Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 69

"This is our apartment," Erin said to Clementine when they reached the door.

It was a simple statement that had a big meaning behind it, Jay realised as soon as he heard it. Yes, he thought, this was now their family home. He had never officially moved in himself, but now, just like that, it was done. It had to be done. The reality was that he practically lived here already of course. Making it official was just one of the effects of the night's many events, and it seemed insignificant in relation to some of the others.

Only a few hours earlier, he and Erin had been here trying to decide what to eat for dinner and what to watch on TV. Now there was a mall a few miles away with dozens of people dead inside, and they had taken in the child of two of those victims. Mentally, he could barely keep up with it all. He knew that he wouldn't be the only one struggling in that regard. Poor little Clementine had it a lot worse. Her entire life had been torn apart in an instant. Outwardly, she seemed to be doing relatively okay at the moment. At some point, that was bound to change. For now, the task was to introduce her to her new home.

Erin opened the door and led the way in. Clementine went in next, with Jay bringing up the rear.

"This is nice. You must have a lot of money," Clementine said, looking around the living room.

"Not really, Clementine," Erin smiled. "We've recently finished decorating most of the apartment."

"You can call me Clem. That's what most people do."

There was something about the way she said that, making the eleven year old sound mature beyond her years to Jay. The woman from Child Services had said as much. But now it made him realise that they knew nothing about her background. What kind of family had hers been? What kind of people had her parents been? In fact, what kind of person was she? In time, they were going to have to try and find out answers to all of those questions.

"Clem it is," Jay said in a friendly manner. It wasn't lost on him that he had a lot more work to do to form a bond with his new adopted daughter - that was a strange thing to think in itself - than Erin. Some of the work had been done between them by the way they had met, and how Erin had rescued her.

"You have a massive TV," Clementine said, walking over for a closer look at it. "My dad is saving to get one. Was," she corrected on reflection, with abject sadness.

"Oh, Clem," Jay said, moving to her and putting a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped would be a comforting gesture.

She responded to him by moving closer to him and putting an arm around his waist, taking some solace in the fact that he was there for her. It was an encouraging sign for him, showing that she wasn't going to attach solely to Erin.

"I'm never going to see them again."

Jay put an arm around her so that he was kind of hugging her, but in a way that she could easily back away from if she wanted to. But she didn't. It seemed to comfort her a bit. "I can't imagine how you're feeling. All I can promise is Erin and I are going to do everything we can to take care of you."

"I don't even have any of my things."

"We'll get that taken care of tomorrow, sweet pea," Erin promised, and Jay could hear the emotion in her voice. It was a tough moment for them all, however he did like the little nickname she had come up with.

At least it would be possible to have a full day trying to deal with things the next day, he thought. The one tiny positive in the whole situation was that it had happened on a Friday night, so no one from Intelligence would be required to work Saturday as that only happened on Erin's request.