"Jack! Jack! Wake up!" Jack jolted straight up to find Gabe and Arianna staring at him with concerned eyes. He whipped his head around to see if Annie was still there. *Nothing* he thought to himself confused.
"W-what happened? Annie! D-did, did you s-see Annie?" Gabe gave him a worried look and turned to her also worried daughter.
"Hun... why dont you go and play over there with those kids. I need to talk to your dad... to see if he's okay." She gave Anna a gentle push towards the group of kids. "Go on now. I'll make sure he's alright." Arianna turned to give her father one last concerned look, then hurried off to the other children. Once she was out of hearing range Gabe turned back to Jack. He still looked confused and shocked. "Jack... what's wrong? You were having a dream... and... Annie? Annie's been gone for a while..." Her voice trailed off to a soft whisper with the last sentence.
*A dream... yeah, it was all a dream* He thought to himself with relief. He looked up into Gabe's heedful eyes. "Gabe! You're okay!" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He jumped and embraced her in the tightest hug possible, like she was the only thing in the world.
Gabe slowly pulled out and stared straight into his eyes. "Jack... you never answered my question. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
He looked down with sad eyes, but quickly looked back up plastering a smile on his face. "Y-yeah... yeah. Hun, it was all a nightmare. I'm sorry I scared you. It was just a nightmare. I'm fine." He tilted her head down and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for waking me up." The smile began to grow soft, but still scared.
Gabe gave an unsure nod, then plastered one of her own fake smiles on her face. Silence. An unbearable silence stuck out with a layer of tension in the air. It was so thick, a butcher knife could slice through.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Arianna's squeal broke the silence as she ran up carrying a bucket full of something. "Daddy! Look what me and my new friends collected for you!" She lifted the bucket to Jack's chin and smiled brightly. Inside contained beautiful mulitcolored shells. Seashells all glimmering in the sun. Jack took the bucket and gave a pleased smile.
"Thanks baby. Once you get with Aunt Fi, you two could make something out of these!" He lifted her up and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. Once she was down she started to run back towards the kids. She abruptly stopped and turned on her heels.
"Daddy... you're okay right?" Her eyes turned worried again. Jack smiled and nodded.
"Yes baby, thanks for caring." Arianna smiled and jumped. She twirled in the air and sprinted to her new-found friends. Jack smiled and turned around, bucket in hand. With his other hand he grabbed Gabe's and started walking to their blanket on the rocks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~1 hour later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fi, Thanks SO much for coming to Hawaii with us!" Jack was packing up Arianna's stuff in a small duffle bag as Fiona stood in the doorframe of Jack and Gabe's hotel room. "We just couldn't find a sitter... and you know how Honeymoons are supposed to be couple only. Especially if it's our 10 year..."
"Oh Jack... no, I'm INCREDIBLY angry with you bringing me to this wasteland with coconut trees and fresh air! I absolutely hate the clear, pure water! Why Jack?! Why?!" She answered in a sarcastic tone, topping it off by falling face first on Jack's bed-- palm on forehead.
Jack stuffled a laugh. "Bravo sis. People give Academy Awards for performances like that." Fiona brought her head up and mock-glared at her brother.
"Thanks, but I think that could win TWO awards!" They both laughed as she got up and started to help pack up. She grunted and turned to Jack. "Umm... Gabe was telling me you had a bad dream today?" When he didn't answer she went on. "Something about Annie?" Jack turned to her and gave her a bone-chilling look. *Something's wrong... something's not right here.* Fiona thought to herself to see Jack's scared face. "Jack?"
"A-annie came to me in a dream... sh-she..." He trailed off and sat down. He stared at his sandals for a while, but began to talk again. "Sh-she said it was Gabe's time..." He whispered out. Fi sat next to him and put a reassuring arm around his shoulder. "I-I just remember her saying..." He turned to Fi and looked into her eyes. "...remember? In the dream we all had after her funeral? She told me Gabe would die... she would have to die sometime." He paused and looked back down at his sandals. "Fi? Do you think..." he didn't let himself finish.
It took Fi a moment to answer. "Jack... no... I dont think so. Gabe's so lively, so free, so... healthy. Her bone-marrow transplant was a long time ago and she's fine. You... you were just probably having a bad dream." The last sentence came out more confident than she thought. *Good... it was just a bad dream... keep reassuring him that.*
Jack looked back up. "It was so real Fi... it was SO real."
