Eric cradled Taylor's limp body to his as he slowly rocked back in forth.
He remembered everything; Taylor, his children, the attack… everything. Now he was going to lose the one person that had made his life worth living… the reason he went off on the mission in the first place.
He stopped rocking and rested her head in his lap, gently running his hand over her cheeks, all the while holding her protectively.
The other rangers watched as Sky and Ani tentatively made their way to their parents.
Sirens could be heard as an SGA vehicle pulled up. Sky and Ani turned and saw their brothers emerge from the vehicle.
Collin stopped in his tracks as he saw his father holding his injured mother. Without another word, he grabbed his medical bag and ran over to them.
Eric heard running footsteps and immediately held Taylor to his chest.
"Get away!" he screamed when Collin stopped.
Collin took a deep breath and bent down to him. "Pop, please… I can help her," he said gently.
Eric raised his head and was struck dumb for a moment. In front of him was no longer the nine year old he remembered.
"Collin?" he questioned as he looked at the smaller version of himself. Collin smiled weakly and placed his hand on his arm.
"Yeah," he managed to get out. Eric, still in a bit of shock, lowered Taylor to the ground and watched as Collin checked her vital signs.
Lucas watched with a dull expression. "I… I can't," he said as he turned away and headed towards the road.
Eric raised his head and saw the retreating figure. Lucas stopped as a feeling of extreme concern filled him. His heart sank the instant he realized it was his father reaching out to him. Slowly he turned his head and locked eyes with the man he thought of as the person who abandoned him and his family all those years ago.
For several years Lucas harbored a deep feeling of betrayal towards his father. He was so young when he left, and he had promised to return but hadn't. The feeling coming from Eric was too intense for him and he found himself running towards his father, passed his older siblings and landing in Eric's embrace in tears.
Eric was caught a bit off guard by the tall blonde haired young man running towards him, but he had known the moment their eyes met that Lucas had grown up… he felt him shake a bit as he sobbed into his shoulder.
He placed a hand on his youngest son's back and held him. "It's okay Lucky," he said softly. Lucas pulled away and Eric smiled slightly.
Ani and Sky regained their senses and ran over to their family. They turned first to their mother, as Eric had his hands full with Lucas.
"Coll?" Ani asked as she held her mother's hand. Collin placed his equipment back in his bag.
"She's ok. Just weak. We need to get her home to rest… I think Pop would know better how to help her than we would."
At the mention of his name, Eric turned his head and felt tears come to his eyes as he really and truly got a good look at his family for the first time in almost ten years. Ani and Sky both had grown into strong adults, and rangers to boot. Collin and Lucas were literal mirror images of himself and Taylor… at the thought of his wife he turned back and saw her eyes open slightly.
Her head was pounding, but out of the clutter in her mind, she registered that her family was around her… all of them.
Eric saw her eyes open and immediately took her other hand. "I told you I'd find a way back," he said softly. The children watched as he leaned in and kissed her softly. Taylor smiled slightly before her eyes closed again.
He looked to his children. "I think it's time we all went home," he said. They all nodded as their bodies worked on their own; their minds a mess of emotions.
Sydney made her way over to them and stopped Sky. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked gently.
Sky nodded his head and kissed her forehead. "I'll call you guys later," he said as he got into the SGA truck with his family…
A short time later, Sky, Ani, Collin, and Lucas were sitting in their living room, waiting for their father to come down. They all had watched as their father carried their mother up to her bedroom.
The kids sat motionless. They really weren't sure how to approach their father after all this time. How would he react? Would he push away from them after being gone for so long? Would he be the same father they all remembered?
Eric slowly descended the stairs and looked at his children. They all noticed that his face had aged and his hair had a few subtle streaks of gray, but besides that, he was the same person they remembered. He walked towards them and stopped.
Slowly, he opened his arms to them, and all four of his children immediately recognized the gesture from when they were younger, and jumped into his arms. All four of them immediately burst into tears. They really had their father back.
