Disclaimer: 'Nough said
A/N: Sorry for any typos, feel free to let me know about them as I didn't proofread this chapter since it took so long!
P.S. – TIFF AND TRACE THERE'S AND EXTRA SCENE AT THE END YOU DIDN'T READ, FYI.

Chapter 6 – I Owe You One

August 23rd, Thursday, 9:30am

"How long have you been here?"

Luke listed, startled by the sound and presence of another human being in the lab. He rubbed his face with the back of his hand and tried to think of the answer. "Few hours," He finally mumbled.

"You're entirely way too dedicated, a full-on insomniac or you're just a little on the obsessed side, I can't decide which," The other woman smirked as she pulled her lab coat on. Felicity Mungo had been Luke's partner since he'd started his research on Leukemia nearly 4 years ago. She was older than him by 7 years, and often brought Luke to a conclusion on stalled subjects by bringing him an existential opinion instead of his tried and true usual points of view. She once walked to the corner of the room and stood on her head, leaning against the wall until she came up with a solution to a deadlocked problem. Thankfully she'd managed to tell him the solution before the blood had rushed to her head and she'd passed out.

"All of the above at this point," Luke muttered, leaning in to look closely into the microscope in front of him.

"So…" Felicity snapped on some purple colored latex gloves, walked over to a refrigerated storage section containing shelves of blood vials and various chemical compound. She located a specific set of vials and carefully picked them up, then she turned around and went to a lab table that was across from Luke's. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind," Luke worked as he spoke. He knew all too well the dangers of looking someone in the face when they started 20 questions. He was hoping to avoid all of that after explaining to Felicity yesterday about how he'd found out about Stone.

Felicity nodded as her hands worked at her task, mixing chemicals and using a dropper to put splotches on slides so she could view them through her microscope lens. "How'd the blood work turn out?" She added casually.

"Hasn't come back yet," Luke's voice remained passive. He hated this subject. He hated people prying into this subject. He cleared his throat just slightly and Felicity backed off-but only for a few minutes.

"It's all right you know," She glanced at him, "To be worried about their outcome."

Luke stood abruptly. The wheels of his chair scraped against the floor as it wheeled backwards and stopped just short of slamming into the desk behind Luke's. "I haven't gotten anything to eat yet. I'm going to go get some breakfast. You want coffee or anything?" He hazarded a glance at Felicity and quickly looked away, pretending to busy himself with removing his lab coat and gloves when he saw the worried gaze on her face.

"No," Felicity shook her head cautiously.

"Back in a bit," Luke spun on his heel and left the lab. He felt guilty for somewhat nappy at Felicity, but he wasn't ready to share his anxiety with Felicity.

August 23rd, Thursday, 9:45am

"Okay kid, out of bed with you," Grace pulled back the covers of her bed, where she'd left Stone sleeping almost three hours before, and reached a hand in to tickle Stone. She knew he was pretending to still be asleep. Unable to hold in his laughter, Stone rolled back and forth trying to evade Grace's grasp to no avail. Soon Grace had crawled onto the bed, still tickling Stone and began diving in to plant a kiss on his cheek or in the crook of his neck to add to the torture. Soon Grace couldn't hold her laughter in either and her motions ceased.

"I was already awake, mommy," Stone stuttered through his remaining giggles.

"You had me fooled," Grace assured, causing Stone to laugh again. "You slept pretty late today, do you feel all right?" Her motherly concerned kicked in as she brushed his hair out of his face, nonchalantly rolling the back of her hand over his forehead to see if he felt warm.

"No, I'm fine mommy," Stone smiled up at her. "I was just sleepy," He promised.

Grace nodded. "Well," She got off the bed and held her arms out for him. "Come on, let's get you changed so we can start packing for you."

"What about packing your stuff?" Stone asked as he strode easily across the bed and climbed into Grace's arms.

"I, packed while you snored," Grace scrunched up her face as she teased him, walking with him on her hip to his room.

"Nu-UH!" Stone protested, clamoring down and over to the suitcase Grace had placed on his bed.

"You think I'm lying to you?" Grace mocked, her hands on her hips.

"Mommy I don't snore!" Stone argued.

"Oh no?" Grace raised an eyebrow in fake suspicion as she knelt down and sat back against her feet in front of Stone's dresser. "How do you know?"

