5Most people, including the Stein family themselves, would expect the first night back after their final confrontation with the Liar to be filled with nightmares from their latest ordeal. While there were some moments of restlessness, the night passed by surprisingly peaceful. The comfort of being back in their home combined with the relief that the Liar will never be able to bother them again helped them sleep well that night.
The morning though brought with it the stress and problems that came with what had happened. The toons' unsettled physical forms and their worry over what went on in the blanks of their memory while they had been under the Liar's control made it hard for them to know what they should do next. It was hard t tell which problem was more urgent and how they should go about solving either one. None of them really wanted to address it, but it was impossible to ignore, especially when a familiar scar would fade only to reappear hours later.
There was also the fact that the Stein family's disappearance didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the neighborhood and neither did their sudden reappearance. Concerned friends and neighbors would stop by all throughout the day, asking if everything was alright and if there was anything they could do to provide a helping hand. While they meant well and their concern was appreciated, it didn't change the fact the Stein family was still reeling slightly from what had happened and were feeling a little overwhelmed by all the well-wishers. Henry had to assure everyone that stopped by that everything was alright and politely request they be left alone why they processed what they just went through.
Bendy, unlike the rest of his family, seemed to be trying too hard to act like everything was normal. He smiled and told jokes to all the others, trying his best to cheer everyone up. If it was ever pointed out that his smile was just a little too wide and his laugh just a little too loud and hysterical, the little devil darling would just brush it off as temporary lingering effect from what happened and tell a random joke to change the neighborhood kids stopped by, Bendy went out immediately to play with them.
It was concerning to the others, but they couldn't fault the little Ink Demon. He had gone through a lot and he was trying to cope in his own way. And his attempts to cheer the others were helpful and kept the others from worrying too much about what was going on. Henry probably would have been worried that the ritual Joey had done to Bendy had had a greater effect than he first thought if it wasn't for the link he had with his toon.
Henry could tell that under Bendy's calm and cheerful show, he was filled with churning and confusing emotions. Whenever something would start to surface, the toon would just shove it back down, burying everything under a smile. Henry was concerned that it wasn't healthy for Bendy hiding from his feelings like this, but there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment.
"I just don't understand why he feels the need to bury them so deeply," Henry confessed to Linda when the couple had a moment alone. "Sure he's hidden his feelings from the rest of us before, mostly because he didn't want to be a burden, but this is different. He's hiding his feelings from himself, as he doesn't even want to acknowledge what he's feeling. He's going to break eventually."
"He went through a lot," Linda assured, even though she too was worried. "Fighting off mind control, getting seriously injured, nearly having everything he is erased forever. It all happened so quickly for him and he's probably just not ready to deal with it all right now. All we can do is be there for him and help him when the flood finally breaks free. It'll be hard, but we'll make it work. We just dealt with magic, mind control, and rituals. A little emotional problem is nothing we can't handle."
"You're right," Henry sighed, leaning into Linda's touch. "We've come so far since our time in the Studio and none of us want to give into Joey by letting this latest upset send us back to what we were. We'll overcome this like everything else, no matter what."
"That's the spirit," Linda whispered as she lightly kissed her husband. While what she went through was terrible, she was glad that this time she was able to face the threat by her husband's side. They were stronger together and they would help their odd little family.
Henry was so grateful for his wonderful wife and they support she gave them, that wouldn't stop him from worrying about his little Ink Demon completely. He didn't like seeing his toon like this and he had a feeling he didn't really grasp what was bothering Bendy, but until the toon was ready there was nothing Henry could do to help, especially when the others needed his help now.
The day passed by slowly, but by the time dinner came around, everyone felt like they finally found their feet in doing some of their old familiar routines. There was still a lot of work to be done obviously, but they had ideas and plans on how to deal with everything. The other toons started to join Bendy in making jokes and smiles became more genuine and commonplace. When everyone went to bed, they all felt confident that their newest scars would heal over just fine. They had each other to help them through it after all.
