Author's Note's: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Locks of Love is a real organization and their website address can be found on my author's page.
Sunday morning breaks bright and clear, it's a perfect day for flying. They both lay in their beds staring at the hospital's acoustical tile ceiling. Sleep has been mostly a wishful dream all night.
"You awake?"
"Of course."
"Get any sleep?"
"Not really. You?"
"The amount of sleep I got last night you couldn't fill a thimble with."
They both sigh and continue staring at the ceiling.
"Think she's up?"
"I don't know. Part of me wants her to get her rest and another part of me hopes she's as strung out as we are."
"That's not very nice, but I know what you mean."
"Think the doctor was serious about letting us go?"
"You know he wasn't lying."
"I know, but everything depends on the final blood tests they ran. If they come back less then stellar, we're going to be stuck here for god knows how long."
"I don't think I can take much more of this place."
"I know. If we don't get out of here soon, I'm not sure this building's going to be standing for much longer."
"Be nice. They've given us a private room together when they normally wouldn't, they've kept the reporters away and they haven't given Sharon or Ron any guff about coming and going at all hours. They didn't even complain when Sharon brought that hair dresser in here to clean us up."
"I know. I just want to go home."
"Me too, sweetheart, me too."
Rupert climbs out of his bed and crawls into Selma's. She gently caresses his face with the neatly trimmed beard before kissing him. They cuddle up together and in a matter of moments are asleep.
Some time later, Selma wakes to the sound of someone shuffling around their room. She opens her eyes and sees that Nurse Ellen has come in with their breakfasts. Selma watches her for a few moments before the nurse notices she's awake.
"Good morning," Ellen cheerfully greets. "Time to rise and shine, sleepy heads. You get to go home today. You both must be so excited to finally be able to go home to your daughter and meet your son-in-law and your grandchildren. I'm going to miss you two and always finding you both in the same bed."
By this time Rupert is awake as well and smiling at the perky nurse with the olive colored skin and plait of long black hair. She continues her one sided conversation as she putts around the room putting their breakfasts on the little rolling tables that go next to their beds and pushing the trays up to them so they don't have to move. Her Hawaiian print shirt is nearly as bright as her personality and she's one of the few things they'll miss about this place.
"Ok, you two, eat up," Ellen orders as she pushes the tables in place and takes the covers off of the trays. "The doctor will be in a little later on. Once he signs your release papers, you two will be on your way home. And to think you get to go in a private jet. How wonderful as that? Ok, I'll leave you two to eat and I'll check back in later on."
With that, she sweeps out of the room as Selma and Rupert watch her go. They both quietly chuckle before digging into their breakfasts. It's hospital food, but compared to what they ate when they were stranded, it's gourmet dining.
Over an hour later, breakfast is a memory and the trays are long gone. They're showered and dressed and now they're both wandering around the room checking and rechecking that they have everything that Sharon provided them. They're repacking their bags when the doctor finally comes in.
"Good morning," Dr. Fisher says as he walks in, clipboard in hand. "I just got your tests back and everything looks great. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that you two had only been missing for a few months, not nearly two and a half decades. You're in excellent health and there's no reason to keep you here any longer. I'll give your release forms to Nurse Ellen and as soon as your ride gets here, you two can be on your way. How does that sound?"
"That sounds wonderful," Sharon admits from the door as she walks in. "As much as I like visiting the islands, I can't wait to get back to the mainland. I miss Vicki and Maggie's been driving me nuts with all of her phone calls."
"Who knew that our little Magpie would turn into a mother hen?" Rupert chuckles as he zips up his duffle bag.
"I did," Selma reminds him as the doctor quietly exits. "She always was the nurturing type."
"Don't remind me," he playfully grouses. "Remember all of the animals she kept trying to bring home and nurse back to health?"
"The nest of baby squirrels that got blown out of their tree was my least favorite," she moans.
"How long did it take you to get them all out of the house?" he asks.
"Two hours and that was only after I found out three days earlier she had brought them in," she answers, shaking her head at the memory. "If it had fur or feathers, she wanted to love it."
"Who knew that she'd get a thing for scales," Sharon mutters to herself.
Rupert suddenly turns to look at her with questioning eyes. Before he can ask what she's talking about, Sharon's saved by Nurse Ellen coming in with a couple of orderlies each pushing a wheelchair. Without complaint Selma and Rupert happily take their seats with their bags in their laps and are pushed down the hall to the elevators.
The ride down is uneventful, but all hell breaks loose when the doors slide open and the reporters that have been waiting for nearly a week descend on the hapless couple before they can blink. Sharon and Nurse Ellen run interference as the orderlies push their charges towards the door, 'accidentally' squishing a few toes in the process. A short time later, Sharon and Rupert are settled into the back seat of the rental car as Sharon slides behind the wheel.
"Where's Ron?" Selma asks as they leave the parking lot.
"Getting the plane ready," Sharon explains. "He has to do the preflight checks and log his flight plan before we can take off. With any luck, everything will be ready to go when we get there."
"Oh, great," Selma replies, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
"Is something wrong?" Sharon asks, looking back at them in the review mirror.
