This is the sequel to my fan fiction called "Delayed by an accident". You don't have to know part 1 to read this, but maybe you'll ask yourself where "the dog" is coming from.

Lousy weather was coming up.

Anyone could see that. Dark clouds began to pile up on the horizon. Not a very unusual sight here, in the middle of the Pacific, but something about the picture wasn't quite right. He didn't know what. He had been thinking about it all day.

Wind rose in gusts and carried away everything that was not screwed tight. Then the gusts settled again, the wind drove the clouds away and the sun came through. But that was just an illusion. A fool's game. A storm came up. Nothing would stop it. But there was no hurricane warning for Hawai'i, nothing to worry about-

"Hey." Rick blinked in confusion when TC came up to him.

"What's going on?" his friend asked.

"A storm," Rick replied flatly.

TC stared at the horizon and Rick followed his gaze, but apparently they didn't see the same thing.

"Nonsense," TC said. "Looks normal. Nothing on the news either. "

Rick snorted and TC looked at him carefully.

"You're really worried about something," he said.

"About the storm," Rick said, closing his eyes briefly. He hadn't slept the night before, for whatever reason. He had held up well throughout the day, but now the lack of sleep was beginning to take effect. He suddenly felt dead tired.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that TC was still studying him.

"What?" he asked cheekily and looked at the horizon again.

"You look exhausted." TC stepped in front of him, blocking his view. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Orville."

Rick sighed.

"A storm's comin' up," he repeated. "We should really secure your trailer."

"Hey," said Thomas' voice behind them. "The beer is getting warm."

"Soon," Rick added. "The storm will probably be here early in the morning."

TC frowned.

"What are you talking about, Orville?" he asked. "Where did you get that?"

Rick lowered his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't know."

They returned to their friends sitting around a fire bowl in front of TC's trailer: Thomas and Higgins, Shammy and Kumu. Thomas handed them beer bottles and Higgins was telling a sprawling story about an intruder that Thomas and she had removed from the property. They laughed. Kumu passed popcorn around.

Everything seemed normal, a saturday evening with friends around the campfire. And yet it was so surreal.

Thomas sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee.

"You barely said anything tonight," he said. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just tired." It wasn't even a lie.

In the flickering light of the fire bowl, Thomas now looked at him carefully.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Slept badly?"

Before he knew what was happening, he heard himself say, "Not a single minute."

Now Thomas looked worried.

"Why not?"

Rick shrugged his shoulders and looked into the flames.

"Something on your mind?" he heard Thomas say.

"He's worried about the storm," TC said from the other side.

"What storm?" Thomas asked. "I haven't heard of a storm."

The others' conversations stopped.

"A storm?" Kumu piped in. "Rick, where did you get that from? The weather forecast didn't say anything. "

"Allright." Rick raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "Then there'll be no storm, I was wrong and you are right. It's okay. " He got up and gave the dog a sign, who immediately rose to follow him.

"We'll go ... around the block."

The silence he left was deafening.

When he returned half an hour later, Kumu, Higgins and Shammy had left, but his two best friends were still sitting by the fire staring at the flames. Both looked up as he got closer and both looked worried.

"I am sorry," Rick said. "I was rude." He sat between them and sighed.

"Something's wrong with you." Thomas turned to him. "Would you like to talk to us?"

"There's not much to tell," said Rick. "I've a feeling something will happen. And it looks like a storm front's coming up. The wind is increasing. That probably makes me nervous. "

Thomas looked at him and smiled uncertainly. He exchanged glances with TC.

"There's hardly a breeze."

Rick took a deep breath.

"Maybe."

Thomas shook his head.

"You're just tired." He paused. "Maybe we should put out the fire and lie down."

Rick glanced over at TC's trailer.

"What?" TC asked.

"You know," Rick said, "I'd really like to secure your trailer first."

TC sighed heavily, then rose.

"If it makes you happy, bro."

Rick and Thomas also got up when the dog lifted his head at the same moment. The three men felt the gust of wind just a moment later. The looks that TC and Thomas gave their friend were very different than they were two minutes ago.

