Disclaimer: Not mine...

A/N: Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews!!!

"No, they didn't tell me," Lizzy answered for the Harrisons, "At least, not until right before I left. I ran away to Paul's, then I decided to go find you."

"I thought we agreed that you'd tell her as soon as she was old enough to understand," Lucy said, putting a hand to her forehead and massaging her temple. "Somehow, I knew this would happen." she said in a whisper.

"We gave her to you so that you'd raise her," Jude said. "but we wanted her to at least know where she came from. That was the whole purpose of the letter I wrote. Why would you hide us from her?"

Mrs. Harrison looked at her husband tensely. "It was a mistake, and we're very sorry--"

"Sorry's not good enough," Jude said, raising his voice. "Why would you keep the truth from Lizzy?" He demanded.

"I…I don't know," Mrs. Harrison stammered, seeing that her husband wasn't going to speak. He was staring Jude down. "We didn't exactly approve of your lifestyle. We didn't want her to be influenced by it. But…apparently that didn't work." Lizzy couldn't help but smirk proudly. She had embraced her hippie lineage without even knowing it.

"So, you were ashamed of us? And you just took it upon yourselves to shut us out of her life? She has every right to know who her real parents are!" Lucy said heatedly.

They were all going to start really screaming at each other, and Lizzy didn't want to be in the middle of it. She also knew that Paul didn't want to stand there and witness that. "I know everyone here is more than a little pissed," she said. "But can't we just talk this over calmly?" There was an amazing amount of tension in the air, and Lizzy hated to be the cause of it. She was afraid that this entire thing would end in an ugly custody battle. She continued to tell them to stop yelling, while throwing apologetic looks in Paul's direction. Neither one of them listened; Lizzy's voice went unnoticed for the time being. Jude and Charlie Harrison were in the midst of a fiery argument and looked like they were about to haul off and punch each other in the face when Lizzy stepped in between them--things were going to go too far, and she never meant for it to.

Lizzy spread her arms out, placing either hand on Mr. Harrison's and Jude's chests. She glanced between them, her deep, azure eyes pleading for the two of them to stop.

"Try to see it my way
Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on
While you see it your way
Run the risk of knowing that or love may soon be gone
We can work it out
We can work it out

Think of what you're saying
You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right
Think of what I'm saying
We can work it out and get it straight or say good night
We can work it out
We can work it out

Life is very short and there's no time
for fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again…"

Lizzy told the adults, while standing her ground in between her father and Charlie. Charlie was still looking a bit agitated. He went to get Lizzy out of the way, but Lizzy pushed him back and continued to get them to calm down.

"…Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance we might fall apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out

Life is very short and there's no time
for fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again…"

"There's nothing to work out, Elizabeth." Mr. Harrison said sternly.

Lizzy shook her head, rolling her eyes at Charlie. If he wasn't so dense, he'd stop yelling and pissing off her parents and everyone else in the room so that they could get this whole thing straightened out.

"Think of what you're saying," she told him.

"You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right
Think of what I'm saying
We can work it out and get it straight or say good night
We can work it out
We can work it out."

"I know you wanted to see your biological parents, but the fact of the matter is, you ran away--we were very concerned about where you were going. I think you've had more than enough fun here in the city. I think it's best that you come home now." Mr. Harrison said, finally backing off.

"No," Lizzy said defiantly. "I am home."

"Elizabeth, don't be ridiculous," Mr. Harrison argued. He was relentless; he usually got into disputes with the teenager more frequently than his wife. He and Lizzy constantly butted heads. "I understand that Jude and Lucy are your real parents, but legally, you belong in Florida, with us."

"Listen," Lizzy said, looking at the Harrisons, "you've given me everything possible, and I appreciate that. I'm sure my parents would agree that they're thankful having you to support me all these years. But…I don't belong with you. Not really. And I'm sure you've both realized this. Which is why I'd like to stay here in New York, permanently. That is, if Jude and Lucy would be willing to let me." Paul glanced at Lizzy, surprised. He had figured that this would most likely happen at some point. He would be happy for his best friend, of course, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she could potentially be leaving him behind…

Jude wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Of course we would, love." he said. Mr. Harrison looked like he was about to open up his mouth to say something in protest; Mrs. Harrison must've noticed this, too, because she put a hand firmly on his arm.

