AUTHOR'S NOTE: Where it references Sara's b-day as being in September, Meg's in May, and Vanessa's in July, I just made that up to work with the story.... it's not really true.

KEY:
Parts in green type are written from Sara's point of view.
Purple type=Meg's viewpoint.
Blue type=Casey's viewpoint.


PART THREE
It was Christmas Eve, and my family (and Casey) was gathered around the tree. We had already eaten dinner, and we were about to open presents. Meg opened her presents first. I had given her a picture of us in a frame that said "Sunset Sisters Forever." I had to get it engraved, but I didn't mind. I love my sister.

She opened my parents' gift first. It was a book, "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul." I guess they figured that she might need it, now that she was trying to get over Ben.

"Thanks, Mom and Dad," she said warmly.

Meg reached for my present next, and when she opened it, she gasped. "Sara, it's beautiful."

"Merry Christmas, Meg," I responded.

"I think I'm going to put this in the shop," she said.

I smiled. "That's a great idea."

"Thank you, Sara. I love it." We hugged.

Meg opened Casey's present last. It was a poster to put up in the shop, because the walls were bare. "Thanks, Casey," Meg said. "It'll go great with the interior." I looked at it, and I agreed. "You guys are the best," Meg said. "Merry Christmas to all of you."

"Sara, why don't you open your presents next?" my mom suggested.

"Okay," I agreed. I opened my sister's present first. It was a really pretty bracelet, with gold hearts and my birthstone, sapphire, alternating. "It's beautiful, Meg," I said. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Sara. I can't think of how Christmas would be without you," she said softly. Casey nodded.

"Can I have another present, please?" I asked sweetly.

My dad handed me another one, and it was from Casey. "Oh, I bet this is going to be the nicest one. No offense to anyone, though," I said. Everyone laughed.

There were two presents wrapped separately but tied together. I opened the first one, which was a box, and inside there was a necklace with a sapphire heart on a gold chain and a gold ring that had a sapphire heart on it. Wow, I thought, all I need now is earrings. "Did you guys plan something? Look." I showed Meg the box.

"Casey, did you sneak up on me planning my presents?" Meg asked.

"No," he said, "I just knew that Sara would like it."

"Thank you, Casey. Thanks a lot." I smiled.

"You still have another present," Casey reminded me.

I looked back There was another present that I had to open. I opened it, and found a CD. The Christmas CD from 98°. "Oh, my God!" I screamed. "Thank you so much!" I started jumping around like a little kid. I just love 98°. They are so cute... (sorry, I know I have a boyfriend) and they can sing! Oh, and Jeff, he looks like Casey. That's why I like him so much. =)

"You're welcome, Sara. Merry Christmas." I went to Casey and hugged him. He kissed me and said, "You don't deserve it. You deserve more."

"Casey, you've given me more than enough. I don't know how to thank you."

"Just stay by my side always, and I won't need anything from you."

"You got it, Casey." I smiled.

"Sara, you still have to open our present," my parents reminded me.

I took the box from them and opened it. Guess what I got? Earrings. Sapphire studs with gold hearts dangling from them. "I can't believe this. I have a whole set of sapphire and gold jewelry. I swear you guys worked together."

"Well, we planned it with Meg, but we didn't expect Casey to fill in the missing pieces."

"Thank you so much, guys. I love you all." I looked at everyone's smiling faces; Meg's, my parents' and Casey's. I am very lucky to have all of them in my life.

"You're welcome, Sara. Merry Christmas!"

I held up a necklace. "Gabi said that she and Vanessa have the same necklace. I'm so lucky to have friends like that." I smiled fondly.

"Want me to put it on, Meg?" I asked her.

"Sure." Her necklace was green, which matched her dress. Meg was born in May, so her birthstone was an emerald. She was wearing earrings and a ring. I wasn't sure, but maybe Meg and Gabi and Vanessa were born in the same month. If not, they probably had the same style, but different birthstones. We had just gotten around to heating up the food when the doorbell rang. I expected Casey to get it, but I didn't hear anyone come inside. So I walked back to the living room and opened the door. Michael and Vanessa were standing there. Vanessa looked pretty with her red dress, red shoes, and her red necklace. So they weren't born in the same month. Vanessa was born in July then.

