Hey guys, here's number four in the Belling Family series.

The last one will be out the next time a holiday rolls around (Happy Fourth of July to those who celebrate it!) and it will be about Rachel Belling, their mother. Hope you all enjoy this! :)

Grace-Ann Tabitha Belling stuck her tongue out at her reflection in the mirror before laughing as she twirled around in the royal blue dress she was wearing. A pure diamond, specially made headband that she had received for her nineteenth birthday a few months ago made sure that not a single piece of her shoulder length straight brown hair was out of place and her bangs swished with her every movement.

Grace-Ann ran her hand down the silky strapless dress to get out any imaginary wrinkles and smiled at her blue-eyed reflection one last time before stepping down from the pedestal and walking towards her sisters. She ran into Courtney first who was walking around in her own royal blue gown; her blond hair was up in an elaborate twist bun and a few of the blond tendrils fell around her seventeen year old face to frame her own blue eyes. She held a book in front of her face as she read and Grace-Ann smiled a bit before she reached foreword and plucked the book out of her youngest sisters hands.

"What the- oh, hi Grace." Courtney blushed when she realized that it was her sister who had plucked the book from her hands.

"Hi Court, now what did we say about reading today?" Courtney groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I know, I'm not supposed to but come on, Grace! I'm so bored! And I don't even get why we have to attend this stupid wedding anyways, its not like mom will be able to last more then a year before she cheats on the poor guy." Courtney ended bitterly.

The wedding was their mothers, Rachel Belling, and it was always a sore spot for Courtney to talk about their mothers past with any of her past seven husbands. You see, while Courtney was a result from their mothers third marriage, Grace-Ann and her two sisters were all results from their mothers second marriage therefore making Courtney only their half-sister. Grace-Ann was the oldest of the sisters, and along with Courtney had two younger triplet sisters. Grace-Ann was older then her sister Natalie by seven minutes and older by the third triplet, Molly by twenty minutes.

"Courtney, have some faith in our mother. Plus, we're here because I've spent months planning this event so it better go off without a hitch and in order for that to happen, all the members of the Belling clan must be here." Grace-Ann said sternly, the frustration towards her mother well hidden in her voice.

The fact of the matter was that the only thing that Grace-Ann and her sisters could depend on their mother for was money which she won from divorce settlements of her past seven husbands. They lived lavishly in a huge manor and had designer clothing from all over the world but other then material wise, their mother wasn't very dependable.

It's not that their mom, Rachel, was a bad person its just that she wasn't exactly mother material. There was no doubt that she loved her daughters with every fiber in her being but she just didn't have any maternal instinct once her children passed the age of ten.

Unfortunately, along with not being able to really take care of her kids, she didn't take care of other matters such as bills and such either. So, since their mother was of no help, Grace-Ann and her sister Natalie split the responsibilities of the house. Natalie took on the roll as mom and was there to give out money to her two younger sisters, cooked meals, gave them permission on to go out, and basically did everything their mother should be doing. Meanwhile, Grace-Ann was the one who was left to take care of their mothers matters which included divorce settlements, paying the bills with her mothers money, of course, buying food, and planning weddings.

"Now, why don't you go hang out with Cole?" Grace-Ann asked her a few seconds later, referring to her sisters boyfriend of…well, forever. She rolled her eyes.

"Cole and Jane," Jane was Cole's older twin sister and Courtney's best friend, "Are currently talking about what they want to get me for my birthday which is ridiculous because my birthday isn't until November." Grace-Ann laughed and shrugged; Courtney had a point. It was only July 2nd…

"Well go greed the guests, be productive. Just…make sure you're at the entrance in exactly ten minutes, alright?"

"Okay, see you, Grace-Ann." Courtney hugged her sister and quickly made her way towards the front of the church where the guests were coming in from. Grace-Ann watched her walk away before she continued to walk down the long hallway towards where her mother was getting ready, however she stopped when she heard familiar voices.

"Nate, if you don't get the hell away from me right now, I am going to punch you in the face." Grace rolled her eyes at her youngest triplet sister's voice as she spoke to her boyfriend and opened the door to the room. Molly Belling was glaring at Nathanial Palette, her boyfriend/pending fiancé, as he tried to convince her to drink a bottle of water.

