Hank woke up suddenly and slightly terrified by Dory happily shaking him awake.
"Hank! Hank! Come on! We're gonna go out to eat then go shopping!" Dory shouted. Nemo then got in on it and jumped at the foot of his bed.
"Yeah! Come on, sleepy head! Get your beanie on and let's go!" Hank grumbled once he realized what was going on.
"Alright, alright! Get off of me, you two! Stop touching me!" Hank got out of bed and grabbed his bag. He search for what he would wear for the day and went off to the bathroom to ready himself. When he came back out he found Dory and Nemo playing some sort of high-five game. He sighed and slightly rolled his eyes. Then Marlin came in.
"Alright guys, we all need to pack up! we're headed home by the end of the day, and I don't want anything to be left behind, got that, Nemo?"
"yeah, Dad." Nemo said and went off to his room to pack.
"Alright then, I'm going to turn in all the room keys, Dory, take Nemo downstairs and I'll meet you all there." Hank and Dory quickly got packed and headed downstairs with Nemo to the car. Once there, they met up with Jenny and Charlie. He began to pack up their belongings when he saw the woman from the night before tossing a suitcase into the back of her car. She looked up and saw Hank, giving him a small wave goodbye. He looked away quickly, but Dory caught him regardless.
"Who's that?" she asked and Hank shrugged.
"Just some lady, I don't know her." Hank said without making eye contact as he continued to pack the two cars with everyone's stuff.
"Hm.." Dory then got distracted by Marlin as headed to the car.
"Alright where should we eat?" Marlin asked.
"I don't see why we couldn't just eat here." Hank muttered.
"Hotel food is never safe, Hank." Marlin said and went to the driver's seat of one of the cars. Dory came up and stick her head in the window of the car.
"I say IHop!" she shouted.
"IHop sounds good." Jenny agreed. The others did as well and they all went off to IHop. Hank drove the other car and had to endure Nemo and Dory singing the whole way there.
"There ain't no mountain high enough! Ain't no valley low enough. Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you, baby!" The two sang at the top of there lungs. Hank let them sing the whole way to the restaurant without interruption. When they got there, Hank pulled in the a spot close to the door. He thought he recognized the grey car they were parked by, but shrugged it off and got out of the car. He saw the others and waved them over.
"Oh, we haven't eaten here in such a long time!" Jenny said and Charlie nodded in agreement. They walked in and we're greeted by a tall woman with dark red hair.
"Hey. It's you." she said with a sly smile as she saw Hank walk in.
"What?" He was shocked and slightly freaked out. It was the woman from last night.
"Hank, do you know her?" Dory asked as she stepped close behind him.
"Sure he does! We met last night. Name's Samara, by the way. But people just call me Sam." Dory looked at her with untrusting eyes. "So let's see, you didn't tell me you had a whole crew here. One two three four… six! Table for six, right this way." they all followed her without question, except for Dory and Hank, who were reluctant to follow and Hank especially hesitated. They all sat down and Jenny noticed Dory's attitude.
"You okay, hon?" she asked. And she quickly looked up at her and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good." she said and began to read the menu. Hank did the same silently and to his relief, Sam was not their waiter. A different young man came and they all ordered. Hank was silently listening to all of their conversations then began to glance around the room. His eyes landed over a dimly lit booth with only one person seated. The purple and black hair fell over slim shoulders. A menu covered her face, but that didn't matter. He knew exactly who it was.
"...Evelyn…" he said under his breath.
"What?" Dory asked and followed his gaze. "Who's that?" she asked with furrowed brows.
"No one, it's nothing." he said and looked back down at the table. He grabbed his coffee and ignored the others stares as he drank it. He glanced at everyone else and they looked away. Once he saw that no one was looking at him, he looked at Evelyn again. Sam had come over and began to speak to her. Evelyn lowered her menu a day chuckled and something she said. She then glanced at Hank. It was quick, but Hank still caught it.
"Dad! Isn't that the singer from the park!?" Nemo asked and pointed at Evelyn. Marlin quickly pulled his arm down.
"I'm not sure, but it's rude to pont!" Marlin said and Nemo grumbled.
"I think it is. Mr. Hank looks like he recognizes her." They all again looked at Hank and he slightly blushed.
"What? The singer? I completely forgot her face, and her hair… and her voice." he seem to gaze off then shook his head and came back. "I don't remember her, I don't care. I hate talking, let alone singing.." he muttered and crossed his arms. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat as the others shrugged and looked away. He took a deep breath and resisted looking over. Dory stared at Hank and he could feel it. He glanced at her a few time then sighed. "What, Dory?" he asked harshly.
"What's wrong, Hank?" she asked, her eyes questioning.
"Nothing! Nothing's wrong. Everything is fine. Jeez, when's our food getting here?" he said in attempts to change the subject.
"No, stop that, I know what you're doing. I'm not going to forget. Why are you acting like this?" she said, her gaze never leaving him.
"Acting like what? I'm not acting like anything. You're the one acting weird." the others grew quiet and again eyed him.
"No, Hank, something's up. And it's about that girl." She said and gave a head nod to the booth.
"What!? No, leave me alone!" he pushed his chair back and got up.
"Hank!"
"Nothing's wrong!" Hank stormed off and headed for the bathroom. Once there, he sighed and went over to the mirror. He put his hands on the counter and looked down. "What is wrong with me…"
"Nothing's wrong with you." He quickly turned around, slightly startled then slightly relaxed and again turned back to the mirror. Marlin walked over and stood beside him.
"Is she okay?" he asked without looking at him.
"Dory? Yeah, she's okay, just rather confused. We all are." There was some silence then Hank scoffed at himself.
"This is ridiculous… I've never... acted like this before…" he shook his head and Marlin gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay. But if you walk out of here without at least talking to her, you will regret it."
"To Dory?"
"No." Hank then looked at Marlin and he nodded. They both knew who. "I almost lost Coral because I was too afraid to talk to her." Hank stood up and faced him. Marlin's hand still on his shoulder. "You don't want to have that kind of regret. I almost lost my chance, don't loose yours." Marlin walked out and left Hank there to think.
"Why do I keep having weird conversations?" he asked himself then took a deep breath and walked out.
