Chapter 23

The trip to Italy was coming up soon. Mandy and Traci were getting their lists of what to take together. For Greg, it was just a matter of throwing some clothes into a suitcase. Mandy didn't agree with his methods and eventually took over his packing as well as for her and Jenni. The women finally decided that a trip to the mall was in order since their bikinis were out of date and they really needed to replace some tops and shorts. That was an all-day excursion that Greg managed to avoid. They did bring back some new clothes for him though, and they insisted that he try them on to make sure they all fit. That was a small price to pay for getting out of being the pack mule.

Even though Greg's grandfather offered the use of the corporate jet again, they decided to take a commercial flight. Traci had volunteered to make the arrangements for tickets since she had a friend from the college who was working for a travel agent for the summer. Her friend was interested in the travel industry and wanted all the experience she could get. This would give the girl a nice bonus and she would be grateful.

Heather and Adrian stopped by during the week before they were to leave. After they had shed their jackets, Heather asked them all to come into the living room for an announcement. She waited for them to settle on the couch while she stood next to her lover in front of the coffee table. She had all eyes on her while they waited for her to speak.

"Adrian and I want to know if you all can extend your vacation for another week. You will also need to take a late afternoon flight on Friday."

"I'm sure we can," replied Greg, looking at the other two. They nodded their assent, and then he turned back to his mother. "But why?"

"Well, I received the finalized divorce papers from your dad and we want to get married on Friday morning at the courthouse. And we want you all to be there. Then in two weeks, which is as soon as we both can get away, we want to celebrate it with my father and Adrian's family."

The two young women shrieked out their happiness for the couple. They both jumped up and hugged first Heather and then Adrian, bouncing in their joy of the upcoming nuptials. Greg was just a little more sedate, shaking Adrian's hand vigorously and hugging his mother when he could find a place between Mandy and Traci.

"We considered doing the whole ceremony in Italy," said Adrian. "But the rules were such that we will do it here first and then even if the ceremony there isn't recognized as strictly legal, we are still in the clear."

"The Bishop won't allow a church ceremony there," added Heather. "But Mama Randali insisted that we not just honeymoon there, but that we have a full marriage celebration. She was so happy to hear her son was getting married at last that she has even convinced the mayor of the village to repeat the vows for us."

They all sat down and discussed the upcoming event. Mandy and Traci started to decide just what dresses they would need, if they could get flowers, and all the other things that Greg figured had to be at a wedding ceremony to make it legal. He and Adrian left the women to their planning and adjourned to the back deck to have a glass of wine.

Adrian told Greg that it had really been his idea to get married, even though they were happy enough as things stood. He really loved Heather and she him. Besides, it would make his mother so happy to have her last single son married that it was worth all the hassle.

The happy couple left later that night, filled with wine and many congratulations. The women in Greg's household now had something else to plan for, but they didn't seem to mind. Even after they went to bed, they continued to discuss the plans until Greg got out from between them and moved to the outside. Then he read a book while waiting for them to wind down from the news. One thing that did go through his mind was the thought that perhaps he and Mandy should think about getting married before the end of the year. However, he kept that thought to himself. This was the time for his mother and Adrian.

The following morning, Mandy awoke feeling sick to her stomach. She had been feeling bad off and on for a couple of weeks, sick to her stomach and some vomiting. Greg and Traci were both concerned and wanted her to see what was wrong before taking a trip that long. She called the doctor and found out that they had an appointment open that afternoon. She left the other two to take care of the final plans, and she took off.

She came in the front door and saw Greg sitting in the living room working on the laptop. She gave him a hug, but wouldn't tell him what was wrong until she had called Traci down from their bedroom. When both of her lovers were sitting on the couch, she took a seat between them. She took a deep breath and began.

"I've got a problem. The doctor says I am about 6 weeks pregnant."

Greg looked shocked. "You sure? I mean, I know you must be, but I thought you were still on the pill?"

Mandy was almost in tears. "I think it happened when I was on the antibiotic from that sinus infection. I figured back and it was probably when we had our naked weekend. You aren't mad are you?"

Greg pulled her up into a hug. "I'm not mad at all sweetheart, I'm just shocked. We have talked about children of our own before, you know."

"Yeah, but I didn't figure this soon. What am I going to do about college? Are you ready to be a dad?"

"Well, I think I've proven myself ready. I have been Jenni's dad ever since she was born. She is just like my own and this one won't make me feel any different."

Mandy faced her other lover. "What do you think, Traci? Would it upset you that I am pregnant? I know how you have wanted children of your own."

Traci moved over and hugged her as well. "I think it is great! I'll have another niece or nephew to spoil until I can have one of my own. Then we can trade spoiling privileges."

Greg broke in. "Hey, what about the vacation? Is it alright for you to be flying?"

