"Your passes please."

I stifled a yawn, adjusting my bag over my shoulder as Derick and I waited to board the ferry. The sun hadn't risen, and the stars and night sky adorned the sky, and the ship's light was the only beacon shrouding on the still sleeping town. I craved caffeine as I wrapped the shawl around me a little tighter. The man was holding other tickets, but looked at Derick's phone closer, and reached into his bag, and pulled out two red ones from his pouch. Derick ushered me to go before him. I held onto the ropes as I climbed, watching my steps.

The ferry was large, and multi-tiered. The engine was idling as I stepped onto the deck, with Derick in tow.

"We're on the top floor. I ordered our tickets for first class-"

"But-" I tried to interject, knowing I didn't need all the fanciness.

"And before you complain, we get around the clock service, and the best views."

Not only did he know I was going to complain, but he still went forth and did it. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "You spoiled billionaires." I muttered under my breath, but still loud enough for him to hear.

"You've got that right." Derick said with a smile. I smiled back at him, and as soon as turned back around, I was blinded by a bright flash.

"Derick! Derick Pierce! What can you say about your disappearance?!" A man yelled, I threw up my arms in front of my face to protect from the invasive flash. Derick cursed under his breath as he grabbed my arm, tucking me under his arm, guiding me away.

"Ms. Brooks, what was it like being lost for a week with billionaire Derick Pierce? What happened to the plane?" multiple flashes dazzled in mere moments. I was nearly tripping over my own feet as Derick pushed through doors, and the people with cameras continued to follow us.

"Who are those people?" I hissed. The other passengers watched the commotion as we quickly passed.

"Paparazzi."

The flashes continued to follow us as we pushed through more doors. The shouts of questions continued to be thrown our way.

"In here!"

I followed Derick as he opened a door, and we stumbled into a dark room. Things banged around as we stuffed ourselves in. There was barely any room for us to move. The loud stampede of footsteps continued as I held my breath. The hoard disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Derick asked. I could feel his breath fanning the top of my head.

"Yeah! yeah... it was that banker woman." I breathed out.

"What do you mean?" Derick asked. Derick and I were in complete darkness, chest to chest. Derick tried to move, and it pushed me back into something sharp.

"Ow!" I bucked my hips forward, pushing back into Derick. "The woman at the bank, she took photos of us at the bank, and she must have sold it to some kind of publishing company." I guessed, easing my back, but having to lean more into Derick. Our bodies were flushed. It reminded me of last night, sleeping next to him. His hand resting on my waist, our hips aligned, and molding against his form. I overthought laying against him the way I was, but I couldn't resist the sleep it lulled me to.

"Shit. The more photos of us circling around will only cause more paparazzi, and journalists."

"How do you live this lifestyle? Constant invasion from people that want to sell your life out?" I asked.

"It's been this way my entire life, you learn to either look good in any light, or be the one they spread rumors about."

I hummed in acknowledgement. Moments continued to pass, and I was getting cramped in this closet.

"We're very close..." I whispered, looking up although I couldn't see him.

"Yes, we are." Derick agreed, his long hair was tickling the top of my head. "Let's try to sneak around paparazzi, shall we?"

I made a sound of agreement. Slowly, Derick pushed open the closet door, and scanned. He grabbed my hand, and I put mine into his. I felt his thumb brush over my knuckles slightly, and the tender feeling invaded my heart again. I followed Derick, looking around for anyone with a camera. He led me around another corner as the boat began to move. We moved up to a higher level of the deck, where a man was waiting for us. He looked more formally dressed than the other attendants, and the look of the top deck was more suited to first class.

"Your names please?" The man asked. Derick presented the tickets from earlier and handed them to the man. We both gave our names.

"Elleanor."

"Derick Pierce."

"Last names are both Pierce?" The man asked.

"No, my last name is Brooks." I corrected quickly.

"Of course, I apologize. Right this way."

The man escorted us and opened the door. Inside was spacious, and quiet. Ambient music played softly, and the lights were a dim warm yellow. A bar was along the back wall. Looking left, tables lined the left side of the room, while couches and settees took most of the right side. The entire room was occupied, save for myself, Derick, and the bartender. We sat down near an open section, right next to the windows. The horizon was melting from the black to the blue hues of dawn.

"Can paparazzi get into first class?" I asked, tracing the embroidery on the tablecloth.

"I paid the man at the door to not let anyone in that shouldn't be in here." He answered.

"How? When did you even do that?" I inquired, genuinely wondering when he had the time.

"When you were talking in the room of course. Be ready to order."

"I-oh."

"Good morning," a woman wearing the same type of formal wear placed two menus in front of Derick and I, ending my words. "Is there anything I can start you's off with?"

