DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LIZZIE MCGUIRE! Okay, let me say say something about the French in this chapter. What I have is what I think is correct, but some people who are fluent or know the language a little better than me might find errors. If you do, I won't take offense or anything, so please tell me. This is my second year of French, and this is early into the year, so my French is definitely limited.
In other news. . .um, let's see? Do I have any news? Oh, this is the second to last chapter. I hope you like this chapter.
And in response to some of the reviews:
Harrypocd: I think the whole Detective Michaels thing from Seventh Heaven thing crossed my mind as I was writing it, but I needed a different last name that my computer wouldn't be annoying about that wasn't Smith or Jones or something already used.
Weasley Wizard Wheezes: About Hilda, read the chapter and find out. :)
Ladyravan99- Thanks! Your comment made my day! I was mad about something, and I checked my e-mail, to see your review and it meant a lot to me. That is a very cool analogy with the roller coaster, and I am flattered.
To everyone else: Thank you! Ya'll are awesome and I am glad you are liking this.
Worst Nightmare
~Lizzie~
Boston Airport, that night, at eight, outside of gate.
Lizzie nervously paced the airport, "Where is he?"
Miranda, who was with her, was trying to calm her down, "He called from Atlanta over two hours ago. It is only eight. The plane is probably going to be running late. You never know. Give it time."
Lizzie tried to sit down, "Okay," she said and she closed her eyes, "I just hope nothing happened to them."
Miranda sat down next to Lizzie, "Nothing happened to them."
Lizzie nodded her head, somewhat distantly. She knew that Miranda was probably right, but she couldn't help but worry about her daughter and other best-friend, especially now that that she and Gordo were in a sort of uncomfortable position with each other.
"I know, I just love Gordo and Sarah so much," Lizzie said, and a tear fell down her face as she remembered the first time Gordo told her that he loved her. It was the whole reason that "je t'aime" was "their" phrase.
~*~Flashback~*~
End of freshman year of high school, in Lizzie's house, in Lizzie's room. Lizzie and Gordo had been dating for a few months at this point
Gordo and Lizzie were at Lizzie's house to study for their exams. Lizzie had her French and English exam while Gordo had his English and history exam. They were studying for English together.
"Who was Lady Mac Beth?" Gordo asked Lizzie, reading off the study sheet.
Lizzie pretended to think about this and smiled, "Um, Mac Beth's wife?"
Gordo rolled his eyes, "Really? Could have fooled me there. No! I mean, what is her significance in the play?"
"What play?" Lizzie said.
Gordo laughed, as he looked very annoyed. Lizzie noticed this, "What?? I was only kidding. I know that Lady Mac Beth is in Julius Caesar."
"Lizzie!" Gordo exclaimed, "Are you really that dense?"
Lizzie laughed in amusement, "No! I am just trying to annoy you. I know all of this. She is in Mac Beth. I really do know all of this stuff, Gordo. I don't really need to study for English. It is French I am worried about."
Gordo looked at Lizzie, "French? Lizzie, you know I take Latin. How am I supposed to help you with your French?"
Lizzie sighed as she got out some note cards from her desk, "Easy. Just read the expression and I will tell you what it translates to in English."
Gordo sighed, "Fine."
Gordo got into a more comfortable position on her chair by taking his shoes off and putting them up on the chair and looked at the expressions. "Okay. What does 'J'ai soif' mean?" He didn't know how to pronounce it, so he pronounced it incorrectly.
"I am thirsty. Next," Lizzie said.
"Okay, J'ai chaud?" Gordo said, still struggling with pronunciation.
"I am hot," Lizzie said.
Gordo looked Lizzie over and said, "I definitely agree." He nodded his head, "Tres hot."
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Continue."
"J'ai faim," he said, still struggling. Lizzie laughed.
"I'm hungry."
Gordo nodded his head, "So am I. Let's take a break and get a snack."
"Gordo! Hold on! I really need help, here!"
Gordo sighed, "Fine, but as soon as we are done, I want to eat. I need some brain food."
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Fine. Continue."
"Je suis desolé," he said, reading the card.
"Well, you should be sorry," Lizzie said.
Gordo looked at her confused and Lizzie laughed, "It means 'I am sorry.'"
"Oh," Gordo said, and he moved on to the next card, "Je t'aime." This time, though, he pronounced the expression correctly.
"I love you," Lizzie said.
"I love you too," Gordo said, without thinking. Lizzie looked at him, and Gordo soon realized what why she said that when he looked at the other side of the card at the translation. He looked at Lizzie and blushed, "Um, I mean . . ."
Lizzie smiled, "Actually, Gordo. I love you, too."
"You do?" Gordo asked, trying to keep himself from smiling.
Lizzie blushed and nodded her head, "Yeah. Je t'aime."
Lizzie reached over and kissed Gordo, and when he pulled back, Gordo said, "If it's okay with you, I am keeping this card," He took the card and put it in his pocket.
Lizzie laughed and nodded her head, "Yeah, you can keep it forever and frame it."
