*** DISCLAIMER *** Yeah, these things are annoying, I know, but I feel like
it's my responsibility to say that I own nothing, that's Warner Bros. and
Nicholas Sparks only. This is my first fic, so please be nice, read and
review to tell me what you think. That's all. :)
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Chapter ONE ***********
It was Monday morning, 7:30 A.M., picture day. Five-year-old Hope Carter sat on the pink rose-print comforter on her bed, as her grandmother, Cynthia Carter, sat behind her on a chair, carefully and skillfully curling her caramel-auburn hair. As each warm, soft lock was released from the hot iron, it bounced down around Hope's face and she smiled, reaching up to feel it. Having curled hair always made her feel special, like a princess.
"Try to hold still, okay, sweetheart?" her grandmother asked calmly. Hope sat up straight and tried to fulfill Cynthia's wish the best she could. "Okay, Grandma," she responded. "That's a good girl," her grandma said, smiling as she wound the last lock of hair carefully around the iron.
"Hey, Hope!" came a voice from the hall. Footsteps drew nearer, and soon Hope's father stood in the doorway. "Hey, Princess," Landon Carter said with a warm smile, eyes on his daughter. "How's it coming?"
"Hi, Daddy," Hope responded. She gave a wide grin and held up a curled tendril of hair. "Grandma's doing my hair pretty. See? Do you like it?"
Cynthia smiled at her 24-year-old son as she released the last bit of hair from the iron. "There," she said. "All done. Just let me go and get some hairspray really quick, and I'll be back in a minute." With that, she unplugged the curling iron, set it on the dresser, and hurried out of the room, patting Landon on the shoulder affectionately on the way. He smiled at her, and then turned back to his daughter once she'd left.
"I love your hair, Hope," he told her. Walking over next to her, he sat down on the bed and hugged her. "So, are you hungry?" he asked. "I can make your favorite thing for breakfast-scrambled eggs with cheese." He grinned.
Hope's hazel eyes lit up. "Okay!" she said. She smiled at her dad, and Landon returned the smile. Just then, Cynthia came back into the room with a bottle of hairspray. "All right, sweetie, let's spray your hair with this so it stays nice and curly all day." Stepping up behind her granddaughter, she sprayed a light mist all over her curls, then waved some of the excess spray away from her face. "There we go," she said. "Come take a look."
Landon watched his grinning daughter hop off the bed and hurry over to the round mirror atop her dresser. When she saw her curls, her smile grew even bigger. "It looks so pretty," she said, reaching up to feel them. She turned around and smiled up at her grandmother, then hugged her. "Thank you, Grandma," she said. Cynthia laughed, patted her back gently, and replied, "You're welcome, honey.''
Landon watched his daughter hugging his mother, and he couldn't help but get maybe just a little teary-eyed. His daughter was always so nice and generous, and grateful for everything. Just like her mother had been. Jamie. Hope reminded him so much of his wife-the expressions she got on her face sometimes, the things she said, her overall personality. He knew exactly why God had sent them a child; Jamie lived on in their daughter even though she had passed on years ago, when Hope was only six months old. So he had never truly lost her, now that he had a constant reminder of her with him always.
Then his thoughts shifted to his mother. He was so thankful for her. Now that Landon was in medical school, she was always at the house to help care for Hope, since he was busy a lot. She was like their nanny. She adored the little girl, and Hope adored her.
"Daddy, can I have breakfast now?" Hope asked politely, breaking into Landon's thoughts. He grinned, picked her up, kissed her on the cheek and replied, "Of course, sweetie." The three of them then headed downstairs together.
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"All right, Hope, I'd better get you off to school now," Landon said, glancing at his watch as he picked up her now empty breakfast plate off the table. He placed it in the sink, then went over and pulled out Hope's chair, which she hopped off of.
"Wait, Daddy," she said, looking up at him. "I haven't brushed my smile yet!"
Landon grinned. "Oh, that's right," he said. "Well, Grandma will help you with that. Hurry up!"
Hope nodded and scurried out of the room, calling for Cynthia to help her. The two of them joined hands as they headed off to the bathroom.
