Alison coming downstairs to model her dress cut off their conversation about the budget. Blake had to admit, he was impressed with her skills. "It looks great."
"Thanks!" She twirled. "I'm going full Edie Sedgwick for the Spring Fling. Do you think it's too short?"
Blake sent Elizabeth a look, begging her to jump in.
"It's a bit short, Noodle. Did you get asked then?"
"No, I asked someone actually. Thad Newton." She grinned at her mom, excited.
"Thad Newton?" Blake recognized the name. "Isn't he Senator Newton's son on the Foreign Relations Committee?"
"Oh, god, do you think his mom made him say yes?" Ali groaned.
"No!" Elizabeth answered quickly as Jason jumped in to start teasing his sister. Once they both vanished upstairs, she sat at the table, turning to Blake. "You didn't have any siblings to fight with, did you?"
"No." He dropped the towel he'd been using and sat as well. "Alison is exceptionally talented in design, but that dress… I'm really glad you were home for that question."
"Why's that?"
"It feels weird telling her it's too short. I don't know…" He laughed a bit. "I guess there are still some things where I'm not quite sure where the line is between me being an outsider and me being part of the family I guess."
She thought about that a minute. "You're part of the family, Blake."
"We're coming up on a year." He pointed out. "I think you should take some time, just you and the kids. I'll…crash with someone."
"I think taking a few days sounds like a good idea, but you don't have to go away. This is your home to now."
"But you don't need me here for that."
"Maybe not, but I want you here."
"Okay." He relented. "So, with everything going on, are you going to be able to be home for this dance? I'm assuming Thad is picking her up."
=MS=
Blake was working on paperwork as his desk when Jason and Alison came down dressed for the dance. Curious, he watched them come in.
"Blake, please tell Jason that wearing sneakers to a formal event isn't as cool as he thinks it is!"
"It's fine!" Jason argued.
"Do you not see how Blake dresses every day?" Ali shot back, turning to her brother. "Like something out of a magazine and you're acting like it's cool to wear gym clothes with a suit. How can you not grasp what sophisticated formalwear looks like?" She followed him as he started to walk away. "You see it every single day, can't you learn something?"
"At least my clothes cover my body!" Jason finally turned back to her. "What is up with that dress?"
"What's wrong with my dress?" She turned back to the office and Blake. "What's wrong with this?"
Blake froze, trying to process the entire argument the pair had just had, and the question Ali just asked. "Uhh… It's a bit…Are you sure it's going to be warm enough?"
"It'll be fine." She responded as Jason answered the phone that was certainly security calling in.
"Thad's here." He shared. "Now we can all go." He headed for the door.
"Um. You can go, Jason." Blake stood, buttoning his jacket. This, he told himself, he could do. A teenage boy wasn't some despot with a god complex. Ali let Thad in.
"Thad, this is Blake. He's, uh, a friend of my mom's. Blake, this is Thad Newton." She grinned.
"Good to meet you, Thad. How did you get here tonight?"
"Uh, I drove, it's my Range Rover out front."
"Mind if I see your driver's license?"
"Uh, sure." Thad pulled it out.
"Blake!" Alison hissed as he took a picture of it.
"Thanks." He handed it back. "I'll remind you all, no drinking and the agreed-on curfew, not a minute later." They all groaned their understanding as they left.
Just before the door shut, Blake heard Thad ask. "Who is he, exactly?"
Once he was alone, Blake dialed his phone and waited for it to connect. "Hey."
"Blake." Elizabeth sounded relieved to hear from him. "Kids leave?"
"Yeah, just now. Thad's as tall as I am, seemed nice."
"That's good."
"As a guy, he gave off a vibe I don't trust."
She laughed. "Blake! They're kids."
"I used to be one of those."
"No, I'm pretty sure you were born like you are now." She laughed a bit more.
"How are things your end?" He changed the subject. "I can be helpful now that my job's to sit here and wait for curfew."
