Author's Note: Well, life happens when you least expect it. I had to do some soul-searching before I put this last chapter of this mini novel up. Really, I can't believe it's been this long both time- and word count- wise. Thank you to all of you reviewers, followers and favoriters. This is all for and because of you!

Chapter 11

Frosted Seas

The addition of Jack into Jamie's last month in Hawaii made it all the more special for both of them. One thing that Jamie would have changed was their accommodations; it was difficult to keep Jack a secret when he had housemates. They had decided on secrecy for the simple reason of avoiding a ton of questions. Aside from that, Jack and Jamie made a number of memories on the trip that more than made up for having to sneak around at the residence.

It's a pretty big adventure. Jack admitted. But it'll be fun.

Well it depends on how much control I still have. But even regular humans have a fun time with this. Jamie replied.

Clark brought Jamie's attention back to the task at hand. "You sure you up for this? You've done a few of these but this is your first solo." Jamie eyed the hang-gliding equipment, going over the safety checks.

"I can handle this. No worries, Clark." Jamie smiled. Not that I have any worries when you are with me, Jackie.

Did I ever tell you how much I love it when you call me that? Jack asked mentally.

I figured. Jamie answered, trying to focus on Clark's last second advice and failing. He'd heard it all before. Especially when I didn't hear you complaining about it last night. Jamie actually felt Jack blush a bit at the mention of their nightly adventures. That was nice to be on the other side, this time.

The tandem ahead of him took off over the cliffside. Jamie was next. Jamie took a bit to clear his head.

Jack slapped a hand on his back gently. Doesn't take long too clear out your mind. Jack teased. He stood beside Jamie as Jamie got harnessed into the glider. As Jamie finished, Jack put his hand on Jamie's shoulder.

Not helping. Jamie replied reproachfully, using their mental bond to talk to Jack while the Adventure Club was around.

Sorry. Jack sent back. He looked like he wanted to say more but they were interrupted.

"Jamie, so excited for you! I don't think I'd have the guts to try a solo glide." Claire was instantly at his side. Jack backed up so she wouldn't go through him. He hated when that happened.

"Yeah, well if you weren't such a scaredy cat about heights you could do this just like me." Jamie answered playfully.

"I'd rather do it just with you." She flirted. Jamie held back an exasperated sigh and looked over at Jack, but he had disappeared.

"Claire I have..."

"A boyfriend, yeah. As if I haven't heard this all summer." Claire cut him off and bounced back to the sidelines.

Taking a clearing breath, he looked at Clark. Clark gave him the go-ahead. He wished Jack hadn't just taken off. They were supposed to fly together. It was his turn though and he had to go. Without giving it a second thought, Jamie ran towards the edge of the cliff. Every cell in his body seemed to scream at him to stop before he jumped off the edge but he didn't give in and went straight over. Jamie's glider dipped slightly, but .was quickly caught by the wind.

About a minute in, he tried to call Jack through their mental bond but there was no answer. Frustrated he yelled out Jack's name.

"I'm here. I've been flying by you since just after you got up here." Jack appeared, yelling over the wind. He settled on flying on his back just underneath Jamie.

"Why'd you disappear?" Jamie asked.

Jack frowned. "You didn't tell me that SHE was here."

Jamie thought for a bit, then realized Jack meant Claire. The last time Jack had seen Claire he had gotten jealous. Jamie wanted to smack his own head. How could he have forgotten to tell Jack? "Jack, I'm sorry. I forgot she was even here when you showed up."

Jack seemed appeased; at least he wasn't frowning anymore. "Are you jealous? I couldn't get a hold of you mentally."

Jack reached up and touched Jamie's cheek. Their bond was suddenly back, Jamie could feel it. Jack answered with the link. I was a bit upset, but I'm still here. I wanted to see how you handled here so I stood behind you. It's a good thing I'm not mortal, or I would have hit her for flirting with you.

Are you augmenting this wind? Jamie asked Jack, in an attempt to change the subject. I haven't called it yet but I also haven't been concentrating on gliding. I'm surprised I'm not having more trouble.

No, the wind here is natural, for the moment. Jack answered. You must be a natural flyer.