Landon shoved his hands in his jeans pockets as he watched them disappear. He looked around the somewhat small kitchen, and then the living room, which was connected to it. The first thing his eyes landed on was his and Jamie's wedding portrait, which sat on the mantle. He stood as if in a daze for a few seconds, just staring at it. Then, slowly, he made his way over to it.
As he came closer, he remembered the day more and more, and all that had happened after it. Their summer together, that perfect summer; then the fall, which he had dreaded, knowing that Jamie's time was running short; yet, when November rolled around and Jamie seemed fine other than feeling more tired than usual, they began to suspect that maybe her leukemia wasn't taking its toll on her just yet. A visit to the doctor confirmed that she had at least a year more, and although being told that she was in remission would have been much more wonderful, they were both overjoyed that they could enjoy even that amount of time in each other's company yet. But after some more tests were run, the doctor had more news for them-they had a baby on the way.
Needles to say, aside from surprising them in a big way, this made both of them nervous; after all, despite the fact that Jamie had another year or so to live, she still had leukemia, and they didn't know how this baby would affect her, and how the sickness would affect the baby. Their doctor reassured them that Jamie would be taken extra special care of during these nine months and not to worry, but neither one of them could help it. Everything went okay as it turned out, even though Jamie had many dizzy spells and was tired a lot, but when month seven was upon them, something broke that streak.
Jamie woke up that morning and immediately had a bad dizzy spell, almost fainting. She said she would be fine, despite Landon's nagging for her to lie down and rest while he ran to the store to pick up some things for breakfast. He was gone for about half an hour, and when he returned, the house was completely silent. Thinking that Jamie might have lay down to take a much-needed nap, he went upstairs to check. She wasn't in their bed, but to his shock, he found her lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. He could feel a pulse, but it seemed light. Panicking, he called the hospital, and the paramedics came to take her away. Landon held her limp hand all the way to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, pleading with her to wake up. Once he thought he felt her give his hand a light squeeze, but he couldn't be sure-he just kept hoping. Once they got there, Jamie was rushed into the emergency room while Landon had to wait out in the hallway. That was miserable. Tears stinging in his eyes, he paced around, rubbing his hands together and running them through his hair constantly. Please, let her be okay, he begged silently.
What seemed like an eternity later, one of the many doctors in the room came out and told Landon that they were doing an emergency C-section. He just bit his lip and stared at the floor and the walls, avoiding looking at the doctor. "Is she okay?" he asked, unable to control his shaking voice. "She's still unconscious, but there's a pulse," the doctor informed him. Then he hurried back in and a nurse came out and touched Landon's arm gently, speaking calmly to him-something about not to worry, they were taking good care of his wife; he barely heard any of it, as then they wheeled Jamie out of the room on the gurney. She lay there still, hooked up to an IV cart as they pushed her down the hallway. He wanted so badly to run up next to her, to touch her face and hold her hand. The nurse guided him to a small waiting room and continued talking gently to him. "She'll be fine," she assured him again.
The nurse soon left him alone, and he paced around the room wildly once more. He couldn't stand this. Mainly, absolutely nothing else was on his mind besides Jamie, and how much he wanted her to be okay. He thought about the baby, too-what would happen with that? Would the baby be okay? He prayed for both of them, but otherwise, paced around and worried. After about 30 minutes or so, a doctor came out. "Mr. Carter?" he said as he spotted him.
Landon walked up to him. "Is Jamie okay?" he asked anxiously. "What happened?"
The doctor smiled. "Your wife is fine," he replied. "She's still asleep, but she's okay."
"Oh, thank God," Landon said, sighing and placing a hand atop his head.
"And," the doctor added, "you have a baby daughter." He smiled broadly.
Landon drew in a breath and smiled. "Oh.wow," he said. "This is.this is so great." Not knowing what else to do, he engulfed the doctor in a huge hug. He felt almost ready to cry. The man laughed and patted him on the back. "Congratulations, son," he said.
"Can I see her?" Landon asked next. "Them?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes," he said. "You can see your daughter first, and in just a little while, you can see your wife. She'll be in recovery soon."
