Author's Note: Fair warning, I'm really not sure what I'm doing with this story. It started out as a simple idea, 'I want to write a continuation of Annie', and now, three chapters in, it's starting to go a route I never even planned on, because, genuinely, I usually hate the trope I'm thinking about. However, I think it may just work, so I'm not ruling it out just yet - and any and all advice/critiques are welcomed and much appreciated. All's this to say, don't be surprised if at some point there's a lapse between updates because I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing. My writing style is usually to go in without any idea of what I want, and, well... some of my favorite work has taken shape that way. Hopefully, that's the case again here. Again, thank you so much for the support so far; it means the world to me. I'm having a lot of fun with this, and it's been a while since I got invested in a fanfiction in such a way, so it's always nice to see others enjoying it, as well.

Breakfast turned out to be exactly what the new couple needed to—as Mrs. Pugh so astutely put it—'get out' their jitters over finally being with one another. Away from children who might ask more questions than they were ready to answer, away from the prying public eye, Grace and Oliver, for the first time, were allowed to just be Grace and Oliver—and they ate up every second of it. There was something too natural about their chemistry, Oliver was noticing. It was as though they'd been married for ages, yet there was a newness about it, too, that made it so exciting. He felt as though he was a schoolboy again. The last several years, he'd made his peace with the aches and pains that came with time and an older age, but now, none of that seemed to matter.

Grace had renewed him. Grace was the breath of fresh air he'd been so desperate for, for ages.

He hardly wanted to return to the mansion, because the thought of not being able to kiss her every five seconds was enough to just about kill him.

At the same time, he was eager to tell Annie the good news—and to get on with planning the wedding and whatever adoption festivities the little girl wanted to host.

"Oh, Mr. Warbucks!"

Annie's day was in full swing by the time Grace and Oliver finally returned around lunchtime. Out in the garden, playing with all her friends from the orphanage, she wasted no time with running over to her new father when he made an appearance, cheeks red and slightly out of breath, but excited all the same.

"You missed it!" she continued. "Mr. Budge came for my tennis lessons, like usual, so I had some of the girls learn with me. Pepper's really good at playing, Mr. Warbucks! Mr. Budge said she was a natural. And, Tessie, she usually hates sports because she's worried the ball will hit her in the face, but she didn't flinch once today!"

Oliver laughed, fully having no idea which girl was which, but glad, nonetheless, they were all having a good time with one another. "I suppose I'll have to fund lessons for more than one from now on, won't I?" he reached out to tousle Annie's hair. "I never got to meet all your friends last night, how about you introduce me? It'd be rude of me not to personally thank the girls responsible for saving your life."

"Oh, boy!" Annie lit up, and running back down the steps, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Guys! Mr. Warbucks is back! He wants to meet you, come quick!"

Grace chuckled a bit, too, her hand firmly on Oliver's arm. "We're going to have to discuss what to do for them," she whispered to her fiancé. "They're all sweet, but I hardly think it's feasible to have seven girls here for an extended period of time. My head's already hurting." She shook her head, touching her temple. "We can't send them back, either, it'd be improper."

"We'll work it out, my dear," Oliver promised, kissing the top of her head. As he did, Annie reappeared, the six other girls behind her. Clearly, Mrs. Greer had made an executive decision that their garb from the orphanage was no longer suitable. Each girl was in a play dress, one that was, at the very least, ten times fancier than anything they'd ever worn. Grace was glad; it was heartwrenching to see children wear what could only be described as rags. They were parentless, sure, but worthless, they absolutely were not.

"This is everyone, Mr. Warbucks," Annie announced, beaming widely as she wrapped an arm around the little girl that'd been in Punjab's arms the night before. "This is Molly—she's the littlest. Then, there's Kate, she's the oldest, and Tessie, she worries a bunch, and Pepper, and July, and Duffy!"

Oliver smiled a bit. "Pleased to meet you all," he said, crouching down slightly so he was closer to their eye level. "I wanted to say thank you for how courageous you were last night. Without your help, it's quite possible we'd have never found Annie—not safely, at the very least."

"You don't have to thank us," one of the older girls—Pepper—scoffed. "We protect each other. Nobody else is gonna, so we have to."

