest of his life with, as well as experience the wild ride of parenthood. Just thinking of parenthood coaxed his gaze to the rear view mirror. This time next year there would be a car seat in the back and a baby- their baby sitting inside it. He meant it when he told Denise, "Jack or Charlotte, I'm just excited to meet our little one." It honestly didn't matter to him if the baby was a boy or a girl because it was going to be their baby; part of him and part of the love of his life.

Chris spent half an hour at the store, repurchasing groceries and household items they'd run out of at home. Before he made his way to the counter with his sensible purchases, he headed for the candy aisle to snag a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans for himself and a bag of Yupi Gummi Bears for Denise. He didn't know if she still felt like her favorite candy now that she was pregnant and having weird food aversions, but it was the thought that counts.

2:12PM had Chris driving to the florist to pick up a bouquet of roses before he started his drive to the airport. It was about fifty-four minutes from where he was depending on traffic, which according to his GPS- didn't consist of much. He would be able to arrive by 3:06, find parking, then hang out at Starbucks until Denise came walking out. He was glad she was returning without her wedding dress, he knew he'd definitely peek and regret it as soon as he did. He wanted it to be a surprise, he wanted to have the reaction all grooms had upon seeing their bride walk down the aisle in a dress they'd never seen before. But if Chris was being honest, Denise could've worn her dress every day and he'd still have that look each time he saw her. Because it wasn't about the dress, it was about the person wearing it.

Denise's iPod's battery died ten minutes away from the airport. It left Chris with no choice but to listen to the radio where Ronan Keating's 'If Tomorrow Never Comes' was playing. The song forced Chris to think about what would happen to Denise and their baby if something were to happen to him, or worst- what would happen to him and their baby if something were to happen to her. He wanted to cry just thinking of the hell that would be his life if he lost her, if he had to raise their child without her. Though if anything happened to her now, he wouldn't even have a child to raise by himself and remember her by.

"What the fuck," Chris chided himself as he wiped a tear from his left cheek. "What am I doing thinking about this," he chuckled. "She's twenty, if anyone were to die first- it'd be me, the old man." He found a park as the song faded out, pulling into the spot and killing the engine. The radio still played, the car had yet to be turned off completely. "God, I better make sure she knows I love her enough to last her past my lifetime."

"'Delta 423' experience some engine difficulties on its course from New York back to Los Angeles." Chris' heart skipped a beat when he heard Denise's flight on the radio, he quickly turned the volume up as the broadcast continued. "Unfortunately the plane crashed before a turn around could be made." Chris' heart dropped and tears filled his eyes. "It is unsure how many surv-"

He turned off the radio before the broadcast could finish and found himself staring blankly into nothingness. It took him awhile to finally register what he'd heard. His vision blurred and his stomach flipped. His hand gripped his steering wheel tightly, so tightly his knuckles turned white. He leaned forward, attempting but unable to process the information he'd just been given. Then it all hit him at once like a tidal wave crashing upon the shore. He started to sob, choking out a single word.

"No."