Four weeks before the wedding
Absorbed in her research, Chloe barely looks up when the doorbell rings. Remembering that everyone else is upstairs, she reluctantly leaves her laptop, and opens the front door of the Hunt house. Standing on the door step is JoJo, looking very nervous since their discussion two days before.
"Hi." JoJo smiles politely. "I'm going shopping with Mallory."
"Well, come in." Chloe walks away, returning to her computer. "She just got home from a run, she's washing off the sweat."
JoJo sits down in a chair. "We're doing the final shopping for the wedding shower, before she and Rob go apartment hunting in LA."
"Uh huh."
JoJo licks her lips. "Are you going to be at the shower?"
"I don't think so." Chloe keeps her eyes on the computer screen.
"I think you'd like it, and everyone will miss you."
"I can get drunk any time that I want."
JoJo shakes her head. "It's not going to be a boozefest. Mallory wanted something elegant and-"
"So your strippers will wear tuxedos first?" Chloe snarks.
"There won't be strippers," JoJo protests.
Chloe looks up. "I thought you wanted an epic party."
"Not after what you said," the other woman replies, slowly. "We're doing what the bride wants, and you know what? I like what Mallory wants. It's going to be fun, and very appropriate for our grandmothers to be there."
"If you say so."
JoJo crosses her arms. "Do you want to punch me? Would that help?"
That makes Chloe smile a bit. "I don't want to hit you at the moment."
"What do you want?" JoJo leans forward.
"I want you to leave me alone."
Abruptly, JoJo leans backwards and looks away. Chloe tries to concentrate on her research but finds that she can't. She looks up at her former friend. "Why did you bitch about me to Mickey?" She blurts out. "You're the one that started it."
"True." JoJo thinks. "Well, before we left your house that night, my father made a crack about how you have to watch out for me and that made me angry. I was really tired of my parents always comparing me to you and you coming out as the better daughter. And I expressed it in the wrong way. Again, I'm sorry."
Chloe wags a finger at JoJo. "A couple of people think that you're jealous of me. I don't get that."
"What?" JoJo frowns. "Why wouldn't I be? You're smart, you're successful, everyone loves you. You've never been the black sheep of your family."
"You don't get it!" Chloe protests. "I was always jealous of you because you're the pretty one! You were always popular without having to work for it."
JoJo stares at her in astonishment. "Chloe …."
"And another thing!" Her former friend jumps up and starts pacing angrily. "I'm really pissed that you're being a better friend to Mallory than you were to me!"
"Whoa." JoJo thinks. "I can see that. I'm sorry."
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Chloe demands. "Why are you being so damn agreeable?"
Surprised, JoJo laughs. "Because I'm trying to make things better! Everything that you are saying is something I need to work on. I know that I need to focus on myself instead of being jealous of you. Got it. I'm sorry that I'm being such a good friend to Mallory and that bothers you. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that."
"So ... you're perfect now?" Chloe asks skeptically.
The other woman shakes her head. "Hardly." She sighs. "I really miss our friendship. I miss how close we used to be. How we could tell each other everything. We shared all of our secrets. And it's all my fault."
"How can you be jealous of me?" Chloe demands.
"How can you think you're not pretty?" JoJo retorts. "That's ridiculous."
"Guys don't ask me out." Chloe points at JoJo. "I hate it when you say how easy it is to make guys fall for you. It's not easy for me."
JoJo opens her mouth to respond, then closes it, as she thinks. "Look, I'm shallow and I don't know the right thing to say," she admits.
"You were always fixing my hair and make-up and criticizing my clothes," Chloe points out. "Clearly you have a problem with the way I look."
JoJo shakes her head. "Chloe, you asked me, more than once, to help you get ready for a night out." She sighs. "I wish you knew how beautiful you are. You need to have more confidence in yourself. Confidence is very sexy."
"Right."
"No really!" JoJo insists, leaping to her feet. "Okay, so you look like your mom, right? Your mother is one of the sexiest people ever, and part of it is that she is a goddess. She exudes confidence. And so does your sister. And your dad is a DILF."
"This is going to a very weird place," Chloe snorts.
JoJo grins. "My point is, you come from a family of hotties, Chloe. I want you to realize your full potential." She sighs. "You want guys to ask you out? Dress in something that makes you feel amazing. If you'd let me, I'd try to help you find something that makes you feel better about yourself."
Chloe stares at her. "What?"
"You could go shopping with Mallory and me! We can help you."
"Help you with what?" Mallory walks downstairs, followed by Cristina.
"Nothing," Chloe sighs, as JoJo shakes her head.
"Your sister doesn't think she's pretty," JoJo informs Mallory. "So I said-"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Cristina turns on JoJo. "What did you say? I will kill you if-"
"I didn't say anything bad!" JoJo protests. "I told her the truth, which is that she is beautiful and she needs to have more self-confidence. I swear to you that I was only trying to help!"
"Lay off, Mom, JoJo didn't insult me," Chloe admits. "I just ... forget it. You taught us that looks aren't important and that it's what is inside us that matters. So I don't know what's fashionable. I shouldn't care about that, right?"
Cristina regards her older daughter thoughtfully, for a long minute. Chloe's hair is pulled back in her usual ponytail, and she's dressed in jeans and a hoodie, with scruffy sneakers. Chloe looks back at her with a mixture of uncertainty and defiance.
"it's true that there is a lot more to you than how you dress," Cristina says carefully. "You are beautiful, inside and out. I want you to be happy with yourself, all of you."
"I'm tired of being told that I don't dress all trendy and frankly, I'm tired of being told of how much I look like you." Chloe glances at her mother. "Sorry. I think you're beautiful."
"You don't want to look like me? That can be fixed." Cristina turns to her younger daughter. "Hey Hurricane. You're going to a mall, right?"
"We are." Mallory's eyes gleam.
"I'm going to give you one of my credit cards," Cristina informs her. "Take Chloe somewhere and ... do something with her hair. Get rid of the ponytail. Then help her buy her some clothes that make her feel good about herself. Got it?"
"Got it." Her younger daughter salutes Cristina. "Since we'll be buying clothes for Chloe..."
"You can buy yourself something too," Cristina affirms. She turns to JoJo. "Your job is to back Mallory up and help Chloe feel pretty and not make things worse."
"You can count on me," JoJo assures her. "I think Mallory has excellent taste."
"Good start. Now let me get my wallet."
"Don't I get a say?" Chloe protests.
Cristina turns to her. "If you don't want a make-over, then say so. But you don't get to complain about not liking how you look, if you turn this down."
Chloe sighs. "Fine."
Chloe sits nervously in the waiting area of a salon, watching Mallory consult with a stylist. "I've changed my mind," she tells JoJo. "I'm pretty. There's nothing wrong with my hair."
"You do have great hair," JoJo agrees. "It's thick, it's glossy, and it's naturally curly. And I'm jealous that you never have split ends."
Chloe looks at her. "Don't you think you're over-doing this 'new and improved JoJo' thing?"