"Molly, sweetheart, I just want you to-"

"GET OUT!" She finally screamed at him and he snarled at her before slamming the bottle down beside her and storming out of the room. Grace let out a strangled cough/laugh and stared at Molly who rolled her eyes at his retreating figure.

"Well, you certainly handled that well." Grace-Ann commented and Molly waved her away.

"You've all been hovering over me for months, Grace. God, I just want some breathing space. None of you guys will leave me alone and its just unfortunate that he's the one I finally snapped at. I'll apologize after the wedding." She groaned as she shut her blue eyes, the blue eyes that all the Belling women possessed. Her chestnut hair which usually naturally fell into curls that went down to the bottom of her shoulder blades was straightened and pulled back into a half-pony tail. The hair in the pony tail part was re-curled and she forced the hair stylist to curl the two pieces of hair that fell around her face so that she would have something to play with when she got bored.

"Well, Molly," Grace-Ann began in a voice that held an exaggerated 'up-beatness' and cheerfulness, "If you hadn't gone out and gotten stupid alcohol poisoning on St. Patrick's day, do you really think we'd all be hovering over you?" Molly bit her lip and turned away at that comment.

She didn't like to talk about the event that almost took her life away; ever since that day she hasn't been able to even touch alcohol, much to the relief of her family. In the hospital after she woke up from the traumatic experience, Nate somehow managed to convince her to take him back after everything he had done to mess up their relationship and he was now living in the Belling Manor seeing as how he was no longer on speaking terms with his mother. After all, if you really wanted to get into it, you could blame what happened to Molly on his mother for causing Nate to break up with her…

Anyways, while Molly loved her boyfriend and had found it somewhat comforting to have him in her bed every night, the downside was that he was now one of the people who was constantly there to hover over her and make sure she was taking care of herself. At first, it was welcomed because she had a hell of a time recovering…she had no appetite although she had hunger pangs and an upset stomach, she had short term problem with her memory, and she was dehydrated. Eventually, her problems went away but everyone continued to hover so while most of the time Molly would patiently endear everyone, it was well known that she saw the attention as a nuisance.

"Well, why don't we all hover over Natalie! She's six months pregnant for gods sake!"

"That’s because sweet little Natalie is experiencing her first ever mood swings and they tend to be a bit more violent then yours, Moll. No one wants to piss off the pregnant women by hovering over her when she doesn't want to be hovered over." Natalie Belling spoke as she walked into the room.

Her long, straight brown hair was crimped and held a diamond bobby pin to hold her side swept bangs off to the side. Her blue eyes shone with delight as she teased her younger sister and her royal blue dress showed off her baby bump. The gender of the baby was unknown seeing as how Natalie wanted it to be a surprise, much to the dismay of her mother who was dying to know the gender of her unborn grandchild.

It was a surprise to everyone when they found out that the then nineteen year old Natalie Belling was pregnant. Natalie was the most responsible of the family and because of that, her younger sisters kind of held her in a sort of pedestal. They saw that Natalie, the peacemaker of the family, could do no wrong…and then this happened.

Fortunately, they realized that Natalie was only human and even though she was going to have a baby, she was still their big, responsible sister.

"Nate's just worried about your well-being, Molly. You're still somewhat more vulnerable to becoming dehydrated then the rest of us so he just wants to make sure that you have enough fluids in you. Now drink the water please." Natalie ordered and she watched at Molly proceeded to groan and complain but drank the bottled water anyways.

"Alright, lets get to the main hall. Wedding number eight is about to go under weigh." Grace-Ann told and the three sisters left the room and started towards the main hallway.

"You know, speaking of weddings…" Natalie brought up as they walked; Molly groaned.

"Do we really have talk about this now?" She asked.

"Well all I'm saying is that I'm surprised you haven't answered him yet, he's actually starting to worry that you'll say no." Natalie was Nate's best friend and they often talked about the relationship he held with her little sister.

"I don't know what I'm going to say, Nat. I mean, yeah, I love him more then anything but we just got back together a couple of months ago-"

"You guys were together for a whole three years before you broke up; He was going to propose to you on your anniversary." Grace-Ann broke in.

"Yes, I realize that but still, the fact that we broke up still stands. What if his mother interferes again? Don't you think she'll try to?"

"Of course she'll try to but remember, Nate isn't talking to her anymore. He doesn't want anything to go wrong between the two of you - he loves you so much, Molly."

"I know…but, I'm only nineteen! I'm still technically a teenager!"

"You'll be twenty in January but if its that big of an issue then have a long engagement." Grace-Ann offered before sighing as they neared the entrance hall. "Look, Molly. You two already live together and you both bicker like an old married couple already - yeah, don't try and deny it. Plus, you love him, he loves you, you guys look beautiful together, and while you two are going to have your problems, there's not a doubt in anyones' mind that you two will make it…but whatever, its your decision. Just don't keep him waiting to long or he'll get antsy." By now the three had reached the entrance where there mother, Rachel, was waiting with their youngest sister.

Courtney smiled at the three of them as they came up to her and their mother.

"So are you ready for this?" Natalie asked Rachel. Rachel took a deep breath and smiled her gorgeous smile as she nodded. Her classic beauty was what usually caught her the men in the first place.

She had beautiful honey suckle blond hair that was up in a plain bun right now and the blue eyes that all her daughters had inherited from her. In fact, Courtney was the spitting image of her.

"Yeah, this is it. I know that Henry is the one!" She gushed; the sisters exchanged glances and decided to mention that she had said that about every other one of her husbands…

"Alright then, you all know the drill. Get in line." As the girls all lined up with their partners for walking down the aisle, Grace-Ann walked up to the best man and the pair smiled at each other before the doors opened and everyone flowed down the aisle.

The wedding went off without a hitch and Grace-Ann was getting a much needed rest as she sat at one of the tables when Molly came up to her.

"Grace-Ann…I'm going to say yes." She told her with a small smile. Grace-Ann returned the smile and hugged her.

"Good, you'll be happy together."

"I know…I'll be happy marrying Nate, Natalie is excited about starting a family with Alex, and Courtney has a steady relationship going with Cole…but what about you, Grace?" Grace stared at her sister with raised eyebrows.

"What about me?"

"So we're all happy…but what about you? You're our older sister and you deserve to be happy too, so what are you going to do to accomplish that?" Grace closed her eyes and let a small smile escape as she leaned back in her seat at the table.

"Paris makes me happy." She stated simply and was it ever the truth; just the thought of the wonderful city put the eldest Belling daughter in good spirits.

"Well, okay but what are you going to do about it?" Grace-Ann's eyes opened and she looked at her sister.

To tell her or not to tell her? Well, she did just tell her that she was going to accept Nate's hand in marriage so..

"I've already done something about it." This time it was Molly who raised her eyebrows curiously.

"Really?"

"Yes, I leave on the fourth." Molly's jaw dropped.

"The…the fourth of July?" Grace-Ann nodded. "As in two days from now?!" Grace cringed slightly but nodded nonetheless. "And when were you planning on telling the rest of us?!"

"I…I don't know, whenever it came up I guess…"

"Oh yes because the subject of Paris, France is always a popular conversation topic." Molly shot out sarcastically. "What about school?"

"I'm already enrolled to take courses there starting next fall."

"Does anyone else know?"

"No one."

"Well, I suggest you get a move on and tell mother dearest along with Courtney and Natalie; I feel like they deserve to know that you're leaving ahead of time instead of just waking up one morning to find you gone. Was that what you were originally planning on doing?"

"Not at all! Look Molly, you need to relax! You're getting engaged to Nate an its makes you happy, Natalie is having a family and it'll make her happy, Courtney is with Cole and he makes her happy, and Paris, France makes me happy." Grace-Ann and Molly glared at each other before Molly finally sighed and deflated in front of Grace-Ann's eyes.

"But I don't want you to go." Molly finally whispered as she placed her head in her arms. Grace-Ann then also deflated and pulled her sister close to her.

