You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters?

- Bob Marley

"You've got to be kidding, they even have a lady bug outfit! Do you think they'd have it in Eureka's size?" Nancy squeals, propping herself up onto her tippy toes to get a better look at the selection. Her squeals soon come to an end as her hands drop to her side.

A look of disappoint flashes across her features before her gaze lands on another clothes rack. Her hands began to clap together wildly, her eye's lighting up with excitement once again, "Never mind, that monkey outfit over there would look even cuter on her." She sighs dramatically before rushing over towards the other outfit choices.

She examines the sizes before pulling one out suddenly and draping it across Eureka's little body. El smiles at that as Eureka begins squealing like her Mommy, her chubby hands reaching for the monkey outfit.

Nancy quickly looks at El and breaks out into a fit of giggles before prying Eureka out of El's tired arms. Don't get her wrong, El loves holding her god daughter but she was a chubby little thing, well, that's what made her so damn cute.

"Look's like she prefers this choice instead." El laughs, tickling the bridge of the baby's nose, earning an appreciative drool escaping the corners of Eureka's mouth.

Nancy nod's her head in agreement before making their way towards the cashier. Before Nancy could reach for her purse, El quickly scurries over and hand's the cashier girl a twenty dollar bill. "Wait, I can pay-" El cuts her off.

"Don't be silly, she's my god daughter. Let me spoil her." El ushers out. Nancy doesn't object this time instead plants a big wet kiss against El's cheek that it was El's turn to let out a short squeal. Her cheek felt rather cold and slimy, she playfully rolled her eye's at Nancy letting out a small huff in return.

With Eureka on Nancy's hip and El with the remaining bags, they hurried there way out of the baby store.

The weather was cloudy, a possible chance of rain the radio announced in the car on the way to the mall. El would've preferred to of been in bed with Mike, her head tucked against his neck as there bodies were draped against one another's.

El shook the thought's away though, she had been getting better day by day but it was still hard. If it wasn't for Nancy distracting her lately and little Eureka's cuteness overload she would probably be sleeping the day's away.

The mall was overly crowded today. Strangers shoulders were relentlessly brushing against each other's, rushed footsteps were heard heavily and the sounds of children's excited pleads made there way towards El's ears.

El loved it though - it was the distraction she needed - she felt almost normal.

El's eye's lit up with sudden recognition as she gazed over the familiar coffee shop she once loved and adored effortlessly. It was cramped between a toy store and a dainty flower shop run by an elderly man called Joe.

How could El have forgotten, that's where Mike had collected El's corsage when they had been in middle school and soon after where all of their wedding arrangement's had been made.

"Bella ragazza!" The elderly man spotted her, his hands waving above his head to get her full attention. El turned her head towards Nancy helplessly, her body frozen and stone-still.

Nancy let out a small sigh but her eye's were soft and encouraging. She placed a warm hand against El's clothed shoulder, giving her a small shove towards the store. "You should go say hi. It's the right thing to do El, I'll put Eureka and the rest of the bags in the car and I'll meet you there?" She raises an eyebrow at El, almost daring her to argue back but she knew better not to.

El pursed her lips into a frown but made sure Nancy only saw. She liked Joe - in fact she remembered a time where Hopper would pester El to leave the shop and instead go play outside with the rest of the group. Yet, on day's where she was getting a little bit tired of the boys and wanted to do her own thing she'd go there. Listening to Jo's endless rambling's about his sick wife and her utter love for all things that grew from the ground.

In town, Joe Moretti was known to be one of the crazies. Ever since his wife Coraline's passing, his life had been dedicated to running the store. He filled the empty spaces with roses, tullips, lillies - name any type of flower - and it would miraculously be there somehow.

"Vieni qui angelo." The older man shouted once more. El watched as Nancy and Eureka made their way to the car park, their swirling shadows disappearing from sight.

El's heart tumbled and pulled as she stood alone, her nervousness crawling it's way to the surface. El than tucked away a loose curl behind her ear before holding her head high and crossing over towards where the man stood.