"Oh, believe me, I will," Gordo said.
~*~End Flashback~*~
Gordo did keep that card. When he went home that day, he put it on the wall and admired it, and from then on, Lizzie and Gordo started saying 'je t'aime' for the fun of it. It became their signature phrase. Gordo kept the note card in his wallet, for good luck and a reminder of how much he loved Lizzie.
Lizzie smiled at the memory. She wondered where the card was at this point and whether Gordo still had it.
She didn't have time to wonder long, because before she knew it, a voice interrupted her train of thought.
"Lizzie," the deep voice said. Lizzie looked up to see Gordo standing there with Sarah in his arms. Lizzie found herself speechless.
Miranda broke the tension by getting up to hug Gordo, "Gordo! It's been so long since I've seen you. You look so good!"
He certainly did look good, Lizzie couldn't help but note. She must have overlooked his subtle changes the first time she saw him, but he did look different. He looked a little older, and his face showed it. He also looked a little thinner than he used to be two years earlier.
Miranda took Sarah in her arms and held her, "So this is the famous Sarah! Hey, Sarah! I have been dying to meet you."
Sarah smiled in reaction. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't care. She wasn't even two. She liked the attention from new people.
Gordo's glance crept over to Lizzie who looked stressed. Lizzie watched Miranda and Sarah and then looked at Gordo and smiled.
Gordo held out his arms as if to offer a hug. Lizzie smiled and walked over to Gordo and gave him the hug he offered. She hugged him tightly and let herself release more tears, "I am glad you are here." She said, finally.
Gordo smiled and put his arm around her, "So am I. We have a lot to talk about."
Lizzie nodded her head, "Yeah, we do."
The four of them walked out of the airport, Lizzie and Gordo still holding each other.
~~~
~Hilda~
The Next Day, Valentine's Day
The next afternoon, Hilda drove back to Lucy's apartment. She had been trying to call since the day before about the party about her parent's anniversary party. Every time she called, she got no answer, and she wanted to know what was going on. The hospital couldn't tell her anything and none of the other teachers knew anything, so Hilda decided to take it upon herself to find out.
She parked her car and walked up to Lizzie's door. She knocked, and no one answered. "This is strange," she thought. Lucy always told Hilda where she was. She thought for a minute about what to do because this party was tonight. Hilda turned the knob of Lucy's door and to her surprise she found it unlocked. She opened the door all the way and the apartment was totally dark.
Hilda let herself in the apartment and turned on the light. "Lucy?" She called. No response. "Lucy? Are you here?" She closed the door to the apartment.
After searching all of the rooms, she decided to give up. She would just have to yell at Lucy later for forgetting about the party.
She was turning all the lights off that the turned on and was looking around for any clues of where Lizzie could be, when she heard a knock on the door.
"Lucy?" She called and she opened the door, "Where have you-oh. Hello. May I help you?" She said, after she realized it wasn't Lucy. Instead, at the door, stood two men and a young woman.
One of the men grabbed Hilda's neck and dragged her into the room while the other two people let themselves in, the other man holding up a gun toward Hilda and the woman was keeping guard.
Hilda was trying to breath, but couldn't. The man with the gun looked around, "Where is the baby?" he asked.
Hilda couldn't speak.
"Wren shut the door! Now, Finn, let her go so she can talk, but don't let her move!" the man with the gun said.
Wren and Finn did what they were told. Once Wren shut the door, Todd, the guy holding the gun, nodded his head toward Hilda, "All right, you can let her go."
Finn let go of her neck and Hilda gasped for breath. Once she had regained some of her breath, she looked at the three people, confused, "What is going on here?" she cried.
Finn, who was making sure that Hilda was not moving pushed her to the sofa. Todd walked up, with the gun still pointing to her, he smiled deviously, "This is payback."
Hilda, still not clear what was going on, only that she might die soon, cried in desparation, "What did I do?"
Todd's devious smile turned into a look of anger, "How could you ask such a question? You know exactly what you did!" and then he smiled a little, "Maybe I should introduce myself to you. I am Todd Horowitz. Robert was my brother. You killed my brother, and now I am here to kill you."
Todd set the gun up and was about to pull the trigger, when he was interrupted by Wren, "Wait! The child! Ask about the child, Todd!" Wren said.
"Oh yeah," Todd said, "Where is the kid?"
At this point, Hilda wasn't saying anything. She was too scared to speak.
"Damnation, woman! Where is the child?" he said, and he got a little closer to her with the gun.
"Hilda, hyper ventilating, said, "What child?"
"Your child," Todd said, "Where is it?"
Hilda, still unclear of what was going on, but wanting her children to remain safe, said, "I don't know!"
"You don't know, huh? Well, if Finn strangled you, do you think that would refresh your memory?"
Hilda shook her head, "No."
"Strangle her!" Todd said.
Hilda squealed as Finn grabbed her neck. In the meantime, Wren, who was keeping watch noticed a police car that just parked in the parking lot.
