Does anybody know the way to Atlantis?

Arriving at the restaurant, the three men found themselves in the midst of a very awkward silence. "So Rick, how is your newest project coming? Sorry, I can't for the life of me remember what you're doing now. Which is a good thing, because that means you're busy and busy is good in your line of work." Jake didn't know what to say.

Jake's mind began to wander as Rick answered his question. He thought it was odd when Rick called him and asked if he wanted to go to breakfast. He knew something was wrong so he began to immediately ask questions. Rick tried to sound innocent, but Jake saw through him and found out the truth. Jake didn't like Geoff. He never told anyone but he didn't like him from day one. Now he realized he and Rick were there to keep Geoff away from Grace so she could find out how she feels about Eli.

Eli. A few years ago, Jake would have cringed at the thought of the two of them together. He wouldn't allow his daughter anywhere near the man Eli used to be. He saw too much of himself in Eli and didn't want that for his daughter. Just like Jake, Eli changed. Jake knew Eli would take care of Grace. Eli had a fierce determination and after everything he'd been through, Eli would fight with all he has to take care of and love Grace. Jake wasn't so certain about Geoff and his motives. 'Let the games begin. Question number one of at least twenty'

"That sounds great Rick. Glad you're doing so well." Jake smiled and turned to Geoff. "So Geoff, what is it you do? Anything? Oh wait, you're in school aren't you? Law isn't it?" Rick sat back and relaxed and decided to wait until Jake finished his questions. Then he would begin asking questions of his own.

'This could actually be fun. Poor Geoff wont know what hit him. I hope Lil and Jess have Grace and Eli together by now.' Rick was jarred from his thoughts by the ringing in his pocket. "Excuse me, sorry. Hello? Hey Lil. Oh. Oh. Everything okay? You don't know? Hang on Lily." Rick held the phone away from him and said, "Guys, I'm sorry, I'll be right back. The wife is upset over something, you know how that is. Or you will soon enough, right Geoff?"

Rick stood and stepped outside before continuing the conversation. "She what? Tell me you didn't just say Grace took off in tears because of something Zoe said to Eli. Where is she? You really don't know? No one knows? Someone has to know. Doesn't anyone have a guess? Well, send Eli out after her. He's bound to have some idea of where she could be. Okay. All right. Yes Lil, we'll keep him here. Check Judy's. Not there? I don't know. Check everywhere and let me know. I'll try and send some sort of signal to Jake to let him know there's a problem. We're fine. He started with the 'so Geoff, what do you do and how will you take care of my firstborn?' No, not exactly in those words but that's what he meant. I'll make him behave. I love you too. Bye." Rick put his phone back in his pocket and went back to the table.

"...and once I take the bar and pass, I'll have a practice to go to. My uncle has a place for me. I've been working with him for years getting acquainted with everything." Geoff turned and looked at Rick. "Everything okay? There's nothing wrong with Grace is there?" Geoff had an uneasy feeling when he first heard the phone ring. He tried to ignore it but it only strengthened.

"No, no Geoff. Everything is fine. She just went out to get some things...alone." Rick made a point to emphasize the word alone so his partner in crime would realize things were off schedule. "Did I miss anything? The waitress didn't come for our order yet did she?" Rick was starting to get hungry.

"Not yet. Let me go see if I can find someone. I need to go to the restroom anyway. I'll be right back." Geoff stood and searched for a bathroom. Jake looked at Rick and when Geoff was out of earshot he said, "What happened? Why is Grace alone and not with Eli? Wasn't the plan to have them go somewhere together so they could be alone? This isn't helping the cause. They can't realized they're meant to be together and this guy needs to go if they are not in the same place. That was quick. Here he comes." Jake looked down at his hands and saw he'd shredded his napkin. He chuckled and said, "I guess I need a new napkin. Here's our waitress. What are you fellas having?"

