Chapter 61

Sophia picked up the phone on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hi mum. How..."

"Alex...Thank God you called. Where are you honey? How soon will you be here?" Her mother’s words were hurried, almost frantic.

"We're in Hawaii refuelling. We should be there in about ten hours or so. How’s Daddy?" Alex asked.

"He isn't great honey. We lost him through the night but they managed to revive him."
Alex gasped audibly and Jon, who had been reclined on pillows propped up on the head board, immediately sat up to study her face. He mouthed the word "what?", but Alex just shook her head. Her mother was still speaking. "He's stable at the moment." Her mother paused, Alex assumed to take a breath, but then she said, "Wait a minute Alex... Did you say we? Did Lanie come with you after all?"

"No mum ...Jon did."

There was a long silence on the line.

"Mum?"

"Honey, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sophia asked quietly.

"No! But it's his plane. I couldn't very well stop him from coming, now could I?"

Jon fought to hide the frown that was itching to erupt on his forehead. The last thing Alex needed was to think he was pissed. And he wasn't really. He just wasn't too sure what he thought of Mr and Mrs Belle...or, more importantly, what they thought of him. He had never given them reason to like him, let alone welcome him into their daughter’s life.

"Alex I have to go. Daddy is waking up. I'll call you if anything changes. I love you." Sophia said hurriedly.

"I love you t....." but the line was ready dead.

Jon sat patiently by Alex's side as she sat in stunned silence, a myriad of thoughts whirling around her brain. Finally he could take it no more.

"Well?"

"It's not good," Alex said gravely. "Daddy died through the night." Upon seeing the look of horror on Jon’s face, she rushed on. "They managed to revive him, and Mum said that he was waking up while I was on the phone...so that's a good thing I guess," she said, almost trying to convince herself. "I had no idea it was this bad Jon...I mean, I knew but...well, I never really believed he could..." she choked back a sob.

“Shhh baby, shush. You can’t think like that.” He cupped her right cheek in his left hand, and gently swiped at the single tear that fell from the corner of her eye with the pad of his thumb.
“Let's just wait until we get there and see what's happening for ourselves. And remember, no matter what, I'm here by your side. I'm not going to leave you Ali. I'm here for as long as you need me...however long...you are my only priority right now.”

Alex shook her head forlornly. “Don't say that Jon. We both know that's not true. I appreciate your support but I don't need false promises. You have a family, and a tour to plan and conduct. You have commitments and as much as I'd like things to be different sometimes, I know they don't include me.”

“That's where you’re wrong Alex. You mean the world to me. And I meant every word. I'll be here as long as you need me...right here by your side. The rest of the world can go to hell.” He protested passionately, and she almost...almost believed him.

She longed to believe what he was telling her, but she knew that if, or when, it came to the crunch, his professional ethics or his moral obligation to his family would win out. And she couldn't even be mad about that. If he didn't display those qualities he wouldn't be the man she'd fallen so hopelessly, helplessly in love with.

If the situation she found herself in wasn't so dire, she could almost find this amusing, in a dark sadistic kind of way. The very same qualities she admired in him were the same qualities that kept them apart. She was caught in a trap of her own hearts making... A trap she wasn't ever likely to escape. She didn't know that she would, even if she could.

“Thank you,” she whispered, snuggling into his chest. There was no point arguing with him. He never lost an argument...even when he was wrong.

“You'll be ok baby. Whatever comes...whatever faces us in Sydney, I have no doubt that you will be fine.” He assured her.

“I'm not worried about me. I just hope we can say the same for daddy.”

Looking down on her profile he could see that her brow was furrowed, her full lips made even fuller by a sorrowful pout. “Me too baby...me too.” He whispered against her skin as he kissed her forehead softly. It was a soothing gesture that never failed to calm her, something he had learnt quickly even with the limited amount of time they had together. “Are you hungry baby? Can I fix you something to eat?”

