Early one morning nearly a week later, Rae rolled out of made and ran for the bathroom.
The abrupt movement woke Spot and he lifted his head. "Rae?" he called groggily. Hearing noise from the bathroom, he rolled out of bed and stumbled toward the door, tripping over Kendra's kitten. With a yelp, he nearly fell into the wall. "Rae? Honey? Are you all right?"
"No," she said softly, hoping not to wake up Sam and Kendra.
"What's the matter? Feeling sick again?"
"Yes."
He rubbed her back comfortingly.
"I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay. It's probably about time I woke up anyway."
She rested her head on his shoulder.
He kissed the side of her head. "Feeling any better now?"
"A little."
"Are you up for breakfast, or do you want to lay back down?"
"Back to bed. I'm not sure I can handle any food right now."
Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to bed, deftly dodging the snoozing kitten, and set her in bed.
Kendra crawled out of her bed and climbed into the big bed next to Rae. Rae smiled faintly. "Hello, Kendra."
Kendra mumbled something and curled up next to Rae.
"Are you all right, sweetie?"
"Cold," she whimpered.
Pulling the blankets over Kendra, she tucked her in tightly. "Better?" Kendra nodded and yawned. With a smile, Rae kissed her forehead.
"I think she went back to sleep," Spot whispered.
With a little laugh, she nodded. "I think so too."
"Get some rest."
"I will."
"I'm going to get started on breakfast," he said, kissing her.
She nodded. "I'm sorry I can't help..."
"You can help by getting some rest."
With a smile, she nodded again. "Yes sir."
Laughing slightly, he left the room. He relished in the silence of the wee morning hours- something he knew would last only until everyone caught a whiff of breakfast. Sure enough, just a few minutes before breakfast was finished, Ann and Andy stumbled into the room
"Good morning, you two," Spot said, spooning some oatmeal into bowls and placing it on the table with brown sugar, honey, and some sliced fruits.
"Morning," Ann mumbled.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, sir."
He smiled and handed them some toast as well.
"Somebody was up early," Molly said, joining them.
"Who?" Ann asked.
"Your daddy."
"Oh... Daddy, why ARE you up so early?"
"Momma wasn't feeling good."
"Is she having the baby yet?"
He smiled. "Not for a while yet."
"But we've been waiting a real long time...."
"And you'll have to wait a while longer."
"Why do babies take so long?"
"They just do, Annie."
"But... why?"
"They just do."
"You never tell me anything..."
"We'll tell you..."
"...when I'm older," she finished.
He smiled. "Yes."
She huffed. "When will I be old enough?"
"Ask your Momma later."
She made a face. He sent her a look and she sighed in response, throwing some blueberries in her oatmeal. He ruffled her hair.
Molly smiled faintly over her oatmeal, watching them.
"I'm gonna go check on Rae," he said, leaving the room.
Ann sighed heavily. "It's no fair."
"What's not fair?" Molly asked.
"That I gotta wait 'til I'm older for everything."
"Sometimes it's better to wait."
"But why with everything?"
"You ask too many questions."
"But Miss Avery said you learn by asking questions."
"I'm not answering your questions, Annie."
She pouted.
"Sorry," Molly said, placing her bowl in the sink.
With a sigh, Ann finished eating her oatmeal. Frankly, she didn't understand why people never told her anything. As far as she knew, she was asking questions they should answer.
* * *
Spot sat on the edge of the bed and kissed Rae's forehead.
Drowsily, Rae opened one eye. "Mm?"
"Morning."
"Morning," she murmured sleepily, rolling awkwardly onto her side.
"Come with me to check on Julie?"
She nodded, clumsily pushing herself up and clomping out of bed.
Quietly, Rae opened the door. "Julie?"
There was no answer. Spot walked into the room. "Julie."
"Maybe she's still asleep?"
Spot reached down and touched her hand.
"It's.... it's cold as ice," he murmured as though purely stunned.
"You mean she's...."
"I... I think so," he said in a choked voice. Rae buried her face in her hands and began to quietly sob. He worked his mouth silently for a moment. He still couldn't believe it. "I... I'll get Chris...."
She nodded. "I'll call Molly up here," she said, heading toward the stairs.
