A/N: Thankyou to everyone who has read this story so far, I would love to hear what you think of it so far, so please don't be shy and leave me a review. I would love to answer one readers review and PM but unfortunately you have your reply tab disabled, I hope you take this as my personal thanks; I really appreciated your message.
Enough of me, on with the next step in Finn and Rachel's adventure. Again I own nothing but the plot and OC's, all mistakes are mine
Chapter 3 (On my way)
"First call for passengers booked on AUSAIR Flight 282, travelling from Dayton International to Perth Australia via Los Angeles, your flight is now ready for boarding. Please make your way to gate 5 and have your travel documents ready for inspection."
Finn hears the squawking of the PA system announcing that his flight is ready to board, and jumps up thankful to be able to able to get his adventure started, though he wasn't prepared to deal with both his mom and brother sobbing rather dramatically. His mom into her hanky, while maintaining a death grip on his left arm, and Kurt into his designer scarf, they were carrying on as though he was jumping off the ends of the earth or joining some weird cult or something and never going to see them again.
He smiles and hugs his mom as she reminds him again, through her sobs to "M-make sure you let us know you've arrived safely in Perth and again when you get to the ranch, You are positive someone from the agency is going to meet you ?"
"Yeah Mom, Greg from the agency said someone from the Perth office, will meet me at the airport and take me to a hotel for the first night and then come get me the next morning and take me to the Greyhound Bus depot, for the trip north to Carnarvon where the manager from the station will pick me up, and yes I will call or text or something as soon as I can, but remember the flight is about 23 or so hours. But I have all those prepaid air-mail envelopes you got for me so I can drop you quick letter, Greg at the agency said mail to the station is usually fortnightly when the mail truck brings the stores and other stuff needed. Please don't worry about me too much hmm? I promise to stay safe Mom, and enjoy my time there, and anyway you know I can't stay any longer than my 12 month working/holiday visa. So I'll be back before you know it ready to throw myself into college."
" Have a good time Son and please make time to send word home as often as you can, just so we know you are OK" Burt whispers the last bit to Finn and nods his head in Carole's direction so Carole doesn't hear and start bawling again.
Finn nods in understanding and unlatches his mom's tight grip as he gives her a firm loving hug and a kiss on the cheek, he then turns and does the same for his brother whose eyes are as red as their mom's, muttering in his ear "that he promises to stay safe, and for Kurt to step up and look after Mom and Dad." Kurt just nods and hugs him back before falling into their mom's arms and rubbing her back in soothing circles. Finn just rolls his eyes at the scene in front of him but…, Geez it wasn't as if he was never coming home, but as he gave Burt a strong manly hug, Finn discreetly wipes a wetness off his cheek and even though he was happy and excited to be taking this trip to the other side of the world, he would miss his family terribly… even Kurt's hogging of the bathroom for his nightly moisturising sessions., and his singing of his Broadway classics at full volume at the crack of dawn. He pulled away and bent to pick up his carry on bag, before giving his family one last wave and his dimpled half smile as he makes his way to the gateway terminal 5 for the flight to LA and after a short stopover there, his trip continues with the longest leg of about 21 hours to Perth.