"Think about the wedding," JoJo suggests. "You're getting a fantastic new haircut for when you're standing up in front of everyone, and for the photos."
"Oh god." Chloe notices her sister approaching. "Here comes the Hurricane."
"I've consulted with the expert," Mallory tells her. "You're going to go back there, let her wash your hair, cut and style it, and you don't get to see what she's doing until she's done. Trust me."
"Didn't I say that you can't boss me around?" Chloe stands up. "I'm out of here."
"Okay, you tell the stylist what you want." Mallory puts her hands on her hips. "Chloe, I'm trying to help. Do you think that I'd choose something that makes you look bad?"
"No..."
"If you walk out, remember that you can never complain about not feeling pretty again," Mallory declares. "Because you have an excellent opportunity right now to get rid of the ponytail that you've had all of your life, and, not look like Mom. What's it going to be?"
Conflicted, Chloe looks at the floor.
"And it's really Mom that's bossing you around," Mallory adds. "I'm just the shopping expert."
Chloe sighs in resignation. "You do have excellent taste … and maybe a change might feel good."
Her sister smiles knowingly. "You don't want to piss off Mom again, do you?"
"No."
Mallory grins. "So go back there and get started."
Chloe reaches behind her and tugs her ponytail one last time. "Fine. I'll do it."
Laughing, Chloe and Mallory enter the Hunt house, carrying many shopping bags.
"Well?" Cristina walks to the foyer to greet them. Her face lights up. "Look at you, Miss Chloe!"
Her elder daughter smiles and turns around, showing off her new haircut. Her curly locks have been cut into an asymmetrical bob. Now her hair is edgy and falls around her face in an entirely new shape.
"I love it!" Cristina touches her daughter's shorter hair.
"Me too," Chloe exclaims. "I think I look like me now."
Owen comes up from the basement and and grins. "Look at our Chloe ... I like the hair, kiddo."
"Thank you," Chloe says, turning a little pink.
Mallory coughs. "You're welcome."
"Well done, Mallory." Cristina chuckles. "It's nice to see you use your hurricane power for good instead of mischief."
"You should see the damage to your credit card," Chloe smirks. "But it was for a good cause."
Cristina clears her throat. "How was JoJo?"
Looking down, Chloe shrugs. "Fine. She was on her best behaviour."
"JoJo picked out some great jewellery," Mallory pipes up. "She understands Chloe's taste in accessories better than I do."
"So ...?" Owen looks hopeful.
"So I'm going to put my new clothes away," Chloe says crisply, heading towards the stairs.
"Baby steps, Dad," Mallory whispers loudly. Then she winks and lowers her voice. "Chloe said that she might come to the wedding shower after all."
"Yes!" Owen grins broadly.
Cristina frowns. "Why do you care? I thought everything was settled when Chloe said she'll be in the wedding."
Chuckling, Owen shakes his head. "We want to make sure Chloe has a good time at the wedding. That means, not hating JoJo so much."
"And, I don't want her to change her mind and back out again," Mallory adds.
Her mother smiles slyly. "If you'd tell us what happened when the three of you talked, maybe we-"
"No!" Her daughter smirks. "You can try all that you want, I'm not telling you what was said."
"You pick the wrong times to be mature and responsible," Cristina complains.
Three weeks before the wedding
Cristina and Owen come home to find the living room in chaos. Mallory is on the phone talking about floral arrangements. Rob is reading something on Mallory's laptop. Diego is pacing back and forth, talking to Chloe, who is ignoring him while she types on her own laptop.
"Finally!" Diego walks over to his parents. "I need someone to drive me to the mall so I can get crickets."
"Now?" Cristina looks at her watch.
"I know I should have taken care of it earlier," he admits. "But I have to get them tonight before I go to science camp tomorrow. My leopard gecko is looking a little thin, I have to make sure she's fed."
"I can't do it," Owen informs him. "I have a grant proposal to complete by tomorrow morning."
"And I think I've established that I want nothing to do with your reptiles," Cristina tells her son. "They're your responsibility."
"I will feed them before I go but nobody will drive me!" Her son is exasperated. "Chloe's doing bachelorette party stuff, Mallory is harassing the wedding planner, and Rob is finalizing their apartment hunting trip!"
They all glance at the desperate teen.
"I can't let her go hungry for a week," Diego pleads. "I won't be able to enjoy myself at camp. You'll have wasted your money."
Rob looks up. "Okay. I'll drive you, if I can borrow a vehicle?" Owen tosses him his keys.
Mallory finishes her call and pokes Rob. "We have to pack for our trip."
"You don't like the way I pack," he points out. "So you can do it the way that you want to, and I'll make sure the lizards don't die while Diego is gone."
"if you want clean underwear, you'll help me." She looks angry.
"I can buy underwear! How far away is the pet store?" Rob asks Diego as he stands up.
"Just 15 minutes." Diego smiles gratefully.
"I didn't say you could go," Mallory pouts. Everyone looks at her.
"You sure you want to marry that control freak?" Chloe smirks at Rob.
"Chloe!" Mallory shoves her sister's shoulder.
"Don't push me!"
"I didn't push you! It was ... a gentle nudge."
Cristina rolls her eyes and goes upstairs, as her daughters start to argue.
"I need to check something." Diego goes into the kitchen and comes back quickly. He approaches Owen and speaks quietly. "Dad, we're out of ice cream."
"Good thinking, son. Add that to your shopping list." Owen opens his wallet and extracts a few bills, which he hands to Diego. He chuckles when he sees Rob's confusion. "Diego will explain in the car."
As they drive away from the Hunt house, Diego snickers. "You don't know about the ice cream?"
"No," Rob replies. "What about it?"
"Whenever the girls fight, we feed them their favorite flavors. Mallory likes Cherry Vanilla while Chloe prefers Butterscotch Ripple. They sit and eat and forget why they were fighting. I personally feel that it's also wise to have ice cream around when Hurricane Mallory goes above Category 2."
"I won't tell you what I do when she goes above Category 2," Rob chuckles. "What other advice do you have?"
"Leave the room when they start talking about their periods. Trust me. When Chloe wants some quiet time, we let her have it, she gets really cranky otherwise. Mallory says that she never pushes anybody but she's wrong. They both claim to hate guys holding doors open for them but secretly they love it and expect it. And never enter a hot dog eating contest with Mom. She's a machine."
Rob and Diego laugh as they return to the Hunt house. Chloe and Owen are both working on their laptops in the living room, while Cristina reads. "Look what we brought!" Rob pulls out the cartons of ice cream.
Chloe grins and starts to rise. "Awesome!"
"Sit, sit, I'll get you some." Rob goes into the kitchen and quickly spoons out two bowls of ice cream. He delivers one bowl to Chloe, then goes upstairs, where Mallory is packing a suitcase.
"Ice cream!" Mallory smirks as he hands her a bowl. "Diego's idea?"
"Yep."
"It's Pavlovian, how he always makes sure we have ice cream after a fight." She closes her eyes, savoring the first bite.
