He knew the minute his mother showed up, his quiet life with his niece was going to be ruined, but he wasn't expecting to see the woman he gave up in order to give Mary as normal of a life as he could give her.
Set in the movie Gifted starring Chr...
AN: This chapter is the next to last and also happens to be the shortest. You see the last four chapters were two really big chapters that I chopped down so I could have an even amount of chapters cause I'm weird like that. It just so happened to work out to have ten total. Thanks again for all the love this story has gotten and hope you enjoy!
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A few days later, Frank was working on an assignment at his shed. Ryn was sitting at the other end of the table, looking through buildings on her tablet. Frank's phone ringing broke their companionable silence before he declined the call. He didn't know why Bonnie would be calling and he certainly didn't want to talk to her. Then his phone chimed and the second he saw Fred, he dropped his tools and grabbed his flannel. "Babe, we gotta go."
"What?" Ryn asked, looking up from her tablet.
"We gotta go." He repeated as he pulled her up before dragging her along as he ran to the truck.
When they were buckled in, he showed her the text message that started this madness and Ryn grew furious. "We gotta fight to get her back or at least fight for them to let us in the door." She said as he drove off to the animal shelter.
They rushed inside, asking the receptionist where Fred was when a tech let them know that today was his last day. Ryn's heart dropped into her stomach as the both of them raced back to find where the exam room was. There along with Fred were two other cats.
"Who brought this cat in?" Frank asked.
"A man. He said it was an allergy issue." The receptionist, who had chased them back, replied.
Ryn and Frank looked at each other knowingly. "Evelyn." He said before offering to adopt Fred.
"Frank, we can't leave the other two. They need loving homes too." Ryn said with a slight pout.
With a sigh, he motioned towards the other two cages and soon they were walking out with three cats. "You plan on having a studio cat?"
"Mmhmm." Ryn responded as they loaded the cages into the truck.
With the cats safely back at his apartment, Frank searched for the set of keys that were for the locker he had there for extra storage. "Please tell me we're going to give her Diane's work."
"That's exactly what we're doing." He grinned when he found the key and pulled Ryn along. "Come on, let's go get our girl back."
When they reached the foster family's home, Frank ran up to the front door while Ryn jumped out, bringing the box with her. "Where's Evelyn?" He asked as soon as the door opened.
The husband tried to stall but the wife chastised him before finally telling the truth herself. She hated that they were keeping that little girl away from two people who clearly loved her very much. "Evelyn's in the guest house."
Frank turned and marched towards the guest house while the husband was trying to persuade him differently, going on and on about how great Evelyn had been. Ryn stepped in front of him, bumping him back with the box. "Listen, I know what you're up against. If you want your life back from the dictator upstairs, I'd go back inside. There'll be no hard feelings."
The husband nodded and soon Ryn followed Frank up the stairs. There in the middle of the guest house, white boards, computers, papers, fellow mathematicians, and Evelyn sat around Mary who was not entirely thrilled to see Frank.
"Come on Mary, we're going home." He motioned for her to come with him.
"No." She answered just as Ryn entered. Seeing her aunt made Mary smile a bit but she was still angry so it was gone in a flash.
"Oh of course you're here too." Evelyn muttered when she saw the other woman. "Now what are you doing here? You're both trespassing!"
Frank flipped the lid off of the box that Ryn had set down and pulled out a file. "You need to look at this." He told his mother as he handed it over to her. He dropped it on the table and held his hand out to Mary. "Let's go, Mary."
"No!" She exclaimed as she got out of her seat and ran.
Ryn tried to catch her but she brushed past the other woman as Frank and Evelyn called after her. Evelyn was right on Frank's heels until Ryn stepped in the way, nudging Evelyn back. "Not today, Evelyn. You better stay back."
Evelyn huffed and went to go get her phone, fully planning on calling the authorities when she noticed what Frank had tossed her way. She was in shock, she couldn't believe it. It was Diane's work on the Navier-Stokes Equation and it was complete.
Outside, Frank had finally caught up to Mary. Despite her slapping him and fighting him, he finally wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He apologized profusely as he carried her back towards the guest house and she cried on his shoulder. "They took Fred."
"No. It's okay." Frank replied, setting her back on her feet. He remained crouched down at her level. "I got him. He's home."
"What?" She couldn't believe it.
"He's at the apartment, right now. I got him."
"For real?"
"Yeah." He pushed her hair back out of her face and wiped away her tears. "He's home kicking around his ping pong ball."
Mary sniffled, tears springing back to her eyes as she thought about the day Frank left her. "Why did you leave me here?"
Frank let out a sigh, trying not to cry himself. "Because I thought I was bad for you. And then it dawned on me. If Mary is this amazing, smart, sweet human being then I must be doing something right."
With fresh tears running down her cheeks, Mary brought both her hands up to Frank's face and forced him to smile. "You're smiling." She said which made them both laugh. It was something they did after each time they had an argument. She soon wrapped her arms around his neck once more, so glad that she had him back.
Frank held her tight. He was not going to let her go ever again. They just had a few more things to finish before he, Mary, and Ryn could go back home and truly start living like the family they were always meant to be.
"Is Auntie Ryn visiting or is she back for good?" Mary asked as they made their way back up the stairs.
