"Planes and Pills"
Maurae woke up with a headache on the morning they were set to board their plane for California. She and Adam had packed the night before, loading their suitcases and hockey bags into the trunk of Philip's car before going to bed.
Adam bonded in just as she finished braiding her hair, exuding energy that she didn't feel. "What do you want?" she snapped, going into an instant 'I- hate-people-today-and-you're-no-exception' moods. He gave her a look and she turned back to the mirror. "Go away."
Ignoring her imperious command, he smiled. "Ready to go?"
"Do I look ready to go?" Her sarcastic tone was starting to have an effect on the usually easy-going Adam, and he scowled at the back of her head.
"Well, fine then. If you're going to be a witch today, I'll just leave you alone."
"See that you do."
She didn't look up as he left, and didn't even feel sorry at first. She'd just instigated what was surely to develop into the first argument between the two forwards. They rode to the airport in stony silence, neither speaking to the other, and neither making eye contact.
After checking in with the team and checking their bags, Philip smiled at his son and hugged him goodbye. He hugged Maurae too and waved at them as he drove off. Turning on her heel, Maurae strode back into the terminal with her backpack on, over to where the rest of the team was gathered. She chose a chair, sat down, pulled out a thick book, and buried her face in it as Adam approached.
"What's the matter with her?" she heard Ken ask Adam.
"She's got something stuck up her butt," he replied angrily. "She's been like that all morning." She continued to ignore them all until Bombay approached with their boarding passes. He handed them all out until he was only holding his and Maurae's.
"Ro?" he asked, having picked up on the nickname as Adam had prophesied four weeks earlier. She looked up, her face blank of emotion, her eyes cold fire. "Your pass." She took it silently and looked at it.
"Thank you," she said calmly. Putting the book back in her backpack, she unfolded her legs and got up, shouldering the bag and following the crowd of fourteen to their gate.
Boarding was an adventure because they had two whole rows near the rear of the plane and it took them nearly twenty minutes to board. It would have been easier if Adam and Maurae had discovered before the boarding call that they were seat partners. Uncharacteristically, it was Maurae who raised the protest and Adam who wholeheartedly agreed they could not spend the flight in such close proximity. In the end, the only person who would brave sitting next to her was Portman, which did nothing for her mood.
In fact, it only darkened. In order to keep peace on the plane, she pulled on her headphones, and stuck her nose back in her book. When the pilot came over the PA, Portman grabbed her attention by pulling off the headphones. She shot him a glare but said nothing.
'Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Flight 214, nonstop from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Our flight time today will be approximately four and a half hours. Flight attendants please prepare for takeoff.'
Maurae swallowed hard and paled dramatically. She squeezed her eyes shut and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in her knees. "I'll be fine, we aren't going to crash," she muttered under her breath, repeatedly.
And Dean knew why she was being such a temperamental witch. She was afraid to fly. More than that, she was so terrified of flying that it paralyzed her normal sunny disposition and brought out the bad moods. He smiled and leaned back in his seat, bringing his hands up behind his head casually.
"Afraid to fly, princess?" he asked, loud enough so that the question carried to the others.
"Yes," she snapped. "Now shut up and leave me alone." She put on her headphones, cranked the music loud and buried her face once more in her knees, still reassuring herself quietly.
Smugly, he turned in his seat and raised an eyebrow at Adam. "You just have to know how to handle her, preppie," he said. Adam made a face but didn't respond. Halfway through takeoff, Maurae sat up and reached into her bag again, pulling out a pill bottle. She tapped out two pills into her hand and tossed them back, using a little of the water left in her bottle.
Five minutes later, she was unconscious. When the drink cart came by, Dean removed the headphones and tapped her shoulder. Then he shook her. He got himself a soda and water for her, in case she woke up. When the meal cart cam by at the two hour mark, Dean tried again to wake her up. After the cart had passed, he shook her harder, so that her head flopped around.
"Um, Coach?" Bombay got up and came over. "She's been like that since takeoff."
Bombay looked at her and tapped her. "Did she take anything?"
"Pills. I assumed she had a headache and was taking a nap."
"No, I think it was a sedative. She said she was afraid of flying, and she must have medicine to help calm her down somehow. Could you find me the bottle?" Dean obediently dug around the bag, past books and a journal until he found the pill bottle and handed it to Bombay. "I thought so. Did you see how many she took?"
"Two, I think?"
