AN: This week's prompt gave me the opportunity to write a scene I feel has been missing on the show.

The Bishops and the youngster were just about to head out the door when they were interrupted.

"Norrie? Who are these men?" Carolyn HIll stood on the stairs, dressed in pyjamas and a knit jacket in warm earth colors. Norrie felt a lump in her throat. She remembered vividly when they had bought that jacket. It was their first trip as a family, and she and her two moms had taken a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway one fall weekend. Alice had been entranced by the display nature put on for them, making Carolyn stop the car every few miles to take pictures of the trees' vibrant colors. They'd had lunch at a quaint little tea shoppe-cum-crafts store, and Alice had insisted on buying Carolyn this jacket as a souvenir, since the maroon, burgundy, gold and amber hues reminded her of the foliage they had witnessed.

Norrie was pulled from her memories when she heard Walter answer Carolyn's question.

"Why hello, my dear lady, my name is Dr. Walter Bishop, and this is my son Peter. We are scientists, consultants to the FBI, and we hope to solve the mystery of this dome that has descended on your town."

Carolyn looked from Walter to Peter, suspicion clearly etched in her features. "Consultants to the FBI, huh? How come I never heard of you before? Where have you been this past week?"

"Why, I was working in my lab in..."

"We've been busy running analyses and computer models," Peter interrupted. He felt it was wiser not to mention that they had been transported by some weird force right through what was considered an impenetrable barrier.

"Let's say I believe you." Carolyn crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at the Bishops from her position on the stairs. "What do you want with my daughter and her friends?"

"Mom, it's okay, we're helping them," Norrie explained.

"Helping them how?" Carolyn demanded. But when she saw Norrie's petulant expression her face softened. "I'm sorry, child, I realize I have neglected you these last couple of days since Alice..." Her hands unconsciously pulled the jacket closer around her body. Then she came down the steps and stood in front of her daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You have a right to be mad at me. I should have been there for you in this tough time, not just wallow in my own grief."

Norrie seemed quite embarrassed by this display of affection in front of the others. "It's okay, Mom, we've been busy. Joe and I made some discoveries, and we're just showing them to Dr. Bishop and Peter."

"At this late hour?" Carolyn's suspicions returned with a vengeance.

"Time if of the essence, Ma'am," Peter said. The con man in him knew better than turning his full charm on this woman. He went for the earnest and capable image. "We expect that an event of some significance will occur in the next couple of days. And we would like to be prepared."

"Oh..." Even a hard-nosed lawyer like Carolyn wasn't impervious to the younger Bishops powers of persuasion. She even fell into the same type of stilted language. "In that case, pray proceed. But I would welcome some quality time with my daughter later."

"Of course." Peter nodded at the woman, then herded his little troop of volunteers out the door.

AN: The prompt for this chapter was 'autumn'.