Chapter 49

A/N Change and Adapting

Little more sadness then we get to the good stuff. Thank you to everyone that is reading and reviewing this story.

A month after her parents' deaths, Lizzy was still not handling it well. Joan was very concerned. She seemed to be withdrawing from her life. She would get up and go to school, come home and stay in her room until dinner, push her food around on her plate and then go to her room. Joan was very concerned and had even gone to the school and talked to her counselor. The school was not too concerned, she was maintaining her grades and coming to school like she was supposed to.

Joan decided to reach out to a colleague at the CIA and get her opinion. "I am really concerned about Lizzy, Susan. She is just going through the motions of her life. She won't talk to anyone, barely eats and won't come out of her room except for school and meals. I don't know what to do. What do you suggest?"

"The girl is going through classic symptoms of depression. Her parent's deaths have hit her hard. She is not dealing with it and if you don't get her some help soon, she will not be able to be pulled back from it. Depression is a deadly thing and it can lead to some pretty destructive behaviors. I will make some calls and see if I can get you a recommendation for a child psychologist," Susan told her.

"Thanks Susan, talk to you soon," Joan said and hung up. She wasn't sure how she was going to broach the subject of going to counseling with Lizzy. She really wanted to help her and this was a last resort.

A week later, Joan and Lizzy were sitting in the waiting room waiting to be called back to Dr. Melissa Williams office. Joan had finally gotten Lizzy to agree to go. She just hoped that Lizzy would engage with her therapy and get the help she so needed.

They were called back and Dr. Williams introduced herself to them. "Ok, we can do this a few different ways. I can talk to just Lizzy, or with you in the room Ms. Adams. It will be up to Lizzy. She will truly need to engage if this is going to work and she will need to be comfortable for that to happen."

Lizzy listened to her, she really didn't want to be here, but she also wanted to feel better. "I think I want to do this with just me and the Doctor," she said looking at her aunt.

Joan stood and shook her head in agreement. "I will wait on you in the waiting room."

An hour later, Lizzy walked back into the waiting room. Her face was tear stained and obviously she had been crying. Joan took her in her arms and hugged her. She knew it would be tough, but she would be there for her as much as she could be.

Right after Thanksgiving, Lizzy approached Joan with an idea. "I think I would like to go away somewhere and go to school. Maybe a boarding school of some kind. I really need to get out of here and start over. The therapy is helping, but everywhere I turn I see them. I think if I go somewhere that I am not constantly reminded of them it will help me adjust better."

Joan had not expected this at all, she thought Lizzy was getting better. Will had tucked his grief away and gone back to his life. She wondered if sending them both to a boarding school would be better for them both.

Joan talked to both of them after dinner, Lizzy really wanted to go and Will didn't care either way. He made friends easily and could adapt to anything easily.

Joan started doing research and found Houghton Hall Boarding School in Connecticut was the best boarding school in the country. She contacted them and they agreed to accept both kids starting with the spring semester. The school was an elite school. There were rich kids and kids from foreign dignitaries enrolled there. Lizzy and Will were not either, but she wanted only the best for them.

January 10th was moving day. Joan drove them there the weekend before and they stayed in a hotel. That Sunday, they met with the Dean and moved the kids into their rooms. Monday would be their first day of classes.

Lizzy was excited about her classes and making a new start. Will was looking forward to not having an adult with direct control over him all the time.

A month into classes and Lizzy was not happy. She discovered really quickly that the kids were very cliquey. You were either in the popular group or on the outside looking in. She didn't come from an uber rich family, had not traveled much and was not exposed to all of life's riches. She decided that being popular was not the most important thing and devoting herself to her studies would be her main objective.

She earned a reputation as being not cool, but super smart. She had befriended a guy named Joey. She learned that he was a Prince from Bahrain. He accepted her for who she was and they became best friends. She decided to join the Lacrosse team to try and balance out herself and to try and make some more normal friends.

Summer came and she and Will went back home. Joan was again taking a leave of absence and staying with them.

Lizzy balanced her school work with riding Buttercup and keeping her parents' memory alive in her when she was there. She missed them so much, but being there was easier as time went by. Since she was going into her Junior year, she needed to start thinking about college. She was debating on whether she wanted to go away to college or follow in her parent's footsteps and go to UVA. Her parents always talked about UVA and how much they loved it there. She would be a double legacy and would surely get in. Her grades were top notch and her counselors had told her if she continued on this path she could go anywhere she chose. Her heart was struggling with the decision, but that was a year away.

The anniversary of her parent's death was coming up and Lizzy was struggling with it. On the day she spent all day in bed just crying and missing them so much. It was still so raw and seemed like it happened just yesterday. She managed to make it to class the next day, by putting one foot in front of the other and just faking it all day. She still struggled with her depression from time to time, but her therapist had assured her that it would get better with time.

Lizzy soon found herself facing Christmas break. Will had told her at Thanksgiving that he was going skiing with friends and would not be home. Joan was overseas and would not make it back either. She decided to just stay at school and not bother going back home. She could be just as lonely by herself at school as the farm.

The second week a huge snowstorm dumped inches of snow in Connecticut. There were only a few students on campus and none in her dorm. She didn't speak to anyone for over a week. The quiet was deafening. She stayed in her room except for meals and got ahead on her Spring classes.

Summer rolled around and she spent most of it on the farm by herself. Joan was off working and Will was with this friend or that friend who knows where.

Lizzy made her college decision one afternoon while sitting by the lake reading. She had found a book in her Dad's desk and read some of the notes in it he had written. He had written with such passion and described the class it was for in such great detail. His writing convinced her that UVA was where she needed to be.

That Fall she submitted her application and essay. Her grades had her at the top of her class and she was assured by everyone that she would get in. She didn't make any official visits because she was very familiar with the campus. Her parents often took her and Will there to reminisce on their time there. Her Dad's name was on a building and her Mom had designed it, that had to be a good omen.

Lizzy decided to go home for Spring Break. She had received a letter from UVA, but wanted to wait and open it back at the farm. She walked out and sat on the swing her Dad had made for her Mom. She remembered her telling her the story of the swing and often seeing her Dad pushing her Mom on the swing on warm evenings.

She opened the letter and read Dear Ms. Adams it is with great joy that we inform you that you have been accepted into the fall class at UVA. We also wanted to inform you that you have been awarded the University President's Scholarship. You will receive full tuition, board and books for your duration at the University. Congratulations and Welcome to the world of the Wahoos.

Lizzy jumped up and whooped loudly. She was so proud and she knew her parents would be too. She called her Uncle Eric and told him. He told her how proud he was of her and assured her that her parents would be overjoyed with the news. Hearing that from him only affirmed her decision was the right one.

She went back to school and with diligence and more hard work she graduated Valedictorian. Top of her class. She smiled walking across the stage with her diploma in her hand.

She packed her room and headed home for the summer. Once she arrived on the farm, she saddled up Buttercup and rode out to the lake. She wanted to tell her parents about graduating top of her class and deciding to accept admittance to UVA. She had worked very hard and her parents being proud of her was what kept her going and keeping her nose to the grindstone. She hoped they were as happy as she was to continue the family legacy at their alma mater.