Disclaimer: Check part one. . .

First Step
Part four: Clashes
By: stargazer_1017

Cassie wrung her hands together as she paced back and forth in the waiting room. She sighed and took a seat. How long has it been. . .Cassie looked down at her watch and noticed it was almost an hour since she arrived. Cassie got up again and started pacing.

I wonder what she'll say, Cassie thought as she looked down the hall. A couple of nurses were going back and forth between their station and patients' rooms, but none of them looked familiar.

I don't know if I can see her right now. . .but I'm sure she needs me.

Then she heard footsteps down the hall and turned. Cassie's breath caught in her throat as she realized her mother was walking towards her, with a bag in her right hand. For a split-second, Cassie's instincts told her to turn and run and never look back--and she was pretty sure she would've done so, had her feet not felt like they were rooted to the spot. Cassie took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. Now or never. Cassie slowly walked towards the woman. "Mom?"

At first, her mother was staring blankly forward--then she noticed who was in front of her. Cassie watched as her mother's facial expression changed from no expression to a slightly confused one. "Ca-Cassie? Is that you?"

Cassie had now walked up to her mother and was standing about four feet away. "Yeah. . .yeah, it's me," she replied quietly.

"What are you doing here?" her mother asked. She stopped in her tracks and waited for Cassie's answer.

"I heard about what happened," Cassie replied. She looked at her mother and then leaned forward. "Here, let me get that for you," she said, bending down to get the bag from her mother's hands. When Cassie straightened, her mother looked slightly saddened, but didn't say anything. She must've thought I was going to hug her, Cassie thought as they walked towards the exit in silence. Cassie noticed a cab waiting outside in the dark for the two.

"So. . .are you staying anywhere in town?" Evelyn Chan asked her daughter as Cassie placed the bags inside of the cab.

Cassie shook her head. "No, I'm not. I just, you know, came by to see how you were doing. If you were all right."

"You could always come home," Evelyn replied quietly. She looked at her daughter for her response.

"I'm fine, mom. I'm heading back tonight."

Evelyn's lips pursed together in a straight line. "Fine."

Cassie resisted the urge to give a frustrated sigh. Here we go again. . ."Mom, I'm fine, all right? I--have some other things that I have to do."

"It's been two years, Cassie. . .are we ever going to get past this?"

"We don't need to get past anything, Mother. I'm fine with the way things are going in my life."

"Really?" Evelyn asked. She stared at her daughter. "You mean, you've already graduated high school and gotten a job? Is that how well you've been doing?"

That's it. "No, mother, that's not exactly it. Why, planning to rub my face in it? Or why not start telling me what a failure I've been all my life." Cassie let the sigh escape. "I don't need this right now, Mom."

Evelyn threw her hands up. "Fine. I guess you don't need my help." With that, she got into the cab and left. Cassie watched the car leave the parking lot and gave another frustrated sigh. Only you could do this to me. Cassie walked over to the curb and sat down.

"Cassie?"

Cassie jumped at the voice and looked up. "Andros? What are you doing here?" she asked as he took a seat next to her. "I thought you went with Ashley back to the Megaship."

"Well, I just remember the man saying that your mother was going to be released in thirty-minutes, and you've been gone for about an hour. I thought I'd come and see if you were all right."

"Really?" Cassie asked quietly. When Andros nodded, Cassie turned to the roadside, where the yellow cab was quickly becoming a small dot on the road.

"Is your mother all right?"

Cassie sighed. "She's fine." She looked back at Andros. "How long were you here?"

Andros shrugged and looked down. "About ten minutes after Ashley and I went back to the Megaship. I was waiting out here for you. Cassie, I didn't mean to overhear about you and your mother--"

"It's all right," Cassie replied. "She just. . .she's the only person I know that can get to me like she does."

"Did you want to talk about it?" Andros replied quietly.

Cassie turned to him in surprise. She opened her mouth to speak and was about to tell him about her situation, but at the last minute, she fought against it. "Not right now," Cassie replied. "I don't really feel like talking about it." She sighed. "But I am worried."

Andros frowned. "Worried? For your mother?"

Cassie nodded. "I don't know what it is, but something else is up." She turned to him. "Remember that lady we met in the park two days ago?" When Andros nodded, Cassie said, "That's Rina Sherridan, my mother's best friend. She said something about a fortune-teller telling my mother that something bad was going to happen to her. At first, I was in disbelief. I didn't really think a threat was serious--until this happened. My mother ran away from that fortune teller after she got that reading, and I know my mom. She isn't the type to run after something as trivial as a fortune-telling. My mom's a skeptic at that kind of stuff."

"So you think that your mother's in danger?"

"I think she is. I can't get this feeling out of my head, but I can't help feeling that something's threatening my mother. It's something that won't go away."

Andros nodded solemnly. "What are you going to do?"

Cassie shrugged. "I guess the only thing I can do is keep an eye out for her. I could be overreacting, but I've always trusted my instincts in the past--it's never failed me yet."

"Mind if company came along?" Andros asked. When Cassie raised her eyebrow in question, Andros added, "I'm not saying that something'll happen to your mother, but in case you run into trouble, I wouldn't want you to get hurt as well."

Cassie smiled faintly. "I guess I wouldn't mind that. Thanks, Andros." Andros nodded in response. Cassie hesitated before asking, "So how are things going with you and Ashley?"

Andros' head perked up at the question. "What do you mean?"

"Ashley's kinda. . .she's worried that you don't like her."

Andros sighed. "I do like Ashley," he replied. "I'm not saying that I don't like her anymore, it's just that I want to be open to other things as well." He looked back at Cassie. "I learned today how to play Earth video games--and I didn't know Carlos was such a pro at digital soccer!"

Cassie laughed. "He's even better in real life," she replied.

"I just. . .want to be open to possibilities--all of them. The last thing I would want to do is hurt anyone."

"I know, Andros--I know. Like I said, I'm here for you, whatever you decide in life." Cassie looked down. "You know, I've always wondered how I was like in the other dimension."

Cassie turned back to Andros as he spoke. "The other Cassie was very much like you. She was definitely a fighter, yet she had something about her that was gentle. I don't know how she managed it--I definitely liked her."

Cassie crossed her arms. "Yeah, well what about me?" she joked, feigning slight anger.

Andros looked back at her. "Like I said, she's very much like you," he replied.

Cassie felt her heartbeat go a little bit faster as he spoke. Outwardly, she smiled. "Geez, you're such a charmer," she joked.

Andros shrugged. "I try," he joked back. He got up on his feet and extended his hand towards her. Whoa, Deja Vu, Cassie thought, thinking back to a couple days back in the park, she did the same gesture. "Come on, you must be exhausted. Let's head back to the ship."

Cassie looked at Andros' outstretched hand and put her hand in his. As he pulled her up, Cassie couldn't help but feel happy. Somehow, things felt right--it felt almost complete. Almost, but not exactly.