Disclaimer: I own nothing IaHB related.
Note: This chapter is for Darkchilde because I know she will absolutely love it. And besides, she has graciously given us permission to use her basement……….
If you have not read "Second Chances" or the first chapter to "Taking The Chance" yet, I suggest you do before reading this chapter. It probably won't make sense to you if you have not read the other stuff first. And as always, don't forget to review. Thanks.
Jamie was more than a little cheerful as he loaded Caitie's bags into the trunk of his car. Her two bags- a suitcase and duffel bag- sat next to his own suitcase. He looked at the luggage with a smile on his face. To the normal person, the sight of luggage in the trunk of a rental car would not mean much at all. But, to Jamie Waite, who had pretty much voted himself happiest person alive, it was the most beautiful sight to behold. To him, seeing three pieces of luggage in the trunk of his car meant the whole world to him.
It meant that everything was
as it should be. It meant that Caitie
was staying with him. And it meant that
the happiness that he had found at the reunion would follow him all the way
back to K's Camp.
He had been so happy when
Caitie had announced that she was going to go back with him to his camp. He had wanted to show her the place for so
long now. He had wanted to show her the
layout of the camp with the woods and the lake. He had wanted to show her the buildings that he had planned and
then helped to build. But, most of all, he had wanted to show Caitie the kids
that came to his camp. They were all so
full of life, almost as if they had been storing up their vitality until they
had gotten to his camp. And then they
had unleashed it into pure wonderful childhood. At Jamie's camp, every child had a chance to have their
childhood, even when disease threatened to take it away.
Jamie knew that Caitie
would like all of the kids. He knew
that she would fall in love with all of them as he had done. She was like that. Underneath all of the sarcasm and sharp wit, she was an absolute
sap when it came to kids. And these
kids were even more special. They had a
way of twisting themselves into your heart just by talking to them. Some people might have said that it was
their sickness that made you feel for them and that the feelings were just
pity. But, Jamie knew in his heart it
was more than that. These kids had
lived or were living through Hell when they came to his camp. A person couldn't help but feel a bit of
love and respect for them.
Jamie shut the lid of the
trunk and walked to the driver's side door. His hand went to the handle of the door and his fingers settled over
it. Tugging just a bit, the door came
open and Jamie bent to fit his body into the driver's seat.
He sat down in the cloth
seat and moved until he sat a comfortable distance away from the wheel and
pedals on the floor. He hated the seat
to be too close to the front of the car. In a case such as that, he always felt way to close to the dash. And so, he had gotten into the habit of
adjusting the seat as soon as he got in a car. After all, he didn't want his legs to get cramped after a bit of
driving.
Twisting in his seat, he
reached behind him and grabbed the seat belt. He pulled it across the front of him and secured it in the holder. Then he grabbed the keys from where they had
been innocently laying on the dash of the car and he thrust them into the
ignition.
Only then did he
entertain a glance at the person sitting in the front passenger seat of the
car.
She was slouched in the
seat, her long brown hair shielding her face from his view. In her slender hands, she held the map to
the airport. And she was studying it
like there would be a pop quiz later.
A new smile graced
Jamie's lips and for just one silent second, he thanked whatever celestial
powers there were that had sent this girl into his life. As far as he was concerned, he was the
luckiest person around. He had a
thriving camp and the beautiful girl that he had known for more than half of
his life was sitting next to him. Nothing could be better than that.
Without words, Jamie
reached over and carefully touched the long strands of hair that hung in front
of Caitie's face. Gently, he pulled
them back and tucked them behind her ear. At his touch, she turned, a curious look on her face.
"Excuse me," she said, a
pseudo-cool tone to her voice, "but I was looking at the map so that we would
not get lost. Is there some reason that
you interrupted me, James?"
He almost laughed at how
prim she was acting. Oh, he knew it was
all an act. She was just playing with
him, as she always did. They had always
played like this ever since the first time they had met so long ago. It was just their way. It was second nature now to act in such a manner
towards each other. It could possibly
be said that the playfulness of their friendship had brought them even closer
together. After all, whom else could
Jamie joke with in such a manner? All
of his other friends would have thought he had gone insane if he had said
something to them in the same prim voice that Caitie had just used. Either that, or they would not have
understood that he was joking and they would have taken it personally. But, with Caitie it was different. With Caitie, joking around in such a manner
was a specialty of their friendship.
"Actually," Jamie started
slowly, making sure to pick his words right. He had to keep the game going. "There was a reason I interrupted you."
