A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy, please read and review!
Chapter 15: New Jobs, New Lives; Preparations and News
It had been eight weeks since the Fourth of July, and that awful fight between Josh and Ellie at the barbeque. Since then, Ellie had moved in with CJ but otherwise continued to spend all her time in Hanover with her job and with Leighton. Josh had not spoken to her since that day. He realized now more than ever before that the ball was in her court. When she was ready to come to her senses, she would come to him. For now, nothing Josh could say or do would change her mind about coming back to Liberty and going back to school.
It was the beginning of September, and Ellie was still adamant about not enrolling for the fall. She had officially withdrawn from school, but could still technically register for classes anytime in the next few weeks. It was now or never, in his mind. He just hoped she saw reason before it was too late. Little did he know that fate-along with a little assistance-was about to throw him a bone.
Meanwhile, Jed and Abbey watched, helpless, as the little girl they had long loved continued to make poor choices. They were talking about this one morning, as both were getting ready for work.
"Have you heard from Josh lately?" Jed asked his wife.
"No. Why?" Abbey replied. And then she knew. "You want to know if he's heard from Ellie, don't you?"
"Is there something so wrong with that?"
"Jed…" Abbey said softly, crossing the room. "She's going to come home when-and it will be when, not if-she's ready to come home. Josh said it's all up to her now. We just have to be patient."
"Still," Jed continued, "desperate times call for desperate measures. I made a call."
Abbey raised her eyebrows. "What did you do?"
Jed was silent.
"Jed? Who did you call?"
This time, he gave her a look, as if to say, You know exactly who I'm talking about.
Then, Abbey's expression changed. "Really?"
"Really."
"You think it'll work?"
"If there's anybody who'll get through to her, it's him."
Meanwhile, over in Hanover, Charlie Young had gotten a distressing call from his foster father. Ellie had cut herself off from the rest of Liberty. She had gotten way too involved with this rich boyfriend of hers, and she had, among other things that had happened when Amy took off, dropped out of Dartmouth.
At first, Charlie reacted with disbelief. This wasn't the Ellie he knew. Realistically, he knew that the news about Amy, especially given what had happened in high school, had thrown her world into an emotional tailspin. But he also knew that the girl she once was, the girl who had finished her sophomore year at Dartmouth with a 3.95 GPA, was still in there somewhere. Jed was right, he thought. Charlie had always been Ellie's best friend, the one who could see straight and tell her how it was. If there was anybody in Liberty who could get through to Ellie Lyman, it was Charlie Young.
…
Ainsley was getting ready to work after Bradley's birth, leaving her three-month-old son and 21-month old daughter in the hands of a local daycare that was run outside of Liberty. It was just between the Hanover Circuit Court and her law office in Liberty, so it was easy to access from wherever she worked that day. But, as this would be their first day in a full daycare environment for both of them (for the first year and a half of Holly's life, she had been watched by Sam during the day at the inn), Holly was understandably a little apprehensive. When Ainsley turned to leave after giving instructions to the daycare supervisor on when to feed Bradley, Holly let loose with a wail.
"No bye-bye, Mommy! No bye-bye!" Holly cried. While Abbie Jean had been a little bit ahead of the verbal curve, Holly was right on schedule, just beginning to learn to speak in simple sentences. Apparently, her father's gift for words had not yet rubbed off on her. Neither, it seemed, had his ability to adapt in any situation.
"I'll be back soon, babydoll," Ainsley promised. She blew her a kiss and headed out, but her daughter's wails could be heard even as she walked out the door. For the first time since she had come up with the daycare idea, she was feeling just a twinge of guilt. But then she snapped out of it. Her children would fine without her for eight hours, and Holly needed to learn how to be without her parents. It would just take time.
In no time at all, Ainsley was pulling up outside her law office. Since she had been on maternity leave, she had handpicked another public defender from the circuit court, a young man by the name of Ryan Pierce, to run the offices in her absence. But rather than rotate him back to the court system, Ainsley had decided that it might be beneficial for her to have a clerk/researcher working full-time in the office if she had to be in court. So, she was on her way in now to make an offer to a man she still had not met. Now, hopefully, he would take the job.
She walked into the tiny office to find a man in his mid-to-late twenties typing busily at her desk. When he looked up, he immediately shot to his feet, obviously terrified of being reprimanded. "Mrs. Hayes-Seaborn!" He said quickly. "It's an honor, ma'am."
