A/N: A request was made for more Hannah Bailey-Nettleton, so...
Week Nine - UDC 8 - Hannah Bailey-Nettleton
41. Bright
Stepping out of the movie theater into the bright afternoon sun, Hannah blinked into the glare. The woman beside her was still shaking, upset from the heckler who had mouthed off during the newsreel. "Come on."
"Where did he go, do you think?"
"Mae..." Just then, a man hurried past them with an upset expression and a bloody lip, and they both stared after him for a moment before looking in the opposite direction. Hannah frowned at who she saw exiting the alley, several store fronts away. "Oh. Didn't you say you were meeting Emma for something this afternoon?" Mae nodded. "Then let's go."
42. Star
Emma was waiting at a cafe with both of her sisters, and frowned at both of them as she took in the expression on Mae's face. "Was the movie that bad?"
Mae sighed as she pulled out a chair and sat down. "When Paul get's back from the Pacific, he'll want to shake Rogers's hand for keeping me out of jail for assault."
Emma glanced at both of her sisters. "Steve... kept you out of a fight?"
Hannah smiled. "It wouldn't have gone that far, but yes. He did. And then, from the looks of things, your brother saved him."
"Ah," Emma said with a smile. "One of those days."
43. Mama
The question wasn't something she'd been expecting from Natalie, but then if parenting were predictable, it'd be easy. It wasn't easy, not by a long shot. "Come sit, Natalie. Please?"
Natalie sighed, and sat down on the hospital bed. "I..."
"I'm going to tell you something," Hannah said as she picked up the locket that had been laying on the bedside cabinet. "And show you. Here."
Natalie took the locket from her and carefully opened it, to find two pictures. One of her own mother, and another of a man she'd never met before but had seen maybe once... she wasn't sure where, but she had.
44. Please
It made no sense, that Hannah would have either in a locket she always wore. "I don't understand..."
Hannah watched as she stared at the small pictures. "Your mother was a friend, Natalie. My friend. The war... changed so much. Changed people. Some, like your uncle, never came home. You ask me how I can include you so naturally? How can I not? You are hers. You are Emma's. But also mine."
Natalie glanced up at her. "I... I'm sorry."
"For what? Being a teenager and needing to ask questions? I want you to ask. That is how you learn."
45. Shine
The locket still in her hand, Natalie smiled. "You never take this off."
"No."
"Why not?"
Hannah smiled and pulled her close. "Because reminders are important, sweet one. Always and often." Over Natalie's shoulder, she noticed Rebecca, clad in her uniform, watching them with a smile, and waved her off. Rebecca nodded and left them alone.
"Even if sometimes they hurt?"
"Even then, Natalie."
A minute or so later, Rebecca reappeared, this time with a hospital bassinette. "Since you're here, Natalie, do you want to meet your baby brother?"
Natalie quickly gave the locket back to Hannah, and stood up to look into it at Louis. "He's so... tiny."
