Summary: Derek and some surprise companions come for a visit as Audrey gets ready for Homecoming.
"Nick Morrow asked you out?" Jenna asked excitedly. She had just left cross-country practice and met Jenna in the hallway as she was leaving cheer practice.
"Yeah. Do you know him?" Audrey asked.
"Yeah. He and Jace are in the same English class. I think he started at Windward last year," Jenna replied.
Audrey nodded thoughtfully as they walked to the front of the school where their parents' cars were waiting.
"If you need a dress, maybe you can come over later this week. I have some dresses you can look at if you don't have time to shop for a new one," Jenna offered as they got closer to Addison and Lesley-Ann's cars.
"Thanks. I'll ask my mom," Audrey said, grateful. Jenna was right in thinking she might not have the time to go shopping. Or her parents might not have the time to take her shopping this week before the dance on Saturday. She wasn't sure, but either way, it was a nice gesture.
"Ask me what?" Addison asked from the driver's seat. The girls hadn't even noticed she had the window open.
"Um…can I go to Jenna's house sometime this week? Maybe after volleyball practice?" Audrey asked, looking over at Jenna for confirmation of the proposed schedule. She nodded her head in agreement.
"Oh. Sure. What for?" Addison asked.
"To raid my closet; Audrey got asked to the dance!" Jenna replied excitedly. Audrey blushed as a shocked but happy expression came across Addison's face.
"Oh, my gosh! That's great," Addison said as Audrey smiled back awkwardly.
"Yeah…I'll see you tomorrow, Jenna," Audrey said, quickly changing the subject before getting in the car.
"Bye!" Jenna waved before walking over to her mother's car beside Addison's.
"So, that's exciting. Who asked you to the dance?" Addison asked as she turned out of the school parking lot.
"His name's Nick; he's on the cross-country team with me. I don't really know him that well yet," Audrey replied, fidgeting her fingers.
"That's okay. I'm glad you're going to the dance; I didn't want to push you to go if you didn't want to, but I think you'll have fun," Addison smiled reassuringly, glancing over at her daughter when she looked up before directing her attention back on the road.
"I've never been to a dance before," Audrey started.
"That's okay," Addison said.
"I don't know how to dance…," Audrey muttered.
"Jake is a great dancer; I'm sure he'd love to teach you," Addison replied, trying to ease her worries.
"So, what else do you know about him? Your date, I mean. Nick, right?" Addison asked, curious.
"Yeah. He's…nice. We're both reading The Great Gatsby for school and he thinks Gatsby's going to end up with Daisy by the end, but I don't think he will," Audrey replied.
"Why not? I mean, why don't you think he'll get the happy ending?" Addison asked.
"I don't know. Happy endings feel like something only little kid books have. Maybe grown-ups know happy endings don't always happen," Audrey mused.
Addison's heart sank. Audrey was 15 years old. Any other 15-year-old should believe in happy endings, but everything Audrey's been through in just a matter of months made her believe they weren't always a possibility. Addison knew that whatever she said next would have to be gentle, but honest.
"You know, I, uh, I didn't think I'd ever get my happy ending, either," Addison started. Audrey looked over, curious, while Addison glanced from the road to smile at her daughter.
"I mean, after you and your dad, I didn't know if I ever wanted to have kids again. And I definitely didn't think I'd find someone after things didn't work out with Mark. It was hard for a while, but, you know, I…adopted Henry and met Jake and I got you back, which I never thought would happen. I just…I don't want you to think that happy endings don't exist because…I'm living proof that they do," Addison added.
"I don't know what I believe," Audrey muttered.
"Is…is there a reason why you don't think you've gotten a happy ending? I mean, at least I hope you're happy here," Addison asked gently.
"I am happy here, Mom. I am," Audrey insisted.
"But?" Addison asked, glancing over at Audrey before directing her attention back to the road.
"It just…it doesn't feel real yet. I'm happy I'm here with you and Jake and that I get to see Dad all the time. It's just…Eleanor's behind bars, but Robert…he's still out there. I love you and Dad…and Jake and Meredith, and Henry and Zola and Will and Angela, and…everyone else, but it just doesn't feel real until they catch Robert. I'm happy here, Mom, I am, and I feel safe with you and Jake, I do, but I don't think I've gotten my happy ending yet. It just doesn't feel over yet, you know? I want my happy ending - more than anything - it just doesn't feel like I'm there yet," Audrey replied honestly.
"Well, you're right that it's not over; even the whole idea of a happy ending isn't really an ending; it's more of…a happy end to a chapter. Jake and Henry and Angela, and getting you back…all of you aren't a happy ending to me, either. It's more like a happy beginning. But happy ending or happy beginning, whatever you want to call it…all of us are going to do everything we can to get you that happy ending. I hope you know that," Addison said after giving her a minute of silence.
