Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire, people, places, etc…don't sue me. I do own characters you don't recognize…i.e. Brenna, Carissa, Ethan's family, Kate's family and all medical personnel mentioned in the articles.
Now Playing…The Grand Finale, Chapter 21
An hour later, Miranda pulled into the McGuire's driveway and Lizzie was out the front door and in the passenger seat before Miranda could turn off the car.
"Where have you been?" Lizzie demanded, pointing at the clock on the dashboard. "You said half an hour!"
"I know, I know." Miranda grinned sheepishly. "I had to take a shower and then I had to dry my hair. But I'm here now and we're on our way. Besides, it only takes forty-five minutes to get to the airport anyway."
Almost an hour and a half later, Lizzie and Miranda pulled up at the passenger drop off at the airport, Miranda complaining loudly.
"Whose dumb idea was it to start construction on a road that doesn't even need it, and take traffic down to one lane?! Go find Gordo." She told Lizzie, practically shoving her out the door, "and once I find the parking lot and figure out how to get there, I'll come find you guys."
Lizzie nodded and headed inside the main terminal, feeling more and more nervous. She had to find out airline Gordo's flight was on, find the gate it was leaving from and get there before he could leave. All in less than half an hour. Yikes.
Lizzie approached the bank of TV monitors that listed departing flights. What city would Gordo's plane be flying into? Sydney was her best guess, but it wasn't listed. Brisbane maybe? Not listed either. Maybe he was changing planes somewhere. But where? Probably not Hawaii. What about New Zealand? There it was! Flight 713 to Auckland, New Zealand, departing at Gate A34 at 2 pm. Lizzie looked at her watch. She had twenty-five minutes.
Lizzie made her way through the crowds and the line at the metal detectors, checking her watch every few minutes. By the time she got through the line and to the concourse, she had fifteen minutes left.
She asked someone where Gate A34 was and was pointed down a long concourse. She could barely make out the sign A34 about halfway down. Deciding to avoid the crowded moving walkways, she began to jog beside them, ignoring the strange looks from people who wondered why she was running down the concourse.
She was nearing the gate when she spotted Gordo's dark curls near the edge of the small crowd near the gate. "Gordo!" she shouted and broke into a sprint toward him. Gordo turned toward the voice calling his name and saw her, his face bearing an unreadable expression.
Lizzie reached him and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the curious crowd.
"Lizzie-" he began angrily, before Lizzie cut him off.
"Don't go." she told him, staring into his eyes, silently pleading with him. His face softened for a moment before a look of confusion took over. "But you told me to go." He reminded her.
"I know," she replied, now not at all sure of what she was doing. "But I didn't know. I didn't know how you felt about me. And I didn't know how I felt. And then I didn't know how to react when I found out. And you were right, Ethan's funeral made me think about if one of my family or friends was gone and…" Lizzie realized she was babbling, that her words weren't echoing her thoughts. She closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure and made a split second decision.
"But you have to go." she told him, her eyes beginning to cloud with tears.
"What?" Lizzie had never seen Gordo so confused. She was feeling that way herself. She had just confronted her growing feelings for Gordo that morning and now she was telling him he had to leave; go halfway around the world for two years and risk never seeing her again. She wondered if she was making the right choice and considered taking it all back, and telling Gordo she wanted him to stay with her. But she knew she could never ask him to do that. She cared about him too much to ask that. And in her heart she knew even if he offered to stay, she would still make him go. He couldn't pass up such an opportunity; she wasn't worth that.
"You have to go." She said quietly. "Yes, I have feelings for you; I know that now. But that doesn't give me any right to make you give up your dream. That's not fair. So you have to go."
She stepped closer and gave Gordo a quick hug and a peck on the check. "You have to go." She repeated, trying to smile, and turned to leave.
Gordo quickly caught her arm and pulled her around to face him. "Come with me." he said quickly.
"What?" Lizzie asked, stunned. Did she hear him right? She couldn't have. This was Gordo; he'd never even suggested something that crazy in his whole life.
"Come with me." He repeated. "We'll get you a ticket; the plane's not full." He said, gesturing to the small crowd. "You could stay with me and I bet we could find you work on the movie set. Come." He urged her, taking her hand in his.
Lizzie mind began racing and her knees grew weak. Go with Gordo to Australia? What fun! Lizzie had no problem picturing the two of them in Australia; surfing, working on the movie set, starting their new life together…
But she couldn't. Just twenty-four hours ago she had chosen a new plan for herself, a new dream. And just as it wasn't fair for her to ask Gordo to give up his dream, it wasn't fair for him to ask her to give up her's.
She looked up at Gordo and he smiled sadly back at her, anticipating what was come.
"I can't…" she said softly, choking on the words. Gordo nodded in understanding. He pulled her into a hug and they both forgot about the bustling airport and the numerous stares from people around them, getting lost in their own little world with just the two of them in it.
"This is the final boarding call for Flight 713 to Auckland, New Zealand, leaving from Gate A34. All passengers should now be boarding."
At that announcement, they pulled apart and Gordo dug through his pockets to find his boarding pass. "I promise I'll call you when I get there." He told her. Lizzie nodded.
"I'll miss you." she told him, desperately fighting back tears.
He leaned toward her. "I'll miss you too. But I'll be back. I'll promise." he said quietly. He kissed her briefly and pulled back. Lizzie hungered for more, but she understood. If Gordo had let the kiss go a moment longer, he would have lost all resolve and decided to stay. But it was obvious Gordo knew what he had to do. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze before turning toward the gate. Lizzie watched him walk to the gate, leaning on the metal barrier behind her, not convinced her weak legs could support her right now. She finally broke down, tears streaming down her face as she watched Gordo disappear down the ramp to the plane.
Finally after the door to the ramp had been closed and the plane had backed away from the gate, Lizzie finally felt capable of walking. She walked slowly, still feeling shaky, and her mind began to wander. What would have happened it Gordo had stayed? What if she had gone with him? Lizzie shook her head, knowing better than to play the "what if" game with herself. She made her way back to the main terminal where she met Miranda running from the other direction.
Miranda saw her friend's face and knew better than to ask questions right now. She and Lizzie linked arms and the two of them walked out of the airport, thoughts of hospitals and medical school filling Lizzie's head. Even though Gordo didn't know about her idea of a one-woman revolution on the medical field, Lizzie knew he would always be behind her, even if he was half a world away.