Title: All Over Again
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Will and the Benedict family belong to Joss Stirling. Beth belongs to me.
A/N: Hey. This is the sequel to Moments in Time - if you haven't read it, read it first or this will make no sense. I hope you enjoy. Drop me a review. I'd love to hear from you.
Chapter One
Splash. Water flies out of the pool, drenching me from head to toe. "Oliver," I scold. "You've soaked me!"
Olly creaks and clicks at me as he swims to the side, sticking his grey nose out of the clear, blue water. He's laughing – I can tell.
I toss him a fish from the bucket at my feet, smiling as he snaps it up and comes back for more. "Only one left," I tell him, throwing the final fish as hard and far as I can, making it land with a splash at the other end of the pool, near the water gate where his sensible mate, Pingu, is waiting.
In an instant, he's racing after it, towards her, his sleek grey body cutting a path underneath the water. I wipe my fishy hands on a towel that is lying on the hot concrete, and then I pick up the bucket just as Olly leaps out of the water and lands with yet another gigantic splash.
"Show-off," I call good-naturedly over my shoulder as I head towards the feed hut, the bucket bumping against my bare legs. It's November, but we seem to be having a freak heat wave here in Key Largo, Florida. Not that I'm complaining. I love the sun.
I hear Pingu whistle loudly to Olly as I walk away, and I smile. Those two seem to be taking mates-for-life very seriously. Me – I think they're perfect for each other – Olly's the loud bouncy kind, good for working with confident or older children, whilst Pingu is quieter, gentler and a lot more sensitive.
Now, I know I may sound like a complete anthropomorphist, but I believe that each of the dolphins here have their own character; their own special trait that marks them out as individuals. They may not be human, but they are a damned sight cleverer than us – probably more of a people than we'll ever be.
I open the door to the tatty-looking old hut where we keep the fishy treats – fish comes and goes out of the open sea pen, which is where the dolphins spend most of their time – but we still like to give our dolphins treats, and this is where we get them from. It may not look like much from the outside, but inside it has proper worktops for preparing the fish, and freezers for storing it.
I walk through the door to find my boss, Rae Afferson, leaning against the counter, talking to our local dolphin vet.
I brush past the two of them, dump the empty bucket on the counter opposite, turning on the tap to rinse out the bucket.
"It's been confirmed, Beth," she says as I quickly wash the fish juices out of the bottom of the bucket, and throw it in a pile of the things.
"What has?" I ask, boosting myself up onto the counter, and adjusting my sunglasses that are thrown up on my hair.
"We're expecting a new arrival next February," she announces with a proud grin.
"Olly and Pingu?" I ask, my jaw dropping open.
"Yes," the vet says.
"Ohmygod, that's amazing!" I gush. "My two favourite dolphins are having a baby!"
"You're not supposed to have favourites," Rae reprimands me with a teasing smile, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Like you don't love Finley more than the rest of them," I retort, pushing my sunglasses down to cover my eyes.
"True, true," she concedes with a wave of her hand – the vet smiles at her.
"What do you want me to do now?" I ask.
Rae thinks for a second. "Go open the water gate and let Olly, Pingu and Finley out, then you can go for your afternoon off."
"Sure," I say, giving her and the vet a two fingered salute before hopping off the counter, grabbing my sunhat from its hook, and flip-flopping out of the door, back into the bright sunshine. I shove my hat on my head, heading towards the locked gate that holds the wheel for the water gate into the open sea pen.
Pingu, Olly and Finley are waiting by it expectantly, making whistling and clicking noises. I chuckle as I unlock the little gate and put my hands on the big wheel, throwing all my weight into turning it around.
With a groan and a clanking of chains, the metal and wooden lattice starts to rise up out of the sea-foam coloured water, creating little waves and ripples that race off in a perfect circle around it. As soon as the gate is high enough to let them pass, the three dolphins shoot underneath it, three grey arrows heading for the edge of the large sea pen that holds the rest of their pod.
I lock the gate again, then walk back along the concrete paths, passing a family in the care of my co-worker, Abigail. I smile and say hello, but continue on my way to the main office building, behind the complex of pools, cottages and learning rooms.
I key in the code to let myself into the building, taking the steps two at a time up to the main office. "Mina!" I call, bursting in through the door.
"What?" she replies, head bent over a book of calculations.
"Pingu's pregnant," I say. She shoves her chair back, finance forgotten.
"That's brilliant news," she enthuses, hugging me. I grin at her.
"I know. I'm so excited already," I disentangle myself from her enthusiastic embrace, head across to my station to pick up my bag. "I'm off for the afternoon, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," she echoes, sitting back down with a wide smile plastered across her face.
I amble up the drive towards my boyfriend's house, the gravel crunching under my feet. It's been six months since we got together, though I always have to remind him of important dates like that. He's so forgetful – he'd forget my birthday if it wasn't written in his diary in large red letters.
I let myself into the house with my spare key – I got sick of waiting around outside for him to get back, so he gave it to me – and slip off my flip-flops, taking the carpeted stairs two at a time. He shares this house with three other students – Mia, Ashley and Nick. They're all nice enough, but I get hostile vibes floating around from Mia when I'm flopped out on top of Zach on the sofa.
She's always disliked me, though, so I'm kind of used to it.
As I reach the top of the stairs, I hear noises coming from one of the rooms along the corridor. Noises that mean someone evidently got lucky today. I roll my eyes and head down the hall, stopping dead when I realise that the noises are coming from Zach's room.
No-one is ever allowed in his room without his permission.
My sense of trepidation growing stronger, I shove open the door. All I see is Mia's long, tangled blonde hair and her arms wrapped around Zach's neck.
There is a moment of silence.
I turn and run, anger and hurt ripping their claws through my heart. Why? We were so happy, and he had to go and cheat with that…that…
"Beth, wait!" his voice calls out. I stop at the bottom of the stairs, turn to face him. There are tears running down my cheeks.
"Why should I?" I shout. "Why should I interrupt when you're happily getting off with your slag of a roommate?"
"Beth, don't go," he pleads.
"You made your choice," I throw him a scathing look. "I thought I was enough for you, but obviously not."
I slam the door on his heated protest, the tears still streaming from my eyes.
Why? Why would he do that? We were happy.
I angrily wipe my eyes, march back down the driveway. He can keep Mia all to himself – I don't care. I don't need him.
I don't care. I really don't.