Hello everyone! I am very happy to say, here is chapter four! This chapter is very close to my heart. It's a breath of fresh air especially after the events of chapter three. This chapter solely focuses on Henry and Elizabeth dealing with the aftermath of their daughter's disappearance and moving forward with their children in hopes to find the pieces to rebuild their broken home. They do this by doing it together. I had tears in my eyes many times writing this chapter because well...Henry and Elizabeth. They are a power couple and amazing parents. Anyways, I will stop now and let you get to reading!

As always, if you find this story is not to your liking or harmful to your person, please redirect yourself to more suitable content:)

-lovelylavenderlady

Five months post from the day the McCords life had changed and their daughter was cruelly taken from them, there were still no leads or information bringing them closer to finding their daughter. It seemed almost unreal that they lived so many days without Madeline and they grappled to make sense of this new reality. For Elizabeth she could not understand how there were no clues nor any traces pointing to the location of their daughter. It made no sense. It happened in broad day light and yet no cameras had picked up anything and no one had been able to get a description of the person responsible. There were also no traces of them stopping at gas stations, stores, or rest stops in that area. Her daughter and her abductor had seemingly disappeared without of trace of where they were or where they were going. For Henry and Elizabeth, it had taken every ounce of their being to not let their worry and grief consume them. There was nothing worse than the unknown and right now the parents knew nothing about what had happened to their little girl.

The weeks following Madeline's disappearance had been grueling. Little sleep was attained and there was no semblance of peace to be found in the chaos of trying to keep moving forward in life when it felt like time itself had been brought crashing down. Will had stayed for a few weeks which was more than he should've and Henry's family had come down as well to offer their support. His oldest sister Maureen and his parents had come to town in hopes that they could bring the young parents a few moments of relief. It had been vital for Henry and Elizabeth both to be able to grieve without the fear of their children being trapped in the middle of their grieving process. It most certainly was a relief to have help and not feel like they were being pitied but being loved.

Eventually, they had to find new normals and though things could never return back to the way they were, they had begun rebuilding the foundation of their lives. So the kids returned to school which brought a problem of its's own as both Henry and Elizabeth had to confront their anxieties of their children returning to school. The feared it endangered the kid's safety but they both agreed it was important for them to return to their normal lives to keep their structures sound. Henry returned to his job at the College and Elizabeth returned to her work at the CIA and did her best to delve into the work load in hopes that it would create a distraction.

It worked...for a time.

Henry opened the door to their home and surprisingly it was quiet, at least partly. He could hear the tv but he did not hear the kids which was odd for they knew when he would get home and were almost always waiting for him at the door.

Setting his briefcase down, he walked farther into the house. He could hear the tune from the Disney Robin Hood coming from the living room. When he rounded the corner the girls were sat on the couch watching the show and there were snacks laying on the table in front of them. "Hey girls," Henry greeted as he walked up behind the couch and placed a kiss to both of their heads.

"Daddy!" Both girls erupted and turned standing on the couch to hug him.

"Where's your brother?" Henry asked looking around seeing no sign of the toddler or his wife.

"He fell to sleep mommy took him upstairs a while ago," Stevie answered giving Henry an uncertain look that he couldn't quite read. Alison seemed unbothered.

"Is mommy alright?" He asked confused slightly. It was late for Jason to be sleeping and it was unlike Elizabeth to leave the girls downstairs by themselves. Grant it, Stevie was old enough to be left unattended, they still didn't like leaving them on different levels of the house when they weren't present.

"She was upset when she picked us up from school," Stevie answered as she looked down still trying to understand her mother's behavior.

"I see," Henry gave her a small smile as tucked her hair behind her ear. "She probably just had a rough day at work...don't worry about it. I'll go check on her." Henry didn't know what had happened but he didn't want the girls, especially Stevie, to take it upon themselves to mend whatever it was. Out of all the kids, Stevie had struggled the most with Madeline's disappearance. She was the oldest and had more ability to comprehend what had happened and also had been siblings with Madeline the longest and so in someways was struggling more with her absence than either Alison or Jason.

"Is she ok dad?" Stevie looked up at him, her eyes expressing the worry she felt.

