Caitlin Brooks: Grace Cameron

Chapter Twenty-Three

Grace didn't know how long she had slept after her grandfather had helped her to bed. All she knew was that she had slept the whole night and most of the day because she could see the bright light and feel the warmth through the thin curtains. 
"Good morning" Chester's voice from the corner of the room startled her. 
"What time is it?" she mumbled against the pillow beneath her. 
"A little after two. I thought that judging by last night, you needed to sleep so I didn't wake you" she didn't respond, only avoided his eyes "Are you going to tell me what got you all worked up?" 
"Were you ever in love?" he moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. 
"With your grandmother I was, why?" 
"I screwed the wrong guy and got hurt" 
"What made him wrong?" she briefly met his eyes before she quickly looked away again. 
"I shouldn't be talking about this" 
"You don't have to bottle everything up inside Grace. No one should live like that"
"That's the only way I know how to live" she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut to hold back the tears "I need a disposable phone" he reached into his pocket and handed her the phone he had retrieved. Grace took the phone and pulled herself up in the bed. 
"Thank you" he nodded, taking her hand in his. 
"I mean it sweetheart, I'm here if you need to talk or someone to cry to. I'm here" she nodded, giving him a small smile as she squeezed his hand lightly. She watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him, she dialled her friends number. 
"Hello? Grace is that you?" she let out a shaky breath, feeling her tears threatening to spill over.
"Hi" 
"Are you okay? Where are you?" 
"I'm in France, up in the mountains" silence fell between them "I had a girl and she's beautiful" 
"Did they take her?" 
"Yes" her voice shook as she felt tears beginning to fall. 
"I'm so sorry Grace" 
"Did you get the boys out? Are they safe?" 
"They're safe. Sam has become their dad, they're in Reston, Virginia" silence fell upon them both again "I promised them that you would be with them again one day and I told them you'll have burgers and ice cream everyday-" 
"I can't" she managed to get out despite the tightening in her chest. 
"You can't what?" 
"I can't be their mother"
"I think that you weren't made to be anything but their mother" Grace shook her head despite knowing that Clara couldn't see it. 
"I fell in love with a terrorist" 
"Why?" 
"Why?" she repeated with a small laugh. 
"What made you love him?" 
"He killed someone that touched me. When I had a nightmare about the man that touched me as a child, he held me and helped me forget. He made me feel safe" 
"I don't think that there's anything wrong with a person making you feel safe. I don't think that love can be wrong. A person can be wrong, their choices can be wrong but, I don't think love is wrong, no matter how or where it is found" Grace remained silent "They need you Grace. Boys always need their mother" 
"Even if she's broken?" 
"You're not broken. Chipped, cracked, not broken. Just think about it, please"
"Okay" she whispered, just loud enough for her to hear "Where are you? Did you pick an assignment?" she wiped her wet cheeks as she waited for an answer. 
"Elliot and I are going to help other agents with their cases, we'll bring in weapons and whatever else they need. We're staying state side, for now" 
"Since when was there a we?" 
"A little while. We take joy where we can find it" 
"I'll call you if I change my mind" 
"Just call. You're still my friend Grace. No one knows what I had to do like you do" 
"We'll see. I'll see you around James" 
"See you around Cameron" Grace hung up the phone before she used the headboard for leverage to break the phone in half. 

It took two days for Grace to decide that she couldn't be away from her boys. She couldn't risk anyone coming after them with her far away. It took her another two days to get back to Virginia. She had called Clara in advance and they agreed to meet at Murphy's pub, the same place where Grace had met the team five years ago. She was going back to where it all began. 
Grace entered the pub and headed towards the back, finding Clara sat at the same table where they had first met five years ago. 
"Hey" Clara rose from her seat and pulled her friend into her arms. 
"Hi" they pulled away and slipped into the booth. 
"I have their address" she pulled the small piece of paper from her pocket and slid it across the table towards Grace. 
"Thank you" she caught Clara's hand in hers "I mean it Clara. Thank you for everything you've done for me and the boys. I owe you everything" 
"You owe me nothing. You're my friend Grace, and I'm tired of all the pain. I wanted to do something good for once" Grace nodded, releasing her hand "What are you going to do?" 
"I'm going to make sure that my boys are safe, beyond that, I don't know" 
"You could take them, you could run somewhere. No one would be able to find you-"
"He asked me to run. I've been running my whole life, Clara. I want to live, even if that means watching my boys grow up from a distance. I want to protect the kids that I can be near" Clara could see the pain in her eyes and the tears that threatened to appear.
"You don't have any idea where they took her?" 
"I was in a bunker, a hole in the ground. I didn't even know that I was still in France, let alone what day it was" she nodded.
"I should've told you what you were going to be made to do" 
"No you shouldn't have" Grace met her eyes "I don't regret my children, and I don't regret loving Cor either" Clara nodded gently, taking her hand again.
"I hope you get them back. All of them"
"Right now, I'll settle for just my boys"