Sometime that night, Liv heard Rose crying out.
"Stop it, Tommy! That hurts! No, quit that! Livy, help!"
"Rosie, wake up." she whispered, shaking her lightly
Rose woke up crying so hard that she was hiccuping. "L-Livy, he- he come back," she said, still struggling to get her breath back.
"Sweetie, it's okay," Liv soothed. "It was just a bad dream, that's all."
"But Tommy hurt me, Livy, and you and Elly were too far away."
Liv stroked her back. "No, no, shhhh. It was only a nightmare."
"He not here?"
"No, Baby, he's not."
"Where Elly? Is he with us?"
Liv smiled. "Yeah, Sweetie, he's right across the hall. He won't let anything happen to us."
Rose smiled. "Yeah, he big and strong. He a superhero too, like you and Aunt Casey."
Liv chuckled. "Aunt Casey?"
Rose smiled. "Yeah, we like family now, right, Livy?"
Liv nodded, stroking her hair. "Yeah, like family," she agreed, looking over at the clock, which read 9:00 A.M. "Hey, are you hungry?"
Rose nodded. "Yeah, can I have cereal?
"Sure, Sweetie. I'll be right down. Just gotta change my clothes and I'll meet you in the kitchen."
Rose giggled and jumped down. "Okay, Livy." She ran to the kitchen.
Liv climbed out of bed and changed, going downstairs. "Here you go, Rosie," she said, setting the cereal down.
Rose said, "Thank you, Livy." Then, she ate it happily.
Elliot came downstairs a little while later. "Morning, Liv. Morning, Rosebud," he said, smiling.
Liv winked at him. "Morning, El."
Rose ran to give him a hug. "Elly!" she chirped. "Hungry?"
Elliot shook his head. "No, thanks, Rosebud."
"Coffee?" Liv asked with a smile.
"Sure, Liv, my usual."
She made the coffee, and they sat down, Rose climbing into his lap.
"Elly?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"When the girls coming?"
Elliot smiled. "In a little while, Kitten," he said, tickling her.
"What they like?" she asked, giggling.
"Maureen is the oldest, and she loves to dance."
"Will she teach me?"
"I bet she would if you asked real nice. Kathleen likes to take pictures."
"What kinda pictures. Elly?"
"Oh, she likes to take pictures of people when she goes to the park. She likes to see what she can take a picture of them doing."
Rose giggled. "Sounds like fun."
"And Lizzie likes to play video games."
"What's that, Livy?"
Liv smiled, showing her Lizzie's favorite, a horse racing game.
"Yay, this is fun!"
Elliot smiled. "It's the game Lizzie always picks to play. She loves horses.
Rose giggled. "Will she play with me?"
"Sure she will."
Rose ran up to change into other clothes.
"She seems happy," Liv said. "I hope she can stay."
"Oh, she will," Elliot assured her. "Don't worry." Just then, the doorbell rang. "That must be the girls." He heard the key turning in the lock. "Daddy?" Maureen called.
"Rosie, this is Maureen, my oldest. Hey, Maur." he hugged her.
"Hi, Daddy." She bent and hugged Rose. "Liv told us you came to stay."
Rose giggled "Uh huh. Lizzie, wanna play the horsie game?"
"Sure, Squirt. Come on."
Rose giggled again and ran off to play with her.
Later, Liv heard her whimpering. "Rosie what's wrong?"
"Livy, my tummy hurts."
She picked her up and realized she had a fever. "Uhoh. I think she has a little bug."
"Livy, it hurts."
"I know, baby. Here, drink this." She gave her the medicine.
"Yucky!" Rose mad, making a face.
Liv chuckled, giving her some water. "It'll be better soon, Sweetie."
"Where's Silky?"
Liv picked up the wolf and gave it to her. "Here she is." She went and tucked her in.
"She asleep?" Lizzie asked.
"Uh huh. Sleeping like a baby."
"I don't know what happened. We were playing and she told me she had a tummy ache."
"It's okay, Lizzie. It's not your fault. She probably just has a bug."
She hugged her. "I hope she feels better soon."
"She will."
She smiled and went into the other room to see Elliot. "Daddy?"
"Hey, Lizzie Bear."
"Daddy, there's something I should tell you."