Landon nodded and followed the doctor to the nursery, his heart pounding in his chest. When they arrived, the doctor pointed through the glass window. "There she is," he said. Lying in a plastic bed was a tiny girl, covered in a soft pink blanket. Landon's breath caught in his chest; this child was his. He could hardly believe it.
"Do you want to go in and see her?" the doctor asked. Landon couldn't speak, but from the look on his face, the doctor knew that was a "yes." He led him in, and a nurse came over and gently lifted the tiny little girl from her bed. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked, smiling. Landon just stared. What if I drop her? That was his first thought. But he must have nodded yes, because in the next moment the nurse was placing the baby in his arms. She was pretty light, and so small, but she was beautiful. She had Jamie's eyes.
Landon just stood there, rocking his daughter back and forth and staring down at her in awe. He didn't know how long he did this, but he did know that it must have been at least an hour that he spent there with her. Finally, the doctor came back and tapped him on the shoulder. "Landon, if you'd like, you can go visit your wife now," he said gently.
Landon turned back to the nurse, who smiled and gently took the baby, placing her back in her plastic bed. "We'll take the little one in too," she said, smiling.
Landon nodded and eagerly followed the doctor out of the room and down the hall to Jamie's room. All he wanted right now was to hold her hand and kiss her. When they arrived in the room, she lay in the bed asleep, but when Landon stepped up next to her bed, she stirred. "Hey, baby," he whispered, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead.
"Mmm.Landon?"
"I'm here, sweetheart. And the baby is here, too. Our daughter." Now the nurse and doctor had left, leaving them to spend some time alone-as a family.
"How are you feeling?" Landon asked her. Jamie raised her warm hazel eyes to him and smiled-it never ceased to amaze him that no matter what was going on, Jamie always had this stunning smile that lit her up entirely. "I feel okay," she said softly. "Just a little tired, but nothing out of the ordinary, I suppose." Landon smiled down at her, reached down and gently brushed her bangs away from her forehead. "I love you," he said softly. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the bed, the smile still lingering on her face.
"The baby." After a few seconds, Jamie opened her eyes and looked up at Landon, drawing in a tired breath. "The baby. Let me see her."
Landon smiled. "Of course." He walked over to their little girl and wheeled her over to Jamie's bedside.
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Chapter ONE ***********
It was Monday morning, 7:30 A.M., picture day. Five-year-old Hope Carter sat on the pink rose-print comforter on her bed, as her grandmother, Cynthia Carter, sat behind her on a chair, carefully and skillfully curling her caramel-auburn hair. As each warm, soft lock was released from the hot iron, it bounced down around Hope's face and she smiled, reaching up to feel it. Having curled hair always made her feel special, like a princess.
"Try to hold still, okay, sweetheart?" her grandmother asked calmly. Hope sat up straight and tried to fulfill Cynthia's wish the best she could. "Okay, Grandma," she responded. "That's a good girl," her grandma said, smiling as she wound the last lock of hair carefully around the iron.
"Hey, Hope!" came a voice from the hall. Footsteps drew nearer, and soon Hope's father stood in the doorway. "Hey, Princess," Landon Carter said with a warm smile, eyes on his daughter. "How's it coming?"
"Hi, Daddy," Hope responded. She gave a wide grin and held up a curled tendril of hair. "Grandma's doing my hair pretty. See? Do you like it?"
Cynthia smiled at her 24-year-old son as she released the last bit of hair from the iron. "There," she said. "All done. Just let me go and get some hairspray really quick, and I'll be back in a minute." With that, she unplugged the curling iron, set it on the dresser, and hurried out of the room, patting Landon on the shoulder affectionately on the way. He smiled at her, and then turned back to his daughter once she'd left.
"I love your hair, Hope," he told her. Walking over next to her, he sat down on the bed and hugged her. "So, are you hungry?" he asked. "I can make your favorite thing for breakfast-scrambled eggs with cheese." He grinned.
Hope's hazel eyes lit up. "Okay!" she said. She smiled at her dad, and Landon returned the smile. Just then, Cynthia came back into the room with a bottle of hairspray. "All right, sweetie, let's spray your hair with this so it stays nice and curly all day." Stepping up behind her granddaughter, she sprayed a light mist all over her curls, then waved some of the excess spray away from her face. "There we go," she said. "Come take a look."