Wonder what will happen when I try to call it. Jamie thought at Jack. The last few times he'd called the wind he was only able to float and control his descent. Flying was beyond him, at least unassisted. Jamie felt for the connection he had with the wind. It wasn't easy at first with all the adrenaline surging through his body.

The first sign he had connected was a sudden upswing in the wind that pulled the glider into a loop-the-loop. I think the wind is happy to see you flying. Jack thought to Jamie.

Really? I think it's trying to kill me! Jamie thought back. How do you control this?

Huh, maybe that's the reason you can't fly without a glider. Jack thought.

What? Jamie thought, as the wind pulled him into a barrel roll. Jamie did not want to do one of those again; the glider really wasn't designed for it.

It's part of the fun. I don't control the wind, I direct it. Jack called to Jamie mentally.

What is the difference? In Jamie's mind, he had a hard time imagining Jack not in control.

Well, I talk to it; I let it know what I want to do, where I want to go. I don't micromanage it. You've gotta let the wind go the way it wants to.

Jamie was starting to get the idea. "Okay wind, let's tour the coastline, and keep pace with Jack. No fancy tricks, please." An unseasonably cool breeze was the immediate response. An updraft took the glider and he followed it over the coast.

The view from the hang-glider couldn't be beaten. The island was beautiful, which was clear to see even as high up as he was. From the blue water to the green Hawaiian foliage to the black of the volcanic mountains, there was so much natural beauty around them. Idly he thought I could get used to this place.

Not me. It's a bit too warm for my tastes. Jack's reply reminded him that he should watch what he was sharing. Jack's laughter rang in his head. Are you ever going to NOT overshare? I think it's cute.

Yeah, well it only ever seems to happen to me. Jamie thought. It'd be less cute to you if it was happening to you.

Probably. Jack agreed.

They flew, admiring the scenery and the sensations. Jamie whispered to the wind and both guys were taken on a series of loops, dives, and spins. When they pulled out of the last dive, both boys were laughing.

I thought you told the wind no tricks. Jack said as the rush wore off.

Well, I can't be satisfied just with acting like a passenger plane. I just wanted to be ready for it. That was better than any roller coaster I've ever been on. Jamie replied, taking a deep breath.

Finally, Jamie told the wind to help him land. It took a bit to circle back to the landing strip.

"Woo brudda! That was one helluva flight!" Clark said as Jamie started to extricate himself from the glider. "Not sure I woulda done all those tricks like that on my first solo, but you pulled it off. And you got some stellar wind! I was sure we were gonna have to send a boat to pick you up off the other side of the island." He shook hands with Clark, who pulled him into a big bear hug. Jamie smiled as the others congratulated him on a good glide. Ezra even asked him for some pointers and Jamie had to think fast to come up with something to say.

"You just gotta let the wind take you where you want to go. Can't force it too much or you end up struggling to stay in the air." Ezra smiled and patted Jamie on the shoulder.

"You're alright, Jamie." Ezra said. "I don't care what they say about you." The way his eyes twinkled as he smiled clued Jamie into the joke.

It was time for the last luau and all of Jamie's practice was about to be put on a real display. His mother was already on the island. She'd taken time from work and had even brought Sophie, Jamie's little sister. Over the weekly practice luaus, Jamie had shown proficiency in fire dancing. He couldn't wait to show Jack (he hadn't allowed Jack to watch the practices), his mom and Sophie.

Jamie was far from a professional, but good enough to perform with Larry, Ezra and Clark. He'd really taken to a traditional Maori performance Poi, which involved two separate strings with a ball on the end. On the practice days, he'd picked up Poi from Clark, who'd been a fire performer of a few disciplines before being hired to run the adventure club. He's started practicing with what amounted to tennis balls on shoestrings, but had recently started doing fairly basic tricks with flaming poi.

The night's entertainment featured the members of the Adventure Club showcasing some of their newly developed skills. First up were Kathy and Flora. Kathy had been the best with an ukelele, having studied music in college, and she played as Flora danced a hula. The island dress that Flora wore covered a lot more than a usual hula costume, probably because she was a happily married woman. Kathy bore some midriff and although she wasn't as skinny as Flora, her outfit showed her curves off well.

Bill and Amy were next, doing a hula together that was much more vigorous (and with more revealing costimes) than what Flora had showcased. Toward the end of the dance, they picked up the pace even more and began competing against each other to see who could hula faster. They were a blur of motion, but in the end Amy's marathon experience gave her the edge and Bill gave up. Both were laughing, as was the audience.

