Chapter 3: A Father's Heart

The hospital was completely surrounded by police and S.W.A.T teams from the state department, the flashing of lights could still be seen outside the windows; the sirens had stopped over the last few minutes and the hospital had fallen quiet. Nathan could feel his heart pounding with adrenaline, his right hand tight on the rifle and his free arm was around his terrified daughter. He hushed the child gently, trying to calm her "Sweetie, sweetie your okay"; keeping his voice low so the gang members wouldn't hear him. Nathan's friend had taken a head count and kneeled down beside them, "There is about eight of those boys, not to mention ones that may be down the hall from them". Nathan wanted nothing more but to get into the room with his wife to ensure she was safe but with the kings blocking the door, that wasn't an option; something came to mind, he looked over at his friend "They are here looking for a Saint, You have any idea why they would want a Saint?" The man shook his head, "Didn't the Saint's just show up on radar a month ago?" looking around the corner "I though it took time to grab members". Belle was shaking as she listened to them talk, Nathan noticed and looked over with sad eyes; feeling as she pulled gently on his arm "Daddy, why do those people want to hurt you?" He couldn't tell Belle they were there to kill someone or tell her to fear those people, Nathan rubbed his neck as he thought; that's when he came up with an idea, smiling gently "You know that game you play with your friends at school, the one with the bad guy and the king?" Belle gave a short nod. "Well this is a grown up game, but there is only one turn. I win, I keep playing" he paused "I lose…. ". Belle puffed up her cheeks some and shook her head, "Daddy you can't lose…." She said quietly "My daddy does not lose" giving her father a small pout. Nathan's friend kneeled beside Belle, patting Nathan's shoulder "He won't, but he needs your help okay?" The look of surprise was visible in her eyes as she squatted down too, "He does?" "Yeah" he paused, he could feel Nathan glaring at him "I need you to get into the air vents, like in your favorite show and keep this safe. You got that?" Belle nodded nervously, taking an empty canister in her hand. "But don't drop it and don't make any nose" he placed a finger over his lip, which she mimicked. They stepped over to partially open vent near the floor and quietly unscrewed the lid; Belle then crawled inside and they replaced the vent.

Nathan kneeled down close to the vent and sighed, whispering to his daughter "we will be back, but don't come out until we do sweetie". He could hear a faint 'okay daddy' as he stood up and looked back at his friend, "You are so lucky you had a plan to keep her out of sight". The man shrugged, "Takes care of one issue, now uh... " he motioned behind Nathan "What do we do about them?" Slowly Nathan turned his head to look behind him; Julius, the current leader of the saints and ex-member of the king stood with four other people. "Julius Little, Leader of the 3rd Street Saints. You better tell me you're here visiting". Not fazed by Nathan's threatening voice Julius tilted his head slightly in surprise, "I'm going to guess by you disposition that was your baby girl". Nathan and his friend got mad when Julius mentioned Belle, "If you so much as try to….." Julius raised his hand "I have no intention to hurt your family, one of my girls is currently helping your wife and keeping those motherfuckers out of that room". Nathan only gritted his teeth; he didn't want them near his expectant wife. "Look Armstrong, I have no desire to make a deal, just a compromise" Julius said grimly "You help us, we help you; Simple as that". Nathan grumbled to himself, thinking this agreement would be like shooting himself in the foot; but he nodded slightly looking back at his friend who looked about as irritated as he did. Nathan could tell the other members didn't like it either but being loyal, they followed without question. The youngest of the group was a young man named Johnny Gat, sarcastic and gun happy but still a loyal member of the Saints; he stepped forward and looked up at Nathan through a pair of shades and walked past him. Johnny walked straight around the corner and shot off a few round hitting two and the others took aim, forcing Johnny to tuck back around the opposite corner, waving to the others to go. The Saints had already taken off around another corner as Johnny had shot off a few shots but the signal was more for Nathan and his friend.

