Hey soz for the delay with this one, kinda didn't get around to writting the chapter. It's up now though, so i hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to R & R though. And sorry for any spelling and grammar issues; i'm not good at that :(

Chapter 22: Cliff's birthday

Dante looked up at the huge house that had finally been finished; it was finished two days before it should be and he was going to surprise Cliff with it today because today was Cliff's birthday. Dante looked at the house; the tiled roof stood out in the whole town now, no one else had that kind of roof.

Fable bounced up full of prep and was holding a letter in her mouth; Dante took the letter, expecting it to be a letter from Gotz to signify the completion of the house. It wasn't.

'Dear Dante,

I know it's been a long time now, but a lot has happened and much has changed. I miss you greatly and look forward to seeing you again soon. I love you, know that before you judge me again, and know that. You are the only one for me and I will return to you soon.

Love Karen'

Dante felt as though someone had given him a hard slap, this was unexpected. Dante had not expected this letter to come ever again; things were now getting complicated, and how to explain to Karen that he had gotten engaged after he swore he would only ever love her? The thought of it made Dante's stomach turn in knots, he scrunched up the letter and went to throw it. Suddenly Dante paused; this was one for the diary, which had become a recording of his life instead of his memories. Dante now knew almost everything again and did not fear losing his memory any longer.

Dante read the scrunched up letter over and decided to forget it, surely she was not coming back, surely this was what she wanted, not what was actually going to happen. Dante put the paper into his pocket and patted Fable on the head. Where the wolf had got it from he did not know, but the fact of the matter was Karen was not sending it through the mail for fear of her father finding it, all of these things were adding to his pool of doubts.

He went and saddled Night and Dusk and got them ready to go and get Cliff and Ann. Dante had not been told much about the two of them since coming home with Elli, and apparently neither had she. Dante only hoped that they were going well, this house should help them both a little in the long run anyway. The farm work was getting to be a bit much for everyone so this way everyone would have more time for their future children.

Dante got onto Night's back and held onto Dusk's reigns so that the other horse would follow his lead. The horses trotted along at a fair pace and he imagined it would take them a few minutes to get to the inn where he would find Cliff. Dante watched the paving stones under the horse's hooves as they trudged along, his mind was running at a few miles an hour and he could not think for more than a few minutes without the thought traveling to a place in the back of his mind. He could not think of anything other than the letter that he had scrunched up in his pocket. Could she possibly be coming back, what was he suppose to do if she did? Well if she did he just had to tell her that he was engaged and that she was no longer the love of his life. But it was going to be a lot harder, more complicated and a very delicate situation; one foot wrong and Dante could lose Elli as well as Karen.

The inn came into view and Dante felt relief as his senses came back to him and he could think clearly for a while. Tying the reigns of both horses to the post outside the inn, Dante went inside and up to Cliff's room. Cliff was sitting on the bed and had his head in his hands and he appeared to be crying.

Dante sat on the bed next to him and patted the mans back. "What's the matter man?" Was all Dante could manage when he realized that Cliff had tensed severely.

"She said she doesn't want to rely on you to support her, said she doesn't want to live in a house that you paid for, said I can't support her and our future child" Cliff seemed furious and Dante could understand why. But Dante had no idea how to fix this problem, this was very delicate also and it would take a lot of work to get through.

"Look, maybe I can get Elli to talk to her, they were great friends in their childhood. You shouldn't be so upset on your birthday" Dante managed to smile, but inside he felt shaken and worried.

"No, thank you, you've always been there for me, but I don't think she will want me, she is right after all" Cliff picked up his bags and walked through the door. Dante just sat there stunned; he had just paid for and built a house that Cliff was about to refuse, it had already been built!

Dante didn't know what to do; he only sat there in the room for a few minutes. What was he going to do about the house? What was he going to tell Elli, the house had been made for two families and now Cliff and Ann didn't want it. Dante sat there for an hour and kept wondering. What was he going to do? How was he going to earn back the money he used to pay for the house? Who would he get to help on the farm now? How was he going to manage to get time with Elli if he had to do all the chores on his own? He thought that these were problems that could lead him somewhere he did not go, but just then all of those problems were diminished to annoyances when the real problem walked through the door…

After Cliff left the room Cliff's P.O.V

Cliff could feel the anger swelling in him; he could feel Ann beneath his skin. Cliff let the tears roll down his cheeks as he told Doug to rent the room out; he no longer needed it now. He stormed to the docks and got a ticket for the next boat. He was going to have to wait around for a few hours before it arrived and took him away.

Cliff thought of what he was doing as doing everyone else a favor; they would be better off without him. Cliff sat there and wondered what caused Ann to suddenly go off, she was fine the day before and then all of a sudden she comes in the door telling him that he can't support her. He was so confused now that he could not help but scream in stress.

"I knew you would just get up and leave, I knew it!" Came the angered voice of a woman Cliff knew.

"Am I supposed to think that you can support me and my child if you are going to run at the first sign of a problem?" She didn't seem to be getting any happier, it was all bouncing off Cliff's brain, he was too worried about Ann to be listening to someone ranting at him.

