A/N: Oh wow! Look two updates in a day, I'm on a roll here. I hope you guys enjoy this one. This is the second part of the last chapter.

Sixteen Years Earlier

It seemed like forever as we sat there just thinking. I don't think I've ever seen our group of friends this somber before. As the silence wore on between us it became unbearable. I didn't want what might be our last night together to be filled with the upcoming dread. Everyone else on the ship was making as much noise as possible, obviously not able to sleep either. We were the only group I could see dwelling on things that we could not predict or change. I looked back at my two friends. I had brought this uneasy silence on us, it was only right that I got us past it.

"Hey," I said causing them to look up at me, "those papers shouldn't be something to dread. We will need those addresses after this is all over with anyway."

"What do you mean?" Irwin asked.

I smiled at him and said, "Well I was thinking that once this is all over with we should meet up. Maybe have lunch or something."

Both of them brightened at this thought. Obviously they liked the idea and welcomed the distraction.

"Sounds good to me," Daniel said. "Where would we meet up at?"

"My place would be alright," I told them. It seemed the best option considering the circumstances. If I met them anywhere else they might not believe it was me. It would probably be hard enough to convince them at my own home, let alone somewhere else.

"Alright sounds like a plan," Irwin said. "Though after that I think we should each meet up at a different person's house each time. I wouldn't want your family hosting us all the time. Especially with the way Daniel eats."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Daniel asked slightly outraged.

"Daniel you would eat your body's weight in food if you could," Irwin said jokingly.

Daniel glared slightly and then shook his head and laughed. "I can't help it if I have a healthy appetite," he said.

"If you had a healthy appetite you wouldn't want any of the food we are given," I told him. "This stuff isn't fit for a dog."

He just simply shrugged and said, "Well I figure if I have to eat poison I might as well not starve too, but I do wish we could have real food for once. That's one of the biggest things I miss. Hey I was just thinking, how bout we share what we miss the most?"

Irwin and I both agreed. It sounded like a wonderful idea. Besides I liked learning as much as I could about these two men who had become my best friends.

"Well mine might seem a little silly," Daniel said.

"No sillier that usual I'm sure," I said teasing him.

"Oh shush," he said, and then tried to push me over. All three of us chuckled a bit and then he spoke again. "Well honestly what I miss the most is the Saturday night dances."

"Well I can say I didn't see that coming," Irwin said, slightly shocked. I had to agree with him. While Daniel did teach me how to dance, I didn't realize how much he enjoyed it. Though I suppose it seemed to make since considering how light he was on his feet.

Daniel simply shrugged. "I love to dance," he continued. "Ever since my momma taught me how I couldn't help but enjoy it. When I got older I would go with my family to our town's dances. I think I've probably danced with every girl in my town to be honest, and most of them several times. Not because I really was interested in them in particular, but simply because I wanted someone to dance with. I think the reason why I enjoy it so much is because there's just something freeing about it. I don't really think when I dance it just comes natural to me. Honestly, the first thing I want to do when I get home is walk up to the prettiest gall in the room, lead her onto the dance floor and then sweep her off her feet if she can keep up with me."

As he finished I felt a hint of jealousy build up inside of me against whoever that girl may be. However, I didn't have long to think on it.

"So Antony, what about you? What do you miss the most?" Daniel asked.

I thought briefly for a moment, but soon I had my answer. "I miss my home in general," I said. "It is really a beautiful place. As you already know my home is in woods up on one of the mountains. My grandfather and grandma bought that land when they first settled there. We owned a lot of it, and it is amazing. At the peaks you can see trees for miles and miles. During the spring and summer they would be all green and fresh with leafs. My father would take my brother and I fishing at Lake Michigan. I remember coming home with so much fish we didn't know what to do with all of it. Often times we would simply give it to our neighbors if we had too much. However, my favorite part is in the fall. The leaves would turn all sorts of colors. They would be vivid colors of yellows and oranges, but the best ones were the reds. Some would be so dark they would almost look like rubies hanging from the trees." I paused long enough to sigh. "At the beginning of fall my father, brother, and I would go on hunting trips far up in the mountains at our cabin. We would hunt deer, bear, rabbits, squirrels. By the time we were done we always had enough to make it through the winter. We also trapped for fur. When we got back we would sell most of them that way we could buy goods from town."

I closed my eyes as I thought about the amazing place I had left behind. Yes it was primitive, but in some odd way the simplicity of it was what made it so beautiful.

"Your home is similar to mine," Daniel said. "I can understand why you miss it so much."

"Well I suppose that explains why you two are some of the best shots there is," Irwin said.

"When you survive off of what you shoot you have to be good," Daniel told him.

Irwin shook his head. "I don't think I could kill anything. I enjoy life too much. I'm not sure if I will fit in there either. I was raised in a city."

I smiled at him. "You'd be surprised how quickly you would get adjusted Irwin," I told him. "Maybe you wouldn't like hunting, but I'm sure you would enjoy the life that the mountains have. Maybe we can all just go up there and go camping."

