Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.

Author's Note: I'm baaaaack! Didya miss me? It feels good to be back home here in Chrave Nation. April 26th. Almost two months since I've written a word of Chrave. I missed y'all! But here I am as promised with the second sequel to Thunderstorms. This one is called For Them The Bells Toll. Since it's been three months since the end of the last story in this series, The L Word, allow me to refresh your memory…

From The L Word, Chapter 15, Let Me Ask You A Question

"Raven, I have known you for practically all my life and I have loved you from the first day I met you, first as a friend, now as a girlfriend and depending on your answer to my question, for the rest of our lives." Chelsea said through teary eyes. Remarkably, her voice never cracked.

Raven looked down at Chelsea as tears streamed down both their faces. "What's your question?" Raven asked in a near-whisper.

Chelsea opened the box revealing a one-half carat princess cut solitaire diamond ring.

"Oh my God!" Raven said in a high-pitched whisper as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Raven Lydia Baxter… will you marry me?" Raven dropped her head and began sobbing. Chelsea remained perfectly still, tears flowing, holding the box open.

Raven lifted her head. "That's my favorite mineral!" Raven said in a one-quarter chuckle, three-quarter cry pointing at the ring.

"One word, Rae. Just say it." Chelsea said.

"Chelsea!" Raven uttered in the same chuckle-cry mix voice.

"That's not the word, baby." Chelsea deadpanned.

Raven began nodding. "Yes." She eked out. "Yes, I'll marry you!" She began crying harder. "Yes, baby!" She began sobbing again as they threw their arms around each other, crying and rocking.

And then…

They hopped into the back seat and zoomed into the night. Raven could not sit still. She was bouncing around in the back seat like a jumping bean. She grabbed her evening bag and whipped out her cell phone to make the phone call she had always dreamed of making. The phone started ringing.

"Hi baby!"

Raven exclaimed. "MOM! YOU WILL NEVER GUESS IN A MILLION YEARS WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME!…"

And now…

For Them The Bells Toll

Chapter 1

We Are Family

Monday, August 28 – 6:35 am Tonya Baxter's apartment, London, England

It was a warm morning in suburban London. The temperature stood at 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit on its way up to 28° C or 82° F. A light breeze floated in through the open window. Tonya Baxter had just awakened several minutes earlier. She had something on her mind. She had exactly one year left in her exchange fellowship. She enjoyed England; the culture, the people, the history, even the food. But her trip home six months earlier had made her homesick. She looked forward to coming home. She racked her brain to come up with an excuse to go home, if only for a week so she could see her babies again.

She missed her husband, but her babies needed her. Cory was in high school and by the time she gets home, Raven will be ready to graduate college. If only she could hear their voices. She could use a piece of home right about now. The telephone rings. She rolls over to look at the caller ID. Wireless Caller, 415-555-8747. My sweet Raven! Tonya thought. Kinda late there. I hope everything is okay.

"Hi baby!" Tonya greeted Raven.

"MOM! YOU WILL NEVER GUESS IN A MILLION YEARS WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME!…"

"Baby? Is everything okay?" Tonya was concerned that her daughter was screaming into the phone.

"OH MY GOD, MOM! I AM SO HAPPY!" Raven yelled before breaking down into tears.

"Well, baby, tell me so I can cry for joy too!" Tonya said as she sat up and swung her legs off the bed.

"MOM! Okay, I'm trying to calm down! I'm trying to calm down!" Raven gave herself a pep talk. "OH MOM I CAN'T! CHELSEA JUST PROPOSED TO ME! WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

"WHAT? RAVEN? YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?" Tonya shot up off the bed. She began crying. "OH MY GOD! BABY! MY BABY IS GETTING MARRIED!" Tonya continued sobbing.

"Are you crying cause you're happy… or sad?" Raven asked, her euphoria beginning to wear off slightly.

Tonya tried to compose herself. "Baby… I have always dreamed of you calling me and telling me you're getting married… Well… actually in my dream you told me in person and you were marrying a man, but you are getting married… to someone you love, that loves you, that your father and I love, that loves us…" Tonya began crying again. "Oh, baby, I am so happy for you!"

Sunday, August 27 – 10:35 pm Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Raven presses her cell phone to her chest and allows her head fall back as she cried. She then looked over at Chelsea, eyes glistening with tears.

