"Hey Logan," Amy said, taking off her backpack. "Is it okay if I wait with you to get picked up?"
"S-sure," he nodded, closing his book. "H-how are you?"
"Tired," Amy shrugged. "School's exhausting. Even sitting is boring."
Logan frowned. "I d-don't like school e-e-either...but at least w-we get to see e-each other every day."
"I guess."
"L-Lotte was s-sick," Logan stammered, grasping at straws, "so she d-d-d-d- oh, curse m-my tongue."
Amy frowned. "Why don't you just sign?" She signed.
"Because Mom wants me to work on my speech," Logan signed back.
"You don't have to do anything. You should be proud," Amy signed with a little smile.
"Proud of what?" Logan scoffed.
"That your deaf," Amy said aloud.
"I'm n-not deaf. I j-j-just can't hear so g-good."
"My daddy told me being deaf isn't a physical attribute, Logan. It's a community, a way of life...What's that mean?"
Logan shrugged. "D-do you m-m-miss him?"
Amy was silent as she picked at the grass. "He'll be home soon. Quick as a bunny, fast as a rocket."
"How c-can you do th-that?" Logan sighed. "T-take things that are horrible and m-m-make them happy?"
Amy dug in the dirt with a stick. "My dad always said there was another way. Even on the darkest of nights, there's stars to guide us home."
Catherine pulled up and got out of the car. "Hey, kids! Amy, your mom asked me to pick you up too."
"Oh, thanks," Amy smiled, hopping in the back seat.
"How was school?"
"O-okay," Logan shrugged.
"I had stupid special ed again," Amy mumbled to Logan.
"R-really?" Logan frowned.
"I can't focus in the main class, so they moved me to the one with the other teachers."
"I w-wish you were s-still in our class," Logan pouted.
"Me too," Amy sighed. "Me too."
"Cath," Mari texted, "I think I broke my foot. Can you watch Amy? Matt's taking me to the doctor."
"Of course. God, what happened?" Catherine texted back with worry.
"I fell down the stairs," Mari typed. "I was carrying two loads of laundry at once again."
"Gosh, Mari," Catherine texted with a sigh. "Remind me to bubble wrap you."
"I know. It's just hard keeping up with Amy without him. I do what I can, though. Matt insisted on taking me to ER. Tell Amy I'm fine and will be home soon."
"Will do."
"W-who's texting you?" Logan frowned.
"It's Mari. She fell and Daddy's taking her to the hospital. Looks like your stuck with us for a little while longer, Amy," Catherine chuckled.
"Okay," she shrugged.
—————
Mari sat nervously on the doctor's table, rubbing her hands together as her foot throbbed with pain.
"Hi, Mari," Jack smiled softly, entering the room.
"Hi Jack," Mari almost whispered.
"Why so nervous?" He chuckled.
"It's the first time I've seen you...since-"
"I know," Jack sighed. "So, what seems to be the problem?"
"I think I kinda broke my foot," Mari sighed.
"Alright," Jack nodded. "You'll have to have an x-ray."
"I hate those blasted machines. Turn me into the hulk or something," Mari smiled weakly.
"Now, now, let me take a look at it first," Jack chuckled, feeling her foot. "Does that hurt?"
Mari bit her lip and winced. "Like crazy."
"Yeah, I'm sending you for an x-ray," Jack nodded. "Now, is there any chance that you're pregnant?"
"Yes, but no," Mari said with a sad, broken laugh. "You know, as well as I, the likelihood of that, Jack."
"Hm," Jack frowned. "Then you'll have to have a blood test first. Just to be safe."
"Alright. I took a test, Jack. It was negative. For real this time. But if you insist. I haven't been sick, and I haven't missed. I think we're good."
"Still, there's a chance?"
Mari gave a scoff. "Sure."
"Alright, come on," Jack sighed.
—————
"You put in the wrong code," Charlotte sighed.
"No, I didn't," Josh nearly yelled, slamming his fist on the desk. He pressed his heels back and swiveled the chair away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've just got a lot going on right now."
"Move over," Charlotte sighed, pushing Josh out of the way and swiftly typing something into the computer. "There. As you were."
"As you were," Josh shot back. He put a hand to the bridge of his nose and sighed. "How did you know Mel?"
"What? I never mentioned Mel."
"Your friend. The one who married Matthew Collins." He said the word married with some resentment. "You're talking about Melody Steele."
"H-how did you know?" Charlotte stammered.
"I knew Mel," Josh sighed. "That's all. I married her sister." He closed his eyes tightly, Mari's bright bluish green eyes staring back at him as if a dream.
He couldn't face those eyes.
Amy had those eyes.
"Okay, listen," Charlotte sighed. "When I was sixteen, I dated a guy named Mark Whitney. He had a father and a sister who were in the business. Isaiah and Caroline. Long story short, they recruited me. I soon found out that they were up to no good, but it was too late. I said I didn't want to be apart of it and they threatened to drag my family into it. So, we staged a car accident. It broke my heart, but it had to be done. I met Mel on a mission. I was supposed to spy on her and kill her. Instead, I asked her for help and she became my best friend and only ally. She helped me to get a job working for the government. I happen to know that she dated a guy named Isaac Taylor. That's how I knew your first name. We told each other everything. Even when she met Matt...I was in her wedding...Mel was the only one who knew my real name. To everyone else not working for the government, I was Rose Anderson. Anyway, even now, they won't let me tell Cath I'm alive."
"Mel talked about me?" Josh stammered. "We didn't date...not exactly. It was more a mutual occasional dinner. Well, I say dinner...but I wasn't worth talking about." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm kinda trapped here too, in a way.
"Really? How so?" Charlotte frowned.
