Chapter 11 - Here

The test results had come back later that night and it was revealed that there were no signs of deterioration in either the left or right hemisphere. That didn't really mean too much to Bright, even after Harold explained some of it to him. Concensus was reached that they would wait to see what happened when Hannah woke up. The doctor explained that the reason she didn't mention the baby could be very simple in the fact that she was completely overwhelmed. Bright hoped that it was a simple explanation. He didn't deal well in complicated situations.

The next morning, after getting somewhat unneccesary sleep, Hannah begged the doctors to let Bright take her to see the baby. That simple explanation explained a lot. Relief spread through everyone's minds. They had all worried about something that soon made itself irrelevant.

Bright helped her into a wheelchair and took her down the hall. As they entered the room, Hannah tried to spother daughter, but most of them were barely visable from the sitting position. Bright wheeled her over to the correct baby and then pulled up a chair beside her.

"She's so small."

"Believe me, she's grown a lot."

"Tell me more about her." Hannah said lovingly, with her eyes still fixed on the baby.

Bright began to remember all the little things about her. He remembered watching her sleep or feeding her when the nurses let him. "She doesn't really cry a lot. Well, at least when I'm around. And she eats all the time. Oh, I should warn you though, you don't want to be around when she burps.They smell like a mixture of peanut butter and bean burrito, which is weird 'cause all she drinks is formula."

Hannnah laughed.

"Look! She's smiling!" Hannah noticed and pointed out.

"No, that's her 'constipated' look. You can tell the difference by the way sh-" Bright begin to explain with absolutely no subtlety.

"You never left her side, did you?" Hannah interupted, slightly laughing at his humor and amazed by Bright's commitment to their daughter. He knew every move and expression she made.

"She was the only thing that kept me from seriously going crazy." Hannah listened quietly. "When they said you'd probably never wake up, or if you did that you'd never be the same...I felt like I was drowning. I was being pulled down by this, like, REALLY heavy anchor, ya' know."

Hannah had never heard such intensity coming from him like this before. "Then this little girl gave me the biggest smile - which reminded me of you, and she pulled me up. She kept me from losing it."

Hannah wanted almost to cry. This is the kind of stuff that pulled at her heart strings - the stuff Bright usually did.
She wove her arm through Bright's. She leaned as close as she could get and rested her head on his shoulder.

This was what she came back for. Her family. Her husband and her daughter - who, now that she realized it, didn't currently own any name.

"Annie or Isabelle?" Hannah asked, breaking the silence.

It was easy for Bright to answer that. Besides a middle name, those were the only names they both agreed would make the "Name Ballot" and lately Bright had had a lot of time to think about which he liked better.

"Annie's too plain. My vote's for Isabelle."

"Isabelle Rose." Hannah quietly spoke.

Bright detached from Hannah and got up. Curiosity took hold of Hannah and she turned her head to see what exactly he was going to do. He began rummaging around looking for a pen or marker. Aftre looking in a coffee mug that had an ad of some new drug on it, he found a black permanant marker. He went over to the information tag taped to the incubator and wrote 'Isabelle Rose Abbott' over the previous words 'Girl Abbott'. Hannah smiled.

This was exactly what she came back for.

Sorry for such a LONG wait. I partly waited because I wanted more reviews of that chapter(but I've learned to take whatI get)and partly because of loads of homework. An apology is also due on behalf of this slightly, somewhat short chapter. R&R (you know the drill)