"I listened!" Stone crossed his arms adamantly, inching towards Grace when she opened his top drawer and started rifling through his clothes.

"How did you listen?" Grace questioned, pulling out some underwear and socks before moving on to the net drawer.

"I stayed up and listened mommy," Stone rolled his eyes flopped down next to Grace, who as momentarily thrown off-guard by the way the gesture made Stone resemble Grace just slightly. She shook her head and tried to come up with a comeback but gave up when Stone stopped her from grabbing T-shirts. "Can I wear this one when we go to see Daddy?" He stared up at her. His finger pointed to his favorite T-shirt. Grace couldn't help the small smirk that spread across her space. How ironic it would be when Luke met Stone for the first time and Stone was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with cartoon stars and the moon surrounding a miniature moon as a rocket ship blasted off through the galaxy with speed streaks shooting out like lightening shaped fingers from the back of the ship.

"Sure you can," Grace pulled out the T-shirt and sat it on her curled knee before gathering a few other shirts for Stone to pack. "Do you want to pick out your shorts too?" She questioned, opening the next drawer. In her younger days, which weren't that very long ago, Grace would have made a crack about the clothes being for a midget upon seeing the little shorts folded and neatly placed inside the drawer, almost as if they were being held captive; perhaps an actor from a Wizard of Oz stage production owned them.

"These ones," Stone nodded.

"Okay short stuff, off with the jammys, on with the day clothes," Grace motioned for Stone to stand up. The little boy did so. He tugged a few times and then dispensed with his shirt. Grace knew Stone could put his own clothes on, but she was trying to make quick work of it, so she readied the shirt and pulled it over is head, letting him stuff his arms through and yank it down. Afterwards, he sat down and pulled his pajama pants off. He carefully slipped his legs into his shorts before standing up and pulling them to his waist. Grace watched his slightly pudgy little fingers as they easily mastered the zipper and then fumbled to push the metal button through its hole on the waistline of the tan khaki shorts Stone had decided on. After another few moments Grace reached out to help him.

"There we go," Grace buttoned the pants. "Go get your shoes from the cubby," She stood from her spot and carried the other clothes to the suitcase. Without a word, Stone strode over to his closet, which had no doors, just cubbies full of various items, and a space to hang some nicer clothes. After placing the clothes as neatly and space saving as possible into the suitcase, Grace eyed Stone. He sat down on the floor and tugged his untied sneakers on. They looked like vans or airwalks, but were really just cheap knock offs from Payless. Why buy expensive shoes when he was just going to wear them down and grow out o them anyhow at this point?

Grace had been expecting him to trod over to her and ask for help tying his shoes, but he remained still, staring at the untied laces. He looked almost like a statue, a gargoyle even, staring forlornly down at his shoes as if it was the bustling city street bellow and he was stuck atop the rainy roof top.

"Stone?" Grace put the last of Stone's shirts down in the suitcase and took a step towards him. The little boy let out a sniffle. Grace crossed to him and sat down on the floor next to him, placing a soothing hand on his back. "What's wrong?" Stone's only response was to suck in a breath and sniffle again. Grace rubbed her hand in circles on Stone's back. "Hey, come on now, it's okay," She tried to assure him. "Tell me what's wrong?"

Slowly, Stone turned his head up to look at her. His whole body jerked as he sniffled through a deep breath. He stuttered out the beginnings of what sounded like a question to Grace before he finally compiled the words into an audible string of words.

"W-," He wavered, "What if he doesn't like me?"

Grace felt her mouth hanging open after her brain fully comprehended the question while Stone's eyes leaked. She fought off the shock, and tried to manage the guilt welling inside her.

"Come here," She helped Stone into her lap, dropping a kiss to the top of his head. "He's going to love you…I promise."

"But…" Stone tried to suck back all the loose snot in his nose that was building from the tears draining through his tear ducts into his nasal cavity like water rushing down a sewer pipe. "But what if he never came to visit cause…cause he wouldn't like me?" Stone continued, burying his face into her T-shirt.

Grace pressed her lips together so tightly it hurt, and clenched her eyes shut as she cradled Stone against her. She brushed his hair back and turned his head to look at her. She pressed her forehead to his and wiped at his cheeks and nose.

