Part 34 C

Glory Troy – December 4, 2007 Tuesday

The phone rang fairly early and that was just fine. Any distraction at this point. She was getting very tired of her bed. With all its fluffy adornments and a nightstand with lots of snacks nearby, path to the bathroom clear. It was Tess Harding. "Hey, Glory?"

"Hey, Tess. How's it going?"

"Oh you know, busy-busy." Tess sniffed. "I have to take a leave of absence. For like… a month. I know you're on bed rest and everything but it's mostly phones. I'll have one of the lab techs doing the ordering and the grants. All you would be doing is answering the phone, taking messages, and making sure any guests get reported to the boss. There are never any guests. Um… oh, there is a weekly shipment. The delivery folks do the lifting, and the lab techs would be transporting from the front desk to the lab freezer. Simple stuff. We could outfit the desk with whatever seating you need, and the private bathroom is all yours."

"Wow, you're in a hurry."

"I just… want a plan in place before I talk to Liz. The work we're doing is too important to let slip by." Tess cleared her throat. "It doesn't even have to be full time. I would write a schedule that's… four hours a day."

"What's the pay?"

"Better than what Mr. Evans pays you."

"When do you need me?"

"Answer today, phones tomorrow?"

"Geez."

"I'm not doing so well, and I need to get better."

"Okay. Let me talk to my doctor and Greg, I'll get you back this afternoon."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

Glory hung up and spent the next hour trying to get her doctor on the phone between trips to the bathroom. Trial basis. Probably meant she should be looking for a replacement the moment she stepped into the facility. Then she had to inform Greg. That was a conversation that took some doing. She won. She could answer phones from a cozy chair with a butt pillow and an ottoman as prescribed by her doctor. She gleefully called Tess to give her the news, her doctor's demands and orders and to get the fax number to have her doctor fax those orders.

December 5, 2007 Wednesday

Glory showed up at 10 am. The office was already in swing and the phones were in night mode. A tall redhead gave her the tour. "Boss is out of the office. Not sure when she'll be back in. She's got court stuff, some personal, some for work. Tess is out, you knew that. Here is the executive bathroom key. Only Liz and Tess have one and now you."

"What was your name?"

"Serena Caplan. I'm the last hired but the one entrusted with more things."

"Why is that?"

"My interests. I specialize in subjects that require more resources, connections and access."

"oh."

"It's just… complicated." Serena made a face. "I just got back from LA, working under a mentor and one of our donors. I'm going to Pittsburgh tonight. Don't worry. You don't need a lot of knowledge. Just keep the riffraff out of the lab, keep the techs on their quotas and answer the phone while you're here. The state will deliver a big crate, you call Bryce from his lab to deal with it. He'll load it in the freezer and log the inbound. He'll crate up the outbound. He'll have it ready for the next delivery. One in, one out. That's the way it works."

"Okay." Glory gave her a wide-eyed nod.

"The security crew are all nice Roswell boys. I'm not from here but I've already gotten to know most of them well. Sean works weird random shifts and he's got a thing for the boss. So, he'll poke his head in every now and again to get a glimpse of her. She's sweet about it. He's her best friend's cousin so… she's used to it. Steve works days, always. His wife is going back to work, and she'll drop the kids off across the way, come over to say hi to him and he'll step in and check in here before he goes across the way to see his kids. Fly works evenings so you might not see him. If one of the guys has to do something, they switch their shifts around. Fly will talk your ear off if you do see him. Always got a story, always a mile a minute. Monk works most mornings and weekends, sweet dude. He loves comic books, hockey and video games. He's not a talker but if you ask about his day, he will tell you."

"Monk and Fly." Glory repeated.

"I don't know their real names."

"Alright."

"Sean will bring bribes. I know you're expecting. I know food is sensitive. He brings donuts mostly. If you have a favorite, just let him know, he'll pick one up."

"Anything else?"

"Vending machine guy comes on Fridays. Max Evans will stop by every now and again with one or all the kids, just give me a head's up so I can be scarce. Um… Oh. Head of security is Michael Guerin. He mostly stays upstairs in his office but if he's telling you something needs to happen; it needs to happen."

"Anything… likely to happen?"