"He's very observant," Rob grins as he flops down on the bed. "I enjoyed our one-on-one time tonight. I don't think I've really gotten to know him that well. He was always so much younger than me. And now he's hardly around."
"That's because he's a teenager. He doesn't socialize with adults much these days," she grins.
"I'm an adult?"
"To a teenager, yes."
Two weeks before the wedding
As the last guests leave the Shepherds' house, Chloe approaches her sister. "Mallory, you put on one heck of a wedding shower."
"You should tell that to JoJo," her sister smiles. "She did most of the work. Especially last week, when I was in LA."
They both look at JoJo, who is hauling a garbage bag to the curb.
"I'm glad you're here." Mallory wraps her arms around her sister and hugs her.
Chloe smiles softly. "I loved the sundae bar."
"That was JoJo's idea."
"So you really think she has changed?" Chloe looks thoughtful.
"Yes. She's nowhere near perfect, but she's very aware of the effect her words can have. And she really tried to make this a nice party." Mallory looks at her sister hopefully. "So ... can she come to the bachelorette party?"
"I don't trust her not to get drunk and make an ass out of herself," Chloe tells her. "Again."
Mallory's eyes sparkle. "I know how we can make sure that doesn't happen."
One week before the wedding
Mallory looks at the platters of entrees that she's placed on the counters. "Do you think this is enough food?"
Callie laughs. "Yes. Now tell me again why you did the cooking for your own bachelorette party?"
"She's an insane control freak when it comes to food?" Chloe grins. "Thanks again for letting us have the party here."
"I'm glad I could help." Callie looks up as JoJo carries the last case of liquor into the kitchen.
"So you two are talking?" Callie smiles at Chloe while gesturing to JoJo.
"Yes." Chloe nods, before she looks around the kitchen one more time. "Everything is set up and ready to go."
"Very impressive." JoJo smiles tentatively. "I think this is going to be an awesome night."
"Now there is one more thing for me to do..." Chloe pulls a key ring out of her purse, and hands it to JoJo. "Here, you take these."
"Um, okay." JoJo looks confused.
"Those are the keys to my mom's Lexus." Chloe opens a bottle of beer and immediately starts drinking from it. Mallory grins knowingly.
JoJo stares at Chloe. "What are you doing?"
"Making you responsible," Chloe replies, before belching. "You are going to be the designated driver tonight. You will get us home by driving my mother's car, so that means you can't drink, while I relax and have fun tonight."
Surprised, JoJo laughs. "Well, I guess I deserve this."
"You certainly do," Chloe's eyes briefly twinkle, before she takes another swig from the bottle and leaves the kitchen. Callie watches her go with a proud smile.
Mallory points to JoJo. "She's giving you a chance. Don't screw up."
"No booze. Be responsible. Don't crash your Mom's car. I got it. " JoJo shakes her head and smiles as she puts the keys in her pocket. The doorbell rings.
"And the first guests are here!" Mallory bounces out of the room.
Callie smiles at JoJo. "If I see you drinking tonight, I will personally kick your ass." She reaches out and squeezes the younger woman's shoulder affectionately.
"Excellent party venue," Lexie smiles, as she lowers herself into the hot tub. "And it's great to be back among friends."
"And you can come over any time you want if you move back." Callie and Arizona smile conspiratorially at her, causing Cristina to laugh.
"Meredith is rallying the troops," she chortles, elbowing her friend, seated next to her in the tub.
"You're not happy in Salt Lake City, you could get a job at Seattle Grace, and you'd be surrounded by friends and family." Meredith recites from an oft-repeated list.
"But I am happy now," her sister smiles. "I'm in on a great clinical trial, I've got a new condo, and hello, my baby is there."
"Your 'baby' got off a plane yesterday with his new Parisian girlfriend," Cristina observes. "Cut the cord already."
"Cut the cord!" Meredith repeats, loudly, as everyone else laughs.
"Anyone need a refill?" JoJo walks by, holding up a bottle of wine.
"Me!" Arizona waves her down.
"Tell Auntie Lexie that you need her to come back to Seattle," Meredith urges her daughter, who rolls her eyes as she refills Arizona's glass.
JoJo faces her aunt. "Dearest Auntie Lexie, it would make ever so me happy if you were back in Seattle. And it would shut my mother up."
Everyone laughs, none harder than Meredith. JoJo smiles as she saunters away.
"Did you ever think we'd be here, on the eve of two of our kids getting married?" Meredith muses.
"We have so many kids, I thought there would have been more matches by now," Callie admits. "All those Seattle Grace children, they grew up together, and they're so good looking."
"Remember when Owen got stuck babysitting them all at once?" Cristina laughs. "He was a brave, brave man."
"He did a great job!" Lexie recalls. "Jonah didn't want to leave, he was having so much fun at your house."
"Even Sofia, who thought she was too old for a babysitter, had a good time," Callie chuckles.
"So who do you think is next?" Arizona asks. "Which of our kids will date each other?"
"I was kind of hoping Chloe and Jonah would find some sparks," Lexie admits. "You know, the maid of honour, the groomsman. But then he got off the plane with Jeanne-Marie."
Cristina shakes her head. "Chloe thinks of Jonah as a little brother. What she needs is someone who can make her heart pound."
"I do have a very cute son," Callie winks. "But he's got a girlfriend."
"Who is a skank," Arizona observes. "We predict it won't last long."
Callie smiles mischievously. "If Chloe doesn't want to wait for them to break up, she could switch teams and date Sofia."
Cristina snorts. "No offense, but any son of Mark Sloan's is not going near my Chloe."
"You sound just like Owen!" Meredith laughs.
Owen looks up as Rob enters the house, yawning. "How was your stag party?"
"Terrible." Rob flops down into a chair. "Jonah had been planning to take us bar hopping. Thanks to his girlfriend's interference, we played paintball instead."
"I thought you liked paintball."
"I can do that with my friends any time," the younger man points out. "I only had a couple of beers, I'm cold, and I'm scratched and bruised."
"Ah." Owen smiles knowingly. "There's plenty of beer in the fridge if you want some."
Sofia rubs her eyes as she walks through the living room and into the kitchen. She sees JoJo wiping down a counter top. "JoJo, it's late. Why are you cleaning?"
"I'm almost done. I don't want to leave the place looking like a total disaster," JoJo shrugs.
"It's 3 am." Sofia sits on a bar stool and watches JoJo. "How are you doing? I've heard you had a rough year."
"I'm okay," JoJo smiles. "My year is getting better."
"Oh? Is there a new special someone in your life?'
JoJo snorts. "No. I'm taking a break from men. That's why my year is getting better."
"I see." Sofia looks at JoJo again and smiles coyly. "Does that mean you're exploring other options?"
Amused, JoJo chuckles. "Girls?"
"A beautiful woman like you doesn't seem the celibate type," Sofia says, as she stretches languidly.
JoJo frowns. "I've never thought of myself as being with another girl..."
"But the idea doesn't repulse you?"
She considers the question. "I guess it doesn't."
Sofia smiles. "Perhaps you have a whole new world to discover. You could have many pleasurable adventures ..."
