A/N: If anyone wants postcards from Ghana, PM me with your address, whee. Less than two weeks!

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'Mom! Dad! I'm home!' screamed Hediyeh as she threw her backpack down on the table across from the elevator, immediately walking into the kitchen and pulling open the fridge. She drank from the orange juice carton for a moment. 'Mom? Dad?'

There was the sound of someone running down the stairs from the top floor, so she expected to see Jackson round the corner, but instead Augustine appeared.

'Are mom and dad sleeping?' asked Hediyeh, sipping out of the carton again.

'Hedi,' said Augustine solemnly as she walked over and sat down at the counter. 'Your mom and dad aren't here.'

She knew something terrible had happened, but rather than admitting to it, she just stared at Augustine. 'They went out?'

Augustine shook her head. 'Your dad's at Manhattan Psychiatric.'

The orange juice slipped out of Hediyeh's hand and she didn't notice until it splashed all over her legs. Gripping at the air for a moment, she stared open-mouthed at Augustine.

'How long is he there?' she asked softly.

Coming around the counter, Augustine grabbed a dishrag and bent down, sopping up the orange juice. 'I don't know. He had a very violent attack and we had to have him taken there by ambulance.'

'Is he okay?' she asked, looking down at her nanny.

'Yeah, he's...' Augustine drifted. 'He's fine.'

A moment of silence passed as Augustine stood and turned on the spigot, running the cloth under the water until Hediyeh asked the inevitable question.

'Is mom with him?'

Augustine froze, her hands clasping hard to the dishcloth. She stared at it, almost memorising every looped string, trying to avoid the question.

'Is mom—'

'She's in the hospital,' Augustine interrupted, leaning forward and turning off the faucet as she dropped the cloth.

'At the psychiatric hospital,' Hediyeh said, her voice descending in pitch. 'With dad.'

Augustine turned to look down at the girl. 'At Metropolitan. Your dad attacked her.'

Hediyeh pressed her hand to her mouth, stepping back a bit. 'Is... is she okay? Are the babies okay? When is she coming home? Can I see—'

'I don't know!' said Augustine with exasperation before looking away. 'I don't know.'

Clenching her jaw, Hediyeh closed her hands into fists and stomped off, taking long strides before breaking into a run and going up the stairs. Augustine paused for only a moment before following after her, reaching the top of the stairs as the door to Hediyeh's room slammed shut. She waited at the top of the stairs, pressing her hand to her face before going to the door, trying the knob before banging on the wood.

'Hediyeh, open the door,' she said as calmly as possible.

'Leave me alone!' she screamed in response. 'I don't want to come out until my mom and dad are home! I want everything to be the same again! Nothing's been the same since you came!'

'Hedi, that has nothing—'

'Go away!' the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, and there was a loud thump as what sounded suspiciously like a book hit the other side of the door.

Augustine jumped back from the door. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead, she just turned around and walked down the hallway then down the stairs as quietly as possible. Hediyeh, her head pressed to the door, listened until her footsteps died away and she heard the television turn on downstairs. After a couple of minutes, she stepped back from the door, pushing the talk button on the phone in her hands and quickly dialling a number. Pressing the phone to her ear, she watched the door as she listened to the phone ringing.

There was a click. 'Hello?'

'Hey,' Hediyeh said softly. 'Is your mom home?'

There was a moment of silence. 'No, why?'

'I need you to do something for me.'

---

It was well after dinnertime when a meek knock came on Hediyeh's door.

'Go away, Augustine,' Hediyeh said from her bed, dropping the book she was reading down onto her chest.

'Hedi?' said a voice close to the door. 'Can you let me in?'

'Mama?' Hediyeh asked, jumping up from the bed and walking to the door. Cracking open the door, she looked at Lisa before opening the door and letting her in, immediately hugging her. 'Lisa-maman, are you okay? Are the babies okay?'

'Everything's fine,' Lisa responded with a rough voice before coughing a little. 'Just a little bruise.'

Hediyeh looked up from her mother's chest, brushing her fingers on the angry purplish skin. 'Oh... that looks...'

Before Hediyeh could continue, Lisa wrapped her arms around her, pressing her nose to her daughter's hair. Closing her eyes, Hediyeh laid her head against Lisa's chest again, listening to her breathing.

'Don't be mad at your dad,' Lisa said. 'He's not well.'

'I know,' Hediyeh said softly.

'We're working as hard as we can to get him better,' Lisa continued, and to Hediyeh, it seemed like she was trying to convince herself rather than her daughter. 'He's in a safe place now, and all we can hope is that he'll be home really soon.'

'I don't want him to come home.'

Lisa stopped breathing for a moment before holding Hediyeh away from her. 'Don't say that.'

'If he comes home, he might leave again,' Hediyeh said, tears gathering in her eyes. 'It made you so unhappy when he left, and I don't want to see you like that again. I'm afraid that he'll find a way to lie to the people at the hospital so he can get home.'

Lisa shook her head. 'No, honey, they're going to make sure he's completely well before he comes home. He'll be just like he was before he got sick.'

'He's always been sick,' said Hediyeh unbelievingly.

'We know what's wrong now so we can fix it,' Lisa replied with a sad smile.

There was a long moment before Hediyeh reached up to play with Lisa's hair. 'I don't think you should be alone tonight.'

Lisa blinked at the very adult sentiment. 'I'll be all right, Hedi.'

'I'll sleep with you tonight, you know, to protect you,' Hediyeh replied simply.

The confusion on Lisa's face melted into understanding as she pulled Hediyeh to her again. 'Okay, you can protect me.'