A/N: Yay update! I didn't really proof read either so sorry if there any mistakes.

I'll always remember the day Gracie was born. The second she came out, Selena facetimed me. She was crying tears of pure joy. The entire family was ecstatic. I was so thankful she shared that moment with me. It was so moving I ditched my classes for a few days and flew out to Texas. I had to meet her. I wanted to be a part of her first few days of life. She was so tiny the first time I held her. I'll never forget the way Selena looked sitting in that rocking chair cradling her little sister in her arms. It was a perfect moment. I committed it to memory and I carry it with me wherever I go. When I saw her holding Gracie, I immediately imagined her holding our daughter. The thought damn near floored me.

"You wanna hold her?" She asked me softly.

I nodded and smiled. I was at a loss for words. I was stunned.

She stood up and told me to sit. I settled in the chair and she lowered Gracie into my arms.

"Make sure you support her head." She instructed.

I had never been so amazed in my entire life. I stared down at the tiny person in my arms and I could only think one thing. I want one. As I studied her tiny face I realized she looked a lot like Brian. Her forehead was all scrunched up and she looked worried. Yup. Brian.

"She's perfect." I said smiling at Selena. "How's your mom and dad doing?"

"They're good. She's resting. You can visit her if you want. She'll be happy to see you."

I stayed in Texas for a few more days but eventually I had to get back to school. My classes weren't going to pass themselves. As I sat on the plane on my way back to Colorado, I realized that yet another Russo girl had stolen my heart.

Joe and I sat on the front steps of the house anxiously waiting for Selena and Gracie to get home. We both looked like a couple of unmedicated kids suffering from ADHD. We could not sit still. Joe would occasionally spit sunflower seeds at me and I'd throw sand at him. It was all very becoming behavior for adults.

I nearly jumped ten feet in the air when I saw the jeep coming toward the house.

"She's here!" Joe smiled, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

Selena pulled into the driveway and parked the jeep. I saw Gracie in the backseat pushing herself up so she could see out the window. As soon as she saw Joe and I, her face lit up in a smile.

"Demiiiiiiiiiiii." She squealed as she ran into my outstretched arms.

I immediately scooped her up and twirled her around. She giggled and it was magical. Her tiny arms wrapped sound my neck and squeezed as tight as they possibly could. The entire time Selena watched us with one of the most intense looks I'd ever seen on her face. I couldn't really describe it because I'd actually never seen it before. It was new.

"Did you miss me?" I asked her with a smile.

"Yes." she smiled as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Come her you!" Joe said as he approached me and I passed her to him.

She grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "Your face is all scratchy." She exclaimed.

"I know baby. I need to shave." He said sweetly which earned him a smile and a kiss on his scratchy face.

He put her down and she grabbed my hand as we walked into the house. He had such little hands.

"Who's that?" She asked as she hid behind my leg when she saw Taylor.

"That's Taylor. Do you wanna say hi?"

Taylor knelt down and offered the six year old her hand. "Hi." She said sweetly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hi. You're pretty." Gracie said softly.

"Not as pretty as you." Taylor smiled.

Gracie grinned and smiled at the blonde. They became instant friends. Gracie took Taylor's hand and started to aske her a million questions as we mad our way to the back deck. Gracie gasped as soon as she saw the ocean.

"You live at the beach?" She asked completely shocked.

Selena laughed. "Yes."

"Can we go play in the water?"

"Of course." Joe answered. "Let's all get changed and we'll head down to the water."

"Sounds like a plan." I grinned.

We got changed and made our way down to the shoreline. Joe and I had gathered a bunch of buckets and small plastic shovels so we could build a sand castle. Halfway through building the castle, Gracie stood up, made growling noices, then proceeded to smash the entire thing. Once she had completely flattened it she insisted we dig a hole and bury Joe. After several sand fights and forced swims in the water, we had Joe buried up to his neck in sand. She nonchalantly walked away and left him there. I couldn't stop laughing. She was an asshole.