"Todd," Wren yelled, "The police are here!"
Todd looked outside, at Wren, and then at Hilda, who was struggling for her life. He looked at his gun and set it for perfect aim.
Two shots were fired.
Suddenly, the door of the apartment flew open, "FREEZE!" a policeman yelled and his gun was out too, "Drop the gun!"
Todd, Finn, and Wren all put their hands up and policemen and women approached them and handcuffed them and the police recited their Miranda rights. (You have the right to remain silent . . . )
The three alleged murderers were brought to jail that night while some other policemen stayed behind to examine and handle the corpse in the apartment.
~~~
~Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda~
Still Valentine's Day
Ever since Gordo arrived in Boston, Lizzie and Gordo had spent most of the time talking. They spent most of the night talking, until they finally fell asleep at around five in the morning.
They talked about themselves and mostly what they had been up to in the past two years. They avoided talking about the present situation, although it was obvious that it was on their minds. They just wanted to avoid fighting for now.
At around two in the afternoon, Lizzie finally woke up.
"Up so soon!" Miranda said, sarcastically. Miranda fell asleep a few hours before Lizzie and Gordo.
Lizzie rubbed her eyes and looked around, "Where are Sarah and Gordo?"
"Sarah is taking a nap and Gordo is still sleeping believe it or not," Miranda said.
"What time is it?" Lizzie asked.
"Two."
Lizzie yawned and slowly got up and headed for the kitchen.
"Looking for something?" Miranda asked, noticing that Lizzie seemed to be searching for something.
"Yeah. Do you have any coffee?"
Miranda shook her head, "Nope. I stopped drinking caffeine as a New Year's resolution. Haven't touched the stuff since."
"Oh," Lizzie said and she frowned.
"I can make you some lunch, though," Miranda offered.
Lizzie shook her head, "No, I can fix it myself, but thanks."
Suddenly, a door opened and Gordo appeared.
"Well, look who finally rolled out of the bed!" Miranda said.
"Ha ha!" Gordo said toward Miranda and he looked at Lizzie, "Hey."
Lizzie smiled at her friend, "Hey."
Lizzie and Gordo went to sit at the kitchen table.
Miranda looked at her two best friends and decided to let them be alone for the moment. "Um, if you excuse me, there is this really cool novel I am dying to finish." Miranda left the room.
Gordo and Lizzie watched Miranda as she left and looked at each other. They didn't know what to say, they knew what had to be said, but neither was ready to discuss it.
"So, um," Gordo said nervously, "Happy Valentine's day."
Lizzie nodded her head, "Thanks. You too."
After a few more minutes of silent, Gordo reached into his pajama pocket and an envelope appeared, "Um, here. I wrote this for you a few days ago."
Lizzie looked at Gordo and took the envelope and starred at it. She then started to slowly open it, and right as she was taking the paper out of the envelope, Gordo got up. "Um, I am going to check on Sarah. Um, yeah, well, see you," he said and he exited out of the room, too nervous to stay and sit there as she read the letter. It was the letter that he wrote about love.
Lizzie took the paper out of the envelope and opened it up. As she read it, she started to cry. It was the sweetest thing she had ever read.
A few minutes later, Lizzie was still crying and Gordo reappeared. Lizzie turned around and noticed him there and said, "Oh, Gordo!" Lizzie walked up to him and gave him a big hug and a kiss. "I love you, too! I have never stopped loving you!" Lizzie gave him another kiss, this time, the kiss was deeper and longer.
A few seconds later, Gordo pulled away. Lizzie looked at Gordo, confused. Gordo smiled, "Lizzie, will you be my valentine?" he asked.
Lizzie smiled and started to cry, "Of course, I will, Gordo. I love you."
"I would do anything for you, Lizzie. You know that, right?"
Lizzie nodded her head slowly, "Gordo, I have always known that."
"And you also know that we can make it through any obstacle, whether it is a baby or anything else?"
Lizzie nodded her head and cried a little harder, "I do now."
"Don't ever be afraid of me. You can tell me anything. Our love can overcome anything."
Lizzie nodded her head, "I am so sorry, Gordo. I don't know why I was so scared."
Gordo nodded his head, "It's okay. I forgive you."
Lizzie pulled Gordo in for a tighter hug, "Oh, Gordo, don't ever leave me again!"
"I won't" Gordo whispered into Lizzie's ear, "I'll never leave you."
Just then, the phone rang. Miranda appeared and smiled as she looked at her two best friends. She then picked up the phone.
"Hello?" She said, happily.
"Hello? This is Officer Goodman. May I please speak to Lizzie McGuire?"
"Yeah, sure," Miranda said, a little more seriously. "Lizzie," she said and Lizzie looked over, "It's Officer Goodman."
Lizzie's moment of happiness ended right there. She looked at Gordo with a look of fear and then took the phone. Meanwhile, Miranda walked over to stand next to Gordo to watch Lizzie talk on the phone.
