Welcome to my new story 'when I returned' it's a sequel to when life changes, when the past catches up and love is stronger than hate. But you don't have to have read any of those to read this and if you want to I can send you summaries of what will be most relevant from them in this and send it to you. It will be a syoc, so I haven't planned much except for this chapter so… Here we go.

Seven years after I was there the last time I stood outside Elm Tree House again and looked down the driveway and to the door. Here on the outside it didn't actually look much different from what it had when I left.

The same house was still there, made of stone, painted yellow. Two floors and one attic. Big windows, the elm tree outside on the front was huge. But I couldn't tell if it had gotten bigger since last time I saw it. Right now there wasn't a single item lying on the front yard and no one was outside so it could just as well had been completely empty and not used since I was here the last time.

But it wasn't empty, I could see the movement behind the curtains in the windows. I knew that inside this place was boiling with life and movement. That children up to the age of around sixteen was running around. Playing, fighting, complaining about the school they had just gone back to after the summer, complaining about each other and about what they had to do, reading, watching TV or just doing what they felt like for the moment being.

That would mean that nothing much had changed since I was here the last time. But so much must have changed- everything must have changed.

The last time I was here I had been standing right here in the driveway with everyone surrounding me in a group hug. It was when I thought I wouldn't ever return to this place. But here I was… almost seven years later, seven years older and… seven years smarter, wiser and for God's sake let me be seven years more mature as well!

I looked up to the door one more time and tried to gather enough of bravery to get up and knock on the door. I had been planning about going here since the day it was finally decided that I would move back to England and Newcastle after graduation. Even before that because I had always since I moved away wondered how my life would have turned out if I had stayed here at Elm Tree House.

I had wondered loads of times how my life would have turned out if I had made other choices. If I hadn't had the idea about going to Greece when dad retired from the army, or we had gone another time or just with another plane. Then my parents and brother would have lived and how would my life had turned out then?

There was no one that could have told how my life would have turned out if I hadn't broke the idea about going for a Vacation, or if we'd have chosen another destination for our trip, or if I had stayed at Elm Tree House when I left or had gone to another one or even if I hadn't come to England in the first place after everything that happened.

But after I came home again, after everything that had been going home. And I had started to finally, instead of running from my emotions, memories and thoughts had welcomed them with open arms and taken them one and one to work with them. Even though I had still been heartbroken and would always be by the fact that I had lost my whole family except for uncle Leon, I had somehow been able to look forward and finally seen something else than darkness. And after all, my life had turned out pretty good.

For a moment I dreamed away, remembered coming home and going back to school in the same school I had been going to before everything, even though I now actually lived in another district. But because I had only the rest of that year left in that district and then there were no higher grades left in that school.

The next year I had tried to get a new start, I started another school with the last third of the Swedish ground- school and for three years I barely let anyone know about my past. Anything about it, so I and Leon moved and I ended up in another district- the same as the first one and so I once again was at a place where several of the people I spent my every- day- life with knew about my past.

And God I hated the look everyone started giving you when they knew you were an orphan!

"Hello." A male's voice woke me up from my thinking and the past and brought me back to here and now. I span around towards where the voice came from and found a blonde boy, a good bit taller than me and blue- eyed. Dressed in a school blazer and with a leather- bag hanging over a shoulder giving shine of a school uniform from a very nice school- nothing no one could afford when living at the dumping ground.

"Is there something I can help you with?" The male asked politely. "Are you looking for one of the care workers?" I answered him yes. "Okay, come inside and wait. I'm Shawn by the way…" Shawn walked past me and opened the door. "Are you coming in?" I nodded and more and more nervously I walked after him over the threshold and into the hallway. "Wait here… I'll go see if I find someone." I nodded, and while Shawn disappeared into the house I looked around the hallway being filled with memories at the first spot.

Nothing much had changed in this room either, there were some coats, big and small hanging around hooks on the walls. Some thrown carelessly on the floor or on the benches. Caps, gloves, scarves and other things to keep the owner warm were thrown wherever and the baskets on the shelves with names on them were shining empty. Over the whole floor sneakers and boots were thrown and the one who could find two shoes alike in this mess could laugh himself lucky.

