**Five Years Later**
"Mum have you seen my soccer bag?" Ella asked as she ran down the stairs, jumping down the last four, with a smooth landing on the main hallway.
"Did you check the van?" Elizabeth called back from the kitchen where she was making lunches for her daughters.
"Why would it be in the van?" Ella asked as she slid across the hardwood floors into the kitchen easily due to her socks.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I thought I said not to do that anymore." She chided her.
Ella bit her lip. "…Really? I don't remember that…" She lied awkwardly.
"Stop making up excuses and go check the van." Elizabeth said with a smirk. "Amanda!" She called up the stairs as she watched her older daughter pull on a pair of boots over her socks.
"What?" Amanda asked from the top of the stairs.
"Get down here we're going to be late." Elizabeth replied as she closed both of the lunchboxes sitting on the counter.
"But I can't find Mark!" Amanda replied, sounded fairly exasperated.
Elizabeth sighed. Rachel and Ella had given Amanda a teddy bear for her second birthday whom Amanda had promptly named Mark. "Ask Ella to check the car while she's out there!" Elizabeth suggested.
"My soccer bag isn't in the car!" Ella reported anxiously as she slammed the front door closed behind her.
"Then check the closets!" Elizabeth called to her. "Amanda we're going to have to find Mark after school and work today!" Elizabeth called to her youngest daughter.
"I think I might have left my bag in Rachel's car yesterday." Ella said, as she once again slid into the kitchen, this time clearly out of breath.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and pressed both of her palms firmly into the countertop. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Alright, call Rachel and ask her if she can check her car for it. If it's there I'll try to swing by her Apartment to get it during my lunch break then I can bring it to the school." Elizabeth planned aloud.
"Yes mum." Ella replied before grabbing the phone from the receiver.
Amanda slowly made her way into the kitchen, tears streaming down her pink cheeks. "Mummy I want Mark." She said sadly as she looked at her mother for comfort.
"Amanda sweetheart." Elizabeth said comfortingly as she picked up her small framed daughter. "I know you want Mark but we're going to have to go to school before we can look for him." She told her gently.
"Mum Rachel says that she's gonna bring my bag by the school for me." Ella informed her mother as she hung up the phone.
"She doesn't need to…" Elizabeth started to protest.
Ella shook her head. "She said she was going to stay in town for the weekend." She informed her. "She asked me to see if you could pick up some peanut butter."
Elizabeth sighed. "Alright we've got to get going… now. Or both of you will be late."
"Mark." Amanda whimpered into the crook of her mother's neck.
"We're gonna find him Manda." Ella assured her younger sister as she put her lunch in her backpack.
"Ella 'gonna' is not a word." Elizabeth reminded her daughter.
"Maybe it's not in England but it definitely is in Second Grade in Chicago." Ella replied with a smirk as she swung her backpack over both of her shoulders.
"Alright miss sassy." Elizabeth said with a smirk as she adjusted Amanda so she was perched on her hip, and picked up Amanda's schoolbag. "Let's get going."
"Haleh!" Ella screeched as she slid down the hallway in the ER, once again in just her socks.
"Ella Jessica Greene!" Susan scolded as she grabbed onto the back of her shirt. "How many times do we have to tell you that sock slides are dangerous?"
Ella continued to move her feet in an attempt to run away, but her socks only caused her to slide backwards continuously. She eventually gave up and stood to face Susan. "I'm sorry." She apologized sheepishly.
Susan raised her eyebrows in suspicion at the young girl. "Really?"
Ella nodded in earnest. "I'm sorry I shouldn't sock slide, especially not in the ER."
"Alright. " Susan admitted her. "Your mom just got pulled into an emergency appendectomy, so Rachel's going to come pick you and Amanda up."
"Yay!" Ella exclaimed excitedly before running into the lounge to alert her younger sister. "Hey Amanda!" She began excitedly before she saw Amanda crying on the couch next to Carol. "What's the matter?" Ella asked her gently as she sat down next to her younger sister. "Manda?" She asked her quietly as she put her arms around Amanda's shoulders.
Carol looked with sympathy down at the five year old. "Amanda got into a bit of trouble with Doctor Carter when a trauma rolled in and she was in his way. He yelled at her pretty loudly, but she's not hurt. Just a little scared."
"Are you okay?" Ella asked her little sister.
Amanda shook her head.
"Okay use your words…" Ella tried to remind her sister.
"NO!" She yelled angrily before she tried to get up off the couch and run.
"Alright-y…" Carol said with a grunt as she carefully wrapped an arm around Amanda's waist causing her to be unable to run away. "Amanda Doctor Ross asked you to stay in here so you don't get scared again, can you do that?"
"NO!" Amanda replied as she angrily squirmed.
It was then that Rachel came into the lounge. Ella immediately had a huge grin on her face before she ran up to her sister and jumped up onto her shoulders and held on.
"Whoa there monkey." Rachel said with a smile as she swung Ella around so that she could hug her from the front. "Are you ever going to get some meat on those bones?" She asked her jokingly as she carefully detached the gangly eight year old from herself and set her down.
"Mum says I look like Daddy." Ella said proudly.
Rachel nodded. "Dad was pretty small himself." She affirmed. She then turned her attention to the squirming five year old on the couch. "Alright Miss Amanda, how are we doing today?" She asked as she squatted down so she was at face level with her.