"H-hello?" she said, nervous that something has happened.
"Elizabeth?" The officer said and he sighed, "I am afraid I have some bad news."
Lizzie trembled with fear, "What?"
"About an hour ago, some police officers were sent to your apartment in Arkansas, but unfortunately it was too late. The officers found a woman shot to death in your apartment. We identified the woman as Hilda Flint."
"Oh no! Hilda!" Lizzie cried. She cupped her mouth in shock.
"Fortunately, we were able to catch and arrest the people involved, but it was too late to do anything. The people are in jail right now, so you should be safe, but you should have another identity."
Lizzie, still trying to get over the shock of the death of her friend took a deep breath, "Yeah, okay."
"We will call you back later today, but I thought it would be important for you to know this."
"Okay," Lizzie said and she hung up the phone. Once the phone was down, Lizzie practically collapsed.
"What's the matter?" Miranda asked. Meanwhile, Gordo rushed to Lizzie's side to comfort her. Lizzie walked over to the couch and sat down. Gordo sat on one side of her while Miranda sat on the other.
"My friend died," she cried, "An innocent person dies today because of me. It's all my fault!" Lizzie put her hands over her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Miranda asked, still unclear of what was going on.
"Hilda," Lizzie said, "my friend from Arkansas, was in my apartment today, and was shot."
Gordo's eyes widened, "Oh, Lizzie!" He hugged her, "I am so sorry."
Lizzie pulled away, "The thing is," she said, and she tried to pull herself together, "Hilda was almost me. The killers probably thought she was me. Oh, God!," she said, crying even harder, "I hate myself! None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for me."
"Don't say that, Lizzie," Miranda said.
"No! I mean it Miranda! Everything is my fault! None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for my stubbornness! I wish I could take everything back! I wish I told Gordo that I was pregnant when I had the chance! That way, I wouldn't be in this whole mess!"
"You don't know that," Miranda said.
Lizzie nodded her head and wiped her tears from her face, "Yeah, I do. If I told Gordo about the pregnancy, maybe he wouldn't have gone back so soon, and I wouldn't have moved and gone to work, and would never have witnessed the shooting. Then, I would never have to enter the Witness Protection Program and thought Gordo was dead when he really wasn't. All of this is my fault!"
Lizzie cried even harder, if that was possible, on Gordo's shoulder. Gordo comforted her. He wanted to say something, but struggled. Lizzie noticed this.
"Gordo, what is it?"
Gordo looked at Lizzie with sad eyes, "You know, Lizzie," he said and he paused for a minute, "You are absolutely right."
"What?" Lizzie cried and pulled away. What was he saying? He was supposed to comfort her, not agree with her.
Gordo nodded his head, showing a little more confidence, "None of this would have happened if you only told me any of this."
Lizzie looked at Miranda for help, but she wasn't helping, "Yeah, I have to agree with you, also. Gee, Lizzie, why didn't you just tell him? He loves you, he would have stayed with you no matter what. What were you so afraid of anyway?"
Lizzie looked at both of her friends. She could not believe what they were saying, but she had to admit they were both right.
Lizzie jumped up and turned to her friends and shook her head, "You are right. I don't know why I was so scared. I am so sorry, Gordo. I love you."
*echo*
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
Je t'aime.
~*~
~~~
Suddenly, Lizzie's eyes shot open. She bolted up and looked around. This place looked familiar. In fact, it looked exactly like her old apartment from two years ago. She realized she was in her bed.
A confused Lizzie looked around, and a few seconds later, Gordo appeared at the doorway.
"Lizzie," he said, and he walked toward her and sat on her bed next to her, "Are you feeling any better?"
"Gordo," Lizzie whispered, "What is going on?"
Gordo smiled, "I don't know. You tell me. You have only been asleep for the past five hours."
Lizzie looked at Gordo and gave a confused expression, "What are you talking about?"
Gordo laughed lightly, "Oh, Lizzie. Come on! Get up! I'll only be here for a few days! I want you to be awake at least part of the time that I am here!"
Lizzie looked at Gordo. He looked . . .different, maybe a little younger.
Gordo looked at Lizzie, concerned, "Lizzie, are you sure you are all right? Did you have a bad dream or something?"
A nightmare, Lizzie thought. She nodded her head, "Yeah, I had a really bad nightmare," Lizzie said, and she smiled.
"Aww, I'm sorry, Liz. Well, at least it was a dream and not reality. Do you want to talk about it?" he said and he pulled her into a hug.
"Maybe later," Lizzie said, and she slowly started to smile.
It was all a dream.
~~~
Oooooooh. You didn't expect that, now did you?
If you are confused, look back at the end of chapter three. Lizzie fell asleep . . .but never woke up. Everything after chapter three up until now has been a dream. . .or a nightmare.
I know that is probably not what you expected and I hope you don't think any less of the story because of this. I thought of this idea a long time ago, and I didn't copy anyone from this idea. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to do this, so I finally asked a few people, and they said that it was okay with them and they even gave me some ideas.