"I do know that," Audrey smiled.
Audrey nodded as her mom drove them the rest of the way home. To fill the silence in the car, Addison turned on the radio. She glanced over and saw Audrey gently bopping her head to the music on the way home, letting it calm her nerves. When they got home, Audrey immediately went upstairs to shower before dinner.
"Hey," Jake said, closing the oven door after Audrey had said hello before excusing herself upstairs to take a shower.
"Hey," Addison smiled before giving her husband a quick kiss.
"So, Audrey's gonna go to Jenna's place on Wednesday after volleyball," Addison started.
"Okay," Jake said, anticipating that Addison had more to say.
"Someone asked her to the dance," Addison added excitedly.
"That's great," Jake said.
"Yeah. I think she's just a little nervous. She said she doesn't know how to dance. Granted, I barely know how to dance. I took three years of tap dancing, but that's not exactly dance-floor type of dancing. Hopefully, she's a better dancer than me and Derek. He's never been the best dancer, either," Addison rambled.
"I'm sure she'll do great. If you want, I can teach her a few moves," Jake said, playfully smirking.
"Who says you have moves?" Addison teased, giggling. Jake chuckled before wrapping an arm around her waist as they started swaying back and forth in the kitchen and spinning her around.
"Shut up," Addison said, unable to keep a straight face before laughing, letting Jake take the lead in an impromptu dance in the kitchen.
After she took a shower and got dressed, Audrey poked her head into Henry's bedroom while drying her hair with a towel and saw her brother get out of bed. She smiled at him when he finally turned around and looked up at her while rubbing his eyes before walking over sleepily. Audrey moved her towel from one arm to the other before picking her brother up and returning to her room to hang up her towel as Henry rested his head on her shoulder.
"Did you have a good nap?" Audrey asked, rubbing his back softly.
He nodded before she brought him downstairs and found Jake and Addison dancing playfully in the kitchen. Henry propped his head to watch alongside his sister before Jake spun Addison around, prompting her to see the kids watching them. Addison stifled a laugh, covering her mouth with her free hand, and making Audrey and Henry laugh.
"Hi guys," Jake smiled, making Addison laugh harder at how unbothered he was by the whole situation.
"Hi," Audrey chuckled before letting Henry down, who walked over to the orange tabby on the other side of the kitchen before chasing after him as the cat ran over toward the living room.
"Your mom was just telling me about the dance and…I guess we just got a little carried away," Jake said, chuckling.
Audrey smiled. She'd never seen couples this happy before seeing Jake and her mother and her father with Meredith. Robert and Eleanor's marriage wasn't devoid of love. At least she didn't think it was, but it may have been devoid of respect. Robert had a very traditional way of thinking about marriage. He was the one who made the decisions, he was the one with the control. Audrey remembered watching him direct Eleanor to do whatever he pleased while she bit her lip and stayed quiet.
She remembered wondering how they'd stayed together and wondering if Eleanor was just staying because of her, but considering how she'd defended him when Audrey visited her in jail, she doubted it. It was hard to see why Robert and Eleanor had gotten together, let alone stayed together, but Audrey had seen what loving, committed relationships were supposed to look like after seeing her parents with their respective partners. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that made her parents' relationships work (yet), but whatever it was, it was something Robert and Eleanor never seemed to have.
"If you need any dancing lessons, I'd be happy to help," Jake offered. Audrey blushed, smiling graciously before walking over to help her mother set the table.
"He's probably your best bet if you want to learn how to dance. Your dad and I are terrible dancers," Addison joked, trying to lighten up the mood.
Audrey giggled and nodded, helping Addison set the table before joining Henry in the living room, playing with Milo, the cat. Addison inhaled sharply as she joined Jake in the kitchen before he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her head as they watched the kids play with the cat in the living room. A few minutes later, Audrey got up to grab her homework, but she came back to sit on the couch while watching Henry. Addison smiled, thankful at how great of a big sister Audrey was and how easy it had come to her despite growing up as an only child thus far. It was crazy to think about how she'd gone from being an only child to having four siblings within a matter of months.
That night, after tucking Henry in, Addison looked into Audrey's room to find her working on some more homework as Milo sat on her lap. She was writing something with one hand while petting the cat's head with her other hand.
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you earlier by telling Jake about the dance," Addison finally said as she walked into Audrey's room.
"Oh. It's okay," Audrey blushed as Milo hopped off her lap and climbed onto her bed as Addison sat down.
"So…, are you excited about the dance?" Addison asked eagerly as Milo climbed onto Addison's lap.
"I don't know. I've never been to one," Audrey replied honestly, smiling shyly.
