Hey babes! It has been a while since I've updated this story and I apologize. If you've been following me on here, then you know I've been writing a lot of other stories. But I figured I'd post this today since it is Thanksgiving. :)

Hope everyone's having a great holiday with those closest to them, eating all the food that you can until you're ridiculously stuffed.

Enjoy!

*November*

"Papa! Nana!" Jessica exclaims when she sees her grandparents walking across the airport floor, their carry-on bags over their shoulders. She makes an immediate beeline to them once they're through the security gate and walking toward her.

"There she is," Phil says with a wide smile, pulling his granddaughter into a tight hug and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Oh, I've missed you so much, sweetheart."

"I missed you too, Papa. I'm so happy you're here."

"So am I, Jess. Your Nana and I are so glad we get to see you again."

"Me too," Jessica says. "How long are you guys here?"

"A few days," Phil tells her. "Long enough to celebrate Thanksgiving with you and your mom."

"And dad," Jessica adds.

Phil nods with tight lips. "Right. I forgot that he's back in your life for good."

"Dad, please stop," Skye speaks up as she approaches the small group. "You used to love Grant."

"That was before he drove you away," Phil responds, looking over at his daughter.

Skye rolls her eyes at the same old argument. "Yes, I know. But we've patched things up and we're back together and trying to do better. Can you please at least try and give him another chance? I am."

Phil sighs. "Fine. For you and Jess, I'll try. But I make absolutely no promises of how things will turn out in the long run."

Skye smiles. "As long as you try." She steps forward to pull him into a hug. "I've missed you, dad."

"I've missed you too, sweetheart. How have things been?"

"Pretty good, actually. It's taken a bit of adjusting to having Grant permanently back in my life, but I think we're both pretty happy about it." She smiles down at Jessica and ruffles her hair.

"Dad makes really good breakfasts," Jessica states. "Better than mom."

Phil gets a small hint of a smile on his face. "Yes, he was always dirtying up our kitchen with new breakfast food inventions when he and your mom were younger. Some of them never turned out too well."

"But he always did his best," Melinda speaks up. "That's the most important thing to remember. For everything you do in life, as long as you do your best, you'll be fine."

"Can we go now?" Jessica asks. "I miss dad."

Skye smiles and laughs quietly. "Yeah, Jess, we can go. We don't want to keep your dad waiting any longer in the car than he has to be."

"Oh, so he's already here, then," Phil remarks. "Don't even get a peaceful ride in the car before having to see him."

"Papa, please don't be mean to dad," Jessica speaks up. "It's Thanksgiving."

Melinda and Skye each hide their smiles behind their hands as they watch Jessica stare up at Phil with a look that she most definitely gets from Skye, hands on her hips and everything.

Phil sighs and nods. "You're right, Jess. I'm sorry. I'll do my best to be nice to your dad while I'm here."

Jessica nods once. "Good." She turns abruptly and begins walking in the direction of the luggage carousel, Phil quickly jogging to catch up with her so she's not walking alone.

Melinda loops her arm through Skye's and smiles at her as the two women follow after the rest of their family.

"This is still so cool," Jessica says with a smile on her face as she watches the parade floats slowly go by, some of them having different singers atop of them performing, mostly Christmas related songs. "Last time it was better though because dad performed. How come you're not performing again this year?" she asks, turning her head to look up at him.

Grant shrugs. "I don't know, Jess. They don't always have the same performers every year, though, so that probably has something to do with it. I'm just glad to be able to watch it with you and your mom this year." He smiles at Skye, pulling her a little closer to him and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Part of me wonders why I still live in this area," Skye says, clutching a to-go cup of hot coffee in her hands and burrowing deeper into her large winter coat as well as Grant's embrace. "I hate being cold yet I moved to one of the coldest places in the country during the winter."

"It was to get away from me," he reminds her. "I'm pretty sure that at that point in your life, you would have done just about anything to avoid me."

Skye nods. "That may have been true ten years ago, but right now it is the absolute furthest thing from the truth." She smiles and burrows even deeper into his side, letting out a content sigh.

Grant smirks. "You just want me for my warmth."

"Hey, you're unnaturally warm. All the time. You always have been. Can you really blame a girl for wanting to take advantage of that?"

Grant chuckles and shakes his head. "No, I guess I can't."

.

.

.

"Mom, can we eat yet?" Jessica asks as she trudges into the kitchen, Max trailing happily behind her. "I'm really hungry."

"Dinner's almost ready, angel," Skye tells her daughter, focusing on the pots on the stove in front of her. "Just be a little more patient, okay?"

