Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions, Warren & Rinsler Productions, NBC Universal, Tailwind Productions and Shaftesbury Films. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.

Author's Note: My apologies for taking so long to update. Due to "technical difficulties" beyond my control, it took 4 days for me to upload this chapter. But I finally got it today, so here it is. I really hope it was worth the wait.

When Continents Collide

Chapter 3

After Dinner Conversation

An irate Chelsea and a shell-shocked Raven briskly walked away from the restaurant on their way back home. Chelsea and Claire had just declared verbal war on one another in the restaurant. Raven was a grand master at navigating the paved sidewalks of New York in her stiletto heels, but this evening she was no match for Chelsea's determined stride. Chelsea walked as if she were going to make every inch of sidewalk she touched pay for the confrontation she had with Claire. In their sixteen years of friendship, Raven had never seen Chelsea angrier.

"Chelsea!" Raven called out. "Chelsea, will you wait a minute!" Chelsea never checked her speed as Raven was now power walking just to remain within two strides of her. "Chelsea Ophelia Daniels! Slow down and talk to me!" It was only then did Chelsea's gait slow enough for Raven to catch up to her. It still took nearly a minute for Raven to catch enough breath to speak clearly.

"The nerve of her to sit there and pretend that we're stupid!" Chelsea opened up. She then turned to mocking Claire in her Texas twang. "Since I didn't go on spring break last year, I saved up some money for this trip!" Chelsea raged. "I'll be damned if anybody talks to you like that, let alone some tumbleweed tramp!"

Raven tried to slip in a word. "Chels…"

Chelsea then stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "And why did you just sit there and let her say that to you?"

Raven looked and sounded a little sheepish. "Well… I kinda deserved it."

"BULLSHIT!" Chelsea exploded. Raven flinched. "What the hell do you mean you deserved it?" "No. Let me back up a minute. Why did I find out at the table that you ran into them today?"

Here we go. Raven thought to herself. Chelsea's great-grandfather was of Russian descent. This was the first time in Raven's life that she saw the "Russian Bear" come out in Chelsea. She prayed that after this night she would never see it again.

"Chels, I came home… and we… you know." Raven started. "And then we went to the restaurant, and there they were…" Chelsea cut Raven off.

"But you left out the part where we walked to the restaurant." Chelsea was still seething. "You could have told me then!" "What? Were you trying to hide the fact that you saw her from me? What did you think I would say? We go to the same school as her! We were bound to run into her again!" Chelsea resumed walking. Raven followed suit and soon caught back up to her.

"Chels, I just thought…"

"You didn't think, Rae!" Chelsea shot back, catching Raven completely off-guard. Chelsea usually used a softer approach when pointing out a fault in Raven. This time, however, she used blunt force. "You just thought about yourself! And here I am thinking that the days of selfish Raven that forgot my middle name were over!" Chelsea said, taking several more strides before stopping and delivering a low blow of her own. "Oh, wait a minute. You did think about me this afternoon..." She said with calm sarcasm. "You thought about me when you FUCKED ME SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL ME!"

"NOW WAIT A MINUTE!" It was now Raven's turn to push back. "I would never use sex to get out of telling you the truth about anything! Especially her! When I touch you or kiss you, I mean it! I can't believe you said that!"

They were now steps away from their building as Chelsea answered Raven.

"Then tell me why you were so willing to take that from her. Tell me why she came out of her mouth with that shot about spring break and you didn't go 'classic Raven Baxter' on her ass." Chelsea stopped at the bottom of the steps outside their building and searched Raven's eyes for an answer.

Raven thought about how she was going to tell Chelsea that she felt guilty for hurting Claire and that there was part of both of them that still needed closure. She thought about it a couple of seconds too long.

"You know what, Rae? Forget it. I'm done with this tonight." Chelsea turned and started up the steps.

"Wait, Chels!"

Chelsea stopped and turned around. "Wait, Chels what?" She said with tired exasperation. "Think about it before you say it."

"Now wait a minute, chick!" Raven was now fired up. "That is the second time you have said or insinuated that I don't think about what I do before I do it, I'm not taking that off of you!"

"Now you decide to speak up for yourself." Chelsea said with calm sarcasm. "If you had done that at the restaurant, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Chelsea once again turned to continue up the stairs. Raven was hot on her heels. When they reached the top of the stairs, Raven grabbed Chelsea by the arm and spun her around.

