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Chapter Five

Eli grabbed his suitcase from underneath his bed and tossed it on top of the covers. His flight back home to Chicago, was only a few hours away and Katie would be there in less than two to pick him up so he figured he needed to start packing. He of course had been putting it off for days. Eli wanted to go home, but at the same time he was in no hurry to get there. Considering he figured the next week would probably be the hardest week of his life, not counting the week following Carla's departure.

That week had killed him. Everyday he prayed that she'd smarten up and come back. That she'd realize how much she loved them, and needed to be with them. However, days turned in weeks, and weeks turned into months and after a while Eli finally let go of the possibility of her ever returning.

Thinking back to that week made Eli start to realize what he must have put his own family through. He always tried to keep the guilt of leaving buried deep within him, but on numerous occasions they surfaced and made him feel horrible and he would immediately pick up the phone to call them. However, before he even finished dialing the number he always hung up. He was a coward, pure and simple. He didn't want to hear how much he disappointed them by leaving, how he fucked up his life by being involved with Carla.

However, at this very moment he wished he had finished dialing their number, since he finally just realized that nothing else would have mattered besides hearing from him. Which now made him hopeful for the week to come. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Sure they may be angry, but at the same time all that will matter was the fact that he was home.

Now he wasn't worried as much, which made him start packing a little faster. He wasn't bringing everything, just the mere essentials since he knew he'd be coming back here in a couple of weeks. Though he wasn't sure if he was going to return to California for good, or to simply give his boss two weeks notice and pack up the rest of his things and go back to Chicago. That decision he figured depended upon how things went. Since, for the most part he had established his life here. He had a good job, not the greatest apartment in the world, but not the worst either. If he moved back home it would be like starting over again. He'd have to find a new job, that paid well, a new apartment, and a new set of babysitters. Though he figured a new set of babysitters wouldn't be that hard.

Eli tossed in the last pair of jeans he was bringing and closed his suitcase. He picked it up and carried it into the living room and placed it down next to Elyse's small bag. He looked down at the bag and realized how small it actually looked, and hoped he remembered to pack everything that she would need. He did a mental checklist of what he did pack for her, and figured it had to be enough, and if it weren't, then he'd have to go shopping. Something he'd grown accustomed to in the past seven months.

He always hated shopping in the past, and still did. However while he knew he could last a few more months in the same ragged pair of jeans, Elyse couldn't. She grew like a weed. Each new outfit only lasted a couple months, if he was lucky. Of course he'd always buy the next size up during his shopping spree, but the time to buy her new things always approached faster than he would have liked.

Eli glanced at the clock and knew Katie would be there at any minute, and figured it was time to start getting Elyse ready to go. He made his way into her bedroom, and looked down into her crib. He hated to disturb her since she was resting so peacefully, but he knew he had to. That thought made him cringe of course, considering all those months when she wouldn't sleep. Eli picked her up slowly hoping that the movement wouldn't make her stir, and so far so good. She was still resting peacefully. Her head rested upon Eli's shoulder, and he dipped down slightly to pick up her blanket that had fallen to the floor.

He walked into the next room and gathered her jacket, while it wasn't completely freezing out at this time of year, he knew she needed something on to protect her from the slight chill in the air. He placed the jacket down onto the couch and placed her on to of it. He moved her arms slowly into the sleeves and zippered the coat, all the while being impressed with himself for not waking her in the process.

"Damn I'm good." He said as he glanced down at his sleeping and daughter. However, he muttered those words a little too loudly. At that moment Elyse's eyes popped open, and her face scrunched up and she let out the loudest wail. "Guess I'm not that good." He mumbled, as he picked her up off the couch.

A few minutes later he managed to get her crying under control, but she hadn't fallen back to sleep. Which he hoped wouldn't mess up her napping schedule for the day, since he tried his best to plan the last few days based on the flight they'd be taking.

"Hey Grace, do you think you could drive me down to airport?" Jessie asked, she had her license, but didn't have her own car like Grace did, and with both her Dad and Lily being out she didn't have access theirs either.

"Can't you just wait until Katie gets back to her house to see her? Since I'm sure by that point your Dad will be back with his car." Grace asked looking up from the magazine she had been reading. She had no desire whatsoever to drive to the airport.

"I could, but I really don't want to." Jessie said as she sat down next to Grace on the couch.

"Jess, come on. I'm really not in the mood to drive down to the airport, besides didn't Mrs. Singer park her car there?"

"Yeah, she did, but I really want to see Katie and I don't want to wait the extra hour between her picking up her luggage, and driving home. She's been really weird on the phone this past week and… I just want to see her."

"That's another reason not to go. If she's been weird what makes you think she wants you to meet her at the airport."

"Grace please," Jessie asked again knowing that Katie in no way wouldn't want her to meet her. Sure, she's been distant, but Jessie knew it had nothing to do with her.

"Fine." Grace said tossing down her magazine. "What time do we need to leave?"

"In a half hour probably, her flight lands in an hour and a half so it will give us plenty of time to get there, and for me to find the gate."

"You okay?" Katie asked, looking across the aisle at Eli. She had lucked out when she had ordered his tickets and managed to get him and Elyse seats right across from her and her mom.

Eli glanced over to Katie. "Yeah, why?"

"You're breathing a little heavy?"

"Sorry, I just hate take off. Once we're in the air I'll be fine." He said taking another deep breath.

Eli could feel the plane beginning to taxi down the runway his eyes immediately snapped shut, as he gripped the sides of his seat. Katie couldn't help but laugh quietly at Eli; the look on his face was priceless.

"Stop laughing." He said through gritted teeth. "It's not funny."

"Oh, but Eli it is. You come across so tough, and fearless, but here you are gripping your seat scared shitless."

