Author's Note: I'm very excited by the reviews I've gotten for this story. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thanks to HarryPassionFan, Slytherin-Angel44 and John Chubb for you're continued to support. Also thanks to my newest reviewers The Pink1 at and fakebeebite21.
A question will be popped in this chapter. To find out by whom, you'll just have to read on. There will also be a slight hint of the supernatural in this chapter which is only a preview of things to come. Hope you all like it and please continue to review.
Nikki woke up in her cabin aboard the ship. She only had to stay off her ankle for a day before she and Tommy caught a flight to the Big Island of Hawaii where the ship would remain docked for the duration of the cruise. Time had seemed to fly by and Nikki had spent every waking moment with Tommy since meeting him. Now with only three days left until they headed back to San Francisco, Nikki wondered what would become of the relationship.
Hearing a knock at the door, she pulled her robe off the chair next to bed and put it on. She opened the door to find a crew member standing there with a cart full of food.
"I think you may have the wrong room, I didn't order anything," Nikki told him.
"You are Nicole Mitchell?" he asked.
"Yes, that's me," she replied.
"Then this is for you, it was ordered about an hour ago, here's note for you," he said as she moved out of the way as he brought the cart into her room.
"Thank you," she said after he finished setting things up.
"Just give us a call when you're done and we can have the cart removed from your cabin," he said as he left her alone.
Once he was gone, Nikki opened the envelope and took out the card that was inside.
Hey Sleeping Beauty, You looked so peaceful that I couldn't bring myself to wake you this morning. I ordered breakfast for you, I wasn't sure what you'd want so I ordered some of everything. I went ashore to take care of an errand. I won't be gone long. Try not to miss me too much. Love, Tommy
"Could he be any sweeter?" Nikki asked aloud after reading the note.
She wondered what kind of errand was so important that Tommy couldn't have waited until she was awake so that they could have gone ashore together. Realizing that she would just have to wait for Tommy's return to get an answer, she sat down and began to enjoy the breakfast that Tommy had ordered.
After a quick shower, she got dressed and seeing that Tommy had yet to return, she decided to go up on deck and read the book she had brought but had never gotten around to reading.
"Excuse me miss, but you might want to think about putting on some sunscreen," the woman on the lounge chair next to her said as she woke Nikki from her nap.
"Oh wow, I must have accidentally fallen asleep," Nikki told her. "What time is it?"
"It's a little after noon," the woman replied.
"That's odd, I was sure Tommy would have found me by now," Nikki said as she got up and made her way back to her cabin.
She searched her cabin hoping to spot another note from Tommy. Finding none, she went across the hall and let herself into his room. She looked around and saw no evidence that Tommy had been back there.
"Why hasn't he come back yet?" she wondered as she decided to just go back to her room and wait.
"There you are," Tommy said as Nikki found him standing inside her room.
"I was just looking for you," Nikki told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.
"If I had known I was going to come back to a greeting like that, I would have stayed gone longer," Tommy said as he smiled.
"Where were you?" Nikki questioned as she sat down on the bed.
"I just had a little errand to take care of," Tommy replied.
"An errand that took all morning?" Nikki questioned.
"Yeah, sorry if I kept you waiting, I promise you it'll be worth it," Tommy answered.
"Wait, so your errand had something to do with me?" Nikki inquired.
"As a matter of fact it did, but you'll have to wait until later because it's a surprise," Tommy informed her.
"Well how long do I have to wait?" she asked.
"I promise all will be revealed soon, now what do you say we go for a swim," Tommy told her.
They spent the rest of the afternoon aboard the ship with Nikki trying to get Tommy to reveal his surprise but he wouldn't. The only thing he would tell her was that they were going ashore for dinner. This really didn't tell her anything because they had gone out to dinner numerous times since arriving in Hawaii. Nikki had decided to wear the Hawaiian dress that she had bought a few days earlier from a little shop in Maui.
"Tommy, where are you taking me?" Nikki asked as they got out of the taxi and Tommy had blind folded her so that she couldn't see where they were going.
"Just trust me," Tommy said as he led her along a sandy path.
"We're on the beach aren't we?" Nikki asked as she began to feel the sand on her feet.
