A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thank you for all the feedback. I really appreciate it!!!

This is a part one of two. Feedback would be amazing!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own made up characters!


August 3rd, 2031 8:00 pm

"All right kids, out of the van." I said just a few minutes after Troy pulled into the driveway.

All the kids, in their various states of sleepiness, piled out and headed into the house. Troy wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed my forehead.

"How about we get these guys into bed and we'll come out here and talk?" He suggested as I smiled.

"Sounds good to me." I told him before walking into the house.

"How about you stay out here and I'll put them to bed?" Troy suggested as I smiled.

"I would love you forever." I told him going to sit on the swing. All the kids came out and gave me hugs and kisses. I watched them run into the house before Mack and Aidan made their way towards me.

"How are you doing mom?" Aidan and Mack asked sitting on the side of the porch.

"I think its just sinking in that she's gone." I told the two oldest kids.

"Yeah it seems like we just got done visiting her and we just came home. It's hard to believe we'll never see her again." Mack said shaking her head.

"Come here." I said patting the other side of the swing for her to come sit.

Mack put her head on my shoulder while silent tears streamed down her face. I kissed her head and fought to hold back my own tears.

"I'll never forget the first time she held both of you guys in her arms. She was so excited to have grandbabies." I told them smiling at the memory.

"What did she think?" Aidan asked coming to sit on the other side of me.

"She instantly thought you, Mack, were the most precious baby on the planet at that time. And Aidan she said you were going to be a heartbreaker like your daddy. And she was right on both occasions." I told them shaking my head.

"I'm scared mom." Mack told me before I looked at her.

"Why?" I asked her pushing back her hair.

"I'm scared for the funeral. I've never been to one and I've heard awful things about them." Mack told me.

"We're not having a wake. We're just having a church service and then the burial. All we have to do is go to the church and have a church service and then they'll bury her." I told them.

"When is that going to happen?" Aidan asked as the screen door opened and Troy came out.

"That'll be on the 5th. Papa is coming back to Albuquerque for that." I told them.

"Is nana going to be buried here?" Mack asked her dad and me.

"Yeah she's going to be buried in the local cemetery." I told them before Troy came over and kissed my forehead.

"Why didn't she want to be buried in San Diego?" Aidan asked me as I looked over at Troy.

"She and I lived here the longest. We moved here in 2006 and until 2025 she lived here. She considers this home." I told them.

We stayed quiet just thinking our own thoughts. Mack picked her head off my head and looked towards the driveway. Brandon was walking up the drive with his hands in his pockets.

"We'll leave you two alone." I said getting up and grabbing Aidan's hand before motion Troy to come inside.

"I'm sorry Gabi about your mom." Brandon told me as I smiled at him.

"Thanks Brandon. Tell your mom I'll call her tomorrow." I told him before walking into the house.

I glanced out the window and saw Brandon wrap his arms around Mack's tiny frame. Her body shook with sobs as I turned away from the window.

I glanced towards the kitchen before walking downstairs. The basement was quiet and dark. I turned on the light and walked over to the DVD drawer. I found the one I was looking for and popped it in before going to sit on the couch.

I curled up and watched home videos of my mom and me on the TV. I heard footsteps on the stairs and turned and smiled when I saw who it was.

"What are you doing mom?" Aidan asked me coming to sit next to me.

"I'm just watching old homemade videos of nana." I told him as he laid his head on my shoulder.

We sat in silence and watched the movies. We laughed at some points and cried at others. Troy came down a few minutes later and sat on the other side of me.

"The kids are sound asleep." Troy told me as I nodded.

"And Mack and Brandon?" I asked him.

"They're on the front porch sitting and talking. Mack was crying but now she's not." Troy told me.

"Brandon will take care of her." I told him before turning my attention to the TV.

That's how we spent the rest of the night. Mack eventually joined us and sat with us until it was way past midnight. Troy and I walked upstairs and fell into bed absolutely exhausted.

August 5th, 2031 8:00 am

I shuffled downstairs and into the kitchen. Laughter came from the table as I walked towards the coffee pot.

"Morning mom. How are you this morning?" Jake asked me turning and looking at me.

"I'm pretty good buddy. How about you?" I asked looking at his messy hair.

"I'm pretty good today. Do I have to wear a suit today?" Jake asked me.

"I'm afraid so bud. Will you do it for me?" I asked him smiling.

"Sure mom I'll do it for you." He told me coming over and giving me a hug.

