A/N- Different chapter, different format. Tell me if you like it.

A/N 2- Ella acts a little immature towards the beginning of this chapter. But then it gets better. :)

Dedicated: Papa, because he buys strawberries just for me. And he knows what that means.

Disclaimer: I own two more characters as of the end of this chapter, but Amy can have them too if she wants.

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

My name is Ella. I'm thirteen years old, and you, my dear diary, were given to me by my journalist parents to soften the blow of the news that they told me today. Yes, today, Saturday the fourteenth of January, my whole world changed. Oh yes, today, I was told that my parents are adopting.

Adopting! Can you imagine? At their age? And they tell me, "Ella, sweetie, you're gonna be a big sister! You don't have to pretend with your American Girl dolls anymore!" I haven't played with my American Girl Dolls since I was nine. (Except for the occasional dress-up day, but those are Ava and my secret.) And mom and dad know that.

But the worst thing about it isn't even that they're doing it. (I'm really pretty ok with the adoption itself, actually. Not 100, but I need time.) It's that they're doing it and have been for months without telling me! According to dad, they've been on the waiting list since last February. "This stuff takes forever a lot of times, baby. We didn't want to get your hopes up that it would happen. A lot of times it doesn't." Get my hopes up, dad? How about mentally preparing myself for a little brother or sister! I mean, it'd be fine (I wouldn't be a 100 percent ok, but I'd have dealt) if they'd decided to adopt and gave me plenty of notice, but just jumping out and going "Hey! You're a big sister now!" Women have 9-month pregnancies for a reason! To let people get used to the idea of being responsible for a new human being! This way it's like 'Hey, by the way, this is your sibling. Love him/her.'

Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against adoption. I did a research report on it in seventh grade and it's actually an amazing process. It gives a child who wouldn't usually have love and opportunities love and opportunities. It's great and I'm glad they decided to adopt from a country like Russia. Score one for parents. One of my best friends is adopted from Russia. Gabriel. Maybe I should talk to him.

I don't know. On one hand, I'm excited at the prospect of having a brother or sister. As close as I am with Jack and Ava, they have a different relationship that I probably couldn't have with either of them. On the other hand, I need time to mentally prepare myself for midnight feedings and diaper changes.

Wasn't something like this supposed to happen yesterday?

Confusedly yours,
Ella Mariano

Dear Diary,

Great. Now I have mom on my case.

"Ella, why are you moping?"

Why am I moping, mom? Maybe because you sprung on me that instead of homework and VH1, I now need to get used to burping and Barney?

I know what anybody watching me is thinking: why doesn't she talk to her mom about it? Her mom's always been understanding. Her mom's never given her any reason to doubt that she'd be able to talk.

The answer to that is: I don't know if she'd understand anymore. Maybe I should just keep it to myself.

"Look, Ella, this is the notice telling us they've found a child for us. Oh, look, Ella! Pictures!.. I wonder what this envelope's for."

Uh-oh. Pictures. Gotta go fawn.

Sigh,
Ella

Diary,
Oh. My. Sweet. Hendrix.

This is not what I expected.

This is not what anyone expected.

I'd kinda come almost completely to grips with the fact that I was getting a baby sibling. I'd never let anyone know this, but I've been sewing a quilt for new baby Mariano (a handy skill I picked up from Grandma Lorelai).

But this?

Ella Mariano, sister to not one, but TWO little kids?

That second envelope. A notice.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mariano and family,

We are pleased to hear that you are choosing adoption as your method of rearing children. While we know that you've already accepted the adoption of one child, please review the case of this child's older brother. We choose, in as many cases as possible, to keep sibling sets together, and in this case, the seven-month-old girl you've been matched with has a two-year-old brother. If you would be willing to adopt both the little girl and her brother, please contact us at...

The rest is blank in my mind. And mom called dad right up and they both said yes immediately. Immediately! Can you believe that?

Now I have a brother and a sister. And yeah, while it feels amazing to be saving these kids from an "uncertain future," there's still something nagging at me. In the back of my mind, there's still something lurking.

Maybe after a nap...

Oh boy,
Ella

DIARY!
Ugggggggh. Seven G's. That's how big this is.

Ava.

My best friend in the world, Ava, and she's... UGGGGGGGGH! That was eight in caps. UGH.

I can't believe her. I can't believe that she would even dare to say what she said. That kid has guts. Fear-Factor-Eat-A-Bug-In-A-Box-Of-Nails guts.

We were walking to the diner today and Ava looks at me,

"You ok?"

"Yeah, Ave, I'm fine."

"You don't seem ok."

"I am."

"Well, I mean, you seem ok around Rory and Jess... or at least better around them than around my parents."

"What?" At this point, we'd reached the diner, and I was staring in, watching my Papa work.

"This whole adoption thing. It's really getting to you, isn't it?"

"What? No! I'm excited to have a little brother and sister."

"I didn't say that. I know you're excited. They're your own personal playmates. But you're nervous."

"Wouldn't you be?"

"Not for the same reasons you are."

"What?"

"You. You're upset, and I'm pretty sure it's because you're worried about your... How should I put this?"

