hey all :)

again, thanks for all the reviews, i love you all to death !

i'm gonna try to get the next chapter out in a couple of days, or at least by saturday because come sunday, im gone for a week and i cant just leave you all hanging !

plus, i have some pretty...creative...ideas for our new daddy ;)

well, heres the next chapter.

enjoy (:

--mtc.

Chapter 12

Their hearts were racing faster with each pulsing step they made toward Bailey's room. They didn't mind the numerous members of the hospital staff that told them to stop running, or the doctors trying to follow them and tell them more about Bailey's state of being. Their only concern was to get to their little girl as fast as they could. The trek seemed longer, the hallway stretching farther than it had earlier in the day. Nonetheless, they didn't slow their pace, they kept on running, taking turns dragging each other by the hand down the long and winding corridors of the hospital.

Finally reaching room 116, they had been flying so quickly down the hallway that they almost flew right past it, Danny catching the doorframe as he realized where they were, jerking Lindsay backwards. They both stood in the doorway for a second, breathless, trying to get a hold on what exactly they were staring at. There was a doctor kneeling next to their little girl's bed, softly whispering her name as they saw her eyes flutter ever so slightly. With tears brimming and hands clutched together, they pushed their way past the doctor and took his place next to their baby.

As Lindsay took hold of Bailey's hand, Danny could only stare in awe at the precious face of his baby girl.

She was his child, his little girl, his own creation.

Realizing this took the breath from his lungs for a few moments as the fluttering in her eyes became more rapid. His tearing up only grew more intense as she began to speak.

"Mommy?" she uttered every so quietly, her voice raspy.

"I'm right here baby, I'm right here. Mommy's here, you're okay baby," Lindsay responded, tears in her eyes as her smile grew wider with each word.

Bailey's eyes slowly began to crack open, closing again at first due to the brightness of the lights, but finally becoming used to her surroundings. Her wide blue eyes stared up into her mother's face, then shifted over to Danny's, and then around the room, trying to gather in where exactly she was.

"Where am I?" she questioned, still groggy but nonetheless persistent in her words.

"You're in the hospital baby," Lindsay replied hesitantly, not wanting to scare her child back into a coma.

"Why?" Lucky for all, she was much too drugged up still to understand what was going on to the full extent, so she barely flinched at her mother's response.

With tears rolling down her cheek, both out of joy and pain, Lindsay tried to explain the situation to her daughter. "You, you had an accident sweetie. But everything's okay now, the doctors fixed you and you're okay, you're okay." She was smiling with every word, and Bailey was growing more confused by the second.

"Why are you crying mommy?"

"I'm just happy baby, I'm happy that you're okay. We were so afraid that you weren't going to be alright, but you're such a strong girl, and we're all just happy that you're alright."

"Okay," she replied sleepily. "Hi Danny," she said, realizing that she hadn't yet acknowledged him yet.

At first, he couldn't seem find any words to muster. His daughter was speaking to him. His little girl, his own baby was talking to him. Sure, this had happened many times before, but now she was his own. It was such an incredible feeling to him, he just stared at her dumbfounded. "Hey kiddo," he finally said through tears, stroking her cheek lightly. "How ya holdin' up?"

"I'm okay I guess, my head hurts though. Why does my head hurt?"

"Well, you took a pretty nasty fall there Bay. Do you remember any of it?

She scrunched up her face as she tried to remember the details of her accident.

"I remember going to gymnastics. And I remember you were coming to pick me up. But I don't remember anything else." She sounded disappointed in her failed attempts to recollect what had happened.

"Well sweetie, you fell and hit your head. Danny called the ambulance and brought you to the hospital. The doctors took over from there and they fixed you up."

"It's all fuzzy though. I wanna remember," the frustrated child replied.

"It's alright, not being able to remember certain things is normal." The doctor had stepped out of the shadows to try and clear up the air for the little girl. "Hi Bailey, I'm Doctor Markko, how are you feeling?"

