Authors Notes: I am so sorry that it took me this long to get this chapter written and posted. I managed to break my finger pretty badly at work one day and it made it quite difficult to type. It's still broken, but I am still writing and hopefully will be able to get the next chapter up quicker than this one. Thanks for understanding and reading.

Chapter 3: Reunited

Sasha was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a tremendous crash of thunder that shook her whole house. It startled her so much that she nearly fell out of the bed. She rolled over and squinted at the small clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was not even seven in the morning yet. Sasha contemplated rolling over and trying to grab another hour or two of sleep considering how late she had stayed out on the ocean side cliff the night before, but she knew that today was going to be a busy day for her even with the rain coming down. She got up out of bed and shivered as the cold floor send chills through her feet and into the rest of her body. Why didn't she think to at least unpack her slippers? The sound of the rain echoed off of the tin roof and Sasha had to wonder how she even managed to sleep through what she did. She walked over to the door and risked opening it and was immediately blasted in the face with stinging cold rain drops. The wind was howling hard and Sasha had to fight it just to shut the door again. She looked over at the large suitcase and the small cabinet for clothes and figured that she might as well get what little unpacking she had to do done and hope that this rain would move out before she had to go to town.

A few hours later when Sasha was fully unpacked and dressed for the day, a fairly modest skirt with leggings and a black tee shirt, the rain had not let up at all. If anything it had gotten worse. There was no sign of the sun or any daylight at all for that matter. The black and gray clouds looked to be at a standstill which meant that this storm was probably here to stay for the day. That was unfortunate as Sasha did not own any kind of umbrella and the things that she needed to do she didn't want to put off another day. Sasha laced up her boots and sipped up her light jacket before opening the door, getting blasted in the face with more rain, and stepped out into the gloomy wet weather.

It was worse than she thought. Within seconds Sasha's hair was plastered to her face and she was soaked through her clothes. From what Sasha could see she was the only one outside right now. She took off at a brisk pace, water from puddles splashing up and into her boots soaking her socks. Smoke plumed out of fireplaces and Sasha found herself envious of the animals that were cozy and warm in their homes while she was wetter than she could ever remember being in her life. When Sasha hit the stone bridge that led across the creek her boots lost traction and caused her to lose her footing. The resulting fall left her hands scraped and bleeding slightly while the knees of her leggings shredded. She lay there, face down on the cold wet stone bridge wondering why she even left her house. Sasha tried to tell herself it was because she needed to get some things for the house, but she knew that it could have waited until the weather was better. The real reason, she told herself, was that she didn't want to wait another day to try and see Sable.

Sasha drug herself to her feet wincing at the scrapes on her hands and knees. She took her walk to the market street at a slower pace now, not wanting to have another fall. Also figuring that she couldn't get much more wet than she already was. It also gave Sasha more time to think not only about what she needed to get for the house, but what she would say to Sable as well.

It was a painfully long and wet walk to finally reach market street and Sasha only saw a few shoppers through the shop windows. The lights from the Able Sisters clothing boutique shined brightly through the window and Sasha had to resist the urge to run straight through the door. That would be for after her shopping was finished she told herself.

A bored looking raccoon standing against a tiled wall looked up when Sasha entered T&T Emporium and gave her a small smile. "Welcome to T&T," he said only sounding half as bored as he looked. "My name is Timmy, is there anything that I can help you with on this rainy day?"

Sasha smiled and pulled out a soaking wet piece of paper out of her jacket pocket. Unfolding it, she saw that the entire list of items had turned into one giant blob of purple ink. She sighed somewhat sadly and tossed the paper in a bin marked for recyclables. It was a good thing that she had most of the list memorized. "I actually had a list of things, but that got ruined," Sasha said. "I just moved back here after 12 years gone and my house is kind of sparse right now so is there anyway that I can place an order of some things to be brought to me at home?"

"Absolutely!" Timmy said walking briskly over to Sasha. "We have an entire electronic catalog that contains all of what we carry in the store and even more that we can only order. So what are some of the things that you are looking for Miss..." Timmy trailed off not knowing her name

"Sasha," Sasha said smiling. "Just Sasha, no miss."

Timmy nodded and motioned to a large machine sitting in the corner of the store near a large wooden staircase. "Well then Sasha, if you would like to step over this way I will be happy to show you some of the furnishings that we have available."

Sasha stepped over to the machine and watched as Timmy pawed at the screen and a list of items with photos appeared. There was more than she anticipated and she spent almost a full hour looking through various things from a television and radio to an intricate sofa and tables. She finally settled on a beautiful black and purple living room set, a glass dining table, and all new steel cookware. It was way more than she had wanted to spend, but Sasha had been saving for a while now, knowing that one day she would need these things. She waited for Timmy to finish helping another animal who was looking to redo the wallpaper in her house before she motioned for him. She showed him her selections and he nodded in approval making a note of the total cost of everything and took the charge card that Sasha held out to him. Timmy informed her that it could take up to 4 days for her furniture to be delivered and Sasha nodded. She could make do with what she had until then. Sasha grabbed a small umbrella off of a table and paid for that separately with a few bells that she had on her person and after bidding Timmy farewell she stepped back out into the rain, opening her new purple umbrella and made her way to the shop that she had been looking forward to the most.

