Kate walked down the hallway, barefooted, wearing fluffy duck-print pajama pants and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her coffee mug in her hand. She yawned sleepily as she headed for the front door, wanting to grab the paper from off the stoop.
"Hi, Mommy," Said a small voice coming from the coffee table in the living room.
Kate smiled, stopping in her tracks, making her way over to her daughter. She knelt down beside her, setting her coffee down on the tiny table. "Hi, sweetie," She said quietly, moving Hailey's hair away from her face so that she could kiss her forehead. Then she leaned back against the couch, laughing softly as she observed the scene lying before her. "I see you've been busy."
Pages upon pages of Hailey's drawings littered the table, along with several uncapped markers and worn-down crayons. Kate wasn't surprised, not in the least. This was a typical Sunday morning, though Hailey usually woke up after her, stumbling into the kitchen long after her mother had risen.
The little girl turned to her mother, an orange smudge of ink on her chin. "Mhmm," She giggled, sticking her chest out proudly. Her little hand released the crayon she was holding, reaching out for some of the papers on the table, gathering them up and handing them to her mother.
"Look, Mommy," She said excitedly, picking another page up off the ground, her little blue eyes lighting up. "I made one of you and me and Daddy."
Sure enough, there were the three of them, drawn in marker on the crinkled piece of paper. Kate was on the left, and Sawyer was on the right, much taller than her. Hailey was standing in the middle of them, a tiny little thing compared to her parents. She'd drawn her mother with her freckles and her green eyes, wearing a sundress, smiling. Her father had been drawn with his traditional long, middle parted, blonde hair, his blue eyes, and of course, Hailey had drawn his dimples too.
For a four year old, Hailey sure was good at drawing. Kate could already tell that she'd be into art when she got older. She had a God-given talent; that much was clear.
"This is one of your best yet," Kate smiled. "It's one for the fridge."
Hailey beamed at her mother. "Thanks."
Then she went back to drawing something new, still smiling wide as she did so. Kate took that as her cue to flip through some of the papers that had been handed to her.
She saw several doodles of animals, one of a house, another of a car, a couple flowers, and a few self-portraits. That made her smile even wider, obviously taking pride in her daughter and the 'work' she'd been doing that morning. But soon after, her brow furrowed as she flipped over another page.
Dead center in the middle of the paper was Hailey. She was wearing what seemed to be her favorite shorts and a shirt that Kate recognized. She was smiling, her lips forming a full-out grin, her teeth showing, dimples standing out on her cheeks. That wasn't what was puzzling her, though.
She was holding hands with a boy about the same height as her with blue eyes and dark hair, smiling the same way she was. Kate recognized him right away, but she hadn't the slightest idea that Hailey remembered him. The last time she'd seen Jack and Juliet had to have been at least two or three years prior. Sure, they kept in touch and checked in with each other every now and again, but ever since she and James had moved to North Carolina, they hadn't seen each other - and neither had their children.
"Hailey?" Kate asked, looking up at her daughter.
"Mmm?" She replied, seemingly deep in thought.
"Who's this?"
Hailey looked over her shoulder. "Oh." She instantly dropped her marker, leaving a bright purple mark on the glass table. "That's David," She said, inching closer to her mother.
Kate nodded and smiled at her. "You remember him?" She questioned lightly.
"A little," Hailey replied with a shrug, scooting back over to the table, going back to her drawing. "I see him when I sleep sometimes."
Kate bit the inside of her cheek and set the papers down on the table. She gently took hold Hailey's arm, her fingers lightly locking around her little wrist.
"Do you wanna go see David, baby?" She asked quietly. Hailey looked up at her. "We can go and see him if you want to."
The little girl abandoned everything she was doing at once. She looked into her mother's eyes, her own widening. "Really, Mommy?!" She asked, her smile reaching all the way across her face. "Can we?!"
Kate nodded once and extended her arms, her daughter catapulting herself at her. She held on tightly to her mother's neck, smiling so much it was making her cheeks hurt.
"Can we?" Sawyer's voice came from just around the bend, his voice husky and low. There was the sound of a few shuffling footsteps and a slight yawn. "Can we what?"
The two girls sat there in each other's arms for awhile, just laughing and smiling. But as it turned out, Kate and Hailey weren't the only people that had been missing one of the Shephards.
They left for California the next weekend, with Hailey giggling and bouncing in her seat throughout the whole ride there.