"Everything's alright Stevie," Henry assured her as he gently squeezed her arm. "Keep watching your movie and I'll be back down in a few minutes."

Henry walked up the stairs quietly to not disturb Jason who he looked in on first. The little boy was fast asleep in his bed but this came at a cost. This meant he was going to wake up around two in the morning and be unwilling to go back to sleep. Shutting the door carefully he moved to their room. It was empty at first glance. While her bags were there, Elizabeth was not. He looked around confused but then he saw the bathroom door was shut. He knocked to alert her of his presence. "Elizabeth?" He called but received no answer. "I'm coming in."

When he entered she was sitting on the floor in front of their tub, her body limp as she stared off into space with tears trailing down her face. Her eyes were red and her mascara gathered beneath them and ran down her cheeks. Henry's eyes scanned the bathroom. There was a candle along with Elizabeth's earring dish that were shattered on the floor by the wall and on her hands there was blood. It didn't appear to be anything major but still, he knew she had wounded herself in her outburst. Looking her over trying to understand what had caused this he saw that in her hand laid a card that read 'Mommy' and Henry recognized it immediately. It was the card that Madeline had made her for Mother's Day and something Elizabeth had cherished but now, that card held a whole new meaning. It was the most recent one Madeline had made, which meant even though they didn't want to think about such a thing, it could've been the last Mother's Day card she'd ever make for Elizabeth. Henry bent down slowly and reached out about to take the card but her hand retracted quickly as she pulled it to her chest clinging to it like a child who is unwilling to part with their. favorite toy.

"Henry," she spoke numbly, confusion evident in her voice as she looked at him like she wasn't expecting it to be him. "You're home."

"I got back a few minutes ago," he spoke softly as he took a seat next to her. "The girls told me you were up here..." there was an explanation to be had but Henry knew pushing for answers wasn't going to get Elizabeth to give them. She had to choose it for herself.

Elizabeth looked away from him her gaze locking with the card as her hands fell to her lap. There was the obvious reason of why she was sitting on the floor, a complete mess. Madeline. But it was also more than that. Fuel had been added to the fire today and she had burst the moment it touched the flames. "Dalton sent me home today," she sniffled her voice coming out weak and hoarse as she used the back of her hand to wipe her nose. It seemed only then that she noticed the blood on herself and looked around. She saw the glass and her chin quivered as she remembered her own actions.

Henry nodded as he reached for a towel and ran it under the water in the tub. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked softly as he gently picked up the hand that was empty and began to wipe away the blood.

"I think I might have gone back too soon..." she choked out unable to even look at him.

"There is no shame in admitting you aren't ready to go back Elizabeth," he stated tenderly as he examined her hand. Thank god it was only two small cuts.

Elizabeth shook her head and pulled her hand away from him as she pulled her knees to chest and gripped her hair while her forehead braced against her palms. "I lost my cool Henry...I more than lost my cool," she said angrily. "I blew up in front of everyone."

"That bad huh?" Henry asked as he imagined what happened. Elizabeth was cool and collected, most definitely stern and authoritative but she was a good leader and a kind woman.

"I yelled at Dave," Elizabeth sniffled as she picked at a stain on her pants.

"Who's Dave?" Henry asked not recognizing the name.

"The new intel guy," she answered as she finally met Henry's gaze and her eyes immediately welled.

"You wanna tell me why you yelled at Dave?" Henry inquired softly as he gently grabbed her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. This made Elizabeth look away again and she tried to hold back the cry that wanted to come out as she thought about it. "You can talk to me honey."

"Um," Elizabeth began unsteadily as she fidgeted, uncomfortable in her own skin. "We got a new case and-and um there was a girl who's father got himself into some trouble with the wrong group and they-they," she stopped as her voice broke and she let out a whimper as she clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Hey shh," Henry spoke quietly as he put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

"They took her Henry, they took her," she sobbed into his shoulder as her body began to shake.

Henry knew she was talking about more than the girl from her case. She was talking about their own daughter. Madeline. He could only imagine how this would've seeped into his wife's heart as it was so close to their own situation. Shaking her to her core and bringing down the already wobbly structure that was her body and mind. He understood it all now. Elizabeth had done well with the distraction her work provided but something like this would've only stirred the nest and reminded her what she had lost...of what they both had lost. "I'm here babe," he tried to comfort her. "I'm here."

