Watched the stars crash in the sea...

When Zoe and Jessie pulled into the drivewaythey saw Eli parking in front of the house. They noticed Grace's car was still gone and both sighed. "Well, I guess we're both wondering where she is huh? Jess, you don't think..." Zoe didn't want to finish her question.

"No. Don't even think that. She loves him. She's loved him forever and she's not going to hurt him. And if she does, well, I can channel some of the anger I used to feel for her and take care of her!" Jessie knew Zoe didn't believe her. "Oh, like you won't try and hurt her yourself? No, they're in love and they're going to be nauseatingly sweet tonight. I can see it now, all over each other and declaring their undying love. Oh, I'm going to be ill. Let's go face the families. Come on sweetie, time to prove just how grown up you really are."

Jessie and Zoe got out of the car and each gave Eli a smile as he sat on the front porch to wait for Grace. Jessie looked up at the sky and saw more clouds moving in and realized there was only a break in the storm and it was nowhere near finished.

As they stepped into the house things were complete chaos. Everyone that had been in the house when the two left rushed to the door firing questions at them.

"Where's Grace?"

"Where's E?"

"What happened?"

"Where have you two been?"

"What on earth took you so long?"

"Is Gracie still getting married or did Eli convince her she's meant to be with him?"

"Stop calling her Gracie, Lily, she isn't 12 anymore, and why are they not here with you?"

"They aren't still having sex are they?"

"Jake!"

Zoe and Jessie laughed as Zoe spoke, "Sit down everyone, have we got a story for you. Okay, so we don't have the full story but we can wet your appetite until Grace gets back. Well Jess, where do we start?" And the girls told everyone what they knew while Eli waited impatiently for Grace.

On the porch

Eli'smind was racing. 'Okay, she'll be here. Anytime now. Yep, she'll be here any minute. She'll jump out of the car and run into my arms. They do that in the movies. Okay, she can't talk to him this long, can she? That can't be good for me. I hope she's okay. If he's done something to her I'll kill him. I will kill him if he hurts Grace. I will kill anyone who hurts Grace."He paused and smiled.

'Oh Eli, relax. She's fine. Grace can take care of herself. She'll be here before I know it. Just be patient. Patience is a virtue although patience is a virtue I've never seemed to possess. Wait a car. She's here. Okay Eli, don't jump up and down like a little kid. You are a grown man now. No jumping up and down even though you want to.'

Eli contained his excitement and stayed seated on the step. He took a deep breath and looked up as Grace stepped out of her car. 'My god, she's beautiful. Okay, awkward moment. Do I hold her and kiss her? Do I stand back and wait to see what she does? We made love. I ought to be able to kiss her. Don't want to come on too strong since she just told her fiance she's not marrying him tomorrow. Tomorrow. What was I thinking? She was supposed to get married tomorrow and we did what we did. Here she comes, act cool Eli.' He took a deep breath.

While Grace made her way to Eli, she watched him. It looked as though he was fighting some sort of battle within himself. Grace smiled and finally Eli stood. 'He doesn't know what to do. He's lost like a boy with his first crush. I have never seen him like this. Never. Not with anyone he's ever been with. He really does love me. He loved them too though. But he really loves me. And I really love him.'

She didn't know what to say or do and immediately realized she was now as lost as he was. The two stood by the front door not speaking while awkwardly glancing at one another, both afraid to move. Grace made the first move.

"Hey." Grace kept it simple.

"Hey yourself. You okay?" Eli came back with a question hoping the answer was a positive one.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told him I wasn't marrying him and well, oddly enough he took it rather well. He surprised me." Grace smiled. Eli grinned back. Once again the silence was deafening.

Inside the house

"Hey! Grace is here! Let's go see what she does." Zoe and Jessie were first to the window. Everyone walked as quietly as they could so Grace and Eli wouldn't hear them. "Uh, why does it look like they're not talking? Didn't Eli say they, uh, well you know, talked and professed their love?" Zoe knew her parents didn't want to know the two had made love, no matter how old either one of them is,so she decided the safest thing would be to remain quiet.

"Yeah he did. I don't know why they aren't talking or anything after this afternoon and well, their talk...wait, she said something. What did Eli say? Can anyone hear them at all?" Jessie spoke in a whisper so her brother wouldn't hear her. Eli never liked her spying on him and now would be the worst time for him to catch her considering the entire family was spying.

"You realize they're gonna see all of us standing here. And if they come in that door they are going to wonder why we're all right here. Let's split up and go to other windows to watch." Jessie had a plan and it would have worked had Eli not chosen that moment to turn toward the house and put his hand on the doorknob to open it. He laughed as he saw his sister's stunned face in the window.

