When morning finally broke and the storm subsided, it was as if nothing had happened but they both knew going downstairs and facing everyone would be just as awkward as dinner had been. Though Julie would have rather just stayed in bed and rested her leg, she knew going downstairs would show Nick's parents that she wasn't weak or someone to feel sorry for. So they went; her limping slowly down each step, guided by Nick who made sure she was settled at the kitchen counter first before starting to fix her breakfast.
"Morning," Jillian greeted them "did you kids sleep okay with that awful storm?"
"It was rough," Nick admitted "but we survived, where's dad?"
"He got up early and went out," Jillian said sighing as she stirred her coffee "I don't know what's gotten into him but he was out of line with you two, I gave him a piece of my mind after you kids went to bed."
"Honey," she turned to Julie now "I'm so sorry, I don't know why he's being so stubborn, I think you two are wonderful and sweet together and I'll support you no matter what."
"Ditto," Jessica said as she entered the room "dad's off his rocker on this one."
Julie couldn't help but smile, now that her hunch was confirmed; she had more people on her side than she thought.
The side door opened now and Bill came trotting in toting a tool bag and some gloves. Julie felt anxious when she saw him, withdrawing into the chair, trying to hide her injured leg, feeling vulnerable and overexposed.
"Where have you been?" Jillian demanded to know.
"Looking at the gate," he replied gruffly then turned to Julie "you broke my fence."
"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, feeling guilty.
"No one's ever broken that fence before," Bill continued "I've had horses try to jump it, dumb kids try and break it, a truck crashed into it, but nothing ever got through, except you."
Julie avoided his gaze, wondering if his allusion to her breaking things was meant to be about how she was involved with Nick's life after the coma.
"Can you fix it?" Jessica asked her father.
"Shouldn't take too long," Bill said shrugging.
"Please let me help you," Julie insisted now "it's the least I can do since it's all my fault,"
"No way," Nick insisted "not with that leg, dad, I'll help you fix the fence all right?"
"I thought you wanted to get out of here?" Bill asked coldly.
"We have a flight for seven," Nick explained though he wasn't sure why he did. It seemed clear his father wasn't interested in his life with Julie, yet here he stood, in some weird peace offering for their sake.
"I want to help," Julie pressed "I can't just sit here and do nothing."
Bill looked at her now and for one moment she thought she saw him smirk, not in an annoyed way but as if he were impressed with her resilience.
"Sweetie you can help me," Jillian suggested now, reaching across the counter to pat Julie's hand gently "I'm going to reorganize some photo albums, that'll be fun."
Though Julie didn't like the idea of being alone in the house and away from Nick all day, she hoped this was an opportunity to patch things up between everyone.
Jillian made due on the promise of having fun while reorganizing photo albums of their family. She set Julie up on the couch, pushing a square boxy ottoman over to her so she could rest her leg on it while they worked. Her final gesture of comfort was to cover her gently with a blanket then they got started. Julie listened with interest as Jillian told her stories of her childhood, of her kids growing up, mostly stories about Nick as a child which made Julie smile and forget about the pain in her leg. They put together three albums when Julie stumbled across a batch of pictures of Nick in the hospital with his parents, his sisters and a few photos were with Sara, Greg and Warrick. Curious, Julie asked "What happened here?"
She handed the photos to Jillian who sighed.
"Oh dear that was a very scary time for us," she explained "Nicky was hurt by an awful man who kidnapped him and buried him alive."
Julie snatched the photos back from her with more force than she meant to. She had only heard Nick talk to her about his kidnapping and seen a few case notes and newspaper clippings on the matter but she had no idea there were pictures of him. In each photo he looked like he had recovered and was probably just in the hospital as a precaution. Nevertheless, her heart ached when she saw his pained smile even if he was with his friends. The pictures of him with Warrick made her heart hurt even more.
"Didn't you know?" Jillian asked now.
"Yeah," Julie sniffled "we talk about it sometimes, when I was recovering from my coma, I couldn't wait to go home, I begged him every day to take me out of that hospital but he kept pushing me to do my therapy so I could leave and once I got to, I had a hard time adjusting, I just wanted to sleep all day, I felt like I was in a constant fog, Nicky showed me the case files and told me what happened, he said he felt the same way after he was hurt and that we were both survivors."
She finished speaking and placed the photo delicately into its plastic slot in the next album. When Julie looked up again, Jillian was smiling at her.
"I'm so sorry for everything that happened to you both," Jillian sympathized "but you and my son are the definition of strength, I can't imagine him spending the rest of his life with anyone other than you, you really get him, and I think that's the most beautiful thing in the world."
The fence repair took most of the day to complete. By the time Nick returned to the house, it was almost time for them to start packing for their flight home. Despite the grueling day working in the hot sun, the first thing he did upon entering the house was seek out Julie to see if she was ok. When he found her, wrapped up in blankets on the couch, her leg propped up on the ottoman, watching T.V, he smiled, leaned over the back of the couch to sneak a kiss on her head and say "Having fun?"
"Yeah," she said, grinning when he climbed over the ottoman and fell back onto the couch beside her.
"Mom spoiled you," he said nodding at the blanket, and the TV.
"She's so sweet," Julie sighed "we had a really nice time; she told me some funny stories about you."
She giggled at the memories and the fact that she now had embarrassing stories to tell to everyone when they got home.
"Of course she did," Nick said, grimacing at the unknown details of their day.
They fell silent, both exhausted from lack of sleep the night before. They still had a few more hours before their flight so they had no qualms about staying there on the couch, cuddled up, being lazy. Jillian could hear them talking quietly as she made dinner; they talked about their day, about the show on TV, any random thing that popped into their heads, it was a simple but special thing they had and she couldn't be happier for her son.