"She's gone Henry," Elizabeth wailed. "Our little girl is gone."

This statement was like a knife to the gut. Through these months they had done their best to hold onto hope but as the weeks continued to drag on it only seemed Madeline was falling farther and farther out of their reach and so was their hope. It was hard not to imagine what had become of their daughter and hard not to think about the worst thing. Was their Madeline dead? The thought only left both parents shaking in the questions wake. What had become of their daughter and even worse...would they spend the rest of their lives without an answer, never knowing what had happened to her? There were no words to be said and so Henry joined his wife in this moment and they both grieved the unknown.

A few weeks had passed and they had reached the six month marker for the day Madeline had been abducted. It was grueling to have to move forward with their lives for the sake of their other three children while also still living on the precipice of waiting for the call that Madeline had been found and it making it to the end of each day without having received it. It was like a shadow looming over their heads, constantly covering them with no end in sight. This being said, Henry and Elizabeth were both reaching the point where they knew the kids could no longer live under the shadow of Madeline's disappearance any longer. It was time to accept their new reality but knowing they needed to accept something and actually accepting it were two very different things.

It was Sunday afternoon and surprisingly enough they had the most normal Sunday they had as a family since the Sunday Madeline had been taken. They had all enjoyed breakfast together over cartoons and the girls had even managed to make Elizabeth laugh which seemed to be a rare occurrence. She had also been becoming just as hands on with Jason as she had been before the tragedy had struck their family. It wasn't that Elizabeth loved their children any less it was just that it was hard to do anything with her kids without thinking about the child she could no longer do the things with.

They knew the hard times were not completely behind them and the pain still remained and seeped into the days but it felt safe to say they were developing a new sense of normal in the McCord household.

Henry had been playing with girls while Elizabeth caught up on some paperwork when Alison had asked if they could go to the park...the question left him frozen on the spot. That awful day he had told Alison they would come back to the park because in that moment it seemed like it would be more than feasible. Why wouldn't it? It was a regular activity they did together as a family but since that day they had not returned to the park or any park in general and now that the question had been raised Henry wondered if it would be possible. For him and Elizabeth both.

In the middle of the doubt Henry realized the answer was clear. It had to happen one day so why should it not be today. The park was not a bad place it wasn't even the reason their daughter had been taken from them, even if it was normal for the brain to associate the two. It was people and sometimes humans were evil but their kids deserved to live out from under the burden of humanity's wrongdoings. Their kids deserved to be kids and being a kid meant days at the park with your parents. The only thing that remained was whether or not Elizabeth would it see it this way. He was afraid of the question alone disrupting the new found sense of normality they had finally been able to grab hold of.

"Let me talk to your mother ok?" Henry resumed and gave the girls a smile. They nodded at him smiling back but he noticed Stevie's did not seem to be as enthusiastic as Alison's. He would sort that out later. "You two keep playing and keep an eye on your brother I will be right back."

He jogged up the stairs and peeked at the office door. It was cracked. Slowly advancing, he reached the door and took a deep breath before pushing his way in. "Hey babe," he smiled as he saw her leaned over the desk, her glasses beginning to slip to the end of her nose. He always loved when that happened.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at him as she laid the file of papers down. "Hello Professor," she said as she took her glasses off.

"How's it going?" He asked as he walked behind her planting a kiss on her cheek before he began to gently massage her shoulders.

"It's going, I could use a break though," she chuckled as she relaxed into his hands. "Oh god how do you do that?" She was clearly enjoying the moment of his hands working out the knots that were present.

"Lots of practice," he replied with a chuckle. "You put me to work over the years especially when you were pregnant."

"I did, didn't I?" she smiled as she tilted her head back to look up at him signaling for him to lean down, which he did and she kissed him. "You have always been so good to me Henry McCord, I'm not sure I would've survived four pregnancies without you." Her statement was true. There were very few men like Henry McCord and sometimes Elizabeth wondered if there were any others at all. He had always been so thoughtful especially when she was carrying their children. Doting on her and caring for her. His love was unwavering and very obvious.

