I'm using some artistic license concerning the foster care system and also the bit about the marriage counseling. Please do review!
Their Second Chance
Chapter 7
Andrea kept Hannah occupied while Annie put Mike through a slew of questions. She couldn't release custody of Hannah until she was sure that Mike was a fit parent. He had assumed that she would just hand him some paperwork to sign and he would have full custody of his child. She legally couldn't release Hannah back without interviewing him because her supervisors didn't care that Mike had been in the Navy and deployed. They saw it that he had neglected and abandoned his daughter. His saving grace was that the foster care system was overtaxed with orphans from the Red Flu and since Hannah had a biological parent left, she was a low priority. He still had to be interviewed though and it was beyond scrutiny. Some of the questions infuriated him but he couldn't show because he had to act
"Biologically speaking, you believe that Hannah is your child? She doesn't look much like you."
"Yes. She looks like her mom. I have no doubt that Hannah is my child."
"Your wife abandoned her child. It would not be a far guess that you would as well."
"She didn't really abandon her. She took her to a place where Hannah would be cared for so that Hannah didn't have to witness her die and to save Hannah's life. God only knows what would have happened if Hannah had been there when Christine died. She would have been alone. And I would never abandon Hannah."
"After the Red Flu hit and your ship made port, you could have looked harder for your wife and daughters. You choose the Navy over your family; so you would abandon Hannah. You already have once."
"It wasn't that simple. I couldn't just leave the ship."
"So you left your wife and children instead? On to the next question, you are still active duty so if you deploy what happens to Hannah?"
"I took a position on land."
"That's not a guarantee that you won't have to leave again."
"The President said that I wouldn't have to deploy again."
"Things can happen."
"I suppose but now that I have Hannah back, I won't be deploying."
"What about housing? I can't imagine that Commander Garnett will want you as a house guest forever."
"I am looking to buy the house across the street. Until I do, the plan is that I will be staying here with Commander Garnett and Hannah. Hannah wants to stay on here."
"I'm sure there are regulations against this sort of thing. The Navy may question if you and Commander Garnett are in an intimate relationship since you're living here and you are her Commanding Officer."
"She's been promoted to Captain. Regulation wise, we will be okay. "
"So are you?"
"Okay?"
"No, in an intimate relationship? You've been friends for years, worked in close quarters, and I understand your wife and you were in marriage counseling before you deployed for the Arctic. I pulled records. Couples go to counseling for a myriad of issues but the more common one is that one of the partners have had an affair, so was it you or your wife?"
"We were in marriage counseling because we had a typical relationship when one of the partners is in the military. I was gone too much and when I was home, I tended to distance myself psychologically, preparing for the next deployment. We also had a sick child. That puts a lot of strain on a marriage. My military benefits didn't cover all of Hannah's treatments and so there was also a financial burden. I never cheated on my wife and I have no doubt that she was faithful."
"You were gone for months at a time. I'm sure there are a lot of military spouses that are not faithful. Your wife admitted to the counselor that she was not a good wife or mother. She may have meant that she wasn't faithful. And according to the counselor's notes, you had suspicions. Your wife worked for an attorney, correct? An attorney who had a reputation as a lady's man and had been caught with several married women. It wouldn't be a far stretch that she would have slept with him. A lot of lonely nights during those deployments, for both of you. My supervisors were able to pull the records."
"She did work for an attorney and yes, I made comments during the counseling sessions but I didn't mean them. Christine was hard on herself but she was not that bad of a wife or mom. I have no idea why she made those comments but she loved our kids and she loved me. She didn't cheat."
"Considering you made comments, maybe that's why she was so hard on herself? Chronically ill children tend to have self-esteem issues. Will you be that hard on Hannah?"
"Christine's father was physically and emotionally abusive. She had…issues from that. It screwed with her self-image. She was terrified of being like her dad. I don't think she ever raised her voice at our kids and rarely disciplined them when they needed it. Just before he died; Hannah had been in the hospital due to pneumonia. He told Christine that if she was a better mother; Hannah wouldn't have been sick and that the reason I was away so much was because Christine was a bad wife. From then on out, regardless of what I did, Christine fixated on her failings. If Hannah got sick, Christine felt it was her fault. If one of the kids got a bad grade or acted out, Christine felt she did something wrong. I remember one Mother's Day that I was home for, I had gotten her a mother's ring with the kid's birthstones on it, the kid's drew her pictures and we fixed her breakfast in bed and had her favorite flowers. She was genuinely happy and surprised but after the kids left the room, she handed the ring back to me and told me she didn't deserve it. I insisted; put the ring on her right ring finger. It got stuck which led to her saying she was fat. She barely weighed one twenty but she thought I found her unattractive. It was just a whole mess of issues and anything could be a minefield."