“I'm really not hungry, Jon. Thanks. But don’t let me keep you from eating... You go fix yourself something. You must be starving. It's been hours since you ate.” Alex insisted.

Jon disentangled himself from her arms and the tangle of bed linen blanketing them both. Alex watched as he pulled a pair of sweats up over taught thighs and a tight rounded ass. The fact that he was naked hadn’t even registered with her until that moment. But it was certainly registering now. She felt a pang of guilt for thinking that way when her father lay in a hospital bed, miles away, so direly ill.

Jon felt her eyes on him and turned towards her. His chest was waxed smooth after a series of promotional photos he had done, and his nipples stool proudly erect. His torso was sculptured, cut lines of hard muscle under soft skin. He had been training hard, she could see...conditioning himself for the upcoming tour. It wouldn’t be long now until he’d be leaving her...going away for months on end. It was hard...being without him...harder than it ever was when Rick was away. She shook her head to clear her thoughts; glanced up and realised he was looking down at her with an amused smile. It was only then she realised she had been staring.

“Sorry.” She offered meekly.

“Don’t be, I like it when you look at me like that. In fact, you are the only person I enjoy looking at me like that. Usually I just feel like a piece of meat...but with you...with you I feel....” his sentence trailed off.

“Beautiful?” she finished for him.

He smiled coyly, “yeah...I guess. Corny huh?”

Alex shook her head. “Nope. That’s how you make me feel every time you look at me.” She laughed once, a short amused ‘humph’.

“What’s funny?”

“You...you're just a big bag of contradictions wrapped up in a very beautiful skin.” Her lips kinked up in the hint of a smile.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” He grinned over his shoulder, as he approached the door. His sculptured stomach was starting to growl, Alex noted. She could hear it from the other side of the room.

Alex was saved from answering when a soft knock came from the other side of the door. Jon opened it just a crack, offering Alex a modicum of modesty.

Through the gap Alex could barely make out the pilots hushed tones. “We’re in Honolulu, sir. I expect we’ll be touching down in Sydney in approximately ten hours, local time 1800 hrs. I have had taken the courtesy of having some meals arranged while we've been refuelling. They’re in the warmer in the galley when you are ready for them.” He explained

“Thanks, Pete. I appreciate that.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you or the lady sir?” The man asked. He was middle aged, perhaps a few years older than Jon, with a distinguished capable air and impeccable manners. His hair was silver at the temples, and the tailored suit gave only a hint of the trim, fit physique beneath. Alex felt completely safe in his proficient hands.

“Besides getting us to Sydney as fast as this tin bird can carry us...” Jon replied, “No Pete, I don’t think so, no.”

“Understood sir, if you and the lady will prepare for takeoff, we’ll be in the air as soon as we get clearance from the tower...unless of course you wanted to eat beforehand.” Perhaps he had heard Jon’s stomach rumble as well, Alex mused.

“That’s fine. I can wait a few minutes ‘til we’re in the air. Let’s get up there.”

“Yes sir.” Came the efficient reply.

Jon quietly closed the door behind the retreating pilot, and sat lightly on the edge of the bed. “I'm going to make use of the bathroom while we're stopped.” Jon said, rising and heading in that direction.

Alex watched him retreat and felt and unexpected yearning in the base of her stomach. Surely she couldn’t be thinking of that at a time like this?

Jon returned just a moment later. “As soon as we’re in the air I’ll grab that bite to eat. You sure I can't tempt you?” He asked her.

“Oh honey,” Alex said, with just a hint of her usual mischievous self shining through, “you always tempt me. And although the object of that temptation is very rarely food, it has often led to my mouth being occupied.” She grabbed Jon and pulled him down on top of her.

Perhaps there was something that could take her mind off her troubles for a while after all. As her lover engaged her in a kiss, and that kiss changed from something gentle and comforting, into something sensual and urgent, Alex’s mind drifted away from her father for the first time since that fateful phone call.