Her mind had been prepared for her parents' arrival, she had time to come to terms with that, using the time to get a grip on her emotions. She wasn't, however, prepared to see her brother standing before her. What did this mean? Why would he be here now of all times? Her inner debate must have portrayed clearly on her face because her brother had that usual smirk on his face, the smirk that said he found amusement in her turmoil. She had half a mind to slap his face right then, but then Cody would have to get involved and she wouldn't subject him to her family.

"Same old Liz," her brother comments, moving to close the door. "You really need to learn to relax."

"Relax?" she looks at him in disbelief. "You want me to relax while my family is practically ambushing me?"

"Hey, I'm in the same boat as you here," Steven states firmly. "You really think I wanted to be back in this hellhole?"

"Then why are you here?" Elizabeth counters. "What could possibly make you return if you hate this place so much?"

"What else?" Steven counters. "Mother and Father called a family meeting. Non-negotiable."

"That's not what Gram said," Elizabeth looks at him as he sits down on the porch swing. "Gram said they wanted to have lunch with me, that's all. She said nothing about a family meeting."

"What do you expect of our parents?" Steven counters. "They wouldn't divulge their true intentions until they were certain of the follow through."

"I guess," Elizabeth sighs. "I wish I knew what their intentions are."

"You and I both," he concedes. "It'd make this trip a lot more bearable if I did."

"I bet," Elizabeth replies simply. "Where's Gram?"

"Airport," Steven concedes. "Left the moment I came. Seems she wants answers as much as we do. Said she didn't want you involved until she knew their reasons."

"Makes sense," Elizabeth shakes her head. "Gram has been rather protective of me lately."

"I've noticed," Steven comments. "Nearly bit mother's head off when she questioned your career choice."

"Yeah, well, that's because she believes in my art."

"And you believe she's the only one in the family that does?"

"She's the only one that's ever supported me in it," Elizabeth states. "So, yeah, that's what I believe."

"You have no idea just how wrong you are," Steven sighs, shaking his head. "Or have you already forgotten who got you started?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were six, we were staying at a neighbor's house for Christmas while our parents were away at a convention," Steven explains. "You were broken about spending Christmas without them..."

"I remember."

"Do you remember what I gave you for Christmas that year?"

"I..." Elizabeth looked at him for a long moment, the memory flashing through her mind. "A sketch set...you gave me a sketch set."

"Yeah, I did," Steven says with a slight smile. "The pure excitement that overcame you...I had never seen you so happy. Since then, I did whatever I could to get our parents to take an interest in your art. Even got them to send you to art camp for a couple of summers."

"I always figured they sent me there to get me to shut up."

"You and I both," Steven chuckles. "Figured sending you was better than listening to me go on and on about it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I'm your big brother, Elizabeth," Steven shakes his head. "When I do something for you, I don't do it for recognition, I do it because I love you. For you to think that Gram's the only one that believes in you...well, that's something I can't let you keep believing."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth voices, moving to sit next to him. "I wish I knew."

"I've always believed in you, Elizabeth," Steven says firmly, reaching out to take her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm just glad to see that you finally believe in yourself, as well."

"Well isn't this cozy," Sarah's voice tears into the moment, bringing their gaze up to meet hers. "I'm guessing Mother and Father have yet to arrive."

"They'll be here soon," Steven voices, releasing his hold on Elizabeth as he rises to his feet. "You can wait inside."

"And miss out on this sibling bonding you've got going on?" Sarah counters with a shake of her head. "Why ever would I do a thing like that?"

"Still haven't grown up, I see," Steven replies with a shake of his head. "Always trying to be the center of attention."

"Right," Sarah scoffs. "Seeing as this family meeting has nothing to do with me, I think someone else has taken that crown."

"After the hundreds we had because of you, I think it's fitting that at least one family meeting isn't about you," Steven counters with ease. "Of course, we all know that you'll find a way to make it about you eventually. It's in your nature."

