Jane and Adam- Congratulations on your new niece! And that is really ironic about the weight thing!
So here�s the next chapter. Enjoy!
Title: Late
Author: Elizabeth
Rating: PG-13 or higher
Category: J/A, L/G
Summary: One way or another someone�s always late. The outcome could either be serious or lucky
Disclaimer: I own no one.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Joan headed back to her house after checking Grace�s house to see if Grace and Luke had gone back there. When she found the house empty, she went back to hers. She checked the garage and found Luke sitting on a stool holding his head in one hand
�I thought you�d be here.�
�Yeah. Grace was out here but then Sierra started crying so��
Joan nodded and they sat in silence for a few moments. �What you said back there. Everything was true. We were ignoring you, again, and I�m sorry. You had a lot to go through.�
�So did you, and I have no right to bring it up.�
�Well yes and no. I�ve been so focused on Adam, Grace, the baby; I haven�t noticed that this whole time, dad was trying to make it go away. It won�t go away Luke. It�s always going to be there.�
�I wish I could make it go away.�
�I know. Luke, I knew that you were angry but that was the angriest I have ever seen. Why didn�t you say anything?�
�I was in bits and pieces. Telling you how I felt about Matt. Yelling at dad.�
Joan looked at him. �I can see now. I can see everything now.�
Luke looked at her. �Can you?�
Joan didn�t have time to answer before they heard the door open. They turned and saw their mother. Luke wiped his eyes and stood up. Joan did the same thing.
�There you are.� Helen said spotting Luke.
Luke sighed. �Mom I�m sorry. I was way out of line.�
�No. You said everything you had to say.� She walked over and put her hands on his cheeks. �I was there for you. You know that right?�
Luke nodded. �You were the first person after me to see Sierra.�
Helen smiled. �Honey, about what�s been going on��
�Mom please don�t make excuses. I just�I�m done. I have to take care of my family now. I love Grace.�
�I know you do.� She smiled.
�I um�I want to marry her someday.� Luke looked so sincere that it made Helen�s heart jump.
Helen chuckled. �Then you should. You should.� Helen hugged him close. �But not for a few more years, all right?�
Luke nodded. �Okay, mom.� He smiled.
Joan decided to leave them alone. She went inside the house and went upstairs. Grace was in the nursery changing Sierra�s diaper. Joan checked on Matt, who had not been disturbed, and walked over to stand beside Grace.
�Hey.�
�Hey. So what�s going on with Luke?�
�Oh he�s talking to my mom. I think he finally got all his anger out.�
�Really?� Grace looked at her. �He�s never going to stop being angry.�
�Yeah well he has you.�
Grace shrugged. �Not just me.�
�You know Luke really loves you.� Joan said as she fiddled with a baby blanket.
Grace looked at her. �How do you know that?�
Joan shook her head. �Nah. Not telling. It�s just the way he looks at you.�
�Is this how the movie ends, Girardi?� Grace said as she buttoned Sierra�s pajamas up.
�No.� Joan smiled. �Can I?� she held out her arms towards the baby.
�Sure.� Grace picked Sierra up and handed her to Joan. Joan made faces at her niece and rocked her. Sierra made noises as she looked around the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that night, Luke went into the nursery and looked in on Matt. He was sound asleep so Luke went to see his daughter. She was staring at her mobile. When she spotted her daddy, she cooed and raised her arms as if asking him to pick her up.
�Hey there.� Luke picked her up and cradled her close. Sierra looked at him with her big eyes. �Come on.� He took her into his room and sat in his computer chair. He stared at her as he held her in his arms. She continued to kick and make noises as she looked at him. �Are you daddy�s girl? Huh? Yeah, that�s what you are. You know how to cheer me up don�t you?� Luke kissed her on the top of the head.
Sierra cried a bit and Luke rocked her. �Hey it�s okay. Want me to sing? Huh? You like it when daddy sings right? Okay.�
Hush little baby don�t say a word
Daddy�s gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don�t sing
Daddy�s gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass
Daddy�s gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke
Daddy�s gonna buy you a Billy goat
And if that Billy goat don�t pull
Daddy�s gonna buy you a cart and bull
And if cart and bull roll over
Daddy�s gonna buy you a dog named Rover
And if that dog named Rover don�t bark
Daddy�s gonna buy you horse and cart
And if that horse and cart break down
You�ll still be the sweetest baby in town
Sierra cooed and closed her eyes when Luke kissed her head again. �I love you.� He smiled and rocked her.