"What was so real?" Jack and Fi both jumped and turned around to see Gabe in the doorframe. She knew they were talking about what had happened earlier... in fact she asked Fi to find out more. Jack ALWAYS talked to Fi... *I guess she DID get more.*
"Umm..." The next few seconds were full of ummm's and uhhh's, until Jack spoke up. "W-we were just talking about...," Jack paused, "my dream..." he said slowly and quietly. *Great save!* He mentally slapped himself. Gabe's expression softened, and to his surprise she didn't respond with an "Oh! Do you wanna talk about it?" or "Are you okay?".
"Oh, well I'm happy you got that off your chest." She gave a soft smile. She turned to the duffle bag, and decided to change the subject. "Is Anna's stuff ready?" She zipped it up after hearing Jack mumble a yes. Gabe looked up to see the siblings uncomfortable. "Well Fi... you don't have to go NOW. You want to stay for maybe a while?" Fi nodded with an unsure smile, but in the end it turned out bright.
At that moment Arianna came running in the room, RIGHT to Jack's legs. She was carrying a camera. "Daddy! I wanna picture with you and Aunt Fi! Mama, can you take the picture?" She handed the camera to Gabe and gave her puppy-dog pleading eyes. Gabe laughed and gave a sure nod.
The three Phillips posed, but Jack still seemed a little dazed. "Jack... Jack. The camera." She pointed to the camera and gave a sad smile.
Arianna turned to her father and pleaded with her puppy-dog eyes again. "Daddy! Smile for mama." Jack snapped out of his daze and gave a small grin. Within moments a flash came, and captured the moment. The little girl turned back to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mama! You next! Aunt Fi, can you take the picture?" With that another flash came and captured the happiness and joy. "Can we get some ice-cream pleeeeeeeease?" Jack smiled and turned to his sister and wife.
"You guys in?" Gabe gave her stomach a rub and shook her head. Fi just sat thinking about the question, then finally shook her head.
"My stomach kinda hurts... maybe bring back a tub for us? We could eat later." Jack picked up Anna and shrugged.
"Alright, what flavor?" He asked although he already knew the answer.
*Chocolate chip cookie dough*
"Chocolate chip cookie dough, please." She said with a smile JUST as Jack thought the same. He smiled, pleased with all he knew about his wife.
"Nada problem. Come on Anna, Ice cream!" Anna went running out the door with Jack hot on her heels.
"Don't forget to bring an--" She was cut off by the slam of the front door. "--umbrella." Gabe groaned as she looked outside at the night sky. The beautiful stars were covered by a long cloud. "It's gunna rain," She said facing the window.
"Aw, Jack can handle a little rain!" Gabe turned around to see a smiling Fi. She returned the grin. "Now show me what you'll be doing for the next 3 days! I wanna know EVERYTHING!" Gabe giggled at how excited Fi was... more excited than her! Fi looked at her with a 'come-on' mock glare. "Hey, just because I'll be 2 hours away in another beach house doesn't mean I have to WAIT for these news! Now spill!"
They both giggled and Gabe led her to the pamphlets of the couple's plans. "Jack's going to the bank tomorrow to get some money," She said smiling. They talked forever about their plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jack! I TOLD you to bring an umbrella!" She groaned. "No one EVER listens to me... well *humph* good for you! That's what you get!" She stared at Jack lying on the bed. Tissue blobs were all around his side of the bed, all aimlessly missing the trashcan.
"Gabe, I'm sorry, but I'll be better before our honeymoon ends! I promise!" He blew his nose. "At least Anna got her ice-cream," he said, his voice muffled from the blow. He smiled a 'forgive me?' smile and reached for another tissue.
"Alright... alright." She couldn't stand being upset with Jack. She loved him too much. She smiled and picked up her bag. "I'm going to get the film developed, then I'm going to the bank next to the store since *SOMEONE* is too sick to get out of bed." She smiled and picked up the film canister. "Want anything?"
"Cough medicine and something for my nose?" Jack's pleading eyes made Gabe laugh.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." With that she left the room. "Don't forget to call our baby. We promised her we'd call everyday!" She yelled from the door. Within seconds and a quick Okay from Jack she was out the door.
"She better get me the good stuff," he chuckled to himself. In minutes he was out cold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 Minutes After @ Fi's Beach House~~~~~~~~
"Okay, so I'll get the glue and we'll be done with your mom and dad's anniversary gift. Stay right here sweetie." Fiona left the room while Anna arranged and rearranged the seashells she gathered from the beach.
"This... this should go here... or... maybe here..." she mumbled to herself.
"Psssssst... Anna.. Anna..." A soft whisper called to her from the bathroom next to the room she was in. Arianna turned to the bathroom and walked slowly to the voice.
"Hello? Who's there?" As she walked she saw a white glow illuminating from the small room.