But Ainsley waved him back down. "Oh, cut the theatrics. You must be Ryan Pierce." She held out her hand.
He rushed forward and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I hope you'll find that "I've run the office up to your standards while you've been away."
"That's my hope, too," Ainsley replied. She pulled out the resume from her folder that she had been handed by someone-presumably Ryan's assistant. "You're a graduate of Harvard Law?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do me a favor, Ryan. If you're gonna work here, don't call me 'ma'am'. It makes me feel ten years older. Ainsley's fine. Funny, I went to Harvard Law."
"Huh," Ryan said, obviously a little laxer now that he felt he wasn't in the presence of anyone important.
"And Pierce, your last name. You wouldn't happen to be related to…"
"My dad."
"So you're inbred?"
"Pretty much." God, this kid was smug.
"Listen, I think your attitude needs work, but you're good at case law and precedence and I need a clerk to work the office while I'm in Hanover. You're my guy, assuming you want the job, of course."
At least Ryan had had the good sense to shut his mouth. He nodded quickly. "Yes, ma-Ainsley."
"That's better." Ainsley chirped quickly. "Get me everything we have on New Hampshire property tax law. Go to the Dartmouth Law library if you can't find anything."
Ryan nodded again and skittered out of the room, suitably put in his place. Ainsley watched him leave, then laughed. He was a loose cannon in some places, but they might just work well together.
…
Charlie arrived in Liberty in record time. He was going to ask Josh where Ellie was working, but a quick conversation with Sam established that Josh didn't know much about the life she had made with Leighton. He did, however, have a conversation with an unlikely source that proved to Charlie just how far Ellie had fallen.
Once he had reached his neighborhood, he could see four-year-old Abbie Jean Moss sitting on the curb, visibly upset. A pink piece of paper rested beside her; as he got closer, Charlie could make out that it was a drawing the little girl had made.
"Hey, Abbie Jean." Charlie greeted. The four-year-old looked up, her eyes wide and red from crying.
He crouched down beside her. "Do you remember me?"
Abbie Jean looked at him critically. Then, realization began to dawn on her face. "Charlie!" She exclaimed happily, and yet still subdued. She immediately held up her arms, and Charlie obediently picked her up and sat down with her on his lap.
"What's your drawing?" Charlie asked, picking up the sheet of paper. The picture was a little hard to make out due to its population of stick figures, but he recognized a figure that was probably Abbie Jean, a figure that was most likely Donna, and the last two...well, he couldn't figure them out yet, but he was sure she was about to tell him.
"That's me," Abbie Jean explained, "That's Mommy, and that's Josh and Ellie."
"Oh," Charlie said, suddenly understanding.
"But Ellie doesn't like me anymore."
Charlie did a double-take. "What do you mean, Ellie doesn't like you anymore?"
"She never plays with me anymore. And she told me she would show me how to ride the bus on my first day of school, but she never showed up."
He couldn't believe his ears. "Well...I'm sure she was just busy."
"But she promised. And she's been busy all summer!" A pout set in.
"Look, kid," Charlie said. "I don't know what's going on with Ellie right now, but would it make you feel better if I told her how much you miss her?"
"Uh-huh." Abbie Jean nodded with tears in her eyes. She hugged Charlie, and as he did, he began thinking. It had gotten to the point where Ellie was ignoring the people who depended on her most in the world. His talk with her couldn't come soon enough.
He quickly found her in Hanover after a quick conversation with Donna. She was working at a local newspaper office, typing on her computer when Charlie walked in. She looked up, and her expression immediately changed from neutral to baffled.
"Charlie?" She asked in a confused voice. "What are you doing here?" As far as she knew, he was attending the University of New Hampshire in the eastern part of the state.
"I came to say hi. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Really?" Ellie said cautiously. "You went out of your way a little, didn't you?"
Charlie shrugged. "Maybe a little." He sat on the chair opposite Ellie's desk. "Do you want to get something to eat with me? Catch up on old times?"
Her face showed how much Ellie was struggling. Charlie held his breath. He could tell that she knew exactly why he was there. But would she decide to trust him, decide that she was ready to hear what he had to say?
Finally, Ellie met his eyes. "Sure. 7:00?"
