"Holy shit girl!! You think you have enough bags?" AJ asked, laughing, as he carried the last of Dawn’s bags to the limo.

He handed it to the limo driver and watched him stuff it into the trunk with the rest of her and D’s bags. AJ just shook his head and sighed. It was going to be so hard to let her go. He wasn’t sure how he was going to say goodbye. It wasn’t going to be very long before he saw her again but it didn’t make this goodbye any easier.

"I hope I have everything that I need," Dawn said, walking out to the limo, followed by Arianna, Denise, Nick and D.

"Whatever you forgot we can pick up in Paris," D assured her.

"Ok. Well, I guess that’s everything," Dawn whispered and turned to AJ and Arianna with tears in her eyes. She bent down and grabbed her daughter into a huge hug. "You be good for Daddy, you hear?"

"I pwomise Mommy," Arianna told her, sniffing back tears.

"Mommy is going to miss you so much," Dawn choked, stroking her hair and grabbing her into a hug again.

They pulled apart and gave each other a kiss. Dawn walked over and hugged Denise.

"Go get 'em kid", she said. "Show em what you got," she tried to lighten the mood. Dawn laughed, trying to hold back tears.

She turned to AJ, who had tears running down his cheeks.

"Please don’t cry," she said, throwing her arms around him.

They held each other tight. They stayed that way for a long time, neither one not wanting to let the other go. Reluctantly they pulled apart. AJ cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tears away.

"I'm so proud of you, Angel," he tried to be strong as he smiled down at her.

"That means a lot to me," Dawn choked out before burying her head in AJ's shoulder.

"I’m going to miss you like crazy," he whispered, trying to hold back his tears.

"I’m going to miss you too, Alex. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this," she sniffed.

"You are going to be fine. D will take good care of you. You’ll be so busy you won’t even know I’m not there."

"Every time I crawl under the covers alone I will know you’re not there, Alex," Dawn whispered, letting a tear fall down her cheek.

"Yeah, and you better be alone," AJ joked, gently kissing her as he pulled her back into his arms.

Dawn chuckled at his comment.

"There's that beautiful smile," he said, caressing her cheek.

This was the hardest thing he had ever done. He didn’t want to let her go but he knew he had to. They pulled apart and looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

"I love you so much, Alex."

"I love you too, Dawn." AJ pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard. Putting all of his passion and love into that one kiss. They both savored the taste of the other's lips, knowing that it would be quite a while before they could share a kiss like that again.

"We had better get going or we’re going to miss our flight," Dawn said, pulling away and wiping her eyes.

She noticed that D and Nick were still locked in a heated embrace. She reached down and picked up Arianna and gave her another hug. She turned to AJ and gave him a teary smile.

"I know you’ll take good care of our daughter while I’m away. I have no worries about that. Come and see me soon, alright?"

"Two weeks," AJ replied, wrapping his arms around his two girls, trying not to cry.

"Daddy cwushing me!" Arianna yelled.

"Sorry sweetie," AJ laughed, loosening his grip and kissing her forehead.

Dawn gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her one last time, fighting back the tears that threatened to start falling again.

"Come to Daddy so Mommy can go on her trip," AJ told Arianna, holding out his arms.

She went into her father’s arms and rested her head on his shoulder. Denise came over and stood next to them, placing her arm around her son. Dawn gave him a tender kiss and walked to the limo.

"D, it’s time to get going."

"Ok, I’m coming!" D called sadly.

"I’ll see you in a few weeks baby love," Nick reassured her tenderly.

"I know but it seems so far away."

He ran his hands up and down her arms and smiled sadly.

"It will pass before you know it."

"I hope so," D sniffed, trying not to cry.

Nick leaned down and gave her one last kiss goodbye. She hugged him tightly not wanting that moment to end. She was going to miss him. She had fallen so hard for him. She wanted to tell him she loved him but she couldn’t get the words out. They got caught in her throat. It was just too soon.

"I better get going," D pulled away and walked to the limo where Dawn was waiting.

"Are you sure you guys have everything?" Nick asked both women.

"I’m pretty sure I do," D told him, looking through her carry on bag to make sure.

"Me too. I just need another kiss and I’m good to go," Dawn smiled, kissing AJ one last time.

She gave Arianna a kiss on the forehead and got into the limo. D and Nick shared another goodbye kiss and got in as well. Dawn rolled down the window and AJ stuck his head in and gave Dawn another kiss.

"Do you have the blankie?" He asked her quietly.

"Yes, I wouldn’t dare leave without it," Dawn whispered back.

The limo started to pull away and AJ snuck another kiss before removing his head from the window. Dawn and D waved as the car drove away, tears running down their cheeks. Dawn stayed at the window until they were completely out of sight. She sat back and sighed heavily.

"Are you alright?" D asked her, wiping her tears away.

"I don’t know," Dawn replied honestly.

She put her head in her hands and sobbed. D moved over to her and put her arms around her to comfort her. She knew she would be doing this a lot in the coming months.

Dawn pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"This is going to be so hard. I don’t know if I can do it."

"You’re going to be fine. You’ll see them soon. You and AJ will come out of this stronger as ever."

"I hope you’re right. We’ve been through so much. Like he said last night, this is the real test...I just hope we don’t fail."


Chapter 15
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