Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. This one is going to have more chapters later on. It's a different setup. You'll see what I mean. And I would like to mention Tina and Kristen who inspired me to write this, and twirlgirl04 and Aricraze who gave me some feedback on some stuff on the story.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

Realization of Fate

Home Sweet Home

It was in the middle of June. The airport was filled with tourists and locals who were either going in or out of town. In the midst of the crowd stood a young female in her late twenties or early thirties who was turning her head left and right as though searching for someone. She spotted what she was looking for and headed towards them. A young man greeted her about who was about her age and a little child who instantly clung to her.

"Hey sweetie," the woman said to the child. "Are you ready to go?"

The child nodded. She looked up to the man and gave him a knowing smile.

"So, what time is the flight?" she asked.

"Well, it doesn't look good. It seems that we'll be delayed for another hour or two."

"That bad, huh?"

The man shrugged.

"So what are we going to do now?" she asked.

"The best we could do is stay here in the airport."

"What about her?" she pointed to the child. "She'll be bored in here."

"I'll think of something to occupy her," the man said. "Why don't you stay here? If something comes up, then you have my beeper number."

"That's a good idea."

"Do you have anything to do for the mean time?"

"I'll think of something," she said as she gave him a kiss. "And you, you better be good, ok?"

"Ok," the girl nodded and instantly dragged the man with her.

The woman laughed at the sight and sat down on one of the chairs. With nothing else to do but wait, she searched through her luggage and found a book. An old book. Well, it wasn't that old. It looked old by the constant turning of the pages. It was just released about a year ago. She had to admit that the title was a little bit out there, but it became an instant bestseller.

She looked at the book for what seemed like a minute, memories of every detail from it coming back to her. She knew the book from cover to cover, like the back of her own hand. Despite that, she still read it once in a while for fun. Figuring out that this was a good time as any, she flipped the book open to the first chapter and started reading.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My life has always seemed like one big roller coaster ride: full of its ups and downs, surprises and fears. Trying to run away from the pain, I always left things undone, believing that they sort out by themselves. What I didn't know was that even I couldn't run away from my own destiny…

"Can you believe it?" Caitie Waite said in excitement. "She's finally coming to visit us."

"You mean they are," said her husband, Jamie. "And I thought you were mad at her for leaving without telling you and not visiting since God knows when."

"Don't start with me!"

Jamie playfully raised both of his hands up in the air as if to say he surrendered.

"You checked the flight schedule, right?" Caitie asked. "They are arriving at this time, right?"

"I actually forgot to tell you that they arrived yesterday," he said sarcastically, earning him a fuming glare.

"I love you."

Caitie smiled at him and turned towards the gate as she waited for two familiar people to emerge from it.

"Oh my God," Caitie said. "They're here."

A blond woman about Caitie's age came into view with a little girl of about four who was holding a teddy bear. She looked like she had just awakened from a nice sleep. The blond woman looked around and spotted Caitie, an immediate smile appearing on her face. She approached them with the little girl in tow.

"Hey Caitie!" the woman said as she gave her a hug. "I've missed you so much."

"Welcome home, Val," Caitie said to her best friend since high school. "I can't believe you're finally here."

"Me neither," she said before breaking the embrace and turning to Jamie. "Did you miss me?"

"We all did," Jamie said as she gave her a hug of his own.

"How's my favorite niece?" Caitie said to the little girl who was the exact replica of her mother.

"I'm fine, thank you," the little girl said.

"Have we met before?" Jamie said jokingly to the little girl. "What's you name?"

"Alyssa, on your orders," she said while getting her skirt and bending her knees like a real lady.

"I don't know where she learned that," Val smiled.

Five years ago, something happened that changed my life forever. Who would have thought that the maid of honor of a wedding who was single and unattached, would have a child before the bride herself?

********************

"Do you Caitie Roth take Jamie Waite to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you Jamie Waite take Caitie Roth to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

Jamie gave Caitie a kiss as the two walked down the aisle. Val only looked on, a twinge of jealousy creeping inside her. She wished that she were Caitie. She wanted to have a family. And yet she was single. Although it was supposedly a happy occasion, she couldn't help but feel down.

********************

It must have been from depression or self-pity that I decided to get a few shots of liquor. I didn't expect things to get really out of hand, but they did.