"I'll have a black coffee and an earl grey for her." Derick ordered for the both of us. I raised my eyebrows slightly. It was either he had a perfect guess on my favorite tea, or he had paid attention to how I made my tea for our meetings.

"I'll have those out shortly. Please take your time looking over the menu."

Being able to order food felt foreign. Not like starving for days, struggling to make fire, and simply live. It messed with my mind that everything I had been through wasn't an illusion, but that I had survived, and struggled, and never thought I would have these things I once took for granted.

The thought made my appetite non-existent. When the woman came back, she placed our drinks in front of us. Derick ordered more food than I did, but I was content with my tea.

I sighed with satisfaction as the caffeine finally began to wake me up. I stared out of the window watching the sunrise in real time. Derick's phone buzzed on the table, and it made me jump. He grabbed it and gave a little wave. I watched as he walked around the corner, and out of sight.

I grabbed my own phone and saw I had received a text from Emilia.

"Booked a flight to Florida to come and pick you up!"

I quickly pressed the call button; it rang maybe once before she answered.

"Hi Ella! Ugh, it's so relieving to hear your voice." She sang into the phone, way too early in the morning.

"Hi Emmy. I feel the same about yours. I saw your text. What do you mean you're flying down here? I'm completely fine getting back to New York."

She tsked, "With who? You're not going to be going anywhere alone from now on, and I mean that! So, mom and I have our flights booked. We did the math and everything for your arrival time."

Mom and I.

"She can't come, Em." I stated, taking a sip, looking back for Derick.

The line was silent for a moment. "Ella, she's been so worried about you for the last week and then some. I know what happened years ago wasn't right, but she's trying to be better and be a mother she loves-"

"Did you forget she allowed us to be taken away by CPS. You almost got taken away twice until I took you on when I had just turned eighteen." I stated bluntly. I saw Derick coming back out of the corner of my eye.

"No... no, I've never forgotten, but I have forgiven her. She's better, she's clean now, she even showed me her coin of sobriety. She wants to be in our lives."

I wish I had Emilia's heart of gold. So, forgiving to those who have done her dirty and continued to love regardless. Derick was sitting down, and I wanted to wrap up this conversation.

"I've got to go Em. I'll talk to you later. Just... let me know when your flight lands. I love you."

"Okay, I love you most."

The call ended before I could retort her statement. I put my phone back in my makeshift purse that was just a bag holding all of my belongings.

"Emilia?" Derick asked.

"Yeah, she's flying down with my mother. They're going to pick me up from Florida."

"So that's a no for flying private?"

I gave him a look, and he laughed.

"I understand. I just spoke with Carson. He's getting everything ready for our return. He surely thought we were gone for good,"

Well, I'm sure the entire team thought so. I didn't have any numbers other than Emilia, so I couldn't make any calls, not that I needed to. For some reason, my phone not ringing was relieving.

"We're being put on a temporary rest to recover, and apparently there's no budging the timeline."

"For how long? He knows there's the annual reviews that need to be done right? Before the business trip, I was working on a huge benefits scheme for the fiscal year." I questioned, wishing I had more tea now that business talks were on the table.

"I understand that, but it's within the company's policy. Carson is currently working with your department to find a new replacement for my assistant." His tone changed towards the end. She deserved to be laid to rest properly, not mangled up on some deserted island alone, along with the pilot, who we never even found.

Our server returned, refilling my tea, along with our food. I didn't think yogurt parfait could look so delicate and delicious; Derick ordered croque madam.

"Teresa's come back temporarily to fill your position."

I stopped before I put the spoon in my mouth. "Why? She essentially retired months ago."

"A week of your absence in your department has apparently caused mayhem. It didn't majorly affect the Pierce Innovations negatively, but your disappearance caused some 'office fires' according to her. You're well loved by your section, and Carson believed someone as familiar as Teresa could bring spirits of some sort."

I took a bite finally. I didn't mind my mentor filling in for me. I had known her since my college years, and she's how I came to be in the company in the first place. She allowed me to be an intern within the business before I had even graduated. She flexed my hours, knowing I was committed to a full-time job as well as being a full-time college student. Teresa was someone I could spill my secrets to, and for a long time she was the only one I could do that with. She was the role model I needed in my early adult life.

"I'll need to thank her for coming back. She's being compensated for her time I hope?" I inquired.

"Of course she is. During your R&R, she will also be filling your time."

Internal relief flooded me, crashing with a tsunami of dread. If my disappearance caused an 'office fire', was my team even prepared for the minimal tasks?

Derick and I continued to chat over the remainder of our trip, which made the four-hour journey much shorter. Before I knew it, an island was coming in the distance.

"I'm going to ask your opinion. I have a car to pick us up. Officer Williams sent a report to the Nassau Embassy. Our belongings from our hotel rooms are being stored at the police station awaiting pickup. Now, do you want to wait for the boat to escort everyone off, with chances of us avoiding any paparazzi, or we try to get off the boat as soon as possible, blending in with the crowd?"

