Happiness is a Myth

Chapter 53

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Three weeks later..

Link, Lily, the twins, Greg, Dax, Gabby and five more guards made their way to the private area in California's airport. This was the first time they all traveled in a private airplane and the girls were practically bursting with excitement. Desmond flew before them to sign the deal with the event planner and secure their accommodations.

Link was dreading the long flight, finding solace in the fact that Rhett was not there to take photos of him while he's asleep.

That idea made him turn and look suspiciously at the bubbly nurse who seems to be more excited than the teen girls. Link narrows his eyes at Greg: "Why are you grinning like a queen in prom?"

Greg moves closer to him and links his arm with the sick man: "I'm going on an adventure with my favorite person in the world! This is the best day of my life!"

Link pushes him away: "Your wife might be ok with your weird fixation over me, but my girlfriend is standing right there.." he points in front of them where Gabby was standing guard near the airplane staircase, watching them approach with high alert.

Link leans in and whispers to Greg with a grin: ".. and she has a gun!"

Greg whispers back: "I don't mind dying for you."

Gabby heard the last few whispers and held her hand up to help Link climb the stairs like he's a damsel, saying with a grin of her own: "As long as he keeps you alive and healthy, he can do whatever you want."

Link's jaw drops while Greg snickers at her subtle jab.

Gabby steps behind Link and gently pushes the stunned man up the stairs: "If I were to be jealous, Greg would be the least threatening of all your 'friends'."

The way she said 'friends' made Link feel more offended. Gabby continues: "Besides.. He's an army brother. We stick together, right?"

She puts her fist up for Greg and he pumps it with a proud smile: "You know it!"

Link points between them and shakes his head feverishly: "Naah! I don't like this!"

Gabby and Greg shared a knowing smile that only veterans would understand. Serve and protect is a universal language between their people and even if the goal has shifted, they both know what to do when push comes to shove. Gabby wouldn't want anyone other than this man to be next to her soulmate, even if he annoys the shit out of Link.

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They all settled into the airplane in high hopes. The twins: Jessica and Daniel were more than happy to huddle with Lily on one side while Link and the guards took over the other side of the airplane. For the first few hours, things went smoothly. They played a few games, ate good food and even settled into a quiet atmosphere where the girls listened to music and Link huddled under a blanket with a book.

That piece did not last long.

Link felt like the more he tried to concentrate, the more he felt like the words in front of his eyes were shaking. He knew that the airplane was steady but he felt like he was in an earthquake.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get some semblance of balance but that did not help. He was dizzy.

Greg, who was sitting in front of him, saw the subtle move and whispered: "Baby girl, you good?"

Link shook his head, way beyond pretending at this point.

Greg moves to the seat next to him to look at the monitoring watch. The numbers were a little off but not enough to create a problem: "Something hurts?"