Landon watched his grinning daughter hop off the bed and hurry over to the round mirror atop her dresser. When she saw her curls, her smile grew even bigger. "It looks so pretty," she said, reaching up to feel them. She turned around and smiled up at her grandmother, then hugged her. "Thank you, Grandma," she said. Cynthia laughed, patted her back gently, and replied, "You're welcome, honey.''
Landon watched his daughter hugging his mother, and he couldn't help but get maybe just a little teary-eyed. His daughter was always so nice and generous, and grateful for everything. Just like her mother had been. Jamie. Hope reminded him so much of his wife-the expressions she got on her face sometimes, the things she said, her overall personality. He knew exactly why God had sent them a child; Jamie lived on in their daughter even though she had passed on years ago, when Hope was only six months old. So he had never truly lost her, now that he had a constant reminder of her with him always.
Then his thoughts shifted to his mother. He was so thankful for her. Now that Landon was in medical school, she was always at the house to help care for Hope, since he was busy a lot. She was like their nanny. She adored the little girl, and Hope adored her.
"Daddy, can I have breakfast now?" Hope asked politely, breaking into Landon's thoughts. He grinned, picked her up, kissed her on the cheek and replied, "Of course, sweetie." The three of them then headed downstairs together.
***********************************************************
"All right, Hope, I'd better get you off to school now," Landon said, glancing at his watch as he picked up her now empty breakfast plate off the table. He placed it in the sink, then went over and pulled out Hope's chair, which she hopped off of.
"Wait, Daddy," she said, looking up at him. "I haven't brushed my smile yet!"
Landon grinned. "Oh, that's right," he said. "Well, Grandma will help you with that. Hurry up!"
Hope nodded and scurried out of the room, calling for Cynthia to help her. The two of them joined hands as they headed off to the bathroom.
Landon shoved his hands in his jeans pockets as he watched them disappear. He looked around the somewhat small kitchen, and then the living room, which was connected to it. The first thing his eyes landed on was his and Jamie's wedding portrait, which sat on the mantle. He stood as if in a daze for a few seconds, just staring at it. Then, slowly, he made his way over to it.
As he came closer, he remembered the day more and more, and all that had happened after it. Their summer together, that perfect summer; then the fall, which he had dreaded, knowing that Jamie's time was running short; yet, when November rolled around and Jamie seemed fine other than feeling more tired than usual, they began to suspect that maybe her leukemia wasn't taking its toll on her just yet. A visit to the doctor confirmed that she had at least a year more, and although being told that she was in remission would have been much more wonderful, they were both overjoyed that they could enjoy even that amount of time in each other's company yet. But after some more tests were run, the doctor had more news for them-they had a baby on the way.
Needles to say, aside from surprising them in a big way, this made both of them nervous; after all, despite the fact that Jamie had another year or so to live, she still had leukemia, and they didn't know how this baby would affect her, and how the sickness would affect the baby. Their doctor reassured them that Jamie would be taken extra special care of during these nine months and not to worry, but neither one of them could help it. Everything went okay as it turned out, even though Jamie had many dizzy spells and was tired a lot, but when month seven was upon them, something broke that streak.
Jamie woke up that morning and immediately had a bad dizzy spell, almost fainting. She said she would be fine, despite Landon's nagging for her to lie down and rest while he ran to the store to pick up some things for breakfast. He was gone for about half an hour, and when he returned, the house was completely silent. Thinking that Jamie might have lay down to take a much-needed nap, he went upstairs to check. She wasn't in their bed, but to his shock, he found her lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. He could feel a pulse, but it seemed light. Panicking, he called the hospital, and the paramedics came to take her away. Landon held her limp hand all the way to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, pleading with her to wake up. Once he thought he felt her give his hand a light squeeze, but he couldn't be sure-he just kept hoping. Once they got there, Jamie was rushed into the emergency room while Landon had to wait out in the hallway. That was miserable. Tears stinging in his eyes, he paced around, rubbing his hands together and running them through his hair constantly. Please, let her be okay, he begged silently.
