I just wanted to first thank my one and only reviewer, Anime Soccer Lobos.
Thank you, Anime Soccer Lobos! I don't think this is a longer chapter, but
I tried! I wanted to put another chapter out since it's been awhile since
I did the last one. The next chapter should be a lot better length wise.
Please review! I can't change problems without others input, so if something bothers you, the only way I know is if you tell me.
The Next Day:
"Hello, this is Captain David Claire speaking. We're currently cruising at 35,000 feet and are just reaching California. We're still on time and will reach our destination at 7:30 P.M. The seat belt sign will be turned off in just a moment; feel free to move about the cabin at that time. Thank you. Hola, me llamo es Capitán David Claire hablando."
"Jim, you okay, man?" Sandburg's voice cut through the voice, barely discernable, filtering through the speakers on the plane. "You've been grimacing since we got to the airport. Where're your dials?" Blair whispered to his partner.
"Dials? I have dials?" Jim closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest. "Everything's too loud and the smells. Make it stop. Now." Jim's face continued to pale as he finished talking with his partner.
"Okay, take a deep breath, another and one more. Good. Now, I want you to picture the dials. I'm going to try something new. Hopefully it'll give you a bit more control. Sound good?"
"Yeah. So I can see the dial, what should I picture instead?" Jim asked quickly, just wanting the pain to end and not having energy to argue with his enthusiastic friend.
"Okay. I saw you playing with that new music program on my laptop. Picture those electronic dials - they have a lot more levels than the basic ten we started with. Let me know when you've got it in mind and tell me where it is set at." As Blair waited, he continued to think rapidly - 'Jim must be in pain if he's doing this without protest.'
"Jim, doing okay? It doesn't usually take this long for you to find the dials."
"Sandburg, I think the pressure is affecting how I handle things. Can't picture the new dials. Can't picture the old dials. All I can see are the inside of my eyelids and they ain't pretty," Jim spat, in a fit of anger.
"Okay, swallow, see if that helps. We need to relieve the pressure before we go any further. I'll try to find some gum; I should have thought about this earlier but I keep forgetting that we haven't flown on a commercial flight since your senses came online." Blair continued searching through his pack, looking for the gum and the earplugs he had in his bag. "Ah, here we go. Chew on this; it'll help reduce the pressure in your ears. After we do that, you should have more control. Once we get you under control, you can use the plugs to help block the sound of the engine."
Jim hastily put the gum in his mouth and chewed rapidly. He sighed as the pressure released and his pain levels were reduced immensely. He quickly searched for the dials, found them and adjusted them as far as he could, which wasn't much. "Chief, found the dials, but they aren't moving much."
Blair reached out and grabbed Jim's arm gently. "Okay, keep up your breathing and on the exhale picture all your stress, all the pressure, all the noise and smells just vanishing. I want you to breathe, release and dial down. Breathe, release and dial down. Again. And again. One more time. Good." Blair's soothing voice droned on for several minutes, calming not only Jim, but passengers in the rows around him. Several children stopped screaming. Their parents looked at Blair with gratitude.
The lines of pain around Jim's eyes faded away and he felt aware enough to straighten up in his chair and look around. Even through the lingering pain, Jim saw the effect Blair had on the people around him. Even on a plane with no connection to any one, his guide helped to calm not only himself, but the people around him. "I feel much better, dials are around 3. The pressure really got to me." Jim tried to thank his guide without saying the words.
"Here, put these in and dial up enough to hear me but not enough to hear the engines." Blair handed Jim the white noise generators/ear plugs he had rescued from his bag. Jim took them, placed them on his ears and dialed up a notch. He sighed and said, "Much better. Thanks."
And Jim really was grateful - he no longer had any pain at all. He knew that he'd never have been able to fix this by himself.
Blair knew that if he didn't make light of this situation, Jim would get too worked up in this own self-pity and fear based reactions. "Wow, you actually thanked me! I think that's a first. But it was nothing. I got Larry meditate, I can get you to do the same!"
Nobody wanted a grumpy Jim.
"I still think it's funny that you got searched at the gate," Blair continued. "The expression on your face when they made you take off your shoes. And then the look on the inspectors' faces when they saw how organized Mr. Anal Retentive Detective made his carry on." Blair continued to snicker. He knew Jim was upset that his white socks got dirty from the concourse floor.
