Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter fourteen of "Ride the Wind." I'm glad it took just six days to get out. This chapter has some Tommy/Kim, Billy/Kat, Jason/Trini, Andros/Ashley, and Zhane/Karone fluff in it. The meetup between the two fandoms will occur in the chapter after the next one. Stay tuned for chapter fifteen.

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Chapter 14: In the Air/Come Sail Away

Forty-five minutes into the flight, the entire plane was rather peaceful. Tommy and Kim talked about their high school graduation while Heather played with two of her My Little Pony ponies. Jason thumb-wrestled with Benny while Trini read Twilight. Billy, Kat, and Olivia sang nonsense in quiet voices while waving their hands in the air.

Andros looked through Ashley's orca pictures. His table was down, as was hers. He stopped at one of Rhapsody leaping clear of the water and Ruffles surfacing behind her. He picked it up. He traced his finger over the former. He did the same with the latter. Ashley propped her head up with her elbow on the arm. She smiled at him.

"These two are stunning orcas," Andros said.

"I know," Ashley said, chuckling. She tapped on Ruffles' dorsal. "This is probably the most recognized dorsal of any orca in the world. Not a single person has ever missed it."

"I bet I won't miss it if we see this guy during the ferry ride," Andros replied, putting the picture down. He got one of Mike surfacing beside Slick. "He seems to be very close to her." He chuckled to himself.

"Mike is Slick's son. Male orcas stick very close to their mothers. In fact, many don't last very long after their mothers die," Ashley whispered, some sadness showing in her voice.

He became a little shocked. "Why?"

"I believe it's because their mothers dote on them a great deal. They want to make sure their sons give them many grandbabies and spread her genes. You could say the male orcas are a little spoiled," Ashley commented honestly with a shrug.

"Just like human children," Andros said, cupping his chin in his hand. "It's really cool every orca has its own identifying feature."

She smiled lightly. "I agree."

Andros tickled Ashley's chin, which made her giggle. Suddenly, he felt someone pull the picture out of his hand. He turned to see a boy holding it. He narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hey, that belongs to my girlfriend!" Andros shouted sternly.

The boy smirked. "It used to. Now, it belongs to me."

Andros watched the boy take off running down the aisle. He pushed the table up and got out of his seat. He chased him, catching up to him. He grabbed him by his wrist and took the picture away from him.

"Like I said, this picture belongs to my girlfriend," Andros said calmly. He looked up to see the boy's father coming his way.

"Thanks for finding my son. I had my head turned away for a few minutes. When I turned back, he was gone," the father said, stopping before him.

"Well, I hope he won't be causing any more trouble," Andros said and handed the boy over to him. The father took him by the wrist.

"Oh, he won't because I will be buckling him in his seat," the father answered bluntly. "I'll make him take a nap too."

The boy started crying as his father pulled him down the aisle. He pleaded with him not to buckle him in his seat, but his father ignored him completely. Andros watched until they reached their seats further down the aisle. He sighed in relief and made his way back to his seat. He heard chuckling and stopped to look at Zhane and Karone.

"It looks like you're the one who will have to deal with brats today," Zhane quipped.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha. That was so funny that I laughed my head off," Andros grumbled, his voice showing much sarcasm.

"Look on the bright side, bro. At least that kid didn't tear the picture up," Karone pointed out.

"Thank goodness," Andros whispered and went to his seat. He pushed the table up and sat down. He released his hold on it and gave the picture to Ashley. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Ashley said sweetly as she took it from him. She kissed him on the cheek. She looked it over. "Not a single crease in it."

Andros let out a quiet sigh. "I got lucky. That boy won't be causing any more trouble for us." He showed some annoyance.

Ashley smiled and pulled his hair behind his neck. "Great."

Andros leaned in and whispered something in Ashley's ear, causing her to giggle. Zhane and Karone heard her. They turned to each other, raising their eyebrows.

"I wonder what he's telling her," Zhane said thoughtfully.

