Disclaimer:
I don't own Peter, Sophie, etc. I'm not using this for money. Yatsa, Yatsa, and Yatsa.
Claimer:
I own Xan, Nick, Cameron, and all the children. I own Malin as well.
-*-*-
Reunion: Goodbyes and New Beginnings
-*-*-
Xan stood in the middle of the Cliffhanger Girls cabin. She could remember every moment of her days at Horizon. Especially the first time she met Shelby…
"Hi."
Xan looked up. One of the other
girls stood there.
- Hi. – Xan wrote on a piece of
paper.
"Are You Xan?"
- Yes. -
"I'm Shelby." She said, sitting down.
- Pretty name. I had a friend
named Shelby once. -
"So, umm, what are you in for?"
- My foster mom caught me & Nick
getting high at school about four months ago. u? -
"My dad made a deal with a judge – Here,
instead of Juvie."
- Oh. -
"Look. Sophie is going to take me
and Juliette down to see some horses tomorrow and Sophie thought maybe you'd
like to come with us."
Xan thought for a moment, - sure.
–
Xan smiled. She could remember meeting the rest of the
Cliffhangers too. "So many memories."
She whispered.
"That's true. There's a lot from here." Shelby said,
looking up at Xan. Daisy was behind
Shelby's wheelchair, smiling with tears coming down her face.
"What was it like after you left?"
Daisy asked.
Xan sighed and closed her eyes,
"Hard. I wanted to come back so badly,
but I thought you guys would be disappointed. Cameron hadn't even wanted to run. He wanted to stay. It was more
Nicky's idea. How stupid was that. Running away two days after graduation. We didn't even have a place to go. Mostly we lived on the streets, in shelters. We pawned a couple of things we stole from
stores for money for food. We finally
made it back to Syracuse. I was looking
for Emily and Sadie and Zillah, but they moved away. I couldn't even find some old friends. John pasted away two years after our visit, and Claire died about
a month before we got there. We went to
see Sammy though. After that, we moved
around. Spent a lot of time in Baton
Rouge, looking for a few friends who used to take care of us. When we didn't find any of them, we went
back to Washington. By that time Nicky
was in Prison for manslaughter or something like that. I didn't really listen when the charges were
read."
"Sounds like you guys spent a lot of
time trying to dig up the past."
"We did. We also looked up old students, like Kat, to see if we couldn't
get told about you guys. Something told
me that I had to talk to you guys, but I never got anyone with a current phone
number or an address."
"What about Sophie and
Peter? You knew their phone number."
Daisy looked at her, curiously, "And
you called my house a couple times."
"I couldn't call Peter and
Sophie. That would've been like begging
for them to take me back. And I know I
called your house, Daze, but it was only like three or four times before I
wrote the letter to Sophie and Peter. Besides, your son kept telling me that you weren't there."
"Yeah, well, Adam was in trouble for
lying. Little squirt."
Xan sighed again, "Any more
questions?"
"When you left, you were
pregnant. And that was eleven years ago
on the 30th. There's no way
CJ is eleven."
Xan smiled, "Do you remember when we
were choosing names for our future children on that hike just before you two
graduated?"
Shelby and Daisy nodded.
"Do you remember the ones I chose?"
A look of surprise crossed over
Shelby's eyes, "Sandra Maureen or Sandra Maura."
"Sandy is yours?" Sophie asked,
walking in to the room, "No wonder the social worker said it was someone we
knew."
"Yeah. The social worker was the same one that got me and Nicky our
first foster home. She was willing to
take the flight to you and Peter if it was going to make me happy."
"So why'd you pick us?"
"Well, I knew you and the
husband had being looking for a sibling for J.D. and I knew you wanted a
girl. I knew Sandy wouldn't be the age
you wanted, but big brothers always protect their little sibs." Xan smiled, remembering
Sammy, "Renee said she'd take Sandy to you and deliver a message. I told her what I wanted to say, but keep it
anonymous."
"I should've known that Sandy was
your baby when Renee told me that the mother wanted the name to be Sandra Maura
or Sandra Maureen, even though it didn't matter because you'd see her again
someday."
"Well, I knew I'd come home
eventually. It didn't really matter
what she was named, just as long as she was loved, and I knew you'd love her as
much as you could. I would've given her
to Daze, but I knew that you guys wanted boys."
Daisy smiled.
All of a sudden, a huge commotion
began, and Xan could hear Auggie's voice.
The four women looked at each other,
and then in unison said, "That's not possible!" Xan grabbed Shelby's chair, and they followed Daisy and Sophie
outside.
And there stood Auggie, smiling as
if nothing had ever happened.
-*-*-
"You're dead."
Auggie laughed, "Scott, you can stop
saying that now."
"But…But…You died, man. We were there when Curtis called Peter. Well, we were listening in on the phone, but
Curtis said you were dead."
