Later that evening, while Mercedes slept, Sam cooked a meal they were all too distressed to eat and Stasia approached him. "I'm still mad at you for not telling me dad! All those times you said on the phone that everything was fine! All those times that I spoke to mom and she never said a word…" Every word resonated with heartbreak.

"I'm sorry baby. But mom didn't want me to tell you and I couldn't break my promise to her, you know that." He hung his head, "And to be honest, I didn't want you to be burdened with the knowledge either."

"But I do know now! And I wish I'd known before. I wish I'd known longer. I wish I had more time! That wasn't your decision to make! What you did was selfish dad! It was so selfish!" She started to beat his chest with her fists as she shook with sobs. Sam held her close, ignoring the fact that her blows actually hurt. He and Mercedes had been in that same position after he'd got sick on their journey all those years ago, only at that point he hadn't understood that it was her love for him that had made her so upset. Now he knew all too well what his daughter was feeling

Holding Stasia was different to holding Mercedes. Stasia was taller and slimmer, but he still had a comfortable feeling when he touched her and he let her cry onto his shoulder to release her grief. Finally she was able to speak again. "If I'd known before I would have made better choices… different decisions!"

He pulled back a little and lifted her face so that she was looking at him. "What decisions?"

She did her best to avoid his eyes. "The money you put aside for me to buy a home with… I used it and I… I bought a ticket."

She didn't need to say what for. He already knew. He'd always known this was going to happen. And Mercedes constantly told him that was what she'd inevitably end up doing with it. He could literally hear a roar of sound in his ears, an avalanche, the sound of his world crumbling around him. Now it wasn't just Mercedes breaking his heart. He was going to lose his wife and his daughter at the same time.

Stasia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I made a rash decision in the heat of the moment and booked for the next ship out. Then they moved the departure date forward and now it leaves in just under three weeks- but now I won't go!"

"No!" His voice came out stronger than he expected. "You'd already been saving up for the ticket. Of course you'll go. Those ticketss are non-refundable. Don't waste your money! Don't waste our money."

"But mom wouldn't want you to be on your own!"

"Mom wants you to follow your dream."

"Not like this!"

"Okay, we'll ask her shall we?" Sam grabbed her hand and marched her back up the stairs.

Stasia asked and as predicted Mercedes told her to follow her dream. She pulled her daughter to sit on the bed next to her. "Stasia, you already know what I'm going to say. Being here in this place, right next to the Sea, was always my dream. I pursued my dream and it brought me happiness and love. You need to do the same. We're built that way. All the women in my family have been motivated and proud. You are no different from them. Never change that about yourself and certainly don't try and change it for me because of what you mistakenly think I want!"

"But-"

"Hush…" Mercedes brought her finger to her daughter's lips. "You came from my womb and now I live through you. I've already taken my Journey and my wish for you is to do the same. Do it for me!"

Sam smiled wryly. Even in this sad circumstance, Mercedes was still the queen of emotional manipulation. Stasia looked torn but deep down she knew she had no real choice. Mercedes caressed their daughter's face and softened her voice. "I had to leave my father. It was hard and to this day I still think about him, but it was something I had to do. You're the same and we know it. We've known since you were a child that you were going to leave. We've had 20 years to prepare ourselves for it. Don't you dare put your life on hold now. You'll only resent yourself and us for it."

The next day Mercedes was much weaker.

She asked to go to the beach and although Sam wasn't keen on the idea he would have done anything to make her happy. He carried her all the way there in his arms. She weighed nothing. Stasia followed with a blanket and some food to make it at least seem like a happy picnic.

Once they hit the sand she tried to struggle out of his arms. "I can walk from here."

"No." He held her tighter and shook his head.

Mercedes sighed and looked at him sadly. "I need this, my love. I need to feel the sand under my feet one last time…"

Sam squeezed his eyes shut her words to prevent himself to prevent his tears from escaping in front of her. After taking a couple of seconds to compose himself he gently lowered her down to her feet. She walked a few steps with his assistance before he got Stasia to set the blanket where they stood. Mercedes looked as if she might collapse at any moment and he didn't want her to fall.

They sat there for most of the day, watching the sea crash up against the beach. Even the sea looked unsettled, as if it also knew that great sadness was to come. She leaned against Sam for support to stay upright and Stasia covered her with a blanket and snuggled close. She dozed off a few times, but while she was awake they talked about happy times and shared positive memories until it was clear that Mercedes was far too tired to be out and he carried her back to the house.

As he tucked her back into bed she reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

She patted the space next to him and he snuggled in close. Even her voice sounded tired now and was barely above a whisper. Once he was settled she kissed him gently on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"To say thank you. For today. And for yesterday. And for the last thirty years." He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him. "That night in the diner you changed the direction of my life from quiet desperation to hope and possibility. And most importantly you brought me happiness. Because of you my life has had adventure, excitement and most of all love. You brought me to this beautiful place and you gave me a miracle child. I don't regret a single second of my life with you and I don't want you to be sad for what we're losing, I want you to be happy for what we've had. Whatever your life was before, it brought you to that moment where we met and I have no regrets from having shared my life with you. You are a good man."

