If that's what it takes

4

With a loud snort and a head jerk, Derek was awake. His vision was blurry for a moment as he felt the sharp pain in his neck from having it in one place for so long, and it took him a moment to realize that someone was tapping on his shoulder. "Sir?" The flight attendant said as he realized that his arms were holding something protectively, he looked up at her blankly. "Sir...I need to put her on the plane..." She whispered as she nodded toward the little bundle.

He looked down into his arms at the tiny curled up creature, her hand grasping tightly to his shirt as her lips moved amid a tender, sweet dream, her lips curled up just slightly. "The plane is boarding?" Derek asked in a husky, sleepy tone as he shifted the tiny girl and sat up, carefully standing with her still in his arms.

"Sir, the plane is full... were you on standby?"

"I was... I was bumped from and earlier flight and they put me on standby for this one. Please, please tell me that the plane isn't full." He shook his head as he continued to hold the little girl.

"I'm sorry sir, but if you didn't answer the page when you were called, you missed your opportunity." She said softly as she reached across and carefully lifted the little girl from his arms.

"You're kidding me..." Derek shook his head as he reluctantly gave up the warm body that had been resting against him. "Please, please tell me that you're kidding..." He said as he ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Another flight is leaving in an hour... I can make sure that you're on it..." She nodded as she turned toward the door to carry the little girl toward the gate, disappearing through the door as Derek stood and stared as it closed behind her. He sighed a frustrated sigh as he walked back toward the seat, his head in the air as he paced back and forth for a moment, his head dropping as his gaze stopped at the seat.

"Shit..." he whispered to himself as he reached forward and grabbed hold of the little pink backpack, turning swiftly as he grabbed his briefcase, as not to leave it unattended.

"Excuse me..." He said to the woman at the counter by the door. "Excuse me, this bag... this bag belongs to that little girl that..."

"I'm sorry sir, do you have a ticket for this flight?" The woman asked in an agitated tone as she watched him hold the pink backpack in his hand tightly.

"No... no, but the little girl... Zoey... the little girl that the flight attendant just brought to the..." Derek said as the woman held her hand out to him rudely and shook her head.

"Sir, you're going to have to take a step back... the plane is almost ready for take off, and you can't be shoving bags in our faces... I'm going to have to call security if you don't calm..." As she finished her sentence, the phone at the desk rang and the woman lifted he receiver while giving Derek an angry stare. "What is going on down there...?" She asked into the receiver as Derek continued to hold the bag out to her. "Kay... are you...? Bring her back down then... she can go on the next flight if she's that worked up... Call her contact and let them know that she's having a fit. Her information is up here at the desk... Besides, there's a man here that claims that she forgot her... Oh... so she did forget her bag..." The woman muttered as she reached forward and grabbed it from Derek before she said another word. "Just bring her down here..." She said as the door to the gate opened and the harried flight attendant walked through the door, only preceded by the screeching and howling of the little girl in her arms. Her face was bright red, her tiny fists pounding into the flight attendant's chest as she struggled and screamed to get out of her arms.

As soon as she stepped onto the other side of the door, she let the little girl down, watching as she started to run, she reached out to grab her arm as Derek's arm reached down and wrapped his arm around the little girl, scooping her off the ground before she got too far. Her feet stopped kicking as she rolled around in his arms, reaching her own arms up to encircle his neck. "No... don't let them take me..." She sobbed against Derek's neck. "Don't let them take me, Mister Derek... Don't let them take me!" She sobbed as he held her, looking at the perplexed look on the flight attendant's face. "Please... please... I want my mommy... I want my mommy..." She sobbed as she held him tightly around the neck, her fingernails digging deeply into his skin as he let her hold him.

"Listen." Derek said as he pulled out his wallet with one hand as he supported her with his other. He pulled an identification card from his wallet and handed it over to the flight attendant. "I'm a doctor... that's my ID card... see... If... it wouldn't be too much trouble... I can... I can watch her..." He said as he held her tightly as she cried into his shirt. "I've got four sisters... tons of nieces and nephews... I'll just... I'll just walk her around a little and try to calm her down..."

"Sir... we can't let you take her from our custody..." The flight attendant said with a sigh as she reached for the little girl, only to receive a loud, heart racing scream from the little girl as she gripped Derek's skin even tighter.

"NO! NO!" She screamed louder as people stared and watched the entire scene.

"Please... please, the flight doesn't leave for an hour... have security follow me around... I don't care... she's breaking my goddamned heart." Derek said as he repositioned her a little, feeling her arms tighten even more around his neck.

The flight attendant watched him for a moment as he rubbed the little girl's back gently, his eyes tender and sweet as he rocked her back and forth. He was trying so hard to get her to calm down, her tiny body so tightly attached to him, he looked so comfortable holding her. "Let me call a security officer... and we'll see what we can do." She said as she walked toward the desk as Derek followed her. "While I'm at it, I'll secure your seat on the next flight." She said as Derek nodded gratefully and kissed the little girl's head as he tried desperately to calm her heart breaking sobs.