He broke into a grin. "Sure."
Three hours later, at the agreed-upon meeting place, he could see a car pulling up outside the restaurant. Ellie got out, and so did a guy. Charlie guessed this was Leighton, and his heart sunk. He had been hoping to get her alone. He decided to approach her anyway.
"Hey, Ellie." Charlie greeted.
"Hey, Charlie." Ellie responded. Sensing Charlie's discomfort, Ellie turned to Leighton and introduced him. "Charlie, this is Leighton, my boyfriend. Um, Leighton, this is Charlie, an old friend from high school."
The two eyed each other suspiciously. Then, Leighton turned to Ellie.
Ellie laughed nervously. "I thought the three of us could eat together."
But Leighton's voice lowered-both in volume and in intensity. Charlie's ears perked up. He had been in the foster care system long enough to know a case of verbal abuse when he saw it. "Look-I wanted us to have dinner alone, without anybody hanging around. Especially not another guy. Got it?"
Ellie looked Leighton straight in the eye. She had been letting him speak to her in this manner for far too long. And that came to an end now.
To Charlie's astonishment, Ellie looked him in the eyes and said, "I just want to have dinner with my friend. Is that OK?"
Leighton looked at her. She was right. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll be at the apartment when you come back." Then, he stalked back over to his truck and drove away.
Charlie turned to Ellie as they began walking. "He's a real ray of sunshine."
Somehow, Ellie found herself defending him. "He's not always like that."
"Really?" Charlie responded in kind. He turned to face his former girlfriend. "What happened to you?"
Ellie was caught off-guard. "What?"
"What happened to you? Dropping out of school, moving in with your boyfriend, this isn't you! Why did you drop out of school?"
"What makes you think this isn't me?"
"Because I know you!" Charlie raised his voice. "So what are you doing?"
"I don't know!" Ellie blurted out. "I don't know." She said more quietly. Charlie's question rang out in her head. What was she doing?
"I was angry." She admitted. "I was angry at Amy, and at my dad, and I just...I needed to find out who I was, without anybody's expectations."
"And did you?" Charlie prompted.
"You know, I don't know if I did." Ellie said. Then she began to think about the last three months. How had she strayed so far from her family and her home? And she began to think about everyone she loved back home that she had hurt. Her father, the Bartlets, Donna, Abbie Jean…
Her head shot up. "Abbie Jean." She whispered. "Her first day of preschool. I forgot." The thought of disappointing the four-year-old who thought the world of her. was the final shot in the arm she needed to get her life back on track.
Charlie nodded. "It's not too late, you know. To change your mind about Dartmouth."
"You're right." Ellie said, a determined smile lighting up her face. "You're absolutely right."
The next day, Ellie called up Dartmouth and asked if she could still register for classes for the fall. She was told that she had called just in time-classes were still available. Then, she called her father and explained everything. That she had left her job in Hanover, re-enrolled in Dartmouth, and was now coming home. She pulled up in front of their house just as Josh emerged, his face awash with relief.
He ran out into the yard just as Ellie got out of her car. They met in the middle and embraced.
"I'm sorry." Ellie cried, her voice muffled.
"You're sorry? I'm sorry." Josh replied.
"I was so mixed-up. I was stupid."
"No, I was stupid." Josh said, his own feelings about their fight coming to light.
"I was more stupid." Ellie replied.
"Oh, boy. Time to get you back to Dartmouth." He chuckled.
"I love you, Dad." Ellie told him.
"Oh, kid, you have no idea." Josh said, hugging her tighter as if he would never let go.
Just then, Ellie looked behind him to notice that Abbie Jean and Donna were on the doorstep, watching the reunion. Ellie approached Abbie Jean, who looked understandably cross.
"Hey, peanut." Ellie said gently. "I'm really sorry I wasn't there yesterday. I know that meant a lot to you. Do you forgive me?"
Abbie Jean watched her for a moment, then threw her arms around the college student. "Don't worry, Ellie. I forgive you. Are you really home now?"
"I'm really home." Ellie promised.
The universe had finally righted itself, and Ellie was home.
…
The months passed as Ellie got back into her groove and returned to Dartmouth. She was still, thankfully, on track to graduate and quickly built back up to her previous GPA. Nobody said anything more about the terrible fight that drove father and daughter apart. But if any outsiders looked at Josh and Ellie, they would never have guessed that just seven months earlier, they had barely been speaking.
