~A Once and Again Series~
Where do we go from here?
Guess what? A flashback! Yup, there's a flashback at the end of this chapter. It's taken from "The Awful Truth", which you could probably tell. More will be coming... and they will be 'originals' -- taken from the missing year between the end of the season three of the show and where this story began.
Chapter 10//In a Vulnerable Place
"Rick?" Lily questioned.
Rick looked up, his eyes that of a startled deer. He shook his head, regaining his composure and answered his wife. "Yes?"
Lily smiled at him curiously. "Are you okay?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah. I was just thinking of something."
Lily waited for him to say what he had been thinking of, but he was silent. She turned, a little hurt, and made her way to the door. "I'm going to take Zoe over to her friend's now."
"Oh," Rick paused, remembering something. "Could you pick up Jessie from Karen's?"
"Sure," Lily agreed. She picked up her keys from the dresser and left the room. "Be back in a jiffy!" She called over her shoulder. She didn't know what was up with Rick. He had been acting weird for a few days now. Lily got the idea that he was keeping something from her, but she couldn't imagine what it would be.
* * *
Grace came down the stairs to find Eli watching TV in the living room. "Hey."
Eli looked over at her with a smile. Grace came and sat next to him. Eli leaned in and kissed her, but she drew back.
"Is anyone else home?" She asked, listening for any signs of life in the house.
Eli shook his head, "Not that I know..." He leaned in to kiss her again, but the sound of movement upstairs stopped him.
Grace sighed and leaned back on the couch. They pretended to be watching TV as Rick came down the stairs.
"Oh, hey dad," Eli said casually.
Rick was silent. Grace didn't the like the look on his face. Suddenly she KNEW... she just knew that Rick had been the one who had seen her and Eli kissing a few days ago. Grace had been hoping that no one had witnessed it, and had convinced herself of it when no one brought it up... but that look on Rick's face....
"I need talk to you... both of you," Rick said.
"Sure," Eli said in confusion. He obviously didn't realize what Grace had just realized.... that Rick KNEW. Grace felt like screaming, but thought if she did she would just end up choking on it... with the huge lump in her throat being in the way.
Rick looked down on them, then at his feet, and then finally sat down on top of the coffee table, so he was facing them on the couch. He took a deep breath and then said it, "I saw something the other day..."
Eli nervously shifted.
"And I was hoping you guys could explain what I saw," Rick continued.
Grace and Eli were silent, on the hopes that maybe Rick would just drop it. But this had been eating at Rick for the past couple of days and he was keeping it from his wife, and he hated doing that. Rick let out a breath, "I saw you two kissing."
Grace flinched. So, it was all coming undone.
"I can explain that, dad," Eli said, but Rick cut him off.
"I was surprised at what I had seen, but then I thought..." Rick said quickly, "That maybe what I had seen was nothing."
"Nothing?" Grace echoed in surprise.
Rick nodded, "I mean... Grace, you are in a vulnerable place right now-- with the pregnancy and all... and Eli, you too-- with just losing your job."
Grace and Eli nodded in agreement, wondering where Rick was taking this.
"So, what I saw-- the kiss-- was no big deal... just two vulnerable people slipping. It was just one little kiss. It meant nothing, right?" Rick asked, hopefully.
Grace didn't know if even Rick fully believed what he was saying, but she could see that he needed their agreement on this.... He needed them to say that they weren't together, and that it had just been one kiss. Rick needed to hear that, so he wouldn't feel guilty when he kept it from Lily. Rick wasn't going to tell her mother....Grace was glad for that.
So she gave him what he wanted. "That's right," Grace said, not looking at Eli. "We realized how stupid it was right afterwards... it meant nothing."
"Yeah," Eli said, with a lack of commitment, though.
Rick was satisfied. He stood up. "Great! Does anyone want some waffles?"
"No," Eli and Grace said together. Rick exited to the kitchen.
Eli turned to Grace, a perplexed look on his face. "I thought you wanted to tell everyone about us... this could have been your chance."
