Hi guys! Oh my God, it's been absolutely ages since I've updated! I've been suffering withdrawal symptoms for the last three weeks; I missed writing so so so much! But I am now on half term, and I decided to take this weekend off, and start revising again on Monday, because I think I've earned that, don't you? So anyway, I've been drafting this chapter for ages now - just adding in the odd bit here and there when I'm not revising - and it's now ready, so here you go. Enjoy :D
13 months later...
"Happy birthday, Jodie!" Grace sang, a huge smile on her face.
Jodie smiled back as she padded barefoot outside, giving Grace a quick hug before sitting down next to her. "Thanks, Gracie. Where's Danny?"
"He's inside," she answered, before reaching underneath the table. She produced an envelope and a small box. "I got you these."
"Thanks." Jodie opened the card, smiling at the message on the front. "'Don't take life too seriously; no-one ever makes it out alive anyway!'?" Jodie laughed and stared incredulously at Grace, who just shrugged.
"It is true, though; no-one ever does make it out alive."
Jodie rolled her eyes and placed the card on the table, and turned her attention to the box. She pulled the lid up and gasped when she saw the jewellery inside. "Oh my God, these are awesome," she said, taking one of the yin yang studs out.
"I saw them and thought you'd like them," Grace stated. "Check it out; I got some earrings for myself, too." She tucked her hair behind her ears to reveal a pair of silver hearts. "What do you think?"
"Cute," Danny's voice came from behind them. He placed a kiss on Jodie's head as he moved round the table to his seat. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," Danny said, handing Jodie an envelope as he sat down.
"Thanks, Danny." Jodie opened the envelope, and when she took the card down, a piece of paper fell out. Frowning in curiosity, Jodie picked it up and studied it. Her mouth dropped open as she saw what it was. "Oh my… These are tickets to see 3 Doors Down in July," she exclaimed.
Danny nodded, smiling. "Uh-huh. I know you love them, so I got tickets."
"Oh, thank you, Danny." Jodie got up and went round the table to give him a hug.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now Kono's decided – without any discussion – that she's taking you two for a girlie day out. I have no idea what she has planned, but I think I can guess. And afterwards, we're meeting everyone for dinner. Sound like a plan?"
Jodie and Grace both nodded. "Today's gonna be great."
That evening, Danny, Grace and Jodie pulled up outside the Brache. Kono had dropped the girls back home after a day at the spa, which had included mani-pedis, massage and a dip in a hot tub.
As they entered, Danny scanned the bar area for the others. He spied them at a table by the window, already with drinks.
"Evening, all," he greeted them as they went over.
"Hey! Happy birthday, Jodie," Steve answered, giving her a hug. "You had a good day?"
"Yeah, it's been great," Jodie replied with a smile. "Danny got me concert tickets."
"Yeah, Danny told us he'd managed to get tickets for a band you liked," Chin said. "Practically did a little happy dance when he came out of his office."
"I did not," Danny countered as he sat down.
"You kinda did," Kono backed Chin up. "You had a little spring in your step, and you did a little fist pump."
"I thought it was more of an all-out muscle-spasm-victory-dance mishmash," Steve added.
"I hate you all," Danny murmured, burying his face in his hands.
"Nah, you love us, Danno," Steve replied, bumping Danny's shoulder. The blond just rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me?" A waiter came over to them. "Your table is ready."
Later on, 'Happy Birthday' was being bellowed through the restaurant.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Jodie. Happy birthday to you," the team and Grace sang, cheering at the end as Jodie blew the candles out.
A huge smile adorned Jodie's face as Steve, Chin and Kono handed her their presents. A new iPod from Steve, two Linwood Barclay novels from Chin and a box of Lindt chocolates from Kono.
"Chocolate is one of the essential things a girl cannot do without," Kono giggled as Jodie took the lid off and took out a Lindor.
"No, we can't do without it, can we?" she agreed as she passed the box around the table. Jodie moaned happily as she bit into the chocolate and the soft centre melted in her mouth.
"I've never understood what it is with women and chocolate," Danny muttered to Steve, who just shrugged.
"It contains compounds that stimulate the release of endorphins in the brain," Jodie explained. "Hence the happy feeling." She stared at the mostly blank looks around the table. "It's Biology; never mind."
"My sister, the nerd," Grace snickered.
"My sister, the dork," Jodie retorted. Grace stuck her tongue out in retaliation.
"Be nice," Danny warned them.
"Me? Always," Jodie replied innocently. Danny just rolled his eyes.
Hours later, as Danny was about to go to bed, he saw light shining out from underneath Jodie's door. He paused outside her room for a moment, before knocking lightly and opening the door. Jodie was sat on her bed, looking through a photo album. As Danny came in, she looked up at him with a small smile.
"Hey."
"You all right?" Danny asked as he went over to the bed and sat on the edge.
Jodie nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"How different everything is now." Jodie handed him the photo album. "Those are from when I was little. Mom and Ian were happy then."
Danny looked at her curiously. "'Ian'? You don't call him 'Dad'?"
She shook her head. "No, I stopped calling him Dad a long time ago," she replied bitterly. "Probably about the second time Mom had to go to hospital because of him." Jodie started fiddling with the locket and ring at her throat. "Mom decided after that that she had to leave him, so she did; got a divorce and filed for custody. It wasn't as if Ian would ever get custody, though; no judge would ever think that a kid would be safe with an alcoholic father."
Danny stayed silent and let her talk. Jodie hadn't spoken about her father before, and Bethany had only mentioned him once or twice before she had passed.
"I was supposed to see him every other weekend, but more often than not, he'd always be drunk at the weekend, so in the end, I gave up and refused to go see him if he couldn't even be bothered to be sober for his own daughter." Jodie sighed and stood, taking the photo album and placing it back on the shelf. "Mom always tried her hardest to make sure I was happy, and I was. I was happy with just the two of us." She paused and bit her lip. "It still hurts... I still miss her everyday. I had a great day today, but it hurt not having Mom there."
Danny moved further onto the bed, and out his arm around her. "I know. I miss her everyday as well. But you know, a time will come when it hurts less. You'll still miss her, but it won't ache as much. You can remember all the good times."
Jodie nodded. "Yeah. I just wish that time will come soon."
"It will," Danny promised. "Now, come on; lights out." Jodie lay down and Danny pulled the covers, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Jodie," he whispered, before standing up and walking to the door.
"Night, Dad," Jodie whispered back. Danny froze at the door, his heart swelling with pride and affection at Jodie's words. He turned back and saw Jodie smiling at him. He smiled back and turned the light out, shutting Jodie's door behind him.
So how was that? I re-wrote, like, half of this chapter, because I felt it was too much of a cliché, and I didn't want to be cheesy. So I hope you all enjoyed that. I am really, really happy now; I've managed to get this chapter up, I've got a lovely dress for prom, and I have only 6 exams after half term! They're a lot more spread out after half term, which I'm almost ecstatic about. Unfortunately, I don't know when I can get the next chapter up. It took me two weeks to do this one, so it'll probably be another two weeks.
But anyway, drop me a review and let me know what you think. Cheers x