El's eye's lurched forward at the alluring sign ahead of her, the letters reading Happy Petals. She smiled at that as a sudden warmth filled her thought's and calmed her whopping nerves.

El didn't need to be nervous for godsake, she knew this man, she was familiar with the shop, what she needed to do was stop.

The bell jingled lightly above her as she opened the door, the smell of fresh lillies clouded her vision but so did the older man rushing towards her. "Bella ragazza! Oh how I've missed you." His voice was croaky and rough - age seeping through.

His hands were comforting and welcoming as he pulled her into a swift hug, pecking both of her cheeks as he pulled away.

His hair reminded her of pepper. Little bit's of grey were making it's way through the remaining coloured hairs that had been left. The corner's of his bottomless eyes held the smallest of wrinkles in it's corners as his smile grew heavily, a goofy-like expression gracing his face.

His smile was contagious and El couldn't contain her's either. "I know it's been so long. I'm sorry I haven't visited you sooner." El bit her lip and played with the edges of her sleeve, seamless pieces beginning to fall off as she pulled at them one by one.

Joe scoffed at that, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Don't be silly, you have a husband now! Your family is a priority, but it would be nice to see your beautiful face more often." He chuckled, sending a wink in return.

For how old he was, Mr Moretti was still in fact a charmer. Coraline had been a lucky girl when she was alive or what he used to say "Luckiness doesn't begin to describe how thankful I am that my wife put up with the town crazy for so long".

With Joe's arm still draped across El's he swiftly pulled her into a seat next to the counter as he plopped himself into the seat right beside of her's. Time passed as they talked for what seemed like hours - El poured her heart out to him. She told every detail, every emotion and every gruesome heartbreak that has happened within the last six months.

He sat in silence through it all. He watched her, her features changing miraculously as she told each memory with great detail. El was like a daughter to him and as he watched all the pain arise and fall all around them, he couldn't help but pull her hand into his and press a feather-like kiss against her knuckles.

When El had finally calmed down, with not a single tear in sight, Joe reached over and pulled out a red rose from the many piles that surrounded the store. Her breathing quickened as she watched him with a curious expression, with a quick rip to the long stem, he brushed away her locks and placed it against the shell of her ear.

As he pulled away, El asked him why he did that, "A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl my dear." His croaky response was, he continued on. "Mike may be a fool but that doesn't mean there won't be a man who wouldn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Let your heart breathe, let it grieve and heal because I can assure you there are so many others out there that would love to pick up the pieces if you won't do it for yourself."

El stared back numbly, almost alarmingly at his response. They sat in silence, her youthful hand still resting in his callous-filled one.

She watched as his brown eye's glistened with unleashed tears as he looked at the store and sighed a sigh so sad that El's heart broke right than and there for him.

"When my wife died, I lost all hope. We built this store together, how could I possibly move on without feeling her all around me somehow?" Joe breathes out, their hands drifting apart as it rests against his clothed heart.

He continues on, "We vowed to each other through sickness and in health and that's what I did for the rest of her remaining days. I watched as the cancer spread, eating away at her lungs and I cried every time she wasn't looking. I had to be strong for the both of us. Once she passed, I thought I had no reason to live. Oh how wrong I was dear girl. . you see, love never leaves us. If it was real, it will linger until our souls leave our body. My love, what that boy did to you was awful and he will never fully recover from such a grave loss. But you will, our hearts hold another spot for a second love." He smiles at that last part before calling out;

"Amore mio, luce mia, il mio cuore viene qui." As El watches, a puzzled expression forming on her lips. Within a few seconds, a woman makes her way from the back room.

An apron covering her front and a smile forming across her freckled face. She appears in her late fifties - sandy blonde hair pulled back into a French braid and blue eye's that looked oh so familiar that El couldn't understand why.

El continues to watch in fascination as the woman rushes to Joe's side. He pampers her face with tiny kisses, earning a collective spree of giggles from her. She plants herself on his knee as he hold's her close to him - almost as if he was scared to let her go.

Like she was his anchor, just like Mike once was for El.

"Lillie took pity on me and made sure the store didn't go down in ruins. She helped me, she healed what I thought was broken. I wasn't easy to deal with at times, there were moment's I felt guilty for falling in love with Lillie that I pushed her away. I would push and push because I felt ashamed, after all, I loved Coraline with all my being. . . I was certain that there wouldn't be enough space for her to fill. I was wrong, everyone deserves a second chance at love. That doesn't mean I've forgotten about Coraline though, she will always hold a piece of my heart. But here's the thing sweet girl, the love I had for my wife was real and endless and I will never forget the moment's we shared, but you can't fight fate."

Lillie pushes herself closer to him and he kisses her neck finally murmuring, "Love is love. It doesn't have to be forgotten, celebrate what was once a beautiful relationship and let your heart find someone else to cherish instead. Let it be free from him."

El was surprised to find her cheeks appearing dry, her heart thawed at Joe's words but her mind echoed and replayed the last few;

Let it be free of him.

"Mom, where should I put these boxes?" A husky voice calls out from the back room. Lillie's and Joe's attention snap forward that in return El's head lurks back also and freezes with disbelief;

His blonde hair was utterly dishevelled, his muscles were poking under his work shirt that El's mouth suddenly became dry as she watched him move around the store, and finally his blue eye's were blazing as they landed on her's.

She knew that Lillie's eye's looked familiar.

It was Ben.

El was staring at him in amazement; whilst Lillie and Jo were staring at El holding in their laughs. El looked like a love-sick teenager as she licked her lips at the mere sight of him, words were ready to erupt from her throat at any given moment but Ben beat her to it.

"We meet again Miss Late." They both chuckled at that, El was blushing at his words and for the fact that her stupid, stupid heart wouldn't stop racing as he walked closer towards her.

Joe was the first to speak, "You know my beautiful El?" He tilts his head curiously at Ben, watching in amusement at the way El's body reacted once she caught sight of his step son.

Ben lets out a steady laugh as he throws a hand against the back of his neck, rubbing at it gently. He licked his lips, laughing as the scene of how they met played over and over in his mind. "Well, I saved her from almost being crushed to death by a car. Luckily enough for her, I was there at the right place at the right time."

El grins sheepishly at his comment before pulling herself up from the chair and further to where he stood. Once they were at eye-level, meaning El's head barely grazed the top of his chin, she let out her hand for him to shake. It was a pitiful gesture, that she knew, but she was so nervous that she wanted to throw herself into the tulip garden and bury herself in it until she could find her voice.

He raised his eyebrows at her, peering down at her small form before slowly accepting her hand. Instead of shaking it, the way El was expecting him too, he firmly but gently pulled her hand to his lips and left a lengthy kiss that El was sure she'd be still feeling within the next few days.

"You can't fight fate." Joe happily cheered as he pulled Lillie off of his lap and onto her feet. He ran his hands through her soft hair and kissed her with so much passion that El felt almost embarrassed that she hadn't left the room.

It was a kiss that should've been behind closed doors but instead Joe appreciatively hummed into her mouth, before pulling away. Music from the mall had lingered into Happy Petals and without a second thought, he spun her around as Lillie giggled mercilessly and danced with one another around the store.

Cheerfully repeating; "You can't fight fate."

Oh boy, how right he was.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Here are the translations of what Joe was saying;

*Bella ragazza - Beautiful girl

*Vieni qui angelo - Come here angel

*Amore mio, luce mia, il mio cuore viene qui - My love, my light, my heart comes here

I hope you liked this chapter, yes! Ben is finally back and I'm excited to see where this will go. I'd love your thoughts, it makes me so happy to have all of your opinions because this is what keeps me from continuing on with this story. Just wanted to give a small shout out to Jazmine - thank you so much darling your comment made me smile! So thank you but also thank you to all the people that have stuck with this story.

Quick question - I feel like I should change the title of the story! I don't know if it suits it, what do you think?

(The song for this chapter is Drops Of Jupiter lyrics - Train)

Love you my darlings! Don't forget to share some love by favouriting, commenting and adding!

L xx