"It won't be that bad; I'll call you every week and write you letters all the time! I'll also come back during my breaks and for the birth of Natalie's kid…and I guess I'll be back now for your wedding too."

"It won't be the same…"

"Of course it won't be but did you really expect it to be the same forever? Did you expect that we'd all live in the Manor?"

"Well, no…but I never expected us to split up so much that one of us would be over seas!"

"I know, Molly…but its something I want, actually, its something I need to do." After another moment or two, Molly sat up and nodded before she sniffed and wiped away a few tears that fell. Grace-Ann felt bad for making her sister cry but going to Paris and following her dreams was something she needed to do.

"Alright, I get it. We're all getting our own fairy tales and you can't get yours unless you're living in France." She sighed before standing up. "Alright, I need to go find Nate. I'll see you later."

Grace-Ann sat back down in her seat and closed her eyes before rubbing her temples.

"Long day, huh?" Grace held back a groan at the masculine voice, all she wanted was some alone time! She opened her eyes, ready to ask the person to go away, but she stopped short when she recognized his face.

Her heart rate instantly started thumping at what felt like a thousand beats at minute as she took in the mans gorgeous features. His light brown hair could sometimes be mistaken for blond when he was walking in sun and it curled a little past the tips of his ears; his eyes were a steely grey color and his build was one made up of years of playing soccer and baseball; not too bulky but toned beyond belief. With her six inch heels on, the pair would stand at the same height of 6' and he often teased her about being so much shorter then him.

His name was Eric Garner and before his appearance Grace-Ann had been looking foreword to never seeing his handsome face again.

Eric grinned at Grace-Ann's shocked expression and spoke.

"Did you miss me?"

"Why are you here?" Grace-Ann ignored his question and shot out her own; instead of pushing his own question, he decided he'd make her happy and answer hers first.

"I got back in town a couple of days ago and was looking around the mall when I ran into your mom; she recognized me and instantly gave me a late invitation to the wedding. I knew you'd be here so I accepted."

"Funny how I'm the one in charge of the wedding and yet she neglected to tell me this tiny detail." Grace-Ann said dryly. Eric sighed, he knew this wouldn't be easy.

"Grace, I want to talk to you."

"Not here.." She stood up and started to walk away. "If you want to talk then follow me." Grace-Ann headed for the parking lot; she walked ahead of him, determined to get her thumping heartbeat and raging emotions under control before they exchanged words.

Grace stopped at her car but didn't get in it; instead, she simply got onto the hood and sat there as she stared at the dark sky and thought.

Why was he back? How long was he here for? Why did he have to come back now?

Another well known fact about Eric Garner was this: he and Grace-Ann were, without a doubt, soul mates.

They had met during Grace's junior year of high school at one of Molly's out of control house parties. Eric was a year older than her and attended her rival school but the pair immediately hit it off and went on a date the very next day. Within months it was obvious to anyone around then that the two were in love and Natalie would often gush about how Grace-Ann would be the first to get married because obviously the two were meant to be and should get married as soon as Grace was to graduate from college.

Actually, that was really the plan. Eric hadn't officially proposed to her but he made it known that he would when the time was right.

Sadly, that time never came because a little less then a yea ago, when he was drafted to play for some new major league baseball team in Florida, he took off. Now, Grace-Ann didn't mind that he left to play ball - it had always been his dream! No, what bothered her was the fact that he refused to take her with him. He wanted to be single and not have anyone to leave behind who he'd emotionally attached too so he had broken her heart and if you really want to look at it that way, he had essentially chosen his love for the game of baseball over his love for her and that’s what really stung.

Now there had been other guys after he left; quiet a few of them, actually. Sadly though, none of them could ever match up to Eric. Eventually she realized that no matter how great the guy whom she was dating was, she would never be able to give him her all, because a piece of her heart - the biggest piece - would always belong to Eric, and for that she hated him.

"So how's Noah?" She asked Eric as he hopped up beside her.

Noah was Eric's little brother.

"He's good, just started third grade and he now thinks he's so cool. How about your sisters?" Eric noticed that she was currently avoiding the topic on his leaving but went with the flow anyways.