Their food came and went and the three realized they were out of things to discuss. The easier questions anyway. Now for some difficult ones. "When are you planning on having children Geoff? You and Grace have discussed it right?" Jake asked with a devilish grin. At that moment Geoff wished he had somewhere to hide. He wanted to go somewhere away from the rest of the world as he realized this was a test...a final exam and he didn't study the right subjects. Where is my rabbit to take me to wonderland or my ticket to Atlantis? Geoff wondered with a sigh...

'In Grace's car'

Grace drove and drove and found herself in front of a house. Not just any house as she realized she was staring right at Karen's house. His mother. She could have gone anywhere but she mindlessly mapped her way to Eli's mom's house. 'Do I talk to her? Do I keep driving and sit somewhere alone so I can think? Will she even talk to me?' Grace decided she would take a chance and got out of the car. She didn't see Karen standing at the window talking on the phone.

"Answer. Come on and someone answer the phone. Hi. Zoe? It's Karen. Can I speak to your mom? Quickly? Hi Lily. She's here. I saw Grace pull up and she's been sitting in the car staring at the house. Oh, she's getting out. She's coming in. Tell E to get his butt over here and I'll make sure they talk. Wait. Tell him to give me at least a half an hour. She looks like she needs to talk before she's face to face with Eli. Call Rick and Jake and let them know she's okay. I'll call you back when I leave. Talk to you later Lily. Bye." Karen hung up the phone and walked to the door. She opened it as Grace lifted her hand to knock.

"Hi Grace. What brings you here today?" Karen saw tears forming in the confused young woman's eyes standing in front of her helplessly. She reached out and took Grace in her arms and led her inside. "Sweetie, what is it? Oh, it's okay. It will be okay. Everything always works out in the end no matter how awful it looks right now or whether we like the outcome or not. Let it out Grace, let out all your fears and frustrations and then we'll talk if you want."

Grace cried in her arms and when she could finally speak she asked, "How did you know when you were in love? I mean, really truly deeply, passionately in love." Grace sighed, took a deep breath and continued. "I can't keep it inside anymore. I love him. I love Eli and I can't. I'm supposed to love Geoff. I do. I do love Geoff, I'm not in love with him though. I've never been truly in love with anyone other than Eli. Zoe said he loved me. She told him he had to stop my wedding and tell me he loves me. She said he'd live in denial and he would be unhappy if he didn't stop the wedding. Does he love me too? Have I wasted all this time? Have we wasted all these years? You don't need to hear this. You're his mother. You want him happy and probably hate me because I've made him miserable. But I've been miserable too. I thought I could marry Geoff. I was swept away when he proposed. I had gotten a letter from E and he said he was happy with what's-her-name and that night Geoff asked me to marry him. I could have made myself fall in love with him, couldn't I? Can't I?" Grace sighed and wiped her face and nose with the tissues Karen handed her.

Karen placed her hands on Grace's cheeks, looked her in the eyes, and spoke. "Grace, go with your heart. Don't ask yourself a million questions. Don't second-guess everything that has already happened in your life that you cannot change. You cannot think of the 'what-ifs', you have to concentrate on the 'what is' and 'what-will-be'. I learned the hard way long ago that the past is the past and it has to stay there. No matter how much you want to, you can't fix it. Life and love will all fall into place you just have to believe in it. You and my son have a lot to discuss and I know it's going to be difficult, but you have to do it today. You can't put off this conversation any longer. You'll be married to a man you're not in love with before you know it and that is something else you can't change without breaking at least two hearts in the process."

Karen paused a moment to judge how Grace was taking it all in. She still saw fear in the young woman's eyes and continued. "I'm not your mom and I would never tell you what to do. All I can do is let you know I am here for you to support you and I will be here for my son, no matter what the two of you decide. You mean a lot to me Grace. Something in your heart brought you here and I'm thankful for that and will not take it lightly. Why don't you make yourself comfortable and I'll see if I can find some ice cream. We'll talk over a carton of ice cream." Karen stood and hoped Grace wouldn't hate her when she found out Eli was on his way to talk to her. Grace was sitting on the couch staring into nowhere and Karen wondered what world she escaped to and if she's going to make it back to reality in time to save her heart.