Holds Me Together
Rating: T-M Just in case
Disclaimer: At this point do I really need to write more then 'disclaimer' for you to know that I own only the new unheard of characters?
Reviewers : Laura – Hey…if I'm feeding an addiction I want to give you a good product, if it's a bad fanfic who knows what will happen to you? You could inadvertently O.D. on it, yo. We can't have that! P.S. I tried to put an equal amount of J/A and G/L. ) Butterfly Dancing –For a second there I wasn't sure I was actually going to sequel it, I got stuck on how to start it. Michelle – Hey there how you doing? Glad you liked last story and this one too. ) Tiffany – Thanks! Always good to know when I don't suck! No need to thank me for the review, it's what I do! So long as you keep updating the story (cough, hint cough). Thank you for feeding my ego! Sam – How'd you do on the essay? My lips are sealed on who's bad and who's not! I loved your long review! Thank you! I was hoping I didn't make the G/L parts too cute, just cute enough! Bonny – Continue writing, I shall. Glad to see you've come along for the sequel! AudreyF. – As always, I am here to feed the addictions. Maybe you and Laura can join the Fanfic Anonymous with me? I think we need it… Undying Slayer – It's always good to hear from someone knew. Thanks for feeding my ego; I'm glad you love my stories!
A/N: Phew, there were a lot of people to write to and acknowledge this time! Thanks to everyone for their support! I would have updated this on the 128th, but…I was at the Michael Tolcher/Howie Day/Gavin DeGraw concert in Philly. Excellent music-buy their CDs, they're very good, all three of them! Anyways to make up for taking that long to update, this chapter is nice and long! Enjoy! As always, sorry for my piss poor proofreading! Let me know if I start to suck or not, will ya?
Chapter 2 – We Had A Keg In The Closet
"Why are discussing the holocaust at all in this argument?" Dina Mae, one of the students in Grace's criminal law class who she'd started a study group along with two other students, asked in the middle of a heated argument between Grace and another student, known only as Tex.
"Because it was part of the motif the defense tried to use to convince the jury in this case!" Tex basically shouted, enraged that someone like Grace didn't automatically agree with him in their examination of a case study in their textbook. "And I'm simply saying that if, like in this case, a person believes that the Holocaust never happened, then how could they be considered anything more than-,"
"Delusional?" Grace supplied with her arms crossed, leaning back in her seat with her legs up on the desk.
"Hey, it is possible that the Holocaust didn't happen." Tex offered. Grace stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Most of the class sat silently, contemplating the words that had just been uttered. Professor Henley just let the argument continue. He hadn't seen such fire and passion in his classroom in years, until Grace Polk had shown up as a student in this class. She always needed to prove her point, a very strong personality trait for a prospective future lawyer.
"Dude, you're joking right?" Collier piped up, leaning forward to slap Tex's shoulder in a gesture to show that the joke wasn't funny.
"No. I'm not." Tex said. "This is why I understand the prosecution's position on the motif underlying in this case." He reasoned.
"That's probably the most ignorant statement I've ever heard in my life." Grace glared at him.
"Oh, what, because it's not a widely accepted social norm, it's automatically wrong?" Tex asked. Grace's mouth hung open for a moment.
"Five million, nine-hundred thousand, one hundred and twenty nine corpses outweigh your opinion that the holocaust never happened." She said. She knew he was now just trying to get her angry, and it was working. When you've had relatives that died not only in the holocaust but as soldiers in a specific period of history, and someone tried to say it was all a magic trick, you tend to get offended.
"Oh, so now only the dead Jewish people of World War II count?" Tex asked. Grace continued to stare him down.
"When you speak of the Holocaust, it implies the genocide of the Jews via Hitler and Nazi Germany. But if you want to get technical, dude." She sat up straight putting her feet on the floor. "Then you think that 52,199, 262 people died…military and civilian, to stop an event that you're saying didn't happen? That doesn't make any sense!"
"The war was to stop Hitler, not the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a lie." Tex said.
