Okay, so, I had this (and three other chapters) pre-written. Meaning I could post a bit more frequently but when I copy pasted it to ffn, this is how it turned out:

p class="MsoNormal"theyspan lang="EN-US" spendstyle="mso-theansi-language:entireEN-US;day.

So, after a some editing, I managed to clear one chapter for you. Enjoy!

They spent the entire day around the house. Alison showed Lauren around while Henry fixed a few things around the house. Elizabeth, Stevie and Jason were caught in a board game until lunch. They all sat down to eat together while Stevie informed her dad on how badly her mom was losing the

"So, what are your plans for this afternoon?" Henry asked the other two girls at the table.

"It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so I think stay inside." Alison explained, and Lauren just nodded along.

"How about a movie?" Jason suggested, and everyone agreed.

"They finished eating and Alison prepared the movie while Henry got drinks

"Do you need help?" Lauren asked as she walked into the kitchen. She felt a bit out of place and useless sitting on the couch, waiting for the movie to start.

"Sure. If you want, you can take those three glasses to the table." Henry asked, and she did. She was followed by Henry who brought the rest along.

They watched the movie together, but everyone felt the hint of uncomfortableness in the room. Both parents focused on the movie but by the time they reached the end, Elizabeth started to think.

"It wasn't really her type of movie, but he was glad she got to spend time with her family. It was an action movie with some romance thrown in. The plot went completely past her until a few words caught her attention. The girl in the movie told spoke three words that got her thinking. 'I forgive you' and she started to wonder if their daughter had forgiven them.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of a rollercoaster ride it must have been like, and still is, for her. Finding all of this out, your life having been some sort of a lie.

She wondered if her daughter ever feared growing up that her birth parents didn't want her. Not feeling like she belonged anywhere. Being an outsider and not being accepted.

No mother ever wants their children to grow up thinking that. Thinking that they're not good enough or not worth loving because Elizabeth did love her kids, all four of them.

She had missed the end of the movie because she was pulled out of her thoughts by Henry who was gently shaking her. She smiled up at him and could see he was having the same thoughts she had.

"That ending sucked." Jason stated and looked at the others.

"Then you pick the movie next time." Alison argued.

"Let's watch another one." Stevie interrupted.

"I'm going to get another drink." Elizabeth said quickly, and Henry followed her to the kitchen.

"Babe, are you okay?" He asked, hoping to get as honest answer for once.

"Do you think she forgave us?" She asked, her back towards Henry. He took a step forward and put his arms around her from behind. He felt her lean against his chest as he placed a kiss on the back of her head.

"I don't know." He sighed. "but I think it's about time we have a conversation with her one of these days."

"I want to give her space." she turned around in his arms, resting her head I his chest. The sound of his heartbeat calming her down. "but I also need to know where we are at."

"Me too."

"I just want a break, for one moment." I just want us back. You, me and our four kids. No memories of Iran, no daughter who thinks of us as strangers, no daughter who thinks we don't listen to her. I just want to be a family

"I know. I want that too." He kissed the top of her head.

"I feel like I'm doing the worst parenting job." She sighed, and he pushed her back, so he could look her in the eyes.

"You're a good mom. You're a good wife and a good friend." He tried to make sure she heard him.

A smile lingered on Elizabeth's lips. "I noticed you didn't say cook."

"Three out of four babe, that's not bad." He heard her laugh again, truly laugh and it sounded like the most beautiful thing he'd heard in a while. She wasn't back to her old self yet, but it was a step in the right direction.

"By the time they had finished dinner, it was pretty late, and Lauren figured she should head back.

"Wait you're not staying?" Alison asked disappointed, looking from her sister to her parents.

"No, I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Lauren thought for a moment, looking at Henry and Elizabeth for help. The reason she wasn't staying was because she simply didn't want to. Things were going way too fast for her liking, but she knew telling Alison that would hurt her feelings.

"You have exams on Monday, right?" Henry asked, and Lauren smiled at him thankfully.

"Oh, well good luck. Next time you'll stay over." Alison said, giving her sister a hug goodbye.

"Drive safe." Stevie said before hugging her quickly.

"Bye Jason." She said as she waved at him. He mumbled a quick bye and waved back.

"Henry and Elizabeth walked with her to the car.

"Thanks for inviting me." Lauren said. Henry stepped forwards and hugged her which she accepted because the past few days hadn't been easy on him. It still felt awkward hugging her newly found parents, but it also felt right, in a way.