"I don't think I want to find out," Karone replied, clenching her teeth.

"Me neither," Zhane agreed. "Besides, we shouldn't be nosy."

"That's right unless we want to be elephants," Karone squeaked in joy. "Then we could use our trunks to feel them." She pinched his cheek, laughing when he pushed her hand aside.

"That'd be so—Whoa!" Zhane yelled as his and his girlfriend's seats lurched forward. They turned around and looked over their seats to see two boys fighting over a toy car.

"Would you two calm down?" Karone asked irritatingly.

"We're trying to enjoy our flight here," Zhane added firmly. They saw boys settle down in their seats. They sat in theirs, running their hands through their hair. "Talk about a pair of boys who can't sit quietly in their seats."

"You're telling me. I remember when we went to O'Charley's for lunch six months ago. Two girls wouldn't stop hitting us upside our heads," Karone muttered, feeling disgusted.

"No shit," Zhane whispered, cringing badly. He hoped the boys didn't hear him. He curled his hands into fists so tight that he'd break glasses if he were holding them. "Their parents did nothing to stop them."

"Oh, yeah," Karone agreed. She and her boyfriend felt their seats lurch forward again. They turned around and looked over their seats to see the boys fighting over the car a second time. Anger flashed in their eyes. "You two better stop that right now!"

"We'll make you find your parents," Zhane warned. "Is that what you want?"

The boys sat down in their seats, looking very scared. Zhane and Karone seated themselves back in theirs. They turned to each other. They breathed deeply to calm down. Chuckling caught their attention, and they turned to see Andros and Ashley looking over their seats at them.

"It looks like you will have to deal with brats too," Andros said.

"Oh, shut up," Zhane retorted playfully.

"You shut up," Ashley replied, forming her finger in the shape of a gun.

"Don't point that finger at us, Ashley. It might go off," Karone warned, pretending to look scared.

"That'd be cool to see," Ashley said, laughing. "Just watch out."

Andros and Ashley sat back down in their seats. Zhane and Karone scratched their heads while looking at each other.

"I think those two need haircuts," Zhane said, pressing his lips together.

"I agree," Karone said and nodded in a slow manner.

"We heard that, you two," Andros and Ashley called.

Zhane scoffed in mock-annoyance. "Oh, get out of town, Andros, Ashley."

"There's one problem, Zhane. They're already out of town. So are we and the rest of the gang," Karone said, breaking into a fit of giggles. She got a little louder when Zhane started tickling her neck. He stopped after ten seconds, causing her to become quiet.

"Look on the bright side. We have only a little over an hour before we land in Seattle," Zhane said, patting his girlfriend's neck.

"After that, it's off to Anacortes," Karone added.

"Then it's all aboard the ferry to San Juan Island," Zhane said, clapping three times.

Karone kissed his cheek. "Yep."

Karone rubbed Zhane's forehead gingerly and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her.

00000

The ferry's horn blew loudly as it went toward San Juan Island at a slow yet steady speed in the midafternoon. People did various activities at different points on the passenger deck. Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone chatted with each other on starboard. They shared a laugh. Three gulls flew nearby, but they didn't notice them.

Tommy, Kim, Jason, Trini, Billy, Kat, Heather, Benny, and Olivia watched the mountains go by on port. The children looked down at the water to see the bow waves go by. They seemed to be fascinated by them. They placed their hands on the railing. Their parents shifted their attention to them. They couldn't stop themselves from chuckling.

"Those kids seem to be getting a real water show," Jason commented with much pride.

"I'll say," Trini agreed.

Billy folded his hands and laid them on the railing. "At least they're not trying to bite the railing."

"Some kids will put their mouths on anything. Their parents let them and think it's so cute. It's not. It's disgusting," Kat grumbled, shuddering badly.

"Not to mention that can be dangerous," Kim whispered seriously and crossed her arms. "Some things contain lead. Everyone knows lead can kill kids."