More Vice Kings came to the party to attack Gat as the others came around the opposite way and took out the remaining Kings in the hallway, Nathan did a quick sweep as well and it seemed safe; a scream came from behind him and it sounded like Kate. Nathan's heart felt like it was in his throat, the fear of a King harming his beloved was something he couldn't handle as he ran back to Kate's room. Just as he rounded the corner again he saw two Kings being thrown from her room and more scuffling in the room as he came through the door; Johnny had gotten into a hands on fight with three members from the kings when one knocked in Kate's door, the last one Nathan grabbed by the collar and cuffed as he slammed him into the door frame. After reading the man his rights, Nathan asked his friend to walk him out before he turned to Johnny who was covered in blood and bruises. A small cry came from the other side of the room and Nathan noticed Johnny kneeled beside Kate on the floor. Johnny suddenly shot up to stand and ran down the hall; calling for a doctor as Nathan sat down beside his wife. Kate was clutching onto two small bundles, the cry was coming from one but the other was silent; he could see Kate was in distress and sat closer, taking the fussing child as Kate tried desperately to wake the other to no avail. Kate was checking the pulse and breathing but the child wasn't crying or moving. Nathan watched on with a heavy heart, not noticing he was barely breathing himself until the second child in his arms cried louder; gaining his attention again. "Kate, Is she ok?" Kate didn't look at Nathan but kept trying to wake the child, her voice was low as though she was talking to herself; "She's not waking up, she isn't responding to anything I do" her voice sounded like she was crying. Just as Nathan leaned over some to look at the child a woman doctor ran in and scooped up the child, then two nurses helped Kate up and took both away. Nathan moved alongside the wheelchair with Kate as the Doctor disappeared behind another door; both parents cuddled the one child they had and worried of what was to become of the other.

The second child that Nathan held for Kate was soon given the clear bill of health from the NICU nurses and named Jennifer Armstrong; only at five pounds and two ounces Jen was quite small but very lively. No news has come yet of the first born child that was taken away, leaving Nathan in worry. Kate was playing a little with Jen after feeding and noticed she had bright blue eyes just like her older sister, "Seems to me neither, your eyes or mine hit the mark Nate" she then looked over, her expression saddens watching Nathan look out the door; "The doctor still isn't coming?" Nathan then finally looked back with a forced smile, "They might be just signing papers in there and forgot about us" he said reassuringly as he sat down to look at his baby daughter. Justas he sat down a nurse walks in causing both parents to jump; "How is she?" both said in unison. The nurse looked at her notes and her eyes lower some, refusing to look at them "She's alive" she paused looking up "but she is in a coma". Kate instantly broke down and started crying heavily, clutching onto Nathan as he held onto her and their other daughter. Nathan was in shock, blankly looking at the window then back to the nurse "How is she in a Coma?" he asked unknowing what he was saying. "We don't know, but we have put her on life support and she is stabilized. Strangely all tests came back normal and we have no idea what brought it on" the nurse sighed gently, adjusting her glasses. Nathan glanced over at Belle who was asleep on the couch with his friend propped up against the wall and back at the nurse "Did she get hit during the shootout?" The nurse shook her head, lowering her gaze again "I'm sorry Mr. Armstrong, but we are trying all we can". The nurse then excused herself from the room and Nathan's friend opened his eyes, looking about as upset as they were; "I'm sorry man" he said sadly, the covering Belle more with Nathan's jacket. He only shook his head, trying to think "It's not your fault" Nathan sighed "God forbid if the Saints didn't step in, we all would be dead"; Nathan never thought he would ever hear those words leave his mouth but he couldn't lie.