He could feel the plane start to level off. They were safely in the sky, and it was smooth flying from here on. At least he hoped, considered tuberlance freaked him out as well. "Well, just so you know Jessie is the exact same way. My mom claims our fear comes from a really bad flight we took when we were both really little. We of course don't remember that actual flight, but ever since then we both freak out during take off, and landing."

"Really?" Katie asked surprised.

"Yeah. It sucks. I know I look like the biggest baby, but I can't help it. It's one of the few things that still freaks me out."

"Phobia's definitely suck." Katie said. "I mean I'm still scared shitless of those heffalumps and weasels from Winnie the Pooh."

"Are you serious?" Eli said laughing.

"Yep, don't know what it is about them, but as a kid I used to run out of the room when that part came on, and to this day I can't fully watch The Great Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I always fast forward through that part."

"And you want to know the sad part about that statement," Eli started. "Is the fact that you still watch it."

"Oh, come on you can't tell me that there aren't any movies from when you were a kid that you still love watching."

"I can't think of any." Eli answered, even though he knew perfectly well that there were a few movies he picked up on DVD the second he found out Carla was pregnant so he could share his love for them with his daughter, since he was positive they were having a girl.

"Seriously? Not a single one." She could see that he was hiding something. "Come on, tell me. I know you have one. You have to."

"Cinderella." He mumbled, so soft that Katie didn't hear him.

"What was that?"

"Cinderella." He said again, a little louder but still not loud enough for Katie to hear him.

"Eli, stop mumbling it I can barely hear you."

"CINDERELLA." He said loudly, catching the attention of every single person on the flight. 'Okay, it's Cinderella."

"Cinderella?" She asked with laughter consuming her voice. "Are you serious? Your favorite movie from when you were a kid was Cinderella? Wow. I'm like getting this whole new image of you." She added, not able to control her laughter.

"Okay, first of all me liking Cinderella has nothing to do with my manliness, or lack there of at this moment. She was hot." With that answer Katie just laughed harder. "Stop laughing." He said with a smile.

"Eli she was a cartoon."

"I really didn't know the difference at the time. I just thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." He said laughing. "I was young, what can I say."

"Still."

"Either way, Cinderella was based on a real person just like Aladdin was based on Steve from Full House. So it's not like…"

Katie could not stop laughing. "You watched Full House?" She said interrupting his last sentence.

"I'm shutting up now." He said turning away, with a small grin on face.

"Jessie slow down already." Grace said as she tried to catch up with her stepsister who was racing down the terminal towards the gate."

"Sorry, just excited. Can't help it."

"Well we're early, so try to suppress it for a little while so we can walk at a normal pace to waste time."

"You didn't have to come in Grace, you could have just dropped me off."

"Well, I'm hoping that wasting some time in here will make the traffic out there disappear." Grace answered. The drive over was horrendous. There were tons of cars on the road, and people had been cutting her off left and right and she hated that.

"Oh. Okay." Jessie said as they approached the gate. "Do you want something to drink, or eat? There's a Dunkin Donuts over there." Jessie asked, pointing to the area across from the seats."

"Sure."

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Katie said to Eli after the plane had landed.

"I'll let you know when my heart stops racing." He said with a laugh. "I can't believe she slept the entire flight." He commented as he unstrapped the car seat from its locked position.

"I know. I was half expecting her to cry the entire way."

"I guess it was a good thing I accidentally woke her this morning then." Eli commented as he lifted the carrier. He placed the carrier down in the aisle, and began grabbing Elyse's diaper bag from the overhead component and then watched Mrs. Singer and Katie do the same thing.

They all waited for their row to be called to exit the plane, they were towards the back so they knew it would be a while. "So have you decided how you are going to do this whole thing. Which parent your going to see first?"

"I still haven't figured that out, thankfully your mom has offered for me to stay with you guys until I do. I mean I know I'm going to do it today, but I need a place to get my thoughts together and figure it out."

"Okay, except…"

"What?"

"Well Jessie was supposed to come over once I got back, so…"

"Hmmm… I'll stay hidden then."

"See the thing is I won't be able to hide this from her. She'll know something is up, but if I don't see her right away she'll also know something is up. So…"

"So we let Jessie know I'm back." Eli said. "That actually might work better, since it will then be easier to get my mom and dad together.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I guess we just answered my own question. Jessie finds out first." Eli was about to say something else, but their row was called so he stopped himself, "That's us." He said instead.

Just as Eli was about to exit his row Elyse woke up and started screaming. "Of course. You guys go, I'll be right there. I just need to calm her down."

"Okay, well give me her bag." Katie said as she watched him lift her from the carrier. "So you don't have to carry so many things."

"Thanks." He said handing her the bag. "I'll be right there." He said, as he rocked Elyse.

"No problem." Katie said, and then exited with her mom since the people behind them were beginning to become impatient.

Katie and her mom made their way off the plane into the gate area and proceeded to the seats to wait for Eli. "He's such a sweet kid, I hope everything goes okay for him later today."

"Shit!" Katie said as she spotted Jessie and Grace across the way, heading straight for them.

"What?" Mrs. Singer said immediately and then followed her daughter's gaze. "Shit."

Katie, who was concerned with what was about to take place the instant Jessie and Grace both saw Eli, couldn't stop herself from laughing at her mom. "Mom!"

"Sorry. Okay, how do you want to do this? We only have a second. Do you want to leave with them and I'll wait for Eli? There's no reason for him to be ambushed the instant he gets off that flight."

"I don't think…" Katie started as she caught a glimpse of Eli from the corner of her eye.

"Hey Katie, I need her bag." Eli said walking up to Katie, and when he got no response he followed her gaze. "Shit!"

TBC…