"Listen you little bigot…"Grace said, using her finger to point as she spoke. "I don't know what propaganda your family's fed you throughout your life and I don't care if you're some kind of neo-Nazi Revisionist reject from Middle America, okay? I've got a Grandmother who's got a tattoo up the side of her arm that was her serial number, slapped on her in the concentration camp during the War, not to mention two great grandparents, and one great uncle who were starved and gassed in the concentration camps of Hitler's holocaust…" She saw the frightened look in Tex's face now. "So if you want to come and tell my grandmother that what she went through was a hoax…that's peachy, but I don't want to be in the room when she goes berserk on you and shows you the pictures, scars and proof. It's enough to make a narcissistic prick like you go mad. You want to be a bigot, you go right ahead. Don't waste my valuable education time to spout off your racist, ignorant mind set, okay?" She turned her attention to Henley.
"Well then…" Professor Henley said once Grace had finished and Tex was speechless. "If we can continue with the lecture after that…" He cleared his throat, "Remarkable display of statistics, and, dare I say, heartfelt insight into our world history?" He said.
"Lecture on, oh Captain my Captain." Collier said dryly. Grace took a deep breath and let it out slowly and quietly. She felt stupid for her outburst, but was satisfied that she'd managed to take Tex's ego down so far, that he wouldn't speak for the remainder of the class period.
"Hey, Grace, wait up!" Dina jogged up next to Grace.
"Oh, hey." Grace said. It was an hour and a half later and Grace was on her way from class to JB's. She was glad Dina was the one following her from class and not Collier, who'd been frequently 'bumping into' Grace during her morning jogs, at the diner, at the grocery store or the corner store.
"That was so awesome in class." Dina gushed. "You're totally my hero."
It was a phrase Grace had heard often throughout high school, especially from Joan, after she'd spoken her mind in the face of what Grace felt was injustice. It always made Grace feel uncomfortable, that someone would admire her for speaking truth. Shouldn't everyone just be truthful by nature?
"Yeah…I just was speaking the truth." She replied with an awkward shrug.
"Oh! I know!" Dina excused herself. "I mean, I was amazed at the number statistics you knew!" She continued. Grace pursed her lips together. "Did you have to memorize it…for your history?" She asked curiously. Grace fought not to roll her eyes, knowing Dina was watching her. Dina wasn't a horrible person. In fact, Grace quite liked her, even if she was kind of naïve and bubbly.
"No. I didn't have to." She cleared her throat. "I saw the pictures, and my grandmother's tattoo, and then learned little bits about it in History throughout the school years." Grace explained. "One day I just decided I wanted to know as much as I could about it. I mulled over books for months until I knew everything I could, including the statistics, Jewish and non Jewish." She nodded as she spoke.
"That's so amazing." Dina gushed again. She skipped a beat as they continued to walk. "So what are you and Luke doing this weekend?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Uhm, you know I'm not really sure actually." She shrugged. "We're supposed to make an appearance at some party for his roommate, but I'm not big on the frat party type of scene." Grace shared. Dina nodded.
"It's not so bad if you stay in control." She smiled. "There's some fun dancing…loud people…some of them obnoxiously drunk." She laughed slightly. Grace nodded slightly.
"Well," Dina said a few minutes later. "Maybe I'll see you at one of the parties this weekend then." She shrugged with a smile. Grace nodded.
"Yeah, sure. Maybe," She said, not really believing herself. Dina smiled and waved as she turned and left.
"Hey!" Luke leaned over the counter of the Diner and kissed Grace after she'd seen that their booth was full and she sat on a spare stool at the counter. "I don't have time to take a dinner break right now." He said as he filled up a coffee cup for her. "How was your day?" He asked.
"Long story. Avery needs you." Grace pointed. Luke scurried off to help. Grace sighed slightly, watching him. Sweet Lou had invited them to a party at the frat house that Lou's older cousin belonged to. After getting to know him, it turned out that Sweet Lou was really just a big teddy bear…with a cocky, sexist and overall horn dog outer shell. In an effort to become better friends with Lou, Luke agreed to go with Lou, and had expressed to Grace that he wanted her to go with him. Reluctantly, Grace had agreed. The idea that Sweet Lou was going to lure Luke into the world of college drinking freaked Grace out. Calmly, she told herself that Luke was too smart, and knew too well what alcohol could do, thanks to Grace's own mother, and therefore would be able well equipped to handle himself at any college party-frat run or not.
"You look like you need this." Ella put down Grace's favorite dessert, Triple Chocolate Strawberry Surprise, in front of her. Grace had been sitting, mulling over a textbook, with her cheek resting in her fist.
