A/N: I don't own Persuasion. And I really appreciate reviews.

At six o'clock Friday night, I found myself pulling into my parents' driveway. My parents' cars were in the garage-a silver Ford Edge and a black Ford Focus. Sophia's green Honda Prius was parked behind the Edge, a car that she'd always disapproved of. Stella and Isa weren't there yet. I wasn't surprised. Neither of them was known for their punctuality. As always, I let myself in through the kitchen. There I found my mother, a small woman with silver hair and a warm smile. "Gianna!" she exclaimed without leaving her pot of pasta sauce. "Come here and let me look at you. Are you eating enough?"

I hugged her and kissed her cheek. "I'm fine, Mamma. Don't worry about me. How are you?"

"I get to have all of my girls in one place this weekend. And your father still has a job. What more could I ask for? Okay, some grandchildren would be nice. But Stella is getting married. I may get some someday soon. And you, I've got to get you married. Why is it that a beautiful, intelligent girl like you has never gotten married?"

"I've been busy, Mamma," I told her.

"Make a salad and tell me about it."

I laughed and set to work on a salad. "What do you want to know, Mamma?"

"Why you aren't married," she replied. "Is it so hard to find time to find a husband?"

"I guess I'm a workaholic. That's what Dr. Fleming tells me."

"He's right. You work too much." She stopped and pointed a spoon in my face. "You need to get married. You're not getting any younger."

I sighed. "Mamma, I'll get married soon. I promise."

"I want you married before you're thirty. Your sister is in law school and she finds time to get married."

Before I could say anything, Sophia came bursting into the kitchen. "Gianna, you're here! Finally, I've missed you so much. I have so much to tell you. I have really big news."

"You have big news, Sophia Francesca?" my mother asked. "What is your big news? You haven't told me anything."

"Oh, right, I did forget to tell you. Where's Daddy? And Karl! It's big news. And you're really going to like it. We're buying a house and adopting a baby." Then my sister's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh wait! I was supposed to wait for Karl to tell you that. Shit, well, we're buying that house up north. The people who own it-they are bankrupt I guess. And so we're buying it. And we just found out that we've been approved to adopt a baby girl from China."

My mother was beaming. She was finally getting a grandchild. "When did you decide this?"

"We've been talking about it for ages. And we applied a while ago. But we didn't want to tell anyone, get your hopes up. We didn't know how long it would be before we got an answer. So we kept it to ourselves until we knew. But we're buying the house in Uppercross fully furnished, for only a little over $500,000. The lawyer called us yesterday to ask us if we were interested. And we said yes, kind of on a whim. But then we found out that we were going to get a baby. Then I knew we had to keep the house. Gia, we're going to turn that room that you stayed in into a nursery for the baby."

I hugged my sister. "That is amazing news. I'm so happy for you guys-a baby and a house."

"We're going to turn one of the big rooms downstairs into a studio for Karl. It's going to be wonderful."

"It really is," I told her. "That house is perfect for you two. And you're going to be such a good mother."

"And you'll have to make my little girl a baby blanket, Gia," she said.

"Of course, Sofe," I replied. "I've been waiting ages for you to give me nieces and nephews who will need blankets and mittens and all sorts of fun things."

Karl came in just then and his wife blushed. "Karl, sweetie, I'm really sorry but I forgot to wait for you. And I told them about the house and the baby."

My brother-in-law laughed. "It's all right. I just get to tell Isa and Stella when they get here."

She smiled as he wrapped his arm around her. "That's fine with me."

"A granddaughter," my mother whispered to me. "I'm going to be a Nana."

I laughed and then my dad came into the room. "What's all the commotion? Two cars just pulled up in front of the house. I think the rest of the commotion is here. Oh, hello, Gianna, it's great to see you."

I kissed my dad's cheek. "I'm glad to be here. But I think that Karl and Sofe have something they need to tell you."

He looked at them. "What's the news, chickens?"

"You tell him, liebling," Sophia told her husband.

Karl grinned. "Papa, Sophia and I are buying the house in Uppercross. The family that owned it, they can't afford it anymore. So they are selling it to us, fully furnished."

"So you'll be in Michigan," my dad said, his pleasure evident in his face. "What brings this about?"

"We have more news," Karl said. "We're adopting a baby girl from China. We're going over next month to bring her home to live with us."

My father beamed at this. "Finally a grandchild," he said hugging my sister. "Congratulations, we're looking forward to meeting her."

"We're here!" Isa bellowed as the front door opened. "Where is everyone?"

"Kitchen," Sophia yelled back. My entire childhood was spent with those sorts of messages. Stella and I were quieter, more reserved. But with Sophia and Isabella in the house, there was always someone making noise or yelling one word answers to questions.