The new umbrella did a fine job of keeping Sasha dry as she glanced through the window of the Able Sisters Boutique. Despite the chill in the air and still being wet from earlier, Sasha felt a little warm. She was nervous to see her childhood best friend for the first time in 12 years. Though at the moment the only one she saw in the shop was Sable's little sister Mable. Mable was helping a pretty female wolf pick out a new shirt from a small collection that was piled on a corner table. Taking a deep breath, Sasha pushed open the door to the shop and stepped in as a tiny bell above the door chimed to signal that someone had just walked in.

"Welcome to the famous Able Sisters Boutique!" Mable said without turning around. "Feel free to browse to your hearts content and please let me know if there is anything you would like to try on or if you have any questions."

Sasha thanked her and looked around the shop. It was bigger than she remembered. Racks and tables of clothes lined the walls and center of the boutique. Pants and shorts, skirts and dresses, shirts of every kind from cute graphic tee shirts to fancy dress shirts and blouses. Sasha could see herself spending quite a few bells in here. She already had her eye on a pair of black pants that looked to be intentionally ripped around the knees. Her eyes moved over to a small table in the corner where a sewing machine sat currently unused. She wondered if that was where Mrs. Able worked designing clothes.

Mable finished helping the wolf and took the money for the shirt before turning her full attention to Sasha. "So what brings you in today miss?"

Sasha looked up from the pants that she had been looking at and met Mable's eyes. She had grown up from the little girl that she had known all those years ago. It was not surprising that Mable didn't recognize her. "I was actually wondering if Sable was around," Sasha said quietly, but still loud enough that her voice carried across the shop.

"She's in the back working on something at the moment," Mable said, "but I can see if she can spare a few minutes. Who should I tell her is asking for her?"

Sasha's heart pounded a little harder. "Sasha," she said simply.

Mable nodded and talked through a small wooded door that led to the back to the boutique. Two voices carried through the open door and a few minutes later Mable walked back in followed closely by her older sister, Sasha's childhood friend Sable. Sable looked tired, like she hadn't slept in a couple of days. She stifled a yawn and squinted her eyes at the bright lights in the shop. The same freckles that had dotted her cheeks when they were younger still stood out prominently. Sasha's face burned red as she saw that Sable had become even more beautiful.

For a moment Sable looked irritated at the interruption of her work, but that looked faded the moment that she laid her eyes on Sasha. Her face lit up as she took a small step towards Sasha and stopped. "Is it really you?" She asked quietly, seemingly unsure that Sasha was really standing there.

Sasha nodded and smiled taking a step towards Sable not believing that they were finally seeing each other again.

"Oh my gosh!" Sable gushed and took off running through the shop as quick as her paws would move in the direction of Sasha. A few feet away, Sable launched herself at Sasha wrapping her arms around her and the two crashed to the floor in a heap, Sable smiling and laughing just like they were kids again. "12 years!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe it's actually you!"

Sasha laughed and the two pulled themselves up off of the ground as Mable looked on looking as confused as possible. When Sable looked over at her little sister and saw the look on her face she just smiled. "Mable, you know Sasha. She was my best friend growing up! I told you all about her, you were young so you probably don't remember when she moved away."

Mable nodded. "I just remember you being so sad. There was nothing that anyone could do for the longest time to cheer you up."

Sasha's heart broke at that. She understood all too well what Sable felt back then as Sasha had felt it herself. For the first year after the move all Sasha had wanted to do was just to stay locked up in her room. She didn't even try to make friends in the city for quite some time. It wasn't until one day that Sasha walked to a coffee shop that she had met a group that took her in. She didn't know what she could possibly say to that, but Sable saved her by just waving off the concerned look that she had.

"So, if you're in town visiting we have to get together for coffee or something," Sable said excitedly. "Catch up on everything that's happened to us. So how long are you here?"

The question made Sasha smile wide. It was still hard to believe that she was finally back home and she knew telling Sable would make it real. "That's just it," she said trying to control her smile, "I am not just visiting. I'm back. I got back yesterday evening. I'm home for good."

"You're joking!" Sable exclaimed loudly. "No, you better not be joking! Tell me that you are serious." When Sasha just nodded and smiled Sable threw her arms around her in a tight embrace once again.

"No joke," Sasha said hugging her friend back. "We have so much to catch up on."

"We sure do. Tonight after I close up. Are you staying in your old house? I can come by if that's okay."

"Absolutely!" Sasha said happily, already starting to count down the time. "I can hardly wait."

Sasha bid the Able sisters bye with the promise that she would be coming in to buy some clothes very soon. She stepped out of the boutique and out into the rain, opening her new umbrella she made the long wet trek back to her house all the while looking forward to the moment that Sable would knock on her door. All seemed well with the world.