September 15th 2022
Chapter 258
Our Gift For Unity
After
It was the first time he wandered this far from the room since the baby was born. The furthest he'd gone up to that point was the nurses' station, but now things had changed. Now, Maya was awake, now, things were getting better, she was getting better. He still felt strange about moving away from her and the baby, but she'd wanted him to do something, and he would do it… gladly. He had no idea what to expect, who he would find, but he was going to find them. He was going to make their day so, so much better.
When he reached the waiting room, he found more or less who he'd expected to find. His parents were there, as were his grandparents. Her parents were there, Katy, Shawn, Abigail, James… Her grandparents would have been there, too, but they were at home right now, looking after the little Friar girls. Ella was there, asleep with her head at Taylor's shoulder. Lucas didn't even know that he'd flown back, but at the same time it felt like a thing he'd do. Cara was there, on her own. Lucas knew the Arroyos had flown in yesterday, he'd seen her. Mateo would be at his mother's house with Felix, as it would be better for him not to be in a hospital for who knew how long, everyone in such an odd mood… Cara was in a bit of a mass huddle between Eliza and Emma, holding Maisie in her lap. Sam and Teddy were playing cards, half-heartedly. Nellie Hunter was lying across a couple of seats, her head in her twin's lap as Gracie brushed at her hair. MJ was pacing, and Haley was bent over a notebook, drawing something. Riley and Dylan were there, and Zay and Nadine, Farkle and Isadora… Sophie, Chiara, and Asher were there, looking like they'd just arrived. From what he could hear, Ray had elected himself to stay home with the kids.
"Lucas," MJ was the one to spot him, as he'd turned on his heel, and in a flash, they were all looking at him, several of them rising from their seats. He could sense them all looking at him as though they were all of them lined up on the edge of a cliff, and his next words would either pull them to safety… or send them plunging. In case they couldn't see it plainly on his face…
"She's awake," he revealed, and every last one of them was saved from the edge. They cried, they breathed… Oh, how they breathed, like they hadn't done so properly for longer than felt safe. And he should know.
"Can we see her?" Maisie asked.
"Yes, of course you…" Lucas started to say, and at once Nellie ran from the waiting area.
Not all of them went after her, knowing better than to crowd in too quickly, but Lucas went, and all six of the grandparents, and Ella. When they reached the room, they saw for themselves that Maya was awake. Just now, even as she had the baby in one arm, the other was around her little sister, as Nellie half stood and half lay by her side, holding on to her, too, her shoulders quaking as she cried. Maya's eyes looked over her sister's shoulder, found the group there and held up three fingers without letting go of Nellie, a silent 'hello.' She was here. All was well.
X
Before
Lucas was not the one to tell them what was going on. He couldn't… He couldn't leave her for that long, her or the baby. But they had to be told, they had to know… So, the Hunters had seen to it. He didn't want Marianne to be there, to hear all of it, and they agreed on that. Katy had volunteered herself to go scoop up the six-year-old and take her to the gift shop, or the cafeteria, somewhere that wasn't the waiting room, while Shawn would go in and relay the situation. Lucas didn't envy him the task. The thought of seeing all their distress take shape, already nourished, he was sure, by what they had seen… and not seen…
The first to come around were his parents, specifically his mother, who came sweeping into the room several seconds ahead of his father, suggesting she'd been speeding her way along ahead of him. Her eyes went to Maya on the bed, the only movement in her being the rise and fall of her chest with each breath, and then to her son, holding his new daughter.
"Oh, my sweet Luke…" she came forward, hugging him from the side, laying a gentle hand at the baby girl. "Hello, dear heart…"
"Aubrey…" Lucas softly told her. It didn't feel like it made much sense to hold on to it like a surprise just now.
"Aubrey," Melinda repeated, understanding. He might have handed her over just now, would have made sense, but… He couldn't let her go just yet. His mother understood this as well.
Lucas could see his father when he came in. He stopped by the bed, and the way he looked upon Maya… For years, even before the two of them had been a couple, even when they'd only been friends, his father had looked upon her like a daughter, like some part of him knew what she was destined to become. And just now his daughter was lying in a hospital bed, her fate unknown. Very rarely had Lucas seen his father rattled, but this was one such time. It broke him as much as it comforted him.
