Peaceful
Chapter 6
Mike had had to work late, and called and told Christine to not hold supper for him and to go onto bed. When he finally came in at almost midnight; he was surprised to find Hannah sitting on the stairs, waiting on him. She was leaning against the rails, and was asleep. Mike shook her knee and smiled at her.
"Go on to bed, sweetheart. I'm home. I'll find something to eat and will be up soon." Mike said.
"Mom left you a plate in the microwave. Is everything okay? Are you going to have to leave soon?" Hannah asked as she followed him into the kitchen. Mike walked to the microwave, took the foil off the plate and started it.
"Not before the baby gets here. Not before Christmas either." Mike answered. He wasn't even going to promise Hannah that he wouldn't be leaving, but he could promise her Christmas.
"I hope you're here for my birthday too. In February, remember?" Hannah asked.
"Yep, I remember your birthday. And I hope so too." Mike answered. The microwave beeped, but his food wasn't hot enough. "Do you want something to eat?" Mike asked.
"Oh, no. I don't want to be any trouble." Hannah said.
"No trouble. Maybe some cereal?" Mike suggested.
"Sure." Hannah answered with a bright smile. Mike fixed the bowl of cereal and seated Hannah at the kitchen table, where he joined her a moment later with his own plate. "Mom is working on a list of names for the baby. I really like Jacob. Katie likes Hunter." Hannah said.
"Of the two I prefer Jacob." Mike said.
"Lucas' middle name was James wasn't it?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, after your grandfather. Your mom's dad." Mike answered.
"Mom wants his middle name to be Micah. Kind of like your name, but a little different too. What do you think?" Hannah asked.
"I like it." Mike answered simply between bites.
"What's his last name going to be?" Hannah questioned. Mike looked at her in confusion and then realized what she was asking.
"I am going to put my name on his birth certificate. It'll be Slattery." Mike told her.
"Really? That'll make Mom happy. She's really worried that you won't be able to love him…or her anymore." Hannah said with a happy smile.
"Your mom didn't do anything wrong. And neither did either of you girls or the baby for that matter." Mike told her.
"We could have found a way out, I am sure. We were just scared that he would find us and it would be even worse, and if we didn't all get out…it would have been bad for whoever was left." Hannah said.
"Honey; you ladies didn't do anything wrong. Nothing." Mike insisted.
"Neither did you, Daddy." Hannah said before standing up, grabbing her bowl and putting it in the sink. Before she walked back upstairs, she patted his shoulder and was gone before he could say anything else.
Mike couldn't settle his mind, so before he went upstairs; he grabbed a small glass of whiskey and sat in his recliner for a bit. For some reason; Hannah's last comment was getting to him. Maybe that was the crux of everything for him. It wasn't that he blamed Christine or the girls. He absolutely didn't. He blamed himself for not searching harder, for leaving in the first place, and mostly for giving up.
He finished the whiskey, locked up and went upstairs. As his normal; he looked in on his daughters and in on Christine. He actually paused for a moment at her door, focusing on the bassinet in the corner of the room. Mike wondered if he would be able to be in the delivery room with her. While he had never enjoyed those experiences, he had been there for their three kid's births. He would not like knowing she was in pain and he wasn't there to hold her hand. It was something they would have to figure out pretty quickly.
It took Mike a bit longer to fall asleep, and he was thankful that he was off the next day. He could talk to Christine about the 'birthing plan.' He wanted to be there for the magical first moments of the baby's life, as well as be there for Christine. There wasn't a thing he could do to ease her pain, but he felt the need to be there.