"Earth Mages don't like flying," Rupert explains as he takes his wife's hand to try and comfort her.
"Oh dear," Sharon mutters. "I wish there was some other way, but this is the quickest way to get back to the mainland."
"I know," Selma replies as she takes a calming breath. "Just don't expect me to be a great conversationalist after we get up in the air."
"It's ok, I understand," Sharon assures her aunt.
"No you don't, but it's nice of you to say that," Selma responds with a tight smile.
Sharon has no response to this, so she just continues to drive in silence for a while. A short time later she notices that they're being followed. With a growl of frustration, she continues to drive as calmly as she can.
"Is something the matter?" Rupert questions.
"We're being followed by reporters," Sharon replies. "Their vans are right behind us."
Rupert and Selma turn around and look through the back window and sure enough there are at least half a dozen vans in hot pursuit. Selma scowls at them before suddenly one of the lead van's tires blows out. Shortly after that van pulls over to the side of the road, the transmission to the second van falls out from under the vehicle. This continues for each of the vans until they are all off to the side of the road, each with a different ailment.
"Feel better?" Rupert asks his wife, chuckling quietly.
"A bit," she answers as she settles back in her seat.
They return the rental car a short while later and catch a ride to the airport getting dropped off at the area where charter flights take off. As they cross the tarmac, Ron comes out of the plane to greet them. After kissing his wife 'hello,' he takes Rupert and Selma's bags and goes to stow them on the plane.
Sharon follows him up the stairs but when she turns around to look at her aunt and uncle, she notices that they're still standing on the ground. Selma is visibly shaking, her heart is wildly beating and her breath is coming in ragged gasps as she tries to blink back the tears of blind panic. Rupert stands beside her with his arms around her and he's quietly talking into her ear.
"It's ok, sweetheart," he assures her. "Just think about Maggie and Abe and the twins. Just concentrate on seeing them again. Soon we're going to get to hold our grandchildren."
"I can't," she sobs, looking up at him as tears starting to pour down her face. "I can't. I'm sorry. I just can't do it."
"Something wrong?" Ron softly asks Sharon when he sticks his head out to see what the hold up is.
"Earth Mages hate to fly," she quietly answers as she watches Rupert hold his wife to his chest as she desperately cries her fears into his shirt.
"Anything I can do to help?" Ron inquires in a louder voice.
"Ron, in my bag is a small envelope in one of the side pockets," Rupert tells the pilot. "Please bring it to me with a glass of water."
Ron nods his agreement and quickly disappears back into the plane. A couple minutes later he comes back out with the requested items and hands them to Rupert. Rupert takes the envelope first, opens it and carefully shakes out one pill into his hand. After handing back the envelope, he takes the glass and then tries to push Selma back so that she can take the pill. Selma has a death grip on her husband's torso and won't let go as she continues to hysterically sob.
"Selma, honey, you need to let go," Rupert tells her, but she just tightens her grip and shakes her head 'no.' "Sweetie, I need you to let go for a minute. Have some water then you can go back to trying to break my ribs."
With some help from Ron, Rupert finally gets her to loosen her grip enough to drink some water and take the pill. As soon as they let her, she goes back to crying and holding onto Rupert as if her life depended on it. Ron takes the empty glass and the envelope back into the plane and puts everything away. By the time he comes back outside, Rupert and Sharon are holding an unconscious Selma up.
"What happened?" Ron demands as he quickly comes down the stairs.
"I told the doctor that she has a fear of flying," Rupert starts to explain. "So he gave me a sedative to help calm her. I'm not sure if he gave her too strong of a prescription or if she's just so overwrought that the pill just hit her hard and fast. Could you help get her in the plane? I don't think I can carry her."
"Sure," Ron replies as he easily lifts Selma into his arms. "How long will the pill last?"
"The doctor said that it should last about three or four hours," Rupert answers as he follows Ron into the plane.
"She'll probably wake before we get to California," Ron warns him as he places Selma in one of the seats.
"Don't be surprised if you get to San Francisco a little faster than normal," Rupert responds as he fastens a seat belt around his wife before taking his own seat.
"I never am," Ron replies with a knowing smile as he closes the outer door and then disappears into the cockpit.
Rupert gets settled in his seat as Sharon finds a blanket to cover Selma before taking her own seat. A short time later they're in the air and with a little help from both Sharon and Rupert; the plane catches a tail wind all the way back to the mainland.
Just as the plane is circling over San Francisco, Selma is shaking off the effects of the pill she was given. By the time she's aware enough to realize that they're in the air, they're making the final approach to the airport. She manages to keep the panic at bay long enough for them to get on the ground and when they do touch down she lets out a loud sigh of relief. Rupert smiles at her and gives her a gentle kiss as the plane taxis towards the terminal.
About ten minutes later the plane reaches its destination and they wait rather impatiently for Ron to shut down the engines before he opens the door for them to exit. Ron and Sharon collect the bags, leaving the older couple free to cross the tarmac unfettered. They head for a small building that serves as the charter flight office and waiting room and go inside. As soon as they step in the door they're temporarily blinded by news camera lights. But after their eyes adjust to bright lights, they see one of the most wonderful sights they have ever seen.