Okay, guys, so a very quick recap since I've been gone so long.

Lizzie and Everett take a trip to Flagstaff, Arizona to visit some of Lizzie's family. On the way down, they discuss how Everett lost his sight. An of course, if Everett revealed a secret, Lizzie did as well. And she revealed that she is not an only child.

Yes, Lizzie has a sister and Everett was just as shocked. The two form a pretty immediate bond; the sister (who has been adopted by Lizzie's Aunt) is in the hospital off and on all the time for an illness.

In the previous chapter, Lizzie and Everett shared a kiss and now we fast forward!

* * * * * * * * *

"I hate this car. When I first got this car, I was so happy, but now I hate it."

"That's because you've been practically living in this car for two days and, lets face it, we both desperately need a shower and food that didn't come from a drive thru."

It was 12:23 AM and Lizzie and Everett were at a stoplight, only 20 minutes away from home. They were tired. They were hungry. They were sore.

But despite all the downsides on the return trip, the two were still happy and really enjoyed the vacation they had.

The trip overall seemed to be a great success. A ton had been accomplished and Lizzie and Everett really enjoyed themselves. The goodbye's had been harder than they thought, though, especially between Everett and Mandy. When Lizzie went to get them some drinks from the machine down the hall from Mandy's room, Mandy made Everett promise to take care of Lizzie and finally ask her out officially.

"You two are good together," was her simple explanation for her demands. But, hey - Everett was more than happy to comply with the orders. It was more a matter of timing.

The two hadn't discussed yet what exactly went down back in Flagstaff several days prior. They knew an undeniable attraction existed between them now, one both were okay with -  more than okay, really.

For Everett, it set his insides on fire to know that Lizzie cared for him in such a way. They had things they needed to discuss, to be sure. But for now, they were happy and satisfied and if their hands sat linked over the console for most of the way back from Flagstaff, well - that was their business.

"Just a few more minutes - we'll be back to our own beds and we can just pass out," Everett continued, dropping farther down in his seat. His words were becoming slurred and it came as no shock how tired he was.

"Yeah," came Lizzie's eloquent response. Her eyes were sagging as she drove down the road, closing in on their destination. "You should probably call Jesse and let him know how close we are. Maybe make sure he can help you get all your bags inside and stuff."

Everett nodded sleepily, making no move to get his phone out and instead slipping back to his sleepy state. With a fond smile, Lizzie rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone instead. She tapped Jesse's name on the screen, waiting for the man on the other end to pick up.

Lizzie took the time to notice how long the seconds felt when you were waiting for someone to answer their stupid phone, even more so when it was late and you were tired.

And then suddenly, "Please tell me you're close. I'm not sure I can drink another cup of coffee to stay awake for you guys," came Jesse's pleading voice from the other side of the line in place of a greeting.

"Well, hello to you too, sunshine," Lizzie teased, taking a quick sip of her coffee now that Jesse mentioned it.

"Don't toy with me, Baldwin," he practically growled. Even though they both knew she was playing around, it really was too late and they were both so tired. "Seriously, are you almost home?"

"Yeah, nearly there," Lizzie assured through the receiver. Her left index finger flipped the trigger for the blinker and turned the corner as soon as the coast was clear. "I'm like, ten minutes away at this point."

Jesse seemed to bleed relief through the phone. "Okay, great. I'll get moving then. The light will be on and the door will be unlocked."

The line went dead and Lizzie grinned, chucking her phone into the center console. Everett moved around a little, the small line of drool on his face getting rubbed off onto his shirt.

"Ev," she cooed, poking him in the shoulder repeatedly. She continued this until he roused, groaning.

"Why do you hate me?" Everett moaned, scooting around in his seat.

"Oh, we both know I don't." Lizzie prodded him once more for good measure. "And we're almost home. Wake up, peasant."

Everett cracked one eyelid, arms crossed over his chest. "Really?"

Lizzie nodded, saying, "So close."

Within just a few minutes, Everett and Lizzie were sitting in front of his house. Jesse poked his head the front door and Everett gathered his sweater and phone into his hands before exiting his side of the vehicle.

Lizzie followed suit, unlocking the back doors.

"You guys made it back safe," Jesse exclaimed quietly so as to not wake the neighbors. He pulled Lizzie in a hug and squeezed her tight.

"Not like anything bad would have happened between when I called and here," Lizzie sighed dramatically. But nevertheless, she hugged Jesse back with just as much enthusiasm and exhaled.

These North boys were going to be the death of her.

"I never thought I'd be so excited to see my brother," Jesse laughed, letting go of Lizzie in favor of Everett. The latter had a rather large grin on his face as he and his brother hugged. "I think mom has been having withdrawals. She just sort of stares at your spot at the table and sighs wistfully."

"She did remember I was coming back, didn't she?" Everett joked. He didn't wait for a reply, just shook his head fondly before letting go and turning to the car. "I think I got all my bags, but hey double check, would you, Jesse?"