What seemed like an eternity later, one of the many doctors in the room came out and told Landon that they were doing an emergency C-section. He just bit his lip and stared at the floor and the walls, avoiding looking at the doctor. "Is she okay?" he asked, unable to control his shaking voice. "She's still unconscious, but there's a pulse," the doctor informed him. Then he hurried back in and a nurse came out and touched Landon's arm gently, speaking calmly to him-something about not to worry, they were taking good care of his wife; he barely heard any of it, as then they wheeled Jamie out of the room on the gurney. She lay there still, hooked up to an IV cart as they pushed her down the hallway. He wanted so badly to run up next to her, to touch her face and hold her hand. The nurse guided him to a small waiting room and continued talking gently to him. "She'll be fine," she assured him again.
The nurse soon left him alone, and he paced around the room wildly once more. He couldn't stand this. Mainly, absolutely nothing else was on his mind besides Jamie, and how much he wanted her to be okay. He thought about the baby, too-what would happen with that? Would the baby be okay? He prayed for both of them, but otherwise, paced around and worried. After about 30 minutes or so, a doctor came out. "Mr. Carter?" he said as he spotted him.
Landon walked up to him. "Is Jamie okay?" he asked anxiously. "What happened?"
The doctor smiled. "Your wife is fine," he replied. "She's still asleep, but she's okay."
"Oh, thank God," Landon said, sighing and placing a hand atop his head.
"And," the doctor added, "you have a baby daughter." He smiled broadly.
Landon drew in a breath and smiled. "Oh.wow," he said. "This is.this is so great." Not knowing what else to do, he engulfed the doctor in a huge hug. He felt almost ready to cry. The man laughed and patted him on the back. "Congratulations, son," he said.
"Can I see her?" Landon asked next. "Them?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes," he said. "You can see your daughter first, and in just a little while, you can see your wife. She'll be in recovery soon."
Landon nodded and followed the doctor to the nursery, his heart pounding in his chest. When they arrived, the doctor pointed through the glass window. "There she is," he said. Lying in a plastic bed was a tiny girl, covered in a soft pink blanket. Landon's breath caught in his chest; this child was his. He could hardly believe it.
"Do you want to go in and see her?" the doctor asked. Landon couldn't speak, but from the look on his face, the doctor knew that was a "yes." He led him in, and a nurse came over and gently lifted the tiny little girl from her bed. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked, smiling. Landon just stared. What if I drop her? That was his first thought. But he must have nodded yes, because in the next moment the nurse was placing the baby in his arms. She was pretty light, and so small, but she was beautiful. She had Jamie's eyes.
Landon just stood there, rocking his daughter back and forth and staring down at her in awe. He didn't know how long he did this, but he did know that it must have been at least an hour that he spent there with her. Finally, the doctor came back and tapped him on the shoulder. "Landon, if you'd like, you can go visit your wife now," he said gently.
Landon turned back to the nurse, who smiled and gently took the baby, placing her back in her plastic bed. "We'll take the little one in too," she said, smiling.
Landon nodded and eagerly followed the doctor out of the room and down the hall to Jamie's room. All he wanted right now was to hold her hand and kiss her. When they arrived in the room, she lay in the bed asleep, but when Landon stepped up next to her bed, she stirred. "Hey, baby," he whispered, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead.
"Mmm.Landon?"
"I'm here, sweetheart. And the baby is here, too. Our daughter." Now the nurse and doctor had left, leaving them to spend some time alone-as a family.
"How are you feeling?" Landon asked her. Jamie raised her warm hazel eyes to him and smiled-it never ceased to amaze him that no matter what was going on, Jamie always had this stunning smile that lit her up entirely. "I feel okay," she said softly. "Just a little tired, but nothing out of the ordinary, I suppose." Landon smiled down at her, reached down and gently brushed her bangs away from her forehead. "I love you," he said softly. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the bed, the smile still lingering on her face.
"The baby." After a few seconds, Jamie opened her eyes and looked up at Landon, drawing in a tired breath. "The baby. Let me see her."
Landon smiled. "Of course." He walked over to their little girl and wheeled her over to Jamie's bedside.