Thank god I was able to get a seat in 1st class, thought Finn as he stretched his tall frame out along the length of the seat, (well it was more like a bed he chuckles to himself as he thinks about how much it reminds him of his old twin bed at home) and yawning, he didn't think he'd even be able to fall sleep, due in part to his nerves about flying and his journey. Before standing up and making his way to the bathroom. Apologizing as he bumps into another passenger due to a little turbulence, he has been in the air for about 5 hours now and he figured they were not far from landing in Los Angeles for a short stopover can't wait for the flight to land, he has never been a real big fan of flying, he has only ever flown once before on a small plane and that was only to New York overnight for a meeting at NYU. Mostly because he never has enough room to stretch his large body but this plane is great, he hopes the meals are of a large size too, 'cause he is absolutely starving. After relieving himself and splashing some cold water on his face to wake up a bit more, he makes his way back to his favoured window seat, thankful his seat was in a block of two so he didn't have to try and squeeze his way past a lot of other passengers, his neighbour was an older man who was fell asleep pretty much after take off, Finn hoped he was ok as he hadn't moved much the whole time, Finn shrugged his shoulders and figured he'd wake up when they landed in LA. Which he hopes is really soon, he digs through his bag for his I-pod and head phones and to his delight finds a packet of nacho cheese Doritos, and a book that Greg at the agency gave him, that is filled with all sorts of information about Australia, He has a quick glance through it, stopping briefly on the section about native animals and lets out a loud guffaw when he sees the picture of one of the 'extremely ferocious Koala bears' Kurt was so afraid he would get eaten by, he was surprised though, to notice it was soft and cuddly looking and spent its time either asleep or eating leaves, anyway the only ones in Western Australia were in the zoo . But Finn is more interested in the section on Western Australia and more importantly the parts about the area he is headed to, 'The Coral Coast' he is shocked when turns to the map section and sees the size comparisons of Australia to his own America, he can't believe that the USA fits into Australia…, well without Canada and Mexico and a bit on the west coast, and another one where Texas fits into Queensland, a state on the east coast of the country, Finn was always under the impression that Australia was just a small island like country, but boy his ideas were so much different from the facts.
Finn reads with amazed interest some more about his temporary new home and is totally mind blown. A sudden thought comes to him and he again digs in his bag for the info on Moolagooroo, the station he is going to be working on. Which is about 740 sq km's or about 286 sq miles and another station, Barratharna, Greg said was owned by the same people is about, half a million acres. Continuing to read he discovered Western Australia accounts for 33% of the Australian continent and is bigger in size than Western Europe, about three times the size of Texas, about twelve times bigger than the UK, and twenty times bigger than England. Finn was speechless at the words on the page in front of him. His mind was buzzing with information and was making a mental note to ask about whether he will studying much geography when he gets to college as part of his course, he had always found it interesting at high school but then they were mainly focused on The USA and not so much about other countries, but what he had learnt about Australia was absolutely mind boggling.
He puts the books away and turns to look out of his little window, his I-pod playing his favourite Journey playlist, and as the beat of the music starts his hands unconsciously tap the beat on his thigh. He looks over at his neighbour and notices he is starting to squirm a bit in his seat, Finn breathes a sigh of relief over the fact he is in fact alive.
After an hour or so stop over in LA for refuelling and boarding of new passengers, and from what he can see from the huge travellers lounge wall of windows, food and drink supplies. Finn used the time to walk around the lounge stretching his long legs and grabbing a burger and milk shake from the snack bar, and calling home to let everyone know he was ok so far and nearly ready for his flight to continue. He said he would call again when he landed in Perth but it would probably be the middle of the night in Lima because of the time difference, so he'd leave a message on the answer service or a text on their cell phones. While he was waiting for his plane to reboard he stopped at a souvenir stand and picked up a post card from LA he was going to make a scrapbook of his adventures and put all sorts of cool stuff in it he smiles broadly 'cause can just see his brothers face at the sight of him (Finn Hudson, championship game winning Quarterback, most popular guy in school and every girls dream guy) sitting at the dinning room table pouring over a scrapbook his tongue poking out the side of his mouth in concentration, and deciding which sheet of colored paper or sticker would decorate the page better, and then Kurt getting all sulky because Finn won't listen to his 'advice on placement and extra embellishments'.
When the boarding call sounded over the PA about 7:30pm LA time, Finn checked the floor around the squishy lounge chair he had been relaxing in and made sure he had all his stuff, thank god he didn't have to lug his other luggage with him as well, they were still on the plane, he made his way to the passenger tunnel to begin the longest leg of his trip. He finds his seat again and notices after about 10 minutes his neighbour has returned so Finn nods at him sending him a small smile. His neighbour on the other hand just sends Finn a drunken unfocused head shake before falling into his seat; Finn scrunches his nose in disgust at the smell of booze that escapes his mouth as he lets out a very loud burp. Thankfully it's only about 45 minutes after they are back in the air before the stewardess' start offering meals. Finn can hear them asking people a few rows down what they wanted to drink, he had picked his main meals when he booked his ticket and was hoping they tasted as nice as they sounded, when it was his turn the lady pushing the drinks cart sent him a cheeky smile along with a flirty "See anything you like love?"