Lorenzo probably got the most laughs. Thankfully it was intentional. He had dressed up like Elvis and the impersonation was hilariously accurate. Then he pulled out a guitar and Jamie discovered something about Lorenzo he hadn't known: the man could sing! Due to time limits, he sang Rock a Hula and finished with a beautiful rendition of Blue Hawaii. Jamie could have listened to him all night, though.

Claire's followed with a dramatic performance. It was a monologue totally at odds with everyone else's acts. It didn't even have anything to do with Hawaii. Jamie was chilled nonetheless, as she performed The Sorceress by Theocritus. Especially when she would catch Jamie's eyes, Jamie felt something uneasy. Luckily, Jack was sitting by him and holding his hand, otherwise Jamie would have been completely creeped out.

Finally it was time for the fire performances. They had picked this stretch of beach specifically because it was privately owned by the company behind the adventure club and it was maintained so that there wasn't anything flammable around. Larry and Ezra started off the performance with a New Zealander style haka, which was an intimidating dance used to psyche out an opposing warrior. After they finished the haka the other members of the club starting playing drums; occasionally calling out in Hawaiian to cheer on the performers.

Then they started lighting their torches. Ezra used a nearby torch to start one end and then used his hand to transfer the fire to the other end, but had to try it twice to get it right. Larry started off the same way, but used his tongue to transfer the fire to the second end. He'd picked up a few fire-breathing techniques, but this trick was his most comfortable. They were in perfect synch for most of the performance and it was astonishing how fast they could spin the torches. At the end of their set, they both threw their respective torches high and caught them nearly simultaneously, Ezra's torch just a bit higher and took a bit longer to catch.

Now it was Jamie's turn and he palmed the fire from Ezra's torch to light one Poi ball. From Larry's torch, he managed to do the same trick with his tongue to light the other Poi. He started swinging both Poi forward and then stalled them to reverse direction. When he'd done that, he pivoted to present his left side to the crowd and started swinging them separately so that one was going up as the other was going down. Facing away from the crowd he switched it up again so that the poi was now swinging in circles in different directions in front of him. After a bit he turned again, presenting his right side and he swung both Poi in a 3 beat pattern which is a move where both poi were swinging out of phase with each other first on one side of his body and then on the other.

Finally he turned again to face the crowd and it was time for the last trick he'd mastered. The butterfly trick was considered basic but could be a tough one to manage for a beginner. The poi was swinging in front of him in two alternating circles. When viewed from the audience, it appeared that the poi was bouncing off of each other at the top and bottom of their swings, but actually they were crossing behind each other. After a few rotations, which had already gotten the audience to applaud, he put the handles to both poi in one hand while they were swinging and waved with his free hand as the other kept the butterfly going. Applause turned to cheers and Jamie smiled. He took a bow, careful to keep his arm extended so the strings and flaming poi were safely away from his head.

Taking hold of the second handle again in his free hand Jamie split up the butterfly and changed their rotation again to swing them forward. Finally, he slammed both poi into the ground in front of him as he knelt on the ground. Clark jumped over Jamie, and rolled, managing to light his fire knife with one of the still flaming poi. Jamie missed some of the performance as he went to douse his poi, but he could hear the astonished cheers and gasps as Clark performed. By the sound of it, Clark hadn't lost any of his mastery with the fire knife in the years since he'd performed professionally.

Larry, Ezra and Jamie congratulated each other as they stood back-stage and then watched Clark finish his set by tucking the two fire knives into the crooks of his knees as he crouched, freeing up both of his hands to wave to the audience. His performance was met with great cheer and applause. The audience rose to their feet as all the members of the club came out and bowed together.

The party and food afterward was one that Jamie figured he would remember for quite some time, although he did still write in his journal as the party was winding down. When his mother asked him about it, he was just finishing and he smiled as he handed it over to her. As the party was finishing, Clark announced one last adventure.

"Every year, the members of the club are invited to my own boat, a hundred-twenty-footer I got as a bonus when they asked me to join the company. Sorry, this is members only and we're leaving as soon as we clean up here. Anyone up for a little cruise?" Jamie looked at his mother, who smiled and nodded.

