a/n: enjoy this new chapter!
querencia: (n.) a place from which one s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self.
After a while, Henry pushed away his work. He was finished and wanted to check up on his wife before starting on lunch
"So do we need a second mortgage on the house?" Henry teased and Alison stuck out her tongue.
"Very funny dad. Mom's been very picky with spending money so, don't worry."
"Babe, you can buy whatever you want." He told her as he walked backwards towards the kitchen. "I'm making lunch for us."
"Mom, would you mind if I did some homework this afternoon? I'll do it downstairs to keep you company."
"Of course not." Elizabeth promised her. "But you didn't have to shop with me if you had stuff to do, baby."
"I like spending time with you." Alison quickly hugged her mother before joining her dad in the kitchen to help with lunch.
Barely twenty-four hours had passed since Elizabeth had started her new diet and she was already done with it. There was too much and all the pills and vitamins she had to take were starting to get annoying. She decided to eat lunch quickly and just get it over with.
"I'm going to do some homework upstairs." Alison announced after she finished as well, leaving her parents alone.
"Do you want to pack yourself or should I ask Ali later to help?"
"I can do it." She smiled, "Ali should focus on school."
"The FBI called today as well. They wanted to ask you a few more questions so I scheduled a meeting for Monday. Unless you're not ready?"
"It's fine." She promised him and watched as he cleared the table. He moved around efficiently and she truly saw how much the past year had changed his routine. "I think I'll get started on packing."
Slowly, she rose from her chair. Though Henry kept a close eye on her, he didn't offer to help. She managed to walk up the stairs and reach the bedroom, before sitting down on the bed.
Only then did she realize she had no idea where her suitcase was and if he had even kept it. Not in the mood to walk up and down the stairs again, she grabbed the phone from the nightstand and called downstairs.
"Hello?" She heard Henry and she chuckled at how ridiculous the situation was. She was calling even though he was in the same house.
"Hey, I was wondering if you kept my suitcase?"
"Yeah, it's in the basement. I'll get it for you and bring it up in a minute. I'm almost finished loading the dishwasher."
"My hero." She laughed before hanging up.
It was weird how little things like that could mean so much to her. Simply calling her husband or online shopping with her kids. These were the kinds of things she had dreamed of doing again the past year.
Her life was complete again, but somehow her mind couldn't accept that. She couldn't process she was safe. She could manage during the day, but at night when she slept her mind took over. Her thoughts would wander back to that terrible place.
She would see him. What he did to her. What he made her do. She would remember and relive every horrible moment and she didn't think she would be able take it much longer.
She was tired and exhausted. Every night she would fight off sleep best she could, but eventually her body would give in and she was forced to face her nightmares.
"Babe?" Her head snapped towards where she heard the voice from and found Henry in the doorway with her suitcase.
He dropped it as soon as he saw the distress on her face and sat down next to her on the bed. Pulling her in for a hug, he guided the two of them into a laying position and they now lay cuddled on the bed.
"I'm so tired." Her voice was shaking but she refused to let her emotions get the best of her.
"Go sleep then. I'll stay with you." He whispered as he stroke his hand through her hair. She had her head on his chest and sighed.
"I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see him. It's like I'm back there again."
"Do you remember when you got that self-made stove from girls in Togo? And we boiled eggs in the backyard?"
"Yeah?" She wasn't sure where he was going with this or why he was bringing it up right now.
"Do you remember when we got it to work? How happy the kids were? Do you recall the smiles on their faces?"
"Yes." She replied and her lips curled up into a smile as she recalled the memory.
"Now keep that image and close your eyes; just for a second." He looked down and saw her slowly closing her eyes.
She tried her best to keep the image of her kids in her mind and she managed to keep her eyes closed for a little while before her thoughts started to wander off and she opened her eyes.
"Thank you." She looked up and he pressed a kiss on the top of her head.
"Ready to do some packing?" She nodded and he helped her into a sitting position. "You sit and pack and tell me which clothes while I get them."
Elizabeth sat on the bed next to her suitcase and Henry handed her the clothing so she could pack. It surprised her how much memories a simple piece of clothing brought back.
She noticed her white blouse that she wore on her first day on the job. Her Harvard (just kidding) sweater that Henry had bought for her as a preset once. A shirt she had gotten from Jason on her birthday a few years ago.
It were the simple things that brought back so much positive energy and she smiled as she finished packing.
"Mom? Dad? We're home!" Stevie yelled from downstairs. Even though they still had a few more things to pack, she wanted to go downstairs and be with her kids.
Each of them gave her a hug when she managed to make it downstairs with Henry following closely behind.
"How was work?" Elizabeth asked with an interest while Henry started making dinner.
"Long." Stevie replied before collapsing on the couch.
"School?" She asked Jason and he simply shrugged his shoulders before joining his sister on the couch.
"Glad to see things going back to normal." She mumbled before walking back to the kitchen and leaning on the counter. "Can I help?"
"I could always use the company." Henry said cheesy and she rolled her eyes.
"Very nice, professor." She chuckled. "But I meant actual help."
"I got it. Go sit down." He told her and she raised her eyebrows. He knew she didn't want to be treated as an invalid and that wasn't what he had meant so he added, "To be with the kids."
Henry finished making dinner in record time and had managed to get everyone at the table. Dinner went by quite fast and everyone told them about the day they'd had.
"So what time will you be leaving tomorrow?" Alison asked her mother while clearing the table.
