Sorry about the wait! Time keeps slipping away from me, and every time I think I've finished with the busiest bits of my summer, craziness ensues. Thanks for sticking with it, and for all of your wonderful reviews! I can't believe this has become one of my biggest stories! You're the best!

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 17

"Daddy?"

David stirred in his seat, sleep clouding his brain as he heard the soft call.

"Daddy?" The whisper came again, this time, slightly louder, and David blinked his eyes open slightly to locate the source of the sound.

His eyes snapped open as he remembered where he was, and he directed his attention to the hospital bed where his daughter was sitting up enough to look over at him.

"Izzy!" He managed to keep his voice low enough not to wake Regina, and he stood up, crossing to the bed. "Hey kiddo, how're you feeling?"

"Better now," she told him and reached her arms out to him.

When he lowered himself to the bed, she immediately wrapped her arms around his waist in a giant hug. "You're here," she said quietly.

"Of course, honey. You weren't feeling well – where else would I be?"

He felt her shrug her shoulders up. "Aunt Mary's?" she asked quietly. "Mommy says you've been staying with her at night when you're not with us."

"That's true," he started, "but when you're mom called to tell me you were sick, I came right over."

"Are you and mommy getting a divorce?" she asked suddenly, her voice low and shaky with emotion.

"No," David told her, and pulled her onto his lap. "No, we're not."

"But you don't want to be home with us all the time now? Did we do something wrong? Are you mad at mommy?"

David sighed and looked over at Regina sleeping in the chair on the other side of the bed. He wished she was awake to help him answer the difficult questions, but he realized that it didn't really have to do with her. He'd been the one to leave; to complain about the current circumstances and make a big deal about how it was interrupting his life. She'd stayed. Of course she'd stayed.

"No, I'm not mad. It's been a weird week and I've been having trouble. I just needed a little time to think about everything so I could figure out what I needed to do."

"Like when I wanted to invite everyone in my class to my birthday except Sam, and mommy said I couldn't do that, and she said that we wouldn't have the party until I thought about it? And then I thought about how it would hurt Sam's feelings even though he wasn't my friend, so I told mommy he was invited, too? And Sam came to my birthday party, and we had a lot of fun? Like that?" she asked, looking up at him with wide, curious eyes.

He chuckled at her long-winded question and nodded his head thoughtfully. "Yes. That's actually surprisingly accurate."

"What did you have to think about?"

"Oh…a lot of things. But I'm done thinking now."

"Does that mean you can come back home?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," he told her, smiling.

"Yay!" she cheered. Her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing how loud she'd been and looking guiltily over at where Regina was opening her eyes. "Sorry, mommy," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"That's alright," Regina said in a voice gravelly from sleep. She stretched and moaned when her back popped audibly from sleeping in such an uncomfortable chair. "I'm glad to see you awake," she said, and used a hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes and fluff her hair. "Do you feel better?"

Isabella nodded enthusiastically and hopped off David's lap to go to her mother. She smiled happily when Regina pulled her into her lap and rested her head atop her daughter's.

"We were so worried," Regina told her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't mean to scare you, but I didn't feel good."

"Oh, baby…" Regina placed a kiss on top of her head before resting against it again. "It wasn't your fault. I hate that you were sick, and I wanted to make it better. I'm so glad you're okay."

Dr. Whale chose that moment to make an entrance and he paused when he saw Isabella in Regina's lap.

"Dr. Whale!" Isabella said happily, waving at him. "Can I go home now?"

"Feeling better, I see," he said, smiling awkwardly and shifting slightly on his feet.

"Yes! Thank you," she said politely. "Thank you for making me better."

"You're very welcome, I'm glad we could help."

"So I can go?" she asked hopefully.

"Well, you slept through the night, and you seem to be doing much better, so we'll just do one last quick check and I'll let you go, how about that?"