"Thank you for coming." Henry whispered, enjoying the hug before pulling back. Lauren was surprised to find tears in Elizabeth's eyes, so she quickly hugged her.

"I want you to know that I- we love you." She whispered in her daughter's ear. She knew her daughter might not be ready to say it back, but she needed her to know.

"I know." Lauren told her, not ready to say it back yet. She got into her car and drove off. She kind of wished she hadn't told Henry she would only be staying one day because she really enjoyed today. However, she didn't want to invite herself for another day, so she left.

It surprised her how much she was starting to enjoy her time with them. She hadn't expected things to go this well, but she also knew she would have to go back to her home country once she was done studying. She knew from experience that goodbyes were hard and kept herself at arm's length from people. She had tried to do that with Elizabeth and Henry, but she slowly started to get attached to them and it scared her.

Elizabeth couldn't sleep so she decided to head downstairs. She was glad Henry hadn't woken up and she finally had some time for herself to think.

"What are you doing up?" Elizabeth asked as she noticed Jason walk into the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

"Me neither." Elizabeth said as she filled a glass with water, placing it in front of her son.

"Are you having nightmares?" He asked carefully.

"Jason." His mom sighed his name, something he'd come to realize both his parents did when they thought he couldn't handle something.

"Look, I'm not a child."

"To me you are." She answered with a soft smile. "no matter how old you are or how big you get, you will always be my little boy. I will always try to protect you whenever I can."

"I want to be there for you. I want to help you get better." Jason told her "like I couldn't before."

Elizabeth knew he hadn't known she was in Iran until the morning she came home. She shook her head almost desperately, eyes shot open wide with something that looked to him like panic as she reached out for his hand. "No! No."

"Mom." He protested, looking at the tight grip she has on his hand. It's so strong and tight, and it scared him more than he might like to admit because she looked scared. He searched his mind, yet he couldn't remember a time where he had seen his mother like this. Angry, frustrated and sad, but not scared.

"It's not your place to be there for me. It was my place as your mother to protect you and take care of you. Instead, I made you worry about me and for that I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, I just wish there was something I could do to help."

"You're already helping. By being patient with me and just being here."

She hugged her son tightly. He'd grown up so fast, as if ever time she blinked he was a year older. He was getting tall like his dad, but she also saw a lot of things from herself in him.

"I wanted to ask you something." She said, not ready to let go of him just yet. "With everything that was going on I haven't had the time to ask you but are you okay with Lauren and her being here?"

'Sure." He replied, the lack of enthusiasm clearly audible. Elizabeth pushed back from her son to look him in the eye.

"You have a say in this." She told him, hoping he would be honest with her.

"I'm happy for you and dad." Jason said but Elizabeth pushed for more.

"That's not what I asked."

"It takes some getting used to be she seems nice." He told her, and she was thankful for the honest answer.

"I don't ever want you to feel like we're placing you or one of your sisters." Elizabeth promised him, and he nodded. After a while Jason broke the silence.

"What do you think of her?" He wanted to know what his mother thought about her daughter.

"I'm forever grateful that she came back to us. I want nothing more than to just take her in and make up for lost time, but I know that's not how this works. She needs time and your dad, and I will give it to her. Sometimes I just feel like we lost our shot at being her parents." Elizabeth sighed, and Jason guided her to the couch to sit down.

"It's never too late to be her parents." Jason told her, and she brushed her hand through his hair.

"I remember your first words, Ali's first steps and Stevie's first day at school. I remember all your firsts but with her- I'll never watch her learn how to walk or drive, I'll never get to pick out her prom dress with her or even hear her call me 'mom'." Elizabeth admitted as she blinked back the tears. She didn't want to cry. She was so done with crying, but she couldn't help it.

Jason made a mental note of the statement his mom just made and decided to talk to his sisters in the morning.

"You might have missed the first years but there are so many years to come. She's here and willing to have a relationship with you. Who knows? Maybe she'll call you mom in the future but right now, you have a chance at being her mother. From the looks of it today, she really enjoyed her time. This might not be the ideal situation but we've all got your back, and dad's too. Whatever we can do to help." Jason told her, and she rested her head against his.

"I love you."

"I love you too, mom." Jason said before getting. "I'm going to bed and you should too." He grabbed his mother's hand and helped her up before taking her upstairs.

TBV