The blonde sat with her knees to her chest on the porch of the lit house, her body rocking back and forth. She was at Southfork Ranch, the last place she expected to be. Running to the two people in the world she never thought she would be even considering asking for help from. Help. She needed so much more than that. Emma needed a place to stay, a place to get away from her father and her grandmother. They were both filling her head with nothing but lies.
"We will only be there a month, Emma.." Harris told the girl as he helped pack her bags.
A few weeks ago she would have been happy to leave at any time, but now... now things were different. She had met her mother, the woman she had never been acquainted with, the woman who abandoned her at the state fair when she was barely a year old. The woman who supposedly did not love her. Emma's head had been filled with so many lies that she could no longer dig out the truth anymore. All she knew was that her father and grandmother were forcing her to leave the country, and she was not leaving.
Pulling up in the driveway, Ann spotted something in the headlights of the Tahoe as she turned it off and stepped out, shutting the door behind her. Making her way to the front porch of the house ahead of her husband, it didn't take her long to notice that it wasn't something but someone. Her daughter, Emma.
Hearing a car door shut, the blonde jumped to her feet and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets as she rounded the corner and looked at the two figures getting closer by the second. Opening up her mouth, she tried to speak but nothing came out. Standing still, she looked back and forth between the two people, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Emma." The name came out as more of a statement than a question. "Are you okay?" A confused look began to play against the soft features of her face as she waited for an answer to her question. What was Emma doing there? How long had she been waiting for them? What was going on? Had their earlier horseback ride around Southfork helped to clear her head more than she had realized? Was this really happening? Was her little girl truly coming back to her?
It was a simple question, and yet she was still having trouble answering. Blinking a couple of times to stop the burning from the tears welling up, she took in a deep breath and clenched her fist in her coat pocket. "Can I stay?" She asked as she looked back and forth between her mother and stepfather. People she had never had a relationship with.
Hearing that her daughter wanted to stay with her there at Southfork caused Ann's heart to swell, and she couldn't hide the soft smile that began to tug at the corners of her lips as she nodded her head with her response to the question she had just been asked. "Welcome home." Her tone was full of genuine, unconditional love as she spoke, meaning every word. Southfork was Emma's home, just as much as it was her own. She was going to make sure that Emma understood that and never forgot.
Hearing those words, that voice, Emma felt instantly at ease, as if suddenly things would be okay. Even though she had run away from her home, gone to the one person she was told to stay away from, Emma was relieved. Before taking a single step, she looked over at Bobby for a moment, who was smiling at her, and then moved over to Ann, wrapping her arms around her and closing her eyes as she held on tightly. This was the first time she had ever truly hugged her mother, and the only time she felt fully protected.
Using her free arm to pull Emma close, Ann returned the tight hug, kissing the top of the younger girl's head as she ran a glove covered hand up and down the blonde's arm. Turning them back to face the front of the house, she did her best to keep her own fresh tears at bay, keeping her daughter as close to her side as possible as the trio made their way up to the front door and inside out of the cold.
Bobby grabbed the suitcase off of the porch steps and held the door open for the two, before following in behind them and heading upstairs to the guest bedroom. Emma stayed close to Ann's side, looking around the house, taking in every little detail about her home, her mother's home, her family's. Opening up her mouth, she began to stutter a bit, "I.. I am sorry to just... show up unexpectedly, but I... I didn't know what else to do..." She said as a few tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.
Offering Bobby a grateful smile as she watched him disappear up the staircase, suitcase in hand, Ann turned her undivided attention back over to her daughter in front of her, listening to her slightly nervous ramble. "You did the right thing, Emma." Leading her into the living room, Ann sat down on the couch and waited for Emma to join her before she continued on. "Southfork will always be your home, no matter what. It will always be a place where you can come whenever you want to and stay whenever you need to." Becoming quiet for a minute, Ann hesitated before voicing the one question that had been on her mind ever since she had first realized who it was out there on her front porch steps. "What happened tonight?"
Emma smiled a little at her mother's reassurance about doing the right thing and nodded, some of her long locks falling down in front of her face. Tucking the hair behind her ear, she followed the tall, slender woman into the living room and sat down slowly and looked at the ground, listening to Ann tell her Southfork was her home as well. She took in a deep breath as she heard the question she had been expecting ever since she got into the car to drive over. "They... uhm," She spoke, looking down at her hands that were fidgeting, "My father and grandmother, well... they were sending me back to England tomorrow morning and..." She started to get choked up a bit just thinking about it. "I didn't want to leave- I didn't want to leave you..." Her blue hues looked up at the woman beside her as more tears fell.