"You have no idea." She sighed with a half smile, moving to use her hand to rub her temple and her other hand to pick up a fork and dig in. Ella poured herself a coffee. "You on break?" Ella nodded.
"Want to tell me what's bothering you, Gracious?" Ella asked. Grace gave another half smile.
"Why do you call me that?" She questioned curiously as she stirred her own coffee.
"To be gracious is characterized by kindness and warm courtesy, and also a compassionate nature." Ella began. Grace snorted.
"That is so not me." She said.
"On the contrary, it is you. Those are all traits that you, kid, have in tenfold in fact," Ella smiled. She studied Grace for a minute as Grace stifled a chuckle. Ella could see Grace didn't believe her, so she continued. "You're the M&M of rebellious hardasses, Gracious…thick candy shell on the outside…soft, lovely chocolate on the inside."
"I…am?" She asked, taken aback by the candy analogy. Ella chuckled.
"HI GRACE!" A young voice called, leaping into recently empty stool to Grace's left. 10-year-old arms wrapped around Grace's waist. Grace looked over to see Danica hugging her. She let herself smile and hugged the little girl back with her left arm.
"Hey, kid." She said, holding her fork out. "Want some?" Danica smiled, nodding furiously before digging in happily.
"See…" Ella smiled, finishing her coffee and heading back to work. Grace looked at Danica. Ella was right. Of course, it was only those who got to know Grace and who Grace let herself get to know, that truly were aware of just how gracious she could be. She was watching Danica dig into the rest of the dessert when Rush climbed up on the stool to her right and jumped at her. Grace reacted just in time to catch him.
"Whoa there, you little monkey." She said as she set him down.
"Rush Henry John, I'd better not see you do that again." Izzy said walking up behind Grace. Grace spun in her seat, saw that there was no room anywhere for Isabel and stood up.
"Here, you can have my seat." She said to Isabel.
"Oh, please, Grace, sit." Isabel smiled. "I'm going to see if I can help out, would you mind watching Nic and Rush while I do?"
"No, that's fine." Grace nodded. It was the least she could do. After Luke's first two weeks of hard work and dedication, JB had given him a bonus and a raise on the promise that Luke would work there for the 4 years of college he would be in Cambridge. Even if that hadn't been the case, Grace wouldn't have minded. Nic and Rush were her favorite kids. They were funny, and they asked random questions like why Grace like Luke, and why she thought Triple Chocolate Strawberry Surprise was so good. She loved the diner like a second home. She even liked it better than living in a dormitory where the people above you stomped on their floor all night long and the people under you blasted the bass of bad dance songs all night long and people ran up and down the hallways drunk, and stupid. The people at JB's were kind, accepting and wonderful people.
Grace knew she was a different person then she had been nearly three years before. She's grown more accepting of other opinions, except for extreme one's like the one Tex expressed in class. She'd grown over all happier and less morose in life. She knew that was in big part thanks to Luke. Now, if only she could vocalize to Luke just how much he really, honestly, did mean to her.
"Hey, little monsters." Luke grinned, putting a plate of cookies and some cups of milk on the counter in front of Grace, Rush and Nic. Danica and Rush cheered and dug in, greedily dunking their cookies into their respective cups of milk. "You okay?" Luke asked, noticing the strained look on Grace's face. Grace opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She sighed slightly and nodded.
"I'm fine." She smiled at him. Luke seemed to accept this after a moment and he stole a kiss from her before going to bus some tables. Grace watched him, while keeping an eye on Danica and Rush as well. She watched Luke smile and quickly chit chat with people he'd known from their frequent visits to the diner as well as with people she knew were students from his classes. Ever since he'd gotten used to working here, she noticed, Luke had been less nervous and panicky around people, and more confident and at ease. She smiled slightly to herself and then sighed. For all the time Luke had told her he loved her, Grace had net to be able to let those words surface to her lips from her vocal chords.
She sighed. The week before, Grace had told him to stop saying it to her because she didn't deserve it. Luke had known that she felt guilty for not saying that tiny sentence out loud to him. He had smiled, pressing his forehead to hers and locking her eyes to his intently.
