A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!

May 20th 2021

Chapter 140
Our Arms Around All

Had they been at their own house for this sleepover, it would have been easy for Maya and Lucas to be the first ones up and go about making breakfast for everyone before the kids started to wake. But they were at the Hunter Hart house this morning, and under this same roof lived Tanner and Angela Clutterbucket. They made early risers feel lazy. By the time their granddaughter came down the stairs with her husband and daughter, the pair of them were up and dressed, had already had their breakfast, had done some laundry and lawn work, started on dinner…

"Good morning, great granddaughter," Tanner received Marianne into his arms where he sat reading the paper. For as long as they could recall now, she had been fascinated with the man's facial hair, and she had not let out. She would twist her little fingers at his beard, his great moustache, like she was determined to prove he had a face underneath. To see him submit to these inspections as he did was as comical as it was endearing to those who witnessed these exchanges. The man was as serious as they'd ever known him to be. But put him in the vicinity of his grandchildren and great grandchild, and you would see that moustache twitch under the push of a smile.

"Is everyone still sleeping back there?" Lucas asked when Maya came back from poking her head into the room. Off on the couch, he could see that Khalil still slept.

"Yeah, looked that way," Maya reported. "I tried to bait them, and no one bit."

"Your mother called about fifteen minutes ago," Grangie turned from the stovetop. "They'll be here in an hour and they want to pick up breakfast on the way." By the look on her face as she said this, both Maya and Lucas could guess that there had been a desire to take the kids out to a restaurant instead, but it had been debated and eventually set aside. They would have done it, but they didn't want to make things complicated for Gracie, didn't want to make her feel in any way uncomfortable on her first morning out of the hospital. This way, there would not be a debate, and they could just carry on and be happy to be together.

Khalil woke up about twenty minutes later. Marianne had been set down on her feet in the kitchen, and she had taken this as an invitation to move, teetering her way to walk along as best she could. She was getting better at it every day, enough so that she didn't need to hold on to anything anymore. She still plopped down on her butt sometimes, but she'd get right back up and keep going. When she found her way into the living room, Maya followed her from a reachable distance. She stopped as she noticed the sleeping boy on the couch. She turned her head to her mother and pointed, making her smile.

"Come on, pumpkin, let him sleep, okay?" Maya whispered, reaching out her hand.

"It's okay, I'm awake," Khalil mumbled before opening his eyes and using his arm to cover a yawn. He sat up and turned to put his feet on the ground. Marianne responded to this by continuing her journey nearer to him. "Morning," Khalil tipped his head at her and received a wave from the small girl. She walked right over to him and tapped the couch. "You want to come up? Up?" he asked. She tapped the couch again. "Okay, here you go," Khalil lifted her up and set her down next to him. Marianne sat herself upright and smiled up at him. This led to the boy trying out funny voices on her, and when one would be met with delight, he would try another.

As she watched this exchange between her daughter and her student, Maya was caught in a place between finding the whole thing so amusing and sweet and also just being glad to see Khalil in this way. She didn't know that she'd seen this level of energy out of him since… well, since before the start of the school year. So, she let them carry on.

By the time they heard the car pull up into the driveway, Marianne and her newest tall friend had migrated to the floor, where they played her favorite game of the moment. This involved her taking one of her toys – or any object she could get her little hands on – and bringing it over to her present game partner. They would receive it and say thank you and she would happily go and grab something else. Given enough time, the game would end with a giant pile of objects which then had to be put back in their places. It was not everyone's favorite game, but it was good for her, so what were they going to do?

Even though it had now been a week since the accident, and Gracie was by no means in any danger anymore, as they would have seen time and time again, this would be the first time Shawn and Katy saw their daughter in person since it happened. They walked through the front door and both of them looked as though they had held on to a small piece of that anxiety throughout the week, the better to spend it here, when they would be reunited with their daughter, with all their children. Maya was right there to greet them, and Katy immediately took her up in her arms, without a word. She held her as though she had been injured, too, as though the worry for one child had radiated on to every last one of them. Maya really felt that she could understand this, as one mother to another. All this week, from the moment she'd gotten the call, she had been holding to her own baby girl with that much more intent. She was here, and she was safe.

Shawn looked ready to fold himself over the both of them, for the exact same reason, but then he saw the same thing Maya spotted and she smiled before tapping her mother's shoulder. They split and Katy turned to find Marianne walking her way toward her grandparents and mother, brandishing a purple plastic cube. It was the first time they got to see her do this, too, and if they hadn't already been emotional about coming home, this would push them over the edge.

"Is that for me, pumpkin?" Shawn asked, smiling even as he was clearly trying to swallow back the surge of tears, happy, happy ones at the sight of his little granddaughter walking and now stopped in front of him, producing the cube as high as her arm would go. Marianne squealed, which they took to mean 'of course it's yours.' Shawn picked her up and perched her to his side before taking the offered toy. "Thank you, it's my favorite color."

"Are you lying to my child?" Maya teased him.

"If it comes from her, it's my favorite, I don't make the rules," Shawn wiped at his face, took a deep breath. If nothing else, the moment helped to get him and Katy both to defuse some of their worries coming through the door. Now, they were as ready as ever to see their own baby girl.

