~

Later that evening, Brian was finally ready to speak with Allison again. It was around dinner time, so everybody figured that the best plan of action was just to eat, relax, and save the hard stuff for another day. Allison was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for Elizabeth to come back with her tiny boyfriend. Although Elizabeth had assured her that Brian was not mad at her, she couldn’t help but be a little nervous. She was responsible for talking him into the disastrous meeting with his mother, after all, for reasons she didn’t entirely understand. However, once Elizabeth finally returned, her nervousness was quickly replaced by confusion.

Elizabeth was positively beaming, and her eyes were sparkling. Her expression was one of overwhelming joy, and Allison wasn’t sure if she had ever seen her so happy before. Brian, conversely, looked somewhat embarrassed as he sat on Elizabeth’s palm. His eyes were pointed downwards, and his cheeks carried the slightest hint of a blush. Since Allison had expected the mood to be pretty somber after the events of the day, she was more than a little befuddled. Elizabeth practically skipped into the room, before stopping a few feet away from the couch.

“…what?” Allison asked, looking back and forth between them. Brian blushed a little harder, and Elizabeth somehow smiled even wider.

“Can I tell her?” she asked Brian chipperly. Still looking down, he fidgeted a bit. 

“Oh, come on, I have to tell her,” she continued, gently rustling his hair with her finger.

“Tell me what…?” Allison asked unsuredly. After a moment, Brian sighed and nodded in affirmation. 

“Brian asked me to be his mom!” Elizabeth exclaimed. Brian instantly looked towards her in mortification, now completely blushing. His eyes were begging her not to embarrass him, but she was having none of it. Allison’s confusion only increased.

“He… what?” she questioned, to which Elizabeth nodded vigorously.

“Brian asked me to be his mom. He said just the absolute sweetest things about how I make him feel loved and reassured, and how grateful he is, and how I’m a better mom than his ‘real’ mother, and he then asked me to be his mom! He’s just the cutest, most wonderful little precious sweetheart in the whole world, and I love him so much, and-”

“It isn’t a big deal…” Brian muttered, practically cringing out of his skin.

“Like hell it isn’t!” Elizabeth cried playfully. “If I’m your mom now, then you have to get used to a few things. One: I’m going to tell people how wonderful you are at every opportunity. Two: I will expect at least two hugs and two kisses a day, although I will eventually bump that number up to six. Three-”

“Elizabeth!” Brian whined, clearly embarrassed out of his mind.

“Oh, that’s another thing,” she replied. “From now on, I will only respond to ‘Mom.’ No more of this ‘Elizabeth’ nonsense.”

“What?! Oh, come on, that’s way too sudden…” he said, burying his face in his hands. Elizabeth let out a resigned sigh.

“Fine, fine, we can compromise,” she said teasingly. “I would be willing to accept ‘Mommy’ instead.”

Brian looked towards Allison, a pleading look in his eye. She was still a little stunned by this unexpected development, and as such had been watching their display with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“Allie, please help me,” he begged. “She’s gone mad. She’s actually lost her mind.”

Elizabeth dramatically gasped.

“Young man, is that any way to talk to your mother?” she scolded. Unable to stand it anymore, Brian looked up at the ceiling and cried out in anguish.

“Fuck, I take it back, I take it back!” he shouted. “I don’t want you as my mom, I’ll just go without one!”

“Nope, not gonna happen,” Elizabeth replied jovially. “It’s too late to take it back, so you’re stuck with me. You’re officially my darling little boy now, to love and cuddle and spoil and cherish for the rest of eternity. I’m never letting you go, cutie-pie.”

Brian deflated, and looked back down at her palm in defeat.

“I hate everything…” he mumbled.

“That’s my good boy,” Elizabeth cooed, before leaning in to give him a big, fat smooch on the top of his head. She then turned back to Allison, looking completely pleased with herself. Allison stared at her in silence for a moment, before suddenly cracking up with barely-repressed giggles. This did little to soothe Brian’s embarrassment.

“Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing,” she said teasingly.

“I hate you…” said Brian, just barely audibly. At that, Elizabeth decided to finally cut him some slack.

“Alright, smoochiekinz,” she started. Not that much slack.

“I’m going to go and start dinner, and I’ll make it extra special just for you. You just stay here and relax for a while, okay?”

She turned to Allison.

“You take good care of my snuggle-bunches, you hear?” she said sternly. Still smiling widely, Allison nodded as she extended her hand. With a quick nonverbal confirmation of permission, Elizabeth gently plucked him up and transferred him to his girlfriend’s hand, before bouncing away towards the kitchen while humming a soft tune. Once she was gone, Brian flopped over on his back.

