So, here is the first official chapter. I really hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer; Twilight and all of the characters, except for a sweet little girl, a hilarious grams and a few others, belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer :)

Enjoy

Yeah when I get where I'm going

There'll only be happy tears

I will shed the sins and struggles

I have carried all these years

And I'll leave my heart wide open

I will love and have no fear

(When I Get Where I'm going by Brad Paisley)

Cali, come on sweetie," I called up the stairs.

"I'm coming," my ten year old daughter called back from her bedroom.

I sighed and leaned again the wall in front of the stairs. Finally, she came running downstairs, dressed in a pair of shorts and a floral top. I looked at her with my eyebrow raised.

"What?" she asked.

"Baby, you know we're gonna be travelling for the next two days right?"

"So?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. Go get in the car, please."

As she ran outside, I looked down at my own travelling clothes – a pair of worn boyfriend jeans, a t-short and a pair of converse – and frowned. I honestly had no idea where she got her love of fashion and all things girly, because it certainly wasn't from me. It must have been from her dad's side of the family.

I sighed and quickly changed my direction of thought. I walked out of the house and said a silent goodbye to the house Calissa and I had called home for eight years as I climbed into the driver's seat of my Jeep.

We made the short journey to my grandmother's house, who only lived a couple of blocks away. I pulled into the driveway and, before I even had a chance to cut the engine, Calissa was out of the car and running into the house.

"Grammy," I heard her hollering as I shut the car door and made my way into my childhood home.

I had come to live with my grandma when I was five after my parents died in a car accident. Being so young, I didn't really remember them or the place I called home for the first five years of my life. To me, grandma's house in Pescadero, California, had always been home.

I made my way through the house, listening to their familiar chatter coming from the kitchen. When I walked into the room I saw my daughter sitting on one of the bar stools stuffing her face with cookies while my grandmother was pouring out a cup of milk for her.

"Morning, grams."

"Hi, dear," she said as I kissed her cheek. "You ready for the big move?"

Before I could answer Calissa asked if she could take the cookies into the living room to watch TV.

"Yeah. But don't stuff your face with cookies because I don't want you getting sick in the car."

"Okay mama," she called as she ran out of the room.

"So, are you gonna answer my question?"

I sighed. "I dunno. In a way I can't wait; a new start for Cali and I. I think it will be good for both of us."

"But?"

"But Seattle is a huge city. Cali's never lived in a huge city before. And I haven't lived in a big city for twenty-two years. It's gonna be different."

"It might end up being a good different, though." I nodded.

"And then there's you."

She frowned. "Me?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. You're gonna be here all alone."

"Sweetie, I am a sixty-nine year old woman. I'll be fine. Actually, it will be quite nice. Maybe I won't go through so much food. My weekly shopping trips barely last a couple of days with you two always visiting. I don't know how you're both so skinny with the amount you both eat. The day you girls get fat I will piss my panties."

My mouth dropped open. "Grams!" She laughed.

"Seriously though, you know I'll miss you both. But I think this will be very good for you." I nodded and smiled.

We stayed for an hour before I decided it was time for us to leave.

"Calissa, we have to hit the road, baby, so get ready." I heard the TV shut off and the sound of her footsteps.

She walked in and set the cookie jar on the counter before turning to my grandma and hugging her.

"I'm gonna miss you, Grammy."

"Oh, sweetheart, I'll miss you too. Now I want you to be good up there in Seattle, ya hear? Dress warmly, because it's not as hot up there as it is here, and listen to your mother, okay?"

"Yes, Grammy. I love you."

"I love you too, my sweet girl."

I smiled at them. "Go get in the car, baby. I'll be out in a sec." Calissa hugged her great-grandmother once more before running outside. I rounded the kitchen island and hugged my grandma. "I'm gonna miss you, grams."

"I'll miss you too, sweetie, but this is for the best. It's just you and that sweet girl now but if you ever need anything, you know where to find me." I nodded. "And don't be afraid to let yourself love again."

"Grams," I started, but she cut me off.

"Isabella, you haven't been on a date since the night Calissa was conceived." I scrunched up my face, hating whenever she brought up that summer. "I know you don't like talking about it, but that's the truth. It's been so long since you've had sex, I wouldn't be surprised if they're doing it differently now."

"Grams!"

She laughed again. "Just keepin' it real, Bells."

"I have to go. I'll call you when we get to Medford."

She laughed. "Okay, sweetie. I love you."

