DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LIZZIE MCGUIRE

I don't know what came over me when I originally came up with this idea and I'm still trying to work out the kinks. I know the prologue was just words grouped together, but the actual story starts now. I realize its different in that Lizzie has children that gasp aren'tGordo's children and that everyone is a little older than usual, but it's different.

Thanks for the review, Ellen. It really meant a lot to me and I hope you like this story. Happy New Year!

Chapter One

Present Day Lizzie

The drive up to Hill Ridge was particularly hard for what was left of the McGuire-West Family. Jake, who was sixteen and had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes like his mother sat in the front and stared out the window for most of the drive. Lizzie could hardly blame him because she knew that he was angry with his father. She just wished she knew what she could say to Jake to make it a little easier. Sixteen was a hard year to move. Back in Houston, Jake played football and baseball, and now he had to move to a place he'd never really been to before and meet new people.

In the back seat of the truck sat Andrew, who said less than Jake did as he busied himself on his game system and listened to his headphones. Andrew had darker hair and green eyes. He looked more like his father than Jake. Unlike Jake, Andrew was handling the separation a lot better. Neither of the boys talked much about it or asked many questions, although they seemed to know what was going on. Jake in particular felt some bitter hatred toward his father at this time.

It was late at night when Lizzie pulled into their new home. Lizzie pulled into the driveway and turned off the car and looked ahead of her. This was it! This was her new home. Less than thirty-six hours earlier they left their old life behind.

Even when they got to the house, Jake didn't say anything. Andrew fell asleep a few hours earlier. Lizzie opened the door and got out of the car and Jake did the same, "Mom, do you want me to wake up Andrew?"

Lizzie looked from the house to her older son and felt like crying. Could she really do this? Pack up her old life and greet this new one with open arms? Could the kids handle this? School started in two weeks and Jake was starting his junior year while Andrew was going into seventh grade. She smiled, "Yeah, that would be great, thanks."

Jake nodded and opened the back door of the truck while Lizzie slowly walked to the front door of the house. There was no turning back now. She signed the contract weeks ago and this was it. The house was a little bit smaller than her house growing up. It had brick walls around it and was a fairly simple layout. Lizzie stood at the front door, deciding to wait for Jake and Andrew until she opened the door. A few seconds later, Jake appeared and Andrew was staggering tiredly behind him.

"Ready?" Lizzie asked.

Jake nodded his head, "Yeah, mom. Open the door."

Lizzie did it. She opened it.

"Mom?" Andrew said, "Can we go inside?"

Instead of answering, Lizzie pushed the door open a little more and stepped into the house. Jake and Andrew came behind her but they didn't feel nearly as excited as their mother did.

Some of their stuff was already there, but most of it was in boxes. A week earlier, Lizzie started moving some furniture in, like beds and sofas, so Jake and Andrew ran upstairs to their rooms. Lizzie sighed as she took in the scent of her new place to call home. She had seen this place several times, but this time seemed different. She walked through every room until she finally stopped upstairs in her own room. Her master bedroom that belonged only to her. Soon after that, Lizzie fell asleep.

88

The next Morning

After a peaceful night of sleeping, Lizzie woke up in the middle of the morning and lay there in bed for a few moments, enjoying the peace.

Finally, she went downstairs to find Jake in the kitchen putting up some of their plates from their old home from a box and into a cabinet, "Oh, Jake, you didn't have to do that," Lizzie said.

Jake, who was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt and towered over Lizzie by a couple of inches, shrugged, "I have nothing else better to do."

"Where's Andrew?"

"Outside. I think he went to see grandma."

Lizzie yawned, "Did you have a good night sleep?"

Jake nodded, "Yeah, it was okay."

Lizzie smiled at her son sympathetically, knowing that this was hard for him. She put her hand on his shoulder, "Jake," she said, "Thank you so much for all of your help. I really do appreciate it."