"No. Just the way it was explained to me." Serena took a breath. "Um… if anyone comes to the door, demands entry for a meeting that's not on the books, call the security desk. It will happen someone will get passed them to the door, but they can't come in without a keycard or an escort. Pharmaceuticals are trying to get in every pocket possible. That's not allowed here. You don't even have to entertain a face to face. Call security and they will be escorted out and politely given a threat about trespassing."

"Just phones, sign for packages, call Bryce for the crates, call security for anything not on the books. I can do that."

"Excellent. There's a mini fridge for Tess's snacks. She said you can have at what's left and you can fill it with whatever."

"Okay." Glory nodded and took a seat in a chair that still had that fresh from the box smell. List of passwords on the blotter, appointment book, emergency numbers. "Okay."

"I'm off to special projects, hit this button and it'll intercom me in there."

"Got it."

"Hope you brought something to read."

December 7, 2007 Friday

Her job was boring. She had crosswords and minesweeper and a deck of cards, but she was bored. It was almost as bad as being home in bed. Yesterday Sean had brought her a cruller thinking Tess was there. This morning he'd brought her a tall glass of sweet tea in a bottle that looked like it came from someone's kitchen. He was a good egg. Always cold though. His teeth were always chattering.

Glory took a small walk around the atrium to visit the waterfall and see the kiddos in the day care. She saw Max when he was dropping off the boys or picking them up. He always had a baby on his hip and some kind of snack in his pockets. Lucy was getting so big. He dropped the diaper bag and got hip-checked by the door. "I got it." Glory held the door and the kids trooped in. Pete a bit unsteadily but no less enthusiastically than his brother.

"Thanks." Max sighed. "I didn't think we'd need daycare and now… thank goodness."

"How's Liz doing?"

"Fine. Between court for work and court therapy for Nate… I don't think she's left that building except to sleep all week."

"How's Nate doing?"

"Fine, I guess. He thinks it's a new friend to play with. Liz goes in and gets him playing and then sneaks off to a corner to "work" so that the doctor can get somewhere with him. Abandonment issues is what she's saying. I gotta go tomorrow so Liz can run to Pittsburgh."

"Oh, are you leaving Lucy here?" Glory pressed.

"No, my mom is going to watch her."

"How is your mom?"

"Much better… but she stresses about Isabel and Isabel isn't taking anyone's phone calls so… hopefully Lucy will take her mind off of that." Max rolled his eyes. "I… I'm sorry. I am so tired."

"Let me know if I can help. I feel pretty useless behind that desk. How is Tess?"

Max opened his mouth and shut it. "She hasn't checked in."

"Well, send her my kind thoughts."

"I will do that." Max nodded and kissed Lucy's face. Lucy cuddled in. Glory rubbed her belly and got back to her desk. She took messages and found a way to send those messages directly to the recipient without using paper. She was winning this job!

December 14, 2007 Friday

Glory walked in and the building was very quiet. She took a walk around the lab and the lab rats were doing what they were supposed to. Most of them were wearing headphones. No Liz, no Serena. Just the lab rats. Bryce walked passed her with a crate and then went back to his lab. Glory retrieved a tapioca pudding from the fridge, a vegetable juice from the new vending machine and took up her post. An hour later, the state courier arrived to drop a crate and pick up a crate. Glory let Steve swipe him in and Glory signed for the crate, the courier signed for his crate. Steve escorted the courier out of the building. It was the most exciting thing to happen all week.

Steve brought her a whole pie. "This is from Sean's Aunt Amy. She heard that you also worked for the Evans and are renting the other Evans house and have a baby due."

"She made me a whole pie?"

"She makes pies for everyone and we've pointed out that if she keeps giving them away, who is left to buy them."

"Are they good?"

"You ever had pie at the Crashdown?"

"All the time. Greg can't keep me out of there."

"Same pie."

"Oh, no." Glory breathed and opened the box. "It's the blackberry pie. It's so sweet."

"Yep, and my wife made me ask. There's no sugar in it. It's just… sweet blackberries." Steve held his hand up.

"That's a lie. There's no way."

"Well, it's what she says anyway."

"If the baker says so, then I guess it must be." Glory set the pie on her desk. "Who's outfitting that old brunch place across the lot?"

"The baker." Steve grinned. "She's going to expand the pie thing. I think it's awesome."

