I'm so glad so many of you are interested in this story already! All the alerts I woke up to this morning inspired me to go ahead and get this next chapter up. I hope I'll have another one up this week, but I have a lot going on at school, so it could be the weekend before I get it typed and ready. Hope you guys enjoy and bear with me! : )

The flight to DC was long and exhausting. Emily was just glad getting through customs wasn't difficult; because she wasn't sure she would've been able to handle any more stress.

She was more than surprised when she rolled her suitcase out to the front of the airport and found George and her mother sitting down, waiting for her.

"Hi," Emily said as she came up to them, not really sure what to do. Truthfully, she was glad they'd come to pick her up. Actually seeing her mother, sitting cross legged in front of her, calmed her nerves significantly.

"Hello, dear." Elizabeth replied, standing up and embracing Emily in a tight hug. It was definitely out of character, but in this moment, Emily greatly welcomed it.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"I'm alright, I suppose." Elizabeth answered honestly.

Emily smiled, turning to George. By now he had stood from his chair. He hugged Emily tightly, something that wasn't uncommon for the older man. She hugged him back, forcing herself not to cry.

"Thank you for coming," George said softly, meant for her ears only.

"Of course," Emily said as she pulled away. The three finally headed out to the car. George drove them home, Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat, and Emily settled in the back.

Elizabeth stared out the window, not saying anything. It was strange, normally Elizabeth would be grilling her daughter on every aspect of her life. Was she sure she wanted to stay in law enforcement? Because it was rather dangerous, she was sure she could get Emily a job in politics. Was she eating enough? She looked too thin. Was she seeing anyone? Because Elizabeth wasn't going to wait around to be a grandma forever.

But instead, the car ride was comfortably silent. Emily picked at her nails absentmindedly.

Nearly forty five minutes later, they finally reached the gates of the Prentiss estate. This was the biggest house they had, and ironically the one they saw the least of.

Emily gazed out the window; the large brick house hadn't changed at all. She looked up to the second floor window on the left, the room that had been hers when they were here.

They headed inside, and George took Emily's stuff up to her old bedroom, despite her protests that she could do it herself.

"Are you hungry, Emily? I know the flight was long." Elizabeth said.

"I'm alright, Mother." Emily replied, biting her lip. She probably should have been hungry, since it was nearing dinner time and she hadn't eaten all day, but the thought of food made her stomach turn.

"At least let me make you some tea." Elizabeth offered as she guided Emily into the kitchen.

Emily sat at the breakfast bar, watching as Elizabeth started the tea. In this moment, it was hard to know that anything was wrong with her.

The younger brunette cleared her throat, and Elizabeth looked up to meet her daughter's eyes.

"Are you, um, sure you're okay?" Emily asked softly.

"I'm alright, Emily. Today's a good day, but at night I'll probably get worse. That's how it's been happening lately." Elizabeth explained.

Emily nodded. "Are you sure moving is what you want to do?"

Elizabeth sighed, sitting next to Emily. "No, Emily. I don't want to do this. But, I'm aware enough now to know that this isn't going to get any better. I can't ask you or George to take care of me. It'll get to a point where I may not be able to do anything for myself, and I can't ask either of you to do that for me."

Emily swallowed thickly. "We could stay here, at least until it gets any worse." She suggested, not exactly sure why she was doing it. Once a Prentiss woman made up her mind, there was no changing it.

"It's okay, I'm sure." Elizabeth assured her daughter, something that Emily never really needed her mother for, but was greatly welcomed now.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emily asked. Her tone wasn't bitter or accusing, just genuinely curious.

Elizabeth sighed. "I guess I was in denial about it. If I didn't tell anyone, maybe it would just go away."

Emily nodded in understanding. Elizabeth rose from her seat and finished up the tea, and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Em, I need you to promise me something." Elizabeth said suddenly.

"Of course, what is it?" Emily asked, looking up to meet Elizabeth's eyes.

"No matter what happens, no matter how bad this gets, please, Emily, please don't…don't tell anyone." Elizabeth begged, something Emily had never heard coming from the ambassador. Emily could swear she heard Elizabeth's voice shaking.

"What if people start asking questions, Mother?" Emily asked. The term 'mother' sounded so cold and distant, but Emily had started calling Elizabeth that when she was a teenager out of spite, and it was a hard habit to break.

"Say what you have to, Em. People will start wanting to come and see me…just- don't let them." Elizabeth said again, taking Emily's hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. "Promise me." Elizabeth's voice shook undeniably. Emily had to blink a few times to keep her own tears at bay.

"I promise, Mom. It'll just be me allowed to come in. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're travelling. You're due to retire soon anyway, aren't you?" Emily asked, trying to keep the mood light. If her mother broke down right now, Emily knew she would, too.

"Yes. That's right. People will probably be wondering why I'm not having a party or function of something. You have to convince them that I'm okay." Elizabeth said.

"I will." Emily sent her mother a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you, Emily." Elizabeth said tearfully, quickly taking her hands away from Emily's and running them over her face, in an effort to hide the tears.

Emily had finished her mug of tea, and sat the now mostly empty mug in the sink, giving her mother time to collect herself.

The brunette realized suddenly just how tired she was, and was just about to head up the stairs and try to take a nap, when Elizabeth gently grabbed Emily's arm to get her attention.