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Just talking had exhausted her. The final words resonated with him. She'd never mentioned the return of his nightmares but he doubted that she hadn't noticed them. He stroked her face and kissed her cheek, bringing a smile to her lips. "You know the amount I love you is insane, don't you?"

He smiled back at her. "Nearly as insane as the amount that I love you!"

"Our love is too strong to die!"

"I know. There's far too much of it."

Sam exhaled slowly. "It's just that you're too young-"

"I've had a full life. There's been more adventure, excitement and love than some people who live to a hundred have had."

"I just wish time could have passed slower."

"So do I."

They lay silently for a moment before Sam finally asked the question that had been burning him for weeks. "Are you scared?"

She paused. "Not for me. Only for you. Stasia is resisting but I know she'll be fine. There's so much of me in her it scares me. I just need to know you'll look after yourself."

"I was perfectly capable of looking after myself before we met!"

Mercedes ignored the statement. "When you went for my medicine did you get anything for yourself?"

Sam was stunned into silence so she filled the gap, "I don't know what keeps you up more, the nightmares or the constant trips to the bathroom."

"It's fine. It's just age."

"Promise me you'll get something."

"I'll get it on my next trip to Sector Center."

She didn't respond. They both knew he was never going back to Sector Center again.

When she eventually slept, Stasia found Sam sat on the stairs unable to control his tears and did her best to comfort him. When that didn't work she went for distraction. "There's something else I haven't told you and I'm not sure if I should tell mom."

Sam could tell this was serious by her tone and facial expression when she asked, "Do you promise you won't overreact?"

It was the worst possible thing she could have said to make him overreact but he hid it as much as he could in his already distraught state.

"Say you promise dad!"

She left him no choice. "I promise."

"Okay. Well…" She bit her lip nervously and played with her hands. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes and said two words he never expected.

"I'm pregnant."

"You're wha-"

She pressed her finger to her lips for him to lower his voice. "You said you wouldn't overreact!"

How the hell was he supposed to not! "But you're-"

"Please keep your voice down dad!"

"Then you can't go!" He was determined. This changed everything. He was allowed to change his mind!

"You don't get it. I was thinking about what mom said yesterday and it's more of a reason for me to go. If I was here I'd be trapped. If my baby is born in the Other World it'll have instant roots there and so will I! I don't want my child to live in a World of Sectors. It's already hard enough for me to belong because I'm Mixed Sector. If it wasn't for the fact that we're in a Sea Sector I would have no place at all!"

It was a tough truth.

There were too many questions racing through Sam's brain in that instant that he felt overwhelmed. So he went with the obvious. He hated to think about his daughter having sex, even though it was inevitable at her age. This was life changing! "Who's the father? Is he going with you?"

She looked even more worried. "He… he doesn't know."

Sam took a deep breath and held his head in his hands as he tried to keep his voice down and stop his head from pounding. "About the trip or the baby?"

"The baby. We… broke up before I could tell him."

It just kept getting worse. "What happened?"

"It was a whirlwind. He was everything I ever wanted and he swept me off my feet. Then I ruined things. I told him I loved him too soon and he couldn't handle it so he ran."

Sam looked her in the eye. "And do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Love him."

Stasia stared down at her lap before nodding. "Yes." Her voice was quiet and the single word ripped through his soul. Sam pulled her into his arms again as she began to sob. "He was just like you daddy. He's from your Sector only he doesn't have the earring. I think that's part of the reason why I fell for him. He reminded me of you. He looked at me the way you look at mom and he made me feel like the most special woman on the planet. I really thought he was the one. But he doesn't love me enough to follow me. And that's fine. I can't make him do something he doesn't want to. Me and the baby will be just fine by ourselves. Travel is in our blood." She sat still in his arms for a minute as if trying to convince herself with her own words. "Oh daddy, I've made a mess of my life haven't I!"

Sam shook his head. "Your mom would never say that a baby is a mess. You know exactly what she would say."

She smiled and wiped her eye as she did a perfect imitation of Mercedes's voice. "Human life is sacred." Then her laugh turned bitter. "It's true. She wouldn't. But I still don't know if I should tell her or not."

"That's your decision."

Stasia chose not to tell her. When Mercedes woke up she was incredibly weak and they didn't want to add any burden to her. She kept repeating herself even though she was lucid the deterioration was obvious. But the message of her words came across loud and clear. Stasia must definitely cross the Sea and Sam shouldn't be too sad for her.

And most importantly, she loved them both.

So very very much.

That night they all fell asleep together on the bed, Sam and Stasia on either side of her and instead of his usual nightmare, Sam dreamed of Stasia and the baby he was never going to meet.