About twenty minutes later, Liam pulled into the parking lot of the diner.

He then got out of the truck before he walked around and opened the passenger door for Grace.

She entwined their fingers together. She couldn't help but grin as she then told him, "I'm warning you, now, Mrs. Pam, is quite the character."

"Didn't she make you enough chicken soup to last two weeks when you mentioned that you had a slight cold?" Liam asked her, with a chuckle.

Grace nodded before she smiled and spoke, "Yeah, she's basically a mother hen combined with, like, an eccentric aunt."

Liam laughed, and Grace soon joined him. When they had sobered, she added, "But she's family. She really made me feel at home - along with her husband and the rest of their family."

A fond smile erupted over her features, and Liam then kissed the side of her head. He then opened the door to the diner.

The moment they walked in, Mrs. Pam - in her thick Brooklyn accent - greeted, "Gracie! It's about time you came by - I've already warned you about studying too hard."

"Come on, Ma, cut her some slack. You know college ain't easy," Louis, Pam's youngest son, pointed out from his place wiping down a table.

Pam only waved her hand in dismissal at his words before she added, "You just make sure you get enough to sleep and enough to eat."

One of the regulars, Tony, that knew the family and Grace well, then added, "I don't think she's in danger of starving with all the food you send with her when she leaves," as he spun his barstool around to face them.

He and Louis then began to laugh. They were soon joined by Pam's husband, Frank and their oldest son, Cody, who were both cooking in the open-style kitchen.

From her place at the register, Jeannie - Louis' wife - rolled her eyes and shook her head just before handing a customer their change.

Pam turned to face them with narrowed eyes before she complained, "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you lot. All of ya drive me crazy."

She then turned back to Grace and told her, "Thank your lucky stars you ain't gotta stay here with them like I do."

Grace laughed at that before Pam looked over at Liam and surmised, "You must be Gracie's boyfriend she's always talking about. The slightly temperamental, yet sweet as pie baseball player."

"Uh...yeah, that's me," Liam began, tilting his head at her description. A smile then made its way on his face as he introduced, "I'm Liam."

Pam smiled back as she told him, "Well, it's nice to put a face to the name."

"You, too. All of you, really," he replied as he smiled once more.

He and Grace then slid into the booth that Pam brought them to. She then pulled the pen from behind her ear and spoke, "Frank's already started cooking up your usual, Gracie, when Louis saw you getting out of the truck."

Grace nodded before she replied, "I was in mood for a couple of you guys' amazing chili-cheese dogs."

Pam happily nodded before she focused on Liam and asked, "And for you, sonny?"

Liam couldn't help but smile as he answered, "I'll have a cheeseburger all the way. With a Dr. Pepper."

"Coming right up," Pam spoke before she shouted the order to the kitchen, making Liam cover his ears.

When Pam had headed back behind the counter, Liam asked his girlfriend, "That didn't bother you?"

Grace shook her head before she elaborated, "You get used to it after a while," with a shrug.

Liam couldn't help but chuckle at that. He then teasingly began, "So, Gracie," making her shake her head before he continued, "I couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Pam always calls you that."

"She comes up with nicknames for all the regulars - it's her way of adding them to the family," Grace explained. She then grinned and added, "You'll get one, too, sonny."

Liam chuckled at that just before Pam brought their drinks. The older woman then asked, "What position you play, Liam?"

"I alternate between pitcher and infield," he told her.

Pam nodded before Louis added, "Grace tells us that you're a fine player for a leftie."

Pam rolled her eyes and shook her head while Liam and Grace only chuckled.

"Least you kids have a good sense of humor," Tony began before he refuted Louis: "We all know that one of the greatest baseball players of all time - Mr. Babe Ruth - was left-handed."

"Yeah - he just played for the wrong team," Frank called out contemptuously.

Pam rolled her eyes before she argued, "The Mets didn't get started until '62. Babe Ruth died in '48."

Frank didn't say anything, so Cody then defended his father, "Come on, Ma, you know that Dad only knows the general time when things happened - not the specifics."

Pam just hummed in response before she headed over to check on some customers.

Grace - and Liam - both shook their heads at the older woman. He then spoke, "I see why you like coming here so much."

She nodded as she conceded, "They're really great." She then smiled and added, "And I have a great place to catch the games."

"So, no one in the 87 resident halls likes to watch baseball?" Liam teased with a grin.

Grace rolled her eyes before she told him, "You can be so ridiculous."

He only shrugged before he pointed out, "Maybe - but you're still crazy about me." The dark-haired 18-year-old then inclined his head toward her shirt and added, "I think the fact that you can barely read the words on my shirt anymore proves that."

Grace glanced down, and she couldn't help but chuckle. She then looked up and told him, "Maybe you should have brought me another one."

She then smiled at him, and he smiled back. In truth, he was thinking about the ring sitting in his pocket. He started to wonder how much longer he could hold in the real surprise.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Jeannie brought by their food. "Here you go. You guys need anything else?"

Both Liam and Grace shook their heads, and Jeannie nodded. She then addressed Liam, "I know that Mrs. Pam can be a lot to take in. You alright, kid?"

Liam couldn't help but chuckle before he answered, "Yeah. She's, uh, interesting, that's for sure, but she's great. I really like her."

Jeannie smiled in response. She then told both of them, "Let me - or Mrs. Pam - know if you need anything."

Both of them nodded before Jeannie headed back over to the register. Liam and Grace then dug into their food.

As soon as she had taken a bite of her chili-cheese dog, he started laughing. The red-head looked at her boyfriend curiously as she asked, "What is it?"

