Author's notes: I own no part of Once and Again or it's characters. I own no part of the song Someday We'll Know. I'd like to say thank you to everyone that's reading and thanks to those that are replying. It means the world to me that yall are reading and enjoy this story. I worried about this chapter when I wrote it because Aaron is in this chapter and I have always loved the relationship between Grace and Aaron and I didn't want to ruin anything. I hope this turned out okay. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy...
Someday we'll know
Why the sky is blue...
"E, wake up. Come on, time to get up."
Eli rolled over and onto the floor. "Ouch" He'd forgotten he was on the couch and not in his bed. "What time is it" Eli murmured.
Rick laughed at his son and said "It's 7:30. We need to go. Remember, Aaron will be at the house later and Lil wanted us there. Come on get up. You need to be there for the woman you love just as I need to be there for the woman I love. You know Graceis worried about explaining everything to him. She doesn't want to upset him."
"Didn't we just get to sleep" Eli sighed. His father was right. Eli knows Grace has this inexplicable yet amazing bond with Aaron. While they were lying in bed talking, she had mentioned how worried she was to talk to her uncle.
Slowly Eli got up off the floor and said "Alright Jake, your kids kept us all awake last night so you'd better have tons of coffee ready. Jake, you're not even up yet. Maddie is though. Hey beautiful girl. Didn't you want a boy Jake? You could still have a boy you know."
"No, I'm done. We're done. I have four beautiful daughters and I am not trying for a fifth. I know, we could have a boy but with the way things have gone, I'dhave another girl and how many Manning women can we handle?" Jake looked at hisyoung girl."Hey sweetie, did you want some cereal or some eggs for breakfast? Eli isn't too happy you kept him awake so long last night. He had fun playing with you though didn't he? Played with you too late and got you all wound up and then you couldn't go to sleep could ya? And he also doesn't realize I was already up with your sister this morning and went back to sleep." Jake scooped her up in his arms and said"My goodness you're almost too big to pick up anymore sweetie" Jake walked to the kitchen, put Maddie down, and began making coffee. "Alright Maddie girl, eggs or cereal"
She smiled. "I want eggs Daddy. An egg and cheese omelet please. Your special ones."
Eli watched Jake with his daughter and smiled. After only one night, Eli realized babies were not easy to take care of. He decided he would talk to Grace about waiting a long time before they would have any. 'Grace and I having kids. Wow, now that sounds nice. A bunch of little Graces running around. No, maybe that's not a good idea. They will outsmart me and take over. We'll have a bunch of little Elis running around instead. No, even worse. One of me is more than enough. Well, we will eventually have children and they'll be a perfect mixture of the both of us. Perfect.' Eli smiled and asked "Jake, need any help"
"No, you go home and give my oldest daughter a good morning kiss from me, okay? And Eli, I had a good time last night. You're good for my Grace. I can tell you love her and I'm glad. Yes, I am, and you do not have to look at me that way. I used to worry about you and wonder if you would ever be right for any woman. When I had the first little idea in my head that you might like Grace, I found myself worrying. Not any more. I know I'm protective but she is my firstborn and every father has a right to protect his daughters. You'll see one day Eli, you'll see." Jake smiled and said his goodbyes to Eli and Rick as Will and Henry continued to sleep peacefully.
The Sammler house
The house was completely silent as the two men entered. Eli whispered "Hey Dad let's go wake them up. We could throw water on them. Or we could do the hand in the warm water trick. Isn't that a slumber party thing to do" Eli had his back to the doorway and didn't see Grace and Lily standing there.
"No Eli, a funny slumber party thing to do would be the wet bra in the freezer." Eli shut his eyes and slowly turned. He opened his eyes, saw the two women glaring at him, and noticed they were not alone in the doorway. Judy, Tiffany, and his mother were all standing there as well. "Good morning ladies. Don't you all look beautiful this morning." He smiled his best smile and felt his dad pat him on the back.
"E, it's too late. They already know you were planning something mean and they won't forget it. Going to be a difficult day for you I'd say." Rick smiled and said "Hello wife of mine. I missed you. Too many men and too many loud children for me for one night. Had fun though." Lily laughed.
"You had fun at Jake's? I will never get used to all of you getting along. It's simply too strange. Of course, we had fun last night as well so that's strange too. Something else that is a little strange, I don't think I missed you. It was peaceful here. There was no snoring to wake me up." Lily smiled at her husband and before he could protest, she asked "What does everyone want for breakfast? I was planning on a huge breakfast this morning anyway so we have everything imaginable."
