"Come in, come in. I was expecting you after the way that case ended. Thank God it was close to home so that you didn't have very far to go to get home."

Erin gave Aaron a small smile as he ushered Jack in the door, while in the background, she could hear the garage door open and close, which told her that David had just arrived home as well. "I just needed to be with my children tonight. And I'm glad that you've opened the door to us." He reached out and rubbed her shoulder softly as Jack squeezed past them to run into the living room, as if he knew that that was where Catherine and Elise would be. "I know that this is a lot to ask, but this sort of case gets under my skin."

"I completely understand, Aaron. Especially since my older children would have been caught right up in that madness if they attended that school. Tonight is a good night to be with family." Looking down, she saw that he was carrying a small duffle bag, and the sad smile turned a little warmer. "I see that you're planning on spending the night. That's perfect, because I was thinking that we could have a family movie night. Well, that was the plan for us, and now you get to join in?"

"Jack will love that. And Jessica can just come here in the morning to pick everyone up."

"I'll text her and let her know about the change in plans," Erin replied as they made their way into the living room. It seemed liked even her older children knew that this was a special evening, as they were all gathered there, too. "All right, Jack, Elise, why don't you each pick a movie to watch while Karen and I make popcorn for us all?"

"Can we have soda, too, Mama?"

Elise gave her a pleading look, the one that Erin never could say no to, and she nodded before gesturing for Karen to follow her. It didn't surprise Erin in the least that Tabitha also followed them into the kitchen. "We'll need bowls, won't we, Mom?"

"Yes, and glasses for everyone. Probably a bowl of ice, for those who want to keep their drinks cool. I think I'm going to make myself tea, though, since it's a rather cool evening. I'll get out the butter, salt, and all that if you want to grab the jar of popcorn from the pantry, Kare."

"Of course, Mom." Her eldest daughter leaned in and kissed her cheek softly before heading into the other room, and Erin sighed a little as she pulled out the toppings that she'd need from the cupboards and fridge. Once she had everything assembled, she turned on the kettle to boil while rummaging through her tea caddy before picking out the perfect tea for the evening, dropping the bag into her favourite mug before helping Tabitha get the rest of the drinks available.

"I'll take this first round of things out to the living room," Tabitha said as Karen returned with the jar of kernels and poured them into the glass popper before turning on the burner so that they could start popping.

Once Tabitha was gone, and Karen was occupied, Erin pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Jessica. "Hello, Jessie, I know that you just left us, but I wanted to tell you that we'll all be at the house tomorrow morning. Aaron brought Jack over for a family night, seeing as how this case was just so weird."

"I was wondering how he would react to that, since it seemed like this case was his worst nightmare coming to life. And probably yours as well."

"Yes, it was. I'm so glad that so many parents were able to be reunited with their children, but my heart breaks for those who had to say that final goodbye today, too. I want to be selfish, since David has his best friend here, but I can't ask you to make the trek all the way back to our house when you're most likely home, or nearly so."

"I would do anything for you, Erin. If you really want me to join in, I can be there in fifteen minutes. Leave the front door unlocked for me?"

"Thank you," she breathed out, feeling relief at Jessica's quick agreement. "I just want to have everyone that I love close to me at this moment. Bring an overnight bag, I have this feeling that we are all ending up in the living room all night, after all."

Jessica giggled a little before replying. "And tomorrow, thankfully, is Saturday, so you don't have to go into work."

"Exactly. Though I have the feeling that a long soak in the tub to work out the kinks form weird sleeping positions will have to happen sometime after waking up." She paused a moment before continuing on. "Thank you for your friendship. I know I tell you that so much, but knowing that I can depend on you, at times like this, when I'm worried about weird packages and having to worry about Alex and all her issues that are my issues, it makes my heart that much lighter."

"We've made something good out of the broken pieces of our lives, haven't we?"

"Yes."

"All right, before we end up just talking the night away, I'll end the call, since I'm going to see you again soon. Love you."

"Love you, too," she whispered before ending the call and looking at Karen. "So, we'll have one more guest in a few minutes."

"Good. I like having a full house, and Aunt Jess makes everything so light and happy. I don't know why you keep trying to win back Alex's friendship when you have the best friend a person could ask for in her."

Erin sighed as she added butter and salt to the first round of popcorn before looking at her daughter. "Alex was there for me when I needed a dear friend, and then I destroyed her career. I suppose that I'm chasing after her in an attempt to make things right. I'm not forgetting how kind Jess has been to our family, but I need to have the opportunity to find some measure of closure with Alex, even if it is us agreeing to be cordial. Though there was some positive movement at Doctor Reid's softball game the other week. I want to have as many friends by my side in the coming months, since…"

"Since you think that something bad is brewing on the horizon?" She nodded. "Try not to think like that. Life is so good for us right now." Karen set the pan back on the stove before pouring in more kernels. Once the lid was on the pan, she came over to Erin's side and hugged her tightly. "Everything will be all right with time. We have to hold on to that belief."

"My sweet optimist," she murmured in response as she stroked Karen's hair. "I wish that you had gotten that trait from me, but I am glad that you have it nonetheless." Karen nodded against her chest as they both drew in a deep breath in unison. Erin just wished that she could believe what Karen posited, even as she knew that things were unlikely to be so smooth as Karen imagined that it would be, and she hoped that she would be able to hang on to the calm when the storm eventually came.