After the drive home, Elizabeth helped Henry inside while Lauren stayed behind to get her suitcase. The three kids rushed to their dad's side when they heard him come home, careful not to hurt him.
They helped him to the couch and Elizabeth waited for Lauren to come in. "Do you have everything?"
Leaving the suitcase and bag in the hallway, they made their way over to the rest of the family.
"Hey." Stevie said surprised as she noticed her sister standing next to her mom. She jumped up to hug her and Lauren was relieved at least one of her siblings was glad she was back.
"Welcome back." Alison smiled, not leaving her dad's side. It wasn't because she didn't want to hug her sister, but more of the fact she didn't want to leave her dad.
"I thought you had another week in the Netherlands?" Stevie asked as Lauren sat down in a chair. Lauren explained to her siblings how she rushed over here, just like she had done to her parents.
"Does anyone want something to drink?" Elizabeth asked but everyone shook their heads. Lauren got up and followed her mother to the kitchen. She started making coffee and noticed the questioning gaze from her mother.
"I slept three hours in the last forty-eight hours." She commented. It had been evening when she heard about the bomb and from there on, she had been going non stop. Trying to find a way to get to the US as fast as possible. Her worry had kept her up throughout the plane journey and she had only slept three hours at the hospital.
"You can lay down if you want." Elizabeth suggested, worried about the exhaustion she noticed on her daughter's face.
"That's okay."
She gave her kids an hour with their dad before she told him he should be in bed. Hesitantly, he got up and walked with his wife upstairs. Stevie and Alison started lunch while Jason and Lauren stayed behind. Lauren noticed how Jason examined every movement his dad made. As if to determine in how much pain he actually was.
"He's going to be okay." She told him as she got up and took place next to him on the couch.
"This time." He mumbled, turning to face her when his dad was out of sight.
"There won't be a next time." She tried to comfort him. She could see how much the situation had upset him.
"How can you be sure? They promised us the same thing after mom was in Iran." Jason argued.
"We can't be, but they will always fight to come back to you."
Elizabeth had helped him into the bed and she waited for him to sleep. Squeezing his eyes shut as hard as he could for a second, he opened his eye to find her staring at him with a very evident pain in her eyes. Unaware of what else to say or do, he gestured for her to come to on the bed beside him.
He gave her a pleading look when she hesitated, and smiled when she finally gave in. She sat on the side of the bed, careful not to hurt him.
Henry sighed.
Gathering his strength, he removed the blanket from his lower half, and shifted his entire body so she could lay next to him. He felt her tense up as he wrapped his arms around her waist, but after a moment she relaxed. They remained in this position for what seemed like hours, which in reality was only a few minutes before Henry spoke again.
"You won't hurt me."
Elizabeth let out an exhausted sigh in defeat. She knew there was no way of getting out of staying with him, though truthfully, she really didn't want to leave anyways. She was just scared of hurting him.
Henry's arm was wrapped protectively around Elizabeth's waist, her body close to his, she rested contently as she dozed to the rhythmic sound of Henry's heartbeat.
Lauren wanted to unpack before lunch, so she took her suitcase upstairs. She noticed her parent's door open and peek around the corner. Her parents were sound asleep in each other's arms and she smiled at the sight. It had been an exhausting few days for all of them. She quietly closed the door and went downstairs. She would unpack later since she didn't want to wake them.
"Is mom coming for lunch?" Alison asked as she saw her sister come back down.
"No, they're asleep." Lauren replied, and they ate together.
"How was it being back in the Netherlands?" Stevie asked, trying to show an interest. No one had talked about what had happened before her sister left, yet. She didn't want to make things more uncomfortable.
"Really nice. I got to see some of my friends and of course did the exam. The results should be out soon."
"Do you think you passed?"
"I hope I did." Lauren laughed. "What about here? Did I miss anything?"
"Not really." Stevie told her, and Lauren realized they had been there when the bomb had gone off.
"Are you guys okay? I mean you where at the conference."
"There was so much blood." Jason whispered as he stared at his food. A silence fell, and Stevie wanted more positivity. After all, their dad was home and feeling alright.
"But dad's back and we'll all be okay." Stevie told her.
"You can come down, you know." Alison said, and the other three kids turned around to find their mom on the stairs, watching them.
"I was just enjoying seeing you all together." She told them as she continued down the stairs. She wrapped her arms around Lauren and Jason while Stevie and Alison jumped in to join the hug. Finally, her babies were all in her arms again.
"I'm done." Stevie put her plate in the sink and moved upstairs. Lauren quickly followed her.