One source of contention was that Ellie still continued to date Leighton. But Josh learned to just let her be without intruding on every aspect of her life, and everyone got along fine.
Donna had celebrated Ellie's return by beginning in earnest the wedding planning that she had put off until Ellie came to her senses. She had immediately asked Ellie to be her maid of honor, and the latter had enthusiastically agreed. CJ and Ainsley would be her other bridesmaids, while Josh picked Sam to be his best man, and Toby and Scott to be groomsmen. Abbie Jean and Justin would be the flower girl and ring bearer, respectively.
All the wedding planning was taking a toll on Ellie, and she knew that she couldn't do it all by herself. So she asked CJ for help one day in the diner.
"CJ, I just feel like if I do this all by myself, my head's going to explode." Ellie said as she put her head in her hands on top of the counter.
"Have you talked to Donna about it?"
"I don't want her to think I can't handle being maid of honor."
"I don't think you can't handle it." said a new voice from behind her. Ellie turned around, looking slightly guilty, to see Donna carrying a load of dishes behind her. She loved her new job as assistant manager but was still happy to be carrying a shift every now and then until a new waitress could be found. CJ had seen resumes from all over rural New Hampshire, but so far none of them stood out. "Ellie, if you need help, just ask for it. Nobody's expecting to you to plan a wedding-especially my wedding-all by yourself."
Ellie met her eyes. "Really?"
"Really." Donna confirmed, a smile on her face. "Tell you what, why don't you take care of the music and the flowers, CJ can take care of the food and the decorations, and I'll handle everything else."
"It's a deal!" Ellie said cheerfully, her fears disappearing in one fell swoop. The wedding was two weeks away, and Ellie felt like she was looking forward to it once again.
…
CJ was working late in the diner that evening. Ellie had moved out and gone back to Dartmouth, so the second bedroom in the loft was empty once more. Even with Donna working every other day, there was still slack to be picked up, and for that, she needed to hire a waitress. But CJ was about to get a surprise of a totally different sort-one that had the potential to change her life forever.
The door opened, and the bell alerted CJ to the presence of someone else in the diner. CJ held her breath slightly. Ever since the incident with Donna and the knife five years earlier, she had always been cautious with security at the diner.
"Sorry, we're closed." She called, coming out of the back-then stopped in her tracks. For there, standing right in front of her, was her elusive love of five years earlier, Danny Concannon.
"Hello, CJ." He said finally.
"Danny." She breathed. "What are you doing here? After all this time?"
He shrugged. "Do I need an excuse to check on an old friend?"
She shook her head. "No, of course, you don't. I'm just...surprised."
He smiled awkwardly. "So…how's Gail?"
"Gail?" CJ repeated, confused. Then she burst out laughing. No one made her laugh quite like Danny did. "You mean the fish?"
"Yes, I mean the fish." Danny confirmed.
"She's fine. Still swimming around."
"Donna OK? Her little girl?" He had heard about the trial, of course, and had breathed a sigh of relief when she was acquitted.
"She's fine," CJ replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Abbie Jean just turned 5, and Donna moved out to a small house near the inn so they could have more space. They both love it."
"Good. That's good to hear." Danny replied. "I missed you."
The admission was so far out of left field that CJ had to do a double-take. "You...have?" she stammered. After so many years of deciding that whatever her relationship with Danny wasn't meant to be, this came as a bolt out of the blue.
"Yes, I have." Danny replied. He moved closer to her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking the last few years since we drifted apart. Mostly about you."
"Mostly?" CJ chuckled. "Come on, be serious. You haven't been pining for me for five years, have you?"
"Well, no," Danny admitted. "I've been out on a few dates, but I ran into a problem."
"Oh, yeah, what's that?"
"None of them were you." His voice was dead serious. "Look, we agreed five years ago that we weren't going to work as a couple. But maybe we were wrong. Maybe...we should give each other another chance."
CJ was flabbergasted. Could she possibly date Danny Concannon again? And if she did, what did the future have in store for her and this man that she had dated ever so briefly five years earlier-but had never managed to forget?
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter will be a long-awaited event-Josh and Donna's wedding. Please let me know what you thought!