"Take a look," Tommy replied as he removed the blindfold.
Nikki looked at the scene before her. There was a table for two set up on the beach with candles in the middle of it and behind the table, the sun was just beginning to set.
"Oh Tommy, this is so beautiful," Nikki said of the scene before her.
"I just wanted this night to be special," he told her.
"Well, mission accomplished," she replied as he took her hand and led her to the table.
"Tommy, this was so wonderful," Nikki said once they had finished eating some time later.
"I'm glad you liked it," he replied.
"So it took you all morning to set this up?" she questioned.
"Actually, setting this dinner up was easy, however, finding this wasn't," he said as he brought out a small box from his pocket.
"Tommy, what is this?" Nikki inquired.
"Open it," Tommy told her.
Nikki reached across the table and took the small box in her hand. Suddenly, a nervous feeling overtook her as she began to open it and revealed the ring that was inside of it. While she was opening it, Tommy got out of his chair and knelt down in front of her.
"This can't be what I think it is," Nikki said as Tommy took her hand.
"Nicole Mitchell, will you marry me?" Tommy asked.
"Marry you, Tommy we've known each other for less than two weeks, you can't be serious," Nikki replied not believing this was really happening.
"I've never been more serious in my life, I can't explain how it happened, but I've fallen in love with you and who cares that we haven't known each other that long, we can spend the rest of our lives learning about each other," Tommy told her.
"Tommy, I'm falling in love with you too but that doesn't mean we should get married, why not try dating first, I mean San Francisco is only a plane ride away from Reefside, we can make it work," Nikki said.
"No, it doesn't matter that we're only a plane ride away from each other, long distance relationships never work, I should know I've tried it twice," Tommy replied.
"I don't know what to say, this is all happening a little too fast for me," Nikki admitted.
"I know I'm sorry for springing this on you but we only have a few more days left before we leave, Tommy told her.
"I can't give you an answer yet, I need some time to think about this," Nikki replied.
"Fair enough, you can sleep on it and give me your answer tomorrow," Tommy said as he got up.
Nikki sat alone in her room after returning from dinner with Tommy. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Tommy had actually proposed marriage to her. She knew he had been disappointed that she didn't say yes right away but she needed time to think about all of this. She wanted desperately to call Sami. Her twin was the only one who could help her make some sense of all this. But realizing that her family had probably cut off all communication with her until her return she knew she was on her own in making this decision. She remembered her aunt telling her a story about being in this predicament herself once. It worked for her so maybe it'll work for me. I know I promised Dad I wouldn't use any magic but I don't think I have any other choice.
"My heart is strong,
my spirit is weak,
it is an answer that I seek,
the question
burns within the fire,
so I may hear my heart's desire," she
said reciting the spell as best she could from memory and hoping that
it would work.
She then went into the bathroom to wash her face and put on her pajamas to get ready for bed. Upon returning to the room, she was surprised to find a little girl sitting at the edge of her bed.
"Who are you?" she asked her.
"Don't you know?" the little girl questioned.
"You're me," Nikki stated seeing the white dress the little girl was wearing and remembering that her father's mother had made the dress for her when she was about ten years old.
"But how did you get here?" Nikki asked.
"I was playing with my sister when I heard someone calling for me," the little girl explained.
"Oh no, somehow that spell must have conjured up my past self," Nikki said.
"Are you really me all grown up?" little Nikki asked.
"Yes, I am, I'm sorry for bringing you here, I was trying to find some answers about something, I promise we'll find a way to get you back home," Nikki told her.
"You look sad, what's wrong?" little Nikki questioned.
"Someone asked me to marry him tonight," Nikki answered.
"We're getting married!" little Nikki said with excitement in her voice.
"I remember now, being your age, I used to wear that white dress all the time and pretend to be a bride on her wedding day," Nikki replied.
"I can't wait to get married, I want a husband just like daddy, someone who will love me and take care of me, and make me feel safe," little Nikki revealed.
"I wish I felt the way you did about marriage, so carefree and unafraid," Nikki told her.
"I've been waiting for this day," an old woman said as the little girl disappeared and she appeared in her place.