Irwin face scrunched up like he had just been told to eat something disgusting. "I think I've had enough camping for a lifetime thanks."

Daniel chuckled and shook his head. "That's not the kind of camping Antony is talking about," he said.

"Not at all," I told him. "See in the cabin we have complete shelter, no rain will come in nor will anything else. We would just enjoy being in the fresh air. There's just much more to offer than what you realize. At night the stars come out and fill the sky. Then in the mornings you can see the sun peaking over the mountain as it slowly starts to rise. It is really impressive, just wait until you see it."

Irwin seemed to think about it and then smiled. "I suppose I wouldn't mind seeing it, just as long as you two don't mind cities. They have their own beauty to them too."

"I honestly can't wait to visit everyone's home," I said, and they all agreed with me.

"Alright after that long speech," Daniel said looking at me teasingly, "it's finally your turn Irwin. What would you say you miss the most?

Irwin spoke, "I think what I miss the most is spending time with my mom."

"Wait, Irwin are you a momma's boy?" Daniel asked teasingly. "I would have never thought that you would be."

"Shut it Daniel," Irwin said. He looked down at his hands briefly and then back at us. He had a faraway look in his eyes. For a few moments it almost seemed he wasn't looking at us, but a distant memory. "My mother and I are just close. She's all I really had since my father died. Granted she wasn't able to be home very much. She would have to work really late at the hospital. I'd try to stay up as late as I could, but often I would fall asleep before she did. There are times when I did manage to stay awake, but I'd pretend to be asleep. I'm not really sure why I did that, because I loved talking to her and just being with her. When I went away to college I'm sure she was very lonely, but she was so proud when I finished medical school. Always would tell me how proud my father would have been too."

After Irwin's voice faded away he seemed to come back to us. A few minutes later Daniel spoke up again.

"I think he would too Irwin," he said. "You're about to do something great by helping people."

Irwin shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "My father was a surgeon in World War I. While he was over there he wrote my mother a letter telling her to never let me get mixed up in any war. He said he didn't want his son dying like he had seen so many other men. He hated being feeling so helpless. No matter how many men he saved it didn't matter because there was always at least one he lost. A month after he wrote that letter a bomb fell on the building he was working in."

The silence was profound. Daniel and I weren't sure what to say after all we had heard. It was hard to imagine that one of Irwin's father's last wish was that he wouldn't be involved in a war, yet here he was. My heart went out to him and especially to his mother. All I could do was pray she didn't have to suffer another loss to another stupid war.

I looked at Irwin. He was once again looking at his hands, hands that might have to work hard and fast to save only a handful of lives in a day or two. Those very hands were shaking slightly. He was trying to keep them still. That much was obvious and so wasn't his fear. Throwing caution to the wind, I cupped his hands in mine, holding them still. At first he tensed and I thought he was going to withdraw, but he ended up relaxing. It seemed that I had done some good.

"Thank you for telling us this," I told him. He wasn't one to open up to people. For him to tell us about something this important said a lot.

"No need to thank me," he said, and then he looked at us. "You two are my friends, probably the best friends I have ever had. I trust you guys."

He paused for a moment and then looked back down at our hands. This time he did remove his from mine.

"As you guys already know, I don't really get close to anyone," he said. "I've never had anyone to really be close to. That's not saying I was terribly lonely, it's just that the only one I could talk to is my mom, and be honest there's just some things you can't say to your mother. If anything I should be thinking you two."

"No Irwin," I said to him while shaking my head. "I've never had many friends either. I was always the odd duck around my parts. I mean look at me." I said standing up to my full height, which wasn't very high at all. "A shy, short, bookworm is all I've ever been to the people who met me, except until now."

"Well I hate to break up the mushy fest but I had plenty of friends back home," Daniel said. Both Irwin and I were about to say something before Daniel held up his hands. "Now wait and let me finish!"

We both remained quite as we waited for him to say what he was going to.

"Now while I had friends back home," Daniel said. "None were quite like you two. I've grown really close to you guys over these few months we've been around each other. I would trust you with my life, and that's more than I can say for those at home. Also, I suppose I'd have to say you two are my best friends too, and right now I'm praying with all my heart that we all make it through this. I can't stand to lose either one of you."

With those final words he fell silent. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence like it was earlier. It was one of understanding and friendship. Neither one of us spoke for the rest of the night, but we didn't have to. We had already said everything there was to say. So as the night went on we each managed to fall to sleep with the knowledge that somehow we had all gained a great deal from this war. We had all gained an amazing friendship that I had hoped would last forever.

A/N: Well I do hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it. Let me know what you think.

PS: Sorry if I flooded anyone's inbox. I was editing the story. It's been a long while since I first started on it, and I just realized how many mistakes I had.

PPS: Also don't forget to vote which direction you want this story to go. Do you want her to go with the group to save Ryan, or do you want her to go some other direction? I will probably have one more chapter to post before I need to come up with a decision. The sooner I get enough votes (aka 5 or more) the sooner I will be able to continue with the story. Leave your vote in the review or post it in the poll. Thanks!