Chapter 1 – I Will Wait for You

A Pivotal Year

Nolan 17, Lissa 17, Ryder 13, Olivia 10

Annabelle 5, Victoria 5, Lucas 4

August 16

The uneventful and long drive to San Francisco provided ample opportunity for Lissa and Nolan to eagerly envision how their long distance relationship would function over the next ten months. As if negotiating a contract both couldn't wait to sign, promises were made about the frequency of contact by text and voice. As he grasped and kissed her hand, Nolan revealed that he had already purchased a plane ticket for Lissa to come visit during her fall break in October. With only five days off for Thanksgiving, Nolan hadn't decided whether he would fly home to Seattle or not. However, they both knew that Nolan would be home for three solid weeks at Christmastime.

Never far behind or ahead, Owen drove the same trek as the young lovebirds. Alone, he was able to allow his mind to process all that had occurred the previous month and reflect upon the previous six years. Instead of sending one child off to college and welcoming a baby into the home, two goodbyes unfolded back to back. Rather than have a traditional family, he and his new wife had inherited three children shortly after marriage. Owen had learned that the only reality to anticipate was the unexpected.

Soon after he returned, the twins would begin Kindergarten. Little by little, they would grow up and grow away from perceiving their dad as their primary hero and companion. Lucas, eager to keep up with his older sisters, would begin pre-K. Lissa would enter her senior year, Ryder 8th grade, and Olivia 4th grade. In many ways, Owen longed for the days when the former Tremblay children were in grade school and the littles were babies.

Bringing his awareness back to the present moment, Owen used his Bluetooth to call Lissa. They were nearing Eugene, Oregon and lunchtime was around the corner. As plans were set, the two cars exited the freeway and parked at a restaurant.

"We're making great time," Owen observed as they each reviewed the menu. "I imagine we'll get to UCSF around 6:30 or 7:00."

"Is there a reason that's our stop for the night?" Lissa inquired curiously.

"A friend from medical school is the Head of Oncology there. He offered to put us up for the night and to show me around the hospital. You guys are welcome to come along on the tour if you're interested," Owen shared.

Catching one another's eyes and communicating silently that touring a hospital was low on their bucket list, Nolan responded, "We'll pass. Maybe we can explore the area or hang out at your friend's place."

Attempting to act nonchalant about the decision, Owen shrugged and stated, "Sure. Of course."

After they ordered, their food was served promptly. As they ate, Lissa piped up with joy, "Hey, Dads, guess what?" Owen looked at her expectantly, signaling for her response. "Nolan surprised me this morning with a plane ticket to visit him at USC during Fall Break."

Coughing, Owen sipped some water and answered, "Really? Oh."

"Won't that be great?" Lissa celebrated, not reading Owen's reaction.

"Uh, yeah," Owen hesitated. "We'll have to take a look at the calendar and see how that fits in with any other plans."

"What other plans?" Lissa, perplexed, inquired.

Owen took a bite of his meal and shrugged. He knew that Lynne was hoping to have Lissa's assistance while he and Amelia were in Hawaii with Ryder and Olivia. At the same time, Owen thought it was best to connect with Amelia before carrying on the conversation any further.

As soon as he swallowed his bite, Owen asked Nolan, "What are you most looking forward to once you arrive at USC, Nole?"

"I haven't really thought about that. Checking out the campus and settling in, I guess. I'm glad we have a week between move in and the start of classes," Nolan responded. "That'll give everyone a chance to get to know each other and be chill." Chuckling, he added, "And the weather. I'm really looking forward to better weather, too."

"Sure, while we're bundled up and carrying umbrellas, you'll be at the beach surfing," Lissa teased with a giggle.

Owen, feeling down from all he had considered during the morning drive, smirked slightly. "How about if we mix it up a little? Maybe Nolan and I could ride together after lunch?"

"Sure," Nolan responded respectfully, not actually looking forward to the switch. "Does Liss get the Porsche or the Jeep?"

"Ha!" Owen chuckled, "What do you think, Liss?"

Shaking her head, she accepted, "The Jeep is fine. Can I trust you two not to pick up girls if you're unsupervised in a fancy sports car?"