"Listen to me, okay? Are you listening?" She questioned. Stone nodded slowly as Grace used her clean hand to caress his face, thumbing at the random teardrops. "It's my fault that Daddy never came to visit," Grace felt her chin waver as she spoke. "It has nothing to do with you, I promise. You'll see, he's going to love you so much you won't even know what to do."

Stone seemed to calm down with Grace's reassurance. He rested his head on her shoulder and they sat still together for a long few minutes. Finally, Grace wiped off her own cheeks and patted Stone's back.

"Come on, we should get moving," She gave a tight-lipped smile. "Stand up and let me tie those shoes." Stone obliged and Grace made quick work of his laces. She gave a light pat to one of his feet when she was done. "Go get bark from my room okay?"

Stone nodded and darted out of the room, having recovered his excitement. Grace wiped at her face one last time before gathering the last of the items Stone would need and organizing them in the suitcase. She zipped it shut and brought it into the hallway as Stone was trotting back towards her.

"You go on downstairs and watch some cartoons-do not answer the door, okay?" Grace instructed. Stone nodded before continuing on his way. Grace headed for her room to make her bed and make sure she had everything she needed after listening for the TV to turn on and the tell tale sound effects of cartoons to emanate from the downstairs.

August 23, 2012, Thursday, 3pm

"I think I'm going to head home early," Luke spoke as he stood with his worn in black computer bag. It didn't really hold a computer, but it looked cool and professional, so Luke had taken to using it to carry his notes and files back and forth.

Felicity glanced up at him. It had been the first phrase either of them had uttered to each other after their little discussion earlier in the morning. She nodded, glancing around at the other lab assistants and scientists occupying the room now, preparing for the evening shift. She nodded in response to Luke quickly.

"Okay. You should get some sleep," Felicity suggested.

Luke hesitated to leave. He stepped a few feet closer to Felicity's lab table and leaned over it, lowering his tone. "Look," He thought about his words, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about earlier, it's just there's a lot going on right now and I don't have time to think about-,"

"It's all right Luke," Felicity cut across his word and offered a warm grin. "I wouldn't want to share it with everyone either," She assured. Luke watched her for another moment, still feeling guilty. "Go, get out of here, workaholic."

Luke turned and made his way out of the building. He located his car and opened the back door on the passenger side. He tossed his bag onto the seat and reached a hand up shut the door when the ground became shaky. Luke steadied himself by grabbing onto the roof of the car with his right arm. He brought his left hand up to his forehead and clenched his eyes shut, breathing deep breaths. After a few seconds the dizziness and the jab of pain that shot through his brain dissipated. Luke gave a firm shake of his head before regaining his composure and shutting the back door. He climbed in the car, turned it on and pulled out of his spot.

August 23, 2012, Thursday, 3:45pm

Luke had just pulled into the driveway and grabbed his bag when his cell phone began to buzz. Luke reached into his pocket tiredly and pulled the phone out. He looked at the screen, trying to discern if he knew the number or not. He hated answering his phone when he didn't know the number. It was usually some telemarketer that hung up before he could say 'take me off your list' or it was a machine that waited until you said 'hello' twice to start spewing it's stupid sales pitch.

Giving up on caring whether or not this was a computer or telemarketer, Luke snapped his thumb down on the 'answer' button and lifted the phone to his ear. "If this is a telemarketer take me off the list," He issued his preemptive strike.

A small snort came through the phone and Luke stopped in front of the door to his house. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you anything," Grace's voice came filtering through the earpiece.

"Uh, Grace," Luke cleared his throat and grabbed his mail before entering the house. Skillet rushed towards him, issuing a few jumps and excited barks before turning tail and running to the kitchen for the back door. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so, so soon," Luke tried to recover as he sauntered through the house to the kitchen where Skillet was wagging his tail so hard that his whole body shook. He looked from the door to Luke and back again, panting. Luke reached out and opened the door and then the screen door for the dog and Skillet promptly took off into the yard. At the back of the yard was a rectangular shaped rounded stone pit. Luke had taught Skillet early on to do his business in there instead of on the lawn.

"Yeah," Grace cleared her throat. "I figured you waited longer than you should have. Besides, Stone's anxious to finally meet you."

