Disclaimer: Hi, this is my first FanFiction. I am not that good at writing. So please don't hate me for how I am writing this fic.

Summary: This story is about one of Eli's cousin who is having a Bar Mitzvah (Boy coming of age in the Jewish religion). This is the first time that Clare would be meeting his family. This takes place at the beginning of season 12, during rehearsals for "Romeo & Jules." (There will be some Yiddish and Hebrew words or prayers in this story. I will put Asterix around them and explain at the end of each chapter.)

TW: there will be mentions of Holocaust, cancer, death, and Eli's past from season 10 and 11

Chapter 4

It was around 1 P.M. when brunch was already starting. The elevator that Clare, Eli, and Eli's grandmother Chava have on arrived. Chava could tell that her grandson wasn't happy by his body language. Even when Eli was little, he would act the same way. She could also sense that Clare was not happy even if she knew her for 5 minutes.

As the elevator door opens for them to get off, Eli holds the door as Clare and his grandmother walk off and head into the reception as Eli follows them. Brunch was being held at a reception hall that is located inside the synagogue. The hall is a massive room filled with tables, chairs, and blue and black balloon centerpieces. Bullfrog is waiting for them by the door.

"Hi, mom. I can take you to our table. Eli, Clare, why don't you two grab some food? I can take Bubbe over."

Eli smiles and nods as he breaks apart from his grandmother. His grandmother lets go from him and Clare and holds onto Bullfrog for assistance as they walk over to the table. Eli watches them and then turns to Clare.

"Before we grab some food, can we talk outside for a moment?" He says quietly so that no one could hear him. Other than Clare.

Clare turns to Eli and says quietly, "Sure."

Eli grabs Clare's hand and takes Clare to a corner of the lobby. Eli doesn't want to cause a scene due to this being a family event. But he knew that his girlfriend was annoyed. He could tell by the way she was speaking.

Clare breaking from Eli's grip and asks, "You tell grandmother everything? Including our relationship last year?"

Eli sighs and looks up to Clare, "Yes. And no. I told her that we were partners and that we hung out. But nothing that had to do with our relationship. I only told her that we were friends, and that's it."

Clare crosses her arms and asks, "You didn't tell how you crashed your car for me nor wrote a play to win me back?"

Eli nods and says, "Correct. I didn't want to upset her." He starts to slowly sit down on the floor as he says, "Not what happened a few years ago."

Clare uncrosses her arms and sits down next to him. She knew that he was starting to get upset. "What happened? You can tell me."

Eli says, "A few years ago, my grandfather died after battling cancer for many years. She didn't know how to take care of him at the time and needed our help. Every day, either one of my parents, aunts, or uncles had to stay over their condo to take care of them. One day my dad took me over to see them since I haven't seen them in a while at this time. I noticed that my grandfather wasn't like himself. He couldn't get up from his chair he always sat in. It was hard for her to see him like this. They were married for 51 years, and they dated a few years prior to World War II. So, seeing him deteriorating like that hurt her, and I could tell that she's still upset with the loss. I didn't want to cause her any more pain than she already is. I hope you understand my reason."

Clare grabs his hand and squeezes it. "It's ok, Eli. I understand. And I'm glad you told me."

Eli smiles softly at his girlfriend and says, "I wanted to tell you before today, but I didn't know how to tell you."

Clare looks at Eli. "You know you can tell me anything. You know that."

Eli sighs. "Yea, I know."

"You know that I am all in this relationship," Clare says while trying to reassure him.

Eli looks at her. "I know you are."

Clare looks at him. "And I'll always love you, Eli."

"Forever and always," Eli says as he smiles at her. He pulls her in for a kiss.

She kisses him back. Their lips locked in as their tongues started to find each other's tongues. Eli brushes her curly locks of hair with his fingers at the same time kissing her. He loves touching her hair every time they kiss. Clare smiles while kissing him. She loves it when he does that to her. They're both on Cloud nine. They didn't even notice that they were making kissing in public. Let alone a place of worship.

As Clare pulls back from their heated kiss, she brushes the side of his with her thumb. She places her forehead on his forehead. They're both smiling and happy in the moment.

Eli smiles and says, "I think we should be heading back inside. My parents are probably wondering where we are."

Clare nods in agreement. "You're probably right."

Eli gets up from the floor and holds his hand out to assist Clare. Clare smiles as she gets up and grabs his hand. Their fingers were intertwining each other as they walk back into the banquet hall.