********************

Tyler Connell, who was one of the best men along with Hank Beecham, came over to Val. She was sitting at the bar.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "Something seems to be bothering you."

"I'm fine."

"How many shots have you drank?"

"I don't know. It's hard to keep count after five."

"Five!"

"Shhh," said Val. "Don't tell anyone. You see, I'm sad, and that's why I'm getting drunk."

"Val, you shouldn't…"

"Here, have some," she told him as she handed him a drink. "I can trust you, can I?"

"Sure," Tyler said. "But only because I'm bummed as well."

Tyler took another shot, and another, and another. A few moments later, Val decided to get back to the hotel.

"Can you come with me?" she asked. "I can't seem to walk."

"Sure," Tyler said as she offered her his arm, even though he was equally drunk.

The two individuals walked up the stairs to Val's hotel room, surprisingly able to stand up despite their condition. Without thinking, they both went in and locked the door shut.

********************

I ended up getting drunk. And if that wasn't bad enough, I ended up sleeping with my ex-boyfriend from back in the days. He was the only man I ever loved in my whole entire life. I got pregnant and decided to run away from everything. I left everything behind to restart my life…in England. But as the wise men say, "A good son always comes back home."

"So where are you taking me?" Val asked the Waites.

"You haven't seen our house, have you?" asked Jamie.

"Not really," she replied. "Only in pictures."

"Well, we're heading there," said Jamie.

"Where are your twins anyway?" asked Val.

"Kyle and Chrissy are at home with Hank," replied Caitie. "You know about Hank, right?"

"Of course," Val said. "He told me about what happened to Melanie. He was really devastated when he came to visit us. We talked for a few hours. He seems to be doing great with their son. What's his name again?"

"Malcolm."

"Mommy?" asked Alyssa. "Is Daddy here?"

"Certainly, honey. Everyone is."

When I lived in Kingsport, we used to be a group of six. It was always Caitie, Jamie, Tyler, Hank, my sister Brooke, and I. Most of us worked at the local EMS station, which stands for Emergency Medical Services. We used to hangout at local diners, the park, or at school. Some people could say that our lives were pathetic, but they were the best days of my life. We were good friends, we got along pretty well, we cared for each other, and we didn't worry about many things. We were happy.

"Come on, Chrissy," said Hank. "Stop crying. I'll give you a dollar."

Caitie, Jamie, Val, and Alyssa came in the house at just about the same time.

"Hank!" Caitie said with a look that's asking him what he was doing.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't you think my daughter's too smart for that?" asked Jamie.

"What do you mean?" asked Hank.

"Give her five bucks!" said Jamie.

Caitie elbowed him playfully.

"I was just kidding," laughed Jamie.

"And who's this little girl?" asked Hank as he knelt on one knee.

"Uncle Hank!" Alyssa cried as she gave Hank a hug.

"How old are you now?" he asked.

"This much," she said as she held up four fingers. "How about you?"

"I'm afraid that I don't have enough fingers for that, Alyssa."

"Grownups are no fun," she said. "That's what mommy tells me all the time."

Hank laughed.

"When you're past ten, you'll see what I mean."

Val came over to Hank and gave him a hug.

"How are you, Valerie?"

"I'm great, Hank. You?"

"I'm doing better. You haven't met my son, have you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Malcolm!" he called out. "Come here and meet your aunt Val."

Malcolm came running to his dad and headed towards Val.

"You must be Malcolm," Val said as she shook the boy's hand. "How old are you?"

"I'm five and a half," said Malcolm.

"It's nice to meet you," Val said.

"I'll take Alyssa to play with the kids," said Hank. "Come on, Alyssa. I'd like you to meet your cousins."

Val smiled. Even though they weren't related at all, the treated each other like family. Val went into the family room and started telling them what happened. Several minutes have passed after Val told them the whole story of why she came back.

"Does he know?" asked Caitie.

"Not yet," Val said. "I'll tell him when the time comes."

"Well, you can always stay here in our place," said Caitie.

"Thanks, but I think we'll just stay at the hotel."

"Just remember, Val, that you're always welcome here," reminded Jamie.

"I know. I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had to end it right here : ( Sorry, but I wanted to spread the story out so that it will have more chapters. This is a book after all. I hope you liked it. Other characters will be introduced later on. I'll be back in two weeks! ~ Scarlet182