"I asked about that and the doctor said that there would be no problem at all this early in my pregnancy. He says that I am healthy as a horse and that all the nausea is just morning sickness. Going by how I carried Jenni, he doesn't expect any problems at all."

The other two then gave her hugs and let her know just how excited they felt about having another child in the house. Mandy wanted to call Heather and tell her, but Greg talked her into waiting until they met up in Italy. Now in addition to the wedding, they would have the news of another grandchild.

Friday finally came, though it seemed like it took forever. Jenni even had caught the excitement and was asking about 'Papa'... She didn't understand weddings of course, but she did like the new dress that her momma had bought for her. She was toddling around the house getting everyone's attention and then pointing to her dress and saying 'pretty Jenni'.

They met at the courthouse that morning and proceeded to the judge's chambers. Judge O'Donnell looked the part with graying hair and craggy features. Jenni was taken aback by the black robes and hung onto Greg's neck during the ceremony.

The saying of their vows and signing of the license didn't take very long. With kisses and hugs all around, they exited the courthouse and headed their separate ways. Adrian and Heather had taken a personal day to make a long weekend and were headed to a Bed and Breakfast upstate for the weekend. The trio headed back to their house to make their final preparations for their flight that afternoon.

The airport was crowded when the taxi dropped them off at the terminal. Carrying their tickets and passports, they found their way to the ticket counter to drop off their luggage and then through security. They all made it through without a problem although the male guard looked like he wanted to search Traci much more closely.

They still had an hour to wait so they browsed the shops and had a coffee before First Class was called to board. They were all seated in the back of the First Class compartment. When Greg had told his grandfather that they would fly commercial, he had insisted that they at least go First Class - at his expense.

Traci took the seat next to the window with Greg sitting next to her. Mandy was in the aisle seat across from them with Jenni in the window seat next to her mother. They had a three hour flight to New York and then nine hours across to Rome. They would be picked up once again by the village taxi and then to Nick's villa. They settled back and prepared to enjoy the flight.

Traci was doing better on this flight than she had on the previous ones. Soon after take off, she had a glass of wine and was actually quite mellow and could even enjoy the dinner they were served. Jenni was behaving very well; talking quietly to her mother about the books they had packed for her between short naps and being fascinated by the clouds out the window.

They had a two-hour layover at JFK International and used the time to look around. Since they were there, Mandy made a call to Mr. Arborough at the gallery to see how her paintings were selling. He was very happy to hear from her and asked when he could set up another showing. She was flattered and promised to talk to him about that when they returned. He suggested that she might look around Italy and draw some inspiration from that country for another series. Laughing, she assured him that she had her sketchbook with her.

Just about the time that Jenni started to get tired, their flight was called. They settled in the same positions as before and after the presentation of the flight information in both English and Italian, their flight received permission for takeoff. They were in the air and on their way across the Atlantic for three weeks of relaxation.

The plane was about five hours into the trip and Mandy was asleep leaning over Jenni. Traci was listening to the in-flight music and nodding off when Greg felt the call of nature and got up to go to the lavatory.

As he started to unlock the door, he heard a commotion in the first class cabin. He opened the door to see a man standing with his back to Greg, pointing a gun at the flight attendant and saying they were going to Syria. He heard Greg come up and spun around to point the gun at him. Greg reacted without thinking, grabbing the man's arm and snapped his elbow, causing him to drop the pistol, screaming in pain. An instant later, Greg's elbow was smashing the gunman in the face, putting him out for the count.

They heard two shots from the business class and the plane's cabin lost pressure. There was a lot of noise and the plane went into a steep dive. The emergency oxygen masks dropped from the overhead compartments. Greg struggled to keep his balance and finally fell on top of the unconscious hijacker. The attendant helped him up as soon as the plane leveled off and then got on the intercom to tell the pilot what happened. Peeking through the curtains before he sat down, Greg saw two men in military haircuts and large builds holding down another man in the aisle.

Mandy was very white and shaking and Jenni was crying and fighting the mask that her mother was holding over her face. Greg forced another mask over Mandy's face. He was worried about the sudden loss of oxygen on the baby she was carrying. She nodded to him that everything was under control. Traci had tears coming down her cheeks and grabbed Greg in a huge hug as soon as he sat down. The pilot came on and assured the passengers that things were under control but they had declared an emergency and were going to land in Paris instead of Rome, since it was the closest that could take the jet. As procedure required, he put on the seatbelt signs, and dropped to below ten thousand feet in altitude.

They were still an hour out of Paris when the man in first class woke up. He found himself bound tightly with ties borrowed from a couple of the male passengers. His right arm was broken at the elbow and the way they had his arms bound, he was in a lot of pain. He tried to start yelling; so another man gagged him with a cocktail napkin. There was no sympathy for him at all. When Greg looked through the curtain he saw that the other man had been trussed up as well and was occupying a seat surrounded by some of the largest men on the plane.