"Don't dismiss me like I'm some little child!" Raven screamed.

"I said… I'm done." Chelsea snatched out of Raven's grasp and turned to unlock the door to the building. She unlocked the door and opened it. Raven gently tried to grab Chelsea's wrist again.

"Chels?" Raven said as she made contact with Chelsea's wrist again. Chelsea snatched away again.

"Good night, Raven." Chelsea said as she turned and went through the front door and across the lobby.

Raven watched her through the door as she crossed the lobby and disappeared inside the elevator. She thought about following her up to their apartment, but decided that more arguing wouldn't solve anything. Raven stood outside the building wondering what to do next. She decided to take a walk and go to the one place she could sit peacefully and figure things out.

Casey and Claire walked back to Casey's apartment in silence. Once inside, Casey flipped on the lights, dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and checked her voicemail messages, her thoughts never far away from her eerily silent girlfriend. Claire took her jacket off and made a beeline for the couch and flopped down. She stared off into space in pensive thought.

Having left their dinner at the restaurant, Casey poked her head into the refrigerator and pulled out some leftovers from the night before and sat them on the counter to warm up in the microwave. As she walked back out of the kitchen she pulled her heels off as she fixed her pale blue eyes on Claire. She walked into the bedroom and changed out of her clothes into a faded gray Toronto Maple Leafs t-shirt and dark blue drawstring sweats. She came back into the living room and crossed into the kitchen glancing out of the corner of her eyes at Claire, who had not moved from the spot she sat down in when they first came in.

Casey walked into the living room and sat on the low wooden coffee table in front of Claire and grabbed both of her hands. Before she could say anything, Claire lifted her head and spoke.

"I… got a little carried away at the restaurant. I'm sorry." Claire said softly. "I wasn't trying to embarrass you."

"I know." Casey said with a faint smile.

"I really feel bad that I did that to you. I dragged you into the middle of… I don't know what that was." Claire said before dropping her head again.

"Back home we call that 'Hockey Night in Canada'." Casey cracked. Claire lifted her head and forced a smile.

"You ever…" Claire was about to ask a question but at the last second changed her mind. "Never mind."

"Go ahead." Casey said. "Anything you say will not be held against you in a court of Casey."

"One time back home, I had the biggest, best-looking peach that I ever saw. I had taken the first bite and it… was so sweet and juicy and I… had the biggest smile on my face." Claire recalled. "And I was about to take another bite… and my brother walked up behind me and took the peach out of my hand and started eating it."

Casey nodded as Claire re-told the story. "I got so mad. I shot up off the steps and chased him across the yard and halfway down the street, but I couldn't catch him. He came back about ten minutes later and walked up to me on the steps… and laid the pit of the peach on the step next to me. And he looked at me and said, 'Man, that was a good peach! Thanks, sis!'"

Claire paused for a moment as her lip began to quiver. Her eyes glassed over.

"You know what, Case?" She continued. "If he had came up to me and said that he had been craving a peach for the longest time and asked me for a bite, I would have given him the rest of the peach." Then a tear fell onto her cheek. "She just walked up behind me and took my peach." More tears rolled down her cheeks as she sat motionless on the couch. "I went from everything to nothing in two days." Claire's crying became more intense as she continued. "And when I saw Raven today, all that crap that I thought I had gotten over came back up and it… it hurts."

"Do you still love her?" Casey asked with trepidation.

Claire answered without hesitation. "Yes, I do." Casey dropped her head, disconnecting her gaze from Claire for the first time since she sat down. "But not in a romantic way." Claire said as she sniffed her tears. Casey lifted her head and reestablished her connection with Claire's crystal blue eyes. "She is always gonna be special to me. She was the first person I…"

"Fell in love with?" Casey attempted to finish her sentence.

"Yeah." Claire said and the paused to gauge Casey's reaction. "Are you…"

"Upset? Hurt? Mad?" Casey interrupted. Claire nodded. "No. You have a heart. That's one of the reasons I fell for you. I'd be worried if you could just turn your emotions off like a spigot." Claire dropped her head. Casey reached down and gently lifted her head. The remaining tears in Claire's eyes reflected the fluorescent lights inside the apartment, giving them a twinkle.

"Casey… I…" Claire started. For the third time in as many minutes, Casey cut her off.

"Only say it if you really mean it." Casey said as her eyes began to take on the moist sheen that is a prelude to tears.

