One

    *BEEP BEEP BEEP THUD BEEP BEEP*
    "Oowww....." Groaning,, Alice reached up from her spot on the floor and felt along her nightstand to her alarm, smacking the button to shut off the annoying beep that pulled her from a wonderfully deep sleep. Huffing out a breath, she pushed herself up to slouch back against the side of her bed, before reaching up to scrub her hands through her tom-boyishly short hair. Another day off the week, and another day crossed off of her almost-ok there- boring normal life.
    Using the side of her bed, she braced herself to get to her feet and stretched, feeling strangely satisfied as she felt the release of the tension in her body as tthe bones and joints popped and cracked. Letting her arms fall limply to her sides, she scratched at her stomach while staring blankly at the contents of her open closet. That dream....giving her head a quick shake, she pushed the already fading memories of the dream to the back of her mind and went about her morning routine of getting ready for work.


    "Yo man, move over." Felix matched words with a shove to one of his best friends shoulder so he could slide onto the bench of the booth table that the four guys had met up at for lunch. Looking across at his other friends from before birth, he grinned. "So how's the kitchen coming along Tan?" The flipped up middle finger he got in response only made Felix grin wider. "That bad huh?" he asked, poking fun at his friend Tanner in his chef's outfit. His chef coat was unbuttoned and the sleeves were still rolled up, even as Tanner swiped the uniform cap off of his head and tossed it on the table.
    "No, it's not that bad, it's just long. Don't get me wrong, I love the job, but jeez the hours are a pain, and the standing is a killer." Tanner answered with a gruff sigh as he slouched back against the seat and stretched out his legs between Felix and Xander's feet. After growing up together their entire lives, the four friends had found ways to be sitting and be comfortable since every one of them easily topped six feet four inches in height. Xander was currently sitting next to Felix and across from Tanner, while Watson was directly across from Felix. When it came to jobs, starting with Tanner, there was the Chef, Watson was an artist who's many skills were making him very well known in the Art world, Xander was the choir teacher at the local university and actual did the occasional release of an album, doing all of the advertisements and what not himself, and Felix was the aspiring writer who was currently working at the city newspaper to have a form of income even as he spent his nights trying to find inspiration to help him write his book. So far he was the only one of the group not completely following his dreams. But even as Felix looked around at his three best friends, he knew that eventually he would be able to write his book. After all, if he couldn't gain some form of insight from this particular mix of people, where would he?
    Letting out a heatfelt sigh, Felix mimiced Tanners relaxed pose just as one of the many waitresses of Sherwoods Pizza appeared at the end of their table. Her name tag identified her as Tami, someone who had known these particular four guys for years, and was able to take a slightly more comfortable approach with them then the usual professionalism she gave to other diners.
    "Hey guys! Isn't it your turn today Xander?" Tami asked, order book in hand, resisting to flap her hand to cool the heat from having four very attractive pairs of eyes focus on her. After all, she had to maintain SOME professionalism....
    "Heya Tami. Give us a sec." Xander commented even as his own baby blue eyes shifted to the menu he now had in his hands to peruse. Years ago when they had first started this twice weekly ritual of meeting for lunch, they had agreed to take turns ordering for all four of them. "Yea, the usual pepperoni with wite sauce, olives, bell peppers and such." Xander confirmed, closing his menu and handing it over, followed by the other three. After scribbling down their order, Tami gave an absent nod and raised her head to find him smiling at her. She mentally cursed herself as she felt her cheeks flush with heat. Clearing her throat she stuck her order book back into her apron pocket and shifted a little.
    "All right, it should be out in about ten to twenty minutes, depending on how many orders we've got."
    "Not a problem, we've got time." Watson answered, his baritone low and melodic. Smiling in return, Tami gave another nod before trotting off to place their order.
    Giving a large yawn, Watson let his head drop foreward onto his stacked hands on the table. Because of this he didn't see the raised eyebrows he got from his friends.
    "Hey Wat, is everything ok man?" Tanner asked.
    "Hmmm? Oh yea, just tired. Had a late night. Working on some more songs."
    "When's it coming out?" Xander prodded since usually Watson had Xander sing the songs he managed to compose.
    "No idea. I've been getting stuck with the lyrics and music lately. Everything seems to be like static. Get hints here and there, but then just static. Driving me nuts." Once again, he didn't see the worried looks that were exchanged. Not a single one of them had ever known Watson to have an issue with music. It had always run as smoothly as water for him. If it hit an obstacle it would build up and then go around it.
