Red Eye Revelations

Summary: LisaReisert is afraid of more than flying. An unexpected encounter at an airport, and the spirit of her grandmother, leads her life in a new direction.Jackson Rippner isn't afraid of anything – or so he thinks. This is my take on the movie, adding some to it. Their relation is just too intense not to develop a little. Rated M for upcoming mature content.

Disclaimer: I certainly don't own Red Eye; it belongs to Wes Craven and DreamWorks. I do not own the characters of Jackson Rippner, Lisa Reisert or anyone else from the movie either. I wish I had some meaningful part of Cillian Murphy's life, but I don't, and he's owned by no one any way.

Author's note: I have read and been inspired by several good stories in the Red Eye fandom. Any similarities with other stories are completely unintentionally.

Feedback: …is highly appreciated.

I've re-written this chapter, and every chapter will be edited after my beta has been working through them, so I'm posting them all over again. Most of you have already read it…perhaps. If you have and re-read, tell me what you think.. If you haven't and read it for the first time… well, tell me what you think :)

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Chapter 1 Fear of Flying

Standing in the line for the check-in, Lisa sighed slightly and focused harder on reading her book. Anything would do to take her thoughts off the forthcoming flight – even Dr Phil. She hated flying, and now the plane was late on top of that.

Super!

The line moved a step forward and she accidentally pushed her bag into the shins of the elderly lady in front of her. While exchanging some polite excuses, an argument caught her ears. An angry looking man next to her in the line was upset having to wait even longer. The poor woman in the staff was trying to direct some other passengers to their flights, and this man had obviously had it.

"So it doesn't matter that you've re-routed me twice and… This is ridiculous! Go get your boss!" He waved with his ticket in a very unpleasant way right in her face.

"Sir, please don't make her do that! She's doing the best she can." Lisa suddenly found herself intervening. Hotel reflexes.

"I don't think I was talking to you," the man replied with an air of superiority and little-girl-I-think-I-know-best attitude.

She hated that. Opening her mouth to respond, she was interrupted by a pleasant voice from behind her. Lisa glanced behind her a found a cute executive-like man in about her age stepping to her rescue. She couldn't help study him as he spoke to the other man. There was just something with those intense blue eyes and that kind face, at the same time classically handsome and simply cute, framed with unruly dark hair.

"Listen, she's the only one standing between us getting out of here at all and total anarchy."

"Yeah, but-" Angry Man began, but suddenly froze as the other man gripped none-too-gently at his forearm. Lisa jumped a little. That's unusual…Very straight forward…

"She's tired. She's been working for eighteen hours and she suspects we all hate her just as much as you do. What do you say we give her a break? Let her go back to a job which I'm guessing is a lot more thankless than yours."

Angry Man had obviously had some retort to make, but snapped his mouth shut at that last comment.

Right on spot! He should be in my staff, Lisa thought with admiration as she followed their exchange with interest.

"This airline sucks," Angry Man sneered, and with that he left the line.

Lisa drew a breath with relief. Troublemakers! She had enough of them as it was some days, and today she was simply too tired. As she looked back at the handsome stranger with the persuasive voice, he twisted his face into a 'where do they all come from?' grimace at her that made her smile back. It was like they shared a little secret now.

She was interrupted by the line moving forward. The elderly lady in front of her forgot her umbrella, and Lisa rushed to give it back to her.

"Thank you," the woman said warmly, first at her, and then lifting her eyes to the dark stranger, thanking him as well. As Lisa returned to the line, she took a chance she normally wouldn't have taken; she thanked him too and smiled, knowing very well she gave him an invitation by doing so.

"Ah, not at all. That was just back-up. You got the ball rolling." He had a smooth, slightly raspy quality to his voice that she found extremely attractive.

"Yeah," she laughed, raising her eyebrows. "Reflex, I guess."

"Why is that?"

"I work in a hotel. I deal with people like that all the time."

"Oh. The Marriott? The Hilton?"