Ann couldn't help but lightly smirk a little as she watched Emma tuck away a few loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear. There was absolutely no doubt that it was something that her daughter had inherited from her. If they had done it at the exact same time it would just like looking in a mirror. Upon hearing that Harris and Judith were preparing to send Emma back to London that very next morning though, she froze. The earlier smirk was quickly wiped away, and a concerned frown had almost instantly taken its place. They must have found out about Emma's earlier visit to Southfork to see her, and it didn't surprise Ann in the least. She only wished that she could spare her little girl all of that cruel anger and hurt that they had inflicted on her over the years. Maybe now was her chance to do exactly that. "You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. If you want to stay here in Dallas, I'll make sure that happens, whatever it takes."
Emma let out the deep breath she was holding and wrapped her own arms around her body, leaning forward and hiding behind the long strands of hair. Tears came flooding, out and she did her best to silence them, but her attempt was uneffective. "I'm scared of him..." She whispered as she tried to calm herself down, but it was too late. She could already feel a panic attack beginning to arise. Her breathing became shorter and quicker, and she covered her face, not wanting to have an episode in front of Ann.
Emma's whispers were so soft and quiet that at first Ann wasn't sure if she had heard her correctly or not. Once the words hit her, they did so like a ton of bricks. For once in her life, Ann was speechless. No child should ever have to be afraid of their father, but hers was. And having thought that she was dead or God only knew what for all those years, her mother hadn't been around to shield her and protect her from any of Harris' issues. Or Judith's, for that matter. Knowing that words from a woman she barely even knew more than likely wouldn't help very much, despite the fact that she was her mother, Ann did the next best thing she could think of. She ignored the possible repercussions and pulled the blonde in for a comforting hug. When that didn't seem to be calming her down, she pulled away a little bit, looking the girl in the eyes. "Are you sure that's all that's going on, you not wanting to go against your father's wishes but not wanting to go back to London tomorrow either?"
Emma closed her eyes, breathing in and out through her nose, feeling the attack begin to hit her hard. The hug that she received from her mother was something she appreciated greatly, but it was not the solution she needed. Her breathing started to become scarce, body began to jerk a bit, and she pulled away, shaking her head and placing her hand on her throat as she dug through her purse, practically throwing almost everything on the ground as she searched. Pulling out her rescue inhaler, she took off the cap quickly and placed it in her mouth, inhaling the medicine and repeating the same action again until she was able to breathe. The girl shook her head fiercely back and forth before looking at Ann, "I don't care if I go against his wishes." She said softly, as she caught her breath, "I..." She looked at Ann for a moment before returning her gaze back to the ground, "I'm so sick of being brainwashed. I'm tired of being lied to. I mean, he lied about you. He told me countless amounts of times that you didn't love me.. that you hated me. And I'm so sorry I was rude to you that first day..." Emma said running her fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry I perjured myself on the stand and..." Tears streamed down her face like a waterfall, "I'm scared of not only him, but her as well. They'd kill me if I said anything negative about them or did anything... like this..." She trailed off as she looked back at Ann, "Please don't make me go back? Please?" Her voice began to crack, "I've dreamed about this moment for so long, but I just didn't have anyone to run to before. Please, Mom?"
On the outside, Ann painted the perfect picture of a concerned mother who only wanted to do what was best for her daughter, no matter what that entailed. On the inside though, she was the exact opposite. She was an emotional wreck. Half of her was sympathetic beyond belief, knowing exactly what her daughter was going through with her father and grandmother. The other half of her was more than pissed at those same two people. History seemed to be repeating itself, and Ann didn't know how much more of it she would be able to take before she snapped again. This time though, she couldn't use her gun. She had to find another way to beat Harris and Judith at their sick and twisted little games. Eventually she would, for Emma. All of that would have to wait though, because right now she was more concerned about the fact that her daughter had gotten herself so worked up about her current situation that she had needed to pull a rescue inhaler out of her purse. Then again, she realized that not informing her of her daughter's medical issues was typical Harris. Hell, Emma could have had a debilitating disease, and she wouldn't even put it past Harris not to mention it to her until it was too late and there was nothing she could possibly do to help. Unfortunately not sure how to help Emma calm down, Ann waited somewhat impatiently for the inhaler to kick in before softly biting down on her bottom lip as she listened to the blonde's list of apologies. "Hey, it's okay. You're not going anywhere. I promise you that. You're home, right where you belong." Fresh tears began to sting at her own eyes as Emma calling her Mom for the very first time began to play over and over again in her head. "Come on, why don't we get you upstairs so you can get some rest? We can look at this with a fresh pair of eyes in the morning. I'm sure Bobby has the guest room all set up and ready for you now."
