A/N: Welcome to my new angsty multi-chapter story! I will try my best to update quickly but I cannot promise anything, since I am writing it chapter by chapter. So please bear with me! Suggestions and advices will be happily received! And of course comments of any kind make my day, so please, do that :) hope you'll like this!
Sandcastles in the Sky
Elizabeth McCord is a practical woman. It was a given, from the day she was born. If you needed someone to get the job done – she was the right person. She wasn't driven by emotions, and she always looked at the bigger picture, searching for all possible outcomes before making a calculated decision. Nothing was ever rushed, never spare of the moment. It was why that day it all went as planned. It was why she never panicked.
It was a regular morning at the McCord residence. Still in bed, she rolled over to her still sleeping husband and curled up his side, sneaking an arm under the covers and around his waist. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him, shifting so her head fitted in the crook of his neck, his own chin resting carelessly on her forehead. If there was one thing Elizabeth McCord loved the most it was this – lying in bed with her husband. The only problem was that he recently chose to be a couch potato, and had all the time in the world to just stay in bed, while she, reluctantly, had to leave the warmth of his cocoon, the softness of his lips dancing on hers. She tried to untangle herself from his embrace, but he tightened his grip, willing her to stay, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Don't go" he muttered, his husky voice rubbed with sleep. "Just a few more minutes".
She sighed in frustration and kissed his cheek before pulling herself out of his embrace. "I'm sorry" she whispered, letting her lips trace their way to his. He woke up by then, the feeling of her tongue brushing his lips, asking for permission he gladly granted her, allowing her tongue into his mouth as his hands began to roam her body. He groaned when she pulled away fiercely to break their contact and left their bed, shutting the bathroom door behind her.
Standing under the spray of hot water with her eyes closed, she sighed. It was only Tuesday but she was so tired, and all she really wanted to do was stay at home with Henry. She smiled at the thought of him, her fingers moving on the necklace they both shared. It was when her hand moved down to soap her breast that her eyes opened wide. Everything from that moment on was a blur, a mixture of check lists and actions, emotions set aside, working on automatic as she did what she planned to do for this precise moment.
She had a plan. As a practical person, she knew she would need a plan. Otherwise the fear would eat her up alive. It would paralyze her. It would be everything that she is.
Stepping out of the shower she walked over to her phone. "Dr. Miller's office. 10:00" she typed. Her phone buzzed seconds later, "will meet you there" the text read and she nodded in some sort of relief that her plan was still on schedule. As long as everything was working, she could hold herself together and not fall apart. It was much easier swallowing the lump in her throat as she watched her beautiful Henry sleeping soundly, peacefully, carelessly, in their bed. Soon, she thought, their own little paradise might be rocked. Maybe even broken. Her fingers reached for her necklace again, clinging to the thing that was suppose to be her protection. There were things this couldn't protect her from. And this was the one thing she dreaded the most.