"That is awesome. Hopefully she won't be in full swing until after my kid is born. I don't know if I could stand to smell the pie from across the lot like this."

"My wife said the same thing. I told her we're done having kids and she said that it was out of our hands."

"Goodness."

"Well, I got two kids and a mortgage and she's going back to school. This is a sweet job."

"Yes. It is."

"I hope this lady knows what she's doing. A lot of us are putting our faith on her." Steve left Glory to her pie. She ate one slice and put it in the mini fridge. The plan was to save some for Greg.

Glory took some phone calls. She sent messages and she had no idea what they meant. "Please have Mrs. Evans contact the state of New York Social Services office by 5 pm tomorrow."

"Please have Mrs. Evans send her prospectus by end of business Thursday, next."

"Dr. Evans will need to submit employment rosters by end of the year."

"The accounting firm is pending a statement from Mr. Hastings, please have Dr. Evans submit her budget and payrolls."

"We're waiting on the results of the testing, please have Dr. Evans or Dr. Caplan get in touch with us ASAP."

"Let her know that Mr. Skaarsten needs to speak with her. She'll know who I am."

"This is Stephen Morton. I got lawyers calling me about something and I need Liz's lawyer friend to call me. I lost his number."

"This is Delia, I need Liz to call me back. I got lawyers asking questions that I don't know how to answer. I think my brother Stephen might have called as well. It's really important. I need access to Dad's storage. I think we might find some answers there."

"Tell Liz to call Laurie Dupree. Aunt Jo can't manufacture the meds, so we need an alternative. Who is Dr. Caplan?"

It was more messages in one day than Glory had taken in the last few days. She sent them all to Liz's email and sent a text that there were tons of emails coming. Something had clearly happened in the world. Glory just hoped she was doing all she could to help.

Greg stopped by with her afternoon snack. "I got the child watching the register. I have… 15 minutes before he calls for help."

"Glad I could provide an escape."

"How much longer?"

"An hour or so but if the phone keeps ringing… I feel like I should keep answering. I'll cut myself off when security changes over but um… busy phones today."

"They got a daycare here." Greg gestured over his shoulder across the hall.

"Yes, they do."

"Think this could be a more… permanent thing?"

"I don't know. Tess just said she needed someone to cover for a month and I don't have a lot to do. I'm basically getting paid to catch up on my reading list."

"I talked to Sheriff Valenti the other day and he gave me the impression that Tess wasn't coming back."

"Oh?" Glory sat up.

"It was all very vague and mysterious. I'm starting to get why people gossip." Greg sipped her tea and looked around. "This place is a little… Fort Knox."

"That's the idea."

"Did you have to sign a… NDA?"

"No. I don't think they've given me any responsibilities that require it. If it's true about Tess… that might change."

"Fingers crossed."

"Why are you on board with this all of a sudden?"

"Just… looking at some projections. If you keep getting paid this and more hours when it's possible… we can swing some things. We can make some life happen."

"That's a very strange way of saying something that is almost something."

"Dad's threatening to cut me off and that is fine because we are doing fine. He thinks that Pam is on drugs or something. She's been nice so I'm not worried. The change can stay."

"Yeah, but she's also been real… spacey."

"Mom wants us over for dinner, I said that we'd talk to the doctor about it so if you think we shouldn't go, we won't. We'll blame it on the doctor's orders."

"Thank you for that. We can… do dinner out, maximum of two hours. Or we can do dinner there, maximum of one hour."

"I'll negotiate. I'll see you at home."

Glory watched him go and rubbed her belly. She wanted more pie, but she should eat her healthy snack first. Glory used the restroom and got her frozen berries from the freezer. She was sitting down when a man walked in. Tall, familiarish blue eyes and hair all over the place. "Can I help you?"

"No, don't get up." He used a keycard to get into a lab and then he walked out with a box in his hands, his hair back in place. "Thank you, have a nice evening."

"Who are…?" Glory watched him go and she didn't know what to do. He had a keycard, but she didn't feel right. She felt… cold. She picked up the phone and hit the button to the security office. "Mr. Guerin. Someone was just in here."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He went into Dr. Evans office and came out with a box. He… was tall. Six foot, I think. Slim. Dark hair… blue eyes."

