Title: Strong Enough Chapter 12

Author: Nicki C.

Email: I don't own Once and Again or the characters. Garth Brooks owns "Friends in Low places."

Summery: After lily gets home

Feedback: Of Course I want it.

A/N It took so long to post this because I kept changing my mind, because I didn't want to go this way from the beginning. But the story just kind of started to write itself almost and it was saying "Nicki this is how it's going to happen!". Ok I'm not schizophrenic, just a little touched.

"How could they do this? How could Grace do this? She should know better than to date him?" Grace heard Lily say as she started to enter her room. She'd only kept the door open long enough to hear Rick reply with "What's so wrong with Eli, isn't he good enough?" Then the yelling had started. She could hear them exchanging the cutting remarks back and forth. She wasn't even sure if they were discussing her and Eli anymore, she just knew that they were yelling and they didn't seem to be calming down.

Grace was laying face down in her bed crying, the same place she'd been since she'd entered the room when she heard something hit the outside of the window. Wiping her eyes she got up and looked down to see Eli there with a bag and his guitar case. She opened the window, and called to him. "What are you doing down there" she whispered in that sort of voice where it's soft and loud at the same time. "Grab some stuff and get down here, we need to get out of here for a while" Eli spoke up to her from below.

Grace paused for a moment as a million thoughts went through her mind, was she ready to do this, could she handle leaving with him? Did she love him enough? Was he worth it? But the minute these thoughts entered her head she expelled him, he was all of that and more and she'd learn to handle it if she had to. Quickly she packed a bag with a few cloths and the necessities, when she was finished she looked at the bag and her purse sitting there knowing that in a few moments this would be all she had. She shook herself out of it and headed with the bag to the window. "Throw the bag down to me Grace, then climb down the trellis." Eli instructed her. She did as she was told and as she arrived at the ground Eli gathered her in his arms, whispering promises that everything would be all right. The two separated and headed to Eli's car.

"Were going to have to it push out of the driveway, we don't want them to be able to hear us leaving" Eli informed her. The put all of their stuff in the backseat and Grace got in the drivers seat and set the car in neutral, Eli slowly pushed the car out of the driveway and away from the house. When they felt they were a safe enough distance away Grace started the car and shifted herself over to the passenger's seat. Eli got in and started driving. The both sat in silence not sure what to say.

They'd been driving for over an hour when Grace finally asked him where they were going. "I have this friend from high school who lives in Chicago, I thought we could go into the city and stay with him for the night, he's always talking about how anybody's welcome at his place." Eli informed her. Grace silently assented to the idea as they drove on. Both silently contemplating their situation.

"Stay with Eli's friends? Is that really such a good idea?"

"I don't know if Grace and I staying with my friends is such a good idea."

"I guess it'll be ok for a night or two, just until we sort things out."

"It'll be ok until we figure things out."

The silence was broken when Grace spoke "I have some money put away, we can get that out. It'll help." She waited for him to respond. "I don't know that I like that idea very much Grace. I don't want you to think that I took you away from home and had no money; we have money. Not a lot but enough to make things survivable for a while. We're going to be ok Grace, I'm going to take care of you." Eli finished talking and let his concentration go back to driving while Grace wallowed in her own thoughts.

"He sounds like he wants this to be permanent, I didn't know our leaving was going to be forever. I don't know if I'm ready to live on my own, ready to be a grown-up, Eli's 20, and I'm barely 18 how can we do this? I haven't even graduated from high school; I only have a few months until then. Am I ready to quit when I'm this close?" Grace's thoughts traveled in that manner for a while until she realized that Eli was singing along with the only station they'd been able to get on the radio; a country station. "Where did he learn that song?"

Insert Garth Brooks "Friends in low places"

"Where in the world did you learn that song Eli Sammler?" Grace started giggling as she finished the question. Eli's face was starting to turn red. "There are just some things about a man that his girlfriend doesn't need to know." She could tell that he was embarrassed, so she decided not to keep teasing him about it. As Eli leaned in to turn off the radio completely Grace looked at him, knowing somehow no matter what it'd be worth it.