"How could I not? I'm the luckiest man alive to have found you..." he smiled at her recalling the year he had met her. It was love at first sight. "A young, hopelessly romantic college boy who had no idea what he was doing with his life who just so happened to be attending the same university as the brilliant Elizabeth Adams. I looked at you and I knew exactly what I was going to do..." he couldn't help but grin as he remembered the day they met.

"And what was that?" Elizabeth asked looking at him still as deeply as in love as she had been when they first met.

"I was going to make her Elizabeth McCord and I'd say I didn't a pretty good job, wouldn't you?" He stopped his hand movements and looked at her just as deeply as she was looking at him.

"I would say so," Elizabeth answered slowly as she became lost in his eyes and she stood up from her chair placing a hand on is chest. "And I would say she is she pretty happy you did..."

It had been months since they had this type of moment. There was too much grief to reminisce about their young love and or how that love had been stoked like embers of a fire and turned to flames. "I love you Elizabeth..." he stated passionately as he reached up to gently caress her cheek. "I could not imagine my life without you."

She leaned into his touch cherishing how gentle and kind it was. "I love you too Henry," she stated as her eyes closed softly and she placed her hand over his. She had missed this. These moments where their life and love were not consumed and hidden behind the curtains of grief. Curtains that hid the light and with it moments like these. "You are the love of my life and the strongest pillar of my foundation."

At words like those he couldn't help but lean forward, capturing her lips a kiss. It wasn't a needy or a desperate kiss or the kind that made you feel like there something more you were looking for. It was slow and gentle, like the kind that made you feel you were being loved simply for being you. Like they were meeting, conjoining to show how their hearts were one. They were appreciating how long love like this had lasted.

He pulled away slowly, looking at her earnestly. "Do you trust me Elizabeth?" He asked softly tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Of course I do," her brow furrowed as grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

He stopped and looked out the window knowing this was going to be a make or break moment. Turning back to meet her eyes he nodded. "Then I need you to do something for me..."

"What is it?" she asked confused as to where this was going. He paused looking at her lovingly but also with a sense of hesitation.

Finally he spoke and the words left Elizabeth dumbfounded and feeling like she was free falling.

"I need you to come with me and our kids and go to the park," he own voice broke as he knew what he was asking of her.

The words rung in her ears repeating on a loop and she slowly let go of his hand. She turned away from him looking at the papers on her desk except she was looking at the papers she was looking at the last time she had been to the park. Looking at all it had taken from her. She was looking for his words to change and she could turn around and he had asked her do something else...anything else but that. "Henry-" she began but she was interrupted as he grabbed her arm turning her around to face him.

"You said you trusted me," he stated, begging her to remember it. To take his hand back and face this with him. "If that's true then please...take my hand and let's go tell our kids they can be kids again. Let's take them to the park like we used to. Please Elizabeth."

"Henry I-" she stopped her eyes welling with tears as she shook her head still reeling in the thought alone.

"I know," he said simply as he took her face in his hands. "I know."

"Then why are you asking me this?" she said her voice cracking as she felt so small and vulnerable she could be broken right now in this moment.

"Because on that day, I told our kids we would come back to the park and so far," he shook his head. "We haven't. It's time we faced this Elizabeth. It's time we stopped living like the world stopped that day."

"My world did stop that day Henry," she said weakly as a single tear slipped from her eye.

"So did mine..." he all but whispered as he used his thumb to gently wipe the tear away. "But their's didn't. And it's time we stopped acting like it did and face our fears to teach them they can face theirs."

Elizabeth looked down knowing there was truth in his words. Stone cold truth but she wasn't sure she was ready to face the cold. She felt naked and bear and right now the weather outside felt like it might as well be in the negatives with no sign of warming. Just a minute ago she had felt peaceful even happy and now she it felt like it all been ripped from her.

"Do you trust me?" He asked for a third time snapping her out of her spiral of thoughts. She looked at him seemingly unable to answer. "Do you trust me Elizabeth?"

"You know I do..." she answered but her breath caught in her throat leaving a lump wedged in its wake.