Jesse dutifully bounded around the bags that Everett already pulled from the car and started to dig around. With Jesse busy, Everett held out his hand in a silent request and Lizzie complied easily.

With two steps, the two were in a hug and halfway asleep just from that. "We still need to talk about what happened  back in Flagstaff," Lizzie murmured sleepily.

Everett nodded above her. "Yeah. I know we do. But I'm pretty sure that can wait, right? Just a day or two so we can get settled back into our normal routines."

Lizzie hummed in agreement. "Since when are you the sensible one, huh?" she chuckled a little bit, the noise quickly turning into a yawn. "I guess I should probably get going," she told him, albeit with a little bit of disappointment in her tone. Lizzie pulled away and smiled at Everett.

His face showed the same amount of fondness for her before saying, "Goodnight, Lizzie. Drive safe, okay? I'll have the volume on my phone up, so just text me when you get home so I know you're okay."

"Will do. Night, Everett."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Jesse watched the soft exchange between Lizzie and Everett with every bit the happy lens of a fangirl. His hands were linked together and he stared with wide eyes. He waited for this moment for months. Something happened during that trip to Flagstaff.

And he really wanted to know what.

What happened on that trip? Jesse asked himself, grabbing Everett's bag from the driveway as Lizzie drove off.

Quickening his steps a little bit, Jesse saddled up next to his brother and nudged him. "Sooooo," he began, leading Everett into the house. His brother stumbled and grunted. While Everett most likely meant his grunt to be a dissuasive argument against his brothers chatter, Jesse took that as an affirmative to speak. "How was the trip?"

"No," Everett deadpanned. "I'm not permitting you to dig for any information until I wake up tomorrow, eat breakfast and drink at least three cups of coffee. Please hold all questions until that time," he nudged his brother in return, giving Jesse a tired smile in the process.

Jesse mildly pouted and grumbled, "Fine. But tomorrow you are so in for it."

"Deal."

* * * * * * * *

When Everett woke up the next morning, his mind immediately began playing the events of the entire trip in a fast motion. He rolled over and just laid there for a moment, thinking and just mentally absorbing everything taking place in his life.

The trip to Flagstaff changed everything. Everett felt as though he came back a brand new man, ready to take on the world. And it didn't just have to do with Lizzie, though she played a part.

Now, Everett felt like he could do things. He could take a trip across the country. He could paint and draw. He could fall in love and these were things he previously thought were no longer his finally came back. Anything was possible now. Everett knew now he could be an independent kind of guy. Fully independent? No, he still needed help and he accepted that as a constant.

But a new element of independence existed now. And he loved it.

His phone began buzzing, the sound of Lizzie's ringtone blaring through the room. Everett scrambled to grab the device and took  a  deep breath before he answered, though he didn't understand why he felt a twinge of nerves.

It's only Lizzie, he thought. However, the problem stemmed from it being Lizzie. Lizzie had become everything in his life, whether she meant to or not; whether he wanted it or not. She wriggled her way into his life and now . . . now he was content to have her there. No - more than content. It was a constant state of smiles and annoyance and eye rolling.

But he loved every second of it.

Shaking his head, Everett answered the phone, "Hey." He hoped he didn't sound like he had wondered so far off into thought . . .which he had.

"Hey," Lizzie replied, the smile clear in her voice. "I wanted to let you know your jacket is in my car, so if you can't find it - you know where it is."

Everett frowned and leaned further over his bed where the pile of his items laid on the floor. He dug through a little bit, feeling and only to find that, yes, he totally left his jacket in Lizzie's car. "Oh, whoops. Sorry about that," he mumbled, a yawn breaking through as he said the words.

A chuckle came from the other end of the line, sending a wave of warmth right through his body. "Well, I'll drop it off later, okay? And later might also mean tomorrow," she said apologetically.

Everett shook his head and joked, "Well, fine -  go spend time with your family. You act like you haven't seen them in forever!"

"You are such a dork," was the only reply Lizzie gave. But rather than sounding like an insult, the words were dripping with fondness, enough that Everett grinned wide on his end of the line.

"In that case, I'll see you soon?" Everett meant for it to be a statement, but it rolled off of his tongue sounding more like a question. He thumped himself mentally. He didn't need to be so shy.

But . . .

He really couldn't help it.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon. Bye, Ev."

As soon as Everett responded in kind, the line disconnected, leaving Everett to fall flat on his bed. The phone fell next to him, a reminder of how different his life became.

Not wanting to dwell too much on it, Everett pushed the covers on his bed back and crawled back underneath them; there was still warmth under the duvet and he curled up in the spot, sighing contentedly before drifting off into a semi-deep slumber.

When Everett woke up again, he had no concept of what time it was. With no alarms set and already waking up once, he laid there and tried to see if he could get a feel for what time it was.

Unfortunately, he couldn't and so, with a grunt, Everett threw the covers off and stretched. Even though he normally hated sleeping so much, he felt so much better. Well rested and ready to tackle the world.