Bombay snorted, and a smile teased his mouth. "Oh, yeah, she'll be out for a while. She was supposed to take one with a full glass of water in order to keep her calm for three hours. I assume that she didn't use much water? Well, two with a little water will keep her out for about five hours, give or take. See if you can rouse her enough to drink some more water. That will help her wash out." He handed back the bottle and went to his seat, still slightly amused.
Dean poked and prodded her in various spots, trying to do as he'd been instructed. He finally got a reaction when he poked her in the stomach.
"Don't touch me, Justin!" she exclaimed sleepily. Dean grabbed the water.
"Drink," he demanded. She glared at him, eyes glazed, but obeyed when he added, "please." She drained the cup and handed it back, so he refilled it from the bottle and gave it to her, which she drained again. Then he simply handed her the bottle and watched as she drank it all and handed it back for more. So he handed her the water bottle from his carry on and shook his head in amazement as she drank the entire liter, barely stopping to breathe. Seemingly satisfied with that, she handed it back, closed her eyes and went back to sleep, albeit, more naturally than before. Bombay nodded at him.
She woke up to the thump of landing gear hitting the ground, slightly groggy, but in full control of herself. She didn't remember a thing from the flight, or most of the morning, either. Her head felt stuffed with cotton, but other than that, she felt fine.
"Have a nice nap?" Dean asked her sarcastically, fully expecting the reassertion of her witchy mood.
"Very, thank you. I can't believe I slept that long. Must not have slept well last night.
"Or maybe you OD'ed on sedatives," he shot back, making her eyes widen.
"I did what?"
"Took two pills with a few sips of water. Then you proceeded to drain all the water in your immediate vicinity." Her face was pale again.
"Oh, no. I was mean this morning, wasn't I?"
"What was your first clue?"
"I have an extreme fear of flying, Dean," she said quietly as they stood and prepared to get off the plane. "Fear makes me cranky. When I get cranky, I get mad. And when I lose my temper, I'm quite cruel and petty." She shrugged. "I don't remember anything after waking up this morning and eating breakfast."
"Apologize to the others. I think they need it more than I do."
"I'm not going to apologize for who I am, and if who I am happens to be cranky sometimes, they can either deal with it or they can't. If they can't, it's not my fault. Everyone has off days, Dean, and I'm not going to apologize for mine. No one's ever apologized to me for theirs." She followed him down the aisle silently, and out of the plane with a sigh of relief into the humid, warm California air.
Maurae woke up with a headache on the morning they were set to board their plane for California. She and Adam had packed the night before, loading their suitcases and hockey bags into the trunk of Philip's car before going to bed.
Adam bonded in just as she finished braiding her hair, exuding energy that she didn't feel. "What do you want?" she snapped, going into an instant 'I- hate-people-today-and-you're-no-exception' moods. He gave her a look and she turned back to the mirror. "Go away."
Ignoring her imperious command, he smiled. "Ready to go?"
"Do I look ready to go?" Her sarcastic tone was starting to have an effect on the usually easy-going Adam, and he scowled at the back of her head.
"Well, fine then. If you're going to be a witch today, I'll just leave you alone."
"See that you do."
She didn't look up as he left, and didn't even feel sorry at first. She'd just instigated what was surely to develop into the first argument between the two forwards. They rode to the airport in stony silence, neither speaking to the other, and neither making eye contact.
After checking in with the team and checking their bags, Philip smiled at his son and hugged him goodbye. He hugged Maurae too and waved at them as he drove off. Turning on her heel, Maurae strode back into the terminal with her backpack on, over to where the rest of the team was gathered. She chose a chair, sat down, pulled out a thick book, and buried her face in it as Adam approached.
"What's the matter with her?" she heard Ken ask Adam.
"She's got something stuck up her butt," he replied angrily. "She's been like that all morning." She continued to ignore them all until Bombay approached with their boarding passes. He handed them all out until he was only holding his and Maurae's.
"Ro?" he asked, having picked up on the nickname as Adam had prophesied four weeks earlier. She looked up, her face blank of emotion, her eyes cold fire. "Your pass." She took it silently and looked at it.
"Thank you," she said calmly. Putting the book back in her backpack, she unfolded her legs and got up, shouldering the bag and following the crowd of fourteen to their gate.
Boarding was an adventure because they had two whole rows near the rear of the plane and it took them nearly twenty minutes to board. It would have been easier if Adam and Maurae had discovered before the boarding call that they were seat partners. Uncharacteristically, it was Maurae who raised the protest and Adam who wholeheartedly agreed they could not spend the flight in such close proximity. In the end, the only person who would brave sitting next to her was Portman, which did nothing for her mood.
