Title: Hands Clean 17/?

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)

"Ooh this could be messy

But you don't seem to mind

Ooh don't go telling everybody

And overlook this supposed crime"

"So you are really going to leave with out even telling me why?" Chris asked as she watched August pack up another box.

"Yes, and you know this so why don't you instead of just sitting there and drinking wine help me?" August asked annoyed.

"Can't, I just might break a nail." She said smiling

"Yeah, God forbid, you break a nail." He said as picked up a picture of Grace and him and looking at it for a second too long.

Chris caught that. "Is that why you're leaving?"

He put it in the box quickly. "I'm not talking about this with you." He said as he left the bedroom and headed into the kitchen. "You want something to drink?" He screamed back.

"I've already got wine remember." She said looking at the box where he had just put the picture. She went over to it and took out the picture. Looking at Grace's face, she remembered the night she had met her. Is this who August had been dating? Chris asked herself. She remembered when August told her what had happened at the high school but she did not know that they had ever met again after that. But if they had a lot of things sure were making sense.

"What are you doing?" August asked as he came into to his bedroom carrying a bottle of wine. When he saw the picture in Chris's hand he freaked. "What do you think you're doing!" He said as he took it from her.

"Trying to figure out why one of my closet friends is leaving. I know why now. It's all because of her, isn't it?" Chris asked.

"This really isn't any of your business and I don't appreciate you going through my stuff. This is my personal stuff about my life that doesn't involve you." August said mad.

"No you're not mad because I'm looking at stuff about your personal life, you're mad because you know that now you're going to have to explain to me why you're leaving her and why you've been lying to me. Which is going to cause you to realize you should not be leaving her at all. That no matter what reason you say, none are big enough to leave."

"Really? You know all that from looking at one picture do you?"

"No I know all that from being your friend for years and from having to deal with you after you were fired. You were not the same not until, I am guessing you found her. This year you became alive again, which is something you have not been in a really long time. And I'm sorry if you don't want to hear my opinion but if she's the person that makes you so alive then don't lose her again because you may not ever find her."

"But…"

"I don't care about excuses, I care about the facts. And the facts are simple: you obviously love her or you wouldn't have been hurt so much when you had to leave, she obviously loves you or she would be back at school right now and you wouldn't be having to leave and with out her you aren't the person that I've come to be great friends with."

"So what's been going on with everyone this week?" Rick asked as he looked at the kids, hoping that they would talk so maybe Grace would too.

"Well school, is school, boring as ever but the good news is Katie and I have found a great trip, we can take this summer for credit. Of course that all depends on if you and mom will let me go." Jessie said.

"What about your parents?" Rick asked Katie.

"They don't have to pay for it, I'll be out of the hair for most of the summer. To put it simply, I could not have told them anything better." Katie said smiling.

"Well then I guess… as long as your mother is ok with it." Rick said.

"Great!" Jessie said happily.

"I wouldn't get too happy you still got to get it past mom." Eli told her. "And you might as well accept the fact that you're going to spend another summer here." He said smiling.

"Great." Jessie said sarcastically.

"So Eli, Cassie any plans?" Lily asked.

"Well I'm hoping to be able to do some field work over the summer and we're trying to plan for the first of it to be here that way I'll be leaving the rest of the summer for me to travel with the band." Cassie said.

"Travel with the band? Does Jake and Judy know you're going to be doing this?" Lily asked Eli.

"They do now." Eli said looking at Jamie.

"Oh they won't care. My dad and Judy are taking a summer trip." Jamie said.

"Yeah and Tiffany and dad are going some where's with Maddy." Zoe said.

"I didn't know either of those things." Lily said.

"You do know." Austin said smiling.

"So what are you plans for the summer, Grace?" Lily asked her.

"Not everyone has to have plans, mother." Grace said.

"I know that I was just asking." Lily said hurt that Grace had attacked her so quickly.

"You know what no one's tried Cassie's chicken stuff she made." Eli said changing the subject as he put it on the table, very close to Grace.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Grace said as she ran from the table.

"Not again." Zoe said sarcastically.

"You know if she didn't throw up every time we ate, we might actually make it through a full meal, every once and a while." Jessie said.

"Grace, are you ok?" Cassie asked as she knocked up the bathroom door.

Grace opened the door. "Have you ever been so sick of being sick before?"

"No and thank God for that. So what do you think is wrong?"

"I don't know and I really don't care. Nothing could make this summer worse this it already is." Grace said.

"You know I bet you could come with Eli and I on the tour, you might just have a good time." Cassie offered.

"Right that's exactly what Eli wants, his little stepsister following him around." Grace said sarcastically.

"I don't think he would mind. I think they'd all just be glad to see you get out and act like something other than a zombie."

"Is that really how bad I seem?"

"Those aren't my words those are your little brother's.  He's got quite the imagination."

"Yeah he does. But a zombie that's a little extreme, don't you think?"

"Not really, it fits."

"I don't want to be like this, Cassie I really don't but I don't know what else to do. I want to continue the life I have but something will not let me. Something inside if me, keeps telling, don't he'll come back."

"Maybe it's your heart."

"Yeah well I wish my brain would tell my heart that he's leaving for ever and to move on."

"Well hearts don't really listen that good, they never have." Cassie said knowingly.

"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"