Grace blinked. She hadn't thought of that. Her first instinct had been to deny it. She looked at Eli. "Uh... I guess I'm not ready. Besides, we should see where this thing between us is going..."
"You don't know where it's going?" Eli asked, his expression vacant.
"Eli... I can't be sure," Grace said, purposely not looking at him. "I mean, I love you, but..."
Eli didn't want her to finish that statement... he didn't want to hear the words.
"...I'm just not sure I can depend on you," Grace finished. She snuck a look up at Eli, who looked back at her blankly. "I mean, you've changed since... I told you I was pregnant, but I'm just not sure how it's going to work out between us..... so, it's better not to tell anyone, if we might just end up breaking up again."
Eli nodded. "I get it," He said coldly.
Grace looked at him, hurt. "E, I'm sorry... it's just the way I feel. How can we know that this time it's going to last?"
"Grace, I'm sorry about the past... but it is the past. I thought you saw ME, this time. I thought you could see that I've changed," Eli said.
"I do!" Grace insisted.
They were silent for some time, thinking. Sounds of Rick making waffles sounded out from the kitchen. Finally Grace turned to Eli, "Let's just wait a while before we say anything, okay?"
"Okay," Eli agreed numbly. He got up from the couch.
"E?" Grace questioned.
Eli looked back over his shoulder, "I've got to look for a job."
Grace nodded, and Eli went into the kitchen. She leaned back against the couch and sighed. She hadn't wanted to say that to Eli, but she felt like she had no choice. She truly didn't know if they were destined for another break-up or not. She just didn't know if she could trust Eli, even if he had changed...
* * *
"Well, you're in a good mood," Lily said happily as she came back after picking up Jessie to find Rick eating waffles and joking around with Eli.
Rick ignored her statement, giving Jess a quick kiss on the forehead before targeting in on Lily. Lily laughed as Rick caught her and kissed her. When Lily broke away from the kiss, she glanced over at Eli.
"Have you found anything yet?" She asked him.
Eli looked up, with a smile. Lily waited for the good news.
"Actually, Eli and I were talking, and there's this job at the office..." Rick explained.
"At your office?" Lily questioned. Rick and Sam's architecture partnership had been going well and had boomed into a full-fledged business.
Eli nodded, "Dad wants me to be his gopher."
"Assistant," Rick corrected him. Then he smiled, "Okay... gopher."
Eli shook his head with a smile, "But I'm going to do it anyways. I could use the money."
Rick smiled at Eli, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by. Lily looked at Rick after Eli had gone into the garage. "Are you sure that is the best thing to do?"
"It will be a real job," Rick told Lily. "I'm going to make him actually work for his keep."
Lily nodded. She hesitated, then, "Have you mentioned this to Karen?"
Rick's eyes narrowed the smallest bit. "I don't think she'd mind. It is a job, after all."
Lily backed down. It was a job... a good job. And Rick said he was really going to put Eli to work. "Well, that should be nice," Lily said with a gentle smile.
Rick's tension eased away, glad for the encouragement. "I think so... want a waffle?"
Lily took one.
* * *
"Waffles?" Jessie asked, coming into the kitchen. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "For lunch?" She added.
Grace shrugged. "Your dad made them."
"Where is he now?" Jessie asked, reluctantly putting a waffle on her plate and sitting down with Grace.
"I don't think you want the answer to that," Grace said and pointedly looked up at the ceiling. Rick and Lily had disappeared up to their room a little while ago, and hadn't returned.
Jessie's face tightened with further disgust. She concentrated on eating her waffle.
"Oh, we found out the due date," Grace said.
Jessie looked up, a smile growing on her face. "Yeah, when?"
"Christmas."
"You mean, like December 25th?" Jessie asked for clarification. Grace nodded. Jessie smiled, "Wow, that's cool."
"What's cool?" Eli said, coming into the room.
"Oh, just that your baby is going to be the next Jesus," Jessie said jokingly. She bit her tongue and quickly said, "I mean... Grace's baby."
Eli paused. He looked over Jessie's head at Grace. 'She knows?' He mouthed. Grace nodded.
