LOVE, LOSS, LEYSIN LOOKING

FLIGHT OF FANCY..AND FEAR! Chapter 9

Nerves swelled inside Agnetha as her fears rose at an alarming rate as they neared their replacement aeroplane. Sweat began to form along her upper lip, her breathing was rapid, shallow, her heart racing. One person especially noticed this, that person naturally being Bjorn, once again he slid his hand into hers, giving a gentle, reassuring squeeze "I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere" his mere presence, his gentle kindness and concern touched her deeply. The touch of is hand sent her heart rate soaring even higher, this time for a pleasurable reason! She smiled at him "I appreciate you being here to help, really I do" she was quietly speaking, never wanting to draw attention to herself, wanting to fade into the background, not be noticed, which would be a rarity given their immense fame. Benny, Frida and the children entered the 'plane first, exchanging greetings with the stewardess or cabin crew member!, now the moment had come to board for Agnetha and her fears were multiplying, the earlier incident was so fresh in her mind and for a moment she thought about turning around, leaving the flight altogether. But, deep in her own mind she knew she'd be letting down millions of people who would watch the show when it was broadcast the following Easter and she also didn't want her dearest friends and of course her true love to face the wrath of an already angry Stig, especially when she would be the source of his anger. The girl at the door smiled warmly "Welcome to your flight. First class is to your left and I see your tickets are for the starboard side of the aeroplane. Take your seats, buckle up, get comfortable and once we're airborne, we'll come with some refreshments for you" Bjorn smiled as did Agnetha, she was forcing the smile, smiling was the last thing on her mind right now "On behalf of myself and this young lady with me thank you" Bjorn was as charming as ever, causing Agnetha to smile naturally this time, she nodded in agreement and spoke to the girl personally "Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to a nice warm drink" the girl smiled and watched as they walked hand in hand towards first class "I thought they were getting divorced. Doesn't look that way to me" she mused to herself before focusing on the preparations needed. In the first class compartment Bjorn led Agnetha gently by the hand to their seats, opposite Benny, Frida and the children. Frida typically was up for some mischief, in spite of the ordeal they had gone through "Looks like love's young dream has finally arrived! Can't take them anywhere, can't keep their hands off each other! Such disgusting behaviour!" In spite of her nerves Agnetha had to laugh, her friend was so full of it! "Watch it Lyngstad or Andersson should I say! Don't forget snowballs can be thrown at people who don't behave" everyone laughed, but underneath Agnetha was a bag of nerves, Bjorn could sense and feel her discomfort and had already made arrangements with the airline for something to help, with assistance from Gorel. For now he knew that she needed to stay away from the window and made an offer to her "Shall I sit by the window? That way you won't see anything much when we lift off" she smiled as he looked closely at her, his affection and concern so clear "Yes, thank you, that might help" they shrugged off their overcoats and sat down, buckling their belts and getting comfortable. This was a time when nerves could easily overcome Agnetha, something Bjorn knew all too well, she was sweating lightly, trying not to think about what they were about to do, or what had transpired this morning. The Captain's voice came over the tannoy "Good afternoon Ladies and Gentleman, my name is Captain Liechsteiner and we are about to taxi down the runway and then lift off. Please remain seated and keep your seatbelts fastened until the light on the wall is lit. Enjoy the flight" As the plane began to move down the runway Agnetha began to shake a little, Bjorn who still held her hand could feel it as he held onto her, he leaned to whisper in her ear "Look don't be shy, if you need me to hold onto you, to make you feel safe, I will do, just like always. In fact don't ask, let's just do it shall we?" she nodded and he opened his arms, releasing her hand and without hesitation she leaned into him burying her head in his chest, clinging onto him, relishing the feel of his arms wrapping around her "There we go. Now you're safe, nothing bad will happen to you. I won't let it" he spoke quietly, in a barely audible whisper, so only she could hear, she nodded into his chest the thick jumper he wore was almost as warm as he was. Accelerating rapidly the engines whined as the flight lifted off. She was shaking, sheer terror tearing through her body, her soul, Bjorn comforted her with gentle, soothing words and by holding onto her even more tightly, the aeroplane rose rapidly, banked to the right and then settled onto an even level, on course for Switzerland. Finally all was smooth and after a few minutes of clinging to Bjorn, Agnetha suddenly felt embarrassed and lifted her head from his chest, gently releasing the near death grip she'd had on his torso "Sorry Bjorn , I didn't realise I was squeezing so hard. have I hurt you? I mean I could have cracked your ribs!" he laughed, this was just like her, forgetting her own situation and worrying for someone else "No! In fact, I enjoyed it! I mean, what could be better than a sexy Blonde holding onto you?!" he was deliberately light hearted, knowing she needed some distraction. Her laughter was genuine, he always made her smile, his humour being unique, sometimes risque, but nonetheless innocent and never smutty. Playfully she slapped his shoulder "Pervert! Your Mum and Dad would make you wash your mouth with soap and water!" Finally she was a little more relaxed, albeit still uncomfortable, any slight noise or movement as they caught turbulence would have her on full alert, but his reassuring hand was always there, ready to help. 3o minutes into the flight the crew came around with the offer of refreshments, as they approached Agnetha's seat, the stewardess from earlier smiled warmly "Miss Faltskog, it seems we don't need to ask you for what you'd like. It seems someone has placed a pre order with the airline for some herbal tea especially for you" she nodded in Bjorn's direction and she he placed a request for his own Coffee, Agnetha looked at him, her eyes filled with love "Herbal tea? How did you arrange that? We only knew about this flight when Gorel called" she rolled her eyes as it dawned upon her