"Hello." A dark haired man, perhaps in his older twenties or early thirties came out in the hallway holding the hand of a young girl, perhaps four or five with long, blonde hair and a kind of tomboy- ish style to her grey and blue sweatpants, T shirt and sneakers. "Can I help you with something? Are you looking for…"

"…Emma?" The man hadn't finished his sentence when a bald man in his mid- fifties that I knew very well came almost running out in the hallway. "Oh my… It's been ages." Mike stepped over to me. And despite that it had been so long since I saw him last he quickly embraced me and wrapped me tightly up in his warm hug. "How are you doing?" He stepped away. "Oh my God look at you! You're an adult! How's Sweden? How's Leon?"

"Oh Leon's fine. Sweden is… like it usually was I guess. Leon's back there and I have spent my whole summer after graduation packing up everything, fixing a flat and… A week ago I finally came here to Newcastle and now I'm here." I gestured while Mike pulled a hand over his head- like someone pulling a hand through his hair but simply without all the hair, and the dark- haired man and blonde girl stood still in the hallway and looked curiously at me.

"Oh… I'm sorry. That sounds great Emma, a week. You should have come sooner. Oh… how rude of me. Luce, Trace. This is Emilia Peterson. She used to live here. Only for a few months but she did live here and… Emma. This is one of my care workers, Luce Atkins. And one of our youngest. Tracie Heart." Mike gestured to the man- Luke-ey or something and the girl in the tomboyish clothes.

"Hello." I reached my hand forward and shook hands with Luce. "Emma. And who is this beautiful lady?" Most young girls about Tracie's age would giggle and smile when someone call them a beautiful lady, Tracie just glared up at me with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest before she spoke.

"Call me beautiful lady again. And I will barf!"

I had to force myself not to laugh. It was very clear that Tracie wasn't joking with what she said, but with her tiny little voice it just sounded way too funny for me not to laugh. And with the expressions that Mike and Luce had on their faces I could guess that they thought just about the same thing as I did- and she had probably used it before as well.

"Oh well… Trace… we were going outside. Weren't we?" Luce said and steered Tracie through the hallway and outside while Mike and I made our way in the opposite direction and towards the kitchen. And on our way there we met Shawn, and Mike once again introduced me as Emilia, it was already starting to annoy me so when we continued towards the kitchen I finally asked him about it.

"Seriously Mike. No one's been calling me Emilia since… well, since my parents died. It's Emma. And I know you know that." Mike chuckled and patted my back starting to make coffee. "I mean seriously, if you had a name that you hated but an alright nickname you wouldn't want to be introduced with the full name either."

"Tell me 'bout it!" Just as I said it I noticed a Hispanic boy, around eight or nine years old that stood in the door. "Can you imagine being named with not one, not two but four names that are just one stupid name after the other?" He jumped up on the kitchen bench and opened the kitchen cupboards and opened the one where I knew there were boxes with biscuits. "Do you want one?" He put a biscuit in his own mouth and held the box towards me.

"No thanks I'm good." The boy shrugged and put the lid on the box again before putting it back in the cupboard and sat down on the bench, curiously watching me while chewing and I turned back to Mike.

"Emma, this is Jepson Emilio Todd Martinez." Mike smirked while… Jepson? grimaced and stood up on the bench again, walked on the kitchen island over to me and sat down holding his hand forward.

"Marty. And nothing else then Marty." He shook my head. "And you're Emma?" I answered him yes. "Cool." He sat down and jumped down from the bench again before he left the room, but just as he came in three new people. An adult dark- haired man, a woman looking about the same age as him, and then a little boy perhaps two years old.

Mike started talking to the man that had just come in. While the woman lifted the boy up on the bench and they were playing, while they all three were looking curiously at me and at last Mike gestured to me and so the man grabbed around the stomach of the boy and lifted him upside down with one arm and came over and reached his hand forward.