"Hey, watch it with the monkey references, Hair Boy. It'd been you striping down but they heard you being referred to as 'professor' by one of the students. Then that last inspector who showed up late had taken a class with you and vouched that you weren't a terrorist, even with that hair style," Jim shot back at his barely controlled roommate.
"Whatever, Jim." Blair quickly turned serious. "They'll be serving dinner soon. Watch out for any chemicals put in the food that they'd use to keep it fresh. While you have no problems with Wonder Burger, I'm not sure how you'll do with this stuff."
"Yeah, I know. It shouldn't be too long after that, that we'll be landing."
"I'm looking forward to some of the views from the plane. Once it gets dark, you can see the city lights all the way down to Managua and it is really beautiful. You'll have to tell me what you see."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Jim answered quickly, hoping to get out of a series of tests from his scientist of a friend.
"Nice try, Jim, won't work and I'm STILL going to ask you how far you can see." Blair knew that if he didn't keep his Sentinel's leash short, and make him aware of who was in charge, Jim and his furry spirit guide would walk all over him.
The two settled down into their seats and started watching the in-flight movie. They were interrupted by the dinner cart, which didn't turn out to be too awful and both men quickly consumed the meal. Blair managed to fall asleep and Jim semi-zoned on his partner's breathing. Blair was woken up by the pilot announcing the time and temperature in Managua. The time was only slightly different from their time zone, so luckily they wouldn't have to worry about adjusting to local time. The temperature, however, was much warmer and much more humid than at home. It was even raining slightly as the plane readied itself for landing.
"Jim, dial down, the noise the wheels make on impact might be too loud for your generators. Once we've touched down and stopped at the gate, give them back to me and I'll keep an eye on them so you don't lose them. I have the case right here. Once we're in the terminal, we'll be meeting up with the students outside of customs. The building isn't very large at all and the only problems should be the crowd outside the airport waiting for their friends and family. Even with the rain, it'll still be crowed. We won't have much trouble finding a taxi; the key is not to lose anyone."
Jim nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'll try to keep track of the students. After meeting with them over the past few weeks, I can identify most of them fairly quickly."
Ellison and Sandburg remained quiet until the doors of the plane opened. They were in the back, so they stayed seated until they could actually move up the isle. The trip through customs went quickly and they managed to gather all the students without any problems. One of the students, Karie Plahye, was missing a bag, but the airline was able to track it to an earlier flight and retrieved it from the storage area it had been placed in. As a group, they stepped outside to the damp air of Managua, Nicaragua. The students' excited voices cut through the air and several taxi drivers approached the group.
Blair and Eli, who had been letting Blair lead, stepped forward and started negotiating with two drivers for the price of the group to be taken to the hotel. As the two anthropologists shook hands with the drivers, the students started getting into the taxis. Blair made sure all the drivers knew where to go and got into the last taxi with 4 students. Jim had gone with another cab and Eli with another. Luckily only one group of students didn't have a group leader with them, but one of the students spoke fluent Spanish and had, at one point, lived in Nicaragua for a brief period of time and was familiar with the customs.
Blair sighed. They had arrived safely and hadn't lost anyone yet. He hoped they all made it to the hotel in the same condition. He watched the passing scenery with a tired interest and only really focused when a student asked him a question. Within 20 minutes, the taxi had arrived at the hotel and the students exited the cab and joined their fellow travelers. The last taxi containing Eli Stoddard and 3 students pulled up. Eli, Jim and Blair left the students by the gate and walked into the small lobby where several cats surrounded the trio.
"We have reservations under Stoddard." Blair spoke in Spanish.
"Of course, here we are," the night clerk replied. "The rooms are just around the corner. Here are the keys."
Eli finished signing in the group while Blair and Jim distributed keys. "Guys, we'll be waking up at 8 in the morning. One of us will walk around and knock, but that's all you get. Be packed and ready to go by 9. Remember, you can drink the water, but it's probably safer not to. See you tomorrow."
Blair and Jim nodded good-night to Eli and opened their room. It was simply furnished with two single beds and a T.V. There was a small bathroom with a shower. The men quickly stripped down and hopped into bed, saying good-night. Morning would come quickly and it would be a busy day trying to arrange the last minute details of the trip.
