I Wish You'd Stay

Hiya! Back again with the sequel to Jesus Take The Wheel, All You Wanted and So Small. Man, I really should've made this into a chapter story, huh?

Last we left, Andie's leaving with Cole. And Chase is driving home.

A/N: Oh, god! My ear just popped at it hurts like hell!

Disclaimer: I don't own Step Up 2 or any of the characters. Just the idea and Cole.

"You really have to go so soon?" Sarah asked, hugging Andie, then little Cole.

Andie nodded, sniffing slightly and wiping a tear from her cheek. "Yeah. Cole's missed a lot of school. Besides, I'm sure he misses his friends and everything."

"Well, I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too." Andie hugged Sarah one last time, then grabbed Cole's hand and headed toward the front door.

I talked to my sister in Memphis
And I told her you were movin' to town
Here's her number
She said she'd be glad to show you around
I left a map on your front seat
Just in case you lose your way
But don't worry, once you reach Sallisaw
It's all interstate

"You ready to go, baby boy?" Andie asked he son.

"NO!" Cole's face was tear tracked, and he was fighting Andie as she tried to lead him to the door. "I wanna stay!"

Andie grabbed the little blonde boy under his arms and lifted him. "I know you do, baby, but we have to go." She carried him out the door and sat him in the backseat of Chase's car, then buckled him in. She climbed into the passenger's seat, then smiled at Chase. "Ready?"

"Yeah, sure." Chase said in an angry tone, keeping his eyes forward.

Andie felt brokenhearted. She knew everyone blamed her for her and Cole leaving home. And he knew Chase didn't want to have to say goodbye right after saying hello to his son. But, things were better this way. They might not have understood, but she did.

I know you need to go
But before you do I want you to know, that I

Wish you the best
And I wish you nothing less
Than every thing you've ever dreamed of
And I hope that you find love along the way
But most of all
I wish you'd stay

Sarah and Charlie waved as Chase, Andie and Cole drove away. Charlie was crying, as he always did when he had to say goodbye to his sister. And of course, Chase. Then again, he could see Chase any time. He wished he could say the same thing about Andie.

--

Andie felt uncomfortable in the silence this time. Cole was asleep again. Crying always made him sleep.

Chase hadn't looked at her once. He was staring hard at the road, as if trying to transfer all his anger at her to the deep black tar.

"Chase?" She said after a while.

He didn't even turn his head. "Yeah?"

Andie took a deep breath, trying to calm the shaking in her voice. "I'm sorry."

Finally, he turned his head. But, his glare was less than inviting. "What?"

"I hadn't realized I hurt you so much. I just didn't want to ruin your life. I'm sorry."

He shook his head and turned back toward the road. "Yeah, well. It's fine. It's better this way, right?"

I figure right about sundown
You'll be in West Tennessee
And by then
Maybe I'll understand why you had to leave

I know that you've done some changin'
And I know there's no changin' your mind
And yes I know
We've been through this a thousand times

The whole rest of this ride had been silent. Andie felt sick to her stomach about that. More than anything, she wanted closure with Chase. To hear that he forgave her and maybe some day they could have a relationship again. But, there was a slim chance of that happening. At the moment, everyone in Chase's big black SUV resented Andie. Including her.

"Here we are." Chase said, pulling up in front of Andie's snow-covered porch. He opened the door and pulled Cole out, then led him up to the door and unlocked. He trudged into the house, with Andie close behind.

Yet another awkward silence before Andie spoke to Chase. "I guess you should go home now."

Chase glared at her one last time, not moving a muscle. "You know, Andie. You can't keep taking his father away. He's gonna resent you when he grows up."

"He already resents me." Andie sighed, praying that Chase would just leave and everything would go back to normal.

"I can see why." He muttered under his breath. He caught himself as Andie stared at him painfully with her deep brown eyes. "Andie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it came out."

"Oh, please!" Andie shouted, her now feeling the anger she imagined Chase had felt. "How many other ways are there to mean something like that?"

"Andie, I'm so—"

"Get out!"

Chase looked into her pain-ridden eyes. At the moment, he hated himself more than anything in the world for what he said to Andie. But, of course, he had too much pride to admit it. So, he turned on his heel and left, slamming the door as he did.

I'm sorry for still holdin' on
I'll try to let go and I'll try to be strong, and I'll

Wish you the best
And I wish you nothing less
Than every thing you've ever dreamed of
And I hope that you find love along the way
But most of all
I wish you'd stay

Chase hadn't gone too far after leaving Andie's house. He had parked his car under a tree not too far down the road to keep from getting snowed in. He was getting cold, and he knew he'd have to leave sooner or later, but it hurt. To have to say goodbye to Andie again. And this time, to his son too. Before he took off, he peered out the window one last time. He saw small foot tracks and followed them with his eyes to a little blonde boy carrying a small suitcase. "Cole!" He called, jumping out of the car. He chased the little boy down the road. As soon as Cole turned around to see his father, he jumped into his arms.

"Daddy!" He exclaimed. "You're still here! I thought it would take forever to find you."

Chase dusted the snow off his son's head and led him back to the car. "We're you running away?" He asked strapping him into the backseat.

Cole nodded. "I didn't want you to go."

--

Andie was pouring herself a glass of orange juice when she heard a knock on the door. She let the carton down and went to answer it. "Oh, my god." She exclaimed when she saw her baby boy standing outside in the cold, and of course, Chase holding his hand. She could've sworn she'd just put him to bed. How could he get out?

"He ran away."

Cole did like he always did when he wanted to avoid his fuming mother. He darted into the house and up to his room. It was what he considered "grounding himself".

"What are we gonna do?" Chase asked after a few long moments of silence. "He obviously doesn't want to say goodbye to me."

Andie pinched the bridge of her nose, angry now. Everything had been perfect for three whole years. Well… maybe not perfect, but the way it was supposed to go. She knew what she'd done was right. So why was it all blowing up in her face now?

She released her nose and finally spoke. "Fine." He exhaled, making the decision for the both of them. "Why don't you just… just stay."

Yeah, everything you've ever dreamed of
And I hope that you'll find love along the way
But most of all
I wish you'd stay
I wish you'd stay…

Okay. Well, that's all done. You know, I did some of this in school. It was the only thing that kept me awake. I had only slept about four hours that night. And it takes about six flights of stairs to get to my apartment, so my day was pretty much pure hell.

A/N: I know the ending was a little vague. It was kinda supposed to be, you know?

Review please!

Naomi