Ladies, I really don't know what's wrong with me on updating this. I'm going to post Chapter 26 tonight too for you. Sorry for all the fail!

Chapter 25 - Déjà Vu

SPOV

Eric and Tray didn't take long to get all of Holly's things from the storage locker to the apartment. She wasn't lying when she said she didn't have much. I did go out and buy two full size beds for the spare rooms though since Amelia didn't have beds in either of the rooms. I was usually the only guest she had over, and I always ended up sleeping in her bed with her. I distracted Holly and the girls with some grocery shopping while Eric and Tray went to get the beds and get them put together.

"So did you call the number Eric gave you?" I asked her as we walked around the store with our baskets.

"Yes, I did," Holly smiled. "I have a meeting on Monday morning."

"That's great! Eric says it's a great place to work. And at least you'll know him."

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out," she said with a nervous smile, and then took the bag of cookies out of her basket that her younger daughter had tried to sneak in.

"I didn't even see her sneak that in," I laughed when she put it back on the shelf.

"I swear, they're like little sugar ninjas," Holly shook her head.

"Aren't all kids?"

"Most likely," Holly smiled as we walked along.

"Did you all sleep alright last night? I didn't know how the girls would do without beds yet."

"Oh, they just dog piled on me," Holly laughed. "But I slept like a log. I woke up this morning and the girls were parked in front of the TV like they would be on any other Saturday morning before their father died. It was nice to see them do something normal, you know?"

"I do," I nodded. "How are they handling all of this?"

"They're doing pretty well so far. I think they're just excited to be in space that's theirs again."

"Did you try to explain any of it to them? I only ask because I didn't know if you would want me to talk to them about it at all."

"I talked to them. They understand that this apartment isn't really ours," Holly said. "They know that you're doing us a big favor by letting us stay there."

"Holly, it is yours."

Holly stopped walking and said, "That's real kind of you, Sookie, but I can't keep it. It's one thing to stay there while I get back on my feet, but I can't stay forever. I would rather pay it forward when I can, and give someone else the same opportunity that you're giving me right now. It's the right thing to do, and I want to set a good example for my girls."

I teared up, and quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to hold those tears back. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. This would have been exactly what Amelia would have wanted.

"That is the best thing I ever could have asked for," I said after a moment. "But you hold onto it as long as you need to, okay?"

"I will," she promised and hugged me back.

"Jeez," I said when we broke apart. "When we get together one of us always ends up sobbing."

"I blame it all on you," she said with a laugh.

"I'll gladly take that blame," I smiled. "Now let's get those cookies anyway."

"Oh, alright."

I grabbed the cookies, and put them back in the basket, then we caught up with the girls, who were arguing over which cereal to buy. We finished up at the store about a half hour later, and I texted Eric to make sure everything was good to go.

Is everything a go, Maverick?

I tried not to giggle as I waited for his response, which came a moment later.

I feel the need for speed, Goose.

At that, I did giggle, and Holly asked me what I was laughing at.

"Nothing. Eric's being silly," I said, and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Can I just say that he is a tall drink of you're-lucky-you-got-him-first?" she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Believe me when I say that you're not the first person to say that," I laughed. "I'm a very lucky girl to have found him first."

"How long have you guys been together?" Holly asked as we approached the checkout lanes.

"Almost two years," I smiled.

"Good for you," she smiled. "You think he's the one?"

"I do, actually," I said. "We're solid, and we still make each other laugh. We've been through some really tough times together, even in the beginning, so I think we could make it last."

"That's great."

"If you don't mind me asking, do you think you'll want to start dating again someday?"

"Yeah, I do," Holly nodded. "It's just going to have to be a slow, stable relationship and my girls have to come first. I don't know where I'm going to find a guy who will be okay with that, but I'd like to think it'll happen someday."

"I think it will," I smiled reassuringly.

"I'm in no hurry," she said as she unloaded her basket of stuff onto the conveyor belt.

"It'll happen when it's supposed to. It's good that you're keeping your focus on the girls," I said.

"They have to come first. They deserve that much," she said, and then called them back when they started to get a little too far away. "I swear, I sometimes think about putting them on leashes."

"They do make those for kiddos," I laughed.

When the cashier gave the total, I quickly swiped my card before Holly could dig her wallet out of her purse.

"Sookie!" she shook her head at me.

"I'll tell you what," I said. "When you get back on your feet, I'll let you treat me to dinner and drinks."

"Damn skippy you will."

"I'll even pinky swear," I said, and held up my pinky.

