A/N – Hello everyone! I deeply apologize for the time it's been between chapters…I kind of lost it for awhile and didn't feel like writing. Really bad case of writer's block…but it finally went away! So here's the next chapter! It's quite long. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love getting them so please please keep reading and reviewing! Enjoy!
"Joshua…oh Joshua…"
In his sleep, Josh faintly heard Donna calling his name, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"What?" he muttered, glancing at the clock and his eyes widening at the time, "6 o'clock! Donnatella, are you out of your mind?!"
"Jooosshhh," Donna whined, "Come on! I want to show you something, it's important, please?"
Josh sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Alright. But only because it's you…if it were anyone else I wouldn't even be talking right now, I'd be asleep still."
Donna grinned and pulled his blankets off.
"Thanks, sweetheart." Josh said sarcastically as he got up out of bed.
"Your very welcome." Donna replied, giving him a kiss, "Now come on! I don't want to miss it!"
Donna took his hand and pulled him out of the room, putting her finger on her lips so that he knew to be quiet. She pulled him all the way downstairs, through the front hall and out into the front yard. Once they were outside, Josh gasped.
"That's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life," he whispered, gazing at the brilliant sunrise.
Donna smiled radiantly, "I know, isn't it?"
Josh put his arm around Donna and pulled her close to him.
Josh mentally kicked himself for not asking her parents for permission yet; this would have been the perfect opportunity to ask her to marry him. He resolved that he would definitely ask them today, somehow getting them alone. And the perfect plan to propose to Donna was slowly forming in his mind.
For now though, he decided just to enjoy the moment. The sunrise was magnificent, and it was the first time in years that he'd seen one.
"I love you," he murmured, kissing her temple.
"I love you too," she whispered back, resting her head on his shoulder.
* * *
"So what is it that we're making again?" Josh asked, standing at the stove stirring something in the frying pan.
"Scrambled eggs, omelettes, pancakes and sausages." Donna replied, whisking eggs in a bowl.
Josh nodded and then continued, "And what is it that I'm stirring?"
"The scrambled eggs. Come on Josh, you must know how to cook scrambled eggs!" Donna exclaimed, laughing.
"Donna, it's 6:30 in the morning. Even if I did, there's no chance that I would remember how!" Josh argued. He sniffed the eggs, "Mmmm, these smell good."
Donna grinned in satisfaction, "Thank you. Now, I'm going to show you how to make the omelettes, watch carefully."
Donna poured the raw eggs out of the bowl and into another frying pan, and slowly showed Josh how to make an omelette.
"Got it?" she asked.
"Yep." Josh answered, so proud of himself that he was beaming.
"Good, you can do that and the scrambled eggs then. I'll work on the sausages and the toast." Donna replied with a smirk.
To her surprise, he didn't argue.
"Alright! When is your family going to be down?" he asked, curious.
Donna laughed, "Any minute now, they can probably smell the food."
Sure enough, a couple minutes later her parents came downstairs.
"Good morning Mom, Dad!" Donna exclaimed, giving her parents kisses on their cheeks.
"Morning, baby. This smells wonderful!" Andrea praised, sitting down at the kitchen table.
"Yeah, Donna, this looks great. Perfect way to start off the day!" her father grinned, sitting down beside his wife.
"Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy it. I got Josh up to watch the sunrise, so I thought we might as well make breakfast." Donna grinned, "Should we wait for the others?"
"You know, as much as I want to say no and just start this fabulous meal…we should probably go wake them up." Andrea sighed.
"I'll do it, Mama," Donna offered, "Josh, can you stay here and watch the food?"
"Of course, I'll make sure it doesn't burn while you're gone," Josh chuckled when Donna hesitated, "Go on, sweetie, it'll be fine."
Donna smiled, "Okay. But if it's burnt – "
" – I'm in big trouble…I get it." Josh sighed, noticing Andrea and Mr. Moss chuckling.
"Donna, we'll step in if Josh needs some help, okay?" Andrea said, trying not to laugh.
Donna nodded gratefully and headed upstairs.
"So Joshua, did you like the sunrise?" Mr. Moss asked.
"Sir, it was amazingly beautiful. The second most beautiful thing I've ever seen, actually." Josh replied, stirring the scrambled eggs and checking the omelettes.
Mr. Moss shared a look of curiousity with his wife. Andrea grinned, knowing what he was wondering and motioning him to ask, although she was pretty sure she already knew.
"What the first?" Mr. Moss questioned.
Josh turned around from the stove to look at him.