Kate was exhausted from all the stress and finally fell asleep, leaving Jen in the cradle given by the hospital. Nathan stood up and looked at his friend for a moment "Can you keep watch?" he motioned at the door "I need to…" His friend nodded, "I know…" he smiled "You need to see her. Go ahead". Without further instruction Nathan quietly left the room and walked down to the NICU. The halls were quiet now, deadly quiet but with some whispers and machines as personnel were walking the halls cleaning up. On the way down Nathan saw Johnny and Julius standing at the nurses desk; Nathan put away his pride and walked over to Julius, tapping his shoulder "I never got to thank you for saving my family". Julius looked back at Nathan, "It was Johnny who saved them, not me" he looked at Johnny "but we also overheard about your little girl, I'm so sorry". Nathan looked upset but held a firm look, "With time she will be alright, all we can do is hope now" he sighed. Johnny's eyes had not left the glass wall separating them from the NICU, but when Nathan walked over he glanced over slightly "She's really little" he chuckled "and don't worry about it, I was just there to kill some Kings. As for your baby..." he paused "I hope she's okay". Julius and Johnny left on that note as Nathan stood looking at the small child in the incubator; several needles and tubes running from her body. Nathan couldn't help but blame himself, biting his lip as he apologized over and over in his head. He could feel tears fall from his eyes, shutting them back with his eyelids every few seconds. The nurses and doctors inside had not noticed him for some time but a mother who was visiting her own child spoke to the doctor and motioned at him; The staff smiled some and the nurse attending came out with a gown and mask, "Would you like to talk to her?" The woman sounded kind as she handed the gowns to him "It might help". Nathan quickly put the gown on with gloves and a mask, walking in after the nurse and sat in a chair beside his unconscious daughter. Looking at her this close for the first time, Nathan smiled softly as he looked at her features; she looked something like her mom but had his nose. He also read the paperwork on her tank saying she was a bit less than five pounds, this impressed him slightly that she was so much smaller than her sister. From what Nathan could tell is that she had slightly darker hair than her twin did as well, this raised a few questions on how she would look when she got older.

Nathan spent hours in the NICU with the little girl, not realizing how much he was talking. The nurse finally came over to him after a while and kneeled beside him smiling, "Did you think of a name?" Strangely he hadn't, he looked over "I need to talk it over with my wife about that one"; with a nod the nurse then departed. He then heard a knocking on the window and saw Belle standing there with his friend, both waving him to come out. Belle was still very tired as she stumbled over into her father wanting to be picked up, "How is my baby sister?" she yawned sleepily. "She's just sleeping sweetie" he sighed, picking Belle up into his arms; "You can see her over there" he pointed through the glass to show Belle as she squealed excitedly "She is tiny daddy". Belle was excited to see her little sister and decided to stand on her own and watch as the nurses tended to her. His friend leaned closer, whispering lightly "How is the little pixie?" causing Nathan to chuckle some, "She is unconscious like they said, I was told she has a low expectancy to live". The smile on Nathan's face confused his friend, raising a brow as he looked over "And your happy why?" Nathan grinned, looking at the child in the incubator "Because those doctors don't know her like I do". Nathan turned to Belle and nudged her side playfully, "Ready to go back to Mommy and see if she is awake?" Belle smiled big and took her father's hand as they walked back down to the room; Nathan before leaving glanced back over his shoulder, thinking to himself "My daughter, you are a fighter. I'll be here to get you when you want to wake up". He then looked down at his daughter Belle as she started singing to him, happy that she had seen her little sister finally and now could not wait to have them home.

A couple days and Kate was allowed to finally go home, with restrictions none the less. The doctor insisted she spend most of her time tending to the rapidly growing child and let her husband take care of everything else for the next few weeks; But Kate refused to listen and left the visitation to the hospital to Nathan, since he was out of the house the most. Nathan and Kate had agreed on a name for the one child still in the NICU; but didn't wish to announce the name until she woke up. The next two weeks were tiring for Nathan but he still visited every evening after work for an hour or two counting on traffic; sitting by her bedside talking to her. Nathan never lost hope for his child to get better but the staff at the hospital started to think it was hopeless as time dragged on and her condition had not changed. One evening When Nathan came in the doctor stopped him at the door to pull him aside, "Mr. Armstrong it's been two weeks now" she paused lightly "I think it's about time for us to discuss about pulling her off the machines". Nathan seemed slightly confused, "Has she shown signs of waking up at all?" The grim look in the woman's eyes made Nathan's stomach turn, "Mr. Armstrong, we have done everything to our ability to wake her, but its time to think of her and what she would want". Nathan felt a weight being placed on his chest, placing his fist against his chin thinking. A Nurse led him back into the NICU and stood beside the sleeping child; with a heavy heart, Nathan then signed the papers to take his daughter off the supports and she remained stable. The nurse quietly opened the container and picked up the sleeping child; "Would you like to hold her?" She asked, glancing over at Nathan. Without saying a word he gathered the small child in his arms and kissed her forehead, praying she would wake up. The doctor watched with saddened eyes, "Mr. Armstrong, We are so sorry" her voice shaking tenderly in remorse for the morning father. Nathan couldn't help but feel they were wrong and rocked her softly, playing with her small hands; He gently whispered to the child as if a plea of forgiveness, 'Come on Laurisa" he sighed "You're not going to let daddy down, are you?" A small pause and Nathan could feel tears in his eyes, closing them tight to hold them back as he finally gave in. The small shaking from her fathers cries and the wet tear cause Laurisa to stir, opening her eyes to see her father and grasp his pinky. Nathan looks back into her small pair of aqua colored eyes and starts crying tears of joy, holding her ever closer to his chest. The staffs looks on in disbelief, all gaping at the small baby as she played happy with her father's fingers. Over the next few hours the doctors ran tests and scans to see what had happened; Like Nathan had told them,' they would find nothing' and came up empty handed. The doctors then gave her a clean bill of health and discharged her that night; Nathan could finally bring her home.

