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

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

"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." She slowly strolled to join the line. "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 and heard him laugh on the other end. "Okay." The line started moving faster as another attendant came to scan boarding passes. "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', and she smiled at the thought of his arms around her again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Denise hung up and turned her phone off, stuffing it into her purse. As the line continued to move, she found herself absentmindedly scanning the room. "Miss, your boarding pass?" She was about to pass it to the attendant when she spotted a little boy- no more than five years old- crying in the corner. In his hand, he clutched a Captain America action figure tightly. "Miss, I'm going to need your boarding pass." He reached forward and tried to take it from her when she snatched it out of his reach.

"I'm sorry," Denise cringed at his annoyed expression. "I'm um- there's a little boy crying over there, I think he's lost." He glanced to where she was pointing then turned back to stare at her with an indifferent expression. "Right, you're- you're busy. Um- I'm sorry, I won't be boarding this plane."

"Next please!"

Denise excused herself from the line and walked over to the little boy, carefully descending to her knees in front of him. "Hi there," she gently touched his arm, gaining his attention. "Are you okay?" He shook his head, rubbing his eyes that she observed were as blue as Chris'. "What's wrong? Did you lose your mom and dad?"

"My mommy," he nodded, choking on his tears. "I don't-" his voice shook from his crying, "I- I- I don't know wh-where- where she is. I- I was playing with m-my Captain A-America and wh-when I t-turned a-around s-she was gone. I t-tried to f-find her but I- I couldn't."

"Okay." Denise didn't even bother throwing her gate a second look. She'd made up her mind, she was going to help the child then return to Los Angeles tomorrow on her original flight. Perhaps Chris would be disappointed when he heard she didn't board the plane, but at least he would've been proud of her for helping a child in need; it was what he would've done. "How about I take you to the information counter? We can get them to call your mom from there. Do you want to hear your name being announced? It's really cool," she assured his hesitant face. "It's almost like Captain America calling for the Avengers to assemble, but instead they'll call your name and your mom will come."

"R-r-really?" He quizzed and Denise nodded with a reassuring smile. "O-okay."

"Okay," Denise got to her feet and held out a hand for him to take, resting her handbag on the top of her carry-on luggage. As they walked away from her gate, she silently reminded herself to find a payphone to call Chris to let him know she was coming home tomorrow after all. "What's your name? I'm Denise and I like Captain America too."

"J-Jack," he sniffled, his tiny body still trembling from his recent cry. She felt her eyes narrow and a curious smile appeared on her lips. The boy's name was Jack, obviously she made the right choice helping him. "And C-Captain America is m-my favorite superhero. He g-goes everywhere with me," he told her, holding up the action figure of her fiancé's retired character.

"Can I tell you a secret, and will you promise to keep it a secret?" She quizzed and he nodded eagerly, eyes wide with curiosity. She smiled and leaned over, whispering "I know Captain America." He gasped and she chuckled, "yeah, I'm marrying him in September. Hold on, I'll show you." She stopped walking and took her hand out of his to grab her Polaroid wallet album from her handbag. She flipped to the Polaroid of the two of them on the set of 'Avengers: Infinity War', Chris was in his full Captain America getup. "See," she knelt down beside him, pointing at the photo. "I'm not lying."

"Oh wow," Jack took the wallet from Denise and stared at the photo with his little mouth agape. "That is so cool!" He did a little jump with a huge grin. Suddenly it was as though he'd forgotten he was sad and afraid, which had been her goal since she spotted him. "Do you know Iron Man and Falcon too?" She nodded and he did another little jump. "I know I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but can I at least tell my mommy?"

"Of course," she nodded. "You should never keep secrets from your mom." That was a rule she and Chris lived by; their moms knew everything about them. "You can tell her when she comes and gets you from the information counter, okay?" He nodded, returning her album to her. "What do you like most about Captain America?" She asked as she took his hand again, walking him across the airport to the information counter. "I like that he's got a kind heart, and that he's very brave." She was unsure if she was describing Steve Rogers or Chris Evans, they were often too similar for her to differentiate.

"Me too!" Jack grinned up at her. "He also has a cool shield. I told my mommy I wanted a shield like his on my birthday because then I'll have the complete outfit and I can become Captain America for Halloween." Her smile reached her eyes, all she could think about was how similar he was to her Jack from her story. "My daddy is going to dress up like Iron Man so we can act out parts from Civil War."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, I'm sure you're going to get lots and lots of candy with your daddy."

"And what are you and Captain America going to do for Halloween?" He quizzed with a tilted head.

"I'm not sure, it depends. Captain America might be a little bit too busy trying to save the world to go trick-or-treating with me," she told him and he giggled. "But that's okay, I'd be more than happy to stay home so I can give out lots of candy to cute kids like you." She scrunched her nose at him, making him giggle again.

It was 1:23PM when they got to the information counter. Denise got the attendants to announce Jack's name over the PA system and sat with him until his mom came. It wasn't difficult to pass time because he was an extremely cute kid with wits like she'd never seen on a five year old. Denise almost cried when she saw Jack reunited with his mom, who was beyond grateful towards her. When Hannah apologized for the inconvenience, Denise shrugged her off with a lie: "it's alright, my flight isn't for another hour." She had a ticket for tomorrow's flight, she didn't need to further Hannah's guilt.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Could I borrow your phone? I need to call my fiancé."

"Oh, of course." Hannah lowered Jack onto his feet and took her phone out of her pocket to lend to Denise. "Are you flying to Los Angeles?" She quizzed and Denise nodded. "Yeah, it's probably a good idea you call to let him know you're safe." She said and Denise's eyes narrowed in confusion. "You didn't hear? A plane crashed, it's all over the internet. I think it's a flight going to Los Angeles, I'm not sure what airline but it sounded pretty bad."

Denise's heart ached for those on board and the families affected. "That's horrible." She quickly dialed Chris' number and pressed it to her ear. She listened to it ring and frowned when it went to his inbox. She was about to try again when she overheard an airport officer's conversation that brought her to her knees.

"'Delta 423' crashed in Brooklyn, at this point- they don't think there are any survivors."