Title: Strong Enough Chapter 14
Author: Nicki C.
Email: I don't own Once and Again or the characters. Steve and KJ are my own inventions. You know the song doesn't belong to me, it's Allen Thick's.
Summery: When they get to Chicago
Feedback: Of Course I want it.
A/N I really like this chapter, I hope you do too.
"Where do you think the sheets might be?" Grace looked at Eli with trepidation.
"I'm not sure, where do we keep sheets at home?" He shrugged
"In the hall…wait you've lived there how many years and you don't know where we keep the sheets?" Grace looked at him playfully
"Lily always left clean sheets and towels in my room" Eli spoke showing his total unconcern about where the sheet had come from.
"You're kidding! She doesn't even do my laundry anymore." Grace was smiling as she accused him
"Well, maybe she just loves me more" Eli teased
"Or maybe she just didn't want you going near her washing machine." Grace replied
Grace kissed Eli on the cheek as she headed out of the room in search of something that at least resembled a linen closet. "She seems ok" Eli thought to himself. He was worried about her, worried about this whole thing. Had dragging her here been such a good idea? He hadn't really been thinking when he'd come up with the idea, he'd gone on his first instinct. And that had been to run; and to take Grace with him. Now he was second-guessing all of those split-second decisions. Maybe they should have stayed and tried to work things out. As he watched her walk into the room with the clean sheets and start to re-make the bed, he couldn't stop all the thoughts going through his head. "I have to take care of her, she's the kind of girl that needs taking care of. God I love her so much, that's probably why I ran with her; the thought of losing her scared me so much it wasn't even worth the risk. We've got to make this work, because it's going to be good. Because anything we do together is going to be amazing." He'd been so busy following his train of thought he hadn't noticed Grace turn and stare at him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"You"
"What about me?"
"That we've got to make this work"
"We'll be ok"
"I know, anything we do together will be amazing"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're wonderful and I love you"
"I love you too"
"Well of course you do"
With that Eli brought her into his arms for a kiss. The two stayed that way for several minutes until Grace breathlessly pulled away.
"You know how I just said we'll be ok?"
"Yeah"
"We'll what if we aren't, I mean what if it goes wrong?"
"No matter what happens, even if we go home. We'll be ok."
"I don't think we can go home. I know I joked about coming home on our honeymoon in five years, Wow was that less than a week ago?" Grace paused for a moment awed by what little time had actually passed. "If we ever go home it'll only be to visit. I think it's too late now."
"Maybe"
The enormity of what they had done hit them both as they stared at each other in the strange room they'd be sharing. They both knew that if they went home now they'd be separated for good and it was for that very reason they'd left in the first place.
"I'm scared Eli, I'm scared like I've never been before."
"It'll be alright Grace, as long as we've got each other"
Eli looked at her with a smile in his eyes knowing exactly how to get her mind off of their worries for a moment. He hummed a few bars trying to remember that favorite tune from childhood…
Show me that smile again
don't waste another minute on your cryin'
We're nowhere near the end,
the best is ready to begin.
He watched Grace's eyes light up
As long as we got each other,
we've got the world spinning right in our hands.
Baby, you and me, we gotta be
the luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'
Her face could barely contain it's grin
As long as we keep on givin'
We can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine, all the time
We've got each other,
sharing the laughter and love.
"Oh Eli, I can't believe you know that song. That was my favorite show when I was young." She was laughing.
"Mine too, Jessie and I used to sing that song on car rides when were younger." He was glad he'd sung that corny song. Some how he'd know it was right.
"What was your favorite episode?" Grace asked him and before he knew it they were reminiscing about "Growing Pains". And as they were talking he couldn't help but think "This is what we're going to miss, this basic stuff that you learn about a person when you first start dating. This is what's going to be hardest. We've been together less than a week and now we have all this crap going on." He heard Grace say "And Kirk Cameron was so hot" and all he could think was "I have to make sure we still have this."