Amanda didn't speak but she lunged forward into Rachel's arms and clung to her tightly.
"Can we go get pizza?" Ella asked her hopefully as Rachel stood up with Amanda in her arms.
"We need to go home so we can start getting Amanda ready for bed." Rachel replied with a small smile. "How about we order some pizza out for dinner so that we can eat it at home?"
Ella nodded enthusiastically at this compromise. "Can it be pepperoni?" Ella asked hopefully.
"Well you and Mom like pepperoni, but Amanda and I don't, so how about half cheese half pepperoni?" Rachel offered as she gathered Amanda's and Ella's things from around the lounge.
"Okay." Ella agreed as she secured her backpack on her shoulders.
"Thanks Carol." Rachel said with a grateful smile as the three of them left the lounge.
It was nearing eleven at night when Elizabeth quietly opened the front door and closed it quietly behind her. She quietly slipped off her shoes and made her way to the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea and scavenge some dinner.
Rachel heard Elizabeth come inside and she waited a few moments before joining her in the kitchen.
"Rachel." Elizabeth said with a smile as she headed over to hug her daughter. "So what exactly brings you out here?" She asked her curiously as she placed the tea kettle on the burner.
Rachel looked down at her hands awkwardly. "I just wanted to touch base. I haven't been around for a while and I just…"
"You are a horrible liar." Elizabeth said with a smirk.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I need a prescription…"
"For…?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes wide with interest.
Rachel bit on her lip. "Plan B?" She asked awkwardly.
Elizabeth's eyes softened considerably in understanding. "Sweetie…" She said softly as she pulled her into a hug. "How long?"
"Uhm… It was last night…" Rachel said awkwardly.
Elizabeth nodded. "Alright tomorrow morning. There's a window of seventy-two hours for it to be effective."
Rachel nodded.
"Are you alright Rachel?" Elizabeth asked as she poured herself a cup of tea.
Rachel sighed. "I just… being an adult?" She said softly. "It's very hard… and very confusing… and I'm not sure that I'm the best judge of how to…"
"Rachel you're a wonderful person. I know stuff is hard for you but you'll make it all work out in the end." Elizabeth assured her.
"Mummy?" Amanda asked as she entered the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Oh sweetheart did we wake you?" Elizabeth said gently as she picked her daughter up. Amanda automatically nestled her head so it was resting on her mother's collarbone and shook her head. "Did you have a nightmare?" Amanda nodded.
"Nightmares?" Rachel asked as she looked concernedly at her younger sister. "When did Amanda start having nightmares?"
"She's scared of lots of things." Elizabeth said quietly as she ran her fingers through her daughter's wild curls. "She just doesn't understand Mark. She's very much in love with the idea of him being her father, but she's also very…"
"She feels abandoned?"
"Yes." Elizabeth confirmed as she felt her daughter's head become heavier on her chest, signaling that she had fallen asleep. "I don't really know how to explain things to the girls anymore. I'm spending a lot of time working and not enough time taking care of them."
"I was actually…." Rachel began awkwardly. "I was wondering if I could… I'm thinking of taking a semester off. I'm about to start my hospital rotations and I need some time to figure out how I want those years to play out. If I took a semester off could I move back in?"
"Of course." Elizabeth said without hesitation. "You're always welcome in our home."
"Even though I'm clearly still irresponsible and probably a bad influence on Amanda and Ella?" Rachel questioned with a smirk.
"Of course." Elizabeth assured her. "You're my daughter and you'll always be welcome here."
"Dad would have laughed if he knew you were still putting up with my crap." Rachel said with a smirk.
"He would have stuck by you no matter what had happened." Elizabeth assured her. "You're always going to be his baby girl."
Rachel nodded as she bit her lip. "I'm sorry to be such a sudden burden."
"You're not a burden." Elizabeth said assuringly. "You will always be welcome here."
The two sat in comfortable silence for several minutes.
"Mum Amanda's not in her room." Ella said as she entered the kitchen.
"I know sweetheart, I've got her." Elizabeth assured her daughter as she clambered up onto Elizabeth's lap.
"Can we all go to the bean park tomorrow?" Ella asked her hopefully.
"Of course." Elizabeth confirmed. "I'm going to stop at the hospital quickly in the morning to sort out a few things and then we'll spend tomorrow in the park as a family alright?"
Ella nodded excitedly.
"Alright now it's time for you to get back to bed." Elizabeth said as she gently coaxed her off from her lap and she gently adjusted Amanda so that she could be carried up the stairs. "Well c'mon then." She ushered her daughter up the stairs.
"Thank you Elizabeth." Rachel said suddenly.
Elizabeth turned to her. "For what?" She asked in surprise.
"Everything." Rachel replied, meeting her eyes carefully.
Elizabeth nodded, her eyes full of compassion. "It was my pleasure."
Author's Note: Well… What? I don't… I finished? I don't know what to do with myself. This has been great and I've had so much fun writing it. I'm going to take a break from this story for a while to go write a Doctor Who (River/Eleven) Fic that I've been meaning to write for several months before I consider writing a sequel to this story. Thank you so much for reading! I can't even express how much it means to me!