Luke let out a shaky breath. He was petrified of the moment when he would get to meet Stone face to face instead of staring at pictures and the compiled video. To know that it was going to happen sooner rather than later made Luke's heart speed up. "I'm anxious to meet him too," He knew it was an obvious statement but he said it anyway. "When are you two coming to town?" He added.

"About two hours ago," Grace supplied.

"You're already here?" Luke replied.

Grace held back a chortle of laughter. "I would have called sooner but I figured you were working, and I would wait until it was closer to 5. I called your office, but they said you left already."

"Yeah…I went in petty early, so I left early," Luke explained though he knew he didn't need to. "Where are you guys staying?"

"We're staying at Rove's. He demanded it actually. He's not home yet though. He just left a key for us under the mat." Grace explained.

Luke moved on to a different topic, out of curiosity and apprehension. "Does he think I abandoned you both?" He blurted.

"What?" Grace's shock removed all possible responses save for that one.

"Stone…does he, I mean…does he think I'm awful and I left you because I didn't love you or something?" Luke did his best to clarify his question.

"No, Luke," Grace sighed softly. "No. I told him it was my fault that you'd never met, and it had nothing to do with not loving anyone," She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, we're thinking of heading for an early dinner. Maybe some pizza or something quick. Afterwards we could stop by…if you're not busy doing anything that is, unless you want to wait until tomorrow o-or the weekend so you're more, prepared or…whatever."

"No, no, after you eat is fine with me. Do you need a ride or anything?" Luke stammered; was this really going to happen so soon? "I, uh, is there something I should do, or, like…say specifically?"

"Relax," Grace spoke calmly, despite the fact that she was a nervous wreck inside. This had been building for 6 years now. "It's going to be fine. You'll both hit it off instantly, I assure you. You're pretty much the same person, just different ages," She almost chuckled.

Luke sighed. "Okay," He still sounded nervous. "Okay."

"I'll call you when we're on our way over okay?" Grace suggested.

"Yeah, sure, okay," Luke nodded, despite being on the phone. "That's, that's perfect."

"See you later, Luke," Grace waited for Luke to say goodbye before they both hung up.

August 23rd, 2012 Thursday, 4:30pm

Joan was just getting together to leave work when the phone on her desk rang.

"Joan Girardi, proof editor extraordinaire," Joan answered sarcastically, thinking it was Kayleigh, calling again from downstairs to send up another proof when Joan was so close to getting out early.

"And that's not all you're extraordinary at," A gruff voice replied on the phone.

Joan squealed in embarrassment and covered her mouth as she laughed at herself upon hearing Wyatt's voice on the other end of the line. "Wyatt! You never call my work phone," She chided him. Her smile waned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothings wrong, not at all," Wyatt assured with a chortle. "Unless, of course you turn me down."

"Turn you down for what?" Joan replied, straightening up her desk and leaving herself a few post-its for tomorrow.

"Dinner," Wyatt answered. "It would be devastating if you said no, seeing as I'm already outside, waiting at your car."

Joan stopped and turned in her chair, rolling to the window. She moved the blinds and looked out towards her car. Sure enough, Wyatt sat on the trunk, smiling and waving to her. Joan waved slowly to him before returning to her desk.

"So, what do you say?" Wyatt asked.

Joan smiled to herself. Despite her fatigue, she decided hunger and the want to spend time alone with Wyatt outweighed going home and dissolving into a bubble bath with a book and the radio on. "Give me 5 minutes and I'll be right out."

"I'll be waiting," Wyatt hung up.

5pm

"Hey," Luke fidgeted when he opened the door to see Grace standing there by herself. He looked around her curiously.

"He's hiding," Grace didn't turn her head. "Behind the tree in your front yard," She lowered her voice. "He's a little spooked. If you watch, he'll peek his head out," Grace smirked. "I told him I would come knock for you and let him know if it was okay to come up."

Luke glanced over Grace's right shoulder to the large tree in the yard. Sure enough after a second or two, an ear, part of an eyeball and the edge of a little boy's forehead inched over just barely in view. Grace watched Luke's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard at the mere glimpse.

Grace offered up a sad half smile. She took Luke's face in her hands and directed his line of sigh to her face. "I'm going to go tell him it's okay, think you can handle that?" She let go of Luke's face.

