I Just Need You Now

At the Atlanta psychiatric clinic, Melissa leaned back in her chair and swallowed dryly. It felt like she had been talking for hours, and only the subtle flashes in Katie's eyes had betrayed any emotion throughout the desperate tale. On the other side of the table separating them, Bobby had been curled up on Katie's lap for the better part of the hour since their arrival. "I can't handle this by myself anymore, Kate," she finished dismally, staring down at the scuff marks on the table to avoid seeing the desperation with which her son was clinging to Katie. "On Monday, it was a porcelain Christmas angel; what if Kevin lashes out at my baby next?"

"He already has," Katie pointed out grimly, the weight of Bobby's head pressing against her shoulder, forcing out the words before she knew it. After that, a tense silence stretched between the sisters, marked by the loudly ticking clock on the wall. "The guy has always been an ass, Mel," she said stiffly at last. "I don't know what you expect me to do about it now."

Melissa flinched at her sister's ruthless honesty, but Bobby spoke up before she could say a word. "Come home," he begged, sliding a tensely clenched fist down from her shoulder to the spot on her chest where he could feel her heartbeat if he placed his palm just right. "Dad broke your angel; we need the real thing back." Katie kissed the boy's other hand and stared at Melissa across the table.

"What he said," the older brunette sighed with a wavering smile. "It's as simple as that; all you have to do is come home with us."

Katie bit her lip, willing herself not to look down for fear of the tentative hope in Bobby's eyes breaking her resolve. "I…I can't," she whispered. Melissa shrank back in her chair as if Katie had physically slapped her, and Bobby wriggled off her lap and dashed towards the ward door.

Melissa leaped to her feet and blocked the eight-year-old's exit just in time, letting him cling to her instead. Stroking her son's hair soothingly, she glared across the room at Katie; "I hope you're happy now," she growled, willing her voice not to betray her disappointment. "Why the hell couldn't you just come home for him? It's hardly rocket science!"

"Here is the only place I feel sane," Katie said softly. "I wouldn't expect you to understand that. Your asshole of a husband is the perfect example of how the whole world treats me out there. Get treated like a freak long enough, and that's what you become. I don't want to lose myself again."

She fixed Melissa with a piercing stare, her sad eyes silently willing her sister to understand, but Bobby broke the tense silence. "You're not a freak," he said in a subdued voice, shrugging his mother's firm grip off his shoulders and coming over to his aunt again. "Please come home, Aunt Katie…we need you!"

Katie abandoned her seat and knelt before Bobby, pulling him close when she was level with him. "It means so much that you know I'm not crazy, champ…but you don't need me, okay?" The eight-year-old opened his mouth to protest, but Katie shook her head; "You are so much braver than I am," she said lovingly. "Remember that the next time your dad gets nasty, will you?" She hugged the little boy tightly when his head sagged against her shoulder again, but her dark blue eyes locked on Melissa. Leaning against the table's edge, her sister pressed her hands over her eyes, looking utterly defeated. "You are brave and a fighter," she said firmly, aiming the words at Melissa even as she showered her nephew with kisses. "I'm sorry, Mel, I just…"

"Can't do it," her sister finished bitterly. "I heard you the first time, Kate."

"I don't blame you for being mad at me," Katie said sadly. "I know you probably think I'm a selfish bitch right now, but the last time I tried to cope with the real world, I almost committed murder. I don't trust myself out there anymore; it's too dangerous!"

"If you say so," Melissa choked, coming up behind her son, who Katie still held in a protective embrace. "Bobby? We should probably get going, honey," she said gently, avoiding Katie's anguished gaze.

"I love you, Bobby," Katie whispered, giving his shaking fingers a final squeeze. "Please believe I'd be with you in a heartbeat if I could."

"I believe you can, but you don't know it," he said. "I wish you would see that the world isn't so scary together. I miss you, Auntie Kay."

"I'm sorry, buddy," she gasped, not sure if it was his toddlerhood nickname for her or the icy look on Melissa's face that was expanding the lump in her throat.

"I guess we'll see you around, Katie," said Melissa coldly, willing her mask of indifference to stay in place long enough to get out of the dismal clinic. She ushered Bobby out of Katie's room, which was difficult, as he stared over his shoulder at his aunt's devastated expression.

There wasn't a soul in the long hallway that they had been escorted down to Katie's room by then. Melissa couldn't help being painfully aware of their footsteps echoing off the walls of the narrow corridor. She glanced at Bobby, who had fallen worryingly silent as soon as they'd left Katie's presence. Melissa slipped her arm around her son's shoulders and halted his slow, shuffling footsteps with a simple touch. "Are you doing okay, baby?" she asked gently, fully aware that he wasn't even before Bobby shook his head.

"You promised that would work," he moaned accusingly, but even though his eyes held a hint of anger, the eight-year-old leaned into her hug desperately. "She was supposed to fix everything!"

"I know," Melissa sighed, pressing him as close to her as possible. "She just…has to fix herself first," she said carefully. Bobby's mother quickly wiped her eyes when he was nuzzling against her and didn't notice, determined not to crack. "We'll be okay, kiddo," she promised as convincingly as possible.

"I don't want Dad to hurt you again," Bobby whispered despairingly, the tone entirely succeeding in breaking her heart. "Don't say he won't because that's a lie!"

"Stop right there," she interrupted, barely holding back tears. "Bobby, it's not your job to protect me, okay? It goes the other way around last time I checked."

