St Louis, Missouri, December 23rd 2016

   Las Vegas was a crisp clear blue skied 72 degrees when we flew out three hours ago. Our luck changed from good to bad as the plane flew into a snowstorm that changed its course and suddenly was moving south directly into our flight path. Our layover was planned for O’Hare Airport Chicago, but now we’re grounded in St Louis. The crew woke sleeping passengers, ‘please fasten seatbelt’ signs turned on. The Captain, in his nonsense let’s not panic here- style voice alerted us to the change, we were landing, we were landing now. There was a low grumble in the air of a plane, the plane bumped with turbulence and I knew I could just vanish from my seat and be fine, but I could not leave Raleigh behind, if this metal bird goes down, I go down with it. “ Just a temporary delay.” I said feeling relief as the landing gear touched down and for now, we were safe. 

“ I knew we should have left yesterday.” Raleigh grumbled a little grim-faced and, although his voice was stressed, he was nowhere near angry. However, His face and body language showed his disappointment. He wore a stocking cap over his jet back hair, he’d showered before we left Vegas and didn’t bother to style the locks before leaving. We both dressed in black  jumpers and heavy winter coats that were purchased online since we never needed them much in Las Vegas. 

“ I told you, we could not get out of King’s annual holiday party luncheon. Besides that we’re lucky he held it this afternoon, and not Christmas eve! All things considered we left as soon as we were able to.”

We moved along with the flow of the humans around us as we left the plane heading for the baggage claim. There was chaos around us, flights being grounded or worse, in our case canceled! I was exhausted, I could barely move my feet, I was so tired, my head was pounding with the worst headache I’ve had in years. My plan had been to sleep on the plane so I hadn’t been to bed at all and had taken a mild sedative to calm my flight jitters. Had I been allowed to teleport I’d be sitting in my London flat right now sipping a nice cuppa. 

We merged in among the angry zombie holiday travelers who waited by the luggage carousels. Their ruddy sweaty faces showed epic frustration all around, many if not all were just as put out as we were and no one, not even airport staff knew what to do. I turned to Raleigh who was trying to call out on his mobile. “Please, don’t be angry about this, Darling. We cannot help the weather.” I reminded him. 

“ I’m not … mad.” He said looking at his phone, “ Service is bad, I can’t call out. I need to call out.” Our luggage appeared on the conveyor belt, the crowds with their grabbing hands lunged forward for their own cases, we could hardly collect our own bags from within the mob. “Come on man, I just need to get my bag!” Raleigh barked at a man who pushed him, Rah scowled with an automatic vampire grimace of bared fangs. He was too young to control the snarl reflex, and it could be terrifying to look at. The man, most likely wetting himself while retreating in horror, took his own suitcase and moved away from Raleigh as quickly as he could. Rah stood there numb for a moment as I retrieved our luggage. “ I.. I didn’t mean to scare him. He..  just got on my nerves.” 

I patted his shoulder gently.“ Love, it happens. You’ll soon learn to control it.” 

“ I don’t like it, but I guess it comes with the whole vampire territory.” He looked at his phone and frowned. 

“ It does, but in a year or so you’ll master your inner emotional response, so when you hiss next time you’ll damn well mean to do it.” I tried to laugh a little, but he was in no mood for it. “ Let’s figure out where to go from here.” I took him by the hand as we walked towards the main terminal. 

In an ocean of loud angry voices and exhausted Airline Desk Agents pleading for calm there was the smell of desperation and rage all around us. ‘I will not be one of those people.. I will not be one of those people.’ I told myself and hoped to God I would listen to myself. Over the last few months I’d learnt patience and tried to deal with people as I could, me twenty years ago would have bullied and bellowed until I got what I wanted. These days I am trying to save my soul and perhaps even be a better person for it. I queued up and waited for my turn at the desk. While I could have bumped to the front with a little mental pressure on the humans around me,  I waited like anyone else. Finally I was able to step forward. The bedraggled Agent with lines under her eyes, and all will to live beaten out of here emotionally looked at me, blinked and then forced a smile. Without trying I was able to read her thoughts:  she was tired, she wanted her dinner and to go home to her family.  I was ‘weird’ looking but hopefully I’m nice to her. I smiled with my closed mouth. “ I was scheduled on a flight to O’Hare and then to London Heathrow, are there any flights out as soon as possible in the morning?”  

