In the months following the "no gas incident" as it came to be known as, Tabitha and Lance grew closer. Tabitha decided to give him another chance and Lance was determined to prove that Tabitha could trust him. Ariel was ecstatic that her parents were back together. She loved seeing her father every day and her mother so happy. About six months after they started dating again, Lance decided that it was time for Tabitha to meet his parents. He brought the topic up one morning while they were eating breakfast. Actually, he and Ariel were eating breakfast and Tabitha was feeding Adam.

"What would you think about going on a little trip this weekend ?" Lance suggested.

"A little trip to where ?" Tabitha questioned as she turned to him.

"Um, Mississippi ?"

"Why Mississippi ?" Ariel broke in before Tabitha could say anything.

"Ariel Nicole, you know better than to interrupt. Now, apologize."

"I'm sorry," she pouted.

"Why don't you go to the living room and watch cartoons ? Mama and Daddy need to talk for a minute."

"OK, Mama," Ariel conceded as she reluctantly got out of her chair and headed to the living room.

"Are we going to argue ?" Lance queried as he watched Ariel leave.

"No. Why do you ask ?"

"You don't usually make Ariel leave the room when we talk."

"I just didn't want her to be interrupting again, that's all. So, why Mississippi ?"

"I think it's time for all of you to meet my parents."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Tabitha objected quickly.

"Why not ?"

"I don't know. That's a long trip to take with a 5-year-old and a one-year-old. Are you sure your parents want to meet us ?"

"Why are you so worried ? You've met my parents before," Lance pointed out.

"Yeah, but not as your ex-girlfriend who's been married and divorced and is your girlfriend again with two kids."

"I know, but one of the kids is mine and you were married when you had the other one. See, it's not so bad."

"So what do your parents think about you leaving me when I was pregnant with Ariel ?"

"They were really pissed off at me for a while. They tried to convince me to rethink my decision. When they realized that I was going to stick with it, they accepted it and moved on. I think they'd really like to see their granddaughter though. They ask about her all the time."

"Really ?"

"Yeah and I know they'd love Adam."

"So what do they think of me now ?"

"I don't know. I do know that they're glad we're back together, but I think they're a little worried about our relationship."

"Well they're not the only ones," Tabitha commented as she cleaned oatmeal out of Adam's hair.

"You're worried about our relationship ? Why didn't you tell me ?"

"You know that I've had reservations about it all along. I'm just still not completely sure things will work out."

"What will it take to convince you ?"

"I don't know. I don't know if there is just one thing. I guess it will just take time."

"I understand. Will you think about the trip ?"

"Of course. Now, can you give Adam a bath while I get ready for work ?"

"Sure thing."

Tabitha did think about the trip. In fact that was all she could think about that day at work. At lunch, she called Justin to get his opinion. Unfortunately, Justin wasn't at home, but Amber was.

"Hello ?" she answered snottily.

"Hi Amber, may I speak to Justin please ?" It took all Tabitha had to be nice to her.

"No you may not. He's not home."

"Do you know when he'll be home ?"

"No."

"Can I leave him a message ?"

"Who is this ?"

"This is Tabitha."

"No, you can't leave him a message."

Bitch !, Tabitha thought. "Thanks a lot," she replied sweetly as she hung up. Well, there was another lovely encounter with the tramp of the month. She was about to call the studio when her phone rang.

"Hello ?"

"Hey babe, it's me."

"Hey Lance."

"What's wrong ?"

"I just had a conversation with Amber."

"Ugh. It didn't go well, I take it."

"No. Either Justin wasn't home or she wasn't letting him answer his own phone. Anyway, when she found out it was me, she wouldn't let me leave a message. I swear I'm going to go over there and kill her."

"I'm sorry you're having a bad day. I think Justin's at the studio. Do you want me to have him call you at the office when I get there ?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Tabitha hung up with a smile. Even with the doubts she was having about their relationship, she was happy with Lance. There were just times that a voice in the back of her head told her that he was going to leave her again. She tried to ignore that voice as much as she could. She started typing on her computer once again and within a few minutes, her phone rang again.

"Hello ?"

"Hey Tabbers, it's me. Sorry that Amber wouldn't let you take a message. She's been in a bad mood lately."

"That's OK. I just really needed to talk to you about something, but you've been a little hard to get ahold of lately."

"I know. I'm getting ready for my next tour and you know how busy things get. What's going on ?"

"Lance wants us to go to Mississippi to visit his parents."

"Really ? That's great, isn't it ?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to meet his parents."

"But you've already met his parents before, right ?"

"Yeah, but this is different. This time I'm divorced and I have two kids."

"I know, but one of the kids is Lance's and the other you had when you were married. What's the big deal ?"

"That's exactly what Lance said."

"I think you need to go on this trip. I think it'll give you more confidence about your relationship with Lance."

"OK. I guess you're right. Can we get together sometime and talk without your shadow ?"

"My shadow ?"

"Yeah, you know. Short, blonde, and bitchy."

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talking about," Justin protested.

"See, you recognized her right away. I'm sorry, but you know how I feel about Amber."

"I know, but can't you at least try to like her ?"

"I've tried, but I just can't get past her lack of personality."

"Whatever. I promise I'll call you next week, OK ?"

"All right." Tabitha hung up with a sigh. She missed hanging out with Justin and she wished he could see what his girlfriend was really like. Anyway, she guessed that she should make a final decision about this trip. She called her supervisor and told her that she needed Friday and the next Monday off. Her supervisor agreed without question and Tabitha decided that she'd tell Lance her decision that night.

The four of them were eating dinner at Lance's house when she announced her decision. "Ok, I've decided."

"Decided what Mama ?" Ariel questioned.

"That we should take a trip this weekend," Tabitha replied as she watched Lance for his reaction.

"Really ?" he asked with a huge grin.

"Where are we going ?" Ariel was still confused because neither of her parents were paying attention to her.

"I think your mom has decided that we should go visit your grandparents in Mississippi."

"Cool !" Ariel cheered. She started jumping around and hugged both of her parents.

"OK now, Ariel, finish your dinner," Tabitha ordered. We'll talk later, she mouthed to Lance. He nodded, still smiling from ear to ear.

Ariel had fallen asleep on the couch in the den and Adam was sleeping beside her with the TV blaring when Tabitha went to check on them. She covered the two of them with a blanket and went back into the living room with Lance.

"So what changed your mind ?"

"A talk with Justin," Tabitha replied mysteriously.

"Is that all ?"

"Well, that and I decided you were right."

"Right about what ?"

"That it's time for the kids to meet their grandparents. It'll be good for Ariel and Adam to have grandparents again. Ariel loved Darden's parents, but they refuse to see her since the divorce and Adam didn't really know who they were. I guess grandparents will be a first for him."

"You really miss your parents, don't you ?" Lance asked as he noticed Tabitha's melancholy expression.

"I'll always wonder what my life would have been like if they hadn't died, but then I wouldn't have had you, Justin, Ariel, or Adam in my life. I can't imagine that at all."

"I can't imagine it either," Lance whispered as he pulled Tabitha into his arms and held her tightly.

"I hope that they can see Ariel and Adam and that they're proud of me, despite all the mistakes that I made."

"I'm sure that they can and that they are."

"Yeah, me too," Tabitha sighed sleepily. Lance wanted to ask her another question, but he decided that it could wait until tomorrow. Tabitha was fast asleep with a few minutes and Lance fell asleep a little while later.