JoJo looks at the other woman, curiously. She sees that Sofia's eyes are sparkling ... and intense. Staring into the other woman's eyes, she feels a strange thrill. Confused, JoJo looks away.
"JoJo?" Mallory sleepily stumbles into the kitchen. "Can we go home now?"
"We can go home," JoJo says.
"Good night, ladies, " Sofia tells them, standing up.
"Good night." Stretching, JoJo walks into the living room and sees Chloe splayed out on a couch. "You ready to go?"
"Am I ever," the black-haired woman groans. "How can you drink so much without puking?"
"I built up a tolerance first, and I know better than to mix wine with beer all night." JoJo extends a friendly hand. "Here, I'll help you."
"Thank you." Chloe leans against JoJo as she struggles to her feet. She looks at the other woman. "You good to drive?"
"I am," JoJo nods. "I don't dare do anything to your mom's Lexus."
Chloe giggles. "Let's go."
Unsteady, Chloe wraps her arms around JoJo's neck. "You still think I'm Little Miss Perfect?"
"No," JoJo replies. "I think you're human. Watch your step." She guides Chloe towards the car, followed by Cristina and Mallory. "Can you get in by yourself?"
"Uh huh." Chloe gets into the car and fastens her seatbelt. She looks at JoJo. "I don't think that I hate you so much now."
That makes JoJo smile a little. "Thank you."
"I'm going to slaughter you," Owen growls at Rob. "You can't hide from me, punk."
Rob's eyes narrow. "Bring it, old man." Pressing buttons on their video game controllers rapidly, they begin to virtually attack each other.
Grimacing, Rob hangs his head when the battle is over. "You got me."
"Good try though." Owen claps him on the shoulder. "Want another beer?"
They look up as the front door opens, and Chloe and JoJo enter, unsteadily. Chloe holds onto JoJo for support. Cristina and Mallory follow them into the house, giggling.
"Well hello." Rob grins at the sight of his fiancee clinging to the door. "Looks like you ladies had a great night."
"Best party ever," Mallory grins.
He laughs and looks at the various states of drunkenness. "No offense, JoJo, but how is it that you're the sober one?"
"I was tricked into it," his sister chuckles. "Hurricane Mallory had a scheme."
"We'renot sober," Cristina snickers, leaning up against a wall. Chloe almost falls down, but JoJo catches her.
Owen stands up. "You okay, Chloe?"
"I can't walk in these damn shoes that Mallory made me buy," his older daughter protests.
"Let me help." JoJo bends over and undoes Chloe's shoes, as the men walk over.
"Oh here comes Papa Bear," Chloe moans, rolling her eyes. "He needs to make sure that his grown daughter is okay."
"She's fine," JoJo assures Owen. "She put together a fantastic party and really enjoyed herself."
"I did!" Chloe grins widely.
"I just want to make sure my kid is okay," Owen protests, amused.
"Oh stop it, Dad," Chloe sighs. "I'm not your 'kid', I'm a grown woman. Just knock off this over-protective crap and start treating me like an adult already."
Surprised, Owen stares at her while everyone else laughs. Chloe stumbles over to him and kisses his cheek. "I love you, but you can be a real pain in the ass."
He shakes his head and chuckles. "Fine."
Cristina beams as she leans against Owen. "That's the Yang blood in her. I could not be more proud."
Four days before the wedding
Mallory is chattering in French on her phone as she lets JoJo into the Hunt house. She gestures for her friend to go into the living room, where Chloe is reading a medical journal.
"How's the head?" JoJo smiles nervously.
"I'm never drinking again," Chloe mutters.
Hesitantly, JoJo sits down across from her. Chloe glances up at her, then returns to her book.
"That was a great bachelorette party," JoJo says. "Everyone had a fantastic time."
"Thanks." Chloe looks at JoJo again. "Thank you for getting us home. And making me take aspirin before I went to bed. I would've felt much worse this morning."
"You're welcome." The other woman looks away.
Sighing, Chloe puts down her journal. "What?"
"Nothing."
"I know you. You have something you want to say."
JoJo shrugs. "It's something that I need to speak with a friend about. I'll wait for Mallory to get off of the phone."
Thoughtfully, Chloe regards her. "I don't know if I can ever trust you again," she tells JoJo. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt many times, and you let me down."
JoJo nods solemnly.
"I wish I'd spoken up earlier," Chloe admits.
"I wish I hadn't let you down," JoJo tells her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about us. I was a jerk. I just assumed that it didn't really bother you and I was wrong."
Chloe nods. "We're not best friends again. I don't know what we are. But I no longer want to smash your nose in."
JoJo smiles a little. "That's good. I do like my nose."
"Okay ... talk to me. What's bothering you?"
Surprised, JoJo shakes her head. "I told you, I'll wait for Mallory."
"Oh." Chloe is taken aback. "Do ... you want me to leave?"
"You can stay if you want," JoJo mumbles. "But I don't want you to be mad that someone was flirting with me even though it's not what you think."
"What?" Mallory turns off her phone, having finished her call. "Who flirted with you?"
"Sofia," JoJo confesses. "I think ..."
"Oh?" Chloe sits up straighter.
"Uh huh." JoJo nods. "And I think I liked it."
"Really?" Grinning, Mallory sits down. "Is this ... something new? Do you think you might be ... bisexual? A lesbian?"
"I don't know," JoJo sighs. "I really don't want to date a guy, not for a while. I don't know that I want to date anyone."
Chloe blinks. "You've never been interested in women."
"Because I always wanted to be popular and have the best boyfriend." JoJo shakes her head. "I'm feeling very, very confused today. I don't know what to do or think."
"Take your time," Mallory advises her. "You're still figuring out a lot of things about yourself."
"I don't know where I would even start," JoJo muses. "I don't know anything about dating women."
"Well, isn't it really the same, just with different anatomy?"
"I think I also don't know how to have a real relationship," JoJo admits. "I just know how to use people."
Smiling softly, Chloe shakes her head. "You're being a good friend to Mallory. You don't entirely suck."
"Thank you." Their eyes meet for an awkward moment.
"So ... you didn't want to tell me because you thought I'd be jealous that a woman asked you out?" Chloe asks.
"I'm trying not to hurt your feelings again," JoJo mutters.
Chloe chuckles. "Actually, a guy at work asked me out to see a movie tonight."
"Really?" Mallory grins widely. "Told you that was a great haircut."
"Yeah whatever," her sister smirks. "It's probably nothing, I thought he was gay." Then she looks directly at JoJo. "So you can get asked out by anybody, I'm not going to be jealous. That's the new Chloe."
JoJo smiles saucily. "For your sake, I hope he isn't gay."
Two days before the wedding
"Hello," Mallory smiles sweetly as the Shepherds enter the Hunt house. "Welcome to brunch."
"We will never say 'no' to your cooking," Derek assures her.
Meredith walks into the living room, where Cristina, Owen, and Diego are gathered. She stares at the boxes stacked on the coffee table. "What's going on?"