    "Well...have you gotten lucky lately?" Xander asked. That thankfully got enough of a response that Watson grunted and then sat up once more, even as he shook his head.
    "Not that its any of your business, but no, I haven't. And right now I wouldn't even if I wanted to." The sight of a faint blush staining Watsons cheeks had the others blinking in surprise. They had never known Watson to be the kind of guy to blush.
    "See? That's your problem! You haven't gotten any lately, so you're stressed and its affecting your work." Felix answered with a grin. All he got was a shrug in response.
    "I guess. But I just haven't found anyone who's gotten my interest enough."
    "Anyways-" Tanner broke in before Felix and Xander could poke more fun at Watson "I was thinking of having a barbecue at my place in about a week or so on one of my days off since I've got three of them coming up at the end of this week."
    "Really? Sounds awesome." Tami commented as she stepped up to the table and slid the pizza onto the table. "Do you mind if I come along? I've managed to get this weekend off as well." Tami asked as she also put down the plates and napkins she had been carrying with her.
She didn't notice the way that Watson took sudden intense notice of the pizza as he fiddled with a plate and getting a slice of the pizza. Tanner just shrugged.
    "Sure I dont see why not. I'll be making plenty, and there's some others that I'll be sending the invite out to as well. So yea, come along. It'll probably be starting about noonish or one in the afternoon. Bring drinks if you want, as I'll be providing the snacks and food."
    "Sweet I look forward to it. I've got to get back to work, so I'll see you guys this weekend then." With a slight salute, she trotted off to another table full of people who had just come in.
    "Alright Watson, what gives?" Felix's tone of voice brought Tanner's attention back to the table and the apparent fascination Watson had with the pizza from the way his head was still down.
    "What do you mean what gives? Nothing gives." Watson denied around a full mouth.
    "Yea, tell that to the way you were paying attention to the pizza and plates as Tami was talking to us." Xander smirked.
    "I dont know what you're talking about." He answered, stuffing more pizza into his mouth.
    "And you're full of bull. She's the reason you haven't found anyone isn't it?" Xander asked.
    "No, she's not the reason." When he finally raised his eyes completely, he glared at the knowing looks he was recieving. "Look can we just drop it? We're letting this awesome pizza get cold." With that he shoved more pizza into his mouth, ignoring the eye rolling he knew was happening as the others started reaching for the pizza as well.
    Not a single one of them noticed the slightly longing look their table recieved from a certain waitress.


    Mentally cursing the temperment of public transportation, Alice hopped off the lightrail to the sidewalk of the station. Shifting the handmade jumbo bag that made up her purse, so it's straps were more secure on her shoulder, Alice dashed to the line of busses waiting and managed to hop onto the one she needed just before it shut its doors. Huffing a breath at her luck, she dug into her purse for the fare needed before settling down with yet another crocheting project pulled forth from her bag to help pass the twenty minutes she was going to be on the bus. Letting herself drift while part of herself was kept aware of where she was on her trip, traces of her dream from the night before started surfacing.
    Glowing plants, and endless path, and a face in a tree? Well that taught her what happened when she drank a couple of cups of coffee right before going to bed.
    Feeling the bus lurch as it went around the last turn towards her job, Alice started shoving her project back into her bag, standing up as the bus came to a stop. Hopping off the bus, she started weaving her way through the flood of people coming from the other busses.
    A moment later she threw her hands out to catch herself as she felt herself trip over someones foot. A hand caught hers and she looked up automatically to thank the person...only to draw breath to scream as she saw the face from her dream the night before staring down at her.
    "Dad?" She whispered instead, feeling the connection between the face from her dream and the one she was seeing now. Before she could fully grasp what she was seeing, a brreze picked up and whisked away the image like that of fog burning away in the sun. Gulping hard against the knot of fear in her throat, she gripped the straps of her purse tightly and kept going, hurrying into the coffee shop where she had been employed at for the past six months.
    Giving a quick wave to the guy currenlty working the register, she dashed behind the counter to the back office to grab her apron. A hand gripped her shoulder and turned her around as she was tying the strings to her apron. Looking up, she fought back the shiver the tried to crawl over her skin as she saw the face of her boss.
    "Hey Linda, I'm sorry I'm a little late, I took a bit of a spill right outside the door and someone helped me get my feet back under me." Alice explained as she reached for a handtowel to drape tuck into the apron. She paused as she felt her boss touch her forearm.
    "Alice...I....I don't know how to do this, haven't had it happen with an employee of mine...but...you need to go home. Your father passed away and your mom needs your help."