"Your daughter," he responded seriously.
Mr. Moss was taken off guard and couldn't think of anything to say. Josh turned back to the stove, trying to think of a way to work in what he wanted to ask.
"Josh, just what do you want with my daughter?" Mr. Moss asked, wanting to know exactly what was going on.
"Sir? I don't know exactly what you mean – "
"She was taken advantage of before and I don't want that to happen again. Where do you see this relationship going?" he asked, his voice loud.
Andrea waited silently, hoping the answer was what she thought. It would be a shame to lose Josh…she knew how much her daughter cared about him.
Josh took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to say. As much as he knew he had to ask now, he really didn't want to…Donna's father intimidated him quite a bit.
Come on, suck it up, Lyman, he told himself. It's now or never.
"To be completely honest sir, I have to ask you something…I've been meaning to ask you since we got here." Josh said softly, leaving his 'station' at the stove and sitting down with Donna's parents.
"Yes?" Mr. Moss asked, hoping he wasn't going to have to hurt the boy. He was just starting to grow on him.
"Mr. Moss, I am totally and completely in love with your daughter. And I have been for years. I would do anything, absolutely anything for her, I hope you realize that." Josh said, his heart beating so fast he could hear it in his ears.
When he nodded, Josh continued.
"Sir, Donna and I came here for a visit for two reasons. One was that she missed you, she's missed you for a long time and I deeply apologize for not letting come sooner. She's very important to me, both personally and professionally." Josh stated, meaning every word.
"And the second reason?" Andrea whispered, praying silently.
Josh took a breath, "I wanted to meet you; I wanted to meet you to see what people brought Donna up, and I knew they had to be fantastic because she is…and you guys are. But I also wanted to ask you…ask you for permission to marry Donna."
Josh waited, feeling vulnerable and anxious.
Andrea beamed, then looked at her husband. Mr. Moss was staring into space.
"Thomas?" she asked, her voice wavering.
"Is she really all grown up, Andi?" he asked his wife sadly.
Andrea nodded and patted his back, "She is."
Josh sat mutely watching the scene.
"Seems only yesterday when she was riding her trike along the driveway…" Mr. Moss said.
"I know, honey. But Josh is waiting." Andrea smiled, glancing at Josh and winking at him.
"Oh, yes, that's right." Mr. Moss said, coming out of his trance and looking at Josh. "Josh, you may certainly have my permission to marry Donna. I can plainly see that you love her just as much as I love Andi and that's exactly what Donna deserves."
Josh beamed, "Thank you so much, sir."
Mr. Moss got up from the table and walked to Josh.
"Call me Thomas," he said, a twinkle in his eye.
If it were possible, Josh would have beamed even more.
The two men shook hands, as Andrea watched, grinning.
She sniffed the air and gasped.
"Breakfast!!" she exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Josh cried, running back to the stove, "She's going to kill me!"
Andrea rushed over, surveying the damage.
"Don't worry, they're not burnt. We caught them just in time…and I'm sure she would have understood if they burnt." Andrea laughed, giving Josh a hug.
"Well, after I asked her she would have, but not before that!" Josh laughed, knowing Andrea probably understood.
Thomas held up his hand and Andrea nodded.
"Footsteps." she whispered to Josh.
She went and sat down beside Thomas, and Josh took up stirring again.
"This smells heavenly!" Clare exclaimed, coming into the kitchen.
"I completely agree, Clare! Thank goodness I fancy this right now…I could eat a horse! And some pickles too, now that I think about it…" Anne trailed off, sitting down beside Andrea.
Donna came in next, carrying Pat and Kaylie, with Annabelle beside her.
"You two go sit down beside Auntie Anne, okay?" she said softly to the twins, putting them down, "'Bella, can you help them get set up?"
"Sure, Aunt Donna." Annabelle replied, happy to help out and be treated like an adult.
She took her younger siblings' hands and brought them to the table, lifting them up into their chairs.
"So?" Donna grinned, "Everything alright while I was gone? Josh didn't manage to burn anything did he?"
Andrea laughed at the irony, "No, everything was fine. Nothing's burnt."
"Everything's fabulous, Donnatella. Now sit down with your family and I'll serve you guys breakfast. Who wants what?" Josh asked as Donna sat down, grinning.
As Josh got all the orders, Donna smiled. Everything was so perfect, Josh fit into her family so well…and she was sure that her mother liked him. Her father…well, Josh was getting there. She was so glad that he convinced her to come, it was great to be home.