"Are you okay?" She walked into her sister's room and leaned against the now closed door. "You are allowed to feel things."
"The truth is, I-" Stevie felt her sister sit down next to her on her bed. "I don't know as long as I was worrying about how everyone else was feeling I didn't- I didn't have to think about how I was feeling. It's just hitting me all at once. And part of me thinks if I don't talk about it than I don't have to deal with it. Which I've had enough psychology to know isn't true."
"It's okay to prioritize yourself. To put yourself first sometimes."
"It's just all of a sudden everything is dark and serious because of what happened." Stevie wasn't quite sure how to deal with that. After Iran she had been fine, going non-stop. Finally, she had reached her breaking point.
"I know you feel the burden of taking care of Jason and Alison, but don't let it be at the cost of yourself."
"Protecting them is my natural instinct." Stevie sighed, dropping her head in her hands.
"That doesn't mean you don't get to feel things." Lauren lay an arm around her sister and was surprised to find her lean against her. She lay her head against Stevie's and waited for her to pull away, but she never did.
"I'm glad you're my sister." Stevie started, "I'm sorry for the way we treated you before you left."
"I deserved it." Lauren spoke, and Stevie shot up, shaking her head.
"No, you didn't. We were upset with mom and dad, not you. You are a part of this family, you know, that right?" Stevie felt the immediate worry for her sister.
"Sure." Lauren told her unconvincingly and she removed her hand from Stevie's back. "I'm here if you want to talk."
"Same goes for you." Stevie watched her sister walk out and closed her eyes. Until now she hadn't been able to see things from her point of view. Completely oblivious to the feelings her sister was struggling with.
The day passed by Elizabeth in a haze. Every now and then she checked up on Henry and the kids. It wasn't until she lay next to a sleeping Henry that night, that she could finally get things in order. After hours of tossing and turning, she moved into a restless sleep.
The following morning, everyone was getting ready for school. Henry was sitting downstairs as he watched his family interact with each other.
"Did Elizabeth leave already?" Lauren asked him, grabbing his attention.
"Hmm?" He stared at her, "She's upstairs."
Henry got to eat breakfast but was soon ordered back in bed by Alison and Stevie.
"Good morning." Elizabeth said cheerful as she walked into the kitchen.
"Morning." Stevie said before rushing out the door.
"You okay?" She asked Lauren. The girl was lingering as if wanting to say something.
"I was wondering- if it's not too much trouble- can you give me a ride to the library?" Lauren asked, and Elizabeth wondered if she actually found it that hard to ask them for anything. Come to thing of it, her daughter was yet to ask for anything for that matter.
"Of course." Elizabeth told her, not wanting to ask why. She was afraid that would seem as if she didn't want to give her a lift.
"It's just I left my public transport card in the Netherlands and it's being send here, but it'll take a few days." Lauren explained. It was the truth, but she was also having a hard time paying for school. She was in desperate need for a job and therefor was excited she had an interview soon.
"Not a problem. How long do you think you'll be staying? I could pick you up."
"I'm not sure yet."
"How about you text me when you're ready to go and I'll see if I can get away as well." Elizabeth filled her to-go cup with coffee as she kissed Jason and Alison goodbye.
"You don't have to do that."
"I could use a day off early anyways." She walked out, followed by her daughter. She dropped her off at the public library before continuing to her office.
She had to restrain herself from calling Henry every five minutes, but still ended up calling him several times throughout the day.
At five-thirty she decided to call it a day and called her daughter. She hadn't texted, and she wondered if the girl had been at the library all day long.
"Lauren."
"Hey, are you home yet?" Elizabeth asked as she took the elevator down.
"Not yet, but I can go if you need something?" Lauren wondered why she was calling.
"No, I just wanted to know if you needed a ride back."
"That'd be great."
"I'll be there in fifteen." Elizabeth hung up and told her detail where to go.
She found her daughter in front of the building. She hadn't noticed the cars pull up yet and Elizabeth took a moment to look at her. She was so grown up. She looked exhausted, but what made her the saddest was the fact that she looked lost.
It wasn't the first time she had seen the look on her daughter's face. The youngest blonde tried to mask it, but when she thought no one was paying attention, she dropped that mask.
She opened the door and Lauren now noticed the cars. The lost look was no longer on her face and Elizabeth sighed. She wished she would be honest with them for once. Let them in.
"Thank you for picking me up." Lauren smiled as she got in.
"No problem. I'm happy to give you a ride anytime."
The drove in silence until they reached the house. Lauren was the first one to get out and noticed a man coming towards them. She figured it was just a neighbor until he stopped near her and dropped his jaw.