There is now one last chapter left. I really hope you don't hate me for this.
I hope to have the last chapter up on or by Halloween.
In other news. . .um, let's see? Do I have any news? Oh, this is the second to last chapter. I hope you like this chapter.
And in response to some of the reviews:
Harrypocd: I think the whole Detective Michaels thing from Seventh Heaven thing crossed my mind as I was writing it, but I needed a different last name that my computer wouldn't be annoying about that wasn't Smith or Jones or something already used.
Weasley Wizard Wheezes: About Hilda, read the chapter and find out. :)
Ladyravan99- Thanks! Your comment made my day! I was mad about something, and I checked my e-mail, to see your review and it meant a lot to me. That is a very cool analogy with the roller coaster, and I am flattered.
To everyone else: Thank you! Ya'll are awesome and I am glad you are liking this.
Worst Nightmare
~Lizzie~
Boston Airport, that night, at eight, outside of gate.
Lizzie nervously paced the airport, "Where is he?"
Miranda, who was with her, was trying to calm her down, "He called from Atlanta over two hours ago. It is only eight. The plane is probably going to be running late. You never know. Give it time."
Lizzie tried to sit down, "Okay," she said and she closed her eyes, "I just hope nothing happened to them."
Miranda sat down next to Lizzie, "Nothing happened to them."
Lizzie nodded her head, somewhat distantly. She knew that Miranda was probably right, but she couldn't help but worry about her daughter and other best-friend, especially now that that she and Gordo were in a sort of uncomfortable position with each other.
"I know, I just love Gordo and Sarah so much," Lizzie said, and a tear fell down her face as she remembered the first time Gordo told her that he loved her. It was the whole reason that "je t'aime" was "their" phrase.
~*~Flashback~*~
End of freshman year of high school, in Lizzie's house, in Lizzie's room. Lizzie and Gordo had been dating for a few months at this point
Gordo and Lizzie were at Lizzie's house to study for their exams. Lizzie had her French and English exam while Gordo had his English and history exam. They were studying for English together.
"Who was Lady Mac Beth?" Gordo asked Lizzie, reading off the study sheet.
Lizzie pretended to think about this and smiled, "Um, Mac Beth's wife?"
Gordo rolled his eyes, "Really? Could have fooled me there. No! I mean, what is her significance in the play?"
"What play?" Lizzie said.
Gordo laughed, as he looked very annoyed. Lizzie noticed this, "What?? I was only kidding. I know that Lady Mac Beth is in Julius Caesar."
"Lizzie!" Gordo exclaimed, "Are you really that dense?"
Lizzie laughed in amusement, "No! I am just trying to annoy you. I know all of this. She is in Mac Beth. I really do know all of this stuff, Gordo. I don't really need to study for English. It is French I am worried about."
Gordo looked at Lizzie, "French? Lizzie, you know I take Latin. How am I supposed to help you with your French?"
Lizzie sighed as she got out some note cards from her desk, "Easy. Just read the expression and I will tell you what it translates to in English."
Gordo sighed, "Fine."
Gordo got into a more comfortable position on her chair by taking his shoes off and putting them up on the chair and looked at the expressions. "Okay. What does 'J'ai soif' mean?" He didn't know how to pronounce it, so he pronounced it incorrectly.
"I am thirsty. Next," Lizzie said.
"Okay, J'ai chaud?" Gordo said, still struggling with pronunciation.
"I am hot," Lizzie said.
Gordo looked Lizzie over and said, "I definitely agree." He nodded his head, "Tres hot."
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Continue."
"J'ai faim," he said, still struggling. Lizzie laughed.
"I'm hungry."
Gordo nodded his head, "So am I. Let's take a break and get a snack."
"Gordo! Hold on! I really need help, here!"
Gordo sighed, "Fine, but as soon as we are done, I want to eat. I need some brain food."
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Fine. Continue."
"Je suis desolé," he said, reading the card.
"Well, you should be sorry," Lizzie said.
Gordo looked at her confused and Lizzie laughed, "It means 'I am sorry.'"
"Oh," Gordo said, and he moved on to the next card, "Je t'aime." This time, though, he pronounced the expression correctly.
"I love you," Lizzie said.
"I love you too," Gordo said, without thinking. Lizzie looked at him, and Gordo soon realized what why she said that when he looked at the other side of the card at the translation. He looked at Lizzie and blushed, "Um, I mean . . ."
Lizzie smiled, "Actually, Gordo. I love you, too."
"You do?" Gordo asked, trying to keep himself from smiling.
Lizzie blushed and nodded her head, "Yeah. Je t'aime."
Lizzie reached over and kissed Gordo, and when he pulled back, Gordo said, "If it's okay with you, I am keeping this card," He took the card and put it in his pocket.
Lizzie laughed and nodded her head, "Yeah, you can keep it forever and frame it."
"Oh, believe me, I will," Gordo said.