Finn just blushed and stuttered out that "A-a soda would be great thanks" she hands him a bottle of cola and a plastic cup, with another smile this time accompanied by a wink before asking Mr Boozy man what he wanted. Finn hoped he didn't get anymore alcohol because he wasn't looking forward to being in the firing line if he needed to use the supplied barf bag later. He chose water and empties nearly the whole bottle in one gulp before asking for a soda as well. Not long after another lady stops next to his seat and passes him a tray, (Geez, again with the flirty smiles), Finn just smiles at her in thanks and wonders why the women keep throwing sexy come on looks his way Geez he is only 19, he isn't an innocent virgin or anything, but he's never been one for just hooking up with random women for one night stands and especially not older ones, that's more his friend PJ's trick. He does admit though the hostess's on this plane are super hot and the way they fill their tight straight skirts and fitted jackets out is a nice sight but they are way older than him, and anyway he's not looking for anyone of the female variety just at the moment. Instead he focus's on his dinner tray which contains a bowl of sweet corn and crab soup with crispy bacon crumbled over the top and a warm crunchy bread roll and butter, followed by roast beef in a pepper sauce with sliced potatoes in a creamy garlic and parsley sauce, whole baby green beans tossed in butter and toasted almonds and honeyed baby carrots followed by a triple chocolate brownie with two scoops of vanilla/pecan ice-cream. By the time he has finished he is quite full.
Mr Boozy next door has finally finished his messy slurping of his soup and mumbles through each mouthful of his chicken curry and rice that "It's real good." Finn is amazed any food actually makes it down his throat as he seems to spit most of it out as he tries to speak at the same time as chewing. He has to turn his back on his seat mate and look out his window because watching the man is making him feel ill.
The drinks' lady comes back a while later and offers him a hot drink with some cake or cookies as supper; he thanks her and asks for a hot chocolate and some banana bread. Mr Boozy has fallen asleep and is snoring loudly. After Finn finishes his supper, he climbs out of his seat and makes his way to the bathroom, making sure to grab his mini wash bag so he can brush his teeth and have a wash before settling down for the night.
Somewhere around midnight Finn wakes up with a start, and not really aware of his surroundings, but he feels a heavy weight on his shoulder and as he turns his head he finds Mr Boozy using his shoulder as a pillow, his snores rather loud in the quiet dim cabin, Finn groans as he tries to move the mans heavy body off his arm without waking the other people around him up. Finn jumps nervously out of his seat, a groan of unease leaving his throat at the garbled romantic mutterings coming from the man. Finn doesn't really want to hear words like "Oh baby, fuck so good, oh yeah" or see his blanket moving in a suspicious way in the region of his lap come from the middle aged man in the small confines of an aeroplane thousands of miles up in the sky. Finn moves out of his seat and into the aisle, his movements waking the other man up, but he is not really caring about that.
"Shit dude that's just fuckin' gross doing 'that' in public…. Oh Man…," he grumbles out loud and thinks it's just his luck to have a creepy sex dreamer sat next to him, so walking as quietly as possible to the still open snack bar, Finn leaves his neighbour to himself hoping he will soon be finished.
10 minutes later, once Finn has made him self comfortable again, thanking god that Mr Mc'creepy, has rolled over and calmed down. He puts his head phones in and scrolls through to find the mixed playlist on his I-pod he closes his eyes again and soon falls back to sleep smiling as U2's 'I Still Haven't Found what I'm looking for ' plays softly. This time his mind is turning on the video of a brunette (the same one he thinks from before watching the sunset), though he still can't see her face. Red dirt hills and for some unknown reason he hears music but it isn't his favourite 80's rock , it is show tunes, which is more Kurt's sort of music, weird...
