Knowing You Belong
Spoilers: anything and everything from season 1-8.
The sisters bond.
****
The perfect, clear afternoon had given way to a dark, dreary evening. The rain had begun to fall heavily when Rachel got back to Elizabeth's after her unexpected visit with Susan. According to the weather forecaster, the greater Chicago area was to expect thunderstorms all throughout the night. Rachel quickly changed out of her wet jeans and damp green oxford style top, and into a pair of gray jogging pants and a black tank top. Comfortable at last, she quickly put some soup on the stove to cook, and prepared to engage herself in a textbook Dr. Carter had instructed her to read.
After reading the first two chapters and finishing her dinner, she found it difficult to stay alert. Those things, combined with the steady pounding of rain hitting the roof, quickly lulled her into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. That was until the phone rang.
She awoke with a bit of a start, not quite knowing where she was. She pulled herself together in time to run and grab the phone and answer it before the machine picked up.
"Hello?"
"Rachel, it's Elizabeth. Is everything all right?" The British woman recognized that her stepdaughter was out of breath.
"Yeah, I just fell asleep. What's up?"
"Listen, I know that you were planning on studying tonight, but Ella's friend, Sophie's father just called me, and told me that his mother was just put in the hospital in Ohio, and they are having to drive out there. Anyway, Ella has to go home. Do you mind watching her?"
"Not at all. Do I need to go get her?"
"No, they were dropping her off on the way, if that was okay with you. If not they were going to drop her off here."
"No. It's fine really."
"All right. I'm going to call them back and let them know. Thanks Rachel."
"No problem."
****
The rain was coming down in torrents when Rachel saw headlights out the front window. She opened the door, and stepped out onto the porch, to assist her little sister get her stuff inside. Ella ran from the friend's SUV as quickly as possible, but was still drenched by the time she got to the porch. Rachel waved to the family to signal that Ella had made it. They quickly backed out of the driveway and started down the suburban road.
"Hey, El, you're soaked!"
"Well, it's raining, duh!"
Both girls smiled at each other, and began to laugh. It was strange the way that they had gotten along so well since Rachel's return. They hardly knew each other, but they shared a bond that neither of them could explain.
Ella scurried up the stairs to change into some dry pajamas. When she got half way up the stairs, the light flickered, but quickly came back on. The twelve year old, strawberry blonde stopped momentarily, but continued to her room when the lights had settled down.
Rachel's innate sense of survival caused her to go and locate candles, matches and flash lights just in case the power did go off. She then grabbed a portable, battery powered radio, and found a box of spare batteries. After putting all of her findings in the den, she flipped on the television to catch the 10:00 news.
" Much of Chicago is at a stand-still at this hour. The El Train has been grounded due to debris on the track, subsequently leaving many people stranded in coffee shops and workplaces. There is a Thunderstorm warning for most of our viewing area, and authorities are advising the public to stay inside, and do not try to get out in this very dangerous, very deadly weather situation. For more on this developing story, we go to Roseanne Wilcox in the weather center. Roseanne."
"Thank You, Ben. This Canadian storm system moved in about three hours ago, and it simply doesn't seem to be going anywhere. It only seems to be intensifying and stalling. The Chicago Metropolitan area should expect six to eight inches of rain in the next five to seven hours. You should expect lots of wind as well, and possibly even a little bit of hail. The counties that are currently under thunderstorm warnings are Cook, D-"
With that, the house went completely dark.
"Rachel!"
Rachel heard her sister yell from upstairs, and quickly grabbed the flashlight.
"El, I've got the flash light. Where are you?"
"I'm in my bathroom, and I can't find my tooth brush."
"Okay, stay there. I'm coming."
She laughed to herself at how silly her little sister could be. She carefully found her way up the stairs, and into the bathroom. After finding the toothbrush, Rachel held the light so that Ella could finish getting ready for bed.
"Hey Rachel?"
"Yeah?"
"Do I really have to go to bed now?"
The older girl thought about this for a minute. "Uhhh, no, I think Elizabeth will understand. Come on, let's go back down stairs."
