A Plea

Mia sat down on the bed beside Laura where she leaned sitting up against her pillows and drinking a cup of tea. Mia was thrilled with the improvement Grandma Laura had shown over the last nine days. Her coloring was returning to a healthy glow, and she had put on weight taking her from frail to merely thin. Laura's eyes were bright and sparked with intelligence. The older woman no longer seemed diminished. It wouldn't be long now until the doctor released her.

"Good morning, Grandmother, how are you today?" Mia asked as she arranged her skirt over her knees.

"Mia, my darling girl, I am well, in fact; I feel practically renewed. Where are the children today?" Laura replied.

"I left them with Angela today at the hotel because I wanted to talk to you." Mia told the older woman.

Laura gave her granddaughter a questioning look. "What is so important?"

Mia sighed but smiled. "Grandmother, Tim and I really want you to come live with us in Norde City."

Laura frowned. "Dearest, Bern City has been my home for my entire life, and I am not sure that I can leave it behind."

"Listen," Mia began. "I can understand that but if you don't come with us we'll never see you. You will hardly ever see the children."

Laura let out a heavy breath. "I don't know."

Mia grasped Grandma Laura's hand. "No, you don't understand. This is too important. All the children have ever known of the Barrett name is negativity. You can represent what it means to be a Barrett in a way that could change that for them. Only you can set the stage that allows Timothy to create a world in which our children can be proud to carry the Barrett name. They need you to be there and instill that goodness and pride in who they are."

Mia sighed deeply with a deep frown. "People like Sharon have done damage to their core identities. They struggle to tie who their father was with who he is now, but you are unique to them because all they have ever heard about you is that you are a wonderful person. If you are present in their lives every day, they would have to accept that being a Barrett can be a good thing. I can't teach the children this because I am not sure I believe it but maybe if you were there, I would be able to learn this too." Mia looked at Laura seriously, knowing that this was what needed to happen for all their benefit.

Laura sat for several moments, slightly shocked. She hadn't been aware that Mia was worried about the twin's future in this way. Laura considered the changes the children already faced in their young lives and admitted they had faced many obstacles in relation to their father. She wondered about what resentments the children might harbor.

Having seen Sage's reluctance with Timothy, Laura realized that the situation Mia had alluded to was real. Could her presence truly help to end the distance between father and son? Laura considered whether she would be content with her life in Bern City knowing she was missing all life's treasured moments with Timothy, Mia, and the children.

Laura squeezed Mia's hand. "I will go to Norde City with my family. I don't want to miss out on our family life. I want to watch the children as they grow and help them to figure out how to accept what was and what is." Laura finally answered Mia with a small smile.

Mia gave a little noise of happiness and hugged Laura fondly. The two women spoke of the estate and Norde City for the next hour before Mia headed back to the hotel promising to bring the children the next day.

That evening Mia told Timothy the good news about Laura coming to live with them. Tim hugged Mia to him happily asking her how she had managed to convince her when his grandmother had refused him three times. Mia told him that she had told Laura it would be important for the twins to have a positive representation of the Barrett family going forward. He nodded with a sigh understanding what she meant.

Mia went on to explain that she had already called the designers to turn her office and sitting room into a suite for Grandma Laura so that she would have a room on the first floor. The location was perfect since it still afforded some separation from the master bedroom and nursery since they were on opposite sides of the house. Mia said the suite would be left neutral so Laura could design it how she wanted after she arrived.

Tim asked Mia what was being done with her study and she said it would be in storage for the time being. Timothy balked at that suggestion, having Mia call her design team immediately. He told the designers to recreate her office space in the sitting room to his office. The spaces were the same size roughly.

Now they would have offices next to each other with adjoining doors. They already worked closely on many things and Timothy was always happier when Mia was near. This new arrangement only made sense and Tim would not hear of her being without a workspace when she had selflessly given hers up to make their grandmother more comfortable.

Two days later at the hospital Dr. Scott let Timothy and Mia know that he would release Mrs. Barrett Senior in three days. They were excited and would begin preparations for their return to Norde City as soon as they were done with their visit today. First, they needed to talk to Grandma Laura about something important.

The pair entered Laura's room with happy faces. Mia sat down beside Laura on the bed and Timothy came to stand behind his wife.

"Grandma did you hear the good news?" Mia gushed. "In three days, we can take you home."

Laura grinned and patted Mia on the hand. "The doctor told me this morning. I am quite ready to go. Four years in the hospital is long enough for any person." Laura laughed.

"Grandmother I was wondering if you might help me with something." Tim said reluctantly. "Can you tell me what you remember from the night of our party at Barrett residence?"

"I was wondering when you would ask about it." Laura said with a frown. "I remember one of the staff asked me to meet Mia upstairs in my sitting room they said she wanted to talk to me. I found this odd because I had just seen Mia downstairs and why would she be in my room without me. I went anyway because i worried something was seriously wrong with her." Laura squeezed Mia's hand.

"I got to my room, and she wasn't there, confused I checked the hall before stepping to the stairwell to look below. Movement caught my eye; it was a woman. She moved so fast and before I could move, she hit me over the head, and I fell down the stairs. I looked up at her as she stood over me. She came down to me hitting me on the head again and then blackness." Laura finished taking her shaky hand from her throat and wringing her hands together.

Timothy shifted his weight from one leg to another and placed a hand on Mia's shoulder. "Who was the woman Grandma?

Laura sighed with frustration. "I don't know. I can't see the woman; my mind is blocking the answer. The doctor called it selective amnesia. It may come back, and it may not. But out there somewhere is someone that tried to kill both myself and Mia that night and I am blind to them. Now that I am back, we must be vigilant. This person will not like that I could potentially identify them."

Tim sighed. Why couldn't anything ever be easy. Protecting his family took up a great deal of his thoughts and now they would need to watch for an attempted murderer too. "Hopefully it will come back to you soon, grandmother."