Woody and Jordan had been waiting in Hannah's room for over an hour. She was still in surgery and he grew worried with each passing moment.
"Jordan, I am such a jerk," he said to her finally.
"You're not a jerk Woody. You just let your emotions get the best of you. That's all," she replied.
"All Hannah needed tonight was someone to be with her, to love her. I couldn't even do that. I disappointed her," he said as he let out an exasperated laugh. He remembered the conversation they had barely a day ago, and now that moment seemed like it had taken place ages ago. He had accomplished Hannah's fear. He had disappointed her, he saw it on her face and it had broken his heart. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before the door finally opened and Hannah was wheeled in. Woody stood up and walked over to the doctor that had accompanied her.
"How did things go in there?" he asked worriedly.
"The surgery went fine and she will be okay. She will be sore for a couple of days but that's normal," replied the doctor. The nurses had hooked Hannah up to all the equipment by the time Woody had finished talking to the doctor. She was sleeping and Woody didn't want to wake her, so he and Jordan sat in the chairs by the bed. He was staring at Hannah with teary eyes and Jordan rubbed his back comfortingly.
"She's okay Woody. She's going to be okay," she told him soothingly.
"Jordan," he said looking up at her, "I didn't know I could love somebody this much. It actually hurts."
"She loves you too Woody. It may seem hard to believe right now, but she does," she replied.
"You think she will ever call me 'Dad,'?" he asked.
"Oh, but Woody. She already has," Jordan replied. He looked at her questioningly. "Remember when you asked the nurse how they got a hold of you and she said she found a piece of paper labeled, 'Dad's cell'? She does think of you as dad. She probably just thought that you didn't want her to call you that."
"You think she does?" he asked as he sniffled.
"Absolutely!" she replied. He smiled as he thought about what she had just said.
"It's amazing how a child can change your life," he said, returning to his sad mood.
"I know," she replied.
"I remember she told me once that life is about change. She said sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's beautiful, but most of the time it's both." He said these words as if he had remembered them by heart. "I love her so much." He set his head into his hands. Jordan drew him into a hug and held him. She had never seem him love anybody this much and it hurt her to see him like this.
Woody and Jordan sat silently in the room and watched the television. It had been an hour and a half since Hannah had come out of surgery. Woody had fallen asleep. His head rested on the side of the bed. She had been holding his hand but needed to go to the bathroom. She tried to let go of it but found that he had a good grasp on it.
"Woody," she whispered shaking him. "Woody!" she said a little louder.
"Umm.. What?" he groaned.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she replied.
"Then go," he said looking at her.
"Let go of my hand and I will."
"Oh, sorry," he replied as he let go of it. She quietly left the room and immediately called Garrett. She thought he should know since he had spent a better part of his evening looking for her. Back in the room, Woody couldn't get back to sleep. He stared at Hannah and hoped she would wake soon. He wanted to get the fight over with and figured that there would be one final battle. This had been their first fight and he didn't much care for it. Jordan returned to the room five minutes later.
"I am the bearer of coffee," she said happily.
"Thanks," he replied as he took a cup from her hand.
"What should I say Jordan?" he asked.
"What?" she replied.
"When she wakes up, what should I say?"
"I don't know if you should say anything. I mean, you didn't handle that last confrontation too well," she said. He just smiled. "Come on. Let's go for a walk to clear that head of yours." They got out of the chairs and left the room.
XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX
Garrett arrived at the hospital ten minutes after Jordan had called him. He wanted to make sure Hannah was okay, as well as Woody. As a father himself, he knew how hard it was to see your child hurt. He went to the room Jordan had said she was in. When he got there, he saw the room deserted and Hannah was sitting up. He went in and she was surprised to see him. She had no clue who he was.
"Hi," he said as he entered the room.
"Hello," she replied cautiously. "Who are you?"
"Oh. Sorry. I'm Garrett Macy, Chief ME at the morgue," he said.
"Oh," she said. "I don't know where Woody and Jordan are."
"Okay, but I didn't come here to see them. I came here to see you," he replied.
"You mean you know who I am?" she asked.
"Yeah. Woody told me," he replied.
"He did? I was under the impression he hadn't told anyone except for Jordan," Hannah said.
"No, he told me. In fact, I spent the better part of the evening looking for you. Where were you, by the way?" Garrett asked.
"I prize my greatest ability as being able think in unusual ways," she said.
"Well that's good to know, but that still doesn't answer my question," he replied.
"I was at the harbor," she said softly.
"The one place we didn't think of," he said smiling. She smiled back. "Woody loves you, you know."
"Yeah, I know. I love him too. I was just so angry that he didn't mention me to his friends. I just lost it, so I ran. Whenever I get frustrated, I run," she replied.
"Woody is new at this. He may let you down sometimes, but he tries the best that he can. And that's really all you can ask of him," Garrett said.
"I know," she replied. "But I think love has a way of blinding even the sharpest minds. We don't look because we don't want to see. But in a moment of anger when that love gets stripped away, we see the real person clearly. They're revealed to us, with all their flaws, their foibles, and their secrets."
"I'm listening," he replied interested in the reasoning behind her thoughts.
"I grew up without a father figure. I never had that male influence so I always thought that a father was supposed be this superhero who was always full of surprises, unconditional love, and would never disappointment me. Those were somehow my expectations and Woody let me down. I loved the idea of him, and when he disappointed me, I finally saw that he was not perfect, and now I realize he shouldn't be. Our imperfections only make human," Hannah said.
Garrett was aghast. Never before had he heard a child speak words that were as true as these. "You're very wise for your age," he told her. She smiled at him.
"I think I learned from this whole evening that I need to learn the difference between fantasy and reality. Life is too short to spend looking for something that doesn't exist, nor ever will," she said.
"You're an amazing girl, Hannah. You've realized things it takes adults their whole life to figure out. Woody's lucky to have such a great daughter," Garrett replied.
"Yeah, well. I don't know how great he thinks I am after tonight," she said.
"I think he will," said Garrett. He stood up to leave and went to the door.
"Thanks Garrett," said Hannah.
"Anytime," he said smiling and left the room.
"Hey Garrett!" Jordan said as she and Woody approached the room. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to Hannah. She loves you Woody, more than you think. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," he said. They said their goodbyes to Garrett and then turned to face Hannah's room.
"Go get her tiger!" said Jordan as she left his side to go sit in the waiting room. Woody smiled and opened the door to Hannah's room. He was ready to talk and hopefully she would be to.