3 months later.
This last 3 months a lot has happened, First Clarisse started seeing her Mystery Man again, lasting for a month, only ending it when her Mom, Julia, Died. The death hit her hard, becoming ill just before the funeral, she lasted the day but the next day was admitted to hospital.
Joe stayed with her every night so she wouldn't be alone, and even after she came home he was always over at the Palace, looking after her and making sure she ate. A couple weeks after getting out of hospital, she decided she wanted to change suites, so with the help of her staff they decorated another suite for her. And after a week of sleepless nights, she moved back into her old suite and for the last 4 nights she's slept like a log.
She's slowly getting back to work, Pierre took over while she was poorly and on the mend. She attended a couple events last week, but that's it, that's all Pierre and Amelia would let her do for now.
In a few days time, Clarisse, Joe, Sofia, Olivia, Greg, Olivia's friend Marla, and Greg's parents Hannah and Peter are all going on holiday to Cyprus for a week, so Clarisse could get away from everything for a while.
After she had breakfast she went back upstairs, to sort a couple things out. Not long after Sofia came up to see if she wanted some company. She knocked and walked in, seeing Clarisse smile up at her, made her smile too.
"hey you" Clarisse smiled "what you up to?"
"I just came up to see if you wanted some company?" she asked kneeling on the bed beside her
"of course" Clarisse smiled and looked at her
"what you got here?" she asked peeping into a big bag on the bed
"oh this is stuff that your Dad gave to me over the years" she said looking back at the bag "I had put it in there and in the closet after we broke up, I completely forgot about it till I had to sort my stuff out" she said watching her pull some stuff out
"it doesn't seem a lot" Sofia said looking at her
"well its not everything he gave me, these are the things that meant something" she looked at her "that I wanted to keep"
"ahh" she nodded and looked through the bag "even these shoes?" she asked pulling them out
"yes indeed" she nodded "he had them made for me, if you look on the side it has my name along the bottom" watching her as she looked
"oh yeah I remember these" she said looking up at her "how come you never wore them?" she asked trying them on
"well I didn't want to ruin them" she smiled as Sofia climbed of the bed "you can have them if you like"
"really?" she asked looking at her
"of course" she nodded with a smile
"thank you" she slipped them off and climbed back on the bed and kissed her
"you're welcome" she smiled
"how are you feeling today anyway?" Sofia asked
"oh so so" Clarisse answered while crossing her legs
"getting stronger everyday?" Sofia asked as Clarisse nodded "good" she smiled "so are you looking forward to this holiday?"
"oh of course" she nodded "it is well and truly needed"
Sofia smiled and carried on going through the bag, then moved onto the box.
"oh wow" she smiled "lots and lots of photos"
"yep" Clarisse nodded as Olivia came in "you ok flower?"
"yea" Olivia smiled and sat on the bed next to her "what are you doing in here?"
"we are just about to go through some photos" Sofia smiled "they seem to be of mainly Mom and Dad, or with us girls" she smiled
"that's right, that's the special photo box" she smiled "your Father loves to take photos"
"of course" Olivia giggled
"oh wow" Sofia smiled "who are you pregnant with in this photo?" she asked holding it up
"aww Dad looks so cute laying next to you and kissing your bump" Olivia smiled up at her
"that would be" Clarisse thought a second then looked at Sofia "with you"
"aww wow" Sofia smiled looking back at the photo "can I have it?"
