"Mommy!" Malia exclaimed as she ran into Hanna's bedroom. She chucked herself onto the king-sized bed and then proceeded to jump on top of her mother. "Mommy, mommy, mommy. Wake up!" Hanna stirred and then groaned as she opened her eyes. The morning sun hit her and it took a moment to stop squinting.
"What is it, baby?" Hanna mumbled sleepily. She pulled herself up, and Malia wriggled over to the empty spot beside her.
"We're seeing daddy today! Did you forget?" The 5 year old tilted her head to the left and looked genuinely confused as to whether her mom forgot about seeing her dad.
"No, honey, I didn't," she replied to Malia. The young child seemed content with the answer and hastily jumped off of the bed. "I just didn't think you'd wake me up at fucking 6 o'clock to tell me that," the blonde muttered to herself as her daughter left the room. There were whimpers from the bassinet that was positioned by the window of Hanna and Caleb's bedroom, and Hanna swung her legs out of bed, padded across the room and greeted her son. She gently lifted him and soothed his cries. "You need to be changed, baby."
Hanna picked up the blue blanket her mother had given Rocky and laid it onto the bed. She then proceeded to lay the infant on top, and began unbuttoning his romper to reveal his pink squirming legs. After changing his diaper, Hanna picked out an outfit from the already-packed suitcase. She chose a Ralph Lauren striped bodysuit; it was currently summer in Paris, and they were having an exceptionally warm one this year, so didn't bother putting anything else on him.
"Lia, come here please!" Hanna yelled as she placed Rocky back in his bassinet. The 5 year old had retreated to her own bedroom, but wasn't answering Hanna. "Malia!" Hanna padded down the hallway and into her daughter's bedroom. The walls were bright pink, and all of the furniture was either pink or white, except none of it was there. Everything besides a mattress had been shipped off to America. "Malia Rose, come with me."
Hanna took a firm hold of the 5 year old's hand and brought her back into her bedroom. Malia wriggled and wiggled, attempting to break free of her mother's grip but failed miserably. Instead, she was instructed to sit on the bed and not move a muscle while Hanna picked an outfit. The outfit ended up being a ZARA red and brown jacquard skirt, a Ralph Lauren white tank top and a pair of ballerina flats. She adored having a daughter; she could dress up her like a doll. To finish Malia's look, Hanna left her long, loose curls flowing.
Hanna clad herself in a short blue and white dress, a pair of heels and straightened her above-the-shoulder hair. When looking at the clock, Hanna realized she only had an hour until the time she had scheduled herself to leave. The first time Hanna flew to LA with Malia and Rocky, she had Emily to help. But this time she was doing it alone, meaning she had to have set in stone times for everything. And she couldn't be late.
"Mommy, when are we seeing daddy?" Malia asked whilst stuffing her face with a banana. Hanna readjusted Rocky, who had finished feeding, placed the empty bottle of milk on the side and wandered over to her daughter at the kitchen table.
"Not until later, Lia. We still have a flight to catch first. Now eat up!"
An hour later, Hanna was busying through the airport. She had checked the thousands of cases she and the kids had, and was now fighting her way through crowds to get to border control. As she arrived, she did as directed by the officer in charge: placing all electrical items, coats and bags in boxes, and then let Malia go first. The blonde followed, armed with Rocky and breathed a sigh of relief when no beeping sounds went off – not that one would, she was just worried she had left something liquid or metal in her bag. She really didn't need any more hassle added unto the day.
When she finally sat down in the waiting area she had sat in just weeks before with Emily, Hanna pulled her phone out and decided to text her; she really needed someone to talk to. With Rocky cuddled up in her arm, and Malia sitting contentedly to the right of her, playing on Hanna's IPad, the blonde thought it was the perfect time. Only one thing stood in the way: the time difference. It suddenly dawned on Hanna that she was 9 hours ahead of Emily, and considering it was only 9 o'clock in the morning in Paris, it was 3 in the morning in Malibu. So instead of texting, Hanna sat still, taking in the miracle moment when both her children were quiet.
