Avery Legacy - Chapter 53 - Changes - Part Three

Grandma Tracy loves her new green grandchild. But all these babies in the house makes her think about her own babies. Her life isn't over yet but she has led a good life. She has seen most of her kids grow up. Everyone but Aric. She has been thinking about Aric a lot lately. She has gotten into Aaron's journals and read about how he brought her back from the dead. She can't help thinking that she should bring Aric back. She could give DEATH the remainder of her life in exchange for Aric. Aaron's journals warn not to deal with DEATH. Ben would be furious if he knew what she was planning. So decides not to tell him. She doesn't tell anyone. She just goes up into the attic and starts looking for the device. It has to be up there somewhere.

Tracy follows Aaron's instructions. She waits until the moon is full and makes her call. She offers her remaining years in exchange for Aric. DEATH listens but decides that her last ten years are not enough. He needs another twenty years to bring Aric back. He will return her son Aric IF she will agree that he may take the needed twenty years from her other sons.
Tracy thinks about the offer. She has seven sons. Twenty years from seven sons is only three years each. Surely her sons would be willing to give up three years of their lives to have Aric back among the living. Without thinking it through any further, Tracy agrees. She asks only for a single day to say goodbye to her family and then DEATH may claim his payment.

In a blink of the eye, Aric is back among the living.

Tracy hugs her son as the tears start to fall. She has missed him so. He will be able to lead a long life. That's all a mother can ever ask for.

As you can imagine, everyone is shocked to see Aric walk inside. Ben immediately knows what Tracy has done. He is not happy. Tracy ignores him and instead tells Brand all about how she brought Aric back from the dead. She doesn't mention the price that has yet to be paid.

Ben calls up Blake. They discuss the situation. Blake has been working in the paranormal field since leaving college. He knows that you don't just bring someone back from the dead. There is always a price to pay. Some resemblance of balance must be maintained. Blake suggests that Tracy may have offered herself in exchange for Aric. He then says that DEATH would not be satisfied with the life of some old woman. She would have had to given him someone else as well. Ben becomes even more concerned. She never should have done this. He promises Blake that he will get to the bottom of things.

Aric is amazed to meet Ben's wife and son. He had been gone for a really long time. Everyone else has grown up without him. His nephew Connor will be a teen soon.

Connor can't help but ask what it's like to be a ghost. Aric just shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't really remember.

Aric's return has Brand thinking. He's thinking about how many people live at Avery Manor. He and Trista want to have a family of their own someday. He just doesn't see how there will ever be enough room. Maybe he should start looking for his own place. He could find a nice house for him and Trista and Carina.

Aric is amazed at how different everything is. Yet in many ways it's still the same. This is going to take some getting use to. He's not sure why but Ben keeps giving him some really strange looks. He doesn't seem happy that he's back. He and Ben never really knew each other but he can't imagine why he would want him to stay dead.

The next day the family threw a party. They invited over as many family members as possible. It was a combination welcome back / happy birthday / goodbye party....only Tracy didn't tell anyone about the goodbye part. She just asked them to come welcome Aric back. She didn't tell them that it would be their last chance to see her.

Ben went along with the party idea. He then cornered Tracy and demanded to know the price. He knew that her life was part of the deal but he didn't think it was all. He asked for the details. After much badgering she finally caved and told him. Ben acted like it was ok. It didn't see any reason to upset Tracy. It's not her fault that she doesn't understand how DEATH works. Just because he lead her to believe that the years would be taken evenly from her sons doesn't mean that they will. More than likely, DEATH will take one of her sons at least 20 years before their time would have otherwise been up. There is no way of knowing which son DEATH will claim his payment from. There is also no way of knowing when he will claim his payment.

Everyone who was anyone came by the house that day. (I got carried away. The processor almost couldn't handle it.)

Saber Tsang saw someone there who looked kind of familiar.

Ben and Tracy spent the morning cooking. It takes tons of food to feed the entire Avery clan.

Connor and Clay spent time playing outside. Connor told Clay all about the aliens and their new little green cousin.

Faith showed up late and brought an acquaintance. Apparently she didn't get the Meredith memo. William could only stare as one painful memory walked back into his life. He didn't speak to Meredith. He simply went inside.

As the evening started winding down, at least for the kids anyway, the entire gang gathered round to celebrate Carina's birthday.

Tracy looked around at all the faces. She soaked up as many memories as she possibly could.

Trista watched as Brand's daughter became a toddler right before her eyes.

Carina Avery - Libra - 10 neat, 10 outgoing, 1 active, 4 playful & 10 nice

Aric and Aiden finally got a chance to reconnect. It was weird to have the baby brother now be the older brother. Otherwise, you would have never known that Aric was ever gone.

Aiden caught a glimpse of Meredith at the party. They didn't speak. He had no idea what to say.

Meredith stayed out of everyone's way. They were an amazing family to accept her into their home after what she had done to them. Their kindness only made her secret all the more painful. It was time she told the truth. It was time that she told the Avery's that they had a family member they knew nothing about. Not tonight, but soon, she would tell the brothers about her son.

At the end of the evening, Tracy was very happy. Quinton was too. They had both been allowed to see their kids. What more could a parent want?

The next morning, Tracy woke up knowing it was her last. She spent time in the nursery with Cordelia and Carina. She was sad that she wouldn't see them grow up but she knowing that Aric would grow up made her sacrifice worthwhile.

When Aric returned from school, Tracy helped him with his homework. It was going to be hard for him transitioning back into life after all this time. Tracy made Ben promise that he would look after Aric. He should treat him like his son not his brother. He still had growing up to do. He would need guidance especially after all he had been through.

That afternoon, two things happened almost simultaneously. First, Connor became a teen.

Second, DEATH came for Tracy. He had given her a day to make her peace. Now it was time to go.

The family mourned Tracy's passing. Aric and Carina took it the hardest. Brand was angry at his mother for what she had done. He understood but it didn't make him any less angry.

Connor Avery has decided to follow in his father's footsteps. He wants to earn a lot of money, at least 100k. He hopes to come back here after college and help his father lead this family into the future.

Tracy died at the age of 77. Her urn was placed beside Aaron's. Now they can be together forever.

Aric was very upset by his mother's passing. He hadn't known it was coming. Ben took him aside and explained that Tracy didn't want him to know. She wanted her final day with him to be happy. She asked Ben to tell him something. That all she wanted was for Aric to make something out of his life. She doesn't want him to waste his second chance on sorrow or anger. She just wants him to live and be happy. If he will do that, then her sacrifice will have been worth it.