"O my god." He whispered, and Elizabeth now got out as well. He took a few steps towards her and tried to pull the girl in a hug, but Lauren quickly shot back, towards her mother.
"Don't touch me." Lauren spoke and moved to her mother for both comfort and the need to protect her. She wasn't sure why her mother's detail wasn't doing anything.
"It's okay." Elizabeth spoke as she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "This is Will. My brother."
The man she now knew as Will, hugged her mother and she knew it was alright. She could trust him.
"Sorry. I was just overwhelmed all of a sudden." Will told her and he stretched out his hand. "Will."
"Lauren." She introduced herself.
"You always did have impeccable timing." Elizabeth mumbled as she realized what a coincidence it was that he showed up at the exact same moment. "Let's go inside."
"Uncle Will!" Stevie cheered as she saw him enter the house and hugged him tightly, followed by the other two kids.
"Hey kiddos." He smiled.
"Are Annie and Sophie with you?" Stevie asked, and he shook his head no.
"Do you have pictures?" Alison asked, and he pulled out his phone. They sat down and watched the pictures.
"Where's Henry?" Will asked as Elizabeth returned from upstairs.
"Asleep." She sighed as she sat down at the dinner table with them.
"How is he doing?"
"Alright." Elizabeth spoke, and they started eating. It didn't take long before the Adams siblings were in an argument and dinner mostly consisted of Will and Elizabeth fighting.
After dinner, Stevie and Alison left to check up on their dad while Jason sat down for video games and Elizabeth was in the kitchen cleaning up. That left an awkward silence between Will and Lauren.
"I'm sorry about earlier." He told her. He never meant to give her the idea he was attacking her.
"That's okay. I just didn't know who you were."
"Well just so you know, I'm the fun uncle." She laughed at the statement.
"Noted."
"Your mom has told me a lot about you." Will started, "That and I read the news sites sometimes."
"All good things I hope."
"Are you settling in alright?"
"Yeah."
"The resemblance is remarkable." He couldn't stop looking at her. Something she had noticed throughout dinner as well. "You look so much like your mom when she was your age."
"What was she like? As a teen, I mean." Lauren was curious to find out more about her parents.
"Smart, stubborn and annoying." Will joked and Elizabeth walked in just in time to hear it.
"I was not the annoying one." She laughed as she sat down next to her daughter.
"She was." Will mouthed even though Elizabeth could see it.
"Don't listen to him." Elizabeth told her, and she smiled at the dynamic between the two. They could go from fighting to being best buddies in 0.2 seconds.
"Sorry, I have to be on Elizabeth's side." Lauren laughed, and Will's smiled disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"Elizabeth?" He asked, not sure why his niece wasn't calling her mom. He saw his sister shake her head slightly as if not to bring up the subject. "Well, wait till you see the breakfast I will make tomorrow morning. I will have you on my side in no time."
"That's your idea? Bribe my daughter with food?" Elizabeth laughed, and Lauren was grateful he hadn't asked any questions.
"If she's anything like you, I might have a chance." He knew how much his sister loved food.
"Depends on how good your breakfast is tomorrow." Lauren got up. "I'm going to see if Henry needs anything."
Will watched the girl go upstairs, before turning to his sister. "O my God."
"I know." Elizabeth sighed before a watery smile appeared.
"I have to ask, what's with the first name-basis?" He knew she hadn't wanted him to comment on it earlier.
"She can't just start calling strangers mom and dad overnight." Elizabeth sighed, wondering if she would ever get to hear the words from her daughter.
"But you're not strangers."
"To her we are. Or at least we were."
"I'm so glad she's alive, or back." He moved a seat closer to his sister and grabbed her hand. "How are you?"
Between their fights and arguments, he always made sure she was alright and safe. After Iran he hadn't been able to see her, but he made sure to text and call.
"I don't know." She whispered, and the honest reply took him by surprise. She wasn't one to show emotion this quickly.
"Is it Henry?"
"Yes." Elizabeth started, "and Lauren. And the other kids."
"What do you mean?" He asked, and she told him everything. From the first time they met Lauren to the fight before she left. It felt nice to finally pour her heart out to someone other than her therapist or Henry. There was only so much she would tell either of them.
"Looks like there's another thing she inherited from you." He commented, and Elizabeth gave him a confused glare. "Pretending everything is fine when it isn't. I asked her earlier if she was settling in alright and she said yes, but clearly she isn't."
"It's just the other three need to adjust."
"Give them time. They'll come around."
TBC