"Say what?" Claire asked.

"What I think I see in your eyes." Casey replied.

"You Canadians think you're so smart, don't you?" Claire playfully snapped.

"Not all Canadians." Casey said with a half-chuckle. "Just us from Ontario. We're like the fifty-first state, eh?" Casey said, finishing her statement with the stereotypical "eh?" that Canadians are associated with.

"Well, Miss Smart-ass from Ontario…" Claire's chuckle melted into a warm smile turned up at the corners of her mouth. "I love you." Casey smiled and began to blush when she heard that. It was the first time either one of them had uttered those three little words to the other. Several tears began to roll down Casey's flushed crimson cheeks.

"I love you too, Claire." Casey said before letting out a relieved giggle. She threw her arms around Claire's neck and embraced her. As she broke the embrace, Claire cupped Casey's face, slowly sweeping her left thumb across Casey's lips. She then gently pulled Casey in for a deep, lingering kiss.

Casey transferred herself from the coffee table to the sofa next to Claire as they continued kissing each other. They simultaneously parted their lips slightly, allowing their tongues to explore each other. Their hands aimlessly roamed, unable and perhaps unwilling to find a permanent resting place on the other woman's body.

The kissing expanded beyond the confines of their lips as Claire began kissing Casey's neck. The brown haired beauty rolled her eyes back in her head as her blonde lover skillfully manipulated her sensitive pulse point.

"Oh, god…" Casey breathlessly replied as every one of Claire's kisses sent surges of electric intensity through her body. Casey was moments away from submitting her all to Claire when the shrill ring of the telephone temporarily penetrated the sexual fog she was slipping into. Claire momentarily stopped, knowing Casey's penchant for wanting to answer the phone. Casey's answer stunned Claire in both its bluntness and presence of a hardcore four-letter word that Casey rarely uses.

"Fuck the phone." Casey responded with brutal yet sexy clarity. "Let the machine pick it up." Claire grinned her sly Lone Star grin and continued her oral exploration of Casey's alabaster neckline.

"THIS IS CASEY, LEAVE ME A MESSAGE AND I'LL CALL YOU BACK. THANKS."

"Space Case, pick up." The familiar voice of Derek Venturi could be heard echoing throughout the apartment. "Come on Case, pick up. Nora told me to call you. It's important. It's about Lizzie."

"Lizzie?" Casey immediately snapped out of her fog upon hearing the name of her younger sister. She looked at Claire who was sitting up straight. "Claire, I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize. It's okay. Take it." Claire said with a warm smile. "I've got to get home and walk my dog anyway."

"Casey!" Derek yelled through the phone. Casey hopped up off the couch and went over to the kitchen counter and hit talk on the phone. "One sec, Derek." Claire closed the distance between them.

"I'll call you later and we can discuss…" Casey bit her bottom lip and grinned as she rocked from side to side. "Finishing this."

"You bet." Claire said with a grin before planting one final kiss on Casey and heading to the door. She heard Casey begin her conversation with Derek as she was closing the door.

"What's wrong with Lizzie?" Claire heard Casey say to Derek before she closed the door and started down the hallway.

She smiled to herself as she headed down the stairs to the front door to the building. She told Casey she loved her and she meant it. She hadn't felt that good since the day she told Raven she loved her. The brown haired beauty from up north had done something that no one in the past year had been able to do; touch her heart.

As she continued home however, her thoughts drifted to the scene in the restaurant. Chelsea was right. She did try to purposely throw spring break up in Raven's face. She wanted Raven to know that she was still hurting and feel a little bit of her pain.

But as she distanced herself from that moment, she began to see how catty it was of her to do that. Part of her wanted to go apologize to Raven for doing that. But that would require her to see Raven to do that, something she was not quite ready to do. Part of her wanted to apologize to Chelsea for provoking her. But Chelsea's harsh words were still ringing in her ears, not to mention the sight of a livid Chelsea being dragged out of the restaurant still etched in her visual cortex. She was in no mood to fight if the situation called for it, so a face-to-face with Chelsea was out as well.

So Claire resigned herself to walking her Yorkie named Princess in the park like she did every night. She reached her apartment to find it empty. Her roommates had presumably gone clubbing for the night. She opened her bedroom door to find a surprisingly quiet Princess sitting in Claire's desk chair, waiting for Claire to come home.

