"…They are believed to have gone down at sea."

The words that were spoken hit Riley right in the heart; they hit so hard that it made her heart ache. Gone down at sea… encountered some difficulties, continued to ring through her mind, and there was nothing Riley could do to get those words out of her brain. It was as if they were like a sound wave bouncing off of a flat surface, but this echo kept growing louder instead of dying down like it was supposed to. She felt several eyes fall upon her as she felt the blood draining from her face. This can't be happening! No, no, no! Riley protested to herself.

She didn't know how long the silence hung over the room before she finally spoke. "Why would they be flying in this weather? It's a mad house out there! Shouldn't have all the planes been grounded until the storm let up? I know that sometimes they don't get to choose the weather they fly in, but…" she trailed, not able to find anymore words.

Captain McCall crossed his arms and nodded. "Usually, that would have been the case. But the storm came faster than forecasted," he explained. "It was supposed to start after they were scheduled to land at Lakehurst."

Riley shook her head, refusing to believe that her entire world might shatter before her eyes. "Why didn't he tell me he was coming?" she asked as her voice began to waiver. "He promised me that we would see each other if he was close by," she continued, her attention now focused on her parents. Riley saw them turn towards each other and look into each other's eyes, as if they were speaking to the other without any need for words.

Finally, Cory turned to his daughter and placed one of his hands on hers. "He wanted to surprise you, sweetie," he said gently. "That's why he didn't tell you."

Riley closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying desperately to keep her emotions hidden. Tears began to burn her eyes, but she kept her eyelids closed to prevent them from spilling over. She didn't know which was worse, knowing he was coming and then having him go down, or what she was experiencing right now. Frankly, she wished she didn't have to know either situation. But here she was, living one of her worst nightmares. Riley felt all the worry, sadness, and frustration starting to build up inside her chest, threatening to spill over at any minute. It didn't matter that she was with family at the moment; she didn't allow anyone to see her cry.

"If you'll excuse me," Riley whispered as she stood up and attempted to make her way to the bathroom. That way, she'd have a bit of privacy. But she didn't make it five feet from her chair when all the emotions inside of her chest seemed to explode, and it was way too much for her body to handle. Riley collapsed onto the floor, letting out a pain filled gasp once she hit the floor.

Everyone rushed over to Riley's side, Maya being the first one there followed by Captain McCall. Her body was shaking with sobs as hot tears spilled down her face. Riley's arms were wrapped around her body as if she were trying to offer herself some comfort.

Maya got down on her knees and took ahold of one of Riley's hands. "Riley… Riley, come on girl," she said to her best friend to try and calm her down, but it didn't work to her avail. Her best friend remained where she was as her breathing became more and more irregular.

Captain McCall knelt on the other side of Riley and helped her into a sitting position. Once Riley was somewhat up, Maya wrapped her into a hug. Riley returned it, but in doing so, her grip on her best friend was rather strong. Maya gritted her teeth in order to keep herself from yelping. That was the last thing Riley needed right now, and to be honest, at the moment Maya didn't care that her ribs were being squeezed. It was the least of her worries.

"Come on, Riley," she repeated. "Breathe with me, come on… deep breaths."

At first it didn't look like Riley was listening, and Maya was afraid that she was going to pass out from hyperventilating. If anything, if Riley did pass out, it would help her breathing return to normal; however, that was a last resort in Maya's book. But after a couple of more minutes, Riley's breathing started to even out.

By the time that happened, Captain McCall gave their waiter the bare details of what had happened, and that their orders were now going to be to go.

The captain crouched down to Riley's level. "If you want, we could head to my office to keep track of what's going on. Is that okay?"

Riley closed her eyes and nodded. She felt like she should have answered verbally, but she just wasn't up to it at the moment. After she responded, she heard the adults converse amongst themselves for a while, and then McCall returned to her.

"We're going to head over to the base. Your dad and brother are going to wait for our dinner and then head over once it's done."

Again Riley nodded as Maya helped her to her feet. The two friends, McCall, and Mrs. Matthews gathered their things and piled into the captain's car. It was about an hour trip from the restaurant to the base, and Riley was silent for the whole journey, which worried everyone. The only time she would make any sort of sound was when either her mom or Maya would ask how she was doing. Even then they were lucky if they got one or two words from her. The rest of the time, Riley was focusing on the rain that was pelting the car's windows.

All she wanted was an update on Lucas and Farkle. Riley was worried about both of them, but her mind was mostly on Lucas. She felt bad for it, but she couldn't get her mind to focus on both of them. Maybe it was because Lucas was something more. But still, Riley thought, I've known Farkle all of my life!

Riley leaned her head up against the head rest and closed her eyes. Please, she prayed, please let them be okay. Please… I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of them. Let alone both…

A/N: More information on how the boys are doing next time! See you then!