Author's note: So this is the longest chapter so far, but I needed all those words to introduce Aunt Charlotte properly.
The chapter title is inspired by a quote from L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. I thought it would be fitting since Dorothy wants to go home to her aunt and uncle, who actually live in Kansas. I don't know if you've read the book or seen the film but it's definitely one of my favourite childhood stories.
As always: Please enjoy and review. :)

Amanda wanted to flee from the all absorbing darkness around her.
She had never liked being out alone when it was dark.
Well, she wasn't exactly alone that night nor was she somewhere out in the wilderness, but to her, being stuck in a car without her father and only with two other persons she couldn't stand, basically meant the same.

On the upside, since that weird policeman had searched their car, Mrs Grayson had stopped talking to David. Therefore Amanda had had the chance to speak with her father like it was only the two of them and they had even shared a laugh a couple of times.

However, when they had arrived here at her great-aunt's farm about 10 minutes ago, he had insisted on speaking to Aunt Charlotte alone and so it came that Amanda was now desperately staring out of the window waiting for her father's return.

She let her eyes wander around the huge property.

Everything was covered in darkness except for the lights shining from the veranda and the moon illuminating the spacious grazing land in a silver shimmer.

It was difficult for her to recognize anything familiar, not only because it was dark, but also because the last time she had been here was about 4 years ago when her mother had just died.
From her blurry memories she knew that her father had dropped her at her great-aunt's house to deal with her mother's death and the formalities that came with it.
Before that time her family had used to visit Aunt Charlotte quite regularly, but Amanda had been too small to remember anything specific about those visits.

She sighed heavily as the thought of how happy they had been as a family popped up in her mind and she was also painfully reminded of how much she actually missed her mother. Of course, she loved her father more than any other person in this world and she knew that he did everything to offer her a carefree childhood, but still the girl always felt the lack of a mother. In a way, her world would always be incomplete.

Nevertheless, Amanda was not quite sure if she envied Daniel, who was cradled into Victoria's arms that moment, for still having a mother. She for one would certainly never want her to be her mother.
Never.
She was icy and strict and always complained about something. She was nothing like Amanda's mother had been. Her mother had been kind and funny and always found the time to take care of her properly.

For all those reasons and more she would never be able to understand how her father could choose to be with Mrs Grayson. How he could be nice to her even if she almost never displayed any emotions. How he could consider her as part of the family when that was what made his own daughter feel uncomfortable and indescribably unhappy.

Slowly, a small tear made its way down from Amanda's brown eyes down to her cheek. The past few days had been nothing but crazy and all she really wanted was to spend the summer with her best friend Jack on the beach. On top of it all, she didn't even know why it was suddenly so important to her father to get away from the Hamptons.

For all she knew, her Dad didn't have a problem with spending time with Mrs Grayson when they had still been at home. They believed she hadn't noticed her sneaking in and out of their beach house at night, but Amanda had a light sleep and most importantly she wasn't stupid.
Her father had never brought a woman into their home. Not a single time in all those years since her mother had passed away. And then all of a sudden there was this dark-haired creature standing in their door frame putting the biggest smile on David's face.

And not only that.

Amanda had quickly noticed that Mrs Grayson did not only come over to discuss her latest party and to take a coffee or two, no she also stayed overnight and was allowed to kiss her Dad on the mouth!
The little girl had never seen her father doing that with someone else than her mother and she had almost jumped up from the couch, where she had supposedly been asleep, to keep that woman from being so close with her father.
At that point she hadn't known about the strange noises coming from the bedroom whenever Mrs Grayson spent a night at their house, yet. Amanda had covered her ears with pillows in an unsuccessful attempt to blank out the unsettling cries coming out of their neighbor's mouth.
Those nights had been horrible, but Amanda had been too afraid to talk to her father openly about that matter, because she realized how important it was to him to keep his meetings with Mrs Grayson a secret.

Right now however, she wished that she had voiced her concern earlier. Her father might have listened to her, like he always did when his little girl had a problem.

Suddenly, Amanda recognized a movement of the lights on the veranda in the corner of her eye. She looked closer and a wave of relief swept over her body when she saw her father walking back to the car with a light smile on his face.

The 9-year old pushed the door open immediately wrapping her arms around her father's waist.

"Can I go to her, Dad?" She asked expectantly.

"Yes, she's very happy to see you, Amanda." David assured stroking his daughter's hair.

Within the next second, the girl was running towards the house and into the welcoming arms of her great-aunt.

In contrast to the relief and comfort Amanda had felt the moment they had stopped at the farm, Victoria had a queasy feeling in her stomach. She assumed that David's aunt couldn't possibly be too happy to hide them from the police and therefore commit a crime.