**************
Okay, just as a reminder, review. Now. Thank you.
Please review! I can't change problems without others input, so if something bothers you, the only way I know is if you tell me.
The Next Day:
"Hello, this is Captain David Claire speaking. We're currently cruising at 35,000 feet and are just reaching California. We're still on time and will reach our destination at 7:30 P.M. The seat belt sign will be turned off in just a moment; feel free to move about the cabin at that time. Thank you. Hola, me llamo es Capitán David Claire hablando."
"Jim, you okay, man?" Sandburg's voice cut through the voice, barely discernable, filtering through the speakers on the plane. "You've been grimacing since we got to the airport. Where're your dials?" Blair whispered to his partner.
"Dials? I have dials?" Jim closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest. "Everything's too loud and the smells. Make it stop. Now." Jim's face continued to pale as he finished talking with his partner.
"Okay, take a deep breath, another and one more. Good. Now, I want you to picture the dials. I'm going to try something new. Hopefully it'll give you a bit more control. Sound good?"
"Yeah. So I can see the dial, what should I picture instead?" Jim asked quickly, just wanting the pain to end and not having energy to argue with his enthusiastic friend.
"Okay. I saw you playing with that new music program on my laptop. Picture those electronic dials - they have a lot more levels than the basic ten we started with. Let me know when you've got it in mind and tell me where it is set at." As Blair waited, he continued to think rapidly - 'Jim must be in pain if he's doing this without protest.'
"Jim, doing okay? It doesn't usually take this long for you to find the dials."
"Sandburg, I think the pressure is affecting how I handle things. Can't picture the new dials. Can't picture the old dials. All I can see are the inside of my eyelids and they ain't pretty," Jim spat, in a fit of anger.
"Okay, swallow, see if that helps. We need to relieve the pressure before we go any further. I'll try to find some gum; I should have thought about this earlier but I keep forgetting that we haven't flown on a commercial flight since your senses came online." Blair continued searching through his pack, looking for the gum and the earplugs he had in his bag. "Ah, here we go. Chew on this; it'll help reduce the pressure in your ears. After we do that, you should have more control. Once we get you under control, you can use the plugs to help block the sound of the engine."
Jim hastily put the gum in his mouth and chewed rapidly. He sighed as the pressure released and his pain levels were reduced immensely. He quickly searched for the dials, found them and adjusted them as far as he could, which wasn't much. "Chief, found the dials, but they aren't moving much."
Blair reached out and grabbed Jim's arm gently. "Okay, keep up your breathing and on the exhale picture all your stress, all the pressure, all the noise and smells just vanishing. I want you to breathe, release and dial down. Breathe, release and dial down. Again. And again. One more time. Good." Blair's soothing voice droned on for several minutes, calming not only Jim, but passengers in the rows around him. Several children stopped screaming. Their parents looked at Blair with gratitude.
The lines of pain around Jim's eyes faded away and he felt aware enough to straighten up in his chair and look around. Even through the lingering pain, Jim saw the effect Blair had on the people around him. Even on a plane with no connection to any one, his guide helped to calm not only himself, but the people around him. "I feel much better, dials are around 3. The pressure really got to me." Jim tried to thank his guide without saying the words.
"Here, put these in and dial up enough to hear me but not enough to hear the engines." Blair handed Jim the white noise generators/ear plugs he had rescued from his bag. Jim took them, placed them on his ears and dialed up a notch. He sighed and said, "Much better. Thanks."
And Jim really was grateful - he no longer had any pain at all. He knew that he'd never have been able to fix this by himself.
Blair knew that if he didn't make light of this situation, Jim would get too worked up in this own self-pity and fear based reactions. "Wow, you actually thanked me! I think that's a first. But it was nothing. I got Larry meditate, I can get you to do the same!"
Nobody wanted a grumpy Jim.
"I still think it's funny that you got searched at the gate," Blair continued. "The expression on your face when they made you take off your shoes. And then the look on the inspectors' faces when they saw how organized Mr. Anal Retentive Detective made his carry on." Blair continued to snicker. He knew Jim was upset that his white socks got dirty from the concourse floor.
