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A light smile stretched across Henderson's face as he pulled on the door handle. Britain was pleased to see the excitement that surged within him from her presence. This was highly expected from Henderson, though. He coddled Britain from the very first day he met her, whether it was him dismissing each and every consequence that was warranted by her behavior growing up or just being the supportive dad he'd always been when she decided to move across the world to Italy. Britain was his princess, and no matter the situation, he was just glad to have her in town.

"Why didn't you let me know? I would've picked you up from the airport and had something ready for you to eat," he questioned her as he furrowed his thick brows together.

Britain chuckled lightly. "It's fine, Pops. I wanted it to be a surprise. Is Ma home?” She eyed her father as he slid his hands into the pockets of his scrubs.

He pursed his lips as he glanced away from her briefly. "She's inside," he nodded his head, finally serving her with a response. "She actually lost a patient today, so maybe you being back would put her in better spirits?" He raised his brow, more so suggesting that she head inside to take Seven's mind off the patient she lost.

Britain bit down on her bottom lip in deep thought. Seeing her mother after she had just lost a patient was like trekking through risky water. There were a lot of unsaid things and feelings that would be resurfacing. Britain didn't want any extra anger and frustration from Seven's unsuccessful surgery to mix into their situation. "You think that would be a good idea?" She tilted her head to the side.

As always, Henderson remained honest by shrugging his shoulders. He no longer had the ability to gauge his wife like he once had. Seven was more sporadic, and she was unpredictable as ever these days. "Maybe I should just go," Britain sighed.

Quickly, Henderson shook his head. "Go where? You came to visit," he reminded her. "And from the looks of it, you haven't even settled in yet, so that means either you didn't even stop by the place where you're supposed to be staying, or you had plans of staying here." He folded his arms across his built chest as he raised a brow at his daughter.

Pursing her lips, Britain sheepishly glanced away from her father. When she didn't serve him a response, Henderson reached for the door handle, opening the car door for her. "C'mon,Princess," he said as he held his hand out for her.

Britain placed her hand into his, accepting his assistance out of the car. "You're always welcome here," he asserted as he grabbed her bag and carry-on that occupied the seats next to her.

Britain found her way into Henderson's arms, and they shared an embrace. It had been all of a month without Britain being in the city, and despite her rarely spending time with family when she did live in the city, her residing in Italy made life for them feel like it was missing a very big piece of it. Being in her pops' arms gave her that sense of familiarity she had been yearning for since getting off the jet.

"Thank you, Pops," Britain expressed her gratitude as she rested her head on his chest.

Henderson applied a light kiss onto the top of her head. "C'mon, let's get inside," he told her as he hauled her bags for her.

She let out a deep sigh, full of nerves. She remained by the car as her stepdad headed toward the brownstone. Looking over her shoulder, she signaled for Cyro to lower his window.

"Thanks, Cy. You don't have to sit out here. I'll be fine here," she assured with a light smile. She was hoping her decision to stay with her parents would have given Cyro the green light to head elsewhere instead of hanging around to keep watch on her. Britain felt like she was safe because there weren’t many people who knew she was in town, and no one really knew where her parents resided.

Cyro nodded his head. "You're welcome,Mrs. Justice.We'll be out here," he asserted, making it clear that despite her feeling comfortable and safe, he and the rest of security detail still had a job to do, and it would be done regardless.

Britain pursed her lips. She knew Cyro was just following Priest's orders. He had bent enough rules for her by bringing her all this way to her parents’ house even after Priest was stern about her staying in the penthouse. Cyro would be hearing enough grief about that; he didn't want more added to it by deciding to just leave Britain.

With a short sigh of defeat, Britain nodded her head and proceeded toward the door of the brownstone, where her stepdad was awaiting her. Henderson held the door open for her, allowing her entrance into the home. He then brought her bags inside, making sure to close the door behind them. He wasn't too fond of Cyro’s decision to remain posted in front of his home instead of taking off, but that was a conversation to have another time.

Now inside the home, Britain’s nostrils filled with the familiar scent of soothing lavender. The scent had been a custom within the brownstone since she was growing up and had never changed. She gazed at the number of growing plants that decorated a nearby window in the foyer. Despite their lack of time and constant working, Henderson and Seven seemed to have prioritized enough time to tend to their plants that seemed to blossom more and more each time Britain came tovisit. Nostalgia rushed her as her eyes drifted to the left and were met with the marked wall that was used to document her, Brea, and Brixton's height while growing up. It was a cliché childhood tradition, but Seven managed to bring a different level of excitement to it. Whoever managed to grow the most inches by the end of the year was awarded with a missed day of school to spend the day alongside her and Henderson at the hospital.

Britain couldn't help but crack up in laughter at the thought of all the crazy schemes she pulled just to accumulate the most inches by the end of the year. Seven was hip to all of Britain's schemes, but the fact that she went the extra mile to win almost every year made Seven disregard the cheating and allow Britain to win, no matter how unfair it was. She really enjoyed those rewarded days with Britain.

"Sev!" Henderson called out for his wife, jolting Britain out of her thoughts. Her nostalgia was instantly replaced by her nerves. Her teeth began to nervously sink into her plump bottom lip as she buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

At this point, she wasn't sure what terms she and her mother were on. The last conversation they had wasn't the best; however, she was never upset with her mother. She thought it was something they could have looked past, but with Seven not showing up to see her off for her departure to Italy, it only confused her more.

"Yeah. Did you figure out why that car was out there?" Seven's voice sounded off through Britain's ears. She was glad that her mother hadn't made the effort to make her way toward the front of the brownstone. This allowed her enough time to get herself together before she faced her.

Henderson pursed his lips as he nodded his head. "Yeah, it’s nothing we have to worry about," he shrugged.

Britain let out a light breath, trying her best to go unheard. Henderson leaned against a wall in the foyer, granting her all thetime she needed before he led her toward Seven.Figuring she wouldn't be able to hide out in the foyer all day, she signaled a quick nod to her father. This caused Henderson to rest his arms across her shoulders. Together, the two navigated through the brownstone, stepping into the kitchen. She felt her heart pound against her chest at the sight of her mother searching through the fridge. Seven's back was facing the entrance of the kitchen, allowing Britain to go unnoticed for a bit.

"Well, they're lucky you went out there before I did," Seven scoffed lightly. Grabbing the small container of hummus from the fridge, Seven shut it before turning around. Quickly, she clenched her chest in shock at the sight of Britain standing next to Henderson in the kitchen.

"It wasMochaoutside." A light chuckle eased out of Henderson as he hoped to string some excitement out of his wife due to Britain's surprise visit.

Seven’s brown orbs shifted away from Henderson, setting on Britain. Instantly, her sight stumbled onto the massive engagement ring that decorated Britain's ring finger. Tracking her mother's sight onto her ring, Britain immediately regretted taking her hand out of her pockets in the first place. Her engagement to Priest wasn't something she was ashamed of. A lot of the time, Britain wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but she couldn't due to the current circumstances. She just never got around to telling her whole family the current status of her and Priest's relationship. Now, here she was making the announcement with her ring alone.

"Hey, Ma," Britain murmured as she smiled lightly.

"Britain," Seven let out, still in slight shock. "You're back? For good or…?"

Britain resisted the urge to roll her eyes in front of her mother. To her, the question felt like a sly jab, but of course, she expected nothing less from her mother who really had no filter.With her ring on full display, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm visiting. I head back soon," she informed her mother.