March 2nd 2022

Chapter 61
Our Reach Toward Family

"Hey, any word?"

Maya looked up and let out a breath, rising to hug Lucas, who had just arrived. She'd called him to let him know what was going on, just as she'd advised the school, to make sure her classes were seen to for the day. She'd had a good feeling she wouldn't be returning until the following morning when they'd stopped in at the office, and here she was, proven correct. As for Lucas, she hadn't told him to come and meet her, but then naturally he'd done it anyway, and she was very glad to see him and have him here with her for the wait.

"Not yet, no," she told him as they sat down. The reason was likely that the baby had been born, and now the moment was happening, the goodbye… If so, then naturally Nika would need time, and the last thing that would be on anyone's mind would be to let her teacher know. That was the reasonable explanation, which had no bearing on the other side of her mind, the one that feared the idea that something could have gone wrong, or that they might have needed to go in to get Anthony out by c-section… The thought of Nika having to deal with that right now, on top of everything… "Tell me things?" Maya turned to Lucas, eyes spilling with her concerns. He slowly nodded, understanding.

So, he told her about what he'd heard of how their XCs were doing, up at the ranch. He'd been there with them on Friday, and on Monday, and he would be with them again this afternoon, unless something prevented him from tending to his duties as monitor with the green group, but he hadn't gone in for more than his rounds over the weekend and there'd been no after-school session the day before, so he hadn't run into them by the time he left Sullivan Stables to go pick up Marianne and head home. Aliana and Patrick on the other hand, as the entire purpose of their coming to Austin was to be at the ranch, were spending a good chunk of their weekends and every single weekday's afternoon up there.

Already in just a few days they had shown themselves to be wonderful additions to the Sullivan Stables family. Sure, they would only be here for the next few months, but as far as Lucas, and Juliet, and the rest of the team were concerned, they'd be as good as part of them from here on out. If they ever returned, in any capacity, they would be greeted with open arms.

Aliana continued to be a natural. That was always the word that came to mind when they saw her out there with the horses, and how could it not. It was a quality that many of them displayed, as part of the core Sullivan Stables staff, one that came hand in hand with the job they had and the atmosphere they nurtured in the place, and even then, sometimes it felt as though the girl had them all beat. They only had to look at the way the horses responded to her presence, like here was their oldest friend. In return, the teenager always looked so happy to be there, at the ranch, that they foresaw a great sadness for the day when she'd have to head along back home, leaving it all behind.

Patrick was finally getting to show how he belonged here. After his slightly dazed arrival, post flight, he'd bounced back over the past few days and now he was really finding his rhythm. Being at the ranch reminded him of his childhood, when his family had had a horse, on their old farm before they'd moved to Pittsburgh. They had truly been the best years of his young life thus far, but after they'd left it behind and started their new life, those old times had slowly but surely been pushed to the back of his mind, until they'd just gone and gotten lost under layers of dust and cobwebs, the new hiding away the old. Now though, between being at the ranch every day and living with the Davis family, he was remembering more and more of it… and the memories were everything to him. It wasn't as though he was unhappy in Pittsburgh, with his parents and his younger siblings, but he had definitely been happier on the farm, with his old horse. He'd just been old enough that he was able to be lifted up on his back and led around by the time they'd moved, and he remembered it as some of the best times. Even without riding, he remembered being around the horse, tending to him and just generally spending time with him, until his parents would joke that they never needed a sitter while they had old Clancy.

Now, while Aliana was getting to show her great ease riding along with Blanca, Patrick had not yet been on horseback, though this was not a problem by any means. Just as Aliana had bonded with Blanca, Patrick had been doing the same with Polka. He knew her story, before coming to the ranch, and that more than anything was making it so that he was taking the time to let the horse know him and trust him before he ever attempted to take her for a ride. As Lucas relayed to Maya now, sitting in the waiting room, the pair was continuing its journey into friendship. On the previous afternoon, according to Juliet, Patrick had apparently stated that he wanted to give it until the coming Saturday to try for his first ride, looking to the next few days as the lead-up, making sure that Polka would be good to go… and so would he.