"Well, if you have any questions, you know where to find me. Bizzy - your grandmother - made me go to every single one of them. I hated it. Not the dances themselves; I just hated that she forced me to go to them. But I am grateful because as much as I dreaded it sometimes, I had fun. Plus, I usually ditched my date halfway through the night anyway to hang out with my friends," Addison recounted.
"You didn't feel bad about ditching?" Audrey asked, curious.
"Mm…sometimes. Only a few of them actually asked me because they wanted to go out with me; most of the time, Bizzy and one of her friends set us up, so we'd, you know, take the pictures and dance the slow dance together. We usually just ended up separating to hang out with our own friends," Addison explained.
"What about when Bizzy didn't set you up?" Audrey asked.
"It was nice. Awkward at times, but nice," Addison replied honestly.
The room went quiet for a few minutes.
"Is Dad really that bad of a dancer?" Audrey asked, giggling.
"Yes. Well, sometimes. He learned how to do a waltz for the wedding, so he's a pretty good slow dancer, but…it's like he just kind of shimmies and does a little twist before doing some weird version of The Carlton for anything else," Addison replied, starting to laugh at the thought of Derek dancing.
"What's The Carlton?" Audrey asked, joining in her mom laughing.
"It…it's like this," Addison started, stifling another laugh before swinging her arms in a half-assed effort to do The Carlton dance. The girls laughed as Addison stopped dancing.
"So, I should ask Jake to teach me how to dance," Audrey said.
"If you want to look like you can dance with moves from this century, then yes, you should ask Jake to teach you how to dance," Addison joked.
"Thanks. I might just take him up on that," Audrey said as they both smiled at each other.
"Don't stay up too late," Addison said before kissing the top of Audrey's head before heading back to her bedroom.
Audrey stayed up for another hour to finish up her homework before grabbing Addison's copy of The Great Gatsby, reading one more chapter before closing the book, and getting under the covers to get some sleep.
Meanwhile, Addison called Derek to tell him about how Audrey got asked to the dance by some boy in her cross-country team and how she was going to go with not just him, but her friends and their dates as well.
"Wait, what do you know about this guy?" Derek asked.
"Nothing really. He's on the cross-country team and he…is reading The Great Gatsby," Addison replied. Derek gave her a confused look back on the other end of their FaceTime call.
"She doesn't know him well, either. She just started cross-country, so she's only known him for…a week now," Addison said, mentally counting how long it'd been since their daughter had started going to cross-country practices, and it'd been exactly one week so far.
"Well, I want to meet him," Derek said. Addison chuckled.
"And when would you do that? The Homecoming dance is this Saturday," Addison asked.
"I'll come down Friday and call Audrey in the morning. I'm not letting some guy take our daughter to the dance without meeting him first," Derek replied in a stern, fatherly way.
"Good luck with that," Addison said, giggling and going against her instinct of asking more questions and instead choosing to let Derek do whatever he needed to to make him feel okay with their daughter going to her first school dance.
After hanging up, Addison dropped her hand while holding her phone and looked at Jake sitting beside her. He looked up from his book and gave her a look. One that verged on him wondering how Derek would react while simultaneously wondering why Addison hadn't done more to stop her ex-husband.
"Shut up," Addison rolled her eyes before plugging her phone in to charge on the nightstand, knowing that she wanted to say something to Derek. Jake just chuckled before closing his book, putting it on his nightstand, and turning out the lamp before lying down beside Addison and roping an arm around her.
In the morning, Audrey came down for breakfast and watched as Jake poured a mixture of whisked eggs into the pan. She told him and Addison good morning before grabbing a cat wand off the couch and waving it around for Milo. The cat focused in on the wand as Henry followed him before Audrey gave Henry a turn at playing with it. Addison smiled while pouring Jake a cup of coffee as she watched the kids play in the living room. Her eyes stayed glued to them as Jake got the mug out of her hand and kissed her cheek as he went back to making breakfast. It wasn't long afterward when Audrey's phone started ringing at the breakfast table.
"Phone!" Henry exclaimed. Audrey chuckled before getting up from the couch and walking over to answer her phone.
"That's right, Henry!" Addison encouraged, making Henry smile.
"Dad?" Audrey asked after looking at the caller ID and answering the call.
"Morning, Audrey," Derek said.
"Morning…is everything okay?" Audrey asked. He usually waited until after dinner to call.
"Yeah. I, uh…your mom told me you were going to the dance on Saturday. Are you excited?" Derek asked.
"Um…yeah. I…I don't have anything to wear yet, but Jenna said I could borrow something from her closet," Audrey replied awkwardly.
"Yeah? Or maybe your mom can find something for you," Derek suggested. Audrey smiled, knowing her father had to be calling for more than just asking about her dress for the homecoming dance on a Tuesday morning.
"Your mom also told me someone asked you to the dance," Derek added, clearing his throat.
