Author's Notes: I thought you all deserved some happiness after the sad updates I've been churning out lately. Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you still like my story. Sometimes I fear that it's getting to be too boring. But obviously, you all think not.
This story is, believe it or not, near its end. I've only got to write about four or five more chapters and it'll be done. Yeah, I know it's sad, but I've decided that I simply am running out of places to go with this story and it should end sooner then I originally thought. But enjoy it anyhoo.
Time does not always heal all wounds, but in the case of Elaine and Scipio, it did. Slowly, things started to get back to normal. Scipio would be about to make some sarcastic remark and suddenly bite his tongue, knowing that it wouldn't be worth it. Elaine would be close to snapping at him with a pointless argument in her thoughts and stop herself mid-breath. It was hard, but they were trying.
A different kind of atmosphere settled over the house, full of sincerity and happiness. This was escalated when, a mere two days after Elaine had returned, she and Scipio went to see Dr. Cooke and came back with wonderful news.
They waited until dinner to announce it, but at once, everyone could tell something was up. There was something different in their moods, but when asked, they'd just say, "You'll find out at dinner."
Later that night, they all sat at the kitchen table, finishing off dessert. Scipio was stroking Elaine's hand and grinning to himself, oblivious to the fact that Riccio was giving him an odd look in between mouthfuls of cake. Elaine smiled over at Scipio and mouthed, "Should we tell them now?"
He nodded and they both stood up. "Well, you all, we've got great news," he beamed. Immediately, everyone starting asking what it was.
Elaine said joyfully, "It's a girl!"
Life was, at last, going along smoothly. The only arguments were the occasional fight over the last popsicle between Bo and Riccio. Scipio found himself carefully placing his words together when speaking to Elaine. He kept fearing that something he said would upset her. He really didn't know how sensitive she was or how her mind worked, as he'd never had the depression she now had. But Elaine seemed to be quite cheerful and content most of the time, so he stopped worrying about it so much.
With new days come new beginnings, and that certainly was the case with Elaine and Scipio. And so things began to fall into a peaceful lull...
"It'll be okay, I promise," said Scipio, giving Elaine's hand a small squeeze. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"I don't know!" replied Elaine hysterically. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea, maybe I should---"
"No, it was the perfect idea," said Scipio, trying to take Elaine with him into the physciatrist waiting room, but she didn't budge. "You'll be fine. Remember that she sees all kind of crazy stuff every day, like schizophrenia and all that. You're not the only one who's..." He trailed off and gave her wrist a glance.
"But what if---"
Scipio opened the door and the waiting room suddenly came into view. Ignoring her protests, he pulled her along with him to the front desk and gave the receptionist a smile. "Hello, Elaine Vieri has an appointment with Doctor Johnsen today at 4:30." He signed her in and they sat down on a comfortable sofa to wait.
"What if she thinks I'm a weirdo?" Elaine continued, looking ready to cry with all the anxiety inside of her. "What if she thinks I'm a suicidal maniac and puts me in an asylum?"
"Elaine."
"And then I won't be able to see you at all because I'll be in a straightjacket and put in one of those rooms---"
"Elaine."
"And what'll happen when they have to watch me all the time like a bunch of stalkers to make sure I don't fling myself out the window or---"
"Elaine!"
"What?"
"You're being ridiculous. I bet you anything that we'll walk out of here today with nobody accusing anybody of being insane. Be reasonable. Now, calm down, you know it's not good for the baby---"
"But Scipio, she'll totally chuck me in somewhere---"
"Elaine!" said Scipio again, and she finally quieted. "The most she'll do is make sure we keep an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything to harm yourself. And you haven't done it in what, four months?"
"But that doesn't mean I can just stop."
"I know, but she'll help you."
Elaine didn't speak and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Her expression turned slightly more relaxed and at ease. "Okay. Okay. I can do this."
"You sure can."
"Elaine Vieri?" Elaine looked ready to freak out all over again when a slim, tanned woman with dark hair entered the room with a clipboard. She and Scipio stood up, and the woman smiled at them.
"It's great to meet you, Elaine," she said as she lead them down a hallway towards her office. "I'm Doctor Johsen, but you can call me Maria."
"It's nice to meet you, too. Um, this is Scipio," Elaine said, feeling suddenly awkward. Doctor Johnsen opened a door and all three of them entered the room. A computer sat in the corner and paintings of flowers decorated the walls. Sitting down in separate chairs, Elaine and Scipio looked around uncertainly, not knowing what to do.
"So," said Doctor Johsen. Elaine started; she'd forgotten she was in the room. The doctor was in an armchair, clipboard still in hand, and smiling at her. "Where to begin?"
"Um," said Elaine, confused, "at the beginning?"
"Not if you don't want to."
"But I thought everything started at the beginning."
"Not in this room," said Doctor Johsen gently. Elaine looked down at her lap and back up at her.
"Well...my parents and I had never really gotten along...they weren't bad people, but they were more interested in their money and problems than me. Sure, they bought me whatever I wanted, but that doesn't always make a person happy. And my mom was cheating on my dad, with a different person every week, it seemed. They used to argue about it late into the night. When I started getting older, I started getting angrier at them. I used to go into whatever room they were fighting in when they were at it and scream at them because I hated them so much. They were ruining everything."
Doctor Johsen was taking notes on her clipboard and Scipio looked at Elaine with widened eyes. She'd never told him any of this.
"Eventually, my mom would leave for entire days, at whoever's house she'd hooked up with most recently. It would just be my dad and I alone in the house, wondering where she was. He always starting working double shifts when this happened and made a point to ignore me. More than once, I thought of running away or...well...you know..."
The doctor nodded sympathetically and looked at Elaine's wrist. She noticed the scars on one and took some more notes.
"Then, in seventh grade, I met Remy. She was everything I wasn't: confident, loud, a slight rule breaker. To most people, she was just 'that annoying girl,' but she had a heart, and a very big one if you knew her well. I told her about what went on at my house and she understood. Sometimes, when they fought, I'd just leave the house in nothing but my pajamas and spend the night at hers. She was about a five minute walk away, nothing too far.
"We were best friends, along with another girl we'd met, Madalyn. The three of us could spend hours together - usually at Remy's house - just goofing off. It was great. About four and a half years later, though..." Elaine looked over at Scipio, suddenly uncomfortable. He nodded encouragingly at her. "...Remy was murdered."
It was hard, but somehow, Elaine managed to get everything out. She told Doctor Johnsen about how she'd run away from Venice, been found by Scipio, taken to the Stella to live the life of a thief. She described the time when her depression had really begun to form, how she'd tried to harm herself to ease the pain. Then she told her about when she'd gotten pregnant with her future daughter, how they'd moved to London, how she'd walked out on Scipio weeks ago because of their arguments. It was too difficult to describe, and she cried a few times, but she made it. Elaine knew it was all worth it when it was finally out of her system and Doctor Johsen had left to go get a sample of the medicine she'd prescribed Elaine; a heavy weight was off her shoulders.
"You did such a good job," said Scipio, putting an arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head. "Telling her all that. I never could have done it."
"Yeah, well...it wasn't easy."
"Life's not supposed to be easy," Scipio reminded her, and that, Elaine knew, was the truth.