"No problem," he said, but he didn't look at his mother, "It was nothing."

"Well, it is something to me. This transition is going to be hard for all of us and I know it will take time, but I think that it will all work out for the best."

Jake nodded his head as he threw away the box, "Yeah, I know."

"Do you miss Houston?"

Jake froze and after a few seconds shook his head, "No, mom, I don't. I hope I never see dad again," and with that, Jake stormed off upstairs.

It broke her heart to see him like that, so filled with emotions bottled up. A few seconds later, Andrew came running in the house, "Mom! Mom! Look who's here!" and Lizzie looked behind Andrew and saw that grandma was coming inside.

Jo walked inside and looked at Lizzie and held out her arms, "Lizzie!"

Lizzie hugged her mom and as the two embraced, tears flowed down Lizzie's cheek. Jo noticed her daughter crying and it made her sad, "Oh, Lizzie!" Jo said, as she wiped Lizzie's tears off with her fingers, "everything is going to be just fine. Trust me. Your dad and I are just down the street and although it might take a while to make this transition, I know it will work."

"I know, mom," Lizzie said, as she went to the sink to work on some dishes, "I'm just worried, that's all. I mean, what if Jake and Andrew hate it here? And what about me? Have I really thought everything through? I'm almost forty and I've never really worked. Am I over my head?"

Jo shook her head, "No, not at all. In fact, honey, I cannot tell you enough how proud daddy and I are of you. Lizzie, you're home!!"

Lizzie smiled, even though the stress was killing her, "After we finish unpacking, I promised Jake I would take him to the used car lot and get him a car. Both of the boys need some clothes for school and I also need to make sure I registered them. I need to give them a tour of Hill Ridge to let them know they have options for the weekend. Andrew wants to sign up for soccer. I need to call Miranda and tell her we are here and convince her that I'll be okay."

"Honey," Jo said, sitting her daughter down at the kitchen table, "all of those things can wait, but first I think you need to just breathe."

Lizzie took in a deep breath and let it out. "Now, I registered the boys for school over a week ago. Jake's in the high school and Andrew is in the middle school. Later this afternoon, daddy and I will come over and help you unpack. Daddy can also help by taking Jake to the car dealership. He knows the owner and could probably get you a better price. We can go shopping at any time this week and the same goes for the tour. I'll check with the local league about sports," Jo said, sitting down next to Lizzie, "Honey, we're here to help you. We'll help you financially until you get a job and we'll also help with the boys. As for you, once the boys get settled, they have a few things to do at the recreational center so you can make new friends. There are support groups, a book club, garden club, history club, women's club, social clubs…maybe that will help you meet people your age and make new friends. Please, if there is anything we can do for you, tell us."

Lizzie nodded her head, "I will," she sighed, "I guess I'll just feel a lot better once the divorce is finalized and I can find closure and move on. At least he didn't want Jake and Andrew. At least he's willingly giving me $3000 a month to raise and educate them. If he never talks to them again it will be too soon."

"Oh, Lizzie," Jo said, "I know how hard this is for you and I know that everyone is thinking fairly negative thoughts toward George, but for the sake of Jake and Andrew, I don't think you should talk about him like that in front of them."

Lizzie sighed, "I know, it's just so easy to hate him right now, after what he did to us."

"Believe me, I know. I wouldn't mind giving the guy a piece of my mind myself, but that's not going to solve anything. In fact, I think it might help if you want to talk about this with a professional."

Lizzie shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I'm just emotionally exhausted right now."

"Well," Jo said, "why don't you rest for a while and when we're ready for a break from all this unpacking, we'll go out to lunch and give the boys a tour of their new town."

"Are you sure?"

Jo nodded, "Positive. If anything goes in your room, we'll leave it outside your door."

"Thanks, mom," Lizzie said.

"You're more than welcome."

"No, really," Lizzie said, standing up, "I didn't know how I was going to get through this alone, but knowing you are here makes me feel positive that everything will work out eventually."