Outside the room, Grace was listening with a smile on her face. She happened to turn her head and saw Will on the stairs.
�He�s a good singer.� Will said.
�Yeah. I�m going to go�get something to eat.� Grace passed him on the way down the stairs.
Will stayed on the stairs, thinking about what just happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A week later, Grace carried Sierra�s car seat in one hand as she went upstairs to Matt�s nursery and looked in on him. He was looking at his mobile and didn�t pay much attention to her.
�Hey. I have stories about you I can embarrass your future girlfriend with.� Matt looked at her and she raised an eyebrow. �You are one interesting baby.� Grace took Sierra out of her car seat and put her in her crib.
Luke walked in and smiled. �There you are.�
�Hey. My parents are going out tonight and I didn�t want to be alone.�
�I know.�
Grace turned to him. �Have you talked to your dad?�
Luke frowned and sighed. �No.� He sat on the small couch beside the crib. Grace stood in front of him. �I�ve been avoiding him.��
�You need to talk to him sometime dude.�
�I know that.�
Grace shook her head. �How are you feeling�really?�
�Part of me feels a lot better but the other part feels like it�ll never go away.�
�It won�t. It just gets easier.�
They heard crying and Grace turned towards the cribs. She took Matt out of his crib and held him in one arm.
�Luke?�
�Hmm?�
�Do you still have those documents on your computer?�
Luke looked at her surprised. �Um�yeah. Not the pictures. I deleted them.�
�There were more?� she looked a little nervous. Luke took Matt�s hand and played with it.
�They were pretty much the same. There was one in the courtroom. It was the day he pleaded guilty.�
�We were there.� Grace said softly.
�Yeah.�
Grace looked at Matt. �I had a nightmare a few nights after that. Then when Matt was born and I looked into his eyes, I felt a lot better. Just looking at this little baby�he doesn�t remind me of him.�
Luke nodded. �I didn�t want to do that to you. I didn�t want you to see those.�
�I know. I haven�t told Joan. I don�t know if she�d be able to take it if she knew I saw his picture.�
�Will you ever tell her?� Luke asked.
Grace put a hand on the back of Matt�s head and gently stroked his nape. Matt cooed and bounced lightly in her arms.
�No. When he dies in prison, I will tell her then. Then I will tell her Matt doesn�t look like him.� Grace hugged Matt close to her. �Has Rove seen his face?�
Luke nodded. �Yeah.�
Grace shook her head and looked at Matt.
�Grace how much did you read?�
�Um�not much. Just a few sentences here and there.�
Luke looked around. �If you want, you can read the rest.�
Grace looked at him. �I don�t want to get into your business.�
�Grace�it�s your business too.�
Grace looked at him and then looked at Matt. He grinned and laughed. Grace stood up still holding him. Luke got up and led her to his room. He sat at his computer and pulled up the folder. He opened up a document and got up.
Grace sat down and settled Matt in her lap.
�Do you want me to take him?�
�No.� Grace said after a few moments.
Luke nodded and sat on his bed. Grace sighed and turned to the screen.
It�s March 28th and I am the happiest guy in the universe. Okay, I�m probably not as happy as Adam but pretty close. Baker pleaded guilty and he should be going to jail for life! Ha! Take that you pervert! You dare rape my sister and dare try to hurt my girlfriend and child. I knew you wouldn�t get away with it. You would have had to deal with three angry Girardi men if you hadn�t been found guilty at a trial.
Grace is still afraid to let me kiss her for a long time. I don�t know how to help her. She�s still the same girl I fell in love with but when she�s alone, she becomes vulnerable and scared. I hate what he did to her. I hate that he took away her sense of safety. I hate him and I will never forgive him.
Grace opened another document.
My sister�s pregnant. My big sister is pregnant by her rapist. Could life get any worse? I hate the man who did this to her! The police better find him before I do! My sister�s having a baby and I don�t know how I feel about that.
Grace looked at Luke and then at Matt. Matt looked up at her before playing with his feet. Grace opened up another document.