"My mom is crying cause she's happy for us." Raven began sobbing for joy. She dropped her forehead on Chelsea's shoulder. Chelsea held her as she put the phone back up to her ear. "Mom? Can you come home, please? I need you."

"Raven, I'm on the next flight home." Tonya said. "When are you gonna tell your father?"

"We're headed to the house right now." Raven said. "Then we're gonna stop by Chelsea's house. I love you, Mom. I'll pick you up from the airport. Call me when you book your flight."

"I will, baby. I love you too." Tonya said before hanging up the phone.

Raven let out a scream and hugged Chelsea tightly rocking back and forth.

"I CANNOT GO BACK TO THAT DAMN DORM TONIGHT!" Raven screamed. "I want to make love to you so bad right now."

"Mmmm. Baby. Uhh…" Chelsea tries to focus on her thoughts. "Since we're going to my house last, we'll just stay there tonight. We can go back to campus in the morning." Chelsea said.

"But our cars are still on campus." Raven said.

Chelsea pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "Hey Gina! It's Chelsea… Yes, we had… a WONDERFUL night! We'll tell you about it tomorrow, but we need a huge favor. Can you pick us up in the morning from my house around 7:30? We're gonna spend the night there." Chelsea paused to listen to Gina. "We'll tell you in the morning! Promise!" She paused again. "Thanks, Gina… You too." Chelsea hung up.

"Alex!" Raven bellowed. "519 Miranda Place! We're going to my house!"

"You got it." Alex said.

Twenty-five minutes later, they pull into the driveway. Alex stepped out and opened the door for Raven and Chelsea. When they got out, they noticed two forms in the doorway looking out into the driveway.

"Come on Alex. I want you to meet my father and brother." Raven said. Alex followed them up the stairs.

"Whoa, ho, ho!" Victor said as he opened the front door. "You two look beautiful… except for the smeared mascara. Where have you been tonight?"

"Yeah. You don't look half bad Rae." Cory said. "Now Chelsea on the other hand…" Cory whistled.

"First, Dad, Cory, this is our friend Alex McCutcheon. He is our driver for the evening. Alex, Victor and Cory Baxter." Raven said.

"How big are you?" Cory said as Victor shook Alex's hand.

"Cory that's rude!" Victor said. "But since he asked… how big ARE you?"

"Dad!"

Alex laughed. "It's okay Rae. I get it all the time. I'm 6'4 and I'm right around 295."

"DAMN! I mean, DARN!" Cory said looking at his father who simply cut his eyes at him.

"It was a pleasure meeting y'all." Alex said. "Miss Baxter, I'll be in the car."

Raven swatted at him. "I told you to cut that Miss Baxter stuff out! Get out of here!" Alex and Chelsea laughed as he tipped his hat and closed the door.

"It's late. What are y'all doing here?" Victor said.

Raven takes a deep breath. "Dad? You and Cory better sit down."

"It's that bad?" Victor said.

"NO!" Raven said. "It's very good… to me anyway."

"Okay. Well…" Victor sat down and motioned to Cory to do the same. "What's the good news?"

Raven took a deep breath then looked at Chelsea. "Well Dad… the best way I can tell you what I want to tell you is to show you." Raven slowly extended her left hand.

"Whoa! Dad! Look at the size of that rock!" Cory exclaimed upon seeing Raven's ring. "That's a half a carat of bling!"

"Man! Rae! That is beautiful." Victor paused. "Is this… an engagement ring?"

Raven nodded. "Mmm hmm."

Victor looked over at Chelsea. "Did… you give this to her?"

"Yes." Chelsea answered.

"Does this mean…" Victor started.

"I'm getting married." Raven said.

Victor stood motionless for several moments, shifting his gaze back and forth between Chelsea and Raven.

"Raven. Have a seat there for a second. I'll be right with you." Victor said.

"Dad?"

"Please. I'll be with you in a minute." Victor's voice was very deliberate. "Chelsea? Come here please." Chelsea walked over and stood in front of Victor. "You asked my daughter to marry you tonight?"

"Yes I did." Chelsea said.

"You didn't ask me for her hand." Victor said.

"DAD! What the hell?" Raven spat.