"You shouldn't," I interrupted. But she kept going,

"Your... status in the family."

"WHAT?"

"Ella, give it up. You're worried. You've always been the baby in the family, your parents' only child, and my parents' only grandchild. You've been dad's 'one and only' since you were born. You're worried you're not gonna be... special... anymore."

"Ava, I don't know what you're driving at here, but you're wrong."

"No I'm not. You have the look in your eyes. You're worried that the babies are gonna come and that, not your parents, because you know they love you no matter what- you're their oldest, you're the one exactly like them, you're the one who has days where you hang out with your mom all day, but my parents, will stop loving you like they do."

I had tears in my eyes- I didn't realize, but I did...

"You're waaaay offbase here, Ave."

"No I'm not. I've seen the way you've been acting. You avoid the subject of the babies completely when you're talking to my mom and dad. When you're with Rory and Jess you have no problems. It's babies this and babies that and 'Oh, I'm knitting a quilt for the babies.'"

"Sewing with clothing patches... And how did you know that!"

"Please, Ella. Last time I was in your room, it was laid out on your bed with a picture of the baby next to it."

"That doesn't mean anything, Ava."

"But that's besides the point. Not only do you stay away from talking about your new brother and sister when you're talking to my parents, but you've been acting funny around them. My dad offered to take you fishing the other day and you said no. You've never said no to fishing with dad before. And you said no to shopping with mom. And you randomly run up and hug the two of them and then run away- no explanations, no staying to talk afterwards. It's almost as if you're trying to distance yourself from them to make the 'inevitable downfall of Ella Mariano's world' soften its blow."

"Ok, a, you're talking like a Chinese proverb, and b, you're wrong."

"No, I'm not. Ella, I know you better than anyone else."

"Well, as well as you know me, you're wrong."

"You keep saying that, but the way you're acting is telling me otherwise." At that point, I just groaned and ran off. Who made Ava a fourteen-year-old Freud?

I mean, who does she think she is? Just because I've been acting weird lately, doesn't mean that I'm worried that... It just doesn't mean that I'm worried.

I'm gonna go read. That should calm me down.

Betrayed,
Ella

Diary,

She's right. Ava was right. My biological aunt, my emotional cousin, Ava Hayleigh Danes, was right.

I am worried about what's gonna happen to me.

I'm less worried about my relationship with Grandma. We share a name, for Lennon's sake. Grandma is my grandma by blood, and I know that she's not gonna stop loving me when the new babies come. There's still a fear of losing her to my new siblings, but it's not huge.

But Papa? I'm not his blood granddaughter. I'm his semi-adopted daughter's eldest daughter- you know, the teenager sulking in the background. The new babies are gonna be perfect, quiet little children who do what they're told and are the grandchildren of appropriate ages for a man his age.

Me? I'm the thirteen-year-old with 37-year-old parents and 53-and-54-year-old grandparents. At least they'll be near the appropriate age of being grandparents when the new babies come. A 40 and 41-year-old set of grandparents is not common, and I know it, but that's what I had when I was born. These kids are gonna be almost three and almost one with grandparents of a much more suitable age.

I don't know anymore...

Tear,
Ella

Dear Diary,

Ok, so I know it's been about three weeks since I've written. That's because things have gotten hectic around here. Right now I'm in my room at Grandma and Papa's house, with a whole bunch of old pictures and videos lying around me.

So, let me recap what's going on here.

Since I last wrote, things have been weird. I've still been acting sort of oddly around Grandma and Papa, but around Mom and Dad I've been much more pleasant. They know now all about how I'm really very excited about Erin and Lucas...

Oh, that's right. I still haven't documented this. After much debate, Mom, Dad, and I have named the babies.

My little brother is to be known as Lucas James Ilya Mariano, or L.J. for short, and my little sister is Erin Lital Anya Mariano. We kept their Russian names as middle names and as reminders for them of their heritage.

Right now, Mom and Dad are in Russia; they'll be there for the rest of the week, and I couldn't go because I had school. I cried when I found out I couldn't go with them. I want to meet my baby brother and sister. (My past few weeks have been planning on my part, "Can Erin's wardrobe be all purple? I think pink is overdone." "Do you think L.J. will like sports? Can we make his room a baseball room?" and baby shopping. Definitely a lot of fun.)

So I'm here all week. I'm staying at Grandma and Papa's which definitely has its perks. A, I get homemade breakfast every morning in addition to the Poptart I take to school with me. B, I'm forced to act normal around Grandma and Papa and Ava's even gotten me to calm down and realize that nothing's gonna change between me and them.

She made me sit down and watch hours of home videos, including Halloweens where we were dressed as Larry (Jack), Moe (Ava), and Curly (bald baby me), another where we were dressed as Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson, and one where Jack was dressed as Ricky Ricardo, Ava as Lucy, and me as Little Ricky. Papa grabbed me before mom and Grandma could put a wig on me. He fixed my pigtails and held my hand the whole time, keeping that thing away from my head. It looked like a dead animal; Grandma had pulled it out of the attic.

