To make up for my absence, but college is driving me nuts!
Chapter 12
Hope wore a soft pink leotard and had her hair pulled into a delicate ponytail fastened with two ribbons of the same color as the leotard.
She looked focused. It was the first meeting of the season, and she was only practicing gymnastics about a month ago, four weeks, but the coach had assured her that she was ready and that she could really win it. Hope was in the first group, with another girl wearing the same leotard as she, and a few girls, at most ten. "She will compete for the all-around" House explained to her "Those ten girls are the best regional, only six of them are moving to the next competition, later in spring, only two from this state can go to a major competition…"
She was the last to vaulting, she was going to perform a round-off, flic-flac on – stretched salto backward with 1/1 turn off, she got the high score from difficult, a 4,6.
And then, flag on, and the only thing Cuddy could think off, was how dangerous that was and how brilliant Hope was. And a sound of release left Cuddy when Hope, landed, on both feet on the mattress.
A high-five from the couch and they were waiting for her score… 14.033, the second highest.
The uneven-bars went good as the vault, 14.130 and the floor with 14.000, she was in second in the all-around, but her best event was beam, she was the last to go, she need a 14.3 to get the lead… Flag on, and she jumped almost immediately to the beam. Took a deep breath and did her first move, the most difficult, not many elite gymnastics could do it even of senior level. A tucked arabian connected to a backhandspring. First thing done, next she did a Honodi follow by a double backhandspring ending with a layout full. Next move, a tricky one, switch ring, layout step-out, tucked full, back tuck and sheep jump into a sissone. The dismount, she took a deep breath, double backhandspring ending on a double tuck. A stuck, perfect landing! She finally smiled up and finished the routine. Most people could not believe it, that nine-year-old girl had made the routine more difficult, it was so perfect and so incredibly difficult, that she was worthy to medal at the Olympics and she was only nine years old!
And with a difficulty of 6.0, she could only get the most score from the competition! E 15,100 with an execution of 9,100.
Hope got the gold for the all-around, as well as UB, Floor and Beam. Getting a silver for vaulting.
"My champ!" His father hugged her smiling all proud "We're so proud baby, you've done so well!" Her mother was clearly happy for her "Thanks mom, dad!"
"How did Hope go sweetie?" Her mother asked Rachel "So goooood"
"Thank you Rachel" She kissed her forehead "Can we go now mommy?"
"Don't you want to stay a little longer, with your friends?" Her mother asked them before be interrupted by a journalist "Can we have a picture please, with the champ, please?"
"Do you want to take a picture honey?" Cuddy asked her "I guess it's ok"
"Can you please you all-around gold please?" The journalist told her, and she nodded "All done, great job on the beam, you have an amazing girl there" She told her parents.
"Hope, come let take a group photo" Her coach told her "You can go home after, come'on" He had a typical Russian accent behind the English.
Some photos late and she was leaving the gym with her parents, finally going home "Can I see it, can I see it?!" An over-excited Rachel said to the older sister, pointed at the medals. "Sure Rachel" Her sister answered her, but the mother warned them "At home, Rachel!" She said smiling "Today the grandparents go there for dinner and I want everything tidy" She explained "And we can show the grandparents the medals, combined?"
"Yes mom," Hope said as she got into the car. "How about McDonalds? Hope is a champion and we all deserve to eat…"
"Only this time…" Cuddy give in, after all her daughter could use a cheat meal and she too, for a couple of days all she wants to eat was crappy food, probably that time of the month.
(…)
"Good evening Lisa" Blythe House "Good evening, come in, please," she said, opening the door for her mother-in-law and father-in-law. "Greg's in the kitchen, he was the one who made the dinner," she told them.
"Before I go in, Lisa," Blythe told him, "How did he react to all of this? All these changes? I know, I know you're both adults, but a mother does not stop worrying ..."
"He's been wonderful, "so much calmer than me, there's nothing to worry about, Blythe, he's got everything under control." She smiled at the laughter in the kitchen. "He's a wonderful father, Hope and Rachel love him very much."
