Kit sighed as he set the last plate on the dining table. He stood back as he admired his work setting the table. It looked rather nice, he thought. Of course, he didn't really have much experience in the family dinner area. Cristina had instructed him on what goes where, often pausing her cooking to correct him. She failed to suppress a smile when Kit put all the silverware in the middle of the table. Kit walked over to the counter, yawning as he did so. Tavvy was sitting on the counter, helping Cristina drain the noodles that she had finished cooking, along with Tavvy's assistance, of course.

"Looks good, little man," Kit smiled. "Anything else?"

Cristina looked up at Kit as she said, "You can go and get everyone for dinner, if that's okay,"

"Sure," he said, walking out of the kitchen.

Kit had offered to help Cristina for dinner. She did everything by herself, as far as he knew. He wondered how Julian could easily give up control. On the Institute, on the well-being of the inhabitants, of the kids. Maybe to Julian they were just responsibilities and Kit supposed that Julian could use a break from them, after having to endure them since he was twelve.

Kit walked up the stairs slowly, hoping by some mysterious way they were able to detect dinner time themselves. He made his way unconsciously down a series of hallways, his thoughts getting the better of him. He came to the first door he recognized. Emma's door.

Kit reached up, breathing in deeply before knocking twice on the door. It swung open to reveal Emma, her hair wet and wearing a gray cardigan and leggings. She probably just got out of the shower, Kit thought.

"Kit?" she asked, her eyebrows drawing up in confusion. "What's up?"

"It's time for dinner," Kit said, a slight cough escaping him.

"Okay, be there in a minute," she said. She slammed the door before he could say anything else.

Kit scoffed as he turned down the hall, walking to a door a few feet down the hall. Julian's room. He braced himself as he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a muffled shout rose from behind the door.

"Uhh, Kit," he replied nervously. "It's- um, time for dinner,"

"Alright," the voice said. A loud crash came from the room, followed by a short cry.

Kit wondered what was going on in Julian's room as he walked towards the other side of the Institute. He was dreading the rest of the inhabitants. Dru was angry and rude to anyone it seems, and Ty simply shut everyone out, as Cristina told him. Mark should be relatively easy, but Kit never talked to him all that much. He walked towards another door, this time leaning against the doorframe. He kicked the door lightly, in a pattern that resembled a normal knock across the wood. There was a shuffling on the other side, and then a swift whoosh as Mark opened the door quickly. He stared at Kit, blinking as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"Sorry, dinner time," Kit said, pushing himself off of the doorframe and walking speedily across the hall. He sneaked a glance at Mark as he rounded a corner and found him already heading off, to the kitchen, Kit assumed. Kit ran his fingers through his hair and turned his head back in front of him, only to find Dru standing in front of him with her arms crossed, as if she was expecting him.

"Dru," Kit chuckled nervously. "What are you doing standing in the hall, all creepy-like?"

"It's not creepy," she said shortly. "What are doing?"

"It's time for dinner," he said yet again.

"No thanks," Dru breathed, walking across the hallway to her room. "I'm not hungry,"

Kit stared at Dru as she started to leave, thinking back to when he last saw her eat. It had been a while. But Dru wouldn't starve herself, not because she's upset with Livvy's death. No, it was something else. Kit wondered whether she was trying to avoid seeing the rest of her family members.

"Dru, when was the last time you ate?"

Dru turned around, her face masked with shock as she processed the question. "I don't know,"

"Please," Kit asked. "Come down for a little bit. Tavvy was hoping everyone would be at dinner. He's really excited for everybody to taste his cooking. Cristina helped him, of course, but he insists that he did the hard work,"

Dru looked down, trying to hide a smile Kit could see playing on her lips. "Okay,"

Kit smiled at Dru, a sense of accomplishment washing over him.

"Good luck with Ty though," Dru said, turning the corner Kit had just appeared from.

Kit took in a deep breath as he headed down the end of the hallway, turning to meet a wooden door yet again. Ty's room. Kit went through a list of ways to tempt Ty to come out, each one sounding more and more ridiculous. He took his shoulders as if trying to shake off some weight on them, and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" a voice asked.

"Me," Kit said. "I mean, Kit. It's Kit,"

To Kit's surprise, Ty opened the door slowly, revealing himself for the first time in weeks. He was wearing his same old gray hoodie, dark jeans, and his hair was brushed neatly to the left. He looked the same as he had the last time Kit had seen him, but instead of curiosity in his eyes there was a strange darkness, as if he was lifeless. Ty didn't say a word as he looked at Kit.

"Y-you, umm," Kit blubbered, mentally hitting himself. "Its, uh, time to eat dinner. I know you don't ever come down to eat with us but please do this time, it's really important to Tavvy. He doesn't know what's going on, he misses his big sister and his whole family is avoiding him. He made dinner to bring everyone together and he's really excited about it, so please, please come,"

Ty stared down at Kit, his face unreadable. Suddenly he said, "Tavvy made dinner?"

"With Cristina's help," Kit informed.

A minute or two seemed to pass before Ty answered with a nod, stepping out and closing the door behind him. He walked closely by Kit's side, his hand briefly passing Kit's. After five minutes of awkward silence, they finally reached the kitchen. There wasn't any noise but it seemed to get even more quiet when everyone looked up to see Ty. Julian looked at Ty with a sort of relief, clearly happy to see Ty not drowned in sorrow. The silence was interrupted by a squeal, followed by a giggle as Tavvy ran to Ty, grabbing onto his leg.

"Ty!" he laughed, squeezing him tightly. "I made noodles! Would you like some?"

Ty stroked the little boy's hair gently, a smile forming on his lips. "Of course,"

Tavvy ran to Cristina, jumping up and down whilst doing so. "Tina, Tina, Ty's here and he wants some noodles!"

Cristina laughed as she dumped a couple spoonfuls of noodles onto a plate. She put the plate onto the counter and slid it towards Ty. "Here you go, sweetie. Kit, I already made your plate. It's over between Dru and Julian,"

Kit nodded, taking his place at the table. Everyone else was already eating, some plates almost finished.

Ty looked at Cristina with curiosity, stepping forwards to take the plate off the counter. "Thank you," he mumbled shyly.

Tavvy held two plates carefully as he walked towards the table, placing them between Mark and Dru. He ran back over to Cristina and grabbed her fingers, lightly pulling her towards the table.

Cristina laughed as she grabbed Tavvy, picking him up quickly and walking to the plates he set. She set him down next to Mark, helping him settle into the chair. She took her spot next to Dru, snatching a quick glance at Mark as she did so.

Kit smiled as he looked at Tavvy. The little boy seemed to radiate happiness. He was smiling from ear to ear and was singing a song -that he undoubtedly made up- about noodles. He giggled when Mark informed him of how good the food was, pausing to admit that Cristina had helped him a little bit. The littlest Blackthorn was happy, and Kit wasn't going to stop there. He was going to mend the Blackthorn family.


Sorry it took so long to update! I actually had a chapter written but stupid me didn't save it and it got erased. But it's okay because I didn't really like the idea, so I had to come up with a whole new one.