And the saga continues….

Chapter Nine: The Plane to Manila

Lily's POV

She hated planes, this she knew. What made it worse was the fact that she and Aaron had boarded separately. They had decided that traveling separately but on the same flight would be safer because at that point the fact that they were really alive was probably common knowledge. Aaron thought that it would be safer if they traveled this way, they would be looking for two people not just one. However she could feel him watching her as she had taken her seat, a window seat. Thankfully no one had sat next to her. This made her feel a little better and the fight wasn't completely full. She settled down in her sleep and looked out the window while the plane lifted off. She tried to settle her stomach by slowly breathing in and out during the assentation. Once the plane leveled out she began to relax a bit and she started to do some reflective thinking. She had been through so much in such a short time that her head was still spinning. She hadn't wanted Aaron to see her as vulnerable as she was last night and yet he had. Instead of leaving her somewhere or making fun of her in some way, he had been so sweet and comforting. Taking care of her which was something she had never had. She had always taken care of other people. When he had held her last night, so tight and comforting she had felt safe, which was something else she had never had. She just hoped and prayed that they got out of this ordeal alive. She also prayed that she could do what needed to be done in order to save Aaron. He still didn't remember her and that fact broke her heart. She knew it wasn't her fault, she blamed them and herself. It didn't make it easier, even though he was a different person back then; she still had loved him since that moment when he had saved her life. She could tell him, but she was so unsure how he would feel. A tear slide down her face and she quickly brushed it away. She had sworn to herself that she would never again be a victim, never again be weak. She would not let them beat her, beat them. She would fix this.

She sensed he was suddenly there before she actually saw him. Aaron always seemed to know when she was feeling troubled.

"What are you doing up here, I thought we were supposed to be separate?" She asked him. He suddenly smiled at her before he answered.

"Can't a guy say hi to a pretty girl?" She smiled back at him suddenly feeling better. "Besides, everyone else is sleeping; it's going to be a long flight. You should try to get some rest." She shook her head as she answered.

"I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to. I keep going over in my head what needs to happen to get you off the chems." She looked away suddenly before she continued. "What if I screw this up? What if I can't fix this? I've spent so much time being angry about this, what if I haven't been thinking clearly enough. People have been killed because of this, because of me"

"Hey, look at me." She slowly turned to look into his eyes as he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It's going to be okay, we will fix this and we will end this one way or another. They used you Lily, just like they did me. Besides, you're not fighting this fight alone, okay." When she nodded her head he continued. "So try to get some rest, you always seem to be working too hard." She lay her head on his should as he still held her hand in a comforting grip. It wasn't long before both of them had fallen asleep.

Lily wasn't sure how long she had slept before the turbulence woke her up. She had always been a light sleeper, also a survival technique. That and the fact that Mother Nature had other ideas for her. She looked over to Aaron to see that he was till sound asleep. She didn't want to wake him so she slowly detangled her hand from his that he still held. She got up and tried to climb over him in the very tight space. Suddenly another bout of turbulence hit and she gasped as she grabbed his shoulder to keep from falling on her face, instead she ended up coming face to face with him. His eyes snapped opened with alertness and he grabbed her waist, yet again. All of a sudden she felt her face immediately grew hot and a slow grin spread across his face.

"Well hello to you too sunshine." He cheeks grew even redder and his grin bigger.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you and I ah kinda need to visit the little girls room." At this point she was beyond mortified. This seemed to amuse him to no end.

He reached up with one hand a brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes which sent her senses tingling. He really needed to stop doing that, it made it hard for her to breath.

"You know how cute you are when you're flustered."

"So you're flirting now?" She asked him with a touch of sarcasm which made him chuckle softly.

"Who says I'm flirting?"

"Oh, you're impossible she said as she made her way around him and into the restroom at the back of the plane. When she came out and made her way to her seat only to find Aaron gone. For a moment she panicked, thinking something had happened because she couldn't find him. Then she looked up to find him sitting in his original seat. He looked at her with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye. At that point the fastened seat belt sign came on to announce that they would soon be landing. She took her seat and braced through the decent. Once on the ground, they made their way through customs,

Separately this seemed to go surprisingly well, and met up in a taxi cab. She was nervous and scared but she knew that this was the start. They were almost at their destination when he once again grabbed her hand.

"Almost, sweetheart." He said to her. When the cab came to a stop, they got out and started to approach the entrance. She turned to him and said.

"I don't know the rules, I've never really been hear at night before."

"Just act like you to belong here." He answered as they approached the guard. After a bit of sweet talking to the guard who had taken a shine to her, they entered the facility and made their way to an elevator which would take them to the lab. As they descended into the depths of the facility a strange quietness came over her and a calmness she hadn't felt in a long time. This was it; she would fix him and everything else. She would end this nightmare and as she looked over she knew she wasn't doing this alone.