Caitie twisted ever so
slightly in her seat so that she was facing Jamie better. She cocked her head to one side and narrowed
her eyes as if she were truly put out by his untimely interruption. She felt the opposite, though. She was glad that he had interrupted her
train of thought. Her eyes had been
about to cross from staring at all the intersecting roads and highways. Caitie had never been a true fan of maps and
now she was pretty sure that whoever had made the one in her hand needed to be
hurt badly. And she had been berating
herself in her head for not being able to find the darn exit off the highway to
the airport. There was absolutely no
way that she would have simply asked Jamie. No way at all. She didn't want
him to think that she couldn't find the darn road. After all, it had to be there somewhere, didn't it? So, she had stared at the map, hoping that
the little tiny exit mark would jump off the page at her. Navigator Extraordinaire, she had thought
sarcastically, that's me. Jamie's
interruption had come just in time.
"Oh yeah?" She challenged. She watched as Jamie tried to fight the smile that threatened to
show on his lips as he nodded his head yes. "And just what was that reason, hmmm?"
"This," Jamie said and in
one fluid motion, he leaned towards her and kissed her softly on the lips.
Jamie pulled back slowly
and watched as Caitie tried to think of a clever remark to follow what had just
happened. He smiled as he watched her
eyes go wide and then narrow. It was
almost as if he could hear the gears in her head turning as she thought.
"Yes, well," she said,
smiling lightly at Jamie's small snicker. "That was a very good reason to interrupt me."
Caitie turned back around
in her seat and glanced down at the map in her lap. Then she quickly glanced back up at Jamie, a devilish look on her
face.
"If you should….um…….feel
the need to interrupt me for that sort of reason again, go right ahead."
Jamie grinned. Yes, he thought as he started the car, it
doesn't get much better than this.
………………………………..
"Is he here yet?" A little voice asked.
Mike turned from where he
had been working hard to hang up the volleyball net. At first he didn't see anyone near him, as his first reflex was
to look around at his own eye level. But, then he glanced downward and smiled. Two little girls, both under the age of ten were smiling
innocently back at him. They both wore
scarves on their heads, tie-dyed ones that they had dyed themselves in arts
& crafts just the day before. And
from the looks of the colors, the girls had dyed the two scarves to match.
It was good to see that
the girls were best friends. Mike knew
that often times, kids with their sort of disease were not able to have many
friends because they often missed out on the normal social interactions that a
child their age might have. They barely
ever got the opportunity of meeting kids in the classroom because most of the
kids with cancer spent too much time out of school in the hospital. And no birthday parties to attend for the
same reason. The kids were sometimes
seen as too different from their peers and other kids sometimes simply did not
want to hang around them because they feared the disease. Sometimes the kids with cancer felt alone,
alienated from other kids their own age. But, here at K's Camp, it was different.
At K's Camp, all the kids
got to meet kids around their own age, who were going or had gone through the
same thing. They were all battling
against the same enemy, and in that respect, a new alliance was
formed-friendship. Kids came to K's
Camp feeling dejected and alone. They
left with a feeling of hope and a pocketful of new friends' addresses.
In Mike's opinion,
nothing was better than seeing these two girls run around in matching
scarves. They had become friends. That meant that they had a piece of their
childhood back. It was all that Mike
and Jamie had ever wanted for all of the kids that visited K's Camp.
Mike kneeled down on the
ground in front of the two girls. They
both giggled and he grinned at them. "Is who here yet?" He asked. Of course, he knew whom they were talking
about. It seemed as if his best friend
and business partner had every female under the age of twenty-five sighing
after him. Even Miss Perkins, the camp
cook, who was forty-something (she never let anyone know what the 'something'
was) always commented on how wonderful Jamie was as soon as he was out of
earshot. "That boy," she would say in
her soft southern accent, "is a masterpiece. If I were only a few years younger….". Of course, Mike always thought after hearing that, Miss Perkins never
seemed to realize that even if she were a few years younger, she would still be
too old for Jamie's taste.
The two girls giggled
again. "Is Jamie back yet?" One asked sweetly.
Mike shook his head no
slowly. "Nope, not yet. But, he should be here anytime now."
The girls looked at each
other and giggled once more. Mike tried
hard not to grin at the two innocent faces before him. "Make sure you show him those nice scarves
you guys made when he gets here."
The two girls grinned as
Mike stood. "Do you like our
scarves?" They asked.
Mike dropped to one knee
again in front of them. He leaned
forward a bit closer to the girls as if he had a secret that only they could
know. "I think they are the prettiest tie
dyed scarves I have ever seen," he whispered and then watched as both girls
smiled and ran off giggling to themselves.