"He looked normal, but he felt wrong?" Mr. Guerin's voice had a quake in it.

"Yes." It was barely a breath, but she got the word out.

"Go home. Lock up. Forget you saw him. It's the best thing you can do."

"Did he… do something wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Then it's okay, Glory. Just go home. Enjoy your weekend. Anyone else in the lab, you scoot them out, too."

"Okay."

Glory walked the halls and found Bryce. "Mr. Guerin said everyone should go home."

"What?"

"He…" She almost said something about the man, but something caught her tongue. "Mr. Guerin is locking down the facility. Said everyone should go home."

"Okay." Bryce nodded and started getting everyone out. Glory grabbed her purse, her pie, and set out for home. She passed the Crashdown, but it was dark. They never closed during the day. She continued passed to her little house. She ate her way through the pie and sat in the nursery. Greg came home and she motioned to him. "We can't go anywhere tonight. I have a bad feeling."

"What?"

It was there, at the base of her spine. A feeling like someone had taken her arm and warned her urgently. "We should stay home."

"Okay." He stared at her for a long time. "I'll make us some dinner. Or are you full on pie?"

"Oh, um…" She handed him the tin. "Have the last of it. I… fix something sensible, please. Greens."

"Okay. I'll call Mom."

Nancy – December 7, 2007 Friday

Jeff was getting on her last nerve. It happened sometimes in the last 26 years that he could just ride a nerve until she wanted to walk out. She gripped her hands together. She rubbed her thighs. She knew this itch. She gulped water, cold as she could stand it. She paced and kept her eyes closed and then she was in the diner kitchen and her arms wrapped around him. Jeff gripped her hands with his. "Just breathe."

"You smell."

"I know. I'll get a shower when this stove is clean." He leaned forward to keep scraping and wiping.

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"I am."

"Max asked if we could take the kids tomorrow." Nancy breathed into his back.

"Yeah. Jose will be here. His girls will be here. We can take the kids to the park."

"It's supposed to be freezing tomorrow."

"We'll bundle up, take some hot chocolate with us. And the tent. Camping in the day."

"You're so adventurous."

"Learned it all from my mother." He took a final swipe at the stove and looked around. "Okay. Upstairs we go."

Nancy waited while he washed up and then made him slow dance with her. No music, just breathing and moving. Slowly, the anxiety bled away. "You know… my sister says we should visit more."

"We should."

"Do… you… get cravings… still?"

"Only when I can't hold you."

"Me, too." Nancy clung tightly. "I need a program."

"No…" Jeff held her tight.

She burst into tears. "I don't have your mother here to scare me straight anymore."

"Maybe Jim knows someplace."

"Okay."

"Maybe I'll go, too. Different meeting, same time."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I feel… I don't know… bereft. Like something was just… taken from me."

"Me, too. All day." Jeff kissed her head. "I got you."

December 11, 2007 Tuesday

Max left Pete with Nancy. Lucy was going to his mother's and Max was taking Nate to therapy. Nate was so cute in his little outfit. Max shook his head. "He insists on work clothes to go see her."

"Go work." Nate told his Gamma.

"Away we go." Max picked Nate up and Nate chattered away. Nancy picked up Pete and they went upstairs to the bucket of toys Liz had allotted their house, but Pete wanted to read. Nancy sat with him and they read some stories. He was starting to stretch, and his little chubby legs were getting longer and longer.

The Sheriff stopped by with some pamphlets for her and some laughs for Pete. "He's got a great laugh."

"The cure for anything." Nancy agreed.

"You doing okay?" He set his hat on the coffee table.

"Better today. Better this weekend. Friday… it was scary."

"Well, maybe it will do you some good to explore it."

"Maybe." Nancy nodded.

"Amy sent over a pie, but I put it downstairs in the fridge."

"Thank you. I appreciate the pies but…"

"She's in a frenzy. I know." Jim nodded. "Where's Nate?"

"Therapy with Max."

"How's that going?"

"I think it's almost done. Especially since Max is taking him today. Liz has been doing it all herself, but I think that Max will be key to the therapist recommending an end to the visits."

"He's a good man. He's a little frustrated with Nate." Jim cleared his throat.