The banquet hall is filled with guests from the ceremony. Everyone is talking to one another. In front of the entrance, there are some family albums. Clare and Eli stop to take a look at them. Clare opens one of them up and notices a picture of him with his cousins. "Aww, you look so adorable here.

Eli smiles and says, "Thanks, Clare." He laughs as he glances over to see the photo that she is asking about. "I think I was seven or eight. This photo was taken at my cousin Lea's baby naming."

Clare smiles at her boyfriend and then looks back at the picture. "Oh. And who's the girl that's making bunny ears behind you?"

Eli looks over. "That's my older cousin Yael. She and I are very close. You met her parents this morning."

Clare nods and asks, "Right. Your aunt Ruth and uncle Saul?"

Eli nods at her. "Correct. Her father and my dad are super close, so we got to hang out all the time when we were little."

Clare smiles. "Do you get to see her often?"

Eli says, "Not really. She's away at university, studying to become a vocal teacher."

Clare smiles. "That's amazing. I guess everyone loves the arts in your family then."

Eli shrugs his shoulders. "Not really. Only my dad, my cousin, and myself. Possibly Benjamin as well."

Clare teasing him as she asks, "Did you have any influence on him?"

Eli smirks while looking at Clare. "I may have persuaded him to assist the director of his middle school musical."

"That's amazing Eli!" She exclaimed as she smiled at him. She was so happy for him. She couldn't believe that he was becoming a role model for his baby cousin.

As Clare and Eli were finishing up looking at the photo albums, Clare saw a picture of Eli and his cousins surrounded around an elderly man. "Eli, is this your grandfather?" She asks.

Eli looks at the photo. "Yea. This was taken the summer before he got sick. We went on vacation to Florida. The whole family went."

Clare smiles as she was looking at the photo. "Aww. That must've been fun?"

Eli smiles while remembering that vacation. "It was." He chuckles a little bit. "I remember my grandfather and I would walk along the beach. He would tell me stories from the old country."

Clare smiling as she says, "He must've been a great person, Eli."

Eli looks at his girlfriend. "He was. He would of loved you as well."

Clare lets out a light giggle and smiles. She didn't know how close Eli was with his family. He rarely talks about the. "Anyways, are you ready to head inside?" She asks as her stomach was starting grumble.

Eli nods. "Yes. I'm starving." He takes Clare's hand and they head inside the hall.

As they head inside, they notice Eli's parents sitting at a with his family. They walk over to it. At the table are his parents, his aunt Ruth and uncle Saul, his aunt Hannah and uncle Max, and his grandmother. Everyone is laughing at something they just heard when Clare and Eli get to the table.

Bullfrog looks at the couple standing in front of them. "Its about time you two made it. We thought you two ditched us or something. I was about to send your mother out to look for you two."

Eli chuckles lightly. "No. Clare and I just had to talk. We also got distracted from all of the family photo albums that are laying out there."

Clare nods and smiles. "Which are so lovely to see."

"Why thank you, sweetheart. I thought it was great way for our guests to remember all of the memories Benjamin had over the years." Aunt Hannah replies. She stands up to introduce herself. "You must be Clare? Welcome. It's a pleasure meeting Eli's special someone." She says as she looks at her nephew while smirking.

Eli smiles trying not show that he's embarrassed. "Aunt Hannah. Stop. You're embarrassing me."

Aunt Hannah flicks her hand. "I'm just kidding. He loves it when I joke with him." She says as she puts her hands on Eli's shoulders.

Eli nods in agreement.

Clare giggles. She hasn't seen this close of family in a while. The last time she went to a family gathering like this was when her sister Darcy was leaving for Africa. She missed seeing her father's side of her family. She looks at Eli's aunt Hannah. "It's very nice to meet you too. Thank you again for inviting me today."

Aunt Hannah smiles. "No need to thank me. I'm just glad that you are here to enjoy the festivities."

Clare opens her purse to give the card to Eli's aunt. "Here. I almost forgot to give this to you." She hands the card to Hannah. " I heard it is customary to give a gift to the Bar Mitzvah kid."

Aunt Hannah smiles. "Aww. Thank you, Clare. That is very thoughtful of you do that. You know, you can give it to him yourself. He is right over there with a group of kids." She says as she points to a group of middle school age children.

Clare and Eli look over at the group. Eli smiles and takes her hand. "Come on. Let's go over and say hi to him. You're gonna love him."