"When a parent is like that sometimes the child will repeat the action. Seek out a partner like their parent and will be like that with their children."
"If you're asking me if Christine or I were abusive, absolutely not. I never laid an abusive hand on any of my children or my wife and I stated before Christine was terrified of being like that with our children. She didn't spank or anything like that."
"Alright. I believe you, but I have to put you through the paces. Financially speaking, will you be able to support Hannah? Medical expenses will still be there with one less income."
"And two less kids? Yes, I can support her."
"You didn't answer one of my questions. Are you and Commander Garnett intimate? You've known your wife had died for three months and you haven't been able to find her for what, almost three years? It would be understandable."
"No. It wouldn't. I have been deployed until yesterday and I was still hanging onto hope that Christine was alive. I honored my vows to her."
"You are still wearing your ring. So you and Commander Garnett are not intimate? Considering there is bedding on the couch, I'm assuming that is where you slept last night."
"We are not intimate and yes, I slept on the couch last night."
"Why do you think Hannah is so insistent of staying here?"
"She loves Commander Garnett…Andrea. They've grown pretty attached to one another. I'm thankful for that."
"She begged me to let her stay here the other day before you got back. So what's with the no talking?"
"She told me that Christine took her to a church, like a monastery and they didn't talk there. Hannah has decided she doesn't want to talk but told me she would when she was ready. She did say 'Daddy' yesterday. She is still communicating by writing notes and I won't push her to talk until she's ready. She's always been a bit stubborn."
"Probably why she lived. We don't know how long it was between the time the monks brought her here and when she walked into the police station. Given her condition; I would guess a couple days at least."
"Thank God she walked into that station."
"Exactly. Alright. I need you to sign here and here. You now have full custody of Hannah. I will suggest that you stay here with Commander Garnett as long as possible because I believe Hannah needs the stability that she feels that she has here. I think that is how she'll recover."
"Agreed."
"Just so you know; my supervisors were insistent that I rake you over the coals. I didn't want to. I had every plan of just checking on Hannah and having you sign this. I really hated it especially the bit about your marriage. None of my business."
"What was their reasoning?"
"Due to your reputation. They didn't want to seem like they were playing favorites. I don't understand it because we are backlogged with kids needing homes and we have Hannah who frankly, because of her health issues, is unwanted by most foster families. Andrea spoke up wanting to keep her before you came back on scene and now the two of you are working together to give her what she wants. She is clearly happier. Nothing else should matter. She's loved here, despite her health and whatever her reasoning for not talking is. That's hard to find."
"If they need to speak with me then they can find me here. Hannah will be taken care of, loved and nurtured here. She is my number one priority and I will do anything to protect her. I've already lost her brother, sister and her mother. I will go to the ends of the Earth to keep her safe and happy and you can tell them that."
"And I believe it."
About that time, Hannah ran out of her bedroom and practically jumped into Mike's lap. She had her notebook and pen in hand and immediately evil eyed Annie and started writing a note. She might look like Christine but there were times that Mike's personality shined through.
"I want to stay here with my daddy and Andrea. Please don't take me away."
"Hannah, can you write your name on that and I'll take that page to my boss so he knows what you want?"
Hannah nodded vigorously and wrote her name on the page, tore it out and handed it to Annie. She was still evil eyeing her but thankfully Annie didn't take it personally. When kids felt safe they tended to see social workers as a threat. Annie put the page in her folder and told Mike, Andrea and Hannah goodbye. Andrea fixed a lunch to eat before they went furniture shopping for Mike's bedroom. They also had to buy paint and other items because Mike refused to sleep in a pink bedroom which made Hannah giggle at him. As they were eating, Andrea brought up how much Hannah enjoyed Halsey.
"So, I remember you guys having a dog. Hannah saw Greene with Halsey before we found you yesterday. She really loved petting him."
"Hannah, do you want a dog?" Hannah nodded at him with a massive smile on her face. "Andrea, do you care? We can put it off?"
"I think a dog would be a good thing but I do have one requirement. I hate yippy, little dogs. I want a big dog. A lab or a German Shepherd, maybe?"
