A Very Kat Ramsay Christmas Special

Part 2

Eddie sat in his seat tightening and untightening his grip on the armrests on either side of his seat. When Kat casted a concerned glance at him, he crossed his arms. The restless energy transferred to his leg which would not stay still. His left hand was tapping his side as if his ribcage turned into an instrument.

"Make sure your seatbelts are fastened... Can you buckle your seatbelt, sir? ... Keep those trays up until we're in the air, ma'am." The stewardess was saying as she walked up the aisle of the plane, doing her last check on all the passengers before take off. "Tighten those seatbelts." She said to the people across from Eddie and Kat.

"Pft. Like that's gonna help when you're plummeting to your death." Eddie said with a dramatic eye roll and talking with his left hand waving about.

Kat slowly turned her head to suspiciously look at Eddie as he was still continuously tapping away. "Are you...afraid of flying? Is that why you've been snippy all day?"

"No. I just want to be there already," he snapped.

Kat simply raised her eyebrows and nodded. She knew to leave well enough alone at this point. He couldn't bear to admit to her outloud that he was, in fact, terrified of flying. Granted, he never had a reason to fly anywhere before. If he was going somewhere far away for a show or something, he would always drive. Never had he even thought he would go to the other side of the country.

No sooner did the plane begin to move forward did Eddie's hand reach for Kat's. The moment the first wheel was off the ground, his eyes clamped shut. He had a vice grip around her hand. Kat reached forward into her purse and fished around for a water bottle. Eddie shot her a panicked look as soon as he felt her move. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"I don't need water, Kat," he spoke through his teeth.

She leaned over and whispered, "Just take a drink, trust me." He looked at her through squinted eyes. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the water, sniffing it before he took a drink. His eyes widened. Kat just smiled. "Take a drink," she whispered encouragingly again. Without a moment's hesitation, he took two big swigs from it before handing it back to her. She gingerly put it back in her purse.

Taking another deep breath, he leaned his head back into the seat, and turned to look at her. "Thank you."

"Feel better?" She asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"A little."

"You did great for your first take off, really." He stared at her, unconvinced. "I mean it! Planes are scary. If I knew how much you didn't like it, I woulda busted out the Russian Poland Springs sooner."

"'Didn't like it.' What a nice way to put it."

"Eddie." She said sternly. "Everyone is afraid of something. It's human. It's okay. You're not invincible. I'm not invincible. What matters is that we are already thousands of feet in the air and you're getting through this thing that scares you."

"So you're saying it's okay to be a coward sometimes?"

"No, you idiot. I'm saying that you're brave. Don't even bother with a counter response. And I can guarantee you aren't the only one trying to hold themselves together right now." Taking another deep breath, Eddie nodded.

The remainder of the flight went through fairly smoothly. There was a tiny bit of turbulence over the Rockies, which immediately sent Eddie diving into Kat's purse. Kat pushed the armrest up in between them and scooted as close as she could to him once the bottle was back in her purse. She grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder for the rest of the plane ride.

The landing was a lot easier than the take off for Eddie. Nevertheless, he could not get off the plane fast enough. As soon as they were out of the airport, Kat breathed in the west coast air. "Welcome to California, country boy." Kat said, nudging him. Eddie just smiled at her. Any anxiety he had over flying was now taken over by excitement.