"They're fine. Courtney's starting college next fall with her boyfriend, Cole - remember him? Yeah, thank God for that kid because he's finally managed to get Courtney to see the light so that she'll me majoring in English. It's her passion and she's amazing at it, and yet for a while she questioned it…but whatever."

"What about Natalie?"

"You didn't see her? That really does surprise me…she's the size of a small car." Grace-Ann laughed at the thought of her sister and the one thought that ran through Eric's mind was, I've missed her laugh… "But yeah, she's pregnant. I know, surprised all of us too but good ole' Alex, knocked her up." She sighed and shrugged.

"No offense but if one of you guys was to have a surprise pregnancy, I'd suspect it'd be Molly, not Natalie."

"Yes, my little party hopping sister…well, I dunno, she's changed a lot since you've been gone."

Since you've been gone. Those words wrung in the air and Eric knew that they would be talking about that soon enough.

"And Molly?"

"Well…she alright, I guess." And at the very moment, Molly walked onto the scene. Her face was set into a sullen expression as she dragged a very angry Nate behind her towards his car.

"C'mon Moll, I just wanna talk to him-"

"Nathanial Palette, I'll be damned if I let you go to him because you know as well as I that the only communication that will happen between the two of you will be between your fist and his face!" She told him firmly and Grace-Ann could practically feel the tightening of her hand around his wrist.

"…Fine. You're right, but he deserves it."

"He hit on me, big whoop. Happens all the time." By this time they were at his car and Molly had realized that she didn't have his keys - he did.

"He tried to convince you to go back with him to his room - after he saw the engagement ring! He wasn't even drunk! See, you know I'm right. I can see it in your eyes, and now I have the right to rant and rave about the injustice of this situation and you'll have no way of shutting me u-" He was cut off as Molly grabbed him by the neck and brought his lips down to hers in a very heated kiss. At first Nate was surprised but after a second of two he wrapped one arm around Molly's waist and the other went to his pocket to pull out his keys. He fumbled around for the unlock button while Molly's hands twisted into his hair and Grace-Ann was able to clearly make out the big diamond ring on her finger seconds before they disappeared into the car, still connected at the lips.

"So she already told him yes." Grace-Ann observed at the same time Eric burst out: "She's engaged?!" Grace glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and nodded.

"Is it really that shocking?" Eric's face colored slightly as he shook his head.

"Well, uhhh…no. But its just…is she the first one to be engaged out of you four?" Grace-Ann wondered if that was his subtle way of asking if she had truly moved on.

"Yes." Eric nodded and decided not to inform Grace that he had always believed that the he and Grace would be the first to get engaged.

Grace turned away and asked the question that was burning within her.

"How long are you back for?" She asked him, breaking the silence the had loomed between them. Eric shrugged.

"Only for a couple of days." Grace-Ann nodded, it was silly to think that he had come back for her and was planning to stay for good…but a girl could always dream, right?

"And then you go back to good old Florida." Grace added as she laid back onto her windshield and closed her eyes.

"Yeah…about that…" Grace-Ann's eyes snapped open and she looked over at Eric was laying on his side next to her; he reached up and rolled a strand of her brown hair between his fingers as he spoke. "Grace, when I go back I want you to come with me."

Grace's mind spiraled down a tornado of thoughts. This could not be happening to her. Not now. Not when she finally realized what she wanted to do with her life, where she wanted to go…it just couldn't be happening.

Grace sat up and leaned on her forearms and looked at Eric in shock.

"You can't do that Eric…you can't just show up one day and ask me to stop my whole life here and get up and move to Florida with you!" Grace told him in disbelief as she hopped off the car and walked backwards towards the center of the parking lot.

"You were more then willing to do it a year ago!" Eric yelled as he hopped off the car and followed her.

"I know but you denied me! You left me here while you went gallivanting off in the sunshine state. I just wanted to be with you but you obviously didn't want the same."

"I did want the same but Grace-Ann, playing professional baseball has always been my dream and while I knew you were okay with moving with me to Florida so I could do it, I couldn't drag you away from all this. From your friends, your family, your home. It wasn't right to make you give up so much when it was my dream and not yours, it just wasn't fair." He explained exasperatedly.