    "W-what? How do you know? How did you find out?" Alice demanded, folding her suddenly chilled arms across her stomach.
    "From what I was able to make out from your mom, she tried calling your apartment this morning but I guess you had already left for here so she called here instead and you hadn't arrived yet. She also mentioned asking you to tell your brother." Linda explained, sympathy loud and clear in her voice. Seeing Alice nodd a little, Linda led her over to a chair and eased her into it. "Now Alice, you take the time you need to get home. Do you want me to call your brother for you?" Again Alice nodded. "Alright I'm going to need his number." Giving Alice a pen and piece of paper, Alice wrote down the number and handed it back to her. "Good. You just sit here, and I'll call him for you." With that Linda moved to the phone on her desk and quickly dialed the number.
    Remaining in the chair, Alice felt a little numb, Linda's voice sounding like that of a bee right in her ear. She wasn't able to make out the words themselves, but she knew it had to do with her father. Oh yea, Linda was calling Alice's brother for her.
    A moment later the buzzing ended, and a plastic cup full of water was urged into her hands. "Alice? Alice your brother is on his way. He said he had just gotten off the phone with your mother. He's on his way. Shouldn't be more than a half an hour depending on the traffic. Do you want anything? Something to eat maybe?" Linda asked, kneeling on the carpet in front of Alice.
    "D-do you know when it happened?" Alice asked quietly, her gaze staring just past Linda's shoulder.
    "No I don't I'm sorry. I just know your mom called this morning and told me that your father passed away sometime last night. She asked that I tell you so you and your brother could get home."
    Linda was gripping Alice's hands gently when the rapid knocking at the door made them both jump and look up. Linda would've been knocked on her a*s if she hadn't shifted out of the way just in time as Alice jumped up and rushed into her brothers arms.
    "Felix! You talked to mom?"
    "Yea, she told me it happened last night. Dad didn't make it. She didn't get into what happened but she asked for me to get you and to come home. Can you take the time off?" He asked even as his arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tight. Linda stepped forward.
    "Yes she can. Alice is one of my better workers so yes, she can take however long she needs, she'll still have a place to come back to when she's ready." Linda answered for Alice.
    Stepping away from Felix, Alice let her arms drop as she turned to her boss. "But I can't afford to take the time off Linda."
    "Don't worry about it. I'll mark you down as paid sick leave, and if it takes longer than that, I'll let it roll into your vacation time. This is a family emergency, so do what needs to be done, and I will see you when you get back." Stepping forward, Linda gave Alice a quick and affectionate hug. "Now go ok? Just let me know when you're on your way back."
    Gulping, Alice nodded and snagging her purse, she hurried out, Felix close behind. Linda decided it would be a good idea not to mention that Alice still had her apron on.

    As Alice buckled herself into the passenger seat of Felix's car, he was starting and asking "Do you want to stop by your place and grab some things for the trip?"
    "Yea, I just want to grab enough to last a few days. I can always use mom's washer and dryer if we end up being there for longer than expected."
    "Alright, when we get there try to make it quick. While you pack, I'll call and get some train tickets for us."
    "But won't taking the train take longer to get to Washington?" Alice asked, hand on the buckle as she saw they were getting closer to her place.
    "Yes, but if i get round trip tickets then the tickets will be good for a year, and we wont have to worry about getting screwed over by the airport." Felix answered, pulling up to the curb outside of her apartment complex.
    "Alright, it shouldn't take me more than ten to fifteen minutes to throw some stuff together." With that, Alice was out of the car and dashing up the steps to pack.
    Waiting for the echo of the car door slamming shut to die, Felix pulled out his phone and made the arrangements. Less than ten minutes later Alice was back, sliding into the front seat even as she tossed her bag into the back. Handing Alice his phone after she was buckled, Felix pulled away and rudely nosed his way into an opening in the traffic.
    "Call mom, let her know that we'll be there in about six hours as it's going to take us about an hour to get to the train station from here. We won't get there till close one-thirty or so in the morning, but we'll get there." Felix said, manuevering through the traffic at the maximum speed limit allowed. Alice didn't even bother answering as she started scrolling through the list of contacts for their mothers number. She waited a little impatiently as the phone started ringing.
    "Hello?" a muffled voice finally came through.
    "Mom? It's Alice. Felix is here to. We're on our way ok? We should be there in about six or so hours. What happened to Dad?" As Alice was speaking, she shifted the phone enough so she could push the loud speaker button so Felix would be able to hear everything as well. Even as their mother's voice came through, they could both tell that she had been crying extensively.