~*~End Flashback~*~
Gordo did keep that card. When he went home that day, he put it on the wall and admired it, and from then on, Lizzie and Gordo started saying 'je t'aime' for the fun of it. It became their signature phrase. Gordo kept the note card in his wallet, for good luck and a reminder of how much he loved Lizzie.
Lizzie smiled at the memory. She wondered where the card was at this point and whether Gordo still had it.
She didn't have time to wonder long, because before she knew it, a voice interrupted her train of thought.
"Lizzie," the deep voice said. Lizzie looked up to see Gordo standing there with Sarah in his arms. Lizzie found herself speechless.
Miranda broke the tension by getting up to hug Gordo, "Gordo! It's been so long since I've seen you. You look so good!"
He certainly did look good, Lizzie couldn't help but note. She must have overlooked his subtle changes the first time she saw him, but he did look different. He looked a little older, and his face showed it. He also looked a little thinner than he used to be two years earlier.
Miranda took Sarah in her arms and held her, "So this is the famous Sarah! Hey, Sarah! I have been dying to meet you."
Sarah smiled in reaction. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't care. She wasn't even two. She liked the attention from new people.
Gordo's glance crept over to Lizzie who looked stressed. Lizzie watched Miranda and Sarah and then looked at Gordo and smiled.
Gordo held out his arms as if to offer a hug. Lizzie smiled and walked over to Gordo and gave him the hug he offered. She hugged him tightly and let herself release more tears, "I am glad you are here." She said, finally.
Gordo smiled and put his arm around her, "So am I. We have a lot to talk about."
Lizzie nodded her head, "Yeah, we do."
The four of them walked out of the airport, Lizzie and Gordo still holding each other.
~~~
~Hilda~
The Next Day, Valentine's Day
The next afternoon, Hilda drove back to Lucy's apartment. She had been trying to call since the day before about the party about her parent's anniversary party. Every time she called, she got no answer, and she wanted to know what was going on. The hospital couldn't tell her anything and none of the other teachers knew anything, so Hilda decided to take it upon herself to find out.
She parked her car and walked up to Lizzie's door. She knocked, and no one answered. "This is strange," she thought. Lucy always told Hilda where she was. She thought for a minute about what to do because this party was tonight. Hilda turned the knob of Lucy's door and to her surprise she found it unlocked. She opened the door all the way and the apartment was totally dark.
Hilda let herself in the apartment and turned on the light. "Lucy?" She called. No response. "Lucy? Are you here?" She closed the door to the apartment.
After searching all of the rooms, she decided to give up. She would just have to yell at Lucy later for forgetting about the party.
She was turning all the lights off that the turned on and was looking around for any clues of where Lizzie could be, when she heard a knock on the door.
"Lucy?" She called and she opened the door, "Where have you-oh. Hello. May I help you?" She said, after she realized it wasn't Lucy. Instead, at the door, stood two men and a young woman.
One of the men grabbed Hilda's neck and dragged her into the room while the other two people let themselves in, the other man holding up a gun toward Hilda and the woman was keeping guard.
Hilda was trying to breath, but couldn't. The man with the gun looked around, "Where is the baby?" he asked.
Hilda couldn't speak.
"Wren shut the door! Now, Finn, let her go so she can talk, but don't let her move!" the man with the gun said.
Wren and Finn did what they were told. Once Wren shut the door, Todd, the guy holding the gun, nodded his head toward Hilda, "All right, you can let her go."
Finn let go of her neck and Hilda gasped for breath. Once she had regained some of her breath, she looked at the three people, confused, "What is going on here?" she cried.
Finn, who was making sure that Hilda was not moving pushed her to the sofa. Todd walked up, with the gun still pointing to her, he smiled deviously, "This is payback."
Hilda, still not clear what was going on, only that she might die soon, cried in desparation, "What did I do?"
Todd's devious smile turned into a look of anger, "How could you ask such a question? You know exactly what you did!" and then he smiled a little, "Maybe I should introduce myself to you. I am Todd Horowitz. Robert was my brother. You killed my brother, and now I am here to kill you."
Todd set the gun up and was about to pull the trigger, when he was interrupted by Wren, "Wait! The child! Ask about the child, Todd!" Wren said.
"Oh yeah," Todd said, "Where is the kid?"
At this point, Hilda wasn't saying anything. She was too scared to speak.
"Damnation, woman! Where is the child?" he said, and he got a little closer to her with the gun.
"Hilda, hyper ventilating, said, "What child?"
"Your child," Todd said, "Where is it?"
Hilda, still unclear of what was going on, but wanting her children to remain safe, said, "I don't know!"
"You don't know, huh? Well, if Finn strangled you, do you think that would refresh your memory?"
Hilda shook her head, "No."
"Strangle her!" Todd said.
Hilda squealed as Finn grabbed her neck. In the meantime, Wren, who was keeping watch noticed a police car that just parked in the parking lot.
"Todd," Wren yelled, "The police are here!"
Todd looked outside, at Wren, and then at Hilda, who was struggling for her life. He looked at his gun and set it for perfect aim.
