Work Text:
t was a cold morning in Middlesea; the sun hadn't risen up yet and the city was covered with a thick wintery fog. Despite the time and weather, the airport was active and full, some running to get to their fight, some deeply asleep or talking to their companions, gleefully hoping to meet their family for the holidays.
On the other side, the three doctors sat in the waiting room for their flight, all carrying light luggage, and each inside their own world. Dr. Edega was silently reading a book that covered his entire face. Dr. Paige fell into a deep sleep, it was the first (and probably the only) instance where her boss didn't scold her for falling asleep, so it was better to take the chance to do so.
Ian however, was trembling and even if he wanted, he couldn't fall asleep, but the reason for his quivering wasn't the intense cold, like for the other two doctors this was his first time travelling by plane, and he was terrified. He had always been afraid of heights and a plane ride can go as high as 42,000 feet in the air which was way too much for him; thoughts and memories of watching plane crashes on the news filled his mind with dread and intense fear.
The main reason for the flight weren't vacations of any sort, they were going to show off the Rhythm Doctor program in a presentation in a nearby country to get more money to fund the program and evolve it even further. The intern, Hugh, the janitors and the nurse were left in charge of the hospital and the patients. What troubles could happen with the intern taking care of the patients after all?
Ian’s thoughts were interrupted by the airport’s speaker calling the passengers of the doctor’s plane to make lines to board it. Edega stood up silently, not taking away his sight from his book and waited for the other two doctors close to the line; Ian tried to wake up Ada
-”Hey! Ada! Wake up, it's time to board now!” - he whispered to her
-”...Wuh…? Huh…? Oh right…” - She woke up and walked slowly to the line, still half asleep.
After several minutes, the passengers started going through the tunnel and into the plane. As the doctors walked through it, Ian felt a bit nauseous but it was too late now, he couldn't go back. Ian and Ada’s seats were on the 13th row, Edega was on the 15th. After sitting down and putting on his seatbelt, Ian immediately shut the window on his side, watching how high they were would make his feelings worse.
After some time, the plane’s motors started rumbling and the aircraft began to move.
Ian sank into this seat, panicking and hyperventilating. Ada noticed her coworker’s anxiety
-“Ian, are you alright?” -
He looked over to her, trembling, and unable to talk.
-Hey, it’s ok, you can squeeze my hand if you need to.-
He looked back and forth at her and at her offering hand, and after some thought, he took it. Ada gave a soft smile as he squeezed her hand, taking Ian’s thoughts away with it his face became red.
Without notice, the plane quickly accelerated, catching him off guard. He took close Ada’s hand and squeezed it even more, this time making Ada red with a bit of pain from the squeeze. The plane was taking flight, and the pull of gravity became slightly stronger. After the aircraft stabilised, everything felt much calmer now; it was as if they were on the ground just with a light pull to the floor and nothing else.
Ian took back his breath.
-”See? It's alright, nothing happened!”-
-”Yeah, yeah…”- With both of his hands he kept holding her without noticing. She didn't mind though, she felt calm being by his side; maybe a bit too calm, her eyelids closed and her head fell to the seat’s cushion.
Ian looked at his sleeping coworker, he was surprised that she could fall asleep so easily, but it made sense. He looked down and noticed their hands lashed together, he didn't want to disturb her deep sleep so he just left it as it was. Why bother moving her? He wasn't annoyed by it, just flustered.
After some minutes of thinking passed, Ian had the curiosity to open the window, they were already at top height, there wouldn't be any vertigo, right? Slowly, he pushed the window cover up, to see a faint ray of light that turned into a beautiful image of the sunrise hugged by the white puffy clouds surrounding it. A time of dread turned into one of wonder and calm, he took a picture of the sunset, trying hard with one hand. He didn't want to wake her up so this would be enough.
For now he had to just wait for the landing, for around 2 hours, two hours of holding hands with his coworker, it would be worth it, as long as she would get the rest she needed.