"Mmm…maybe," Nolan joked with a wink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`'

Meanwhile, at the Shepherd-Hunt home, Olivia had set up a St. Francis school room in the playroom. Her teacher desk, otherwise known as the sofa, sat in the front of the room. Cushions on the floor represented Ria, Luke, and Anna's desks.

"At your school, there are lots of rules. You can't dance or skip. You must walk. I'm going to teach you how to act at your school so you have a better first day than I did," Olivia explained seriously.

"I thought you went to Mantasaurus school," Ria sought to confirm using the family word for Montesorri.

"I do. But I went where you're going for a few days, so I know all about it," Olivia informed them. "Now, class," Miss Hunt, the teacher, began, "everyone must sit down at their desk."

Ria and Anna walked over to their cushions dutifully while Lucas created a circuitous route to his desk that involved jumping on the couches before landing at his cushion.

"Mr. Hunt," Olivia bellowed, "that is inappropriate. You cannot have fun at school. You must be serious and not play."

"That's stupid," Lucas offered as he stood on a chair.

"Stupid is a bad word at school, Mr. Hunt. You have to go sit outside the door in the hallway," Olivia declared as she reenacted her disastrous first day of school. She walked over to Lucas and bent down so she was face-to-face with him. "Mr. Hunt, that behavior is bad and wrong. Follow me." Leading Lucas to the playroom door, she pointed to a spot just outside the room and grumbled, "Sit. Now." Lucas sat down and looked at Olivia like she was crazy. As soon as she closed the door and returned to her better behaved students, he began rolling around, doing summersaults and attempting to stand on his head.

Amelia, hearing an occasional thud against the wall, walked over to check out the noises. "Luke, why are you sitting out here?"

"Look, Mama, I can almost stand on my head," he attempted to display.

"I thought you were playing with the girls," Amelia mentioned.

Lucas shook his head and laughed, "They are playing school and Olivia is a mean teacher. It's stupid."

"Stupid is not a nice word, Lucas," Amelia responded seriously.

"I'm sorry, Mama. Her school is icky. There are lots of rules and no fun," Lucas detailed. "She told us that's what our new school is like. I want to go to Mantasaurus school instead."

With a subtle sigh, Amelia knocked on the playroom door and proceeded inside. "Miss Hunt? I'm Principal Shepherd. Could we speak in the other room?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Olivia smiled. She turned to her students and lowered her brow with anger, "Be perfect and silent while I am gone, girls."

Skipping out through the doorway and to the dining room table, Olivia cheerfully looked at Amelia and chirped, "Yes, Mommy?"

"Livie, you can't tell the littles that their new school is mean. They won't want to go there," Amelia explained.

"But it is mean there, Mommy. There are too many rules and all the grown-ups are serious and angry all the time. I'm helping them get ready for that," Olivia explained with utter seriousness.

"How about if you find another pretend game? House or hospital? Or maybe office?" Amelia suggested.

"We'll play house, then," Olivia agreed. She walked back into the room and informed the group, "We're changing the game. Instead of school, we're playing house. I'm the baby. Who's the Mommy?"

"I'm the Mommy," Anna claimed as she assigned the other roles. "Lucas, you're Daddy. Ria, you're the teenager."

Amelia sat at the table listening, highly tempted to peek into the playroom as the new scene unfolded.

"Everybody listen to me," Lucas declared in a low voice. "I'm Owen Hunt. You do what I say." Hearing Lucas' impersonation made Amelia spit out her coffee as she laughed.

"But, husband," Anna responded with a voice far higher than Amelia's, "I have to go save the world right now. You need to stay home while I work."

"Then go," Lucas insisted. "I'll take care of the children."

Ria chimed in as the over-wrought teenaged girl, "Why doesn't anyone talk to me? You all hate me!"

"Waahhh…waaaahhh," Olivia pretended to cry as she lay on the sofa in her 'crib.'

Lucas ran to Olivia, "You're ok, little baby. Daddy loves you the bestest. You're my favorite."

"I want to be the favorite," Ria dramatically interjected.

"You're not my favorite. You're fwustwating," Lucas declared. "Go study, teenager."

