A/N: Yeah it's me again. A little doubtful about being here really. Haven't talked to many people in the past few months, I guess that's what happens when you give up on things. No one wants to talk to you about anything, and you're just left alone to decide your fate. But it was already starting out that way, two disappeared, one a very good friend. Another good friend stopped reading and I couldn't ask for help from her because she had no idea what was going on with the story and I did not want to give away any of the plot, and I hoped she would continue reading. But she wouldn't, and I kind of lost her friendship after arguing with her one too many times. Of course she did leave me when I needed her the most too, to just have a friend to talk to and what not, but of course I probably instigated that after I kept getting distracted and ignored her a few times. Those two friends though helped me out the most, and when they stopped reading, I felt that my stories just weren't good enough anymore and to spite them I quit. I will not name names, for the sake of them. But you got to know when to cut your loses and tell yourself that you are doing what you love, who cares if someone stops reading, it's their loss.
Truthfully, I sort of regret giving up on this story, sure I ramble on in the chapters, they're long I admit, but that's what makes a story great! It takes time sure, but sometimes you got to bring out what is in there, or it won't sound as good as you thought. So please, don't give up because it's taking forever to read, just pretend it's a story you're reading in your kindle or ipod or whatever. These chapters probably have the same length as any of those stories you read. So yeah, you reviewers are like good friends to me, I get excited seeing what Samurai has to say about this, or how honeygoddess thinks this should happen. Yeah sure you guys are little off, but hey, I get a good reaction afterward. So I've decided to try again, see if I can bring you all back into the story. I want to amaze you, I want to surprise you, and most of all, I want you to enjoy it. I do my best, and when you feel that your best is in jeopardy, you just don't know what to do anymore. You feel lost in a sea of words, with characters abandoning you left and right. So please if you want this story to end, stick around and inspire me. I hope that I can also inspire you. Or you can also hate me, I don't care which.
Jenna had just returned from her business writing class, her shoes soaked from running from her car to the door of her apartment in only a few short minutes. Even though the hurricane was far to the south of Florida, Tampa was still getting hit pretty hard. She knew though that it was not as bad as what was going on down in Miami or even the Keys. Hopefully the guys were fine, they did well preparing for a tropical storm a few years ago, perhaps they were smart enough to head up to Miami away from the islands for a bit. Her brother probably had no idea about the hurricane, he was back on the road again, last she heard, he was somewhere in Kentucky.
She knew finding out any information about what was going on in south Florida was restricted at best, phones were probably down, and electricity probably wasn't doing good either. She would have to wait until later to find out how things were going, besides she needed to get some homework done, and that was going to take a few hours.
The phone rang a little after seven-thirty the next day, Jenna was still sound asleep after staying up until just before two to finish her school work. Of course she tried to ignore the call and continued to sleep once it stopped ringing. Usually it was a friend who wanted to go do something, or even a classmate who wanted to know if they missed any assignments. She could tell them if she wasn't so tired after last night.
She started to drift off again, thinking about happy things and the dream she had before the phone rang, perhaps it would finish once she fell back asleep. She had hoped so, until the phone rang again. Jenna sat up and stared at the phone from across the room for a moment until it finally stopped again. Hopefully that was the last time. She fell back on her pillow and tried to drift off, that is until a loud ring interrupted her again.
Jenna decided to investigate and slowly got out of bed and toward the phone. "Hello?" she replied in a drowsy voice, hoping that they would get the message that she was still sleeping.
"Jenna?" a familiar voice called on the other end of the line. It was Mick, and he sounded concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine, the hurricane stayed to the south if that is what you are worried about," Jenna replied as she stretched.
"I knew that," Mick said.
"Oh good, then why did you call?" Jenna asked.
"The hurricane is done with for south Florida, but I've been watching the news, looks like there's a lot of downed power line's and trees, I'm a little concerned about Homer and the boys," Mick replied. Jenna let out a soft groan when Mick mentioned Homer.
"You are? Well I think they can handle themselves," Jenna replied.
"I know they can, and I've tried to reach them to confirm that, but the phones are dead down there," Mick said.
"They should be up and running in a few hours," Jenna said trying her best to remain calm but also wishing that the phone had a way to strangle her brother over a little matter like this. She knew they were fine, and she wanted to get some more sleep in before her one o'clock class.
