"Hanna honey, are you OK?" Alexandra asked as Mark and Roger helped her into the house.
"Yeah, I'm OK. I have plenty of help. But thanks sweetie." she smiled looking up at Mark then Roger.
"Don't worry about a thing Hanna. I got you. Mark's a little light on his side anyway." Roger laughed looking over at Mark who looked stressed and worried.
"Yeah well you have Alex cooking for you. He has me. It's no contest. You're more bulked up then he is." she smiled looking up at Mark who had yet to crack a smile. "Come on Marky, smile. That was funny." she smiled looking over at him.
"I'm sorry Baby. I didn't hear you." he said looking over at her.
"Mark, why don't you make sure the boys haven't tied poor Cassie and Zach up in the yard, OK? It's too quiet out there." Alexandra asked looking over at him.
"OK. I'll be right back Baby, OK?" he said looking down at Hanna.
"OK Baby. I'll be fine. Roger out weighs me by at least 30 pounds." she smiled looking up at him as he began to smile.
"Well at least pick on Roger day isn't being wasted." Roger laughed looking down at Hanna as they stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"Don't worry Baby, it's never wasted." Alexandra laughed leaning up to kiss him.
"My wonderful wife. Picking on me as usual." he laughed looking down at Hanna.
"Would you two stop? I've got an incision in my stomach. If I laugh it hurts." she smiled looking up at them.
"You started it." Roger whined in a high pitched voice laughing at her.
"Yeah well, I'm not as funny as you guys are." she smiled looking up at him.
"No, you're plenty funny Hanna. But you and my wife together spells trouble for me." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.
"Are you ready to try the stairs sweetie, or do you want to sit down here and rest for a while?" Alexandra asked looking over at her.
"I want to go outside with the kids." she smiled looking up at Roger.
"Your wish is my command my lady." he smiled looking down at her as he helped her to the back yard.
"Mommy, you're home. How do you feel?" Adam asked running to her.
"Don't run by the pool Adam and especially don't hug mommy around her waist, OK? She's still sore from her operation, OK?" Alexandra asked rushing between Hanna and Adam.
"But I missed you mom." he said looking at her with sad little blue eyes.
"Give me a minute to sit down and get comfortable first, OK my sweet boy. Then you can hug me around my neck all you want. I promise." she smiled looking down at him.
"OK mommy." he smiled looking up at her as Roger helped her into a cushioned lounge chair.
"Alex, can I have that pillow over there to put over my stomach please? It feels better when I have something pressed against it." she asked looking up at her.
"Sure sweetie. Do you want anything? I can get you a bottle of water if you want?" she asked looking down at her.
"Yeah, I'd really like that. Thank you." she smiled looking up at her as Roger helped her get comfortable. "Thanks Roger. You're the best." she smiled looking up at him.
"Yeah I know. But you can keep telling me if you want." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head as Anthony stayed on the other side of the pool with Mark looking at Hanna uncomfortably. "Do you want me to go talk to him?" he asked kneeling down next to her.
"No, it's OK. He'll come over in his own time. He's just scared. He is the one who is most like his father." she said looking over at him as Adam waited patiently next her.
"Now mom?" he asked looking down at her.
"Yeah my sweet boy, now." she smiled looking up at him as he sat down gently next to her and hugged her around her neck.
"I missed you mom." he said kissing her on her cheek.
"I missed you too Adam." she smiled looking over at him.
"Are you OK Aunt Hanna?" Cassandra asked as she and Zach walked over to them.
"I will be toots. Have your cousins been giving you and poor Zach a hard time?" she asked looking up at her.
"Nope. They've been really great. But they listen to Zach more then they listen to me." she laughed looking down at Adam.
"Well Zach's on tv with Uncle Roger. He's cooler than you." Adam smiled looking up at him.
"Listen twirp." she laughed pumping her fist at him as he laughed at her.
"How's Anthony been? And tell me the truth Cassandra Elizabeth Davis. You know I can always tell when you're lying to me." Hanna asked looking up at her neice.
"He's having a hard time Aunt Hanna. He's scared something bad is gonna happen to you and no one is telling him anything." she said looking down at her.
"My poor baby boy." she said looking down at her stomach.
"He's gonna be OK Hanna. You just have to give him time to see that we're not lying to him." Roger said looking over at her.
"Yeah but what about his father? He's gonna be tougher to get to come around." she said looking up at him.
"Yeah well, you know Mark. He's been living with me and Collins being sick and he's seen us lose Angel and Mimi. He just can't handle it if he lost you." he said looking over at her.
"I know sweetie." she said looking over at him.
"Are you OK Baby? Do you need more pillows?" Mark asked standing over the bed he and Hanna shared at Roger and Alexandra's.
"I'm fine Mark. Come to bed." she said looking up at him.
"I was thinking maybe I would sleep on the pull out in Roger's studio tonight. I don't want to risk turning over and hurting you." he said looking down at her.
"Mark, you're not gonna roll over and hurt me. You never move in your sleep. Are you afraid to be near me?" she asked looking up at him.
"No, why would you say that?" he asked looking down at her.
"Mark, you haven't come near me all day. And your son is afraid of me too." she said looking up at him holding back tears.
"Anthony is just afraid of hurting you. You know Adam's more daring than he is. And I don't want to hurt you either." he said looking over at her.
"Yeah, like father like son." she said turning her head away from him. "Mark, I'm not dead. Actually, I have a second chance and you're wasting it." she said looking at the pictures of them that were hanging on the wall.
