By the time Alex was pulling into the driveway, the others had already arrived, as both garage doors were open, and Erin gave a small smile to see that Penelope had waited for them to arrive. From the look on her face, it was as if she knew something that Erin and Alex didn't. As soon as the car was in park, the younger woman was hurrying over to the passenger door and opening it for Erin. "You two really did drive slow! We've been home for an hour already. Grant went home to crash in his own bed, which is understandable, but now…"

"Now?" Erin asked as Penelope led her inside by her hand, and from the grip she had, Erin knew that she wouldn't be able to pull it free. "Penelope?"

"Welcome home, Mom!"

The sound of her children's voices overwhelmed her senses, and she blinked rapidly to try and not cry. She didn't want her first look at her children in nearly two years to be clouded by tears, even if she knew that she was fighting a losing battle. "Darlings, come here," she managed to choke out as she opened her arms to them. Tabitha was the first to run over to her side, hugging her tightly as she buried her face in the crook of her neck, the first sobs slipping out of her mouth as her brother and sister joined Tabitha in the hug. The embrace was enough to get her to start crying, and she looked over Tabitha's shoulders to see that James and Alex were tearing up as well.

"I think that I'm going to order pizza for us all, since I really don't feel in the mood for cooking tonight. Is that all right, everyone?"

A chorus of yeses answered James, and then Erin was disentangling herself from her children's arms. "It is so good to feel you again, darlings. But how about we head into the living room so that we can talk while we're a little more comfortable."

"I'll bring drinks in a few minutes, Erin," Alex said, and she gave her friend a grateful smile as she nodded.

By the time they settled in the living room, Erin was starting to feel a little overwhelmed at all the attention being focused on her, and she fought to keep from drawing in on herself, knowing that her children would want to have her full attention. "It's okay, Mama," Karen whispered in her ear before snuggling in close to her side. "Tabby, why don't you start out by telling how you placed first in your last riding competition?"

"Of course! Lexie and James were there, and so was Penelope, and it was so nice to have people supporting me, even though I wanted you there."

"I'll be at your next one, Tabby girl, I promise. Nothing could keep me away from that, nothing." Reaching out, she stroked Tabitha's hair lightly, grateful for the fact that she had left out the fact that David had been at that show as well. "I did get to see a few of your previous competitions. John, well, he wanted to try and get in my good graces, so he would go and record them with his phone. The quality wasn't the best, but I still was able to see you ride, and that made my heart so happy."

"I'm glad, Mama. I was always riding for you, since I knew how much you loved watching me. My teacher said that she couldn't believe how much I improved after we found out that you were still alive. I couldn't tell her the reason, but I was glad that the improvement was there."

Erin nodded as she looked over at her son. "And how did you carry on without me, Brucie?"

"I decided that I want to be a doctor, like James. I want to try and save as many people as possible, so that families don't have to experience our initial sorrow. James even said that he'll help me choose the right AP classes for the next two years, along with which colleges I should apply to that have a good pre-med track."

"That's my smart boy. I know that you'll be able to do anything that you put your mind to."

"We learned that from you, Mama. Because you defeated your demon, and then managed to rescue yourself from John and David. And I've decided that maybe I don't want to be a psychiatrist. I know that that's what I kept telling you I was going to be, but I want to explore my wildest dream."

"Does that mean you're going to pursue music?" Karen nodded before turning her head into Erin's shoulder. "Oh, my angel baby, that is nothing to be ashamed of. I am so proud that you are going to explore what you love, because that's all I've ever wanted for you children. I don't know how much financial support I'll be able to give you, but I'm assuming that there are probably some good scholarships out there for stories like ours."

"And there's the money that Dad got for the sale of your house. It's been divided into thirds and put into trust funds for us, to be used for college or a house. You won't have to worry about providing for us right away. And Dad said that he won't tell us not to be with you, if that's what you want." Karen sighed deeply, and rubbed her cheek against Erin's shoulder. "Once you've found a new house, if you want us, he even said that we could live with you permanently, and he'll provide for us all. Tiffany might not like that, since she expects Dad to be hers and hers alone, but he said that your happiness comes first."

Erin drew in a deep breath as she nodded, a bit overwhelmed at Alan's largesse. "That's, that's amazing. I'll have to think of a way to thank him," she whispered as Alex entered the living room, a tray in her hands. "Oh, you remembered that I love apple juice."

"I did. There's also water if you don't want juice, kiddos."

"Thanks, Lexie," Tabitha said as she got to her feet and helped Alex pour out the drinks, handing them around to the others. "So, I think that we need to hear about your time in the Academy together. Because James hinted at a little of it, but you were always quick to clam up."

Alex arched an eyebrow as she settled into a chair close to the fireplace. "I don't know, Erin. What do you think? Are your children prepared to hear about the antics we got up to while there?"

She laughed a little before shrugging. "Maybe some of the tamer stories would be appropriate. We wouldn't want to tell them about the time that we borrowed our gun instructor's hat and used it as target practice when he said that girls weren't as good of shots as men were."

"What? Hadn't he seen you shoot before?" Bruce blurted out, and she smiled as she shook her head.

"No, I wasn't quite as good then as I am now…"

"That is a damn lie, and you know it, Erin. You have always been an amazing shot, and I would love to have you go up against JJ sometime, after you've recuperated a little. And I was the one that stole the hat. You were the one that put a hole in it dead center from five hundred feet away. Mister Lovell had nothing to say after that, though he did treat us with a lot more respect." Everyone chuckled a little as Alex launched into another story, and Erin gave her a grateful smile as she started to stroke Karen's hair, drinking in the togetherness of this moment.