"Oh, we're going to be putting the wedding favors together today," Mallory informs her. "While I feed you."
Meredith looks at her husband. "It's a trap."
"Well played," he laughs. They look up as Chloe and Annick descend the stairs.
"This is my friend Annick," Mallory says, introducing them to the dark-haired woman.
"Okay, why isn't the wedding planner putting these together?" Meredith asks.
"Because Dad will only pay for so much," Mallory sighs. "Come on, everyone is going to help, it'll be fun."
'Face it, we're going to have to do something to help with the wedding," Cristina advises.
"And if you help, you get beer and homemade pizza," Rob says, emerging from the kitchen. "Just tell Mallory what toppings you want."
"I'm in," Derek announces. "What do we do?"
"You put these stickers on these little metal tins, and you fill the tins with mints," Rob explains.
JoJo picks up a sheet of stickers and snorts. "'Robbie and the Hurricane'. Cute."
"Hurricane?" Annick looks confused.
"That's 'Hurricane Mallory'," Rob grins, hugging Mallory from behind. "We call her that because of a particular incident."
"I was a little … wilder when I was younger," his fiancee admits.
"I don't think I can work on the wedding favours without hearing that story." Annick winks at Mallory.
"I've never heard the whole story," Diego adds. "I know it involves a birthday party."
"My 7th birthday party!" JoJo pipes up. "She wreaked havoc on it."
"Yes!" Meredith smirks at Mallory. "You want us to work, you have to share the story of what a total brat you were. I planned that party for days."
"You mean, tell them about how everyone ganged up on me and I gave myself a black eye?" Mallory is deadpan.
"You always tell the story wrong," Owen laughs.
Mallory exchanges a meaningful glance with Rob. "I think now is the perfect time to tell the story."
"Be honest about what a brat you were," Chloe says. "Starting with how difficult it was to get you out the door for the party."
Chloe impatiently knocked on her sister's bedroom door. "Hurry up! We're going to be late!"
Cristina opened the door, wearily. "We're ready. The Princess has finally decided on what she's going to wear to the party."
"Hi!" Five year old Mallory twirled around, showing off her lacy frock. "I'm ready to go."
"About time!" Chloe grabbed her sister's hand and guided her towards the stairs. "Dad's got the van warmed up and waiting. Come on!"
Cristina followed them, smirking as she watched Chloe hustle her sister along. "Watch the steps, we don't need a broken arm today."
"Slow down," Mallory complained as they descended. "And don't rip my dress."
"I don't care about your dress," Chloe muttered. "You're going to make us late."
"They won't cut the cake without us," Cristina pointed out. "Chill, Chloe."
"Yeah, chill," Mallory echoed. Then she winced. "You pinched me!"
"No pinching," Cristina admonished as she grabbed Mallory's coat and held it open for her.
"I'll get your boots," Chloe said.
"I can get them, I'm not a baby!" Mallory protested, as her mother zipped up her coat.
"She's just very excited about the party," Cristina muttered.
"I need my dog!" Mallory exclaimed, eyes wide. "I forgot Mr Gus!" She turned to go upstairs, but Cristina stopped her.
"You do this every time!" Chloe protested. "It takes you fifteen million years to get ready to go anywhere!"
"You aren't bringing any of your stuffed animals." Cristina shook her head. "We don't have time and you keep forgetting where you leave them."
Mallory's lower lip quivered as she looked up at her mother. "Pleeeeease," she whined. "He'll be so sad if we leave him behind!"
"No. Put your boots on." Cristina placed Mallory's rain boots in front of her.
Her younger daughter glared at her. And then she folded her arms and sat down, defiantly.
"What about this elephant?" Chloe picked up a stray toy and held it up. "Can we bring Ellie?"
"Fine, we'll bring Ellie." Cristina stood over Mallory, hands on her hips. "Put on your boots."
"Okay." The red-haired girl clambered up and obediently stepped into the boots.
Chloe shoved the toy into Mallory's hands. "Now can we go?"
"Take Mallory out to the van while I get ready," Cristina said, pulling on her own coat.
Mallory made a face as Chloe opened the front door. "It's raining. I'll get my hair wet."
Cristina sighed and pulled up the hood on Mallory's jacket. "There."
"I want an umbrella," she replied. "So that Ellie doesn't get wet."
Chloe threw up her hands in disgust and left the house. Cristina chuckled and picked up an umbrella. "Come on, Princess."
Once everyone was safely buckled in, Owen backed the van out of the driveway and they started towards the Shepherds' house.
"Play my show!" Mallory piped up. "I want to watch The Bubbles!"
"Bubbles?" Annick frowns.
"Oh, that was a kids' TV show that Mallory loved," Cristina explains. "It had giant plastic bubbles that talked and sang. I hated that show."
"No!" Cristina sighed. "I want to listen to something else. You've watched that DVD all week!"
"Play it!" Mallory insisted. "Daddy, I want The Bubbles."
"Whatever happened to 'please'?" Owen grinned, turning a corner.
"Pleeeeease Daddy," Mallory begged, as Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I said no," Cristina reminded her.
"But Daddy said if I said 'please'…"
"I didn't say that," Owen countered. "I just reminded you of your manners."
"Pleeee-eeeeeee-eeeeeease," Mallory whined.
"No!" Everyone else said.
Pouting, Mallory hugged her toy closer to her. Cristina turned on the radio and chose a classic rock station.
"I hope the rain doesn't keep some people away from the party," Owen said, as the windshield wipers beat furiously.
"Everyone in JoJo's class and our Brownie troop was invited," Chloe said. "There should be a lot of kids."
"Is Jonah going to be there?" Mallory looked hopeful.
"No he won't," Cristina replied. "Jonah has chicken pox, remember?"
"No fair." Mallory stuck her lower lip out as her parents chuckled.
"I'm sure Jonah is upset that he's missing the party," Owen pointed out. "I think that if you behave yourself, the other kids will be happy to play with you, Mallory."
"That means, no throwing things, no breaking things, and no temper tantrums," Cristina reminded her.
"And no snitching," Chloe added.
"And stay out of Uncle Derek's fishing gear," Owen chuckled. "Do not, under any circumstances, ever 'play' with the lures again."
Mallory pursed her lips and looked out of the window, silently seething. She felt it was very unfair that everyone was picking on her.
"I definitely think she tells the story wrong," Derek grins.
"Hi, welcome to my party." JoJo greeted them at the door with a big smile.
"Happy Birthday!" Chloe hugged JoJo tightly.
"Happy Birthday," Mallory said, before pulling off her raincoat.
"The gifts go into the dining room," Meredith said as she entered the foyer. "All of the kids are playing downstairs."
"Is anyone here that I know?" Mallory asked hopefully.
"Sofia and Rodrigo are here," Meredith smiled brightly. "There are lots of kids to play with, as long as you stay out of trouble."
"See?" Mallory says. "I hadn't even done anything yet and they were judging me."
"Why do we have to play in the basement?" Mallory asked, as Owen took her raincoat.
"It's the only place that can hold all of the kids," he told her.