"Yeah," Audrey confirmed, keeping her tone light.
Robert would've been furious if she'd started dating and had found out. There was one time when she'd gone to a party where they played spin the bottle, and Robert had burst in and pulled her out of there. Not that Audrey had even gotten a turn playing the game, but just the idea of her playing made him angry enough to pull her away. She knew it was unlikely her real father would react the same way, but her instinctual reaction still got the best of her.
"I want to meet him," Derek said. Audrey waited to see if there'd be more to it, but there was nothing.
"Okay…when?" Audrey asked slowly.
"Preferably before the dance," Derek replied jokingly.
"But the dance is Saturday. And I…I barely know him," Audrey pointed out.
"Well, what would you say to me coming up on…Friday? Maybe you can invite him to dinner or something," Derek suggested.
"Dad," Audrey said, embarrassed.
"Okay, what about before the dance on Saturday?" Derek suggested, not wanting to overstep.
He wanted to make sure that this guy who was taking his daughter to the dance was a good person and that it would be someone who would keep her safe. He didn't see how he could do that if he didn't at least meet him.
"Mm…," Audrey hummed, biting her lip. Jake glanced over, watching her from afar after sliding the scrambled eggs out onto a plate. He saw so much of Addison in her.
"How about if he picks you up from here on Saturday? Jenna and Sabina can get ready with you upstairs and you can all take pictures out on the patio," Addison suggested.
The backyard was beautiful, and by the time they'd left for the dance, the sunset would be perfectly in view, but there'd still be enough natural sunlight out there for pictures. Plus, Addison selfishly wanted to see her daughter all dressed up with her friends before she left for the dance.
"I can ask," Audrey finally replied. It felt like a lot to go from not going to the dance at all to asking everyone to go to her house with only a few days' notice, but the view would definitely be a big selling point to her friends.
"Good. I've gotta go into surgery, but I love you and I'll see you this weekend," Derek replied, before promptly hanging up.
Audrey hung up and looked over at her mother, who gave her a small smile back before grabbing utensils to set the table. Once breakfast was ready, Jake called Audrey and Henry over to the table before they all sat down to eat. When Audrey brought up the idea of coming to her house to get ready for the dance and take pictures, her friends loved the idea. And she was right about how beneficial the view in the backyard would be. When Wednesday afternoon came, Audrey and her friends came home with Jenna to dig into her closet for a dress.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott were nice, and Audrey finally met Jenna's younger sister, Gracie, whom she'd talked about before. The seven-year-old girl went to play with the dollhouse in her room while they all went to Jenna's room. Jenna had a handful of dresses Audrey could try on, and they were all gorgeous. But when Audrey finally went to try them on, she didn't quite feel right in them. Even Sabina and Jenna weren't entirely sure about the dresses, but the dance was on Saturday. Unless she could go shopping after cross-country practice and find a dress on Friday, Audrey didn't feel like she had much of a choice.
She was in her second-to-last dress when the doorbell rang. The dress she was wearing was worse than the rest so far, and Audrey didn't exactly have faith in the last dress option. At the very least, there was one suitable dress, but it didn't have that wow factor Audrey had been hoping for. This dress was a strapless sweetheart neckline dress, full of rhinestones on the bustier, with a short pink tutu underneath, which was pretty, but it wasn't quite Audrey's style. She came out of the bathroom and saw her friends smiling like idiots before turning to see not just her mom standing in the doorway of Jenna's bedroom, but also her dad standing beside him.
"Dad!" Audrey's eyes widened before going up to hug him. She felt him chuckle as her head rested on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, kid," Derek said as they let go of their embrace.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were coming on Friday," Audrey asked excitedly.
"Well, I thought I'd come early," Derek smiled as Addison looked curiously at the dress Audrey was wearing. It definitely looked like a homecoming dance dress, but it also looked too short, and something about it just didn't fit Audrey.
"The skirt's kind of itchy," Audrey commented shyly.
"Oh, that's not going to be the dress," Sabina commented.
"Definitely not," Jenna agreed. Derek and Addison practically let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that their daughter wasn't beautiful, because she was, but it was too short and the dress looked cheap and very not Audrey-like style-wise.
"Good. Well, not good, but…here," Addison said, stumbling over her words as she held out the brown shopping bag she'd brought in with her. Audrey's eyes rose to smile at her before accepting the paper bag and disappearing behind the bathroom door again.
After stripping off Jenna's dress, she felt the tutu skirt brush against her legs, reminding her of the scratchy material she had mentioned earlier. Audrey pulled the dress out of the bag and found a light blue dress with spaghetti straps and floral detailing on the bustier with a much higher-quality tulle skirt. After slipping it on, she was happy to see the dress wasn't nearly as short as the last one and the skirt sparkled in a much subtler way than the bejeweled bustier on the last dress.
