Through the cracked doorway, Victoria sorrowfully witnessed Daniel's whole-hearted attempt to rescue Charlotte as she drowned in her inconsolable grief. No matter her maternal instinct, she knew far better than to intrude on the moment, for Charlotte would only be further reminded of her unending dislike of Declan and would undoubtedly lash out unnecessarily. Rather than provoke any more agony for her daughter, Victoria paced by the side-lines and awaited the time when Charlotte's gaping wounds would eventually heal.
"Victoria." The irritable voice of Emily Thorne drew Victoria's attention away from her children, and the blonde plastered on her feigned smile of concern. "How's Charlotte holding up?" The implication in her question, as Emily so blatantly pointed out the fact that Victoria was in avoidance of her daughter, rather than at her side, grated on Victoria but she bit her tongue. "Is Daniel with her now?" Victoria nodded her head and Daniel appeared from the room, closing the door fully behind him to ensure his mother refrained from eye contact with Charlotte. He would do all within his power to ensure both of his parents were kept at bay, at least until Charlotte had been permitted to process the news of Declan's death for herself. "How's she doing?"
"As well as can be expected but she needs to rest." Daniel noted, as he greeted Emily with a kiss to the cheek. "Emily and I thought we would pay our respects to Jack. Maybe ask him to give Charlotte a call. She could probably use someone to talk to." Despite the undeniable tension between them, Daniel predicted the mutual love and loss of Declan felt by Jack and Charlotte would allow for some kind of comfort, and Daniel was more than willing to swallow his pride if it helped Charlotte through the loss of Declan. "And in the meantime, just leave her alone, mom. She's in no condition to deal with either you or dad right now." In her current condition, physical and mental, Charlotte needed to avoid stress as much as possible and his parents were perhaps the purest cause of such a thing.
She ambivalently nodded her head to refrain from engaging in another confrontation with Daniel and returned to her own bedroom; the closest she could be to Charlotte, close enough to hear her cries but not close enough to soothe them. Instantly, her mind fell to Patrick and she reached for the phone. After three rings, Patrick's voice abruptly answered the call, "Hello?"
"Patrick, it's Victoria." It left a sour taste in her mouth to address one of her children with her own name and Victoria silently swore never to again. "How are you?"
The softness in her voice tipped him off balance and Patrick stumbled over his response. "I'm well, thank you." Their interaction had so far been minimal but already Patrick could feel a motherly warmth in the softness of her voice and he found it difficult to reconcile that this woman had rebuffed his previous attempt to make contact. He could only assume her husband had been the mastermind behind the brutal beating he had received. "Yourself?"
"Patrick, I'm afraid it'll be impossible for me to see you today." She dodged his question, a wave of disappointment in her tone as she refused him once again. "I'm sure you've been made aware of the young man, Declan Porter, who died as a result of the explosion at Grayson Global yesterday." The news reporters had been relentlessly camped outside of Grayson Manor, Grayson Global and even the Governor's mansion in their quest for a comment from one of the family members and the story had become one of national dominance. "He was a close friend of my daughter's and I'm afraid she hasn't taken the news well. What with the immediate media attention focused on the family, I'm afraid my movements, for the next 48 hours at least, will only attract further unwanted attention." She exhaled, her expression solemn. "I realise I have little right to ask this of you, but do you think it possible that you would remain at the Southfork Inn until all of this has blown over?" She longed for their lives to return to normal, when she could lavish all the attention Patrick deserved; she had plenty to make up for.
"Yeah, sure. I can do that." He made his assurance with a slight laugh, "One of the advantages of being a freelancer; you're never restricted to any kind of schedule." Relieved by his accommodating nature, Victoria half-heartedly echoed his laugh and Patrick balanced the phone between his ear and the crook of shoulder as he continued work on his latest piece. "Let me know when things have settled down." After thirty years of his mother's absence, he didn't think much of a few more days without her and Patrick had little interest in their reunion becoming the latest Grayson public spectacle, which was guaranteed unless they waited out the current media storm her family braved.
"Thank you for your understanding." Victoria gratefully made her relief known, quite unaccustomed to any of her children being so rational-minded in reaction to her.
"You're welcome." He made light strokes with the paintbrush dipped in a delightful sunset orange and filled the canvas as he engaged in conversation. "And, Victoria?" Patrick momentarily checked he had continued to hold her attention, "If you ever need someone to talk to, you know, outside of the family, I'll be more than happy to lend an ear."
Heart-warmed, Victoria's lips broke into her first genuine smile in months. "Thank you." No "goodbye" necessary, the line fell dead and Victoria replaced the phone onto the hook, pleasantly uplifted by the simple conversation she had shared with Patrick. As her mind returned to her children, so did her body to the doorway of Charlotte's bedroom and she finally built up the courage to open the door and slink through it where she discovered Charlotte had fallen into a deep slumber. No more than 12 hours ago she had tucked her daughter in, dreading the reaction Charlotte had to Declan's death, and fully aware of the backlash she would receive for her dismissive treatment of the young man when he had been alive. Now, Victoria could only recall the points in her life when she had faced similar tragedies – her own juvenile pregnancy and David's death – and hope that their tragic experiences could restore their relationship once again.