That night, Adam debated within himself to tell more of the story or not. There was a lot left in the story that would hurt Hannah even more than she already was. He ran a hand down his face and sighed. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He found Belle handing behind him.
"They'll understand if you stop. After all, Lucas and Bria suggested it." Belle said.
"But will Bae and Hannah understand? That's the real question. I don't want Hannah to feel like she messed up the story telling for her siblings. I know they liked the story and it would hurt them to stop telling it."
"I can assure you. None of the kids care about the story. They care about Hannah, if Hannah wanted you to stop the story they wouldn't care." Belle said rubbing his shoulders, almost massaging them. "I'll go get them and we can ask them what they would like to do." Adam just nodded. Belle left and got their four children. They all came down and sat in the living room.
"Your mother and I have a question to ask all of you. What would you like do about the story? Would you like to continue or stop? Hannah this question mostly directed at you."
"I don't want to stop." Her answered shocked them all. "I mean I'll eventually learn the truth, better I learn it now then when I'm older."
"Hannah, the only way you would find out is through the story or if you really did the research. I went through a great deal of trouble making sure the files that contain all that information was locked up tight."
"I'll find out some way. Someone in school will find something about her."
"Hannah, if you really want to continue with the story then we'll continue." Hannah nodded. "Is everything okay with that?" They all nodded. "Alright…"
Flashback
Miranda glared at the detectives the entire time they questioned her. They told Adam that she was very uncooperative. That didn't shock Adam in the least. They told him they had to question Neal next and after a drive to his house, Neal was led into his bedroom by the detectives. The social worker looked around the house taking note that wasn't a drop of alcohol in the house. Miranda must have gotten it all from bars in which she need the names of the bars she went to and charge them with serving a pregnant woman drinks. Adam sat on the couch while Neal was questioned. He almost had a panic attack once or twice and couldn't find it in him to sit still. All he wanted was to get Neal out of there and go back to his daughter. Finally, they came out of the bedroom and Neal ran over to Adam.
"Everything seems to be in order. We'll be looking at few more things and we'll be in touch." Adam nodded and held Neal close. After they left, he fed Neal lunch then brought him to the hospital to see his sister. He dressed Neal in the scrubs and held him as he led him over to his sister.
"She's really tiny." Neal commented.
"Yes she is. But she'll get bigger. You were tiny like this once. Hannah is a very special little girl and we have to protect her now."
"Well, don't worry Papa I'm a knight and knights protect the princesses." Adam smiled and kissed his son's head through the mask Adam had on his face. "Don't worry Hannah. I'll protect you and Papa. We love you so much." He blew a kiss to his sister since he figured he wouldn't be able to really kiss her. Adam's eyes filled with tears. He knew that Hannah would survive. He had to believe that because belief was all he had anymore. With Neal, Granny, and Ruby he knew he would be able to pull through this. He knew he had to go back to class if only to tell his students that class would be canceled until the end of the semester. That Monday he went into class and stared at the faces of his students. They were all someone's daughters and sons. He couldn't help but hope his daughter would be sitting in one of the seats in the future. He blinked to keep the tears at bay. He couldn't help but feel bad that he was away from his daughter.
"Due to some personal issues, this class will be canceled until the end of the semester. The grade you have now will be the grade that you have on your report. I shouldn't even be here today but I had to tell you all in person exactly what was going on. Since I have no intention of teaching today, you all may go and enjoy the morning that holds so much joy. I do request one thing from all of you. Promise me you'll treat life like the precious gift it is. Life is not some kind of games. There are no reset buttons on life you can't get up and start over. Just please think of your loved ones when you make everyday decisions." He turned and started to put things in his bag. His students slowly packed up and left thinking it was some kind of joke and the speech he just gave left an impact on all of them. He turned around and saw one student making her way to him.
"Professor Gold, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your daughter."
"How do you know about that?"
"Well, it's all over the news because of who your father-in-law is. I'm sorry and I hope she pulls through. She has to, she's a Gold." She actually got Adam to crack a smile.
"Well thank you for that. What was your name again?"
"French, Belle French."
End flashback
"I forgot about that. I was so caught up with my other studies I completely forgot that I did have a conversation with you prior to the park."
"Yes you did. You actually helped me a lot more than you think. You were my flicker of light among an ocean of darkness. You shed light on my darkest time." Adam smiled at his wife. She may have forgotten about the conversation in his classroom three days after Hannah's birth but he sure didn't. He would never allow himself to forget the young student who saved him from himself."
"So how did the talk with DYFS go?" Hannah asked.
"It went okay and three weeks later, actually the same day I found out you were out of the woods, I found out that Miranda and I were cleared and it wasn't going to show up on any search." Hannah nodded.
"Are we done with that part of the story yet?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, now we're moving forward into the part where I met your mother and getting closer to part where my life improved for the better.