"Nate has been toying with Max's affection since he met him. Liz said that he spent a whole day mad that Max was present, then the next day… asked for him all day long." Nancy laughed. "He's the only one that Nate wants when he wants a story or to play a game. Liz says that Nate only wants her when he's in a bad mood or to kiss a booboo."

"Sammy doesn't seem to care as long as there's an adult around."

"Is he still spinning?"

"Every chance he gets."

Nancy got Pete his lunch and set something aside for Max and Nate. Pete ate his food while he played with the dish towel she'd draped over the back of his highchair. They got cleaned up and she covered him in kisses until he'd laughed himself out and fell asleep. Down in Liz's room, she found a book and kept the monitor next to her. Pete was not a fan of crying but maybe she'd be able to catch him before he tried to get off the bed himself. Max walked in with a sleepy Nate, went straight back to put him down next to Pete.

Max picked at his lunch. Nancy watched him. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know." He huffed and sat up. "This was supposed to be Nate's last session. With Liz… but she had to go out of town and she's longer than she'd thought. I'm worried about her. She's spread too thin and Nate noticed."

"He did?"

"He's a little bossy. Don't know if you know anyone that's a little bossy." Max cleared his throat with a half-smile. "He told the therapist that when his daddy gets back, his mommy will stay at home with him forever."

"Oh no."

"He's got a few more sessions scheduled now. Another week at least while this idea gets explored gently." Max breathed. "I know he loves me. A little part of me was hoping this was going to be as easy as Liz said it would be."

"Kids are… complicated creatures." Nancy took a breath. "When Liz was little, we were living in this double-wide, scrimping and saving. I decided that I was going to make her school clothes. I thought… how hard could it be. I can cook. Sewing is like cooking. There are instructions, measurements, guidelines. I was terrible at it. The first dress I made, I was so proud that I didn't notice how much she hated it for a long time. It was too busy a pattern for her. It was crooked in the seams. Any stranger could tell that dress was homemade. That was around the time we noticed she had a fake smile. She used it every time I suggested she wear her cute little cupcake dress."

Max grinned a little. "When I saved Liz, all those years ago… that was a memory I got from her. It helped me see her better."

"How does that work? The memory thing? The… connection, Liz called it."

"Well, I had never really done it before on a person. So, I didn't know how to control it. I was just concerned with saving Liz's life. I felt like I knew her, but I didn't. So, all these synapses were firing when I connected my consciousness with her consciousness to save her life. I can manipulate structures but even if… if I didn't make that connection, I could repair the flesh but not the person if that makes sense. I have to have the cooperation of the person."

"That does make sense." Nancy nodded.

"Liz was having her life flash before her eyes. I could feel what she felt in those moments. She was… mortified by that dress but she was so… empathetic that she wore it because you were proud and there was something… in your smile that she really liked. She loved to see that on your face. It was one of her fondest memories of you." Max breathed out. "It's what made it impossible for me to shake my feelings for her. The insight I got… was… it cemented all the things I was brushing away as teenage infatuation."

"It's little one-sided."

"It was. She was scared of me so… I reversed the connection so she could see into me. And it… relaxed her. She saw that I was just… this dumb teenager with a giant crush on my classmate and that me being part alien was just… a part of who I was. She and I began to… shift that connection back and forth for months. When we got in trouble in high school, we were chasing this high we got from that stimulation. It wasn't just making out in the eraser room; we were seeing parts of each other's hearts and minds that no one else would ever see. Liz saw stuff inside me that I didn't know was there, about my past, where I come from. Clues to figuring out why I was on this planet. She wasn't afraid to see it, interpret it and it paralyzed me sometimes."

"Wow." Nancy watched his face. The awe he still had for her daughter.

"I'm afraid that we became so… reliant on that connection, that we never learned to really communicate. Just knowing that a gesture could relay information is… kind of lazy."

"Is that why you waited so long? I know the two of you weren't waiting for marriage. Liz had told me once that she was waiting for the time to be right."

"Something like that. I had a long of hang-ups about it. When we were on the run, I realized we could die at any moment and any chance to be with Liz had to be taken or else… we'd never have it." Max turned red. "We were so naïve. I wish we had been smarter. I wish we'd kept running."

"Liz said that she can't think about what might have been if you two had. She's got three little heartbeats that she can't exchange for all the possible futures she might have had."

Max breathed out heavily. "Yeah."