He hugged her. "Thanks, mom. This has been the best summer ever. I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Jamie." His mom replied as she picked up the journal he'd written for her.

Everyone from the club had taken on the invitation and the van was full as they drove to the pier. Clark's boat was beautiful. It was also aptly named the Adventure.

"Nice ship, Captain Clark." Jamie said as they went below deck to check out the engine room.

"Thanks, brah, I've worked hard to keep her in top condition." Clark said proudly.

As the ship left the pier, Jack finally showed up. He dropped out of the sky next to Jamie, who was leaning on the rail. "Sorry, I was getting caught up with your mom and Sophie. She can still see me by the way!"

That's great! Jamie replied mentally so that the nine other people aboard wouldn't start to think he was crazy.

Once again, the distraction that was Claire got right between them. "Did you enjoy my performance tonight?"

She was a bit too close, but Jamie couldn't scoot over any more in the other direction. She had him cornered. "It was, uh, very different."

"Yeah, Clark was a bit mad at me for changing my act without telling him but everyone was doing something Hawaiian so…" She shrugged, not really finishing her sentence.

Impulsively, Jamie interrupted her. "Actually, aside from the hula performance, the acts were more Pacific Islander than just Hawaiian."

"Unless you count our Elvis impersonator." Claire interjected.

Jamie had to laugh at that. Lorenzo had been really good. Hey Jack, that reminds me… Jamie started, and then realized he couldn't sense Jack again. Realizing Jack was probably mad again, he stood up to look around to see Jack. Claire's lips were suddenly on his and he realized horrified that she was kissing him. Worse, Jamie managed to find Jack while she was locking lips with him and he could see them too. Jack took off into the air again and Jamie could tell he wasn't heading back to the island.

Jack! Jamie called mentally, realizing afterwards that the link was closed on him. He pushed Claire away rudely and walked away to the other side of the ship.

As he went to call the wind to bring Jack back, he was interrupted by the sound of a splash and people calling out. He turned around and realized Claire wasn't at the rail where he'd left her. Had he accidentally pushed her…?

Then the ship lurched under his feet and he slid across the deck, barely managing to grab a rail to keep himself from going overboard. As he stood up, he heard the club members calling out.

"Everyone okay?" Kathy asked.

"Did we hit a reef?" Larry called out as he held his elbow.

"Dammit, my leg." Amy said from her sitting position on the deck.

"Flora, where are you?" Ezra called out in panic.

"What do you mean, ice?" Bill was asking Clark up by the stern of the ship.

"I'm here, but I jammed my wrist pretty hard." Flora answered Ezra from the other side of the ship.

"Where's Claire?" Jamie called out.

"Bill, Clark, we're taking on water!" Lorenzo yelled out from the hatch to the engine room before he disappeared down the stairs.

Everyone else fell silent at Lorenzo's pronouncement.

Breaking the silence, Clark called out. "Bill, help Lorenzo get the emergency pump going. I'm going to turn the ship around. We weren't that far from land, I should be able to get somebody. Ezra set up the life boat in case things get bad in a hurry. Jamie, you're right by the life vests, make sure they're all passed out. Kathy, take a look at Amy and see how bad she is. Flora and Larry while you're waiting for Kathy, look around for Claire, get some searchlights and see if she fell overboard. I'll turn back on the same side she was on and look for her as well."

As Jamie handed out vests, he took stock of the situation. Kathy figured Amy's leg was broken and was setting it as he handed them their vests. Flora and Larry were shaken, but looking for Claire kept their minds off of their own pain. Jamie was sure he looked guilty but he had to keep passing out vests. Ezra had the lifeboat set up well, thankfully it wasn't damaged by the shake-up and the solid wooden construction would come in handy if they had to load it with Amy and the other wounded. It even had an outboard motor that Ezra was fairly sure he could start quickly.

That lifeboat looked like a real probability as soon as Jamie saw the situation below deck. Adventure had been struck on the starboard side, the same side that Claire and Jamie had been standing on. The emergency pump had taken a beating and was only just managing to pump some water out. As for damage, the gash was about the size of Jamie's fist and water was pouring in around the canvas that Lorenzo was shoving to keep the breach managed. Bill was sure that the engine, especially with the noise it was making, wasn't going to last long.