"of course you can" Clarisse smiled at her "and somewhere in that box, there is another photo of me pregnant and I'm standing next to the bed, wearing a long skirt that is tucked under the bump and one hand holding my top up over the bump as Joe is sat on the bed, with his hands on my hips and he's kissing my bump" she smiled at Olivia "I was pregnant with you in that one" she smiled
"if we find it can I have it?" Olivia asked
"of course" she nodded and kissed her forehead as Joe appeared at the door
"can I come in?" he asked as they all looked at him
"of course" Clarisse nodded and watched him walk over "we are just going through some personal photos"
"lets see if he remembers" Sofia smiled as everyone looked at him "which one of us was Mom pregnant with in this photo"
taking the photo from her "you of course" he smiled
"you remembered" Sofia laughed
"oh I don't forget things like that" he smiled
Clarisse lent forward grabbing some photos and put them on her lap as Sofia snuggled up to her side and Olivia sat up the other side
"your Dad loved taking photos over the years" Clarisse smiled passing a photo to Olivia
"aww your giving Mom a piggyback ride" she giggled
"oh of course, your Mom loved those" he smirked at her then at Clarisse
"I think I still do" she said not looking up as she looked at another photo
"aww Mom" Sofia said taking the photo "I love this one" she smiled at her as Clarisse sat smiling at it
"whats that one?" Joe asked while laying across the middle of the bed
"it's the one where we are sat on the couch, laughing as the photo was taken" Sofia said handing him the photo "the one you have on your shelf at your place" she smiled
"you do?" Clarisse asked while looking up at him
"of course" Joe nodded while looking at the photo
"oh my god Mom" Olivia gasped "are you seriously not wearing a top in this one" she exclaimed as Clarisse grabbed the photo
"well you can't see anything" Clarisse said looking at her as Sofia took the photo
"oh Mom, seriously" Sofia chuckled "at least Dad is covering you up with his arm" she smirked as Clarisse sat laughing
"it took me weeks to get your Mom to agree to that photo" Joe smiled as Sofia handed it to him
"I really didn't want it to be taken, but you and your camera" she smiled at him as Sofia watched them and couldn't help but smile
"I think its good really" Sofia nodded while resting her head on Clarisse's shoulder and extended her arm around Clarisse's waist "you was brave though"
"oh indeed" Joe smiled watching them as they carried on going through the photos
"ok this one don't look right" Olivia said looking at the photo as Clarisse and Sofia looked
"that's because" she said taking the photo and turning it around "you was looking at it at the wrong angle" she smirked
"oh ok" Olivia said looking at it then looked at her "please tell me you wasn't doing anything?"
"what?" Joe asked taking the photo
"what is it" Sofia asked as Clarisse laughed a little
"its one where Mom is laying on the bed and Dad is laying..." Olivia started
"oh eww" Sofia exclaimed "seriously what was with you" she looked at them
"we wasn't doing anything in it, as you will see we are fully clothed" Clarisse smirked at her
"yeah, what we can see" Olivia said pointing to the picture "seeing though you can only see your top half's"
"that is true" Sofia said looking at them
"oh we wasn't doing anything" Clarisse smirked "but actually thinking about it" she looked at Joe "it did lead to that though"
"oh ewww" both Sofia and Olivia gasped as Clarisse laughed
"oh indeed it did" Joe laughed
"oh shut up" Sofia gasped "please" she said burying her face between the pillow and Clarisse's shoulder as they laughed
"oh wow" Sofia gasped noticing another photo
"whats that one?" Joe asked
"of you kissing Moms cheek as shes stood with her finger on her chin, giving a cheeky smile" Sofia smiled at Clarisse as Joe took the photo "you even look tipsy"
"I probably was" she answered as Joe passed her the photo "oh I remember, it was from Pierre and Charlotte's wedding" she smiled putting it down on the bed "and yes I was tipsy" she chuckled
"doesn't hurt" Sofia smiled
They carried on going through the photos then Olivia and Sofia headed back downstairs as Clarisse started putting them away.
"how are you feeling?" Joe asked helping her
"oh I am feeling good today, thank you" she nodded
"no problem" he answered watching her walk into her closet
"oh while you are here" Clarisse said coming back out "I just wanted to say thank you for all your help this last few months" she said sitting on the bed "I don't think I would of got through it if it wasn't for you, so thank you"
"it was no problem" he said looking at her "what are friends for"
she smiled "thank you" she stood up "I don't know if you want anything out of this bag, its stuff you gave me over the years" she said pulling the bag towards her "little things that meant something, you no" she said pulling out a photo of them on their wedding day
"no" he answered as she looked at him "I gave it all to you, so there for its yours" he nodded and looked at the photo "you always loved that photo" he said walking over and stood next to her
"I did" she answered "well I still do really" she moved and stood it on the bedside table "it can stay there for a while I think" she said standing back up straight
He watched her for a few minutes then left her to it, not long after she came down and everyone sat down to lunch. Afterwards Pierre, Charlotte and the kids went shopping with Amelia while Joe stayed up with Clarisse and the girls.