"Having met those heartbeats, I absolutely agree." Nancy cleaned up their lunch mess and Max picked up the toys. Pete woke first and got his Max time. "Dada."

"One down, two to go." Nancy told him.

"I got so used to Nate, I didn't realize how early he'd hit some of his milestones. Pete frustrates Liz so much. He's smart but he's used to just having everything. Liz feeds him when she feeds Nate. Puts him to sleep with Nate. Kisses him in turn." Max nudged Pete's face with his nose. "I make him ask for things. He's going to be fine."

"Dada." Pete headbutted Max.

"Ow."

"You started it." Nancy laughed.

"Gamma, I hungry." Nate appeared in the hallway, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Come on then. We saved you some lunch." Nancy swung him up onto a chair. She got him his chicken strips and carrots. With mustard today. So weird. "How was your visit at the doctor?"

"I play with the trucks and the blocks. My Max read me a story… about Gampas and Gammas and Mommies and Daddies."

"Did you fall asleep at your appointment?"

"Yeah." Nate laughed. "My Max want me to take a nap and I say… No, I don't not want to take a nap. Then I falled asleep at the doctor office."

"Then what happened?"

"I don't know. I woke up and I was in my mommy's little girl room."

"You're very handsome. Did you know that?" Nancy told him.

"I know." Nate nodded while he battled his carrot sticks against each other. "Where is Lucy?"

"Your Gemma Diane has her."

"Oh." He ate a carrot stick and started looking around. Plotting his next move. "Where is my Gampa?"

"He's downstairs. Working."

"Making flying saucers and fench fries?"

"Yep."

"Can I have some?"

"I think this is the lunch that Mommy and Daddy wanted you to have."

"Oh." Nate sighed and ate a chicken piece. "It's too spicy."

"Is it? You want some ketchup?"

"No."

December 13, 2007 Thursday

Nancy listened to person after person while she read over her pamphlet. She should have insisted that Jeff come with her, but he was probably right about them being at different meetings. She was getting coffee when she was approached. "You doing okay?"

"Me? Fine. I guess." Nancy shrugged.

"How long you been sober?"

Nancy had to think about that. Last time she took Liz with her to Mexico… she was 13. "11 years."

"Oh, so… not new."

"No. Just never formally did the steps. I need something right now. I thought I had it together and I don't think I do." Nancy admitted out loud for the first time. Words had power and she had said them directly and out loud.

"But no slips."

"No. Not yet."

"Ah, the yet."

"Trying."

"Okay. Come sit over here with me." The woman led Nancy to a far corner of the room. "It's good you came here."

"My husband and I were worried and… I didn't know what else to do. I'm so old, I probably don't have any connections anymore but… I can't shake the feelings that I'm getting. The anxiety I use to feel is back and I don't know…"

"Do you know why you used the last time you used?"

Nancy tried to think back. They took over the restaurant when Liz was seven. It got stressful. A few years later, Nancy was at her wit's end trying to keep up with the bills and Liz's extracurriculars and all of Claudia's very unhelpful suggestions about how to go about everything. She found some in an old purse or an old jacket. She said, "just once." "Just once to deal with this situation turned into… every situation… turned into inventing reasons to get away for the weekend. Normal stress. Parent stress. Owning a business stress."

"So, what's stressing you out right now?"

"Change. Things are settling and I don't know what to do now that things are… settling. My life was very stressful for three years but all it took was holding my husband's hand to bring me down and it's not working anymore. He's at another meeting right now so that he's in this with me but so that… I… can have my space to say whatever I need to say, and I don't know what I need to say because… things are calming down."

"There's something."

"Something is missing, and I don't know what it is. Nothing has changed but everything has."

"Well, this was a good instinct. Can you stick with it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Here's my number. You think you can't, you call me. You don't have to share anything but we're here when you do. There's nothing wrong with cycling through steps."

"Cycling through steps." Nancy repeated and sipped her coffee. "I'll remember that."

Jeff picked her up after his meeting and they walked home in time to help shut down for the night. They were going to bed when the lights cut out. They got the flashlights and went out to the breaker. The whole street was out. The breaker was fine. 10 minutes later, the lights were all back on. Everywhere. "That was weird."

