Crash And Burn – Part 2

The two days after news broke of the life-changing plane crash passed in a blur of keeping the promise to take care of his mother. Marie was in such a state that when Clay sensed the presence hovering over his bed in the early hours of Sunday morning, he wasn't even surprised anymore. "You're turning tables here, Ma," he joked half-heartedly, stifling a yawn as he sat up. "Good thing you didn't trip over one of the boxes." She couldn't do more than give him that terrifying numb stare that had been on her face for the better part of two days. "Can't sleep again?"

"I'm sorry," she sighed; "the bed…it's too big for me now. And when I do close my eyes, I just see that explosion, over and over."

"Don't be sorry," he said softly, pulling her down to sit beside him on the edge of his bed. "I see it too." His arms circled around her and squeezed hard. "Everyone will be here tomorrow, Lily and Tuney, and Uncle Jon's whole family. Granny and Pops will need you to be well-rested, right? I can't think of anything worse than outliving your kid."

"It feels impossible," she said quaveringly. "I should be tougher than this, but I just don't know how."

"How can anyone be tough right now?" he interrupted. "This is Dad we're talking about; nothing is ever going to be the same from now on." Her hands were freezing when he gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze, and Clay wondered in his half-asleep state if that was because her heart was keeping all the blood to itself, pumping with sheer undying and devastating love. "Hey, we're gonna be okay, I promise."

"You're more like him than you know, sweetheart." The grief in her eyes contradicted the tender sincerity, and when Marie touched his cheek, Clay just leaned into the contact and tried not to see the pain all over her face. "Thank you for being so brave."

"I'm not that brave," he whispered, the words getting stuck behind a painful lump in his throat. "I just made a promise. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, my darling. Even now, when thinking and feeling anything hurts, I am so proud of you. Duke is going to be so very fortunate in a few weeks."

"Maybe," Clay mumbled dubiously, too exhausted to even think about leaving home right then. "How about we both crash in your bed? Screw growing up, nightmares love company."

"That is a wonderful idea," she said fervently and pulled him to his feet. Together they picked their way around the precariously piled packing cases and moved across the hall to the master bedroom. The sheets still smelled like his father, and at the strong surge of emotions, Clay almost regretted his suggestion. But then Marie gave his hand a grateful squeeze, and when she never let go, he knew why he had done it, all part of the promise kept.

The next day, Petunia caught the same taxi from the airport as her twin sister Lily. She nabbed the front seat but spent the entire ride to their childhood home glowering through the rear-view mirror at the redhead dozing on James' shoulder in the backseat. Despite the tragic circumstances bringing them home, the green-eyed blonde had room in her gut for burning jealousy of her sister's life. Her eyes darted to the dark-haired toddler perched on James' lap, tugging happily on his fingers. "Ma," the one-year-old babbled, poking Lily before he could stop her.

"Lulu, no!" James hissed, but it was too late. "Sorry, love," he grimaced when Lily jerked awake; "this one obviously loves your hair as much as I do."

"Looks like it," his wife agreed, unable to smile like she usually would have when her little girl playfully grabbed a fistful of her glossy red hair. "Not much further now, lovey," she soothed and lifted the cooing toddler back onto her lap. "Not much further at all."

"Keep that scowl up, and it'll become permanent, Petunia," James pointed out, catching the blonde glaring at them. "What's your problem?"

"You mean besides the fact that my father is dead, Potter?" she challenged. "You two make me sick."

"Shut up, Tuney," Lily snapped, tightening her grip on Louisa when the baby whimpered at her raised voice. "We're almost home, the last thing Mom needs right now is us chewing each other's heads off."

"That's easy for you to say, Lils," her sister retorted. "You were always his golden girl, and Clay could do no wrong. Where does that leave me now that he's gone, huh?"

"Petunia," Lily sighed, but at that most unfortunate moment, the taxi reached their house. Petunia paid the driver without another word and stormed out of the car. Lily turned to James with tears in her eyes; "What are we going to do about her?" she said sadly, but her husband just nodded at the house.

"She'll come around, babe. Right now, I think Clay and your Mum need you more. Come on, I've never heard of a baby not bringing a little joy into the house. Lou is our secret weapon, right?"

"You're right," she said and pressed close to him as they stepped out onto the lawn. "Let's do this before I lose my nerve."

"Nonsense, you're one of the bravest people I know," he said and took the baby from her with an encouraging smile as the front door banged open.

"Flo, thank God!" Lily barely had time to register the strangled cry before she was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Hi, ducky," she said softly, instinctively stroking her brother's hair while he clung to her like a lifeline in the storm their lives had become overnight. "How are you doing?" While Clay pondered the loaded question, she glanced warily in the direction of the staircase. "Where's Mom?"

"Finally getting some sleep," he said, and when he stepped back, she realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach how exhausted he looked. "It's been a rough two days. I-I'm sorry I made Aunt Tanya call you, but I didn't know how to…this, I mean…it's Dad."

"Clay, breathe," she reminded him sharply, and her little brother closed his eyes and leaned in for an even more prolonged hug. "I'm here now; we'll get through this. Is Uncle Jon bringing everyone down too?"

"Should be on the way," said Clay softly, feeling his self-control slip further away, the longer she held onto him. "Mom's had nightmares of the plane exploding for two days. It was so scary."

"I can only imagine, sweetie. It was bad enough hearing it second-hand from Aunt Tanya. Are Granny and Pops coming too?"

"Yeah, of course, they are. Even though Granny and Pops are much closer to us, Aunt Tanya and Uncle Jon told them, too. Mom hasn't really been up for talking lately." Finally, he glanced over her shoulder into the yard, where James was bouncing Louisa up and down to distract her from the heavy sadness inside the house. "You certainly got the whole crew along; Lulu is getting so big. Where's Tuney?"

"I…I don't know," Lily stammered; "she threw a fit on the cab ride down here, something about how we were more important to Dad than she was. I was too tired to make sense of it. Hopefully, she'll turn up eventually."

"That's strange," Clay frowned, but he didn't exactly have the energy to make sense of it either. "Hope she gets over it soon, Mom needs all of us right now."

"Yeah, she does," Lily agreed, but the deep anguish in his eyes worried her more than Petunia's attitude at the moment. "What are you thinking? That face worries me more than Petunia's drama right now, to be honest."

"I can't help my face, Flo," he muttered half-heartedly, but for once, he knew she wasn't just teasing him. "How am I supposed to leave Mom alone in two weeks?" he said desperately. "Did you hear I got into Duke? I just,…I can't imagine leaving now. Dad made me promise to take care of her…it was the last thing he said to me. How can I leave now? Just answer me that."

"Clay, that's amazing." If they hadn't both been so exhausted and emotionally wrecked, he could tell she would have been beaming. "Going ahead and making her proud is the best thing you could possibly do right now, for the whole family."

"No pressure," he said with a strained grimace, but Lily just gave him another tight hug.

"It's the good news we could all really use right now, trust me. Nothing will make Mom…or Dad prouder than watching you soar."

Clay stiffened in her embrace at the sheer pride in her voice. "I can't believe this is really happening," he choked, and just like that, the mask his mother had called so brave slipped, and his sister's arms were the safe haven he never wanted to leave.

A / N Cue another dose of my baby and teenage angst, enjoy all! xx