The two girls followed the single beam of light back to the den, where Ella plopped on the couch, and Rachel sat on the floor and began to light the candles that she had placed on the coffee table. She then turned on the radio and began to search for a weather report.
She found a report on the local oldies station, and then grabbed a blanket and sat in the overstuffed recliner. A thought crossed her mind.
"Hey El?"
"What?" The younger girl heard mischief in her sister's voice, and saw the same emotion expressed on her face in the glow of the candles.
"You know that there are two big tubs of ice cream in the freezer that are melting as we speak. Last one there-"
Both were off and running as she said this. Rachel grabbed the spoons, Ella pulled out the cartons of Cherry Garcia and the Double Dutch Fudge. Ella pulled a spoon out of Rachel's hand and took off with the Cherry, and Rachel in turn grabbed the fudge and followed Ella back to the den.
"I already brushed my teeth! Mom would be furious!"
"Well, I'm in charge tonight, and I say that one night of sugar splurging won't hurt you a bit! Besides, there is no telling when the electricity is coming back on, and it would be a shame to let all this ice cream go to waste."
Both laughed hysterically, and continued engulfing the cold sweet dessert, until Rachel decided to continue the conversation.
"This is nice, you know. I finally feel like I actually have a sister. I've missed that since I've been gone."
"Well it's fun for me cause I never really knew what it felt like, and now I do. I like having an older sister."
"Because of the ice cream?"
"Well, that may have something to do with it. But, it's something else too. I can't exactly explain what it is."
"I know what you mean."
Both were in silent thought as they ate their ice cream.
"Rachel, can you tell me about him?"
"Who?"
"Dad. I hear about him all the time, from Mom or the other doctors in the hospital. But they don't ever tell me what I want to know. They only knew him as a husband or a friend or whatever, but not as a father. You're the only one who knows what that felt like."
Rachel was surprised at the way her little sister had said this. It was obvious that she had thought a lot about it, and she sounded wise beyond her years. After a minute of taking the question in, Rachel took a deep breath and began to answer.
"Well, um, my relationship with Dad was strained when he and my Mom got divorced when I was five. Honestly, that is one of my earliest vivid memories. I don't remember much before that. We were in the doctor's lounge at County, and he told me that they weren't going to be living in the same house any more. I was angry with him for a long time. Mom and I moved, and I got to stay with him every other weekend during school and a month in the summer. I got older and adjusted to the situation, and Dad and I began to get along great. Then he started dating your mother."
"How old were you?"
"Around ten, maybe eleven. I remember the first time I met Elizabeth. It was Thanksgiving. She opened the door, and she was wearing one of those table decoration paper hats."
"No way!"
"Uh-huh. Honest. Ask her. I guess I never treated your Mom very well when I was your age, but it only got worse as I got older. I guess I was always bitter because Dad was with someone besides my mother. But I can understand why they split up. No one can get along with my mother. In fact, when I was fourteen, I ran away from St. Louis, and came back here to Chicago because I was angry at her."
"So I was two then."
"Yeah, almost. But that didn't turn out very well, either. I, um, I don't know what all your mother has told you about that time in our lives. Dad was in remission from the first brain tumor, and I had gotten in with a bad group of people at school. I had been doing drugs, and drinking and lots of other stuff I knew I shouldn't be doing. I knew that it was hurting dad, but I was a careless person. So careless in fact that, I almost, um-"
Rachel paused, knowing what came next in the story. She didn't know how Ella would react to the fact that she had almost died because of her sister's stupidity. And that she also almost caused her parents to split up.
"Go on."
" I almost got arrested," Rachel covered. She couldn't tell her. Not now. "So then Dad's tumor returned. He decided to stop treatment. He wanted to get the most out of the time had left. He wanted to get me back on a better path for myself, so he took me to where he grew up. Hawaii. We spent several weeks there. He tried to teach me to drive, insisted that we go to all these places he went to as a kid, and I thought it was so lame. I knew he was sick, but I had no idea that he was as sick as he was. He had a seizure on the beach one day, and I called Elizabeth, and the two of you were out there the very next day."
