Orange Park, Florida. Dec 7th.<br/><br/>Kristie pulled up in front of Heather's house and parked. Heather was her very best friend... her straight soul mate, as she liked to say. No matter what was happening or what they had going on, they always made time for one another, even if it was a five minute call or a quick stop by for a hug.<br/>Kristie walked around the house to the back porch, entering through the screened door. Heather was there waiting for her.<br/>"Hey!" she said and put her phone down. "I was about to text you to see where you were at."<br/>"Yeah, Jay had a moment and couldn't find his work keys." Heather tossed her pack of cigarettes to Kristie, who took one. "I keep telling him to put them in the same place when he comes home, he's almost as bad as you are with your debit card."<br/>"Yeah, Jim keeps it in his wallet now for me, he got tired of me losing it. Here's a lighter."<br/>Kristie took the lighter and lit her cigarette. She had been a regular smoker until six months ago, when she had finally quit for good. Now she only smoked occasionally, usually when she was visiting with Heather. She had quit fighting with herself over it, figuring that a cigarette now and then was way better than a pack a day, a huge improvement, anyway.<br/>"So whatcha been up to?" Heather asked.<br/>"Eh, workin', school." Kristie shrugged. "Not much else. You?"<br/>"Workin' and tryin' not to take out one of your nephews." Heather rolled her eyes. "Damon's been bouncing off the walls all damn day, driving me and everyone else in the house crazy, and Stephen keeps locking him out of the room."<br/>Damon and Stephen were Heather's two sons, and two of the five boys that Kristie considered her nephews. The crazy thing about it was, they had adopted her, not the other way around. Damon was six years old and had more energy than barrel full of squirrels with unlimited access to caffeine and sugar, and Stephen was thirteen and would hide in his room all day playing video games if he was allowed, only surfacing for meals.<br/>"Speak of the devil." Heather said as the sliding glass door squeaked open and Damon exploded through it.<br/>"AUNT KRISTIE AUNT KRISTIE!!" he hollered and leaped into her lap, nearly knocking her from her chair.<br/>"Damonator!" Kristie laughed and hugged him tight, kissing him all over his face and making him giggle as he tried to push her off.<br/>"Wan'play angrybirds withme?" He always talked like that, words running together into one long sentence, all mashed together and squished on the sides.<br/>"Angry birds?" Kristie asked, then tickled him. "Where you got angry birds at, boy?"<br/>"On-hehe-mommy's-nono don'tickleme! Mommy's-hehehehe-phone!"<br/>"I'm pretty sure Mommy's using her phone right now, but I bet if you ask her 'pretty please' she'll let you play it in just a few minutes." Kristie said, squishing his cheeks together. "Haha you look like Nemo."<br/>"Mommy canIwatchNemo?!" Damon wiggled off Kristie's lap and threw himself onto his mothers'. "Please? On thebig TVinthe livingroom?"<br/>"Go ask Jim nicely if he'll put it on for you." Heather said and Damon streaked off back into the house. "See what I mean? He's driving me crazy!"<br/>"Yeah, but that's Damon though. I swear, if you could find a way to bottle that boy's energy, you could make millions."<br/>"Tell me about it." Heather chuckled, then settled her eyes on Kristie. "You doin' ok?"<br/>"Yea I'm fine." Kristie said and reached for another cigarette.<br/>"Which is why you're smoking more than one." Heather said dryly and handed her the pack. "I know what day this is."<br/>Heather was one of the reasons Kristie had made it through Kate's disappearance. She and her boyfriend, Jim, and Jay had all taken turns staying with her, knowing that the last thing and the only thing Kristie had wanted at that time was to be left alone. Kristie had somewhat of a turbulent history, and the last thing anyone wanted was for her to slide back into it.<br/>"Yea." Kristie grunted as she lit her cigarette.<br/>"Are you still having those nightmares?" Heather asked and lit herself another smoke.<br/>"Yea. Every night."<br/>"Have you thought about going to a doctor or a shrink? I mean, not that I think you're crazy or anything, but sometimes talking to someone helps."<br/>"Shrinks piss me off and the doc will just want to prescribe me a bunch of meds." Kristie made a face. "I take enough meds for my stomach and allergies and the migraines. Besides, I know why I'm having them."<br/>Heather didn't say anything. Kristie was the only one who thought the nightmares meant that Kate was still alive. She had shared dreams with people before that she had been close to, even with Kate a couple of times. She had a feeling that Kate had a reoccurring nightmare every night of the plane crash, and had even come to find them reassuring. The morning she woke up from anything other than that nightmare would be the day she knew in her heart that Kate was really and truly gone.<br/>"I know you think she's still alive, and she may be." Heather said softly. "But no one has any idea where she is, or where the plane went down. If she is still alive, she might still never make it back home."<br/>"I know." Kristie sighed out smoke.<br/>"I'm just saying, I know how much you love her. And you're always going to. But maybe it's time to move on. I mean, she would want you to be happy, right? She would want you to move on and find someone and have a good life."<br/>"I'm not miserable." Kristie said as she put her cigarette out. "I haven't been wallowing or anything."<br/>"Yeah, but you haven't moved on either. I'm not trying to force you or anything, I just want what's best for you. I just want you to be happy."<br/>"I know... I know. I just don't think I'm quite ready to re-enter the dating world yet." Kristie sat back in her chair and rubbed her short hair. "Ungh."<br/>"You'll be ready when you're ready. Maybe you need to spend some time getting used to it." Heather started to smile. "You know, think about it, make your "pros and cons" list, wrap that big-ass brain of yours around the idea and get it through your stubborn head that it's ok to live your life. Isn't that what's tattooed around your arm?"<br/>Kristie laughed. "Touche... I'll get there."