"I'm home," Anna sang, "I saved every sick person in the universe. How was your day?" Still eavesdropping, Amelia wondered about Anna's portrayal of the Mommy figure.

"Let's go snuggle," Lucas suggested as he hugged his sister.

"Oh, husband!" Anna giggled. "I loooovvveeee youuuuu."

Lucas slapped Anna's rear, causing her to step out of character. "Hey! Lucas, no hitting!"

"I didn't hit. Daddy slaps Mommy's bottom and it makes her laugh," Lucas explained. "I was just being the Daddy."

"Well I don't like you touching my bottom," Anna declared.

"Then don't be the wife," Lucas shrugged.

Ryder came downstairs and looked at Amelia quizzically. He whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I'm listening to them play house," Amelia explained. "Lucas the Daddy just patted Anna the Mommy on the butt and she's upset." Ryder sat down and joined his mom in listening to the littles.

"I'm tired of playing the baby. It's boring. I'm gonna be Nolan instead," Olivia decided. "Let's play again. Lucas, don't hit Anna's bottom even if she is the Mommy."

"Ok," Lucas promised with resignation. "I'm starting this time," he announced. In his low Daddy voice, Lucas began, "People! We need to. Clean. This. House. Teenager girl, you vacuum. Nolan, you boss everyone around. Wife, do the dishes."

Ryder nearly fell off his chair as he quipped, "Sounds just like Dad." Smiling, Amelia closed her eyes and continued to listen in.

"Husband," came Anna's breathy Mommy voice, "I need your help!"

"You do, huh?" Lucas responded with a sultry flirt. The two walked to the corner of the room while 'Nolan' and 'Lissa' were left alone.

"Don't worry about vacuuming, baby, worry about me and my big muscles," Olivia told Ria.

"I love your muscles. You're so handsome. I just wanna kiss you all day," Ria responded.

"I gotta go in there," Ryder insisted to the real life Amelia as he laughed himself to tears. "Who should I be?"

"Let them play, Ry. If you go in there, it'll stop. This is the best entertainment I've had in months," Amelia giggled as her phone rang. Owen's number popped up and she quickly answered the phone, "Hi, Handsome. How's the drive?"

"It's going well, Mom," Nolan laughed. "Dad's driving. He wanted me to call and check in. What's up at home?"

"Actually, you guys are missing the most hilarious version of house I've ever heard. Olivia is you, Ria is Lissa, Lucas is Dad and Anna is me," Amelia shared.

"Oh, yeah?" Nolan questioned.

"You just told Lissa to forget about vacuuming and instead worry about you and your muscles," Amelia cackled. "And Lucas slapped Anna on the butt earlier."

Nolan howled, then shared the play by play with Owen. Amelia could hear his laugh through the phone. Amelia continued, "And when I came home from work earlier, I'd saved every sick person in the universe. Tell Dad my stats are looking pretty solid this month." After Nolan repeated Amelia's words, she heard Owen ask, "What are my stats?"

"Tell him he doesn't have any yet. He's busy slapping my rear and telling people to clean the house," Amelia explained.

"Great," Owen quipped when Nolan repeated Amelia's words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`'

After hanging up with Amelia, Nolan and Owen shared funny memories from years past. One story led to another as the two laughed and chortled their way to San Francisco. The up and down relationship they'd shared lately was experiencing a positive period. The time alone together in the car was proving to be fantastic.

As Lissa followed Owen to UCSF, Owen described his buddy to Nolan, "He's my age, never been married. No kids. Spends most of his time in the lab or the OR as far as I can tell. He has an amazing house in the Pacific Heights, but I'm not sure he's there much. For two guys whose lives used to be alike in med school, we've sure lived differently since then."

The trio met up with Owen's friend, who jumped in Owen's car to lead them to his house. Once the kids were settled, Owen and his friend returned to UCSF for the tour. Nolan and Lissa sat out on an upper deck and took in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge and bay. "Someday, Shorty," Nolan imagined, "We'll have a house like this."

"I'm all for that," Lissa quipped as she stretched her legs out and rested them on Nolan's lap.

"And we'll fill it with kids and laughter," he mused.