"Y-yeah," He nodded. Grace turned to head off the porch but Luke caught her by the arm. She turned and looked at him. "No, I mean…no, I don't think I'm ready," He shook his head.

Grace studied Luke for a moment. He was fidgeting and nervous, almost sweating, and staring off at the tree. She could see his pulse pounding in the vein in his neck and knew that his heart had rapidly sped up. She pursed her lips together and nodded before giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Breathe, geek…you'll be fine," She turned and stepped out of his grasp and then down the steps. Luke watched her approach the tree. Once there, Grace crouched down and reached out for Stone's shoulders; he was still obstructed from Luke's view. Luke felt his eyes burn. His throat went dry.

"Are you okay?" Grace lifted her hand from Stone's shoulder and placed it on the side of his face. She frowned when she realized he was shaking. "It's all right, Stone, he's just as worried as you," She assured. Grace leaned forward and kissed Stone's forehead. "I'll be with you the whole time," She stood up and held her hand out to him. "Come on," She nodded her head towards the walkway.

Luke's muscles tightened and his fidgeting ceased as Grace and Stone made it to the walkway and he now had a clear view of the little boy, Stone; his son. Luke blinked rapidly a few times, wondering if this past week had been some weird dream. The closer Grace and Stone inched, the more real the situation became.

Grace had been right, Stone looked like a miniature version of Luke, minus glasses. Luke already knew that his own baby pictures could be mistaken as Stone's, but seeing him in person was so different. When they reached the top step, Stone hovered next to Grace, leaning slightly as if he was ready to duck behind Grace, like she was the tree he was hiding behind. Grace used Stone's hand to guide him in front of her.

She leaned down to talk close to his ear. "Go ahead, say hello," Grace gave Stone's back a tiny tap. As she stood back up, she watched Luke crouch down stiffly to Stone's level. Her own eyes felt as wavering as she could see Luke's were.

Luke coughed and cleared his throat slightly. "Hey Stone, I'm Luke," He extended his right and to the little boy, realizing that reaching out to draw the boy into a hug like he wanted to would only scare him more.

Stone shook his head, looking confused. "No you're not," He frowned.

Luke glanced at Grace, who looked puzzled and then shifted his gaze back to Stone. "I'm not?" He asked. Stone shook his head. "Who am I?"

"Daddy," Stone answered quickly, easily, as if Luke should have known this. Luke stared at Stone blankly for a second. Grace covered her mouth to keep from interrupting them. She felt hot liquid of her stray tears as they slid down and collided with the side of her hand. She quickly wiped them away before setting her jaw and raising her eyes to the sky to stem the flood. Luke was close to spilling over his own tears. He nodded.

"You're right…I'm sorry," He nodded. He smiled widely at Stone's T-shirt. "That's a cool shirt you've got there," His voice sounded awkward, rippling with emotion.

Stone grinned proudly. "I made this star a black whole with mommy's marker," He pointed his finger to a start that had a big black circle colored over it in what had probably been a sharpie.

Luke smiled. "That's smart of you," He nodded.

Without warning to either of them, Stone stepped forward and threw his arms around Luke's neck, standing on his tiptoes to do so. Luke wavered, thrown off by the suddenness, but his arms easily circled around the small boy's body, pulling him close. That was all it took for Luke to lose it, his eyes leaking down his cheeks.

"Don't cry daddy, it's okay," Stone put his head down on Luke's shoulder. Luke lifted his eyes to look at Grace. She was trying to smile as her own tears started rolling.

After a long few minutes, Luke stood, gathering Stone with him. He sniffled and used a free hand to dry his face. "Why don't we go inside? I have some ice cream?" He looked at Stone for the last suggestion.

Stone looked over at Grace imploringly. Grace nodded, drying her face with he hands. Stone turned back to Luke and nodded, hooking his arm around Luke's neck. Grace followed them inside, shutting the door behind her.

6:59pm

Most of dinner was spent with Joan venting her frustration. Wyatt listened patiently and interjected witty remarks as Joan told him all about Grace-more so than the bits and pieces he knew already. She explained how she'd found out about her nephew and how angry she was. She also almost broke down on their way to the car after dinner, confessing how awful she felt for screaming at Grace and treating her awfully.

