Christmas Hopes
Summary: Clare Edwards decides to volunteer at the local children's hospital, during Christmas. What she finds there, inspires her. ThreeSHOT
Clare smiled politely at Nurse Johnson, as soon as she entered the hospital. She'd known the woman for about four or five years, now. Clare, her parents, and Darcy would always bring the children little gifts of toys, books, or candy, during Christmas. It was the least they could do, to make the kids' birthdays a little brighter. And it helped their families, too. Just to be able to see their children smile. Unfortunately, last year, the Edwards family had been unable to do anything. Randall and Helen had been going through their marriage troubles, and Clare hadn't been feeling all too cheerful. Her family had been literally falling apart, around her. Her parents had been on the verge of divorce, and her sister hadn't been back home, in over a year. She'd decided that this year, she'd try and continue the tradition that her family had started, years ago. Perhaps it would help her get her mind off of the drama, going on with her father-who she wasn't on the best of terms with, since she'd learnt about his, cheating.
"Well, don't you look pretty!" Nurse Johnson exclaimed, smiling at the girl infront of her. "You don't know how happy I am, that you've decided to volunteer. I'm sure you have a boyfriend, that you could be spending time with."
The teenage girl gave a bright, brilliant smile. "I've always enjoyed coming here. I'm sorry that I couldn't help last year. It's just..." She trailed off, shrugging her slender shoulders apologetically.
The nurse just shook her head, reaching out to rest her hand, ontop of Clare's. "It's alright, sweetie. It's understandable, what with your family was going through, at the time. You're here now, and that's all that matters. I know that Natalie and Lee will be happy, to see you." She told her, speaking of seven year old Natalie Reynolds and nine year old, Lee Wright. Both of the kids had been in and out of hospitals. Natalie had leaukimia, while Lee had a heart condition. It was a troubling and heartbreaking situation for the families of both of the children.
"Well, I'm happy to see them, too." Clare answered, grinning wide and following the nurse, to where the kids would be. She bit her lip as they came to a stop infront of a room, with glass windows. It was a playroom for the children, who had to spend alot of time there. If they were well enough, they could go in and play games, toys, or watch television with the other kids.
"Lee just had another heart transplant, so he's not in there. We didn't want him to get even more sick, and have the heart fail him." Nurse Johnson told Clare softly, staring at her out of the corner of her eye. "Unfortunately, Lee's father got laid off of work. They are having trouble paying the hospital bills. I'm hoping that the surgery worked, and that Lee will be healthy. I'd hate to see him back here."
The young woman swallowed hard, feeling tears sting her eyes. "It's safe for him to have company, right?" She inquired. She didn't want to do anything that would cause a setback.
The older woman wrapped a motherly arm around Clare's shoulders. "It's alright, sweetie. I probably shouldn't have told you that, I run off the mouth, a bit. I really didn't mean to worry you."
Clare shook her head. "It's okay. I always knew that they were sick. I guess, I just forgot how much."
Just then, a little girl wearing a pastel pink hat, with pretty blue flowers on it, glanced up. A pair of beautiful, forest green eyes lit up in a tiny, pale face when they landed on Clare. The child let out a squeal that caused all the other kids to stop what they were doing and look up, at her. The girl paid them no mind as she opened the wooden door to the room, ran over to Clare, and threw her arms around her legs. "Clare!" The little girl giggled, looking up at her, adoringly.
Clare smiled down at the girl, realising who she was. "Nattie." She replied in a soft voice, hugging the child carefully, being careful of how frail she was.
"Where you been?" Natalie asked, looking up at the teenage girl infront of her, with sad eyes. "Why wasn't you here, last year?"
"I was busy." The teen answered, picking the child up. "But I'm here now. That's good, right?"
The little girl beamed and wrapped her thin arms around Clare's neck. "Uh-huh. Did you see my new hat?" She wondered, pulling back and pointing to her head. "My mommy knitted it, for me."
Clare laughed. "I did. It's very pretty. Not as pretty as you, though." She told her, carrying the tiny girl inside the playroom and sitting in one of the small, colorful chairs. "So, you're in second grade now, right?"
"Yeah. I don't like it there. The other kids are mean. They make fun of me, 'cuz I have no hair." Natalie replied sadly, eyes filling with tears.
The teen's heart ached at the child's words. She didn't understand how children could be so cruel. If they would look past the physical side, they would realise that this little girl, was just a normal kid. She didn't want to be sick. It was just something that she'd been forced to deal with. "Well, that's not very nice!" She exclaimed. "You're a wonderful little girl, Nattie. If they don't realise that, they're idiots."
The child giggled, face lighting up, once more. "That's not a nice word! I'm telling mommy, so she makes you put some money, in the bad word jar!"
Clare laughed with her, glad to see the little girl smiling again.
Next Part: Clare visits Lee. Natalie's condition suddenly worsens, and Clare realises just how much her family means to her.