Emma began to calm down as she listened to the woman tell her she didn't have to go back. It was such a relief. The girl was practically shaking because she was scared Ann was going to give her back to her father and grandmother. Nodding her head, she collected her things that were scattered and placed them back into her purse. "Uh.. can you keep this extra one in case I can't find mine?" She asked, handing her another inhaler before standing to her feet and following the woman slowly up the staircase. As she walked into the guest room, she smiled a little as she looked around at all the decorations. Horses, her favorite animal, were in every picture hanging from the wall. Making her way to the bed, she opened up her suitcase and pulled out her pajamas and then began to dig around for her medication, getting a little frantic because she could not find it and she could have swore she packed it. Just the thought of having to go back to that house because she forgot it gave her major anxiety. But then again, she had a lot of stuff in the bulky container so she could have easily been overlooking it.
Standing up from the couch, Ann nodded as she accepted the extra inhaler to put away for safekeeping before guiding Emma up the staircase and down the long hallway to one of the guest bedrooms. Noting Bobby's absence upon entering, she figured he had more than likely already retired to bed himself, wanting to allow his wife and her daughter some time by themselves to catch up on some things and get to know each other a little bit better. After all, their mother/daughter reunion had been a long time coming, and Ann was very grateful to her husband for being an instrumental part of helping to make that happen. "As you can see, you have your own bathroom right here next to your room. There should be enough fresh towels, but if you need an extra toothbrush or anything, let me know. If you get hungry or thirsty in the night, the kitchen is downstairs to the right. Whatever you find in the refrigerator is yours. And please don't worry about waking anyone up if you can't sleep. Most of us are pretty sound sleepers around here." She began to ramble a little bit, not sure what else she should tell Emma about before she left her alone to get ready for bed. Watching as Emma seemed to become more focused on frantically digging through the contents of her suitcase than listening to Ann's long list of important rooms in the house, she crossed the floor over to the bed from her current place in the doorway, gently resting a hand on Emma's shoulder, "Is there anything I can help you look for?" Her tone was a mixture of half concern and half confusion as she spoke.
Emma was of course happy to be where she was, safe and sound with Ann, but she was terrified. She had never done anything like this before, and she knew her father and grandmother's tempers. She was sure that they had already guessed where her location was, but she didn't know what they were capable of. Jumping a little when feeling the hand on her shoulder, she was quickly brought back into reality as she listened to her mother's question. "My.. medicine, I have to have my medicine." She said quickly as she continued to dig around. "Oh my god..." She whispered, praying to herself that she had not left it behind. "They'll kill me if I go back..." She said to herself as she began to work herself up again. Emma was all over the place. She was having one, long, drawn out breakdown involving panic attacks.
Feeling Emma's thin frame suddenly jerk underneath her hand, Ann quickly removed it and let it fall back down to her side. "Your medicine?" Once again, that same look of confusion began to cloud her face. "What's it for, if you don't mind me asking? We might already have some or something like it here in the medicine cabinet." She wanted to help search the suitcase through a second time, but she also didn't want to start going through Emma's personal things, a place where she probably wouldn't be welcome for a while. Grabbing Emma's hands with her own, Ann turned her so that the two were facing one another. "Listen to me. Nobody's killing anyone, and you're not going back there, at least not tonight. If we don't have what you need, I'll send Bobby out to the pharmacy. Or back to...your house if you need that exact prescription." She hesitated when it came to calling the Rylands' Emma's home, already feeling as if Southfork was more of one than that place ever possibly could be. The Ewings would love and protect her, while the Rylands would love and control her. "The only place that you're going right now is to bed." Picking the pair of pajamas up off the bed, Ann held them out for Emma to take into the bathroom with her to change into.
"I get really bad anxiety and panic attacks. The medication is supposed to stop it, but they sometimes don't work... hence the inhaler." She trailed off as she continued to search through the bag. Emma stopped as she felt Ann grab her hands and she looked her in the eyes, letting her own hands hold tightly onto her mother's. Nodding her head up and down, she bit her lower lip and took the pajamas into her hands, "Okay..." She whispered, nodding her head as she slowly walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her once she was inside. Turning on the light, she quickly changed, pulled her long, blonde hair back into a high ponytail. and splashed some cold water on her face.