"But Mom-," he began in protest, falling silent at another touch from her soft and gentle hands.

"No buts," she said firmly, lifting his downcast gaze with a single finger to his quivering chin. "Your dad's in Charlotte on a case for the next two days; we'll stay in a hotel around here tonight and figure out the next move from there. Okay?" She kissed the top of his head comfortingly: "Us against the world, right? I promise you; we will be okay."

"I love you, Mom," he sighed, holding her hand tightly as they finally headed for the clinic exit.

"Oh, kid, you have no idea," she shot back, glancing over her shoulder as they left the building. Whatever Kevin put them through in the future was her lone battle now.

In Raleigh, Logan was weaving in and out of the neat rows of pines at the local Christmas tree lot. The eight-year-old moved with an abundance of energy, making his two watchful grandmothers smile knowingly at each other whenever they inevitably lost sight of him in the cluster of festive trees. "Grandma, look at this one!" he squealed, waving Lil over to another pine resembling the five others he had pounced on already.

As Lil obligingly examined the latest pine of choice, Marie wandered over to Clay. He was leaning against a tree further down the row and checking his phone. "That better not be work," she scolded him. "We just talked about this."

"Not work," he mumbled sheepishly, tucking the phone back in his pocket. "Worrying about Quinn."

"Well, don't do that either," she advised. "She's a big girl, and Sam is perfectly capable of caring for her for a few hours." She held her hand out to him; "Now come on before Logan's energy burns Lil out completely."

Clay slipped an arm around his mother's shoulders as they strolled between the trees, looking for Logan and Lil. "You're the best anti-stress medicine in the world; you know that, Mom?"

"Whatever works, honey," she laughed. "Christmas is no time to be stressed, silly fellow!"

"It feels like it's going to be a great one," he sighed contentedly, as delighted giggles told them Logan was lurking somewhere very nearby. "Found something you like, Wolverine?" he asked when the hyper eight-year-old came into view behind a tall pine. "I don't think this one will fit Grandma and Grandpa's living room."

"Yeah," Logan sighed; "Grandma was saying this one would only fit if we all moved out, and there's no fun in that."

"No fun at all," Clay smirked, ruffling the little boy's hair when he was within arm's reach. "What about that one?" he suggested, pointing toward a smaller tree further down the row. "Go easy on the yanking, kiddo." Clay watched Logan drag both his grandmothers towards the tree he had suggested; the boy's delight was palpable even from a distance. He caught his mother's exasperated glance over her shoulder when his cell phone began to vibrate persistently. "I'll be right with you," he promised apologetically, flashing a quick smile at her. "Quinn probably wants to say goodnight or something."

Shaking her head affectionately, Marie left him at it to stand beside Lil, watching Logan circling the medium-sized pine. "Does this one pass the test?" she asked, and Lil shrugged.

"I'm not even sure what the criteria of the perfect tree are; ask junior," she said as Logan finally completed his scrutiny of the tree. "Well, that grin is certainly a promising start," she smiled as he stopped in his tracks beside them. "What do you think, sweetie? Is this The One?"

"It looks pretty cool," Logan beamed approvingly, craning his neck to examine the pine tip. "The angel needs to fit up there," he said, pointing at the top-most branch. "I can't see it properly. Can one of you still pick me up?"

"Good joke, little man," Marie laughed while Lil shook her head in amusement. "We're tough but not that tough. You have been doing a lot of growing, remember?"

"Yeah," he giggled sheepishly and leaned into her fond embrace for a moment. Then he turned hopefully and called across the lot: "Dad, I need some superpowers over here!"

"He's talking to your mom back home," Marie pointed out as Clay hung up the phone in the distance and tucked it away again.

"I think she'll like this one," Logan said, gazing happily at the tree while his grandmothers watched Clay approaching them oddly hastily. "Dad, can you pick me up for a second?" Logan asked, too busy staring in awe at the tree to notice that his father's face was white as a sheet.

But Marie hadn't missed the look of pure shock on Clay's face and quickly grabbed his shaking hands as Lil pressed Logan close to her, frowning in concern. "Something's wrong," Marie said instinctively, a statement rather than a question. "What was that phone call about, baby?"

"That was Sam," he whispered as if every word was causing physical pain. "He said…he said Quinn was taking a long time in the bath, and when he went up to check on her, he found her unconscious."

"What?" Lil gasped in dismay. "Are they at the hospital now?"

"Yeah," he nodded shakily, forcing a wavering smile for Logan's sake. "We have to go, bud. Sorry about your tree."

"Is Mom going to be okay?" the eight-year-old asked fearfully, leading the way back to the car across a glistening carpet of fresh snow, his prized Christmas tree forgotten.

"I don't know," said Clay softly, trembling so violently that he almost dropped the car keys.

After watching him fumble momentarily, Marie sighed and snatched them from him; "Alright, that's it," she declared forcefully. "Don't even think about driving. In the back, now!"

"Hurry up," he urged, climbing behind the driver's seat without protest.

"Hang tight, everybody," Marie said grimly, exchanging a worried look with Lil when they caught Clay's tortured expression in the rearview mirror. "Think positive, kid," she said firmly, but he just shuddered and pressed his head against the frosted-over windowpane. A single phone call had turned the magical holiday season into a complete nightmare before Christmas, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

A / N: The excruciating part starts now, enjoy everyone! xx