Ella came soon after this, and he'd later learn that she'd called Taylor after hearing the news. Lucas understood this need. She was distressed over her mother, and she needed the brief comfort of hearing her boyfriend's voice. She was not a little girl, had not been one even when she'd come to them, but she looked like one now to him as she approached, and she saw Maya. It made him think of her little sisters again, made him think of ever having to tell them about any of this, in some way that they would comprehend. I barely comprehend it myself…
When she turned to him, Lucas moved forward, stretching out one arm that his eldest might fold herself against his shoulder and be embraced, even as his youngest rested sleeping in the other arm. There was hardly anything for them to say or do except to take comfort from one another, and so they did. Ella met her new sister, and in all the fear and uncertainty, she was a bright spot. Nothing of this day would rob that from them.
Then Nellie came. Gracie was right behind her, as was MJ, leading Haley by the hand, but all Lucas could see at first was Nellie, the fear in her eyes… It took very little time or effort to piece together where her head was at, as she looked upon her sister. It was still not so long ago that she'd been in this same hospital, worrying her days away over Bobby Davis, and now here she was again, on what should have been a great, happy day, like something of a sponge to wash everything clean. Instead, she was faced with the possibility that she might lose her big sister. It was too much. She couldn't stand it. She came, and she grasped Maya's hand with both of hers… She almost looked like she was praying. She was definitely trying not to cry; she was failing in that, and her siblings were soon tight around her, doing the same thing.
That was what a lot of that first hour of visitors was like. People were coming along in shock, at a loss for words, overwhelmed at the sight of Maya and at the notion that they could lose her. Sam came, so recently delighting them with the news of this new baby he and Dora were having. Today, he looked upon his sister in such dismay… He was the first person other than hospital employees and Lucas to hold Aubrey. Lucas hadn't known he would be, not until he heard himself ask his brother-in-law if he wanted to. Naturally, he did.
After that, it was impossible not to let the others get their turn. Lucas wouldn't have held them back either. Aubrey deserved to be held by her family, by the people who'd loved her long before she'd come into the world. And her arrival had been so far from what they'd imagined it would be that… letting her be held was about more than common sense. It felt vital. She needed to feel all that love around her.
Riley came, Dylan right behind. She went and sat by Maya's bedside, held her hand, quietly spoke to her about nothing and everything for something like an hour if not more. Dylan held Aubrey, and though anyone could see he was concerned for Maya, his primary concern when he held the baby was to make her happy. If she grew up to have great appreciation for her Uncle Dylan – more so than the usual – they would all look back to this moment right here, always.
Eliza, Emma, and Teddy all arrived together, looking like they had only just arrived to the hospital and been immediately struck down with the blow of the news. They stepped into the room like they had yet to allow their feet to regain solid ground. Lucas knew just how this felt.
As some of the visitors cleared out, one arrived, and it made Lucas feel a strange, fleeting sort of feeling. Juliet… He saw her, and he thought of a moment they had been looking forward to, Maya and him, about whether he should wait or just tell her now. She was supposed to find out when she met the baby, and now here she was, and here was the baby… In his heart, he felt that Maya would want him to go ahead and say it, and he hoped she'd be able to tell him he'd been right.
"Would you look at this little angel…" she smiled when she saw her, held in the crook of Lucas' arm. He motioned for her to come and sit with him, so she did, and he passed her the baby. Maya had told him how any kid should be so lucky as to call this woman their grandmother, and just now he saw it very well. He felt emboldened by the notion.
"We wanted to tell you together, when you met her," he started to explain. Juliet looked at him, then at Maya in her bed, and she may not have known where this was going, but she looked a bit more solemn all at once. Tell me what? her eyes asked. "We've named her… Aubrey Juliet Friar," he tipped his head to her, his boss, his partner, his grandmother's great friend. He watched the realization of this small tribute spread over her face, her smile, glittering eyes… She was speechless, but when she spoke again, it was with a new determination. When Maya woke up, when, not if, she would get to tell her how much it meant to her, as she told it to him now.
In time, the visitors became more sporadic, and they came fewer at a time. It occurred to Lucas that the family had decided amongst themselves that it would be better this way, to grant them all some peace and quiet. For some of them, what also became very important – as it should – was what to do about the Friar girls. It was decided, with Lucas' blessing, that the little ones would be staying at the Hunter Hart house for the time being. The four up at Sanderson Farm would be collected and brought there along with Marianne. Before she could go, he knew… he would have to talk to her, as difficult as it sounded. He needed to see her.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