“I think I’ve made a terrible decision,” he muttered, as Allison reclined into the couch while stroking his hair.

“Oh, I think you’ve made an absolutely wonderful decision,” she replied. “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen Elizabeth that happy.”

“She sure seemed to get quite a bit of enjoyment out of embarrassing me right down to my soul,” Brian said, slightly cringing at the memory. Allison giggled once more.

“Well, that’s what moms do,” she replied chipperly. “Sounds like she’s already adapting quite nicely.”

Brian groaned in annoyance, but he was lightly shushed as Allison continued to physically soothe him. Eventually, she spoke up again.

“I don’t think you could have picked a better mom,” she said quietly. “She loves you, and you could really use one.”

Brian finally dropped his embarrassment, and smiled warmly.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I love her, too. Thank you so much for persuading me to meet with her, back then.”

Allison smiled in response, but her smile quickly faded once she remembered that she had also persuaded him to meet with his mother. At that, she decided it was time to apologize.

“Listen, Brian, about today…” she started. Before she could continue, though, a stern voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Allie, don’t even go there,” Brian said. “What happened today was not your fault. Despite what Elizabeth might believe, I’m a big boy who can make his own decisions. Yes, you and Jen influenced me, but I’m the one who chose to meet with her.”

Allison’s eyes softened, although her expression was still troubled.

“Thank you for saying that…” she said softly. “I still feel bad, though. I don’t know what I was thinking. I saw your breakdown after the session, I should have known that meeting with her would be too painful. I’m really sorry.”

“Forgiven. We can all share some of the blame for what happened today, okay? There’s no need to stress ourselves trying to decide who fucked up the most,” he replied.

Allison smiled in relief.

“Sounds good,” she whispered. Brian nodded, and closed his eyes as he rested in her palm. After a moment, though, his face fell.

“I’m really worried about Jen…” he said. “I mean, I’m embarrassed that I lost control like that, but I’m really fucking worried about her. That was too much for her to find out at once. Not only what Mom said, but that I lied to her… you said that she just sat there silently after Elizabeth took me away?”

Allison nodded.

“Yeah, then she eventually got up and dragged Laura out the door. It was a little unsettling, to be honest,” she answered. Brian groaned, and brought both hands up to his face.

“Oh, god…” he mumbled. “Maybe I should call her. Try to explain why I lied.”

“Oh, I’m sure that can wait until tomorrow,” Allison said reassuringly. “She’s a considerate girl, I have no doubt that she’ll understand if you need to recover after what happened.”

“Yeah, maybe…” he replied, obviously still conflicted.

“Well, no matter what, let’s just eat first. You can decide after.” Allison suggested, to which Brian nodded. After a few moments, she suddenly realized something.

“By the way, if Elizabeth adopts you, are you going to become Brian Dawson?” she asked teasingly. Brian’s eyes shot open.

“Oh, shit…” he whispered, before slightly frowning. “Not sure how I feel about that. I kinda like the alliteration thing I have going on right now with ‘Brian Bentley.’”

Allison giggled.

“I like it, too. Sounds like a comic book name,” she replied, causing Brian to grin.

“Right? Dawson isn’t bad, though. I actually wouldn’t mind having your last name, Allie,” he said. “‘Brian Starr.’ Not bad. It’d be better than ‘Allison Bentley’ or ‘Allison Dawson,’ at least.”

“Oh, those aren’t that bad. Could always do a hyphen, too,” she replied. “Allison Dawson-Starr. Brian Bentley-Starr. Those are pretty good, right?”

Brian nodded thoughtfully.

“True, true. Well, just something to keep in mind, I guess, in case we ever get m-”

He stopped, realizing what he was about to say. Allison did the same, and they both quickly turned beet-red. An extremely awkward silence overtook the room for a moment, as they both struggled to think of something to say. After a moment, Brian pushed down his anxiety and decided to finish his thought.

“In case we ever get m-married,” he continued firmly, unable to look his girlfriend in the eye. Suddenly, Allison felt like the happiest girl in the world. She adopted an enormous, dumb grin, although her cheeks were still extremely red.

“R-Right,” she stammered. Brian nodded, and rolled over so his back was facing her. He simply couldn’t stand to look at her through his embarrassment. Not wanting to punish him for saying such a sweet thing, Allison graciously reached over and turned the television on while they waited for dinner. With that being said, she suddenly found it extremely hard to focus.

~

After dinner, all three of them were relaxing in the living room. Allison and Brian were watching the news, seeing how his big reveal was affecting the country. Cassandra’s bill to take down the Shrink Penalty was currently working its way through a Senate committee, and would likely be put on the legislative calendar for the debate and vote pretty soon. As such, the only indication of success they had access to so far was public opinion, which was quite promising. The Shrink Penalty usually polled around 60% approval, with that number typically increasing whenever a particularly gruesome crime is reported on. More than enough to keep it around, but not quite enough to completely erase the ongoing controversy created by several political and humanitarian groups. As a result of the double-reveal of Brian’s innocence and his shrunken status, though, the SP approval rating was currently at an abysmal 15%. The overwhelming outcry from the public was putting considerable pressure on their representatives to act accordingly, and Cassandra was hoping that the pressure would last until the actual votes would take place. If so, then there was an extremely good chance that the votes would go their way.

However, the danger with a sensational event is that the public interest will eventually fade, and their advocacy will lose its effect. The Pro-SP interest groups will be constant in their efforts to keep it around, while the media interest in Anti-SP rhetoric will eventually fade. According to Cassandra, longevity is exponentially more important than intensity when it comes to politics. Hence, her plan to spread out any and all developments, videos, or interviews surrounding Brian’s case. They were currently waiting for the go-ahead on a new video, which would likely occur in the next couple of days. Until then, all they could do was sit back, relax, and watch the chaos. Or, in Elizabeth’s case, do research into adult adoptions.

“Apparently, the only people that need to consent are the person being adopted and the person doing the adoption, so Laura wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it,” she explained with a triumphant grin.

“Mm-hmm,” Brian mumbled, not really listening. 

“So, I guess I just need to request the paperwork from the local court, and we can take it from there! Oh, I’m so excited,’ she continued, practically vibrating in her chair. Allison couldn't help but giggle at her excitement, and even Brian adopted a small grin. Despite his outward embarrassment, he was actually quite excited himself. At that moment, though, he realized a potential issue.

“Oh, shit,” he said, causing both women to shoot him a questioning glance. He turned around in Allison’s palm so he could face them more fully.

“Future lawyer and former lawyer,” he started, gesturing to Allison and Elizabeth, “am I legally dead, still? Do I have to do something to come back to life?”

Both women were stunned into silence, as this was something they surprisingly hadn’t considered.

“That’s a… good question, Brian…” Elizabeth replied, furrowing her brow in contemplation. “I can’t say resurrection was exactly my legal area of expertise…”

“Yeah, I must have, uh… skipped that day in class, or something,” Allison awkwardly added. Brian raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I’ll definitely find out the answer to that, honey,” Elizabeth continued with a nod. “Wouldn’t want some legal nonsense to prevent me from being able to adopt my precious baby boy.”

Brian closed his eyes with a grimace.

“I cannot express to you how much I hate that…” he muttered, causing Elizabeth to beam.

“And that’s exactly why I’m going to keep doing it,” she replied chipperly. “You’ve got a lot to learn about what it's like to have a mother, young man, and I intend to give you a thorough education.”

“Fantastic,” Brian sighed as he reclined into Allison’s hand, who was sporting an enormous grin as a result of Elizabeth’s teasing. Aside from her general happiness surrounding their current situation, she absolutely loved just how much all three of them had come to feel like a family lately. At that moment, she would have been just fine with things staying as they were for the rest of her life. However, a sudden knock at the door quickly interrupted that fantasy, and everybody turned to the door with worried eyes.

“Oh god, this never goes well,” Brian said nervously. Indeed, his encounter with Cathy had given him a mild fear of unexpected visitors.

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Elizabeth assured.

“Saying that is practically guaranteeing that it won’t be nothing,” Brian countered.

“Regardless, I’ll go turn them away. Allie, why don’t you just keep Brian hidden in your hands for a moment,” she suggested. Allison nodded, and carefully moved her free hand over her other one, until her tiny boyfriend was completely concealed within a curtain of her fingers.

Elizabeth rose from her chair and placed her laptop on a nearby table, before making her way towards the door. Taking a moment to adopt a poker face, she just barely opened it to see who was on the other side. Who she was met with shocked her into silence.

It was Jennifer.

~

“Jennifer…?” Elizabeth asked. She opened the door the rest of the way so she could get a good look at her. She was standing outside the door, looking completely miserable. Once she heard Elizabeth’s voice, her face fell even more.

“I know I shouldn’t be here…” she said quietly. “But… I don’t have anywhere else to go…”

Elizabeth’s face twisted in concern, and she looked back towards the living room. She saw that Allison was standing by the couch, looking very concerned. Brian was uncovered in her hand, looking even more concerned. He nodded at Elizabeth, giving her permission to invite his sister inside.

