A Family To Stay: A Holby City Fan Fiction (Kian & OC #4)

Chapter 7

The next day was a Saturday, and there was something important going on. Kian and Haley were meeting up with Fletch and Sacha to pack up Jac's house. Kian's cousin Marty came to watch Farrah and Jacob, and th couple took Emma to Jac's house.

Packing up after a death wasn't easy. Some things didn't fit easily into the boxes. Haley went to help Emma pack up her room. Everything had a memory: a stuffed animal, a book, a t-shirt.
"I noticed that you don't have a lot of clothes. Are they at your dad's house?" Haley questioned.
Emma shrugged.
"I guess so...I dunno. My mom bought me all these new clothes last year, but I didn't wear much of them."
"Well let's get them all packed up. That way you can take them when your dad comes back." Haley suggested, and Emma looked at the floor at the mention of her dad.
"Can I pack up my room myself? I'm not a baby." Emma asked curtly.
"Sure, Emma." Haley replied.

Leaving the room, Haley went into Jac's bedroom. She felt weird; she never felt close enough to Jac before, but now she was cleaning out her room.

Jac's bedroom was as immaculate as her desk would be at work. Even the closet was organized and everything had its own space. There was a jewelry chest on one of the dressers, an Haley decided Emma might want it. She packed it up carefully, wrapping it in bubble wrap. The one thing she didn't hesitate with was photos; Jac had plenty of  photos of her family. Haley put them in a small box with her name on it.
When Haley finished packing, she saw Emma was standing in front of her bed and staring at the pictures.
"Do you like any of these, sweetie?" Haley asked softly.
"Some of them....but....did you see the picture Mum drew for me? I used to keep it in my room, but I gave it to Mum when she got sick. " Emma replied sadly.
"Oh, here it is...it was on her bedside table. Why don't you take it with you?" Haley suggested gently. Emma nodded hesitantly before walking out of her room, grabbing her box.
"Do you want me to help you go through your mum's clothes?" Haley asked as she grabbed the last few items. Emma nodded once more as she walked past her. They carried everything downstairs.
Haley went through the clothes piece by piece. Emma wanted the dress Jac wore when they went to Disney, a scarf, and a few blankets.

Kian and the other men cleaned out the kitchen, dumping the food in the fridge, washing containers, and emptying the cabinets. It was already decided that the dishes, pots, pans, utensils, and food would be donated. Kian took all the photos and drawings off the fridge, fragments of a mother's life.

When Haley and Kian brought Emma back to their house, they helped her put the boxes in the spare room.
"Thanks for helping me, Haley." Emma  said gratefully as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"It's alright Emma. Feel free to unpack your things if you need them." Haley replied.
Emma went to her room and began to gather some of her clothes and her books. As soon as she started putting her things into her box, she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in." She called.
"Emma, want to play dress up?" Farrah asked, her brown eyes shining.
"No. I can't play." Emma replied.
"Why not? We can play princesses; you could be Elsa and I can be Jasmine." Farrah persisted; Jasmine was Farrah's favorite princess because she looked the most like her.
"I'm tired. I'd rather do homework."
"But...we could do puzzles too. Or coloring. Or...."
"Please go away."
"Alright. Bye." Farrah left, shutting the door behind her.
Emma sighed, flopping onto the ground, burying her face into her knees.
'I can't believe how selfish I am. Of course I want to play with Farrah. I just feel so sad. Why did my dad leave me here? I didn't ask to come here, I didn't do anything wrong. What kind of monster does this to a child?'
Emma didn't move from where she was laying until Kian knocked on her door. She stood up and headed towards the door, knowing it was probably dinner time.
Kian sat next to her while she was eating. He noticed she seemed upset, and was worried.
"How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?" Kian asked.
"A little." Emma replied honestly, picking at her salad with her fork.
"Look, there's a counselor I can take you to if you need anyone else to talk to. We'll try to figure out what's going on with your dad. But me and Haley aren't going anywhere," he assured her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"Thanks, Kian."
"Are you going to eat your vegetables?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Yes," Emma sighed.
"What's wrong?" Haley asked.
"Can you maybe put brownies in my lunch? My mum did."
"Of course, Emma. Is there a certain way you like them?" Haley asked.
"Just brownies is fine."
"Okay, let's bake those then." Haley replied.
After they ate, Haley put Emma to bed. She got her backpack together, and made sure she set an alarm to get Emma up for school on Monday. It was going to be unusual, having an older kid in the house when they had two younger ones to focus on, but she knew her and Kian would do everything to take care of Emma.