"It's okay, Jess," Eli said to his nervous sister.
Jessie smiled, and spontaneously hugged her brother. "You're going to be a father!"
Eli hugged her back, thrown by this sudden display of affection. He and Jess hadn't been getting along that great lately... "You'll be an aunt," Eli said to Jessie when she let him go.
Jessie grinned, "It's SO cool!"
"More waffles?" Eli complained, as he saw what they were eating. He moved around the table and stole a strawberry off Grace's plate.
"Hey!" Grace cried with faked anger. "Some people are eating for two!"
"And some of us are trying to gain a little sympathy weight," Eli said with a smile. He leaned down and kissed Grace briefly.
Jessie's eyes widened. She looked at the two of them curiously, but they were busy fighting for the last strawberry on the plate. Jessie hadn't realized that they were back together... but of course she hadn't known they were dating before in the first place... she had suspicions, but it wasn't until Grace said she was pregnant that it all clicked in her head.
And now they were back together... Jessie studied them uneasily. It was supposed to be a good thing that they were back together, right? Especially for the baby..... But Jessie had a nagging feeling that things weren't going to be all sunsets and rainbows.
* * *
Grace sank into her bed that night with a feeling of peace. Everything was going her way... Rick HAD seen her and Eli kissing, but he was convinced that it was a one-time thing. Her parents were handling the news of her pregnancy better than she had hoped. And now she and Eli were back together.
Grace smiled, closing her eyes. She remember the initial unsureness she and Eli had felt when they both realized that they liked each other a little too much. They had loved being together and spending time together, but at the first hint of something more between them, they had baulked. They didn't know how to deal with the idea... of them. Jessie had been good at throwing the cold water on them. She had seen more than Eli and Grace had been willing to see at the time, and she had called their attention to it.
[[[[start of memory flashback]]]]
They were sitting down, all four kids, watching Godzilla... of all things. Grace's junior year had begun, and she had this teacher... Mr. Dimitri. Grace felt the need to talk to Eli about him... so she did so, while munching on popcorn. Talking about her teacher had led to her and Eli joking around and pretend-fighting. Grace was having fun, and then Jessie stood up and said, "Okay! Okay! Zoe, let's go."
Grace was surprised. Zoe was too. "What?" She asked.
"They obviously want to be alone," Jessie said, walking away.
"No we don't!" Grace argued.
"No they don't!" Zoe agreed.
"No, Jess, no, see..." Eli tried, but Zoe was following Jessie out of the room.
"No, Jessie! We don't want to be alone. Zoe!" Grace tried, but the girls had left the room. She and Eli were left alone. Suddenly, Grace felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, along with all her words. She didn't know what to say to Eli, when just a short time ago they were joking and laughing together. With a few words Jessie had changed all that... Jess was making her and Eli look at themselves...... did they really want to be alone?
Being alone with Eli... Grace was scared at the thought. She was realizing that she really cared for him, and not in a brotherly type of way. That scared her. She had always had her crush on Eli-- him being the cool jock in school... but this...... THIS was something real. These were real feelings, and Grace didn't want to get hurt.
"Well, I have to write..." Grace began, too frightened by reality to be there.
"Yeah, me too," Eli agreed, standing up with her.
"...in my journal," Grace finished.
"I mean..." Eli said.
"No, I know what you..." Grace said. But they were already walking in opposite directions, heading for security-- for a place where they wouldn't have to analyze their relationship, and what it was growing into.
[[[[...end of memory flashback]]]]
Grace sighed, rolling over in bed. But of course, her and Eli's budding relationship had hit a roadblock in the form of Mr. Dimitri. Grace had let herself slowly fall for her mentor. And Dimitri influenced her in ways she couldn't begin to explain. He had helped her become the 'Grace' she was today. Grace thanked him for that, but she was glad everything happened the way it did... with him quietly exiting out of her life.
And then the door was opened once again for Eli. And Eli had stepped in... back into her life.
Grace closed her eyes. She willed sleep to come. It did.