That didn't last for long though, as when Hanna, Malia and Rocky boarded the plane, all hell let loose. Malia decided it would be funny to not sit in her seat, despite how many times she was asked by her mother and various flight attendants and Rocky thought it was a good idea to scream at the top of his lungs. Hanna cursed the day she had agreed to flying 5000 miles with 2 children alone.
After what Hanna thought was the most painful 11 hours and 49 minutes of her life, they finally touched down in Los Angeles. It had taken nearly half the flight, but Hanna finally managed to get Rocky to sleep and Malia to quieten down. As soon as the seatbelt sign was lifted, Hanna ushered Malia down the aisle of the airplane and down the steps. The 5 year old immediately recognised where she was and bounded over to the entrance to baggage claim. Like before, Caleb was already there waiting.
When Hanna walked through the doors, the first thing Caleb saw was how tired and drawn out his fiancée looked. She was pale, and had huge bags under her eyes. His reaction was to retrieve Rocky and give the blonde a break, so that's what he did. Hanna let out a sigh of relief when the baby was taken from her arms and she practically collapsed into Caleb's hug. Malia was excitedly jumping around, getting in other passengers way. The brunette grabbed his daughter and pulled her closer, stopping her from getting into mischief.
"I'm going grab a cart to put the bags on," Hanna announced, already walking off. She returned to one suitcase already collected and waiting to be put on the cart, so quickly loaded it on before grabbing Malia who had begun running around like a madman again. "Stop, Malia. You can't be running around an airport, it's dangerous, baby."
Caleb heaved over more and more cases – a total of 6 – and the family could finally go home – well not really home, more like temporary accommodation.
That night, Hanna stared out of the window at the stars that lit up the dark sky. It was 1:27 in the morning, meaning in Paris it was currently 10:27. The time difference had no effect on Rocky, but Malia was struggling. Right now, she would be at the park or at school, not sleeping in bed. She quietly tip toed into her parent's bedroom – it had taken her a moment or two to find it in this new apartment – and found her mother already awake.
"Mommy," she whispered. The blonde turned around, startled at the voice. She saw an innocent looking Malia standing in the door frame, tugging at her oversized night shirt. "I can't sleep."
"Baby girl," Hanna breathed, reaching her arms out. The petite 5 year old ran into them and gave a strong hug. "It's okay if you can't sleep. I can't sleep either."
Malia looked her mom curiously. "Why can't we sleep?"
Wary that Caleb was asleep, Hanna decided to bring the little girl out of the room and proceeded to sit on the couch. She turned on the lamp that was positioned on a pine-wood table – a table not to Hanna's taste – and looked back at her daughter. "We can't sleep because in Paris, it's 9 hours in front so we would awake right now."
"Why aren't we in Paris now?" the little girl chirped.
"Because we live here now, in LA."
"What about our house in Paris? When can we go back?" Malia seemed wide awake and full of questions, but a sudden wave of tiredness washed over Hanna. The busy events of the day were finally taking a toll on the young mother and all she wanted was to curl up in bed. But considering the 5 year old looked as hyper as ever, that was out of the picture.
"We aren't going back, baby. This is our home now." Hanna watched the small blonde gaze around the large apartment. "Well not this exact house. Daddy and I are going find a better one."
Malia slid off of the couch and stood directly in front of Hanna. She let out a big yawn and fell into her mother's arms. "I think I'm ready to sleep now."
Hanna chuckled and gently took the child's underarms and lifted her up. She positioned Malia on her left hip and felt the small head nuzzle into her neck. It was times like these that she adored being a mother; it made stressful days totally worth it. As Hanna lay her daughter on her newly assembled bed, she took the moment to stare at the young blonde. Every day since the day she finally bonded with Malia Rose, Hanna had regretted ever contemplating having an abortion. It wasn't as though being a mom at 18 was easy – it definitely had more than its fair share of trouble – and it wasn't the life Hanna had ever planned for herself, but there wasn't a day that went by when she wasn't thankful.
A/N – so this chapter may be a bit boring, but hopefully the next, if not the one after, will be more interesting!
keep reviewing please!
