heart-shaped box (Chance!)

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In nineteen years, Grace had only had two people that she could really count on. Her mother had taken up a drug addiction when she was a toddler, and she had been sent to live with Larisa. She was the child that nobody wanted to deal with, but Larisa took her, and she took care of her. And then there was Jay. He was a reluctant father to her. At first, he kept telling her that he wasn't her daddy. But over time, he softened up and she won over his heart. Life was safe with those two. Growing up, Everyone else let her down. The girl's safety net were her parents. It didn't keep her out of trouble, though. The girl got heavily involved in drugs and alcohol, until one night she overdosed. That was the night she resolved to stop all of it. And when she told her friends she needed to get clean, they ditched her. Once more, Larisa and Jay were the ones who had taken care of her.

When she left to the police academy, she met Jake. A few too many drinks and a poor judgment of character landed Grace waking up in the morning next to him. He wasn't who she needed, though. He didn't take care of her in the least. Instead, he was abusive, and when Grace graduated the academy and went home, she was relieved to get away from him.

Her next mistake was the drug dealer. Ashton. Again, Grace had a poor judgment of character, and it led to nearly losing her job. She recovered, though, and slowly started to gain confidence in herself, and trust from Jay and Larisa. And then she ran into him.

Chance Del Rossi was the definition of safe. He had a million diplomas to his name and would never get into any kind of trouble. Besides, he sure went from nerdy little kid when he left for college to hottie. The two had gotten along pretty well, despite Ben interfering. And Grace fell for him, hard and fast. She knew, finally, that her judgment hadn't been too bad. After all, Chance was safe. Then, one day, when she showed up to see him, she found out from Matt that Chance had left.

Grace was stunned. And then once the information sunk in, she was heartbroken. He had gone to Africa. Grace told herself not to cry, that he was just like all the others. She told herself to go back to the safety net of her parents and move on. When Charlie invited her to a party, she agreed and went, determined to get her mind off of Chance. But one too many beers, and Chance's brother showing up, and her mind was right back on him. She couldn't just move on. Not this time.

It was crazy. Grace knew this. She had done a lot of crazy things, but this? This was pure insanity. She loved him. How the hell did she fall in love so fast? She had no idea. But she was. And she wanted to be with him. But how? He was in Africa, feeding the children or whatever. She couldn't go to him....or could she? Next thing Grace knew, she was being taken to the doctor and talking things out with Larisa as she was administered shots.

This was crazy. But, nothing had ever felt so right. She put in for a week off, not sure what would happen. He had probably gotten over her by now. But there was no way in hell that she was going to get over him. It was obvious, as she sold her favorite car and got the fastest ticket to Africa. And as she hugged Larisa goodbye, she had butterflies in her stomach.

She had sat beside the window, nervously chatting it up with the man sitting by her. She had no idea how he would react. He could tell her that she wasn't supposed to follow. Oh shit, what if he didn't want her there? Grace knew it was too late, she was on a flight, and she couldn't just turn around in Banghkok where the connection was. She would have to just go and see. Maybe he would be happy. Maybe he had hoped that she would follow. What if she was supposed to chase after him the second she found out? She hadn't done that. Would he be disappointed?

As the plane landed, Grace grabbed her bag and slowly exited the plane. She looked around, but it was dark and she could barely see anything. She hailed a taxi and asked him to take her to the village Chance was in, and he agreed for a hundred dollars. It sounded steep, but she knew it was probably far, so she nodded and got in the taxi. As she rode, the sun rose and she was able to enjoy some of the scenery. It really was beautiful. The animals were just incredible. She could definitely see why Chance would come here. It didn't mean that she could deal with him being gone. Well, actually, she could. This was her way of dealing with it.

When they got there, she opened the car door and paid the driver “thanks,” she said with a smile. She looked around. The place was small, but she had expected it to be. As she walked, she spotted a man, whom she assumed was a native. “Hi” she waved, approaching the man. “I'm looking for Doctor Chance Del Rossi? Do you know where he might be?” he shook his head. “No?” she bit her lip. She was in the right place, right? Looking around, she paused before walking into the village “Chance? Is Dr. Chance Del Rossi here?” she called, louder, calling out to anyone that would answer her. She hoped he would answer her. She would love nothing more than to hear him say her name, to rush into his arms and to tell him “Well, Chance....here I am!” And she would do that. With more of an explanation, of course. But first, she had to find him.

[Chance Del Rossi]

When Chance left Africa to go home again, he didn't plan to go back that soon. If anything, he hoped not to. It was beautiful where he was, of course, and he helped a lot of people. He wouldn't take back all of his efforts and everything that he had done since he arrived. Chance had loved his job, but he felt like he needed more. And after his horrific relationship went down the drain the last time he was here and his parents started their harassing letters, he just wanted to be home, where he felt safe. He knew he wasn't a little kid any more, and he had took it upon himself to grow up fast. He wanted to be successful and mature and he accomplished all of that. But, he was still young and when he left Africa, he felt that way. He felt like he wanted to go home and be secure with his real parents. His biological parents weren't real, not in the least bit. They didn't care about him or protect him the way that Ben and Marco always had. They would be his parents forever and they meant more to him than blood could. They meant the world to him. But, Toronto turned out not to be so safe. He wound up in a situation he never thought he could get himself into. He wasn't a kid anymore, and he definitely wasn't vulnerable like one. But, his dad's new boyfriend sure as hell made him feel exactly that way.

