"Mommy? What happened to your eye?" Katie asked, her eyes wide as she took in her mother's face.
"It's okay, sweetie. It'll go away soon. Nothing some makeup can't take care of," Allie told her daughter, giving her a big hug.
"Is Daddy staying here, too?"
Allie glanced up at Flint from where she was crouched next to her daughter, wondering about his answer.
"I'm staying," he answered, taking his daughter's hand. He held out another to help Allie up. "That's what families do, right?"
"Right!" answered Katie happily. She skipped off to the other room, leaving the two of them alone.
"How long are you staying?" murmured Allie, looking up at Flint.
He stroked her hair. "As long as you'll have me. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do, but…"
"I had an idea about that," she said, giving his hand a squeeze she was still holding. "But let's go sit down first."
"Sorry," he apologized, realizing he shouldn't have had her standing for so long.
"You passed your physical?" she asked once they were settled on the living room couch.
He nodded. "With flying colors. I'll have to continue to build up my strength, but that shouldn't be too hard of a problem."
"Oh." She looked down. Hearing him tell Katie they were going to be a "family," she had thought that he was staying.
He placed two fingers under her chin and tilted it up. "What is it?"
"I just thought…." she began, then stopped and sighed.
"Nothing's definite right now," he told her solemnly. "I'm still not quite sure what direction I need to go in. Speaking of which, what was your idea?"
"Well, we had mentioned taking a family trip…..I thought it might give us time away from here and time for you to think."
"Hmm. Somehow I think it might be more than that."
She gave a small smile, then nodded. "There is."
"And?"
"Well, my father's house in Scotland needs some help with repairs, and my cousins have been needing help with the business…."
He regarded her silently. She waited for him to argue, agree…something!
He finally spoke. "Let's go on that vacation you've suggested. After a few days of taking it easy, for both of us, then we'll talk about it again."
He hadn't shot it down completely, she realized, so it was a possibility.
He kissed the top of her head. "You relax. I'm going to go see what Katie's up to."
He handed her the TV remote and she found a cartoon she had watched as a girl. She was somehow comforted by the coyote, who, no matter what happened to him, he never gave up. She was soon joined by her daughter and her father.
Katie glanced first at her mommy, then at her daddy. She smiled. This was family, the one she had always dreamed of. Everybody was found. It was the way it should be.