It was the morning of Cassandra's funeral and Cassandra, Nick, A.J., Linden and Katie followed Mercedes, Brian, Chase, Kevin, Emalia, Nicole and Jonathan from the limo to the grave site.
Katie reached up and tugged on Nick's suit sleeve. "Nicky, where are we?"
"Sweetie, we're just taking a walk. Okay?" Nick replied, not wanting to scare Katie.
"Okay," Katie agreed and smiled.
Nick looked over at Cassandra concerned. She was walking, sandwiched between Isabella and A.J. who were talking her ears off. Nick laughed. He had told them to keep Cassandra busy, but the way that they were keeping her overly busy was just too funny. He saw that they were beginning to stop and that everyone was taking a position around the site.
Cassandra snuck away from Isabella and A.J. and to Nick's site. "Jeez, do they ever stop?"
Nick laughed. "I guess not." He paused. "Well, at least Coreene made up for picking this day by picking a good spot."
Cassandra grabbed his hand. "I'm right next to you."
"Chase, Sweetie," Mercedes said, squeezing his hand gently as they brought up the rear of the group. "I know you never knew your cousin Cassie, but she knew you."
"Mer-I mean, Mommy," Chase said, "where's Brian?"
Mercedes looked around. "Oh, he's already up there." Then she looked back down to Chase. "Are you okay, Honey?"
"Yup. I'm fine, but are you okay? Brian doesn't look too well."
Mercedes took a deep breath. "I don't know, Chase. I really don't know."
They started the funeral ceremony. They were all positioned around the grave site, in a semi-circle: A.J., Isabella, Katie, Nick, Cassandra, Chase, Mercedes, Brian, Kevin, Emalia, Coreene, Howie, Nicole and Jonathan. Brian's eyes began to tear over and he felt faint. Kevin looked over and patted him on the back. Brian didn't even notice and he quickly grabbed Mercedes shoulder to steady himself.
Mercedes looked at him worried. "Honey, are you okay?" she whispered.
Brian looked around. "I can't stay." He walked up to the coffin and the speaker stopped. Everyone looked at him. He laid his pink rose down on the coffin and looked up. "Good bye, Cassie." He pulled out another rose, walked over to Nick's grave and laid a white rose down. "Bye, Nicky." He turned back to everyone. "I'm sorry. I just-" Tears overtook him and he started to run.
Mercedes was worried. She pushed Chase over to Kevin and Emalia. "Will you watch him please?"
Kevin nodded. "Of course. Go after him."
"Thanks. Excuse me." Mercedes ran after him and so did Cassandra, but Nick grabbed her arm.
"I'll go with you," he said.
Cassandra shook her head. "No, you stay with Katie."
"Oh, okay."
Cassandra gave him a concerned look and ran after Mercedes.
Katie tugged on Nick's sleeve again. "Where did Cassie go?" She put her hands on her hips. "Nick, did you say something stupid again?"
Nick looked down at her, extremely surprised then kneeled down in front of her to meet her eyes. He heard Isabella giggling. "Katie, have you been hanging around Aunty Isabella? Did she teach you that?"
Katie grinned and nodded. "She told me that Cassie is always running away because you say stupid things." She paused. "I'm sorry, are you mad at me?"
Nick laughed. "Of course not, Honey." He glanced up at Isabella. "It's just that Isabella has a very big mouth and she also says a lot of stupid things, too. And so does Cassie." Nick looked up and Isabella stuck her tongue out at him. Nick only snickered.
"Oh," Katie said. "So...they've been hanging around you too much?"
Isabella burst out laughing and Nick stood up, knowing that he wasn't going to win.
Mercedes found Brian sitting in the limo. She opened the door slightly and stuck her head in. "Can I come in?"
Brian quickly wiped his eyes. "Sure."
Mercedes stepped into the limo and gently took him in her arms as the tears poured out of his eyes. "You know, I gotta be honest with you. I'm trying so hard not to cry right now." They both laughed softly.
"I'm okay. You go back and I'll be right there. I'm sure Chase doesn't want to be alone."
Mercedes sighed. "You're right." She kissed his forehead. "Okay." She slowly got out of the car.
"Alone at last," Cassandra said. She moved to sit next to him and touched his face. He didn't even flinch. "Now I know what Nick must have been going through."
"Cassie," Brian spoke up, "I still love you. Why did you have to leave, too? It's not fair! You and Nick-" He put his head in his hands.