In another video it was my fifth birthday and Papa cooked an entire barbeque for the whole town. He (or rather, Grandma) called it "Luke's diner free-of-charge- courtesy of Ella Mariano." He even did tricks with the magicians for Ava, Jack, and me.

One video had me playing little league (which I've recently given up to play on the school team). I tripped and fell while running the bases and I got a big scratch on my nose. He picked me up and carried me over to his truck and pulled out a first aid kit and cleaned me up, kissed my nose, and gave me a cookie and juice box he had stored for me in the back.

After I watched the videos, I went over to the diner and helped Papa out for a little while, and then just sat and had dinner with him- just the two of us. And before I left to come back here and do my homework, he kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear,

"Glad to have you back, bella." And I blushed and went,

"Papa, I never left." And he just said,

"Glad to have you back," and smiled this smile that always leads to any problem being fixed. I swear, that man has magical powers.

Three more days until my babies come home!
Ella

Dear diary,
Best. Day. Ever.

Oh my sweet Hendrix, today was amazing.

Ok, so, we (Ava and I) woke up at five this morning, and we proceeded to throw things at Jack's bedroom door to wake him up and then went in and jumped on Grandma and Papa's bed.

None of them seemed to be too thrilled, and Papa even pulled out the plane information to show us that the plane didn't land until three this afternoon, but I told him I couldn't sleep, and at that point, Grandma had already fallen back to sleep, so he cooked us breakfast and then went back to bed for another three hours.

So Ava and I went over to my house and set up all the decorations, including the "Welcome L.J. and Erin" banner that we made instead of doing our homework last week. Even by then, it was only eight o'clock, so Ava and I went into L.J.'s room, and then Erin's to check that everything was safe and baby-proofed. We turned on the radio and laid down to talk on the floor and we both wound up falling asleep. At eleven, my cell phone rang and it woke us up. It was Papa. He started to laugh when we told him where we were and what had happened and he told us to come back and have lunch and then we'd head over, pick up a couple of things for the party, and then go pick up my family from the airport.

So we go back to Ava's house and Papa made us lunch and we ate really quickly and ignored as Jack stared at us in what appeared to be anger. So when I got up, I pinched his cheek and whispered,

"Have a nice nap last night, Jacky?" really quietly so Papa wouldn't hear and get mad at me for teasing Jack. Please, Jack knows I love him.

So we all piled into the van that mom and dad bought before they left that had the carseats in the middle seat. Jack, Ava, and I all sat in the seat farthest towards the back and Ava and I kinda passed out within fifteen minutes of the car being in motion. Grandma and Papa even ran in and got the stuff from Doose's without waking us up, and they left Jack in the car with us while we slept.

So we woke up just as the car pulled up to the airport and we went in to the baggage claim. We hung out for a while since we were an hour early, and Ava, Grandma and I played a couple of games of telephone while Jack and Papa played cards.

When Grandma and I ran over for the seventh time to see if the plane was on time, it said it had landed, so we ran over to the escalator and waited for three minutes before we saw Mom and Daddy making their way down the escalator.

I can't even explain it. It was amazing. Mom was holding Erin and Daddy was holding L.J., and let me tell you something, they were different than their pictures.

Erin is this gorgeous little girl with blonde hair and green eyes and a tiny little nose. When Mom came over, I hugged her and then put my arms out for Erin and she went right to me. It was incredible. She's eight months old and she's so little and she crawls. It's amazing. We had to watch her the entire time.

And L.J.? He talks! He knows a few words of English and when Mom and Dad told him "That's Ella. Your sister." He went, "Sister?" And I smiled and tears were flowing away and he hugged me! My little brother flat-out hugged me the first time he saw me! It was amazing.

Grandma was crying and Papa was so happy I saw him wipe away a few tears and he winked at me to tell me to keep it under the hat.

So we went home to my house and we set up a little family party and Mom was shocked at the banner Ava and I had made and she went "So, did your homework get done last week?" And I just smiled at motioned at L.J. and went, "He's worth it, isn't he?" And mom nodded and said, "Never again, though."

So around eight we put them to bed and Mom laid with L.J. in his room and Erin fell asleep in Daddy's arms. We put her in her crib and I realized, as much as I missed Mom and Daddy this week, it was a good thing that they went to Russia this past week. Erin and L.J. were so comfortable around them that they really weren't too overwhelmed by all the changes and L.J., before he went to sleep, went "Night mommy."

We all sat around for a while afterwards; I felt so much better knowing they were in the house and safe. So after Grandma, Papa, and Jack left (Ava slept over after talking (whining) to Papa, "But I'm Rory's sister! And L.J. and Erin's aunt! I deserve to make sure the transition is smooth!")

So as they left, we all hugged and said goodbye for the night and when I went to go hug Papa goodbye, he whispered,

"Happy?" and I went,

"Yeah. Very." And so he goes,

"You coming to help tomorrow?" And I nodded and he says, "Perfect." and winks at me again, like he's trying to tell me something.

So I said goodbye and went upstairs and looked into L.J. and Erin's rooms and just whispered, "Perfect."

So now I'm going to bed, because I want to be up bright and early for the babies tomorrow.

Love,
Big sister Ella Mariano