"So, things are going well," Maya smiled, and Lucas smiled back with a nod. "That's great," she told him, just as he looked past her and then tapped her arm. She turned her head and looked. Walking slowly up the hallway toward them, with the pace of one primarily focused on what she held, came Madeline Miller, with a bundle in her arms. Maya and Lucas stood up to meet her. "Hey…" Maya greeted her, feeling a rise of emotion just for seeing the two of them. The new mother was just that… she was a mother now, and oh how she loved her little boy… "Did everything go okay, I didn't…"

"Everything went perfectly," Madeline promised, the streaks of recurring tears on her face now secured as being happy ones. "Nika wanted me to introduce you to this guy, and so did I," she explained, as she turned enough for them to see the newborn's face. "Here's Anthony," she smiled, a catch in her voice at saying her son's name now that she was holding him. Oh, he was still brand new, and his features would need a little time to settle, but even so, and maybe because they'd had Tori in their lives since she was a baby… The family resemblance was clear to see, and it left neither of the toddler's grandparents indifferent. Here was her cousin, even if she would not know him. Maybe one day, when they were grown, if he should come looking…

They both got to hold him briefly, as Madeline filled them in with what she could. The delivery itself had been about as uncomplicated as any mother could hope for. Nika had not suffered long before one last push had delivered the boy into the world, and they'd heard his cries. At first, she'd gone into the room telling herself that she only wanted Madeline to be there at the time, because she wasn't sure about having her brother right there when she gave birth, but the closer they'd gotten, with everything she'd been feeling, all she wanted was Theo by her side, and so he was called in. He'd been just outside the room the whole time, but he was brought in, and he held his little sister's hand, giving her that last boost of reassurance she'd so needed, and then the baby had come.

They'd all been aware of what had to come, after Anthony arrived, and he was tended to, all of them in that room, so as soon as they could, everyone cleared out except for the two Petrelis… and the two Millers. Madeline could hardly describe the scene in extreme detail, mostly for Nika's sake, though as she told Maya and Lucas, she'd first wanted her brother to get to hold the baby, so he had, and then, when she'd been ready, he'd been the one to put him into her arms. She'd held him for maybe fifteen minutes before allowing Madeline to take him again, after which she'd left the room with him. She'd hated having to go like this, as she felt nothing but love and compassion for the young girl and what she was going through, but right now… Right now, she had to look after her son, and she had to let Nika deal with this next part, back there, with her brother by her side.

It was about an hour later by the time Theo came looking for them, saying that Nika was ready to see them and had asked for Maya specifically. Lucas let her go on ahead while he went to pick them up something to eat.

The brief minute or so when Theo left to go and bring Maya to the room was the first one that Nika spent all on her own since they'd left for the hospital, the first since she'd had the baby and seen him taken away. Theo would stay in the hall as Maya went in and, when she did, she found roughly what she'd expected to find. Sitting propped up in her bed, Nika looked as though her mind was many, many miles away, like she'd completely left her body. What brought her back was the quiet break in the silence, as Maya walked in, and she slowly turned her head to find her there.

"Hi," she spoke. Maya approached her bedside, carefully sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Hey," she smiled at her. Nika had no words, couldn't think of what to say just yet, so she just reached over, took her hand in her own and gave it a light squeeze. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Tired, mostly," Nika replied after a few seconds, and Maya nodded. She was just processing it all now, and she didn't know what to say, but she wanted her here, so Maya was here. "Is, uh… School… Do they…" she asked, sounding very much like she was bringing up what pieces of her overwhelmed mind she could get hold of.

"Don't worry about that for today, okay? It's taken care of," Maya promised.

"O-okay…" Nika nodded. The way she squeezed Maya's hand now, it felt as though… even if she couldn't sort out into words what she was feeling, a part of her needed to express itself. She squeezed the hand that had taken hers and it let her teacher know that she was in pain, not nearly as much in a physical way as every other way she could hurt, until the aftermath of her actual delivery was barely registering. It was saying that while she was barely making a noise, on the inside, something needed to come out, and it wasn't being allowed passage. But it needed to go, it had to.

Maya shifted her position, until she sat parallel with the girl. She encouraged her to take a rest, and for a minute or two, they just sat there, Maya holding Nika's hand again, while the girl's head was pulled like a magnet to the offered shoulder. Neither of them said or did anything, seconds passing by in near silence only broken by the sounds of the hospital beyond the room. All it took was one low sob to escape, and after that it was just… the downpour, growing steadier, and steadier, until she outright broke. And she was held, given the steady tether to the world she needed as the feelings rushed from her.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners