Chapter 112

"Jase, are you okay?"

They were on the last trip of the experiment and the crew was already on their way home. The past six months have been successful and all three teams were given a much needed paid vacation after a job well done. The break will provide management ample time to evaluate and implement how international flights would be ran afterwards.

They have about an hour before they land and everything was running smoothly. But Richard suddenly felt a pang on his chest and he struggled to breathe. He rubbed his chest near his heart and knew immediately that something was wrong with Maine.

"Je," he said as he configured the controls before standing up. "You have control. Sam can you assist Jerald until I get back?"

"Jase," said Jerald with a slight panic in his voice. "We're about to land. Where are you going?"

"Yeah, Jase," added Sam as he sat on the seat Richard vacated. "It's not like you to leave when we're about to land."

"Something doesn't feel right," he answered. "Something's wrong with Maine."

He left the cockpit before either Sam or Jerald could reply.

"One of these days," Jerald muttered. "I will figure out how our Captain became a Jedi where Maine is concerned."

Sam just chuckled but looked back worriedly at the closed door of the cockpit where his captain just left in a hurry.

-oo-

The passengers and FAs were shocked to find their Captain strode down the aisle hurrying towards the Economy section. The FAs were quick to respond in ensuring the passengers that nothing was wrong, but were hiding their own worry. Martin already went at the back earlier because he was called by Abbie. And seeing their Captain outside the cockpit under an hour before they land meant only that something had happened to Maine.

Richard found Martin, Abbie and Raqz huddled by one of the washrooms. Martin was knocking on the door. Tom was by the curtain and was shocked when Richard squeezed passed him.

"Captain?"

"Jase?" Martin said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Maine?"

"I - "

He stopped himself, debating on whether to tell his Captain or not. But he saw the worried look on Richard's face and knew he had an inkling on what's going on. He decided to tell the truth.

"Raqz said that Maine was feeling a bit feverish," he explained. "She's been in the bathroom for 10-minutes."

"Get the key to the washroom, Martin," Richard ordered, which Martin jumped to obey. He took Martin's place by the door and started knocking. The rest of the crew dispersed to make sure that the passengers wouldn't jump to conclusions and cause a panic.

"Maine," he said. "It's me. Open up."

His heart pounded on his chest when she didn't reply. He knocked again, a little forceful this time.

"Come on, Maine," he said. "Let me in!"

He heard a mumble on the other side but the door remained closed. He was about to knock again when Martin came back with the universal keys to the washrooms in hand. Richard let him through and with steady hands unlocked the door.

The sight that met them put Martin back into professional mode, as he immediately barked orders to the FAs nearby, while Richard's worry increased. Maine was sitting on the floor, her head leaned back on the wall, her hands clutching her chest near her heart. She was so pale and some of her hair fell on her face as they escaped from the bun that tied them together. Her eyes were closed and her eyebrows furrowed as if trying to ease the pain she was feeling.

Without preamble, Richard knelt down beside her and cleaned her up. He then carried her out towards the small area where the FAs stayed when they were taking their breaks. He sat on one of the chairs with Maine on his lap. He heard Martin gave instructions to the rest of the crew to stay clear from the back.

"RJ?"

"I'm right here, Maine," he whispered while he felt her forehead and neck. He heaved a deep sigh and checked her pulse. "You're burning up. When did this start? You were fine when we left Atlanta."

"I don't know," she replied weakly. "I just suddenly feel bad and queasy. And I just feel so weak all of a sudden."

Richard closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. He was doing a mental checklist in his head. He didn't like what he just realized. Maine was experiencing the classic case of organ rejection.

It was at that moment when Martin checked up on them.

"Jase?"

"Martin," he said without looking up to his Head FA. "Connect me to the cockpit."

Without a word, Martin reached for the intercomm and got Jerald on the other end. He handed the handset to Richard.

"Je."

"Where are you?" Jerald said on the other end. "We're about to land. I need you in the cockpit, Captain."

"Je," Richard said. "I need you to get in touch with the tower immediately. We have a medical emergency. Tell them to have an ambulance ready once we've landed. And I need you to land this plane."

"Wait. What?!?" Martin exclaimed but Richard ignored him.

But Jerald echoed Martin's exclamation and added, "Jase, there is a reason why you're the Captain and I'm a First Officer even though I'm a batch ahead of you. You know I have problems landing a plane."

"You've landed planes before, Je."

"I haven't done it in years!" Jerald argued. "And what's the medical emergency? If that's just code for doing kinky stuff with Maine, this isn't a good time."

"Damn it, Je! This isn't a joke!" Richard shouted that Martin jumped in surprise. He knew at once that his Captain was beside himself with fear.

"Listen to me," Richard continued. "Maine needs to be brought to the hospital as soon as we land. And I can't leave her. Not right now. She needs me here."

"Jase," Jerald remarked. "I also need you here. The whole plane needs you here."

"I can't leave her, Je."

"Jase," said Sam over the comm. "The ambulance is on their way and would be ready when we land. But Captain, please. We need you here. Je looks like he's about to have a seizure."

While they continued with the discussion, Martin noticed that Maine was losing consciousness.

"Maine," Martin knelt down beside them and softly slapping Maine's cheek. "Stay awake. You can't fall asleep. You'll go under."

"I can't keep my eyes open, Martin," Maine replied weakly.

"Then," Martin replied. "Keep talking. Anything that's on your mind. How's the wedding plans?"

While Martin was trying to keep Maine conscious, he noticed that Richard was at a loss. He knew that in Maine's current condition, his Captain couldn't think straight. He heard Richard cursed once more and held her tighter. They locked gazes and he saw desperation in the younger man's eyes.

"Bring her with you to the cockpit," Martin suggested.

"But the passengers - "

"The passengers are already wondering why the captain of this plane is still at the back with 30-minutes before landing," Martin retorted. "Maine, I'm not hearing wedding details. Don't sleep on me, dear. I will slap you."

"Martin!"

"Focus, Faulkerson!" Martin cried. "Maine needs you. This plane needs you. You need to pull yourself together and land this fucking plane! Do you hear me, Richard Jason? Your fiancée's life is in your hands! Now get it together and get back in that cockpit!"

Richard was suddenly alert, like he just woke up from his stupor. He tightly held Maine to him and kissed her forehead when he finally made a decision.

"Maine," he said. His voice was strong but shaking. "I need you to stay conscious. Can you sing for me? Sing 'Central Park'? I think Martin would love to hear it."

"Yes, Maine," Martin added. "I always hear Jason sing it but I rarely hear you sing. The only time I heard you sing was back in Milan."

Maine took a deep breath and grimaced. She held on to Richard's uniform tightly as she took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Eyes on me, my Heart," Richard whispered as he caressed her cheek, as he tried to figure out how to ease her pain. "Only me. We'll get through this. We always do. So please, sing for me? Try to stay conscious. I would need to head back to the cockpit to land the plane."

Maine just nodded weakly as she did her best to stay awake. In a hoarse whisper, she started singing 'Central Park'. Richard carefully stood up, with her still in his arms, and started to head back to the front of the plane. Martin went ahead of them alerting the FAs with a gesture to distract the passengers as best they can. Richard for his part held Maine close to him, his face devoid of any emotion as he strode back towards the cockpit.

Maine kept singing in a whisper, but she felt herself getting weaker. She fought the darkness as best she could but it was holding her tightly like a vise. She knew it was only a matter of time before she went under. But she was determined to fight back, if not for herself, then for her RJ. She will not leave him.