"Yeah, love ya too," I said as we walked out of the front door. She leaned against the doorframe as I climbed into the car and waved as we pulled away from the house.

Travelling with a ten year old for two days is no easy task, I'm telling ya. 48 hours of 'I feel sick' and 'I can't sleep' and, my personal favorite, 'Are we there yet?'

So when we pulled into the driveway of our new house I breathed a sigh of relief. I cut the engine and climbed out, making sure to lock it behind us. We both made our way up the steps leading to our new home and I unlocked the front door.

Calissa stepped inside the house, her eyes looking around at all of the details. She hadn't been here before so everything she had seen of the house is from the pictures I had taken to show her.

Luckily, my old boss back in California had been nice enough to let me take some time off to travel up to Seattle so I could pick a house for Cali and I and then so I could come and decorate it. Thank God for grams during this whole process, who babysat Cali every weekend for a couple of months.

"Sweetie, come and help me get the things out of the car and then you can go check out your room," I told her, making my way out of the door.

We got Calissa's things out first and I helped her take them upstairs to her bedroom. I had allowed Cali to pick everything she wanted in her room but she hadn't actually seen how it looked, so when I opened the door to her bedroom her mouth dropped open.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

I laughed. "Do ya like it?"

She nodded crazily. "Like it? Mama, it's amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She threw the box of her shoes on the floor and hugged me.

"You're welcome, baby. Now, you start unpacking, okay? I'm gonna go and get your last few bits from the car."

She nodded and, in true Calissa fashion, went straight to her shoes. Sometimes I wondered if she was my daughter at all because we were so different. And then I remember the hours of excruciating pain I went through trying to get her out of me.

Once all of Calissa's things were out of the car, I made a start on getting my things out. I dumped my few boxes and my suitcases in my room and got the last few things for the kitchen and living room out.

After hours of working to get the place finished, Calissa came downstairs looking drained.

"Mama, I'm hungry."

I wiped the sweat of my forehead and nodded. "Yeah, me too. I'll order a pizza."

She smiled. "Really?"

I didn't allow us to order in very often. Takeout food was usually greasy and unhealthy and, because I was raised by my grandmother who was an amazing home-cook, I believed there was nothing better than a good homemade meal.

I nodded. "Yeah. We've got no food in the house and, even if we did, I don't have the energy to cook."

I quickly found the number for a local pizza place and ordered a large cheese pizza for the two of us. Calissa grabbed two plates from one of the boxes on the kitchen counter and laid out a blanket on the living room floor.

Calissa's bedroom furniture was new but my bedroom set as well as the living room furniture and the dining room set were all coming from our old house and wouldn't be arriving until the day after so we had to eat on the floor.

The pizza arrived shortly after and we sat down on the blanket to eat.

"Have we got Wi-Fi?" Calissa asked.

I shook my head as I swallowed the bite of pizza I had in my mouth. "Not yet. I have to call the cable company tomorrow. I also need to call the gas company because we haven't got hot water either.

She groaned. "But I wanted to have a shower."

"I know, sweetie, but you'll have to wait. I'll call them in the morning and, hopefully, they'll be able to come out right away."

When we had eaten all that we could, I put the remaining pizza in the fridge and we cleared up before deciding it was time for bed. We each had to have a cold wash as there was no hot water and then we climbed into Calissa's bed, as it was the only bed in the house until our other things arrived.

"Night, baby," I said to her when I turned the light off. "I love you."

She yawned. "Night mama. Love you too."

As I listened to the sound of my daughter's breathing even out, I laid there thinking about everything while simultaneously wondering why the deepest thoughts come to you when you're trying to get some rest.

I thought about my parents, which I often did. I wondered how my life would have been different had they been in it. I thought about him and the summer that changed my life; the first, and only, boy I ever loved; the first, and only, boy who ever broke my heart. But I didn't hate him, and I didn't regret a moment of that summer all those years ago; how could I? Look at what I got out of it. That summer, however heartbreaking, gave me the greatest gift I never knew I wanted. I turned my head to the right and smiled at the sight of my daughter, sending a silent 'thank you' out into the universe to him, wherever he might be.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, drifting into an almost peacefully slumber.

It had taken a long time, but, finally, I felt like we were where we belonged.

So, what did you think? Is Helen like the best grams ever? What are we thinking about momella and her little Cali Girl?

Please review as they mean the world to me and I will try and update when I can. Those who read my other story, America' Hero, will know that I'm at uni (just started my second year) so I'm busy but I will try and keep updates regular.

See you next time.

xoxo

RKandCarrieFan