"No, Brian. It isn't fair. It's not fair that my husband was taken away from me but I'm with him again, so I guess it evens out." She sighed. "Brian, I still love you, too. But I know how you mean it. It's not like it once was. You're back to being my older brother." She laughed. "Why did Coreene have to pick today of all days? I guess she just doesn't realize." Cassandra touched his face and then gently placed a kiss on his cheek. As Cassandra and Brian climbed out of the car, Brian reached up and touched his cheek, but shook it off. Brian walked over and rubbed Mercedes shoulders for a moment.
Cassandra walked up behind Nick and wrapped her arms around him. Nick let go of Katie's hand and wrapped his arms around Cassandra.
"Is Brian okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, he'll be fine." She paused. "I never thought I'd ever see myself being buried."
"What a concept, huh?"
"Did you go to your funeral?"
"Don't you remember? I was with you. When your soul was with mine."
"Oh yeah. Sorry."
"No need to be sorry. So anyway, what a great day for a funeral. They couldn't have picked a better day, huh?"
"Yeah, I totally agree. Oh, before I forget-" She reached up and quickly kissed him. "Happy birthday, Honey."
That night, Cassandra grabbed Nick's hand and took him into Chase's room.
"You want to go into his dreams?" Nick asked her.
"Yeah, I do. I just want to see something."
Nick nodded in agreement.
"Hello Chase."
"Huh?" Chase said. "Who are you?"
"I'm your cousin Cassie and this is your cousin Nick."
"Oh! I've heard so much about you. Both of you."
"Likewise. So Chase, how are you?"
"I'm good. So are you two the ones that Mommy and Brian always tell me about?"
"As a matter of fact, we are! I wish I could have met you a long time ago under different circumstances."
"Me, too, I guess."
Cassandra stood back. "Wow, Chase if I didn't know any better, I would think that you were Nick's son!" Nick and Chase looked at each other and they blushed.
All of a sudden, the scene changed and Nick and Cassandra felt immediately like they were characters in a movie, but their parts seemed so right; so real.
They were all in a garden and Chase was standing next to a waterfall. Cassandra was sitting on a swing and she watched as Nick walked over to Chase, took his hand, and led him over to Cassandra. Cassandra smiled broadly and picked him up and put him on her lap. Suddenly, Isabella ran up to Cassandra, grabbed Chase, and put him back at the waterfall.
Cassandra looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Why?" she asked.
"Because," Isabella said, "someone else raised that child and he knows only evil."
Cassandra began to cry.
Just then, Mercedes walked in. "It's not true," she said. "I was made to raise him. I raised him with a pure heart. Please accept this child as a token of my love."
"How can we trust you?" Cassandra asked.
"Because it was Chase that created this garden, not anyone else."
Nick hesitated and then ran to Chase. He picked him up and Chase began to laugh.
"Daddy!" Chase giggled.
Cassandra ran over to them and kissed Nick and then Chase.
Just then, A.J. appeared behind Isabella. "I'm proud of you."
Snapping back, Cassandra and Nick looked at each other and then as Chase as he slept. Cassandra looked away and gasped. "Isabella! What are you doing here?"
"I-I don't know!" Isabella replied. "One second I was making out with A.J. and the next, I'm taking away yours and Nick's son. Chase. In a garden. By a waterfall."
Abruptly, Cassandra grabbed her stomach. "Oh, ouch."
"Honey, are you okay?" Nick asked her and put his hand on her back.
Cassandra looked up and saw Isabella staring at her with wide eyes. "Cassandra," Isabella said, softly, "I need to speak with you...right now."
"Um, all right." Nick helped Cassandra up and followed them to the door.
"No Nick," Isabella said. "I need to speak with Cassandra alone."
"But-"
"No buts. Come on, Cassandra." Isabella helped her sister down the stairs and to the living room. Isabella cut right to the point. "Cassie, that dream was a sign."
Cassandra tried to sit up straight. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on. You and Nick go into to Chase's dreams, Chase is your son, right now you're having stomach pains...is any of this registering?"
Cassandra still didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"
Isabella smiled and laughed and hugged her sister tightly. "Girl, you're pregnant!"
Kimberly walked into the girls' house, looking for Cassandra. The plan was supposed to go off today and she was sure that she'd have Nick by nightfall.
"Oh Cassandra-"
"She's not here right now. Can...I help you?"
Kimberly kneeled down. "And who are you?"
"I'm not allowed to talk to strange people."
"But I'm in your house."
"So?"
"Well, I'm a very good friend of Nick's."
Katie smiled. "Oh, my big brother's not here. He's with Cassie."