………………………………….
The car tires rolled over
the thick gravel, crunching the small stones underneath its weight. The car slowly ambled its way down the road,
which was flanked on both sides by the tree line of the forest. The speed limit on that particular road was
25 because you never knew when there would be a cabin full of kids out and
about in the woods. They might just be
playing tag or hide and go seek. Or
perhaps they would simply be taking a leisurely stroll on the side of the road
with their counselors. No matter what
they were doing near the woods, the speed limit dropped drastically when
turning off the main road towards the camp.
Jamie, still in the
driver's seat, glanced over towards Caitie and was pleased to see her back to
him, her nose pressed against the window as they continued their drive further
into the woods. That's why Jamie had
been so sure that this had been the perfect spot for the camp. When he and Mike had come on their own to
check out the site, he had fallen in love with the long ride through the woods
that the road gave to them. It was a
gift, he knew, to go slowly through the woods as they were. And sometimes, if one looked quite closely
through the trees, one could catch sight of a deer or two.
Of course, the other plus
of the camp being so far back in the woods was the privacy and room. The kids could be themselves and stretch
their legs all in one. They could roam
around the woods or play in the main part of camp. If anything, the camp was not all squished into a tight
space. No, the kids at K's Camp had
space.
Caitie smiled to herself
as the car rolled on. Had she just
caught a glimpse of a few kids taking a hike in the woods? She had thought that they were there, but
when she had looked back towards the spot she had seen them, the trees had
hidden it well. She trained her eyes
further into the woods again, hoping to catch a glance of the children that
Jamie seemed to love so dearly. Suddenly a flash of red streaked through the woods and Caitie turned her
eyes towards the color.
Two young boys-they
couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen- were running through the woods,
close to the tree line. Both of their
heads were bald as if they had been shaved only a smidge of time before. They were both as skinny as sticks, but even
from the car window, Caitie could tell that their faces were smiling
healthily. The red color Caitie had
seen was their t-shirts.
They ran parallel to the
car and every once in a while, they would turn their heads towards the car and
wave to her. Caitie grinned and waved
back, noting that the boys grinned at her acknowledgement. She looked at Jamie and smiled, knowing that
even though his eyes were on the road, he knew exactly what she was
feeling. She turned back to the window
to wave to the kids once more, but all she could see was the green leaves and
trees of the forest.
At first, a wave of
disappointment washed over her. She had
hoped to see them at least once more. But, then her mind turned as she thought of how seemingly magical their
little appearance and disappearance had been. They had been like child spirits of the woods, only appearing when they
wanted to be seen. And with that
thought, Caitie felt as if she truly had seen something special. As if she had been a part of something
special. It warmed her heart and once
more she turned to Jamie to tell him what she had seen.
"Caleb and Sam," he said
before Caitie could even utter a word.
"What?" She asked confused.
Jamie smiled and glanced
at her quickly before turning his eyes back to the road. When driving on that road, one always had to
stay alert for kids running about. "Their names are Caleb and Sam. They are both here for the first year this year. And they became best friends when they
realized that they are both big X-Men fans."
Jamie glanced at Caitie
again. 'They always go for a run on
that path around this time each day. Sam is hoping to make his school's cross country team next year."
Caitie thought for a
minute, a picture of the two boys running through the woods flitting across her
mind. "And Caleb?" She asked.
A grin flitted across
Jamie's face as he steered the car down the road. "Well, Caleb wants to go out for the football team."
"Oh, I see."
Suddenly, the line of
trees that seemed to guard the road stopped and the bright sunlight of day
seeped into the car as the car rolled into the main part of camp. Jamie watched as Caitie's eyes got bigger
and bigger at the sights before her. It
was another reason he had loved the location. The road with the line of trees on either side seemed to go on
forever. But, that was just a simple
farce. One minute you would be driving
through the woods and then boom……..the tree line gave way and you came upon the
main camp. It was always a surprise to
someone who was coming on it for the first time. And Jamie liked to see the faces of people as they came to his
camp for the first time because it was always the same look. They always-no matter how old they were-
looked like Dorothy coming out of her fallen house and finding the Land of Oz
outside her door. And it truly was a
magical place.
The car rolled to a stop
in the parking lot next to the camp.
Jamie felt a surge of
pride lift in his chest as Caitie, without a word spoken, snapped her seat belt
off and climbed out of the car quickly. She stood on the gravel lot, glancing this way and that and marveling at
the sheer magnitude of the camp before her.