Eric held his brood of children and thanked the powers that be that he was home with them. After all that had happened today, he really hadn't had a chance to talk to them about everything.
"Thank God," Ani sniffed as they all broke away. "We knew you weren't gone papa."
Eric placed his hand on her cheek. "Animaria, you've grown so much," he said softly. "All of you have," he said to his sons. One by one, each of them hugged him in turn, receiving words of comfort they had longed to hear.
They spent the majority of the day talking, and before they knew it, night had fallen, but they didn't notice. Eric swelled with pride as he heard everything his children had accomplished.
Ani being promoted, Sky's accomplishments at the academy, Collin's dream to become a doctor, and Lucas's involvement in the Guardians. He had missed so much, and he wished he could have gotten the time he missed back.
Eric, in return, told them everything that had happened to him in the years he had been gone. How Grumm had made him believe he was someone else, and how Ani and Sky had triggered his memory somewhat.
They talked about anything and everything that they had wanted to know. "I'm so sorry you guys," Eric said after a while. "The entire mission was supposed to keep you safe. I went to make sure you all would be protected… I promised to come back and I didn't…"
Lucas placed his hand on his arm. "We know why you did what you did Pop," he said. "Mum told us everything… you were always our hero, even before you left."
Eric looked to Sky. "He's right. We've always wanted to be just like you."
"And when you put us over yourself, we all knew we wanted to be just like you," Ani put in.
"Keeping the family safe," Collin finished. Eric smiled. They all had a piece of him in them, and they had just affirmed that…
More time passed as they caught up, and soon Lucas was falling asleep. Eric grinned.
"He was never a night owl," he said. He looked to the twins. "Unlike you two… you would stay up all night."
"If I remember correctly, Collin kept us up several nights," Sky said in defense.
"He had his moments, but he usually went to sleep as soon as your mother," he paused as he thought of Taylor upstairs. "As soon as your mother calmed him down," he said softly.
Ani and Sky saw the look of pain in his eyes.
"Pop, it wasn't your fault she got hurt today," Ani said gently. Eric smiled a little.
"Your mother would've said the same thing," he replied. Lucas snored slightly. "I think we should all go to bed. Talk more in the morning." The kids all stood up. Ani lightly nudged Lucas, snapping him awake instantly.
"Where is he?" he asked alarmed as he sat up. Eric placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm right here," he said. "I'm not going anywhere." Lucas smiled sleepily as Eric put his arm around his shoulders. Silently, they all walked upstairs. Eric walked his children to their rooms and hugged them all goodnight before retiring to his room.
In his rush to help Taylor, he really hadn't stopped to look around the house to see if anything had changed. As he walked up the short flight of stairs into he and Taylor's suite, he smiled as he saw all the baby pictures of their children.
They varied form infancy, to elementary school. Ani in a soccer uniform, Sky playing baseball, Collin reading a book, and Lucas standing outside the SGA building in his junior Guardians uniform.
He took a deep breath and walked into the large room. Taylor was still lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. He walked around the dimly lit room and saw the arrangement of pictures on the mantle above their fireplace.
Their wedding picture, Wes and Jen's wedding picture, Alec and Katie, Melanie… then there were four large frames, each with a center picture of each of his children with smaller pictures surrounding it.
As he looked closer, it was like a chronological order of their pictures from kindergarten up until their graduation from the academies they attended. He grinned at the lost teeth, different hairstyles, and clothes.
The picture that he found himself stuck on though was one of all four of them out by their pool. Each child was dressed in casual attire in light shades of blue, white, red, and yellow.
He turned when he heard a sharp intake of breath coming from the bed. He walked over and lay down with his wife.
Taylor naturally turned into his embrace and he felt her weight settle back into his arms. How many nights had he dreamed of this? Holding her against him, feeling her body pressed to his…
She felt his arms wrap around her and instantly opened her eyes. She felt him kiss her forehead and smiled.
"I must be dreaming," she whispered. Eric sighed happily.
"You're not," he said calmly. "I'm home Taylor…"