"I want to play outside."
"No. It's pouring rain. And you just got over a bad cold," he father said. "Go downstairs with the other kids."
"I want to stay up here," she whined.
"Basement. Now."
Pouting, Mallory went downstairs, where groups of children were scattered. She recognized some kids from martial arts classes and as Chloe's friends, but most of them were strangers to her.
She walked over to a corner where a TV had been set up, and children were playing sports on a video game console. She approached the one child she recognized. "Hi Sofia! Can I play?"
"Sorry, no," the older girl told her. "We've already made up our teams."
"I want to play!"
"You can't, not now," Sofia said, patiently. "We can only have four teams in this game. If you wait your turn, you can play later."
"I don't want to wait." Sighing, Mallory moved around the large room, trying to avoid being run over by the kids chasing each other. Carefully, she walked over to where Robbie was sitting with kids his age, playing with some magic cards.
"Can I play?" Mallory asked.
"No," Robbie said. "You cry when you lose." The other children laughed.
"Do not!" Mallory protested, turning red.
"Do too!" Robbie waved her away.
Nose held high, Mallory walked over to a play table, where some younger children were playing. She reluctantly sat down with them.
"Hi Mal'ry." A black-haired boy with Mark Sloan's smile greeted her.
"Hi Rodrigo. What are you doing?"
He pointed to a pile of big Lego blocks. "We're building a town. Wanna play?"
"Okay." She picked up some of the pieces and started fitting them together.
"Not like that," a little girl told her.
"I'll put them together however I like," Mallory told her, frostily.
"You're doing it wrong."
"It's okay," Rodrigo told Mallory. "You can play however you like."
Sullenly, Mallory put together a building and placed it down. Then she daintily gathered up her skirt and returned to the video game corner. "Now can I play?"
"In five minutes," Sofia tells her, not taking her eyes off of the TV.
Sighing, Mallory moved to the stairs, where she sat down and observed the room. She looked around the room at the older children. Chloe was playing board games with some kids that she didn't know. She supposed that they wouldn't let her join. Belatedly, she realized that she'd left Ellie in the van, and she had nothing to play with. Bored, she began picking apart a purple streamer festooning the banister.
"Don't do that," JoJo scolded, walking up to her.
"Why is it purple? I don't like purple." Mallory said.
"It's my favorite color and it's my party."
"I'm bored."
JoJo shrugged. "Then go play video games in the corner."
"They won't let me. I have to wait."
"Well stop picking at the decorations," the birthday girl admonished her, before walking away.
Defiantly, Mallory picked up the streamer again, with a firm tug. It fell away from the banister, taking down a few balloons that had been tied to it.
"Mallory!" JoJo stomped over. "Don't be such a brat!"
"What happened?" They turned to see Owen at the head of the stairs.
"She's destroying the decorations!" JoJo complained.
Sighing, Owen descended the stairs. JoJo pointed to the fallen streamer and balloons.
"I was just playing with it," Mallory muttered.
"Tell JoJo you're sorry." her father instructed, as he picked up the streamer and started to hang it up again.
"I'm sorry," Mallory said quietly.
The older girl nodded and walked away.
"Why aren't you playing with anyone?" Owen asked.
"They won't let me."
"What about those kids?" He pointed to the play table where the younger children were gathered.
"They're babies." She brightened. "Can I play games on your phone?"
"No," he chuckled. "Not after you ruined the last one."
"I didn't mean to!"
"Mallory!" Owen smiled patiently. "A lot of things happen when you borrow phones. You drop them in the toilet, you change the language, you leave them in a mall. It's expensive when you and electronics meet. No."
She blinked. "Can I use Mom's phone?"
"No!" Owen squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
"Tell them how you left your phone on the Paris subway twice on the same day," Rob suggests to Mallory, who rolls her eyes.
"Hey Mallory." Sofia called over to her. "You can come play now."
"There you go." Owen nudged her. "Have fun."
She skipped over to the TV. Sofia quickly showed her how to play the game and she eagerly took her turn at virtual basketball. Only to discover that she was really, really bad at it.
"You're making us lose," a boy on her team told her. "Stop it, ginger."
"Don't call me that!" Fuming, she waited until it was her turn again.
When the round was over, her teammates turned on her. "You're too little to play this game," one of the big girls told her.
"I don't want to play it anyways!" Angrily, Mallory threw the controller onto the floor. The battery compartment popped open and batteries scattered all over the floor.
"Mallory!" Robbie left his game and came over. He picked up the controller and showed her where one of the buttons had broken off. "Look at what you did!"
She covered her dismay with anger. "I don't care!" Haughtily, she walked upstairs, going to the living room. Her father was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Mark, and her mother was chatting with Arizona. She approached Cristina and tugged on her arm.
"Can I go to the van?" Mallory asked. "I left Ellie in there. And I want to watch The Bubbles."
"It's pouring rain!" Cristina gestured to the window. "Go back downstairs."
"There's nothing to do down there!"
"You must be kidding." Arizona crouched down to Mallory's level and smiled at her. "I can hear lots of kids having fun."
"The big kids won't let me play with them and the little ones are dumb."
"I bet if you ask Sofia really nicely, she'll let you play." Arizona ruffled Mallory's red hair, before standing up again.
"I already tried that," Mallory muttered, looking down. "They're playing a stupid game."
Her mother merely smiled politely, so Mallory walked away. She left the living room and sighed. Her eyes went to the staircase and she smiled, inspired to try something new. Quietly, she made her way to the top floor of the Shepherd house. She opened the door to Robbie's room and walked in. Tiptoeing, she made her way over to the desk, sat down, and turned on his computer.
"You what?" Rob asks. Mallory smiles sheepishly.
She recognized the icon for one of her favorite computer games, and clicked on it. An error message appeared. She put her finger on the screen and carefully read the words. "Insert disc."
Mallory hopped off of the computer chair and started digging through the box of discs underneath the desk. She yelped as the box fell over and its contents spilled out onto the floor.
"A-hem."
Guiltily, Mallory turned and saw Derek standing in the doorway, arms crossed.
"Are you supposed to be in here?" He smiled. "Why don't you pick up the mess and go back downstairs?"
"I just wanted to play a game," she mumbled. "Nobody wants to play with me."
"Did Robbie say you could use his computer?" Derek crouched down and began to help her.
"No."
"Then you can't use it." Derek tweaked her nose affectionately. He stood over her while she picked up the discs, then escorted her to the basement.
"Now why aren't you playing with any of the kids?" Derek asked his small guest.
She pointed to the card players. "They said I cry when I lose." She pointed to the video game players. "They won't play a game that I can win."
"She broke one of the controllers," Robbie called over.
Frowning, Derek began to examine the hardware. Pasting on a smile, Mallory walked over to the corner where the board games were being played. She stood next to Chloe, who was engrossed in a game of Scrabble with three older children.
"Go away," her sister muttered.
"I want to help."
"You can't."