    "I'll explain everything when you get here. There's so much you don't know." There was a lengthy pause before she continued. "Just get here ok? Please. And be careful. Things are changing more than you realize." A dialtone followed quickly, leaving Alice and Felix confused.
    "Uh....what do you think she meant by that?" Felix asked.
    "I have no clue, but we'd better try and hurry. Here's hoping the train isn't delayed." Alice responded.
    
    Forty-five minutes later, they pulled into the station, and grabbing their bags, hurried into the old fashioned building to get their tickets and get in line.
    "Excuse me, but do you know if the train to Spokane, Washington is running on time?" Alice leaned closer to the glass that ran the length of the counter and stood between the employees ad customers. Next to her, Felix was pulling out his identification and recieving their tickets to board the train. The efficient brunette employee quickly typed out a sequence on her keyboard, before answering.
    "The train to Spokane, Washington is running on time and will be leaving in about ten minutes. If you have any bags you need to check, you should do that now, and then hurry out to the train. It'll be platform number fourteen."
    "No, thank you, we're not checking any bags. Thank you so much. Come on Felix!" Alice said urgently, spinning around on a heel and jogging towards the doors leading to the tracks. Hearing the rapid footfalls behind her, she knew that Felix was close behind.
    Once at the necessary platform, they both shifted restlessly, anxious to get on board. Thankfully by taking the train, they were cutting out any layover or delay they may have had by taking a plane. They were both about ready to check the time for what seemed the hundredth time, when the doors to the closest train slid open and a employee hopped out to stand besides the door.
    "Riders heading for Spokane, Washington, please have your tickets ready, and I will provide you with an assigned seat number. Families will be kept together, while individuals will be paired with other individuals as Amtrak is a family friendly trian. Thank you for picking Amtrak for your means of transportation today."
    Stepping up quickly so they could get on and seated, Felix and Alice handed over their tickets and soon enough were settling into a set of comfortable seats side by side. Letting out a impatient sigh, Alice leaned her head back against the seat, scrubbing hers hands across her face before fisting them in her hair and giving a slight pull. The sound of phone buttons being pushed drew her attention to her brother.
    "What are you doing?" She asked, watching as he brought the phone to his ear.
    "I need to let the others know that I'm not going to be in town for a bit." Felix answered, pressing a finger to his lips as the person on the other end picked up.
    "Hey Xander, Watson, and Tanner, I just needed to let you know that I may not be able to make it to the barbecue this weekend."
    "What?" Three other male voices could be heard clearly even to Alice. The beauty of conference calling.
    "Why not?" One of them asked. Unfortunately, Alice wasn't sure which one it was that asked that.
    "Because I've got a family emergency that's taking me out of state. I'll try and be back as soon as possible, but I dont know when that'll be."
    "Oh jeez, it isn't Alice is it?" Another asked. Alice swore she felt her ears twitch even as she blushed faintly. She was glad that Felix was distracted enough not to notice. Then again, since she personally knew each of the guys her brother was talking to, and that they mostly thought of her like a sister as well, it didn't say much. Or that's what she told herself.
    "No, Alice is as well as can be expected. She's actually with me right now. No, our father died last night and we don't know why." Felix explained, voice cracking slightly. An audible gulp could be heard coming from Alice as she fought the knot of tears in her own throat, while Felix reached over and gripped her hand tightly in his free one.
    "Oh s**t! Yea, no problem man. And hey, if you need us to come up, or need anything at all, get in touch with any one of us, and we'll be up there as fast as physically possible." The worry and sympathy was clear for both of them to hear. Since having grown up together, the other guys had known Anthony, Alice and Felix's father, nearly as well as they had known their own.
    "Thanks guys. We'll let you know what's happening as soon as we find out."
    "No problem, and hey, give your mom a hug from each of us ok? If you need us there, we're there."
    "Alright, will do. Again, thanks." With that, Felix hung up with them before dealing the next number.
    "Now who are you calling?" Alice asked.
    "My boss. Need to let him know that I'll be out for a few days and won't be able to send in any articles."
    "Is that going to effect your pay?"
    "Nah, they like me too much." Felix answered with a grin before his focus shifted to the voice on the other end of the call. "Danny? Hey, I'm not going to be able to make it in for the next little while. Don't know for how long."
    Leaving Felix to deal with his job, Alice shifted and stared out the window at the buildings that were already flashing by as the train left the station. Even as she watched, a stray thought filtered through her head.
    'Was that you dad?'