Walking swiftly down the hall, Spot entered the kitchen, where he suspected- and was right- that Chris was sitting, eating his breakfast. "Chris..." The look on his face seemed to be enough.
Chris jumped to his feet and ran toward Julie's room. "Julie!" he shouted. "JULIE!"
Molly stood near the door of Julie's room, tears pouring down her face.
He burst passed her and into the room. "Julie!" he cried, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her limp body. "Wake up! Stop this! Come back!" He fell to his knees, crying. "You didn't even say goodbye!" Spot walked over and put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "She didn't say goodbye!"
"I'm sure she wanted to."
He fell onto his hands. "Why? Why did she have to die?!"
"She's better off, Chris," Molly said, kneeling beside him. "She was in a lot of pain for a long time."
"I know... but..." He threw his arms around her, gripping her tightly. Molly held him.
Spot turned to Rae and led her from the room. Rae's actions mirrored Chris' as she threw her arms around Spot and cried on his shoulder. "She was too young to die," she sobbed.
Spot merely hugged her tightly in return and stroked her hair.
She pulled back suddenly. "The twins..."
"Would you like me to tell them?"
She nodded.
He nodded. "I'll be back." And he strode off in search of the twins.
They were playing quietly with Sam and Kendra in the living room.
"H... hey guys, what are you four playing?"
"We're just building block towers," Andy answered.
He sighed a little. "Well... I... have some bad news."
"We heard Chris yelling," Annie said.
"Yes... well... I need to talk to you... about that."
Andy cocked his head to the side. "What to we need to talk about?"
"Do you remember how Julie was sick?" he asked, sitting next to them. They both nodded. "Well... She... she has died, this morning."
"She...she went away?"
He nodded slowly.
"Why?" Annie said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"She was very sick."
"It's not fair!"
"I know it's not.... But she's not sick or hurting anymore..."
Annie burst into tears. He hugged her tightly.
"I want Mommy," she sobbed.
He picked her up. "Let's go find her." She clung to him as they left the room.
He brought her to Rae. "She wanted to see you."
Rae sat on the edge of her bed and motioned for him to put her down. When he did so, Ann ran to her and flung her arms around Rae. Rae held her close as she sobbed.
"Don't go Momma! Don't go too!"
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart."
"You promise?" she whimpered tearfully.
"I promise, Annie."
She hugged Rae again.
"I don't feel good," Annie whispered.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?"
"My tummy hurts."
"Would you like to lay down?"
"Will...will...you stay with me?"
"Yes. Yes, I will...."
Annie curled up on the bed and laid her head in Rae's lap.
Gently she stroked Ann's hair and then looked at Spot. "Why don't you go check on Chris and Molly..."
He nodded and left the room.
Chris and Molly were still in Julie's room. Chris was near Julie's bed, holding her limp hand, while Molly stood back and watched, her face tearstained. Spot walked over and took Chris' hand, pulling him to his feet.
"What is it?"
"We need to go tell Trent..."
He dried his watering eyes. "O-okay..."
Spot turned and pulled the sheet over Julie's head. Then he turned to Chris. "Are you going to come with me?"
"I guess I can."
"Then... let's go." He looked at Molly. "Are you coming?"
She shook her head. "I'm going to go find Kendra."
With a nod, he motioned for Chris to follow him out.
The two left the house and walked down the street, each lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't long before they reached Trent's office. China was in the waiting room when they walked in.
"Hello, China," Spot said solemnly. "Is Trent in?"
"Julie?" she asked.
He nodded slightly.
"I'll get him."
"Thank you." Stepping aside, he sat in a chair against the wall and fiddled with his old cap.
Chris slumped into a chair across the room. Spot watched him for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but Trent walked in moments later.
"I don't need to guess, do I?" he asked, wiping his hands on a rag.
Spot nodded. "This morning."
He nodded solemnly. "I'll have a carriage stop at the house."
Spot sighed. "Thanks"
"You're welcome. Would you like the..." He paused and rephrased his question. "Would you like to return home and have her buried there, or would you like to make arrangements here?"
Spot turned to Chris. "What do you want?"
"I want to leave this city.... and I don't want her buried here either." There were too many bad memories here.
