I went through security, sat at the gate, and then made the smart decision to visit the nursing mother's lounge and pump one more time before our big flight. It was going to be eleven hours from Naples to Atlanta, and then two more hours home to Oak Falls.

When they said it was time to board, I immediately went in the long line with everyone else. I was fully prepared to get whatever middle seat Aunt Linda got me. She said there was only one seat left on the entire flight when she booked it.

I looked out the window at our super huge plane. Definitely different from the private plane I took here when I was being fake-kidnapped. I stepped forward and the lady at the gate scanned my boarding pass on my phone, then went and waited in the long tunnel before finally getting to the plane.

"Hello, how are you today?" asked one of the flight attendants when I stepped on the plane.

"I'm just terrific! I'm on my way home to see my family for Thanksgiving! I've been stuck here for a month," I said to him.

"Oh, that's great! Can I see your boarding pass, please? We just need to make sure you're in the right section."

"Oh. Okay. Here you go," I said, showing my phone to him.

"Girlfriend, you're in the wrong section. First class passengers needed to board at the other entrance," he said.

"F-first class? Wow, I had no idea! Sorry about that. When my Aunt Linda told me she got the last seat on the whole plane, I didn't think it was there!"

"It's okay. Here, you can just follow me."

He brought me through one section with really nice seats. I kept following him, waiting for him to stop, but we kept going. We went all the way up to the front of the plane, where there were these really fancy seats.

Each one was like its own private booth, with a wall separating you from the person sitting next to you. There was a side desk at each seat that had a tablet built into it. I prayed that this seat didn't max out another one of Aunt Linda's credit cards, but it meant a lot that she was willing to do this much for me, just to get me home. I was going to give her the biggest hug ever.

"Here we are," said the flight attendant, gesturing to my seat. "Would you like a hand with your bag?"

"Oh, yes please! I'm actually postpartum, so I really appreciate it," I said.

"You're welcome," he said before leaving.

I plopped down into my seat and took a big sigh of relief. I hadn't been away long, but I already missed my boys. I plugged my phone into the charger and just scrolled through all the pictures I had of them, then sent a text to Leo. Ella said she'd let him know what was going on, but I wanted to be courteous.

"Did I hear you say you're postpartum? You're a teen mom too, aren't you?"

I looked up to my left and saw a girl peeking above the divider. My phone slid out of my hand. I couldn't speak. It was official: this was the craziest moment of my entire life. Even more than all the mafia stuff and getting pregnant with quadruplets.

"Ohmygosh...you...you're Harper! You're Harper from MTV!" I said, practically screaming. "Is this real? Is this really happening right now? Like...what?"

"Hey, chill out. I'm just a regular person like everyone else...most of the time," Harper said.

I peeked out above my seat and noticed that the noisy first class section was now totally quiet. I couldn't believe I was looking at all the faces I'd seen on TV for years...all around me.

"I can't believe it! It's Lukas and Ella and Zozo and Wren and Raven and Robin and Phoenix and Griffin and Hawk...and there's baby Brooke on your lap!" I said, pointing to the cute toddler with Harper. "Ahh! And there's Lee right across the aisle, and your parents, John and Sophia...and your best friend Etsy is in the back! And she's literally doing crafts right now!"

"Champagne bottle earrings, for New Years!" said Etsy as she waved.

"Hey, you don't have to market yourself everywhere we go!" Harper shouted back at her.

"I do if I wanna get my bills paid!" said Etsy.

"Sorry you got stuck with all this commotion. It definitely won't be a peaceful flight home," Harper said. "I'm warning you now."

"It's totally okay! I love kids and don't mind noise at all! I just can't believe you're all here," I said, looking around. "Wow, are you here without your camera crew?"

"That's right. We're just here on a family vacation without the cameras and the rest of the TV crew. We're taking a vacation ourselves before taking the one for the show. As soon as we get off in Atlanta, the crew with our private jet for the show is picking us up to take us to Hawaii. Caitlyn and Tyler will be there with us."

"Ahh...no way! That is so cool. I can't wait to watch the episode when it comes out!" I said.

Harper chuckled. "You're a superfan, huh?"

"Of course! Most teen girls from Oak Falls are! You're such an inspiration! I literally rewatched all of the episodes when you were bringing the sextuplets home to help me prepare for my boys. It's a long story but I just had quads a few weeks ago."

"Whoa, that's awesome! And they're all boys? Good for you! But no offense...I definitely wasn't flying anywhere when my babies were still in the NICU. What are you doing in Italy?"

"Oh," I said, looking away. "It's a long story. I wasn't supposed to be here. My boyfriend had some...uh...family stuff that was going on so we had to come here in a rush. My boys were born in Naples. They're still in the NICU. He's staying behind. I just really needed a mental break. I feel super guilty but...a lot of stuff happened. I've been away from home for a month. I just really want a break and to see my family. I know it sounds selfish but—"

"It's not," Harper said, cutting me off. "You need to get that thought out of your head. When you're a mom, and you've reached your absolute limit, then you need to stop and take care of yourself. Their dad is here, and they're being taken care of in the NICU. It sounds like it's been a crazy month. All moms deserve a break."

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "I really needed to hear that."

I got buckled in and chatted with Harper until we were all the way down the runway, ready to take off. My phone suddenly dinged with a text from Leo. I took another deep breath of relief. Finally, he can text me.

I quickly opened it so I could read it before we took off and I'd lose my data in the air.

Sunny, I hope you're okay. I'm sorry to do all of this to you. I feel guilty for dragging you into all this. I'll take good care of the boys while you're gone. Come back soon.

I quickly texted him a cute message back. Then a follow up one after that as the plane sped down the runway.

Love you too! I'll be okay! Tell the boys that Mommy will be back soon!

And don't worry about it! You're just doing what you thought was the right thing. Don't feel guilty at all. It's totally okay.

It was hard to hit send as we took off into the skies above Naples. I hoped Leo couldn't tell, but that last text was a total lie. It definitely wasn't okay.