Homecoming

Aelita shuffled off the plane with the rest of the lemmings with recent events still on her mind. She'd stayed with her grandmother through the funeral, but left for home the next day.

She headed to baggage claim, and her melancholy broke slightly when she saw the back of a familiar blond head poking just above the crowd.

"Jeremy!" She exclaimed, suddenly hurrying as best she could through the rest of the herd. The young blond turned around and breaking into an excited grin at the sight of his wife's bright pink hair he also started pushing his way through the crowd. When they were finally within reach Aelita buried her face in Jeremy's shirt, balling the fabric in her fists as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Their embrace was cut much shorter than either would have liked as the push of the crowd wouldn't let them stay still for long. The young couple separated and made their way to the carousel to wait for Aelita's luggage. Neither one of them felt like yelling over the din, so they wordlessly waited for the suitcase to show itself, then they left.

The bus ride home was similarly quiet with Aelita burrowing as far into her husband's arms as the seat would let her. Once in a while she let out a quiet sob into his shirt. Jeremy simply held her and ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. Talking about the trip and Dr. Schmidt's visit could wait.

"How are you holding up?" Asked Jeremy when they finally got back to their apartment.

"I'm really sad, but I'll be ok. I knew this was coming soon," Aelita replied as she absently emptied the dirty clothes from her suitcase into a laundry bag. She wiped an errant tear off her cheek.

"How's your grandma?" Aelita sniffed and another tear rolled down her other cheek.

"She's devastated." She put down the clothes and looked directly at her husband. "I don't... I don't think she's going to be ok," she said with a light sob. Jeremy walked over and pulled Aelita into her arms again where she softly cried into his shirt again for the next couple minutes.

Eventually Aelita composed herself again and pulled away.

"Enough of that for now," she insisted, taking a quick breath to calm herself. "Did anything happen while I was gone?" Jeremy gulped.

"Actually, yeah... Something did," he replied slowly as a pit formed in his stomach. Aelita looked on expectantly and he gulped again before continuing. "Dr. Schmidt came by and asked for you."

"What!?" Exclaimed Aelita. "What does he want!?" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

"I don't know, but he said he'd be back..." At the end of her rope, Aelita buried her hands in Jeremy's shirt again and let out a muffled scream. "Both Yumi and Ulrich know about the visit and are ready to do a return trip if we ask for it," Jeremy added quickly, hoping that would help.

"Well, I guess that's something." Aelita said, looking up at her husband. "When did he come by?"

"The day you called about Neville. I figured you had enough to worry about so I waited to tell you until you got home." Aelita was slightly annoyed for a moment at not being informed immediately, but ultimately agreed with her husband's reasoning.

"Ok. I guess there isn't anything more we can do right now."

"Not really," agreed Jeremy. "Though I can put some pepper spray back in your purse." Aelita grunted an acknowledgement. "I can also get started on dinner while you finish unpacking."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"Jeremy, do you mind if I spend some time on the mixing table?" Asked Aelita, after a quiet dinner of baked chicken drumsticks and rice. Jeremy hadn't felt very adventurous in the kitchen.

"Of course not," he replied hoping that it would make her feel better. In the state she was in Jeremy would have tried to figure out how to give her the moon if she asked for it! "I can take care of the dishes."

"Thank you." Aelita leaned up and kissed her husband's cheek before heading into the dining area.

After dishes, Jeremy came into their front room, finding Aelita hard at work. She had her headphones on so he couldn't hear what she was doing, but he could tell she was very focused. He plopped down on the couch and started absently working at his laptop until it was time to go to sleep.

The two of them got ready and got in bed. Jeremy pulled Aelita close and was glad that she was back. She surprised him, however, by pulling away a little. Shuffling until they were face-to-face, she leaned in and kissed him. A moment later Aelita's kissing started to become more intent, and Jeremy pulled back, giving his wife a confused look.

"Jeremy, I've missed you and I need this right now. I need to be with my husband..." Aelita pleaded. Her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to start falling at any second.

"Of course," replied Jeremy, not quite understanding the why's, but not questioning it either. He just knew that it was something that his wife needed, and he leaned in to kiss her back...

Later that evening Aelita nestled comfortably in her husband's arms, enjoying their afterglow. Jeremy doubted that her calm would remain, but was glad his wife felt better at all, even if only for a little while. He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly as she nodded off. He fell asleep shortly after.

A:N I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry about the slow release pace and I know it's really short, but this whole post-wedding section has been a real slog to get through! Not very many more chapters to go though!