"Always Elizabeth's defender," Sarah shakes her head. "Bet you wouldn't be so eager to defend her if you knew how she's been spending her time."

"From where we stand, she's been spending it quite productively," a feminine voice sounds off behind them, catching all three by surprise. "Your father and I do so wish the same could be said for you, Sarah."

"Mother," Sarah turns to look at her mother in surprise. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Of course you don't, why would you?" their mother, Carol, counters with a sigh. "Somedays I wonder if your father and I sheltered you just a bit too much over the years."

"Now, now, dear, you promised to stick to the plan," Jeff, their father, voices before saddling up to his wife. "We should get on with it before we get behind schedule."

"Yes, very well," Carol replies with a sigh. "Your father and I called this family meeting to address certain aspects of this family that we believe need to be amended. We'll sit with each of you separately before we sit down for lunch together. Steven, we'll start with you."

"Oh, goody," Steven says before walking through the door held open to him, Jeff following behind him.

"And since you can't seem to be capable of being left alone with your sister, Sarah, we'll have you seated in the living room," Carol instructs as she heads into the house. "Come now, we haven't time to waste."

"What did you tell them?" Sarah accuses Elizabeth with a subtle glare.

"NOW, Sarah!" Carol snaps when she finds that Sarah hasn't followed her inside. "Do not make me say it again."

Watching Sarah stomp her way into the house behind her mother, practically slamming the door shut behind her, Elizabeth was left in a cloud of confusion as she retakes her seat on the swing. Sitting there, she couldn't help but wonder where her grandmother is in all of this, having not shown up with her parents. A part of her wanted to call her grandmother to find out but finds that it was probably best if she didn't. There had to be a reason why her grandmother would leave her alone like this. There had to be.

"Liz."

"Hey, Cody," Elizabeth says with a soft smile, making room for him to sit beside her on the swing.

"Everything okay?"

"So far," Elizabeth admits. "Something's going on though...what that something is, I'm not quite sure."

"Good or bad?"

"Still being determined," Elizabeth replies. "After talking with my brother, it could really go either way, which is a step up from before I got here."

"Well, that's something to be thankful for, right?"

"Yeah," she smiles softly. "Thanks for checking on me, Cody, I appreciate it."

"Of course," Cody replies with a smile. "What are friends for, right?"

"Right," Elizabeth agrees, her eyes falling on the door as it's being pulled open. "Dad."

"You're up," Jeff says after glancing between the two. "Your guard can wait here."

"Um, yeah, of course," Elizabeth shakes her head before turning to Cody, not at all wanting to ask how her father knew why Cody was there. "See you in a bit?"

"I'll be here when you're done," Cody assures, rising to his feet as Elizabeth does. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Elizabeth smiles gratefully before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

Following her father through the living room to her grandfather's study, Elizabeth was somewhat confused by the look on both her siblings' faces, even more confused by the look on her parents' faces when she sits down across from them. It was quite a conflicting look, one she wasn't quite certain she wanted to decipher but one she knew would soon explain itself the longer she sat there. What caught her attention almost instantly, though, was the thick file in front of her father that had her name written atop of it.

"I'm sure you've got many questions and, from the treatment we endured at the hands of your grandmother, it's clear that most of those questions are of a negative nature," Jeff begins, raising a hand when Elizabeth tries to speak. "This is the part where you listen. We'll hear your side momentarily. Understood?"

"Good," Carol says when Elizabeth nods her agreement. "There are two topics we'll be touching on during this sit-down. Both topics tying directly into the main topic which, quite obviously, is your future."

"Being your father, the first topic will, of course, be your relationship with Jason Morgan," her father says nonchalantly, causing Elizabeth to go a little pale at the mention of her boyfriend. "Then we'll move on to your career choice."

