Isabella sat on the couch in the apartment drinking a soda and studying the list she'd been given by Mrs. Gold. The interview had gone wonderfully and she'd been offered the job. It turns out that the Gold's were socialites. No real jobs to speak of just a lot of traveling and parties to attend. The first thing on the list was a passport, Isabella had one already from the trips she'd taken to Norway. The rest of the list read like some sort of magazine ad for international travel. Shots were apparently needed as were a doctors physical. Isabella had accepted the list assuring Mrs. Gold that she would have as much of it completed as she could by the time she started work on Monday. She'd sent a text to Jake telling him the good news but had yet to get a response. From the sound of things she'd be traveling a lot more than she had originally expected which meant any relationship with Jake would probably not work out. Her musings were interrupted by a knock on the door. Pulling herself up to answer it she was shocked to see Edgar Hansen through the peephole.
"Hi" she said opening the door.
"Hey. I wanted to stop by and wish you congratulations on the new job" said Edgar.
"Oh, did Jake tell you?" asked Isabella moving aside to let Edgar in.
"Yeah" replied Edgar. "I brought some champagne to celebrate."
"It's barely even noon" said Isabella.
"It's never too early for a toast" replied Edgar.
"What's really going on?" asked Isabella. "I've known you for over 5 years and seen you drink maybe 10 drinks in that time and you want to have champagne at noon on a work day."
"I want you to come back and be our nanny" said Edgar.
"Edgar, I love your family but Louise wants her mom to be the caregiver now. I can't go against that and neither should you" said Isabella.
"Louise is just being selfish" said Edgar.
"Well I'm afraid it's too late anyway. I've already accepted a new job. I start on Monday and I'll be traveling with the children quite a bit" said Isabella.
Edgar's whole demeanor changed. For a moment Isabella thought he might start to hit something. But as quickly as the moment came it passed and the same affable Edgar stood in front of her again.
"Well I suppose it's done then" said Edgar.
"Yeah" said Isabella.
Edgar stepped forward and pulled Isabella into a hug. Isabella returned his embrace. When they separated Edgar leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Isabella smiled at the kiss and pulled back.
"I'll miss you Isabella" said Edgar.
"I'll never forget you Edgar" replied Isabella. And with that he left.
In the car on the drive home Edgar wondered why he'd gone to see her at all. He was so sure that Isabella would come running back to his family, to him. But she had already moved on, in a way part of him felt hurt but more of him felt relief. His feelings for Isabella were growing towards inappropriate, having her around all the time would probably lead to trouble. On the way home he called Sig, telling him that he could let Junior go home. Sig asked him if he'd gotten what he'd wanted and Edgar didn't have an answer for him. When he walked into his front door he was greeted by a delicious smell from the kitchen. His mother in law had made his favorite Norwegian soup for dinner. His children were sitting around the island doing their homework and talking with Nana. Most importantly his wife looked blissfully happy. Edgar smiled back at her, this was truly how his life should be.
Jake walked into his apartment exhausted and confused. Sig had just spent the last few hours quizzing him on different crabbing strategies for no apparent reason. He felt like he'd just taken a final exam on the first day of class. Isabella was in the kitchen and whatever she was making smelled delicious. Jake walked up behind her and dropped a kiss on the back of her neck.
"Hi Jake" said Isabella turning to kiss him properly.
"Hi. It smells delicious in here" said Jake after the kiss.
"It's Hungarian goulash" said Isabella.
Jake opened the fridge and pulled out the bottle of champagne.
"What are we celebrating?" asked Jake.
"It's a celebration for my new job" said Isabella. She considered telling Jake about Edgar's visit but decided not to, if anything it would just cause unnecessary tension on the boat.
"You got it?" exclaimed Jake.
"Yep. I start on Monday" said Isabella.
Jake picked her up swinging her around in celebration. Once she was set back down on her feet she turned to Jake, her face very serious.
"It's going to require a lot of traveling" she said.
"More than my job?" asked Jake.
"Well, I won't be gone for months at a time or anything. At least I don't think I will be, it's hard to say" said Isabella.
"Are you going to live in then?" asked Jake.
"Yes, and I will split my time between here and NYC" explained Isabella.
"Do you want to break up?" asked Jake bluntly.
"I don't want you to be tied down to a bi-costal nanny" said Isabella.
"I'd be tied down by you anyway I could get it" said Jake with a smirk.
"Hmm, that sounds tempting" said Isabella with a sly smile. "But seriously, I don't really want us to make a commitment when we really won't be seeing much of each other."
"I understand" said Jake quietly.
"But we still have the rest of the week and the weekend to be together" said Isabella.
"In that case we should live it up" said Jake grabbing Isabella around the waist and pulling her out of the kitchen.
"Wait, let me turn down dinner" she yelped.
The rest of the evening and most of the week were spent in bed.
Sunday night rolled around and Isabella and Jake were invited to dinner with Edgar and his family. The duo arrived at the restaurant and Isabella was immediately accosted by Edgar's three children. She sat between Daniel and Elise during the meal, spending most of the time assuring them they would still see each other occasionally and that she could always be reached by phone. Louise and her mother both seemed saddened that Isabella wouldn't be close at hand in case they needed her. In fact Nana confessed that the kids were a little harder to handle than they had been when they visited in Norway. Isabella passed on a few of her tried and true secrets. Edgar slid into the seat next to Isabella deftly shifting his youngest son into his lap.
"So Isabella, thanks for everything" said Edgar.
"You are most welcome" said Isabella.
"The kiddos and I will really miss you" continued Edgar.
"Maybe we can set up a playdate" said Isabella. Daniel nodded enthusiastically in Edgar's lap.
"If you ever need anything call" said Edgar. Isabella just nodded trying desperately not to burst into tears.
Later that evening Jake and Isabella were laying in bed slightly breathless and sweaty.
"Did anything ever happen between you and Edgar?" asked Jake.
"Why do you ask?" replied Isabella.
"I was just wondering. He seems strangely protective of you" said Jake.
"He's protective of his family and I think he considers me family" said Isabella.
"True" said Jake. He dropped the subject and both he and Isabella fell into a restful sleep.
The next morning Isabella packed up the last of her belongings and headed over to her new home. The job took her away from Seattle for months at a time and eventually the Gold's relocated to New York permanently. While Isabella kept in touch with Jake through the occasional email she had fallen away from talking to the Hansen family. She had a chance to reconnect when Alex decided to interview at a school in NYC. Isabella met him at the airport and took him around the city. He caught her up on all the family happenings including Sig's retirement and Edgar's promotion to captain. Isabella listened to all of the news with a sad sort of feeling in her chest. She wished she'd been there to see Elise sing in the school play or watch as Daniel learned to ice skate, but she had a new family now. Alex chose a different school and eventually Isabella lost touch with everyone in Seattle.
A few years later she was sitting in a restaurant in the city when Edgar and Louise walked in. They immediately recognized each other and Isabella waved them over to her table. She had a husband and a child now herself. She told Edgar and Louise how much she'd enjoyed her time with them and they recounted their family's adventures for her. When they parted hours later it was with happy hearts knowing that they'd touched each other's lives irrevocably.
The End
A/N: This is the end of another story. I kind of felt that taking it in a different direction was going to be unproductive and a little bit unfair to the characters. I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you for all the reviews and encouragement.