Panic attacks, so it wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. That was a plus. As soon as Emma had left the room, Ann turned her attention to the mess that currently littered the bed. Folding up the clothes that had been tossed about, she returned all but one to their proper places in the suitcase. Holding the shirt in her hands, she brought it up to her nose, taking in her daughter's scent. It wasn't long until her eyes began to betray her, and she was forced to steady herself by sitting down on the edge of the bed. Doing her best to keep her sobs quiet and not alert Bobby or Emma, she let out a few shaky breaths, trying to calm herself. There was so much of her daughter's life that she had been forced to miss out on, despite the fact that back then she hadn't been sure that she was even ready for the responsibilities of being a young mother in the first place, and it was suddenly all flooding back and hitting her at once. She was hoping against hope that this would be a chance for the two of them to start fresh with each other, but that didn't mean that it hurt any less. She would never forgive her ex-husband and his mother for what they did to her and how much they made her suffer. Ever. Hearing Emma finishing up in the bathroom, Ann quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, sniffling a couple of times as she cleaned up the rest of the mess and repacked the suitcase as best she could.
Emma looked into the mirror after washing off her face and took in a few deep breaths before opening up the door. She stopped in her tracks, seeing the older woman crying, and closed the door quietly once more. The blonde felt terrible for what her father had put her mother through. She felt so sorry for her. Emma herself began to cry a little, knowing that the two had missed out on so much time together. She hated to see the woman so upset, and she didn't know what to do to make it better. Flushing the toilet, she opened up the door a little more noisier this time and walked out, her dirty clothes neatly folded in a stack. She glanced towards her suitcase and smiled a little, seeing that Ann had folded everything back up and moved it to the ground before turning towards the taller woman. "Thank you...for everything." She said softly as she walked over, a little hesitant on the inside, and hugging the woman tightly.
"You can just put those over here for right now." Ann suggested, offering to take Emma's neatly folded dirty clothes and sat them over on the top of the vanity for the time being. Adjusting the pillows and pulling the covers back a little bit, she moved out of the way so that Emma could get in the bed and make herself comfortable. "You don't have to thank me. It's what mothers are for." A small smile returned to her face, and her eyes seemed the smallest bit brighter as she returned the hug, finally and somewhat reluctantly pulling away after a couple of moments. "Is there anything else that you need before you go to sleep, besides your medicine? A glass of water or warm milk, or something?" Part of her couldn't wait to learn all of the smaller details about Emma, especially the ones, like the tucking the hair behind the ear, that she had obviously inherited from her mother.
Emma took in her mother's scent as she rested her head in the crook of her neck and held onto her lightly, but still firm. It was calming, soothing, it made her feel at peace. Pulling back, she folded her arms across her chest and shook her head, "No, I'm fine, thank you." She said as she got into the bed slowly and pulled the covers over herself.
Allowing Emma to get situated in the bed and make herself comfortable, Ann couldn't stop herself from helping to tuck her in a little bit. After all, she had almost twenty years to make up for. She was determined to prove to her daughter that she was a good mother and the total opposite of everything her father and grandmother had attempted to drill into her head over the years. No matter what happened and what it took, Ann was going to love, support, and care for Emma like it was the last thing she would ever do on Earth. Kissing the top of her head, Ann moved to turn the bedside table lamp off when she spotted something on the floor, just underneath the bed. "I think I just found the solution to our problem." She bent down to grab the bottle of medicine and was about to hand it over to Emma when she realized what the prescription was for. Once again, history seemed to be repeating itself. It was all about control when it came to the Ryland family, wasn't it?
Emma smiled whenever she felt the kiss on her head and watched quietly as Ann tucked her in, something that she had not had done for her in years. Watching her pull up the bottle from the floor, she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. "Oh, thank god." She said as she reached her hand out for the bottle but then tilted her head, eyebrows arched whenever she saw Ann yank them back.
Ann just stood there in silence for a couple of minutes, debating in her mind over how to explain what she was about to have to explain. She wanted to show Emma that she was the opposite of her father, that she wouldn't lie to her like he constantly did. Sighing softly to herself, she looked back and forth between her daughter and the bottle of pills a couple of times before allowing her gaze to finally come to rest on the blonde curled up in the bed. "I understand that this is the last thing you want to hear right now, and I know that there's a chance you might not believe me, but I don't think that anxiety and panic attacks are the only thing these pills are for." She started off slow, not wanting to hit Emma with the whole truth full force just yet.
Emma was very confused, and her face showed it. "What are you talking about?" She asked as she tucked her hair behind her ears in a nervous habit and looked at the pill bottle. Why would her father and grandmother give her any other kind of medication- how could a doctor give her something else? She had to take them every single day, twice a day. She felt a drop in her stomach as she was scared to find out what other things the pill was used for, feeling even more afraid. She didn't want to believe she had been drugged, but the look on Ann's face was not helping her mixed feelings.