And then there were four more people and all of their noise in the small kitchen. It became even louder when Karl told Stella, Nick, Aidan, and Isa about the house and the baby. And then Nick and Stella announced their engagement. It was one of those moments where I felt as though I didn't belong in my own family. I had no boyfriend, fiancé, or husband. I didn't have any big, exciting news to share. So I smiled and smashed myself against the wall so that everyone else could congratulate each other or hug each other or ask what they were planning on naming the baby. I wanted to slip out the back door and go sit on the back porch until we were all done being emotional. But I was a good sister and just waited.

And then Aidan found me. "Hey," he said; he was a man of few words, like David. "How's the wall?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It wants to be painted, but other than that, it's fine."

He smiled. "And how is Gianna?"

"She's fine. She likes the wall. And how is Aidan?"

"Aidan is not an emotional person and finds himself a bit uncomfortable when he is in situations that bring out a lot of emotions."

I smiled. "Then he probably should realize that Italian women tend to be very emotional as a rule."

"Women in general tend to be very emotional, but Aidan is an engineer. Engineers are not emotional."

"Aidan grew up with four sisters."

"They were Spartan women."

That one made me laugh. "I know your sisters. They aren't Spartan women."

"They're nothing compared to Isa and Sophia."

"What can I say?" I said. "My sisters are in touch with their emotions."

"And you're not?"

I shook my head. "Not like they are, I'm not. Do you hear me squealing right now?"

"Nope, but you never were the squealing type. I think Ben likes that about you."

"Ben likes me?"

"Dude, I think he wants to marry you."

"You were like seventeen when we broke up."

"The guy is still into you," he replied. "And he'll be back on Thursday. You two should talk then."

"I'll take that into consideration."

Aidan smiled. "That's a good girl."

"You are too much like your brother."

"Nah, I'm hotter," he replied with a classic Gilbert grin.

I shrugged. "Egotistical is probably a better word."

"Are you flirting with my sister?" Isa asked coming over to us.

"Nah, she's not really my type."

My sister playfully slapped him. "Hey now, that's my sister you're talking about."

He sighed. "Well, you're my girlfriend. She's just my brother's friend and my girlfriend's sister."

"Be nice to her. She's my sister and I don't like it when she gets hurt."

After a weekend of family, I went back to work on Monday. Being the workaholic that I was, I had no free time and was absorbed in work. I spent my evenings watching Sense and Sensibility and other Jane Austen movies while crocheting a baby blanket for my niece. And I spent time with my cat. It was nothing grand or exciting. But it was something to do with my life. I love crocheting; it's a great stress release after a long day of work. I did that Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and I'd planned to do it again on Thursday. But when I got off work, I had a voice mail from David telling me that Ben Christianson was moving into his new apartment, which was in my apartment complex, and needed help.

I called him back and accepted. So Ben would be living nearby-very nearby. That could either make my life much easier or much harder. When I talked to David, I realized that Ben was moving into the apartment across the hall from mine. "We're already here," he said. "Kyle and I are helping him unpack. We could use your help with the kitchen and stuff like that though."

"Well, I wanted to go for a run but after that, I can come over. I'd need to shower first but then I'm free all night."

"Just come on over whenever you're ready," he said. "And don't worry about dinner. We'll feed you pizza and beer."

I laughed. "I'll be there soon."

I ran for almost an hour and then without even showering or anything, I went over to Ben's new apartment and knocked on the door. He opened it and gasped. "Gianna, what are you doing here?"

"David told me to come over and unpack your kitchen."

He let me into the apartment. "It's a mess and I don't really have much, just what boxes and stuff fit in the bed of my truck."

"What about furniture?" I asked him as I looked around the apartment.

"I brought a mattress and bed frame with me. And I'll buy a table and stuff like that. I have a job."

"So you're a real PhD now?" I asked as I followed him into the kitchen.

Ben nodded. "I'm Dr. Christianson now."

"Well, I'm Dr. Napolitano."

"And these are my boxes. You can put the stuff where you want. I'll figure it out."

I smiled. "And what are you doing?"

"Putting stuff together in the living room with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum," he replied. "Holler if you need anything."

And then he left me alone in his kitchen. I wondered if there was any significance to the fact that I was organizing my ex-fiancé's kitchen. But I simply set to work and vaguely listening to the guys' conversation, which was mostly about hockey and baseball. After about half an hour, I realized that I was hungry and went to talk to the guys about food. "You stink," Kyle said when I came in. "I thought David said you were going to shower before you came over."

"I didn't think it would matter to any of the three of you if I smelled like sweat. David and Kyle are married and Ben and I used to go running together."

"And she smelled bad then and she reeks now," David remarked. "And she's dressed like a teenaged boy."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm hungry."

"And why should we feed you?" Kyle asked. "You're intruding on our manly time."

"And I'm freaking hungry. You promised to feed me. Or at least, David did."

