A/N: I know I said this last chapter but your reviews are sooo nice! Thank you, it really motivates me.
Also, any guesses as to who the person who took her is?
hiraeth: a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.
The sight of her kids was enough for her to break down in tears.
"Mom," a soft rumbling voice said from the bottom of the stairs.
Knowing that voice in her sleep, Elizabeth smiled, and her eyes widened almost comically as she took in the sigh of her son.
"Jason." Her eyes flickered towards the kitchen for a brief moment where she found her other two kids, and then towards her husband who just stared at her like she might as well be a ghost and he couldn't believe that she was standing in front of him at this moment.
For a moment, Elizabeth said nothing and did nothing, and that's when Jason took the first step towards his mother. His mother took a deep breath, and then slowly she stepped towards her family.
"What happened?" He wasn't yet ready, he needed some sort of explanation. He swallowed as he said this, and she saw something like fear flicker across his face.
"It doesn't matter." She insisted because she didn't want to talk to her kids about the nightmare that she had somehow managed to live through for over a year. They didn't need to know how broken she had been. Only that she was alive and finally home.
"You were just gone." Alison whispered, her words thick and broken, "We thought you were dead."
"Oh, noodle, I'm right here." She took a hesitant step towards her kids and saw the way they reached for her. Their arms around her made the last year disappear in a flash and the pain she felt became irrelevant because she was holding her kids again. She was finally complete, and it made everything absolutely right in the world. Nothing meant more to her than that.
She felt emotions overwhelming her and a movement caught her eyes. She froze when she saw Henry watching them. The kids noticed too and pulled back, giving their parents some space. Elizabeth took a step forward and Henry quickly moved to stand in front of her. He held up his hand as if scared to touch her and find out it wasn't real.
So many times, had he dreamed she was here. That he would wake up and he would find her next to him.
He gently placed his hand on the side of his wife's face and felt her lean into his touch. Letting out a sob, he realized it was real this time. She was really here.
He took a moment to look at her. She was wearing flip-flops, leggings and an over-sized windbreaker. Her hair was longer, and she looked tired. A sigh of relief left his mouth when he finally pulled her in a hug.
She felt his strong arms around her and was pulled into a tight grip. Taking in his scent, she broke down in tears. The amount of times she had dreamed of this moment made it almost unreal. She worried she was about to wake up and find out it was all a dream, so she gripped his shirt tighter. She was completely consumed by his size and strength and it was something like heaven to her.
She held on tighter even though her head was starting to spin, and she figured she was close to passing out from the overwhelming nature of everything. She wouldn't, though, because that would mean surrendering his touch. It would mean having to let go of the embrace.
The kids gave their parents a moment before joining the hug. They all wanted, and needed, to be reassured their mother was back.
They stayed like that for a few minutes until Henry pulled away. He wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He didn't know what she needed. He watched her hug each of their kids individually and then dried her tears.
"I missed you guys, so much." She smiled.
"We missed you too mom." Stevie said, "but we should get you to a hospital."
"I'm fine. I just want stay home." She whined with a sigh and Henry smiled. He had missed her stubbornness, but he also knew she needed to get checked out. Hesitantly, she left the house only a little while after entering it.
The car was still there, and she figured they were under strict orders from the president to get her to the hospital. She looked around almost panic like when she didn't see her kids. She was reassured when they climbed in after her. Sitting between Henry and Alison, she held both their hands.
After reassurance from her family, she finally allowed herself to get taken by doctors. They promised to sit in the waiting room until she was finished. After about an hour, she was wheeled into a room and not soon after her doctor returned.
"Ma'am, first of all it is so good to see you." He told her, and she returned a watery smile. She just wanted him to tell what was going on, so her family could come in. "Would you like me to call your husband in for this?"
She didn't want him to know what she went through. At least, not yet. He deserved to know what had happened, but maybe she could leave out some of the details. To protect him from the hurt and guilt she was certain he would be, and already was, feeling.
"No, not yet."
"Alright. Well, you're dehydrated, and you've have lost a lot of weight. We found some old, and new, bruising and scarring, but nothing that won't heal and fade over time. The bruising and swelling around your ankle will heal, but we would like to give you antibiotics just in case of an infection. We located a few previously broken ribs, were you aware of that?"