Jamie went to go back up to report this to Clark. On the way, he saw a chunk of ice on the ground, sliding around. He picked it up and saw the wood splinters that had embedded themselves into the ice. Jamie's heart sank. Jack.

Not giving himself too much time to dwell on this, Jamie went back to Clark. Clark took the vest Jamie handed him and put it on as he thought it out. "I don't know how, but we struck ice just offshore in the middle of summer. Nobody's going to believe this."

He shook his head and looked back at Jamie. "Help Ezra and Kathy to load everyone in the lifeboat. We're abandoning ship. I'm putting out distress signals and so far only the coast guard is answering. Hopefully they get here soon. When the boat is in the water, activate the emergency beacon on board. I'm going to rig the ship to continue in a straight line to shore; as soon as the engines go we'll set out the lifeboat. Go!"

Jamie went off, securing his own vest finally. He helped lift Amy carefully into the lifeboat. Thankfully it was large enough for fifteen and the even had a winch to put it over the port side of the boat. He and Ezra helped Flora, Larry and Kathy in. Ezra hopped in and looked at Jamie. "You're coming." It wasn't a question, but Jamie held him off.

"I have to tell the others." Jamie went to go get Bill and Lorenzo, from the corner of his eye he saw Clark behind him and to the right. He turned to tell Clark to get in the life boat and then the ship lurched again. Jamie slid on his back over the hatch and fell in hard on the top of the stairs. Clark slid past him and off the end of the ship. "Clark!" Jamie cried out, and then he heard Lorenzo cry out in pain down the stairs.

Shaking off the pain, Jamie went below deck. Bill was trying to get a large piece of wood off of Lorenzo's chest. Jamie went to help him. Trapped under the wood, he could hear the older man trying to tell them to leave him and get off the ship. "Not leaving without you, Lorenzo!" Jamie cried out as he exerted himself. The wood shifted and Bill pulled him out. "Get him out, Bill!" Jamie cried. Bill grabbed Lorenzo under the arms and half carried, half dragged him up the stairs. Jamie moved to drop the wood. He got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Bill and Lorenzo disappear onto the deck.

Next to him, the engines gave a deep rumble and before he could react, there was an explosion.

Jack had turned back around after storming off. He realized he had headed in the wrong direction to make it back to the island and was ready to let Jamie get a piece of his mind. A few minutes later, he saw nothing but wreckage. His jaw dropped. "JAMIE!" Jack cried out.

He flew around the wreck for hours, watching as the Coast Guard came and picked up the lifeboat. Three men were unconscious but they had managed to make it to the boat. Jack was dismayed to find it was only Clark, Bill and Lorenzo. To Jack's dismay and to the rescuers wonder, they saw a field of icebergs that the ship had unwittingly run into. Neither of them could explain it.

The rescuers searched around for the two remaining victims and so did Jack.

On the shore, Jack's mom Angela and her daughter Sophie waited all night and all day. They were angry, they cried and finally they prayed for any sign of their lost loved one. When they were finally told the ship was stricken by unseasonal icebergs, their faces were devastated. Three days after the search and rescue began it became a search and recover. It didn't matter in either case; they never rescued or recovered Claire, or Jamie.

As the Coast Guard announced the end of their efforts in the case, Angela Bennett fell to her knees. Her son's boyfriend was there, trying to explain things to her, but she couldn't bear to listen to him. Sophie warned Jack off with a heated glare and turned to comfort her mother. Clutched against Angela's broken heart was the journal her son had written about the best summer ever.

The End

End Note: I'm a bastard and probably a lot worse things that I shouldn't say online. I'll admit that. What do you say when you end a story this way?

Sorry? Wait until the next part of the story? It's okay, this is the story I meant to tell?

While all of that is true, I know this is not going to make me popular. Please know that I mean all of those things and more. I will be taking a bit of time off to put some work into a memorial series of shorts for Jamie as well as the next story in this trilogy.

I cautiously await your feedback. Thank you for your time reading this story and for everything you have said and done that has helped me so far. If this is the end for you, and you are swearing me off of your reading lists, I understand. If I have completely angered you, I only offer my promise to continue to write for this storyline.

It's not over.

Sincerely,

Oftheflamingheart