That Blue Gibson

CH 77

A/N: Holy shit, you guys! I'm so sorry for the delay. I was in Seattle for the Foo concert and I'm still recovering! Hoping to get two chapters edited and published today. Thank you all for reading, voting and commenting, it really makes my day and motivates me to write!

"Text me every ten minutes, send me pictures, make sure they get a good dinner and then-"

"I will, Liz," Travis interrupted gently. 

She nodded quickly and kissed Owen's face again before placing him in Travis's arms, then knelt down to Jack. "Be a big helper for Uncle T, okay? I'll see you soon, sweetie."

Jack frowned and looked over her shoulder to where Dave was waiting, "And Dave, too right?"

"Of course, dude. We still have to do the finals," he stepped forward and nodded to the backpack next to Jack that held all his cars as he crouched next to Liz.

Jack's face broke into a wide smile and he threw his arms around Dave's neck, taking him by surprise. "Keep an eye on my mom, okay?"

"Someone has to," he laughed and hugged him back, glancing over at Liz when she sniffled a little.

The boys' week in London was over, but Dave was already looking forward to seeing them again. He had seen a whole new side of Liz as a mother and he wasn't sure if it was possible, but he now loved her even more. Her entire world revolved around those two boys and it was killing him to watch her say goodbye to them again. 

"Bye, Dave," Jack whispered.

"Bye, buddy."

Jack let Dave go, then dove into his mother's arms, hiding his face in her neck. She rested her chin on his head and let him quietly weep while whispering reassurances that she would be back home before he knew it, only letting him go once his tears stopped. 

"I'll be home just as soon as I can, okay? The very moment the doctors say I can travel, I'll be on my way to you," she promised.

Liz stood up and let out a long breath, furtively glancing at Dave when he put his arm around her. He knew she was on the very brink of breaking down and that was the last thing she wanted to do in front of the boys.  

"Bye-bye, Mama!" Owen said happily. "We go zoom!"

"Yes, sweetie," she said quietly. "Zoom."

"Bye, Liz... Dave. I'll keep you updated," Travis gently took Jack's hand and began to lead the boys towards the gate. Jack looked back at them with a bright smile, but as soon as he turned away again, Liz lost the battle against her tears. Dave held her tightly as she watched Travis and her boys turn the corner, then let her cry into his shoulder

"I told you airport goodbyes were the saddest," he said, kissing the side of her head. 

She laughed and pulled away, quickly wiping her tears from her face. "How do you do this all the time?" she asked, "It hurts so fucking bad."

"I do exactly what you're doing now," he admitted. He hated leaving his girls for such long stretches and he was waiting for the day he would finally be used to it, but it never seemed to come. "Except I usually wait till I'm in the car."

Liz smiled through her tears and put her hand in his. "Point taken. Let's go."

*

Dave tossed his phone onto the kitchen island while Liz remained in the foyer, trying to salvage her makeup in the mirror. She had held it together pretty well on the way home, but sure enough, the empty, silent house had broken her heart all over again.