Chapter 10: More Troubles

The flight from Kansas City to Lincoln was not a long one, and before Cadence knew it, she was being jarred awake by the jolt of wheels hitting tarmac. Her eyes flew open and reality hit her like a ton of bricks. Jack was dead. She should be overwhelmed with grief. Yet, she wasn't. Glancing around, she saw Hannah's comforting smile next to her and remembered why.

Then, she realized, Jack wasn't the only person she was no longer worried about. She had never even contacted Aaron to see how he was. Somehow, Hannah must have blocked that worry from her mind as well. As much as she appreciated the help when it came to lessening her despair over Jack, she wished it did not apply to Aaron. He was probably agitated that she hadn't even bothered to check in with him. And she suddenly realized exactly who Eliza must have been talking to earlier.

Despite the fact that the plane was rolling to a stop, and she was about to be faced with one of the most traumatizing experiences of her life, she fired off a quick message to Aaron, wanting to simultaneously explain why she had not done so earlier. "How are you??" she asked through the IAC.

He didn't answer immediately, and so she gathered up the few items she had brought with her aboard the plane and followed Eliza to the exit, Hannah and Elliott just behind. It was snowing now, the flakes coming down in large, wet puffs. Since her Transformation, Cadence didn't feel cold the same way as she used to, and she actually felt refreshed stepping into the falling crystals.

"What's the plan?" Elliott asked, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, his bag slung over his shoulder. They could see a car waiting for them nearby, but they paused just beyond the steps of the plane to discuss their next move.

"I guess I need to check in with Taylor," Cadence replied, fishing her phone out of her pocket. She found her name in the recent calls list and waited for her friend to answer

"Hello, Cadence," Taylor's weary voice whispered. "Are you here?"

"I'm at the airport," Cadence replied. "I just wanted to see where we needed to come. Are you still at the hospital?"

"No, we're at the hotel now. In Mr. and Mrs. Cook's room. The hospital told us they would call if they had anything else to report. Who is 'we?'" she asked.

"Oh, some friends from work came with me," Cadence replied, not realizing she hadn't explained before. "They didn't want me to come alone. I think you know my friend, Elliott," she added, using the term friend loosely.

"Elliott's here?" Taylor asked, her voice suddenly becoming more chipper. "That's good. He was such a help . . . last time." Her voice trailed off, as if she didn't want to remember that they had all just been through this same procedure recently, when they had lost Drew.

"Where are you staying?" Cadence asked, motioning the rest of the team to start walking toward the car. She could see the last of their bags being placed in the trunk and the driver closing the lid and felt they may as well load up.

"The Cornhusker," Taylor replied. "Do you need one of us to pick you up?"

Cadence slid into the backseat of the town car, along with Hannah and Eliza while Elliott climbed in front. "No, we have a car." The driver got in as well, starting the engine while he put on his seatbelt. Cadence momentarily wondered if he had any idea exactly who, or what, he would be driving today. "Do you know where The Cornhusker Hotel is?" she asked him, pulling the phone down from her mouth.

The driver nodded that he knew the hotel and pointed the car toward the exit.

"We are headed that way," Cadence said back to her friend.

Taylor sighed loud enough for Cadence to hear over the phone. "Good," she replied. "We can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see you guys either," Cadence admitted. "Be there in a bit." She slid her phone back into her pocket and took another deep breath, hoping the ride to the hotel would be a short one. She was comforted by Hannah's hand on her arm and temporarily wondered what she might be feeling like if Hannah was not adjusting her emotions.

That thought made her realize she still hadn't heard back from Aaron. Turning to Eliza she said, "Do you know how Aaron is?"

Eliza seemed surprised, assuming the next thing out of Cadence's mouth would have something to do with Jack or one of her other friends. "I don't think he's awake yet," she replied.

Cadence was confused. Aaron rarely slept, though he had done so on the flight back from Paris. Still, she felt there must be something she didn't know. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Didn't you talk to him after we left the airport?" Eliza asked. Seeing the expression on Cadence's face, she realized she hadn't and continued. "Jamie had to go back in and do some additional healing. They decided it would be better if they sedated him so that Jamie could concentrate on his internal wounds. So, I don't think he's awake from that yet."

Cadence nodded, embarrassed that she hadn't even asked about Aaron when she saw him get off of the plane in such a state, and anxious that everything had not gone as planned. Of course, Hannah's hand on her arm was a constant reminder that her emotions were not solely hers just now, and she tried not to be too hard on herself considering the circumstances.

"I'm sorry," Eliza continued. "I would have told you. I just assumed you would have been talking to him, too."

"I… forgot," Cadence admitted, her eyes drifting away slowly. A snicker from the front seat caught her attention, and she glared at the back of Elliott's head. "I'm sorry," she continued sharply. "I guess I've been a bit distracted, what with the death of my ex-boyfriend."

"Guess so," he replied curtly, not wanting to draw her into an argument but still apparently entertaining the notion that, perhaps, Cadence didn't care for Aaron quite as much as the Leader thought she did.

Cadence chose to ignore him, for now. She was keenly aware of the fact that Elliott thought she was a distraction, and he would prefer for Aaron to completely put her out of his mind. In fact, Elliott wanted her off of the team entirely. She knew there was little possibility of Elliott becoming her best buddy on this trip, but she also had neither the time nor the energy it would take to argue with him, so she resolved to put him out of her mind.