Audrey adjusted the straps a little before looking at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but smile as she looked closer at the floral detailing and specks of glitter on the dress. It felt unbelievable that she'd found a dress with only two days to spare, but her mother had somehow accomplished the impossible. She took a deep breath before opening the bathroom door where everyone else was waiting for her.
She saw Derek first, his entire face lighting up at the sight of his daughter. And Addison did the same, covering part of her face with her mouth at how happy and emotional she was. She saw her dad put an arm around her shoulder, rubbing it gently as Addison turned and smiled at him. Then Audrey turned to her friends, who were smiling wide as she awkwardly looked down and fiddled with her fingers, not knowing what to do or say.
"Now this is definitely the dress," Jenna commented as she and Sabina stood up to get a better look at the details.
"Yeah, you look great," Jace added, smiling as he stayed sitting on the foot of Jenna's bed.
"I've gotta admit, your mother has always been good at this sort of thing," Derek commented.
"Thank you, Derek," Addison looked over at her ex-husband and smiled a little wider before turning her attention back to their daughter.
"You do look beautiful in that dress," Addison added.
"Thanks," Audrey said, smiling widely, looking at both her parents before turning to face her friends.
"Now, come on. Dinner's waiting at home," Derek said as Audrey nodded before going back into the bathroom to change.
On the car ride home, Derek tried asking Audrey more about Nick, but Audrey didn't have any new information to tell him. He was just a nice guy on her cross-country team. When they got home, Derek offered to hold her backpack as he and Addison followed Audrey into the house before dropping off her backpack near the stairs.
"...es hermoso allá arriba. Me encantaría llevar a Sofía allí algún día," Callie said, stirring a pot on the stove.
"Si deberías. Me encantaría volver y llevarme a Henry cuando sea mayor," Jake said before pulling something out of the oven.
"Callie?" Audrey asked, confused.
"Surprise!" Callie said, after turning around.
"I hope you don't mind me and Sofia crashing your weekend or week with your dad," Callie added.
"No, it's fine," Audrey laughed awkwardly as Sofia and Henry walked over.
"Hola!" Henry exclaimed confidently.
"Hola? Hola to you, too," Addison giggled before picking up her son and kissing his cheek.
"I taught him that," Jake said proudly.
"Hi," Sofia said, waving softly while looking at Audrey.
"Hi, Sofia," Audrey smiled back.
"So, what's going on here?" Addison asked after putting Henry down and getting a kiss from Jake standing in the kitchen.
"We were just talking about how I hiked up Machu Picchu years ago; after graduating college.
I went with some of my cousins and just had the best time, and I was just saying how I'd love to take Sofia there someday and how Jake wants to take Henry someday when he gets older," Callie explained.
"Yeah, I took Angela to Peru after she graduated high school and we met the whole family. The first time I went was after I finished med school; I had a few months before starting my residency and I just…took it as an opportunity to go. My sisters came with me and we just stayed with our aunts and uncles; I mean, we hadn't seen most of them since we were babies, but it was incredible," Jake said.
"That does sound incredible," Addison commented, smiling.
"Hey, Henry. Why don't you show your mom the other thing we taught you?" Callie asked excitedly. Henry tilted his head as if trying to remember what Callie was talking about before his eyes lit up.
"Te amo," Henry said shyly, giggling. Addison smiled widely before picking him up for a kiss.
"Mark and Callie are teaching Sofia some Spanish, so I thought I'd teach Henry a thing or two," Jake said. Addison smiled wider before kissing Henry's cheek again.
"Alright, well, dinner's ready if you guys are hungry," Callie said a minute later.
"Yes, please," Audrey said as she grabbed the booster seat for Sofia before walking outside with Derek and Sofia.
Meanwhile, Addison let Henry back down to grab his high chair as Jake and Callie started portioning out the food. A few minutes later, they heard a key turn in the front door before Amelia revealed herself.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Amelia said.
"Don't be; you're just on time," Jake said before handing Amelia two plates to bring outside.
When she got outside, she said hello to her brother and everyone else before coming back inside to grab more plates. Eventually, everyone sat down for dinner as the night went on. It was so nice outside that they all stayed out there for the rest of the evening, with Audrey even bringing out her homework while the adults talked about work and medicine.
As it got darker outside, they all said their goodbyes before Audrey went up to shower and get ready for bed. The next day at school, Audrey joined her friends when they all asked their dates (minus Jace, since he already knew about the new plan) to pick them up at Audrey's house at six o'clock Saturday night before leaving for a nice dinner out and the Homecoming dance at the school. During cross-country practice, Nick asked her what color her dress was so he could match it with his tie.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Nick waved as Audrey walked away toward Addison's car, turning to smile and wave shyly back.
