Chapter LIII

''I told you, I don't want a stupid tree!'' Gracie yelled, running up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her so quickly that not even Joy had a chance to get inside with her.

''Gracie...'' Anna called from the bottom of the stairs, even though she knew that she wouldn't come back until she had calmed down.

''Is everything all right?'' Alice came into the hall, drying her hands on a towel.

''She still doesn't want Dad to get us a Christmas tree,'' Anna replied. It had now been almost three weeks since John's accident, and it was only three days before Christmas.

''Oh.'' Alice stepped closer to her and rested her hands on Anna's shoulders. ''Well, we don't really need one, do we?''

''Maybe not. But I know John would want her to have one. It is Christmas, after all.'' Anna turned to look at her mum.

''Are you sure you don't want to take her with you to see him today?''

''Yes, it's her last swim meet before Christmas...which she is going to miss if she keeps acting like this...'' Anna said a little louder, hoping that Gracie would hear her and come out of her room. ''...I just want her to think about something besides John for a bit.''

Although she was tired of her daughter's behaviour, she knew exactly what was bothering her. It had been the same when she and John had broken up - Gracie just missed him, and Anna could not blame her for that. She felt exactly the same.

''OK - this is what we are going to do...'' Alice began.

Over the last two and a half weeks she had seen how much her daughter and granddaughter missed John. Anna had been doing everything she could to support both Gracie and John, but she had just about reached her limit. She looked exhausted, and even though Anna hadn't mentioned anything to her, Alice knew that something more was going on with her. There was something that Anna wasn't telling her - something important - and Alice knew she needed to make sure that Anna ate properly and got enough rest before going back to the hospital.

John's punctured lung and injured liver had been slowly repairing themselves, and even his ribs seemed to be healing properly. Right now the only thing they were extremely concerned about was his knee. A week after John's initial surgery, Dr. Ellingham had announced that he was stable enough for knee surgery. His kneecap had been in bad shape and they'd had to use quite a few metal screws, pins, and plates to make sure the pieces of bone would hold together.

''Your dad and I will take Gracie to her swim meet and you will stay here and get some rest.''

''Mum...'' Anna protested, but Alice's mind was already made up.

''No, Anna - you'll do what I say, end of discussion. You'll get some rest, eat the soup I made you, and only then can you go and see John. I can't let you live like this anymore. John is in good hands, and you and I both know that he would hate to see you running yourself ragged like this. All right?''

''All right. Thank you.''

Anna knew that Alice was right. The last 19 days had been crazy. She had spent most of her time in the hospital at John's bedside, even though she knew there was nothing she could do to make his condition improve more quickly. But being there helped keep her from going insane while waiting for him to wake up. He was getting stronger with each passing day, and that gave Anna so much hope. She felt thankful every day that her parents had offered to stay with her to look after Gracie. Even Liz and Steve had sometimes stayed with her and kept her company. It was a terrible situation, but for the first time since Anna and John had been together, the Smith and Bates families had really banded together and given each other the support they all needed.

''Good.'' Alice nodded. ''You need the rest, Anna, especially now that you are coming down with something.''

''What do you mean?'' Anna asked, following her mother into the kitchen.

''Don't try to hide it from me. The bathroom is right next to the guest room, and I do have ears, you know.''

''Ohh.'' Anna smiled weakly. Her morning sickness had started just a few days ago. It wasn't as bad her mother seemed to think, but she had been sick a couple of times this week. Luckily the worst of the nausea was only happening in the mornings, but she could feel her stomach doing flips throughout the entire day.

She knew that she could tell her family that she was pregnant; in fact, once she almost had said something, but then had changed her mind at the last second. She knew that the moment she told them, they'd turn their energy and attention away from John and focus instead on her and the baby, and that was one thing she did not want. She was almost 9 weeks pregnant now and, according to Dr. Turner, both she and the baby were in perfect health, which was itself a miracle, considering the extreme stress she had been experiencing.

Anna still refused to hear any specific details about the baby, except for the fact that the pregnancy was progressing normally. She had done all she could to follow Dr. Turner's advice to take care of herself, despite her current situation. Dr. Turner and Robert's support was all she had needed right now. They were there to assist her, and she knew that if she needed help, all she had to do was ask.

