Before Everything
Chapter 14
Christine accompanied Mike and Hannah to the next therapy appointment. She left Mike in the lobby with Mason and Kaitlyn while she and Hannah went in and talked to Doctor Smith. About a half hour later, she rejoined them, leaving Hannah with Doctor Smith. Mike was not sure what was going on, but thankfully, Kaitlyn loved cuddling with Mason, so Mike got a chance to talk to Christine.
"Is everything okay?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, Doctor Smith has her talking. She didn't want to jump into the sad stuff immediately. Wanted to tell her about Lucas. Basically, Doctor Smith is building a repour with her." Christine explained.
"So, this is going to take a while?" Mike asked.
"Were you in a hurry?" Christine asked.
"No…I just wanted things fixed with her." Mike said. Hannah was still angry at him for taking her to the initial appointment. She hadn't given Mike a hug and would barely speak to him. He simply missed Hannah and it was making him impatient.
"I know, but we have to do this at Hannah's pace. She doesn't have our coping mechanisms." Christine said.
"Its like; when Lucas died, I lost Hannah too. She's here physically, but I just can't reach her. I know that some of that is my making for resenting her at first, but I've tried." Mike said.
"I know, Mike. Doctor Smith is working on that. In the meantime, no matter how she treats you, still love her. She won't make it easy. She is your child after all." Christine said with a smile.
"What's that mean?" Mike said. Christine had only been joking, but Mike was overly sensitive where Hannah was concerned.
"Mike; simmer down. I am not your enemy in this. I want this fixed too." Christine said quietly. Mike was smart enough to listen.
"Easy for you. She still loves you." Mike said.
"She loves you too. Don't ever think she doesn't. The day that you start thinking she doesn't love you, and she thinks you don't love her, is the day this is all over. It isn't time for you to throw in the towel yet." Christine insisted. From across the room, Mike heard Mason begin fussing and Kaitlyn made her way to them.
"I suppose. It just hurts." Mike said as Kaitlyn handed Mason to Mike. Christine covered herself with a coverup and then settled Mason under it to nurse.
"It'll get better, Daddy! Don't worry so much." Kaitlyn said as she sat down next to Mike and cuddled under his arm. If anything, Mike was thankful for Kaitlyn. At his worst moments, she'd come along with a sweet reassurance. She also had a lot of influence with Hannah. As much as Hannah loved Lucas, she respected and adored Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn was not afraid to use that to her advantage, or to Mike's advantage.
"Thank you, sweetheart. You know, Mom and I don't deserve you; right?" Mike said. Christine gave him a wink. It was something they had discussed. They didn't want Kaitlyn to get passed over as they worried about Hannah and marveled over Mason.
"And we don't deserve you guys. I love you both." Kaitlyn said.
"We love you too, sweetheart." Mike said as he gave Kaitlyn a kiss on top of the head. Just then, Hannah came out of the office area with Doctor Smith.
"We'll need to wait until he's done nursing." Christine told Mike. He nodded at her and stood up to meet Hannah and Doctor Smith. Hannah shockingly took his hand and even leaned into him a bit.
"We visited quite a bit. I do think another appointment with you is in order, next week. You'll need to hear Hannah out. Be prepared." Doctor Smith explained. Mike immediately began dreading the appointment.
"Sure. I'll make the appointment. Thanks, Doc." Mike said. They parted ways, Mike made the appointment and by the time they were done, Christine had finished nursing the baby and Kaitlyn was burping him.
They had driven Mike's truck to the appointment and Mike had to help Hannah up. As he picked her up, Hannah wrapped herself around him, almost like she was afraid to let him go. He exchanged a look with Hannah but gave her a squeeze before sitting her down on the truck seat.
"You okay, sweetie?" Mike asked.
"I'm just tired. Talking to that doctor lady makes me tired." Hannah said.
"When we get home, you can take a nap. Talking to her made me tired too." Mike answered.
"Can…you probably don't want to." Hannah said with a defeated sigh. Mike had put the seat belt around her and made sure Kaitlyn had Mason adjusted in his car seat.
"What, sweetie? I can't do it if I don't know what it is." Mike asked.
"She likes it when you lay down with her on the couch." Kaitlyn said with a smile.
"Is that what you want?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, but you don't want to…" Hannah started.
"I love doing that. I'll just need to help Mom with some stuff around the house. Take the garbage out and help her with the dishes." Mike said.
"I'll do that. You lay down with Hannah." Kaitlyn said. Mike started to argue but he noticed the smile on Hannah's face.
"Alright." Mike said. He shut the truck door and got in the driver's seat. Christine was already settled and reached over and squeezed his knee.
"It's slow going but getting there." Christine said. Mike nodded over at her in agreement and began the drive home.