"Not after this storm Jenna, listen, I know you probably have classes and you are busy but I need you to find out if they are okay," Mick replied.
"Don't you have a private plane that you can do that in?" Jenna asked.
There was a quiet silence on the other end of the line for a long time, and Jenna almost had to call Mick's name again when he finally responded rather annoyed by her last comment."...I have a tour bus, it does not travel at light speed."
"You seriously want me to go all the way down there?" Jenna asked.
"Yes please, for my sake, I won't ask for anything again I promise," Mick said as he tried to sound like a six year old.
Jenna let out an annoyed sigh. Her brother was known to do this often, and even though he usually said he would never ask for anything again, he would still do so another time. She could say no to him, but a dangerous storm had just passed through the keys and it would be days, maybe a week or two before everything was restored. She knew her brother could not wait that long, he was close to Moe, best friends for many years now. He needed to know if he was okay. And sure Jenna was a little worried about Homer, but she really was not in the mood of seeing him again. Not at the moment any way.
"Okay, I will go down there and let you know as soon as I can okay?" Jenna asked.
"Thank you Jenna, you are a wonderful sister," Mick said.
"Don't mention it," Jenna said with a huff before hanging up the phone on him and making her way back to bed. Even though she had a half day drive, she was still gonna get some extra shut eye.
It was six in the afternoon by the time Jenna reached her destination. The drive went very smoothly until she reached Miami, once she got further south, the roads got a little bumpy and there were downed branches and a few trees on the road. Nothing too big there, until she got to Key Largo where the road had a few spots where water was covering it. But she made her way as carefully as she could down there and finally reached her destination like many others who were ready to return and see if their house was still there.
Jenna was not really thrilled about being there, in fact she knew that running into Homer was inevitable and she was less than thrilled about that. Hopefully he would not bother her too much and that it would be a very quick trip. She wasn't going home right away after checking up on them, she did enough driving for one day. She would spend the night at a nearby hotel and then leave as soon as she felt fit the next day.
It wasn't long before she found herself parked in a familiar driveway that led to a very familiar house that she often found herself on warm summer evenings. In fact, the atmosphere and the way the sun hit the house just right, reminded her of happier times and for a moment, nostalgia kicked in. Until she was reminded that was why she was not here thanks to a few palm fronds that had taken up residence in the front yard.
There was only one car in the driveway, and that was Roger's, Moe's was gone, he was probably reopening the bar or something. Hopefully Roger, Barney, or Homer was home and hopefully Roger or Barney would be the one to open the door. She rang the doorbell and waited for a good minute. But no one responded. She took a peek through the window next to the door and noticed how quiet it looked inside. She also noticed that there seemed to be a hole in the roof. Light was shining down and there was a big puddle next to one of the La-Z-Boy chairs. Did the boys drive back north to safety? Roger would have probably brought his car too. If that was the case, then they would be okay, but knowing Mick, that wasn't enough, he probably wanted physical evidence and she still had not checked Moe's bar.
Quickly she got back into the car, and made her way over to the local hangout, hoping she would find someone there who knew what was happening. As luck would have it, Moe was there, standing out by the parking lot with two other unfamiliar men. Jenna parked nearby and made her way over to him to see what was going on.
"And you said you haven't insured this place since seventy-six?" one of the men asked.
"Yeah, I fell behind unfortunately," Moe replied nervously while both the men wrote on a piece of paper. He did not even notice Jenna as she walked toward him.
Jenna could tell though that this was an important business deal and stayed out of the way as she turned to the bar. What she saw was not good. One corner of the bar, the one facing the water, had fallen down thanks to one of the palm trees that could not handle the wind any more. And thanks to the fact that the bar had no windows and was open air, the entire place was nearly flooded and simply a mess. Jenna could not believe what she was seeing and wondered if everyone else was okay. Moe was the only one there, so where were Barney, Roger and Homer. She really didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was now very concerned about Homer, was he okay? Hopefully something terrible didn't happen to him. She turned back toward Moe who was shaking hands with the two men who walked away, his head hung low like he was exhausted. Jenna knew she had to find out what happened and ran toward him.
"Moe?" She called.
"Jenna? You came all the way down here?" Moe asked.
"I know, it's thanks to my brother, he wanted me to make sure all of you were okay," Jenna replied.
