Title: Bella Nuova Vita
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own these characters, (except Bella :D) I'm not making any money either.
Summary: A sequel to "6 Weeks Later" this follows the life of our new parents. By the way…the title means "beautiful new life" in Italian. :D
"Margaret, it's your shift." Hawkeye leaned down and gently shook his wife's shoulder.
"Mmm…" she mumbled a vague understanding as she sat up in bed. As her sleep-deprived senses came to she heard her infant daughter screaming in the other room. She smiled weakly at Hawkeye and donned her robe. She walked into the nursery and scooped Bella up from her crib. "Shh…sweetie, mommy's here." She clutched the flailing infant to her chest and began her walk around the house.
She never expected motherhood to be easy, but she wasn't prepared for this. Right after her birth Bella had been admitted to the hospital with an infection and stayed for three days. After she had come home she appeared to get better; that was until she had become colicky. Now, she cried all night long. She and Hawkeye had started taking shifts walking her around their small house, trying to comfort her. Everyone they came in contact with gave them suggestions to help her, but none of them seemed to work. They had simply resigned themselves to the sleep deprivation and hoped she would feel better soon.
An hour of walking later Margaret was absolutely exhausted. She made her way back to the nursery and sat in the rocking chair. As tired as she was, she knew Hawkeye was worse. His dad had come down with a terrible case of pneumonia and Hawkeye had taken over his patients at the clinic. Margaret was able to nap during the day since that was the only time Bella slept, but her husband couldn't. He came home from a full day at the clinic and still insisted on taking turns with the baby.
Margaret noticed her daughter had slightly calmed down with the rocking of the chair and decided to try and feed her. She pulled her nightgown away and let her daughter latch on. Once they were both comfortable Margaret closed her eyes and rubbed Bella's tiny toes. It wasn't long until Margaret dozed off.
Hawkeye awoke sometime later with a start. When he started not sleeping enough he had begun having nightmares when he did sleep. Most of them were about Korea and the horrors he had seen there. He was unwilling to talk about them, sure that they would dissipate when things calmed down. He reached for his wife, but only found the cool sheets where she should be lying. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing. He got up and traipsed down the hall towards the nursery. He stood in the door and looked at the scene in front of him.
Suddenly Margaret shifted in the chair and Bella's head rolled back in her arms. Hawkeye shook his head but his vision blurred. He grabbed onto the door frame, gasping for air. His legs began to shake underneath him. Margaret stirred and noticed him in the room. She stood up from the chair and took a step towards him.
"Hawkeye?" she called to him gently as she walked all the way to him and placed her free hand on his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice her and the look in his eyes became wild. "Hawkeye?"
He jumped back and hit the wall screaming, "No! No, I didn't mean it!"
A/N: Ok, so what do you think? I watched GFA for the first time tonight and it inspired me. You didn't think Hawkeye could escape the war that easily did you? Tell me what you thought!