Two shots were fired.
Suddenly, the door of the apartment flew open, "FREEZE!" a policeman yelled and his gun was out too, "Drop the gun!"
Todd, Finn, and Wren all put their hands up and policemen and women approached them and handcuffed them and the police recited their Miranda rights. (You have the right to remain silent . . . )
The three alleged murderers were brought to jail that night while some other policemen stayed behind to examine and handle the corpse in the apartment.
~~~
~Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda~
Still Valentine's Day
Ever since Gordo arrived in Boston, Lizzie and Gordo had spent most of the time talking. They spent most of the night talking, until they finally fell asleep at around five in the morning.
They talked about themselves and mostly what they had been up to in the past two years. They avoided talking about the present situation, although it was obvious that it was on their minds. They just wanted to avoid fighting for now.
At around two in the afternoon, Lizzie finally woke up.
"Up so soon!" Miranda said, sarcastically. Miranda fell asleep a few hours before Lizzie and Gordo.
Lizzie rubbed her eyes and looked around, "Where are Sarah and Gordo?"
"Sarah is taking a nap and Gordo is still sleeping believe it or not," Miranda said.
"What time is it?" Lizzie asked.
"Two."
Lizzie yawned and slowly got up and headed for the kitchen.
"Looking for something?" Miranda asked, noticing that Lizzie seemed to be searching for something.
"Yeah. Do you have any coffee?"
Miranda shook her head, "Nope. I stopped drinking caffeine as a New Year's resolution. Haven't touched the stuff since."
"Oh," Lizzie said and she frowned.
"I can make you some lunch, though," Miranda offered.
Lizzie shook her head, "No, I can fix it myself, but thanks."
Suddenly, a door opened and Gordo appeared.
"Well, look who finally rolled out of the bed!" Miranda said.
"Ha ha!" Gordo said toward Miranda and he looked at Lizzie, "Hey."
Lizzie smiled at her friend, "Hey."
Lizzie and Gordo went to sit at the kitchen table.
Miranda looked at her two best friends and decided to let them be alone for the moment. "Um, if you excuse me, there is this really cool novel I am dying to finish." Miranda left the room.
Gordo and Lizzie watched Miranda as she left and looked at each other. They didn't know what to say, they knew what had to be said, but neither was ready to discuss it.
"So, um," Gordo said nervously, "Happy Valentine's day."
Lizzie nodded her head, "Thanks. You too."
After a few more minutes of silent, Gordo reached into his pajama pocket and an envelope appeared, "Um, here. I wrote this for you a few days ago."
Lizzie looked at Gordo and took the envelope and starred at it. She then started to slowly open it, and right as she was taking the paper out of the envelope, Gordo got up. "Um, I am going to check on Sarah. Um, yeah, well, see you," he said and he exited out of the room, too nervous to stay and sit there as she read the letter. It was the letter that he wrote about love.
Lizzie took the paper out of the envelope and opened it up. As she read it, she started to cry. It was the sweetest thing she had ever read.
A few minutes later, Lizzie was still crying and Gordo reappeared. Lizzie turned around and noticed him there and said, "Oh, Gordo!" Lizzie walked up to him and gave him a big hug and a kiss. "I love you, too! I have never stopped loving you!" Lizzie gave him another kiss, this time, the kiss was deeper and longer.
A few seconds later, Gordo pulled away. Lizzie looked at Gordo, confused. Gordo smiled, "Lizzie, will you be my valentine?" he asked.
Lizzie smiled and started to cry, "Of course, I will, Gordo. I love you."
"I would do anything for you, Lizzie. You know that, right?"
Lizzie nodded her head slowly, "Gordo, I have always known that."
"And you also know that we can make it through any obstacle, whether it is a baby or anything else?"
Lizzie nodded her head and cried a little harder, "I do now."
"Don't ever be afraid of me. You can tell me anything. Our love can overcome anything."
Lizzie nodded her head, "I am so sorry, Gordo. I don't know why I was so scared."
Gordo nodded his head, "It's okay. I forgive you."
Lizzie pulled Gordo in for a tighter hug, "Oh, Gordo, don't ever leave me again!"
"I won't" Gordo whispered into Lizzie's ear, "I'll never leave you."
Just then, the phone rang. Miranda appeared and smiled as she looked at her two best friends. She then picked up the phone.
"Hello?" She said, happily.
"Hello? This is Officer Goodman. May I please speak to Lizzie McGuire?"
"Yeah, sure," Miranda said, a little more seriously. "Lizzie," she said and Lizzie looked over, "It's Officer Goodman."
Lizzie's moment of happiness ended right there. She looked at Gordo with a look of fear and then took the phone. Meanwhile, Miranda walked over to stand next to Gordo to watch Lizzie talk on the phone.
"H-hello?" she said, nervous that something has happened.
"Elizabeth?" The officer said and he sighed, "I am afraid I have some bad news."
Lizzie trembled with fear, "What?"