"Then please, come with me and let's go tell our kids we can go to the park and trust that I will not let anything bad happen. Not again. This time we will go and will come back with just as many kids as we left with. Trust me Elizabeth."

There was a pause and then she looked at him, truly unsure if she had it in her or not. She knew the first time would be painful beyond belief. It would be like reliving it all over again but she also knew she did trust him and that he was right and their kids did not deserve living a life of being strangled by fearful parents. They deserved brave parents who would face their fears and not live in what ifs or what happened yesterday or the day before. Madeline did not deserve that. They deserved life. So with a slight whimper she nodded her head yes knowing she did not have it in her to actually speak the words but she had to find the strength to carry out the action.

"You can do this," Henry whispered as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She had felt her body growing tenser and tenser as they had gotten closer to the park and now that she was actually here looking at the parking lot where she had all but not lost her mind and a piece of herself, she felt her body tremble as Henry got out of the car and she knew she would have to do the same as well. Since the vehicle started moving, her brain began processing where she was headed and that day had been replaying over and over again in her mind like a nightmare you couldn't seem to wake from. She had done everything to avoid seeing this place since the day it happened. A different route to work, which meant a longer commute. She took the backroads when taking the girls to school, she had even changed some of the stores she would go to, all to avoid this park and now here she was, willingly coming back again.

Henry walked around to her side of the car and opened her door, a gentlemen as always but he was also acting as her stability. "Take my hand and we will do this together."

She took his hand but she did not move at first. "I'm trying Henry," she looked down her eyes welling with unshed fear.

"I know you are you," he spoke softly as he stroked her hand with his thumb. "We can do this by doing it together."

She nodded as she took a deep breath to steady herself and closed her eyes as she took the leap of faith and stepped out of the car.

Mommy!

Elizabeth shuddered as she recalled the sound of her daughter's voice screaming for her.

"You've got this," Henry encouraged her as they stood together and he opened the back door to the car and the girls began to excitedly get out. "I'm gonna get Jason, you girls wait for us ok?"

"We will," Stevie answered as she grabbed Alison's hand to make sure she didn't run off.

Elizabeth turned and noticed Stevie was looking at her and while happiness laid in her expression she also noticed there was concern behind her orbs. "Good job Stevie," Elizabeth tried to raise a small smile of encouragement to her oldest daughter who had always been attentive and she felt proud to see her watching out for Alison but she also knew that what had happened had impacted her the most and she see saw the same hesitation in Stevie's eyes at being here as Elizabeth felt herself. "Here, take my hand and we will go together."

Stevie immediately reached out and clasped her hand in Elizabeth's, holding onto it tightly and Elizabeth squeezed it in assurance much like Henry had done for her. She was shaking herself as she her eyes made contact with the playground but she felt strength enter her body as she realized Stevie was nervous too. It always felt easier to be brave for your child when they were apprehensive more so than being able to do it solely for yourself. Henry was right. She had been absent for too long. Her children needed her and she would be damned if she could not fulfill that need. She could do this. She had to do this.

Henry walked up beside her with Jason in his arms and together the family walked towards the park. Alison and Jason were the most carefree and didn't seem to recall the awful events that had taken place the last time they had here and were the first to to step away from their parents wanting to play. Henry saw the look on Elizabeth's face as Alison let go of Stevie's hand and he put Jason down. She looked like a mother duck who's ducklings had all gone in different directions and was panicking as she was being pulled in all those different directions. "They are ok..." Henry reached out taking her hand. "We are right here."

Elizabeth nodded squeezing his hand back as Stevie squeezed hers. She looked down at her daughter and wondered if Stevie felt as much fear as she did. Her face looked like it did. Elizabeth's heart broke at this. She had failed at truly being there for Stevie over the last few months and had not built the girl's confidence in her safety. She had not assured her that what happened to Madeline would not happen to her. "Are you ok honey?" Elizabeth inquired softly as she looked down at her daughter.

Stevie looked at her mother unsure as her own eyes began to sting with tears. "What if the bad person comes back here and takes me too..."

