They had just landed in Albuquerque and they were walking through the terminal. Troy had organised with his Dad that he'd come pick them up with Jasmine and Imogen. They walked out of the gate, Troy's arm around Gabriella's waist when she heard "ELLA!"
She grinned as she felt her twin sister launch themselves into her arms and laughed as she felt Troy steady them, glad that they had gotten out of the way of the other passengers. She knelt down closer to their height and felt them hug her tightly. "My girls, I missed you."
Imogen leant her head on Gabriella's shoulder. "We missed you too, it's not the same with just Chad, Locky and Jassy."
Gabriella kissed her youngest sister's temple. "I know it's not Baby Girl but it's ok, Troy and I won't away that often." She registered that Jasmine was very quiet and had a tight grip on her. "Jas? Are you alright Angel?" The little girl only nodded in response which made Gabriella inwardly frown; Troy seemed to pick up on her reaction.
"Hey girls, I think Ella's kinda tired so how about we go get our bags and we can head home." They nodded. "Imi, do you want to come with me so Ella can take Jas?"
Imogen pouted. "But I want to go with Ella, I want to stay with her."
Troy was about to speak but Jasmine's actions interrupted him. The little girl walked over to him and leant against him. He lifted her into his arms and frowned at the way she held him tightly and buried her face into his neck. He rubbed the little girl's back and kissed her shoulder. "Are you ok Jas?" He felt her nod against him and sighed, figuring that she'd talk to Gabriella when she was ready.
When they got inside the house, Imogen started to drag Gabriella off but the teen stopped her, leaning down to the girl's height to whisper in her ear. "I know that you missed me Im and I know that you're excited I'm home but can you give me a couple minutes to talk to Jassy, I think she's a bit upset."
Imogen looked down. "Ok Ella, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry Baby Girl, you did nothing wrong, I just need to talk to Jassy. How about you find Chad, Locky or Troy and we'll come find you after, ok?" Imogen nodded and went off in search of one of the teenagers. "Jas, can you come sit with me?" The little girl nodded and followed her sister over to the lounge, snuggling into her chest when they sat down. Gabriella played with her sister's hair before starting the conversation. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Jasmine only shrugged in response. "Come on Angel, I know you're upset about something. Tell me what's bothering you." At her silence, she took a different approach. "At the airport when Troy asked Imi to come with him so you could go with me, did you want to stay with me or did you want to go with Troy?"
"I wanted to stay with you but Imi wanted to stay with you so I went with Troy, I like Troy."
"I'm glad that you like Troy Baby, but you don't have to always do what Imi wants, we have to get time together too." Jasmine nodded, cuddling closer to her sister. "Can you please tell me what's bothering you Jas, I hate seeing you upset and not being able to help you."
Jasmine looked down. "Promise you won't think it's silly."
Gabriella cupped her cheek. "Baby, if it's making you upset then it's definitely not silly. You never have to be afraid to tell me anything, you know that."
"I got scared that you weren't here and I didn't want you to get hurt again."
She had one more question she needed to ask. "When we were away, were you more or less scared than when I was with Austin."
"I was more scared of you getting hurt when you were with Austin but I was more scared this time because Troy wasn't here either."
"Oh Angel." She hugged her sister close to her chest. "I think that you have separation anxiety Jas."
"What's that?"
"It's an attachment that makes you scared or nervous when that person's not there." The little girl nodded in response. "But do you know what? You don't have to be scared because no one's going to hurt me. Austin and Mom are in jail for a long time and no one can hurt me when I'm with Troy ok?"
Jasmine nodded. "Troy protects you?" Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Like Superman."
Gabriella laughed. "Yeah Baby, like Superman. Do you feel safe with Troy?"
"Yeah I like Troy. You and Troy are like our mommy and daddy. I know that you're not but you and Troy treat us like Katie, Brooke and Sarah's mommies and daddies treat them."
"I know it's hard Jas, that your friends have such different lives to ours."
"It's ok, we may not have a mommy or daddy that loves us, but we have you and Chad and Troy and Locky and that's better than a mommy or daddy."
"In that case, how about we go find Troy, Imi and the boys and we can have a movie night tonight? Does that sound good?" Jasmine nodded. "Good girl, you can pick the first movie. Do you feel better?"
"You always make me feel better."
"You can always come to me Baby, anytime anywhere, I'll always be here to help you and make you feel better, even if you just want a cuddle ok? I love you so much Jas, more than you'll ever know."
"I love you too Ella."