The next morning, bright and early at 6:30, all the girls were already up and about. Amy had tried calling Tommy to see if the boys were doing the same. Nobody was answering the phone, though. So she decided to take matters into her own hands. She gathered all the girls in her room and told them, "Hey! I think the boys are still asleep."
"Well they better wake up soon or we're gonna miss the boat to Ellis Island." Lexa, one of the other girls, said.
"That's what I was thinking." She took a key out of her pocket. "Tommy gave me a key to his room last night, and told me all their rooms were interconnected. I was thinking we could each get a guy- maybe the ones we were with last night- and wake them up or something…you know- so we won't be late. How's that?" She looked around and everyone nodded their head in agreement.
"We should all order room service, too." Claire suggested, "So we could all eat already and be on our way- once the boys get done." Everyone agreed to that as well.
"Em, you order breakfast for twelve to be delivered to…Michael- no wait! JJ's room, since his is the one in the middle. The rest of us will wake up our boys." Em(ily) agreed and Amy and the other four crossed the hall to the boy's side.
As suspected all the boys were still asleep. The girls gathered in Tommy's room and found all the doors connecting all six of their rooms were wide open, making the whole space look like one, big room. Scotch-taped on the wall right next to each door was a sign stating whose room was next. Looking around, each of the girls found their boys and started the difficult process of waking them up.
Just before Claire entered Jack's room, she spotted Michael's video camera perched on Tommy's bedside table. She took the opportunity to grab it she entered Jack's room. Tip-toeing into the room, Claire found Jack fast asleep in the middle of the bed, surrounded by pillows and a huge comforter. Damn, that must be comfortable… Claire mused. Oh, gods! He looks so adorable! She switched on the camera and aimed it at Jack's face. The guy's hair was sticking up in all sorts of places and the tiny water spot on the pillow at the corner of his mouth revealed just a little bit of drool coming out. Claire couldn't help but laugh at the site. She then aimed the camera in her direction and said, "Hi! I'm Claire, and this is our first day in New York City, which we're going to spend sightseeing! But first, we have to wake up a few people." With that, Claire put the camera on Jack's nightstand so it was facing his direction. She then proceeded to wake him.
"Jack!" She shook his shoulder and heard him mumble something in his sleep. "Jack!" She shook him a little harder this time and the mumbling became muttering. "Jack, come on! It's time to get up." This time she heard him form coherent words, but couldn't make out what he was saying. He then went on to turn over in his sleep muttering the same thing again into his pillow. This time, Claire caught what he was saying, but realized why she hadn't recognized it the first time-- Jack was murmuring something in Irish! She had some experience with the language, so she wasn't completely lost in translation. "Jack, it's Claire, come on, it's time to wake up." She told him in Irish.
"But I'm tired!" He responded in the same tongue.
"I know, but you have to!" She pulled back and tried a new approach. "I have breakfast for you." She said, a smile tugging at her lips when she heard Jack groan and push himself off the pillow. For a minute Jack looked around, completely disoriented. Once he realized where he was, he looked at Claire and asked,
"How did you get in?"
"Tommy gave Amy a key to his room last night. When you guys didn't answer the phone this morning, we figured all you boys were still asleep and needed a wake-up call. So here we are." She opened her arms and waved to herself. Jack nodded and looked around once again.
"I thought you said you had breakfast?" He asked, a mischievous grin on his face.
Claire laughed and dropped down on one of the pillows. "Why don't you put a shirt on first?" She suggested with a smile.
"Why don't I get breakfast first?" He whined playfully.
"Because it's room service policy- no shirt, no—" she lifted the comforter and looked down, "--pants, no breakfast." She laughed.
"You take the fun out of everything." Jack smiled as he stood up in the middle of the bed. He was wearing only his boxers and the site made Claire glad she had turned on the camera. He stepped over her lazy form and onto the ground. "Nerd!" He muttered.
"Dork!" She shot back.
"I'm gonna take a shower." His back told her.
"Alright!"
"Don't eat my breakfast!"
"You'll have to hurry then!" She heard his laugh and not a minute later, the sound of running water reached her ears. Claire then turned her head on the pillow and faced the camera. "Okay then, mission accomplished!" She giggled, "I'll check back later." With that, she reached up and shut the thing off. Bored, Claire set out to find something to play with. She opened the nightstand drawer and found an old, wooden yo-yo in it. She took it and rolled it up.
Just then Amy walked in the room, "He up yet?" She asked.
Claire pointed to the bathroom, "Taking a shower."
"In that case, it should be quick then." Claire looked at Amy, confused. "All six of them are taking a shower right now, so I don't think the hot water's gonna last for more than five seconds." The both of them laughed and Amy walked back into Tommy's room. After a couple of rounds with the yo-yo, Claire determined she was still tired, and decided to catch a few extra minutes of shut-eye. Rolling over, she took over the spot previously occupied by Jack and buried herself in the comforter.
Five minutes later, Jack came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and another one currently being used to wipe his hair. When he saw who was nuzzled in his comforter, he couldn't help but smile. He got his camera from above the dresser and took her picture while he still had the chance. She looked like an angel, covered in blankets.
Jack quickly got changed into fresh boxers and a pair of jeans, and then made to wake Claire back up. "Hey, sleepyhead!" Two blue beauties opened up to meet his gaze. "I have breakfast for you!" He told her with a singsong voice and a smile. Claire giggled as her own words were reflected back at her.
"Let's go eat then!" She sat up, stretched, and then bounced off the bed. "Are you coming or not?" She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to JJ's room where she could already smell the food.
"What happened to no shirt, no pants, no breakfast?" Jack asked, smiling once again.
"They threw that rule away while you were in the shower." Claire jibed.
"Really? How…" Jack stopped in his tracks as they reached JJ's room, "…Food!" He exclaimed.
"You gentlemen took us to dinner, so we ladies treat you to breakfast." Amy explained. By this time, all six men had entered the room and were staring at the buffet before them, stunned to speechlessness. Last night's poker tables as well as another of the same size were set up side-by-side. On them was a mountain- not a stack, but an actual mountain- of pancakes and waffles, there were six platters of different kinds of eggs and sausages, and another platter purely held the hush browns.
"This is real?" Rick asked JJ.
"Oh, yeah, this is real." Chris answered for him.
"Not cafeteria food?" Rick asked again, unable to believe the beautiful site before him.
"Definitely not cafeteria food." JJ answered.
"Thank you!!" Rick exclaimed to the ceiling, with mock praise and worship. "There is a god and he knows how to cook!" Everyone laughed.
"Dig in, people!" Amy encouraged with a smile; and that they did- quickly, though. The next half-hour was filled with people hurriedly eating, rushing in, out, and through rooms, and gathering all the necessary stuff for the day ahead. The six rooms were in utter chaos by the time everyone was full and ready to leave.
By some miracle, though, the twelve of them were up and leaving the hotel by 7:30 sharp- exactly the time they had intended to leave. Claire let out a breath of exhaustion, wondering how they were able to accomplish that in an hour! After a moment's contemplation, she dropped the idea. This was her first tour of New York City, and she was going to enjoy every bit of it! No brainwork today. She told herself. Today's a fun day! And with that thought in mind, she put a smile on her face, grabbed Jack's hand, and signaled a cab.