"Weird has become a relative term in our lives." Nancy pointed out. They locked up and Nancy checked Liz's room. Looking for stray bottles and toys, checking the windows for drafts. She thought she saw movement but when she looked out, she didn't see anything. Locking the windows, she closed the curtains and went on her way. Jeff fixed her some tea and they sat on the couch to enjoy the silence. "You know. We sat like this on this couch for three years and everything… felt fine even though it wasn't. But now that everything is fine… I can't relax."

"This I feel. I understand this." Jeff nodded. "I got this feeling when Liz started sleeping through the night. I just… kept waking up, waiting for something." He cleared his throat. "I felt like that's when she started getting away from me. No nightmares, no midnight hugs. It was a little thing and I forgot it by the time she was 5. Cause then she wanted answers for everything."

"Trips to the library, talking to professionals. Yes. I remember the great Roswell exploration. All you have to do is ask." Nancy ribbed him.

"Then she was 16 and I… did we hold on too tight?"

"Now? I think we weren't nosey enough." Nancy breathed out. "Max and I have been having chats when he comes to pick up Pete."

"I thought he was using the daycare at the lab."

"I insist sometimes." Nancy squeezed his hand. "Hard to be anxious when I get to squeeze one of the grandkids."

"Is that what that is?"

"What?"

"I… get itchy and then Liz comes by and when I hug her, it all goes away. Or if the boys want a hug or a kiss… everything just…" She thought about that for a moment. "Liz says that oxytocin bursts in your system when you hug someone you love. Love is chemical."

"What a weirdo." Jeff shook his head. "How did we create someone so weird?"

"She sounds like your mother." Nancy pointed out. "Didn't she once say something similar about being married to your dad?"

"Maybe. Something about it all being chemistry but if you leave the chemicals together too long, they can explode."

"Goodness. She used to scare me."

"Mom?"

"Yes, your mother." Nancy scoffed at him. "She never thought I was good enough for you."

"I don't think she cared. As long as I was happy. That's what she always said."

"But she would say in that way." She pointed out to him.

"What way?"

""Oh, you're getting married to Nancy. Hmm. Well, as long as you're happy.""

"Honey…" Jeff laughed.

"It was very… Southern of her."

"Southern." He laughed again. "We were not from the South."

"She sure learned some Southern manners. My sisters all have them from living in Alabama and Florida." Nancy shook her head. "My favorite? "Oh, Jeff, sweetie. I'm so happy for you. You're going to be a father. And… the mother is… Nancy. Oh, as long you're happy.""

"She didn't say that."

"It sure felt like she did."

"Mom just… wished I was more like her, I think… which maybe meant she hoped I would find someone like Dad or… like Granddad." Jeff sighed heavily. "I don't think I could ever be as curmudgeonly as Granddad."

"I don't know about that. You were getting pretty close before…" Nancy trailed off. They didn't like to talk about the time when Liz was drifting from them or the years she was gone. Imprisoned. The more Nancy learned about those years, the less she wanted to know. Max and Liz let stuff slip over time and it always spun Nancy. Maybe that was a trigger. Maybe learning bit by bit, the psychological pain her daughter was in, was becoming overwhelming.

"When does Liz get back?"

"Tonight, I think."

"Good. Let's go to bed."

"Yes. Good idea. Do we have any of that melatonin stuff?"

"Yeah. Amy keeps me in good supply." Jeff stood and pulled her up. "Don't worry so much."

"I'll try."

December 15, 2007 Saturday

Nancy balanced the casserole and her purse and a bucket of toys up the Evans walk. Phillip let her in, he was in golfing gear. "Heading out?"

"Just got back." Phillip nodded, taking the casserole out of her hands. "Liz beat the pants off some of my council buddies and they're all fuming. It was a good time."

"Oh, so you've seen my daughter." Nancy placed the toys next to the bin in the living room.

"She's been very busy. Jetting around."

"I figured she'd drop by yesterday." Nancy sighed.

"She was a little odd and distracted today. I think something is happening in her world."

"Well, she does have two companies. Blows my mind." Nancy followed him to the kitchen where Diane was just making their tea. "When is Max bringing the kids over?"

"He was supposed to be here an hour ago but when I call I get this… weird message from the cellular company." Diane shook her head. "All circuits are busy."