"Hey, watch it with the monkey references, Hair Boy. It'd been you striping down but they heard you being referred to as 'professor' by one of the students. Then that last inspector who showed up late had taken a class with you and vouched that you weren't a terrorist, even with that hair style," Jim shot back at his barely controlled roommate.
"Whatever, Jim." Blair quickly turned serious. "They'll be serving dinner soon. Watch out for any chemicals put in the food that they'd use to keep it fresh. While you have no problems with Wonder Burger, I'm not sure how you'll do with this stuff."
"Yeah, I know. It shouldn't be too long after that, that we'll be landing."
"I'm looking forward to some of the views from the plane. Once it gets dark, you can see the city lights all the way down to Managua and it is really beautiful. You'll have to tell me what you see."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Jim answered quickly, hoping to get out of a series of tests from his scientist of a friend.
"Nice try, Jim, won't work and I'm STILL going to ask you how far you can see." Blair knew that if he didn't keep his Sentinel's leash short, and make him aware of who was in charge, Jim and his furry spirit guide would walk all over him.
The two settled down into their seats and started watching the in-flight movie. They were interrupted by the dinner cart, which didn't turn out to be too awful and both men quickly consumed the meal. Blair managed to fall asleep and Jim semi-zoned on his partner's breathing. Blair was woken up by the pilot announcing the time and temperature in Managua. The time was only slightly different from their time zone, so luckily they wouldn't have to worry about adjusting to local time. The temperature, however, was much warmer and much more humid than at home. It was even raining slightly as the plane readied itself for landing.
"Jim, dial down, the noise the wheels make on impact might be too loud for your generators. Once we've touched down and stopped at the gate, give them back to me and I'll keep an eye on them so you don't lose them. I have the case right here. Once we're in the terminal, we'll be meeting up with the students outside of customs. The building isn't very large at all and the only problems should be the crowd outside the airport waiting for their friends and family. Even with the rain, it'll still be crowed. We won't have much trouble finding a taxi; the key is not to lose anyone."
Jim nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'll try to keep track of the students. After meeting with them over the past few weeks, I can identify most of them fairly quickly."
Ellison and Sandburg remained quiet until the doors of the plane opened. They were in the back, so they stayed seated until they could actually move up the isle. The trip through customs went quickly and they managed to gather all the students without any problems. One of the students, Karie Plahye, was missing a bag, but the airline was able to track it to an earlier flight and retrieved it from the storage area it had been placed in. As a group, they stepped outside to the damp air of Managua, Nicaragua. The students' excited voices cut through the air and several taxi drivers approached the group.
Blair and Eli, who had been letting Blair lead, stepped forward and started negotiating with two drivers for the price of the group to be taken to the hotel. As the two anthropologists shook hands with the drivers, the students started getting into the taxis. Blair made sure all the drivers knew where to go and got into the last taxi with 4 students. Jim had gone with another cab and Eli with another. Luckily only one group of students didn't have a group leader with them, but one of the students spoke fluent Spanish and had, at one point, lived in Nicaragua for a brief period of time and was familiar with the customs.
Blair sighed. They had arrived safely and hadn't lost anyone yet. He hoped they all made it to the hotel in the same condition. He watched the passing scenery with a tired interest and only really focused when a student asked him a question. Within 20 minutes, the taxi had arrived at the hotel and the students exited the cab and joined their fellow travelers. The last taxi containing Eli Stoddard and 3 students pulled up. Eli, Jim and Blair left the students by the gate and walked into the small lobby where several cats surrounded the trio.
"We have reservations under Stoddard." Blair spoke in Spanish.
"Of course, here we are," the night clerk replied. "The rooms are just around the corner. Here are the keys."
Eli finished signing in the group while Blair and Jim distributed keys. "Guys, we'll be waking up at 8 in the morning. One of us will walk around and knock, but that's all you get. Be packed and ready to go by 9. Remember, you can drink the water, but it's probably safer not to. See you tomorrow."
Blair and Jim nodded good-night to Eli and opened their room. It was simply furnished with two single beds and a T.V. There was a small bathroom with a shower. The men quickly stripped down and hopped into bed, saying good-night. Morning would come quickly and it would be a busy day trying to arrange the last minute details of the trip.
**************
Okay, just as a reminder, review. Now. Thank you.