"Thanks dude." I told him before sitting on the bar stool and looking at Lily, Cassie, and J.J.

"You guys need to be ready to go by 12 today." I said looking at the four kids.

"Do we need to wear dresses?" Cassie and Lily both asked me.

"Yes you guys do. We're going to the funeral today." I told them.

"Then what?" Lily asked me as I sat down at the table and looked at all of them.

"We're going to the church where the priest will take about nana's life. Some people, including papa, will get up and talk about nana. Then we'll go to the cemetery and watch nana's coffin get put into the ground. Then we'll come back here and a bunch of people will come here and talk to us." I told them.

"It's going to be a long day?" J.J. asked me as I nodded my head.

"Yeah it will be buddy." I told them.

"Mom are you going to cry today?" Cassie asked me as I smiled slowly.

"I will probably cry some today. Dad, Mack, Aidan, Belle, Josh, and everyone else will probably too." I told them.

"Is it all right if we don't cry?" Lily asked me.

"It's all right if you don't. Daddy will probably shed some tears today." I said looking at the kids.

"But boys' don't cry!" Jake and J.J. told me as I smiled at them.

"Sometimes boys cry and this is one of those times. It's all right if you do; no one will say anything." I told them nodding my head.

"You promise?" Jake asked looking at me.

"I promise no one will say anything if you or J.J. start to cry." I said looking at my kids.

"All right, I might cry today." J.J. told me as I ruffled their hair.

"Will you go get dressed while I clean the kitchen up?" I asked them.

"Can we wake everyone else up?" Lily asked me showing off her evil grin.

"No not yet. I'll let you guys know when you can." I told them smiling.

They walked upstairs leaving me in the kitchen alone. I heard the kitchen door push open. I didn't look up until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"How are you doing today?" He asked me smiling.

"So far so good. I'm not looking forward to everyone coming over after we bury her." I said looking up into his sadden eyes.

"I know you're not because I'm in the same boat. I'll be by your side the entire day." Troy told me leaning over and kissing the side of my head.

"Thanks I appreciate it. You want to come help me get the teenagers up?" I asked walking towards the door of the kitchen.

"Sure let's go start our day." He said grabbing my hand as we walked up the stairs together.

We managed to wake the kids up without too much trouble. Aidan and Mack both bounced out of bed while Belle and Josh lay in bed a little bit longer. As I walked out of Belle's room I heard Lily and Cassie arguing about something.

"Lillian Tess and Brooklyn Cassidy knock it off right now." Troy said looking at the two girls.

"But daddy she won't give me my sweater." Lily said looking at her sister in anger.

"Hey girls come with me." I said sensing Troy needed a break.

"Yeah momma?" Cassie asked walking behind me into mine and Troy's room.

"Here you go." I told them handing them boxes. They both tore through the wrapping excitedly.

"What's this?" Lily asked taking the brand new sweater out of the box.

"I saw those the other day and thought you guys would like them. They're matching white sweaters." I told them smiling.

"Thank you mommy." Lily and Cassie both told me before skipping from the room.

I laid back on the bed for a minute just getting my bearings straight. I knew I was in for the toughest day of my life. I was finally saying goodbye to the one person who had been by my side from the very beginning. I felt hot tears rush to my eyes just thinking about her.

"Hey now, don't start crying. We're celebrating your mom's life today." Troy told me lying on the bed next to me.

"I know but I'm still sad." I told him sniffling and wiping my hand across my face.

"Can I tell you something?" Troy asked me as I smiled at him.

"Of course you can." I told him propping my head on my flattened palm.

"Even though you're sitting here all teary eye and sad, you're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Troy told me as I smiled.

"You're pretty handsome yourself." I told him smiling through my tears.

"The reason I'm telling you this is because it's true. Even when you're sad and feel like you're alone, just remember to me, you're the most beautiful woman I've set my eyes on. In the 22 years we've been married, I've fallen more in love with you. In those 22 years, we've brought five kids into the world and given three more a place to call home. We've overcome a lot and managed to have a successful marriage. Our kids are happy, healthy, and ready to take on anything life hands them." Troy said as I smiled.

"Did you prepare that this morning or did it just come to mind?" I asked him amused with the speech.

"It just came to mind. I just wanted you to know all of that." Troy told me.

"You don't have to tell me that because I all ready know. I love you too." I told him leaning over and giving him a kiss.

"Mom, dad, grandma and grandpa are here." Mack said poking her head into the head.