"RAE!" Chelsea said. "It's okay." She the turned back to Victor. "Mr. Baxter, I love your daughter very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. We know what we are up against and we know that in most states we won't be legally recognized as married. But we will know in our hearts. I want to let the world know that I am giving my heart to Raven forever. Mr. Baxter, may I have your daughter's hand in marriage?"

"Raven?" Victor cocked his head to the side, looking at his daughter for a sign that she really wants this. Raven nodded, her eyes open and vulnerable. "Chelsea?"

"Yes, Mr. Baxter?"

"Looks like you'll finally get to call me Dad." Victor said. Raven stood up. Chelsea looked at Raven then back at Victor. "Welcome to the family." Raven screamed and jumped into her father's arms then hopped down and began beating him, somewhat lightly, in his chest. Cory cheered then embraced Chelsea. Victor then embraced Chelsea.

"You… almost gave me a heart attack!" Raven said, swatting at Victor twice more.

"Hey! Just because Chelsea is like a daughter to me... look, you propose to my daughter, you get the would-be-fiancée treatment." Victor said.

"So you're… okay with this?" Raven said.

"I should be lucky that my daughter finds someone that she loves that will treat her right." Victor said. "Part of the worry of a father is worrying that his daughter won't be taken care of." Victor cupped Chelsea's face with his hand and rubbed her cheek. "I have no worries about that with her."

"Thank you Mr. B." Chelsea said.

"Like I said, I think you can call me Dad now." Victor said.

Tears welled up in Chelsea's eyes. When she blinked, they began to fall as she swallowed then said, "Thank you… Dad." She then threw her arms around Victor's neck and held on. Raven stood several paces behind them and wept.

Cory walked up to Raven and put his arm around her. "I always thought I'd be the one to give Chelsea the last name Baxter." Cory then sighed. "But… I guess you'll do. Seriously… congratulations. I'm happy for you." Cory then embraced Raven.

"Damnit, Cory! You are gonna make me love you!" Raven joked as she sniffed tears.

"So Rae… you still didn't tell us where you went tonight." Victor said.

"Oh! Tonight was our six-month anniversary. I got us tickets to the opera, got Alex to do me a favor and borrow one of his companies' cars for the evening. The proposal and ring were all Chelsea's idea." Raven said.

"Well you two look absolutely breathtaking." Victor said. "So are you staying tonight?"

"No. We're headed over to my parents house to tell them." Chelsea said. "Which reminds me… I need to call them to let them know we're coming. And I could use some freshening up. Excuse me." Chelsea stepped in to the kitchen, leaving Raven, Cory and Victor in the living room.

"Have you told your mother?" Victor inquired.

"That was the first call I made." Raven said. "She was so excited!"

"I bet she was." Victor said. He then paused. "Wow! The last six months have been as… Wow! My little Rae Rae is getting married. Now… am I gonna get to walk you down the aisle or does Rich get that honor with Chelsea?"

"We'll work all that out, Dad. I promise." Raven assured Victor.

"Well what about a date?" Cory asked.

"I'm not doing anything until Mom gets home." Raven declared. "By the way, she said she's on the next flight home. She's gonna call me with her flight info."

"She's coming home… this week?" Victor asked with surprise in his voice.

"Yeah." Raven answered.

"Cory, I'll take the upstairs bathroom and the master bedroom. You do your room, the attic and the downstairs bathroom." Victor ordered. "And I'll call the school and tell them you're not coming in tomorrow."

"Dad, I don't start until Wednesday. Raven starts class tomorrow." Cory said.

"Good. Then let's go to bed. We're getting up at 6:30. We've got a lot of work to do." Victor said.

"Ya know, if you kept the house clean each day, you wouldn't have to scramble to clean it when Mom comes home." Raven reasoned.

"You know Dad, she's really funny." Cory said.

"I know Son. She's a light-skinned Mo'Nique. Now let's go." Victor said. "Rae, call me tomorrow." Victor hugged and kissed his daughter.

"I will." Raven said. She then turned to Cory. "Night, kiddo."

"Night, sport." Cory gave Raven a "WTF" look about the nickname. "Just stick with Cockroach."

"Right." Raven said. "I'll call you." She then said good night to both of them.