She ran over to Selena an Taylor and brought her chaos to them for a while. She kicked sand all over the place and tried tickling them as they laid there attempting to tan. I meanwhile dug Joe out of his sandy grave.

"She's a handful." He laughed as he dusted himself off.

"She's definitely a Russo." I grinned as we both watched her terrorize Selena and Taylor.

"This is nice." Joe smiled. "It feels like we're a family."

"We are a family." I said as I walked toward the girls. "Come on."

I ran over and grabbed Gracie. She screamed and laughed as I covered her face in kisses and held her up above my head. I lowered her so our foreheads were touching and our noses were smashed together. Without warning, I tossed her in the air and she let out a surprised squeal. By the time I finished my assault on her, she was breathless.

"We're gonna get dinner going." Selena said brushing her fingers against my arm to get my intention. My skin tingled at the contact.

"I'll put Gracie in the bath if you want."

"Yeah. That will be perfect." She smiled before walking toward the house with Taylor.

We gathered up all of our stuff and made our way back inside the house. I ran Gracie a bath and helped her get washed. And by washed I mean that we spent most of the time trying to get her long hair to stand up in a Mohawk while we shampooed it. Once we finished her bath, she put on pjs and insisted I read to her until dinner was ready. She brought me If You Give A Moose A Muffin an we settled onto the couch and started to read.

"Wait!" He said suddenly. "I want uncle Joe to read too."

"Joe!" I yelled. "Come read!"

"I'm coming!" He yelled back.

A couple minutes later he joined us on the couch and the three of us took turns reading.

Dinner was a hectic affair. Once everyone was settled and eating things calmed down a bit. I saw Selena glance at her phone and frown. Her brown eyes looked troubled and I immediately felt myself wanting to fix whatever was causing her distress.

"You ok?" I asked softly so no one else would hear.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She answered forcing a smile.

"Sel..."

"Not right now. Please?" She said her voice wavering slightly.

"We're gonna talk about this eventually Sel. I mean it." I said firmly.

She simply nodded her head.

We finished with dinner and Taylor and Joe volunteered to do the dishes. Gracie wanted me to tuck her in so with Selena's blessing I did just that.

"Will you sing to me?" She asked sweetly as she climbed into bed.

"Sure sweetheart. What do you want me to sing?" I asked.

"Elvis!" She said loudly.

"What do you know about Elvis?" I asked slightly shocked.

"He's the king!" She smiled.

I tucked her in and cleared my throat.

"Wise men say, only fools rush in. I can't help falling in love with you." I sang as she stared up at me completely content. "Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you."

I continued to sing as I watched her eyelids start to get heavy. I could tell she was fighting sleep. She yawned and snuggled further into the blankets.

"I love you." She said softly as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Take my hand. Take my whole life too. I can't help falling in love with you." I finished singing and felt her snuggle against my side. I wrapped my arm around her and waited for her breathing to even out.

Once Gracie was asleep, I slipped out of Selena's room and made my way into the kitchen. Taylor was sitting on the table with her guitar in her lap furiously scribbling in a notebook.

"Well that's an interesting place to sit." I teased.

"It helps me concentrate." She replied without looking up.

"Alright then." I laughed.

She suddenly stopped writing and gave me a sly grin. "You are so cute with Gracie. That little girl adores you and Joe."

"She's like a sister to us."

"She makes me see Joe in different light..." She trailed off.

"Oh?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She smiled shyly. "I've kinda just always seen him as this disheveled bachelor dude that likes to drink beer and scratch his ass. The way he is with Gracie made me look at him like he's a desirable man..."

"Well, have fun with that." I said awkwardly. "As far as I'm concerned, Joe has cooties."

"Do you think he likes me?" She asked softly.

"I know he likes you Tay. He likes you so much he's afraid to say anything."

"Hmmm. Who does that remind you of?" She grinned.

