FAMILY MATTERS Always

We're Home, Chicago!

"Steve, seriously, I can handle my own luggage." Laura tries to remove the suitcase handle from his hand, but he awkwardly yanks it away from her.

"Laura Lee, I told you already, your gorgeous fingertips should never have to participate in such a physically straining activity." She stops walking and places her hands on her wide hips.

"Physically straining activity? Steve, the damn luggage has wheels!" She exclaims, reaching for the handle again. Steve jerks out of her arm's reach, stumbling backwards once the other two bags he's toting throws off his already questionable balance. Laura's suitcase slides in the way of a passer-by, causing the fat man to fall flat on his face. Laura places her hand on her forehead with a loud sigh while Steven makes an embarrassed expression.

"Did I do that?" He asks nasally, followed by a shaky finger point towards the guy spread out on the airport floor. The people moving hastily through O'Hare International Airport go around him like he's not even there. The burly man lifts his swollen face from the ground with angry eyes. Steve takes a step back fearfully, "Wut Oh."

"I knew I'd find y'all over here," Eddie says as he approaches the scene. "I saw a man on the floor surrounded by bags and just knew Steve had something to do with it." Laura spins around to look at her big brother happily. She hugs him tightly, nearly crying because this is her first time seeing his face in almost five years. They rock in unison with their affectionate moment.

"Sis! I've missed you!" He says right before they release each other. She stares at her graying sibling sporting his police captain's uniform that he seems to wear more than his regular clothes.

"I've missed you, too! I can't believe we haven't seen each other since-"

"Since Grandma's funeral," he exclaims, finishing her statement sadly. They take a moment of silence to remember Estelle.

"Sorry Laura, but I can't seem to get away from work long enough to take a vacation. With the cop shortages, and all of this 'police vs. the people' nonsense, I'm knee deep in so much bull-"

She puts her hand up to shush him, "You don't have to explain. I totally get it. I'm just glad I'm finally back home. If I had to lay eyes on one more piece of cheese memorabilia, I was going to murder Steve." They both turn to look in Steven's direction after she says his name. He stands near the recently splattered guy, attempting to help him pick up his belongings. The man snatches his hat away from Steve before storming away from him. Steve finally turns around and notices Eddie's arrival.

"Eddo!" Steve shouts, getting a running start before jumping into his arms. Eddie laughs at Steven's over-the-top greeting.

"Sup, Urk-man! I missed you, too, bro!" Laura picks her luggage up from the ground and prepares to roll it towards the exit. Steve looks at her as if he wants to take it from her, but she gives him a glance so evil that he draws his hands back quickly. They both take their belongings out of the door and towards Eddie's work vehicle. Laura smacks her lips once she sees it.

"Eddie, seriously? We have to ride in a cop car?" Eddie humps his shoulders as an unofficial answer. Steve's eyes fill with excitement.

"Ohh! Can I turn on the lights, Eddo? Can I, can I, can I?" He asks eagerly, sounding eerily similar to his teenage self. Eddie balls up his face at Steve's request.

"Hell no, Steve! Are you crazy?" He unlocks the doors and helps them put their bags in the backseat. He walks around to the driver's side.

"What about the siren?"

NO!" The siblings yell at the same time. They both give Steve an unpleasant look. He cringes up at their attitudes.

"Fine, but you don't have to yell."

Everyone climbs in the car and willingly participates in a quiet ride to the elder Winslow's residence. Not even Steve says a word, which is totally unlike him. To be completely honest, he is too busy dealing with his painful and harbored emotions to speak. After he and Laura's fourth child, Laurence, graduated from high school, Laura voiced very adamantly that she wanted to move back to Chicago. Steve tried his best to convince her to stay, even sculpting her likeness in a mountain of Gouda, but that didn't do anything but make matters worse. He vowed to always make Laura happy no matter what, even if that meant he would be miserable, which is exactly what he is right now. He was secretly broken up about having to move back to Chicago, and he didn't know how bad it truly was until their plane landed an hour ago.

He rests his cheek on his hand while staring blankly out of the window. This place reminds him of an awful time in his life. He had a terrible childhood, filled with bullying, screw-ups, and loads of identity crises. He was very proud of all of the things he'd accomplished back then, but sometimes, he hated himself just as much. No one wanted to be around Steve, not even his parents, and that hurt Steve the most.

Even though the Winslows were like family to him, his real mother and father, Roberta and Herb Urkel, left him parentless in Chicago when they randomly abandoned him. After they moved to Moscow during his high school years, they slowly became harder to get in contact with. Now, he has no idea what's become of them, especially since he hasn't heard from them in nearly 20 years. He doesn't even know if they're alive or not. He's honestly too afraid to find out.

"We're here," Eddie announces as if they can't tell. The car rolls to a stop in front of their familiar dwellings.

"This place hasn't changed at all," Laura mumbles with a hint of disappointment, letting out a troubling sigh right afterward. She grabs her brother's arm, "How's dad?"

It's evident she fearfully sat on that question the entire ride. Eddie sweetly covers her hand with his.

"He's better."

"Better?" She spits out hopefully with bright eyes. Eddie makes a face as if that's not what he truly meant.

"I mean, he has his good days, and he has his bad days, but lately, it seems to be more good than bad." Laura grins slightly at the news. It wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but she'll take it. Maybe now that she's back, she can encourage her father to get better. She's committed to helping her mom take care of him. Her mom is too old to be his only source of regular support, anyway.

Everyone sits in the car as if they're not ready to get out yet. Eddie opens the door first, "Steve and I will grab the bags. Why don't you go in and say hi?" Eddie dangles the keys in front of Laura's face until she grabs them. She gets out of the car hesitantly and heads up to her childhood home's porch. She slowly unlocks the front door, "Mom? Dad?"

She peeks her head inside before committing to fully open the door. She spots her sleeping mom on the couch with a magazine resting on her chest. She smiles at the sight.

"Mom?" She says a little louder this time, walking over and sitting down next to her. She stares at her chocolate face with loving eyes. She shakes her slightly, "Ma?"

Harriet jumps out of her sleep, gawking at her daughter as if she could slap her for disrupting her slumber. Her face softens instantly once she recognizes her.

"Laura?! Oh, my baby! Come here!" Harriet wraps her arms tightly around her daughter in a comforting embrace. Laura takes in the calming scent of her mother, causing tears to gather in her eyes. She missed her mom terribly.

"I sat down for a second after fixing lunch, and I guess I dozed off. I was trying to greet you when you came through the door."

"It's ok, ma. That wasn't necessary."

"Well, at least I made the steaks before I sat down. I wanted to make sure y'all had something to eat after that plane ride." Laura giggles.

"You made steaks for lunch?"

"Yup, because today is a special day. My oldest girl has finally come home."