The New (revised)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Animorphs. I'm not even going to perpetrate like I do.
This Chapter is dedicated to Jinako-Chan :)
"To us,"
Cassie Branch and her fiancé Ronnie Chambers were sitting at their dining room table, toasting a glass of sparkling cider. Cassie still couldn't believe that it would be two months until her wedding day. Almost two months to the day...
She glanced over to her side table.
Four years. Four years since her best friend sacrificed everything.....
"Cass, is there something-"Ronnie started to say
"No, nothing," she interjected, "Just thinking, that's all."
"Yeah, I know, we're getting close." Ronnie added.
He knew about the anniversary.
Not only for Rachel, but for the rest of her friends. Jake, Tobias, and Marco had gone off to save Ax. They hadn't been heard from since, and were feared dead. Even with all that loss, Cassie had managed to find happiness. She moved from Southern California to one of San Francisco's swankiest suburbs, partly so she could work closer to Sacramento, but also so she could escape the bad memories of her hometown. It was just as well, Ronnie felt wrong being in the same places that he had been to...He snapped out of his mini-trance and noticed that Cassie was barely touching her food.
"Hey Cass, eat up before the tofu gets cold." He smiled at her from across the table.
Cassie tried to focus on her food, but found it impossible to do so. She shoveled a mouthful of tofu and vegetables into her mouth, but found it very, very hard to shake of a feeling of gloom that lingered around the room like strong perfume. The last rays of sunlight beamed through the French windows in the dining room.
"I'm not really, maybe I should go check on Rae before, you know how she gets, you can read her a million stories, and she STILL won't sleep."
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Cassie slipped out of the dining room and down the hall. She got to her daughter's room. Rae, or Rachel, her two year old daughter, was still awake, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey you," Cassie came over to Rae, "You aren't asleep yet?" She asked, rubbing her daughter's forehead.
"Nooo..." Rae looked like she was about to cry. "Stowry!"
"You want ANOTHER story?"
Rae nodded and smiled.
That wonderful smile. It almost broke her heart.
"OK, Mommy will go over to the bookshelf and-"
Cassie was cut off in mid-sentence by the doorbell.
"Just a second!" Cassie picked up Rae and went down the hall to the front door.
Two men in military uniforms were waiting for her as she opened the door.
"Are you Cassandra Branch?" One asked her.
"Yes, but what are you doing at my front door?"
"You are listed as Jacob Berenson's next of kin."
That feeling of gloom during dinner washed over her whole body. She almost dropped to the floor, with the baby in her hands.
"He's, He's dead?" she whispered.
"No, he's alive."