A week and a half after Ella returned to LA, most of the stuff in the beach house was packed in boxes scattered throughout the house. Ella had talked to Mark almost every day and was excited about moving and being near her family in Seattle. Addison was starting to feel the stress that went with having a six-year-old home from school for the summer and getting ready to move cross-country with a young child.
One evening after tucking Ella into bed, Addison came downstairs and collapsed onto the couch. "You okay, Addie?" questioned Amelia, looking up from the book she had been reading.
"I'm just super tired. I think it's just from staying up late to work on packing everything and eating crappy meals. There is no way I'm going to get everything packed in the next two days. I'm crazy for trying to move essentially by myself in two weeks."
Setting down the book in her hand, Amelia started, "I can help you, you know. I'm moving into my condo in a month. I've got quite a bit of packing to do, too. I've lived here for two years and our stuff has gotten mixed together, like I know for a fact that not all of those movies are yours'. Why don't you take the next few days off? I'm sure everyone else won't mind. You don't have any patients scheduled before you leave. If we need something, we can call you in. Now, it's only 9 o'clock. We can still get quite a bit of packing done before calling it a night. I'll grab the wine, you grab the boxes."
"Amelia, you know you can't drink. You're still going to meetings every day. I'm gonna have to trust Charlotte and Violet to make sure you keep going after I leave."
Stopping in her tracks, Amelia turned around. "The wine isn't for me. I can tell you need a glass or two. You don't have to worry about me slipping again. I haven't missed a meeting in over six months. Charlotte even goes with me most days, mainly to make sure I'm going. You have enough to worry about once you move, you can stop worrying about me."
"A glass of wine sounds wonderful. Just so you know, I'll always worry about you, but I'm sure we'll be talking every day, so I know you'll keep clean."
Addison took Amelia's advice and took the next two days off from work. By the time Amelia returned home with take-out for dinner the second day, everything had been packed, with the exception of the furniture, which the movers were going to pack the next morning.
"Mommy, can we have a sleepover for our last night here?" Ella asked from the stool at the island while Addison unpacked their dinner.
"What do you mean by sleepover? We really can't have everyone spend the night here, there isn't enough room with all the boxes everywhere."
"Can we watch a movie and all sleep in your bed? I'm going to miss sleepovers with Auntie 'Melia." Whenever Addison was working late at the hospital and Amelia was taking care of Ella for the night, they'd have sleepovers consisting of watching a movie in bed. Ella loved them because they were something that didn't happen very often. It was the one thing she had stated since accepting the move that she was really going to miss.
Sighing, Addison replied, "You'll have to ask Amelia, but it's okay with me. You know she's coming to Seattle with us for a week or two; I'm sure you'll have at least one sleepover before she comes back here. Why don't you go get ready for bed so we can eat and then have our sleepover?"
Following their sleepover and seeing that Ella was sound asleep in the middle of Addison's king size bed, Addison and Amelia both slipped out of the room to pack the last few things in Ella's room they had been waiting until the next morning to pack.
"I know I've said it several hundred times, but thanks for everything, Addie," Amelia said as she pulled the sheets off Ella's bed.
Addison stopped packing things into the box in front of her and looked at Amelia, "And every time you've thanked me, I've told you that you're family and that's what family does. We take each other in and help when they're in trouble. You know I never stopped considering you my sister after the divorce. Your sisters all hate me, but you stuck by me. You were the only Shepherd to take my side in the divorce, mainly because you and Derek still weren't talking. Ella's a great kid and you have made life so much easier for me by being here and looking out for her."
"Yeah, I guess the kid does love me," replied Amelia, smirking.
"I didn't want her to turn out all WASP-y like I did and I think by you being around helped keep her normal. Helping me to realize it's okay for her to play outside and get dirty, not have to sit inside all day. You know you're going to have to Skype her every day, right?"
"I know. Can we finish this so we can crash? We've got a long day tomorrow and we're both exhausted."