"I know I said I'd do anything to help out, but tofurkey?" Charles Greene asked as he pulled the package from the fridge.
"Rachel's a vegetarian." Elizabeth said with a smirk from where she was sitting at the counter preparing a salad. "We're going to have real turkey as well, don't worry."
Charles smirked. "I guess I'll have that to be thankful for."
"You wanted to come Father." She reminded him with a small laugh. "If I recall it had something to do with not wanting to be here for Christmas when Mother's here."
"Of course." Charles feigned remembrance. "Avoiding your mother is always amongst my top priorities."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I would love to have you here for Christmas Daddy, but if you and Mother can't both be here to enjoy it with me and my family then I'm glad you're here for the weekend."
Charles set down the pan he had pulled out of the cupboard. "Would you really like me to be here for Christmas?" He asked in surprise.
"Of course." Elizabeth replied earnestly. "This is the first Christmas Mark and I are going to get to spend with both Rachel and Ella. We'd love to have you and mother here as well."
"Well I'll have to look at my schedule at the hospital, but I'm going to seriously consider it." Charles replied as he moved over to kiss his daughter on the forehead. "It's good to see you so happy Elizabeth."
Elizabeth nodded. "It's good to feel this happy." She assured him.
"So how are things going with Rachel?" Charles asked as he went back to working on the food.
Elizabeth sighed. "It's nice to know she's safe." She admitted. "She still seems so unsettled though. She knows she can't be taken away, and that Craig is currently awaiting criminal charges, but she can't seem to settle down. I just want to know how to fix this."
Charles nodded. "You were the same way you know." He said softly.
"Daddy." Elizabeth said quietly.
"You were so scared to go back to school after it happened. I wanted to destroy him for what he did to you." Charles said as he sat down next to her. "You were so broken Elizabeth, I just wanted to make it all better."
Elizabeth shook her head. "You couldn't have done anything to fix it." She said quietly.
Charles nodded. "Exactly."
Elizabeth sighed. "She needs time."
"Yes." Charles affirmed.
"Thanks Daddy." She said softly. "For everything."
"Of course sweetheart." He assured her before getting up to continue working on the food.
A few minutes later Mark came into the room, Ella hoisted onto his hip, and a tray in his other hand. "How's the food coming?" He asked with a smile.
"It should be done by four." Elizabeth assured him. "How's the game?"
"It should be done by four." Mark replied with a smirk. "Do you want help with this?" He asked her, clearly concerned.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Just enjoy the game with Rachel."
Mark laughed. "We're losing terribly. I'm not going to enjoy the game anymore from in there than I will in here." He said as he set Ella in her highchair. "What can I do to help?"
"Honestly I am in desperate need of a back massage." Elizabeth replied with a smile.
"On it." Mark replied with a smirk as he moved to stand behind her. "After this though, I'm peeling the potatoes."
Elizabeth sighed. "Alright." She feigned resistance. "If you insist."
Mark laughed. "You hate peeling potatoes."
"I know." Elizabeth replied with a smirk. "But it makes me feel better about making you do all the things I hate if I pretend I'm going to do them."
Charles laughed from across the kitchen. "You really have this marriage thing down more than your mother and I ever did."
Elizabeth smirked. "It's not all that easy." She admitted. "We've worked hard on this."
Mark laughed as he pressed a kiss against the top of Elizabeth's head. "I of course haven't had to work that hard, she's practically perfect, I'm the one who causes all the trouble."
"Mark." Elizabeth replied exasperatedly.
"Sorry, sorry." He apologized as he moved towards the sink with a bag of potatoes.
The room sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Charles moved towards Ella. "How is my gorgeous granddaughter doing?" He asked as he picked her up from the chair.
"Oh, Daddy…" Elizabeth began before Ella began to whimper. She hoisted herself from the stool she was on and moved to take her daughter. "She's just shy." She tried to explain.
"I'm her grandfather." Charles protested.
Elizabeth nodded as she felt Ella bury her face into her shoulder. "I know." Elizabeth affirmed. "She just doesn't feel comfortable around anyone she's not very familiar with."
"How old is she?" Charles asked curiously as he moved back to the counter where he began to continue prepping dinner.
"She's one and a half." Mark replied for Elizabeth, sensing the tension that was rising between the two.
"Shouldn't she be talking?" Charles asked curiously.
That was all it took for Elizabeth to snap. "I'll be back." She said bitterly as she handed Ella to Mark before leaving the room.
"What did I…?" Charles tried to question before Mark stopped him.
"I don't know if Elizabeth told you about what happened with Ella earlier this year." Mark began quietly. Charles nodded in response, but didn't say anything. "Ella has been having speech issues, she can talk, and she does occasionally, but it's inconsistent. We've been working with her pediatrician and the pediatric neurologist at the hospital. They don't see any sign of brain injury or damage and they're fairly certain it's a phase she'll grow out of, but Elizabeth is still very concerned." He explained as he put Ella back in her highchair.
Charles looked at him with wide-eyes. "So she's alright?"
Mark nodded. "Nothing is wrong, other than a bit of anxiety on both Ella and Elizabeth's part."