"Dammit, we're busted." Jake stated. "Hey, what exactly did they do today girls? Both of you stopped when you were about to let something out. Oh they did have sex didn't they? See Lil, I told you they would no matter what Zoe said before she left. They're adults. We all know they've both been with others. Who knows how many women Eli has been with. Sorry Rick, Karen. Hell, I'm not even sure how many women I've been with. Okay, I'll shut up now." Jake chuckled and opened the door for Eli who seemed to be laughing too hard to open it himself.

"Hi you two. Would you like to come in?" Jake held the door for his daughter and Eli. "Come on, we've got close to a million questions for you both. First and most importantly, will I be needed tomorrow to walk my daughter down the aisle?" Jake hoped the answer was no.

"No Daddy, your services are no longer needed. Thank you anyway. Maybe someday down the road, but not tomorrow. There, now you all know, I am not marrying Geoff tomorrow. Yes Geoff knows and we've talked and I think he's okay. Or, as okay as he could be considering what has happened and where he...well, anyway. Eli, would you like something to eat? I'm hungry. Let's go see what's in the kitchen." Grace tried to make it to the kitchen but was stopped. Lily stood in front of her blocking her way with a serious look on her face. "What Mom? Go ahead. I'm ready for the third degree."

Lily surprised everyone when she burst into tears and said, "Oh sweetie, I'm so happy for you. You finally opened your heart and you're in love and I can see it in your eyes and you're so happy." Lily grabbed Grace and held her tight. After a moment, she looked at Eli and said, "Oh you, come here. You need in here too." Eli walked over and put his arms around Grace and Lily as a few tears fell down his cheeks as well. "We're home now...we're both home where we belong." Grace said through her tears.

"Okay, look, I am an emotional wreck as it is because I'm pregnant and this is simply too much for me to handle. We either all join in with the hug or we all break apart and step away from one another. Now, I will count to three and by the time I get to three, I'm grabbing on if you're still hugging so I'm not out here alone in tears. Got it? Good. One. Two..." Judy only got to two.

Eli was the first to step away as he used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. "Leave us alone Judy, this has been a long time coming." Eli smiled. "Let us have our moment of bonding okay? Here...Judy come here and I'll give you a hug and you can cry on my shoulder. Is that better?"

Judy stepped intoEli's arms and said "yes. Thank you Eli. Thank you for letting me cry on your shoulder and thank you for loving my niece." She stepped out of his arms and said, "wait, now what will this make you?Step-nephew-in-law?Does that exist?How will all of this work? Lil, any thoughts? Eli looks pretty lost. Of course that could be because he's gazing into Grace's eyes and doesn't realize the rest of us exist. Let's go back to the kitchen and leave them alone and we'll discuss the cancellation of the wedding and figure out what we're going to tell the family and what we'll do with them." Judy laughed and held her stomach as the baby kicked.

"Okay, let's eat. I'm hungry. What? I am." Jake said with a smile. "Oh and Tiff should be here soon with the kids. Oh, now we have to explain to them they won't be in a wedding. It was difficult enough explaining what they were going to have to do in the first place. Why can't kids just be brilliant at birth so we don't have to teach them all this stuff?"

"That's because teaching them is so much fun Jake. Don't you remember? Come on, I've wiped my tears and they don't even know we're still here. Let's eat." Lily was the first one to the kitchen and started another pot of coffee knowing it would be a long night.

"I love you Grace." Eli took her in his arms and held her tightly. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do when you got here. Isn't that stupid? After this afternoon I was still as lost around you as I have ever been. This love thing really confuses me. I wish I'd had more experience with real love."

Eli kissed her closed eyelids and placed butterfly kisses across her face in a scattered path to her lips. Their lips met and it was as though they heard the clash of thunder and saw the bolt of lightning from earlier when they shared their first kiss. He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. He needed to see her eyes. He saw her soul each time he gazed into those deep brown eyes of hers. 'So innocent. So full of love. She loves me. I finally know in my heart she loves me.'

"E, are you okay? Is there something wrong?" Grace wasn't sure why he was looking at her and couldn't figure out the meaning of his expression. "I love you too sweetheart...I love you too." She put her hand on his cheek and saw a tear fall from his hazel eyes.

They kissed again and soon found themselves lost in their love and forgot about everyone in the kitchen trying to figure out what would happen next and who would call and cancel what. The only plans Eli and Grace would make would be to sneak away that night into the backyard and count the stars together instead of alone like they so often did in the past.