"Hey, Sara," they greeted me.

"Hi, guys. Come in." I let them in.

"You look fabulous, Sara. Love the dress," Vanessa commented.

I smiled. "Thanks. Yours is nice, too."

"Where's Casey?" Michael asked.

"You know what? I don't know. I just hope he's not in the kitchen, or we'll probably have nothing to eat." The three of us laughed.

I walked downstairs and found Michael and Vanessa with Sara. "Hey, guys," I greeted them.

"Hey, Casey," Michael said. He gave me a look that kind of said, "Are you ready?"

"Hi, Casey," said Vanessa. "Have you noticed how beautiful your girl looks?"

"Yes, I have, Vanessa. But thank you for reminding me." I walked over to Sara. "Hey, you. You've barely talked to me ever since you got here."

"Well, I was helping Meg with the food," she said. "I was doing it to save all of us from you."

I grinned. "Food is not my strong point. So sue me."

"I could never do that," Sara said.

"Good." I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's go for a walk on the beach." And the two of us slipped out of Surf Central and on to the beach.

"Where are you taking me, Casey?" I asked.

"You'll see. Just walk with me."

We walked along the beach. I had no idea what was happening. It was quiet, until Casey said, "Sara, do you know how beautiful you look?"

"It's the jewelry. I have so much jewelry on."

"No. I mean, even when you don't dress up, you're beautiful. You're beautiful on the inside, too. And I don't know how I found you, or what I did to deserve you, or why you're in love with me, too, but I thank the Lord above every day for sending you to me."

I smiled. "Casey, you're not the only one who feels that way. I don't know how I ran into you, but I did, and I'm so glad I did. You've made my life so joyful, so beautiful. And it's all because you love me too." I looked at him, and he kissed me.

After it broke, I heard a song. It sounded familiar.

*The snow is falling, the city is white
Your eyes are shining like diamonds tonight
and we're all alone, there's no one home
You're finally in my arms again
The night is silent, the moment is here,
I couldn't ask for more than having you near
'cuz I love you, girl; and I always will
and now I know the moment is right,
the moment is right...*

"Casey, what's going on?" I asked him.

He answered with a song lyric. *I've been waiting to give this gift tonight/I'm down on my knees, there's no better time/It's something to last for as long as you live/Tonight I'm gonna give you all my heart can give..."

PART FOUR
We kept walking towards the sound of the song. Finally, on a secluded spot on the beach, I saw a blanket and a boombox. And a candle. "Sit here, Sara," Casey told me. I obeyed.

"Now listen to these words. They come from my heart." He turned up the volume of the boombox.

*I thought I'd give you something shiny and new,
I tried to find something worthy of you
But I realized, when I looked inside,
There's some things that money can't buy
I feel the magic whenever you're near
I feel it even more this time of the year
'Cuz I love you, girl; I always will
And now I know the moment is right, the moment is right
'cuz I've been waiting to give this gift tonight
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time
It's something to last for as long as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you all my heart can give...*

"What gift are you going to give me?" I asked.

"Shh." Casey shushed me. "Just keep listening."

*You know I'll always be true to you
and you know I'm the one you can turn to
Anytime, anyplace, or anywhere
you know that I'll always be there...*

Casey turned down the volume of the boombox, so that the music was just in the background. "Sara, we've been through so much together. The last time we had a relationship like this, it fell apart. You know why. But now--I trust you completely. And I hope you trust me, too." He paused. He was standing, so I stood. I wanted to look into his eyes while he was talking. He took my hand. "The way I feel about you--I haven't felt this way about anyone before. You're my soulmate, Sara. I've lost you many times before, and I don't want to lose you ever again. That's why I'm asking you this." He sank down to one knee, and I gasped. "Sara Cummings," Casey began, "will you marry me? Say you'll be mine, forever." He took a box from his pocket and opened it. Inside there was a ring. Tears came to my eyes.