"The Lux Atlantic. It's in – "

"Miami. I know it well." Do you? Her heart jumped. I've never seen you there… He seemed interested and their conversation ran smoother than it normally did with a stranger. It was only within the confines of her work that she was able to approach unknown men these days. But there was just something about him. Something likeable.

He was waiting for the same flight as her, and suddenly he was flirting with her. She knew exactly when it happened.

And she couldn't take it.

It was one thing to stand here, with all these people around for safety, and chat. It would be an entirely different thing to accept his offer about the Tex Mex. To actually sit down with a man – alone.

It would be deliberate…

"Eh…" She smiled apologetically. "I have some phone calls to make." As elegantly as she could, she nestled herself out of the mess she had created for herself.

Not ready for this.

-

-

Of course they were on the same flight. And Jackson unintentionally found himself flirting with his mark. It wasn't like he hadn't known she was pretty – but up close, in the beam of her charm and wit, he realized he was mesmerized.

"But you know what? That's why God created the Tex Mex. Best nachos in the airport, and right across from our gate." Not that he wouldn't catch up with her soon enough anyway, but he found himself desiring just a few moments more of normality with her before it was too late. He realized his mistake as she suddenly distanced herself, barely noticeably.

"OK. Thanks for the tip." She smiled broadly and turned away.

"Save you a seat?" He swallowed, his cheeks suddenly hot and his mouth turning a little dry. Get a grip.

She turned back to look at him, still smiling. "Oh… ah…" It was obvious she thought it was over the line.

He immediately pulled back. "Yeah, that was… I just thought since we were on the same flight… I didn't mean to invade your personal space or…"

"No, no…" She shook her head, still being polite about it.

"Ma'am? I can take you here." They were saved by the bell. A woman by the check-in called for Lisa's attention.

Twisting back to him, she made a couple of apologies and moved away.

"Sure, I understand. Have a good flight." As good as it gets…

"You, too."

She walked away, and left him with an inchoate feeling of loss. His eyes lingered on her back a few seconds longer.

-

-

Lisa walked along the corridor to her gate when, by chance, she spotted the good looking man from the check-in line sitting where he'd said he would be, by the Tex Mex bar.

Alone.

With an empty chair next to him.

In a moment of weakness, she was tempted to walk up to him, but then she decided to play it safe. She wasn't in the mood today for disconcerting meetings with handsome strangers. Well… actually, she never was.

Turning to leave, she bumped straight into a woman who spilled her iced coffee all over Lisa's suit and blouse. Tons of ice ended up inside her blouse, making her want to shriek. Isn't this just typical! The woman, naturally, was full of excuses but when Lisa said it was OK, she just turned away and left, shouting something to her husband.

How rude! She sighed, hoping the stains on her suit jacket would disappear in a dry cleaning. She could've at least offered to pay for the cleaning. I'd have turned her down, but at least an OFFER…

Changing in an airport toilet to a new blouse from her luggage, she stared at herself for a moment in the mirror; a pale upper body, a practical bra that filled its purposes, no laces or little bows, and the ugly mark on the right above her breast. A thin, three inches long line. Pale now, but it had faded from angry red to pink and finally it had the same tone as her skin.

But it was still as obvious.

Like always, she couldn't help gazing at the scar – hating it and the memories it still awoke. It left her with a feeling of being crippled; it always reminded her of the day when her life had changed. Shrugging it off, she left quickly, hoping her plane would be cleared for take-off soon enough that she could get back home. Lisa always felt more vulnerable when she was travelling.

As she walked across the corridor towards her gate, she spotted him again; still at the Tex Mex, still alone. In an unexpected impulse to do something new, to erase the depressing feelings from the restroom; she decided that a little flirting wasn't that bad. The recent death of her grandmother probably added to the decision at that point. 'Always look forward' was what she used to say; Lisa hadn't looked forward to anything for a very long time. Maybe it was about time she changed that?

He looked surprised to see her and smiled. "Oh, hi."

"Hi. Ah… Is this taken?" she asked, pointing at the empty chair next to him by the bar.

"No. It's all yours."

"Thanks." She sat down, taking her time arranging her bag, not really knowing what she had started.