"You don't have to say them. I know." He had told her. Grace had stared at him, resisting the urge to shift her awkwardness to some ridiculous sarcastic comment. "The only reason I say it out loud, is because I want to. I want you to hear them, not just to know." He'd said.
She knew he was right. At least, she hoped he wasn't just saying it to make her feel better. Had her actions really been enough to show him she loved him? Usually she'd just make a joke and give him a slight shove or elbow to the rib if she was standing close enough. And if she did love him, no scratch that, she knew she did. There was no need for the word 'if' here. But, since she did in fact love him, then why couldn't she say three words? Why did they always catch in her throat just before they could emerge to the world for the sound waves to carry them to Luke's ears?
"Grace? Hey…Grace?" Luke's voice awoke her from her thought. He'd come over to clear Danica and Rush's cookie plate and empty glasses away. The two kids were now coloring on the diner's placemats, ignoring the rest of the world except to swing their legs back and forth and hum to themselves as they colored. Grace shook her head and looked from the kids to Luke.
"I, uhm, wait what?" Grace asked, a little bit dazed. Luke caught himself in a smile.
"You looked lost." He told her. "Do you want something besides dessert?" He switched gears quickly. Grace thought about this for a second. She could use some cheese fries. She nodded and told Luke this.
"All right. I'll be right back then," He said, turning to go make the fries. Grace sighed again, looking back at her textbook. At least school work would get her mind to stop wandering to ridiculous things like love. Then again, she wondered, how ridiculous was love when you were as deep into the thick of it as she felt Luke and her could be?
"Hey Colby," Joan said with a half yawn as she entered the room via the door that was propped open by a wooden doorstop. Joan went to her desk, which was only about a foot from the open door, and put her bag down. She pulled out the chair and all but slumped down into it, taking a moment to rest her head in her hands, tiredly sighing before pulling out two textbooks and two different notebooks with the intent of doing two classes' homework at once. Colby had been sitting on her bed, the bottom bunk, reading a Cosmo, listlessly turning the pages, only mildly content with the information inside. Close by her outstretched legs, which were crossed over each other, were her closed school books. Joan looked at Colby when she didn't reply. Colby could feel Joan's eyes on her, but kept up her fake reading.
"So…" Joan tapped the eraser side of her pencil on the back of her chair as she sat, still turned half way around in it, trying to get Colby's attention. "Any big parties tonight?" Joan asked her, not really, truly, caring either way. This question seemed to peak Colby's interest. Joan saw Colby's right eyebrow rise, even though she kept her cool and kept absently thumbing through the pages of the magazine.
"There's a pre-Halloween bash at Cody's frat, starts at 8." She mentioned nonchalantly. "But," she hunched up her shoulders in a shrug, "you'd have to have a costume."
Joan felt the need to combat this challenge, and momentarily smiled to herself. Maybe Grace's stubbornness rubbed off just the tiniest bit on her after all. "What, you think that'd be a problem?"
"Only if you invited Space Cadet along with you," Colby still didn't look up from the magazine, even as she insulted Adam right to Joan's face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Joan asked. She didn't sound mad when she said it, she honestly wanted to know what Colby had meant. Colby shrugged.
"Oh…nothing," She shook her head. "I mean, you could present him as a bump on a log, with all that staring off into space he does." She mused. Joan wanted to throw a comeback at Colby, but was at a loss for a good one, so instead, she turned around in her chair and resolved herself to try and ignore Colby.
"Of course…if you're tired of being socially inept…" Colby said. Joan stopped writing, not turning her head, just listening. "I could be persuaded to work my magic and get Cody to offer an invite for you." She continued, knowing she had Joan's attention.
"Just me?" Joan asked. Colby rolled her eyes and snickered.
"Fine, the Space Cadet too." She said. "Provided you both can scrape together some costumes."
"What about Jo?" Joan asked. Johana had become a good friend over the weeks, and Joan didn't want to alienate her.
"Johana," Colby, it seemed to Joan, wrinkled up her nose as she said the name. "Already had an invite from Grant." She explained. "As far as I know, she hasn't given him an answer. Probably because she's too hung up on that…Tyron…Travis…Trevor…I don't know. Your boyfriend's roommate." Colby said.
"Tristan," Joan supplied. Colby shrugged.
"Whatev," She replied, too lazy to add the remaining 'er' to the word 'whatever'. Joan turned her head to study Colby for a moment.