"Hey I'm George. I work here along with Mike and Luce. This is my wife Allison, and…" He lifted the young boy with both of the hands in his feet. Holding him in front of his own face. "My name is Richard Jeff, but people call me Richie for short." George spoke in a silly, childish voice. "Emma, was it?" I nodded and shook his hand just as Tracie came into the kitchen, now wearing a dress, tights and sneakers all printed with pictures from the movie Frozen.

"Nice dress Tracie. Do you like Frozen?" I tried, Tracie frowned.

"I'm not Tracie!"

"I think I'd remember that name…. oh!" Just as I had finished that Luce came into the room carrying Tracie on his hip. "Oh… Twins!" The new girl and the others laughed at me and I felt the heating in my chees when I blushed.

"I'm Ella." Luce put Tracie down on the kitchen bench. She had scrapes on her knees and he reached for the first aid box in one of the cupboards. "And I like you… Are you coming here some time again? Can you? Can she Mike? Please?"

When Ella begged for me to be here, and come here again I was reminded of what I had been coming here for from the beginning and something clenched of nervousity in my stomach. It wasn't that I didn't want to do this, not really that I wanted to do it or that I thought it would work. But I didn't have any other ideas.

I tell Mike that I need to talk to him alone, in private. So that he'll be sure no one listens we walk out in the garden and sit down in the old car seats in the trees while I explain to him what is going on. I didn't want to come to this being my only choice… but I really didn't know what else to do.

"Mike. I need a job." I start, mostly brainstorming for what to say next. "I barely have any money left, signing up to look for jobs take time and I haven't got time. Then I heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone that you need an extra hand and… I don't know. Do you need someone to cook? Or to clean? Or whatever because right now I'm desperate enough to do whatever." Mike chuckled. "I just really need a job! Anything." Mike held up a hand to silent me and scratched the back of his head.

"I don't need one to come and cook and clean a few times a week or whatever…" I suppressed a sigh and felt my heart sink. "But… I could use another care worker. It's a long time ago since we had a trainee last, actually I think that would be Luce. Who has now been a qualified care worker for almost three years… However… Do you still get seizures because if you do it might not be a very good idea?"

I felt a slight smile form on my lips. And what Mike said finally gave me some hope. It was needed, for a while I hadn't even been sure about going back to Newcastle at all because I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to get a job or earn any money or anything.

"Mike… I haven't had a seizure since the last time I was here and the day I was thrown into the kitchen counter." Nervously I clenched my hands around the fabric in my jeans pockets "And if you need a new care worker. And if you'd be willing to give me a chance then yes. I'm willing to give it a chance too." Mike seemed to wonder and so he nodded.

"Two weeks." He stated at last. "You've got two weeks. Then if you've messed up too much I'll have to let you go but if you do make this right. Then you're going to have to seek into courses on the University to do the studying while working. But if you do this alright, and now help me fill up all the paper work that it takes before you've got it. Then Emma Peterson, you've got yourself a job. So come on. You know Emma… there were loads of times I didn't think that I'd ever see you again I mean. Sweden is a far away place. I didn't really think you'd ever return here."

"Me neither. But I guess it was just time for it… and I guess that for the dumping ground. September the twenty third 2019 that I came back to the dumping ground again… It is Monday the twenty third today right?"

"The whole day. Until midnight."

"Haha." I said ironically. "You haven't gone any funnier since I was here the last time at least…. But like I said… I just guess December the twenty third in 2019 was always meant to be the date when I returned."

List of portrayers

Emma- Bella Thorne
Shawn (Yes, it's the same Shawn as in listh)- Austin North
Luce- David Clayton Rogers
Tracie and Ella- Mia Talerico
Marty- Young Jake T Austin
George- Ola Rapace
Allison- Clara Alonso
Richie- Logan Moreau

Ella is sent in by x snow- pony x. Mike is from the original series, the rest of the characters are mine. But Marty's full name was made by suggestions I had from Cookie05 during the name competition in love is stronger than hate.

You've got the form, the current cast list, the rules and the link to the tumblr on my profile. I can't wait to see what you can come up with.