"Mmhmm," Holly hummed, and hooked her pinky with mine.

"Deal then," I smiled. "Now let's get this stuff home."

"Good idea," she agreed, and picked up her bags.

We got the girls to help us carry all the bags, and headed back to the apartment. Thankfully, it was only about five blocks from the market, which would come in handy for Holly. The walk back didn't take long, and when we walked in I called out to the boys.

"Eric, Tray! We're back!"

"Back here!" Eric called from one of the spare bedrooms.

"Hey girls? I think you two should go look at your rooms," I said with a smile so big I couldn't hide from Holly that we'd done something.

"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously, but followed her daughters back to the bedrooms. I knew she'd seen what I'd done when I heard her scream.

I followed after in time to see the girls already bouncing on one of the beds, and Holly ready to either cry or chastise me. The guys just looked amused.

"So what do you think?" I asked her.

"I think you're doing way too much for me," Holly said, and wiped tears off her cheeks. "But thank you."

"Every girl needs her own bed," I said, and gave her a hug.

I noticed Tray slip out of the room quietly, and quickly excused myself to go talk to him. I found him back in Amelia's old bedroom, sitting on the bed.

"Hey," I said. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I just keep thinking that Amelia would be thrilled with what you're doing, but I still miss the shit out of her."

I sat down next to him and put my hand on top of his. "I miss her too, but she's not gone. She's still with you, and with me, and probably with Eric until he finally proposes," I laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she grabs him by the ear and drags him into a jewelry store when she gets tired of waiting," Tray laughed quietly.

"She probably will," I smiled. "And I'm not sure what she put in your letter, but I know she would want you to be happy. She almost never told you how she felt because she never wanted you to be heartbroken."

"That's Amelia for you," he shook his head.

"But she did tell you, and you made her so happy. She would want you to keep being happy," I said. "I know you can't just up and do that right away, but promise me you'll keep your eyes open."

"I'm happy, Sook. It's just stuff like this that reminds me she's not coming back, you know?" he asked with a sad smile.

"Oh I know," I said. "I went through that a lot when I was cleaning out her clothes and things."

"I can imagine," he nodded. "You're doing a great thing here, though. Holly seems like a nice girl, and her kids are adorable."

"Holly is wonderful," I smiled. "She's a great mother, and an awesome human being. You know, she told me today that she's only planning to keep this place until she's on her feet again, and then she's going to pay it forward to another family who needs it."

"Amelia would love her for that," he said.

The younger of Holly's daughters came to the doorway and said, "Thank you, Miss Sookie, for the new bed. It's very bouncy."

"You are very welcome, Molly," I smiled. "Can I get a hug as payback?"

"Uh huh," she said, and came running over with her blonde curls bouncing behind her.

"Ohhhh I love Molly hugs," I said as she wrapped her arms around my neck tightly.

"Daddy used to say I gave the best hugs," she told me, and squeezed a little harder.

"Your daddy was very right," I said. "And you know what? I know who gives the best piggyback rides."

"You do? Who?"

I whispered in her ear, "Mister Tray."

Molly looked over at Tray and then whispered back, "He looks kinda scary."

"I know he does at first, but he's kind of like the Beast," I whispered. Holly told me that Beauty and the Beast was Molly's favorite disney movie. "Kind of scary at first, but he's actually really nice."

Molly still looked unsure, and didn't make a move toward Tray. I gave Tray a look that told him to endear himself to this adorable little girl, and to do it now.

"Well, I guess if Molly doesn't want a piggyback ride I should go see if Leah wants one," Tray said, and stood up to stretch.

"Wait!" Molly climbed up on the bed. "I guess you can give me one."

"Are you sure?" Tray asked, and Molly nodded. He sat down again and let Molly climb onto his back. "Okay, hold on tight."

She could barely get her arms around his neck, but he had a good grip on her. He smiled over his shoulder at me, and then walked out of the room with Molly on his back. When they got a bit down the hall Molly giggled, "Look mama!"

"Look at you, baby girl," Holly smiled up at her daughter. "You're up pretty high."

"Miss Sookie said Mister Tray gives the best piggyback rides," Molly explained.

"What about me?" Eric arched an eyebrow at me as he walked out of the spare bedroom with Leah right behind him.

"You wait your turn," Tray joked.

"Oh now that I have to see," I laughed.

"Yeah, me too," Holly laughed along with me.

"These guys are like big kids sometimes," I said.

"They're cute," Holly said, looking directly at Tray when she said it.