In fact, it only darkened. In order to keep peace on the plane, she pulled on her headphones, and stuck her nose back in her book. When the pilot came over the PA, Portman grabbed her attention by pulling off the headphones. She shot him a glare but said nothing.
'Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Flight 214, nonstop from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Our flight time today will be approximately four and a half hours. Flight attendants please prepare for takeoff.'
Maurae swallowed hard and paled dramatically. She squeezed her eyes shut and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in her knees. "I'll be fine, we aren't going to crash," she muttered under her breath, repeatedly.
And Dean knew why she was being such a temperamental witch. She was afraid to fly. More than that, she was so terrified of flying that it paralyzed her normal sunny disposition and brought out the bad moods. He smiled and leaned back in his seat, bringing his hands up behind his head casually.
"Afraid to fly, princess?" he asked, loud enough so that the question carried to the others.
"Yes," she snapped. "Now shut up and leave me alone." She put on her headphones, cranked the music loud and buried her face once more in her knees, still reassuring herself quietly.
Smugly, he turned in his seat and raised an eyebrow at Adam. "You just have to know how to handle her, preppie," he said. Adam made a face but didn't respond. Halfway through takeoff, Maurae sat up and reached into her bag again, pulling out a pill bottle. She tapped out two pills into her hand and tossed them back, using a little of the water left in her bottle.
Five minutes later, she was unconscious. When the drink cart came by, Dean removed the headphones and tapped her shoulder. Then he shook her. He got himself a soda and water for her, in case she woke up. When the meal cart cam by at the two hour mark, Dean tried again to wake her up. After the cart had passed, he shook her harder, so that her head flopped around.
"Um, Coach?" Bombay got up and came over. "She's been like that since takeoff."
Bombay looked at her and tapped her. "Did she take anything?"
"Pills. I assumed she had a headache and was taking a nap."
"No, I think it was a sedative. She said she was afraid of flying, and she must have medicine to help calm her down somehow. Could you find me the bottle?" Dean obediently dug around the bag, past books and a journal until he found the pill bottle and handed it to Bombay. "I thought so. Did you see how many she took?"
"Two, I think?"
Bombay snorted, and a smile teased his mouth. "Oh, yeah, she'll be out for a while. She was supposed to take one with a full glass of water in order to keep her calm for three hours. I assume that she didn't use much water? Well, two with a little water will keep her out for about five hours, give or take. See if you can rouse her enough to drink some more water. That will help her wash out." He handed back the bottle and went to his seat, still slightly amused.
Dean poked and prodded her in various spots, trying to do as he'd been instructed. He finally got a reaction when he poked her in the stomach.
"Don't touch me, Justin!" she exclaimed sleepily. Dean grabbed the water.
"Drink," he demanded. She glared at him, eyes glazed, but obeyed when he added, "please." She drained the cup and handed it back, so he refilled it from the bottle and gave it to her, which she drained again. Then he simply handed her the bottle and watched as she drank it all and handed it back for more. So he handed her the water bottle from his carry on and shook his head in amazement as she drank the entire liter, barely stopping to breathe. Seemingly satisfied with that, she handed it back, closed her eyes and went back to sleep, albeit, more naturally than before. Bombay nodded at him.
She woke up to the thump of landing gear hitting the ground, slightly groggy, but in full control of herself. She didn't remember a thing from the flight, or most of the morning, either. Her head felt stuffed with cotton, but other than that, she felt fine.
"Have a nice nap?" Dean asked her sarcastically, fully expecting the reassertion of her witchy mood.
"Very, thank you. I can't believe I slept that long. Must not have slept well last night.
"Or maybe you OD'ed on sedatives," he shot back, making her eyes widen.
"I did what?"
"Took two pills with a few sips of water. Then you proceeded to drain all the water in your immediate vicinity." Her face was pale again.
"Oh, no. I was mean this morning, wasn't I?"
"What was your first clue?"
"I have an extreme fear of flying, Dean," she said quietly as they stood and prepared to get off the plane. "Fear makes me cranky. When I get cranky, I get mad. And when I lose my temper, I'm quite cruel and petty." She shrugged. "I don't remember anything after waking up this morning and eating breakfast."
"Apologize to the others. I think they need it more than I do."
"I'm not going to apologize for who I am, and if who I am happens to be cranky sometimes, they can either deal with it or they can't. If they can't, it's not my fault. Everyone has off days, Dean, and I'm not going to apologize for mine. No one's ever apologized to me for theirs." She followed him down the aisle silently, and out of the plane with a sigh of relief into the humid, warm California air.