Lost and Found

Unexpected Guests

(Eloise's POV)

The ride back to Earth was uncomfortably quiet, half because the child in my arms was sleeping but mainly because no one had any idea what to say. Morty was obviously trying to think of something to ask me, but came up with nothing.

When the ship finally landed, I stepped out cautiously and gasped softly. "Y-your house is so big," I muttered to Morty.

Morty looked at me, arching an eyebrow. "Your house looked about the same size," he replied.

I blushed a little. "Oh, uh, yeah...guess I'm just not used to Earth homes yet." I felt the boy in my arms stir in his sleep, and I adjusted him so that he could hear my heart beat. As I walked up to the porch and raised my fist to knock, I felt my heart get caught in my throat.

How was I going to explain this; myself, my sudden appearance, the freakin' KID in my arms...?!

My thoughts were cut short when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Rick. He gave me a small grin. "C'mon, kid, time to rip the Band-Aid off."

I smiled back, exhaled slowly, and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a man with brown hair wearing a green polo shirt. He stared at me for a second, then at the kid in my arms.

"Beth!" he yelled into the house. "C-could you come here for a second, honey?"

So that's where Morty got his stutter from.

A blonde woman walked up to the door, and, once she caught sight of me, she gasped as tears pooled in her eyes.

I put up my free hand in defense. "It's not what it looks like!"

"It looks like you're a teenage girl with a child," the brown-haired man said.

"Oh...then I guess it is what it looks like."

________________________________________________________________________________

"Jerry, buddy, take it easy," Rick tried to reassure the man as said man rubbed his temples.

"Take it easy?! You bring a teenager who HAS A KID into our home with NO explanation, and you want me to take it easy?!" Jerry shouted.

"Logan," I whispered under my breath. Everyone turned to look at me and my face flushed. "Um, uh, his name is Logan, sir." The boy in question whimpered and I pet his head.

"Fine, LOGAN, then," Jerry replied, rolling his eyes. "You owe us an explanation, missy!"

"And you'll get one," Beth said, handing me a glass of water. "Now leave her be, she's probably exhausted...a single mother raising her son by herself."

"Wait...mother?!" I sputtered, almost doing a spit-take. "Ohhh, um, he's not really my son, biologically," I explained. "He's Em-my sister's son."

"And the father is...?" Jerry questioned, raising an eyebrow with an unconvinced look bringing his face down.

I narrowed my eyes. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, sir, I'll let you know that my sister was happily married before Logan came along."

"Yeah, right."

Now it was Rick's turn to intervene. "Leave her sister out of this. I know her and her family; she's telling the truth."

"So how do you know her?" Beth asked, crossing her arms. Jerry smirked, as if he thought he'd won.

"He fought in the Battle of Blood Ridge with my family," I answered, picking my nephew up and balancing him on my hip. "And he's the reason I'm even ALIVE. If he hadn't found me...I wouldn't be here."

"Wait, wasn't that when you were 30, Dad?" Beth pointed out. "She's a teenager."

"Yeah, time travels differently in her dimension than ours," Rick explained. "An Earth year in her dimension is like two months. She was nine when I met her."

Logan's stomach growled. Beth sighed, leading me and him into the kitchen. "You two must be starving. I'll make you guys something, and don't worry about Jerry, sweetie. He's never been too fond of my dad."

A few minutes later, she placed a plate of sandwiches on the table in front of Logan and I. My nephew instantly snatched one up and began to eat it quickly.

I chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Slow down, bud; don't want ya choking on me!" I turned to Beth. "Kids, am-i-right?"

Beth snickered. "You have to meet Summer. She'd LOVE to meet you...how old are you, hon?"

"Fifteen."

"And I never got your name?"

"Oh, my name's Eloise West."

She gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Welcome home, Eloise."