Joan almost died yesterday. The clinic where she was going for her abortion was bombed. 23 women and 30 employees were killed. If my sister had been there, the death toll would have been 54. Okay 55 if you count the bomber. I usually don�t like to count killers in the death toll. It�s like adding them to the list of victims. I think God is trying to tell Joan something. Maybe she�s meant to keep the baby. How am I going to respond to that? I looked at Grace and I think she wants Joan to keep the baby. Adam seems like he never wanted her to get rid of the baby at all. If they wanted her to keep the baby, then how will they feel if I tell them I don�t think I want her to?
It�s January 8th. Last night I dreamt of the baby. I was alone with him. I had him in my arms and I felt peaceful. But then something happened. Blood started coming down the walls and suddenly my arms were full of blood. I stepped back and he was on the floor, dead. I started screaming thinking I had caused it. I woke up this morning all sweaty and freaked out. Joan came in I guess she heard me. I couldn�t tell her about my dream. I didn�t understand it. I just walked over and put my hand on her stomach, expecting to feel something. I thought I felt a slight movement but it was for a split second. That one little movement made me feel better though. The baby was alive. I didn�t cause his death.
Grace was shocked when she read that part. She looked at Luke.
�I guess your dream was just telling you something.�
�Yeah.� Luke sighed.
Grace got up and handed Matt to Luke. Luke looked at his nephew and kissed his forehead.
�I love you Matt.�
Matt cooed.
Grace went back to the computer to read the rest.
It�s February 23rd. I dreamt of the baby again. Someone was carrying him away and everyone was trying to get to him�to save him. I couldn�t run fast enough. Adam was trying to find a shortcut and Grace and Joan were in front of the both of us, desperately trying to get a hold of the baby. But it was no use. He was gone. I�m scared. If this guy never gets caught, will something happen to the baby? Will he be taken? Will he die?
Grace shook her head. �Why didn�t you say anything about these dreams?�
�I didn�t know how to explain them.� Luke said.
Grace opened another one.
It�s May 18th. Matt�s due in a few weeks and I�m getting nervous. I�ve learned to love him and I don�t feel scared anymore. I dreamt about him again. This time he was a healthy little boy. He was running in front of us, playing and a little girl joined him. I realized it was my little girl. Seeing them playing together made all the pain I carried around go away.
It�s June 14th. Matthew Jacob Girardi was born this morning and he is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. He has big brown eyes and he�s healthy. Grace told me he didn�t look like him. He looked like Joan in every way. I already knew that but she needed to say it, since she just saw the picture I had on my computer two days ago.
Unfortunately my dad doesn�t seem to notice that he exists. I don�t know what�s wrong with him. He really needs to get over the fact that Matt is a child of rape.
�Oh you are so dead for calling him that.� Grace said protectively.
Luke chuckled nervously. �I�m sorry.�
Grace just sighed. �Well I�ll get over it since your being good with him right now.�
Luke patted Matt�s back when he began to get fussy.
August 22nd- Sierra Eden Girardi made her appearance. She is absolutely perfect. I can�t describe the love I feel for her. She�s amazing. But something happened. Grace lost a lot of blood and she had to be taken in for emergency surgery. I have never been so scared in my life. I was going through all of these horrible scenes in my head of what could possibly happen if she didn�t make it.
Then the doctor came out and said she wouldn�t be able to have kids again. Grace doesn�t mind right now, since she�s young and she already has a new baby. But what if she wants another one someday? I just don�t ever want to loose her. She�s everything to me.
Grace quit reading and looked at Luke. They stared at each other for a few moments before Grace went back to reading.
September 25th- the anniversary of the day that Joan�s life was torn apart. I woke up in the morning and went into Matt�s room. I picked him up and told him I loved him and that today was going to be a happy day. I wanted to help Joan forget this day.
So by helping Joan forget, I�m going to stop writing. I need to start talking and not keeping my feelings inside. I�ll have Grace read this. She deserves to know who she had to deal with for one whole year.
Grace saw this was the last one. She closed the documents and turned to Luke.
�I�m glad you�re all right now.�
Luke nodded. �Thanks.�
They heard a knock on the door and Joan walked in with Sierra in her arms.
�There you two are!� Joan said. �And Matt. I was wondering why there was only one baby in the nursery. What are you doing in here?�
�Reading.� Grace looked at her. �We might make it after all.�
�Really?� Joan looked at Luke.
�I�ll tell you one day.� Luke said. He looked at Matt. �As for you�you just continue being the best nephew in the world.�
Matt giggled.
Joan smiled. Grace watched Matt with Luke, happy that the person she had seen months earlier was now gone and a totally different person.