Joan had been waiting so long for Grace to return, that she hadn't counted on her anger to boil to the surface so easily. In her mind's eye, Joan had always pictured the reunion to be filled with hugs and smiles and laughter and apologies. But time coupled with pain and suffering and watch Luke morph into an unrecognizable person, before he'd finally came back to reality and returned to a somewhat normal version of himself, had not been a steady healer. No, instead Joan had grown angrier and angrier the more she had thought about Grace in recent years.

And now, to learn what a monumental secret Grace had kept from the-the years she'd stolen right out from under their noses-well, was that really forgivable? Could Joan really just let it go because Grace was sorry? Was 'sorry' ever good enough when it came to situations like these?

"Sounds like someone's over," Wyatt said as he followed Joan inside the front door. Joan nodded, hearing the laughter.

"Yeah, I wonder who-," Joan stopped dead when she Saw Grace reaching the bottom of the steps. "What are you doing here?" Her mind focused in on Grace and nothing else.

Grace was frozen. She didn't want to do this again with Joan. She wanted to find an explanation, an excuse-anything-to make Joan understand that what she had done had punished her just as much as it punished Joan and Luke and everyone else.

"Girardi, I…we, I just-,"

"Get out of my house. You don't deserve to be here," Joan's voice grew cold and stony.

"Why don't we all take a deep breath and go sit down, talk, have a drink?" Wyatt tried to play peacekeeper. Joan and Grace both glared at him. Wyatt put his hands up in defense. "Sorry…never mind…" He tried to back away.

"You…have got some nerve do you know that?" Joan demanded, glaring at Grace. "You just up and leave when the slightest little thing happens and then you cover up this, this, this-,"

"Girardi, wait," Grace was aware of Joan's voice rising and she didn't want to involve Stone in this, to make him scared of his aunt.

"This astronomical secret that affect and involves all of us, and you just waltzed back in here like you're a tortured soul and so that just makes it all better?" Joan roared loudly. "Well news flash Grace-It doesn't work that way!"

"Joan!" Grace finally shouted. Joan stopped in her tracks at Grace's use of her first name. "It's fine if you want to scream at me, punch me, whatever you want to do, I don't care," Grace said calmly. She lowered her voice pointedly. "Please…don't do it in front of your nephew…"

Joan froze as Grace averted her eyes downward. She followed Grace's line of vision and discovered a small face peeking out from a few paces behind Grace. He was peering up at Joan with a tentative, cautious look on his small face; the picture perfect match to Luke when he was little. His big eyes stared at her, wondering if he should step closer or back away. Not far behind him, Luke stood, eyeing up the situation. Joan's chin quavered and her eyes filled. The anger filtered out of her. She couldn't think of anything to yell at Grace that she already hadn't, and she didn't want to scare the little boy.

Joan turned her eyes to Grace. Grace nodded, understanding. "Go ahead…he knows," She said softly.

Joan inched forward, stopping to kneel in front of Stone. Joan had been too afraid to talk to Luke after she found out. She didn't know her nephew's name, or anything about him other than he looked like Luke, except for the arched eyebrow he was donning curiously at the moment, which resembled Grace remarkably.

"Hi," Stone's voice was cautious.

"Hey there," Joan smiled through her watery eyes. "I-I'm Joan," She pointed to herself with her hands.

"I know," Stone nodded, feeling more confident.

Joan looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Grace, realizing now that Joan was clueless, spoke up first.

"Stone and I were just visiting town so he could meet everyone," Grace acted like she was explaining it to Wyatt, who just looked confused, but Joan knew better. She closed her eyes and wiped her face.

"Don't cry," Joan opened her eyes when Stone's little hands wiped at her face.

9pm

"I should get him back to Rove's so he can sleep in a bed," Grace spoke when an awkward silence had fallen over the group now sitting in the living room.

They had gathered in the living room to talk and sort things out. Stone had fallen asleep in Luke's lap. Joan had sat next to Luke, the two of them played with Stone all night while talking.

"Do you have to?" Luke questioned sadly, looking down at Stone.

Grace nodded slowly. "Rove's letting us stay…and he hasn't gotten to meet Stone either," She felt uncomfortable under Joan's gaze, fearing another outburst. Luke nodded. He stood, cradling Stone with him.

"I'll drive you," He spoke softly. Grace nodded, too drained to decline. She turned to Wyatt.