"Why are you like that?" She asked Colby. Colby finally looked at Joan.
"Like what?" She asked, smiling. "As cool as I am? Or did you mean sophisticated? A close comparison to Paris?"
Joan shook her head. "Vicious." She said to Colby. Colby narrowed her eyes.
"Do you want to come to this party or not?" She asked. Joan put her hands up in defense.
"Okay, sorry." She turned back to her work. She had an hour before she had to leave for work. This meant that she had a half hour to finish at least one subject of homework before she was supposed to meet Adam at his room for some pop tarts before they each went to work. They'd have an hour to get home afterwards, scrounge up costumes and get dinner before going to the party.
"Are you sure about this?" Adam asked as they stood outside of Phi Kappa Psi. He looked at Joan. He thought about Judith, and he had no desire to go inside. He couldn't figure out just why Joan wanted to. Joan sighed. She leaned close to his ear.
"We have to." She told him. Adam looked at her.
"The big G?" He asked. Joan nodded. Adam looked at the frat house. Music was blasting from the house, people were hooting, and shouting-a party was raging within for sure. He sighed.
"All right then, let's go," He started forward. Colby was dressed, literally, as Barbie. She'd walked up to the door where Cody, a guy who Joan had met all of twice from walking in on him and Colby in the dorm room, was standing dressed-of course-as a Ken Doll. Colby motioned to Adam and Joan who, thanks to the combined efforts of Tristan, Johana and Brandon, were dressed like Neo and Trinity from the Matrix. Of course Joan had longer hair, but all things considered, their costumes looked good, after being thrown together in an hour. After saying something that Cody nodded to, Colby pointed to Tristan and Johana, and Cody nodded again before planting a wet, sloppy, drunken kiss down Colby's throat and smacking her ass on her way in. Adam leaned over to Joan.
"Pretty bold move for a person dressed up as an anatomically vacant doll." He said quietly. Joan couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips as she covered her mouth. She looked at Johana.
Johana and Tristan were dressed, oddly to say the least. Johana had on a black dress that was ripped and tattered at the bottom, with torn, running pantyhose and high heels-one of which had a broken heel. There was a fake pearl necklace around her neck, and gold earrings dangling from her ears. Her hair had been done up, and she had reached up and randomly messed it to create a disheveled appearance. In her hand, she had a plastic water gun that looked very much like the gun Joan's dad used while working.
Tristan was wearing khakis that had a tear in the knee. Joan knew that he hadn't torn them on purpose. In fact, he'd torn them playing football with Brandon, Johana, and Hayley two weeks ago. He had on a white wife-beater with a white navy and maroon striped button up shirt over it. The pocket of the shirt was ripped mostly off, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hair was spiked and messed. He looked like he'd taken a dive into a mound of dirt and rolled around. He held a fake cowboy shotgun, the kind you get in the toy store with a sheriff badge. In fact, he had the handcuffs from that kit around his left wrist, with the other one hanging down freely.
Tristan had also taken a one of the blood capsules he'd gotten to use on Halloween and cut it open to put some on his face, making it look like he had a bloody nose and lip. The rest of it had been used to give Johana as bloody gash over her right eye by her temple. Each of them had put some on their knuckles, part of Johana's elbow and shoulder and the last of it was on Tristan's knee and the ripped part of his khakis.
"Who are you guys supposed to be?" Joan asked them.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Tristan grinned. Joan and Adam chuckled as Johana and Tristan posed back to back with their fake guns.
"Let's go in, I'm thirsty." Johana suggested. All four of them walked up the steps.
"Colby said you're with her." Cody told them, stamping each of their right hands. "Go on in." He told them, nodding to Joan, who was the only one out of the whole group he recognized, thanks to her intrusions.
"Thanks." Joan said, nodding back as they all entered.
"I'm gonna go get a drink." Joan said after a few minutes of standing in the corner of the living room and observing the surroundings. She looked at Adam. "Want anything?"
"No, no I'm fine." He assured. Joan nodded.
"I'll come with you." Johana said, aiming her water gun at Tristan. "You stay put." She ordered devilishly. As she started to follow Joan, she squeezed the trigger and sent a splotch of water all over Tristan's chest.