"What happened to the little girl?" Nikki questioned.
"Don't worry, she'll be back home playing with her sister and forget all about you," the old woman replied.
"Let me guess, you're me too," Nikki said.
"A much older version but yes, I am," the older Nikki told her.
"Then perhaps you can tell me, am I supposed to marry Tommy, are you married to him now, is that why my spell brought you here," Nikki questioned.
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you that, it would ruin the future if I did, all I can say is that you mustn't be afraid to love again, I know you've been hurt but I promise things will turn out alright in the end, whether you marry Tommy or not," the older Nikki said as she too disappeared.
"That was too weird," Nikki said as she lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning she awoke and walked across the hall to Tommy's cabin. She knocked on the door and he opened it to let her inside.
"Ok, let's do it," Nikki said once he had shut the door.
"Let's do what?" Tommy asked.
"Let's get married, that is if you still want to," Nikki told him.
"Of course I want to, are you sure this is what you want," Tommy replied.
"I've dreamed of this ever since I was a little girl and like you said who cares how it happened, all that matters is that we love each other," Nikki said.
"You don't know how happy you've just made me," Tommy said as he picked her up and twirled her around the room. He then went over and got the ring from the nightstand next to his bed and put it on her finger.
"Tommy, how are we going to pull off a wedding in a day?" Nikki asked.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to say yes or not but I spoke with the Captain and he just happens to have a friend who's a justice of the peace on the Big Island and he's agreed to marry us as a favor to the Captain and the Captain said we could hold the wedding on the deck of the ship and use our fellow cruisers as witnesses," Tommy informed her.
"Wow, you don't waste time do you," Nikki commented.
"I know this probably isn't the kind of wedding you dreamed about but we just don't have much time," Tommy replied.
"It doesn't matter, all I want is to marry you," Nikki said as she kissed him.
"Ok, so I'm going to go and see about all the legal stuff, and I'll have the Captain contact the justice of the peace, with any luck we can be married by tonight," Tommy told her.
"In that case, I guess I better go try and find a dress," Nikki said as they parted ways.
It took some work, but the Justice of the Peace agreed to waive the normal three day waiting period that was usually needed to obtain a marriage license. The Captain put the crew to work and they set up the deck of the ship for the ceremony to take place. Everything was finally ready just as the sun began to set. Tommy stood at the front of the aisle with the Justice of the Peace dressed in a simple black suit and waited for the ceremony to begin. The ceremony was being witnessed by a few people who had been on the cruise with them.
As the music started, Tommy watched as Nikki walked down the aisle escorted by the Captain. Nikki had chosen a simple short white silk dress with spaghetti straps and had pulled her brown hair into a simple but elegant ponytail.
"We are here to participate in a wedding. By this act we unite Thomas and Nicole as husband and wife. What we do today is done in conformity to the laws of the state of Hawaii and in the tradition of men and women of all places and times," the Justice of the Peace spoke as he began the ceremony.
"Thomas and Nicole, you stand before me having requested that I marry you. Do you both do this of your own free will?" he asked.
"We do," they answered together.
"Then let us continue. Thomas, if it is your desire to become the husband of Nicole, then repeat after me."
"I, Tommy, take you, Nikki, to be my wife, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us," Tommy said as he looked into her eyes.
"I, Nikki, take you, Tommy, to be my husband, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the man you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us," Nikki recited to him.
"Tommy and Nikki, you have shared promises in our presence. Do you have a token or symbol which you wish to exchange?" the Justice of the Peace asked.
"Nikki, I give you this ring as a constant reminder of the promises we exchanged today. As you receive this ring, receive my promise of faithfulness to you," Tommy said.
"Tommy, I give you this ring as a constant reminder of the promise we exchanged today. As you receive this ring, receive my promise of faithfulness to you," she replied.
"Tommy and Nikki, you have exchanged your promises and given and received tokens in my presence. By these acts you have become husband and wife. According to the laws of the state of Hawaii, I hereby pronounce you are husband and wife. You may seal your promise with a kiss," the Justice of the Peace told them.
"Therefore, by the power vested in me by the state of Hawaii I pronounce that they are husband and wife, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Oliver."