David moved to stand next to Regina when she stood and guided Isabella back to the bed. As Dr. Whale did a quick check of her vitals and temperature, David lifted a hand to Regina's lower back and leaned in. "The truck is in the parking lot, so we can drive home."

She looked up at him. "I hadn't even thought about that…" Her mind drifting back to the night before and the kids, she said, "I hope the children slept alright last night."

"I'm sure Granny took good care of them."

She didn't say anything and nodded tersely. David knew she was nervous having been apart from them for as long as she had.

"They're fine, Regina, and we'll be home in no time." He glanced at his watch. "It's still early, they're probably only just getting up for breakfast."

"Maybe I should call…she won't know where Ben's formula is, and—"

"Henry knows how to get ahold of you if they have any questions. We'll be there in half an hour. And if for some reason this takes longer, one of us can go check on them, alright?"

She sighed. "You're right."

He felt her lean a little into his hand and he made a few small circles to help calm her. Feeling the soft silk fabric, he noticed for the first time that she was wearing her pajamas with only a light sweater. "The truck's heater doesn't work that well. We should see if we can borrow a few blankets for you and Isabella for the ride home."

"I'd say you're ready to go," Dr. Whale declared, wrapping his stethoscope around his neck.

Regina stepped forward. "The fever's gone?"

"Her temperature's still a little higher than normal, but nothing compared to what it was last night, and aside from that, she's perfectly healthy. How do you feel, Isabella?" he asked, looking down at her.

"My tummy feels a little funny, but I'm okay," she said bravely.

Whale nodded. "Plenty of rest, good warm soup, lots of fluids and she'll be back to her old self in no time. I don't see any reason why she would need to stay here."

Isabella smiled and turned to look at her parents.

Regina took her hand and helped her down off the bed. "Let's get you changed back into your own pajamas, hmm?"

As they headed toward the restroom, David approached Whale. "She's really alright?"

"She's fine. And she'll stay that way if you and Regina keep her happy and healthy."

David nodded seriously, his gaze far off as he thought about everything. Returning to the present, he asked, "Do you have blankets we could borrow for the trip home? Regina and Isabella only have their pajamas and the truck doesn't have a good heater."

"Sure, I'll be right back." He paused in the doorway and said, "You make an odd couple."

David chuckled. "Believe me, I know. And as I'm sure you can imagine, you're not the first to mention it. Not many people are too fond of the idea, including the two of us."

Whale shook his head. "Maybe...but I've known Regina longer than most. She...well, let's just say I don't find the pairing as disagreeable as some. This might actually be exactly what she needs."

David's brow furrowed in confusion, but he didn't get a chance to ask what the doctor meant before he'd disappeared, and a minute later when he returned with the blankets, Regina and Isabella stepped out of the restroom.

Taking one of the blankets from Whale, David wrapped it around Isabella in a messy bundle and hoisted her up against his chest. "Alright, princess, let's go home."

She giggled and fought her arms up out of the blanket to wrap around his neck.

Regina took the other blanket from Whale and wrapped it around her shoulders and they started out of the room.

Isabella waved lazily at a few of the nurses as they passed by, but then nuzzled her head into David's neck sleepily.

They settled her in the middle of the seat before climbing in on either side of her. The drive was quick, and soon, they were pulling into the driveway of the large white house.

As David lifted Isabella back into his arms, she yawned. "I'm tired."

Regina leaned against David's shoulder as they walked toward the front of the house so that she could rest a hand on her daughter's back and look into her eyes.

"We're home now, sweetheart. In just a few minutes we'll tuck you into bed, and then when you wake up, we'll make you a bowl of soup. How does that sound?"

Isabella smiled and nodded.

Just as they reached the porch, the front door opened, and a tired Granny took a step out, watching as Regina stood up straight again and readjusted the blanket on her shoulders.

"Welcome back, Mills family," she greeted gruffly.

Regina raised an eyebrow at her and David's eyes widened, but Isabella only snuggled deeper into her blanket.