Grace stared at him for a moment longer, tears threatening to roll down her face.

"And now? What's changed?" In a few seconds Eric had crossed the few feet that separated them and pulled her into his strong arms.

"It's more like what hasn't changed. I'm still head over heels in love with you and I know you still love me too. What we had…it doesn't go away just like that. It doesn't go away ever. I need you Grace. I need you, care for you, think about you, and love you." Grace breathed in his scent that radiated off his clothes as she pressed her face into his chest; its smelt of laundry detergent and…smoke?

Grace smiled faintly.

"You really need to stop smoking; I always told you it was a nasty habit." Eric let out a deep, rumbling laugh and pulled Grace as close to his body as possible before he kissed the top of her head.

"I've missed you, angel." Grace let Eric hold her for another second before she pulled away and looked at the ground.

"Eric, we can't…we can't do this." She told him quietly as she looked down at her feet.

Eric let out a groan.

"What is it now? I just poured my heart and soul out to you-"

"It's not that simple, Eric!" Grace-Ann snapped. "You've been gone a while, things have changed!" Instantly, Eric's stance grew firm and his eyes darkened.

"There's someone else? Alright Grace, I know you've dated around but look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you love him or any of the men you've dated half as much as you love me." Grace grew frustrated at his words.

"No there's no one else! And no one I've dated, no one I'll ever date will ever be able to match up to you. I love you so damn much its infuriating!"

"Then what's the problem?!"

"The problem is that while you were gone living your dreams, I developed some of my own!" She finally screamed at him.

Eric fell silent and Grace forced herself to calm down before she took a deep breath and walked over to him; she stood in front of him an crossed her arms tiredly as she looked down.

"I leave for Paris in two days." She told him quietly. She inwardly cringed at his quick intake of breath and looked up at him; he looked surprised yet defeated and desperate at the same time.

Well, Eric always was a man of many talents.

"For how long?" He questioned in a barely audible voice as he backed away from her a bit.

"I'm not to sure yet; I bought a one way ticket." Another sharp intake of breath from him. "I'll be back for the birth of my niece or nephew and for Molly's wedding, whenever that takes place, but other then that I plan on staying in Paris. I think I'll be happy there."

"And you couldn't be happy with me?" He asked her.

"I think I could be…actually, I know I could be and that’s the problem."

"How is that a probl-"

"It's a problem because I need to know what else is out there. I know you could make me happy but is being with you really the only way that I can be happy? I need to get out there and what else…and quiet possibly, who else could make me happy. I love you Eric but this is something I have to do." Eric didn't answer and Grace watched him; his body was hidden by the dark from her view but she could see his shadow and it was shaking…oh my, was he…

"Eric, honey…are you crying?"

"No, but I quite possibly may have started in a few moments." He answered in a quiet voice after a second or two. "So your plane leaves in two days?"

"Yes."

"At what time?"

"I'm taking the red-eye and leaving at 10." He nodded and reached into his dress pants pocket to pull out what looked like a slip of paper.

"My plane takes off at 10 too…if you change your mind, and I hope to God you do, then please hop onto the plane with this ticket."

"…And if I don't?" Within a second he was back at her side and once again, she was swept up into his arms.

Then, on impulse, he brought his lips down to hers for the first time in months and they shared a heat filled kiss before he yanked himself away; their breathing was slightly labored and Eric leaned his forehead against Grace-Ann's with a small, watery smile on his face.

"Everyone thinks were meant to be, angel, and if we truly are then sooner or later things will work out for us. And hopefully you'll use that ticket and make it sooner then later though…" He pulled away from Grace and smiled at her and said one last sentence to her. "I love you." And then, he walked away towards his car. He had come to do what he had to do and now he was ready to leave.

Grace stood there in the middle of the parking lot, by now tears were flowing out of her blue eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Why did life have to be so damn hard?

Grace-Ann wiped the tears away from her face and turned to walk back to the party. She had some news to share with her family; she was leaving, but the question was whether she was off to Paris or Florida.