"We haven't much time left, having spent quite a good amount of our allotted time with your sister," Carol sighs, wishing that would have gone better than it did. "So, forgive us if we're a bit crude in our execution, but we haven't much choice at this point."

"Now, about this relationship of yours, we asked your grandmother's opinion, seeing as she's the one that's been here from the start of it," Jeff explains. "From what we could gather, it seems that she's found a reason to approve of your connection. Fair enough. I trust your grandmother's judgment. If she can find a reason to be okay with it then we will accept that and this relationship of yours."

"With that being said, your health and wellbeing is still a top priority for us," Carol explains. "His choices don't lend to longevity as far as life expectancy. Because of that, we urge you to truly consider your options as you make your way to something permanent with this man. You've always made the best choices for yourself thus far. Please, for your sake, continue to do so."

"I think it's fair to say that we aren't exactly the most conventional parents, but we always did our best to ensure that all three of you had the tools to succeed in life," Jeff says simply. "We did the best we could for the people that we are."

"It's not an excuse, it's simply the fact of the matter," Carol continues. "Now onto the matter of your career choice."

"We've asked around, gained an understanding of the progress you've made with your art and I have to admit that I'm quite impressed," Jeff divulges, a slight smile touching his lips. "You are quite the entrepreneur, Elizabeth. That paired with the amount of talent you seem to exude, well, we are quite confident that you landed yourself on the right path."

"For the last week, your father and I have discussed in length the best way to help you along," Carol explains. "We've come up with a couple of ways and we hope that it'll give you the platform you need to further your career."

"First would be to establish an art gallery," Jeff says matter-of-factly, pulling out the papers from the envelope and setting it down in front of her. "These are real estate listings with places we believe would work best for such an establishment in this town. We see it more as a starting point, a home base of sorts, while you work on expanding your business. Of course, your grandmother is currently in negotiations for a place she believes would be perfect for you. These being back up if she happens to be incorrect in that matter."

"Your grandmother tells us that she already got you situated with a studio," Carol concedes. "So, that's one thing we don't need to concern ourselves with. Of course, if you feel the need to upgrade your current studio, you'll have the means to do so."

"Seeing as you have already started building your clientele, we don't have to work too hard on advertising your skills," Jeff continues. "Word of mouth really is the best way to go about this. In other words, continue what you've been doing and we'll assist as needed."

"Any questions?" Carol asks at the look on her daughter's face.

"I...I have no idea what to say to any of that," Elizabeth looks at them in utter disbelief. "Your support of my relationship aside...your support of my career...talk of getting a gallery...all the research you've put into it...I don't know what to say to that."

"We're your parents. If we can't accept your choices unconditionally, well, then who can," Carol counters. "That's not to say we won't question it or advise against it, we wouldn't be good parents if we did that, but eventually we'll accept your choices and support you when needed."

"The funding for the gallery and such will not come out of our pockets if that's what you're thinking," Jeff voices. "All funding will be taken from your trust fund. We've spoken to our lawyers and tailor-fitted your trust fund to be put to good use furthering your career. Your grandmother will be placed in charge of your trust fund as a precautionary measure. I'm sure you can agree to such terms."

"Yes," Elizabeth shakes her head. "That's understandable."

"I'm glad you can see that," Carol smiles softly. "Now that we've gotten all that out of the way. I'm quite famished. Shall we have lunch?"

Unable to put into words all she's feeling in that moment, Elizabeth pulls both her parents into a tight hug, holding them close as she takes a deep breath in. All her life, all she's ever wanted was her parents' approval. For them to accept her as she is, no expectations or demands, to just see her and accept her. Having her parents take time out of their clearly busy schedule to take so much interest in her life, Elizabeth just couldn't put into words what that made her feel. Sure, as her father said, they aren't exactly the most conventional parents, but they are her parents. For better or worst, they are hers, unconditionally, irrevocably.

"Thank you," she whispers as they hold her close, her heart filling with so much love it could burst. "You truly have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you."