There was one great thing about Toronto though, one person that he didn't expect to get close to. Grace. Before he came back, the two hadn't been close. He knew her, but he was nothing more than a geeky little kid that couldn't get a date if he paid for it. Not that he liked to admit that and he didn't think he ever would, but he was well aware of what he was. He grew up and he didn't think he was so bad now. Well, he was still geeky, he couldn't help that. But, it seemed to get better after high school. Suddenly, being smart was a good thing. And Grace turned out so much different than he imagined. She was a cop and the two of them connected. He didn't care what Ben said or how Ben tried to keep them from each other. He cared about her and really felt close to someone. He didn't want to leave her. But when the opportunity to go back came up and he was told he was really needed, he jumped at it. He just couldn't stay there. But, even now, stuck in the village and doing real good, he missed Toronto and he missed Grace. He was already ready to call it quits and go home.

He fell asleep early the night before. Although they sometimes spent late nights up and barely slept, he had the chance to and because of it he would be able to get up at dawn. They followed the daylight cycle a lot more closely than they did back home. At home, he could switch his days around and often did so. College got him into that habit a long time ago. He hadn't been awake long when he suddenly heard his name being shouted. He blinked, just staring at the table for a moment before he stood up and walked outside, following the sound of the voice. It sounded like Grace... And immediately, he wondered if he wasn't dreaming. He had a lot of vivid dreams; sometimes nightmares, and it wouldn't surprise him. But any dream with Grace wouldn't be a nightmare. When he reached the woman though, his eyes widened. He wasn't dreaming. But, how the hell did she get there? Chance stared at her for a moment. "Grace?!" He rushed over to her, even though he was shocked, he immediately started to grin. "How did you-- What are you doing here?"

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Instantly, a wave of relief came over her. She was in the right place. "Thank you!" she called to the cab driver, who nodded and went on his way. Her eyes flashed back to Chance. She swallowed the lump that rested in her throat. She would never have dreamed about going to Africa before. But Chance was there, and that made all the difference. Biting her lip, she set her bag down and walked over to him. She heard him ask how she got there. "I--" her heart pounded as she looked around at the people and the scenery, before looking back at him.

"I went by your house. Your dad' house, I mean. And Matt told me you were here. And I get that you're needed here. I'm not stupid. Greater good takes higher priority than the girl. But here's the thing. I can't move on. I tried. When I found out that you left and you never even said goodbye, hell yeah I tried! But I couldn't. I was dwelling on you leaving and moping about it and I even got drunk and rambled on to your brother about it. And-and then I realized something. I'm in love with you, Chance. So. obviously I couldn't just stand around and wait for you to come back with some African wife and a bunch of little half African kids. I had to do something. But you're needed here. This is where you belong, so I brought myself to you. I will move here, Chance. I will become an African cop. All you gotta do is say the word. Because, you being in a different continent sucks"

People were looking at her. She looked around before hanging her head. "I'm done sounding pathetic. I'll shut up now" She stood, prepared for the worst. Even though he had a smile on his face. God, she loved that smile.

[Chance Del Rossi]

Chance knew that leaving without a word could damage whatever he head with Grace. Yet, he couldn't say goodbye. It would hurt and he would linger there. And he was very much running away. He took off and didn't look back. Though in reality, he looked back often and wondered if he made the right choice. It wasn't. He was trying to avoid everything he felt while he was there except for one actual shot at being witha woman he cared about. He listened to her and didn't mean to laugh when she mentioned the African wife and babies. "I'm not getting married, I promise," he said, and only found it amusing because the image to him was a little crazy. And he shook his head, walking closer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go like that, well, I did, but it wasn't because of you. Things happened and I got a call and I just needed to go. I had to get out. I wanted to say something, but goodbyes suck and... I care about you. I-- I love you. And I suck, I suck so bad for going like that."

He didn't want to give all the reasons, and he hoped she would take what he said. Eventually, he thought he would. But right now, he didn't want to lay everything out for her. He was glad she was there and even after the heartfelt words, he was trying so hard not to smile, because he was happy that she was there. "But, please, please don't become an African cop. I really wanna go home." He said, though then with a step closer, he leaned in, attempting to kiss her. He missed her. He hadn't really been gone all that long, but he missed her and as weird as it was to meet up this way and to have these confessions surface fast, he was too excited to see her.

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"Well, you never know what would happen. You might like the way one of them carries those baskets on her head or something." She knew she sounded ridiculous. She was jealous over someone who didn't even really exist. But anything could happen. She was so used to people moving on with someone who wasn't her, and people who just left to leave. When he said he sucked, though, Grace looked up at him "I got drunk and kissed Jacob. So I think we're even" she admitted. She hadn't meant to force an apology out of him. She wasn't even mad. She just wanted to be with him.

He wanted to come home? Grace wondered what the hell he was waiting for. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek when he leaned in. Instantly, her arms were around his neck, and her lips were pressed against hers. God, she missed him. At this point, she didn't even care who saw. She was ready to let the whole world know that she loved him. She even got those dumb shots for him. And those hurt! She pulled on his neck, pressing her body against hers as she leaned her head back, kissing him passionately.