"Oh Daddy, please stop crying I'm not leaving for ever…, Papa, can you please tell him I'll be back in one piece?" Rachel sighs and rolls her big brown eyes, at her fathers emotional antics and as much as she loves and will miss them she can't understand why Hiram particularly, has to be so emotional, granted he is the gentler of the two and Rachel has always been able to get her way with him more so than her other dad Leroy, but she is not moving to the moon, for heavens sake.
"But baby girl you will miss Papa's birthday our 25th anniversary, thanksgiving, Hanukkah , and even your own 19th birthday" he seems to hug her a bit tighter and all Rachel can do is reach her arm up and rub soothing circles across his back with her tiny hand and whisper calming words into his chest.
The 3 members of the Berry family are not paying the slightest attention to the hordes of people who are rushing about the busy JFK international airport minding their own business. Collecting luggage or defiantly arguing with the booking clerks that their suitcases are not over the weight limit or they can't find their pet's travel documents. Some like a woman at the Ameri- Air counter are even trying to get past the rules and regulations' regarding the possession of alcohol in their carry on luggage by claiming it is purely for medicinal purposes. Rachel feels a little sorry for the booking clerks having to put up with that sort of behaviour everyday, when anyone can clearly see the tall well dressed lady with the bleary eyes and stumbling gait is clearly drunk and really doesn't need more alcohol, Rachel lets out a relieved breath to see that she is not going to be travelling on AUSAIR, to the same destination as herself.
Rachel finally gets her Daddy to calm down enough to guide him to a seat, her Papa on her other side, she removes her arms from around his body but instead takes hold of one of his hands in hers and one of Leroy's in her other one, and says calmly
"Daddies, I will be perfectly ok, because you have taught me to be independent and strong but also to follow my heart and as much as I will miss you both and our family's special occasions, but I need to have this time away while I am young because once I start at college, and my career gets established, there won't be much time for anything else" and she adds cheekily "that maybe I'll will find my soul mate in the wilds of another country."
At this comment her dads make a strangled sobbing noise and grip her small hands tighter. It would be just her luck she muses to herself that she has to travel half way around the world to find her 'one' and it turns out he is probably from the next city, huh, go figure, not that she will be actively looking for a man though, this time away is for just Rachel Barbra Berry...
"You have the details of the connecting flight to Carnarvon don't you darling?, you should be able to get a cab once you land at the international terminal and deal with customs and such, to the charter plane terminal, I think you should only have about an hour or two to wait so that will give you time to call us so we know you've arrived it doesn't matter what time it is, we will be awake, because as you know we've both taken the day off, and you'll call us again once you have arrived at your destination yes?" as he finishes talking Leroy takes his tiny daughter in his arms and very nearly squeezes the life out of her, an unexpected emotional hitch in his breathing, as a sob escapes he moves one hand up to his cheek to wipe away the wetness.
"Oh Papa please don't cry, you'll make me start bawling oh dear, look you've made Daddy cry again. But I promise I will be fine and will keep in touch as often as possible, though Bob from the agency said that the mail is only delivered to the homestead every fortnight with the other supplies, he was positive they have internet and phone reception so I will try and set up skype on my laptop and we can schedule regular chats, and of course when I go into town I will call but I'm not sure how often that will be, but I will let you know as soon as possible OK. You both need to calm down and not worry so much about me, go and get some sleep because it will be well after midnight by the time you arrive at home and I don't want to be worrying about you driving so late. "
Both men just nod and try to get as many hugs as possible, whimpering through another round of tears, when the tinny voice screeching over the PA announcing Rachel's flight interrupts them
"Passengers for AUSAIR flight 141 to Perth Australia, via Dubai; please make your way to terminal 5 and have your travel documents available for inspection; your flight is now ready for boarding, this is your first call."