"I can read!" Mallory pointed to Chloe's rack. "You have an 'a' and a 'd'-"
"I said, go away!' Chloe put her hands on her sister's shoulders and pushed her away.
"I just want to play!" Furious, Mallory slammed her fist down on the board, causing all of the tiles to move out of position.
"Look at what you did!" Chloe yelled, as the other players started to protest.
"Nobody will let me have fun!" Irate, Mallory spun around and marched over to where Robbie was sitting. She kicked the cards on the floor, disturbing their game.
"Stop that!" Robbie leaped to his feet and tried to grab Mallory's arm. Screaming in rage, she evaded him, scampering over to the video game corner. She bumped into one of the players, causing him to mess up his moves. As the other children yelled at her, Derek managed to catch Mallory. He dragged her away as she howled in protest. Upset, JoJo ran up the stairs, calling for her mother.
"Oh oh," Diego laughs.
The children in the basement whispered amongst themselves. "This party is lame," one of the girls said, loudly.
Her eyes filling with tears, JoJo sat down on the couch between her mother and Chloe. "My party is ruined."
"No it's not," Meredith smiled gently. "Mallory ... is having an off day. She's being punished. The party is not ruined."
"I'm sorry my sister is being a brat," Chloe said, taking her friend's small hand.
JoJo laid her head against her friend's shoulder and blinked, spilling tears down her cheeks.
Upstairs, Owen and Cristina stood in the dining room, standing over a very defiant Mallory, who sat in a chair and glared at them.
"You are in a time out," Owen informed her. "You will sit in that chair and you will stay there!"
Arms crossed, Mallory glared at her parents. "For how long?"
"You just added 15 more minutes!" Cristina warned her. "You will not move, we will come get you!"
"I want to go to the living room where you are," Mallory begged. "Please?"
"No!"
Sullenly, Mallory looked away. Her parents shrugged at each other and left the room.
"I'm not babysitting if you have a child just like you," Cristina teases Mallory.
The tiny girl sighed as she looked around the room. It was also bedecked in purple streamers and balloons. The table had already been set, with plates and utensils atop a lacy tablecloth. A smaller table had been set up, also with a tablecloth, and all of the birthday presents were piled on top of it.
Bored, Mallory strained to hear the adults conversing in the living room, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.
After what felt like an eternity, she'd had enough. "I bet they forgot I was in here," she sulked. Quietly, she slipped off of the chair, and crept underneath the smaller table. "This is my fort," she decided. "I'm going to stay here until they beg me to come out." In her mind, she had a glorious vision of staying under the table, while everyone pleaded with her to join the party. She tugged at the tablecloth hanging over the edges, trying to conceal herself better. A couple of gift bags fell off.
"Oops." She crawled out and picked up the bags. Curious, she peeked inside one of them. "Boring."
Mallory looked at the pile of presents and at the tablecloth again. Methodically, she began to remove the presents, carelessly stacking them on the floor. Once they were all removed, she adjusted the tablecloth to her satisfaction, then crawled under the table again. She was pleased with her hiding place.
Hearing a sniffing sound, Mallory looked under the tablecloth to see a small chihuahua smelling the presents. Her face lit up. "Hi puppy!" She crawled out and patted the dog. It licked her hands.
"What's your name?" Mallory whispered, as she gathered the animal up in her arms. "Where did you come from?" She giggled as the dog eagerly licked her face, unaware of how red her nose was turning. And then she sneezed. "I'm allergic to dogs," she regretfully informed the small animal. "But I don't care. You're my new friend. You'll play with me."
"Please tell me that the puppy survived the party," Diego says, deadpan. The room cracks up.
"That was April's dog," Meredith recalls. "She brought it everywhere like it was her baby."
She put the puppy back down on the floor. Thinking quickly, she pulled a bow off of a present and held it out. "Do you want to play with this?" The dog quickly seized the decoration with its mouth and sat down to chew on it.
"Oops," she whispered. "You could choke on that." She grabbed the bow, now covered with saliva, and put it on the dining table, out of the dog's reach.
"I didn't notice the bow was there until everyone sat down at the table later," Meredith notes drily.
Scratching her arms, Mallory looked around. She stood up and pulled a purple streamer off of the china cabinet. "We can play with this!" She marched around the room, trailing the streamer behind her. The dog wagged his tail and followed her, chasing her. Giggling, she ran faster, looking behind her to watch the animal. Engrossed in the activity, she failed to watch where she was going. She turned just in time to impact one of the chairs. Screaming in pain, Mallory grabbed her face and stumbled, falling directly on top of the presents.
"Of course she fell onto the presents," Annick laughs.
"She broke the presents?" JoJo looked up at her father and began to cry again. Awkwardly, Chloe patted her hand.
"I'm sorry, JoJo." Rob sat down next to her and put an arm around her.
"Cristina and your mother are checking, we don't know that she broke any gifts," Derek winced. "Uncle Owen is going to take Mallory home before she can do anything else."
"I am so sorry," Cristina told Meredith as they examined the gifts. "We let the girls stay up late last night because we were watching a movie. She's tired. She's-"
"She's your daughter," Meredith smirks. "Oh, I know Mallory isn't deliberately trying to ruin the party, but she's doing a good job of it."
"You're going to have a black eye," Owen observed, examining Mallory's face. She was perched on the counter in the downstairs bathroom, tears streaming down her freckled face.
"I don't wanna go to the hospital." She looked up at him and coughed.
"You won't have to. You don't have a concussion and you don't need stitches." He kissed her forehead and listened to her breathing. "Do you want your inhaler again?"
She wiped her runny nose. "No. Is the doggy okay?"
He nodded. "Yes. Auntie April's puppy is just fine. But you shouldn't have been playing with him, you were in time out."
"I thought you forgot me."
"You were only in time out for 10 minutes," Owen informed her. "I'm taking you home now."
"What? Why?" Mallory whined.
Owen pursed his lips. "Because you're not playing well with others and you made JoJo cry on her birthday."
"I didn't mean to."
"Well, you did," His large hand stroked her cheek. "She's very upset and it would be best if you have a time out from the party. I'll take you home and you can rest with a nice ice pack."
She brightened. "I can watch The Bubbles!"
He paused and shook his head. "You've lost your computer and TV privileges for a few days."
"No TV?" Mallory wailed. "No Bubbles?"
"No Bubbles!"
Her eyes filling with fresh tears, Mallory's face crumpled up and she began to cry in earnest. Owen sighed and wiped her face with a washcloth, trying to soothe her.
Cristina opened the door. "Some of the boxes and gift bags were damaged, but none of the presents themselves are ruined."
"That's good. We'll buy JoJo a gift card to make up for the trouble." Owen looked at his weeping daughter. "Come on, let's go. Chloe and your mother can get a ride with someone else."
"I want to stay," Mallory whined.
"You have been banned from the party," Cristina told her, firmly. "You will go to the kitchen, apologize to JoJo, then leave with your father."
Sniffling, Mallory let Owen guide her to the kitchen. When she saw Meredith, she let go of Owen's hand and grabbed Meredith's legs. "Please don't make me go home," she begged. "I want to stay for the cake."
