The Story Of Us

Extra 1 - The fear of loss

Rising with the sunrise, Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, rolled over, and felt on the other side of the bed to find it empty, which made her heart drop.

Sitting up with a sudden panic rushing through her, Elizabeth stared at the empty spot where Mark was last night and felt her heart almost beat out of her chest.

Was she insane?

He was just there next to her last night, or did she dream it all after all?

Maybe he didn't return after all.

But if that was the case, then...

No.

No!

This couldn't be happening!

Panicked, Elizabeth rushed out of bed and towards the living room, only to freeze at the sight she saw.

Sitting there on the floor with Ben and Summer was Mark, who was smiling brightly, unaware of his wife's turmoil.

Seeing him, Elizabeth could only tremble and stare, feeling as if she might cry.

So it wasn't a dream after all.

Sensing something, Ben looked up to find her standing there, trembling with wide, teary eyes, which alarmed him.

Mark stood. "Elizabeth?" he called worriedly as he went to her. "Are you okay? What happened?" he asked, touching her cheek with one hand.

Elizabeth never took her eyes off of him. "You're here," she said, as if she didn't believe it. "you're really here," she repeated, a tear escaping. "it wasn't a dream."

Understanding what was happening now, Mark's heart broke, and he hugged Elizabeth.

"Yes, I'm here," he soothed. "it's not a dream," he reassured.

Feeling his warmth, Elizabeth slowly lifted her trembling hand and gripped his shirt tight before closing her eyes, allowing more tears to escape her before she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said, hit with guilt once more. "I didn't mean to worry you; I simply thought that I could make your morning more relaxing by taking care of the kids and letting you sleep more."

Elizabeth shook her head and pulled away enough to look him in the eyes. "It's fine; I was just worried that this was all a dream after all."

Mark's gaze was sad as he wiped away her stray tears. "I promise you, this isn't a dream," he said. "I promise you I won't leave you anymore, so don't worry, okay?"

Elizabeth simply nodded and allowed Mark to squeeze her tight again.

He knew his words wouldn't fix everything, and maybe therapy may be needed for them to move past some things, but for now, he would simply hold her for as long as she needed him to.

Noticing something was wrong, Ben waddled over to them and hugged their legs, getting their attention.

Separating a bit, they looked down at their son, who looked up at them with big eyes full of worry.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" he asked worriedly.

Elizabeth smiled and wiped her tears. "It's nothing; I'm just glad to see your daddy."

"Oh," he said, understanding and smiling. "I'm happy too!" he declared happily.

Mark smiled and picked him up, making him giggle. "Aw, I'm glad to see you too, big guy," said Mark, squishing him in a hug.

Her heart finally calmed, Elizabeth smiled fondly at the scene before her.

Yeah, they had a long way to go, but for now, this was enough.

Knowing that Mark was here and wasn't going to leave was enough to soothe her fear of loss for now.

They could figure out everything else one step at a time and continue to write their story as they wished together.