* * *
Where do we go from here?
Guess what? A flashback! Yup, there's a flashback at the end of this chapter. It's taken from "The Awful Truth", which you could probably tell. More will be coming... and they will be 'originals' -- taken from the missing year between the end of the season three of the show and where this story began.
Chapter 10//In a Vulnerable Place
"Rick?" Lily questioned.
Rick looked up, his eyes that of a startled deer. He shook his head, regaining his composure and answered his wife. "Yes?"
Lily smiled at him curiously. "Are you okay?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah. I was just thinking of something."
Lily waited for him to say what he had been thinking of, but he was silent. She turned, a little hurt, and made her way to the door. "I'm going to take Zoe over to her friend's now."
"Oh," Rick paused, remembering something. "Could you pick up Jessie from Karen's?"
"Sure," Lily agreed. She picked up her keys from the dresser and left the room. "Be back in a jiffy!" She called over her shoulder. She didn't know what was up with Rick. He had been acting weird for a few days now. Lily got the idea that he was keeping something from her, but she couldn't imagine what it would be.
* * *
Grace came down the stairs to find Eli watching TV in the living room. "Hey."
Eli looked over at her with a smile. Grace came and sat next to him. Eli leaned in and kissed her, but she drew back.
"Is anyone else home?" She asked, listening for any signs of life in the house.
Eli shook his head, "Not that I know..." He leaned in to kiss her again, but the sound of movement upstairs stopped him.
Grace sighed and leaned back on the couch. They pretended to be watching TV as Rick came down the stairs.
"Oh, hey dad," Eli said casually.
Rick was silent. Grace didn't the like the look on his face. Suddenly she KNEW... she just knew that Rick had been the one who had seen her and Eli kissing a few days ago. Grace had been hoping that no one had witnessed it, and had convinced herself of it when no one brought it up... but that look on Rick's face....
"I need talk to you... both of you," Rick said.
"Sure," Eli said in confusion. He obviously didn't realize what Grace had just realized.... that Rick KNEW. Grace felt like screaming, but thought if she did she would just end up choking on it... with the huge lump in her throat being in the way.
Rick looked down on them, then at his feet, and then finally sat down on top of the coffee table, so he was facing them on the couch. He took a deep breath and then said it, "I saw something the other day..."
Eli nervously shifted.
"And I was hoping you guys could explain what I saw," Rick continued.
Grace and Eli were silent, on the hopes that maybe Rick would just drop it. But this had been eating at Rick for the past couple of days and he was keeping it from his wife, and he hated doing that. Rick let out a breath, "I saw you two kissing."
Grace flinched. So, it was all coming undone.
"I can explain that, dad," Eli said, but Rick cut him off.
"I was surprised at what I had seen, but then I thought..." Rick said quickly, "That maybe what I had seen was nothing."
"Nothing?" Grace echoed in surprise.
Rick nodded, "I mean... Grace, you are in a vulnerable place right now-- with the pregnancy and all... and Eli, you too-- with just losing your job."
Grace and Eli nodded in agreement, wondering where Rick was taking this.
"So, what I saw-- the kiss-- was no big deal... just two vulnerable people slipping. It was just one little kiss. It meant nothing, right?" Rick asked, hopefully.
Grace didn't know if even Rick fully believed what he was saying, but she could see that he needed their agreement on this.... He needed them to say that they weren't together, and that it had just been one kiss. Rick needed to hear that, so he wouldn't feel guilty when he kept it from Lily. Rick wasn't going to tell her mother....Grace was glad for that.
So she gave him what he wanted. "That's right," Grace said, not looking at Eli. "We realized how stupid it was right afterwards... it meant nothing."
"Yeah," Eli said, with a lack of commitment, though.
Rick was satisfied. He stood up. "Great! Does anyone want some waffles?"
"No," Eli and Grace said together. Rick exited to the kitchen.
Eli turned to Grace, a perplexed look on his face. "I thought you wanted to tell everyone about us... this could have been your chance."