"It's falling apart around me, Blake. I'm not sure how much you can help with, but maybe Jay has something. I'll let everyone know you're free to remotely help if they need it. The way things are going, I'm sure you'll be bombarded."
"Bring it on. Did you eat dinner?"
"It's been busy."
"So, no. I am texting Nadine to tell her to make sure you eat."
"Really?"
"I know what you're like, don't argue with me."
"Okay." She sighed. "Blake? You're really okay being there doing the teenager thing tonight?"
"I am. And I think Alison might have paid me a compliment earlier while yelling at Jason. I'll tell you about it when you get home and you can decide."
"Sounds like a plan. And, Blake? Don't sneak Cupcake Wars, you must wait for me to get there. I hate when you watch ahead of me."
"Yes, Ma'am." He laughed.
=MS=
Hours later, Blake answered his phone to find Nadine on the other end. "Blake, I've put the Secretary in the motorcade and sent her home. The truck had the girls in it." He'd been looped in in stages as the investigation progressed. "They all suffocated. All of them are dead… Including Lara Cramer." He heard her draw a breath. "It's… I don't even know how to put it into words."
"Okay." His heart sank, they'd all been invested in this rescue. "I'll handle it. Thanks for the heads up." He ended the call and closed what he was working on, killing some time clearing the downstairs of debris of the day and then heading up to change into sweats. From his room, he heard Elizabeth come in and drop her things before dragging up the stairs and heading straight for her room. Grabbing his phone and flipping the switch, he quietly made his way down the hall, she was just standing and staring. "I heard." He whispered, approaching from behind. "Nadine called after she sent you home."
"We couldn't save them."
"I know."
"We were so close."
"Come on." He nudged her to get her moving again. "Don't worry about anything right now." She shed her shoes and earrings. "Get changed and then come to bed." He knew the kids would be back soon and he thought he should make sure the dance went okay, even if Elizabeth wasn't it the frame of mind to deal with them. While she vanished into the bathroom, he tossed the extra pillows onto a chair and pulled the covers back, rearranging what was left before getting settled. He was surprised when she didn't go all the way around, but instead sat on the edge beside him, falling against him. Unsure what else he could do, he held her close.
=MS=
Blake heard the kids come home and checked that Elizabeth was still asleep before easing out of bed and heading down to check on them. He got to the top of the stairs just as he heard them arguing about Alison ditching her date. He didn't know what else to do except listen as Ali admitted Thad had tried to do something to her and then Jason's angry demand to know details. The argument blew up and he worried they'd wake Elizabeth, but almost as soon as it started, Ali was finishing it, possibly in the worst way as it hit everyone's nerves.
"Dad was wrong, Jason!" She shouted. "He's not a girl! You should've said something! Guys like Thad get away with it because guys like you don't say anything!" She started to storm away until she saw Blake on the stairs. "Damn."
He let the language go. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, nothing happened. He tried to get me into a room with him, but I ditched him."
"Tried how hard?"
"I'm okay, Blake. I promise. I didn't even let him kiss me. It just sucks that I can't ask a guy out and wear a dress I like without it apparently being an invitation to do things to me. It's not fair."
"I know it's not." He looked over at Jason. "Could you head up? I'm going to talk to Alison a minute."
"Yeah, sure. Mom home?"
"She'd already asleep, please keep the noise down?"
"Sure."
Blake waited until Jason was up the stairs before sighing and facing Ali. "What happened?" He listened carefully as she recounted the entire evening. "I am sorry this happened to you, Ali." He offered her a hug.
"Why can't more guys be good guys like you?" She asked into his arm. "Why do guys like Thad do it?'
"I don't know. Head up to bed, your mom had a long, hard day, so she might not be up for much rehashing of your night tomorrow morning. Cut her some slack if she's a little off, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." He waited for her to go up before he headed back to where Elizabeth was sleeping.