what now? | outerbanks

• nine •

    JJ

    I jump out of my chair, remembering when Pope had an allergic reaction after finding the cross. We saved him. If only I could remember how, I could save her too. But what did we use? How did we save him?
    I scramble around the plane, carefully stepping over her limp body, looking for a first aid kit; something useful. Finally, I find one in the cabin. After pulling at the pinched zipper a couple of times, it comes undone and I am met with a jumble of bottles and pouches.
    " Shit, shit, shit, what did it start with? Ep- Epi- something. I know it, I have to." That's when I see it. A small bottle of tablets with small words written across the bottom of it. I squint to see it, and read "Epinephrine." That's it. I tear open the packaging and grab a tablet, rushing back to Kiara. I open her mouth and stick the medicine in, hoping it will do something. Turning around to the seats behind me, I grab a bottle of water and try to get her to drink it. She doesn't do anything at first, but then soon after starts to twitch a little bit and chokes on the water.
    I sit the girl up quickly, propping her up on my shoulder and patting her back. "Hey, hey. It's okay, I got you Kiara." She continues to cough and I realize she's trying to talk to me.
    "I- I can't," She's gasping. She can't breathe. I sit her against the side of the plane and get another tablet. This has to work.
    "Here, Kiara, swallow this please." At this point, my face is covered in a mixture of sweat and tears, but I try to mask it so she doesn't know how scared I am. I give her a sip of water as well, and with some struggle, she gets it all down. "Atta girl. Just calm down, it's gonna be okay."
    "It's hard to breathe, JJ. I'm scared." For the first time since she's woken up, the girl looks me straight in the eyes, and her gaze pierces into my heart. There are tears building up, drowning the dark brown of her eyes; I've never seen her look so scared before and it's killing me. "Jayj, am I going to die?"
    "No, no. The medicine is going to kick in, Kie. I promise. Heyward and them will be back any minute now, I know it. They'll get here and you will be just fine; everything will be just fine." I don't know if it will or not, but I can't let her be scared. As she persistently wheezes and shakes, I put her hands into mine and squeeze them tightly, pulling her head into my chest as I do so. I lean my head back against the door of the plane, trying to calm my breath.
I shouldn't be the one here with her. I don't know anything about this, Pope could probably help her better. I should have let him go.
I notice Kiara's breathing becoming less shallow. It still doesn't sound good, but it's better than before. A final tear rolls down my cheek, and as it reaches the corner of my mouth the door to the plane swings wide open, revealing the rest of the group.
    Sarah is the first to talk. "How is she? Is she okay?" She doesn't give me time to answer, and instead bends down on the floor next to me and Kie. "Hey, pretty girl. How 'ya feeling?" Sarah tucks Kie's hair from out of her face and wipes some spit off of her lips.
    "She's doing alright now. Her breathing is getting a little better and she doesn't look as swollen."
    "Hi, Sarah." Kie's voice is weak, but we can still make it out. Sarah pulls the girl into a long hug, and Cleo joins in as well.
    "All our girls in one place." Pope says, hooking an arm around John B.'s shoulder. "Safe at last."
    "Let's not speak too soon, kids. Everybody get in your seats, Pope, come to the front and help me." Heyward demands, and with no hesitation, we agree. JB and Pope stow the bags of gold away in different spots: some in the over head cabinets and some underneath seats. Sarah finishes cleaning Kie up, and, with my help, we get her into a seat. I sit in the seat next to her, Cleo next to me, and Sarah and John B. across from us. I lift Kie's knuckles up to my mouth and kiss them lightly. She doesn't say anything, I can tell she's still afraid.
    "Hey, look, the medicine is working. You can breathe. You're okay." I whisper to her.
    She lets out a deep breath, almost like she needed to hear me say it. "Thank you, JJ." And with that, she rests her head on my shoulder and falls asleep.

Pope

    "Thanks for coming, Pops. It means a lot, you know."
    "It better mean a lot, son. It took a lot." He laughs, but I don't laugh with him. I feel like I've only been a burden for him these last couple of years, and I don't know how I could ever pay him back.
    "I'm sorry."
    "Sorry for what, Pope?"
    "For putting you through all of this. You and mom. If I could take it all back I would." And I would. Of course it's great to have my friends by my side through all of this, but the toll it's taken on everything is astronomical.
    "Oh don't worry about us. We'll be alright, boy. It's hard, but we know how much this and these people mean to you. We love you." I can feel tears forming in my eyes as he talks, and he pulls me into a tight hug, patting me on the back.
    "So, you actually know how to fly this thing?" I've never heard my dad say anything about flying.
    "I know enough. Here goes nothing." He clicks a couple of buttons, pulls a couple of levers, and before I know it we're headed forward and into the sky.
    "You gonna buy her a ring?" He asks. My head whips in his direction.
    "Too soon dad. Like way too soon." He looks at me and laughs a little, I can tell what he's going to say.
    "Well, Pope, you know-"
    "Yes, dad. I know Sarah and John B. already got married. We can't all be like Sarah and John B." I suddenly remember that all of my friends are in the plane behind me, and I poke my head out to check on them, but I find them all sound asleep. This is what I like to see, all of my people, all safe, all together. This is the dream.

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i'm back!!! watching obx season 4 really got me in the mood to write, especially since it was so sad 🥲🥲
trying to make happy endings and smiling faces!
please share and vote and comment!
also let me know if you ever have any plot ideas, i love to see what you guys want!