"Still," he winked. "Navigating the streets of New York when you've seldom left the orphanage was quite a feat. I applaud you for continuing on, even though I'm sure you were tired."

"They wanted to stop," Molly piped up, shooting a scathing glance at Pepper and another one of the older girls. "They said we were never gonna get there. We took a vote and everything, and I was the only one who wanted to save Annie. It's only 'cause Sandy found us that we found you!"

"Suppose I need to be thanking Sandy, too, then," he straightened back up and smiled at Grace. "Well, are you girls hungry? I think I saw Mrs. Pugh setting lunch out on the terrace for us."

"More food?" Tessie's eyes widened. "Gee, I thought it was just the stuff of fairytales, food that tastes good. But Mrs. Pugh… if her food's a dream, I never wanna wake up."

"I can assure you, you are not dreaming," Grace smiled a little, as well. "Go on, dear. Mr. Warbucks and I will be there in just a minute—we're just going to speak with Annie for a second."

"With me?" Annie snapped her head up, and, now, her eyes widened as she took in the way Grace was holding onto Oliver. "Leaping lizards. Mr. Warbucks, Miss Farrell… are you…?"

Oliver laughed, not even caring the other girls had stopped in their tracks to eavesdrop. "Miss Farrell—well, Grace—and I had a couple important conversations last night. It's only right that if you're to have a family, it's to be a proper one, don't you think? I've been rather oblivious the past several years. Well, most my life, truth be told, but the past several years, especially. Grace has become an important part of… everything, and it was only when you came along that I realized just how much I've been blind to. I asked her to marry me last night after you were in bed, and to my delight, she said yes."

"Marry?" Annie's eyes grew even wider. "Leaping lizards, Mr. Warbucks! She's going to be your wife?!"

Grace laughed. "I am, indeed," she crouched before Annie, taking her hands. "I'll also be your mother, dear, if that's alright with you."

Annie froze now, clearly not having put the two together. "Whoa," she stared at Grace, mouth hanging open. "Really? Like, really, really?"

"Really, really," Grace beamed, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Is that something you'd like, Annie?"

Annie paused for another moment, and while Oliver found himself worrying for a second that it was too much, too soon, Grace just waited, patiently, for the news to set in. Sure enough, tears began brimming in Annie's eyes, and she threw herself at Grace, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I used to dream of a perfect mom," she whispered, squeezing on tight. "She'd sew, and she'd make the dad coffee, and she'd do all the things you see moms do in books. But, you're even better, Miss Farrell. You work, too! You work hard, and you make sure Mr. Warbucks never misses anything."

Grace chuckled, tears on her cheeks, as well. "I used to dream of the perfect little girl," she countered. "I thought I'd get to raise her from birth, and that'd be the best thing about being a mom. But you're even better—you're beyond my wildest dreams, Annie."

Annie squeezed on even tighter, eyes shut, tears leaking from them. She remained that way for a good minute, not loosening her hold for anything, until finally she stepped back, gratefully accepting Oliver's handkerchief. She sniffled, wiping at her face.

"Wait a second," she looked up at Oliver. "Where's her ring?! You can't propose to a lady without a ring, Mr. Warbucks! That's the only way to make it official!"

Oliver and Grace both laughed, heartily, Oliver snaking his arm around Grace's waist.

"It happened rather suddenly," he explained, shaking his head. "I rather think I like it more this way, anyhow. We're planning to go jewelry shopping later—you're welcome to tag along, if you'd like. I think we could use your eye to make sure we pick out something perfect."

"Diamonds," she said, automatically. "Big diamonds. Pretty diamonds. Miss Hannigan always said that if they don't give you diamonds, they don't mean business."

Grace chuckled. "And I suppose Miss Hannigan would be the expert on that, wouldn't she?"

"Oh, yeah, and she's Mom of the Year, too," Pepper scoffed. "I can guarantee, she's never even seen a diamond. She's probably never even seen a fake one."

"But they're still pretty," Annie countered. "Wait! Can we all come shopping?" she looked at the other girls. "That way, you have extra eyes, so it's extra perfect!"