In that moment, I saw something between them. It wasn't red hot, but it was a spark. Something tentative, but good, and it made me smile.

"They're very cute," I agreed. "But I think we should go put up those groceries."

"That's a good idea," Holly agreed, and followed me to the kitchen.

"We'll get out of your hair shortly and let you three settle in," I said as I started putting away refrigerated stuff.

"Oh you're no trouble," she said as she put away the pantry items.

"Yeah, but it'll be nice for y'all to figure out what's normal again."

"The girls can have a bedtime routine again," she sighed happily. "And I won't have to worry about some crazy drunk waking them up in the middle of the night."

"That must be a relief," I said.

"You have no idea," she said, and started collecting the plastic bags from the groceries. "This isn't any of my business, but do you want kids someday?"

"No, it's okay. I do want kids."

"That's good. You're going to make a great mother," she smiled at me.

"I hope so," I said. "Actually, remember how I told you that Eric and I went through some rough times?"

"Yeah," she nodded, and turned to start a pot of coffee.

"When we first started dating, I got pregnant," I told her. "We'd only been together for a few months, and it was scary, but it also made me realize that I could handle it if I had a kid."

"If you got preg- oh..." she looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Sookie."

"It's okay," I said. "It wasn't at the time, and it was really hard to have that decision made for me, but Eric and I got through it."

"He seems like a really great guy. Most guys would bail if y'all hadn't been together for very long," she said, and pulled down some coffee mugs.

"Thankfully he's not most guys. Even if things hadn't worked out with us, he would have very much been a part of that baby's life. He's going to make a great father someday."

"I can tell. He's been great with my girls today."

Leah came running into the kitchen and said, "Mama, I'm hungry. Can we have dinner soon?"

"I'll start on it as soon as Sookie, Eric and Tray head home," Holly promised. "Did you say thank you to Miss Sookie for the new bed?"

"Thank you, Miss Sookie," Leah came over and gave me a hug without being prompted.

"You're very welcome, Leah," I said as I hugged her back.

"Why don't you and Molly go pick a movie to watch and I'll get dinner started?" Holly suggested.

"Okay!" Leah said, and then ran off to find her sister.

"They are so cute," I sighed.

"Yeah... you should see 'em when they're sleeping," Holly giggled.

"Even cuter?"

"You betcha," she grinned. "Someday when you're a mom, you'll totally understand."

"I'm sure I will."

We finished putting up the groceries, and then Eric, Tray, and I headed out. It would never feel like their home if we were always hanging around. We invited Tray over for supper, but he said he had to go pick up his daughter.

"Has he at least been talking to you?" I asked Eric after we parted ways with Tray.

"Here and there, but he never says much on the topic. He's a still waters kind of guy, you know," he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "But he knows you worry about him and he appreciates that."

"I just don't want him to not live anymore. I know he will for his kid, but Amelia would want him to find someone that makes him happy. She never wanted to break his heart."

"I think you're being a wee bit dramatic," Eric chuckled. "Tray gets sad like you do sometimes but he isn't spending his night sitting under a bare bulb, holding Amelia's picture and weeping."

"I'm being dramatic?"

"Just a little," he winked at me.

"Well I don't think I am."

"Don't get mad," he sighed.

"I'm not mad, I'm just assuming that Tray is feeling what I'd imagine I'd feel if you died."

"He's doing okay, Sookie," Eric assured me. "He's getting over it."

"Okay," I said.

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the night?"

"I don't know. I guess dinner."

"How about we make burgers out on the grill? We can cook outside and watch a game together, maybe drink ourselves silly in honor of Amelia?" Eric suggested.

"Yeah," I nodded. "That sounds good."

"Then we need to stop at the store on the way for provisions."

"Okay," I said, and grabbed his hand.

"So you feel good about everything that happened today, Goose?" he asked with a squeeze to my hand.

"I do, Maverick," I smiled. "Just wait until you hear what Holly told me."

"Oh yeah? What was that?"

"She's planning to keep the apartment until she's back on her feet, and then she's going to pay it forward."

Eric smiled and said, "Yeah, you picked the right person to help."

"I think so, and now I definitely think Amelia helped in that a bit."

"I'm sure she did."

"All in all, it's helping me deal with her being gone."

"That's good."

"And thank you for all your help today."

"You're welcome," he smiled at me. "I was happy to do it, and I know Tray was, too."

"Am I crazy or did you see a little spark between Holly and him?" I asked.

"I wasn't really paying attention, so maybe," he shrugged.

