The rest of the morning was uneventful. I called James and he immediately agreed to come when I told him I was going to be home alone otherwise, and he said he would bring a couple of his most trusted coworkers with him.

At breakfast, I sat with the others and listened to them talk about their plans for their vacation. Jasmine said she wanted to go to a luau, Maia wanted to go to all of the finest restaurants to learn new dishes, and Sarah wanted to spend as much time as possible on the beach. I pointed out that she would need a LOT of sunscreen, and Thomas laughed while Sarah looked at me sheepishly. Sarah would be the last person to forget about something like sunscreen, and yet it appeared that she had, which had the rest of us laughing, too.

After we ate, I went with Jasmine to her room to help her quadruple check her luggage. She was really paranoid and felt like she was forgetting something, but as we went through her checklist and I sat and thought about anything she may have forgotten, we couldn't come up with anything.

After that, we sat on her bed and looked up tourist attractions online. I wanted them to be prepared for everything, and I thought maybe doing some research would be fun. However, it was just the opposite. The more I looked at those beautiful pictures of the ocean, the more I realized that my family was leaving, and it finally sank in how much I was going to miss them.

After a few moments, Jasmine slammed the laptop shut, almost smashing my fingers in the process.

"What was that?" I asked her, startled.

"Something's not right. You aren't saying anything."

"What's there to say? I'm just looking at beaches."

"Chrystal, I know that look. Something's bothering you."

I sighed. The last thing I wanted was to give Jasmine another reason to worry about me, but I should've known I couldn't keep my feelings hidden from my best friend.

I turned my head to meet her gaze. She was staring at me, her blue eyes full of concern. I shook my head and forced a smile. "I'm just really going to miss you guys."

She gave a gentle smile in return, then reached out and hugged me. "I'm going to send you so many postcards that you'll still be getting them after we've returned."

This time, my smile was real. "You better."

We talked and looked at pictures online for the next hour or so, until I heard a knock on the door. Jasmine shouted for them to come in, and Sarah opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Chrystal, James is here."

I looked over at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearly noon. Time must have gotten away from us. "Thank you. I'll be down in just a minute."

Sarah nodded and left the room, shortly followed by me and Jasmine carrying her things.

As soon as we made it to the top of the stairs, Sebastian was beside us. He immediately took the large bags from us and carried them the rest of the way to the door. I was grateful; my hand still hadn't fully healed, and lugging around that suitcase sure hadn't been helping.

I caught James's eye when I reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled. He smiled back. I did my best to ignore the gazes of the two other officers standing with him.

"Good morning, Chrystal."

"Good morning, James. Could you wait for me in the sitting room, please? I'd like to say goodbye to my family privately."

James nodded, then left the room, leading his coworkers.

I faced the others, all of them watching me curiously. I just smiled, then turned and hugged each of them before stepping back again. I took a deep breath.

"Sebastian is going with all of you to the airport, just to make sure you are all okay. James is here just so that I'm not here alone if something were to happen, which I don't expect it to. I'm just trying to be cautious."

They all nodded agreeingly, albeit worriedly.

I took another breath. "And if something does happen here while you are away, and doesn't seem to be clearing up, I will be extending your vacation."

"Chrystal-" Jasmine started, but I interrupted.

"It's for my own peace of mind. If something were to happen near the end of your trip, I would be more worried about you all than trying to protect myself. It'll help ensure that we are all safe. Please, don't fight me on this."

Jasmine didn't speak up again.

I smiled at all of them. "That should be everything. I'll try to call you often, hopefully every couple of days." I felt my eyes begin to water, and I blinked quickly, trying to hold back the tears. "I hope you all have a lovely time. Take lots of pictures and enjoy yourselves. I love you all so much."

Sarah spoke up. "We'll see you when we get back."

I wanted to nod and agree with them, but I found that I couldn't.

"Yeah," Maia spoke up. "We'll see you soon."

I met her gaze and saw her determined and sincere expression, and felt myself smile and nod. Somewhere deep inside of me, I knew I would see them again.

They all hugged me one last time before leaving, and Sebastian promised he'd be back in a few hours. I told him I would be fine with James here, but that didn't stop him from giving me a worried glance before he left with the others.

Once the door closed behind them, I let out a sigh. They were gone, but the weight wouldn't be lifted from my shoulders until I knew they had safely landed in Hawaii.

I shook all the negative thoughts from my head. They would be just fine. Airplanes were statistically safer than cars. I knew they would land safely. They were out of harm's way. I could breathe easier.

With that thought in mind, I pasted a smile on my face and made my way to the sitting room to face James and his judgements.