And now a word from CSI-girl419: This is not my story, and I can in no way take credit for it. I am just publishing it for my dear friend Athena. I hope you guys like it a lot! She'll explain more about it herself...

A Dream Come True

A/N: This is my first attempt at fan fiction, and I think I'm addicted! ;) In any case, my good friend CSI-girl419's story, Unexpected Journey, inspired a story of my own. She told me a little more background about a couple of the characters, and I decided to run with it, with her permission to use her characters and part of her story, of course. Since I can't have my own account here, she's also agreed to publish it for me, so, without further ado, here is A Dream Come True

Introduction

Growing up, she'd never really thought of herself as beautiful. In fact, she'd always thought of herself as the ugly duckling amongst all the beautiful swans that were her friends. Beauty, she thought, came in a package including blonde hair and blue eyes, with the exception of Isabelle Caine, a dark-eyed beauty closely resembling her late mother, who had passed away when Belle was a baby. Belle just happened to be one of her three best friends, and three better friends she could never ask for. Belle, Mel, and Britt had always been there for her, and were, in fact, part of the reason she was where she was at all. If it weren't for them, she might not have met Taylor, and the two of them might not be getting married now… She smiled, looking at herself in the mirror in the bride room, letting her mind wander back over the past five years, beginning with the day her life (and self-image) had changed forever…

Chapter 1: Love at First Sight

"He's looking at you again, Heather!" Melissa Delko gushed happily. "Why don't you go over and say hello?"

Heather looked up in the direction Melissa was indicating, and then quickly looked down again. "No, I'm sure he's looking at you. Why on earth would he want to look at me?" she said.

Heather Kenison was short and skinny with long brown hair and brown eyes. The short and skinny, she could deal with, but the brown hair and eyes were, in her opinion, a combination only Isabelle Caine could pull off. Not that Heather minded being ugly. In fact, she saw it as a perfect excuse to constantly do the things she loved best: read, write, and make music. Once in a while, though, she did wish she were prettier, like right now, when a cute guy, obviously taken by Mel's beauty, was looking in their direction.

Mel, unconvinced, insisted, "No, he's looking at you! Why can't you just accept the fact that you're beautiful and guys notice you?"

"Because it's not true," Heather stubbornly responded.

Mel gave an exasperated sigh, "What am I going to do with you?"

Heather giggled and said dramatically, "Love me, keep me, never leave me!" Mel joined in the giggles and playfully hit Heather on the arm.

Just then, Brittany walked up to hush them. "Quiet! They're here!"

Immediately, Heather and Mel quit giggling, but the anticipation on their faces showed they were ready to burst from the excitement. The whole reason they were there was because it was Isabelle Caine's, or Belle, as they called her, sixteenth birthday, her Sweet Sixteen. Her father, Horatio, had rented this yacht for the party and put Mel in charge of the guest list, and there was quite a turnout. Heather knew most of the teenagers there, but the cute boy that kept looking their way was one of the few she had yet to know.

Everyone quieted down and stayed out of sight of the dock, listening as Horatio Caine told his daughter he'd rented the yacht for her party. When Belle expressed surprise at a party, they all moved into her sight and began singing a rousing, and not quite in tune, as Heather quickly noticed, chorus of Happy Birthday. When they finished, they all went down the gangplank to greet the guest of honor. They then went onboard and headed out to sea with what promised to be a great party beginning.

There was music and dancing. Heather, always the wallflower, stayed by the railing talking to Brittany and watching as Mel went to talk to the cute boy who'd been looking earlier. Heather and Britt watched, mildly interested, as Mel talked to the boy then, smiling, led him over to them.

"Heather, Britt, this is Taylor. Taylor, this is Heather and Brittany," Mel said, indicating each in turn.

Taylor shook Britt's hand, then Heather's, and, flashing brilliant teeth, said, "It's very nice to meet you." Instead of letting go of Heather's hand, he raised it to his lips, his eyes never leaving her face as he kissed it.

Heather, startled, quickly appraised him before responding. He was tall and tan, with light brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles across his nose, just enough that you noticed his eyes, which were a deep blue. He was wearing blue swimming trunks with a completely unbuttoned button-up shirt that revealed rippling muscles and abs that would make any girl's heart flutter.

Finally, Heather smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you, too."

"Would you care to dance?" Taylor said, indicating other couples dancing. If she hadn't been so startled by this unexpected turn of events, Heather might have found his formal tone rather funny. As it was, she only dimly registered that the song could easily be waltzed to as she nodded and allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor.

Taylor turned out to be quite the dancer. He could waltz and cha-cha and swing like no one Heather had ever danced with, including those in her old class at school. While they danced, they talked and laughed about anything and everything they could think of. By the time they stopped to rest, all thoughts that she was ugly in any way, shape, or form, were far from Heather's mind.

The two of them went over to the railing by Belle to look out at the ocean. Taylor kept his hand on Heather's back, as if ready to sweep her onto the dance floor again. It felt very nice. They cheered with everyone else as the yacht started moving. Just then, the yacht hit a wave and Belle fell overboard. Like a flash, Taylor dove in after her, but Eric Delko, Mel's dad, who'd been in the cockpit steering, was faster and reached her first. He brought her back on deck, with a little help from Taylor and another boy who'd jumped in, Garret, and laid her on deck. Horatio came running and found, to his horror, that his only child wasn't breathing. He immediately began performing CPR and, to everyone's relief, revived Belle. She was wrapped in blankets and towels and taken below decks to lie on a couch as Eric steered them back towards land.

Meanwhile, on deck, Taylor and Garret had been given towels. Heather went to Taylor's side, telling him how brave it was of him to dive in after Belle. He modestly brushed it all off, saying he would've done the same for anyone. He then pulled Heather close and just held her there in his arms. She fit so perfectly there that she almost felt they were meant to be together. Almost, but not quite, as a little voice in her head told her it was all too good to be true.

When they reached land a few minutes later, there were boats and camera crews everywhere, wanting to get the story. A passing news helicopter had captured the whole rescue on tape. Horatio had everyone back off to give Belle some space as he tenderly put her on a stretcher. As a precaution, the paramedics decided to take her to the hospital, where the ribs broken during CPR were attended to and she was checked to make sure everything else was normal after her ordeal.

All the guests went home, but Heather, Britt, and Mel visited Belle to help her feel better, first. They found that the story was on all the channels, now known as the "Sweet Sixteen Rescue."

When Heather went home, however, her thoughts were far from Belle. Instead, her thoughts strayed to Taylor. Why had he been so nice to her? No matter what the reason, the very thought of him brought a smile to her face, and she had sweet dreams of him that night.

TBC

A/N: Please read and review! I know this has been a little choppy, but I'd like to know how my first attempt is going so far!