"We'll see what we can find. Sound good to you, sweetheart?" Hannah was grinning from ear to ear and nodding again. She was also clapping her hands and bouncing up and down on Mike's lap. It was the most hyper that she had been and Andrea loved watching her. They would definitely be making a stop at a pound.
After lunch, they packed up in Mike's truck and went to the closest home décor type store that also had paint. The first three bedspreads that Hannah picked out were slightly feminine and Mike vetoed them. She finally pulled out a much more masculine plaid bedspread that he approved of. They also picked out curtains and a rug to go with and found a beige paint and the needed supplies. Hannah took a lot of joy in picking out everything out for Mike. They even found some framed pictures for the bedroom. For the first time in years, Mike would be settled and at home.
After finding bedroom furniture that Mike liked and Hannah approved of, they had enough time to find a dog and get supplies before the furniture was delivered at the house. The salesman at the store gave Mike directions to a pet store that would have everything they wanted and told him that there was a litter of beagles. Andrea had a bigger dog in mind but a beagle would be a good dog for Hannah.
The pet store did not agree with Hannah and she started having difficulty breathing as soon as she walked in the door. Mike almost immediately guided her out of the store and told Andrea to go ahead and pick a puppy out and he'd pay her back or whatever needed to be done. She found a female beagle that was sweet and seemed perfect for Hannah. Within a few moments, she had the puppy adopted; toys, food and other accessories bought and were headed out the door. Fortunately Mike and Hannah were sitting on a park bench outside the store and Hannah's breathing was better. She immediately latched onto the puppy and carried her to Mike's truck. On the drive home, she held the puppy on her lap and hummed along to the radio.
They had been back at the house all of five minutes when the delivery truck got there with Mike's furniture. Andrea kept Hannah and the puppy occupied in Hannah's room to keep them out of the way. The little girl was beyond thrilled with her puppy and was humming happily still. After the deliverymen left, Andrea the puppy and Hannah went into Mike's room. He was starting to paint and Hannah took the puppy back to her room. Andrea changed clothes and went back to help him.
"Annie really put you through a wringer didn't she?"
"Yeah, her supervisor wanted her to show that there was no favoritism. I never thought I'd have to fight so hard for my own child."
"And she's worth it. I hate it for you though."
"Not your fault. It did make me evaluate some stuff though."
"Oh?"
"She bluntly asked me if you and I are intimate."
"I can see how someone would make that assumption, considering."
"She thinks that Hannah and I need to stay put because Hannah feels more secure. Of course that's only if you want us to?"
"I like having you here. As long as you want to stay, you and Hannah have a home."
"I appreciate that. I can pay rent."
"Absolutely not. You have been a good friend for a lot of years. I couldn't do that. How handy are you though?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I need my master bathroom remodeled but I didn't want to deal with any of the so called handy men that are advertising themselves."
"Tiling or what?"
"Pretty much everything. You can say no."
"I'll do it. I remodeled our house back in Norfolk. Christine was pretty picky in what she wanted. I remodeled both bathrooms, the kitchen, laundry room and all four bedrooms. I also redid the fireplace. My next project was going to be the dining room."
"I didn't know you had done all that. Your house was really nice."
"I just did what Christine told me to. She was the one that made it a home."
"I think Hannah has her decorating ability."
"Probably. Christine would let her help pick out paint colors, tiles and such. Hannah was out of school a lot and so I would guess that Christine took her along with when she picked the decorating stuff out."
"What are you going to do about her schooling? They haven't reopened. My admin assistant is a former teacher and she said Hannah seems pretty bright. Her handwriting is better than mine."
"I'm still figuring out logistics. I honestly don't know. I have a month of leave built up. I won't use it all but I want at least a week or so with Hannah."
"Can't blame you there. Do you think it needs a second coat?"
"No. I got the paint with a primer in it so the pink wouldn't show. Let's go look at that bathroom. You can tell me what you want."
By the time it was said and done, Andrea would have a lot better bathroom then what she had planned. Mike was a perfectionist and he wouldn't settle for anything less than a beautiful bathroom for her. Hannah was still playing in her bedroom with the puppy and had come up with a hilarious name for her; Clumsy. The puppy had tripped over her ball and fallen off Hannah's bed. There was nothing wrong with her eyesight but it had left Hannah laughing hysterically. And Mike loved the sound of her laugh. They spent the rest of the evening, playing with the puppy and discussing Andrea's bathroom. Hannah had plenty of ideas of her own; and had even spoke, just a "Yes!" but it was a huge gain where Mike and Andrea were concerned.
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