"And how is Hope doing?" John asked her "Much better, she is a very sweet child, but she had a ruff start, she was living in an orphanage and she was happy there, they took good care of her, but for about six month she lived with a terrible family, she was mistreated, hungry, cold and neglected. But since she came home, she's improved a lot, she's been spending more time with us, she's been talking and playing more, Greg has been vital in her recovery, and I think we're on the right track "
"She's so quiet, and polite," Jon commented. "She is, everyone loves her, she already has friends at school and she's setting up very well"
"Mom, dad say that dinner is ready" Hope told her "Good evening" She told her grandparents smiling "Hi honey" Her grandmother hugged her sweetly. Maybe, Hope and Rachel could really have a normal family, at least with House's parents…
…
"So, I've heard you did great today" Her grandfather asked her "Regional champion" She handle her the local newspapers where she read "nine-year-old girl from Princeton takes home the all-around medal with an impressive 15,100 on beam"
She smiled, clearly embarrassed by the article about her with the picture from the previous day where she smiled with a gold medal next to her parents. "I guess you move to next level"
"I'm on level 10 still, but my beam routine is an elite level one" she clarified "I guess so, the next competition is in April, so I have a lot of time to improve the others apparatus".
"DADDY! DADDY!" Rachel shout from her high pointing outside "Daddy, there!"
"Sweetie, there's nothing there" House told her again "No! no! there!"
And for the first time, House's quick reflexes actually saw something moving between the shrubs outside.
"It should not be anything, Greg, honey." The mother started, but the worry was on his face. "Come on, I'll help you have a look out there." The father told him and he nodded. "It should not be anything, but it's hard to see"
The two of them left Cuddy's worried gaze. "Lock the window until we get back, yeah," House told him before leaving the garage. "I'm serious, Cuddy, lock it up"
"I will not let you out," she answered seriously. "I'm here, go there"
"Greg, do not you have anything to take with us?"
"Like a gun?" He said rhetorically, "No, there's a baseball bat there, that's all we have, this is a quiet neighborhood , we didn't think that we were going to need something," he explained as his father reached for the bat. "You will not need it," House said, looking straight ahead.
It was a tiny ball of black fur and green eyes, it couldn't be more than two weeks old, it was cramped with cold and hunger, probably. It was a small cat.
"It's a cat." His father remarked on the obvious, and House bit her tongue so as not to comment on her father's obviousness. "It's hungry" He state "Can you please call Cuddy? Just to tell the girls there a cat here, ok"
"Yes son".
As House approached the cat, he cringed in a corner, trying to look around for a escape. "I'm not going to hurt you, come here ..."
And slowly, House approached, picked up an old cloth that was at the garage and touched the cat, taking it in his lap. Immediately, and realizing that House was not going to harm him, the kitten stopped wriggling and I mew, probably starving.
"House what is ..."
"It's a cat," he said, and Cuddy came closer to see it "It still a baby, poor thing, was it alone?"
"I don't see any others, it must been lost for a while ..." She said looking at the little this "He needs to go to a vet" Cuddy said and he agreed "We can not leave it near them before we know if it's safe!"
"Is he going home? Into our house?" House asked surprised "Of course! I think it's good for Hope and Rachel to grow up with a animal, and what are we going to do, send him to the kennel? He'll be ours," Cuddy said with a smile.
"Hum Cuddy," House said laughing. "It's a she."
(…)
"The girls are asleep?" Cuddy asked him when he returned to the living room. "They fell asleep like a lightning bolt"
"Good" She said relaxing again on the couch "I'm exhausted"
"So am I" He said, and suddenly she laughed "We've been sleeping five ... six hours a night, there ..."
"Almost three months!" He laughed "But we still have sex every day"
"It's like dating a teenager with hormones in effusion." She laughed "I'm not complaining"
"You deserve a positive reinforcement, you behave so well during dinner" She said laughing "Let's go?" She kissed him once more, as they rose from the couch and went into their bedroom, the night promised to be another one in which he made her yell his name.
