little unsteady;

“If you need to talk, I’m right here.” Alex smiled lightly, hoping he was alright. She knew it was a lot. “That sounds perfect, honestly.” She grinned, nodding. She felt like she hadn’t seen him as much as she’d have liked to.

Alex smiled lightly when he noticed her. She liked watching him sometimes, he looked so thoughtful. “Hey… you okay?” She asked, moving over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Sure - what’s up?”

“You have no idea how much I appreciate you, El,” Tara smiled back at him. “Seriously, you’re amazing.”

"I do the best that I can." Elliot's smile was still there. "All I do is try.” He shrugged a little bit. “Tell me what is going on in that head of yours.”

“You do a very wonderful job,” she smirked. “I could probably use the back-up. In case I say or do something stupid.”

“Well thank you.” He smiled over at her for a moment. “Well you totally got it and me. I’m here for you always.” 

Tara smirked a little as she felt him kiss her head, finding some form of reassurance in it. “You’ve always been so good at making me feel better about everything, El.”

"I try my best." He stated, as he pulled away slightly. But remained close to her, smiling down at her. "And as far as Nina goes, we can go and see them together if you want."

“Because everyone that care about is either gone or hates me,” she muttered as she found herself leaning into his embrace. “Brad’s gone, Jeff resents me. And nothing I can say or do is going to fix any of that.”

"That isn't true because I don't hate you." He pointed out, holding her close. He couldn't help but kiss her head, hoping it was reassuring her someway. "Hey, we will figure this all out. Only thing we can't bring back is Brad, I know. I miss him too."

Tara had heard him come in but she couldn’t bring herself to move. She was rather content sitting in that ball on the couch than moving. Probably for the best. “I’ve destroyed everything, haven’t I?” she asked in reply to his questions. Was she drunk? Probably. 

Noticing that she was in a ball, Elliot moved to sit down next to her. Wrapping an arm around her now. “You haven’t. What makes you think that you have?” He questioned, pulling her closer to him. Maybe it was a bad idea to be this close to her or maybe not. All he knew was that she needed someone.

Tara: I'm at home.

Tara: I had Jeff over for dinner to see if we could work things out but I was wrong.

Tara: Elliot, I need some help.

Tara: I think I made a stupid decision.

Elliot: What's going on?

“Well, they’re part Everett. You boys have always been the tough ones.” Flipping through to another picture, she looked up at his suggestion. “I would like that. And I think Jeff would too.” Jeff was part of this family, after all. “How are things between you and him?”

“That they are so naturally they are fighters.” He glanced at his phone for a moment, seeing the photo of Amelia and Wyatt sleeping. “I’ll run it past Nina, see what she says.” There was a small sigh that escaped his lips before he reached for his drink and took a long drink. “Tense.” 

Tara took the phone, smiling as she saw the pictures. “Oh my God, they’re adorable,” she grinned as she flipped through the pictures. There was a light laugh at the idea of it not being too late. “I would really like that.”

"They really are. And they were super tiny, we almost thought they weren't going to make it. But they did and Nina really loves them and Emma." He couldn’t help but smile. “I can talk to her if you want to me. See if the four of us can do dinner. Meaning Nina, Emma, you and myself. If you want Jeff there I’m sure that would be fine.” 

Tara was looking at his phone, waiting to see the pictures. “What if it’s too late for that?”

Elliot brought up the photos and handed them over to her. “It isn’t. She just needs proof that you aren’t going anywhere. And that maybe all of us can be a family unit some day.”