"Only passengers with valid travel documents are permitted through the yellow international gateway"
With one last tight hug and another round of kisses Rachel turns towards the golden arch and waves at her still sobbing fathers who are embracing each other tightly, putting on a happy face to try and make them feel better, but as soon as they were out of sight, her bottom lip trembles and a few small sobs escape, consequently causing tears to slide slowly down her cheeks she makes her way towards the first part of her new adventure, she takes a deep breath giving herself a pep talk, stands tall, well as tall as her 5'2in frame can, squares her shoulders, and boldly walks along the tunnel pulling her bright pink cabin bag along behind her, her other hand wiping away the wetness on her face.
As Rachel makes her way down the aisle of the plane looking for seat number 29b in the premium business class section, she is pleased to see it is a window seat and in a bank of only two. Once she has stowed away her main carry on bag in the overhead compartment, only leaving her small backpack out she makes her self comfortable adjusting her seat to a semi reclining position and turns to watch, through her little window at the amount of activity going on, even at this late time of night in one of the biggest airports in the US.
A soft "hello it looks like we are travel mates" is heard a short while later and as Rachel turns to the voice she is greeted by a cheerfully smiling African –American lady, Rachel assumes to be in her mid to late 60's. Rachel is instantly reminded of her favourite Grandmother, Grammie Thompson (her Papa's mom) who sadly passed away when Rachel was a freshman in High school.
"Oh Hello I'm Rachel Berry it's nice to meet you" Rachel sticks out her right hand for the lady to shake, and as she does introduces her self.
"It's lovely to meet you too my dear I'm Mrs Arnold" she says happily, and then her voice changes and takes on a concerned maternal tone "are you travelling all by your self?"
In an overexcited bubbly voice Rachel nods her head rapidly, "Yes I'm travelling to Australia to commence my employment tenure as a cook/housekeeper on a ranch, well they are called Station's in Australia, oops…, I'll have to remember that" she giggles at her mistake "In the north of Western Australia, I plan on staying for 12 months before returning to New York to embark on my studies at NYADA, which in case you are unfamiliar with the acronym, it stands for The New York Academy of Dramatic Art."
"Oh how wonderful, so you have met Mennie …" she asks with a knowing smile
"I'm sorry who?" Rachel is watching the older lady who, is still smiling and her dark eyes twinkling with playfulness.
"Forgive me for teasing you dear," the look of confusion on Rachel's face makes Mrs Arnold giggle, further increasing Rachel's frustration. (She has never liked being laughed at)
"My cousin Carmen… or I suppose you would know her as Madam Tibideaux I always knew she would become someone important,"
"You Know Madam Tibideaux? Oh my gosh! That is so amazing I know she was on stage herself at one time and I was so very happy and privileged to receive a personal invitation from her to attend NYADA … but I can't believe I'm actually sitting on a plane travelling to Australia and talking to her cousin…." Rachel is waving her hands in excitement and every now and then makes little clapping motions.
"Please if it is not betraying any confidences can you tell me about her? I have only met her once briefly, when My Dad's and I had our initial meeting regarding my invitation and acceptance to NYADA. Although I must admit I felt a little intimidated at the time, being in the presence of such immeasurable and celebrated talent. Not to mention the fact that she chose me from the hundreds or possibly thousands of kids who apply each year. I don't think I said much at the meeting, which if you really know me is really surprising, but I was only able to manage to say hello and thankyou for the opportunity and how much I was looking forward to attending her wonderful school and promised to work very hard."
Mrs Arnold chuckles at the tiny girl bouncing (well as much as the seatbelt will allow) in her seat next to her before placing one of her soft wrinkled hands over Rachel's knee and squeezing gently. "Calm down dear we have a very long flight ahead of us so there is plenty of time to talk."
They halt their conversation while the flight crew go through the emergency procedures and explain about the plane and other things passengers need to know, and the plane has become airborne.
Just as Rachel opens her mouth and is about to speak again, a voice over the intercom interrupts her train of thought.