"Didn't he die there? In Hawaii?"
"Yes. He spent the next week or so getting worse and worse. It was physically hard for him to hold you, but he insisted on doing that as much as he could. I realized by then that his time was almost up, but I didn't want to accept it. Finally one night, it became obvious that it was almost over, and I went up to his room to see him, with a little bit of prodding from Elizabeth. It was the last time we ever talked."
"What did he say to you?"
Rachel smiled, trying desperately to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
"I don't think he meant for it to be just for me. I think it was for both of us. He said 'Be generous.' He meant with time and love, not money. It's what I've tried to live by since then."
"And his funeral?"
"We flew back to Chicago, and had the funeral about four days later. It was nice, you know. I don't really remember what was said, I just remember the people. Of course Mom and Elizabeth and you and I were there, but so was most of the hospital. Dr. Carter, Dr. Benton, Dr. Weaver, Dr. Romano, Dr. Chen, Dr. Finch, Dr. Pratt, Dr. Gallant, Dr. Kovac, Abby, Heleh. I remember sitting in the limo afterwards, asking Elizabeth if I could come to see you. She said of course, because you were my sister, but nothing ever worked out. I spent a lot of the next few weeks thinking about him, and I never really stopped, but I came to the conclusion that he was really a wonderful man. And he was generous, selfless, kind, hard-working, amazing man."
"I wish I had known him." Ella's voice cracked slightly as she said this.
"Hey, don't start that," Rachel said, internally forcing herself to keep control. She got out of her chair and sat down beside her sister. She gently wrapped an arm around the younger girl. "That's not what he wanted. He wanted us to smile when we think of him. Trust me."
"Rachel thanks. For telling me all of this."
"No problem. I'll tell you more anytime you want. Okay?"
Ella nodded, and lay her head down on Rachel's shoulder, and was soon sleeping peacefully.
Rachel silently decided that she had to tell Ella the truth, but she wasn't sure exactly how she could ever do that.
****
****PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!! ****
I really want to hear what you think of "Knowing You Belong" so far.
Spoilers: anything and everything from season 1-8.
The sisters bond.
****
The perfect, clear afternoon had given way to a dark, dreary evening. The rain had begun to fall heavily when Rachel got back to Elizabeth's after her unexpected visit with Susan. According to the weather forecaster, the greater Chicago area was to expect thunderstorms all throughout the night. Rachel quickly changed out of her wet jeans and damp green oxford style top, and into a pair of gray jogging pants and a black tank top. Comfortable at last, she quickly put some soup on the stove to cook, and prepared to engage herself in a textbook Dr. Carter had instructed her to read.
After reading the first two chapters and finishing her dinner, she found it difficult to stay alert. Those things, combined with the steady pounding of rain hitting the roof, quickly lulled her into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. That was until the phone rang.
She awoke with a bit of a start, not quite knowing where she was. She pulled herself together in time to run and grab the phone and answer it before the machine picked up.
"Hello?"
"Rachel, it's Elizabeth. Is everything all right?" The British woman recognized that her stepdaughter was out of breath.
"Yeah, I just fell asleep. What's up?"
"Listen, I know that you were planning on studying tonight, but Ella's friend, Sophie's father just called me, and told me that his mother was just put in the hospital in Ohio, and they are having to drive out there. Anyway, Ella has to go home. Do you mind watching her?"
"Not at all. Do I need to go get her?"
"No, they were dropping her off on the way, if that was okay with you. If not they were going to drop her off here."
"No. It's fine really."
"All right. I'm going to call them back and let them know. Thanks Rachel."
"No problem."
****
The rain was coming down in torrents when Rachel saw headlights out the front window. She opened the door, and stepped out onto the porch, to assist her little sister get her stuff inside. Ella ran from the friend's SUV as quickly as possible, but was still drenched by the time she got to the porch. Rachel waved to the family to signal that Ella had made it. They quickly backed out of the driveway and started down the suburban road.
"Hey, El, you're soaked!"
"Well, it's raining, duh!"