"Charlie," she said, warningly. "Maybe we should let Liz decide what's best for her. She's old enough to have a say in what she wants, and as her surrogate parents, we should support her." Mrs. Harrison shared a rare smile with the teenager, and for the first time in a long time, Lizzy felt like Mrs. Harrison actually understood now.

Mr. Harrison stood, arms still crossed, his expression deeply pensive. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and finally looked at Lizzy. "Is this what you really want?" he asked.

"Very much so, yes." Lizzy answered.

"And you're willing to take her in again?" Mr. Harrison inquired of Lucy and Jude. "You're financially stable--enough to support her? She is going to college in the fall…"

Lucy shared a smile with Jude. "Yes, we can manage it now." he told Charlie. There was a moment of tense silence. Mr. Harrison glanced at his wife, and they seemed to communicate through body language to come up with a decision.

"Okay," Charlie declared. Lizzy felt her stomach doing excited flip-flops. "We'll have to get in touch with our lawyer and get this all sorted out." He told Lucy and Jude. "But, Lizzy will have to finish out the school year in Florida, if you don't mind. Then, we can get her settled here at the start of the summer."

"And we'll pay for her to fly out and spend spring break here in New York." Mrs. Harrison added.

"Thank you," Lizzy said, suddenly wrapping her arms around Mrs. Harrison. She then gave Mr. Harrison a hug. "Thank you so much…" Lizzy went and stood between Lucy and Jude; Lucy was wiping tears from her cheeks. Jude and Lucy couldn't believe their daughter was actually going to live with them permanently. The two happy parents said their own 'thank you's', giving the Harrisons hand shakes and grateful embraces.

"Do you need somewhere to stay?" Lucy asked after she and Jude had finished thanking them.

"No, but thank you for the invitation," Mrs. Harrison said. "We've got a hotel room."

"How long are you planning on stayin' in New York?" Jude asked.

"Until January 2. Maggie wanted to stay for New Year's." Mr. Harrison replied.

"Well, we're having a New Year's Eve party, so you're both welcome to come. The whole family will be here." Lucy informed them.

"We might take you up on the offer." Mr. Harrison laughed.

----------------------------------------

Before anyone knew it, it was New Year's Eve and they were in the midst of the party at Lucy and Jude's apartment. The place was decorated with New Year's balloons and banners, and there was an assortment of junk foods spread out on the table in the center of the living room. The entire family was gathered in the living room in front of the television, watching the celebrations happening in Times Square in anticipation. Valerie and Max were on the couch with Michelle sitting in between them; little Max was seated on the floor watching as Jimi sat in a chair and strummed his acoustic guitar. He was playing with a bag of New Year's confetti, spreading it all over himself and the floor in front of him. Eleanor, Lizzy, and Paul were on the floor as well, keeping an eye on the TV while talking. Sadie and JoJo were curled up in a chair together, as was Prudence and Rita. Lucy was sitting on Jude's lap on the remaining spot on the couch.

It was eleven o'clock when Mr. and Mrs. Harrison showed up, bringing with them a large bottle of what appeared to be some kind of expensive champagne. Everyone was a bit surprised that they had taken Lucy and Jude's invitation. They had known about the Harrisons' visit to Lucy and Jude's place the other day, since Max had basically spread the word about it. It wasn't until yesterday that Lucy and Jude had told the rest of the family that they were making arrangements with the Harrisons so that Lizzy could stay with them permanently after she graduated from high school. Everyone was excited to hear the news, and were without a doubt happy that Lizzy was going to live in New York again.

"Hello, everyone," Mrs. Harrison said cheerfully as the adults were quietly explaining to the kids that these people had been the ones raising Lizzy since she was two years old. "I hope we're not too late."