The last thing that Ann wanted to do was cause Emma to become even more upset and confused, especially after everything she had already been through earlier that evening. Then again, the history of Ann's past had already been basically handed to everyone in the courtroom on a silver platter, or at least certain half true versions of it anyway, so it wasn't like her daughter didn't already know all of the horrible details. Still, that didn't make it any easier for her to talk about. Glancing over at the nearest clock, Ann made the quick decision to use the current time to her advantage. "It's getting late, and the last thing you need is to have your schedule all messed up while you're still trying to get used to being in a new place. How about we table this discussion until in the morning?" She offered Emma a warm smile as she bent down to kiss the top of her head one more time. "Bobby and I will be right down the hall if you need anything. Get some rest, Darlin'."
Emma bit down on her lower lip as she looked at the bottle of medication in Ann's hand and then listened carefully to her words. Agreeing with her that it was just too late to take the pills, she nodded and smiled a little as she felt her mother kiss the top of her head once more. "Thank you," her words came out quietly as she adjusted herself in the bed and laid her head down on the pillow, as she watched the tall woman turn off the light and close the door behind her. Taking in a deep breath, she looked around the dark room and quickly stood to her feet, going over to the window and making sure it was locked before climbing back into the bed. Pulling the covers over her slender body more, she basically barricaded herself, before closing her eyes and forcing herself to go to sleep.
Ann stood in silence outside the bedroom door for a minute, just needing a little time to herself to take everything in. It had all happened so fast. One minute Emma didn't want to have anything to do with her, but now here she was wanting to know if she could stay with her. Half of Ann was overjoyed by the fact that her daughter was finally back in her life and willing to give her another chance, but the other half of her was pissed off about everything that Judith and Harris had put in her head, especially when it came to the pills. That medicine had been a big part of her own downfall, and she wanted to stop history from repeating itself before it did the exact same thing to her daughter. She needed to. Finally stepping away from the door, she padded down the hallway to her own room, not surprised to see that her husband was still awake and waiting for her. Sending a grateful smile in his general direction, she grabbed her pajamas and made her way into their bathroom to quickly change and brush her teeth before joining Bobby in bed.
Bobby's eyes fell upon Ann as she entered the room, and he returned the smile to his wife before watching her disappear behind the closed bathroom door. He had spoken to Emma several times before, but the last thing he was expecting from the girl was for her to end up on his porch steps. Still, it was no problem. He wanted his wife to have a relationship with her daughter. Hell, that's why he took the fall for Ann when she shot Harris. Emma could stay in his home however long she wanted. After all, she was his stepdaughter. Helping the woman into the bed, he wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek before looking into her hues. "Some surprise, huh?" He asked before sighing, "How's she doing?"
Snuggling up against her husband's warm body as soon as she was in the bed and under the covers, Ann let out a small, soft sigh of relief as he moved to kiss her on the cheek. She was finally right where she needed to be after everything that had been going on, safe and protected in the arms of the one man who loved her more than anything else in the world. "You can say that again." Ann repositioned herself in Bobby's arms to face him a little bit better before responding to the second part of his question. "Harris and Judith have her so messed up that she doesn't even know if she's comin' or goin', Bobby." Her eyes averted their gaze from his, and she found herself fidgeting with the edges of the bed sheets. "They have her on pills just like the ones that I was forced to take all those years ago. She thinks they're for anxiety and panic attacks, but there's so much more to it than that. And to make matters worse, she absolutely refuses to go back to that house for even the smallest of reasons, because she's afraid of Harris and what he might do to her if he ever found out that she'd rather stay here with us." There was no doubt in Ann's mind that Harris would either be calling her or just showing up at Southfork sometime the next day in search for their daughter, wanting her back. Much like Bobby, Ann never went out looking for a fight, but if that did happen, she was more than prepared and ready to give her poor excuse for an ex-husband the fight of his damn life.
Bobby listened to his wife list out the many factors that had brought the young girl to their doorstep and shook his head back and forth in disgust. Never in his life had he wanted to kill someone so much. Harris Ryland was a prick. He was scum, and he did not deserve anything he had, nor did that mother of his. "You mean they have her on sedatives?" Bobby asked in disbelief, "Oh my God." He said as he rubbed his hand up and down the blonde's back as he continued to listen. "She needs to know that we won't let Harris touch her. Hell, I won't let him anywhere near this property. I'd like to see him try." Bobby shook his head and looked at Ann. "Everything is going to be fine, Annie. We will get that son of a bitch, don't worry."