The Great Escape

8

"He's with me." I told the woman as I handed her my ticket with my hurt arm.
She gasped and quickly waved us inside. We ran towards the closing door.
"Is there somewhere private for us?" The man held up my arm as he asked an air hostess.
"Oh my-... Yes, in first class. There's no one there." She spoke.
We followed her to the front of the plane and sat down on a couch. She watched intently as he fumbled in his upgraded first aid kit. Sighing, he turned to the air hostess as the plane's Capitan announced it's safety codes.
"Where's the medical safe?" He asked her.
"I can't open it until we're in the air." She said reluctantly.
"Alright. Buckle up." We each got in a seat and buckled ourselves up. I held Anna close to me as the captain announced our take off.
"Does she have a pacifier?" The air hostess behind me asked.
"Ya." I answered.
"Better put it in her mouth. Her ears are gonna pop." I dug around in my pocket and put Anna's pacifier in her sleepy mouth.

After take off, Anna started whining. She needs her bottle. I asked the medical personal next to me if he could dig under my seat for a bottle.
Finding it fast, he handed it to me and took out her bottle so I could feed her.
She calmed down and sucked away on the bottle.
The air hostess got up and left first class just as the sign for us to unbuckle appeared above our heads.
I unbuckled and went over to the couch sitting down with Anna still in hand.
"I suppose we haven't introduced ourselves yet." The medical personal had gotten up too and followed me to the opposite couch across from me.
"I'm John." He said.
"I'm Se-... Jack. And this is Anna."
Just then, the air hostess came back with a big trunk with wheels in tow.
"Good, now I know your names. So here's the safe." The woman put it in front of John. "I'm Lucy if you need anything."
"Um actually ya." John spoke up. "It'd be a big help if you could get Anna."
"What! Why?!" I exclaimed.
"Well you can't take care of her if I'm taking care of you." John pointed out.
I held Anna close to me, reluctant.
"Don't worry. I'm a mom too. My son is 6. I've got some experience." Lucy reassured after a moment.
After looking back at forth at my daughter and my arm, I handed Anna to Lucy.
"Her bag is under my seat." I sighed.

In almost no time at all, John bandaged my arm so that there was some padding.
"Lay down and lift up your shirt." He commanded.
"Why?" I said tiredly. It was well after 1am.
"Jack." He said as if he was scolding a child. "I know what's going on here. Your eye, your arm, and your throat... It's obvious. Someone in your life is hurting you." His words and loving tone of voice touched me. I took off my hoodie, having already given the wrap to Lucy so she could hold Anna. Then my shirt.
John winced at the canvas of my skin. The black and blue visibly contrasted against my paper white skin. A bruise covered the side of my rib cage, then another at my throat, and then my eye too.
"The best we can do right now is give you an ice pack. You can put you shirt back on."
Carefully avoiding my arm, I threaded myself back into my t-shirt while John broke 2 ice packs to mix the chemicals, making them cold.
"Put this on the bruises. And here's some pain killers."
"Ok." I laid down and set the packs on their respective places, swallowing the medicine.
Bored, I got my phone out of my pocket and saw 6 texts from Mark. I answered them all, and rested, closing my eyes...

I awoke a little while later to someone shaking me. Still a bit loopy from the pills, I slurred my words trying to ask John where Anna is.
"Lucy will bring her to you. But we're about to land, you need to get up." John consoled.
I made a face as a painstakingly sat up, rubbing my stomach.
I limped over to a seat and sat down, moving the buckles away. John left the cabin, I assume to get Anna.
Meanwhile, I texted Mark and told him we were about to land.
The lights above me came on, signaling us to put out seatbelts on. I snapped them together just as Lucy came from behind, startling me. I jumped a bit but gladly took my baby from her.
"How was she?" I asked Lucy, like the worried father I am. How cliché.
"She was a little angel. I fed her once, and changed her once." She explained while I strapped her around my chest. Anna was tight asleep, sucking on her pacifier.
"Thank you." I said as she walked away.
"No problem Jack." She smiled and turned to leave, before facing me again and saying that we would get off the plane first. Also noticing I was a bit loopy, she told me I'd be leaving in a wheelchair and because I have a baby strapped to my chest.
Soon, the quiet hum of the plane lulled me to sleep...

Half-asleep, I remember being helped into a wheelchair and rolled off the plane.
Hitting a bump, I whined and held Anna closer to me.
I heard people talking around me, about me. I heard Mark's voice, exclaiming and asking what happened. John simply said that I would tell him.
More awake now, I fluttered my eyes open and saw Mark standing in front of me. He glanced down and saw my eyes open, and leaned down in front of me while setting his hand on my knee.
"Jack are you ok?" His eyes held sorrow at my state of being.
"Ya. I wanna go home, and relax." I murmured.
"Ok. We can do that honey." Mark said consolingly as he rubbed my leg. "Go back to sleep."
I obeyed and let my head fall backwards, lolling to the side as I closed my eyes. But not before I heard Anna start to cry.
I jolted up and cradled her, putting her face against my chest and humming. I'd hoped the low bassiness would soothe her. And it did.
I'd fallen asleep again before Mark came back...