Sarah returned the small smile as she watched her sister’s boyfriend leave the room.  Once the door shut behind him, she slid into his abandoned chair and took Erin’s hand in her own, mindful of the IVs taped to the back of it.  A soft sigh escaped her as she sat quietly, keeping her sister company.  It was hard to see the once vibrant woman reduced to a bruised and battered shell covered in bandages and surrounded by monitors, the tube down her throat to make sure ‘her airway was maintained’ in the words of Dr. Hooke.  She ran her thumb slowly across her sister’s knuckles.<br/><br/>“Erin, if you can hear me, you need to know that we’re all pulling for you.  You’re stubborn enough to beat this.  Whatever’s going on in there right now, we need you back here with us.  Hell, Chris needs you.  If anything were to happen to you, I’m not sure he could handle it without falling to pieces.  I don’t think any of us could.”  Sarah blinked back a few tears and swiped the back of her fingers under her eye before any could roll down her cheek.<br/><br/>After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she leaned forward as if the sisters were just whispering secrets late into the night like they had as little girls.  “I’m sure you know this already but that man is head over heels for you.  The way he looks at you...I wish I could find a guy who looked at me like that.  It’s like there’s this shine in his eyes that’s just for you.”  She had been smiling but it slowly disappeared as her mood grew somber.  “You have to come back.  Come back to us.  Help him find the shine, Erin.  Don’t ever let him lose that shine.”<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/>Her eyes closed as his hands came up to cup her cheeks, her body leaning into his touch.  What he said was true.  Falling into Hooke’s clutches would be disastrous for her.  At the same time, she didn’t want him to fall victim to the evil woman either.  The kiss to her forehead was soothing but at the same time, she wanted more.  She wanted to feel his lips on hers, to melt into his arms and forget all about Hooke.  Her chin lifted as she stepped closer to let their lips just barely touch, a brush more than any true definition of a kiss.  Erin stepped backward, her eyes lingering on his face for a moment before she turned to leave and go find Sarah.<br/><br/>The trees seemed to close in around her as she traveled further into the depths of the forest.  Branches grew longer and blocked out the sky.  Brush and brambles seemed to spring from the ground to clutch at her legs, grabbing at her as if they wanted to keep her from finding Sarah.  Yet she pushed on, fighting and twisting her way through the forest that seemed to have a mind of its own.  One thorny vine wrapped around her ankle and pulled her down, making her cry out in shock more than pain.  Why was it so hard to find Sarah?  She called out for her, stretching out an arm as if the other woman would suddenly appear and save her.  Erin kicked at the vine, using her other foot to try to push it off before sitting up and unwinding the thorns from her leg.  She got to her feet and continued to stumble through the trees until she reached a clearing.<br/><br/>Beams of sunlight were streaming down through the opening in the trees making the ground appear golden.  In the middle of the clearing stood her sister, smiling sweetly with her arms outstretched.  Erin gave a cry as she stumbled forward into Sarah’s arms.  “Sarah!  Chris said you were nearby.  We have to get out of here!  Hooke is coming..we can’t let her catch us!’  A look of panic spread over her face as the sky grew dark as night except for the sun that still shone down into the clearing.  More claps of thunder filled the air.<br/><br/>Sarah hugged her sister tightly before releasing her with a gentle squeeze.  Her hands were on Erin’s shoulders as she smiled and looked her in the eyes.  “Come back to us.  Help him find the Shine, Erin.”  She took her sister by the hand and began to walk through the forest, back to their Tree, to their home where they would be safe.<br/><br/>The Shine?  Erin was confused.  What was Sarah talking about?  She had heard rumors about a magical item called the Sparkle that was rumored to have the ability to break curses and possibly put an end to Hooke and her band of pirates once and for all.  Who was this he?  Did she mean Chris?  Or someone else?  Rather than simply asking, Erin walked by her sister’s side.  The further they walked towards the center of the massive forest, the more the sky cleared and the more the fear left her.