"You have chili and cheese all over your face," Liam told her with a chuckle. He then grabbed a napkin and handed it to her.

She wiped her mouth and face before she pointed and asked, "Did I get it all?" He nodded in response.

She then sighed and spoke, "I probably should have said that I wanted something less messy - since this is our anniversary date."

Liam only shrugged as he pointed out, "I don't think it's worse than getting caught in the rain on our first date."

He then chuckled and added, "And I'm pretty positive we played in the mud when we were kids."

Grace laughed before she spoke, "I remember that our parents weren't too happy with us after that. Except that our dads found it pretty funny."

"I think Mom probably gave Dad that glare she uses when she's annoyed with him," Liam replied, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Grace simply hummed in response. She then told him, "You just use sarcasm - or you lose your temper," with a raised eyebrow.

Liam's blue-green eyes widened as he suddenly became worried. He then nervously spoke, "I know I'm sarcastic - but I've never lost my temper with you, have I?"

"Oh, of course not, Liam," Grace assured him. She then reached across the table to grab his hand and continued, "I was only just kidding."

He breathed a sigh of relief before he squeezed her hand and told her, "You know I would never do anything to ever hurt you."

Grace nodded before she said, "Yeah, I do, Liam. You've always been impulsive, you tend to have emotional reactions about things, and you do have a temper. But, you've never made me feel anything less than loved."

Liam smiled at her before he began leaning over the table. Grace read his mind, and she met him halfway for a sweet and tender kiss.

They were interrupted by whistles from Tony, Louis, and Frank. The young couple reluctantly pulled apart with deep red blushes on both of their faces.

Mrs. Pam then scolded, "What do you mean making a scene for these kids? They just trying to have a sweet moment on their date."

She then turned a glare on her husband and chagrined, "You remember when we got home from our first date at 17, and my dad was waiting on the steps. You were so mad about it because you couldn't kiss me goodnight."

"That ain't got nothing to do with our whistling, Pam. We were just teasing them - they can get back to their date now," Frank called out.

Pam shook her head before she turned her attention to the couple and told them, "Don't pay any attention to any of them. They don't have anything better to do with their time than just sit up in here and blow smoke."

Liam and Grace laughed at that before the redhead reassured her, "It's really okay. Our friends back home love to tease us, too." She then grinned and added, "Especially since someone doesn't know how to be subtle with his feelings."

Liam couldn't help look down and scratch behind his ear while Grace giggled. Mrs. Pam looked on with a smile.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your date," the older woman then spoke. She began to turn around when she stopped herself and offered, "How about I give you two a piece of pie on the house?"

Grace smiled before she spoke, "As amazing as that would be, I think that Liam had plans for us to go to Serendipity. We both love it, and it's sort of special to us."

"Which is why it's perfect for today," Liam added with a smile. Grace smiled widely and squeezed his hand in response.

"If you don't mind me asking," Mrs. Pam began, and the young couple immediately knew what she was going to say.

Grace then spoke, "I think we both already know where you're headed, Mrs. Pam." The red-head then paused and explained, "On my birthday a few months back, Liam surprised me by getting a frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity sent over to my dorm - we thought it'd be the perfect place to spend part of our anniversary."

Mrs. Pam's eyes widened and she covered her mouth before she exclaimed, "It's your anniversary! I remember you telling me it was soon, but I couldn't remember the date!"

She then turned and called out, "It's Gracie and Liam's anniversary!" The announcement was met with applause and more whistles.

The older woman then turned back around and wrapped Liam and Grace in a tight hug. When they pulled away, Pam offered, "You know what? Dinner's on us."

"That's very sweet of you, but you don't have to do that," Grace tried to reason.

Pam then planted her hands on her hips and refuted, "Now, listen, Gracie. You have been family since the moment you walked in here exhausted from writing that paper. And you're always gonna be family - and I knew from the moment you started talking about this boy that he was your family, too."

Liam and Grace couldn't help but exchange a smile at those words before Pam continued, "And in my book, that means that he's family, too. Both of you will always be welcome here."

The young couple smiled once more before Grace spoke, "With all that, you're pretty hard to say no to."

Pam simply smiled before she told them, "Then, it's settled. Consider it our anniversary present." She then paused and added, "Now, I'm gonna get out of you kids' hair, and I'll make sure that everyone else does to."

She then walked off, giving a warning look - daring anybody to interrupt Grace and Liam's date.

The young couple smiled and shook their heads. Grace then became thoughtful and reflective as she bit her lip.

Liam noted the gesture his girlfriend sometimes made when she was nervous. He tilted his head as he asked, "Everything alright?"

She nodded before she took a breath and admitted, "I'm just thinking about what Mrs. Pam said. About us being family - I don't know that I've thought about it like that."

Liam took a breath as well before he asked her, "Does that scare you?" hoping that she couldn't hear the nervousness in his own voice.

Grace only tilted her head as she looked at him, considering his words.

A small smile overtook her features as she honestly answered, "A little. Thinking about taking those next steps in our future is slightly terrifying."

"But?" Liam then perceived.

Her smile grew as she told him, "I love you, and I want a future with you. I think that's even more true now than it was a year ago."

Liam smiled brightly before he leaned over the table to give her a sweet kiss. When they pulled away, he simply told her, "Good."

Grace tilted her head as she sensed that there was more behind his one-word answer.

But, with the way he was looking at her, she knew that whatever he had to say would probably make her love him more than she already did.

The two of them then exchanged a smile before they continued eating.