"Anna... dont be afraid, it's me... you're aunt Annie."
"W-what happened? Annie! D-did, did you s-see Annie?" Gabe gave him a worried look and turned to her also worried daughter.
"Hun... why dont you go and play over there with those kids. I need to talk to your dad... to see if he's okay." She gave Anna a gentle push towards the group of kids. "Go on now. I'll make sure he's alright." Arianna turned to give her father one last concerned look, then hurried off to the other children. Once she was out of hearing range Gabe turned back to Jack. He still looked confused and shocked. "Jack... what's wrong? You were having a dream... and... Annie? Annie's been gone for a while..." Her voice trailed off to a soft whisper with the last sentence.
*A dream... yeah, it was all a dream* He thought to himself with relief. He looked up into Gabe's heedful eyes. "Gabe! You're okay!" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He jumped and embraced her in the tightest hug possible, like she was the only thing in the world.
Gabe slowly pulled out and stared straight into his eyes. "Jack... you never answered my question. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
He looked down with sad eyes, but quickly looked back up plastering a smile on his face. "Y-yeah... yeah. Hun, it was all a nightmare. I'm sorry I scared you. It was just a nightmare. I'm fine." He tilted her head down and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for waking me up." The smile began to grow soft, but still scared.
Gabe gave an unsure nod, then plastered one of her own fake smiles on her face. Silence. An unbearable silence stuck out with a layer of tension in the air. It was so thick, a butcher knife could slice through.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Arianna's squeal broke the silence as she ran up carrying a bucket full of something. "Daddy! Look what me and my new friends collected for you!" She lifted the bucket to Jack's chin and smiled brightly. Inside contained beautiful mulitcolored shells. Seashells all glimmering in the sun. Jack took the bucket and gave a pleased smile.
"Thanks baby. Once you get with Aunt Fi, you two could make something out of these!" He lifted her up and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. Once she was down she started to run back towards the kids. She abruptly stopped and turned on her heels.
"Daddy... you're okay right?" Her eyes turned worried again. Jack smiled and nodded.
"Yes baby, thanks for caring." Arianna smiled and jumped. She twirled in the air and sprinted to her new-found friends. Jack smiled and turned around, bucket in hand. With his other hand he grabbed Gabe's and started walking to their blanket on the rocks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~1 hour later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Fi, Thanks SO much for coming to Hawaii with us!" Jack was packing up Arianna's stuff in a small duffle bag as Fiona stood in the doorframe of Jack and Gabe's hotel room. "We just couldn't find a sitter... and you know how Honeymoons are supposed to be couple only. Especially if it's our 10 year..."
"Oh Jack... no, I'm INCREDIBLY angry with you bringing me to this wasteland with coconut trees and fresh air! I absolutely hate the clear, pure water! Why Jack?! Why?!" She answered in a sarcastic tone, topping it off by falling face first on Jack's bed-- palm on forehead.
Jack stuffled a laugh. "Bravo sis. People give Academy Awards for performances like that." Fiona brought her head up and mock-glared at her brother.
"Thanks, but I think that could win TWO awards!" They both laughed as she got up and started to help pack up. She grunted and turned to Jack. "Umm... Gabe was telling me you had a bad dream today?" When he didn't answer she went on. "Something about Annie?" Jack turned to her and gave her a bone-chilling look. *Something's wrong... something's not right here.* Fiona thought to herself to see Jack's scared face. "Jack?"
"A-annie came to me in a dream... sh-she..." He trailed off and sat down. He stared at his sandals for a while, but began to talk again. "Sh-she said it was Gabe's time..." He whispered out. Fi sat next to him and put a reassuring arm around his shoulder. "I-I just remember her saying..." He turned to Fi and looked into her eyes. "...remember? In the dream we all had after her funeral? She told me Gabe would die... she would have to die sometime." He paused and looked back down at his sandals. "Fi? Do you think..." he didn't let himself finish.
It took Fi a moment to answer. "Jack... no... I dont think so. Gabe's so lively, so free, so... healthy. Her bone-marrow transplant was a long time ago and she's fine. You... you were just probably having a bad dream." The last sentence came out more confident than she thought. *Good... it was just a bad dream... keep reassuring him that.*
Jack looked back up. "It was so real Fi... it was SO real."
"What was so real?" Jack and Fi both jumped and turned around to see Gabe in the doorframe. She knew they were talking about what had happened earlier... in fact she asked Fi to find out more. Jack ALWAYS talked to Fi... *I guess she DID get more.*
"Umm..." The next few seconds were full of ummm's and uhhh's, until Jack spoke up. "W-we were just talking about...," Jack paused, "my dream..." he said slowly and quietly. *Great save!* He mentally slapped himself. Gabe's expression softened, and to his surprise she didn't respond with an "Oh! Do you wanna talk about it?" or "Are you okay?".