Both girls smiled at each other, and began to laugh. It was strange the way that they had gotten along so well since Rachel's return. They hardly knew each other, but they shared a bond that neither of them could explain.
Ella scurried up the stairs to change into some dry pajamas. When she got half way up the stairs, the light flickered, but quickly came back on. The twelve year old, strawberry blonde stopped momentarily, but continued to her room when the lights had settled down.
Rachel's innate sense of survival caused her to go and locate candles, matches and flash lights just in case the power did go off. She then grabbed a portable, battery powered radio, and found a box of spare batteries. After putting all of her findings in the den, she flipped on the television to catch the 10:00 news.
" Much of Chicago is at a stand-still at this hour. The El Train has been grounded due to debris on the track, subsequently leaving many people stranded in coffee shops and workplaces. There is a Thunderstorm warning for most of our viewing area, and authorities are advising the public to stay inside, and do not try to get out in this very dangerous, very deadly weather situation. For more on this developing story, we go to Roseanne Wilcox in the weather center. Roseanne."
"Thank You, Ben. This Canadian storm system moved in about three hours ago, and it simply doesn't seem to be going anywhere. It only seems to be intensifying and stalling. The Chicago Metropolitan area should expect six to eight inches of rain in the next five to seven hours. You should expect lots of wind as well, and possibly even a little bit of hail. The counties that are currently under thunderstorm warnings are Cook, D-"
With that, the house went completely dark.
"Rachel!"
Rachel heard her sister yell from upstairs, and quickly grabbed the flashlight.
"El, I've got the flash light. Where are you?"
"I'm in my bathroom, and I can't find my tooth brush."
"Okay, stay there. I'm coming."
She laughed to herself at how silly her little sister could be. She carefully found her way up the stairs, and into the bathroom. After finding the toothbrush, Rachel held the light so that Ella could finish getting ready for bed.
"Hey Rachel?"
"Yeah?"
"Do I really have to go to bed now?"
The older girl thought about this for a minute. "Uhhh, no, I think Elizabeth will understand. Come on, let's go back down stairs."
The two girls followed the single beam of light back to the den, where Ella plopped on the couch, and Rachel sat on the floor and began to light the candles that she had placed on the coffee table. She then turned on the radio and began to search for a weather report.
She found a report on the local oldies station, and then grabbed a blanket and sat in the overstuffed recliner. A thought crossed her mind.
"Hey El?"
"What?" The younger girl heard mischief in her sister's voice, and saw the same emotion expressed on her face in the glow of the candles.
"You know that there are two big tubs of ice cream in the freezer that are melting as we speak. Last one there-"
Both were off and running as she said this. Rachel grabbed the spoons, Ella pulled out the cartons of Cherry Garcia and the Double Dutch Fudge. Ella pulled a spoon out of Rachel's hand and took off with the Cherry, and Rachel in turn grabbed the fudge and followed Ella back to the den.
"I already brushed my teeth! Mom would be furious!"
"Well, I'm in charge tonight, and I say that one night of sugar splurging won't hurt you a bit! Besides, there is no telling when the electricity is coming back on, and it would be a shame to let all this ice cream go to waste."
Both laughed hysterically, and continued engulfing the cold sweet dessert, until Rachel decided to continue the conversation.
"This is nice, you know. I finally feel like I actually have a sister. I've missed that since I've been gone."
"Well it's fun for me cause I never really knew what it felt like, and now I do. I like having an older sister."
"Because of the ice cream?"
"Well, that may have something to do with it. But, it's something else too. I can't exactly explain what it is."
"I know what you mean."
Both were in silent thought as they ate their ice cream.
"Rachel, can you tell me about him?"
"Who?"
"Dad. I hear about him all the time, from Mom or the other doctors in the hospital. But they don't ever tell me what I want to know. They only knew him as a husband or a friend or whatever, but not as a father. You're the only one who knows what that felt like."
Rachel was surprised at the way her little sister had said this. It was obvious that she had thought a lot about it, and she sounded wise beyond her years. After a minute of taking the question in, Rachel took a deep breath and began to answer.
