How to Say Goodbye - Why Don't We AU

Chapter 19: Cold in L.A.

Dawson woke the next morning, a chill running down her spine. This was her last day to finalize the plans for her escape the next morning. Everything had to go just right, or the chances of her being caught would be much higher.

Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach as her anxiety skyrocketed. She began to shiver and darted for the bathroom. She couldn't hold back and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Checking her watch, she was relieved to see that Harley had left over an hour ago, and the footsteps belonged to Leslie instead. The woman lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dawson croaked out.

Leslie gently opened the door and came in. A concerned look grew across her face when she saw the girl on the floor.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

Dawson shook her head with tears forming.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "I'm scared we won't be able to pull this off. I'm not ready. He'll catch me, I'm sure of it."

Leslie felt an overwhelming rush of sympathy wash over her. She slowly sank to the floor beside the terrified girl. The woman wrapped her arms around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring hug.

"We have all day to smooth over the details of our plan. We will come up with several backup plans and prepare for any possibilities."

Dawson was quivering like crazy, but she managed a small nod and a deep breath.

"Now," Leslie went on. "Why don't you take a warm relaxing shower, get dressed, and I'll have a light breakfast waiting for you when you're done."

Dawson nodded again, and Leslie helped her to her feet before quietly making her way downstairs.

-

Jonah had not remained asleep for long. His mind was too active and it left him way to wired to sleep. He had woken up around one in the morning and knew that it was no use trying to go back to sleep. Instead, he made his way down to the office and began looking for a certain envelope.

Dawson Jeffreys (Name pinned to blanket)

Birthday: April 8th

Found on doorstep only a few days old.

Parental status: LOCATED

Description: Curly Brunette Hair, Brown Eyes, Caucasian

Orphan status: ADOPTED

Jonah looked down at the file in his hand with a sad expression. He pulled pictures out of the envelope as well. The first was a picture from the day she had arrived. She was gazing at the camera, with Jonah peering excitedly over the side of her basket. He pulled out picture after picture. One was taken of every one of the children each year, to keep their records updated as they grew. The most recent one was taken about a week ago, and Dawson had insisted on having the boys be in it with her. She had been in the middle, with Zach sitting on the ground in front of her. Jonah had been on the left, with Daniel on the outside, and Corbyn had been on the right, with Jack on the outside. Out of all of the pictures, she looked happiest in this one.

Jonah let out a sigh, pulling an empty picture frame from a desk drawer and sliding the picture inside. Knowing that he was the only one awake, Jonah allowed himself to break down, hugging the frame tightly to his chest as tears streamed down his face.

He would never admit it out loud, but Jonah was afraid. He didn't want to lose the innocent baby girl he had discovered all those years ago. He always connected with new arrivals, but there had been something in the way baby Dawson gazed at him that built the strongest connection he had ever had with another person. He was her brother and felt extremely protective of the girl. So naturally, he blamed himself for everything that had taken place in these last few days. He was in charge of Weeping Willows. He was in charge of making sure adopters were suitable. He was in charge of keeping the children safe. Everything had gone wrong, and Jonah couldn't help but think about all of the ways he had failed Dawson.

He had failed his sister.

-

Dawson took a long shower, just letting the water wash over her. She imagined that the water was literally washing away all of her troubles and fears. She imagined that, somehow, some way, when she got out of the shower, she would be home, and the boys would be waiting on her coming down to breakfast late again.

However, when she stepped out of the shower, she found herself still in the small cottage that was over two thousand miles away. With a heavy sigh, she wrapped a towel around herself and returned to the bedroom. She pulled out a pair of black jean shorts and a loose white cami. With her hair wet, she was able to french braid her hair back and out of her way. She slipped on a pair of flipflops and pulled out her phone, sending a good morning message to a group chat that contained all of the boys.

Dawson silently made her way down the staircase to see Leslie walking from the kitchen to the living room with two bowls of fruit, yogurt, and granola.

"That looks good," She said, her voice still a bit scratchy.

Leslie looked up with a smile, handing one over to Dawson with a spoon. The girl took it gratefully, and the two women walked over to the couch, sittting down and turning on the tv.

"I figured we should take it easy and relax while we eat, and then once the food has settled, we can discuss plans," Leslie said smartly. Dawson nodded, taking a small bite of her breakfast parfait. They stumbled across a channel that played old saturday morning cartoons, like Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry. Seeing a spark of light pop up in Dawson's eye at the old cartoons, Leslie decided to leave the channel on. The silly slapstick comedy would be perfect for relaxing the girl for the time being.

Leslie couldn't help but notice that Dawson continued to shiver, and based on the flush that remained in her cheeks, and the cool clothing she had chosen that day, it was safe to assume that it wasn't from cold. Between the physical stress of throwing up, and the mental/emotional stress the girl was under, Leslie wasn't surprised that she was shaking.

Dawson sat on the edge of the couch, leaning over her bowl and taking little bites. Leslie was more reclined, sitting in a more relaxed position, though, like Dawson, her mind was anything but.