“Please, honey, come in,” Elizabeth said, backing up to make room for her. Jennifer nodded, and sheepishly made her way inside. She cast a quick glance at Allison, and an even quicker glance at her brother, before looking down at the floor. Elizabeth closed the door, and moved so she could face her.

“Sweetheart, what’s going on? Why aren’t you at the hotel?” she asked concernedly. Jennifer’s expression darkened in anger, and small tears formed in her eyes.

“I just… I can’t even look at her anymore…” she whispered. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here.”

With that, she began to turn towards the door, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“No no no, it’s completely fine,” Elizabeth said reassuringly. “I’m glad you came here, I’d rather that than you trying to find some place to sleep on your own. Have you eaten yet, honey?”

After a small hesitance, Jennifer shook her head. Elizabeth smiled sympathetically, and began to guide her towards the living room. Jennifer was avoiding eye contact with Allison and Brian, as she was extremely embarrassed about showing up unexpectedly. Nonetheless, they could all sense her distress and were determined to make her feel welcome. After all, she was family.

“Alright, you have a seat right there and warm up. I’ll go heat up some food for you, okay?” Elizabeth said. Once again, Jennifer nodded. 

“Thank you,” she replied quietly. With that, Elizabeth made her way towards the kitchen, leaving Jennifer with her brother and his girlfriend. A small, awkward silence overtook the room while they struggled to think of something to say. Eventually, Brian decided to speak up.

“Hey, Jen,” he said softly. Jennifer slightly grimaced at the sound of his voice, still looking down at the floor.

“What’s going on?” he asked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if trying to find the right words.

“Earlier, I wanted to get her out of the house…” she started. “I thought it would help you, but… I just can’t stand to be around her anymore… I had to leave…”

“Does she know where you are?” Allison gently asked. “We wouldn’t want her to contact the police, trying to find you.”

“She knows…” Jennifer answered, to which Brian and Allison sighed in relief.

“Good, good… well, don’t worry about it. You’re always welcome here,” Allison assured. Jennifer nodded gratefully, before drawing her knees up to the couch and burying her face in them. Allison and Brian exchanged a nervous glance, before silently agreeing to just let her be for a little while. She was clearly too upset to have a real conversation. So, Allison turned the TV back on at a low volume and let her rest while they waited for Elizabeth to be done in the kitchen. 

Eventually, Elizabeth spoke up in the distance.

“Jennifer, your food is ready,” she said. Jennifer removed her face from her knees and rose from the couch, before making her way towards the dining room. On the way, though, she couldn’t help but notice Elizabeth’s opened laptop on a nearby table. A single word caught her eye, and caused her heart to speed up.

Adoption…?

~

After Jennifer ate, all four of them were back in the living room. Elizabeth was sitting next to Jennifer on the couch, rubbing her shoulder. Brian and Allison were sitting in a chair opposite the couch, looking at her with concerned eyes. Brian was hardly able to bear seeing her so upset, so he decided to try clearing the air.

“Jen, I’m really sorry about everything that happened today,” he said softly. Jennifer’s eyes widened, and shot up towards him. Brian was having a hard time making eye contact, but if he had he would have noticed the incredulous look on her face. Still, he continued.

“I can’t even imagine how upset you are right now, and I feel horrible about it. That was the worst possible way for you to find out about everything, and I’m sorry for not being able to control myself. I’m sorry for not telling you about what she said, and I’m really sorry for lying about having faith that you believed me. Please forgive me,” he continued, lowering his head. After a small silence, Jennifer began to speak in a dark tone.

“Seriously?” she said lowly. “You’re apologizing to me?”

Brian looked back up at her with a confused expression, while Allison and Elizabeth exchanged a nervous glance.

“After everything you’ve been through, you’re more concerned with my feelings?” she continued, trying not to get angry. Brian’s confusion increased, and he cocked his head.

“Of course I am,” he replied unsuredly. “You’re my sister.”

“That’s right, I’m your sister,” she said earnestly. “I’m your family. So why weren’t you honest about how bad things were? Why are you so insistent on comforting me over every little thing, even if it’s at your expense? Why won’t you let me help you?!”

“Jen, everything that happened to me… that isn’t your burden to carry,” Brian replied. “I know it was wrong to lie, but I didn’t want you to beat yourself up any more about something that wasn’t your fault. It isn’t your responsibility, you’re just a ki-”

“I’m not just a kid!” Jennifer interrupted, clenching her fists in anger. “I’m not some delicate thing that needs to be sheltered at all times. I deserve to know the truth, even if it carries the risk of making me feel bad. And you know why? Because it’s nothing compared to what you’ve been through.”

She took a breath, trying and failing to stop tears from forming in her eyes.

“All that stuff happened to you… how am I supposed to hear all of that and let you apologize? How am I supposed to let you feel bad because of something that happened to me? Don’t you understand, Bean?! You didn’t do anything wrong! You didn’t do anything wrong, and all that terrible stuff happened to you anyway! Mom said those fucking disgusting things, and you tried to k-kill yourself! She made you think that you were completely alone! She fucking lied and said that I didn’t want to see you! You said that you were beaten, you were r…”

She trailed off, unable to force herself to say it. Angry tears were now streaming down her face.

“You’re my brother, and I’m your sister. Nobody in the whole world knows you better than I do, because I’m your family!! After what Mom said, I’m the only family you have left! We’ve always been together, and I love you more than anything in the entire universe. So… stop fucking lying to me! Stop telling me that everything is okay, when fucking nothing is okay! Stop acting like you didn’t go through three years of literal torture for something you didn’t do! Stop acting like my problems are the only ones that matter! Stop acting like my feelings are the only ones that count! Stop acting like you don’t need help! Our whole lives, you’ve been the one taking care of me. But now… you’re the one who needs help, so let me take care of you! Just tell me how hard it was! Tell me how it made you feel! Tell me everything, stop apologizing, and let me comfort you!!”

With that, she was done. She was angry, she was crying, but she was done. Silence overtook the room, only interrupted by the occasional sniffle or heavy breath. Allison and Elizabeth were anxiously moving their eyes between Brian and Jennifer, waiting to see what would happen next. Brian was looking down at Allison’s hand, in heavy contemplation. Eventually, with a small sigh, he came to a decision. He decided to give his sister what she wanted, and be honest.

“It was really hard,” he said quietly. Jennifer stopped crying, and looked back up at him with wide eyes.

“It was really hard, Jen. What Mom said… it broke me. After that day, I didn’t smile even once for three years. I was fully convinced that nobody in the whole world believed me, and that nobody ever would. Even after Allie saved my life, it took a long time for me to completely accept that she believed me. In prison, I had nothing. Back then, if it had been up to me… I wouldn’t be here right now. I would be dead. I was in so much pain that when I got ‘re-sentenced’ to death, I was relieved. I was relieved because, even if it was going to end in the worst way imaginable, everything would finally be over. For three years, that’s all I wanted - for everything to stop. It was really, really hard.”

Everybody in the room was gazing at him with sympathetic eyes, but nobody more so than his sister. Her heart was being obliterated by a mixture of overwhelming sympathy for him, unbearable anger at the world, and the no-longer restrained protectiveness she had felt when she first held him. Suddenly, as far as she was concerned, the only two people in the world were her and her brother. Nobody else mattered, and her one goal in life was making sure that he was never in pain ever again. 

Silently, she held out her arms towards him. Brian looked up at Allison and nodded, to which she reached out her arm and allowed Jennifer to take him in her palms. Having him back in her hands sent a wave of relief throughout her whole body, and she held him close to her chest. She then drew her knees onto the couch, until her brother was almost completely surrounded by her body. She began to stroke his hair with her free hand, while speaking down to him in a gentle tone.

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered. “But don’t worry… I’m here now… I’m here… I’ll take care of you… I won’t let anybody hurt you… I’m here…”

Although Brian was a little embarrassed, he allowed Jennifer to comfort him while he sat in her palm. Allison and Elizabeth were watching them with small smiles, although Elizabeth couldn’t help but once again feel a touch of concern at Jennifer’s behavior. She reminded herself to keep a close eye on her, albeit starting the next day. For now, she was simply glad that Brian had at least one family member on his side.

Eventually, Jennifer decided that she had comforted him enough, and removed her knees from the couch. Brian was once again uncovered, looking somewhat self-conscious but in no way unhappy. Letting Jennifer in felt nicer than he had anticipated, and he was truly grateful to have such a caring sister. With that being said, he was ready to return to his girlfriend’s hand. He flashed her a soft smile, which she reciprocated while extending her arm. Rather than reaching out to meet it, though, Jennifer simply lowered her hand into her lap. Brian shot her a questioning glance, and he was met with a warm smile. Apparently, Jennifer wasn’t quite ready to let him go.

Despite his reservations, Brian knew that she was just trying to be kind, so he reluctantly decided not to protest. He looked across at Allison, and to his side at Elizabeth, and shot them both reassuring nods. Allison retracted her arm with a small frown, while Elizabeth looked on with concerned eyes. Regardless, they accepted his decision and said nothing. With that, they all decided to get in a final hour or two of relaxing before it was time for bed. The entire time, Jennifer never stopped smiling.