Charles sighed. "That's good." He affirmed. The two worked on dinner in silence for nearly half an hour before Charles spoke up. "You take good care of her."
"I will." Mark replied, not making eye contact.
Charles shook his head. "That was not a request. It was a statement." Mark looked up in confusion. "You take good care of my daughter. Despite everything you two have gone through you still support her."
"Of course I do." Mark replied, sounding confused. "I wouldn't ever hurt her intentionally, I do it on accident far too frequently."
Charles laughed. "Thank you." He said sincerely. "For taking care of Elizabeth."
Mark nodded with a smile before the two of them both went back to working on the food.
"Mark can you get Ella some more potatoes?" Elizabeth asked as she felt her daughter's small hand grabbing at her arm.
Mark laughed as he saw the potatoes spread across his daughter's body and his wife's shirt. "Are you sure she needs more?" He asked as he got up to get a wet towel.
Elizabeth sighed as she looked down to see the potatoes on her sleeve. "I guess she's full."
"I can clean her up." Rachel offered quietly.
Mark smiled and Elizabeth nodded in response. "Thanks bug." Mark affirmed as Rachel picked up Ella from her highchair.
As soon as Rachel was out of earshot Charles spoke up. "So what's the plan for her?" He asked curiously.
Elizabeth choked slightly on her food. "Excuse me?" She asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Is she staying?" Charles replied with yet another question.
"Of course she's staying." Elizabeth said harshly. "She's Mark's daughter, which means she's part of this family."
Charles' eyebrows rose in surprise. "I just assumed after everything that happened you wouldn't want her to be…"
"She lives here." Elizabeth replied angrily. "She deserves to be here just as much as Ella."
Mark looked at Elizabeth sympathetically. He knew that Rachel was a sore spot with both of her parents, and he appreciated how much Elizabeth had worked to keep Rachel from feeling that.
"Yes but after all that's happened I just assumed you wouldn't want…" Charles tried to begin again.
Elizabeth shook her head before pushing herself away from the table. "I'm not having this conversation." She said tersely before getting up to go upstairs.
"We're working on figuring out a long term plan." Mark finally interjected. "Rachel will be staying with us permanently, as a part of this family, at your daughter's request."
"Of course." Charles said softly, unable to make eye contact.
Mark sighed before standing up. "I'm going to go check on Elizabeth." He excused himself before heading up the stairs. He briefly stuck his head into the door of the bathroom to find Rachel giving Ella a bath. "Everything alright?" He asked with a small smirk as he watched Ella splash Rachel with her bathwater.
Rachel smirked. "Yep. A bit damp, but everything's fine."
"Good." Mark allowed before heading toward his and Elizabeth's bedroom. The door was shut, and he knew from the noise it had made when she had slammed it several minutes earlier that she was probably hoping to be left alone. Sighing, Mark knocked gently on the door. "Elizabeth?" He asked softly.
"What?" Elizabeth's voice replied, indicating how tense she really was.
"I'm coming in." Mark said as he gently opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw Elizabeth sitting on the floor. "Are you okay?" He asked as he quickly moved towards her.
Elizabeth sighed. "I knocked some of your medication off the dresser. I was trying to pick it up… but I guess I can't."
Mark smiled sympathetically as he sat down next to her. "Don't worry about it." He said as he gently kissed her. "I've got it."
"You probably shouldn't take any of the pills that fell out of the bottle." Elizabeth said tiredly. "I haven't cleaned in here in ages."
Mark laughed. "Thanks for the tip." He said as he poured the loose pills from his hand into the trash can. "I'm sorry about your Dad." He said after a few minutes.
Elizabeth winced. "I don't want to talk about it." She said tiredly.
"That's fine." He allowed. "Let me help you up."
Elizabeth groaned as he helped her up from the ground. "Thanks." She said softly as she sat down on the bed.
"Can I get you anything?" Mark asked as he placed the pill bottles back on the dresser.
She shook her head for a moment before she spoke. "Will you stay with me?"
Mark smiled. "Always." He assured her as he joined her on the bed.
"Thank you." She said after a few moments.
"For what?" Mark asked as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Everything."
Mark smiled as he pressed his lips into her curls. "It's been my pleasure."
After Elizabeth had drifted off to sleep Mark looked at the clock and saw it was only a few minutes after eight. Gently he extracted himself from the bed as to not wake Elizabeth before he left the room, closing the door softly behind himself.
After finding Ella's room empty he made his way down the stairs finding Charles, Rachel, and Ella sitting in the living room. Charles who was sitting on the large armchair was glancing through the stack of medical journals that had taken permanent residence on the coffee table, while Rachel and Ella sat on the couch watching the videotape of the parade from earlier that day.
"Hey." He greeted his daughters softly as he slid onto the couch next to them.
Ella grinned as she climbed onto her father's lap. "Daddy." She said softly as she settled into his arms.
"Hi Ella." He greeted her with a kiss to her forehead. "How's the parade?" Ella giggled but just pointed at the screen in response. Mark sighed. "How are you doing Rach?" He asked after a few moments.
Rachel shrugged as she adjusted so that her head was resting on his shoulder. "I'm okay."
Mark smiled as he wrapped one of his arms around her. "I know you aren't." He said softly. "You can tell me what you're thinking you know."
Rachel shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."
Mark looked at her and saw that she had visibly paled. He looked around the room for a moment before making his decision. "Charles would you mind watching Ella for an hour or so?" He asked abruptly. "I'd like to take Rachel out for a bit."
Charles looked up at him in surprise. "I'd be happy to."
"She should fall asleep fairly soon." Mark said as he stood up, Ella still in his arms. "She may cry for a bit, but if you ask her some questions about pretty much anything she'll calm down soon enough."
Rachel was watching the scene with interest. "Dad it's fine…"
"Go get your coat and boots on." Mark replied as he handed Ella to Charles. "I'll have my pager on, and Elizabeth is asleep upstairs." Ella looked at both of them apprehensively as she was transferred to her grandfather's lap. "Ella baby this is Grandad, he's going to put you to bed tonight. You should pick out a story for him to read you."
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Charles asked, sounding as apprehensive as Ella looked.
Mark shook his head. "I'll be back." He said as he pulled on his own boots and coat. "Page me if there's a problem." He said, leading Rachel outside and closing the door behind them.
"Where are we going?" Rachel asked as she followed him as he quickly descended the stairs
"Come on." Mark said as he began walking down the street.
They walked for nearly fifteen minutes before Rachel grabbed his arm. "Dad where are we going?" She asked, this time her face was filled with fear.
"Oh honey." Mark said sympathetically. "I'm not trying to scare you." He assured her quickly. "We're almost there."
Rachel nodded, but moved her hand to his and held on tightly. A few minutes later they were approaching a brightly lit diner. "Dad we already ate." Rachel said, her eyebrow cocked in confusion.
"Well do you want to talk outside or inside?" Mark said with a smirk.
Rachel sighed as she followed him into the building, he immediately went to the booth in the back corner and sat down, and she sat across from him. A waitress approached the table fairly quickly and Mark ordered a basket of fries and two chocolate shakes.
They sat in silence until after the food was set in front of them.
After Mark had eaten a few fries Rachel finally spoke. "Why are we here?" She asked impatiently.
"Because we need to talk." Mark said simply.
"I don't want to talk about this." Rachel replied anxiously.
"Rachel we've been doing this for weeks." Mark replied immediately. "You close up to me and Elizabeth and you are clearly unhappy with the situation. I need you to speak with me, honestly speak with me."
Rachel shook her head as she stared at the shake in front of her. "I'm fine."
"Rachel you aren't fine." Mark tried again, but he was only greeted with silence.
They sat across from each other in silence for another thirty minutes before Mark sighed. "Alright." He finally allowed. "If we're not going to do this, let's go home."
Rachel quickly got up and walked out of the diner. Mark pulled several bills from his wallet and left them on the table before following her. "Rach!" He called after her as he watched her break into a run. "Rachel wait!" He tried again as he began to jog after her.
They were over halfway home when Rachel stopped and turned around, tears streaming down her face. "Why?" She asked him angrily.
Mark caught up with her and stopped in confusion. "Why what?" He asked her, trying to catch his breath.
"Why do you care?" Rachel asked angrily.
"Rachel…" Mark tried to calm her down.
Rachel shook her head. "Don't do this." She said angrily. "Don't act like you can fix this. You can't fix this. You can't fix me. So why are you trying?"
"Rachel I…" Mark tried again.
"I just want you and Elizabeth and everyone else to leave me alone." Rachel cried angrily. "Because if one more person tries to fix me I'm going to explode."
"Rachel I don't want to fix you." Mark said quickly. "I don't want you to feel like I see you as a problem I need to solve. I don't."
Rachel shook her head. "Then why are we out here?"
"Because you deserve a safe place to express this." Mark said calmly. "I know Charles makes you feel uncomfortable, I wanted to make sure you're okay."
Rachel shrugged. "I'm not. You know that."
Mark nodded. "I do."
"He treats me like I ruined Elizabeth's life. Like me being there is such a terrible thing. Like I am the reason for everything." She said angrily. "I know I hurt Ella, I know I hurt you and Elizabeth, I know I ruined everything."
Mark shook his head. "You didn't ruin anything." He assured her softly.
"If it weren't for me everything would be okay." Rachel protested.
Mark laughed. "Bug everything is always going to be a mess." He said with a small smile. "In the long run the little things aren't going to mean anything."
Rachel shook her head. "I don't make small mistakes. I make huge ones. It's my fault you and Mom broke up. It's my fault Ella overdosed. It's my fault that I can't live with Mom and Craig anymore. It's my fault I have to live with you. It's my fault…"
"No." Mark stopped her suddenly. "I love you Rachel, and I would do anything to make this guilt go away, but sweetheart you cannot blame yourself for things you had little or no control over. Especially not forever."
Rachel finally looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "I am so sorry."
Mark shook his head as she threw herself into his arms. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, not anymore. You've done everything you possibly could have to fix the mistakes you made. You need to forgive yourself now."
Rachel nodded as she held onto him tightly. "Thank you."
"No thanks needed." Mark assured her. "Let's go home, it's cold out here."