"Tired. And my head hurts."

"Like I said, that's all normal. You're going to be sore for a while, but it will all go away with time. In a little while, a nurse will be in to take you down for some tests. Is that okay?"

"Tests? Like math? Because if it's math, I don't wanna go."

Laughs were heard equally from both Danny and Lindsay, as well as the doctor. "No kiddo, I promise there will be no math. We just have to make sure everything's okay up there," the doctor said pointing to his own head. "We'll take some pictures and test some of your reflexes, things like that, and then you can come right back here."

"Alright, I guess I'll go," she shrugged halfheartedly. "Can my mommy and Danny go with me?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, they're going to have to wait out here. But they'll be right here waiting when you get back."

"But I don't wanna be alone." She was beginning to cry; she couldn't bear the thought of being alone in the hospital, without Lindsay and Danny by her side. They made her feel protected, she needed them to be there with her. She reached her arms up, one towards Lindsay, the other towards Danny.

"It'll be alright baby girl, we'll be here when you get back, I promise," Lindsay said trying to comfort the girl, extending her arms to take hold of Bailey's own outstretched hand.

"Promise?" she sniffled, staring up at the faces that surrounded her.

"I promise," Lindsay responded squeezing her tiny hand in reassurance.

"You too, Danny?"

"Of course kiddo, there's no place else I'd rather be," he responded, still partially in shock that he was actually having a conversation with his own daughter.

She could only return a half smile at them, fatigue had begun to set in again.

Eventually, a nurse entered the room, switched all of Bailey's IV's into portable machines and prepared to take her for her tests.

"Don't forget, you promised you'd be here when I got back," she said looking up at Danny and Lindsay. They both chuckled in response.

"Don't worry Bay, we're not going anywhere," Danny responded, bending down so that he was now eye level with her. As he was about to stand up, she pulled him back down to her level, wrapping her tiny arms around his muscular frame. That gesture in itself had made his day. He closed his arms tightly around her little shoulders in reassurance.

"What was 'at for?" he asked as she pulled away.

She shrugged. "Because you're my hero. You saved me from being hurt. Thanks Danny."

He was once again finding himself at a loss for words, growing more choked up by the second. "No problem kiddo. I'd do anything to keep you and your mommy safe."

She smiled up at him in response as the nurse wheeled her out into the hallway.

"Don't worry, she'll be back in about an hour. We'll take good care of her."

As they watched the bed disappear down the hallway, Lindsay snaked her arms around Danny's waist comfortingly, resting her head on his arm.

"You've got her wrapped around your finger, cowboy ," she whispered.

All he could do in response was smile as he watched the big bed turn into a tiny dot at the end of the long hallway.

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While Bailey was having her tests run, Danny and Lindsay decided to try and catch up on their sleep. It was after all 3:45 in the morning, and they hadn't slept at all since the previous day. They made their way back to the family wing, taking their previous place on the couch in the corner, Lindsay curled up against Danny's frame with a blanket draped over her, Danny's arms wrapped around her shoulders protectively. They laid there peacefully, Lindsay sleeping while Danny watched her. As much as he wanted to close his eyes and dream, he was afraid that when he woke up this would all be gone.

So he compromised his sleep and watched his Lindsay dream. This, he thought, was much better than sleeping. He tenderly ran his arm up and down her own soothingly. As he watched her, he drank in all of her features, noticing every one of them that reminded him of Bailey, of his little girl. She was her mother's daughter; she was so much like Lindsay, it almost scared him. As he continued to watch her sleep, her words startled him.

"Go to sleep, cowboy. You're drained out, you need sleep."

He laughed softly, replying, "I don't need sleep, I'm the invincible Danno, remember?"

Her eyes cracked open as she smiled up at his face that was painted with exhaustion. He was clearly sleep deprived. "Danny, we're not going anywhere, I promise." It was as if she could read his mind.