sitting down in the living room "I really need to start sorting out my stuff to take on holiday" Clarisse said as Olivia and Sofia started play fighting on the carpet "I didn't know we had boys, Joe" she said looking at him as he laughed
"neither did I" he smirked down at them
"its not my fault" Olivia started "she started it"
"liar" Sofia smirked sticking her tongue out at her
"what was that?" Clarisse asked as Sofia sat with a nervous smile
"what was what?" Olivia asked looking at Sofia as Clarisse stood up
"what was that Miss Romano" Clarisse said bending over and playfully gripped her face with her hands "stick out your tongue" Sofia shook her head "stick out your tongue young lady" she said with a laugh
"no" Sofia answered as she laughed
"right" Clarisse smiled as she straddled her on the carpet and held onto her hands "stick it out now" she laughed
"no, never" Sofia laughed as Olivia and Joe laughed
Clarisse started tickling her "stick it out"
through laughing "nope" she exclaimed as Clarisse carried on tickling her
After a moment she gave in
"alright alright" she said grabbing Clarisse's hands "I will stick it out" she said trying to catch her breath while still laughing as Greg walked in
"um" he said seeing the sight "dare I ask what you are doing to my girlfriend, and your daughter for that matter"
"Moms trying to get her to stick her tongue out" Olivia laughed
"oh ok" Greg sat down next to Joe and looked at them amused "may I ask why?"
Clarisse looked over at them "to see if I see what I think I saw" she looked back at Sofia "stick it out then" she said trying to pull her hands free from Sofia
Sofia stuck it out and quickly put it back in "yes I did get it done" she smiled "I thought it would be ok now seeing though I don't really live here anymore"
"that is true" Clarisse said moving and sat next to her of the floor
"thanks for getting of me" Sofia said and started laughing again while still laying on the floor
"your welcome" Clarisse smiled down at her and lent back on her arms "I think I may attempt to pack later on" she said slowly laying down next to Sofia
"want some help?" Sofia asked
"of course" Clarisse smiled turning her head and looked at her
"when are your parent's getting here Greg?" Joe asked while looking at him
"the day before we go" he answered looking at him with a nod "they are looking forward to it" he smiled
"so are we" Clarisse smiled while sitting up and everyone looked at her
"Its going to be amazing" Sofia smiled
"indeed" Joe added
Later on that evening, Clarisse had sorted out everything she was taking with her and decided to go and get a cup of tea, walking into the kitchen she saw Joe sat talking with Shades.
"hey you two" she smiled walking over and grabbed a cup
"everything alright?" Shades asked while looking over at her as she poured the tea
"yea" she nodded and looked up "did you want some?" she asked as they shook their heads
"no thanks" Joe answered and watched as she put the tea pot back down then walked over "have you sorted everything out now?"
"indeed" she nodded and sipped her tea "what was you talking about before I came in? don't let me disturb you?"
"oh no it wasn't important" Shades said standing up "I was actually just about to leave, good night to you both"
"oh" Clarisse said and watched him walk out then she looked back at Joe "did I say something?"
"no" he shook his head
"ok" she said looking at him for a second then drank some more of her tea "where are the girls?"
"well Olivia is in bed, Amelia in her suite talking with her Mom and Sofia is at the movies with Greg" he smiled and moved next to her
"ahh ok" she nodded "no one has asked you yet, but are you looking forward to going away?"
"of course I am" he nodded while looking at her
"good" she smiled "thanks for agreeing to come with us" she said looking at him
"well thanks for asking me" he nodded with a smile and looked at her "it meant a lot to be involved"
"your welcome" she said turning in her seat a little "it, in a way is to say thank you for everything you've done this last few months, and yes I no I said it earlier, but asking you to come is a thank you"
"well thank you" he smiled "you didn't have to, but thanks all the same"
"your welcome" she smiled and sat back in her chair
He smiled and lent closer, placing a soft kiss on her lips and opened his eyes to see her eyes was closed. As he let it linger Charlotte walked in on them.
"oh my god" she exclaimed as they pulled a part "I am so sorry" she said turning one way then the other and rushed out as they looked at each other
"I think I better go" Joe said while standing up
"I think so too" she nodded and stood up as he walked over to the door
"I will see you tomorrow then?" he asked as they walked into the hall
"yes indeed" Clarisse nodded while folding her arms as he slipped his coat on and walked to the door and left
She stood in the hall for a second, turned the lights of and went back to the kitchen. Charlotte never came back, and just after 11 she called it a night and headed up to bed.