Lissa grinned mischievously, "And you'll never be home because you'll have to work so hard to pay the mortgage on a place like this."

Winking, Nolan grinned, "Nah… spending time with you is a hell of a lot more important to me than money."

Pleased and satisfied with his clarification, Lissa quipped, "I'm holding you to that, Trems."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~''

With a short six hour drive on Day Two, the trio took their time hitting the road. Owen went to breakfast with his friend and came back at 9:00am to discover that neither Nolan nor Lissa had stirred. With his best father-Army major voice, he called out, "Let's go, let's go. 9:00am. Time to move."

Both teens dragged themselves out of bed and shuffled to a shower. Within five minutes, Owen was knocking on the bathroom doors and insisting they'd been in the shower long enough. Nolan called out to his dad, "I won't miss this part."

"I'll call you on the phone and it'll be like I'm right there," Owen kidded.

Within 30 minutes, the trio was on the road once again. Coveting every minute he could get with Nolan, Owen and Nolan rode in the Boxster and Lissa drove Nolan's Jeep. A little after 4:00pm, they arrived at the USC campus and Nolan checked in to his dorm.

Nolan and Owen unloaded the Jeep as Lissa made the bed and tended to her boyfriend's new home. With Lissa unpacking his clothes and setting up his computer, Nolan found himself more and more at home each time he made a trip from the Jeep to the room. Each round included Nolan kissing his girl and praising her for her help. Once the Jeep was unloaded, Owen let the kids have some time alone as he moved the Jeep to student parking and walked back to the dorms.

The initial plan for the night had been that Lissa, Amelia, and Owen would stay with Addison and Jake before driving at least halfway home the next day. With Amelia staying in Seattle, Owen had cancelled the visit with the Riley's and was eager to begin the drive home. Lissa, of course, was reluctant to leave USC and Nolan.

When Owen appeared in Nolan's doorway, he unintentionally came upon Nolan consoling a crying Lissa as they stood in the middle of the room wrapped in each other's arms. Nolan happened to be facing toward the door and motioned to his watch, requesting 10-15 minutes. Wandering outside, Owen waited on a bench near the dorm entrance. He called Amelia and checked in, assuring her that all was well and asking for advice on how to deal with Lissa and her tears on the way home.

Upstairs, Nolan rocked Lissa as he held her. Sobbing on his shoulder, Lissa managed to catch her breath and slow her tears, "I'm sorry. What a rotten way to leave. I should be happy for you."

"Shorty, now I'm positive you're gonna miss me," Nolan consoled as he kissed her forehead. He gazed into her eyes and disclosed, "I'm going to miss you, too, babe."

His tender words caused more tears to flow as Lissa buried her face into his chest. With a muffled voice, she cried, "I hate this. I don't want to be so far away."

"Shh, shh, I know, Lissa. Shh…" Nolan soothed. "Blondie, we'll see each other soon. October 18 will be here before you know it and I'll be waiting for you at LAX with a giant smile and a bunch of flowers. I'll probably arrive hours before you even board the plane from Seattle."

"Dads is gonna be up here any minute, huh?" she asked with swollen, puffy, and red eyes.

"He already was," Nolan admitted. "I shooed him away."

"Really? I didn't notice," Lissa sniffled and grinned.

"How about if I walk you downstairs and we find him?" Nolan suggested. He held out his hand and grasped her hand in his, then he led her down the hall and out the main doors. Owen, right there, smirked with anticipation and compassion before standing up.

"I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?" Owen managed to sputter.

"I guess so," Nolan shrugged. He embraced his dad and told him, "I love you, Dad."

Owen smiled, deeply happy for and proud of Nolan. "Enjoy every minute, Nole," he offered as he patted his shoulder.

Lissa and Nolan kissed one last time as he whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. She whispered back with a smile, "Okay."

With fatherly love, Owen extended his arm and put it around Lissa's shoulders. Owen's Boxster was only steps away. He opened Lissa's door for her, then walked around to his side. Lissa and Owen waved and Lissa blew a kiss. Nolan nodded his head and waved before heading upstairs to meet his new neighbors and jump into college with both feet.