Claire grabbed Princess and her leash and headed to the park, about a 10-minute walk from her apartment. When they reached the entrance to the park, Claire took a deep breath. She loved the park. It reminded her of her walks she would take back home in Odessa. She loved the city too, but there was nothing like the great outdoors for a self-professed country girl.

When Claire neared Princess' usual bathroom spot, she let the leash go. Princess pranced around for several minutes sniffing for her spot. After finding it and doing her business, Princess looked around for a moment and began sniffing in the general direction of the center of the park. Without warning, Princess bolted away from Claire, in the same direction she was sniffing in moments earlier.

"Princess!" Claire screamed. She took off after Princess, who already had a 20-yard lead on her. "Princess! Come back here!" Claire's track past was now being put to the test by an eight-pound canine hell-bent on finding something. Claire sprinted down the footpath after her dog. "Princess!" Claire went on high alert as she saw Princess disappear around a bend in the footpath lined with trees that obstructed her view around the bend.

When she reached the bend, she saw a figure sitting on a bench about 25 yards away cradling what appeared to be her dog. She stopped in her tracks and called for her.

"Princess!" Claire called out. She was answered by a series of staccato barks from the dog being cradled on the bench. As she got closer to the bench, a familiar voice greeted her.

"You know it's against the law to let adorable little dogs off their leash in the city." The last few words of the sentence were said with sugary sweetness while looking down playing with the dog.

Claire smiled slightly. "It's dangerous for fine black women to sit alone on park benches at night in the city." Claire wryly shot back. "Hi Raven."

"Hi Claire." Raven lowered her head and continued playing with Princess, who was enamored with her new playmate.

"She really likes you. She doesn't take to many people." Claire said.

"You named her Princess." Raven said before looking up. "We said if we ever got a dog, it would be a Yorkie named Princess." Claire forced a smile and then dropped her head.

"You mind if I sit down?" Claire asked. Raven slid over in a symbolic gesture. Claire eased down on the bench. About a foot separated the two of them. "I want to apologize for what I said at the restaurant. That was catty and petty and…"

"It was how you felt inside." Raven said. "It was catty and petty… but I understand where it came from. And I accept your apology." Raven glanced at Claire, who was staring into the darkness. "I have an apology of my own that I owe you."

"Okay." Claire said incredulously. She wasn't expecting or requiring one from Raven.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. You deserved a better ending than I gave you." Raven said softly.

Claire nodded. "Yeah. I did." Raven nodded in acknowledgement. "It all happened so fast and I was in shock."

"When I came back to the apartment, I expected you to put up a fight." Raven said.

"I didn't want to push you further away." Claire said. "But a big part of me did want to fight. I wanted you so bad… but I saw the look in your eyes when you told me that Chelsea had left after your fight with her. You were in love and you were crushed. I couldn't sit there and see you like that. As painful as it was for me… I had to let you go."

Claire felt the sting of tears coming on. Part of her wanted to take her dog and leave, but she felt like she couldn't run away from this. She had to get everything out so she could move on.

"It wasn't easy for me at all." Raven said. "I was in love with two people at the same time. That is a frightening feeling."

"You were still in love with me?" Claire asked. Raven looked at her and said nothing.

Raven turned her head and closed her eyes. When she opened them again moments later, two tears streamed down her face. "I cried when you left. If… If there was a way I could have split myself in two and been able to love both of you, I would have."

"I thought I…" Claire started but cut herself off.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Let's change the subject." Claire decided to steer clear of what was on her mind at that moment.

"Part of the reason we're sitting here is because we didn't do this right last year." Raven reasoned. "So just say it."

"I thought I had gotten over this. I thought I had gotten you out of my system and had moved on. But then I ran into you… again and…"

"I know how you feel." Raven said. "I feel the same way." They both smiled dryly. "But you know, it's all your fault."

"What?" Claire said defensively.

"You asked me to promise not to forget you… and I told you I wouldn't forget you."

"You remembered that?" Claire asked warmly. Raven responded by reaching into her purse, pulling out her wallet and removing a piece of folded paper and handing it to Claire. "Is this…" Claire unfolded the piece of paper and gasped. It was the note she had left for Raven when she moved out of the apartment. She began silently crying as she read her own words:

Rae,

My grandmother once told me that I was as pretty as a Texas bluebonnet. I never truly felt that way until I met you. She gave me this flower as a symbol of her love for me. Now it belongs to you. You will always be my pretty bluebonnet. Take care and always be happy.