"None of your business," Josh said harshly, closing up as soon as he had opened.
Charlotte sighed. "Come on. We're in this together. What happened?"
"I said forget it," Josh said pointedly, biting his inner lip till it bled. He wanted to go home. To go home to Mari and sob his eyes out. He didn't have to answer to anyone. Anything. Nothing owned him, not fate, not anything. He was determined to owe nothing to no one. Everything had been taken from him. Why was he to give anything back?
"Alright," Charlotte shrugged.
"Can we get on with this now? I'm going out to dinner with an old friend."
"Sure."
—————
Mari laid back on the table and closed her eyes tightly.
She had forgotten what he looked like, forgotten nearly everything but his eyes. She had tried to dream about him constantly. One last chance to talk to him, to say goodbye. But it seemed the universe wouldn't even give her that.
"Mariah?"
She sat up with a start. "Gosh, Jack, you scared the life out of me. I almost fell asleep," she said softly.
"Sorry," Jack chuckled.
"It's alright."
"So, as it turns out, you are pregnant," Jack sighed.
Mari's gaze fell downward. "What?"
Jack felt the knot in his stomach twist harder.
Tell her. Tell her he's alive. Tell her one phone call and he could be back here for all of this.
"You're pregnant," he stated again, biting his lip to keep from saying anything further.
"You're sure?" Mari asked weakly, digging her fingers into the table's cushion.
Jack sighed. "Yeah."
"Thank you, Jack," Mari almost whispered. "I'm going to head home now."
"We still need to tend to that foot."
"Leave it," Mari winced, standing up.
"It's only sprained, so I can set it and you'll be fine."
"I like the pain," Mari mumbled. "Reminds me I can still feel something besides hate."
"Then I won't give you an epidural when you give birth," Jack shrugged. "But for now, I'm taking care of this foot."
"I said I'm leaving, Jack!" Mari yelled, fighting tears. "If he's not here, there's no point to anything."
"What about Amy?" Jack sighed. "You still have her."
"You don't think that every time I look at her, I see everything I've lost?" Mari whispered coldly. "Yesterday, she looked me in the eye and told me I was beautiful. And it was like I fell in love with him all over again. Because you know what, Jack? That's exactly what he said the first day I met him, and I shoved him to the curb just like everybody else."
"He knows- knew you love him."
"How could he?" Mari whimpered. "I never said it. I fought him on everything-"
"You did say it, Mari. I know. He called me every single time, squealing like a five-year-old girl," Jack chuckled.
Mari leaned her head against the wall. "How am I going to get through this, Jack?"
"You'll figure out a way. You always do," Jack nodded.
—————
"Please, sir."
"No."
"But-"
"No."
"She's my sister."
"Charlotte Daei, you've been given an answer and that answer is no. You cannot tell your sister that you're alive. That's final."
Charlotte ran out of the room and returned to Josh, filing through some papers as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Char?" Josh frowned, biting a pencil.
"What?" She sighed, her back turned.
"What's wrong?" Josh asked slowly. "Char, are you okay?"
"It's nothing," she shrugged.
"I know that look. What happened?" Josh mumbled.
"I said it was nothing. Just get back to work," Charlotte snapped, clutching the locket around her neck.
"My daughter," Josh said hurriedly as he typed at the computer. "My daughter's dead."
"What?" Charlotte sniffled.
"Amelia Taylor. She died three months ago in my wife's arms. I wasn't there. It was unexpected," Josh said, his voice low and dark.
"I'm sorry. That's awful."
"Being sorry won't bring back my little girl," Josh mumbled.
"I know. Life sucks," Charlotte sighed.
"I've got work to do," Josh mumbled, scratching his arm.
"I do too," Charlotte shrugged. "But I've got bigger fish to fry."
—————
"You're going to have to tell her soon," Catherine sighed.
"I don't want to," Mari moaned.
"Mari, you can't wear those ridiculous sweatshirts forever."
"I can and I will."
"You're not going to do this again. I refuse to let you deny your pregnancy and try to wish it away."
"Don't," Mari said fiercely. "This is all I have left of him. I'm by no means wishing it away. I don't want her hurt."
"How would she get hurt?"
"She's going to know that he's not coming back, Cath. She'll know he'd be here for this."
"Honey, you can't keep this from her," Catherine frowned.
"He's supposed to be here," Mari cried. "Cath, why did this have to happen?"
Catherine wrapped her arms around her friend. "It'll be okay. I'm here. I'm always here. You know that, right?"
"I know," Mari whimpered.
"Then you believed it to," Amy said softly, stepping out from the curtain she had been hiding behind. Her eyes were red with tears. "You thought he'd come back for us. But he's not, is he? There's no pirates, no work trips. He's not coming, is he?"
"I'm sorry, jelly bean," Mari sighed.
"Don't," Amy cried, her eyes fierce with pain. "Don't call me that."
"I'm really sorry. I didn't want to be upset you."
"I want my daddy," Amy sobbed, stomping her foot. She raced out onto the balcony and leaned over the edge. "Daddy?! Daddy, where are you?" She sobbed. "Why aren't you coming? Come back to me."
Catherine approached slowly, gently taking the girl in her arms. "It's okay, Sweetheart. I know it hurts, but you've got your mommy, and you've got me, and Matt, and Logan, and Lotte, and Lizzy, and Uncle Jack. We're all here for you, kid. I know it doesn't replace your daddy, but we're here to help you when you're sad and feel lonely. Especially me. Trust me, jelly bean, I've been there. It hurts, I know."
Mari held a hand to her mouth to choke back the tears and sobbed silently, pulling Amy in a hug.
"Don't leave me," Amy whimpered brokenly.