Tommy grimaced as he remembered Ms. Applebee's lecture on lead. "Paint is one of the most notorious sources of lead. Peeling paint chips in old houses look very appealing to children. They will actually eat them." He made a disgusted face.

"Many children have died from eating paint chips in those houses. Their parents have sued their landlords for negligence," Trini muttered, sighing heavily. "I can understand being angry with the landlord for not keeping the house in tiptop shape, but the parents should've warned their children not to eat the paint chips."

"People will sue anyone for anything these days, including a pair of broken glasses. Did you hear about the man who tried to sue a laundry mat's owners for sixty-seven million dollars because they lost his pants?" Jason wondered.

Billy scoffed so loudly that two nearby passengers heard him. "That's ridiculous, Jase. What pants are worth that much money?"

"None," Jason answered bluntly. He really wanted to find that man and slap him silly when he first read about the lawsuit. Of course, he knew Trini would never have approved of it. "The good news is the lawsuit was thrown out. The judge called it absolutely stupid."

Kim nodded in agreement. "You got that right, Jason."

Tommy, Kim, Jason, Trini, Billy, and Kat shifted their attention back to the mountains. Heather, Olivia, and Benny continued to watch the water. They yelped in surprise when someone hit each of them upside their heads. They turned to see a boy running off laughing. Their parents watched him pass.

"Excuse me a moment," Tommy said and chased after the boy. He caught up to him, grabbing him by the arm. The boy looked at him and tried to pull away, but he couldn't get free. "What do you think you're doing hitting my daughter and her friends in their heads?"

"I was just playing around. Now, let me go!" the boy whined.

"No," Tommy said seriously. "On top of that, you shouldn't be running around on a boat. It's very dangerous." He sighed heavily as he really didn't want to be dealing with him. However, he felt he had no choice. "You can slip and fall. You can even end up in the water."

The boy attempted to pull away again, but he failed. "Just let me go! Please, please!"

Tommy shook his head. "No. I'm going to try to find your parents."

A clearing throat caught the duo's attention. They looked up to see the boy's mother coming toward them. She stopped before them.

"Thanks for finding my son," the mother said. Tommy handed the boy over to her. She took her son by the arm. "I turned my back for a few minutes. When I turned around, he was gone." She glared down at him, which made him cower.

"He's lucky he didn't slip and fall. I don't think he'll do what he did again," Tommy commented.

The mother huffed angrily. "You're darn right he won't. In fact, we won't be going on our whale-watching trip at all tomorrow. We'll stay at the campground."

The boy began crying as his mother pulled him along. He begged her not to cancel their whale-watching trip, but she ignored him. Tommy watched them until they were out of sight. He returned to his girlfriend and friends. Kim smiled proudly at him.

"Way to go, Tommy. You showed that boy who was boss," Kim said, ruffling her boyfriend's hair.

"At least his mother was looking for him. Some parents couldn't care less. They just let their children do whatever they want," Tommy grumbled, scoffing. He put his arm around her to give her a small hug.

"Not us. We don't let our children pull that crap," Jason whispered, swallowing hard. He hoped the children didn't hear him. He wrapped his hand around Trini's, squeezing it gently. She patted his lightly.

"Nope," Trini said, shaking her head.

"If they did, we'd punish them big time," Billy added truthfully as he hugged Kat. He kissed her forehead.

"You got that right, Billy," Kat agreed, hugging him back.

"Don't worry, Daddy. We'll never do what that boy did," Olivia said as she and her friends looked toward their parents.

"What he did to us was dumb, Uncle Billy, but at least he was punished," Heather added.

"He deserved it," Benny said in a calm yet firm manner.

Tommy, Kim, Jason, Trini, Billy, and Kat were unable to keep themselves from smiling. They felt so proud of their children. They wished Heather, Olivia, and Benny could stay young forever, but they knew that wasn't possible. They had no doubt the trio would grow into fine people. The parents and their children turned their attention toward the water.