Raven watched both of them walk up the stairs. She sighed and smiled before walking toward the downstairs bathroom where Chelsea was. She knocked.

"Chels?"

"Come on in Rae." Raven opened the door. Chelsea had just finished running her comb through her hair and was about to apply some makeup when Raven pressed her warm body into Chelsea.

"Ohh… baby, are you gonna start with me now? We have to leave soon." Chelsea said.

"I know." Raven purred. "Just wait a minute before you put that lip gloss on." Chelsea turned and grabbed Raven's face and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. "I am praying… your parents… put us… in the basement tonight." Raven said breathlessly in between kisses.

"Me too." Chelsea eked out in between kisses. After a moment or two more, Chelsea decided enough was enough. "Get… out." She mumbled in between kisses.

"Come on…" Raven mumbled as she fumbled to find the split in Chelsea's gown. "Let me in."

"Alex… is… waiting… outside." Chelsea said. Raven then touched her through her underwear. "SHIT!" Chelsea whisper-spat. She then gently pushed Raven away to avoid losing herself. "Out!" Chelsea said as she nudged Raven out the door.

"But… I…"

"You can have the bathroom when I'm done. I love you." Chelsea planted a kiss on the tip of Raven's nose before closing the bathroom door. Just as Raven went to touch the doorknob, she heard the click of the lock and a chuckle from inside.

"Well, that's that I guess." Raven stepped into the kitchen for her customary glass of orange juice.

Inside the Daniels' house, Richard and Joni Daniels wondered what would cause Chelsea and Raven to stop by at 11:30 on a Sunday night to talk.

"She didn't sound upset at all, so I'm sure everything is fine." Joni said as she paced in the living room.

"Then why are you pacing?" Rich asked.

"I don't know. I just feel anxious for some reason. I can't remember the last time I got like this." Joni said.

"Come here." Rich said. Joni just continued to pace. "Joni." She kept pacing. Rich then walked over behind her and wrapped her in a hug from behind. She instantly calmed herself and melted into his embrace.

"Mmmm." Joni purred. "This is nice."

"Still anxious?" Rich asked.

"Not like that anyway." Joni warmly responded.

Rich dropped his voice. "You know, if they weren't on their way over here…"

"Richard… Warren… Daniels… don't you start with me." Joni continued to purr. "I'll lay it on you if you're not careful."

Just then they saw a set of headlights slow on the street. They walked over to the window in time to see the car pull into the driveway.

"Damn! Joni, do you see that? That's a Rolls Royce Phantom!"

"I see it!" Joni whistled. "What a beautiful car!" They then saw Alex step out of the car to open the back door. "Oh my!" Joni exclaimed as she eyed Alex's size. "I have always wanted a chauffeur drive car." Her comment was dripping with visual lust. Her brief lusting came to a halt when she saw her daughter step out of the car. "OH! RICH! She looks like an angel!"

"She is beautiful!" Rich said. Just then Raven stepped out of the car. "Whoa! She's not the only one!"

"Look at Raven! My God!" Joni exclaimed.

"Lord, have mercy!" Rich said.

Joni spun around. "I thought that was reserved for me!"

"It is, honey! It is." He laughed nervously. "I was just… testing it out."

"Yeah, I'll give you something to test all right." Joni deadpanned.

A minute later, the front door opened. Chelsea stepped through followed by Raven. Alex came in last and stood at the front door.

"Sweetie! You two look… gorgeous!" Joni said. Chelsea and Raven looked at each other and smiled. "We knew you two were beautiful but…"

"I am going to get my camera." Rich said as he ran upstairs.

"Mom, this is our friend Alex. Alex this is my mom." Chelsea said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Daniels." Alex said.

"Joni. Just call me Joni."

"Well… Joni, I can see where Chelsea gets her incredible looks from." Alex said.

"Where were you when I got married 24 years ago?" Joni said.

"In the interest of self-preservation I won't answer that." Alex said with a smile.

Joni looked at Chelsea and Raven. "Looks, body, charm and brains… keep his number in case something ever happens to your father."

"I'm keepin' it for myself in case something happens to Rae!" Chelsea said.

"That's my girl!" Joni high-fived her daughter. Alex tipped his hat, as he was about to leave.