"Yeah, we're fine, I got a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious. Rogah got the worst of it, he actually woke up only a few hours ago after getting a really bad concussion and some nice stitches on his head. Along with a broken leg and sprained wrist. Homah got a nice gash on his shoulder and needed ten stitches, Barney is the same as me, tough guy." Moe replied before turning back over to the bar and letting out a heavy sigh. "The bar though."
"Can you fix it?" asked Jenna.
"Well have you gone by the house?" Jenna nodded. "Well that's more important to fix up, you probably only saw the living room, but the boys room is just totally trashed and the screen room is non existent. In case you are wondering the cat is fine, he is with an old friend. So seeing as how the house is more important to fix, that's gonna cost some because of its location and the age of the building. As for the bar, well I'm afraid it might be a total loss."
"But your business," Jenna said worriedly.
"It's probably done for here, this land was my uncles but it was much larger before I turned it into this, the countless storms keep bringing the beach further in. It was only a matter of time, and I ignored it," Moe replied.
"Where will you work now?" Jenna asked.
Moe let out a sigh and continued to stare at his broken bar for the longest time, Jenna was afraid he would start crying at any moment, but he remained strong. Finally he began to walk away. "Just come with me to the hospital, I need to talk to the guys about this."
Jenna followed Moe to the hospital, she really didn't want to, but in truth, she needed to know what was going to happen to Moe and the guys. Where would they all go? Could it be possible to tear down the bar now and move it further up where the parking lot was? But where would a new parking lot be? This was going to be a tough decision for all of them.
Quietly she followed Moe to the hospital room where Roger was staying at for at least a day or two to make sure the concussion was nothing serious, she wasn't surprised either when she saw his newest girlfriend Clara hanging out in the room with them making sure her boyfriend was going to be alright. Barney and Homer were both sitting by the window, Homer's arm wrapped in bandages and looking a bit disheveled from all the goings on. He probably hadn't showered in a few days either. He saw Jenna, but he did not jump up, knowing that he was still split from her, he only smiled sheepishly.
"Did all this happen at the house?" Jenna asked.
"No, it was a stupid bet I had with Patrick, we went fishing before the storm, but Homah here got into a fight with Barracuda, lost of course, so the storm beat us home. Took us forever to do so too, I'm still amazed my boat did not sink," Moe replied.
"Did Patrick make it out?" Jenna asked.
"Oh yeah, he's fine, his boat though wasn't secured properly enough, last I saw of it, it was lying on it's side on a nearby beach, a nice big hole in the bow," Moe said with a smirk.
"I think he deserved it too," Roger grumbled.
"Definitely, he's too damn cocky," Homer replied while Barney nodded.
"But that's behind us now, we got a bigger problem here," Moe replied.
"Oh yeah, how did the talk with the insurance brokers go?" asked Homer.
"Not good I'm afraid, since I haven't insured the bar in a while, it's gonna be hard to get it fixed. What's worse is that thanks to the storm, the beach moved up and now part of the bar is in the water and that part is history, it could fall down even more within a week or two if nothing is done about it. But that's gonna cost us, and if the beach keeps moving up then the bar is gonna sink further and further into the water."
"Could we move it?" asked Barney.
"We could, but the expenses on that will be very high and I really can't afford that, especially if the house needs to be fixed too. And I don't even think I have more room to move it, I do need parking spaces too," Moe said.
"Then what are we gonna do? We all gotta work to keep the place going," Homer said.
"I know, I know! I never wanted this to happen, I became foolish and forgot how important it was to keep this place in check during a storm," Moe said as he began to pace back and forth nervously, something no one had seen him do in a while.
"What happens if we can't fix this? Do you at least have a plan B?" Homer asked.
"The only other option is to go back to Springfield, I might have enough to find a place to do business there. Renting a location is cheaper than here I can assure you," Moe replied.
"Will we be able to work for you?" Homer asked.
"Depends on business," Moe said.
Homer let out a sigh, sure Moe had a plan B, but it only really suited him and not Homer, Barney or Roger. The three could be out of a job now and it was all thanks to Moe and his way of handling things.
"Well if you go back to Springfield, I'm staying here, I got Clara here to be with and besides, who will watch over your house?" Roger asked.
"Hmmm...good point there Rogah, I could pay you to watch it and make sure it gets fixed up," Moe said.
