And… the adventure begins

Mary and Catherine sat at small waterfront restaurant. They had been seated at a small corner table on the outside patio, along the water. The sun was shining and it was an exceptionally clear day. The air was warm, but the soft breeze made it tolerable.

"So did you really go home with Danny last night?" Catherine asked

"Yes, but nothing happened. He was a gentleman. That's the first time I ever went home with a guy and he didn't even try to make a move" Mary was disappointed

"Well, I thought you were going to give your brother a heart attack yesterday" Catherine laughed

"He's so uptight. I don't know what the hell the big deal is. But anyway, enough about me, what happened with you guys?" Mary asked

"Nothing, as usual." Catherine responded, taking a sip of her pink umbrella drink.

"Well, I heard something, and it sure as hell wasn't nothing. By the way, you really need to work on the whole being quiet thing. Especially since we'll all be living together" Mary leaned in to whisper.

Catherine blushed "I don't think I'll be living there. I mean yes, we ended up sleeping together, as usual, but he completely ignored everything that happened. He does that. He thinks that if he doesn't talk about it, it will just go away"

"Catherine, listen, he's just afraid. Danny and I had a long talk last night and he says that Steve thinks that if he lets you get too close, then you'll become a target for WoFat. He's protecting you in his own stupid way" Mary saw the sadness in her eyes.

"I know, but the truth is how long do we put our lives on hold? He may never catch that guy and honestly, I am willing to take the risk. I just think that he is using that as an excuse. I was around long before he knew anything about WoFat, and he's always had that wall up, he's had it up for a long time. He is a SEAL and his training teaches him not to feel." Catherine turned to look at the boats that passed.

"You're wrong. He feels, he feels too much, that's the problem. When he cares about someone, that's when he pushes them away. He pushed me away, he pushed my dad away. He tries to push you away, but can't quite do it. He loves you, Danny said so. He's afraid something will happen to you and it will be his fault" Mary was about to continue when there was suddenly a loud noise, the building rocked and the foundation collapsed plummeting the concrete, and its patrons into the water.

The water suddenly became cloudy and there was debris floating everywhere. Catherine grabbed Mary's arm as they dropped into the cold water. The concrete pillars that held the patio collapsed onto each other trapping them and several others under the water. Taking note of the surroundings and the inability to surface, Catherine noticed an air pocket and swam to it, dragging Mary with her. The others followed, but as they swam, debris fell, blocking the pocket from the few who were following. Catherine held onto Mary and would not let her go until they reached their safety.

They lifted themselves on a piece of concrete and raised their heads into the pocket of air. They both gasped for air.

"Are you ok?" Catherine asked Mary

"No I am not ok, what the hell was that? Oh my God, we're going to die! We … are… going… to die! Those people are dead!" Mary was panicked

Catherine grabbed Mary by the shoulders and looked at her directly "We are not going to die; we have at least a couple of hours of air. Don't panic and try not to make any sudden movements" Catherine appeared to be calm but she wasn't. She needed Mary to believe what she was saying.

Once again the surroundings rumbled and more debris dropped into the water. The small waterfront building had collapsed on top of them. The pillars had held and the air bubble remained intact. Mary grabbed onto Catherine and the two women held onto each other. Catherine knew now that their chances of survival had just decreased and the rescue would be nearly impossible. She tried to maintain hope, but was finding it very difficult.

"Catherine? We're going to die, aren't we?"Mary's voice had become erringly calm and it appeared that she had come to the realization that this was it.

Meanwhile at Danny's apartment

"Stop banging on the door, I am coming." Danny opened the door. Steve stood holding a 6 pack of Longboards and a grin.

"Sorry" He casually pushed Danny aside and entered. "Beer?"

"Thanks" Danny took the beer and opened it, taking a gulp.

Steve began to wander around Danny's small apartment as he was searching for something, someone.

"She's not here" Danny shouted from the other room

"Who, Mary, I wasn't looking for her. Ok, so I was. What happened?" Steve wanted to know how far Danny and Mary had gone last night. "On second thought, I don't want to know" He really hated the idea of them being together.

"Listen Steve, she spent the night, but I slept on the couch, alone. I know that this is really bugging you and if you really don't want me seeing her, I'll back off."

Steve didn't know how to respond. Initially he was completely opposed to the idea of Danny and Mary together, but truth is, he was no longer sure how he felt.

"Now, don't think that you have a say in my love life or anything, but she is your sister and you are my best friend, so I'll give you a free pass on this one, anyway, we just talked. We talked about you." He knew that comment would make Steve very uncomfortable and it did.

"Oh, Ok." Steve pretended that he didn't care. He did.

"So, where is she?" he asked

"Who Mary, or do you mean, where is Catherine? She didn't tell you where she went? She went out to lunch with your sister. They're quickly becoming very close." Danny added.

"I don't like that. They are nothing alike. Mary has trouble following her everywhere" Steve grabbed another beer, sat on the couch, flipped off his slippers and turned on the Television.

"Maybe Mary has changed and having a good influence like Catherine around may actually be good for her. She's matured, Steve. She's different. I wish you would just give her a chance. She wants to be close to you. She said you used to be very close as kids." Danny was defending Mary. He liked her.

"I guess you're right." Without missing a beat, he changed the subject "So what do you want to do? Apparently Mary is occupying my girlfriend, so how about we go fishing?" Steve was flipping through the channels.

"Fishing? Really? No. How about we order a pizza and just relax. No dead bodies, no explosions, no women, just peace and quiet." Danny dropped on the couch, next to Steve and grabbed the remote.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programing for a special report.

There has been a building collapse in the Waterfront area. We will bring you further information as it comes available. We now return to our regularly scheduled program already in progress.

Danny and Steve looked at each other and then looked at their phones. They were both preparing for the phones to ring and sure enough they did. They each grabbed their respective phones and at the same time responded "We will be right there".

"So much for a nice relaxing day" Danny grabbed his shoes and the two of them ran out of the apartment.