"I know, but when they got me to the
hospital they revived me. I think they
said something about a high blood loss and it was a miracle I was alive at
all. Hey, even I was freaked! But I was more worried about Juliette and
Shelby. When I asked about you guys, I
was told you two were alright, and not to worry because the Scarbrows were
heading to them, and that they'd come see me later. You guys never came, and they called my parents. They took me home and I never got a hold of
my fiancée again. I thought maybe you
would call me, but, well, you know."
"That's why there was never a
funeral announcement." Peter said, "We obviously wouldn't have been told if he
wasn't…passed on."
Xan smiled, "Juliette, I believe it's
time that your engagement came to a close."
Juliette smiled, as both
Britty-Angel and Bonnie-Ale flew into the lodge. Britty-Angel held an antique wooden jewelry box, one Hal had
given Juliette, which he had told her to hold only the most important of
objects in. And she had.
"Mama!" Bonnie-Ale exclaimed, "Look
what we found!"
Juliette took it, "How did you find
this?"
"It was in your room."
"The cabin? How…" Then she remembered. After Auggie 'died', she'd taken it into the
cabin. Behind her bed, cut into the
wall was a spot she had carved for razors. Instead, she'd put the box, covered it back up with a piece of wall, and
then left. She'd never come back for
it.
Auggie looked at her, "What's in
it?"
"The wedding rings." She opened the
box, and a note flittered out. She
picked it up, "I remember this."
"Read it, Jules." Xan spoke.
"Okay." She took a deep breath, sat
down, and passed the box to Auggie. She
began, "To anyone who finds this, By now it's probably been a long time since
anyone's even heard the names Juliette Elizabeth-Anne Waybourne or Auggust
Cristos Ciceros. But know that they
were in love, that they would have been married, and these are the rings that
would have bound them together as one. But because of love for family, Auggust is dead. We will never be married, but he will live
in my children. And I will always love
him. With the greatest of love, Juliette
Elizabeth-Anne Waybourne."
Auggie looked at the rings, "We have
rings, we have witnesses, and we have the wedding party."
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's do it, Jules! We've waited ten years for this, let's get
married. I love you so much, and we've been waiting so long."
At that moment, the love Jules had
stored with in her heart for ten years poured into her words, but she was
speechless. Finally she gained back the
power to speak, "Auggust Cristos Ciceros, I have been waiting ten years to hear
you say this is the day we'll get married. Ten years, for you to say you still loved me. Of course, I'll marry you. I'd marry you even if it was my last day of life and I could only speak
the words 'I Do'."
Nick smiled, "Alright, we've got a wedding to do, and we've got to do it in…"He looked at his watch, "six hours!"
"We need a paster, reverand, one of
those!"
"Flowers!"
"Where are the other kids?"
Xan just stood there and laughed, "Guys, this is just like a certain wedding!"
Shelby looked at Scott and burst out laughing.
Nick looked between the group of people, who were all laughing now, "What's so funny?"
"Don't you remember Shel and Scott's wedding?"
"No."
That caused everyone to laugh harder, "They decided to get married about six hours after their graduation. Everyone went rushing around for flowers, a dress, chairs, a minister, and everything. You were the best man, but someone had snuck in some alcohol to celebrate and you were zonked! It was the funniest wedding I'd ever seen!" Ezra told him.
Everyone collapsed on to chairs and laughed.
From outside, Xan could hear someone calling her name.
"Xan! Hey Xan, wake up!"
"XAN ALEEZA NOELLESEN, GET UP!"
-*-*-
"Xan, come on!" Daisy whined.
Xan opened her eyes and looked around, "Where am I?"
"The infirmary. You had a fever of a hundred and ten." Shelby told her, matter-of-factly, "You've been delirious for about two weeks. Peter was worried that you were gonna die."
"I was out for two weeks?"
"Yeah. You had all of us worried. Even Queenie was worried."
With the mention of Juliette, Xan sat straight up and looked at the two, "What year is it? Where's Auggie? You can walk, right Shel? Nicky's not in jail, right?"
"Calm down!" Shelby said, confused, "It's January 31st, 2001. Auggie's in the art room painting something for Sophie and Peter. As far as I know I can walk just fine. And no, Nick's in the lodge talking to Peter about something relating to a new girl."
"And speak of the devil." Daisy said, as Auggie walked into the room.
"Hey, Xan. Peter wanted to know how you were. Guess you're feeling better."
"I guess so." She shrugged, and Auggie smiled.
"I'll see you later." He walked away.
Xan sat back, "There's no way that was a dream."
"What?"
"I said
there's no…Nevermind." She sat back and smiled. 'Maybe one day I'll tell them…"
-*-*-
The End
-*-*-
Cassie Jamie
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