Title: Hands Clean 15/?

Author: Christen (purplehaysc@netscape.net) if you want to email me during the week email me at (23405@sjamail.net)

Disclaimer: these characters belong to once and again except any characters you don't recognize

Distribution: Take it, but let me know. If you have any of my other fics, go ahead.

Comments: email me all you comments and suggestions. This is my second once and again fan fic but my it's my first August/Grace so any ideas or comments you have would be great. So please email me with them. J Oh and I'm very glad to see I got a review Yeah!!! (ok there are no more flashbacks for the rest of the chapters because I think the present is good enough with out the flashbacks)

"We'll fast forward to a few years later

And no one knows except the both of us

And I have honored your request for silence

And you've washed your hands clean of this"

"Mom, you can't be serious." Grace said shocked.

"I am, it's either him or this family. If you walk out that door with him, you can't come back." Lily said.

"You'd give me up just like that? Just kick me out of the house?" Grace asked sad.

"Nothing else has worked, you can't seem to see what he is and I'm sick and tried of waiting for you to and trying methods that don't do anything." Lily said.

"Rick, please?" She said looked at Rick.

"I can't, Grace. She's right, you can't keep doing this." Rick said.

"Eli, Jessie, you're fine with this?" She asked looking at them.

"They discussed it before I got here and they see it the same way I do." Lily said.

"So I see my family is all decided to gang up on me."

"You didn't give us much of a choice."

"Like you would have taken any other choice, this is what you want, all of you!" Grace screamed.

"Grace, I'm going to go, I don't want to do this to your family." August said.

"No! You stay here!" Grace screamed. "You know I hope all of you are happy because I'm leaving and you'll never have to deal with me again! Tell Austin, I'm sorry and that I'll written him so we can keep in touch." Grace said as she reached for the door.

"Grace, don't!" Lily said quickly.

"No, you can't change your mind on this. You decided that this is what was going to happen, so you are going to have live with it. Live with out me. I hope you all know that I really do love you, I always have." Grace said as she closed the door.

Lily sank the floor. "Rick, she wasn't supposed to leave! She was not supposed to choose him over us, I was not supposed to lose my little girl, lose my Gracie!" She said crying.

"Are you ok?" August asked Grace.

"No, I'm not I just walked out on my family." Grace said as the tears started to come down.

"They kicked you out."

"They gave me a choice, an ultimatum. Why did they have to do that! I thought they loved me." Grace said.

"They do, this is what they consider tough love."

"Tough love! This is no love, you don't kick someone out and forbid them to come back if you love them!" Grace screamed.

"Sometimes when there's no other way to show it then that is what you do."

"But I love them! I don't want to be with out them!"

"I know, I know and that's why you should go back in there and tell them you've change your mind and you choose them."

"No, I can't then I'd lose you and I can't have that either."

"But they're your family Grace and you need them."

"I need you too."

"No, you see I'll always be here for you when you can see me but they… you'll miss so many things with them that you shouldn't miss."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm leaving with out you and that you're going back in side and telling them you're back forever and you love them."

"You can't."

"I can, I love you Grace." He said as he gave her a kiss and started to walk off.

"I love you too." Grace said with tears in her eyes.

"She's never going to speak to me again." Lily said sadly to Rick.

"I wouldn't count on that." Grace said as she came in the door.

"You're back!" Lily said as she hugged her.

"Yeah, I'm back." Grace said sadly.

"Why? How?" Lily asked confused.

"August decided he wasn't going to come between me and my family, so he left me." Grace said upset. "I can't believe he left me."

"Maybe it was for the best." Lily said.

"How could it be? I love him, he loves me and I have lost him again. I cannot take this. I can't go through this again." Grace said as she started to cry again.

"Yes, you can you're a very strong person and you can get though this." Lily said to her.

"Why should I? Is there really any reason to?" Grace asked.

"Yes, you still have a life with out him, you still have a family." Lily said as she held her.

"Some how deep down I think I might know that but right now I'm having trouble remembering what my life was like before him. I'm not so sure I can remember. I'm not sure I want to remember."

"what part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?

what part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?   

what with this distance it seems so obvious?"