"I thought I'd find you here!" Mallory exclaimed, so happy to see her boyfriend that she completely forgot he was dripping water and gave him a giant hug.

"You're all wet."

Mallory laughed. "So I am. Oh well, I'll change my shirt before we leave. I remembered you saying that you were taking a private plane, so when an earlier flight opened up, I jumped at the chance. We can use the time on the plane to catch up," she paused, seeing that she was rambling.

"Goody," Taylor muttered sarcastically. Mallory looked at him in surprise, so he tried to cover it up with a smile.

She knew instantly it was fake. It also proved that she hadn't been crazy, Taylor had sounded funny the last time she called.

"Walker said to hurry you upstairs because we need to leave in less than an hour." Mallory blinked back sudden tears, then she too pasted on a fake smile.

Taylor grunted in response and began moving toward the door. Picking up the towel he'd dropped when he first saw her, Mallory hurried after him.

"The flight was great. I slept almost the entire time. You know how I never sleep on planes, right? Well, someone suggested I bring a boring book and a classical tape to listen to, and boy did it work!" Mallory continued to chatter on, even though Taylor remained silent and she wasn't sure if he was listening to her.

In the elevator she chatted about the interesting man she met on the plane, and all through the halls she discussed how much she hated crabby airport employees. When they reached his room, he still hadn't said a word. Something was wrong, but Mallory hadn't a clue as to what it was.

Until the door opened and Bethany came out.

* * * *

Bethany smiled widely at the girl in front of her, but the pretty brunette sent an icy look that could have frozen hell in mere seconds. Puzzled, Bethany looked to Taylor, who wasn't even paying attention. Instead, he merely walked into the room and straight into the bathroom.

"I'm Bethany,"she said politely, trying one more smile.

"Taylor's girlfriend."

Bethany got the point. She moved past Mallory, heading back to her own room. To her surprise, Talia's suitcases had been removed from her bed and sitting in their place was Zac.

She stopped, staring at him in shock as the door slammed behind her.

"We have to talk sometime, you know."

The impact of his words hit her like a blow to the stomach. Blinking back tears that were rushing to her eyes, she shook her head. She just couldn't, not with him. It had taken too many years to forget.

Meanwhile, Zac continued to stare calmly at her. Bethany didn't know what to make of this sudden desire to make things right between them. All she knew was she couldn't handle it, not now.

The phone rang shrilly, startling them while providing Bethany with a welcome distraction. "Hello?" she said, trying not to let her voice break as she turned to concentrate on the call.

Jessi's voice cut through the silence that had become so thick in a matter of seconds. "Mom said to tell you we're leaving in ten minutes. Have your luggage downstairs or if you need help, ask Ike or Zac. Okay?"

Bethany murmured some sort of reply and hung up the phone, but when she turned around Zac was gone. The only evidence that he had actually been there was a slight indentation in Talia's bed.

* * * *

Isaac found the plane rides relaxing, probably because it was the only time he had to sit still and think. Usually he would just let his mind wander and see where it led him, but today he was distracted by what everyone else was doing.

To his right, Mallory and Taylor sat. Mallory hadn't stopped talking since the plane took off. Isaac had been embarassed by the way Taylor ignored her mostly, grunting an answer when absolutely nessesary, however, all attempts to talk to Mallory himself had been put off. Apparently, Mallory didn't care that her boyfriend was being rude to her.

On his left, Zac was sleeping and Talia aimlessly flipping through a fashion magazine. Isaac amused himself for a few minutes watching Mackie trying to flick tiny rolled-up balls of napkin down Talia's low-cut shirt.

Then he noticed that Zac wasn't really sleeping. In actuality, his eyes were open just the teeniest bit, staring up the aisle at something. Isaac followed his glance up the aisle to.... Bethany?

Puzzled as he was, Isaac couldn't help smiling at the sight of Zoe curled up in Bethany's lap, fast asleep. The girl may have turned at least one of his brothers into a complete lunatic, but she sure was good for his sisters. He knew full well how lonely Jessi had been before she had come.

But why was Zac staring at her?