"Not at all," Sadie said, while they sat down in a couple of extra chairs. "Party's just getting started."

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison introduced themselves to some unfamiliar faces--meaning, little Max, Michelle, Jimi, Eleanor and Rita. Meanwhile, Lizzy and Paul were discussing Lizzy's move to New York. It was mostly Lizzy talking; Paul was paying attention somewhat, his mind too preoccupied with other things, like the fact that he was going to loose his best friend in a few months. She'd start over here, and leave him miles and miles away. He couldn't bear the thought of it, and he certainly couldn't bring up his concerns because Lizzy was just so excited.

"My dad talked to my mom about SVA--you know, the college in Manhattan?" she was saying. Paul nodded absentmindedly in response. "They said if I really wanted to go there, I could. Isn't that awesome?"

"Uh-huh."

Lizzy tilted her head to the side, looking at her friend skeptically. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy for me."

Paul suddenly perked up, offering her the best smile he could manage, hoping it didn't look too forced. "Oh, yeah…I am. That's great, Lizzy. First choice school…that's great. It's what you wanted, right?"

She smiled. "Yeah."

"Cool."

They turned their attention back to the TV, watching a shot of the crowd gathered in Times Square for the festivities. Paul was discreetly observing his friend out of the corner of his eye as she twisted the strawberry pendant between her fingers. She had a smirk on her face, her blue eyes sparkling with anxiousness. He'd miss her, he realized. Everything about her--her smile, her sarcastic comments, her advice when he was feeling down, and her eyes; the ones he got lost in on several occasions. Paul was going to loose the girl he truly cared for, maybe more than just a best friend. And he wasn't so sure he could do anything to stop that.

When it was a minute until midnight, everyone in the room was on their feet--well, everyone who was awake. Max Jr. had fallen asleep, and Eleanor was close to it, so she was too tired to stand. Other than that, the rest of the family and the Harrisons were up and waiting anxiously. Then, they counted down from ten, eyes glued to the TV as the bright, sparkling, ball of light dropped in Times Square.

"Happy New Year!" The group yelled enthusiastically at the stroke of twelve. Immediately, all of the adult couples shared the traditional kiss at midnight. Paul, Lizzy, Jimi, and Michelle were left to watch as all of the couples in the room--even the Harrisons--rang in the new year with their significant other. Lizzy turned to Paul, ready to wish him a 'Happy New Year'. But before she could get the words out of her mouth, Paul was cupping the side of her face with his hand, searching her eyes for any sign that she wanted to pull away.

Lizzy was too shocked to think clearly, and therefore Paul found nothing to stop his actions, so he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. Lizzy was still surprised and severely confused, but returned the kiss, her mind racing. She was fighting with every thought, feeling and emotion she had in her at that very moment. She wasn't sure if this was right. Paul was her friend--her best friend. And this wasn't exactly the kind of thing that best friends did. However, somewhere in the middle of the shock and confusion and thinking that this isn't something they should be doing, Lizzy liked the kiss. It was gentle and undeniably sweet; an obvious display of affection telling her that Paul wanted something more than just her friendship. Lizzy didn't know how she felt about that.

They broke from the kiss rather abruptly, and Lizzy became particularly interested in the floor. She stared down at her feet and didn't say a word. Everyone had seen the kiss, but had decided not to say anything; it was an issue that had to be dealt with by the two teenagers. When Lizzy didn't speak, Paul mentally kicked himself. Maybe kissing her wasn't the best idea…

"Lizzy…" he began to say quietly. "I didn't…"

But then again, she had kissed him back.

"Don't…worry about it," Lizzy lied, and made her way to the front door. "Umm…I'm gonna go on the roof and get some fresh air. Be back in a little bit." She informed her parents. She left as Max broke the awkwardness by suggesting that they crack open the champagne bottle the Harrisons brought. Paul waited a few minutes, and went after Lizzy, knowing that they need to talk this over. Once the two teenagers left, Max let out an amused laugh, looking over at Lucy and Jude.

"Ooh man," he chuckled, "Looks like someone's in love…"