"I don't know how to take care of you Hanna. I helped Collins take care of Angel when he was dying and I helped Roger when Mimi was sick..." he started when she interrupted him.
"Yet I'm your wife and you're afraid to come near me." she said looking up at him.
"No, it's not that. Hanna, you're my wife and if anything happened to you... I don't know what I would do. I would be lost without you. Hanna, I have lived and breathed for you since the night we met. If I lost you... I'm afraid I'm not gonna be able to take care of the boys because I won't be able to take care of myself." he said starting to cry.
"Mark, you heard the doctor. I'm fine. They got all the cancer and he's only sending me for mild chemo therapy as a precaution. I'm fine Mark. And pulling away from me is not gonna help you even if I wasn't." she said taking his hand off of the bed.
"Hanna, I'm just scared." he said looking over at her.
"I know Mark, but it's you and me. We can get through anything." she smiled bringing Mark's hand closer to her.
"I love you so much Hanna." he said leaning down to kiss her.
"I love you so much too Marky." she smiled kissing him back before he laid down in the bed next to her caressing her cheek.
"Mom, can I come in?" Cassandra asked knocking on Roger and Alexandra's bedroom door.
"Sure sweetie. What's the matter?" Alexandra asked as she sat up in bed reading over papers.
"Is Aunt Hanna really OK?" she asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah sweetie, of course she is. Why do you ask?" she asked taking her glasses off and putting the papers next to her on the bed.
"I don't know. Anthony is scared that Aunt Hanna and Uncle Mark isn't telling him the whole story and he asked me to come in and ask you, knowing that you and dad can't lie to me without me seeing right through you." she smiled looking over at her.
"Cassie honey, they took all the cancer out of her colon and she only has to go for mild chemo therapy as a precaution. Nothing else. I promise sweetie. She's really fine." she said sitting up further taking her hand in hers.
"OK. I figured you and dad wouldn't lie about it just to make us feel better." she said looking over at her.
"Of course not sweetie. But your cousin is gonna need you even more now that Aunt Hanna is home. And she needs me and daddy to help her get around, so it's gonna be hard for him to see her like that. But she is gonna get better very soon, OK I promise." she said looking over at her.
"I know mom. Where is dad anyway?" she asked looking over at her.
"Down in his studio. He needs to work on new material for when the who starts up again. Maybe you can go down and help him." she smiled looking over at her.
"I can't. I left poor Zach in with the boys alone and I'm sure he needs to be rescued by now. You know how they are." she laughed looking over at her.
"Oh, right. Gotcha. The boys are getting along, aren't they?" she smiled looking over at her.
"Yeah. Zach likes hanging out here. Especially since his mom is working a lot all of the time." she smiled looking over at her.
"Well he knows he is welcome here anytime for as long as he needs. Any son of dad's is a son of mine." she laughed looking over at her.
"You are so pathetic mom." she laughed leaning up to hug her.
"But you love me anyway." she laughed kissing her head.
"Yeah I do. Good night mom." she smiled looking over at her.
"Good night sweetie. I love you." she smiled looking over at her.
"I know mom." she smiled before leaving the bedroom. As she sat on the bed looking at the pictures on her dresser, she put her robe and slippers on and went downstairs to Roger's studio. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she could see Roger sitting on the couch in the corner looking at old photo albums.
"Roger, are you OK?" she asked walking slowly across the room.
"Um... yeah. I'm fine. What are you still doing up?" he asked wiping his face.
"It's only 11 Baby. The kids are still up actually. What's the matter?" she asked sitting next to him taking the photo album from him. He was looking at pictures of Collins, Angel, Mimi and April.
"The past. No matter how far I get, it's always right there." he said looking over at her.
"Honey, you and Collins are still healthy. And now so is Hanna." she said looking over at him.
"Yeah, but losing April, Angel and Mimi was really hard. Almost losing Hanna brought it up to the surface, you know?" he asked looking up at her.
"I know Baby, but she's OK." she said looking over at him.
"I know Alex. I was just really scared there for a while, you know? If anything happened to Hanna... I don't know what I would do." he siad looking over at her.
"I know honey." she said leaning in to him.
"I mean, she's supposed to take care of Mark when me and Collins are gone. And you and Cass." he said holding her tight.
"Baby, we take care of each other. We're a family. That's what families do. Just like you and me. We're a team." she said looking up at him.
"But I worry about you and Cass when I'm gone Alex. You girls are my life. Without you, I wouldn't be here. Literally. You give me the fight to keep going. When Mimi died, I didn't know if I could go on and then Mark needed me to bring those papers to Jo and I met the most amazing, beautiful woman I'd ever meet. You became my whole world from that first night at the club. I don't ever want to be without you Alex. And I dread the day you have to be without me." he said as she buried her face in his chest.
"Roger, you have given me so much. You didn't expect anything out of me aside from me being myself. You wanted to marry me even though you knew I couldn't have kids and it was your idea to adopt the most amazing little girl a mother could ask for. Without you, I wouldn't have anything. You supported me when I wanted to go back to school to be a paralegal and then when we came out here and I wanted to go back to get my law degree. Roger Davis, I may be your world, but it works both ways." she looked up at him as tears streamed down her face.
"I love you so much Alexandra Rose Davis." he whispered looking into her glistening blue eyes.
"I love you too Roger Michael Davis." she smiled leaning up to kiss him long and hard.