Jessica sighs heavily, her shoulders slumping. "Fine." She turns and makes her way back into the living room, falling face first onto the couch and groaning loudly.

"Quit it with the dramatics," Skye calls out to her daughter.

"You know she gets that from you," Grant remarks, leaning against the counter next to Skye and smiling at her. "You always had a flair for the dramatics."

"Yet you still love me despite it."

He leans down to give her a kiss. "Yes, I do. And I always will."

"Could you two stop being so nauseating for five minutes, please?" Kebo pipes up as he enters the room, his face screwing up at the sight of his friends kissing yet again. "I swear, you're worse now than you were in high school."

"I think it's sweet," Hannah comments with a smile.

"You would think that. But you didn't have to see them sucking face in the hallway every other day."

"Okay, I don't think we were that bad," Grant defends him and his girlfriend, turning fully toward his best friend.

"Oh, we were," Skye responds.

He looks at her. "Really?"

Skye snickers. "Yeah."

"Huh. Well, I can't say I blame teenage us. We were pretty good looking. Still are." He runs a hand down over his chin.

Skye laughs at him before turning back to the cooking food in front of her, finishing up the last of it.

"Alright," she calls out through the apartment, "everyone up to the table, please."

"Finally!" Jessica shouts, jumping up from the couch and moving into the kitchen, immediately sitting down in her chair at the table, Max curling up under the table by her feet.

"This all looks so amazing," Hannah speaks up as she takes a seat on one side of the table.

"I'm still finding it hard to believe that Skye actually cooked all of this," Kebo remarks. "In high school, you couldn't make a single thing without burning it."

"I managed," she replies.

"And by 'managed' she means that she had me to do all the cooking for her," Grant retorts with an amused smile.

"Yes, we all know that," Kebo pipes in with a small roll of his eyes. "You did anything for Skye because you were bloody whipped and couldn't tell her no. And you still can't. Can we eat now?"

"I'm with Uncle Kebo," Jessica says. "I want food."

Kebo nods sharply and holds a hand out to his niece, the young girl immediately giving him a high five.

"Oh, I am so not looking forward to Kebo having an influence over our teenage daughter in a few years," Skye tells Grant as she finishes putting a few dishes of food on the table.

"That's what we have Hannah for," Grant assures her. "She's pretty good at keeping him in line."

"You sure?"

He nods. "Positive."

"Alright. Now go sit. I'll be there in a second."

Grant gives a small nod of his head before stepping over to the table and sitting down in his seat, smiling at the group around him chatting freely with one another as they wait for Skye to bring the rest of the food over.

"I hope everyone's hungry," Skye says as she sets the last of the containers of food on the table.

"I'm starved," Kebo pipes up. "Reckon I could eat a whole cow at this point."

"Good. Then you'll eat everything you put in front of you."

"Yes, mum," he says with a small roll of his eyes.

"She tells me that all the time," Jessica tells her uncle.

"That's because you don't always like to eat everything I put in front of you when you say you're starving," Skye replies. "Now, everybody start dishing up while dad carves the turkey," she says, looking toward her dad to see him already grabbing the carving knife.

Taking a deep breath in, Grant slowly stands from his chair, looking at everyone around the table conversing with each other as they dish up their food.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please," he speaks up and then clears his throat. "I uh, before everyone starts eating, I just wanted to say something real quick." He glances down and shifts on his feet and then looks back up. "There uh, there's a lot that I have to be grateful for this year." He smiles over at Skye, resting a hand gently on her shoulder. "I have my number one girl back in my life right where she was always meant to be, by my side, as my partner and equal." His gaze shifts over to Jessica. "I still have my amazing and beautiful daughter in my life whom I get to see continue to grow and figure out who she is and where exactly she belongs in this world." He looks at Kebo and Hannah. "I've got two of my closest friends who have always stuck by my side, especially when times seemed darkest." He turns to Phil and Melinda. "And I have the two people who were always like second parents to me back in my life as well. This is, by far, the best Thanksgiving I've been able to experience, and I just want to say thank you to all of you here."

"You don't have to thank us, babe," Skye tells him softly, giving his hand on her shoulder a light squeeze. "You're part of this family, always have been."

He smiles back at her. "I know. I just...I just felt like saying it."

"That's sweet, truly, it is," Kebo cuts in. "But if you're done being sentimental, I'd really like to eat my dinner without throwing up from how nauseating you two are."

Grant sighs while Skye rolls her eyes at Kebo.

"Shut up and eat your food, Kebo," Skye says, reaching across the table for the gravy.

Kebo scoffs and throws his hands into the air. "That's what I've been trying to do."

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!