Everyone in the house yelled out their favorite breakfast foods as Lily listened and laughed. "So I'll just make sure I fix everything. Wait, make that we. Everyone is going to help. No Eli Sammler, you stop right there. You are not going to watch cartoons. You are going to help fix breakfast. No wait, this is a perfect moment. Eli, you are helping me and everyone else can do whatever you want to do. Eli and I need some quality time alone so I can interrogate him. Oh, it won't be so bad, why are you so worried"
Eli sighed, waited until the kitchen was empty except for the two of them and said "I guess I should have known this was coming. But haven't we bonded enough over the years? You're going to ask me all the difficult questions aren't you"
Lily stopped what she was doing and said "No, we haven't actually. Add to that the fact that you have not set foot in this house in two years. Not even mentioning the fact, you are madly in love with my daughter...my first-born. A mother has to make certain the man her daughter is in love with is the right man for her or she will never forgive herself. I'll do the same with my other children. Eli Sammler, stop looking so terrified. I don't bite. I just need to get to know you in a completely different way. You and I have had some great conversations over the years don't you think"
Eli smiled. "Yes we have. You have helped me so much...more than you will ever know sometimes, I think. You were always a sounding board for me even after I'd moved out. Thank you Lily. I needed that sometimes...okay, most of the time. I still need that. Okay, where do you want me to start? I can crack the eggs into the bowl. I don't know that you should trust me actually cooking anything. I'm better at preparation. I'll get everything ready and you can cook it, okay" Eli looked at Lily and saw a tear in her eye. He put his hand on her arm and said "There's no crying in cooking. Unless of course you're cutting an onion which means there is no choice."
Lily laughed. 'Grace made the right choice. She chose to love him and I couldn't be happier for them.' "Well haven't you become the funny one? Okay, no more tears. I am not going to be cutting the onions. Here, put the eggs in the bowl and then slice these things up for omelets." Lily placed everything in front of him and began making the waffles. "Eli."
Eli jumped and took a deep breath. "Yes" He smiled.
"Sorry hon, didn't mean to startle you. When did you realize you were in love with my daughter" Lily turned and smiled back at him.
"Wow. You go right for the big one don't you" Eli sighed and thought a moment. "I don't know the exact moment I fell in love with her. I just know which moment in my life I looked at her and knew I was without a doubt in love. I knew because my heart hurt. This is weird." Eli looked at Lily and their eyes met. "It's strange telling you when I knew I loved your daughter. You have helped me with so many things and you've been a mom to me for so long. This is really strange."
He chuckled. "Anyway, the night of the play all those years ago was when I knew I loved her. I walked in and she was so angry with me. I wanted to make everything better but I don't think I was the one she wanted to help her that night. He was there with her and I felt out of place. I felt like a complete failure. I had failed in so many ways and that night I realized I was in love with her and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't fix what I had broken. I think I loved Grace before then because there was just something...something I couldn't explain when I looked at her. I knew in my heart that it was love that rainy night. Something about the rain and the two of us, I guess. I was stupid for not staying at the play. I saw mom and I froze. Then I ran. I ran like I always did when it came to Grace." Eli sighed.
Lily walked to him and put her hand on his arm. "I remember that night. It was such a huge night for her. She asked me to save you a seat. Grace really wanted you there." She paused a moment and gasped. "That's why that scene was so different." Lily stopped. She looked at Eli and said "I don't know Eli, I thinkthe fact you weren'tthere that night gave her inspiration and made her performance absolutely brilliant. She was amazing. I was mesmerized. I could feel her pain and never opened my eyes enough to see it was real and not simply acting. So many things in my daughter's life I've missed because I haven't opened my eyes."
"I know. I've missed too many things as well. I didn't open my eyes or my heart and I should have." Eli handed Lily the bowl of eggs and began cutting the vegetables for them.
"Would you two stop it please? You may not be crying but I am." Grace walked into the kitchen and said "Yes I was snooping. I thought maybe you would like some help. Let me dice the onions since I already have tears. I just want to say...I love you both." Grace got a knife and stood beside Eli. He put his hand on hers and whispered "I love you" and went back to cutting the peppers. Grace wiped her tears with the tissue her mother handed her and began to slice the onions.
The three laughed, cooked, and before long breakfast was ready. The family made their way to the kitchen and gobbled up everything in no time. Slowly everyone made their way to their respective homes and it was getting closer to the time that Aaron would arrive. Grace was a bundle of nerves as Lily and Eli tried to calm her.