Spot nodded and turned to Trent. "We'll take her home and bury her there."
"All right. If you will take care of getting your family back as soon as possible, I'll make plans for Julie."
"Thanks."
Trent nodded. "Any time, you know that."
Spot sighed. "We best be getting back."
He nodded. Chris stood and followed silently.
* * *
Back at the house Rae tucked the covers tighter around Ann who had cried herself to sleep and went to check on the other children.
Andy was sitting on the couch, staring out the window, Sam had fallen asleep on the floor- too little to understand what was going on-, and Kendra sat in Molly's lap, quiet as well.
Rae sat beside Andy. "How you feeling buddy?"
"Okay, I guess..."
"I don't know about you, but I need a hug." He was silent for a moment, but then he nodded, crawled off the couch and gave her a tight hug. She held him close. "I love you Andy."
"I love you, Momma," he murmured.
Kendra squirmed out of Molly's lap and toddled over to Rae. Glancing down, Rae smiled faintly. "Hello, Kendra." She attempted to crawl into Rae's lap. With a bit of a larger smile, she reached down and picked the little girl up. Kendra cuddled up to Rae.
Kissing the top of the little girl's head, she asked, "And how are you, Miss Kendra?"
"Sad."
"Tell me."
"Julie's gone."
"Yes.... yes, she is..."
"Chris is really sad..."
"Yes... he is. We all are..."
"I don't want to be sad..."
"Then don't be. Remember her being happy."
"She was happy when I got Pape..."
She smiled. "Pape made us all happy."
"Sam made Julie happy..."
"What made both of you happy?"
"Bedtime stories."
"What else?" she asked, shifting Kendra's weight gently.
"Christmas."
"All sorts of happy memories, aren't there?"
Kendra nodded. "What happy memories do YOU have?"
"I remember when Chris and Julie came to live with us...I remember Julie helping me with you when you were just a little baby..."
"What else?" Kendra looked at her wide-eyed.
"I remember how Julie always had her nose buried in a book..." Rae looked at Andy, "I remember her scaring Andy when he was climbing on the shelf, and he fell and broke his arm..."
Kendra clung to her and rested her head on her chest. "Are we gonna go back home?"
"You'll have to ask Daddy."
She nodded. "Is he back yet?"
They heard the front door open. "I think he's back," Rae told Kendra. Crawling from her lap, she ran to the door.
Spot forced a smile and picked her up. "Hello, Kendra."
"Are we going back home now?"
He nodded. "Yes… Yes we are."
She hugged him.
"Are you glad?"
She nodded. "Can Pape go too?"
He gave a very small laugh. "Yes. Pape can come to."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He kissed her forehead. "Want to help me find everyone? We're going home tonight."
She nodded. He set her down and shooed her along and then went to go find Rae. Rae looked up when he walked into the living room. "Well... everyone. Get your things backed. We're going back to Pleasant Valley."
"How soon?" Rae asked.
"Tonight."
She nodded. "We have a lot of work to do then."
He nodded in agreement. "Trent will be by to ... to pick up Julie."
Rae bit her lip and nodded.
Shortly afterwards, Kendra toddled in with the others in tow.
"Kendra said we're going home..." Andy said.
Spot nodded. "Yes, we are. So make sure you have all of your things. We don't want to leave anything behind."
Andy nodded. "I'll go pack."
Ann looked at them curiously. "Why are we going back?
"Because we're ready to go home," Spot answered.
She frowned a little, but nodded. "I... guess I'll go pack too." And off she ran.
Molly sighed. "I'll go pack my stuff, then I'll come help you with Kendra's things."
Rae nodded. "Thank you."
Molly picked up Kendra and walked toward the bedrooms.
Rae then looked at Chris. "Are... you all right, Chris?"
He sighed. "I guess so."
Tilting her head, she said quietly, "You can talk to us if you need to, you know that right?" He nodded. Turning on his heel, he went to go pack his belongings as well.
Rae sighed and turned to Spot. "I'm worried about him..." she murmured.
He nodded. "I know... But right now there isn't much we can do..."
"All we can do is take him home, I guess."
Hugging her, he said, "We'll be fine..." She nodded. "Come on," he said, leading her down the hall. "Let's go home."
The End!