"I'll get you for that Mrs. Smith!" He called to her. Johana just stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
"Well, hello there," Brandon said, filling up cups at the keg in the closet of the kitchen. He looked Joan up and down, figuring out who she was dressed up as. "Now if you asked me to pick the blue or the red pill, I'd totally pick the red." He grinned. Brandon himself was dressed as David Beckham, which was no surprise, since Beckham was Brandon's hero, being a soccer player and all. Joan blushed at the comment.
"Be careful now, soccer boy, I've got Neo for a bodyguard." She laughed nervously. Brandon held two cups out for her, suspecting she was going to get one for Adam. Instead, she handed it to Johana who had just caught up behind Joan. She checked Brandon over as she took the cup from Joan.
"Well now, look who we have here." Johana smiled. "Is Hayley here, too?"
"Yup, she's Posh." He laughed.
"Well I guess she'll bring new meaning to bend it like Beckham?" Johana asked deviously. It was Brandon's turn to blush.
"Excuse me ladies," He said when he'd spotted Hayley. He drank some of his own cup, and then put the brim of it between his lips. He held Hayley's cup in his right hand, and picked up his soccer ball from the kitchen counter, kneeing and kicking it as he made a path to Hayley, who smiled and laughed as he made it to her, holding the cups in both of his hands now, and still juggling the ball expertly. Johana filled up a cup for Tristan.
"If Mr. Smith is your enemy, should you be getting him a beer?" Joan asked. Johana grinned wickedly as they headed back towards Adam and Tristan.
"Oh the contrary, inebriation will hinder his response time, thus giving me the upper hand Ha-ha-ha!" She laughed evilly. Joan laughed along with her as they reached the guys. Though the music was bad, Joan finished half of her drink before she leaned towards Adam.
"Let's dance." She suggested. She had grabbed Adam's arm and dragged him out to the middle of the living room were other drunken people were dancing about, drinking and laughing and stumbling, before Adam could reply. He wasn't fond of drinking, but at least he could dance with Joan. Adam abandoned himself to ignoring the drunken people around him when he felt Joan's hips gyrating to his own. He smiled as she laughed and they danced, knowing how ridiculous they looked, and not caring. Johana and Tristan soon joined them. Joan looked around her as she finished her drink but held onto the cup still. She felt like she was in the scene of Dirty Dancing when Baby first enters the dance hall that all the workers are grinding in. By the time the next song had come on, Brandon and Hayley had joined them, refilling Joan, Johana, and Tristan's cups as the group danced and joined in on the party. Colby, by then, was already buzzed, and she and Cody were in a moving make out session among everyone who was dancing.
Grace and Luke had made it back to Luke's dorm by midnight. Sweet Lou was out for the night, returning tomorrow for the party that Grace and Luke were supposed to attend with him. Grace tiredly dropped herself onto Luke's bottom bunk after they dropped their stuff by his desk. Luke went to check the message on the machine since it was blinking. He hit the button and then sat next to Grace, who was lying back across the bed now, with her legs bent and her feet on the floor revealing just enough of the flat, toned and tan skin of her abdomen to garner a stare from Luke as he listened. Thankfully, she was lying back with her hands rubbing her head and her eyes closed.
"Hey geek, this is your friendly, lovable, wonderful older brother calling you," Kevin's voice rang out in the room. Luke shook his head.
"Yeah, yeah, get on with it." He said to the machine.
"Just calling to let you know that you, my friend, are officially an uncle," Kevin's voice continued. Grace sat up now, as Luke's back straightened. "That's right; your nephew weighed in at six pounds, one ounce at 7:04 pm, Eastern Standard Time, after twenty-eight, that's right, count 'em, twenty-eight hours of labor. His name is Caleb." Kevin continued. "I just wanted to let you know. Give me a call here at the hospital when you get in from work, the number is 555-8390. Later." The machine clicked, signaling that the message was over.
"Wow, poor Lily." Grace nodded, noting that Luke's mouth hung up slightly, as if he was still in shock. Grace lightly shoved his shoulder, leaning back on her palms on the bed. "What are you waiting for, call them." She smiled. Luke hesitated only a second before grabbing the phone and dialing the number. As he spoke to Kevin, Grace smiled slightly. She grabbed her cell phone. There were no missed calls. It was strange that Joan wouldn't have gotten the message and called Grace's cell, ecstatic about the baby. Slightly worried, she clicked through to Joan's number and called her cell. After four rings, Joan picked up. Before Grace could say hello, giggling greeted her.