"Damn, why aren't you a girl? A girl would have noticed."

"You need to make more girlfriends," he chuckled.

"Not as easy as you think."

"I'm pretty sure Holly is your friend for life," he said. "Just don't get too pushy, Matchmaker."

"Oh I won't. Holly and Tray both have big things they need to get through before they're ready for that."

"Good girl. I'm going to hold you to that."

"You won't need to, but feel free," I said.

By that time, we were at the store, and headed in to get the things we need.

"Can we get some chocolate?"

"We can get whatever you want," he said as he picked up a basket.

"I've been craving chocolate everything like a mothereffer lately."

He snickered and asked, "Is this like the time when you wanted to eat nothing but tacos for a week?"

"It's worse."

"I'm sure it'll pass," he shrugged, but grabbed a bag of Oreos when we walked down the cookie aisle.

"I hope so," I said. "My boobs have been sore lately too, so I might just be about to start my period."

"You could crave worse things, right? At least you don't want like, garlic pickles or egg salad or something"

"I love egg salad," I laughed.

"Ew, why?" he made a face that said he definitely didn't share my opinion.

"Because it's good?"

"Your taste buds are all off," he shook his head, and grabbed a bag of hamburger buns off a shelf.

"About some things. I don't want it all the time, but it's not awful if it's made right."

"Well for my sake, please stick to the chocolate. Just the smell of egg salad has always made me want to puke. I couldn't tell you why," he admitted.

"That's okay. If I ever decide to have some I'll make it when you're at work."

"Thank you."

"Welcome," I smiled, and grabbed a bag of pretzels.

When we got to the alcohol section he asked, "Do you want beer, wine or something else entirely?"

"Beer's fine," I said.

He nodded and handed the basket over to me so he could pick up the beer. After that we headed to the checkout lines. Eric paid for the groceries, and then we headed home.

"I'll start prepping if you want to go fire up the grill," I said when we got there.

"Yes, ma'am," he kissed me quickly, and then went out to the patio to get the grill going.

I started unpacking the groceries, and when I got to the Oreos I couldn't stop myself from opening the package and eating one, then another, then three more.

"Jesus, self," I said out loud, and closed the package before tossing it above the cabinets since Eric would be the only one who could get it down if I wanted more.

I started thinking about the cravings I was having for chocolate lately. It's typical for a girl to say she craves it during her period, but I'd never really been that way. I mostly just craved junk food during my period. But then I started thinking about my period, and the next thing I knew I was counting days. I never bothered keeping close track on it since I was usually slightly off anyway. Eric came back in when I was standing there looking at the ceiling, counting on my fingers.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Trying to figure out if I'm late on my period, now hush," I said, and kept counting. It was the third time I'd gone over it, and I came to the same number each time. "Fucking fuck goddamn it."

I didn't even wait to explain it to Eric, I just headed to the bathroom to see if I still had that spare pregnancy test stashed there.

"What is going on?" Eric called from the kitchen, but didn't follow me.

"Give me two minutes," I yelled, and shut the bathroom door. The test was still there, so I thought it was best to rip the bandaid off and just find out. I turned on the water faucet to help me go, and peed on that stick. Then I capped it, set it on the counter, washed my hands, and went back to the kitchen to explain what just happened to Eric.

"Oh."

That was what he said.

"Oh?"

"There's a little shock going on in here. Give me a minute."

"Okay," I said, and hopped up on the counter to wait.

He could be shocked for a minute, that was fair. I did kind of spring it on him, and the fact was that it hadn't really even hit me yet. I was waiting for the test before that happened.

"How late are you?" he asked.

"Twenty-two days," I said. "Give or take a few."

"Shit," he muttered.

"Either I'm really, really fertile, or you have some weird super-enhanced sperm."

"Or you're just really, really late."

"That's possible too," I said. "Are you okay either way?"

He thought for a moment and then blew out a deep breath before he said, "When the shock wears off, yeah."

"It hasn't hit me yet," I told him.

"What do you think? Do you think you are?" he asked.

"I think that I'm craving things intensely, my boobs are sore, and I've never been this late for my period with the exception of last time."

"Shit," he muttered again.

"Are you ready to look?" I asked.

"Not really," he said. "But I guess it's better to get it over with."

I hopped off the counter and headed for the bathroom with Eric following me.

"You want me to do it?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

I picked up the test, and looked quickly. There was a little plus sign.

"Well," I said. "I'm pregnant."

And then I fainted.

Thanks for reading!