Love, Claire

"I keep it so I won't forget." Raven said. "Don't go getting tear stains on it." Raven joked. Claire laughed in between her tears. She then started weeping again. It was then that the dam finally broke.

"Goddamnit, Raven! Why did you leave me?" Claire exclaimed. Raven dropped her head and nodded as she began to cry. She knew this moment had to pass in order for the air to truly be clear. "We're supposed to be walking this dog in this fucking park together!"

"I… am so… sorry." Raven said as she wept. She wanted to plead with Claire not to cry. She knew that Claire was deeply hurt for her to weep openly. Claire had always displayed strength and moxie. The vulnerability on display was as painful to watch as it was touching to Raven.

Raven reached over and took the leash out of Claire's hand and attached it to Princess' collar. She then sat the dog on the ground and looped the leash in between the slats of the bench and tied it securely. She then turned back to a still-crying Claire. Raven reached in her purse and pulled out a couple of tissues and placed them in Claire's hand. Raven dried her own tears then looked over at Claire who had yet to bring her tissues up to her face. Raven took the tissues out of her hand and began dabbing at Claire's eyes. Claire began sniffing her tears as she felt Raven wiping away her tears.

After wiping away Claire's tears, Raven sat back and looked at her handy work.

"There." She said with velvety softness. "That's better."

Claire locked onto Raven's eyes for a brief moment before surging forward and capturing Raven's lips with her own. Raven's initial reaction was one of total shock. She attempted to back away but Claire placed and hand on the back of Raven's head and guided it forward, pressing their lips together even more. Raven found herself suddenly drawn in. She began to melt into the feeling of kissing Claire again, and before she knew it, they were fully engaged in the beginning of an impromptu make out session.

Their hands began to survey what were once familiar landscapes for the both of them. This continued as the two of them searched for a degree of comfort in each other. The survey came to an abrupt end, however, as Claire's left hand found its way underneath Raven's top and briefly brushing the side of her breast.

Raven broke contact and pulled back. "Oh, shit!" Raven whisper-yelled, breathing heavily.

"I don't know what got…" Claire started but Raven held up an index finger and closed her eyes, cutting her off. "Rae, I'm sorry."

"We both… got a little… caught up. 'Sokay." Raven said and sighed as she rolled her eyes back in her head in disbelief over what just happened.

Claire shared a passing thought with Raven. "You know… if we both didn't have girlfriends…"

Raven felt herself returning to normal. "You'd be in a bedroom somewhere screaming my name." Raven said with her legendary quick wit.

"No! You'd be caught up in my Texas Tornado, baby!" Claire shot back as they both laughed.

Raven smiled then looked down at Princess and back at Claire. "Take Princess home, looks like she's getting cold."

"I told Casey I loved her tonight." Claire blurted out. "She said it back to me."

"Good. I know you'll make her happy. She's a beautiful girl. You two look good together." Raven said with genuine sincerity.

"So do you and Chelsea. She is gorgeous. You done good, Baxter." Claire said. "I need to apologize to her."

'I'd… wait a couple of days… weeks… millennia before I did that if I were you." Raven warned. "She was pretty fired up after we left. That's why I'm here. Kinda let her cool down."

"Since I like to live, I'll take your advice." Claire said with a smile.

"Smart move." Raven said with a matching smile. She then turned to untie Princess from the bench and handed the leash to Claire. "You take care and… I'll see you around."

Claire cupped Raven's cheek with her right hand and leaned in for one final goodbye kiss.

"Take care, Rae." Claire said before taking the leash from Raven's hand and looking down at her dog. "Come on, Princess! Let's go girl!" Raven watched them as they walked away, up the footpath and around the bend.

"Casey is a lucky woman." Raven said before starting out of the park. "Very lucky." She then looked back at the bench and saw the note that Claire left her still lying there. She went back and picked it up. Before slipping it back into her wallet she opened it and read it once more. "I will never forget you, Clarissa Cheyenne Bennet. Goodbye… Farewell… and Amen… again."

If you read the prequel to this story, Continental Divide, then you know that Raven's last line came from the title of the chapter, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, where she broke up with Claire. It's also a paraphrase of the last line of that chapter where she said, "I will never forget you Claire Bennet. Goodbye… Farewell… and Amen." Raven and Claire seem to be squared away, but what about Chelsea? Let's find out in Chapter 4. It's next.