Elizabeth had just walked in the front door with Amanda's carrier and she set the mail on the counter along with Amanda's carrier, knowing that going through it would simply reveal huge bills that she knew there was no way she could pay this month. She took Amanda out of her carrier and positioned her on her hip as she began walking around the kitchen. She was debating between sitting down and sorting through the mail and going upstairs to take a long hot shower when the front door opened again.
"Ella you're soaking wet, don't get the foyer wet, go straight up to the bathroom and I'll bring you a change of clothes." Rachel's voice rang from the foyer.
Elizabeth could then hear Ella's small feet pattering up the stairs and Rachel setting down her soccer bag in her bedroom.
"Good afternoon Rachel!" Elizabeth called from the kitchen.
"I take it you heard that then." Rachel said as she leaned against the door frame.
"Yep." Elizabeth replied with a smirk. "Go get her dried off… I'm assuming you encountered some sprinklers at the park?"
Rachel nodded. "She simply can't be stopped once she's seen them." She said with a smile.
"Alright… I'm assuming you're going to want to head to the library to study tonight?" Elizabeth asked as she set Amanda down in her high chair and moved over to the fridge.
"I was actually thinking about staying here tonight." Rachel said as she grabbed a carrot from the bottom drawer of the fridge.
"Any reason?" Elizabeth asked as she pulled some chicken from the fridge as well as some tofu.
Rachel shrugged. "I'm not really into the research I've been working on… And I haven't spent a night with Ella practically all summer. I just need a break from doing all this work."
"You realize Ella's upstairs probably making a mess of your bathroom?" Elizabeth pointed out with a smirk.
"Dangit!" She exclaimed before running up the stairs to assist her younger sister.
Elizabeth began preparing two pans to make stir-fry for dinner. Soon she had both of them simmering on the stove and she moved back over to the pile of mail on the counter, making a quick detour to give Amanda a teething ring from the fridge. She quickly flipped through it and separated the bills from the ads. She was about to start opening the bills to see where they stood that month when Ella came running into the kitchen.
"Mummy can I have a bubble bath later tonight?" She asked her hopefully.
Elizabeth sighed. "How about tomorrow night? Tomorrow's not going to be a night before a work day for Mummy."
"But today's Amanda's bath day! I want a bath too!" Ella whined as she sat down at a chair at the kitchen table.
Elizabeth looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "When has that ever worked on me?"
Ella pouted back, but didn't persist.
"Alright Miss Amanda it is your bath night, so why don't we do that while we wait for dinner so that you can go right to sleep after dinner." She said as she pulled the baby bathtub out from under the sink, and placed it in the large kitchen sink.
"Can I help mummy?" Ella asked hopefully.
Elizabeth sighed. "As long as you promise not to make any messes." She replied with regret as she finished filling the bathtub. "Why don't you go upstairs and get one of your bathtub toys for Amanda to play with during her bath?" She suggested as she gently began to undress Amanda.
"Okay!" She said enthusiastically before running up the stairs.
Elizabeth was trying to get through the bath as quickly as possible and she had just started washing Amanda's hair when Ella came back, groaning under the weight of all the bath toys she had decided she would bring.
"I couldn't decide mummy." Ella said as she dropped them to the ground, causing an almighty crash that caused Amanda to squirm violently and get some shampoo in her eye.
Elizabeth gently rinsed off the crying baby and pulled her out of the tub. "It's okay… You're okay… I know it was scary… You're okay…" She comforted her gently as she wrapped her in a towel. It was then that she raised an eyebrow and looked over at Ella.
"Oops." She said quietly before looking down to examine her feet rather carefully.
"Clean up your toys and then go see if Rachel wants to watch a show with you until dinner." Elizabeth instructed quietly as she continued to rock Amanda, who was finally starting to calm down.
Ella quickly gathered up the toys and ran up the stairs.
"Are you doing alright in there?" She asked as she looked into the fluffy green towel. She received a happy gurgle in response. "That's what I thought. You're okay, just a little frightened is all." She said as she made her way up the stairs to the nursery. She quickly picked out an onesie for Amanda to wear and put it on her before gently placing her in her playpen. "Don't have too much fun without me." She teased as she turned on the baby monitors and clipped one to a pocket in her pants. She quietly closed the door, hoping that Amanda might get in a small nap as she hadn't gotten one earlier that day.
"Mummy!" Ella exclaimed excitedly as she ran out of her room.
"Shhhh." Elizabeth quieted her as she squatted down to her level. "What do you need sweetie?"
"I found my teddy bear!" She told her proudly as she held up a white and purple bear that had been lost many months ago.
Elizabeth smiled at her innocence. "That's great." She assured her. "Why don't you go have a tea party with her? I'm sure she's missed that."
"Okay!" Ella replied importantly before going back into her room.
