Thank you guys so much for all your reviews! It's time for Elizabeth to move into the nursing home, and for the record I just made one up, so if there is one somewhere with the same name, they aren't the same! I hope to get at least one more chapter up by the end of the weekend, so I hope you guys enjoy!
XxxxxX
When the alarm went off, Emily reached out and turned it off immediately. She hadn't really been sleeping; she had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't get herself to fall back asleep. She spent the last several hours just lying in bed, dreading the day's events.
Honestly, Emily hadn't ever planned to move her mother into a nursing home. As irrational as it seemed, she just saw her mother as an unstoppable force; as a strong, independent woman who wouldn't get old, wouldn't get sick.
Emily sighed and sat up in bed, running her hands through her messy hair. She thought about showering, but decided she didn't really see the point. She tossed her hair up into a ponytail, changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitted t-shirt.
She headed down the stairs to find Elizabeth and George already awake and in the kitchen. They were seated at the breakfast bar, mugs of coffee in front of them. Neither one seemed to be drinking it, they were just talking quietly.
"Hey," Emily said softly as she stood across from them, resting her elbows on the bar and leaning against it. "How are you?" She asked her mother softly. She wasn't sure how Elizabeth reacted after an episode like the one she had had the previous night.
"I'm okay, Emily." Elizabeth assured her. She reached across the bar and took one of Emily's hands in hers. "I'm sorry." She added faintly.
Emily sent her mother a weak smile. "It's not your fault," She said honestly. "Don't be sorry, okay?" Elizabeth nodded, but Emily knew she still felt a little guilty about last night.
The trio worked together to make breakfast, but no one was very hungry; so they mostly just pushed the food around their plates before finally giving up and putting their plates in the sink.
"I'll help put your things in the car." George offered, as they all headed up the stairs where most of Elizabeth's belongings were packed up. They brought down the suitcases and few boxes of things in two trips. By then, it was only half an hour before Elizabeth's check in time. That gave them just enough time to drive to the nursing home.
"Are you ready?" Emily asked, knowing she wasn't.
Elizabeth nodded, she hugged George goodbye, whispering something Emily couldn't hear into his ear. Emily had to look away, she knew this was the last time the two were going to see each other. Elizabeth didn't want anyone to come to the nursing home but Emily. George had worked for Elizabeth for years, since Emily was a teenager. He had become a part of their family, yet Emily understood her mother's reasoning. She wondered if, maybe in another place and time, her mother and George would have gotten together romantically. She had known for years that George had fallen in love with her mother. She had often wondered if Elizabeth had ever even noticed, but she could tell as they bid each other goodbye, that Elizabeth knew.
Once they pulled away, Elizabeth hurried to sit in the passenger seat of the car.
"I'll see you later." Emily told the tall, gray haired man. Though she would be back later that day, Emily hugged the man tightly, anyway.
"Take care of her." George whispered. Emily nodded into his shoulder. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes before she got into the car and drove away into the direction of the nursing home.
XxxxxX
The ride to the nursing home only took about twenty minutes, but both Emily and Elizabeth were silent, so it felt like an eternity. Neither woman knew what to say. What was there to say? They both knew that no matter what the other said, it wasn't going to make this change any easier.
Finally, Emily pulled into the parking lot of Beacon Ridge Nursing Home and found a parking spot close to the front door. She and Elizabeth headed inside, and Emily helped Elizabeth sign in. That process was easy, and it didn't take a lot of time.
Ten minutes after arriving, Emily, Elizabeth, and a couple of nurses were unloading Elizabeth's luggage and taking it up to room 205. Emily bit her lip the whole ride up the elevator, and tried not to cry. She had to do this for her mother; she had to be strong for her. Emily admired how brave Elizabeth was being through all this. She wasn't sure she could do the same.
When they reached room 205, the nurses unlocked the door and went in first, putting both of Elizabeth's suitcases at the foot of the bed. Emily sat a box on the bed, and Elizabeth did the same.
"We'll leave you to unpack, but come back down when you're ready and we'll get everything completely finalized." The petite redheaded woman named Katherine said sweetly, as she and the taller, blonde nurse named Amelia left the room, closing the door behind them.
Emily and Elizabeth unpacked everything, putting all the clothes in the closet, sitting out the pictures and books Elizabeth had brought with her. The room looked too plain, too impersonal, despite their efforts to give it a more homey feeling.
"I can bring some blankets from the house for you." Emily offered, speaking to her mother for the first time since they left the house.
"That would be nice; you can do it next time you come. There's no hurry, dear." Elizabeth said, not meeting Emily's eyes as she straightened the beige comforter on the bed.
"I'll come every day." Emily said, unaware her mother didn't already know that. "I could even go home and get more things now and have them here for tonight." She offered again.
"Emily, I don't expect you to be here all the time. That's the whole point of me moving here. So no one has to… deal with me." Elizabeth told her daughter, sitting on the bed.
"Mom," Emily said gently, sitting next to Elizabeth. "You can't expect me to just drop you off and leave you here. I wouldn't do that. This isn't your fault. You know that, don't you?" Emily questioned seriously.
"I don't know," Elizabeth whispered.
"What do you mean?" Emily prodded, gently putting her arm around Elizabeth's shoulder.
