.Well met at airport

"Is this real?" she said softly.

"Yeah. Look, they're going to be boarding in about twenty-"

"It's not possible!" she squeaked. "I mean, the problems of mass alone are-"

"It's real," I said, just a little louder than her voice. "Math later, decision now."

"But how does it-"

"Don't know. I've shrunk people before, though. They come back okay. Now, do you want to nap in my jacket or sleep at the airport?"

Whatever was in Denver waiting for her, she was desperate enough to try anything. There was a slow nod and she closed her eyes.

"You look like the hero facing a firing squad," I said. Then I shrank her. She felt almost every part of her own body before opening her eyes.

When nothing was missing, she looked up at me. I waved. She waved back, a bit more slowly. Then I shrank her bag. She picked it up with a look of growing wonder.

I knelt and offered my hand. She climbed on and held tight to my thumb.

"Now, keep quiet," I said, and readied my vest's inner pocket. I'd chosen this one specifically for the extra big pocket. It would hold a trade paperback when I needed it to. For now, I put my bookmark across the bottom, to keep it from collapsing around her. Then I lowered her down gently.

I also pulled my travel pillow from my bag and stuffed it inside. It puffed out my vest, but it kept her outline from showing.

"Ready?" I asked.

"I, uh, I guess so," Brandy shouted.

"Shhh!" Just as I turned to face the door, it opened. A janitor stared at me in suspicion.

"What you doin'?"

"I thought I saw a terrorist duck in here," I said. "Guess not." I walked away quickly.

----

I kept the throat of the jacket opened to give Brandy air and light. She kept wriggling around, pulling stuff out of her bag and putting it back. I kept looking down at me front or across at a fellow traveler.

I didn't see any movement and he never reacted, so I guess I did it right.

The gate personnel were so overwrought by boarding time that I could have smuggled a freaking baboon onto the plane.

The flight crew pretty much frog marched us into our seats and made a rapid prep to fly. I lucked into the front seat of the cabin this flight.

I chanced one glance down into the pocket. Brandy blinked up at the light and waved. She had headphones on and seemed comfortable.

Once we were airborne, I stretched out and slipped into the various rip-offs of Jules Verne's plots over the ages.

Somewhere over the Mississippi, she had to get my attention. I don't know how long she was hitting my chest but I finally realized it. My seat partners were asleep, except for the guy in the other row trying to hook up with the attendant. I glanced down.

She waved and mouthed 'I have to pee.' Actually, in that light I couldn't really read her lips, but there wasn't much else I could imagine she wanted to say right then. And I had to go anyway.

I slipped into the bathroom and fished her out. She wriggled in my hands and pointed to the toilet.

"You'll fall in," I whispered, and put her down in the sink. She looked from the drain to me and back down again, twisting back and forth in desperation.

"Pretend you're camping," I said. She shrugged and started to loosen her belt. Then she looked back up at me. "You want privacy, or do you want me to hold you in case of turbulence?"

For an answer she slapped at my hand, pushing me up and out. I tore off a panel of toilet paper and hung it over the faucet. Then I turned away from her and closed my eyes.

We did our business in parallel. I used the sound of the plate at the bottom to keep my aim on target. She hung down from the drain handle of the sink, the sound of the suction drowned out anything she might have made.

Just as I was finishing, the sink got quiet. Then there was a wolf-whistle. I shoved it in rapidly and looked down. She was sitting on top of the faucet, giving me a golf-clap.

"You were supposed to stay down in the sink," I hissed. She just smiled.

"You are muuuuuuy macho, senior," she called up to me. She stretched her arms out wide like the ultimate fishing story.

"Thanks, but you have to realize that your benchmarks are all skewed right now."

"You're still the biggest I've ever seen..." I ignored her and washed my hands. She leaned on the handle and drained the water for me.

I waited for a second, giving her a chance to breathe fresh air instead of my armpit. Then someone pounded on the door.

I scooped her up and put her away. "Next!" I said, stepping out and heading for my seat.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. They turned the lights down and most everyone dozed. I tried to figure out how to pour her a capful of water and sneak it in.

"Screw it," I muttered, and just shrank the bottle. The guy next to me wasn't quite as asleep as I'd thought. He gave a start and stared at my arm-rest table where the bottle had been.

I chewed the ice in my otherwise empty glass and covered the bottle with my palm. That must have warmed it but she seemed happy enough when I slipped it in.

Finally we landed and trooped out the door. I dawdled a bit, then walked slowly up the concourse. Long past most flights, the gates were empty and the concession stands closed.

I ducked down behind a huge trash can and started tying my shoe. Brandy gave a big happy gasp as I lowered her to the floor.

"Kneel down," I whispered. She looked at me, my shoelaces, and nodded.

When I reversed the shrinking, she was still out of sight to the few people in the terminal. She grabbed her bag and stood, I followed her up.

"Oh, god, we're really here," she said breathlessly. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Darren!" We started walking towards the exit. She started to talk about what the trip was like.

I silenced her and looked around at the other passengers. She stopped talking about my secret.

"Do you have baggage?" she asked.

"A footlocker full of my books, mostly the newest one, a stormtrooper costume and some decorations for my table."

"Wow. That's going to be hard to fit into the taxi," she said. Then she raised an eyebrow at me. "Unless...?"

I tapped at my bag. "It's all in my shaving kit."

"Handy," she mused.

"Is anyone meeting you?" I asked.

"Yeah, they'll be... Oh! They won't know I arrived! They'll have been waiting for hours..."

"Or worse," I noted. "As far as the airline is concerned, you're still in Atlanta."

"Crap," she spat. "They may have gone home! I hope I have Tim's number..."

"Tell you what," I suggested. "I'm going to go rent my car, then I'll hang out in that general area for a while. If you need further assistance, come find me, 'kay?"

"I... Well," she said slowly, "I'll admit, I want to see this gun some more. But I don't want to impose on you any further."

That was when we finally passed the last security barrier. A group of people, clearly her family, swarmed up and surrounded her. A couple looked at me suspiciously.

I waved and kept on walking. Brandy was talking a mile-a-minute about her difficulties and didn't see me slip away.