As expected, the arrival was enough to get everyone stirring in the twins' temporary room. Even as Katy went to open the door, she almost knocked back her son, as MJ was walking up from the other side, with Hunter trailing behind him. The boys froze, as did Katy, just for one moment before MJ processed what he saw and immediately leapt to embrace…

"Mom!" he gasped, and Katy once again permitted herself that tight hug of maternal relief, holding and kissing her lone son.

It became a bit of a free for all for a few moments after this. Haley came dashing along, of course, slipping in to be hoisted up by her mother even as MJ moved around and dove for his father next, there to be hugged almost off his feet. Behind them, Hunter stood back in wait, as did Desi. As soon as they could, the two of them left the room, sensing perhaps that this was a moment for the Hunters to have together. Haley found her way into Shawn's arms by pulling out of retirement her old maneuver of coming up to someone and holding out her arms in request. When her father took her up, she locked arms and legs around him as though she had no attention of ever letting him go. The last week had been scary for all of them in different ways, and to her, the smallest of them all, it had been so very terrifying, what with her mom and dad so far away.

And then there were the twins, of course, back at the bed. Nellie had one foot on the ground, even as she sat on her other leg, bent on the bed, like her impulse had been to run for them, too, but then she'd held back, because Gracie couldn't go, so she wouldn't either. Now that Katy was coming up though, she stood and took her turn before stepping aside, there to find her father, while her mother sat on the now vacated side of the mattress.

They'd all been waiting for this moment, but right up there with Katy and Shawn, Gracie had absolutely been most eager. She'd been steady all week, all things considered, but now her parents were here. Her mom was within reach, her mom was leaning to hug her, and Gracie cried as she hugged her back as tight as possible. Watching from the doorway, Maya and Lucas couldn't hear what she said, but Katy was whispering, and Gracie was nodding. Rather than to have Katy step away – which he would never do, not after all this time waiting – Shawn came around the other side of the bed, and oh if he and Gracie were not the happiest of reunions. He had not been so scared for one of his children, not for over a decade, not since the night Maya and Lucas had their own crash. The twins had still been babies at the time, and now…

The breakfast they had picked up on the way would need to be warmed up again by the time they all went and sat around the kitchen table with the newly arrived couple. Of all the things they might have wanted to talk about as they ate, after the past week, they ended up going on and on about the previous night and the sleepover. The kids would talk over one another about the movies they watched, and the game they made up with their snacks, and then the stories they told each other, and the walkie talkies… If it wasn't for Gracie sitting there in the rented wheelchair, with her leg as it was, this might have been a regular morning. Maybe that was just what they needed.

After breakfast, the Russells were picked up by their grandparents. They would also drive Hunter Matthews home, which left the Hunters, Friars, and Clutterbuckets. The kids were eager to help their parents settle in for the next few weeks, and this ate up a great part of the day, as they would be sidetracked time and again by one of them wanting to show their mother and father something. Neither Katy nor Shawn would tell them to wait, so the thing would be shared or sought out before the settling in could resume. In what felt like no time at all, evening had arrived, and then the kids were off to bed once more. Both MJ and Haley wanted to sleep downstairs with the twins, just like the previous night, and so they would take out their sleeping bags once again, while their parents and grandparents took it upon themselves to fix things up the following day, so they could join their older sisters whenever they wanted to, without having to sleep on the floor.

"We can stay tonight, too," Maya came and sat on the couch with her mother as she held the sleeping Marianne. Shawn was still in with the kids, reading what might have been his sixth or seventh story. Lucas was in the kitchen with the grandparents.

"See, my reflex here is just to say yes, but you should go on home, really," Katy smiled. The way she looked at her granddaughter, it was clear how much she reminded her of Maya at that age. "Anyway, we're here, aren't we? We'll see each other whenever we can. Easy." Her mind was off somewhere else, Maya could see it, she could see just… anguish.

"Mom…" she turned herself to face her, propping her head up in her palm with her elbow to the back of the couch.

"I almost quit the show," Katy confessed. "When I went in to see them, last weekend, to tell them about what had happened and what needed to happen, I… I was just going to go in there and say thanks, but no thanks, can't do it anymore, I'm going home," she shook her head to herself. "Sometimes I still want to say it," she sniffed rather than to take one hand away from her granddaughter. "It was bad enough being away from them, and from her, and from you…" she nodded to the room and the little Hunters, to Marianne in her arms, to Maya at her side. "Didn't care anymore that it was my dream, or that I'd made sacrifices to make it happen, that I'd waited… I just wanted to be here, to look after my own kids, to care for them and protect them," her voice quivered with heavy emotion. "And to see her grow…" she lamented, brushing at Marianne's back. "She's walking…" she smiled, had to, and Maya brushed away one or two of her own tears. "And you… You've accomplished so much, and I've been watching from faraway and it… it sucks…"

"I know, I know…" Maya leaned her head to her shoulder, put her arms around her. "We're so proud of you, and we want you to keep going, keep following that dream. But if you decide to come home, we won't think any less of you. You know that, right?"

"Your father said the same thing," Katy leaned to kiss her forehead.

"He's a smart man," Maya turned her eyes up to her.

"He is that, yes," Katy agreed. She took a much needed breath, and another, and a couple more after that, before giving a determined nod. "I'm not giving up," she stated, and Maya approved. "But I think I needed this. Not the accident, just… to re-evaluate my options."

"You did," Maya agreed. She looked to Marianne, the way she looked so happy even asleep… just to be with her grandmother. She understood that feeling so well. "I'm really glad you're home."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners