The next afternoon, Kate and Elizabeth were busy hustling about to get the last few things done before their mother came home. Because Nathan had such a busy schedule, he had told them that he wouldn’t be able to process her discharge until the late afternoon. They had planned to spend the morning with her in the hospital, but their mother had objected. She had told them to rest and take some time for themselves.

They had agreed to stay home, but they had not rested. Kate had spent the morning scrubbing the house one last time from top to bottom while Elizabeth cooked up a storm, filling the house with the warm, welcoming scents that they knew would bring their mother joy as soon as she walked in the door. Now, all that was left was to bring her home and face the hard road ahead.

“Kate, are you ready?” Elizabeth called up the stairs as she waited in the kitchen for her little sister.

“Just a sec. I wanted to grab an extra sweater for mom to wear on the drive home.” Kate rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, as eager as her sister to leave.

“Good idea.”

“Do you hear someone knocking?” Kate asked as she reached for the car keys.

“Who would be here?” Elizabeth wondered who would stop by unannounced. After all, everyone knew their mom wanted no company.

“Anyone home?” a male voice called as the door flew open.

“Is that Bill?”

“I think so,” Elizabeth said, her eyes wide.

“Babies, where are you?” a frail voice called from the entry way.

“Mom!” both girls cried in unison as they dropped everything and rushed to embrace their mother, shocked to see her there.

“It’s good to be home with my girls,” Diane said, fighting off tears.

“What are you doing here? Nathan said he wouldn’t be able to sign your discharge papers until after 6.” Elizabeth reached out to grab her mother’s hand and reassure herself that she really was there with them.

“I decided that was too long for her to wait so we staged a jailbreak.” William leaned against the door frame with a mischievous grin on his face.

“Isn’t my William sweet?” Diane beamed with joy.

“That was very thoughtful of you.” Elizabeth gave him a big hug, so thankful for his presence in their lives.

“I figured it was the least I could do.” All he wanted was for the three women to be together. When they separated, something was off with the whole world.

“It means a lot. She has been itching to get out of that hospital.” Kate gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“You’re the best, Bill.” Elizabeth smiled up at him like he had just given her a winning lottery ticket. Traveling as often as she did, it was easy to forget the simple joy of having a supportive friend by your side.

“It was just two hours early.” He shrugged off the gratitude.

“Well, you have to stay for dinner now,” Elizabeth offered.

“Please, say you’ll stay.” Kate clapped her hands eagerly.

“You have to.” Diane’s maternal tone was too hard to deny.

“How could I turn down an invitation from the three loveliest women I know?” He wrapped his arms playfully around them all in a bear hug.

“It’s settled then,” Elizabeth said, relief washing over her at the thought that her mother was finally home with them. The simple exchange of convincing William to stay for dinner already felt like things were getting back to normal. “I need to go check the sauce.” She darted toward the kitchen.

“Good girls.” Their mother nodded contently. She preferred to be the one who took care of everything, but the thought that her little girls had grown into two strong and caring young women filled her heart with pride and joy.

“It all smells delicious,” William commented, taking off his coat.

“Would you expect any less from a meal in this house?” Kate asked with mock indignation.

“Never!” He held up his hands in surrender and grinned.

“Kate, why don’t you show Bill and mom the room we have set up for her,” Elizabeth suggested as she came back into the room. She thought that if William gave it his approval, their mother might fight them a bit less on staying there.

“Good idea.” William gestured for the ladies to go first.

“Yes, show me the work you’ve done, my dear.”

“Okay, follow me.” Kate smiled conspiratorially at her sister as she walked toward the room.

Elizabeth was not alone for more than a minute before another knock came at the door.

“Who’s knocking now?” she wondered as she threw open the door. To her shock, there stood Nathan and it was clear from his expression that he was agitated.

“Nathan!” she exclaimed, unsure what else to say.

“Is your mom okay? I went to start her discharge and the nurse told me she was already gone.” He barged past her without waiting for an invitation to come in.

“Yes, she’s here,” Elizabeth said, confusion evident in her expression. “Thanks for following up.”

“I just wanted to be sure she got home safely.” He was informed that William had discharged Mrs. Watson but, after the tense conversation in his office, he didn’t want to bring up his name again. “And I wanted to apologize to you,” he spoke through gritted teeth as though the words pained him.

“There’s no need.” She knew that they needed to face what was between them so that she could finally move on, but she wasn’t ready for such an emotional moment right after the joy of welcoming her mother back home.

“I was out of line. I know I have no right to interfere in your life.”

“It’s all right.” She hoped that he would leave now that he had said what he came to stay. Digging further into all the pain between them was best saved for another day.

“It’s so strange to be around you again. I don’t know what to do or say.” He ran his fingers through his black hair in frustration.

“I know the feeling.” Her head was pounding with the effort to keep her emotional defenses intact.

“I hate how awkward things are between us,” he continued, undeterred by the hesitation in her eyes.

“Me too. We were so close once, even before we started to date,” she blurted out, immediately regretting her sentimental tone. But it was the truth. That was the hardest part of it all for her. In losing their love, she had also lost one of the most important friendships she had ever known. It was like losing him twice.

“We really were good friends first, weren’t we?” His own eyes echoed her sadness.

“The best of friends.”

“Do you think we could go back to that someday?” he asked her suddenly, as though he had only just realized that it might be possible.

“I’d like that very much.” Elizabeth liked the idea of being friends again although she didn’t say aloud how impossible she thought it was. There was too much pain there. He had to know it too, but just the fact that he asked did warm her heart. She was so lost in the intensity of their exchange that she didn’t hear William and her sister come back into the room.

“Liz, you did a wonderful job with the room. You and Baby Bird outdid yourselves,” William stated before he noticed Nathan standing there.

“Thanks, Bill.” Elizabeth was relieved to no longer be alone with Nathan.

Nathan’s expression quickly changed.

“William, I heard that you discharged my patient, but I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“He gave her a ride home too. Wasn’t that sweet of him?” Elizabeth smiled at her old friend, missing the jealousy flaring in her ex’s eyes.

“Yup. Sweet.” Nathan worked hard to keep his emotions in check. He had never wanted to punch another man so much, let alone his best friend.

“Nathan, are you okay?” William eyed him intently.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Elizabeth wasn’t sure that inviting Nathan to stay was a good idea, but she was grateful for everything he was doing for her mother and it seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.

“We understand if you’re too busy. Everyone knows your career comes first.” Kate smirked, venom in her voice.

“Thank you for the invitation but I can’t stay. I’d like to see your mother before I leave, though, since I wasn’t able to give her a final examination before she was discharged. I’ll only be a minute.”

“Sure. We have her set up in the old guest room so she won’t have to go up or down the stairs until her strength is fully restored.”

“An excellent idea. You don’t have to show me the way. I remember the house very well.” His eyes darted to William before leaving the room.

“What’s with him?” Kate asked.

“I don’t know. He was fine a minute ago.” Elizabeth shrugged, chewing on her lip.

“He’s been on edge lately.” William’s eyes followed the path his friend had taken out of the room. He was quite sure that this was not the last he would hear from Nathan about discharging his patient.

“I need to get to making the rest of dinner. Make yourself comfortable,” Elizabeth told William.

“You got it.”

William and Kate headed to the living room and settled into the couch. After a short while, Nathan was back.

“She’s a bit worn out but her vitals are good.”

“I know. I checked them before we left the hospital,” William answered calmly, aware that this was Nathan’s passive aggressive way of chastising him.

“I don’t appreciate you discharging my patient.”

“She wanted to get home. Besides, I wanted to drive her home to save the girls a trip.”

“I bet you did,” Nathan snapped.

“Are you sure you can’t stay for dinner?” Elizabeth came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

“I’m sure. Thanks a lot, Liz.”

“What are friends for?” She did her best to give him a genuine smile and be the friend she wished they would be to each other.

“Right. Friends,” he replied as though he had to remind himself that she was in fact his friend. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she called after him.

“What happened to him?” Elizabeth asked as soon as he closed the door behind him.

“I, for one, don’t care,” Kate said, her tone cold. In her mind, Nathan had no business trying to be a part of their happy family reunion. “Say what you want about me, but I’m always honest.”

“Whatever. I have to get back to the kitchen.” Elizabeth tried to put the strange exchange out of her mind and focus on her mother’s homecoming.

“We’ll give you a hand,” Kate offered as she and William stood up and followed her sister.