"Oh, well I'm happy you got that off your chest." She gave a soft smile. She turned to the duffle bag, and decided to change the subject. "Is Anna's stuff ready?" She zipped it up after hearing Jack mumble a yes. Gabe looked up to see the siblings uncomfortable. "Well Fi... you don't have to go NOW. You want to stay for maybe a while?" Fi nodded with an unsure smile, but in the end it turned out bright.
At that moment Arianna came running in the room, RIGHT to Jack's legs. She was carrying a camera. "Daddy! I wanna picture with you and Aunt Fi! Mama, can you take the picture?" She handed the camera to Gabe and gave her puppy-dog pleading eyes. Gabe laughed and gave a sure nod.
The three Phillips posed, but Jack still seemed a little dazed. "Jack... Jack. The camera." She pointed to the camera and gave a sad smile.
Arianna turned to her father and pleaded with her puppy-dog eyes again. "Daddy! Smile for mama." Jack snapped out of his daze and gave a small grin. Within moments a flash came, and captured the moment. The little girl turned back to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mama! You next! Aunt Fi, can you take the picture?" With that another flash came and captured the happiness and joy. "Can we get some ice-cream pleeeeeeeease?" Jack smiled and turned to his sister and wife.
"You guys in?" Gabe gave her stomach a rub and shook her head. Fi just sat thinking about the question, then finally shook her head.
"My stomach kinda hurts... maybe bring back a tub for us? We could eat later." Jack picked up Anna and shrugged.
"Alright, what flavor?" He asked although he already knew the answer.
*Chocolate chip cookie dough*
"Chocolate chip cookie dough, please." She said with a smile JUST as Jack thought the same. He smiled, pleased with all he knew about his wife.
"Nada problem. Come on Anna, Ice cream!" Anna went running out the door with Jack hot on her heels.
"Don't forget to bring an--" She was cut off by the slam of the front door. "--umbrella." Gabe groaned as she looked outside at the night sky. The beautiful stars were covered by a long cloud. "It's gunna rain," She said facing the window.
"Aw, Jack can handle a little rain!" Gabe turned around to see a smiling Fi. She returned the grin. "Now show me what you'll be doing for the next 3 days! I wanna know EVERYTHING!" Gabe giggled at how excited Fi was... more excited than her! Fi looked at her with a 'come-on' mock glare. "Hey, just because I'll be 2 hours away in another beach house doesn't mean I have to WAIT for these news! Now spill!"
They both giggled and Gabe led her to the pamphlets of the couple's plans. "Jack's going to the bank tomorrow to get some money," She said smiling. They talked forever about their plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jack! I TOLD you to bring an umbrella!" She groaned. "No one EVER listens to me... well *humph* good for you! That's what you get!" She stared at Jack lying on the bed. Tissue blobs were all around his side of the bed, all aimlessly missing the trashcan.
"Gabe, I'm sorry, but I'll be better before our honeymoon ends! I promise!" He blew his nose. "At least Anna got her ice-cream," he said, his voice muffled from the blow. He smiled a 'forgive me?' smile and reached for another tissue.
"Alright... alright." She couldn't stand being upset with Jack. She loved him too much. She smiled and picked up her bag. "I'm going to get the film developed, then I'm going to the bank next to the store since *SOMEONE* is too sick to get out of bed." She smiled and picked up the film canister. "Want anything?"
"Cough medicine and something for my nose?" Jack's pleading eyes made Gabe laugh.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." With that she left the room. "Don't forget to call our baby. We promised her we'd call everyday!" She yelled from the door. Within seconds and a quick Okay from Jack she was out the door.
"She better get me the good stuff," he chuckled to himself. In minutes he was out cold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 Minutes After @ Fi's Beach House~~~~~~~~
"Okay, so I'll get the glue and we'll be done with your mom and dad's anniversary gift. Stay right here sweetie." Fiona left the room while Anna arranged and rearranged the seashells she gathered from the beach.
"This... this should go here... or... maybe here..." she mumbled to herself.
"Psssssst... Anna.. Anna..." A soft whisper called to her from the bathroom next to the room she was in. Arianna turned to the bathroom and walked slowly to the voice.
"Hello? Who's there?" As she walked she saw a white glow illuminating from the small room.
"Anna... dont be afraid, it's me... you're aunt Annie."