To her right was a small
building that looked as if the builders had been too tired to put a true coat
of paint on it after erecting the building itself. It looked as if someone had simply opened a can of paint and
thrown it in the general vicinity of the building. Caitie, herself, probably would not have been truly surprised to
find out that that was exactly what Jamie and Mike had done. Needless to say, the entire building was
covered in different colors of paint, splattered in every which way. Ah, Caitie thought, must be the arts &
crafts building.
Next to the colorful
building was a very large building, this one painted in brick red. "Main Hall" the sign read proudly. Although it was almost the biggest building
in the camp, it seemed rather welcoming. Flowers were planted around the border of the building and the windows
on both floors were open, their lacy white curtains blowing in the light
breeze.
Adjacent to the Main Hall
was the biggest building of the camp. A
large structure of two obvious stories, it was simply a work of beautiful
architecture. The base of the building
was in the shape of an octagon, but then the building curved up to form a
smooth dome at the top.
"The auditorium," Jamie
remark, following Caitie's gaze as he came to stand next to her. "I designed it myself."
She turned a smile
towards him and he knew in that instant that she loved the camp as much as he
did. It had that kind of effect on
people. Even people who were only there
for an hour or two always left with a feeling of serenity and peace in their
mind.
Caitie
reached over and grabbed Jamie's hand. "Show me more," she said, her eyes as big as a child's own.
"Well," he said, pulling her off the parking lot gravel and into the smooth freshly cut grass. "The cabins are over there." Jamie pointed to their left where (Caitie counted quickly) twenty cabins were scattered about.
Jamie's eyes scanned the
camp. There was just so much to show
Caitie and he truly did not know where to start. Should he take her on one of the paths to show her where the
playground was, nestled in a clearing deep in the woods? Or should he simply walk her to the lake so
that she could see the kids swimming?
His eyes passed over the
cabins and moved slowly towards the auditorium, but they stopped of their own
accord halfway there. There, in the
middle of the camp, just past the twin sandboxes and just to the right of the
flagpole, was a very strange sight. Mike was standing there, grinning like an idiot. But, he was not alone. About forty kids were with him, each wearing
identical grins. The older kids were
standing with Mike, while each of them held a younger child on their
shoulders. And they were all huddled
together in a line, as if they were hiding something rather large behind their
backs.
"We can go see the rest
of the camp in the woods in a minute," Jamie murmured to Caitie and then they
started across the camp to where the kids and Mike stood.
"Hi Jamie…Hey Jamie…,"
several kids called out as he came closer, Caitie close at his heels.
"Hey guys," Jamie
automatically answered back and then looked at Mike. "Hey man," he said cordially.
"Nice to have you back,"
Mike returned at then looked at Caitie.
She was standing a bit
behind Jamie, as she knew no one in front of her. But, Jamie pulled on her hand and placed her in front of him, his
other hand coming down to rest lightly on her shoulder. "Everyone," he announced, "this is my friend
Caitie."
All of the kids grinned
even larger and greeted Caitie kindly. She waved at them shyly as Mike stepped forward and shook her hand. "I'm Mike," he said simply. "It's nice to finally meet the girl who has
been on Jamie's mind for years now."
He snickered as a blush
settled on Caitie's cheeks and then he turned he attention back to Jamie. "Um, we have a bit of a surprise for you."
Jamie's brow furrowed as
he looked at Mike closely. He had not
been expecting a surprise. After all,
he had only been gone for a weekend. Mike's eyes gave away no secrets, though, as he grinned even more.
"What is it?" Jamie asked, slowly, suddenly aware of how
sneaky his friend was.
Mike flashed him a
devilish smile and then turned back to the kids before them. "Okay, guys, show Jamie the surprise."
As one, all of the kids
moved out of the way and Jamie finally saw what was behind them that they had
been trying so hard to hide form his sight. Before him stood the volleyball court that he had wanted to put in the
camp for a long time. It had been included
in the original plans for the camp, but when it came to actually building the
camp, the court had to be cut because lack of money. Jamie had always felt bad about not being able to put the court
in. He felt as if the kids would be
missing out on something. But, Jamie
thought, his eyes widening at the sight, here it was before him. Just as he had wanted it- sandpits and
all.
"How?" Jamie managed as he stared at the sight
before him.
Mike smiled and clapped
him on the back. "Well, some guy named
Alex sent us a check. A very nice
check. It took some doing to get the
sand delivered here before you got back from your trip, but we did it!"
"Oh wow," was all Jamie
could manage as he took a step towards the court and then stopped. He glanced over at all of the smiling young
faces near him. Ah, so they had been in
on the secret too, had they? Well, he'd
see about getting them back for that.