The pregnancy itself, except for the nausea, was making her feel absolutely wonderful. No one could see it with so much happening at the moment, but Anna herself felt different. Because of the little that Dr. Turner had told her, she knew that she and the baby were doing well. All that was missing was John.

''Oh, yes, indeed,'' Alice replied. ''So, come on. Let's get you into that bed.''

''Are you sure you and Dad can manage?''

''Anna, we have been here for almost three weeks. I think we have figured out how everything works around here.'' Alice smiled and started pushing Anna toward the stairs.

''Thank you, Mum. I don't know what I would do without you and Dad helping me out,'' Anna said, and gave her a quick hug.

''That is what families are for, my darling. And I know you two are not married, but I want you to know that your dad and I love John as if he were part of the family. He is a good man; he has given you the chance to be happy again, and we will always be thankful to him for that.''

''Mum...'' Anna faltered. It meant so much to her that her family was there for her - both her family and John's. But at the same time, their complete support was making her feel even guiltier for not telling them that she and John were, in fact, engaged...and expecting a baby.

''Come on, off to bed. And don't worry about a thing.'' Alice smiled and moved away

''I'll try.'' Anna was about to go upstairs when the front door suddenly opened wide.

''Look what I found!'' George announced happily, stepping into the flat and dragging a Christmas tree behind him.

''Oh, my god,'' Anna whispered to herself. She and Alice had forgotten to let him know that Gracie hadn't changed her mind about having a Christmas tree.

''George, please take that thing away.'' Alice pointed at the tree.

''What? Why?'' He stared at her in confusion. ''I just spent two hours looking for just the right one, and...''

''Two, three...it doesn't matter, George. Take it away,'' Alice laughed, holding the front door open for him to take the tree out again.

''Anna...'' he looked desperately at his daughter, but she just smiled.

''Sorry, Dad...but Gracie still doesn't want anything to do with Christmas if John isn't here, and to tell you the truth, neither do I.'' Anna gave her father's cheek a quick kiss. ''But thank you anyway...truly.''

''So what am I going to do with this thing now? Do you know how much it cost me?'' George protested. ''I thought we had a plan - you would convince Gracie about the tree while I was out looking for it!''

''We tried, but she can be quite stubborn sometimes. Just like someone else we all know and love,'' Alice chuckled before kissing him softly, ending George's complaints in an instant. ''Go on, then. Get this thing out and then get ready so we can leave.''

''Where are we going?'' he asked dreamily. After almost 40 years of marriage, his wife could still take his breath away with a single kiss.

''We are going to spend the afternoon with our lovely granddaughter and then take her to dinner, so that Anna can get some rest and visit John in peace.''

''Still no news?'' George turned to Anna.

''No.'' She shook her head. A few days after John's knee surgery, Dr. Ellingham had felt that John was strong enough for them to start waking him up from his coma. Luckily his brain hadn't been injured in the accident, and the results of numerous tests had told them that his body had been slowly but persistently healing. As a result, they had decided to gradually reduce the amount of anaesthetic and other drugs in John's system in hopes that he would wake up before the holidays. But there still had been no news.

''Don't worry, we'll get there,'' George replied and gave Anna a reassuring smile.

''Come on, darling - get this thing out of here before Gracie sees it and I freeze to death,'' Alice said, standing by the open front door.

''All right, all right,'' he groaned and started pushing the tree out of the door with no idea what he would do with it.

''Thank you,'' Alice called, and closed the door after him. Turning to Anna, she added, ''Come on, let's get you to bed and Gracie into her swimsuit.''

XXX

The next few days weren't as festive as they would have been if John had been with them. Anna had invited both Liz and Steve to her place for Christmas Day, and they had gladly accepted. No matter what was happening, Christmas was about family, and they all knew that John would want them to be together, supporting each other. They had had a quick family lunch before spending the afternoon at the hospital.

Afterwards, they had spent the evening at Robert's, and even though no one had it said aloud, deep down they had all hoped that maybe, just maybe, they would get a Christmas miracle and John would wake up that day. But he hadn't. Anna's phone had been silent and would remain that way…at least through the end of Christmas Day.


my wonderful beta - annambates! :D thank you! :D :D

and yes...John is finally awake! :D...but... ;) ...