Elizabeth took a breath and sighed. "I just- I wasn't the best mother to you. Maybe this is my punishment for that. Forcing you to take care of me until I eventually die." Elizabeth mumbled darkly.
"You aren't forcing me to do anything. This isn't a punishment. Mom, do you really think that? I know we haven't ever had a great relationship, but…but I've never honestly hated you. I always admired your ability to handle yourself and always appear so brave and strong. Even when I was sneaking out and getting into trouble." Emily assured her mother, squeezing her shoulder lightly. She ignored that last part about her mother dying, she couldn't think about that right now.
Elizabeth blinked back tears. "I know…I know. I suppose it's easier to feel like God or the universe is punishing me, rather than it being some random genetic thing, or whatever."
Emily smiled supportively. "It'll be alright." She said.
Elizabeth nodded. "We should head back down, get everything settled. Then I want you to go home and sleep. I don't want you to worry about me, I'll be okay."
"I can stay, it's really-" Emily was cut off.
"No, honey. There's not much else you can do for me today, you've been a big help. Thank you." Elizabeth assured her daughter.
Emily bit her lip, but finally agreed. They headed down to the lobby, where everything was finalized, and Emily was given a full tour by Katherine the nurse, while Elizabeth went back up to her room.
Before heading back home, Emily went back up to room 205. She found Elizabeth lying on the bed, fast asleep. The brunette smiled, gently tossing one of the nursing home's blankets over her sleeping mother, and vowing to visit as early as possible in the morning with more comfort items for her.
XxxxxX
As soon as Emily got back home, she was met with an anxious George at the door.
"Is she alright?" He asked softly.
"She's okay, for now." Emily replied. "She was so quiet…I think she needs to adjust. She wanted me to come home for the day. I think she needs to be alone for now, you know?"
George nodded, understanding how the Prentiss women processed things.
"You know, she may still want to see you." Emily supplied gently. "I think this is all so scary and new, she's just…she's not sure how to feel. She tried to convince me, and herself, that she was being punished." Emily revealed, feeling a lump form in her throat, knowing she was moments away from crying.
"Punished?" George asked.
Emily nodded. "For- for being a bad mom. But she- she wasn't. She's not." Emily choked out, her voice cracking.
George pulled Emily close to him, just letting her cry for a few minutes. He didn't shush her; he knew she needed to cry.
"She said she felt like she was forcing me to take care of her until she died." Emily rasped a few minutes later, sitting up and looking at the older man in front of her. "I- I don't want her to die." Emily realized. The reality of the situation was finally settling in. She knew statistics; she'd Googled Alzheimer's statistics, facts, symptoms, and anything else she could think of the night before when she couldn't sleep. Those were just numbers; they were just words on a laptop screen. But, she realized, they were her new reality.
Her mother would die. The disease could progress quickly, it could be within a few years. Elizabeth's doctors could find the right dosages of medicines and treatments, and she could live for ten more years, maybe more. Emily couldn't remember exactly, she had read about the disease until her eyes started crossing. There was no way to know how Elizabeth would fare, not yet, at least. And that thought terrified Emily more than anything.
"I know you don't, Emily. I know." George said softly.
Emily took a breath, willing herself not to cry again. She wanted to have her breakdown in private.
"I'm um, I'm going to take a nap." Emily whispered eventually.
"Should I leave?" George asked.
"What do you mean?" Emily replied, she wanted to be alone for the moment, not forever.
"I was your mother's assistant, but now I'm just some guy in your home." He shrugged.
"George," Emily said seriously. "I've known you since I was a teenager, you're a part of this family, you are not going anywhere." She told him gently, though her tone was firm.
"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to be a burden.
"Yes, please, don't go." She told him, knowing there was no way she could do any of this by herself.
George agreed, though he seemed a bit reluctant, and Emily knew that this wouldn't be the last time they had this discussion. But for now, she just wanted to go up to her room and cry herself to sleep, and that's just what she did.
XxxxxX
The next morning, Emily woke early. Visiting hours at the nursing home didn't start until 10am, but Emily wanted to get some things together to take to her mother.
She got the comforter off her mother's bed, and a quilt from the closet in Elizabeth's bedroom, along with some pillows. She hoped these would make her mother feel more at home.
After scrawling a quick note to George and leaving it on the kitchen counter, she took the items to the car and put them in the back seat.
Emily had decided to liven up Elizabeth's room, she would go to the florist and get her an arrangement to keep on her nightstand, and she would replace it as often as she needed to. She didn't really know what else to do to help Elizabeth at the moment, and she hoped that this would at least put a smile on her mother's face.
The florist was only a few miles away, so Emily got there pretty quickly. She headed inside and just looked at all the possible bouquets she could choose from. Emily was a little disappointed that she didn't know her own mother's favorite color, let alone her favorite flower. She bit her lip, pondering over the flowers for a few moments longer. Until she felt someone staring at her.
Emily whipped around, looking wildly around the small shop, nearly freezing when she saw him.
Standing on the other side of the flower shop was none other than Aaron Hotchner, staring at her as if she was some kind of exhibit at a zoo.
A/N- I know it was kind of mean to end it here, but I hope to get the next part up tomorrow or the next day, since this was getting kind of long. Don't forget to review ; )