*LISTEN TO 'HO HEY' BY THE LUMINEERS AS YOU READ THIS - I CRIED*
"Okay," Vanessa breathed as she helped Mark carry his bags through the airport, "This is where we stop walking."
Mark pulled his suitcase up to that it could stand on it's own and Vanessa put his bags on the floor as he wrapped his arms around her neck and she hooked her arms underneath his, closing her eyes as she relished the embrace.
"You'll only be there for a few days and then we'll join you." She chuckled as Mark pulled away and crouched down onto the floor where he pulled the three kids into his arms and held them for a few moments before he pressed a kiss to each of their heads and allowed them to move out of his grasp and carry on running around each other in small circles.
"A few days too many." He groaned, standing back up as he took her hand in his and ran his thumb across her knuckles soothingly as she looked up at him. He leaned down and kissed Vanessa softly, savouring the feel of her lips against his.
"Stop being so dramatic." She breathed as she pulled away from him and kissed his cheek.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" She smiled and he nodded, picking up his bags from the floor as he started rolling his suitcase away from them. He turned around and waved at the kids as they waved at him as well and he disappeared around a corner.
"When will we see daddy again?" Amelia asked, looking up at Vanessa who had small tears in her eyes.
"Well, he has to make sure everything in New York is good and then we'll go. So just a few days, honey." She promised as she picked Caroline up, placing her on her hip as she grabbed Charlie's hand and Charlie held Amelia's hand, making sure they all stayed together as they walked through the busy airport.
It felt strange to Vanessa that she would be leaving Seattle soon and they had already packed most of the house up for it to be shipped off to New York to their new house that they had bought there.
A part of her was sad about the change but she was mostly happy that she was beginning a new chapter with her family and she knew how excited Mark was about moving so that was a huge plus. She breathed out deeply as she kept her eyes on her kids, making sure they stayed with her as they walked out of the airport.
***
"Okay, say goodbye to Nathan and Megan." Vanessa ordered softly, gently ushering her children through the door to the conference room. The kids ran forward and hugged both of the adults, making both of them chuckle as they hugged the children back.
"You really have to go?" Nathan asked her, resting his hand on Amelia's back as she hugged his legs.
"I wish I could stay but Mark is already in New York and I think that if I suddenly pulled out of it, he wouldn't be very happy." She smiled, ruffling the curls on Charlie's head as he stood next to her after giving Megan a goodbye hug.
"Just a long day of goodbyes, huh?" Megan asked her and Vanessa sighed as she nodded her head and dreaded the day ahead of them.
"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it."
"You'll be fine. Just think, you'll see him tonight and everything will be better. It's not like you can't call." Nathan reminded her and Vanessa smiled at him before pulling him into a tight hug, savouring the feeling.
"I'll miss you." She breathed, holding him tighter before letting go and turning to Megan, tears gathering in her eyes as she engulfed her older sister in a hug.
"I only just got you back." Vanessa cried, sniffling slightly.
"You're not losing me. I'll always be here." Megan reminded her and Vanessa nodded slightly, wiping her eyes before she pulled away and looked behind her where the kids were playing, bored of the goodbye business.
"I'll call you when we get there." Vanessa promised and the two nodded as she turned around and breathed in a shaky breath as she walked away from them.
***
"But everything's set up?" Vanessa spoke into the phone, watching the kids play in the nursery where they would stay until the end of the day - having said their goodbyes to everyone they wanted to.
"Everything's going great here." Mark confirmed and Vanessa breathed out deeply.
"We're doing this. We're moving away from Seattle."
"It's a bit late to pull out now." Mark joked and Vanessa smiled even though he couldn't see it.
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
"Bye. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Vanessa pulled the phone from her ear and ended the call, glancing at the kids one last time before she walked away.
"Vanessa!" She turned around at the voice and was immediately wrapped in a hug. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around Alex as well.
"I was just gonna look for you." She told him and he pulled away, holding her at arms length and looking at her as if he were memorising her face.
"Just don't get shot, or stabbed, o-or have a heart attack that nobody can find the cause for. Just... don't die."
"I promise." She chuckled slightly, pulling him in for another quick hug before she pulled away from him and took a step back.
"You have a job to do. And I have more people to say goodbye to," Vanessa noted the look on Alex's face and interrupted him before he could say anything, "I'll call you when I get there."
"Okay. Bye, V."
"Bye, Alex." Small tears gathered in her eyes as she walked away from him and she quickly wiped them away as she walked. Today was a happy day.
***
"Jackson, you have to let me go at some point." She chuckled slightly and Jackson reluctantly pulled himself away from her.
"I don't want you to go." He groaned and she took his hand between hers.
"I'll call you every week." She promised and he squeezed her hand before dropping it as she moved onto the next people at the airport.
"Meredith, Cristina - take care of Alex. Don't let him become a dick again." She told the two girls before pulling them both into a hug.
"I'll miss you guys." Vanessa breathed, patting their backs a few times before stepping away and smiling at them, tears welling in her eyes as she turned to Owen who was also on the verge of crying.
"Don't cry, you big baby." She joked and he chuckled, a tear slipping down his cheek as he did so. Vanessa wrapped her arms around his neck and he instantly hugged her back, knowing he would miss her more than anything.
"I don't want to work with someone else." Owen groaned and Vanessa chuckled as she pulled away from him.
"Stop being so dramatic. I'm sure whoever replaces me will be great."
"I'm just bummed that Jake isn't here." She breathed, looking down at the ground.
"Who isn't?" She heard the voice behind her and immediately turned around and ran to Jake, barrelling into his arms. He caught her with a small groan and she allowed her tears to finally fall against his shoulders as she clung to him.
"Seattle won't be the same without you." He told her as she back away and gathered her bags.
"And New York won't be the same without any of you there." She looked around at everyone who was seeing her off. Amelia was busy playing with Alex and Charlie was talking to Derek about something while Callie and Arizona fussed over Caroline and everyone else just stood, watching her say her goodbyes to everyone.
"Okay, Amy, Charlie, Caroline, time to go." She pulled the handles of her suitcase out and began to wheel it behind her as the kids wheeled their own mini suitcases behind them.
"Bye guys." She turned around before she turned the corner and a tear slipped down her face as she took in the image of everyone waving her off, sad expressions on their faces. The kids, oblivious to the weight of the situation, waved back, wide smiles on their faces as they ran forward, in front of Vanessa who turned her head away from everyone and walked away, ready to board the plane to her future.
***
A/N: Sorry this one is so much shorter but this is the last proper chapter :(
i never even expected this book to get 100 reads let alone 15k or whatever the number is at the moment - that's crazy! I love every single one of you who has read this book, voted and commented - I appreciate you guys so much.
I didn't proofread this so it's probably very bad
Check out 'Fractured Heart' and there will be another book that is going to be published for me to work on in place of this one so read that one as well <3
look out for the epilogue
Thanks for reading :)