Sorry, folks. I posted this last night, but somehow it didn't show up. I've reposted it so hopefully it will work.

Chapter 11

Vincent and Father got to their feet at the unfamiliar voice, but Catherine felt only pleasure. In an instant, her best friend Jenny Arronson unceremoniously shoved Devin aside and even managed to shoulder her way past Vincent to stand in front of Catherine.

"OMIGOD! OMIGOD! You're alive! I knew it! I've been dreaming about you for weeks! Cathy!" Jenny grabbed her friend as tears streamed down her face as she hugged Catherine so tightly that she feared she might pop like a balloon.

Catherine returned the hug as best she could. "Jenny, I can't breathe." She gasped at last.

Grinning sheepishly, she released Catherine. "Sorry, Cathy! I've just missed you so much!"

Catherine couldn't stop a few tears of her own. In her own world, things had not gone well with her best friend. When Catherine chose to move Below, she had not given any explanation to anyone in her life about why she was leaving or where she was going. She had simply been too lost in her own grief to find the words to explain her agony. Predictably, a rift had formed between the two friends. By the time Catherine had recovered enough to feel comfortable speaking with Jenny, she was heavily pregnant with Faith and going Above was impossible. To her dismay, she learned through Peter that Jenny had taken a job in the Paris office of her company and was out of touch. In the end, Catherine lost contact with her dearest friend.

"Jenny, I need to explain…" Catherine began, but Jenny cut her off.

"Do you still hate Brussels sprouts?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." Catherine replied, bewildered by the abrupt change of topic.

'"What's your favorite ice cream?" The questioning went on.

"Chocolate fudge ripple, but you know that!" Catherine was frowning now.

'"Do you still wear stockings and garters because you hate the way panty hose ride up?"

"JENNY!" Catherine exclaimed, torn between being laughter and exasperation with her friend.

Jenny grabbed Catherine by the shoulders and looked her right in the eyes as she spoke. "You listen to me, Catherine Chandler! A few months ago, I thought I'd lost the best friend I ever had forever before I had the chance to tell her that she'd been like the sister to me. I don't care if you're a clone made by aliens! Now you're back and you are not getting rid of me ever again! Devin's told me all about you and Vincent. He even told me how that old goat of a father of theirs tried to keep you two apart so there are no more secrets for you to keep."

"Oh. Jenny!" Catherine cried as she hugged her again.

"Ahem." Behind her, the tunnel patriarch cleared his throat and chuckled a bit. "Perhaps, we should introduce ourselves. How do you do, Ms. Arronson? I'm the old goat."

Jenny blushed furiously in embarrassment. "Whoops! Open mouth, insert foot. Hi, I'm Catherine's socially awkward friend and please, call me Jenny."

"Jenny, this is my Father, Dr. Jacob Wells and my brother Vincent." Devin explained.

'"How do you do? it's nice to finally meet you, Jenny." Vincent greeted.

Never one to be ill at ease for long, Jenny turned her attention to the large man at Catherine's side. "So you're the special man who finally won Catherine's heart. It's about time she found the right man, Vincent. You're truly marvelous. Cathy's a lucky woman."

Vincent blushed this time, but answered Jenny with a dazzling smile. 'It's me who is lucky to have found someone as special as Catherine."

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" Devin protested loudly.

Jenny rolled her eyes and snorted. "You just better be glad Catherine found Vincent first. Otherwise…" Jenny gave Vincent a flirtatious wink. "But really, I want to thank you for all those times you rescued Cathy. I owe you big time, Vincent. Let me give you a hug!"

Jenny enveloped Vincent in one of her huge hugs much to Devin's irritation. Hesitantly, he hugged her back. "Hey, that's my fiancée you're squeezing on, furball! Keep your hands to yourself!"

Vincent's eyebrows rose in surprise as he released Jenny. "Fiancee?"

Jenny rolled her eyes again. "And he calls me blabbermouth!"

It wasn't long before the infirmary began to ring with the sounds of a happy extended family. The previous tensions vanished like mist and soon the Wells clan was reunited once again. Not surprisingly, Jenny became instantly enamored of Jacob and Faith.

"Don't worry, kiddos." She promised." Your Aunt Jenny is here now to spoil you rotten!" While she and Catherine tended to the infants, the Wells men discussed the day's developments.

Father was sitting in a chair while Vincent perched on a nearby table. Devin leaned against it, his arms folded as he frowned in thought. "My GOD, V! It's an incredible story! The part about Catherine coming here is a miracle but the rest..."He shook his head in disbelief. "You and Pop dead? The tunnels degenerating into chaos and falling apart? That's bad enough, but the thought of people Below resorting to violence! You can't tell anyone about this! Can you imagine what might happen here if people learned about this?"

"Catherine and I have already discussed this, Devin." Vincent assured him. 'We have no intention of telling anyone. It was hard enough for Catherine to go through what she did once. She has no desire to see it happen again."

"Yes, we've all agreed that the circumstances of Catherine's return are a topic best left alone." Father added.

Vincent opened his mouth and was about to comment, but instead he cocked his head to the side and paused. From experience, Devin knew he was hearing something.

"What?" He asked.

"Listen." Vincent replied.

'I don't hear anything." Devin shot back.

"That's what I mean. There's no sound. The pipes are quiet." Vincent informed him.

Devin's eyes widened in understanding. Even this early, the faint tapping of the pipes could always be heard. For them to be silent didn't bode well.

"Uh oh!" He commented. Without another word, the three Wells men all headed for the doorway, knowing something was definitely amiss Below.