"Thanks Mack. Will you go make sure your siblings are getting ready?" Troy asked Mack smiling.

"Sure. Are you two going to be all right?" Mack asked leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah we're just trying to get our bearings straight. We're trying to prepare for today." I told Mack as she came and lay next to us on the bed.

"You two are the strongest people I know; your love for each other is going to help you through this." Mack said looking between me and her dad.

"How did you become so smart?" I asked her smiling.

"I picked it up from you guys." Mack told me nodding.

"Is Brandon coming to the service today?" Troy asked Mack.

"Yeah he's coming to pick me up and take me to the church, if that's all right." Mack said looking up at us.

"Brandon can take you to the church." I said looking at the somewhat happy teenager.

"Thanks mom. I'm going to get ready." Mack said as Troy and I both got up from the bed.

"Thanks Mack." I said watching her walk from the room.

"You want to go tell your parents we're getting ready?" I asked looking over at him.

"Sure. How about you get ready and come down when you're ready?" Troy asked me.

"I can do that. I'm going to take a quick shower." I told him as he nodded his head.

"Take your time." Troy winked at me before walking from the room.

I took a quick shower before getting dressed. I looked at the clock before walking from the room. I glanced down the hallway and saw it was pretty quiet.

"Come on you guys; it's 11:30. We're leaving in 20 minutes." I told them walking down the hall.

"All right mom." Lily, J.J., Jake, and Cassie all called back as I started down the stairs.

I saw Troy sitting in the living room with his parents, Mack, Aidan, and Josh. Troy smiled as I walked into the living room.

"There you are. Feeling better?" Troy asked as I took a seat by his side.

"Much better. Hi Jack, Amanda. How are you guys doing?" I asked smiling.

"We're doing pretty well. We just wanted to come see how you guys were doing before the ceremony." Amanda told me.

"We had a relaxing morning; now the kids are just getting ready to go." I told her.

"If you guys need anything, don't hesitate to call. We'll take the kids if you guys need to." Jack told us.

"We will. Thanks for coming over." Troy told his parents just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Mack said running towards the door with a smile on her face.

I peaked back and smiled when I saw who was at the door. "Brandon's here." I told the grandparents and Troy.

"That's why she had a smile on her face." Aidan said shaking her head.

"Leave your sister alone. You're not one to talk." I said looking over in Aidan's direction.

"Oh mom that's where you're wrong. I can talk." Aidan said before I looked over at him.

"What do you mean you can talk?" Troy asked looking at his son in shock.

"It means I've got a girlfriend." Aidan told us grinning.

"Woah back up the soul train. You can't have a girlfriend yet because you're not 16 for another 3 months." I said looking over at Aidan's grinning face.

"I know but we're not really serious yet. We're hanging out more." Aidan told us.

"No dates until you turn 16, sweetie." I said looking over at him.

"I hear you mom. I'm going to go get ready." Aidan said walking from the room as Troy and I looked at each other.

"You're going to have your hands full with that one." Jack told us smiling.

"Oh we all ready know that. He's going to make our lives miserable." I told them shaking my head.

"All right we're going to get going. We'll see you guys at the church." Amanda said leaning over and giving me a hug.

"Thanks for everything." I told them smiling.

I watched them leave the house before walking into the kitchen. I saw Mack and Brandon talking quietly between them. They looked up at me when I walked in.

"Are you two almost ready to go?" I asked looking between Brandon and Mack.

"Yeah we are. Brandon's going to drive me to the church." Mack told me smiling.

"All right. I'm going to get everyone then we're leaving." I told her.

"All right mom. We're getting ready to go." Mack told me smiling.

I headed upstairs where Troy was standing in the middle of the hallway telling everyone where to go. I giggled before he noticed me.

"What are you giggling about?" Troy asked me as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I'm just watching you direct traffic. Did you tell everyone it's almost time to go?" I asked him.

"Yeah and they're getting their shoes on right now. I told them five minutes and we're leaving." Troy told me.

"Good. How about you go get ready and I'll finish getting them downstairs?" I suggested.

He went to get ready while I got the kids herded downstairs. We waited while Troy finished getting ready. He came down the stairs a few minutes later.

"Ready to go?" Troy asked looking at the seven nervous kids.

"Mack and Brandon all ready went to the church. We're all ready to go." I told him.

We walked out of the house and all piled into the van. All of us were not looking forward to next few hours of a all ready stressful day.


There you guys go. Feedback would be great. I'll try to put part two up in the upcoming week!!!