Grace blinked. She hadn't thought of that. Her first instinct had been to deny it. She looked at Eli. "Uh... I guess I'm not ready. Besides, we should see where this thing between us is going..."
"You don't know where it's going?" Eli asked, his expression vacant.
"Eli... I can't be sure," Grace said, purposely not looking at him. "I mean, I love you, but..."
Eli didn't want her to finish that statement... he didn't want to hear the words.
"...I'm just not sure I can depend on you," Grace finished. She snuck a look up at Eli, who looked back at her blankly. "I mean, you've changed since... I told you I was pregnant, but I'm just not sure how it's going to work out between us..... so, it's better not to tell anyone, if we might just end up breaking up again."
Eli nodded. "I get it," He said coldly.
Grace looked at him, hurt. "E, I'm sorry... it's just the way I feel. How can we know that this time it's going to last?"
"Grace, I'm sorry about the past... but it is the past. I thought you saw ME, this time. I thought you could see that I've changed," Eli said.
"I do!" Grace insisted.
They were silent for some time, thinking. Sounds of Rick making waffles sounded out from the kitchen. Finally Grace turned to Eli, "Let's just wait a while before we say anything, okay?"
"Okay," Eli agreed numbly. He got up from the couch.
"E?" Grace questioned.
Eli looked back over his shoulder, "I've got to look for a job."
Grace nodded, and Eli went into the kitchen. She leaned back against the couch and sighed. She hadn't wanted to say that to Eli, but she felt like she had no choice. She truly didn't know if they were destined for another break-up or not. She just didn't know if she could trust Eli, even if he had changed...
* * *
"Well, you're in a good mood," Lily said happily as she came back after picking up Jessie to find Rick eating waffles and joking around with Eli.
Rick ignored her statement, giving Jess a quick kiss on the forehead before targeting in on Lily. Lily laughed as Rick caught her and kissed her. When Lily broke away from the kiss, she glanced over at Eli.
"Have you found anything yet?" She asked him.
Eli looked up, with a smile. Lily waited for the good news.
"Actually, Eli and I were talking, and there's this job at the office..." Rick explained.
"At your office?" Lily questioned. Rick and Sam's architecture partnership had been going well and had boomed into a full-fledged business.
Eli nodded, "Dad wants me to be his gopher."
"Assistant," Rick corrected him. Then he smiled, "Okay... gopher."
Eli shook his head with a smile, "But I'm going to do it anyways. I could use the money."
Rick smiled at Eli, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by. Lily looked at Rick after Eli had gone into the garage. "Are you sure that is the best thing to do?"
"It will be a real job," Rick told Lily. "I'm going to make him actually work for his keep."
Lily nodded. She hesitated, then, "Have you mentioned this to Karen?"
Rick's eyes narrowed the smallest bit. "I don't think she'd mind. It is a job, after all."
Lily backed down. It was a job... a good job. And Rick said he was really going to put Eli to work. "Well, that should be nice," Lily said with a gentle smile.
Rick's tension eased away, glad for the encouragement. "I think so... want a waffle?"
Lily took one.
* * *
"Waffles?" Jessie asked, coming into the kitchen. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "For lunch?" She added.
Grace shrugged. "Your dad made them."
"Where is he now?" Jessie asked, reluctantly putting a waffle on her plate and sitting down with Grace.
"I don't think you want the answer to that," Grace said and pointedly looked up at the ceiling. Rick and Lily had disappeared up to their room a little while ago, and hadn't returned.
Jessie's face tightened with further disgust. She concentrated on eating her waffle.
"Oh, we found out the due date," Grace said.
Jessie looked up, a smile growing on her face. "Yeah, when?"
"Christmas."
"You mean, like December 25th?" Jessie asked for clarification. Grace nodded. Jessie smiled, "Wow, that's cool."
"What's cool?" Eli said, coming into the room.
"Oh, just that your baby is going to be the next Jesus," Jessie said jokingly. She bit her tongue and quickly said, "I mean... Grace's baby."
Eli paused. He looked over Jessie's head at Grace. 'She knows?' He mouthed. Grace nodded.
