Fast Forward
Chapter 11
When Hannah finally woke up the next morning, it was after nine. She generally always got up early, but she had slept extremely well. She felt good. She could hear her family's voices downstairs and knew her dad was probably holding breakfast for her. After a fast shower, she walked down the steps. It smelled like pancakes and sausage and the kids were sitting at the kitchen nook table eating their breakfast.
"Morning. I didn't mean to sleep so late." Hannah told Mike and Andrea when she walked into the kitchen.
"Its okay. I didn't want to wake you up. Kami wanted to crawl in bed with you, but we wouldn't let her." Mike told her as he handed her a cup of coffee.
"It would have been okay." Hannah remarked as she watched Andrea feeding Elli and Eli their pancakes. The babies were trying to feed themselves, but a bath would be in order for them.
"So, what are the plans for today? You mentioned a run, but it is getting later. I do have a home gym if you want to use the treadmill." Mike told her.
"I may do that. Swimming sounds good. Beyond that, I don't know." Willow told him.
"I can't wait until you start painting." Andrea remarked.
"Yeah. I will probably do that later." Hannah told her. Mike handed her a plate of pancakes, fruit and sausage and Hannah sat down next to Kami to eat. Kendall and Tommy still eyed her suspiciously, but Kami cuddled up to her.
After breakfast; Hannah helped Mike clean the kitchen while Andrea gave the kids quick baths to clean up the syrup. They finished putting her laundry away and discussed plans. Hannah didn't want to have any plans. She was winging it which seemed to appeal to Andrea. Mike was plan oriented, but he seemed to be enjoying the time with Hannah. Andrea was still healing from the beating she had taken and seemed to be needing more rest. Mike and Hannah decided to take the five younger kids to the park for the afternoon, so she could nap in peace.
Hannah handled the park very well, helping Mike with the twins who seemed to really like her. Kendall and Tommy were still uncertain of her, but Kami was constantly giving her hugs. Mike decided to take them all to a pizza place, remembering it was one of Hannah's favorite foods. However, within five minutes, Mike asked for it to go because Hannah was not handling the restaurant well. By the time he got her and the kids back into the SUV, she was practically in a fetal position. He felt horribly. As soon as he pulled in and shut the vehicle off, she grabbed his key and made a run for the house. Thankfully, Andrea was outside tending to her flowers in the front garden and helped Mike get the kids and pizzas inside.
"I thought she'd be okay. The pizza place was too much." Mike told Andrea as they took the triplet's shirts off and settled them in the kitchen nook with the pizza on paper plates. Hannah was upstairs.
"What set it off?" Andrea asked.
"Some guys walked in. They looked to be Latino. Large group of them, looked pretty tough. I don't think the Latino thing bothered her, it was the number of them and their appearance." Mike admitted.
"Alright. The twins are sleeping, and the kids are eating. I'll go talk to her." Andrea told him.
"I can…" Mike stammered.
"Mike, I know you're her father and that you love her, but you are also a man." Andrea pointed out.
"Glad you noticed." Mike didn't know what else to do other than to joke. His heart was too broken.
"I definitely noticed." Andrea told him as she gave him a kiss and then headed upstairs. Mike occupied himself with feeding the twins while the triplets ate their pizza, hoping that Andrea could help Hannah.
Andrea knocked on Hannah's door and stuck her head in. Hannah was sitting in front of a blank canvas on her easel, staring out the window. Andrea could see the tears still on Hannah's face and felt horribly. She didn't have the right words.
"I wanted to check on you. I know you aren't okay, so I won't even bother asking." Andrea said as she sat down on the end of the bed. Hannah turned in her chair to face her and nodded.
"The park wasn't bad but there were just too many people at the pizza place. I know that Dad is trying to assimilate me back into society, but I just am not ready for that many people." Hannah told her.
"It is going to take you some time. I think your dad realized that today. He just wants his little girl back." Andrea remarked.
"I get that. I want that too, but I am not that little girl anymore. A lot has happened since then." Hannah said as she stood up and then back down next to Andrea.
"The thing is; he isn't really the same person either. He's lost, and he's grieved for you. Maybe not quite like Quinn and Lucas but in some ways, he has to still grieve for you. The childhood you lost. The years he lost with you. It is going to take you both some time to get through this, but I have every faith that you will." Andrea told her confidently.
"How are you so sure?" Hannah asked.
"I just am. You will come out the other side of this because if you don't; El Norte will still have a hold on you and you don't want that, do you? And your dad will follow your lead, even when it hurts." Andrea told her.
"I can see what you're saying but I can't even be around a large group of people. The park was empty other than Dad and the kids and a woman with her baby. Hardly a threat." Hannah argued.
"What was it about the restaurant that bothered you?" Andrea asked.
"Dad had me sit down with the kids while he ordered the pizzas. He was maybe ten feet away, but I couldn't see him. Some guys walked in. I'm sure they were harmless, but they looked a bit like El Norte's commandos. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary. One of them even picked up Elli's toy, handed it back to her and tickled her chin. That is not something that his commandos would have done, El Norte, maybe. It just freaked me out." Hannah admitted.
"If you could have seen him; do you think you would have had the same reaction?" Andrea questioned.
"I honestly don't know." Hannah told her.