His mouth curled into a smile that mirrored the
devilish one that Mike had worn just minutes before.
"So," he started slowly, watching the faces of the kids before him. "Who am I going to beat on this court first?"
Suddenly a cacophony of
sound filled the air as prospective players were decided and teams were
picked. There would be at least three
games, it was decided. A championship
as it were, to see which team was the best. That way, all of the kids got to play at least once.
The first two teams were
picked and they started across the sand to their positions.
"Wait!" A little voice piped up and everyone turned
to see who had called out so earnestly.
Jamie's eyes fell on the
small girl standing next to Caitie and he smiled. She might be small, but when she talked, everyone listened. Of course, that was because everyone had
fallen in love with the little girl. He
could still remember how when she had come to the camp, she had been so pale
and quiet. The doctors had not had much
hope for her to get better. But, that
was before she came to K's Camp.
Every eye was on her and
she could feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't used to so many people looking at her. If she had been anywhere other than K's
Camp, she would not have liked the attention. But, at the camp, she was among friends, of whom she had a lot in common
with.
"What is it, Kara?" Jamie asked, breaking the silence.
"Well," she started,
"there's just one thing." The little
girl looked back behind her, where her team was gathered. "We want Caitie on our team," she said and
she slipped her hand into the older girl's hand.
Caitie looked at Jamie in
surprise. She hadn't been planning on
playing volleyball with the rest of them. After all, when the team picking was going on, none of them had included
her in it. Until now.
Jamie smiled, seeing the
absolute wonder on Caitie's face. It
was such a beautiful sight. And he had
hoped that it would happen like that. After all, it had been the reason that he had not placed Caitie on his
own team. The kids had accepted her
immediately, without question.
"Okay, Kara," Jamie
responded, watching as Caitie smiled down at the little girl. "But," he added, "I bet my team will still
beat your team."
Caitie's head whipped up
quickly and her eyes narrowed as she stared at Jamie. He was grinning madly at her and she new that he was waiting for
her response. "I wouldn't be too sure
of that, Waite," she responded, grinning devilishly.
…………………………
The cool night air
wrapped around her as she stood next to the flagpole with Jamie. She smiled at him as her mind remembered all
of the lovely things they had done at the camp that day. She was so happy that she had come with him
to the camp. It was such a wonderful
place.
"Did you have fun playing
volleyball today?" Jamie asked as he
wrapped his arms around her.
Caitie nodded and she
narrowed her eyes at him. 'But, I think
you let us win."
Jamie threw back his head
and laughed. "Well, we'll have a
rematch tomorrow," he responded.
Caitie glanced around the
camp, noting how everything seemed silent and dark, except for the cabins. Lights were still on in the cabins as every
child got themselves ready for bed. It
was such a peaceful place to be, Caitie realized. And she knew without a doubt, that it was where she belonged.
"You know, you were
accepted by them today," Jamie started. "So, now you can't ever leave." A smile graced his lips and Caite felt her heart jump. Had he read her thoughts?
She smiled back at
him. "Who said I was going to leave?"
They stared at each other
through the darkness, allowing each other to have his/her own thoughts. It was so peaceful, Caitie thought. Not a loud sound around……
"Kiss her!" A voice called out from one of the cabins
and Caitie and Jamie both turned to see five pajama-clad girls standing outside
their cabin. Jamie and Caite both
recognized the high voice as belonging to Caitie's volleyball teammate, Kara.
"Yeah, c'mon. Kiss her!" Another voice joined in and Jamie glanced at another cabin to see a few
boys spilling out from the inside.
It seemed as if the whole
camp was out of their cabins now, grinning like mad and staring at the couple
before them.
"Kiss her! Kiss her!" The chant started quietly and then lifted in volume until it seemed to
fill the night sky.
Jamie looked back down at
Caitie, who was still locked tightly in his arms. She was staring at him, a smile on her lips. For a minute, they simply stared at each
other and listened to the chant from the kids that were supposed to be
sleeping. Evidently, the couple outside
was much more interesting than sleeping.
"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"
Jamie smiled. "I think I will." And then he bent his head and touched his lips to Caitie's own as
the kids clapped and cheered.
Well, I really enjoyed
writing this chapter. What did you guys
think of it? I am thinking, perhaps, of
writing about K's Camp in an entirely separate fic. It just seems that there is
so much I can still do with it after this fic is over with. So, what do you guys think? Should I write a separate fic about K's
Camp?
On a separate note: The
next chapter will be about Hank and Melanie. Please don't forget to review…..