Ben picked up a paper plate and put two pieces of cheese pizza on it. "Here you go," he said. "And here's a napkin and a beer. Do you need anything else?"

"Nope," I said. "I'm quite content in the kitchen."

"Do you want any help in there?" Ben asked. "I think these two need to be heading home soon."

"Pregnant wives," Kyle muttered. "But yeah, I should be going. Jenna needs help with Ava and little Gia."

"And Katie will need help with Elinor," David said. "She's having all-day sickness instead of morning sickness. I think Gianna knows how to use the contents of a tool box."

And with that, I was left alone with Ben. "David says your sister is adopting a baby soon," he remarked as I ate. We were sitting on the living room floor.

I nodded. "They're adopting a baby girl from China. They're going over there on August second to get her. I think she's about six months old."

"I never saw Sophia as the maternal type."

I smiled. "They've been trying to have a baby for a while now. But they decided that it would be better to adopt. Sophia wanted to do something that would benefit the world, not just give her a baby. She talks about global consciousness and our duty to those who are not as lucky as us."

He laughed. "Sometimes she reminds me of Angelina Jolie."

"Don't tell her that. She hates Angelina Jolie, feels that Brad and Angelina only do it for the publicity and that they don't really care about their kids. I don't necessarily agree with her. But she told me that she wouldn't adopt from a country from which Angelina had adopted."

"So she picked China."

I nodded. "And Karl and Sophia felt that it was a great idea, a good place from which to adopt. And they're going to have a baby finally, a beautiful baby girl."

"Do they know what they're going to name her?"

"They're tossing around a couple of names. "I've heard Hannah, Francesca, Gwendolyn, and Rebecca tossed around. I think Sarah and Leah have also come up."

"I don't like Gwendolyn," he said. "And I'm not sure how I feel about Francesca Zimmer."

"Francesca is Sophia's middle name."

"And it's your mother's middle name."

"It was my grandmother's first name," I told him.

"It's a beautiful name," he told me. "The women in your family have beautiful names. I love the Italian theme."

"My parents are Italian," I replied.

"You have beautiful names," he said. "And I think yours is my favorite."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked with a hint of suggestion in my voice.

Just then, his cell phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and after looking at hit, handed it to me. "Answer it and tell her that you're my girlfriend."

I was confused but I opened the phone without thinking to check the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hi, Benny, this is Lauren Madison. Do you remember me?"

"I'm sorry. This isn't Benjamin. This is his girlfriend, Gianna. And we're kind of in the middle of something."

"Well, Mr. Christianson said that he was single and that I should call him."

"Mr. Christianson was mistaken," I replied tersely.

There was a moment's pause. "Could I speak to Ben please?"

"He's busy," I replied before closing the phone. Then I handed it back to Ben. "Your father told Lauren Madison to call you."

"I know," he replied leaning his head against the wall and sighing. "Lauren's been calling me at every possible opportunity the past few days. And she's convinced that we're going to get married or something just because my parents want it."

"Well, she's rich enough hat they could save your family."

"No one could save our family at this point. Lauren can burn for all I care. She isn't what I want."

"And what do you want?" I asked. I bit my lip and decided to be assertive; in college, a professor had told me that my biggest problem was that I wasn't assertive enough. "Are you looking for something with a bit more of an Italian flavor?"

He laughed. "That's quite possible. I lost something about six years ago and I need to get it back."

I sighed. "Well, I think you know where to look for it."

"I do. Hey, question for you," he said.

"What's that?"

"Is Logan dating some nurse?"

"Yep," I said.

"And then Josh is dating some girl named Brooke?"

I nodded. "I don't get it. She's nice but she's nothing special."

"You don't get over someone like Ally easily. It isn't possible. I could never do it."

"Neither could I," I replied. "Once you fall in love, if it's for real, you'll never lose it. Even if that person leaves you, you'll never stop loving them."

And then his phone rang again. He took it out and sighed. "Hello, James, what can I do for you?"

He was talking to his father and his voice was edged with frustration and annoyance. His face, which had been so happy and open only minutes before, was now tense and stressed. I knew his facial expressions well and I knew that he was losing his patience. He was running his hands through his hair and he was overwhelmed. After ten or more minutes of listening to one side of a terse conversation, I tapped his shoulder. "I'm going to let myself out," I told him.

He nodded and waved. And then I left. But I knew now that he still loved me. For the first time in six years, I had hope. There was hope for Ben and me. It might actually be possible for me to marry Ben. I missed him. I really missed spending time with him and talking to him. Now he was across the hall, which meant I could see him more. And I wanted to see him more often.

A/N: Please review! And I finally decided how to handle Mr. Eliot. Lauren Madison is a much less dangerous version of him-just a very persistent girl who needs to stop bothering Ben.