The Claim

Home At Last

It took a few more weeks before Eloise was released from the hospital, but when she finally left, Jensen was there, ready to take her home. She smiled when she crossed the front door of the hospital and saw Alex and the relief in his eyes when he saw her, arm in a sling and hand in a cast, but alive, told her that he had been just as worried.

The drive to the estate was fast, faster than Eloise was expecting, but she figured it was just Alex wanting to get her home as fast as he could so everyone could see her. When she arrived, she was surprised to see a lot of people waiting out front for her. It seemed that every one of Jensen's men were there to welcome her back home.

Home. It was such a strange feeling for her to call not only the estate but Austin as well, home. For so long Eloise didn't know where home was, after leaving New York, but now it felt right saying that Austin was her home. Not just because of the place, but more important than that, because of the people she met there that had become like family to her.

Stepping out of the car with Jensen's help, Eloise was greeted with smiles and laughter, everyone relieved that she was okay. Sure, a bit banged up, but okay nonetheless. Every person she would walk past would welcome her back home and wish her a speedy recovery, making her smile, thankful that she had them in her life. Eloise knew she still had a long way before she could say she was completely healed, but she knew that with theirs and Jensen's support, she would be back to her old self in no time.

While at the hospital she had made a decision. She wasn't going to allow what Elijah put her through to change who she was or how she viewed life. She knew if she did, then Elijah would win and there was no way in hell she would ever let that happen, even if he was dead.

Jensen had told her what had happened and how Elijah met his demise, and she would be lying if she said she didn't feel satisfied with how he died. Sure, if it was up to her, he would've hurt a whole lot more before he finally met his maker but still... Elijah was dead and Eloise was alive. That was all that mattered.

Sitting on a couch in Jensen's office, she watched as one after the other, Jensen's men came in and greeted her. They all wanted to see with their own eyes that she was okay and Eloise was touched with their concern towards her. After a while, Jensen had asked the men to stop coming in because he could see it was starting to overwhelm her.

- "You okay, sweetheart?"

- "Yeah, just tired. It's been a long morning."

- "I figured. If you want, I can help you to your room."

Before Eloise could answer, Jensen's phone rang. Picking it up, Jensen's whole demeanor changed. Once the conversation was over, Jensen let out a sigh and shook his head before looking back at her.

- "What now?" - Eloise asked, already knowing that it wasn't good news.

- "That was Don Morgan. Given what happened with Elijah and now that you're out of the hospital, the Dons want a meeting with the two of us."

- "Wait, me as well? They do realize I just got out of the hospital, right? I'm not exactly in any condition to be attending any meetings."

- "They know, but they still want you there. Whatever it is they want to talk about, we need to be there, the both of us. Ellie, whatever this is about, I will protect you, even if that means going to war with all of them."

- "Okay, look, hopefully it won't come to that and maybe they just want to know what happened for Elijah to end up dead."

- "Maybe."

- "What? What aren't you telling me?"

- "Nothing. It's just a feeling."

- "Okay? Care to elaborate?"

- "Something just doesn't feel quite right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

- "Jensen, if there's something you're not, it's paranoid. If this doesn't feel right to you, then take all the precautions you need to take to make sure we're safe when we go to the meeting. Other than that, there's not much we can do, except go to the meeting and hope for the best."

- "You're right, sweetheart. I'll talk to Jared and make some arrangements. For now, let's get you to your room so you can get some rest."

Eloise nodded and stood up, allowing Jensen to support her all the way up to her room.

Laying in her bed a few minutes later, Eloise couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming meeting. She knew better than to dismiss Jensen's gut feelings. He had been a part of that world for a lot longer than her, so he knew when something wasn't right. She was going to trust him and take some precautions of her own.

Allowing sleep to take over, Eloise knew that that meeting would most likely either go great or end up in bloodshed, although she really hoped for the former more than the latter.