Standing there looking out the kitchen window at her husband and his siblings, she couldn't help but feel a sadness wash over her. She was beyond happy that Henry and his brother and sister seemed to be bonding, letting the hurts of the past go, but she felt a longing to have this type of interaction with her own brother.
The last time Will was in town they ended up fighting and he left on those terms. He just didn't get why she needed to protect him, he was all she had left of their family and wanted nothing to happen to him. She had always had this fear that something terrible was going to happen to him on one of his missions, and she just couldn't let that happen. They were so young when their parents died, so they always made sure they were there for each other. Lately it's been tough, and watching Henry with his siblings made her miss Will so much more than she realized.
"Hey mom, do you need a hand in here?" Stevie asked her mother softly, noticing her watching out the window with a look of deep sadness on her face, and quite possibly a trace of tears on her cheeks.
"Oh hey baby, sure I could use the company, thank you." she said with a hint of a break in her voice. "Could you help me make sure there is still enough food and drink out? All these people in and out, I can't seem to keep track of everything."
"Sure, here let me take that from you." Stevie said, taking the coffee pot from her mother. "Mom, are you okay? I mean, I know this is hard on everyone, but are you really okay, you seem all out of sorts." Stevie questioned herself internally if this was the right time to bring this up, but since they were alone in the kitchen for a minute she thought it was a good time.
Elizabeth paused at her daughters question, thinking carefully about how she was going to answer this, Stevie was a bright girl and lately seemed to be so intune to her mothers emotions. Leaning against the sink with her head tilted down, she sniffled back a few tears that were trying to escape. "Yeah baby, I'm okay, just a bit tired thats all. This is all so emotionally draining." Stepping beside Stevie she took her oldest into her arms and hugged her tightly, reassuring her that she was fine.
Stevie knew better than to believe her mother, but she decided to let it go, for now. She saw how Aunt Maureen talked to her, and about her, and knew that her mothers kind heart was hurting. She decided that if she had gotten sometime alone with her, she would ask her about it. Knowing that her grandparents had died when her mother was young, she couldn't help but wonder if thats partly the reason she let her Aunt talk to her that way. "Okay mom, hey why don't you go find dad, see if he needs anything" Stevie pushed at her mother, knowing full well that her dad was outside with his siblings.
"Well he is outside with Aunt Maureen, Aunt Erin and Uncle Shane, and they seem to be having a good time reminiscing so I don't want to bother them. Besides there's so much to do in here with clean up and everything." Not wanting to invade the sibling bonding time they were having, she was busying herself with the dishes and cleaning up what she could.
What Elizabeth didn't realize is that Maureen had caught her looking out at them from the kitchen window. Maureen had known how terrible she always treated Elizabeth, and she wasn't sure why she had treated her so badly, its not like Elizabeth truly flaunted her wealth in front of them, she worked for a living and lived moderately modest, she also knew that the money Elizabeth did have was because its what her parents had left her. She didn't know the full story, but she knew that they died when she was young, leaving just her and Will alone, parentless. Listening to Henrys speech during the funeral she had it in her mind to try and be nicer to Elizabeth, after all she had only tried to help the whole time they were there preparing for the funeral, the biggest shock was when she had put the coffin and other necessary items on her credit card, she was jealous of this, but also grateful. Maureen had always been like Patrick, so proud and never wanted to admit defeat, which is part of the reason she had a strained relationship with Henry. Wanting to try and possibly make things better, for Henrys sake, she had left her siblings and walked into the house, hoping to find Elizabeth in the kitchen alone.
"Hey Stevie, do you know where your mom is?" Maureen asked her niece.
"She was right here, maybe she went upstairs for a minute, she was looking a bit tired."
"Okay, thanks sweetie." Guessing she had probably lost her chance to talk with her sister in-law, she went off to mingle with some of those stopping by to pay respects to her father.
Stevie couldn't help but wonder what that was about. Why would Aunt Maureen want mom now, she's been doing to much trying to keep things off her dad and siblings shoulders so they could mourn without worrying about cleaning up around the house. She was hoping it certainly wasn't to chew her out or push her around for the way things were being done today. She never understood why her aunt hated her mother so much, she was always very polite to her and tried to make things better when they were sour. The way she was talking to her these past few days really bothered Stevie, the way she snipped at her mother when talking about riding in the SUV to the funeral home, the way she called her "Queen Elizabeth" in a very derogatory way, the way she had acted when her mother stepped up to pay for the coffin and everything on her credit card to help the family out. She wanted to talk to her mother about it, but wasn't sure when the time would be right to talk.
