To the Moon and Back (MJ fanfic)

Still Alive

"Okay, hold on!" I stopped the car and parked on the side of the highway. "What happened exactly?" I listened carefully. "Is he hurt?... Okay, I'll be there soon. Did you talk to him?... Alright, I'm on my way."

I was about twenty minutes out of San Olivios when I got a call from Neverland. I picked it up, expecting to hear Liam's voice. But instead on the other end I got a very frantic housekeeper.

Things had been going just about as well as they could had since the arrival of Henry. Of course we had our bad days... and when they were bad, they were rough. He was still coping, and on top of that he was still adjusting to a new life. It was hard for him, but he was making progress slowly but surely. At his own pace, I repeated my mantra again.

On our best days we felt like some sort of resemblance of a family. Henry would sit on the sidelines as we played monopoly, or watched a movie, which sure beat the days when he'd only stay in his room. But we understood, and we never made him do anything that was outside of his comfort zone. But at the same time we needed to make sure that he wasn't too far down the rabbit hole. Depression and anxiety was a rough thing that Michael and I both knew quite a bit about combined, and he was so young and impressionable that we didn't want him to get stuck. It was a very fine line that we walked on with steady feet.

He would play outside with Liam a little more each week, which some people wouldn't had noticed because it was very little, but I did. He was even beginning to talk to Michael more, and smile even if it were just once a day. The progress was small, but it was there and it was growing, and I thanked God that it did every day. He was mourning, and lost. All I wanted was for him to know that he had life lines to reach out for when he felt lost, but he wasn't being forced to reach out.

But today was a drawback, and a big one at that. Michael and I - with the short times that we had to ourselves - had talked about him lashing out, and how we would handle it as a parental figures. We knew it would come, but Henry had a tendency to draw into himself, not project it out at other people, which was what had me confused about this whole thing.

With a racing mind and a heavy foot to match I sped home and parked the car in the driveway. Running inside of the house as I threw my car keys on the table.

"Miss Jackson!" Ramona sighed in relief. She was standing outside Henry's bedroom door, looking frantic and exhausted. "Thank God you're here!"

"What happened?" I asked as soon as I could. "Is he alright?"

"He's locked himself in his room." She pursed her lips, "I'm sorry, I tried to get him out —."

"You're fine." I assured her. "You did all that you could, okay?" I set my hands on her shoulders, feeling how tense she was. "You can take the day off, Ramona."

"But what about the house —?" She panicked.

I almost wanted to smile. "It'll still be standing tomorrow." I said softly. "Thankyou for calling me. You did all you could do. Why don't you ask one of the bodyguards to take you anywhere you'd like to go? Maybe visit your daughter in San Francisco..."

The worry on her face faded some at the mention of her family, as she ran a hand through her thick hair. "Are you sure, ma'am?"

"Please." I insisted. "You deserve some time off anyways. Go have some fun, all expenses paid for as long as you'd like. You'll still be getting paid for this week."

"But..." she looked around. "You're sure?" She asked meekly.

"Positive."

After a few minutes she walked down the stairs and left the house. She was the only person working in the main house so after she was gone it became eerily quiet.