"Now you ignore me, Cliff you are going to be a father in winter, you are going to need to be there for me. What are you doing running from your problems? You think you will make things better by leaving me to raise this child on my own?" Cliff realized the voice as Ann's, he swerved and saw her face.

Ann was crying and her eyes were puffy. She had been crying for hours now it appeared, he had made her angry and now her eyes were bulging while tears streamed from them. Cliff had never been good with women; he had never been able to court them well. Cliff had no idea whether it was the right thing to do in this situation but he could not help it, he needed to hold her more than he needed to breathe at the moment. Cliff ran over and scooped her up so that he could kiss her.

"Why are you running?" Ann said pushing him away.

"Because you don't want me and I can't support our child the way you want me to," Cliff said choking back tears and sobs.

"I never said I didn't want you Cliff, I was talking to Elli today and she explained it to me, I was so upset I cried for ages. I had accused you of something you weren't entirely guilty of. I know you can support me Cliff, but I don't know if you'll stick around long enough to be the father of my child" Ann said as she looked at his bags of clothes accusingly.

"The only reason I have stayed in this town this long was because of you. I have never stayed in one place for so long, I never wanted to. But you gave me a reason to stay, I was willing to beg from Dante for money, or slave away to someone to have enough money for you. God Ann, I can't tell you how much you mean to me, I wasn't ever going to leave you, but if you weren't going to have me then I was going to leave, or I feared I would do much worse with myself…" Cliff no longer wanted to cry, he just spaced out as he said what needed to be said. Ann stood there and stared at him, she had stopped crying too, only she was confused.

"What would you have done then, how would I have lived with this baby of yours, huh? How would I have gotten by with a baby with no father? Did you think I could replace you? You were going to run and leave this child and I, you were going to leave us! A baby with no father, and me with no one to turn to when I am hurt or alone? That was your great plan? How self centered does that sound?" Ann was yelling, and Cliff was ready to tackle her with every word that took to his heart like a knife cutting through butter. But cliff reached into his pocket for the soaked sheet of paper that was crumpled and ink stained. He handed the paper to Ann and she read it. Ann's expression went from pure anger to embarrassment, shame, and sadness. Cliff could only stand and wonder what he had done now, he read the paper through in his mind.

'Dear Ann,

I know you don't believe I can support us, so I am going to the city in hopes of getting a good paying job. I will send back money to you for as long as you need and will continue to send letters with my address and money, and most importantly, my love. I will love you no matter what Ann; I am not running just for the sake of it. If I can't have you then I must leave you and find some way to get you back. Please don't ever forget that I love you, and I am sorry for the lack of money I was able to give to you…

Love always,

Cliff'

"I'm sorry Ann" Cliff said dryly.

"No…I am the one who should be sorry, for the second time today I have accused you of being entirely self centered when I should have known that you aren't in any way shape or farm. I love you Cliff, and I don't want you to leave just to make money, I need you more than money. Our baby needs a father more than it needs money" Ann started to cry again, but this time she ran at Cliff and hugged him tightly.

"Will you ever be able to forgive me?" Ann said sounding pained and more upset than ever before. Cliff lent down and kissed her. For some reason that seemed to be enough of an answer for Ann, she put her arms around his neck and snuggled closer to kiss him back.

"Lets go home" Said Cliff, he was smiling now, but only because he could see that Ann was happy as well. Cliff picked up his bags and held out his arm for Ann. Ann clung to him more viciously than usual and he seemed almost glad that they had had this argument.

"Ooh, and by the way, happy Birthday honey" Ann said sweetly. Cliff only looked at her, and then kept walking. Geesh wasn't that the most ironic thing to say at this point in time?

Two hours after Cliff left Dante at the inn: Elli's P.O.V

Elli was beginning to worry about Dante; he had gone to get Ann and Cliff over two hours ago, and he still hadn't returned. She knew that Ann and Cliff had been having troubles, but she thought she had helped Ann to work it out. What was going on?

Ann and Cliff walked through the door of the very large house, they both gaped in amazement.

"Wow, this house is absolutely magnificent. Dante put a lot of effort into this one, and Gotz has out done himself by far" Cliff said still gaping at the craftsmanship and size of the house.

"This was going to be your Birthday present, Happy Birthday by the way. Ooh, do you know where Dante is?" Elli asked in a worried tone.

"No, last I saw he was at Doug's Inn in the room I was renting, he should have been homes by now……Oh don't cry Elli, I'll take Fable and we will go and find him, no sweat yeah?" Said Cliff sounding confident.

"Thank you…" Elli seemed to space out and she went to the kitchen to cook. Chef popped up out of nowhere and began helping her cook. Elli heard the door close and she spun to see that Ann was gone as well. Elli burst into tears, she was so afraid of losing him, since what happened wit his brother and all.

"Do not cry Miss Elli, Mr. Cliff will find Mr. Dante, Buddum" Chef said to Elli trying to cheer her up. Aqua then too popped up and began to comfort her. Both Sprites saw it their job to make her feel better, but nothing they said or did could help her now. She was really worried about what had happened to her fiancé.

"What has happened to you now?" She said chocking on sobs and tears.

Well there is Chapter 22, I'm hoping to get around to the other chapters alot sooner than this, but i can't make any promises. Thanks for reading!