Elizabeth stood back up and went down the stairs. She checked on the pans that were frying and stirred them a few times before sitting down once again with the mail. "Gas… electricity… water… Rachel's tuition… Ella and Amanda's daycare… Medical…Wait…" She said aloud as she flipped through the envelope. However she was taken off guard by the rather large size of the envelope for the medical bills. "What…" She asked as she carefully opened the envelope and several sheets of paper slipped out, none of them resembling the standard bill form she had been receiving for months. She pulled out the one that looked like a letter and began to read.
Elizabeth Corday-Greene,
We are pleased to be able to inform you that due to grants given to the hospital on behalf of hospital staff in need of monetary compensation for unexpected medical expenses your outstanding fees have been paid-in-full. In addition to those charges being covered there is a check enclosed for 15,000 dollars, the standard reimbursement for hospital staff who have been paying their medical bills out of pocket.
Thank you so much for your dedicated services to Chicago County General Medical Center and we hope to have you working for us for many years to come.
Robert Romano, Chief of Staff, Chicago County General Medical Center
Gregory Hubert, Medical Grants Department, Chicago County Medical Center
Elizabeth looked at what she had read in disbelief. She read through it several more times, while dinner began to burn on the stove behind her.
"Elizabeth!" Rachel called from her bedroom. "Something smells like its burning!" When she received no reply she quickly got up and moved to the kitchen. "Elizabeth!" She cried before moving over to turn off the stove. "Can you not smell that?" She asked as she moved the pans off from the stovetop. "Elizabeth?" She asked as she moved over to sit down next to her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" Elizabeth said in disbelief. "Absolutely nothing's wrong…" She said before handing Rachel the letter and flipping through the rest of the envelope.
"Elizabeth…" Rachel said, partially in disbelief and partially exuding with happiness. "How did this…"
"I have no idea." Elizabeth said quietly as she took the letter back. "I didn't even know that this was a program at the hospital… And Robert wouldn't have done this by himself…"
"Elizabeth does it really matter who…?" Rachel asked her gently as she sat down at the stool next to her.
"Of course it matters!" Elizabeth replied indignantly. "Someone thought I couldn't handle it and so they found some anonymous way to tell me that!"
Rachel cocked her eyebrow. "Or maybe someone thought you didn't deserve to handle all of the financial strains you've been dealing with in addition to everything else." She suggested quietly.
Before Elizabeth could protest there was an almighty crash heard from upstairs. The sound of Amanda crying rang through the baby monitor resting on Elizabeth's hip while Ella's cries could be heard echoing down the stairs.
"I'll get Amanda, you check on Ella." Rachel said quickly as she got up and they both ran up the stairs.
"Ella sweetheart what's happened?" Elizabeth asked as she ran to her daughter's bedroom. Ella was looking down at a long cut along her arm and crying on the floor. "Sweetheart… How did this happen?" She asked her quietly as she picked up a blanket that was sitting on the floor and used it to begin applying pressure to the bleeding cut. That's when she saw Ella's tea set box, open, with nearly all the cups shattered into pieces. "Oh sweetheart." She said softly. "Did you drop your tea set?"
Ella nodded.
"Were you trying to get the cups out that weren't broken?" She asked her gently as she picked her up and pulled her into her arms.
Ella nodded again.
"Alright Ella, I'm sorry but you're going to need stitches." Elizabeth told her softly.
Ella shook her head. "I don't want to go to the hospital."
"Sweetie… I know you don't like going there but you really have no reason to be scared." Elizabeth tried to comfort her daughter.
Ella shook her head violently. "I don't want to go like Daddy." She whimpered softly.
"Hey…hey…" Elizabeth said gently as she gently moved around the room, packing a few things for Ella in a backpack. "You're going to be just fine. I promise nothing's going to happen to you today other than having your arm stop hurting." She promised her softly.
"What happened?" Rachel asked as she brought in a whimpering Amanda wrapped in a blanket.
"Ella's tea set broke and she got a pretty nasty cut. I'm going to have to take her to the ER to get it stitched up." Elizabeth said, visibly starting to buckle under the pressure.
"Here." Rachel said as she sat down on Ella's bed and set Amanda in one arm. "Put Ella here and I can hold the pressure." She offered. Elizabeth grateful for her offer placed Ella next to Rachel and went back to ensuring she had everything she needed for Ella and Amanda.
"Hey Ella." Rachel said with a small smile as she looked at her sister. "I bet you'll get a really cool scar, just like mine." She said, barely over a whisper.
Elizabeth looked over at her with a confused look. "Yours?" She asked distractedly.
Ella nodded. "Rachel has cool scars on her thighs from when she was sad."
Elizabeth looked over at the two of them with wide eyes.
Rachel bit her lip. "It's okay Ella she doesn't need to…" She tried to stop her younger sister.
"Rachel said that her scars are because she got better and she's happy." Ella said importantly.
Elizabeth looked at Rachel sadly. She considered her options and decided to just move forward for the moment. "Alright let's go." She said as she picked up Amanda and they all carefully headed to the car.