"Shut up." I sighed. "Where's Sel?" I asked.

"She's out front arguing with someone on the phone. She didn't look very happy."

"I wonder who?" I frowned.

"I'm sure you already know who." Se said softly.

"I really fucking hate that guy." I groaned.

"I know Dem. Go save her."

I walked toward the front door and sure enough, I could hear her practically begging into the phone. I stepped outside just as she hung up the phone. She had frustration written all over her face. I could tell she was trying not to cry. I walked toward her and watched her face as she struggled to remain unaffected. She turned away from me and I pulled her against my chest and held on to her as I nuzzled my face into her neck. Her hair smelled like strawberries.

"I can't help you if you won't let me in." I said softly into her ear. I felt a teardrop as it landed on my wrist.

She pulled away from me an grabbed onto the deck railing. "I'm so stupid Demi." She said clearly frustrated with herself. She released the railing and wiped at her years angrily. "He's such an asshole."

"Stop talking to him."

"He won't stop calling and texting."

"Change your number."

"I don't want to fuckin change my number!" She snapped. "I'm so sick and tired of changing things for him! I can't so it anymore!" She said as she started to cry harder. "He's taken everything from me and I won't let him have this too."

"Sel." I said carefully. "It's just a phone number."

She sat in the the porch swing and buried her face in her hands. Her whole body was shaking as she continued to cry. I sat next to her and gave her some space. I didn't want her to feel confine or suffocated.

"Sometimes I feel like I can't breath." She said in between sobs. "I was never good enough for him. He'd take and take but never give. He criticized everything I ever did, but I still miss him sometimes. I'm pathetic." She cried as she leaned into me.

I wrapped my arms around her and swallowed the lump in my throat. "He's a damn fool Sel. You're perfectly made."

"The second I start to feel free again he takes it away." She whispered. "You give me my freedom Demi. Did you know that? You make me fly."

"I can't give you something that doesn't belong to me in the first place." I said as I pressed a kiss to her hairline. "You're not a possession that someone can control."

"To him I was. It didn't matter what id do. He was never satisfied. He was out all of the time. I know there were other women. He was always so cold. He wanted to keep me locked away. He didn't really want me, but he didn't want anyone else to have me either."

I was so mad. I wanted to kill the bastard that made her feel like this.

"He says some of the most awful thing to me Demi. I remember we were arguing one time. I can't really remember why, but he threw me to the ground and held me there. There was so much hatred in his eyes. He told me he wanted me to die." She croaked.

"Look at me." I said cupping her face in my hands. "You're beautiful. You always were and you always will be. Inside and out."

"You have to say that. You're my best friend." She whispered.

"When I say it, I don't mean it like a best friend." I said softly. "I look at you and I see a woman that anyone would be lucky to have."

Before she could say anything Talor poked her head outside.

"Hey Sel, sorry to bother you guys. Gracie woke up and she's asking for you."

"Ok." Selena answered as she wiped at her tears. "I'll be right in." She said before Taylor went back inside. "I gotta go." She sighed.

I watched her disappear into the house. My heart felt heavy. I wanted to fly to New York and kick Justin whatever the fuck his last name was, square in the balls. Repeatedly. It didn't take long for Joe to come outside and hand me a beer.

"She's tough. She'll work it out." He said as he sat with me.

"I know. She shouldn't have to though." I sighed.

"Demi, I know you don't want to hear this but she needs you right now. She needs more of you than she probably even realizes at this point. There's a reason why she came here when everything got to be too much. She's running to you Dem. You're what makes her feel safe. Don't let her slip through for your fingers again. I don't know if either one of you will be able to take it."

As I sat there and drank my beer, I realized that he was probably right. Feelings were complicated and whether I chose to admit it or not the nature of Selena and I's relationship was shifting. I'm not even sure if either of us were even ready for that change. It was the kind of change that terrified us both. There were only two endings. Together or apart. No in between.