Swallowed in Grief, Healed by Time

"Girls day, get up."

To say I was rudely awakened the morning after I had met Val and Jamie would be an understatement. Here I was resting comfortably in Zanders arms and Jamie slams open the door and screams at me to get out of bed. I'm pretty sure Zander threw something at her but I was not paying attention as I tried to bury myself in his arms.

"Come on girly," Jamie said as she came right over to us.

"Jamie, we're naked," Zander stated calmly.

"Zander, I'm not stupid," Jamie said just as calmly.

"What do you mean?" Zander questioned.

"If you were naked, you'd be six feet under by now," Jamie said with a smile on her face. "Now come on Elise, get up. Zander you can stay in bed but Elise needs to get up."

"What are we doing?" I questioned as I rolled over and faced her.

"You and I are going out with Val and having a girl day, away from all of these guys," Jamie said as she pulled down the blankets showing off our fully clothed bodies. "Huh Zander, you're really small."

"Get out," Zander yelled throwing the pillow at her as she laughed and left the room.

"Guess I gotta get up," I sighed as I cuddled into Zander some more.

"It'll be good for you go to out," Zander said as he gently kissed my forehead.

"I know, but that means I have to leave you," I complained.

"That'll be good for you as well," Zander said. "You need to make friends with the girls. Come on."

Zander got up and gently pulled me from the bed behind him. I sighed and quickly got dressed before heading out of the room seeing Val and Jamie perched on the edge of the couch. They both smiled up at me as I grabbed a sweatshirt and put in on. I discovered it was Derek's when he came out looking for it but once he saw it on me he went to grab another one. These guys were spoiling me already.

"Ready to go girly?" Val asked as she gracefully stood from the couch and grabbed her purse.

"I guess," I said not really sure how this was going to play out.

"Have a good day girls," Matt said as he kissed his wife goodbye and hugged Jamie and I.

Val guided us girls to a rental car that was sitting a few feet away from the bus. We got in and she turned on the GPS system and started trying to find the closest mall. Jamie kept going on about how she needed a new dress but I never caught what the dress was for. Val just laughed and shook her head as she started driving, apparently finding a mall that suited her.

"So, how are you this morning?" Val asked looking over at me as I had stolen shot gun before Jamie could get it.

"I'm doing alright," I said politely. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, I'm doing pretty well. Back with my husband and my son," Val said with a smile.

"Yeah," I smiled softly. "I bet that's nice."

"It's very nice," Val said her smile growing a bit.

"So, what are we shopping for first?" Jamie asked sticking her head up between the two seats.

"Well, I would say we should get the dress shopping done first," Val stated. "Then Brian has a couple of things he demanded that we get then we can do whatever."

"Dress shopping?" I questioned. "What are you guys dress shopping for?"

"You are too darling, and it's for an awards nights," Val said.

"A what?" I questioned a bit panicked.

"An awards night, in a few days the guys have an awards ceremony to do to and we are all going as well," Jamie said. "So you need a dress."

"Um, I don't think I can," I said shaking my head slightly.

"Why not?" Jamie questioned looking at me confused.

"I'm pregnant," I stated as though it was obvious.

"So?" Jamie said. "Brian is going to use this as a chance to explain that you are his daughter and Braden is his son. Everything will work out just fine."

"Oh," I whispered looking down at my hands.

"Hey," Val whispered as she reached over and grabbed my hands pulling my attention to her. "Everything will be alright, he's going to make a public statement so that no one can dispute it or twist it later."

"Yeah," I said softly knowing that it needed to be done but dreading it actually happening.

"We will be by you the entire time and all of the guys will be as well," Val said. "Nothing will happen with them all there."

"Thanks," I smiled softly. "But do I really need a dress?" I questioned.

"We'll find one that looks good on you no matter what," Val promised. "We have your dad's card so money is by no means an issue."

"It doesn't have to be that expensive," I said.

"But we are finding you the perfect dress and therefore money should be no issue in your mind," Val said. "Everything will be alright and we are going to find a great one for you."

We pulled up to the mall and got out of the car. Val immediately led us to a dress shop as if she had been here before. Jamie and I stared at her for a second when she walked into the store. Jamie and I just looked at each other and shrugged before following her into the store. Val immediately pulled me over to the dressing room area and threw a few dresses at me. I laughed a bit before going in to try them on.

The first couple of dresses were alright but nothing really suited me. The last dress I picked up looked a bit plain and I wasn't sure I was going to like it at all, but I tired it on just to suit Val. It was a cream colored dress with no pattern, though it did have a wide ribbon running right under my breasts. The dress hung very loosely on me and you could barely see my bump which made me smile. I looked at myself in the mirror for a few moments before I decided that this was the dress. It was utterly perfect and the longer I had it on the more I fell in love with it.

I stepped out of the dressing room and twirled the dress around. Jamie spotted me and ran over quickly pulling me into a hug and whispering that it was perfect. Val came over next and said the same thing. This was the perfect dress and I was actually getting excited about the awards night.

Quickly we paid for the dress and left. Val immediately dragged us into a cell phone store and quickly grabbed a phone before turning to me. I looked at her a bit confused before she gestured around the store.

"Your father instructed that you were not to come home from this trip without a new phone since yours has been turned off," Val stated with a smile. "So pick your phone."

Jamie squealed and immediately dragged me over to the newest models of phones. However, I took one look at the prices and walked over to the older models. Jamie sighed and dragged me back over to the newer ones. She picked up a rather large cell phone and placed it in my hands. There was nothing on the front of the phone other than three buttons on the bottom, send end and clear. I stared at the phone for a few moments wondering where all the buttons were before Jamie sighed and pressed the middle of the phone. I jumped a bit as it vibrated and stared at the screen that appeared before me.

Quickly I started messing with everything in the phone and a smile grew on my face. I did not notice Val go to the registers and buy that phone and another one. Jamie smiled as she took the phone back and pulled me from the store. Val smiled as she held out the newly activated phone that was currently calling someone. I took the phone from her with a smile just as another person answered.

"Hello?" a cautious voice answered the phone.

"Hello," I greeted not entirely sure who it was but I knew it was someone back at the bus.

"Who's this?" the voice asked.

"Who's this?" I questioned back wondering if maybe Val had dialed the wrong number.

"This is Zander," the voice replied and my love for Val grew.

"Hey Zander, this is Elise calling from her new phone," I said with a smile on my face as I silently thanked Val.

Today was going to be a great day and I was more happy now than I had been in a long while. My life was starting to turn around as I gained new friends, a wonderful boyfriend and an amazing father. Things were finally go my way for once.