Reunited

-Chapter 17-

Zoey and her family got to the hospital and immediately knew something was wrong. The room her Dad was in was surrounded by complete madness. There were Doctors and Nurses all over the place. She tried to see what was going on but no one would let her, Dustin, or even her mother near the room. A few minutes later the mad rush quieted down and the doctor, Dr. Jacobson asked to speak to Mrs. Brooks alone. Dustin and Zoey looked at each other, both of their faces pale with worry and shock, yet somehow they both knew what happened.

Their father was dead.

"Well, we have to get to the airport," Logan and Dana stood in the doorway to Chase's bedroom.

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon," Chase didn't look up from the book he was reading.

Nicole popped her head in the door, "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Trust me Nicole, I'm already over all of this," Chase said dully. He had already thrown out every picture he had of Christine and the scrapbook she made them.

"Well, See ya man," Michael said with a quick wave," Don't be too depressed."

"I'm not depressed," Chase replied. Michael just gave him that one 'uh-huh' look and shut the door behind them. Chase sighed. The house was quiet again. And it would most likely stay that way for a long time. He was back to a life of loneliness in a huge empty house.

After the death of Mr. Brooks, Zoey was in a complete depression. His death was completely unexpected. Right before surgery he just stopped breathing. There was no real explanation for it. And she didn't really want to hear it. The fact was, her father was gone. He'd never get to meet his granddaughter. She'd never be able to hug him again. He'd never be able to give her the fatherly advice that she desperately needed at times. He was gone.

Zoey got sympathy cards from Logan and Dana, Quinn, Michael, and Quinn. Nicole even came to the funeral. But Chase? He did nothing. No card, no phone call, nothing. He didn't even return Zoey's call from right before the news of Zoey's father's death. And he was the one that called first. It didn't make any sense at all. Maybe this is what happens when people get married. They are completely oblivious to their friends, their family, and everything else. Oh well. Zoey just wanted to forget about it...until she received a letter that was written in his familiar handwriting. Zoey thought for a minute before opening it. Should she dare read it? Was it an apology for not saying good-bye to her or never calling her back? Was it a 'thank you for the wedding gift' card? (She got them a blender, the least romantic thing she could think of.) She picked it up and touched her fingers between the thick envelope. Whatever it was, she was curious.

Zoey gently slid her fingers through the sealed piece of paper and opened it up. All that was in there was the wad of money she left on her bed in the guest room back in Wisconsin, neatly folded. There was no note or anything. Just the money. Zoey groaned. That was so like Chase to not take that money. She sealed the envelope back up, wrote 'Return To Sender' on it, and stuck it back in the mailbox. She didn't want to feel like she owed him anything.

For weeks the same process went on, they kept sending the money back. Only they would write notes to each other when they sent it back. Like," Take the money Chase, I don't need it." and "You need it more than me. I inherited all of my grandpa's money. I'm a millionaire remember?" It became a ridiculous game that gave both of them a little laugh every time they opened up the mailbox and saw the same old envelope. But behind their laughs they both wondered where they stood with each other. Sure they could joke around to break the ice but it still wasn't all cleared up. Zoey didn't even know that Chase hadn't married Christine. And Chase had no clue that Zoey's dad died because he had unplugged his phone due to massive amounts of calls from Christine and her relatives about how much of a jerk he was for dumping her two minutes before the wedding.

Well, one day Zoey was sitting in her new apartment on a Sunday afternoon just thinking. She did that a lot. She thought of her Dad the most, how different things would be if he was there and the wonderful memories of him. She thought of Chase and Nicole and Michael and how she missed them almost as much as she missed her dad. She felt like her world was a dream world. There was no reality. She was lost in thoughts all the time, analyzing every thing.

The only form of reality she had to be in was that she was now eight and a half months along now and ready for the baby to come. The baby was due to come any day now. Dustin had reluctantly agreed to help deliver the baby, like Ryan would have done if he had been there, even though the thought of seeing his sister give birth totally grossed him out.

Everything was ready for the baby. She had a place in her bedroom for him or her and a few friends from her childhood threw her a baby shower so she had all the things a baby could need and much more. She knew it would be hard to raise a child all alone but also knew that she was strong enough to do it. She had all her extra money in the savings account and bought little for herself. She already decided on letting her mother take care of the baby during the day while she was at work. Zoey was ready.

Just as she started to drift off for her almost daily afternoon naps, the door bell rang. "Oh it's probably Mom," Zoey said to herself." She turned her music down and got up slowly from her place on the couch, walked to the door and slowly opened it. To her surprise, it was not her mother standing there. It wasn't Dustin, or one of her friends, or even one of her friendly neighbors that randomly decided to drop in. It was the last person she had ever imagined would be there. It was Chase.

Ok this is the final chapter. It's over. Haha just kidding, I wouldn't leave you guys hanging like that. However this is the second to the last chapter. This story will soon be over.

I hope that this chapter made sense. I read over a dozen times at least but I'm sure I made a mistake.

Anyway...reviews are the best. They are phenomenal and make me happy and inspired to continue.

Noelle.