They fastened the trailer to the provided hooks in the floor and stowed everything that was in the way or could become a projectile in a storm. It wasn't the first time the three friends did it and they worked effectively together, but this time there was a special tension in the air that was palpable. And that didn't mean the gusts that had picked up speed.

There were wind holes and calm phases, but the air pressure had dropped and when Thomas looked up he could see that the waves were already beating higher on the sea and the trees at the shore were moving. He didn't know why Rick had sensed hours ago what the island was almost unprepared for, but he would worry about that later. He saw that his friends were watching the weather too. He saw that the dog only stayed in place because Rick had told him to, but was actually too restless.

And he saw that Rick was feverishly busy making sure everything was in place when the storm would hit.

The storm.

Why hadn't they heard about it in advance? And why hadn't they trusted Rick when he started to get restless? They knew their friend long enough and knew how sensitive he was. If he felt something, it was there too. They should have listened to him.

He put away what he had in hand and went to his friends. TC looked grim, but Rick gave him a short, if absent-minded grin.

"What about your helicopter?" Rick asked.

"Shammy informed Loof; they'll roll him into the hangar. "

"Good." Rick put his hands on his hips and looked out at the ocean.

"What now?" Thomas asked. "We cannot stay here. Come to Robin's, there we'll be definitely safe. " He saw the glance his two friends exchanged. "And together."

TC gave him an indefinable look, but Rick looked down, then at the dog, then at Thomas.

"What is it?" Thomas asked. "I don't want to have to wonder where you are in the middle of a storm or whether you're okay."

TC nodded and elbowed Rick. Rick took a deep breath.

"I don't know ..." he said. They had to speak louder to be able to communicate in the growing gusts of wind.

"And what are you going to do instead?" TC asked blankly. "Walking outside in a hurricane, huh? Is this your first hurricane? Have you never seen what it can do, man? Do to you?"

Rick only sighed but didn't answer.

"Please," said Thomas. "If we hurry up, we'll still be safe."

TC and Thomas looked at their friend. Rick looked from one to the other.

"Fucking climate change," he said.

The gusts tore on the roof and it could have been cozy if they hadn't known how dangerous a tropical storm could be. And how unpredictable it was.

Thomas took a few beers out of the fridge and handed the bottles to TC and Rick, but Rick waved it off.

"Have Higgy and Kumu safely arrived in the main house?" TC asked and Thomas nodded. He sat on the back of the couch and pulled his smartphone out of his pocket when he checked the news from Higgins again.

"All right over there. They wait for the storm. "

He put the phone away while he watched TC turn on the television: news on the local channels, but also on the mainland channels. It was difficult to explain where the hurricane came from so suddenly and where it would drift if it was done with Hawai'i. But it wasn't yet, far from it.

Thomas looked over at Rick, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking worried, watching the television news. He saw how tired his friend was and how restless at the same time.

"Rick."

He waited for his friend to look at him.

"Sit down, for heaven's sake, you can hardly keep yourself upright."

TC looked up.

"It's okay," Rick said stubbornly, but his voice sounded exhausted.

"Bullshit," stated TC. "Thomas's right. Come here, sit down. You can't do anything right now."

It took him a moment, then Rick gave up his position at the kitchen counter and joined his friends in the sitting area. Without saying a word, he dropped onto one of the upholstered furniture, leaned back and closed his eyes. His friends watched him fall asleep in seconds.

TC and Thomas exchanged glances, then TC reached for the remote control and turned the sound down while Thomas got up, got a blanket and spread it over their sleeping friend. Then he sat down again, across from Rick, and looked at him thoughtfully.

His gaze fell on the dog, who was lying on an old pillow in a corner, looking at him uncertainly.

"Come on," Thomas said and the dog got up immediately, came closer, jumped to Thomas on the couch - which it was never allowed to otherwise - and snuggled up to him. And Thomas, who otherwise didn't like dogs very much for reasons everybody understands, stroked the frightened animal until it no longer trembled.

Obviously I am unable to write anything else than h/c, so I am kind of sorry.

So much fun!

By the way; got no idea, who Loof is. Someone doing business with flying machines, though.