"I say we should blend in with the crowd. Maybe we should change what we were wearing, so they don't remember?" I suggested. Both options didn't give full protection from leering, probing cameras and intrusive paparazzi. However, a crowd would blend us in better, and make it harder for anyone to bombard us.

"You sound like you've done this before."

"No, not before you. Okay, let's get our disguises going." I smiled, grabbing my bag.

I went to the bathroom to change out of my outfit and put on a very flowy sundress. There were not many options in the shops we had stopped in, so this would do for now. I pulled sunglasses out of my bag and put my hair into a messy bun. I checked myself out in the mirror, doing a small twirl. I was hoping that this would have been more different than the comfier, more laid shorts and a t-shirt I was wearing before. While arranging my bag, I pulled out the drawing, and smiled looking at it. I stepped out of the bathroom, and Derick was sitting at the bar.

He was wearing a black polo, and a backwards cap. His arms were crossed over his chest, outlining his muscles.

"Well look at you," He complimented, "Looking like a tourist, but more pretty."

I smiled shyly at his compliment, "Thank you. I would say that you look like a handsome tourist."

"Well, thank you very much Ella. Let's get going."

I put my arm into Derick's, and we began our journey to the main floor. It felt nice having my arm in Derick's, although it felt like something a couple would do. I also thought that in the event something happened, Derick would have an easier hold on me, and that's why he would do it. The crowd of people were already waiting to disembark. I slid my glasses over my eyes, looking for the cameras.

We mingled ourselves within the crowd, trying to blend in. We began the descent down the ropes, when a shroud of shouts came from behind.

"Derick Pierce! Is it true your plane wasn't in regulations to fly?"

"Derick! Where have you been the last week?"

"Where are the others who were scheduled on your flight?"

Derick muttered under his breath as he began maneuvering through the people, getting off, and pulling me along. I didn't have time to apologize as we bumped into people. I had to nearly jump as we made it down the ramp. Derick scanned the area, and then pulled me along some more. I looked back as we were running through the crowded port, and I couldn't see any of the paparazzi.

"Boss!"

I was worried that they had caught up, but instead it was a man who looked familiar in a full suit waiting in front of a black Escalade. He quickly opened the back door, and Derick and I got into the car. I slid across the leather seat as the man got in the front seat.

"Where to Boss?"

"Just drive for now. Apparently, the paparazzi has caught on to my reappearance. We need to lose them before anything else."

Before I knew it, we were off. I buckled myself in, my heart still pounding. I felt that since we had been rescued, my life was on the go. Yesterday, we had been out at sea, drifting and contemplating the thought of death and never coming home, and now, it was like it never happened. Like I hadn't survived a plane crash, like I hadn't seen a plane blow up, and like I hadn't learned to survive with essentially nothing.

"This is craziness, Derick." I whispered.

"The paparazzi? Wesley will keep them away. You should remember him. He's the one who picked you up for the trip."

I glanced at the man driving, and it finally clicked why he looked familiar.

"No. This whole thing. Life doesn't feel real. What if we're still on that island and this is some bad dream?" I asked.

"If this is a dream and we wake up from it, then we will just keep figuring things out the way we have before. Like I've said before, I wouldn't have wanted to be stranded with anyone but you."

Derick was a smooth talker. In the few relationships I had over the years, they were smooth too; like the kind that wanted to get into your pants. When Derick said anything to me, his words were genuine. Every compliment he gave me built in my heart what only could be the start of something bad.

I was falling for Derick Pierce.

"You're right, we would have." I gave a smile, still confused with my heart.

It took some time for Derick and I to gather all of our things. We had to go through questioning, and screenings to verify who we were, but this hassle was almost over. We made our way out of the police station, with all of our previous belongings. All of my old belongings, my passport, all of my outfits and accessories. I sent a text to Emilia letting her know we would be heading to Florida in a bit. Derick was strolling my large suitcase to the door, and before we could get out of the building, two men stepped in front of us.

"Derick Pierce and Elleanor Brooks?" One of the two said, and I saw the flash of a badge on one of their belt loops.

"Yes?" Derick and I both answered in unison.

"We are Agent Wren and Agent Nellis. We will be handling your crash from beginning until all of the assessments and necessary information is gathered; your participation is imperative to piecing the crash together. Would you follow us please?"

I looked at Derick, slight panic seeping through my body.

"Of course. We will help you with anything you need." Derick answered. The two of us followed the officers into a private room, and Agent Nellis closed the door behind us.

We all sat at a table, while Agent Wren set a folder in front of himself, grabbing a notepad and pen.

"Please start from the very beginning of Flight 1919, and the events that followed."