Elizabeth shivered as she remembered her trouble breathing and flashes of what happened ran across her eyes. "Yeah, I kinda figured."
"From the looks of it, it hasn't had much time to heal so I would like you to take it easy. We found a slight, hair fracture in your right shoulder bone, but if you take it easy and keep weight off that arm it should heal by itself. If it does start to hurt, you can come back, and we will do something about it." He smiled as he waited for her to speak.
"So, can I go home?" She was aware it was evening and knew it would be her luck to have to stay overnight.
"We would like to keep you here for observation, but if you eat in the morning, we might be able to release you."
"Thank you, doctor."
"I will tell your family they can come in." He walked out, and she was left alone with her thoughts. It was finally real. She was back with her family and all the things that had happened before didn't matter anymore. A tear slipped down her cheek just as her family walked through the door. Her kids rushed to her side and pulled her in a hug once again.
Her husband was standing, hopelessly, next to her bed. Grabbing his hand, she pulled his closer. Her hands found his face and their forehead touched. She wasn't ready to kiss him, at least not yet.
They had never needed words to communicate and this time wasn't any different. He knew what she meant, that she wasn't ready. His lips moved to her forehead and brushed a soft kiss on there.
"What did I miss?" She watched her kids start to talk about their lives. How Jason had joined the football team, how Alison had gone off to college and how Stevie had started an internship at Russel Jackson's office. She could barely register what they said because she felt her eyelids starting to get heavy.
She didn't want to sleep.
She was afraid to do so because entirely too much of her fractured mind believed that this was one of the hallucinations that she had comforted herself with during the past year of captivity. She was terrified that if she closed her eyes and allowed the world to sweep away from her for a few hours, she would wake up alone and broken, back where she was.
Unfortunately, she wasn't as strong as she had been before, and the emotional strain of the day had snapped whatever energy she had. Reluctantly, she allowed herself to close her eyes and rest for a few minutes. Minutes that ended up being hours.
Waking up in panic, she looked around to find her husband. "Henry, Henry?"
Her body was aching terribly, but the familiar face that she saw made her forget all about it in a matter of seconds.
"I'm here, it's okay." He grabbed her hand and started rubbing circles with his thumb, calming her down. "You're safe."
She couldn't stop the tears from prickling her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back. "You know how many nights I- I dreamed that I would wake up and you'd be right beside me, but then I'd open my eyes and you weren't there."
His heart broke at his wife's confession. His hand moved to stroke her hair and he made her a promise. "I'm here. You're not dreaming this and I'm never leaving you again."
His gently fingers wiped away a tear that finally spilled. She looked away from her husband and panic settled in the pit of her stomach when she didn't find her kids anywhere in sight.
"Stevie took them home after a lot of convincing. They will be here again at eight." She closed her eyes, letting the panic pass. Her hand was still intertwined with Henry's and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she said. There were streaks of pain running though her, but she did feel better. She was reunited with her family and that made all the pain worth it.
She glanced around and wondered when it had been uncomfortable for the two of them to be in the same room.
Even if they didn't talk, their presence would always be enough for one another, but now there was this awkward tension between them. Part of her wondered if he felt it too. They shared a smile and her eyes suddenly went quite fierce and determined.
"I'm not afraid to be in the same room as you."
"I just don't know what's okay. What he did to you." He said with an almost disgusted, but sad shake of his head. They both knew where his thoughts went, and she had to stop them before he started to think of the worst.
"Stop." She breathed, "I love you."
It was the first time she had said it since her return and it felt oddly familiar. It still slipped off her tongue just as easily as before and she was glad at least that hadn't changed.
"I love you too."
And then she lifted her hand up, pausing it midair for a beat and then placed it on Henry's cheek, just holding it there for a moment. Without losing eye contact, she leaned closer. He let her take the lead, do things on her terms. She closed her eyes as her lips brushed against his.
She felt him kiss back and memories flooded her mind. She snapped back, ignoring the flash of hurt in his eyes.
She hated this.
She hated not being able to be with her husband, kiss the person she loved so dearly.
"I've got all the time in the world for you." He whispered, his voice trembling a bit. He kissed her knuckles and she gave him a watery smile.
TBC