Clare smiles and nods. She walks beside Eli. They make their way to the kids' area. Clare starts to get a little nervous due to his cousin looks up to Eli. Eli squeezes her hand a little trying to reassure her. They make their way to the kids' area and spot Benjamin.

Eli calls out to his cousin. "Hey, buddy."

Benjamin notices Eli and walks up to them "Eli. You made it!"

Eli lets go of Clare's hand to handshake his cousin. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. How's it going?"

Benjamin comes in for the handshake. "It's going."

Eli breaks free from the handshake. "That's good. Congratulations! You're officially a man now."

Benjamin laughs. "Yea right. I'm not old enough to drive yet."

Eli puts his hand onto his cousin's shoulder. "True, but you'll get there. Eventually."

Benjamin nods in agreement. He then looks at Clare and smiles at her. "Whoa. Who is this beautiful lady?"

Clare blushes a little. She couldn't believe that his cousin called her beautiful. Let alone flirting with her.

Eli smiles them. "This is my girlfriend, Clare."

Clare pulls her hand out while smiling at Benjamin. "It's very nice to meet you, Benjamin."

"Enchanté, Clare." Benjamin says as he kisses Clare's hand.

Clare pulls her hand back quickly and giggles lightly. Her face is turning bright red after that.

Eli looks at Clare. "Don't you have something for him, Clare?"

Clare nods and hands Eli's cousin the card. "Congratulations on your Bar Mitzvah. Inside of the card is a gift card to Amazon."

Benjamin smiles. "Sweet! Now I can buy the video camera I always wanted. Thank you."

Clare smiles. "You're quite welcome."

Eli grabs Clare's hand. "We don't want to keep your friends waiting. We'll see you later."

Benjamin smiles as he waves goodbye and heads back over to his friends.

Eli smirks while looking at Clare. "Looks like someone has a crush on you?"

Clare giggles while hitting Eli lightly. "Shut up."

"What? I'm serious." He says while trying to not smile.

Clare rolls her eyes. "Whatever." She smiles while walking to the buffet table. "I can see where he gets his charming personality from though."

Eli chuckles. "I guess we Goldsworthy's have charming personalities then."

Clare laughs. "Could you be more smug?"

Eli looks at Clare. "Absolutely."

They smile and laugh as they make their way over to the buffet table.

When they arrive there is ton of delicious food. Eli hands Clare a plate. They both grab utensils and a napkin. As Clare looks at the food, she couldn't believe that there was so much. Most of the items she has eaten many times but others she has never even heard of.

Clare sees a tray of bagels and cream cheese. She takes a Sesame bagel and scoops up some cream cheese onto her plate. She moves over and finds a tray filled with pieces of fish. "Eli, what is Lax?"

Eli looks over at the tray. "Oh, you mean Lox. It's a Jewish term for smoked salmon. It's good on a bagel." He grabs a bagel as well.

Clare looks at Eli while smirking a little. "Really? Well, if you say its good. Then I definitely have to try it." She places a few pieces of the salmon onto her plate. She hands the fork to Eli and he grabs a few pieces of salmon as well. They both move onto the salads. There were large bowls filled with Tuna fish salad, Egg salad, and another fish salad that she has never hear of before.

Clare looks at the bowl of the fish salad and asks Eli, "Have you ever had White fish salad?"

Eli nods. "Yes. You should try it."

Clare nods and decides to scoop up a little bit of the white fish salad and some of the Egg salad. Eli also scoops up some Egg salad and Tuna fish salad. They make their way over to the tray of tomatoes and onions.

Eli takes a few pieces of both and adds them to Clare's plate. "Trust me. Its good with the salmon."

Clare smiles at him. "What would I do without you?"

Eli looks at his girlfriend. "I don't know. What would you do?"

Clare giggles a little and gives him a kiss. He kisses her back. They break apart since they're in line and people are staring at them. They move onto the hot station. Clare looks at one of the labels that reads "Blintz Soufflé." She opens the chafing dish and gets whiff of sweetness from the dish. She decides to picks up one of the soufflés onto her plate.

Clare asks Eli, "Do you want one of these?"

Eli nods. "Sure."

Clare picks up another soufflé and lays it onto Eli's plate. She closes the dish off. Since they have enough food to eat, they decide to walk back over to where Eli's family is sitting.

As they get back to the table, they see everyone talking still. Eli notices that there is one empty seat available at his parents' table but decides to walk over there anyways.

Eli says to Clare. "Why don't you take the open chair and I'll pull one over from another table."

Clare looks at Eli. "Are you sure?"