Greg had just acted on instinct and his training. After he thought about what had happened, he began to shake in reaction. He could have lost his life. But he reasoned, there hadn't been any time to think about what was going on. He had seen the gun and reacted. The real 'heroes', if there were any in this situation, were the two in the back who had made the conscious decision to take action.

They all heard the change in the sound of the jet engines, and Greg leaned over Traci to see that they were on the final approach to the runway. As they got closer, he could see the emergency vehicles waiting along the runway and near the taxi area. The attendants had told them about emergency landing procedures earlier, and they all tucked their heads down in the prescribed position.

The plane touched down with no problems and rolled to a stop close to the end of the runway. Fire and emergency vehicles along with police cars immediately surrounded them. Everyone was instructed to stay in his or her seats and await further instructions. Police and airport security boarded and, after a quick rundown from the attendants, took the two gunmen into custody. Then all the other passengers were taken to a holding area to be debriefed.

The passengers all made the same statements. Many were dozing off to sleep when a man came back from the lavatory. He stopped to talk to the man in the seat next to his and then they both stood up. One walked into First Class and the other one started to the back of Business Class. They had heard the man up front yell something then scream in pain. The one in Business Class turned to go see what happened, and two men wrestled him to the ground. He got off two shots that when through the skin of the plane before they got the gun away from him. The plane lost pressure and the pilot dropped the plane to a safe altitude.

Greg and the other two men were taken to a different room and debriefed in more detail. They all told their stories first to the local police then to Interpol, and finally to the US State department liaison who was at the Consulate. Then they had to meet the international press. The other two men, Sgt. Michael Corlis and Sgt. James O'Malley of the Marine Corps were just as shocked as Greg had been at what they had done. All three didn't consider what they had done really that heroic, even though the press was painting them as such.

While Greg was being interviewed, Mandy had placed a call to Nick Scheffield, Greg's grandfather to let him know what had happened and to assure him that they were all right. He insisted on sending the corporate jet to pick them up and it would be waiting when they were allowed to leave.

They were finally allowed to leave after written statements were signed and every agency was satisfied. The airline had transferred their luggage to the private jet and they boarded with a sense of relief. Captain Wilson was once again the pilot and he greeted them all as they came through the hatch. As soon as they had clearance, Captain Wilson opened the throttle and they were in the air. Greg looked out to see the plane they had just been on still surrounded by vehicles. He was glad to be away from all the confusion and on his way to peace and quiet.

The women were still upset but he hoped they would calm down after they were under way... The bar was stocked and Greg made drinks for them all. They calmed down by degrees and were able to discuss the incident without tears by the time they made it to Rome.

The taxi was waiting for them on the private tarmac so they avoided the crowds that might have recognized him. The way the reporters had mobbed them in Paris, it was a sure thing that Greg's face would be plastered all over the news channels. The cab was soon through the traffic and they were on their way to the villa.

Nick and his housekeeper, Teresa, greeted them at the Villa. Nick was very glad to once again see his grandson and his family. He was still puzzled about just how their relationship worked but couldn't really hold it against them. His generation had been raised in a different time and with different rules imposed on them. Very privately, he envied Greg just a bit for being able to have two such beautiful and sexy women be that devoted to him. Of course, he recognized that Greg returned the devotion to both of them and then some. He had never been that much in love in his life and only wished that it could have been.

Both women gave the old man a series of hugs and kisses on the cheek, enough to leave him more excited than he would ever admit to. Then Jenni was holding out her chubby little arms, her fists clenching, trying to have her turn. Her shouts of "Papa! Papa!" gave Nick a very warm feeling. He had, by his own violation, missed having the affection from his own children and to an extent his only grandson. To have this little angel so anxious to be held by him made him feel redeemed.

The group was soon unpacked, taking up residence in the rooms that they had occupied before. When they came down, Teresa had a tray of local cheeses and ham along with a bottle of fine wine. They all sat down and started to snack while telling Nick about the trip. When they finished, he was proud of his grandson, but he also felt a fear for their lives.

"While I know that you are able to take care of yourselves, I must ask that you no longer fly commercial. You know Greg that my company has vast holdings. We have several corporate jets at our disposal, and their use is at my whim. By tomorrow, you will be on the list to use whichever plane is in your area. Just give your name and they will be there to take you wherever you need to go."

Greg tried to tell him that wasn't necessary but Nick was adamant about it. It meant a lot to be able to do this for his grandson and his family, and Greg finally relented. He promised not to abuse the privilege and Nick brushed that off saying that he knew they were all mature enough not to do so.