"I love you guys; be safe." Grace-Ann told her sisters at the gate in the airport. Tears were flowing down every sisters cheeks as they said their final goodbyes. "Call me if mom is having trouble with Henry…hopefully there won't be any but…" Their mother was on her honey moon in Milan and had said her own teary goodbye the night of her wedding. "And I'll be back in three and a half months to visit until that baby pops out of Natalie over there."

"Pops out? Can't we just say when the baby is born?" Natalie laughed through her tears. Grace-Ann smiled at her pregnant sister and hugged her once more.

"I want frequent update on my niece or nephew, alright?"

"I promise…but this is going to be so weird, Grace. You're really leaving, for good."

"Yeah…it really is." Grace-Ann chocked back her tears. "I mean, we've never been separated for more then a couple of months but now suddenly…"

"Now suddenly you living hours away from me. We're separated for good now." New tears shimmered in Natalie's eyes but before they could fall, Courtney broke in.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Grace." Courtney whispered and her tears started to fall harder. Natalie hugged her and Grace-Ann instantly wished that the boys hadn't said their goodbyes in the car, Cole was the only one who could ever really calm her youngest sister down.

"I know, I'm going to miss you too Courtney. I'll call you all the time and send you postcards and well chat with webcams…" The look on Courtney's face let Grace-Ann know that she was doubting the effectiveness of those methods. "I love you so much, Court. Give me a ring any time, alright? I'll always have time for my baby sister." Courtney started to cry even harder and Natalie cringed before she pulled Courtney into her arms and nodded over at Molly who was staring at her eldest sister with a wistful look.

Molly walked over Grace-Ann and the two were instantly enveloped in a hug.

"I really wish this wasn't your dream." Molly whispered and Grace-Ann laughed.

"I bet…Moll, you need to take care of Courtney while I'm gone." Molly looked at Grace with raised eyebrows.

"What on Earth are you talking about? If anything, Natalie and Courtney will have to take care of me. I'm the irresponsible, pretty, intense party girl of the family, remember?" Grace laughed lightly and shook her head.

"That all may have been true before but…you've grown up a lot in these past few months, Molly. I mean, for Christ's sake - you're engaged! Anyways, pretty soon Natalie will have her own family and that'll be a lot of work…"

"She's used to taking care of both me and Courtney." Molly pointed out.

"But she's not superwoman and she has a baby on the way. A baby, not two independent teenagers who only need guidance and money from her." Grace-Ann stopped talking when she heard her flight being called. "I have to go now but remember, take care of Courtney alright? Call me when you decide to start planning the wedding…I have plenty of experience as we both know." They both laughed somewhat bitterly.

"I love you, Grace-Ann."

"I love you too, Molly." She pulled away from Molly and gave a watery smiled towards all of her sisters. "I'll call you all when I land." She picked up her carry-on and after one last group hug, she turned and headed for the gates.

She played with the ticket in her fingers and prayed she was making the right choice; she was giving up so much either way but still…

Grace-Ann was literally the last person onto the plane. She relaxed in her first class seat and smiled when a voice came on over the intercom.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're expecting a smooth flight and the approximated landing time in Paris, France is…" Grace-Ann tuned him out and looked out the window. Her eyes were already red and blotchy from crying about her sisters, she didn't need more tears caused by a man now.

She was in fact, leaving for Paris. The ticket to Florida sat alone in her diary which was packed away in her suitcase and was not accessible to Grace-Ann for if she did indeed have easy access to the ticket, she was afraid that once she stepped foot into the airport she would go off to find Eric and leave with him without a seconds thought.

Grace-Ann did not want that to happen.

Yes, it was true that she was in love with Eric and she knew, she knew that that would never ever change which is why it was important for her to do this, to go to France.

It really was her dream to live in Paris for a while and Eric had left her once to follow his dream so this time she was leaving him to follow hers.

Eric was right, she thought simply as she leaned further back into her seat, things between us will work out sooner or later…

And as if her home country were agreeing with her and her decision to go to Paris for some independence, Grace-Ann watched as red and white fireworks exploded in the distance into the shape of a heart.

Grace-Ann smiled and kept herself from giggled; it was like an explosion of love.

Yes, she told herself and the reassuring feeling inside her gut let her know it was true, things will definitely work out.