 “ Well Sir, if the storm changes path again we should be able to have flights out around 6 or 7am.” 

“ And if it doesn’t?” 

“ It may be at least a day or so. We’re not used to this much snow.” She frowned. 

I turned back and looked at Raleigh, he held that miserable, frustrated look on his face as all the others. “ Mal, I have to be in England tomorrow, I promised!” he pleaded. 

I looked at the Desk agent. “ Two tickets on your next flight to Heathrow, we’ll take the risk if it’s canceled again.” 

“ There’s a fee to change your ticket and the flight only has first class seats left. Or you can catch the next flight to Chicago for free at 10am.” She looked a little embarrassed to say, but I didn’t want to be ‘That person ‘ to grumble and threaten, so I agreed to the changes so we’d be on that flight in twelve hours. 

“ Well we could do with a bit of first class travel, right Rah?, You still give out pajamas and toiletry bags ?” 

“Of course.” 

I turned to him, attempting to cheer him up, “See Darling, free pajamas what luck!” He turned away and looked at his phone. “ Don’t mind him, he’s in a mood.” I handed over the credit card, Simon was paying for the upgrade after all they asked me to come home for the holidays, and  they didn’t say I had to be cheap! I changed the tickets out and we were on our way to kill time for 12 hours. “ Well, my sulky darling what do we do for 12 hours? I’m exhausted. I might be too tired even for sex, maybe.” I teased but he was in no mood. 

He looked up from his phone.“ I found a hotel that has rooms, it’s kind of outside the city, but we can rest up for a few hours and they take the airline voucher we received.” Raleigh replied, his mood not lifting. “ The Uber is on its way.” We moved towards the outside, the snow was blowing hard, not as bitter cold as I expected, but the cold frosted my bones through my heavy coat. I was glad for once I did not wear my glasses, I would have been all fogged up and blinded.  It was a shock to me that anyone was out there driving around in the mess of a storm, but we stood among the desperate masses who just needed a warm bed to thaw out in.“ If you teach me to teleport we’d be there already.” Rah mumbled. 

 This was not something he could do being so young, but when you’re young you think you are invincible.“Teleportation when you’re only a few months old could tear you apart and you might not recover. I’ve explained this before. Your vampire body is still changing and that makes you vulnerable. It  will happen- you will be able to do it, but not for a few years. It’s not a parlor trick that is used lightly. It can be dangerous. The first few times you will feel like you’re being set on fire while you also feel yourself disintegrating cell by cell. It’s not pleasant.You learn to accept the pain and grow numb to it for the most part.” He wasn’t listening, I could see that, nothing could change his mind at the moment. “ But it isn’t as easy as it looks.”  I know he needed to be in England with Aiden and keep that promise he made to be there for Christmas. He was taking it to his heart as his personal failure that he could not travel. “ I’m here with you and we’ll make it to England I promise.” 

“ I know.. “ He mumbled as the car arrived, the driver was a grinning redneck in a cheque ushanka with a passion for danger  fueled on high sugar energy drinks. 

“Hey fellas, nice weather we’re having huh?” he made a strange excited giggle. 

“ Certainly is interesting.” I replied getting into the car. “ We’re booked at the Anderson Motel, get us there in one piece and you’ll get one hell of a tip.”  

“ Sure thing Boss!” With that we pulled away from the airport into the snowy night, the sky was orange with a strange glow that only the winter night provided, it was almost as bright as day with the fluffy wet snow falling reflecting city light.