Everett stood and did his normal routine of counting steps to navigate his room. Once he felt presentable (hair and teeth needed to be brushed at this point - no leaving the room without it), Everett emerged from his hibernation and followed the sounds of his family. A smile played on his lips as he walked, happy to hear the familiar voices. Cole babbled, his mother cooed back; Jesse's obnoxious chewing followed by a few observations about his car. His father bouncing ideas off of everyone else.

What felt like forever ago, Everett would have found this walk to be dreadful and irritating. Now, after he left for two weeks and didn't have those sounds to greet him, he realized how much he missed it.

"Oh, look -  he decided to join the living," Jesse teased as soon as Everett rounded the corner. Several clanks followed his statement, closely linked to the body that yanked him forward and into a hug. Everett smiled and squeezed his eyes shut, giving his mom the hug of her life.

"Hey, mom," he murmured. He really was happy to be back.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Denise exclaimed, letting go and doing her motherly action of patting his hair back down and straightening his shirt from where she rumpled it. Everett let her do her thing, just smiling the whole time. "I can't wait to hear all about your trip. I know you called a few times, but it's nothing like watching you describe it. You have such an expressive face."

As she walked back to doing whatever it was that his mother abandoned once he entered the room, Everett realized that maybe having an expressive face wasn't exactly the best thing.

And of course, the second they asked if anything big happened on the trip, even if his voice kept the secret safe, his face would sing like a canary.

"You okay, Everett?" Jesse asked, sounding a wee bit too smug.

Everett really wished he could see the look on his face so he smack it right off. "I'm extremely dandy, bro," he responded, hoping he kept the slight annoyance out of his voice. The entire subject of Lizzie and him was still a really new one and he hated that Jesse had a leg up on it. He realized belatedly that Jesse probably witnessed the really, for lack of a better word, tender moment that Everett and Lizzie shared last night.

Everett really didn't like that. But he brushed it off; he had a feeling that Jesse wouldn't blurt out anything if Everett didn't feel like talking about it. So instead of letting it get to him like he used to, Everett took a deep breath and walked over to the table.

"So, can anyone tell me what time it is?"

* * * * * * * * * *

As it turned out, Everett literally slept the day away. Five o'clock and he only just woke up. But he curled up on their sofa as they played a card game. Having small dots on the cards made them a wee bit hard to shuffle, to be honest. But Everett's family didn't mind it as long as it meant he could play Shanghai Rummy with them.

"I love this game," Jesse sighed happily, one hand ruffling around in the popcorn bowl.

Everett placed a discard on the appropriate pile and grumbled, "Yeah, that's cause you wipe the floor with the rest of us."

Jesse thoughtfully looked away before replying, "Yes. You are very correct. Oh, by the way, I'm done." He chucked the last card in his hand on the discard pile and leaned back as his family collectively groaned.

"And of course, I have all the high cards," Denise lamented, dropping her hand of cards without any grace.

Jesse chuckled. "I don't know why you insist on grabbing the entire discard pile! Why do you do this to yourself?"

Denise sheepishly shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I always think I have a plan for those cards. And I do! You just execute your plans faster than I do."

Everett laughed from his spot on the couch, counting out the points on his cards. Thankfully, he didn't have a lot. "I think Jesse has a point, Mom," he pointed out. "You set yourself up for disaster."

Denise swatted at her middle child. "Okay, that's enough!" she scolded playfully. She stood and said, "Fine -  I'm getting more snacks and you get to hold Cole." She placed the Cole in Everett's arms and watching him fumble for a second before getting a proper hold on him.

Everett stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at her before lightly poking Cole in the tummy. Cole giggled and waved his hands around vigorously.

As she walked away, it dawned on Denise that a year ago, holding Cole would have actually been punishment. But looking around the corner at her family, Denise smiled as Everett held Cole without any cares, the youngest member of the North family wedged between his criss crossed legs.

Denise smiled one more time, her heart full and warm, and entered the kitchen to fetch more snacks.

* * * * * * *

The rest of the afternoon remained much the same: an official North Family Bonding Ceremony. They played many rounds of Shanghai Rummy and continued with some movies. By the time bedtime came around for everyone else, Everett too was ready for sleep.

Even though he slept most of the day, Everett felt like he needed more; he still felt exhausted. And though he was super excited about being back with his family, he sort of wished he could of talked with Lizzie more through the day.

However, he spent so much time with his family and it felt great. Everett finally felt like his family was his again and the day of bonding he had with them, it just made him happy to be alive.

Everett snuggled under the covers of his bed, the weight of his duvet comforting and soothing to his still tired body. Letting out a sigh, he thought about one more thing before his mind shut down for the night:

He and Lizzie had a lot to talk about tomorrow.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Sort of a filler chapter, but I just really like writing about the North family! The next chapter will be up soon and I can't believe I'm saying this, but mentally, I've already got Finding Everett wrapped up with a nice little bow and ready to be finished.

I want this book done by the end of October - I want to have all my creative energy ready for NaNoWriMo this year!

As usual, please comment and vote - it makes me so happy to see the response to the story and I love that you guys are enjoying it!

Until next time!

- Kim