"I know Linds, I just don't want this to end."

"It won't. This is just the beginning." She gazed up at him sleepily and, as he returned her smile, she snuggled into the comfort of his chest, his arms returning to their previous place, wrapped protectively around her. As she returned to her slumbering state, he placed a soft kiss to her forehead and tried to get some sleep himself before Bailey's test results arrived.

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"Bailey, you passed all your tests with flying colors. Everything seems to be working great. Of course, we'll still need to keep you for a few days to keep an eye on you, but you should be able to return home very soon."

It was like a choir of angels had dropped out of the skies.

They were in the clear.

"Cool. I'm ready to get out of here," she said with a smile.

"I'm sure you are," the doctor replied with a laugh. "But you'll need to take it easy for awhile. Certainly no more gymnastics for the time being."

"Aww, why not?" Bailey complained, growing upset as she folded her tiny arms across her chest in protest. "I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

"I'm sure you will Bailey, but your head is still trying to heal itself, it's best if we give it a chance to get better before you go diving off cliffs."

"I don't wanna do that, I just wanna do cartwheels with my friends."

"Don't worry kiddo, you'll be back out there in no time," Danny reassured her.

"I wish I was like Flash," she huffed. "He wouldn't be sitting in a hospital bed. He'd be right back out there fighting bad guys."

"But you don't fight bad guys Bay," Lindsay laughed.

"Mom, you know what I mean," she shot back.

"You should probably get some sleep. You've had a pretty long day, you need your rest," the doctor cut in.

"But I'm not even tired," she tried to argue despite her yawning.

"Bay, you heard what the doctor said, you need your sleep," Lindsay said comfortingly.

"And if you're not rested up, how are me and you gonna finish readin' all those Flash comics?" Danny interjected, evoking a smile from the little girl that seemed to brighten up the room.

"Really? You're gonna read them all with me?"

"Why not? I don't want you to be bored while you're cooped up in this crummy place."

"Alright!" she exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air.

"But if you want morning to come faster, you've gotta go to sleep now"

"I guess so." She tucked her arms under the sheets and closed her eyes. After a minute or two, she popped on of them opening, and seeing that Danny and Lindsay were still in the room, "Okay, you heard the man, if I don't go to sleep, morning will never come!"

They shared a laugh as they walked closer to the bed, Lindsay bending down and placing a kiss on her daughter's cheek, Danny standing behind her.

"Goodnight sweetie, I love you."

"Love you too mommy. And I love you too Danny." What seemed like a harmless gesture to the little girl made Danny tear up both inside and out. Lindsay took his hand and almost had to drag him out of the room as the doctor beckoned them out.

She grinned up at the silly expression he had plastered about his face as they walked back into the family wing, this time choosing to sleep on beds, much more comfortable than the couch they had previously been napping on.

Without exchanging words, they spoke with their eyes, deciding that as much as they needed the comfort of each other, it was better to stay in separate beds for the time being.

Although they both realized and understood the purpose for the separate beds, they pulled the beds against each other like two teenagers at a sleepover, staring into each other's eyes as they drifted slowly off to sleep, neither wanting to be the first on to close their eyes.

As it grew earlier into the morning, Danny still hadn't fallen asleep. He lay there watching Lindsay, knowing he should be doing the same but not having the patience to do absolutely nothing for eight hours. He slowly reached his hand out and began stroking her arm gently, soothingly. She opened her eyes, having not been fully asleep yet, and laughed quietly as he smiled back at her.

"Danny, if you don't go to sleep now, morning will never come," she repeated the words he had said to their daughter just hours previous.

"Funny Montana, very funny."

She gave him a look that he took as "get your ass to bed, Messer," and chuckled softly as he smiled warmly at her, closing his eyes because he knew she was right. He would need his sleep; Bailey would need them both rested and alert come morning, and Danny refused to miss another second of his daughter's life.