"Alex!" Raven said. "We're staying here tonight so you can go home now. Thank you so much for everything." Raven stood on her tiptoes to embrace Alex. Alex picked her up to hug her.

"Anytime Rae." Alex said before sitting her down.

"Thank you Alex. You're the best." Chelsea said as he picked her up to embrace her.

"You da man, Chels." Alex said causing Chelsea to giggle.

Joni walked over to Alex. "Thank you so much for taking care of my girls." She threw her arms open for a hug.

"MOM!" Chelsea shrieked.

"It's all right, Chels." Alex said with a smile. "You're welcome, Mrs. Daniels." Alex picked Joni up causing her to let out an "OH!" just as Rich was coming down the stairs.

"I go upstairs for three minutes to get a camera, and you go hop on Space Mountain." Rich said as his feet hit the living room floor. Alex gingerly sat Joni down. "Hi. I'm Rich Daniels." Rich walked over and extended his hand.

"Alex McCutcheon. It's my pleasure, sir."

"Alex McCutcheon. Are you the same Alex McCutcheon that was a defensive end at Cal?"

"One in the same." Alex said.

"Oh, man!" Rich exclaimed.

"Here we go." Joni deadpanned.

"I was at the game against Oregon where you had four sacks! You damn near snapped their tailback in half in the fourth quarter!" Rich reminisced. "I would love to talk football with you one day!"

"I'd like that. But right now, I'm going to leave so these two young ladies can talk to you." Alex said.

"Right. Well… it was good to meet you!" Rich shook Alex's hand enthusiastically.

"Ladies." All three were standing side-by-side as Alex went down the line and planted a cheek kiss on each one. "Bye."

"Bye!" The ladies said in unison as Alex stepped outside and closed the door.

"He is very nice. Where did you meet him?" Joni asked.

"He hit on me at a video store, we struck up a conversation and became friends." Raven said.

"Nice. Now… what brings you two by so late? Is everything all right?" Joni said.

"Yeah. Your mother was a nervous wreck before you got here." Rich said.

"I was not! I was just… concerned. That's all." Joni said.

"Well there's nothing to be… concerned about. Nothing is wrong." Chelsea said.

"So does your talk have anything to do with why you're dressed up?" Rich asked.

"As a matter of fact it does." Chelsea started. "Tonight is our six-month anniversary."

"Well, congratulations, Sweetie!" Joni said.

"Thank you." Chelsea said. "Raven got us tickets to the opera and that fancy car you saw."

"That was very nice, Raven!" Joni said. "So what did you get her?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about." Chelsea said. "The gift that I gave her was a very special gift."

"Sounds good, Pumpkin. What was it?" Rich asked.

Raven squeezed Chelsea's hand before Chelsea announced her gift.

"I asked Raven to marry me, and she said yes." Chelsea said, then sat stone-faced awaiting her parent's response.

Just then, Raven was pulled into a vision.

(VISION)

Chelsea: "Dad? You haven't said anything. What are you thinking?"

Rich: "What am I thinking?" He said in a slow, deliberate tone, shaking his head.

(END OF VISION)

"OH! OH MY GOD! SWEETIE! YOU? RAVEN? OOOOHHHH! COME HERE!" Joni exclaimed as she threw her arms around both of them and started bouncing and squealing. "Rich! Can you believe this? Our baby is getting married!" The excitement ground to a halt when no response was given. The three women turn to see Rich standing in the middle of the floor frozen. "Rich? Did you hear what I said? Rich?"

Rich Daniels stood and looked quizzically at the three women. He bit his lip, took a deep breath, and stared off into space. It was now his turn to begin pacing the floor.

"Dad?" Chelsea said. No response. "Dad?" Chelsea said a little louder. Her voice then softened. "Daddy?" Still no response. "Dad? You haven't said anything. What are you thinking?"

Rich's pacing stopped as he turned to look at his daughter. He then shifted his gaze past Chelsea to look at Raven. He then brought his eyes back to Chelsea.

"What am I thinking?" His tone was slow and deliberate as he shook his head. "I'll tell you exactly what I am thinking."

Dun-dun-dun! What is Chelsea's father thinking? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of (loud echoing voice) FOR THEM… THE BELLS… TOLL (TOLL, TOLL, TOLL, TOLL, TOLL….). PLEASE REVIEW.