Part II: Dawn Breaking Through

After dinner, Grace drove back to her mother's house. They got out of the car, Grace helping Eli by carrying his laptop again. When he saw she didn't have any bags of her own, Eli asked, "Are you going home tonight?"

"No. I've already dropped my stuff off."

"You live here, though."

"I live in Evanston, near campus."

Eli nodded. "Right. Northwestern girl."

"That's me." Grace looked away from him, slightly uncomfortable by his gaze. "I'll go home after tomorrow."

"Oh." He paused for a moment. "Any chance I can see your apartment?"

Her head jerked up and she met his eyes across the top of the car. "You want to?"

He smiled at her. "A brother has to know where his sister lives."

"Oh. Right." Grace tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I'll take you over tomorrow if you want."

Once they were inside, Eli was whisked away by the females of the house. Jessie was waiting for her brother at the door.

Grace left his bag next to the rest of his things and got a bottle of water from the kitchen. She settled on the couch, listening to Jessie talking animatedly to her older brother. The brunette leaned her head back and exhaled. That was difficult. Zoë sat down to her a moment later. "Eli got hot."

Her older sister laughed. "Most people think Eli's always been hot, Zo."

"Yourself included."

"Touché." Grace looked over at her sister and smiled. "Not anymore, though."

Zoë rolled her eyes. "You're telling me Eli Sammler doesn't affect you anymore. Seriously?"

She nodded. "Seriously." Taking a swallow of her water, Grace continued, "The fantasy gets old. He's our stepbrother and it's not like anything could have come from it. I'm happy now, Zoë."

The younger girl reached over and hugged her. "Gracie, I want to be just like you when I grow up."

"Oh look, E, the Manning's are having a Kodak moment. Get the camera." Jessie left her brother standing in the doorway and settled on the other side of Grace. She smiled brightly at her. "Hey big sister."

Grace laughed at Jessie, but gratefully accepted the title. They'd grown close Jessie's senior year in high school. Grace knew moving out of the house into a dorm helped a lot. Neither of them felt trapped by the rules of the mixed family – they were no longer required to like each other, but soon found they did anyway. Over the last five years, they'd only grown closer. Jessie, Zoë, and Grace were all very close, even though Zoë was still in high school.

When she graduated high school, Jessie briefly considered following Grace to Northwestern. She spent a lot of time with Grace while she was deciding, but ultimately choose the University of Wisconsin. They offered her a better scholarship deal and allowed her to create her own schedule. The distance seemed to bring the family closer together.

Eli left for New York when his sister graduated high school – it was time to find his own place in the world. He found a job at a bar willing to rent him a room upstairs. Eli did that for a year and a half, as he struggled to make his way in the music world. Since he was seven years old he'd never doubted he wanted to be a musician, but he'd also never considered how hard it might be. New York was a scary place – especially with no family or support group. Eventually, though, he started to make friends and contacts. He dated a girl who got him an interview with Sony Records and suddenly he was in. While the talent agent he met with wasn't looking for another John Mayer or Gavin DeGraw, he liked Eli's writing style.

The guy decided to give him a chance and after two years he was working with John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw. It wasn't exactly how he imagined it might be, but it was close enough. His words were still out there and that was enough. Things were finally settled professionally, and now it was time to pay some attention to his personal life. He eyed Grace and wondered if she'd meant what she said to Zoë. She no longer had that silly little crush on him? That was news.

Zoë contented herself with being surrounded by her family. While it wasn't traditional, she was grateful for the Sammler's coming into their life. Her mom was happier than she'd ever been with Rick. Suddenly she had an older brother and two older sisters and a few years later Lily had a baby boy. Will Sammler was only six, but Zoë was already sure he'd be as much of a heartbreaker as Eli. She'd been lonely when Grace left, then lonelier when Jessie and Eli left a year later. She still saw her family on a regular basis, but it was hard. After being surrounded by such love for such a long time, it was a difficult adjustment. Zoë pushed those thoughts from her mind and shifted her attention to Jessie. She and Grace were comparing horror stories about finals. In just a few more years, Zoë was sure she'd be able to join the conversation.

Lily and Rick found them like this. Their children (except Will who was with them) sitting around the living room, laughing and talking. Lily looked back at Rick and smiled. Somehow, through it all, they'd become a family. A very happy family.

She put Will down and went to hug her stepson. "Did you get in okay?"

Eli smiled. "Yeah, thanks. Grace got me home without a problem." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grace blush. Was she as over it as she claimed?

"Did you eat? I could make you something."

"We stopped at Dad's," Grace answered. "Eli charmed Tiffany into giving us a table and Dad gave us free food. Mom, I put the stuff you wanted me to get in the hall closet."

"Thanks, Gracie."

Rick stepped around his wife and enveloped his son in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're home."

"Thanks Dad."

Shortly afterwards, the family split up, each of them doing their own thing. Eli took his bags to the garage and settled into the room that would again be his home for the next week. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. It was good to be home again.

Grace wandered out to the garage a few hours later, wondering where Eli was. Since disappearing to his room, he'd never returned. She was wrapped in a house robe and wore bedroom slippers on her feet, but she wasn't concerned. It was just Eli she was going to see. Grace heard the music coming from his room, and knocked gently.

Eli sat the guitar aside, knowing who it was already. Grace was the only one who visited him at this time of night. He opened the door and let her in. "Hey."

"Hey." She shifted nervously, her eye straying towards his bed. It was unmade. "Were you asleep?"

