A/N: I'll cut to the chase and not leave much for an author's note.

Riley looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was swept up in a half up do, and she was wearing a cute sky blue sundress along with a white cardigan. The other night, her dad announced that they were going to be going out for a family dinner at a classy restaurant that Riley had never heard of before. When she first heard this, Riley was excited, but once her excitement toned down a bit, she thought about it. Why were they going? The only time they went out to an expensive style restaurant was for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Sure, Maya and Captain McCall (whom the Matthews family had grown to know quite well ever since he was transferred to the Lakehurst Naval Air Center) were going to be joining them, but was that enough of a reason? Or was there something more?

Her deliberation was soon interrupted by a sharp knock on her door. "Hey Riles, are you coming out or do I have to come in there after ya?" Maya called through the door.

Riley shook her head and let out a chuckle. "No, you don't have to come in here after me. I'll be out there in a minute."

She heard Maya groan at her words. "You said that five minutes ago!"

Riley stepped towards the door and opened it, revealing her best friend standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Happy now?" she asked.

Maya nodded. "Much. Now come on!" she replied, grabbing ahold of Riley's wrist and leading her into the living room where everyone else was waiting.

When she realized everyone was waiting for her, Riley blushed slightly. "Sorry, guys."

Cory shook his head. "Don't be. Now, is everyone ready to go?"

Everybody nodded, grabbed their coats from the coat rack, and they headed down to the cars. As they made their way to the curb, a gentle rain began to fall. The gentle rain turned to a drizzle, then the drizzle to a steady rain, then the steady rain turning to a down pour, and the down pour turning into a skin stinging wall of water... all within a moment from the rain starting.

Once the Matthews' family was piled into their car, Cory started the engine and followed Captain McCall to the restaurant. Most of the car ride was silent, which was quite shocking to Cory and Topanga. Usually Auggie and Maya would start arguing over something, or Riley and Maya would begin to talk about what was going on at work. But when Topanga looked at the back seat, she found all three of them looking out the window, watching the rain fall. Topanga knew her daughter liked the rain; however, she didn't realize how much it had a calming effect on Auggie or Maya as well. This was fine with her. Whatever silence she got to enjoy, she gladly took. She enjoyed hearing all of them have fun, but she marveled any peace and quiet the young adults allowed her to have.

The rest of the car ride didn't appear to take long, and the six friends headed inside. Once in the restaurant, the hostess led them to a private room, which Riley again found rather odd. Despite this, Riley didn't think anything of it. She actually thought it was rather nice. No screaming children running around; just peace and quiet.

"Your waiter should be here for your drink orders in a few minutes," the hostess said after she finished handing out the menus.

"Thank you," Mrs. Matthews responded.

As Riley began to look over the drinks, she heard the wind start to pick up outside, making the rain pelt against the windows, and it sent a chill down her spine. She didn't understand why that happened either; she had heard several storms that sounded similar to this one and they hadn't bothered her. So why did this one? It was as if her body was trying to tell her something, but she dismissed the thought and immersed herself in the atmosphere.

"Hey Riles, what are you thinking about getting?" Maya asked.

"I don't know," she responded as she focused her attention to the several different entre choices that were listed, many of which sounded delicious to her.

"I'm thinking about the marinated beef tenderloin. That or the calamari."

"Those sound really good…" Riley trailed. "But so does the tomato basil pasta."

"You can get something like that anywhere," Maya argued. "Get the one I don't order, that way we can split it!"

Riley laughed as she closed her menu and set it down in front of her. "Okay, I'll do that. Easy for me, then."

"Yes! Now, to decide which one I want…"

Riley rolled her eyes. "You still haven't decided? Good thing you still have a bit of time left to decide," she jested.

The waiter finally came over and started to take their drink orders. Riley and Maya ordered sweet tea, while everyone else had something else a bit more high end. Except Auggie that is, he just stayed with water.

After their waiter left with their drink orders, Captain McCall's cell phone started to ring. He picked it up and stood up to leave. "I'm sorry everyone, this could be the base telling me that I forgot to fill out some paperwork that needs to get done by tomorrow," he joked.

Everyone smiled. "No worries," Topanga replied. "Take your time."

"Excuse me," McCall said as he stepped away from the table and took the call.

The waiter soon returned with the drinks. "Would you like to wait to place your order until your other party member returns?"

"If you don't mind," Cory answered.

"No problem, please take your time," the waiter smiled as he headed back out to check on some of his other tables.

"Alright, that gives me more time to decide," Maya said half-jokingly.

"You still haven't decided?" Riley asked again.

Maya bit her lip and set her menu down. "Just did. Tenderloin."

The group continued to chat for a few minutes before Captain McCall approached the table again, his cheerful face now replaced with one of concern. He stopped at his chair, but remained standing as he cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention.

Everyone looked up at him, but their smiles were slowly replaced with worry when they saw their friend's expression.

"Is everything alright?" Cory asked.

Before McCall answered, fear gripped Riley's heart. All the little things that seemed off had something to do with what he was about to say. She didn't know how she knew, but she did… and she didn't like it.

The captain inhaled deeply before he replied, his strong voice now soft as he spoke. "The call I took was from the skipper of the Enterprise. Both Lucas and Farkle were flying an F-14 to Lakehurst; however, they encountered some difficulties on their flight inbound. They are believed to have gone down at sea."

The pleasant mood that once filled the room had disappeared, as if it never existed a few moments ago. All eyes fell upon Maya and Riley. Maya bit her lip, and appeared to be on the verge of tears. It was never easy to find out that one of your best childhood friends is in grave danger, and there's nothing you can do about it. She turned to look at her best friend, knowing that she must be having it worse than she was. Not only was one of her friends lost, but also the love of her life.

But Riley's face did not reveal any emotion, nor did she speak. The only action that revealed anything to the others in the room on how she was feeling was the steady drain of color from her face.

A/N #2: Let me know what you thought of it! Until next time!