***

After Amy and Brooke had Eric set up in the guest bedroom and given him some more fluids, they let him rest. As much as he protested, he fell asleep very quickly.

Once Amy handed Emily the remote, Brooke knew she wouldn’t see her daughter’s eyes again for the next few hours. John had glued himself to the kitchen stool and feasted on whatever he could find in the freezer.

Amy caught Brooke up on what she’d missed. The trial with Smith, the debate scheduled between Smith and Jones, and Daniel’s constant presence in DC.

“What about the scientist?” Brooke asked. “Doesn’t he have the solution that’ll get us out of all this?”

“That’s what I thought Daniel was working with Smith on, but after Smith was arrested, Daniel… he…”

“What?”

“He’s been drinking a lot. His secretary’s given me a few calls, and when I went to go and see him the other day, he was drunk in his office. He tried to play it off, but I could smell it on him. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He has me worried.”

“I’m sure it’s been stressful.”

“He tried, Brooke. He really did. But whatever it was it caused everything to fall to pieces. Daniel was so sure their bill would pass.”

“The one that had to do with the scientist?” Brooke asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is he now?”

“I’m not sure.”

It all seemed so simple to Brooke. All they had to do was get Dr. Carlson working again, and all of the country’s problems would be solved. The drought would end. The necessity for exiling the Southwest would be null and void. But politics and hidden agendas were holding it back.

“I can’t believe this,” Brooke said.

“I know. It’s been insane.”

Brooke’s brother-in-law’s actions seemed out of character, though she would never say that aloud to Amy. Not that Daniel was a bad man, but he had never struck her as the type to stick his neck out for something like this. But maybe that’s why he’d been in DC so much lately. He had to patch up the mess everyone had made.

The front door opened, and Brooke saw the faces of her niece and nephew light up.

“Aunt Brooke?” Gabby asked.

“Hey, guys!” Brooke answered.

She walked over and gave each of them a hug.

“What are you doing here?” Kevin asked.

“Your aunt and cousins are going to be staying with us a while,” Amy answered.

“John’s here?” Kevin asked.

“He’s in the kitchen,” Brooke said.

Kevin smiled and sprinted to the kitchen. “And Emily’s in the living room watching television,” Brooke added.

“Yaaaay!” Gabby said, and the only thing Brooke could see after that was the bounce of her Barbie backpack as Gabby went to play with her cousin.

“It’s good to have you guys here,” Amy said, smiling. “I haven’t heard a whole lot of laughter the past week.”

“Amy,” Brooke said, gently holding her sister’s arm, “You need to speak with Kevin and Gabby. No one can know we’re here. It has to be kept secret.”

“I know. I’ll talk to them tonight after dinner.”

“Do you know when Daniel’s going to be home?”

“Tomorrow, I think. I’m going to get supper started.”

Amy left Brooke alone in the foyer. The giggles of Emily and Gabby combined with cracking voices of two teenage boys felt a lot like watching the sprinkler on the lawn. It was a magnificent sound to be heard, but the feeling somehow felt odd after everything that had happened.

The feeling made her shiver. She stepped into the living room. She became aware of the cushioned couches, the soft fabric that lined the pillows, the clean carpet, and the fine wooden furniture that surrounded her. Much like her sister, everything in the room represented elegance.

None of it seemed real. She’d thought that when she made it here, the sense of normalcy would reappear, that there would be some noticeable change, but nothing happened. There was no sense of relief, no increase of hope, and the anxiety that she’d felt during the entire trip had only intensified. It didn’t feel over.