"Nice to um, see you again," Grace looked at Joan. "I'll stop by on my own and you can finish your screaming." Grace moved to follow Luke, who was already outside.

"Grace, wait…" Joan jumped up and maneuvered around the couch to stop Grace.

"Girardi, really-,"

Joan cut Grace off by pulling her into a tight hug. Grace stood still, unsure what to do.

"I'm sorry," Joan finally said. Grace sputtered, unsure what to do next.

"I…know…" Grace nodded. "Me too…" She cleared her throat.

The two looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. "I should go," Grace started backing away, knowing that she and Joan weren't close to resolving their problems, but accepting that for tonight, they were closer to it then they had been.

"Don't make it 6 years next time," Joan called after her.

Luke stopped outside of Adam's house and put the car into park. He glanced at Grace before looking in the backseat at Stone's sleeping form. He frowned slightly, unable to look away.

"I wish you could have stayed," He spoke quietly. Grace's ear had to strain to here.

"I know…I just, didn't know where we stood with everything going on," Grace's tone was equally quiet as she stared at her lap.

Luke watched Grace. He had been fighting the urge to hold her all night. He wanted to kiss her. He didn't care about the time he'd lost. He knew there was no way to get it back, and at least now he had them. He had to do anything and everything possible to keep them with him. Luke wondered briefly if his parents had felt this way. He mentally yelled at himself; of course they did, it was always evident that they did in the way they acted.

Before Luke could stop himself, he took Grace's face in his hands. They stared for a long few seconds at each other. Grace felt her throat go dry. She was yearning, near the brink of emotion death, just to push herself forward and envelope Luke in a kiss. She'd gotten the taste of him again when they'd gone to dinner and it had renewed the longing she'd been burying away for years. It felt warm in her stomach, burning up to her chest and through every part of her body.

"Luke…" It came out as a slight gasp. She didn't deserve this. Not after all this time and the treachery she'd committed.

But Luke was the daring one. He drew Grace to him and dropped his lips into hers. Even Grace had wanted to evade his kiss; she wouldn't have been able to. Instead she surrendered to it, melded her lips back to his, as if they'd just popped into the bio closet before school. It was nearly 5 minutes before Grace jerked away breathlessly.

"Grace-,"

"We-We can't do this," Grace shook her head adamantly.

"Why?" Luke replied as Grace fiddled with her seatbelt. Grace panicked. She fought to get her seatbelt buckle undone, tugging angrily at it until Luke stopped her. Grace put her hands over her face. This was not happening again.

"Grace…why? Why can't we start over, or pick up where we left off, something cliché like that?" Luke asked again. "I know you love me, Grace, I can see it. I can feel it. And you know damn well that I've always loved you. Why can't we be happy together?"

"Because I don't deserve this," Grace almost shouted at him. When she looked up she revealed her rapidly reddening eyes that were welling up. She glanced at Stone in the back seat before looking at Luke. "I don't deserve to be his mother. I don't deserve to just jump right back into everything's-perfect-life with you, and I don't deserve how well you're treating me."

Luke caught Grace's face in is hands again. "Stop it," He used his thumbs to wipe at a single tear traversing down her cheek. "My love is something you have always been deserving of. I'm tired of hearing all this self-deprecating crap. You screwed up, yes. We all know it, Grace. We've all screwed up. My brother screwed up when he got into Andy's car. Adam screwed up when he, well, screwed Bonnie. Joan screwed up…well, lots of times. And I…" Luke cut himself off with a sigh. "We've all screwed up, Grace. You've owned up to it. It's time to move on…however slowly you want to, it's still time to move on," He watched her carefully. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Grace let out a shaky breath and Luke leaned in for another kiss, though this time it was less intense. Grace looked down when they separated.

"I should…get him into a bed," She cleared her throat.

"Can I see you two tomorrow?" Luke asked as he helped Grace get Stone out of the car. Stone shifted some as Grace held him to the front of her. He dropped his wobbling head onto her shoulder and mumbled something about ducks before his breathing fell into rhythm again as Luke reached out a hand and ran it along Stone's back a few times.

Grace nodded. "Call me when you get off of work, or when you go to lunch," She looked up at him. "We're not going anywhere," She assured him. Luke nodded. "Goodnight, Luke."