“ I know, I’m sorry. Aiden, I’m on my way, I was just delayed.” I could hear the quiet conversation between Raleigh and his son. 

My phone buzzed, and it was Simon my older sibling who is non-binary. I answered “ Where are you?” They asked rather pointedly.

“ We’re on our way,” I assured them. “ We’re just a little delayed is all. Snowstorm, can’t be helped.” 

“ If I didn’t know better I’d say you conspired with Father Winter to stay in Vegas!” 

“ Would I lie to you about being in a car in Saint - Fucking- Louis  in a snowstorm if I wanted to stay in Vegas? I’d have stayed in Vegas!” 

“ Malachy, Aiden is terribly upset right now and already in a fragile state. I cannot comfort him, no one can, but Raleigh. You have to get Raleigh here as soon as you can.” This was not a request, this was an order.

“ You know I can’t teleport with him, it's too dangerous. Simon, you’re just now near ten years on and you can only barely tolerate teleportation. I won’t expose Raleigh to it just to get a rush on things. We could meld together and not be able to unfuse. Stuck with two fucking heads or something! Please relax, we’re flying out at God willing 6am. We’ll be in time for tea! ” 

“ I hope so, just please.. Make sure he gets here before Christmas, all I know is, I’ve a distraught little boy who needs his family! Our love can only do so much.”

Now I really am getting bitchy from all the pressure heaping on me. “ I would move Heaven and Earth to get him to Aiden faster, but I can’t help this storm, you just pray to whatever Gods or Deities you can that we’re clear to fly in twelve hours.”

“ Alright, I’ll trust you’ll get this done, we’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“ We’ll be there tomorrow I promise.” I shouldn’t promise as it bites me in the arse every time! 

 I looked over to Rah, who was practically in tears, his eyes showing deep sadness. “ I’m not going to miss Christmas, I promise Aiden. Me and  Mal are on our way, we’ll have dinner together on Christmas Eve, even if I have to hitch a ride with Santa to get my ass to London, I’m going to be there.” He sighed “ Please don’t cry, bud! I’m on my way. Ok? Get some rest, it’s late ok, we’ll be opening gifts on Christmas day come hell or high water. Love you, Ade, I mean it. I’m going to be there.” He ended the call and sighed, then turned to me. “He’s crying.” 

“ We’re on our way, I don’t understand why he is so upset, Raleigh. We’re not deliberately avoiding coming home.” 

“ He’s a sad little boy missing his Momma on Christmas, me being there isn’t about Christmas or gifts, its family. It’s Mom, Dad and me all wrapped together as a gift. Our folks are in Heaven, and Aiden feels like hell. I can only comfort him so much, me missing even a minute of Christmas hurts him. I deserve this!” He sighed. “ I neglected him for ten years being a fucking selfish loser, and Mal- I’m not paying the price, my kid is! God, if I could change things..” 

“ Well fact is you can’t, not even with a time machine. Rah, Darling, we’ll be on a plane at 6am. You’ll be in London for christmas. Just calm down.” 

“I’m tired Mal.. this has been the worst time of my life.” 

“ Cheer up darling, it can’t get any worse, right?” I tried my best to rouse his spirit, but he appeared desolate. If I didn’t know better, he was unbelievably lonely. I made him this way, I put up barriers to the immense love he wanted to give me and made him this way, lonely and unsupported in his time of need. He needed much more comfort than I was able to give him, and I was unsure why I wouldn’t allow myself to be vulnerable with him. My heart should be as exposed as his, he was open- he was loving, he just needed it in return like a sun seeking flower needing warmth to thrive while I was cold comfort, winter and frosty. Withholding myself when I felt insecure. I kissed him, trying show him I did care about him, there was just only so much I

 could do at the moment. We weren’t meant to be together, no one not even, ourselves ever expected to fall in love when we met. 

End of part one.