"Oh no, no." Meredith pried her loose, with Cristina's help.
"Apologize now." Not unkindly, Cristina swung her around to face JoJo, who was wiping away her tears. Chloe held JoJo's hand while she glared at her sister.
"I'm sorry," Mallory told JoJo. "Can I stay for the cake?"
"No," JoJo hissed. "I don't want to see you ever again!"
"I am embarrassed to be your sister," Chloe scolded.
"I think it's time for Mallory to leave," Derek interjected, placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder.
"Let's go." Owen took Mallory's hand and started guiding her out. As they walked, they passed the birthday cake, which was sitting on the breakfast table.
Annick stares at Mallory in horror. "Oh no..."
The perfectly decorated cake with the giant "7" candle irritated Mallory. Everything was irritating her. Everyone was being so mean, stopping her from having any fun and then punishing her. She had a black eye while JoJo got to have a pretty purple cake.
Angrily, she balled up her free hand into a fist and lunged at the cake. Owen tried to yank her away, but her fingers grazed and smeared the icing.
Everyone howls in laughter while Mallory looks sheepish.
"We're going now!" Owen picked her up and carried her to the front door, with Cristina hastily following. They could hear JoJo screaming from the kitchen. Furious, Mallory kicked and howled at the top of her lungs. The adults in the living room moved away from the noise, while some of the kids emerged from the basement to watch.
"Let me down!" Mallory began to kick Owen as Cristina tried to put her raincoat on.
"You've got to put on your coat!" Cristina snapped. "It's practically a hurricane out there."
Angrily, Mallory began to beat Owen with her tiny fists.
"We don't hit!" Frustrated, Owen lowered her so that she could stand on her own.
"I don't want to put on my coat!" Mallory yanked open the front door and marched outside. If she was going to be kicked out of the party, she would leave on her own, instead of being carried out by her father. Resolutely, she marched to the van, wearing her party slippers instead of her boots. She could hear her parents calling for her, but she ignored them. It only took her five seconds to slip and fall in the mud, face first. Shocked, she tried to jump to her feet but slipped again.
"I got you," she heard her father say. Sighing, Owen bent down and picked up Mallory, who didn't fight him. Getting soaked in the pouring rain, he cradled her as he walked to the front porch, where he carefully set her down.
Cristina, Meredith and Derek stood in the open doorway. The Shepherds didn't try to hide their amusement. "You look like you were in a hurricane!" Derek howled.
Owen looked down at himself and then at Mallory. They were both soaked and filthy. "I think Mallory is a hurricane."
Chloe peeked out from behind Cristina and started to laugh. "JoJo, you have to see this!" She ran away, while Cristina shook her head in disbelief. JoJo and Chloe appeared and looked at the bedraggled duo.
"Serves you right," Chloe snickered, while JoJo began to laugh.
Coughing, Mallory turned and hid her face against her father's hip, while others came to gawk and laugh at her. JoJo was pointing at her and making fun of her. Wet and muddy, Mallory began to shiver.
"Poor baby," JoJo grins.
"We have to get her out of her wet clothes," Owen told the Shepherds apologetically. "I'll go grab her gymnastics bag from the van."
"Don't you go catching pneumonia, you little hurricane," Cristina told her muddy daughter, gently ushering her back indoors.
Meredith laughed. "Beware the destructive powers of Hurricane Mallory."
"She destroys birthday parties at force 5," Derek chuckled, shaking his head.
"Heh," Mallory said, teeth chattering.
"Were you still banned from the party?" Annick asks.
"Hell yeah," JoJo snorts. "She was made to apologize again, properly, and then she got sent home in disgrace."
"I am very very very sorry," Mallory declared to JoJo, who stood there with a skeptical expression. The older girl looked at her parents, who nodded at her. She turned and faced Mallory. "Fine."
"Come on Hurricane," Owen chuckled weakly.
As she was strapped into her booster seat, Mallory looked down at herself unhappily. She was wearing a leotard and sweatpants, because her pretty party dress was muddy and torn.
Cristina lectured her while buckling her in. "You are going to be a good girl for the rest of the day, Miss Hurricane."
"Okay," Mallory yawned, ready for a nap.
"When Chloe and I get home, I want to hear that you behaved yourself for your poor father." Cristina smiled and shook her head. "Please try and stay out of trouble for him." She closed the van door and stepped back.
"All right, time to go," Owen sighed. He pulled away from the house.
"Daddy?"
"Uh huh."
"I want to watch The Bubbles."
Everyone in the room howls with laughter, especially JoJo. Mallory grins and shrugs. "And that's how I became known as the Hurricane."
"And you're friends with her now?" Annick asks JoJo.
"It took a while," JoJo laughs, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Nobody invited Mallory to a birthday party for a year," Chloe grins. "She only came to mine because our parents insisted."
"Okay, okay." Mallory points to the boxes of supplies. "Now that I've told you the story, get to work. I'll go get the beer."
"I'll help," JoJo says, rising.
"No no, that's okay," Mallory smiles. "I can manage."
"I'm up already," JoJo points out. "I'll get the beer while you start the pizzas."
Mallory's eyes flicker to her sister, sending a silent plea.
"I think there might be more mints in the basement," Chloe says, hastily standing up. "JoJo, can you help me look?"
"Um, sure." The parents exchange amused glances, as the two young women go downstairs.
"So?" JoJo looks hopeful. "How was your movie date?"
Chloe shrugs. "He's not gay. But not really my type. He hardly said anything to me, he was really shy. And he texted his friends during the movie."
"Aw." JoJo tilts her head. "Well, as Papa Bear would say, you deserve someone who'll pay attention to you."
"He's right about that," Chloe agrees. "I can do better."
After a couple of hours, the last of the party favours are finished and packed away in boxes.
"Well done," Rob grins, clearing off the coffee table. "Stay seated – Mallory has whipped up a very special dessert." He disappears into the kitchen.
"Having Mallory as a daughter-in-law will be dangerous for my waistline," Meredith groans, rubbing her stomach.
Grinning, Rob helps Mallory carry a cake out of the kitchen. They place it in front of an astonished JoJo. It is a three tier cake, elaborately decorated with purple icing. The message "Happy Birthday JoJo" is written all over it, several times.
"Lately, I've been wondering how I could make up things with you," Mallory smiles shyly at JoJo. "So I baked you this. And also, I wanted to thank you for being so helpful with the wedding and being my new friend."
"Oh my god ..." JoJo stares at it. "It's the most beautiful birthday cake ever."
"She wrote 'Happy Birthday' fifteen times, for the fifteen times she's missed your birthday," Rob informs his sister.
"Thank you so much!" JoJo stands up and hugs Mallory. "You can come to my next birthday party."
"Aw." Mallory blushes.
"Now this is what I wanted," Derek says, dreamily. Everyone looks at him.
"Look at us!" He gestures around the living room. "Everyone is speaking with each other and nobody's banned from birthday parties now. We're finally one big happy family."
In the next chapter ... the wedding! Really!