Luke dropped a kiss on the back of Stone's head and then one on Grace's lips. "Thank you," He stated simply. Grace was too dumbfounded to say anything else. Instead, she headed up the steps and into Adam's house.

Luke waited until she was inside to get back in his car and head home reluctantly.

When I lost faith, you believed in me/When I stumbled, you were right there/For every act of love you've done/I owe you one… / There were hard time, I know I survived/Just because you, stayed by my side/With all I have, with all I am/I promise you all my life/Whenever the road is too long/Whenever the wind is too strong/Wherever the journey may lead to/I will be there for you/I will be there for you/Through sorrow, or the darkest night/When there's heartache, deep down inside/Just like a prayer, you will be there/And I promise you all my life/ Whenever the road is too long/Whenever the wind is too strong/Wherever the journey may lead to/I will be there for you/Oh, I will be there/ Whenever the road is too long/Whenever the wind is too strong/Wherever the journey may lead to/I will be there for you/Oh yes, I will be there for you/I'll always be there…

A/N: Phew…that took a lot of writer's block to get out of me, so I'm sorry if it blew chunks!

Chapter title is from "I Will Be There for You" by Jessica Andrews

Responses: Butterfly Dancing – Sorry to keep you waiting so long! Good job on the B's! Stone's a genius, ha! You probably love it as much as I do! If you have an idea of what happened to Luke e-mail it to me (or stick it in a review if you really want) I'm asking certain people if they've picked up on the clues or not, let me know what your clues were and what you think is wrong with him! (I won't confirm or deny unless you want me to!) Much love!

TJ-TeeJay – I'm heading over to read your updates after I post this! Background info is my favorite sometimes. It puts you further into someone's head. I usually live in the 'Adam/Joan together forever' universe. I don't know why I split them up for this one. It just kind of happened. I went back to proofread and I was like "when did I do that?" The Nickelback song is AWESOME. MAC's are better! Yep, Adam's got one too muahahaha! Thanks for the additional scene by the way, loved it! Much love dude!

Kool-Wolf – DUDE! Thanks! If it makes you feel better the prologue for my part 4 of my series is long and it's not done yet! It focuses on the kids a lot though, you might hate it, it's set pretty far in the future. Okay there was drama, there wasn't really action, nor violence…but VIOLENCE TO YOU!

Tiffa – I've decided that you are now Tiffa. That's right. Learn it and love it, ha! You owe me a review, geek! Much love!

Sam – Sorry I took so long. Is the story going down with the ship? Let me know! Much love!

Carol – Hey back! I figured Luke would be more hurt and upset than angry, simply because I believe he truly loves Grace so the whole unconditional bit applies. Of course Joan loves Grace too, but she just kind of flips out before she thinks of what she's saying. That's a great song isn't it? You could never write too much! Thank you! Much love!

Sayxanything – ROVE! DUDE! Thanks. You love my cliffhangers! And you got a preview so ha! I'm not awesome, you humble me heh! Much love! –Polk. PS our journals DO rock!

Anneica – Ah, okay gotcha. Hey, Adam's yelled before…just not very often! ) Thank you! Much love!

Elizabeth Theresa – Thank you! If you read closely, you'll pick up the clues and might be able to guess what happened to Luke. Keep in mind it's been 6 years since Grace was gone, but a 2-year murky period for Luke. If you think you have a theory on what happened to Luke leave it in a review or e-mail me with what you think the clues are! (I'm polling random people who mention it to see how I'm doing). Thanks again! Much love!

Hezziebob182 – No problem on the taking awhile, if you haven't noticed I've been dealing with some writer's block. Glad you and your computer reconciled! Joan tends to speak without the sugar coating, I've noticed. ) Feed your addiction on this chapter my friend! Much love!

SPECIAL NOTE: If you think you might know what made a period in those 6 years 'murky' for Luke, leave it in your review or e-mail it to me with what you think the clues to back that theory up are! I will not disclose to you any information denying or confirming this. This is just a poll to see if I'm doing my authoring job right, so help me out!

SPECIAL NOTE 2: For everyone who liked my ongoing trilogy, I've started the prologue for the 4th part. It takes place over a decade in the future and will deal a lot with the kids, not just the fab four. Look for it soon, possibly!