When the storm started up, Natalie was in the middle of fixing dinner for her family. She hadn't mentioned anything to Taylor about her run-in with Ashley and didn't intend to. But he knew that something was up, and was trying to get her to tell him what it was. But that was when the tornado sirens had gone off.
While he ran up the stairs to grab Wilhelmina, Natalie gathered up the rest of the kids and headed for their shelter. The winds had picked up, and she could from a distance see the start of a tornado as they ran. Taylor made it safely with their daughter and was out of breath. He handed her over to Ezra, who held onto his sister tightly.
Natalie threw herself into Taylor's arms. " I was so scared you wouldn't make it." She buried her face in his chest.
" It's okay. I'm fine, sweetheart." He kissed her. " We all are safe now."
River looked from one parent to the other, with tears in his eyes. " I'm scared. What about uncles Isaac and Zac, and..."
" I'm sure everyone is fine, River. They all know what to do in cases like this." Natalie told him, as she pulled out of Taylor's arms and looked her son's way. " Try not to worry so much."
Penny hugged her brother River, and kissed him on the cheek. " It's okay, River. Mommy is right."
Taylor smiled at the two of them. " I'll turn the radio on so we can listen to what's going on. I'm sure this will be over in no time."
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Isaac and Nikki were laying in bed together when the storm had begun. They rolled onto their backs, out of breath after their little workout. He held her in his arms and kissed her. " You are so amazing, Nikki."
" Not as amazing as you are, Isaac. I love you so much." She kissed him back and laid her head on his chest. " You make me so happy."
He smiled. " And you make me so happy too." Running his hand through her hair, he kissed her again. " I am the happiest I have ever been."
She smiled and kissed his chest. " I'm glad we have the house to ourselves for a little bit. It means we can lay here as long as..." Before she could finish her sentence, the tornado sirens went off. She sat up and looked out the window. " Shit! We need to get to the shelter fast, Isaac. Look at it out there."
He sat up and looked at himself. " Yeah. And tornado sirens never lie. We better hurry." He jumped out of bed and dressed as quickly as he could, just as she was.
Hand in hand, they ran to shelter as fast as they could. At least they knew their kids were safe with their friends, or so they thought. Before they could close the shelter door, Everett and Monroe popped out of nowhere and ran towards them, screaming for them to wait for them. Nikki was horrified to see them out in the bad weather. " What are you doing here? You should be with..."
"They're crazy, momma. They thought they could get us here before the storm started and became really bad. Now they're going home in it!" Everett told her as he and Monroe entered their shelter with him.
Isaac hugged both to him. " You two are never going over there again. You can see them in school and that is it."
Nikki shut the door and hugged them herself. " I agree. Their parents are irresponsible and I don't want them taking care of you ever again. I no longer trust them."
Monroe held onto her tightly. " I am so scared, mommy."
She took him into her arms and kissed his cheek. " I know, sweetie. It's fine though, I promise. We're all going to be just fine."
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When the storm finally passed, Zac and Kate were happy to sit their kids back down to eat. They hadn't been able to finish their food when the tornado sirens had begun. Arielle started to take the jacket off to hand it back to him, but he insisted to leave it on. " Your soaked to the skin and are freezing cold. Keep it." He told her.
" But it's such a nice jacket. I..."
" You heard my husband. He wants you to keep it." Kate smiled at her. " It's okay. He has plenty of other nice jackets to wear."
" Why don't you join us for some dinner? A nice hot meal ought to help warm you up a bit." Zac suggested, smiling at her.
" Thanks. I totally would, but I have no way to pay for..."
" It's on us, sweetie. Really. Pull up a seat and let us take care of you." Kate told her. She nodded to where they were sitting and sat down as Arielle found a free seat and pulled it up to the table.
" Thank you. I do appreciate this." Arielle smiled at them. " This storm only added to my already horrible day." The waitress came up to them with a menu for her, and she glanced at it quickly." I'll have the chicken and biscuits with a strawberry lemonade." She told her.
" It could have been worse if you hadn't shown up here when you did. What were you doing out in this weather?" Zac asked.
Arielle sighed. " Running from my mom. She's been lying to me all my life about who my dad was all this time."
" You ran from your mom? I bet she is scared wondering where you are!" Shepherd looked at her. " Especially in this weather."
Kate laughed at the surprise in her son's voice. " I believe my son is right. You need to get back to your mom and talk to her about this, no matter how bad things are between you two. She has to be so scared right now."
Arielle looked from Shepherd to Kate. " I can't talk to her. I need to find my real dad. He deserves to know me and I deserve to know him. I know that a first name isn't much to go on, but there can't be too many Taylor's that live here in Tulsa."
Zac nearly spit out his drink when she mentioned the name. " Who... who is your mother? What your's name?"
" My name is Arielle, and my mother is Ashley."
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Ashley had wandered around looking for her daughter up until the storm hit and then realizing she wouldn't find her before the tornado itself hit, she drove to the nearest spot of safety she could get to. They entered a gas station and headed straight for the bathroom to hide out there until it passed. There were a few other's hiding out there as well, hoping the tornado would pass by and leave the station unharmed. Unfortunately, they weren't quite so lucky.
On their way to the hospital now, Ashley was in tears over how hurt Christopher was. The tornado had ripped through the building, and he had been tossed around in the process. He had blood running down his face, and it seemed as though he would need stitches. He had been hit in the head pretty hard. " You need to hang on, Christopher. Please stay with me." She begged.
" I'm here, mom. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." He told her, looking up at her. He gave her a little smile. " It hurts, but I'll be fine."
They were in an ambulance, and he was getting treated as they headed to the hospital. They had given him some pain meds and were trying to keep him awake as best they could, knowing he might have a concussion. " I promise he will be well taken care of." They told her.
Ashley nodded. " I just hope my daughter is okay. She could... what if she is hurt too? I couldn't stand it if... both of my kids ended up hurt." She cried, looking down at her son, who started to close his eyes. " Christopher, stay awake. You can't go to sleep on me!:
" Does your daughter have a cell phone? We could call her and let her know where you are headed. I'm sure she would want to know her brother is hurt."
She nodded again to say yes, and gave them her number, hoping Arielle would pick up and find a way to meet them at the hospital, despite the fact they were fighting.