"Well, the next time you go out; your dad and I will team up, so you aren't alone." Andrea promised her.
"I should be stronger." Hannah insisted.
"No, if you automatically assimilated; there would be something wrong. It's okay to struggle. Putting your best foot forward is the name of the game now. I am working on finding a counselor for you. Everyday; we will try a different outing. Small stuff; going to a grocery store, out for coffee, to the pottery place. Things like that. Your dad is going to go and get you a phone and soon, a car. You'll have some freedom then. You've already made lots of friends, maybe you and Wolf can go for coffee sometime?" Andrea suggested. She knew it sounded like she was trying to set Hannah and Wolf up, but she also knew, Hannah liked Wolf and felt safe with him.
"I'd like that." Hannah agreed.
"Good. Now, I am personally starving, and that pizza looked good. Are you?" Andrea asked as she stood up and squeezed Hannah's shoulder.
"Yeah, I could eat. It used to be my favorite and I haven't had pizza in ten years." Hannah remarked as she also stood up.
"Well, then let's get to it. I know you're needing a few of more things. How do you feel about going to a store tomorrow?" Andrea asked.
"That would be good." Hannah told her as they left the room.
"Perfect. We can make a day of it. No boys or kids?" Andrea asked.
"I don't mind the kids. I wish I could get to know Kendall and Tommy a bit better. Tommy is warming up, but Kendall is a tough nut." Hannah remarked.
"She'll get used to you. Just give her time." Andrea assured her.
"She doesn't like me much. I think it's because she thinks I'm taking all of Dad's time." Hannah told her.
"She had some jealousy when the twins were born. She adjusted to them and she'll adjust to you. I will mention it to your dad so that he knows to spend some one on one time with her. And it wouldn't hurt for you to do the same. I know the babies are fun and Kami is all consuming. Maybe, we take Kendall with us tomorrow?" Andrea suggested as they walked down the stairs.
"That might be good. I will make a point to try and spend some time with her too, even at home." Hannah told her as they joined the rest of the family in the kitchen nook. Hannah leaned down and gave Mike a kiss on the forehead and a smile before she grabbed her own plate and a piece of the sausage pizza.
"Mike, Hannah is still needing a few things. I thought she and I would go tomorrow. Maybe take Kendall. Might get Hannah a cellphone at the same time." Andrea suggested. Kendall had a hopeful look on her face.
"Sure, alright, Eli, one more bite. Come on, son." Mike said as he fed Eli a spoonful of pureed sweet potatoes; something Eli was not a fan of. He promptly spit it back at Mike and then pointed to Hannah's pizza.
"Nope, sorry, baby boy. You're too young for pizza." Andrea told him, and he gave her his best pout. Hannah was tempted to give him a bite but knew better. The baby wasn't even nine months old.
"He really is not a fan of baby food. I gave him a bite of my scrambled eggs this morning and he seemed to like it." Mike admitted.
"Elli is a big fan of the baby food and Eli hates it. It's confusing." Andrea agreed as she gave Elli a spoonful of the same sweet potatoes. Elli had a look a sheer bliss on her face; like it was the best thing ever, while Eli was still mean facing Mike.
"They are too cute." Hannah said as she wiped Eli's face and picked him up out of his high chair.
"He has you all figured out." Mike said as he cleaned the sweet potato up.
"Don't worry, Eli, when it's time I will make sure you get all the good stuff. The chocolate ice cream, cake, pizza, soda, all of it. Mommy and Daddy don't have to know." Hannah told the baby boy who immediately gave her a messy kiss. Both Mike and Andrea exchanged a look. Elli, Eli and Kami was who kept Hannah going.
"Me too!" Tommy shouted excitedly. He hadn't learned a volume control yet.
"Inside voice, Tommy." Mike reminded him.
"I'm sorry, sir." Tommy apologized. Andrea had been working with them, teaching manners and respecting their elders. The triplets were very mature.
"Apology accepted. Just remember." Mike told him. Tommy nodded at him and went back to eating. Of the five kids, Tommy was a bit high strung and was extremely mischievous. Mike and Andrea had already had to take a bit of a firm hand with him. They didn't want a badly-behaved child. Hannah had had the same mischievous streak when she was younger.
"Hannah, can we please go to the Build-A-Bear tomorrow?" Kendall asked.
"Sure, if its okay with your mom and dad?" Hannah told her. It was Kendall's favorite thing to do. She already had a bed full of stuffed animals.
"Please, Mommy? Daddy?" Kendall begged.
"Maybe." Andrea told her.
"I want to make a teddy bear for Hannah's bed. She don't have one. She needs something to hug when she's sad." Kendall told them. It was sweet of her.
"I'd like that." Hannah agreed.
"Maybe. The mall maybe a bit much." Andrea reminded her.
"Can I try?" Hannah asked.
"Sure." Andrea agreed. Even if they didn't go to the Build-a-Bear; it was worth a shot.
"If it's too much, I'll just go back to the truck." Hannah told her.
"We can also get your hair cut too?" Andrea mentioned.
"That sounds nice." Hannah agreed.
The rest of the evening was spent next to the pool. Mike and the triplets swam while Hannah and Andrea sat at the poolside with the twins in their playpen. Hannah was looking forward to her day out with Andrea and Kendall. She just had to be stronger.
