Since everything with Josh had unfolded, Addy had been far more clingy than normal. And she knew it. She knew she was possibly over-compensating but with the way everything had gone- Addy just wanted to be around her safe people. She wanted to spend time with her daughter and get to know her knew cousins and focus on the happy things while dealing with the shitty things in therapy where they goddamn belonged.
While Iestyn was away doing rehearsals and any performance she didn't attend, Henry was always there to keep her company and Addy couldn't begin to explain what it meant to her that he would do that. She knew he was doing it for both her and Iestyn, but the gesture didn't mean any less. She also knew Henry was trying super hard to be there for his sisters as well, while his father decided to randomly take some kind of vacation during their busiest time of year and every once in awhile when they watched something she caught him sleeping. She always smiled to herself and just let him sleep. Henry was still recovering himself, after all. He was still making the effort to be there, even if he was napping through some of it!
On the morning of their Christmas lunch, Addy had fed Evie some porridge. They had been slowly introducing food to her diet, and Evie loved porridge. Loved it so much she might have eaten it a little too quickly. Addy had headed upstairs to take a shower, leaving Evie with Iestyn and Henry while David and Rhiannon did their domestic thing in the kitchen. Or at least that had been the plan, because that was when Evie had vomited porridge all over Henry and he had laughed, "like mother, like daughter," in a callback to the time Addy had thrown up her mocha all over him the first time she met him in person. Addy had halted in her progress up the stairs and run back down them again, but Evie seemed fine. Just covered in vomit.
"You're going to tell that story to the cousins, aren't you?" Addy asked, and a soaking wet Henry looked at her, smirking.
"I am going to tell literally everyone that story. And I reserve the right to shower first now." And Addy couldn't really begrudge him that! She took Evie back into her arms and headed upstairs to clean her off while a luckily amused Henry headed downstairs to shower.
A few hours later and all of them were clean and waiting for their company in the upstairs lounge. Evie was on the floor, batting at a mobile above her which Henry occasionally poked for her, making her giggle. Patrick had arrived, and he was helping in the kitchen. The house smelled like Christmas and Addy let herself just relax. Safe people. There was going to be great food. Things would be okay.