"And it will," Jo said, kissing Lizzie on the cheek and heading outside, "Get some rest."

Lizzie did just that.

88

In the meantime, fifteen year old Hailey Isaacson was in her room talking on the phone with her friend when she heard a light knock on the door. Thinking it was Aunt Roberta or Uncle Howard wanting to use the phone, she said, "Kelly, I want to hear the rest of what happened between you and Will, but can I call you back? Okay, great. I'll call you later." Then, as she hung up the phone, she called, "I'm off!"

The door opened, however, and Hailey's face lit up as she jumped off her bed, "Uncle David!!"

They hugged as Gordo said, "You haven't called me 'uncle' in a while. Where did that come from."

"Well, I haven't seen you in over two weeks, you might as well be an uncle," Hailey said, sitting back on her bed. She smirked, "did you bring me anything, Davie? Did you buy me New York?"

Because they were so close, Gordo didn't really find the term "Uncle David" very endearing when he adopted Hailey. On the other hand, Hailey already had someone she called "dad," and since Gordo didn't think that was appropriate, he suggested his formal name, David, or his childhood nickname, Gordo. Since he lived with his parents and all of his other nieces and nephews called him Uncle David, however, he asked her to call him David. When Hailey was about eight years old, she started calling him "Davie," and this became his new name. It wasn't "dad," but it meant the same thing to her.

"I already bought you New York last spring," Gordo said, jokingly, "This time, I bought you Boston and Baltimore to add to your collection."

"Fun!" Hailey said, "but seriously, did you get me anything?"

Gordo rolled his eyes, "What are you today? Eleven?"

Her eyes widened, "Sorry! I'm just excited to see you, that's all. I mean, you have no idea what it's like to be a fifteen year old girl and live with two retired psychologists."

"Hey! Those 'retired psychologists' happen to be my parents and they also helped raise you."

"I know, but they don't really let me do anything. What did you do when you were younger that make them so…cautious."

Gordo shrugged, "It had nothing to do with me. I was a saint."

"You mean, they didn't make you come home every night of the summer by eight o'clock?"

"Hey!" Gordo said, "Unlike someone I know, I didn't spend the night anywhere without calling and I didn't almost fail two classes."

"I know, I know. You were perfect in every way possible. You dated one girl in high school…what was her name?? Oh, right, Lizzie…and you made straight A's all your life."

Gordo shook his head, "well, we won't get into it, but once you can prove that you are responsible enough, we'll talk about privileges. In the meantime, you want to go out to lunch today, just you and me?"

"Sure," she said, "but tomorrow, do you mind taking me to the mall?"

"Oooh," Gordo said, making a face. Gordo didn't like the mall, "are you sure?"

Hailey smirked, "Yeah, I need to get some new clothes and some school supplies."

Gordo sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll do it because I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Okay," Gordo said, "well, be ready in about an hour and I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Okay," Hailey said. Gordo shut the door behind him. Hailey called Kelly back to hear the rest of the story and they talked a little longer.

Despite the mention of Hailey spending the night somewhere without calling and her almost failing two classes, Hailey was a good kid. She was about to be a sophomore in high school and while she wasn't the most unpopular kid at school, she wasn't considered a geek, either. She had a few close friends that she hung out with, and dated a few guys, but nothing was too serious.

As for Gordo, he was busier than ever, trying to finish up a film. Most of Gordo's social life was in LA and New York. In fact, he often contemplated moving back to LA after Hailey finished high school. Like Hailey, Gordo also dated a few women, but nothing was ever too serious. Between not having enough time, traveling, and Hailey, he didn't spend too much time worrying about women.

Despite everything going on in his life, Gordo still found himself to be quite lonely in a way.

He hadn't given up quite yet.

Oooo ! ooooO

I hope you enjoy this so far, even though it's still in the set up process.

piacere