"It's okay, Jess," Eli said to his nervous sister.
Jessie smiled, and spontaneously hugged her brother. "You're going to be a father!"
Eli hugged her back, thrown by this sudden display of affection. He and Jess hadn't been getting along that great lately... "You'll be an aunt," Eli said to Jessie when she let him go.
Jessie grinned, "It's SO cool!"
"More waffles?" Eli complained, as he saw what they were eating. He moved around the table and stole a strawberry off Grace's plate.
"Hey!" Grace cried with faked anger. "Some people are eating for two!"
"And some of us are trying to gain a little sympathy weight," Eli said with a smile. He leaned down and kissed Grace briefly.
Jessie's eyes widened. She looked at the two of them curiously, but they were busy fighting for the last strawberry on the plate. Jessie hadn't realized that they were back together... but of course she hadn't known they were dating before in the first place... she had suspicions, but it wasn't until Grace said she was pregnant that it all clicked in her head.
And now they were back together... Jessie studied them uneasily. It was supposed to be a good thing that they were back together, right? Especially for the baby..... But Jessie had a nagging feeling that things weren't going to be all sunsets and rainbows.
* * *
Grace sank into her bed that night with a feeling of peace. Everything was going her way... Rick HAD seen her and Eli kissing, but he was convinced that it was a one-time thing. Her parents were handling the news of her pregnancy better than she had hoped. And now she and Eli were back together.
Grace smiled, closing her eyes. She remember the initial unsureness she and Eli had felt when they both realized that they liked each other a little too much. They had loved being together and spending time together, but at the first hint of something more between them, they had baulked. They didn't know how to deal with the idea... of them. Jessie had been good at throwing the cold water on them. She had seen more than Eli and Grace had been willing to see at the time, and she had called their attention to it.
[[[[start of memory flashback]]]]
They were sitting down, all four kids, watching Godzilla... of all things. Grace's junior year had begun, and she had this teacher... Mr. Dimitri. Grace felt the need to talk to Eli about him... so she did so, while munching on popcorn. Talking about her teacher had led to her and Eli joking around and pretend-fighting. Grace was having fun, and then Jessie stood up and said, "Okay! Okay! Zoe, let's go."
Grace was surprised. Zoe was too. "What?" She asked.
"They obviously want to be alone," Jessie said, walking away.
"No we don't!" Grace argued.
"No they don't!" Zoe agreed.
"No, Jess, no, see..." Eli tried, but Zoe was following Jessie out of the room.
"No, Jessie! We don't want to be alone. Zoe!" Grace tried, but the girls had left the room. She and Eli were left alone. Suddenly, Grace felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, along with all her words. She didn't know what to say to Eli, when just a short time ago they were joking and laughing together. With a few words Jessie had changed all that... Jess was making her and Eli look at themselves...... did they really want to be alone?
Being alone with Eli... Grace was scared at the thought. She was realizing that she really cared for him, and not in a brotherly type of way. That scared her. She had always had her crush on Eli-- him being the cool jock in school... but this...... THIS was something real. These were real feelings, and Grace didn't want to get hurt.
"Well, I have to write..." Grace began, too frightened by reality to be there.
"Yeah, me too," Eli agreed, standing up with her.
"...in my journal," Grace finished.
"I mean..." Eli said.
"No, I know what you..." Grace said. But they were already walking in opposite directions, heading for security-- for a place where they wouldn't have to analyze their relationship, and what it was growing into.
[[[[...end of memory flashback]]]]
Grace sighed, rolling over in bed. But of course, her and Eli's budding relationship had hit a roadblock in the form of Mr. Dimitri. Grace had let herself slowly fall for her mentor. And Dimitri influenced her in ways she couldn't begin to explain. He had helped her become the 'Grace' she was today. Grace thanked him for that, but she was glad everything happened the way it did... with him quietly exiting out of her life.
And then the door was opened once again for Eli. And Eli had stepped in... back into her life.
Grace closed her eyes. She willed sleep to come. It did.
* * *