"No. I slept some earlier, though. I'll be up for hours now. What's up?"

The brunette shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I might see if anyone else was awake. I saw your light from outside."

"So you knew I wasn't asleep."

"I also heard you playing. Working on a new song?"

"Nah. Just messing around. I still like to play, even though I don't get paid."

"Do you think you might like to become a famous singer someday?"

He looked at her and shook his head. "I don't know, Grace. I used to think so, but nothing compares to hearing a song I worked on out there. I wouldn't throw that away for anything."

"Good. I'm glad you're happy."

"It's weird," he continued, "I never thought this would happen. I hoped, I prayed, and I dreamed – but I was never sure enough of myself to believe it might happen. Music was the only thing I cared about, the only thing really important to me other than family, so it's nice to be living my dream."

She watched him, amazed. Eli was a new man – gone was the boy who fought with his father and worried about the future. Gone was the boy who didn't come to her play that night. In his place was this new person. A person Grace found herself liking a lot.

"Are you?" he asked suddenly. "Happy, I mean."

Grace waited a minute, trying to decide if she was. There were definitely things missing from her life, but she was happy with herself. She loved her work and her life. "I am. It took me a long time to realize that."

"Why?"

"College changed my life. Getting out of this house changed my life. I became a stronger person because of it. Now, I have a very routine, boring life but I love what I'm doing. I have friends and family who love me and people I love in return. In the end, that's all you have in life. Those are the things that make you happy."

"I'm glad," he told her. They sat in silence for a few moments before Eli reached for his guitar. He plucked a few strings here and there, but didn't play anything. He glanced over at the alarm clock and smiled. "It's Christmas. I have a present for you."

"What?"

Eli pointed to the clock that read 12:05 and repeated, "It's Christmas. I have something for you."

"I have something for you, too. It's under the tree downstairs." Grace stood. "I can go get it, if you want."

"No," he stopped her. "This is something I couldn't wrap up. Sit down and listen."

The brunette returned to his bed, sitting so she faced him. She smiled as he started plucking at his guitar strings. Soon she recognized the tune he was playing and laughed. "Howie Day."

"Yep. You were singing this song in the car."

Grace listened happily as Eli started the first verse of Collide. His voice was strong and she wondered if he knew the song already. He messed up the notes once, but Grace only noticed because she knew the song well. What impressed her most was that he didn't get angry and stop playing. He only smiled at her and played through it.

When he finished, Grace smiled. "Thank you."

Eli pushed the guitar aside and sang quietly.

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find, you and I collide.


The entire house learned two years ago that there would be no sleeping past seven on Christmas morning. Will made sure of it. Grace groaned when her alarm went off, but she got out of bed. Before she went to bed the night before, she'd taken care to put out her toothbrush and toothpaste, her face wash, and a towel. She could shower later, but there was no way she was going downstairs with morning breath.

Ten minutes later she was greeted by Zoë and Jessie both coming out of their rooms, each looking equally sleepy. "It's no fair, I'm on vacation," Zoë complained.

"It's for Will," Grace reminded them both. "Remember that." Grace shared a smile with Jessie, knowing her stepsister loved getting up early on Christmas morning. "You can both sleep later today."

Will, Lily, and Rick were already downstairs. The adults were sipping coffee and the boy lit up when he saw the three girls. "Can we open 'em now?"

Lily shook her head. "We're still waiting for Eli."

"I'm here," a sleepy voice answered. Grace looked back and then immediately wished she hadn't. It wasn't possible for someone to look so… edible this early in the morning. Besides, he was completely dressed in a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. It was the hair, she decided. His bed-head was going to be her undoing.

They took their time passing out the gifts, only allowing one to be opened at a time. Everyone admired the presents. From her mom and Rick Grace received various gift cards to her favorite stores. Zoë gave her a coffee cup she'd made in school. She was most amused by Jessie's gift, however. It was a purple t-shirt with the words ANTHROPOLOGISTS DO IT BETTER in white. On the back was the Northwestern logo. "Where'd you get this?" Grace asked.

Jessie only smiled. "Not your concern. I thought you might like it."

"It's hilarious." Reaching over, she hugged her stepsister. "Thanks."

In the next round of gifts, she was handed a box wrapped in silver paper. The tag told her it was Eli, and she was curious. Lifting it, Grace shook in gently. Eli caught her doing this and laughed. Grace looked away, embarrassed.

When she was finally allowed to open it, Grace pulled the paper away eagerly. Her eyes lit up when she saw the familiar apple logo. "Eli, I can't believe you did this."

Lily looked over. "What'd he do?"

Her oldest daughter continued to pull the paper off and held the item up to show the family. Lily looked over at her stepson, concerned. "Aren't those a bit… expensive?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't too bad. Besides, Grace needed one."

"Really?" Rick asked, confused. "Why?"

"This way she won't spend all that hard earned money buying multiple copies of CDs."

Lily looked back to her daughter. "You do that? Really?"

"I bought extra copies of one CD. Eli laughed at me because of it." She glanced over at him and smiled sincerely. "Thank you."

"That's not all. Open it up, look what I put on the hard drive."

The circle continued around as Grace took the iPod from the box. He'd already charged it for her, so she powered it on. Grace sighed when she saw he'd already loaded her favorite Howie Day CD on it. Looking across the room, she caught his gaze. "Thank you," she mouthed.

He only smiled at her in return.


Song Credit: Howie Day, Collide