(A/n) I was asked to post this story by LittleMissWolfie. My plot bunnies are few and far between. Most of the time it's a massive block that stays in my mind. However, when they come I have to let them run free. I can't promise I'll update with real life taking precedence but I will try...

-0-

"Anya! Hurry up! We're going to miss the boat!"

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!"

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs, a rush of thumping boots that made their way two at a time down the steps. The woman who appeared at the foot of the steps was breathing somewhat heavily, a thick suitcase held in one hand. She was tall for a woman with long black hair that was pulled into a pony tail at the nape of her neck. The thick curls ended just above her shoulders, adding a sense of grace to her light tanned features. She wore a simple white t-shirt with a navy blue vest over it. A pair of matching jeans adorned her legs and a pair of brown work boots finished the outfit. Her dark brown eyes were sparkling with excitement as she studied the younger woman waiting for her in the lobby of the clinic.

The other woman was shorter with long light brown hair that fell loose past her shoulders and bright sapphire eyes that she had inherited from her father. A red bandana held back the pin-straight locks and it matched the boots that adorned her small feet. She wore a yellow shirt under an orange blouse that remained unbuttoned. A pair of knee length jean shorts that were folded at the hem completed the outfit, a pair she had actually gotten from the taller woman named Anya. It was eerie how much Chelsea looked like her mother at the moment...

"Are you ready? Everyone is waiting for us at the dock to say goodbye!" She had reached down to grab her own large suitcase, which had been resting on the floor, as she started bouncing in place.

"I am Chelsea," Anya said, moving forward to join her cousin in all but blood. She paused and looked around the closed clinic, a sad look playing in her dark brown eyes. She sighed and turned to look at her best friend. "Let's go say goodbye to everyone."

Chelsea gave a nod as she reached out to take her cousin's hand and pulled Anya out of the clinic in her haste...

-0-

The two had arrived at the beach to find dock was filled with the members of their family. As Chelsea pulled Anya behind her over the sand toward them, Anya couldn't help but study them. Of course there were her parents and her brother, Trevor.

Annie and Dr. Trent were older but they looked as much in love as they had two decades before. Anya's mother was leaning against Anya's father, her hand holding tightly onto his. Annie was dressed in her usual farm clothes, a worn pair of jeans and faded t-shirt. Her frazzled dark curls were pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck and they had yet to sprout any gray hairs. She still worked hard on Aunt Claire's farm and it only showed in the laugh lines at the corner of her eyes from being in the sun all day. Her father was a good head taller than her mother, his black hair not showing any signs of gray either. A few laugh lines around his eyes and lines upon his brow were any indication. He was wearing a white shirt with a beige vest, his khaki pants matching in color. She loved seeing her father out of his lab coat.

Her brother was standing beside their mother, he was three years her junior and he had reached their father's height, towering even over her. While their mother was a tiny little thing both Anya and Trevor had inherited their father's height however they had gained their mother's curls and lightly tanned skin. Her brother was still wearing a white coat from the clinic, a clear indication that he was following in his father's footsteps as a doctor. They all looked happy and sad at the same time.

Beside them, Aunt Claire and Uncle Gray, Chelsea's mother and father, were smiling at their daughter. It was clear that Chelsea was the spitting image of her mother while gaining her father's deep blue eyes. The light brown hair was inherited from both parents' side of the family, a recessive trait that had made itself known in their daughter. They were dressed as they always were, Claire in her plaid shirt and jean overalls and Gray in his khaki pants and jacket, his infamous blue UMA cap on his head. They looked older as well but happy.

The last to see them off was Uncle Jay and Aunt Elli, their cousin Stu (though he was actually Elli's little brother, he was closer in age to them) and his fiancee May. The twins, Ellen and Tony, were standing in front of their parents and looking sad. They were in their late teens and were identical. They had brown, curly hair and hazel-green eyes with lightly tanned skinned. They were Anya's blood cousins, an obvious fact since they bore the same light tan skin. They resembled their parents just as Anya and Chelsea did their own. They were a big, awkward and loving family and had been together all of their lives.

Now that they were leaving...

Chelsea must have been thinking the same thing because she had released Anya's hand and ran straight to her parents, dropping her suitcase in the process. She ran to her mother and father, throwing her arms around the both of them as she started to cry. They held their only child close...

Anya sighed heavily as she walked to her own parents, her dark brown eyes moving from her mom to her dad and finally to her younger brother. "It's time..." She took in a breath as she set her suitcase down and reached out to her mother. Though Anya was taller than her mother, she felt in that moment in time that she was small again. Her mother's arms reached around her and held her tightly.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," said her mother as she reached up to pull away a few black curls from Anya's shoulder. "I wish we had more time with you but that is how life is. It's time for you and Chelsea to find your own place in this world."

Anya pulled away from her mom and she looked at her dad, her throat beginning to grow tight. Her father was smiling sadly but he looked so proud. "It's not like we won't visit you and you can always visit us."

"You better visit, it'll get lonely here without you and Chel..." Trevor had reached out and pulled his older sister into a tight hug. "I'll miss you sis."

Anya returned the hug only to be pulled away and brought into another tight hug. "Don't hog her Trev! We have to say goodbye too!" The twins had hugged her at the same time and soon she was hugging her Uncle Jay, her Uncle Gray, her Aunt Chelsea, her Aunt Elli, Stu, and May...

There were so many hugs and tears but at the end of the goodbyes and the promises to write, the loud whistle from the boat signaled it was time to go. Chelsea and Anya took their suitcases and walked along the dock to board the boat. They turned one last time to the cries of goodbye from their family, waving to all of them. It was goodbye but it was also the beginning of a new adventure...

Sunshine Islands awaited the two young women. There, they would be starting their very own ranch. The excitement in Chelsea's sapphire eyes was contagious and as the boat began to sail away from the dock of Mineral Town, Anya couldn't help but feel excited herself...