"He gets brain damage and we can't even think of an idea like that," Barney said quietly to Homer.
"We could always just go to college," Homer said while also looking at Jenna nervously.
"That cost's money Homer," Barney replied.
"Oh yeah," Homer said.
"We do have family there, family we haven't seen in a while, they could take care of us until we find a job," Barney said.
Homer let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head thanks to the salt in the water that he had been unable to wash out for the past couple of days. This was not going to be easy for any of them, they had enjoyed their life down here in Key West. Soaking up the sun, falling in love and creating memories. Now all those things would be a thing of the past, the best life they ever had was now gone thanks to one hurricane. What was worse was that Homer knew he would come crawling back to his father, the same father who still treated him like dirt and wasn't surprised when Homer told him that Jenna broke up with him. This was not going to be fun.
"Well boys, time to cut our losses and head back to Springfield, I don't expect much of a hero's welcome but it's all we have left," Moe said.
"At least try to keep in touch okay guys, I will miss you all, even you Homer. I still care about you, but sometimes we have to move on. You'll find someone, don't worry," Jenna said as she moved around the room and gave everyone a hug, even Homer.
"I did, but I screwed up," Homer replied not looking into Jenna's eyes but only at the ground below.
Jenna only sighed, she did not want to get into this, it was bad enough coming down here, she had a schedule to keep and there was no time to bring love back into the picture. She had classes to worry about, books to read and papers to write. She was ready to succeed, but if her boyfriend hadn't figured out what to do by now, well, she didn't want to be stuck with that problem unless he was willing to fix that. He didn't seem like he was yet and seeing he still didn't have enough for college. That was going to take a little longer.
"Well good luck and be safe. I need to head back north, with any luck I could reach Miami by ten tonight and spend the night there," Jenna said as she made her way out of the door.
Homer watched her go for a minute, but that was all he could take before he jumped up and ran out the door hoping to catch up to her. Of course she hadn't gone far when she heard heavy footsteps walking out of the hospital room. She stopped but did not turn around.
"Homer, it won't work," she said with her back to him.
"Not even a second chance huh?" Homer asked as he made his way toward her and put his hand on her shoulder, she immediately pushed it aside.
"You have no job now, no real place to live, I can't take care of you," Jenna said.
"But if you did, I would do it in return for you when things get better for me," Homer replied.
"Oh and when will that be? I bet you still have no idea what you want to do with your life next do you?" Jenna asked angrily.
"I could take core credits at the college with you, and I can decide from there," Homer said as he twiddled his fingers.
Jenna stared back at Homer, he sure was trying hard, but she really did not want the stress right now. She cared about him, but not enough to start the relationship back up. He had never really grown up and he needed to move on and hopefully get something out of this experience. Maybe they would one day meet again, maybe not. Maybe Homer would find someone better, maybe not. But right now she did not want to fight his battles with him, not when she no longer felt the love she once had with him.
"Sorry Homer, but no," Jenna replied before walking away.
Homer stood there and watched her go, unable to say anything else while tears rolled down his face. He had no idea if he would ever see or talk to her again. Hopefully she would come back to him one day and they would be happy again. For now he could only watch her disappear out of his life for good while he hoped that the change he was about to face would work out for him.
A/N: Yeah the ending probably wasn't as good as I had planned but there you go, a brand new chapter for you all. Hopefully I can update more frequently, hopefully any way. I have no idea how often I will get stuck. At least for the moment though, just know I am probably not updating every week. But I will do my best.
Also I noticed something interesting while thinking about the many readers and reviewers on here. Two people disappeared around the same time in September, CalculatedChaos and The Simpsons Fan. Were they the same person? I'm really starting to wonder because we haven't seen The Simpsons Fan in ages and he didn't say anything when I quit last time. So hmmmmm "rubs chin." perhaps Chaos lead a double life. I don't know, but it is a little odd. If you are reading this The Simpsons Fan, please prove me wrong.
If you reviewed this chapter last time, I know that fanfiction does not let you review the same chapter again if you are signed on. If that is the case feel free to review like you are an anonymous person, but with your screen name just so I know who you are and stuff. Any way I'll update again soon, I think I might have about fifteen more chapters to go. I also created a twitter account so you all can follow my random tweets. The link to my account will be in my profile. Any way see you all soon.