"Em?" Elizabeth said softly. Emily smiled, the nickname from her childhood reminding her that everything wasn't always bad. Her mother wasn't always so distant from Emily. She'd always called Emily "Em" when she wasn't yelling at her for being a rebellious teenager, or refusing to go to another gala, or wearing a revealing dress to said galas. It was a simple nickname, plenty of people called Emily that, but when her mother called her that, it was just a bit more special.

"Yeah?" She finally replied, turning and facing her mother again, the woman was still sitting at her place at the breakfast bar.

"I know we haven't always been close, and I know that at times you've hated me. I'm just not…I was never good at being a warm, open person. I really tried my best, honey. And I just want you to know that I have always, always loved you. Even when you ran around dressed in all black with that God-awful black make up and strange hairdo." Elizabeth said sincerely, laughing breathily at the last statement.

Emily had to laugh softly. That was a phase of her life she sure would like to forget.

"I love you, too." Emily replied simply. She bent down slightly and hugged Elizabeth tightly, letting the woman know that she understood.

When they broke apart, Elizabeth reached up and touched Emily's cheek with her palm, wiping away a tear with her thumb. Emily wasn't even aware she'd started crying. Then again, she was so exhausted; she could have been talking to a monkey for all she knew.

"Why don't you go up and get some sleep? I'll wake you for dinner." Elizabeth suggested.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Emily asked, she had come all the way to take care of her mother, and it seemed Elizabeth was set on taking care of Emily for now.

"It's okay, I can manage. Go get some rest." Elizabeth said firmly, but gently. Emily just nodded and slowly made her way up the stairs into her old childhood bedroom. She shut the door quietly behind her, switching on the light. It looked exactly the same as it had when she graduated high school, when her she and her mother moved back to ensure Emily graduated in the states. Except now, it was much cleaner than Emily ever kept it. There weren't clothes strewn all over the dresser and the floor. Her closet wasn't hanging half open with clothes spilling out. There weren't any half empty water bottles sitting around.

But the red walls, the beige walls and carpet, the red and white patterned duvet, that was all still the same. Emily smiled at the familiarity. She remembered the hours she spent in this room, first as a young child, and eventually a teenager. This was the room she had always stayed in when she visited from college. Emily couldn't really remember the last time she'd actually been here for more than one day since she graduated. She remembered how her room had been pink and mint green when she was a baby, but by the time Emily was three, she demanded new colors. She'd chosen blue, and it had stayed that way until Emily was a teenager. Then, she had gone for this more adult look. That was mostly a desperate attempt to prove to her mother that she was not, in fact, an immature teenager; but she was a very responsible adult.

She kicked off her shoes and didn't even bother changing out of her worn jeans and old Yale sweatshirt. She switched the light back off and crawled into the bed, pulling the covers up over her head. Emily curled into herself as tightly as possible, and finally let herself break down. It had been such a long day. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and she knew things were going to get a whole lot worse before they got better.

Emily wasn't sure how long she lay under her blankets, trying to hide from the world, even if just for a moment. She wasn't sure how much time she spent crying, but eventually, she found herself unable to keep her eyes open any longer. She greatly welcomed sleep.

XxxxxxxxX

Emily woke to a knock on her door. She groaned, poking her head out from under her duvet. There stood Elizabeth Prentiss in the door way.

"Em, dinner's downstairs if you want any. I'm sorry to wake you, but I didn't want it to get cold." Elizabeth relayed.

Emily stretched and sat up, fully awake now. Her stomach growled, and she had to laugh.

"So, that's a yes to dinner?" Elizabeth asked, a twinkle in her eye. Who would've thought Elizabeth Prentiss knew how to joke.

Emily chuckled, throwing the covers off her legs and getting out of bed. The mother-daughter duo headed down the stairs together, side by side.

"Well that depends, you're not going to make me eat frog legs, are you?" Emily asked, remembering being in France when she was about six or seven. Elizabeth had told her she had to eat them to be polite. Instead, little Emily had hid them in her napkin and went to find the French ambassador's dog. She'd gotten quite the lecture after that one.

Elizabeth laughed, recalling the very memory Emily was talking about. Emily was glad, her mother seemed normal. She hoped she would remain this lucid until at least the next day, because as soon as she ate dinner, Emily hoped to go right back to sleep.

"No, dear. No frog legs. I ordered Chinese." Elizabeth said, showing Emily to the table.

"You ordered take out?" Emily asked, as they sat down, George joining them.

"I'm an ambassador, not an idiot. Of course I order take out! How do you think I got by in all those meetings for so many years?" Elizabeth asked as she opened the containers of food.

Emily shrugged, taking the carton of noodles and putting nearly half of them on her plate. "I dunno, I guess I just thought you never had to eat."

Elizabeth laughed, reaching over to take a forkful of Emily's noodles and eating them before responding. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, and that's going to cost you." Emily replied as she stabbed a piece of sesame chicken from Elizabeth's own plate. Emily couldn't believe this dinner was so calm, so carefree. Emily didn't seem to have to worry about keeping a napkin in her lap, or which fork to use for what food, or keeping her elbows off the table.

Emily wished it could always be like this, but she knew it couldn't. She remembered the only reason she was here now was because her mother was very sick. She wasn't going to get any better. She didn't let herself get emotional, not when Elizabeth and George seemed to have released some of their anxieties. So she shook the negative thoughts from her mind, set on having a nice dinner.