Elizabeth excused herself from the kitchen and the mourners, she headed upstairs to the bedroom for a bit of privacy. The past few days were really taking a toll on her, she had caught herself a few times starting to have a panic attack, but was able to calm herself down quickly, before things got out of control. She was feeling rather panicked at the moment and decided the best place to fall apart would be the bedroom, Henrys childhood bedroom. What she really wanted was to be back in her own home, away from Maureen and her biting comments and nicknames, in her own surroundings where she could safely fall apart. She had never asked for the wealth she had, but the fact was, it was all her parents had left her. They had worked so hard so their children could have everything in life they wanted. When their lives had been cut short so suddenly Elizabeth and Will each inherited an exuberant amount of money, of which they received in yearly installments out of their trust funds. Elizabeth had decided to invest a lot of her money, which is one of the reasons she and Henry were well taken care of. Its not her fault, and she really wished Maureen understood that. She would rather have her parents than be well set with money for the rest of her life. This week was very hard on her, watching Henry and his siblings laughing and remembering all the good and fun times they had with their dad. She longed for this, and she missed Will so much, she'd give anything to fight with him right about now, because even though they may be fighting it meant he was atlas there for her to fight with. There had been a quiet knock on the door, not knowing who it was, she tried to stay as silent as she could for all she really wanted to do was just be alone right now. When she didn't answer she noticed the door opening just a crack. Henry had been looking for her, and when Stevie told him she was upstairs he got concerned.
"Hey baby, are you alright? Stevie said she was a little concerned for you." He asked, knowing she was more than likely thinking about Will and her own parents. He crossed the room to sit on the bed with her, taking her in his arms squeezing her tightly, kissing her gently on the forehead.
Letting out a big sigh she leaned into his embrace and resting her head against his shoulder, "Yeah, I guess, I just got overwhelmed watching you guys outside laughing and reminiscing over the fun times you had with your dad. I am so glad you guys are talking and enjoying each others company again, I was a little worried that your dads death would split you guys completely. I know Shane and Erin were trying to remain neutral not taking sides, but I was worried you and Maureen would be destroyed forever with the words she had said." Lifting her head off of Henrys shoulder and looking him in the eyes, "Are you okay baby? I mean really okay?" she asked looking deeper into his eyes, searching for the true answer. She was always good at reading him through his eyes and could usually tell when he wasn't telling her the truth.
"Elizabeth McCord, do you know how much I love you?! Yes I'm okay, Maureen and I seem to be better now, I'm thinking that what I said at the funeral really sunk in. She apologized for blaming me for dads death, and hopes that we can continue to repair our relationship." He said, looking deep into her clouded crystal blue eyes. "I want to thank you for everything you've been doing since we've been here. I know its not easy dealing with the "stubborn McCord" family, but you're doing an amazing job. I also know that you're feeling sad, not only from my dads death, but the old wounds from your own parents death and your life without them, the fact that you and Will never really had the chance to reminisce about growing up with your parents. I saw you watching us from the window." He let her know, and his words made her cry, a cry she'd been holding in for quite awhile.
Henry wiped the tears from her cheeks, and also joined her in crying. They both needed a good comforting cry together, they hadn't really had a chance to just sit and cry in each others arms since they had arrived in Pittsburgh, and the dams had finally broke. They sat there for awhile holding each other, leaning on each other crying and being comforted with the touch of their hands, the warmth of their embrace. They hadn't realized how long they were like this until they heard a knock at the door.
"Hey, are you guys okay?" they had heard Allisons voice through the door, "Everyone is downstairs wondering where you had gotten to. All of the guests are starting to leave and want to say their good-byes."
"Yeah Noodle, we will be down in a minute" Henry answered his middle child, clearing his throat as he spoke. "You okay babe? If you want to stay up here you can, I don't mind." He said as he kissed Elizabeth softly on the lips.
"No, I'm okay, I'll come along down with you. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I was a cold hearted person, not wanting to say good-byes." She reassured him with a kiss in return. "I love you so much Henry McCord." giving him another, stronger kiss as they stood up and went downstairs.