"Well, um, my relationship with Dad was strained when he and my Mom got divorced when I was five. Honestly, that is one of my earliest vivid memories. I don't remember much before that. We were in the doctor's lounge at County, and he told me that they weren't going to be living in the same house any more. I was angry with him for a long time. Mom and I moved, and I got to stay with him every other weekend during school and a month in the summer. I got older and adjusted to the situation, and Dad and I began to get along great. Then he started dating your mother."
"How old were you?"
"Around ten, maybe eleven. I remember the first time I met Elizabeth. It was Thanksgiving. She opened the door, and she was wearing one of those table decoration paper hats."
"No way!"
"Uh-huh. Honest. Ask her. I guess I never treated your Mom very well when I was your age, but it only got worse as I got older. I guess I was always bitter because Dad was with someone besides my mother. But I can understand why they split up. No one can get along with my mother. In fact, when I was fourteen, I ran away from St. Louis, and came back here to Chicago because I was angry at her."
"So I was two then."
"Yeah, almost. But that didn't turn out very well, either. I, um, I don't know what all your mother has told you about that time in our lives. Dad was in remission from the first brain tumor, and I had gotten in with a bad group of people at school. I had been doing drugs, and drinking and lots of other stuff I knew I shouldn't be doing. I knew that it was hurting dad, but I was a careless person. So careless in fact that, I almost, um-"
Rachel paused, knowing what came next in the story. She didn't know how Ella would react to the fact that she had almost died because of her sister's stupidity. And that she also almost caused her parents to split up.
"Go on."
" I almost got arrested," Rachel covered. She couldn't tell her. Not now. "So then Dad's tumor returned. He decided to stop treatment. He wanted to get the most out of the time had left. He wanted to get me back on a better path for myself, so he took me to where he grew up. Hawaii. We spent several weeks there. He tried to teach me to drive, insisted that we go to all these places he went to as a kid, and I thought it was so lame. I knew he was sick, but I had no idea that he was as sick as he was. He had a seizure on the beach one day, and I called Elizabeth, and the two of you were out there the very next day."
"Didn't he die there? In Hawaii?"
"Yes. He spent the next week or so getting worse and worse. It was physically hard for him to hold you, but he insisted on doing that as much as he could. I realized by then that his time was almost up, but I didn't want to accept it. Finally one night, it became obvious that it was almost over, and I went up to his room to see him, with a little bit of prodding from Elizabeth. It was the last time we ever talked."
"What did he say to you?"
Rachel smiled, trying desperately to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
"I don't think he meant for it to be just for me. I think it was for both of us. He said 'Be generous.' He meant with time and love, not money. It's what I've tried to live by since then."
"And his funeral?"
"We flew back to Chicago, and had the funeral about four days later. It was nice, you know. I don't really remember what was said, I just remember the people. Of course Mom and Elizabeth and you and I were there, but so was most of the hospital. Dr. Carter, Dr. Benton, Dr. Weaver, Dr. Romano, Dr. Chen, Dr. Finch, Dr. Pratt, Dr. Gallant, Dr. Kovac, Abby, Heleh. I remember sitting in the limo afterwards, asking Elizabeth if I could come to see you. She said of course, because you were my sister, but nothing ever worked out. I spent a lot of the next few weeks thinking about him, and I never really stopped, but I came to the conclusion that he was really a wonderful man. And he was generous, selfless, kind, hard-working, amazing man."
"I wish I had known him." Ella's voice cracked slightly as she said this.
"Hey, don't start that," Rachel said, internally forcing herself to keep control. She got out of her chair and sat down beside her sister. She gently wrapped an arm around the younger girl. "That's not what he wanted. He wanted us to smile when we think of him. Trust me."
"Rachel thanks. For telling me all of this."
"No problem. I'll tell you more anytime you want. Okay?"
Ella nodded, and lay her head down on Rachel's shoulder, and was soon sleeping peacefully.
Rachel silently decided that she had to tell Ella the truth, but she wasn't sure exactly how she could ever do that.
****
****PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!! ****
I really want to hear what you think of "Knowing You Belong" so far.