"Come on, I'll take him." David offered when he saw that Victoria struggled to get out of the car with a sleepy Daniel in her arms.

"No, it's fine. I've done this before." She returned, but felt her tired legs buckling under her son's weight.

"He's 6, Vic. You have to accept that he's too heavy for you." David caught Daniel in just the right moment and lifted him into his arms while Victoria reluctantly followed his advice and walked beside him over the uneven ground.

From what she could tell in the middle of the night, the old farm house could easily be part of a set of an old Western Movie. There even was the stereotypical rocking chair on the veranda.

When they finally made it to the front door, Victoria found herself standing in front of a quite short woman, probably in her early sixties, with blue eyes and blonde locks framing her round face.

"Charlotte, this is Victoria." David cautiously introduced the two women, who were already critically eyeing each other.

"Hi, I'm Charlotte Clarke." The older woman said stiffly shaking Victoria's hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you. David has told me a lot about you." Victoria smiled warmly motioning her lover to put down her son.

"Oh, has he?" Charlotte raised her eyebrow in disbelief.

"Sure, I have. I mean, I spent most of my childhood here." David explained irritated by his aunt's untypical behavior. He understood that their unexpected visit took her by surprise and it made sense to him that she was confused due to the media reports about their escape or better their kidnapping. But what he could not understand was why his aunt acted so coolly towards Victoria when she was normally so open about meeting new people. She had never been a judging person.

As for Victoria, she immediately noticed the tension she had created the moment she had set foot onto the veranda, so she decided to do her best to resolve that tension.

"Well, this is my son Daniel." She took the sleepy-looking boy by the hand and led him towards Charlotte. Apparently, the money they had invested into all those courses on good manners finally paid off when Daniel stretched out his hand to the stranger.

"Hello, I'm Daniel Grayson." He mumbled insecurely grabbing his mother's side.

"Oh, I see you know how to behave little man." Charlotte chuckled, but shook Daniel's hand politely while his mother approvingly patted his shoulder.

"Can we come in, then?" David wanted to speed up their arrival as the lack of sleep became a more and more pressing matter.

"Sure. Amanda's already in the kitchen." The woman assured and showed Daniel and his mother the way inside.

"Ok I'll get our luggage." David announced and disappeared into the darkness again.

When Victoria entered the cozy living room with an open kitchen it made her feel even more like she was on set of some John Wayne movie.
The furniture was mainly made from wood and the sofa set as well as the chair cushions had a checkered pattern. All the doors and windows were propped with nets to keep the mosquitos and other insects outside and the large modern fridge in the kitchen looked very much out of place.
There was a fireplace in one corner and as she glanced out of the window Victoria guessed that there also was a backyard to grow vegetables and fruits.

"I know it's nothing like your fancy beach mansion, but you have to live with that now." Charlotte stated as she noticed Victoria's wandering eyes.

"No, no, I was just thinking how big this house is." Victoria returned trying her best to gain the older woman's sympathies.

"Sure it is. The whole Clarke family used to spend summer after summer here." Charlotte explained, the nostalgic smile quickly fading from her wrinkled face. "But nowadays everyone's busy with their own lives. Not even my David comes to visit me anymore since he's got that oh so important job in New York… and you, obviously." She shot Victoria a look before she walked over to Amanda helping her to find something edible.

"I didn't know about that." Victoria answered uncomfortably. "David never told me about that tradition."

"Oh, I'm sure there are many things he didn't tell you about. But don't worry, I'm only his old aunt in Kansas, I can deal with that." Charlotte laughed sarcastically while she was cracking eggs into a pan. "Do you want something to eat? You look like you could need it."

Bewildered by Charlotte's subtle comment about her weight, Victoria prepared to snap back but remembered that she had to be nice, so she simply shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Oh, really? You must be starving. And your little boy?" The older woman insisted while Amanda was sitting on top of the kitchen counter with a smug expression on her face.

"No, he's just very tired. I think we'll go straight to bed, if you could…" Victoria was interrupted by David, who swung open the front door and entered with their suitcases.

"Dad, we're making you something to eat!" Amanda announced proudly.

"That sounds great." David put down the luggage and felt his back ache with every movement. He was so exhausted from the long ride and had forgotten how hot the summer weather in Kansas actually was. The sweat was dripping all over his body making his clothes stick to his body unpleasantly.

"What about you, Vic?" David asked when he noticed his lover still standing in the middle of the living room.

Before she could answer for herself, Charlotte already interfered. "I offered her a plate, but she declined, although I don't understand how she can possibly not be hungry. I'm sure I can see her ribs even through that shirt."

David glanced back at his aunt irritated at how she spoke about Victoria. What on earth had happened in here? He had not even been gone for 10 minutes.