"About an hour ago, some police officers were sent to your apartment in Arkansas, but unfortunately it was too late. The officers found a woman shot to death in your apartment. We identified the woman as Hilda Flint."
"Oh no! Hilda!" Lizzie cried. She cupped her mouth in shock.
"Fortunately, we were able to catch and arrest the people involved, but it was too late to do anything. The people are in jail right now, so you should be safe, but you should have another identity."
Lizzie, still trying to get over the shock of the death of her friend took a deep breath, "Yeah, okay."
"We will call you back later today, but I thought it would be important for you to know this."
"Okay," Lizzie said and she hung up the phone. Once the phone was down, Lizzie practically collapsed.
"What's the matter?" Miranda asked. Meanwhile, Gordo rushed to Lizzie's side to comfort her. Lizzie walked over to the couch and sat down. Gordo sat on one side of her while Miranda sat on the other.
"My friend died," she cried, "An innocent person dies today because of me. It's all my fault!" Lizzie put her hands over her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Miranda asked, still unclear of what was going on.
"Hilda," Lizzie said, "my friend from Arkansas, was in my apartment today, and was shot."
Gordo's eyes widened, "Oh, Lizzie!" He hugged her, "I am so sorry."
Lizzie pulled away, "The thing is," she said, and she tried to pull herself together, "Hilda was almost me. The killers probably thought she was me. Oh, God!," she said, crying even harder, "I hate myself! None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for me."
"Don't say that, Lizzie," Miranda said.
"No! I mean it Miranda! Everything is my fault! None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for my stubbornness! I wish I could take everything back! I wish I told Gordo that I was pregnant when I had the chance! That way, I wouldn't be in this whole mess!"
"You don't know that," Miranda said.
Lizzie nodded her head and wiped her tears from her face, "Yeah, I do. If I told Gordo about the pregnancy, maybe he wouldn't have gone back so soon, and I wouldn't have moved and gone to work, and would never have witnessed the shooting. Then, I would never have to enter the Witness Protection Program and thought Gordo was dead when he really wasn't. All of this is my fault!"
Lizzie cried even harder, if that was possible, on Gordo's shoulder. Gordo comforted her. He wanted to say something, but struggled. Lizzie noticed this.
"Gordo, what is it?"
Gordo looked at Lizzie with sad eyes, "You know, Lizzie," he said and he paused for a minute, "You are absolutely right."
"What?" Lizzie cried and pulled away. What was he saying? He was supposed to comfort her, not agree with her.
Gordo nodded his head, showing a little more confidence, "None of this would have happened if you only told me any of this."
Lizzie looked at Miranda for help, but she wasn't helping, "Yeah, I have to agree with you, also. Gee, Lizzie, why didn't you just tell him? He loves you, he would have stayed with you no matter what. What were you so afraid of anyway?"
Lizzie looked at both of her friends. She could not believe what they were saying, but she had to admit they were both right.
Lizzie jumped up and turned to her friends and shook her head, "You are right. I don't know why I was so scared. I am so sorry, Gordo. I love you."
*echo*
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
I love you.
~*~
Je t'aime.
~*~
~~~
Suddenly, Lizzie's eyes shot open. She bolted up and looked around. This place looked familiar. In fact, it looked exactly like her old apartment from two years ago. She realized she was in her bed.
A confused Lizzie looked around, and a few seconds later, Gordo appeared at the doorway.
"Lizzie," he said, and he walked toward her and sat on her bed next to her, "Are you feeling any better?"
"Gordo," Lizzie whispered, "What is going on?"
Gordo smiled, "I don't know. You tell me. You have only been asleep for the past five hours."
Lizzie looked at Gordo and gave a confused expression, "What are you talking about?"
Gordo laughed lightly, "Oh, Lizzie. Come on! Get up! I'll only be here for a few days! I want you to be awake at least part of the time that I am here!"
Lizzie looked at Gordo. He looked . . .different, maybe a little younger.
Gordo looked at Lizzie, concerned, "Lizzie, are you sure you are all right? Did you have a bad dream or something?"
A nightmare, Lizzie thought. She nodded her head, "Yeah, I had a really bad nightmare," Lizzie said, and she smiled.
"Aww, I'm sorry, Liz. Well, at least it was a dream and not reality. Do you want to talk about it?" he said and he pulled her into a hug.
"Maybe later," Lizzie said, and she slowly started to smile.
It was all a dream.
~~~
Oooooooh. You didn't expect that, now did you?
If you are confused, look back at the end of chapter three. Lizzie fell asleep . . .but never woke up. Everything after chapter three up until now has been a dream. . .or a nightmare.
I know that is probably not what you expected and I hope you don't think any less of the story because of this. I thought of this idea a long time ago, and I didn't copy anyone from this idea. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to do this, so I finally asked a few people, and they said that it was okay with them and they even gave me some ideas.
There is now one last chapter left. I really hope you don't hate me for this.
I hope to have the last chapter up on or by Halloween.