Part 2

Anne glanced around the airport and sighed. 'After 5 years he manages to talk me into seeing him in what… 5 minutes?' Anne spotted him first. He looked exactly as she remembered him, just 5 years older. Unlike Ben, she was on the short side and a little chubby. Her hair was the same brown color but much longer. Her eyes were a clear blue, like her mother's.

"Ben!" she called.

"Anne?" he turned just in time to catch the blurred figure rushing to hug him. "Same old Anne!" he laughed leaning back to look at the girl wrapped around him.

"Old? Look who's talking! At least you can still hold me up." Anne unwrapped herself and dropped to the ground.

"Anne… you remember-"

"Hey Ian." She said. That was what she had been afraid of…

"Hey Anne."

"And that's Riley." Ben said pointing, blatantly ignoring the awkwardness between Ian and his sister.

"Nice to meet you." He said, shaking her hand.

"Same here. Well as nice as it is just standing around an airport, I'm starved. So if we could move this reunion elsewhere. Preferably an elsewhere with food. Like a-"

"Good slice of cherry pie." Ben finished. "You got your stuff?"

"Sure do." She leaned down to grab her bags only to have one taken out of her hands. Looking up, she saw Ian smiling at her. "I could have gotten that."

"I know."

Sighing, Anne grabbed her other bag and headed out towards the car.

The four people slid into the booth at Chili's, Ben and Riley on one side, Anne and Ian on the other.

"So why exactly am I here Ben?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I mean, you didn't just up and decide to have a family reunion just because I called. There's always a reason with you."

"So untrusting." Ian commented.

"You would know." She said carelessly. Though the comment would usually deter a guy, things were different with Ian, who grinned.

"Well… Riley here has a way to track down something we've been looking for."

"Your sanity?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

"The Charlotte."

Anne choked on her Dr. Pepper.

"The Charlotte? It's a ship?"

"Yes."

"Wow…Tell me more." She said leaning forward. As Ben was filling her in, Ian's hand "casually" found her knee, making her jump.

"Anne?" Ben asked.

"Um, I'll be right back." Anne said, jumping up and heading for the bathroom.

Ian rounded the corner a minute or two after her. She glared at him coldly.

"I told you. It's over."

"Yeah. We agreed that last time. And the time before that."

"Yeah well I mean it this time. So best behavior."

"What don't want your brother to find out about you and me?"

"He knows about you and me. He just may not know all the details." She looked up at him half pleading. "Please Ian. It's really over."

"Whatever you say, Anne." He replied. Anne left first, sitting back at the table with a smile.

"So… when do we leave?"

Anne lounged on the guest bed in Ben's flat. Riley had gone back to his nearby apartment and Ian had opted for the couch, his own house being in Pennsylvania. A knock on the door dragged her eyes from her book.

"Come in." she called, softly.

"Still the book worm I see." Ian said grinning.

"What are you doing here Ian?" she said.

"Just wanted to give you something." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What it is?"

"Gloves. It gets pretty cold in the Arctic."

"Speaking of which, we have an early morning tomorrow so if you could-" She was cut off my Ian's lips.

Ian could be most effectively described as a tornado. Too close and you get sucked in. And no matter how hard she tried, she always did.

"Wake up." Anne said, shaking Ian awake. Water from her wet hair dripped all over his face.

"What time is it?"

"Three. Ben won't be up for another hour."

"Since when are you an early riser?"

"Since today now get up."

Ian consented but placed a kiss on her lips first. Anne dressed quickly and packed her arctic gear. She paused over the gloves, comparing the new ones with hers. She tossed the new ones into the corner with an angry grunt.