"I just want to go to bed. Daniel and I need some sleep." Victoria said suppressing a yawn.

"Okay, I'll show you the bedroom then." David agreed picking up their bags.

"Take them to the one downstairs. It has a lovely view into the garden." Charlotte advised not looking up from the pan.

"No, they'll sleep upstairs in the bigger one right next to the bathroom." David decided already making his way to the staircase.

Daniel quickly crawled into bed and fell asleep right after his mother kissed him good night. Victoria also intended to find sleep that easily, but was stopped when she came out of the bathroom.

"What was that about downstairs?" David wanted to know since he was sure that something had happened between his aunt and Victoria. He needed to find out what exactly that was in order to find a way to fix it and therefore secure the peace at their new home

"Nothing. I'm just tired." Victoria returned reaching for the door knob of the bedroom.

"Don't lie to me, Vic. What did she say to you?" David insisted pulling his lover into an embrace.

"I'm not lying!" She defended herself leaning against David's body. "You're so sweaty." She observed but instead of pulling away, she longed for his closeness. "Perhaps Charlotte's just a bit offended because I refused to eat what she was cooking for us."

David let his hands gently roam over Victoria's back kissing the top of her head. "You know that she isn't really serious about those comments, right? You're perfect."

Victoria was genuinely touched by David's tenderness. She didn't want to admit to him that she probably wouldn't get along with Charlotte, because she knew that this was their only chance to stay together.

"I love you so much David. I wish you could stay with me tonight." She confessed pressing her small hands onto his chest to look him into the eyes. "Every night."

Her words made his face lighten up immediately. "I know what you mean. I want that, too." David leaned forward until his lips met hers and gave her a loving kiss. "We've got enough rooms here, so as soon as Daniel is ready to have his own bed, I'll move to your room."

"I can't wait for that day to come." Victoria smirked pulling her lover down to give him another tender kiss. "But now I honestly need to get some sleep. Good night, David."

"Good night, Vic We wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for you. Thank you for that." He answered releasing her from his embrace.

"I told you not to mention that again. Now go to your daughter." Victoria shut the bedroom door behind her and left David wondering about her seemingly never-ending strength.

During their dinner in the middle of the night Amanda almost fell asleep on her chair, so that David carried her to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

Afterwards he made his way back to the kitchen where he found his aunt already cleaning up their plates.

"Amanda is sound asleep now." He made his presence known.

"That's no wonder. She looked so tired." Charlotte turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter. "And so do you by the way. Get some sleep yourself. I can clean this up." She smiled at her nephew expecting him to leave, but he did the exact opposite. David took a few steps towards his aunt and folded his arms.

"No, I want to talk to you first." He announced in a serious tone.

"You already told me what I need to know. I believe you, David. I've never trusted those media reports anyway. You could never do such a horrible thing." Charlotte replied confidently.

"I'm glad that you took us in, Charlotte, but I…" His voice suddenly broke in his throat. He was so grateful that she offered them a home and the last thing he wanted was to fight with his aunt.

As if she could read his mind, Charlotte addressed the matter that was bothering David directly. "Is this about her? I thought we could shift that talk until tomorrow."

"No, I need to do that now." David swallowed and sat down. His aunt did the same and let her body sink down onto the wooden chair with a heavy sigh.

"I just don't understand why you're being so mean to Victoria. You always taught me not to judge people and to get to know them first." He began searching his aunt's eyes for a possible explanation.

"I'm not judging her. I want to protect you." Charlotte took his hands into hers.

"But why? Why do you think that you need to protect me?"

"Oh, David, don't you see what you've gotten yourself into?" She let out another exhausted sigh. "That woman, she's not who you think she is. I've seen her on TV and read all those articles. She doesn't really want to be with you. She's playing with you. She will sell you out eventually and go back to her rich husband while you'll end up in jail, don't you get that? People like her will always choose wealth and power destroying everyone who gets in their way to achieve that."

"How dare you speak about Victoria like that?" David jumped up from his chair, shocked by the words that came out of his aunt's mouth. "You don't know anything about her! She saved us from getting arrested by the police today and she gave up everything to be with me!"

"She may have done that, but she'll change her mind as soon as she's bored playing your secret girlfriend. Please, David, you have to believe me when I say that she's deceiving you. A woman like her is way out of your league." Charlotte stepped closer to her nephew facing his angry expression.

"You're honestly telling me that she's out of my league?" David made a disgusted face, hurt by his aunt's cold choice of words.

"Yes, I know you. She's not right for you. You deserve someone…" He interrupted Charlotte's pitiful speech and tried not to raise his voice.

"For God's sake, I'm in love with that woman!" David stared at his aunt, the love he held for Victoria clearly reflected in his eyes. "How can you say that she's not right for me, when I've never felt so… complete… so at home… so happy….with a woman like I have felt with Victoria."

