-New one! This will be mostly happy. Hope you all enjoy and please review.

Their Second Chance

Chapter 1

Andrea had chosen not to deploy to the Med. She needed a break and needed to be settled. She had bought a small cottage close to work and made it a home. She missed being a wife and a mother. The President had her working in his office, assisting the Navy. It was as far from engineering as she had ever been but she enjoyed it. It made being settled easy. It was essentially Kara Greene's old job and she loved it. It gave her time to grieve for Bill and Lily, something she hadn't done when she was deployed. A couple of the girls from the office had suggested dating but she just wasn't ready.

When she wasn't working or fixing her small cottage up, she volunteered at the Children's Hospital. So many of the kids had been orphaned. There were babies to be held, little boys and girls to be cuddled and older kids who just needed someone to talk to. She wasn't a mother anymore but it made her feel good. She could use her experience as a mother to help those kids.

She had worked a full day but it was Lily's birthday so she decided to go to the Children's Hospital. It kept her mind off of it. She found the volunteer coordinator and explained that she needed to stay busy. Angel nodded in understanding and sorted through some files.

"Here it is. We had a new admit today. A little girl. We don't have a name on her. She is conscious but she doesn't talk. Seems to be able to hear. "

"So besides that what's wrong with her?"

"She's malnourished. We believe she may have some breathing issues and problems with her endocrine system. Small for her age but we don't know how old she is."

"How did we end up with her?"

"She wondered into a police station. She seemed to know to go there for help. She had a backpack with a book, a picture of her family maybe and a teddy bear."

"No indication of a name though?"

"Nope. Cops are running her prints but it's unlikely she'll end up in the system. She cries. That's what she does. It's pitiful. I hate it for her. If we don't find a family, she'll end up in the Children's Home. She obviously has special needs that won't be addressed there."

"Poor girl."

"So my suggestion is read to her. Maybe the book she was carrying."

"Will do. What room?"

"Room 342. And maybe convince her to take a bath. The nurse's aide hasn't been able to and she is dirty. She just cries when they try."

"Alright."

Andrea made her way to the room. It was one of the sadder stories that she had heard. The problem with volunteering at the Children's Hospital was that it made her want to pack the kids up and take them home with her. It wasn't practical. She was in the Navy for goodness sake; it didn't lend itself to being a foster parent.

She talked to the nurse and learned that the little girl might be approximately ten but she looked younger. The picture indicated that at one point she had a normal family. A mom, dad, a brother and a sister. She had thyroid issues, and was asthmatic. The nurse, Libby, also told her that the little girl appeared to have eye problems because she would squint at them. She didn't talk, didn't appear to know sign language and did appear to be able to hear. She would stare into space and cry. They had managed a bed bath finally but her hair was a mess.

Andrea stood at the window of the hospital room for a little bit looking in at the little girl. There was something about her. She had dark hair but it was dirty and stringy. The bear also looked familiar. She had seen one like it years before when one of her good friends had gotten a gift in Rota for his daughter who had been ill while they were deployed. The memories of big, burly Mike Slattery walking through the Nathan James with a teddy bear was funny at best. Andrea had finally caught him and asked him what he was doing.

"You are losing your status as a hard ass carrying that very cute bear around. What's the deal?"

"I spoke to Christine this morning. Hannah was admitted to the hospital again. They can't get those stupid thyroid levels figured out. She's okay now, she's home but she's pretty blue. She begged Christine for me to come home. Chris never dealt with her illnesses too well and so I thought this might help. I'm going to mail it to her."

"Poor kid. I thank God every day that Lily is so healthy."

"You should. Hannah was born healthy but within a month, the doctors started telling us all this stuff. Chris handles her good days well enough, but the bad ones get her."

"Well, she'll love the teddy bear."

Andrea smiled at the memory. She had recently had to tell Mike that his wife, Christine and oldest daughter, Abby had died from the Red Flu. There was no record of what had happened to Hannah but it was pretty well assumed that she had died. Even without the Red Flu, without her medications, she would have died. It was the hardest phone call Andrea had ever had to make. Mike was in the middle of the Med, trying to find the palm seeds and had hired investigators. The investigator had gotten ahold of Andrea and forwarded the death certificates. Hannah's wasn't among them and there was no evidence as to what had happened to her. Mike had faltered a little on the phone but no more than what Andrea expected of the steely Captain. She knew that he went right back on mission as soon as the call ended.

Andrea finally walked into the hospital room when she noticed the little girl's eyes moving around. She had the bear cuddled close to her with one arm and a picture frame with the other arm. Andrea offered her a smile but there were already tears in the little girl's big blue eyes. A worn out book, "Little House on the Prairie" was on the table along with a cup of water and an uneaten supper.

"My name's Andrea. What's your name?" The little girl wrinkled up her eyebrows at her and shook her head at her. The tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was turning away from Andrea.

"Okay. You don't have to talk or tell me your name. That's a pretty teddy bear you have. Did someone give it to you?" The little girl nodded slightly and was chewing on her lip.

"And is that a picture of your family?" The little girl nodded at her again but didn't seem to want to show Andrea. She was probably scared it would be taken away.

"I won't take it. But can I see? I love to see pictures of happy families." The little girl shook her head no but pushed the book towards Andrea. She clearly knew what Andrea was supposed to be doing.

"Alright. This is a good book. "Andrea sat down next to her and started reading the book to her. The little girl finally fell asleep but was clinging to the picture even more so than the bear. She was protective of it. Andrea just hoped she would build up some trust with her. The little girl was so familiar but Andrea couldn't understand why. The bear looked identical to the one that Mike had had that day on the Nathan James but it was most likely mass produced.

Andrea tucked the blanket in close to the little girl and stepped out of room. Libby was at the nurse's station making notes in the charts. Andrea told her that she wanted to volunteer with the little girl the next day. The drive home was quiet and Andrea let herself into the cottage. She fixed herself something to eat but she kept thinking about the little girl. It made her heart hurt. She had never seen a child with no hope in their eyes. The cottage had three bedrooms. Whoever had lived there before must have had a little girl because one of the extra rooms was painted a pale pink. Andrea had just not repainted it. It was a pretty room, full of light. Andrea was beginning to wonder about fostering the little girl. She needed a home and a family. And Andrea needed something more than a house and a job.