Grace exchanged a glance with Oliver, who just laughed. Their usual Tiffany's likely wouldn't be thrilled with seven little girls running around the store, but he couldn't find a good reason to deprive them of the opportunity, either. Like Annie, they'd all been cooped up inside the orphanage most, if not all, their lives. They deserved to go out and enjoy some time on the town—even if that 'time' doubled as engagement ring shopping.

"If Grace is alright with that, so am I," he said cautiously. "Extra opinions are always good. It's something I've learned the hard way through the years."

"What's the harm?" Grace agreed. "We can all go after lunch. Perhaps we can go clothes shopping, too, at Bergdorf's. You girls surely can't wear the same play dresses day after day."

"More than one outfit?" Tessie's jaw dropped. "Okay, this has to be a dream. Annie, pinch me!"

Annie just giggled, shaking her head. "Just wait 'til you get toys," she said. "Did you see the dollhouse in my room? It's taller than I am, I didn't even know they made stuff like that!"

The girl looked as though she was going to pass out with this information, and Grace, still laughing, stepped forward to make sure she didn't.

"Let's just go and have lunch," she said, a hand on Tessie's shoulder. "All this new stuff is overwhelming, how about we ease everyone in, alright, Annie?"

"I thought I was dreaming, too," she told Tessie, looping her arm through the girl's. "I felt that way the entire first week I was here. It only stopped when we started looking for my mom and dad."

"What happened to your mommy and daddy?" Molly asked, racing ahead for a second until she was meeting Annie's pacing. "Miss Hannigan's brother had the other half of your locket, so how'd he get it?"

The older girl's gaze dropped, and as she reached up to play around with the necklace, she sighed. "There was a fire," she whispered. "They died in it, and then Miss Hannigan got all their stuff because I was at the orphanage. It makes me feel better, kind of. At least I know they probably would've come back otherwise. They just never got the chance."

"I'm sorry, Annie," Molly slipped her hand into Annie's palm. "I miss my mommy and daddy, too."

There was an audible sniffle from the back of the group, and Grace snapped her head up to find the tough girl, Pepper, wiping her hand at her eyes. Straightening her posture, though, she coughed, as though to cover up the fact she'd been crying.

"Don't feel bad for her," she grumbled. "Rotten luck, but she still gets to live with the richest man on the planet. Meanwhile, we're all gonna have to go back and fight for mush again."

"We are?" July's face fell. She looked at Grace. "We're going to have to go back, Miss Farrell?"

"Oh, honey," Grace immediately shook her head. "Of course n—"

"What do you think, dimwit?" Pepper interjected. "Warbucks is gonna adopt a litter of kids so we can all run around his house and bother him? He's getting married. The last thing he'll want is us, 'cause he and Miss Farrell are gonna want to be together all the time. Even Annie's pushing it, but they won't be able to justify getting rid of her, 'cause they made such a fuss in the papers."

"Oh." July looked down. "I guess that makes sense…"

"Sweetheart," Grace sighed, letting go of Oliver to step in front of the girl. Crouching down, she smiled, cupping July's face in her hands. "I assure you, Mr. Warbucks and I have no intention of sending you back to the orphanage. We may not be able to adopt you, ourselves, but Mr. Warbucks has many colleagues who I'm sure are just dying to have a little girl of their own. We'll make sure you find homes—all of you. That's a promise."

Pepper scoffed again, folding her arms. "Adults are good at making promises," she said, looking at all the other girls with disgust. "They hardly ever keep 'em."

Grace just smiled a little wider, rising back to her full height. She stepped over to Pepper, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I guess I'll just have to show you in time, then," she said. "Come along—no need to dwell on all that right now, is there? Today, we just have shopping to worry about."

They reached the terrace as she said this, and while all the girls started towards the table, crowding over one another so they could fill their plates, Grace stepped back over to Oliver, wrapping her arms around him. He did the same, kissing her head, and for a moment, the pair watched the girls, something inside Grace's heart starting to hurt the longer she stared at them all. They were all special, weren't they? Bonded together through the horrible circumstances they'd been forced into, and now, displaced through no fault of their own.

They needed and deserved homes, that much was certain.

Why, though, was she thinking that home should be theirs?

What on earth would Oliver's response be?