Charlotte gasped trying to focus on what she originally wanted to say. "You sound exactly like the love-struck teenager, who came home to me 20 years ago doting on that perfect girl from his class, whom he was sure to marry someday. Remember what happened to that fantasy?" She glared at her nephew before she answered her own question. "She dumped you for the captain of the football team and told you, you were not good enough for her. I remember like it was yesterday how you lay on that couch crying your eyes out because of her. I had told you in the first place to stay away from girls like her, but you wouldn't listen."

"I listened to you when you told me not to worry about Kara's mental health. See how well that turned out." David returned grimly. "I almost lost Amanda because I trusted you. I'm done with that. The only thing I'm going to trust from now on is my own head and my own heart." He turned around to leave but Charlotte grabbed his arm.

"David you can't bring Kara into this. No one could've foreseen how bad her condition really was. I've told you a million times that I'm sorry for what you had to go through because of that. But Kara was your wife, you've known her for so many years and most importantly you had a family with her. You cannot compare that to your little affair." Charlotte looked her nephew right into the eyes wanting him to finally realize the inconvenient truth.

"You're wrong Charlotte." David said drily. "Or better, you're right. I cannot compare Victoria to Kara. Not in any way. Because what I have with Victoria is completely different. It might sound strange because I'm a wanted criminal but I do feel free with Victoria. It's not like I have a role to play when I'm with her. No one expects me to marry her simply because we've been together since High school and make a perfect couple. In fact, no one expects anything from our relationship and we're also far from perfect and that's exactly what makes it so easy to be with her."

Charlotte was out of words. Her nephew was a hopeless case.

"And there's something else you need to know, since you don't think we have a future as a family together. Victoria is pregnant."

The older woman drew in a sharp breath at this surprising revelation. David hadn't intended to reveal the pregnancy to his aunt but he felt like she needed to know the whole truth now.

"And like you've already noticed she's not feeling well. She hasn't eaten properly in the last few days and has been vomiting regularly. That's why she might be a bit thin."

Charlotte hesitated for a moment but eventually began speaking again. "I'm sorry, David. I shouldn't have said that to her earlier. But are you absolutely sure that it is your child?"

"Yes, I am." He stated securely.

"You sound like you're proud of that."

"That's because I am proud. I'm going to be a father again."

Charlotte sighed yet again. "But David, don't you realize that you can never be an actual family? Even if she decides to stay with you, you have to accept that there are far more powerful forces than love in this world. Her husband will tear you apart, he certainly has got enough sources to send you to jail for life and in there you won't have any family at all."

"And that's exactly why we need to stay here and figure out a way to get through this mess together." David's muscles relaxed and he took a step towards his aunt, who simply shook her head in disbelief.

"I get it. You won't let her go."

"Never." David confirmed. "So can we stay here now, or not?"

"Of course, I mean you're like a son to me. This will always be your home." Charlotte assured, a sad smile creeping on her face.

"Thank you." David whispered hugging his aunt. "But there's something I must ask of you, whether you like it or not."

"Okay, what is it?" She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Victoria hasn't seen a doctor yet because she's afraid that someone could recognize her or ask too many questions. But she seriously needs medical treatment since she's only in the first trimester and her condition is far from stable. I'm so worried about her, I don't want her to, well, you know…" David was unable to say the words. He had kept that fear inside of him for several days, because he was afraid that if he said it out loud, it would be more likely to come true.

"You mean you're afraid that she'll lose the child." Charlotte comfortingly put a hand on her nephew's shoulder. David nodded and felt a lump building in his throat.

"So could you drive her into town tomorrow and make sure that someone you trust checks her and the baby's health?"

"Of course, I will do that. I think I know just the right person." She hugged him tightly, glad to have her lost son finally back in her house. "I've missed you so much. And Amanda seems to be such a great girl."

"She is." David whispered into his aunt's ear. "She's so happy to be with her great-aunt again."

Charlotte wiped her wet eyes and playfully pushed David away. "It's past you bedtime, David! You have to sleep now."

He laughed at her comment and returned a simple "Good Night" before he made himself comfortable in his old room.

Charlotte obviously hadn't changed anything about the interior. He wasn't quite sure if that was a scary or sweet thing, but the faces staring from the old photographs on the wall definitely made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't want any ghosts from his past to haunt him in his sleep. Thus he put all of them down and placed them under some book, so that finally his eyes finally fluttered shut and he found himself in the land of dreams.

I plan on giving them some time off from the real world now, so I can focus on the relationship between Victoria and Amanda as many of you would like me to do so.

It took me a while to figure out Charlotte's character and her opinion about Victoria. Please tell me what you think! xx