Emma woke to the familiar brick walls of Ethan's reality, the faint scent of coffee and motor oil grounding her in the house that felt most like home. Noah's quiet certainty—"You said we'd see the stars together."—and his sketch of the Paris skyline with the looping symbol echoed in her mind, intertwining with Lily's hope to be a family again, Sophie's fragile fight, and Ethan's resolve to face court and join her in Paris. The keychain in her pocket, its looping symbol matching Sophie's bracelet, Lily's, and Noah's drawings, pulsed like a heartbeat, tying her children to a past she was beginning to reclaim. With Ethan's court date behind them—charges reduced to community service—Sophie's trial underway, and David's agreement to go to Paris, the journey was set for tomorrow. She slipped out of bed, the hardwood floor cool under her feet, David's steady breathing beside her a constant in her fractured world. She needed to reach Ethan, to prepare him for Paris and solidify their plan to find Lily and Noah.
The kitchen was quiet, the morning light slanting through the windows, casting soft shadows across the table. Ethan was already up, packing a small backpack, his sketchbook open beside him to a drawing of a Paris skyline—the Eiffel Tower glowing, three figures with bracelets bearing the looping symbol, labeled Ethan, Lily, Noah. The keychain lay nearby, its symbol glinting, his face calm but focused, the weight of yesterday's court victory tempered by the journey ahead. Emma sat across from him, her heart swelling at his quiet strength, so like Noah's trust, Lily's hope.
"Ethan," she said, her voice soft but urgent, "we leave for Paris tomorrow. Are you ready to find Lily and Noah?"
Ethan's eyes flicked to her, steady and resolute. "Yeah," he said, his voice low but firm, zipping his backpack. "After court yesterday, I feel… lighter. Sophie's fighting in the trial—Dr. Larson says she's holding on. I need to do this, Mom, for her, for me. For them." He touched the keychain, his fingers steady. "I keep seeing them—Lily, Noah. It's like they're waiting."
Emma reached for his hand, her fingers brushing the keychain. "They are," she said, her voice fierce, pulling the bracelet from her pocket, its looping symbol glinting. "Lily said you gave her one like this in the hospital, where I was your doctor. Noah said the same. You're all drawing Paris now, Ethan. We're going to find them."
Ethan's breath caught, his eyes locking on the bracelet. "I still don't remember a hospital," he said, his voice soft, "but I feel it. Like they're part of me. You think Paris is where it'll all make sense?"
Emma nodded, her resolve unwavering. "I do," she said. "You, me, your dad—we're going to Paris to keep that promise I made to you all, to be together again."
Ethan opened his sketchbook, revealing a new detail—a hospital ward, three beds, three children with bracelets, and Emma standing beside them, her face kind. "I drew this last night," he said, his voice low. "It came to me, like a memory. Was that really us?"
Emma's throat tightened, a flood of images—hospital beds, three small faces, her own hands slipping bracelets onto their wrists—surging through her. "It was," she said, her voice breaking. "You were so strong, Ethan. Lily was brave, Noah dreamed of stars. I promised you'd find each other again."
The front door opened, and David entered, his face weary but determined, a suitcase in hand. "I booked the flights," he said, setting the suitcase down. "We leave tomorrow morning. Ethan, you ready?" His eyes fell on the sketchbook, softening. "That's… Paris, isn't it?"
Emma stood, her heart swelling at David's resolve. "It is," she said, her voice steady. "Ethan remembers them, David—Lily, Noah, from the hospital where I was their doctor. This bracelet—" She held it up, the looping symbol glinting. "I gave it to them. They're waiting for us in Paris."
David's eyes flicked to Ethan, who nodded, his face resolute. "I saw them, Dad," Ethan said, his voice firm. "In a dream, in this drawing. They're real, and we're going to find them."
David exhaled, his hands steadying on the table. "I don't fully understand," he said, his voice low, "but I trust you. Both of you. We're doing this together."
Emma's heart pounded, Ethan's trust and David's faith a lifeline. She looked at Ethan, his eyes steady, his sketchbook a map to their future. "We'll visit Sophie today," she said, her voice fierce. "Make sure she's strong. Then we go to Paris—for Lily, for Noah, for her."
Ethan nodded, his jaw set, and pushed the sketchbook toward her, revealing a final detail—a hospital bracelet with the looping symbol, and beside it, in his jagged script: "You said we'd be a family." Emma's breath caught, Noah's words—"You said we'd see the stars together."—echoing. Paris was no longer a dream—it was a collision point, where her past as their doctor, their mother, would converge with their present. She had to go, to keep her promise to Ethan, to find Lily and Noah, to ensure Sophie's fight wasn't in vain, no matter how close her reality came to breaking.