Kimberly was shocked and disgusted. "Oh. With Cassie, huh? Wait...your big brother?"
"That's right."
Hmm, Kimberly thought. "Where did they go?" she asked Katie.
"I'm not allowed to tell. They told me to keep it a secret."
"Well then I'll come back later."
"Wait, who should I tell them came by?"
"Oh don't. I want to...surprise Cassie." Kimberly smiled.
Katie nodded and went into the kitchen as Kimberly walked out of the house; another plan forming in her head.
Chase walked downstairs and saw Mercedes and Brian sitting at the kitchen table.
"Hey Sweetie," Mercedes said as she saw Chase.
"Hi, Mommy."
"How did you sleep?" Brian asked as Chase sat down. "Are you hungry?"
"No, I'm not hungry, and I had a really weird dream last night."
"Oh, what about?"
"Well, it was about Cassie and Nick."
Mercedes and Brian gasped and looked at each other. They both knew they hadn't told Chase about Nick. "How do you know it was about them?"
"Because they told me so. And I was their son, and Isabella and A.J. were there, too."
"Oh my God," Mercedes whispered and looked at Brian.
"Chase," Brian said, "who told you about Isabella, A.J. and Nick?"
"No one. They did! A.J. had blue hair and Cassie was really pretty and she looked so much like Isabella except that Isabella had really blonde hair like Nick's and Nick had the same color hair and eyes as me and Cassie said that she thought that Nick could be my daddy."
Brian and Mercedes' eyes continued to get larger with each word that Chase said. He went on to describe the four of them so perfectly that he couldn't possibly give this much detail from pictures. When Chase stopped talking, Brian stared at Mercedes and she stared back.
"This is too weird," Brian said. "Chase, you just described the four of them so perfectly!"
"That's because they were in my dreams!"
In the back of Brian and Mercedes' minds, they believed that they were actually in Chase's dreams; there wasn't any other explanation. But the rest of them just couldn't believe something like this, at least not now. It was just too soon.
"Where did you guys go?" Isabella asked as Cassandra and Nick walked through the door that afternoon.
"Honey," Nick said. "I'm gonna go change."
"Okay," Cassandra said and smiled as he quickly kissed her and left. Cassandra went over and sat down next to Isabella.
"So, spill it!" Isabella said.
"What are you talking about?"
"You two came in here with the biggest smiles on your faces. Did you tell him yet?"
Cassandra shook her head. "No."
"Why not? What are you waiting for?"
"I'll tell you sister dear." Cassandra leaned over and whispered to Isabella. "Our one year anniversary is coming up soon. I'm going to tell him then!"
"Ooh! That's even better. I didn't even think about that!"
"I'm always thinking."
"Yeah, right!"
"Hey!"
"And just what are you ladies talking about?" A.J. asked as he and Nick walked into the room.
"Well," Isabella said, "we were just talking about how Cassandra thinks that she's always thinking."
Nick leaned down and gave Cassandra a hug. "Hey! Don't make fun of my baby!"
As soon as they heard Nick say 'baby', Isabella and Cassandra looked at each other and laughed.
"Now what's so funny?" Nick asked.
Cassandra didn't know what to say. "Um...we're just laughing at you, Honey. You're just so...funny!"
"Uh huh. Whatever you say. I think that you were really laughing at A.J.!"
"Now why would you say that?" A.J. asked.
"Because you have blue hair."
"So?" The three of them burst out laughing, but A.J. didn't think it was too funny.
"And that's what he said? Where is he now?" Kevin asked Brian and Mercedes. Brian and Mercedes needed to talk to someone so the closest people they found were Kevin, Emalia and Nicole. They had just finished telling them about Chase's dream.
"He's upstairs in his room," Brian answered. "And yes, that is exactly how he described Cassie and Nick and Isabella and A.J. Even down to the eyes and hair and mannerisms."
"Wow, that's really weird," Emalia said.
"So, what do you guys make of all this?" Kevin asked them.
Mercedes and Brian looked at each other. "You want to know what we really think?" Brian said.
"Of course," Kevin replied.
"Well..." Brian took a deep breath. "We really think that all four of them were really in Chase's dreams last night. Like, their souls or something."
"They were," Nicole interrupted.
"Huh?"
"They really were in Chase's dreams!" Nicole said smiling. "Nick came to my dreams once. It was really cool. Oh this is wonderful!"
They all looked at Nicole and didn't know what to think. Part of them still wanted to believe her. But part of them still couldn't.