"Wait, that's him?" Derek asked, getting out of the car.
"Dad," Audrey muttered sternly, embarrassed.
She knew he wanted to meet him, but all she could think about was how embarrassing it was for her dad to ambush him at school like this. But surprisingly, Nick walked over to Derek before stopping a few feet away from the car.
"So, you must be Nick," Derek commented.
"Yeah. Hi, it's nice to meet you," Nick said, walking up to shake his hand. Audrey practically rushed to the car, unable to stop her cheeks from turning red. Addison put a hand on her shoulder as she tried hiding her face by leaning her head on the back of the passenger seat headrest.
"You, too. Dr. Shepherd," Derek said, introducing himself while accepting his handshake, still suspicious. But he had to admit he was impressed by the kid's manners.
"So, ahem, what are your intentions with my daughter?" Derek asked, clearing his throat. Addison rolled her eyes while Audrey sank her head lower, hoping Nick didn't see her in the backseat.
"Uh…I just wanted to take her to the dance. Sir," Nick said, keeping his tone respectful.
Derek looked over at Addison in the car as if she had some answers for him, but he saw her shrug in response.
"Right. Just…take care of her for me. And make sure she's home before midnight," Derek said sternly.
"Yes, sir," Nick replied, nodding. Derek waved him away as if giving him permission to leave.
"Tell Audrey I'll see her tomorrow," Nick added before smiling shyly past Derek to wave goodbye to Addison and Audrey in the car.
"Did you have to do that?" Audrey asked softly after Derek got back into the car.
"I just needed to make sure he wouldn't take advantage of you," Derek said, not knowing how else he could answer the question.
"He's your father; I'd be a little concerned if he didn't at least try, but clearly, he could use some practice," Addison joked, trying to reassure their daughter. Audrey pouted as Derek leaned down, picked up a small paper bag, and handed it to her.
"Your mom's good at picking shoes, too," Derek chuckled when Audrey looked back at him, confused. Inside were a pair of nude ankle strap heels. Her first pair of heels.
In the morning, after Jake cleaned up breakfast, he started playing some music on his laptop, surprising Audrey.
"I still owe you that dance lesson," Jake smiled as Audrey blushed.
Jake started dancing as Audrey observed for a minute before joining along. It wasn't much since it wasn't a waltz, but it was easy enough for her to follow along. When Derek came down from playing with Sofia and Henry upstairs, he took over to show Audrey how to waltz. Now, Audrey wouldn't feel as embarrassed on the dance floor later. Plus, Jake telling her he had good footwork also helped calm her overall nerves over dancing.
After lunch the following day, Sabina and Jenna came over to the house to get ready. Callie and Addison helped the girls with their hair and makeup while Derek and Jake kept the younger kids occupied. As it got later in the day, the girls were finally all made up and put on their dresses, double-checking their appearances in the mirror despite Callie and Addison telling them they all looked beautiful.
Callie called everyone else from downstairs up after the girls got dressed and Derek surprised Audrey with a bouquet, which he said Meredith and Zola helped him pick out when he called them to video chat. And Jake, being a gentleman, had bouquets for both Sabina and Jenna as well.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Reilly," Sabina said as she and Jenna accepted the flowers graciously.
"Yeah, thank you, Mr. Reilly," Jenna repeated.
Jake smiled and nodded. They all knew it was likely that their dates would get them flowers, but it didn't feel right to not get them flowers, too, when Derek got Audrey flowers.
"You guys look like princesses!" Sofia exclaimed.
"They do, don't they?" Callie teased, kneeling to let Derek and Addison get their moment with their daughter.
Aside from the flowers, Derek and Addison had one more surprise for Audrey.
"For you," Derek said, handing her necklace box as Addison linked her arm inside his, smiling. Inside was a dainty pearl necklace.
"Oh my god, it's beautiful," Jenna commented.
"My grandmother gave me my first set of pearls on my 12th birthday. It's not anything like the one Birdy got me, but I thought this one would go better with your dress," Addison said as Derek motioned for Audrey to turn around as he helped put it around her neck.
"Thanks," Audrey smiled at both her parents, almost giddy with excitement as she took another look at herself in the mirror.
"What do you think?" Audrey asked, biting her lip.
"Perfect," Derek and Addison said in unison.
After letting Derek and Addison get their moment with Audrey, the girls fussed over their dresses and hair, wanting everything to be perfect. Sabina wore a floor-length black dress adorned with silver star and circle gems, a sweetheart bustier with a slight plunge, and a simple pair of black strappy heels. Then there was Jenna with her pink, off-the-shoulder, knee-high bodycon mermaid-style dress with clear pointed heels. All Audrey could think was that her friends all looked effortlessly stunning. She just hoped she looked half as good as them. A few minutes later, they heard the doorbell ring. Their dates had arrived.