"Of course I'll marry you. I can't imagine marrying anyone else," I responded. "I love you, Casey Mitchum."

He stood up again, and slipped the ring on my finger. Then he kissed me again and said, "I love you, too, Sara Cummings. I love you more than I can say. You've made me the happiest man on the face of the earth." He folded up the blanket and turned off the boombox, handed me the blanket, and we walked hand in hand back to Surf Central.

I was waiting in the kitchen for my sister and Casey to come back. People had just begun to notice that they were gone, so Michael and I had to keep answering questions. Casey went to work, he'd be right back; Sara forgot something at home, she'd be right back. So when Sara and Casey walked through the back door, Michael and I were relieved. Of course, Vanessa was in on it too, so the three of us were waiting in the kitchen.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted them.

"Hey!" Sara had the biggest smile on her face.

"So, what happened?" Vanessa asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Casey replied.

"No," Michael shot back, "we don't know. Can you tell us?" He was joking with them, just to get it out of them.

"Well, Michael, and the rest of you, Sara and I..." he looked at Sara, "are getting married."

"Oh, my gosh!" I exclaimed. "Congratulations!" I hugged my sister and her new fiancé. "Wait till Mom and Dad hear about this! And right before the new millennium!" I was so excited.

"Shh," Sara said, "we want to tell them ourselves. But you can go ahead and tell everyone else, if you want."

Meg went out to tell Gabi, Ricardo, Antonio and Maria while Michael and Vanessa congratulated us. "I'm so happy for you, Case," Michael said. "Sara is the right one for you."

"Thanks."

"Now I know how you feel, Vanessa," Sara said. "Though it wasn't as all out as Michael's proposal, Casey's still was very sweet, very romantic, and something I'll remember for the rest of my life." Sara smiled at me. "Now I get what you were saying when you said, 'It's something to last for as long as you live.' I just love that song," she sighed.

"Hey, you guys have to go inside now. But not together; we told them that you went off to separate places," Michael pointed out.

"I'll go inside first," Sara said. She turned to me. "Try not to miss me too much," she said.

"I'll try," I responded, "but I don't think it's going to work." I kissed her on the forehead. "Goodbye, my love."

"Stop being so dramatic, Casey. I'm just going into the next room."

"It was supposed to make you laugh."

"Oh, okay." And we all laughed.

"Hey, everyone," I said.

"Oh, hi, Sara," my mom greeted me. "What did you forget?"

Forget? "What do you mean?" I asked my mom.

"Meg told me you forgot something at home."

"Oh. I forgot..." I looked at what I was holding, and realized I was still holding the blanket, "this. The blanket." I held it up. "This dress can get kinda chilly, so I brought a blanket." You go, Sara, I thought. Smooth. Real smooth.

"Uh-huh. Okay. Listen, Sara, I want you to go find your dad. I'm worried that something's happened to him."

"Why?" I wanted to know.

"He left to go find you, and he's not back yet." Just as she said that, Dad walked through the door.

"Hey, Dad, you worried Mom half to death."

"Well, you worried me half to death. When I went to check on you after you'd been gone for a while, you weren't in the house."

Okay. You can do this, Sara. "Well, that means that I was probably on my way back to Surf Central."

"But I didn't see you come back. I would have. You didn't go home, Sara. Where did you go?"

Uh-oh, I thought. Where's Casey when I need him?

"Okay, you're right. I didn't go home. But, before you go all crazy on me, let me tell you that something wonderful happened." Right on cue, Casey walked in and joined us. "Hi, Hank and Joan. What's up?"

"Why don't you tell us, Casey? I think you have something to do with this."

Casey looked at me. "They just figured out that I didn't go home," I whispered. He nodded.

"So where did you go? What happened?"

"I didn't sneak out on my own. Casey snuck me out."

"Oh, just blame it on me," Casey said, pretending to be hurt.

"Well, it was your idea," I shot back. That shut him up.

"Anyway, Mom, Dad, we went for a walk on the beach. Away from everyone. We needed to be alone."

"Why?" Dad wanted to know.

