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Chapter
23: Learning To Accept
"Oh, God. I am so glad to be off this plane. I don't think I would have
been able to stay any longer on that thing. I can't wait to find a bed and fall
asleep," Faith was complaining to her camera as she, Darren, Hope, and
Morgan made their way through the terminal of the airport.
"Hey, Daz, who's here to pick us up?" Morgan asked as she shifted her
arms so that Hope fit more comfortably in them.
"We'll find out in a second. Let's just get past customs first," he
groaned, also as exhausted as Faith. It seemed as if Morgan was the only one who
had survived the horrible plane ride from the US to Australia, with stops in
between. She was now briskly walking towards the exit with Faith and Darren
slowly following behind.
"Why is she so wound up?" he asked, turning to Faith.
"I don't really know. She always gets that way after a long trip,
though," she replied, putting her camera down and catching up to Morgan.
The four of them walked out of customs quite quickly and made almost a mad dash
through the crowded airport. There were thousands of screaming girls just
outside the customs gate waiting for Darren. Security was already handling the
situation with guards and barricades posted every five feet. Another team of
security guards safely escorted them out of the airport and to a waiting limo
outside. The driver was already holding the door for them. All they had to do
was jump inside.
"That was nuts!" Morgan commented, panting and wiping the sweat off
her face. "Does that always happen to you at an airport?"
"Yes," Darren flatly replied as he took Hope from her arms and held
her.
"That's unbelievable. I've never known what it was like to be a pop star. I
guess now I do. Poor Daz," Faith added as she put her head on his shoulder.
Morgan, looking through the limo for the first time since they had entered,
noticed two figures sitting quietly in the background waiting for them to stop
talking. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she finally realized who it
was sitting in front of her.
"Ben!" Morgan nearly screamed as she threw herself at him for a tight
hug and passionate kiss. "I missed you so much! I haven't seen you in
months!"
"I know! I missed you too," he replied, hugging her tightly as if to
never let go.
"Aw! Look at those two," Faith commented as she watched them hug and
cuddle.
"Hey, who else is hiding back there?" Darren asked.
The other man slowly leaned out of the shadows. Faith stared at him, her eyes
widening a bit to get a better look. The dark haired, blue-eyed stranger seemed
so familiar, but she couldn't put the face to a name. He was handsome, with
tanned skin and a very structured face. Faith's heart was already beginning to
pound when she noticed him staring at her critically.
Darren leaned in and said, "Quit it, Daniel. Leave her alone."
Faith's jaw almost dropped when she heard his name. "Huh?" was all
that came out of her mouth.
Daniel smiled, dropping the hard stare that he had been giving Faith and said,
"Pleased to finally meet you."
Faith, with her eyes still wide and her mouth still open, shook her head and
replied, "Yeah." Darren began to laugh, as did Daniel.
"What?" she asked.
"I've never seen you this way before. I never knew you could be so
shy," Darren chuckled.
"Hell, I never knew I could cause this kind of reaction in a person,"
Daniel added.
"Shut up! I was so not expecting to meet you," Faith confidently said,
snapping out of her odd mood. She turned to Darren and punched him in the arm.
"And you, why didn't you give me a warning?"
"I didn't know! Only Ben was supposed to pick us up. I had no idea!"
he defended himself.
"You know, I'd hit you a little harder if you weren't holding Hope,"
she angrily retorted as she sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her
chest.
"Then why don't I give her to Morgan and we can have a fist fight?"
Darren playfully suggested. "Hey, Mor!" he started to call when Daniel
interrupted.
"I think she and Ben are having a little moment. I'll take her," he
volunteered.
"Be careful!" Faith warned just before Darren pounced on her. With her
pride and joy safely wrapped in Daniel's arms, she could proceed with the boxing
session.
Daniel, on the other hand, was beginning to regret offering to take the baby.
Hope was so small and fragile. He was afraid of breaking her. But as he grew
more and more accustomed to her baby doll body, he realized that it was going to
be hard to put her down. She was the cutest thing he had ever seen, with big
blue eyes and a round little face. Who could resist her?
Faith and Darren had stopped their wrestling for a few moments to take a couple
of desperately needed breaths when they looked up to see Daniel, a wide smile on
his face and the brightest gleam in his eyes as he gently rocked Hope back and
forth.
"You're a natural," Faith commented. "Have you ever considered
having one of your own?"
Daniel looked up at her with questioning eyes. "One of my own?" he
asked. The question seemed to echo in his mind. 'One of my own? One of my own?'
"Yeah," she replied. "Settle down and start a family. I bet with
your looks and your amount of stashed cash, you could easily find the right
girl, get married, and have a little one just like Hope."
"Hope? Is that her name?" he said.
"Yeah, Hope," Faith proudly answered.
"That's a very pretty name. Very fitting for her."
"Thank you."
"Why did you give her that name?"
"Well, to make a long story short, I named her Hope because I wanted her to
have all the hopes and dreams that I'll never have. She's my hope for the
future."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, once I'm gone, I want her to become a successful young woman with
larger than life dreams, and I want her to fulfill those dreams."
"I meant the other part, about all the hopes and dreams that you'll never
have. What did you mean by that?"
Faith turned to Darren and asked, "You haven't told them?"
"Told them what?" came his confused reply.
"About the." She stopped abruptly.
"Oh." Darren's voice trailed. "No. I didn't. I thought Morgan
already had."
"Hey, don't go dragging me into this," Morgan shot back from Ben's
lap.
"But I thought by now you would have already told everyone," Darren
said.
"Enough bickering!" Daniel interrupted. "What's this all about?
What is the big secret?"
Faith, Darren, and Morgan stared at each other, then finally turned to Daniel
and Ben, a somber look on each one's face.
"I have cancer," Faith finally said after a long pause. "I'm
dying."
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