Home » The Archives » Chapter 14 » New Beginnings
| Re: New Beginnings [message #2321 is a reply to message #2320] |
Mon, 30 July 2012 18:22   |
Lillehafrue
Messages: 478
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northeastern USA
Karma:
|
TB Pilot
Evil Genius |
|
|
Nearing Tracy Island, around 1:00 pm...
Scott opened his eyes and yawning, stretched his arms over his head. He gave himself a light shake, then stood up and glanced around.
The interior of the plane was dark. The shades were drawn and the lights dimmed. Towards the back of the plane he saw Luke, apparently sleeping, with an oxygen mask over his face. Rommel lay on the floor by his side. Scott walked over to them. Rom looked up, tail wagging. Scott crouched down and patted him, sending an inquiring glance at his uncle. "How's he doing?" he asked quietly.
Drew nodded towards the young man. "Better than earlier. The oxygen helped, but I'll be happier when we land. How much longer?"
"I'll go find out right now." He made his way towards the cockpit, knocked once on the door, then stepped inside. He slipped into the co-pilot's seat and pulled on headphones. "Hey, how's it going up here?"
Elise smiled. "Great. How was your nap?"
"I feel much more human again."
"Really? Didn't think that could happen with just a nap," Elise quipped.
"Ha-ha. I will admit, a quick hop like this isn't that tiring. We weren't gone long enough for my internal clock to change. A nap was all I needed. That and some lunch. How far out are we?" Scott asked.
Elise made a minor adjustment. "Not long. About twenty minutes."
"Good. Drew's getting anxious about Luke. He's fine," Scott added at Elise's sharp glance. "Everyone will just feel a lot better when we get home. Want me to take over so you can go sit back there?"
She shook her head. "No thanks. It's only a few more minutes. You flew the whole way to the States. It's only fair." She glanced over at him, green eyes twinkling. "Besides, you keep flying and you'll be grounded for too many air hours. Then I'd be stuck flying your baby."
"God forbid!" he chuckled. He stood up and headed back towards the cabin, pausing at the door. "In that case, I'll leave you to it and go finish my nap."
A short time later, the plane touched down easily on the landing strip. Elise taxied over to the hanger and the plane came to a stop. She quickly went through the post-flight checks, then made her way to the cabin.
Scott had already opened the door and dropped the steps. She could hear him talking to Virgil and she smiled.
"Thank God we're finally here."
Elise turned to see Luke sitting up, holding his head in his hands. Drew was standing by his side, one hand resting on his shoulder. "Luke?" she called out, walking over to him.
He looked up and smiled thinly. "I'm fine. Just anxious to step on solid ground again." He stood up slowly and took a deep breath.
"Easy, Luke. Take it slow," Drew told him.
"I take it any slower, I'll be dead," Luke muttered to himself. He turned and nodded towards Drew. "I'm OK, Dr. Carmichael. Really. Though I have to admit, I won't be traveling by air anytime in the near future."
Drew nodded in agreement. "No, you won't. I'd like to see you in the infirmary before you head to your apartment."
Luke sighed resignedly. "Yes, sir." He snapped his fingers and Rommel rose to stand next to him. He was reaching for his carry on bag, when Elise snatched it first. "I'm not crippled," he growled.
"No you're not," she replied. "But learn to accept help when it's offered." She turned and marched off the plane.
Maggie edged by him and patted him on the arm. "Listen to her, dear. She's a smart woman."
He waited until she had disembarked then turned to Drew. "I'm starting to think coming back wasn't such a good idea after all."
Drew laughed. "You might as well get used to it, son. And enjoy it while you're at it, too. This is a chance in a lifetime! All the women here will be falling over themselves to make sure your every need is seen too."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Terrific. I'd rather be pushed off a cliff." He made his way down the aisle and stepped outside. The hot humid air hit him like a brick wall. "Well, Toto, we sure aren't in Kansas anymore."
"Luke! Welcome back!" Virgil stepped forward and held out his hand, then gave Luke a light hug. He bent to scratch Rommel's ears. "You too, Rom."
"Thanks, Virgil. It's good to be back." He grinned. "It's a lot warmer here than in Montana."
"I'm sure it is!"
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." They turned to see Gordon walking towards them. He enveloped Luke in a hard hug. "It's good to have you back, man."
"Thanks, Gordon," Luke replied.
"My grandmother instructed me to tell you that you will be having dinner with us tonight. She's been cooking up a storm since she found out you were coming back. Rumor has it, there's chocolate cake." He bent to give Rommel a scratch. "She and Lisa also said to make a list of what you need in your apartment. If we don't have it, we'll have it shipped in."
Drew gave him an "I told you so" look and Luke sighed. "I guess there's no chance of me coming home quietly, is there?"
"Well, it's mostly just us who know you're here. We didn't want to get everyone's hopes up in case something fell through," Virgil told him.
"That's understandable." Luke snapped his fingers to get Rom's attention, then smiled. "Please tell Mrs. Tracy that I'll most certainly be there for dinner. And I appreciate all the help. Right now I want to take a shower and get settle in."
"Right after a stop at the infirmary," Drew interjected.
"How could I forget that?" He turned and called out to Scott. "Are you sure you don't mind bringing that up? I can come get it later."
Scott shook his head. "No problem at all. See you at dinner!"
Everyone started forward towards the elevator. Luke and Rommel bringing up the rear. Listening to the chatter of conversation, Luke smiled down at his dog. "Rom, it's good to be home."
98% pure evil...and loving every minute of it.
 
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Sat May 04 12:56:43 EDT 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.02168 seconds
|
International Rescue: The Next Phase
Search
Help
Members
Login
Home