"Ella you're being very brave." Rachel informed her sister with a smile as she gently bounced Amanda in her lap.
Elizabeth was finishing Ella's stitches, nearing seventeen of them.
"Did your scars get stitches?" Ella asked her with interest.
Rachel shook her head honestly. "I didn't tell Elizabeth when I needed stitches, which wasn't a good thing for me to do. So it took them a lot longer to heal and get better."
"Oh." Ella replied, trying to understand her meaning.
Elizabeth set down the tools she was using and sighed. "Alright Ella you're going to be just fine." She said as she wiped her hands across her face. "I'd like to talk to Rachel for a minute before we leave, would you like to spend some time with Abby and Haleh while Rachel and I talk?"
Ella nodded in earnest.
Nearly ten minutes later, after situating Ella and Amanda with the nurses, Elizabeth nearly dragged Rachel into her office.
"You cut yourself?" Elizabeth asked her after a few moments of awkward silence.
"Look… Elizabeth… Ella doesn't know that…" Rachel tried to explain.
Elizabeth shook her head. "How am I supposed to know that!? She knows why you have scars on your thighs! You've made her think that scars are something to be proud of! She's going to want more because of you! What were you thinking!? She's never going to understand the danger of things like what happened today! This is your fault!"
"HEY!" Rachel called out after letting her go on for a few minutes. "Would you rather that all of those cuts we're still bleeding?" She asked her harshly.
"Rachel it's not like that and you know it." Elizabeth replied, clearly exasperated.
"Do you want to know why Ella knows about my scars?" Rachel asked after a long awkward silence. Elizabeth looked at her expectantly. "Because she found me just before I was going to do it again." She admitted quietly.
"Rachel…?" Elizabeth asked her gently, unsure if she was angry or hurt.
"I know… why on earth would I want that? You've given me so much, my life has changed so much for the better. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for that, but I'm so broken. I have no one in my life who is honestly there for me no matter what." Rachel said softly. "My headmaster called me down to the office last week… She told me that you hadn't made my tuition payment last month and that if it wasn't paid by the end of this month I'd be unenrolled."
"Rachel… I'm sorry… I just missed the payment date by a few days. I've paid it…" Elizabeth tried desperately to stop her from spiraling downward.
Rachel shook her head. "So… I just… I quit." Rachel admitted, unable to look up at Elizabeth from where she had sat down. Tears were streaming down her face. "I haven't been going to school, I've just taken the El to the library every day and I'm studying to get a GED."
"Rachel…"
"I didn't want you to have to pay for it anymore. It's not fair to you. You told Carol that… Why shouldn't I know it?" She asked her painfully.
"Rachel Greene." Elizabeth cut her off. "I'm sorry you overheard what you did. That wasn't fair of me. And it's not fair for you to lose out on an Education you've worked so hard for."
"When I turn eighteen I'm going to try to start at the community college." Rachel said softly. "It's not what I wanted to begin with… but it's better than nothing."
Elizabeth shook her head before crouching down so she was at Rachel's level. "Rachel I know I suck at being a mom. I honestly am horrible at it and I don't even do the word justice, but you're one of my daughters. This isn't what you want and I'm not going to let you do this."
"My mom…" Rachel began again quietly.
"Rachel… your mother did some wonderful and terrible things for you in the past. But you know she doesn't consider you her daughter… And you don't deserve that." Elizabeth said gently. "You're part of my family Rachel and you can look at me as your mother."
"Elizabeth…" Rachel said softly. "I don't want your pity… I just… need you to understand that I'm not trying to hurt or confuse Ella. I just told her honestly how I got those scars."
"I'm sorry Rachel…" Elizabeth apologized honestly.
"It's alright. Let's just go home." Rachel said with a smile before the two of them got up and headed down the stairs.
"Rachel look!" Ella said excitedly as she pointed to the pink gauze Abby had put on top of Ella's stitches to prevent her from picking at them.
"Wow!" Rachel said, her eyes lighting up with a bit too much excitement for it to be entirely real. "Who gave you that super cool band-aid?"
"Abby!" Ella replied happily as Abby gave her a high-five.
"Hey Ella do you want to get stitches again?" Rachel asked her quietly.
Ella shook her head vigorously. "It hurt a lot. I just want one scar. No more." Ella insisted.
Rachel smiled at her innocence. "That's good. Keep it that way."
"Mummy can we go home?" Ella asked, beginning to sound a bit tired.
Elizabeth nodded as she placed a sleeping Amanda into her carrier. "Let's go home girls." She said softly to avoid waking Amanda. Just before they left Elizabeth made eye contact with Rachel and mouthed Thank You.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry this took such a long time to update! I've honestly had this written for a long time but my old computer went through a tragic failure called both the motherboard and hard drive failed… So that was super fun!? Anyway all that's left of this for now is the Epilogue which I'm going to upload hopefully today! Please Review!