"Hello?" A muffled, slurred voice answered.
"Girardi?" Grace asked. Her phone was fuzzing out slightly.
"Graaaaacceee!" Joan sung. "Heyyyyyy! How are you?" she asked as if she were talking to a puppy.
"Luke and I just got the message about the baby, did you get it?" Grace asked, looking at Luke, strangely. Luke had just hung up with Kevin and Lily and was looking at her, trying to gage from here expression what was going on.
"Nooooooo," Joan drawled, waiting for Grace to tell her. "Tell me allll about it, sista!"
"They had the baby. His name is Caleb." Grace said quickly. "Are you drunk, Girardi?"
"Me?" Joan's voice hit a high pitch that made Grace cringe. "Nevvvverrrrr…" Joan said sounding dramatically grave. Grace felt her jaw clench.
"Where's Rove?" She said into the receiver as Luke sat back down next to her, extending an arm around her. Grace pushed his arm away, and stood. Her right hand held the phone to her ear and her left arm crossed her and burrowed itself under her right elbow angrily as she paced slightly.
"I thin' 'e went for liquid refreshness," Joan said, slurring some words and mistaking refreshness for refreshments. Grace felt her face turn red. She tossed the phone to Luke.
"You talk to her. I need to get some air." She left the room.
"Grace?" Luke called. He put the phone to his ear. "Joan? Are you drunk?" He asked her.
"Luke! Hey Luke!" Joan started mumbling about The Matrix and Mr. & Mrs. Smith for a good five minutes before Adam returned and took the phone. He apologized to Luke and told Luke to apologize to Grace. Then he thanked Luke for the information about Caleb and they hung up so that Luke could find Grace.
"You all right?"Luke asked, sitting on the cement steps of the dormitory next to Grace. Grace sighed. She nodded. "Liar," Luke said. Grace looked at him and then looked straight ahead, staring into nothing.
"I was thinking of Judith." She admitted. Granted Grace didn't really know Judith, nor did she particularly like Judith past the extent that Judith had helped Joan stay together when Joan needed someone most and none of the others could be there for her. Of course, Grace didn't want what happened to Judith to happen, her dying so horribly and all. It had been Grace, after all, who had stopped Judith from dying before she was attacked, when she'd suffered alcohol poisoning at the party she and Joan had thrown. The idea that Joan was across the country, trashed, after witnessing Judith's drinking experience, enraged Grace. Grace knew that her anger was multiplied by the years of alcohol abuse her mother had put her through.
She ran a hand through her hair and sighed again, closing her eyes and putting her head down to rub her neck. Luke reached out his left hand and rubbed her back gently.
"Adam said she's all right. She just drank one too many." He said. Grace looked at him. "She's not throwing up, and she's lucid…however obnoxiously drunk." He added. He shrugged. "People need to test their limits to see what they are?" He suggested. "I'm sure after tomorrow morning she won't be doing that again anytime soon." He said. Grace looked at him.
"Don't you dare think about getting wasted at this party tomorrow," She said, almost shaking. The idea of having to take care of Luke in the same way she had to take care of her mother chilled her down to her bones, unnerving her greatly.
"I'm not that dumb, Grace." He assured her. "But," He waited for her to look at him again. "That doesn't mean I won't try one, or two." Grace looked at him wearily. She knew it was unreasonable to expect her friends, and her boyfriend, to despise alcohol as much as she did, but she couldn't help it. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
"If you lose control of yourself, I'm gone, Luke." She said seriously, staring at him. Luke let himself smile a little, despite the seriousness of the situation.
"Now that is surely enough to keep a geek like me in line." He said with a slight nod and a sly look. "Come on, let's go upstairs." He stood and held his hand out to her. Grace hesitated just a second and then took his hand and stood, wrapped an arm around his waist and rested her head down on his collarbone as he pulled her closer to him and they headed back for his room.
A/N: Ch. 2 Title from "Keg In The Closet" By Kenny Chesney. Ch. 1 Title was "Friday, I'm In Love" By The Cure, just FYI. So, did my longwinded-ness suck or rock your world?