BOND

19.

Baby, you don't have to worry

I'll be coming back for you

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Elena packed up all her bags and put them out the door for collection. After doing another cursory glance of the suite she grabbed her phone and went over the boys' suite. To say it was utter chaos would be an understatement.

First off, all of them were running around in their boxer briefs and a couple were shirtless on top of it. The room itself looked like a bomb had gone off in there. Clothes and shoes were strewn across every square inch of the place and the boys were making enough racket to put an alarm siren to shame.

Instead of trying to break the chain of madness, she started helping the first person she saw.

After about an hour, only two bags had been packed and she knew the whole story behind the bedlam. Joey was supposed to wake everyone up in time for them to pack all their luggage but his phone had died over the night. Hence no alarm, and hence everybody waking up late. Which all lead to them rushing about in order to meet the deadline.

Missing the plane wasn't an issue because it being a private one wouldn't leave until they had shown up, the problem was the delivery of a child.

Coach Harley's wife had gone into labor early in the morning and he had given the boys a two hour time frame to tidy up their belongings and be present in the lobby.

With another hour left, they increased their speed two folds and slowly but surely, one by one each of the bags were deposited out front.

Then with more delays, shouts and curses, they made their way through checkout at the airport and onto the plane.

Elena had a word with the pilots and came back to see the boys settled in comfortably with Joey in the front most seats with Coach Harley, who looked more stressed than his wife probably was at the moment.

The flight passed by quickly, with her catching up on some school work, Joey talking to Coach and the rest of the boys goofing around. When they landed Coach immediately whisked off to the hospital and the boys to their own houses.

As Christopher, her driver, loaded her and Joey's bags into the car she turned to look at him, "Something wrong?"

Joey averted his eyes from her and glanced again at his phone. The text remained there unchanged and there was nothing he could do about it. He smiled convincingly at her, "Just something I need to take care of." He sighed, "Now." And instead of getting in the car like they'd decided upon, he hailed cab.

"I can drop you somewhere else if you're not going home," Elena offered. He didn't seem all too enthused in going to take care of whatever needed taken care of.

Joey just shook his head and raised up a hand, "No, that's okay. It won't take long. I'll see you around back home," and he ducked into the cab.

Elena shrugged and brushed off his behavior. It wasn't until much later that she would think back to that day.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Joey, half asleep, found his phone after flapping about his hand on his bed side table for a couple of seconds and picked it up without seeing the caller id. "Hello?"

"Hey, where are you?" he barely understood the words let alone register the voice to a name or face.

"What?" he answered back groggily.