"No, no, no. Not yet," Addison said, stopping the girls from following. They all looked back, confused.
"Wait until your dad calls you down; it gives you a little mystique. Plus, if you go now, you'll miss your staircase moment," Callie explained.
"Our what?" Jenna asked.
"You know, your staircase moment. When you walk down the stairs and the guys look up and see you guys going down the staircase. Haven't you guys ever seen a teen rom-com?" Callie asked.
"The guys are here!" Derek called out from downstairs.
Callie and Addison smiled before letting the girls leave the room one by one as Callie and Addison picked up Sofia and Henry and followed them downstairs. The girls walked down the stairs one at a time as their dates stood in the foyer, looking up at them in awe. All three boys were wearing black suits, or in Jace's case, a tuxedo, each holding clear plastic boxes with matching corsages and boutonnieres. Behind them was Jace's dad, Joel, who offered to be their driver for the night.
"You guys look great," Jace said before as the girls lined up in front of the guys. Nick and Vincent, Sabina's date, shook their heads in agreement.
"Thanks," Audrey blushed before moving some hair behind her ear.
"Nice tie," Sabina smirked, directing her comment towards Jace, who was wearing a petal pink bowtie with his tux.
"I love it," Jenna insisted, kissing her boyfriend's cheek. The tie matched perfectly with Jenna's dress.
"Joel Frazier. I'm Jace's dad. Nice to meet you, Dr. Montgomery," Joel said, extending a hand to Addison.
"You, too. And Addison's fine," Addison smiled as Joel extended a hand to Callie.
"Callie. I'm just a friend visiting for the weekend," Callie said.
The next thing they knew, they all saw a camera flash at them before looking over toward the living room.
"Sorry, guys," Jake chuckled. Unbeknownst to them, Jake had walked over to the living room to grab his camera.
"These are for you," Vincent said, holding out the box with a white corsage and boutonniere before the other guys followed his lead.
Much like his tie, Jace had gotten Jenna a pink corsage and a pink boutonniere for himself. And Nick had light blue ones to match Audrey's dress. The guys went first, sliding the corsage around each girl's wrist. When it came time for the girls to pin the boutonniere, they looked clueless. None of them had realized they didn't know how to pin on a boutonniere.
"Here, like this," Derek said, stepping up to help Audrey and demonstrating the steps for her friends.
"Just hold it on the lapel like this and then stab the first pin through, and then do the same with the other pin," Derek explained.
Callie stepped in to help the other girls when they hadn't gotten it on the first try, as Addison stood behind Jake with Henry in her arms. She rested her head on his shoulder as Sofia stood beside them and Jake continued snapping pictures of everyone. As they all finished pinning the boutonnieres, Amelia let herself in, relieved she hadn't come too late.
"Sorry. Surgery ran late and traffic was a nightmare," Amelia said before expressing excitement over everyone's outfits.
"Oh my god, you guys look good," Amelia commented, making the girls blush as she walked over to where Addison stood in the living room.
After everyone got their corsages and boutonnieres, they all started going outside to the patio for more pictures, this time against the ocean background as the sun started setting. Jake got plenty of pictures, not just of the kids, but he got Derek and Addison to take pictures together and separately with their daughter before nudging Joel to get a picture with Jace as well. After finishing up with the pictures, Joel reassured them that they'd leave the school at midnight at the latest.
"Do you want to bring a jacket?" Derek asked as Addison, Amelia, and Callie glared back, which confused him.
"It'll get all hot and sweaty when you guys get in there; you guys'll be fine," Callie brushed it off as they ushered the girls toward the door.
"Ew," Sabina commented as Derek and Addison argued silently, exchanging looks.
"Welcome to high school," Amelia said, laughing.
After Audrey and her friends and their dates left, Derek and Jake looked back at everyone, confused.
"You don't bring a jacket to a school dance; you let the guy give you his jacket," Amelia explained, rolling her eyes. Callie and Addison nodded in agreement.
"You guys really need to up your rom-com game," Callie joked.
Henry and Sofia went to play in the living room while Jake called for some pizza for dinner and Addison poured the wine. Before the food arrived, Derek and Amelia had joined the younger kids in a fun game of hide and seek while Callie and Addison caught up. Later that night, they all spent the night out on the patio, letting Henry and Sofia sleep on the couch inside, in easy view of Addison and Callie.
Meanwhile, at the dance, Jake and Derek's brief dance lesson from that morning helped Audrey throughout Homecoming. Plus, they played the Cha Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle, making the social dancing portion much easier for her. Nick was perfectly nice and respectful all night, and he got along with her friends and even introduced some of his friends to them as they all went back and forth from the dance floor to the sidelines to give their feet a break every few songs. There was even a growing pile of high-heeled shoes in the corner from the other Windward girls, who had already decided to either go barefoot or were smart enough to bring a pair of flip-flops, just in case.