"There was an outage a couple nights ago. I can't keep the microwave clock on since then. I gave up." Nancy shook her head and added sugar to her tea. Phillip served himself some casserole before putting it away.

"Phillip's blood pressure cuff malfunctioned last night." Diane added. "I shudder to think we're in the midst of some government coverup."

"We are in the midst of a government coverup." Nancy reminded her.

"Another one." Phillip grinned at them. "How many do you think we can endure?"

"I'm not so sure we're enduring the current one." Nancy sighed.

"Max said that Nate doesn't have to go to therapy anymore… but Max and Liz may have to. Not as part of the court order but part of maintaining their mental health. I find that… both comforting and alarming." Diane shook her head and sipped her tea, slowly.

"The idea is to allow a positive environment to express the negative effects of their trauma, both separately and as a partnership." Phillip finished up his meal and washed his plate. "My therapist explained it as routine maintenance."

"Like… AA or NA." Nancy mused allowed.

"Precisely. My attendance has less to do with anything I am… grappling with personally than it does with making sure I don't repeat the mistakes I feel I made in the past and, now, I can see we should have done some of this when we were trying for children all those years ago."

"You think it would have helped?" Diane breathed out.

"I daresay it would have. We were both putting this immense pressure on ourselves and I think if we had jointly agreed to stop at an earlier moment, we might have saved ourselves a few years of misery. We keep saying that Max and Isabel coming along when they did, saved our marriage, but I really believe that the long drives and honest talks we were doing for the six months before that is what saved our marriage. Everything puts a stress on a person. How we're handling that stress is really what makes or breaks a situation."

Diane continued to sip her tea silently and Nancy thought about her daughter. "I do wonder what would have happened if Liz had refused to go along with the plan. Nate would be the only child but… would he have killed her if she'd refused to play along?"

"Oh, that's horrifying." Diane gasped.

"The more I learn about him, the less… okay I am with staying silent. It's been… recent weeks that this has been on my mind. I think… Would he have hurt her until she gave in? Would he have simply locked her away? I mean… behind a door we couldn't get to. Would he have still helped with all those… battles the kids went through to be able to come home. Would the government still be chasing the lot of them?"

"If you allow yourself down the rabbit hole of what-ifs, you'll never climb out." Phillip told her. "This situation happened. I have to be grateful that I have the knowledge that our children are safe now."

"I'm trying so hard to believe that." Nancy breathed into her cup.

"So are the kids. Each one of them still seems to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's not a healthy way to live. So, we will support them." Phillip took a breath. "When was the last time Isabel called?"

Diane shook her head and set her cup down. "It's been a long while. I haven't heard from Alex either."

"We'll ask Max when he gets here." Phillip told them and left them to their tea.

"I hate to think about all that." Diane murmured. "The doctor said that any stress can exacerbate my symptoms."

"And watching the kids isn't stressful?" Nancy laughed.

"That's good stress. I enjoy the tired I am when the grandkids go home."

"It is a good tired."

"Hello!" Max called out. Diane rushed to the door. Nancy sat with her tea and listened.

"Max, honey, you look so stressed."

"Oh, um… just tired. It's been… a rough day."

"Where's Nate?"

"Oh, he's… part of my rough day. He's with Liz right now. We'll keep him with us, today. I think we can have our talk around him and… his tantrum. Just… stay home, relax. Pete is sleepy and Lucy is having a good day. I'll see you this evening."

"Okay. Bye honey." A moment later Diane reappeared with the diaper bag and two children. Pete went straight for Nancy and cuddled in. Lucy danced in Diane's arms. "Well."

"That was… abrupt." Nancy frowned and wished she could see out the front window from the kitchen.

"It was."

Nancy rocked Pete and Lucy babbled to her Gemma. Nancy took Pete to Max's room and laid him out on the bed. Someone had removed the box spring so the bed was low to the ground and now had a bit of a rail around it. Pete hummed and hugged his bunny. Nancy stroked his little face and back until his eyes closed. So cute.

"Sh. Sh." Finally, he stopped fighting it.

Diane was feeding Lucy some mushy stuff. She looked worried. Nancy didn't want to voice it right now. Something wasn't right. Max hadn't sounded like himself. Liz had been putting her foot down with Nate's tantrums. This wasn't right.

TBC