I don't own Annie, just sharing a fanfiction.

This is my first Annie story, so it's more me trying to get into the feel of writing for these characters. I was debating whether or not to post but I liked how it turned out. The story is told in Grace's POV, starting with Annie finding her 'parents' and the events following (with mentions of some of the earlier events). I also included the unused part of the Maybe reprise they show in the Lights, Camera, Annie! special. Since they spoke over most of it, I wasn't able to catch a couple of the words or the exact order the lines belong, so I put them as I saw fit. I feel like towards the end of the film Grace and Annie's bond was somewhat abandoned in order to focus on Annie and Oliver's relationship. So my wanting to fix that aspect was what inspired this story.

One more thing before I stop babbling, this was originally intended to be a oneshot, but as I was editing I felt chapters would work better. Just wanted to say that in case some very short chapters appear.

I hope you enjoy!

UPDATE: 8/18/2014 - I noticed a lot of typos and errors in this story so I went back and fixed/reuploaded them. The plot is still the same, just some sentences are restructured. Also, I have decided to continue the story, though it may take some time to write, edit, upload, etc. but I will get it done as quickly as possible :) I'm planning on just adding the new chapters to this story, so when it's updated I will say so in the story description.

"I'll go pack…"

"Want me to help, baby?"

"No thanks… Mom."

My heart completely fell to the floor when I heard Annie call this woman Shirley, 'mom'. Well, to be honest, it'd already sunk the moment she pulled out the other half of Annie's locket… or was it when she ran and hugged Annie… Whenever it was doesn't really matter; the point is that this little girl I'd fallen in love with, though she'd only been in my life a short time—was leaving. So much had changed because of her. The big mansion didn't seem so empty anymore. Sure, it had always been filled by the staff, but it wasn't quite the same. They adored her as well; it's hard not to. Best of all, I finally got to see a softer side to Oliver Warbucks—the side I've always known was there deep down. It took some convincing him to let Annie stay, but once he gave in, I knew he was falling in love with her too. I had a hunch the evening we all went to the movies—and even more specifically, when he and I put her to bed later that night. After I'd kissed Annie goodnight and right before I turned off the light, I saw a look in his eyes I'd never seen before. The look gave me the courage the next morning to ask him if Annie could stay: permanently. Normally, I wouldn't have requested such a thing, but how on Earth was I supposed to send that little girl back to that dingy, horrible orphanage? Especially when that awful Miss Hannigan was in charge... I didn't like the woman when I met her, and once Annie told me more about her and the life she gave them, I despised her. Again, it took some convincing, but I think it was more a matter of getting Oliver to open his heart rather than his home. Plus, I think once he agreed and gave it more thought, he was just as happy as I. Not long after, he fully opened up his heart to her—to everyone. Though he was anxious about asking Annie to stay permanently, he was much calmer than he usually was. Perhaps I should say it was a different sort of jitteriness. Normally, if something was bothering or upsetting him, he'd bellow at the first person to cross his path (something I'd grown accustomed to being his secretary which meant crossing his path quite frequently). This time, he was snappy: nothing near his usual tyrant personality. Snappiness was far easier to bear. I saw this as a fresh start… and maybe it'd be the start of something between him and I... Annie picked up on my feelings for him right away and tried encouraging me to make a move. Also, I think she mentioned something to Oliver because the same day I asked to keep her, he called me Grace for the first time, told me how pretty I was (I have to thank Annie for that one, I took her advice and let my hair down for once… more or less), and on top of that we just couldn't seem to take our eyes off one another. Being in such a daze by the entire situation caused me to blurt out, 'I could just kiss you' when he not only agreed to keep Annie, but said he'd get the papers signed himself. Everything was perfect: Annie was going to be adopted, a future appeared to be starting with Oliver—nothing was going bring me down.

However, something unexpected happened later on that did indeed make my good mood disappear: Annie wanted to find her real parents—something I'd known nothing about. Here I thought she'd told me everything, but she left out that very important factor. Although Oliver was dead set on finding her mother and father, I knew that he was really hurting. I learned over the years that the braver he acts, the more vulnerable he's feeling.

After making several calls, Oliver announced the reward for Annie's parents on the radio and put an ad in the paper. The next day, hundreds of couples showed up at the door in attempts to claim her (well not so much her, but the money). I took one look at the mob that was formed outside the gates and told Oliver that Annie couldn't witness the crowd. There was no need to expose her to such a scene. While they went to visit the president (Oliver's dreaded solution), I remained in New York and interviewed over 800 couples. Despite the exhaustion of it all and the disappointment for Annie that her parents hadn't been among the couples; it was the idea of all those dishonest crooks that turned my stomach the most. Yes, $50,000 is a lot of money, especially during this Depression; but what if someone had been able to pose as Annie's parents? What would have happened to her? What would have happened when she found out? Hadn't that poor girl been through enough already?

Nearly in tears after telling Annie I hadn't found her mother and father, I watched her sadly walk away with her head down as I relayed my thoughts to Oliver about my experience with the crowd. The selfish part of me was surprised I hadn't felt any joy in not finding her parents which would leave us free to adopt her. Maybe because I knew Oliver would stop at nothing until we found them. And even if he were a quitter, how could I see that little girl so disappointed? She wanted her real parents, and I wasn't going to get in the way of that with my own self-centered emotions. As long as there was a way and a chance to grant Annie's wish, I'd be fighting and searching right along with Oliver.