At almost midnight, Jace informed them that his dad had just arrived to pick them up, and they danced until the song ended before heading outside. The brisk cool air flew past them, cooling them off from the previously hot and sweaty school auditorium. With a bunch of cars sitting outside, Jace directed them farther out to where his dad parked the car as the guys stripped off their jackets to drape over their dates.
"Thanks," Audrey said as Nick smiled back at her.
After getting in the car, Jace's dad dropped Nick off first, since he lived the closest to the school. Audrey shirked his jacket off of her shoulders and Nick kissed her cheek.
"I had a great time. Goodnight, Audrey," Nick smiled as she handed him his jacket.
"Goodnight," Audrey smiled before he climbed out of the car and waved back after he opened the front door of his house.
Sabina and Jenna squealed, nudging their friend as Audrey smiled. Nick was a nice guy, but nothing throughout the night gave her any kind of signal that it'd go any further than just being a date to the Homecoming dance. If anything, she hoped they'd become good friends after this, much like she'd been adopted into Jace, Jenna, and Sabina's friend group. She didn't think it'd go any further than this, but she had to admit that getting a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night was still nice.
Mr. Frazier dropped off Jenna next, and Jace walked her to her front door and kissed her goodnight before he walked back to the car, where Sabina and Audrey were giggling. His dad, however, was proud he'd raised such a gentleman before he set off toward Audrey's house.
"Thanks, Mr. Frazier," Audrey said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door.
"Of course," Joel replied.
"See you Monday!" Sabina shouted as Audrey walked away.
Audrey looked back at her friends and smiled to herself as she approached the front door to her house, turning the key in the lock before waving at everyone and going into the house before Joel drove away. When she got inside, she immediately took off her heels and she could feel her feet practically cramping up as she saw all the adults still sitting outside talking. When Milo walked up, she knelt to pet him, scratching behind the spot behind his ear he loved so much. She heard something in the living room before seeing Henry climbing down from the couch.
"Hey. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Audrey asked softly as she met him halfway. She picked him up as he held onto his dinosaur toy before he snuggled on his sister's chest, his eyes still closed.
Outside, Callie saw Audrey in the living room and nudged Addison first. The guys and Amelia turned around and saw the same and figured it was time to clean up and go in for the night.
"Here. I got him," Jake offered as Audrey obliged, letting him take her brother upstairs to his room.
"We should go, too, but I hope you had fun!" Callie said excitedly, keeping her voice low before gently getting a sleeping Sofia from the couch.
Audrey smiled as Derek put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
"We'll be back tomorrow. You look great," Derek said, kissing her head again before Addison and Audrey walked Derek, Callie, and Amelia to the door. After seeing the car pull out of the driveway, Addison closed the door.
"So, you have fun at the dance?" Addison asked, roping an arm around her as they started going upstairs.
"Yeah," Audrey replied, smiling.
"Good. It's pretty late, so why don't you clean up and go to bed?" Addison suggested. Audrey nodded before the two separated to go toward their own bedrooms.
Audrey went to her bathroom first, trying to wash her face. It took a minute before she realized a face towel, water, and soap weren't going to be enough to wash it off. A few minutes later, Addison appeared outside her bathroom with her container of makeup wipes.
"I will get you some of your own later, but for now, you can use some of mine. That makeup's not gonna come off with just water," Addison smiled as Audrey pulled one out and wiped the makeup off her face.
Addison pulled one out for herself, rested the container on Audrey's sink, and did the same. Audrey glanced over, following her mother's actions as she gently went over her eyelids before swiping under her eyes, around her cheeks, and under her chin in one swift motion. She smiled back while admiring how beautiful her mother looked, even without the makeup.
"Don't stay up too late," Addison said as she threw away the used wipe and kissed her forehead before waving goodnight.
A/N: Chapter title inspired by the song, Shooting Star by Kari Kimmel. References include Addison taking three years of tap dancing, which she mentions in Private Practice 6x01. Thanks to everyone who helped confirm that Google Translate was, in fact, correct with the Spanish translation (Thank you specifically to Lex, Marta, and Kev on Twitter). It's not super in-character for either character to just start talking to Spanish, but it was just something I thought would be a nice way for Jake and Callie to bond. Plus, we never got to see more of Mark speaking Spanish to baby Sofia, so that was a nice little callback to that from Grey's Anatomy 8x16.
Speaking of, he's coming back in two chapters from now, so for those of you who miss him, he'll be back soon! And just to go back to the whole Spanish thing, just the idea of Jake teaching Henry Spanish and just wanting to teach him more about his heritage, in general, was too cute not to think about. Hope you guys enjoyed this one!