Chapter 3

Thank you everyone for the kind reviews! I have had a few people say that they think Elizabeth should be older. I have a reason for making her as young as she is. Originally I was going to have her be 16 but, for where I want to go and the story I want to tell, it's better that she's younger ;)

Please keep your reviews coming and let me know what you want to see!


David was feeling a lot of pressure to get Mary and officer Bishop on the road. He didn't want to keep Elizabeth in town for longer than he had to but he also wanted to be sensitive to this poor girl.

"Can I use the restroom?" Elizabeth asked after minute

"Of course" Mary said. Once they heard the door close and the fan come on David immediately moved into action. "Alright now that that is settled we need to get you guys out of here as soon as possible. We need her to give us her address and we can have one of the officers go over and gather her things…"

"David. Calm down. This girl has just had her whole life changed in a matter of a few hours"

"I know Mary, I want to be sensitive but I also don't want her here longer than she has to be. It won't be long before Stults' men figure out what happened and come looking for her"

"David do you realize that this girl may be our granddaughter?! This has now become personal!" That statement sent David for a loop. Granddaughter? He hadn't even put two and two together. That is one of the things he loved most about Mary was her ability to see the full picture. He also knew she was right, this wasn't just another case, this was family.

"You're right…You always are" he said placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. That was when they heard the bathroom door open

Elizabeth got into the bathroom and turned on the fan before sliding her back down the door and falling into sobs. This was all too much. She was just out enjoying half off appetizers with a few of her new coworkers hours before and now she was being told she was going to have to give up everything she knows and start a new life in Florida, not just a new life like when she got moved from Minnesota to Boston but a new life and new identity. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

Mary and David seemed really nice but so did countless other case workers and foster parents when she had first met them and they all turned out to be jerks who lied and manipulated her. But there was something different about these two. Maybe it was the fact that they were sending her to live with their own daughter or maybe it was the way they looked at her with more than just a fake sympathetic look. She didn't want to do this, she had absolutely no reason to; but she also knew that if she was going to have to trust someone, she would choose to trust these people.

Elizabeth then got up off the floor, took one of the wash clothes and wiped her face before finally shutting off the fan and walking out into the small hotel room. As soon as the door opened David and Mary were standing and waiting for her. Elizabeth stared at them for a minute before talking in a very direct voice to keep herself from allowing the tears to take over again "I don't want to do this. But for some reason, I think you two can be trusted. So for that reason, and that reason only, I will go live with your daughter in Florida"

"Thank you Elizabeth" Mary said walking over and hugging the young girl

"We are going to take care of all the paperwork here on our end and will make sure that copies get sent to you in Florida." David said coming over and standing next to Mary.

"I have also decided what I want my name to be" Elizabeth said materafactly after Mary let go.

"That's great. What name did you choose?" Mary asked gently

"Zoe"

"Zoe Jones has a nice ring to is" David said thinking that having a granddaughter named Zoe sounded pretty good to him.

"I agree, Zoe is a beautiful name" Mary chimed in. "Now, Elizabeth would you mind writing down your home address? We will go collect your things and have them sent to your new address" Mary said holding out a pen and paper. Elizabeth quickly obliged and handed it back.

"There isn't much there. You don't get much that is yours in the foster care system. All the furniture came with the place so it's just my clothes and a few personal items"

"Well we will make sure that we get you anything else that you need. You're family now Elizabeth, we are going to make sure that you are always taken care of okay?" Mary said taking ahold of the young girls' shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth looked at the pair who were sporting huge grins. Why would they call her family she was only going to… and then it dawned on her.

"Well, being that you're going to be our daughters' daughter, that makes you…" Mary said trailing off hoping she would understand

"Your granddaughter" Elizabeth said to herself more than out loud. She had just gone from no family to having both parents AND grandparents. The couple looked at this young woman with so much love. They knew that fate had brought this girl into their lives and could finally understand why they had both felt such a need to protect her, she was always meant to be a part of their family.

"As much as I hate to have to move us along, Elizabeth we need to get you and Mary on the road. She and officer Bishop will escort you to Florida and make sure that you get settled in with Emma and Killian" David said hating to send his wife and now granddaughter away without him there

"Why don't you come with us David? Any of the officers at the station can push that paperwork through. We haven't been to Florida in months and I think it would be good to have our whole family together" Mary said looking over and smiling at Elizabeth.

"I guess you're right, and I should get to know my new granddaughter" He said placing an arm around Elizabeth "I guess you bent my arm, I'll go"

The three shared a mutual smile. Elizabeth knew that under normal circumstances, if someone had been this touchy feely with her she would have immediately bristled. She was feeling the same thing Mary was feeling, they were always meant to be a family, it just felt right.

"Good, go ahead a prep Bishop and we can be off" Mary said gently pushing David toward the door. This was going to be good.