what had happened "Gorel! Of course, who else!" Bjorn chuckled, he'd arranged with Gorel to place this request when the flight was booked "Well, I had a feeing you might be glad of a little something to soothe your nerves. After this morning it's no wonder anyone suffers from this" The stewardess returned with a tray of drinks, including a large mug, steam rising from it's depths which she passed to Agnetha "For you, Herbal tea. Lemon Balm, Chamomile and Lavender. Just what you need to help you relax" Agnetha thanked her and sipped her drink, it was piping hot and delicious, it was so typical of Bjorn to think of this, she smiled to him happily "Thanks, Bjorn. I love these drinks and hopefully I'll get to relax once it's gone" his wink spoke volumes of his warmth and affection for her "Anything for you, whatever it takes to make you comfortable" Across the aisle Benny, Frida and Linda were paying I spy, Christian however had his own ideas of entertainment. He nudged Benny and smiled a wicked smile "When that lady come back, I'm going to show her my willy!" Benny roared with laughter, this was just like his Godson, Frida was in hysterics and Linda laughed so much tears ran down her face. Benny finally answered "Little man, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Firstly it's rude and secondly, it might freeze in the cold and fall off!" Christian smiled and shook his head "But my trousers are warm. I pooed in them and it's really warm!" Benny's eyes widened, he'd thought he could smell something and assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that Christian had farted again, he nudged Frida "Someone's done a little something fragrant in his pants" she smirked, her Godson was as ever a handful of mischief and sheer joy. She turned to her right where her best friend was finishing her soothing drink "It smells lovely 'Netha. Better than someone here who's had shall we say an occurrence in his trousers!" she pointed t Christian and held her nose playfully to signify the pong! Agnetha rolled her eyes and finished her drink. She stood, followed by Bjorn who was grabbing Christian's replacement trousers and nappy (diaper if you prefer!) "Come here smelly boy! Trust you to leave a souvenir of our trip" she wrinkled her nose, he was smelling strongly. She handed him to Bjorn who smiled at his little boy and winked "Bet your bottom's lovely and warm! Not to mention smelly and dirty! You little stinker" Whilst it was a smelly and rather disgusting distraction, it did at least help to occupy Agnetha's mind for a brief while, they emerged from the bathroom, Bjorn had wrapped the "offending" trousers and nappy in a carrier and covered them in deodarant, to lessen the effect of it's unique fragrance! returning to their seats they had to laugh as Christian gleefully informed Benny, Frida and Linda of just what he'd produced! The incident, along with the Herbal Tea had helped to relax Agnetha and for some time she was comfortably sitting in her seat chatting with Bjorn, Frida, Benny and engaging in some fun with Linda and Christian who had manged to stay clean! However as they approached their destination Captain Liechsteiner's voice came over the tannoy "Ladies and Gentleman we are on final approach to Leysin or if you prefer Lausanne. Please fasten your seat belts and remain seated. We will be arriving hopefully in a break in the snow storm that's been in this area, once we're clear of the stack we'll descend sharply, but carefully, so please don't panic. Thank you for flying with us and enjoy your time in Switzerland" At the mere mention of descent and landing, along with the suggestion of a snow storm, Agnetha tensed up. She found it difficult to fasten her belt, her hands were trembling slightly, an outward sign of the nerves and terror coursing through her body. Bjorn noticed and gently leant across "Here, let me" he clipped the belt into place and she smiled weakly, he knew what she needed now and opened his arms "Come on, just like before. Bury your head, grab hold of me, you'll be safe. Before you know it we'll have landed" without hesitation she accepted his kind and gentle offer, once again she wrapped her arms around him and held on for all she was worth her head sunk deep into his chest. After circling and slowly moving lower and lower into the stack of 'planes it was finally time for the flight to land. Carefully Liechsteiner and his Co Pilot tipped the nose downwards and headed towards terra firma and the tarmac awaiting them below. In the first class compartment Agnetha was not far off a panic attack, clinging onto Bjorn with everything she had "Just tell me when we're down okay?" her voice was muffled by his chest, she was buried so deep, eyes clamped firmly shut, Bjorn consoled her, gently stroking her back as she struggled with her mortal dread of aeroplanes and flying "It won't be long now, just a minute or two" he spoke gently, soothing her in any way he could think of. Finally they touched down and as the engines were slowed, reversed, the whine decreased and after a brief interlude to slow and come to a halt, they were finally still, safely on the ground. Bjorn whispered into her ear, letting her know that they had landed. Carefully she raised her head, blinking and blushed as she let go of him finally "Thank Heaven that's over!" she exhaled deeply, then turned to Bjorn placing a gentle kiss on his cheek "Thank you for taking care of me. It means a lot, what with the tea and everything else. Especially when...Well you know" he smiled, that lovely disarming smile of his, internally he was thrilled by her kiss, he wanted so much more, but knew to be patient with her "Don't mention it. You are always welcome...and safe with me". They were asked to wait until everyone else had left to allow the film crew to record their arrival. It was now evening time, skies were beginning to darken, the chill was biting and more filming followed with a local Gendarme before the cameras followed them to a small helicopter, which whisked them away to the location of their upcoming show. Agnetha held onto Bjorn's hand throughout the brief flight until they landed not far from the hotel they had been booked into. Swiftly leaving the chopper and allowing it to fly away, they waited for the snow which had been blown around to settle and were then greeted by an irate Stig "About time you got here! Bone idle assholes! Let's go! Move it, check in and then we have a press conference and you can then go film Chiqi..whatever bollocks you call it. Get a wriggle on!" he was horrid, rude, ignorant, showed no concern for them whatsoever. This was going to be a tough couple of days....