"Good evening this is Captain Bruce Johnstone speaking; my crew and I would just like to take this opportunity to welcome you aboard. We are currently flying at 28,000 feet; our final altitude will be 40,000 and will continue at that cruising height, unless it is necessary to lower it due to unexpected adverse weather conditions. But the radar looks good so it should be a smooth flight. We have an expected arrival time in Dubai at approximately 15:00 hundred hours, and our departure will be at 17:00 hundred hours before arriving in Perth Western Australia, at 05:00 hundred hours on Friday morning.
Supper will be served in about 15 minutes, and if you have any questions about anything please ask one of our lovely stewardess's and they will assist you.
Thankyou for choosing AUSAIR we hope you have an enjoyable flight, sleep well."
Rachel and Mrs Arnold chat about random things while waiting for their supper. The older lady telling Rachel that she is travelling to Broome in Western Australia to spend the 6 months of the American, Fall/Winter season with her son and his family, something she has done every other year since her husband passed away 5 years ago. She goes on to tell Rachel about the weather in Australia which is their spring/ summer though she does say that Broome is in the tropics so they don't really have defined seasons it is more the wet or dry season and can be very humid and cyclonic, at the look of concern on the young girls face Mrs Arnold (who insists Rachel calls her Molly). Explains that in all the years she has been travelling out there not once has she been in danger. Her son James and Daughter in law Meredith emigrated 15 years ago and live on the coast. They run a motel and restaurant but as the main tourist season slows down at this time of year her family can afford to take some vacation time plus it nice to have thanksgiving and Christmas away from the cold. She further explains that instead of the hot meals they traditionally have for Christmas. They sit down to a meal of fresh seafood and cold cuts with different sorts of salads then swim in the pool"
"If they live on the coast why not swim in the ocean" Rachel asks
"Because dear the stingers or jelly fish are in large amounts from November to about May and if they touch any part of your exposed body, they use their tentacles to sting and you will be in extreme pain. Vinegar helps to soothe the skin until medical help is obtained, but it is just better to not go into the ocean at all."
Rachel nods her head in response "Mmm, yes I did read briefly about the dangers one possibly might face in the outback in the information package the employment agency gave me, and I have searched the internet to find out as much as possible, though I do hope Carnarvon and Barratharna station where I'm going doesn't have too many wild creatures, though I'm pretty sure being in the outback in general will have it's fair share of dangers. I'm very much looking forward to the challenge though. I'm sure the experience will greatly benefit my future career on Broadway…"
"Good evening Ladies would you like anything from the supper cart?"
"Ooh yes please, I would love a hot chocolate and maybe some cheese and crackers?"
As the stewardess hands Rachel a small tray she receives a beaming smile in return, Molly just asks for a cup of black tea.
The two ladies have no more conversation that night, as once she has finished her supper and gone to the bathroom for a condensed version of her normal bedtime routine Rachel snuggles down under her blanket into her comfy seat/bed and after wishing Molly a good night scrolls through her I-pod and selects her relaxing playlist. As the soothing sounds of whales, birds and raindrops flow through her ear buds she totally relaxes and falls asleep, an image entering her mind completely unbidden of a man, astride a motorbike with a glorious sunset of reds, oranges and grey/ blues in the background, but as he has the majestic natural backdrop behind him and his face hidden under the brim of a baseball cap. She can't see who he is, but a funny fluttering in her belly makes her smile and she decides that maybe her statement to Sarah after graduation regarding staying away from men and relationships, for a while was perhaps a bit hasty; maybe she just hadn't found the right man ….
A/N-2: The information included here about size comparisons' between Australia and other countries can all be found on the internet, (just ask Mr Google) I have added it for a couple of reasons, (1) So Finn can see in his mind how vast Australia is from an educators point of view and (2) For my wonderful non Australian readers just to show Australia is a lot larger than perhaps some people realise, I just thought it might be interesting for you all. The names of the stations are fictitious but the descriptions of them are real.
So what do you think? I feel sorry for poor Finn having a neighbour like Mr Boozy Mc'creepy, don't you? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review.
Australia is next yay!