"Not sure. You should ask your dad." Elizabeth looked over to where Henry was standing in the kitchen with Stevie. "What are you two gossiping about?"
"None of your business." Stevie laughed as finished cleaning up as well. However, her dad had asked her to get a few things for tomorrow. He wanted it to be perfect.
Elizabeth smiled and her eye caught the clock on the microwave. She wasn't sure why but something in her mind clicked. Around this time last week she had escaped. She had only been here for a week, though fortunately it felt like much longer.
It didn't change the fact that last week she had still been locked inside. The world thinking she was dead. Her kids thinking she was gone.
Henry thinking he was a widow.
The past week had felt like heaven to her, but it had been an emotional rollercoaster. With major ups and downs, she had survived the first week. She was certain things would only be going uphill from here on.
"Mom?" She heard Jason's voice and she found her entire family staring at her with worry.
"I'm fine." She reassured them. "It's just- This time last week, I was…"
She couldn't finished her sentence but everyone knew what she had wanted to say. Alison on was the first one to get up and give her a hug, followed by Jason and Stevie until Henry put his arms around the group.
"I love you guys." She managed to get out and everyone stayed huddled together for a little while longer.
"We love you, too." Jason whispered.
"We should celebrate tonight. Your one week anniversary." Alison joked as she let go and the group hug ended.
"I'm not sure-" Henry started. He knew everyone was happy Elizabeth was back, but this might have been too much. It wasn't necessarily something worth celebrating and be reminded of.
Though, Elizabeth thought otherwise. "I like that, noodle."
"We could pop in a movie?" Stevie suggested.
"I think I've watched enough for a while. How about an old-school game night?" She suggested. They used to play board games when they lived on the farm. Ever since moving here and her job, she rarely had time.
"Yes. I'm going to destroy you in monopoly." Jason told his sisters but Henry stopped him.
"How about scrabble?" He suggested. He didn't really want a game that involved going to jail and being locked up in a time like this.
"Yes!" Elizabeth thought back about all the nights back in the day where she had played scrabble with Henry. They would order takeout and spend the entire night playing games.
"Scrabble it is." Stevie jumped up to gather the game and the rest of the family moved to the couch.
After only a few round, the first protest started. "That's not a word." Stevie told Jason.
"Says the college dropout." Stevie stuck out her tongue at her brother's witty remark.
"Oh nice!" Alison high-fived her brother.
"Settle down." Henry growled and Elizabeth laughed. She loved the family dynamic and moments like this.
In the end, Henry won which didn't surprise Elizabeth a bit. He would always win when they played and if he didn't, he let her win.
That was one of the things she loved about him. He wouldn't let her win often and she was always happy he didn't treat her like that.
"Okay mom, time for bed." Alison got up while Stevie put the game away.
"I'm not a child." Elizabeth pointed out with a smile. "And I'm certainly not yours."
"No, but I am yours." Alison replied.
"And as your kids, we'll protect you." Jason joined in.
"I'm not your responsibility." Elizabeth sighed. She didn't want her kids to feel like they needed to take care of her.
"But you are mine so off to bed." Henry nudged her a bit and she sighed as she got off the couch.
A little while later, she lay in bed with Henry beside her. She just stared at him while he stared back at her.
"What is it?" He whispered.
"Your eyes."
"What about them?"
"The way that you look at me. It makes me feel alive."
Henry frowned at the odd choice of words but then smiled. He couldn't- nor wanted to- imagine the thoughts that had gone through her mind during the past year.
"I love you, so much." Henry told her.
"I love you, too."
"May I?" She nodded and he leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. He pulled away and Elizabeth wanted that to change. She wanted them to go back to before.
Grabbing ahold of his hand, she closed her eyes while he watched over her. It didn't take long before she drifted off to sleep.
She managed to sleep through the night, though woke up the following morning from a terrible nightmare. She looked around, but didn't find Henry.
Calming herself down, she reassured herself she was safe at home and he couldn't hurt her anymore.
Her anxiety was off the charts and for a few frightening moments, this fear caused her brain to short out and everything went cold and numb and fuzzy.
These were the types of moments she really needed Henry. She wouldn't call him though, she didn't want to risk her kids seeing her like this.
She forced herself to deep breaths. Inhaling and exhaling again. She reminded herself that her family deserved to see the best part of her after this past year. Not the wrecked and broken, sad part of her that remained.
Slowly getting up, she joined her family downstairs for breakfast. She was sad to see Jason and Stevie had already left and she wished she could've said good-bye to them. She wouldn't see them for another day.
"Do you still want to go?" Henry sensed her doubts and she nodded.
"What time should we be there tomorrow?" Alison asked as she ate. She wanted to give her parents as much time as she needed.
"Before lunch?" Henry suggested and she nodded.
"Not sure we'll get Jase out of bed in the morning, but we'll try our best."
Elizabeth had finished packing her suitcase and it was now standing by the door. She had changed in jeans, despite Henry's protests, and a sweater.
"Promise you're okay with us going? We can still stay." Elizabeth bit her lip as she looked at her daughter.
"I promise. You'll see me in less than twenty-four hours."
"I love you." She wrapped her daughter tight and held on a little longer. Somehow this was hard and she was secretly glad she didn't have to say good-bye to her two other kids as well. She was certain she would've stayed home if she'd had to.
"Love you too. Bye dad." Alison shared a quick hug with her dad before waving them off.
TBC