Eli nods. "Yes. I'm sure."

Bullfrog notices that Clare and Eli are coming over and stands up. "Here, son. Take my seat."

Eli looks at Bullfrog. "Are you sure dad?"

Bullfrog nods. "Yea. I'm sure. I have been sitting for the past few hours, so I need to stretch my legs."

Eli shrugs his shoulders.

They take their seats and place their plates on the table. They start to eat their meal. Clare notices that Eli is putting some cream cheese, salmon, tomatoes, and onions onto his bagel. She decides to the same. As she takes a bite of her bagel, Eli watches her.

Eli asks while eating. "Well? What do you think?"

Clare chews her bagel mixture and swallows it. "You're right. This is good."

Eli smiles. "Told you."

Eli's mom and aunts notice Clare and Eli sitting. Aunt Ruth asks. "So Clare. Cece just told us that you are interning at the Interpreter."

Clare smiles. "Yes. I am doing my Co-Op with Asher Shostak."

Uncle Max hears the name Asher Shostak and asks, "Wait. Did I hear someone say, Asher Shostak?"

Clare nods while chewing on her food. She swallows before she replies. She was about to reply when Eli responds.

"Yea. She got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work alongside him." Eli responds as he smiles and puts his around Clare's chair.

Clare asks, "Why do you ask? Have you heard anything bad about him?"

Uncle Max shakes his head. "No. But he did interview me once a few years ago."

Clare responds. "Oh wow. What was he interviewing you for?

Uncle Max smiles. "He was interviewing me on my research that I was conducting at the time. My research team and I were trying to figure out how young children were catching H1N1, while adults were not."

Cece asks, "Didn't you say that your interview with him was tough?"

Uncle Max nods. "Yes. It was only because he made it difficult for me to answer the questions. Every time I spoke, he kept interrupting me. I remember I was giving him the percentage of how many kids were getting ill here in Canada, and he kept asking me these random questions about the virus. Not really on the research itself."

Eli nods while chewing. He swallows his food before he spoke. "I remember that. You were in the lab every day. I don't think I ever got to see you when I came over."

Uncle Max shakes his head. "Nope. I usually came home after you, and your parents have already left."

Eli nods and continues eating.

Bullfrog walks over to Eli and puts his hands on Eli's shoulders. "My boy here is making his directorial debut."

Everyone looks at Eli. Smiling at him in excitement. "Mazel Tov, Eli."

Eli smiles at everyone. "Thank you."

Aunt Ruth asks, "What musical are you directing?"

Eli responds, "I'm directing a musical version of Romeo and Juliet, but with a twist."

Aunt Hannah smiles and asks, "Ooh. What kind of twist?"

Eli responds, "Instead of having Juliet be a female role, I decided to gender swap and make Juliet a male."

Aunt Ruth smiles as she sips her coffee. "How exciting, Eli. You must be very proud of your son?"

Cece nods. "We are. He has come a long way since last year."

Eli smiles and mouths to his mom, "Thank you." He hasn't felt this much happiness in a while. Now that he is in a better place than he was this time last year.

Clare smiles. She knew that they were talking about last year. She gets up from her seat and asks Eli, "I am going to grab some coffee. Would you like anything while I'm up?" She did not want to relive it last year. Let alone his family talk about it.

Eli looks at his girlfriend. "I'll have some coffee as well. Please. Thanks, hun." He kisses her on her cheek before she leaves. He looks at her as she walks away and turns back to his family. "So, what do you think of Clare?" He asks nervously.

Aunt Ruth responds. "She seems very nice, Eli."

Aunt Hannah nods in agreement. "I agree. Much better than your previous relationship."

Eli smirks. "Thanks." He knows that no one in his family liked Julia. Even when he introduced her to them, at first, this hurt his feelings. Now he brushes it off because now he is happy. He is with the love of his life, Clare.

Eli walks over and sits next to his grandmother and asks. "What about you, Bubbe? Do you approve of Clare?"

Chava looks at her grandson and speaks in her Austrian accent. "She seems very kind and sweet. I can tell that you love her."

Eli looks at his grandmother. "You have no idea how much I love her, Bubbe."

Chava rests her hand on Eli's knee. "I know, my dear. You deserve to be happy."

"I am happy, though. I'm in a better place." He says as he rests his hand on top of hers.

Chava squeezes his hand. "I know you are. As long as Clare makes you happy, that is all that I care about."

Eli smiles at his grandmother. "Thank you, Bubbe. That means a lot to me."