Kate had been looking out the kitchen window for the headlights of Nathan's truck that evening, watching each vehicle as they whizzed by the apartment. With each hour that passed after nine she worried more and more, he never was this late. Belle fell asleep on the couch beside Jen's rocker accidently while tending to her worn out baby sister. Traffic was not as heavy the last few days; but Kate still worried after the shootout at the hospital. Two familiar headlights finally pulled up and Kate rushed out the door, hoping nothing had happened. She immediately ran to her husband in tears from worry, "Why are you home so late?" she cried, trembling lightly as Nathan pulled her in close. Nathan hushed his upset wife and nuzzled her neck affectionately, "I'm sorry babe, I know I'm late" he whispered "but I have something in the car that will make up for it". Kate watched as Nathan went around the truck and opened the back door and unbuckling Laurisa from the car seat, he gently picked her up and closed the door to show his wife. Kate suddenly started crying, holding her arms out to receive Laurisa as Nathan handed her over; "My…. Baby…" She struggled to say before breaking down again, holding her daughter close. Nathan helped Kate back inside, trying not to cry himself as Belle woke from her sleep; rubbing her eyes "Daddy, your home?" she yawned. "Yes and I brought someone with me this time. Like I promised" motioning back at Kate holding Laurisa. Belle quietly walked over and watched them, the smile on her face getting bigger. Laurisa was not used to the attention but thrived in it, looking at her mother and sister with big eyes and smile. "She has your eyes" Kate laughed, kissing Laurisa's forehead and cheeks; She was just happy to have their second daughter home. Nathan watched his family for a small bit and heard Jen fuss, hearing all the commotion and flailed her feet as hard as she could. Seeing her awake, Nathan picked her up and returned sitting on the couch with Kate. They could see the difference in the girls but also similarities, the facial features from Kate were obvious; the smiles were the same but eyes were different and hair. Jen looked more like Kates mother with the light blonde hair and blues eyes and Laurisa looked a lot like Kate with some of Nathan's features; but both had his ears. "You finally have your twin" Kate joked, wiping away tears "Which name did you give her? Laurie or Lisa?" Nathan gave a sheepish smile, rubbing his neck as he stood up again. Kate shot a piercing look at him, which Nathan could feel even looking away; "What did you name her Nathan J. Armstrong?" adding some anger to her tone. He glanced over at his wife hearing Belle giggle, giving a nervous chuckle "I uh…. Ha. I named Her Laurisa".

Kate gave her husband a blank stare as she thought about it. Nathan was not sure she was mad or just irritated, but then he saw her smile; glancing down at the child happily, "Why your daddy do that" she giggled. Belle quietly sat on the couch beside her mother and played with Laurisa, giggling softly as her sister grabbed her hand gently "Mommy, I like her name. Do we have to change it?" Nathan pouted as Kate turned away, "Yeah hunny, do we?" Kate rolled her eyes, she knew she was outvoted and looked at the ceiling "Laurisa it is. like I had a choice". Belle cheered and ran over to her father, clinging to his legs in a hug; Nathan teetered lightly and laughed as he looked down at Belle and kneeled down so she could see Jen too. Nathan counted himself lucky when he found Kate, then saw himself blessed when they had Belle; but when Laurisa and Jen were both home, he saw his life as a miracle. The plans he had now where to teach these girls everything he knew, starting with what to live for. Kate laid Laurisa down in the rocker as Nathan laid Jen down; both now curled up together sleeping soundly and Nathan smiled "Welcome My daughters, Welcome to your home".