"Oh Stevie," Elizabeth breathed her name as she felt her heart shatter at the words. She bent down taken her little girl's hands in her own and reached up to gently wipe away the tear that was trailing down Stevie's face. "It's scary isn't?" Elizabeth asked this not heighten the girl's fears but to validate them for no matter what, something terrible had happened to their family and whether or not Henry and Elizabeth would never let it happen again it still had happened to one of their children and Stevie was old enough to know it.

"Mhmm," Stevie nodded, her chin quivering as she looked into her mother's eyes.

"Yeah it is," Elizabeth nodded as her lips took to a sad smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind Stevie's ear. "I don't know why your sister was taken from us but I do know your dad and I are going to do everything within our power to keep you and your siblings safe so that something like that never happens again. The park isn't a bad place sweetie...but sometimes people are but that doesn't mean we stop having fun or stop coming to the park. It just means that we be more careful when we come to places like this."

"How do we do that?" Stevie asked her brow furrowing.

Elizabeth looked quickly to make sure Henry was still watching Jason and Alison which he was and she was thankful he stood in her stead because it was clear that Stevie needed to talk about this. "Well the first thing we can do is always make sure we can see each other. That way nobody gets lost or gets confused and doesn't know where to go to find their way back. The second thing is to never talk to a stranger or without your dad or I there with you even if it seems like they are friendly or nice. Sometimes people like to pretend to be nice just to make it easier to do bad things without good people noticing. And the last thing is to if you ever feel unsafe or afraid, always and I mean always come get me or your dad and we will keep you safe." Elizabeth hated that she had to explain this to her child at such a young age. That she had to shatter the way her child saw the world. The world should be a beautiful place and sometimes it was. Sometimes humans were capable of great things but the sad truth is, there are many who were not and the world could be a dangerous place instead of place where people should be safe. Madeline was proof that it wasn't and as a family they had paid the ultimate price.

"Do you promise?" Stevie asked as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"I promise babygirl," Elizabeth used her index to tap Stevie's nose which elicited a smile from her. "Now why don't you go play with you sister and your brother and your dad and I will stay right here to make sure nothing happens hm?"

"Ok," Stevie nodded as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Elizabeth's neck, hugging her tightly.

"Awh," Elizabeth chuckled wrapping her around Stevie's back in return. "I sure do love you baby."

"I love you too," Stevie replied as she let loose and gave her mother a more carefree smile before taking off to the playground.

Elizabeth felt her tears immediately begin to brim at the edges of her eyes as she watched her little girl join her siblings. Madeline's abduction had been the harshest of blows and had left their small family with many wounds that Elizabeth's wasn't sure would ever fully heal but in this moment she felt the wounds begin to stop seeping. She felt the blood stop pouring and the wound begin to scab over. Henry had been right. As she watched her kids play and an aspect of childhood return to their lives she knew coming here had been the next step forward for them as a family. This place would always be reminder. A reminder of what was missing but maybe perhaps instead of remembering this park as the place where they had lost Madeline, they could simply just remember Madeline. They could come here and think about their precious little girl and pray that somehow, somewhere she was still out there and perhaps one day they would be reunited.

"You did good," Henry voiced as he stepped closer and placed an arm around her.

"Agh," Elizabeth let out a partial chuckle that teetered on the edge of a sob and she sniffled as she wrapped her arm around him as well, leaning into the comfort that he provided. "Thank you Henry."

"For what?" He asked turning his head to look at her.

"For showing me what our kids needed..." she answered plainly as her eyes stayed fixed on their children.

"And what's that?" he replied his eyes now going to their children as well.

"Us," Elizabeth smiled as she watched the girls helping Jason up onto the slide. "They need us."

It wasn't that they would ever stop waiting for the call that their daughter had been found because they wouldn't. They would always hold out for hope, hold out for a miracle to be given to them and Madeline would return to complete their family but it was in this moment, in this day at the park where the McCord family finally found a semblance of a new normal. Where they were able to move forward together by holding on to each other and taking comfort in the fact that they all remembered their Madeline and while she wasn't here she would not be forgotten.

And there it is! Chapter four! I will forever cherish this chapter and the moments in it. I hope you enjoyed it, I sure know I did. There was a very wholesome aspect to it and it soothed my soul. Please review and know you will have chapter five very soon!

-lovelylavenderlady