He kept his eyes intently upon her. "So… Did you get your – calls – made?" He hesitated slightly at 'calls', almost as if knowing it had been nothing but a poor excuse.

"Yep. No more calls." She found it hard to look at him, had her lie been that obvious? Well, this would be just a temporary acquaintance anyway, right?

"Good. What will you have?"

"No." She shook her head, she didn't want this to become more than it already was. She wouldn't let him buy her anything and leave her in debt. "It's… I'm OK."

He surprised her. "If I can guess."

She hesitated, but his smiling charm convinced her to play along with the game. "OK."

"Ahmm… I'm feeling Vodka." He looked at her for confirmation. She didn't want to give herself away that easily, so she just cocked her head and waited for him to continue.

"Definitely sweetened. Ahm… Cosmo?" He gazed at her to see if she agreed and the slight face she made told him it was wrong. "No. Way too common."

She giggled, this was actually fun.

"Screwdriver."

Yack.

He read her immediately. "No. No. No… Way too boring." She burst out in a short laugh. He was so cute the way he did this, and he seemed both like a man who knew his way around women, but at the same time had this boyish look and appeared just a little bit shy. It was an adorable combination, and she found herself relaxing more and more in his company.

He glanced at the bar as if to find some inspiration and then back at her. "So. That leaves me with the simplicity of the grapefruit or the complexity of the pineapple…" Her heart began speeding up. This was just not possible. He was so close!

"Grapefruit Sea Breeze."

No way! She couldn't go with that. It immediately became too intimate. She didn't want to be that easily read by this complete – yet charming – stranger.

He narrowed his eyes as he tried to get her confirmation that he'd been right. She gave him a meaningful long look and turned towards the bartender. "Eh…, could I have a Bay Breeze?"

He looked devastated for a second and she smiled. "Very impressive talent, though," she added. "Very close."

Leaning back, he waved with one hand. "You know… breaks the ice."

The cute gesture made her laugh. "Yeah."

"So are you headed home?"

"Yeah. Trying."

"Flying is so much fun these days, huh?" There was that hint again that he was used to be doing this. A man in control of his life. Lisa felt a slight thrill at the thought.

-

-

"Fun for me is just getting off that plane in one piece."

We'll see about that…

"Oh, fear of flying?"

Jackson already knew that. He knew everything worth knowing about her. He KNEW she always ordered those fucking Sea Breezes. He didn't like that she tried to lie to him. Not at all, actually. Why did it matter? Why would she lie to a perfect stranger on the airport about a thing like that? That element of duplicity about her bugged him. He kept up the conversation smoothly, though. It was easy enough; she had begun to open up a little and it was more pleasant than he had imagined.

"Just a little bit." She marked with her index finger and thumb half an inch apart how little afraid she was.

I know you are a little more afraid than that, Leese…

"Were you in Texas on hotel business?"

"No." She looked sad all of a sudden. "My grandmother died."

"Oh!" He took on a sympathetic face.

"It's OK. She was ninety-one."

He gaped in true surprise. "Ninety-one? That's respectable." He meant it, most people he knew had died relatively young. For one reason or another. "What was her secret?"

Lisa smiled. "Grape-nuts…. And a guy named Duke."

Jackson frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah… She said the Grape-nuts kept her arteries clean… Duke… helped with the rest." She waved her hand dismissively and laughed, clearly embarrassed.

-

-

Lisa had almost whispered the last words, suddenly too embarrassed to keep the subject up. Her grandmother had had a life, unlike herself. Lisa didn't even want to THINK of those aspects of life, let alone live them.

The charming stranger in front of her laughed disarmingly. It was a nice warm sound. "Wow. A dynamic woman."

"Nothing fazed her. You know, she was so optimistic. 'Always look forward,' that's what she'd say."

With her grandmother's spirit watching her, Lisa suddenly felt the need to let certain things go. She didn't HAVE to dwell on the past. She could look forward. This was the first man she had spoken to – like this – in two years. Ever since… And it was a heart-warming experience. He appeared so sweet, calm, harmless but still exciting.

She could like him.

She already did.