"I don't know why I'm so nervous. I mean, he is Uncle Aaron. Why should I be worried about Aaron arriving? I shouldn't be that's all." Grace knew in her heart that she wanted him to understand and she was afraid he wouldn't. She always hated seeing him upset and if she were the one to upset him she would not forgive herself.
Eli sat with her on the couch, put his arm around her and whispered in her ear. "I love you sweetheart. He will understand. Aaron knows you did not make this decision in haste and thought through it carefully. He loves you. It's going to be fine." Eli kissed her cheek and looked helplessly at his dad sitting across the room from them. Rick smiled at his son, stood, and searched for Lily.
The doorbell rang and Grace stiffened in Eli's arms. "He's here." She whispered. "I'll talk to him alone, okay" She and Eli stood. He gave her a quick kiss and went to the kitchen to get a drink.
"Hi Uncle Aaron. How are you" Grace asked anxiously, hoping he wouldn't notice.
Aaron smiled and said"Hello Grace. I'm fine. How are you"
"I'm okay. I do need to speak to you. Would you like to go to the living room or would you rather go somewhere else" Grace asked trying to calm her nerves.
"The living room is fine. Or if you'd like, we could go upstairs to your room where you might be more comfortable. Are you okay Grace? You don't look well." Aaron was concerned about his niece. He thought it was odd that she wasn't rushing around getting ready for the wedding that was to start in a few hours.
Grace sighed and smiled. "We can go upstairs. No one will interrupt us there. Thank you for suggesting that." The two made their way to her room and Aaron sat on her bed. Grace stood by the window, unable to face him yet.
She thought over her words very carefully before she began to speak. "Aaron, do you still make lists? I remember your first one you made. It was for your apartment. Do you still make them? I know I haven't asked in such a long time about your lists and I'm sorry." Grace looked at her uncle and saw a spark in his eyes she found so familiar. The spark she saw every time they spoke.
"Yes. Yes, I still make them. I didn't bring any though Grace. I'm sorry. I should have brought one or two so we could discuss them. I could make one now if you like." Aaron glanced around the room looking for a piece of paper.
Grace said "No Aaron, that's okay. I asked because, well, I made a list. A few weeks ago. I made a list about my wedding...my feelings about my wedding. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get married and my list helped me realize I shouldn't." Grace sighed.
"But you were going to. I talked to Lily four days ago and she said you still planned to marry him. Geoff. Now you aren't. Why not Grace?Did you love him and then stop loving him" Aaron didn't understand.
Grace didn't know how to explain it to him. Grace didn't even know how to explain it to herself. "Uncle Aaron, it's difficult. It is something that I cannot seem to explain with one sentence or one simple thought. I didn't stop loving Geoff. I still love him. I don't love him enough to be able to spend the rest of my life with him and live happily. I feel that way about someone else though." Grace took a deep breath and sighed.
"Who is it Grace? Who do you love" Aaron asked. "Grace, are you okay"
She turned and looked at him for a moment. "Yes, I am fine. It's Eli. I love Eli." Grace couldn't help but smile as she said those words. She gazed out the window lost in thought unable to bear seeing a look of disappointment on his face. "I could be happy with Eli for the rest of my life. He loves me too Aaron. He has for a long time. And I have loved him almost forever it seems."
Aaron thought a moment and let Grace's words sink in before he continued. "Eli. He's nice. Are you sure Grace? I asked you before if you were certain about Geoff and you said you were. You said you loved him and he loved you and you said you would be happy with him as your husband. That is what you said when we spoke the last time." Aaron looked at his niece and knew what he had to ask her. He knew the answer to his question would make it simple for him to understand exactly what she was saying. "Grace"
She turned toward him and said"Yes? What is it Uncle Aaron"
Aaron smiled and said "Snow. You told me once that love was like snow. Is there snow with Eli? Did you wake up to snow with Geoff? I had snow with Miriam. Yes, she and I had snow. Do you and Eli wake up to snow all around"
Tears came to her eyes and she said"Yes Aaron we do. Eli and I have snow all around us every morning. You remembered that. I'm glad you remembered." Grace walked over to him and hesitated a moment "can I hug you?" He opened his arms and they hugged as she said "I'm so glad you always remember our conversations. They're very special to me." Grace felt him begin to tense so she let go and stepped away. "Thank you. Thank you for everything Uncle Aaron. I love you." Grace left the room with a smile on her face, as Aaron remained seated on her bed with a smile of his own.