My Heart Is Yours

Chapter 112

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.