Chelsie watched from the window as the tall, brooding blonde man that had been like Chris' brother rushed out the back door and walked down by the lake. She hadn't known him for very long and already it seemed that he understood her better than anyone else around her at the moment. Maybe it was because they were bonded by Chris death. But she felt oddly comfortable talking with him. Something she usually only reserved for Jessica.

Adam sat down by the lake and looked out. It really was peaceful there. He had often heard both Chris and John talk about how peaceful it was at the house. He sat there thinking about everything. He had made a promise to Chris and he was trying to keep it but bringing up his mom was hard. But talking about it with Chelsie was easier than he thought. There was a connection between them. He felt very comfortable talking to her. He sighed as he looked out at the lake. He was shocked when a golden retreiver came running up to him.

"Hey, puppy." He said petting the dog.

"Rosie." John said walking up. "Her name is Rosie."

"Hey, Rosie." Adam laughed. "Why Rosie?"

"Jess brought the dog home and named it after her mom. I really don't know why." John laughed. "So, you walked out of the house pretty quick. Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

John sighed as he sat down by Adam and Sammy laid down beside him. "It's peaceful right?"

"Yeah it is." He laughed before getting serious. "I talked to Chelsie."

"Yeah I figured." John laughed. "So, did you help?"

It's hard to say. She's dealing with a terrible situation but so are the rest of us. I told her Chris wouldn't want to see her like this. He wouldn't want her to begrudge anyone any happiness at all." John nodded.

"So how are you dealing with it all?" Adam looked up at John and sighed. It was a loaded question. "I know how close you and Chris were and I know this whole thing has been hard on you too."

"I'm dealing. I can't really focus on what I'm going through. I made him a promise to take care of her and that's what I have to do."

"Jess and I are going out with Randy and Olivia tonight. So you guys are on your own." Adam nodded.

John walked back to the house to get ready for the dinner with Olivia and Randy. He saw Chelsie in the kitchen.

"Hey Chels, how are you feeling?" He said walking in.

"I'm okay. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted."

John walked over and gave her a hug. "That's okay. We understand but you know we aren't being happy to hurt you or anything."

"I know and I'm happy for you and Jess and Randy and Olivia. I am but I just want my happiness too."

"I know you do and you will get it."John said. "Chels, Chris would want you to be happy again eventually. Right now I know it's too soon for you to even think about that. But as time goes on, you will slowly heal from this. I did after my parents and I know you and Jess did after yours."

"Yeah but losing parents is different. I had years with my parents. I didn't have that long with Chris. We didn't get to have the life we wanted."

"I know. But this isnt the end of things for you. You have your whole life to do what you want. And you will find someone who you love just as much as Chris. But that doesn't mean you will forget him. Live your life the way Chris would want."

"Thanks John." She smiled. "Now aren't you and Jess going out for dinner? I saw her getting ready."

"Yeah. You and Adam are on your own." John said before he walked upstairs to get dressed.

Half an hour later, John and Jess were gone and Adam and Chelsie were the only ones left in the house. Chelsie sat in her room thinking about the things that Adam and John had said to her . They were both right. Chris wouldn't want her to shut herself off to the possibility of love in the future. He also wouldn't want her to begrudge her friends their happiness. Even if she didn't have hers at the moment. She heard a large crash of pots and pans in the kitchen and came rushing down the stairs to find Adam covered in flour with a pan of what appeared to be chicken on the floor at his feet. She stayed hidden behind the wall a little and watched him as he tried to cook.

"Damnit!" He murmured under his breath. He turned his head when he heard a slight giggle. As soon as the sound left her lips, she closed her eyes and brought her hand to her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and she went to go back up the stairs but he caught her arm and pulled her into a hug. She sat there sobbing on his arms for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"I'm sorry." She said wiping her face. "It's just….."

"That's the first time you've laughed." She nodded. "It's okay for you to do that."

She sat there not sure about that. "Is it? Is it really okay for me to laugh?"

"Yes. Life does go on. Laughing because something is funny means you're alive. As time goes on, you will laugh when something is funny and it's okay to do that."

She sat there quietly. "How about I help you cook?"

"Sounds good." He laughed. He wasn't the best cook and her helping him meant dinner would be eidable.

She got up and wiped her tears away and started helping him fry the chicken and make the rest of the dinner. So it was done and they were sitting down at the table. They sat there quietly while they ate.

"Thanks for helping me. I'm not the best cook." He said quietly.

"I don't mind. Chris wasn't that good either. I always did the cooking." She said before realizing what she said. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. It's good to remember the good times or the funny times. You always will. We both loved him Chelsie. In different ways of course, but we still both loved him. We will always keep him alive in our hearts." She nodded. "This is delicious."

"Thanks. So can, I ask you some questions about Chris when he was younger?"

"What do you want to know?"

"What did you guys like to do?" She asked as they sat there eating.

"We did normal kids stuff. We loved to play sports. But one thing we love to do and that we did a lot was camping and hiking. We loved the outdoors." He smiled as he remembered how much they went. "There was this one time, we went camping at the lake and Chris thought it would be funny to scare me with a fake snake. But things didn't go as planned and we ended up getting skunked and spent the day in tomato juice to get rid of the smell."

She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the two of them getting skunked. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh but still."

He laughed as well. "It's fine. Chris and I got into all kinds of things when we were younger."

"I bet you did. I want to thank you for being here and I want to apologize to you. All this time, everyone has been so concerned about me. No one has even asked you how you're dealing with all this. I know you and Chris were close. He used to talk about you all the time. He always wanted us to meet. Guess this is not what he meant by that."

"Well, however we met, I'm glad we did. And to answer your question, I'm dealing with it I guess. It's a hard thing to lose your family." She nodded. "Why don't you go rest and I'll take care of the dishes?"

"You don't have to. I don't mind."

"How about we do them together?"

After the dishes were done, Chelsie headed into her bedroom while Adam headed to the guest room. She sat down on her bed and looked at the picture of her and Chris. Her sigh filled the room. She had enjoy spending time with Adam and hearing about him and Chris when they were younger.

"I miss you so much." She said to the photo. She kissed it and laid down on the bed and silently cried her asleep as she had been since she found out the news.

Adam sat in the guest room thinking about the night. It was nice to to talk about Chris and remember some of the good times. He sighed as he thought about Chelsie. She was hurting so much and he wasn't sure how he could make her feel better. He knew talking about Chris and trying to get her to see what she had still in her life was the best right now. She deserved to be happy again and Chris would want that. But Adam knew that was easier said than done.