Shorter chapter - I've been working both a 10 hour day job and 8 hour night job every day for almost a week and I am so tired.
Happy popped her head into the room. "Hey. Are you guys ready?"
Sylvester looked over at Florence, who was nodding in Happy's direction. "Yeah," he said, "we are."
"Okay kids," Happy said. "Don't run."
Ellie didn't run – but she barely contained herself, high stepping over to the opposite side of Florence's bed from Sylvester. Tad was right on her heels, holding Amber's hand to direct her. When they reached Florence's side, he let go of her hand and put his hands on her shoulders.
There had been debate, over the past two days, over how much, if anything, to tell the three Scorpion minors. Paige and Toby had been in favor of shielding them, but Happy and Walter argued that a simplified version of events would be better to ease them into whatever the ultimate outcome was. If Tilly came home, they would need to explain her presence, and if she didn't, Tad, at least, would be old enough to remember that Florence was pregnant and nothing came of it. Once Happy had brought up how upset Tad and Ellie were when Florence was in a coma while Paige was pregnant with Amber, Paige and Toby had agreed that telling them a watered – down version was the best option.
All three children had wanted to see Florence. And two days after arriving at the hospital, her infection was under control and she was beginning to feel better, so it was arranged.
"Do you remember when the others came to visit you?" Sylvester had asked, referring to the visit of the adults the day before.
Florence had shaken her head. "Not really. But I do remember smelling Paige's perfume."
None of the kids were wearing perfume, but Sylvester was confident that she was much more alert today. She would remember this.
"Are you fine?" Amber asked, jumping up and down in an attempt to see. Florence reached out her hand, giving the girl something tangible. "I'm fine, Amber. Don't let the hospital scare you."
"Is your baby fine?" Tad asked. He had morphed from a loud, rowdy child to much more of a quiet and reserved one. Sylvester – and, he knew, Tad's parents – credited the arrival of Amber with the change. Ellie came too quickly after Tad for him to have developed the need to be a role model for her, but he'd been in school already when Amber was born, and as she grew, became mobile, and started learning, he took his role as Older Cousin very seriously.
"Yeah," Sylvester said, giving him what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "The baby is fine, for now. She is very small, though."
"Momma said she was born very early," Tad said. "Is she going to be okay?"
"We hope so. Things look good so far, considering everything."
"What if she's not?" Ellie asked, looking at Florence. "What if she's not good?"
Florence and Sylvester exchanged glances. Happy opened her mouth to say something, but Florence beat her to it. "We are hoping to not have to confront that," she said carefully.
"If she dies, can you have another baby?"
"Ellie Quinn!" Happy snapped. The children shared the same hyphenated name as Happy, Quinn – Curtis, but she shortened it when she was angry. It was the opposite of what parents typically did, but the short, sharp effect worked well on Ellie and Tad. "Apologize to Aunt Florence and Uncle Sylvester for being rude."
Tad gave his sister a hard nudge. "What if someone had asked if your stupid Barney doll was going to die?"
"I just asked if she can have another baby!" Ellie said, looking upset. "Maybe something's wrong with her tummy!"
"Ellie," Florence said, "I can have another baby. Nothing is wrong with my tummy."
"Good," Ellie said, biting her lip.
"Ellie," Happy said again.
The girl looked over at her mom, then dug the heel of her shoe into the linoleum. She turned back to the Tipton – Dodds. "I am sorry."
"Thank you, sweetie," Sylvester said.
Amber was still clinging to Florence's hand. "When can she play?"
"The baby?"
"Yes." Not for a while, Amber," Sylvester said. "She can't even go home for a while."
Amber wrinkled her nose. Florence squeezed her hand. "I'm sure she will love to have you play with her once she's ready."
"Can we see her?" Ellie asked.
"Not y-et," Sylvester said. "She's in a special part of the hospital."
"Why?" Amber asked.
"Because she's so small," Sylvester said.
"I'm small."
"Not that small," Tad said. "You're not a baby."
"You were a baby in a zillion years," Ellie said.
"Okay," Happy said, clapping her hands together. "I think it's time we head out."
Ellie and Amber shouted their goodbyes to Florence and Sylvester and darted toward Happy and the hallway immediately behind her. The mechanic's eyes narrowed. "No running!"
Tad didn't follow. Standing awkwardly beside the bed, he rubbed his foot against a scuff mark, then took another step closer. He looked at the ground, his teeth closed around his lower lip.
"Hey," Florence said, scooting over closer to Sylvester. "Come up here, Taddy."
His eyes lit up. Removing his shoes, he carefully hopped up on the bed and laid on his side, his head on Florence's chest. He remained quiet even as she slid an arm around him. "It's okay, little guy."
"Okay," he said quietly.
Happy stepped back into the doorway, seemingly about to call Tad over, but she stopped short at the scene in front of her. She glanced at Sylvester. He smiled and waved her away.