"This is why." I showed them the ring on my finger. "Casey and I, we're getting married." I smiled.

"Oh, honey, that's great. I'm so happy for you," my mom said. She hugged me.

"Sara, this is great! But are you sure?" my dad asked.

"Dad, of course. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Casey will take care of me. Right, Casey?"

"Yes. I promise that I'll protect her."

"In that case, congratulations, sweetheart." My dad hugged me. He shook Casey's hand, too. And my mom said, "Thank you for making our daughter so happy."

The DJ started to play a song then, and I recognized it. Casey did too. "Wanna dance?" he asked me.

"Sure," I said. It was another song by 98°, but it was off the CD 98° and Rising, called Still. I didn't know the words to it, but I knew it was a sweet song. Casey whispered the lyrics in my ear.

*Love, I see forever in your eyes, I can see heaven in your smile
and when I hold you close,
I don't wanna let go because deep in my soul
I know, girl, that you are the only light I see
Your love means everything to me
I know that we will never part,
'cuz you'll always be near, here in my heart
If the sun should refuse to rise,
and the moon doesn't hang in the night
The tides won't change, seasons rearrange,
when the world is through, I will still love you...*

A few weeks later, I asked Sara to move in with me. And I got her a present. It was an Indian dream catcher, and there is a legend that it catches all the bad dreams in the web and lets the good dreams pass through. The last time I had given her one, I heard about the lies she had kept from me, because she was insecure about my feelings toward her sister. That was a big issue in our relationship the last time. But then I realized that I cared about Meg as a friend, a close friend, but Sara was the person I wanted to marry, the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. So we worked things out, and we're completely at ease with one another's feelings. Also because Tim is out of the picture, he's not causing any trouble.

When I got home from work one day, Sara was sleeping on the couch. Poor thing, I thought. She's tired from working at the Shock Wave, working at the shop, and planning for the wedding. Even though we hadn't planned a date yet, she was working to make our wedding day the best day of her life. I watched her sleeping, breathing peacefully, and I kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. Then I realized that no one else was home. Meg was at the shop, and Sara hadn't started dinner, so I went into the kitchen to start it. I heard Meg come in the door, and I ran to tell her to be quiet. "Why?" she asked.

I pointed to Sara. "Oh, okay," Meg agreed. She and I were starting dinner when we heard Sara scream.

"No! Don't, Tess! Stop it! Meg! CASEY!" she was screaming.

Meg and I ran to the living room. Sara was still asleep, but she looked like she was struggling. "Tess, stop! What's your problem? NO! Don't, please! I did it to save you, Tess! Can't you see? Derek is evil, but you are being manipulated by him! NO! Tess, no! Meg! Casey! Somebody, please help!" Sara was screaming, struggling and sobbing at the same time.

"Shh, it's okay, Sara," Meg said. "Casey and I are here."

"No! NO!!!!!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, and then she stopped. Meg and I looked at each other. It looked like she wasn't even breathing. I shook her. "Sara, wake up. You're having a bad dream. Wake up." I kept shaking her.

Sara opened her eyes. "Casey," she said, and burst into tears.

"Sara, what's wrong?" I asked. I gave her a hug.

"Tess... she was going to kill me... she said it was because I shot Derek... and no one else was there. Not you, or Meg, or anyone. And then Derek was alive again and the two of them were going to kill me..." She started to sob.

"Shh," I said comfortingly. I stroked her hair. "It's okay. I'm here. Everything is going to be fine." I kissed her head. She stopped crying. "I'm so tired, Casey. Why?"

"You're overworking yourself, Sara. You should concentrate on one thing at a time."

"I could work more hours at the shop," Meg offered.

"That would be nice," Sara said.

"And maybe you can take time off from your job at the Shock Wave," I added.

"Thanks, guys," Sara said. "You're the best."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Who could be knocking at this time?" Meg wondered. She went to get the door. "Pull yourself together," Casey gently told me. I didn't want to look like I was crying, so I made myself feel better.

Meg opened the door, and she screamed. I looked to the door, and I screamed with her.

"We're back," they announced.

Part 5