Chava smiles. "You're welcome. Anything for my grandson. You know, you and Clare remind me of when I dated your *Zeyde*."

Eli smiling as he asks, "Really?"

Chava giggles a little. "Absolutely. We were both in love with each other. We met back in high school in Vienna. One day I went over to his house, and he told me that he was leaving. He didn't know where he was going. But he told me that we would always find our way back to each other. And I had hope that day would come true."

Eli listens and says, "I remember Zeyde telling Yael and me this story when we were children."

Chava laughs a little. "Right, but he never told you what happened."

Eli shakes his head. "You're right. Go on."

Chava continues her story. "Anyways, after the Allies liberated Auschwitz, I decided to travel back to Vienna to see if he was back since I unable to communicate with him. When I went over to his house, I noticed an Austrian family was living there. Sadly, this was not his family. I found out that I had relatives here in Toronto and decided to move here and start a new life. One night my cousin dragged me to one of the single Jewish events that were taking place at the local Jewish Community centers in town. As we walked in, I noticed that your Zeyde was standing around with a group of single men. We both walked up to each other, and he picked me up and twirled me around. From that moment on, we were inseparable."

Eli was shocked at the story he just heard. "Wow! I didn't know that you two dated back in the old country."

Chava smiles at her grandson. "Of course. Why do you think there was an old photo of us when we were younger?"

Eli shrugs his shoulders. "I just thought that was a picture you two took when you lived here."

Chava laughs. "Oh no, my dear. That was taken when right before we left for one of our friends' parties. I kept the photo hidden while in the concentration camp. Even when my surroundings not great, I always reminded myself that we would be together soon."

Eli smiles. He loved hearing these stories from his grandparent. Especially the ones from the old country. There was so much history that he never knew about them until now. He couldn't believe that after all that time from being away from each other. He hoped that he and Clare will still be together once he leaves for NYU.

Clare comes back over with their coffees. She noticed that Eli was sitting next to his grandmother and decides to sit right next to him. "Hi. Sorry, it took a while. The line for the coffee was long."

Eli looks at Clare. "No worries." He says as he grabs his coffee from Clare. "My bubbe here was telling me a story on how she met my zeyde."

Clare smiles. "Aw. I hope I get to hear it."

Chava responds, "You will someday. So, Clare. Are you close to your grandparents?"

Clare takes a sip of her coffee. "Not really. I'm only close to my grandmother on my mom's side."

Chava nods. "Oh. Do you get to see her often?"

Clare takes another sip of her coffee before responding. "Not often, as I hope. I only get to see her during the holiday breaks or Easter."

Chava smiles. "Well, I hope I get to meet her someday."

Clare nods and smiles. "I hope so too."

As everything starts to wind down for the day, guests start to come over to the Goldsworthy's table to say their goodbyes to Eli's aunt and uncle. Eventually, the hall is empty. Bullfrog stands up from the table and says, "I think it's time for us to leave."

Cece also stands up and wraps her hand around Bullfrog's arm. "We'll see you all in few hours."

Aunt Hannah asks Clare, "Clare. Will you be joining us for the main festivities?"

Clare smiles as she and Eli get up from their seats. "Yes, and thank you again for letting me be a part of this."

Aunt Hannah smiles. "Of course."

Bullfrog, Cece, Eli, and Clare head out to the car. Bullfrog unlocks it so that everyone can get in. He turns the car on and heads off to Clare's house.

Clare texts Alli. "Hey, just got out of the temple. Sorry, it took a long time. We stayed for brunch. But I'm on my way home now."

Alli texts back. "It's about time. Ok. I'm on my way over. Is it ok if Jenna tags along?"

Clare texts back. "Of course. I need all the help I can get for tonight."

Alli texts back. "Great. See you in five."

Clare sends a smiling emoji.

Eli looks over to see who Clare is texting. "Who are you texting, if you don't mind me asking?"

Clare puts her phone away and looks at Eli. "I'm just letting Alli know that we're on our way back. She and Jenna are going to help me get ready for tonight."

Eli smirks. "Well, I can't wait to see what she comes up with. You're going to look beautiful in whatever dress you wear."

Clare blushes. "Thank you." She kisses Eli.

Eli smiles as he goes in to kiss her back. He starts to brush the back of her hair like he usually does. Their lips lock in as their tongues try to find each other's lips. As they pull away from each other, Eli puts his arm around Clare. While she rests her head on his chest.

8. Zeyde means grandfather in Yiddish