Six months had passed.
The farmhouse, now draped in warm autumn light, had shifted again. Leaves rustled in golden piles on the long driveway, the laughter of children mingling with the crisp wind. Change had come, not as a single moment, but as a quiet, persistent rhythm, healing some wounds while deepening others.
Beth stood on the porch with a small suitcase in one hand, her other hand resting lightly on Jamie’s shoulder. The quiet boy looked older somehow. Taller. Thoughtful. His eyes flickered toward the front door with unease.
“You sure about this?” Beth asked, voice low.
Jamie nodded. “We talked about it. We said it would only be temporary, right?”
Beth smiled, brushing a leaf from his hoodie. “Right. Just a trial. See how it goes.”
Jamie hesitated. “You think they’ll be happy?”
Beth’s eyes found the window where Ozzy’s tiny face was smushed against the glass. Inside, Steph waved and disappeared toward the door.
“I think some of them already are.”
---
Inside, the return wasn’t dramatic.
There were no big speeches, no elaborate reunions. Just quiet acknowledgments. Leah gave Beth a half-hug at the door. Caitlin made space on the coat rack without a word. Katie, surprised but not unwelcome, mumbled, “Kettle’s on.”
The only person who didn’t come down was Viv.
Beth didn’t expect her to.
That evening, the house was a slow orchestra of footsteps and murmured conversations. Xavi clung to Katie’s side, flinching whenever voices raised slightly. Daisy gave Beth a small nod before vanishing up the stairs. Ozzy toddled toward Jamie and wrapped his arms around his brother’s leg, and for a brief moment, something warm flickered in Jamie’s face.
---
In the quiet of the kitchen, Steph finally caught Beth alone.
“Welcome back,” she said, her voice genuinely soft.
Beth gave her a tired smile. “It’s weird. Being back.”
“Good weird or bad weird?”
Beth shrugged. “Both. Jamie needed this, and honestly… I think I did too.”
Steph leaned on the counter, swirling tea in a mug. “You know Viv’s not been okay. She’s been trying, but she’s… lost.”
Beth stiffened. “I’m not here for her.”
“I know,” Steph said quickly. “I’m not saying you should be. But I think she might need you more than she knows.”
Beth didn’t answer.
---
That night, in the room Beth and Jamie now shared, Jamie sat cross-legged on the floor sketching out his feelings on paper.
"I thought leaving would make me feel better," he said suddenly.
Beth looked up from folding clothes. "Did it?"
"Sometimes. But then I missed Ozzy. And even Daisy, kind of. And even Viv... even if things are weird."
Beth paused, her eyes soft. “It’s okay to feel all that. Nothing’s simple, Jamie.”
He looked up. “Do you still love her?”
Beth opened her mouth, then closed it again. “That’s… not something I can answer right now. Maybe I do. Maybe I always will. But love isn’t always enough.”
---
Viv sat alone in the greenhouse the next morning, knees drawn up to her chest. The call from the Netherlands had shattered something in her—her grandmother, the last thread of home, was gone. She hadn’t told anyone except Cait.
When Beth stepped in, the silence between them was a living thing.
Beth didn’t speak. She just sat. Beside her.
They stayed like that for a long time, surrounded by soil and silence and grief.
Finally, Viv whispered, “She always wanted me to be a mother. She said I was made for love.”
Beth turned her head. “You are.”
Viv’s voice cracked. “Then why am I so bad at it?”
“You’re not.” Beth reached out. “You’re just hurt. And tired. And human.”
Viv didn’t cry. But she leaned into the touch for the first time in months.
---
That evening, the house held a new energy. Jamie and Ozzy played with building blocks. Katie managed to get Xavi to eat three bites of dinner without protest. Leah and Daisy painted together in the art room.
And upstairs, Beth unpacked fully—for the first time since the fracture.
She didn’t know what the next few weeks would bring. If she and Viv would find their way back. If Jamie would truly heal. If the house, this chaotic, cobbled-together family, could find peace.
But tonight, she was home.
