A/N: Happy Weekend! :) Sorry it's been a while since I updated... life got in the way.
Thanks for the reviews! Here is the next Chapter... Enjoy! :)
Chapter Fifteen
Alexis looked up from where she was seated in the waiting area to find Garrett standing before her with a cup of coffee. "Thank you," She accepted it, cradling it in both hands as he took a seat beside her with his own cup.
"I just caught Monica as I was coming up from the café, she said that the tests are done, they should be headed back to the room shortly." He watched as she nodded while still staying focused on the cup in her hands, "Anything I can do for you?"
"No," She shook her head and smiled up at him, "Thank you… thank you for being here. I know how much it means to Sam to have you here..."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else."
"…to me too… it means a lot to me." Reaching out she took his hand as it rested on the arm of the chair.
"It means a lot to me, Lex." Garrett holds firmly to her hand, "I'm glad that I'm able to be here."
"He's going to be okay…" Alexis spoke in reassurance, almost more for herself than him, "He has to be, right?"
"Danny's a strong little boy… he comes from strong stock. He's a Davis." Garrett smiled as Alexis met his eyes.
"He certainly is… you know…" She smiled wistfully, "I was just thinking about… remembering when Sam first told me she was pregnant. And I felt so old." She laughed slightly, "I mean, I was thrilled. I was so happy for her and for me… for all of us. But the fact that I was actually going to be a grandmother… was a little unnerving."
"Yeah, well… at least you had time to prepare." Garrett quips, prompting a knowing glance from Alexis.
"That is true. I did." She chuckles as her face softens, "But it didn't take long. Once it all really sunk in. I would be driving to work or shopping… I started noticing. These little kids and their grandparents getting ice cream or just taking a walk in the park. I was so excited. It felt just like…" She paused, meeting his eyes with her teary ones, "I felt just like I did when I was pregnant for Sam."
Garrett looked down for a moment as he felt his own eyes sting with the threat of tears. He turned back to her just as she wiped her tear but smiled lovingly.
"Sam was going through a lot… during her pregnancy. With Jason… and everything that went along with that…." She shook her head at the memory of that hard time, still amazed at how far they had come. "When we thought she lost Danny…" She choked back her emotions, "I had to be strong, you know? I had to be strong for Sam…and for Molly and Kristina. But my heart was broken." She drew a deep breath, "But all of that changed. He was brought back to us and just fit right into our lives so perfectly." She looked into his eyes, smiling through her tears, "I'll never forget walking into that hospital room and seeing Danny in Sam's lap. Sitting there, looking up at me with those big blue eyes… just like he knew that was exactly where he belonged. He knew that she was his mommy… and we were his family. I mean, from the moment Sam got him back, he was completely comfortable."
"He's a smart kid." Garrett smiles, "And he's lucky to have such a great family."
"No..." She shakes her head, wiping her cheeks, "We're the lucky ones. You know, I never believed people when they said that being a grandmother was so much better than being a mother… and how special it is and all of that. I just never really got it. My girls… they mean everything to me. They are my life." She shook her head, "But Danny… he just lights up my whole world, Garrett. Maybe it's because I'm in a different place now. I'm older and I've been through the stresses that I was going through when the girls were small… or when Sam and I first found each other." She shrugs, bringing the tissue to her face, "All I know is that when I get home from the office and I see that smiling little face running over to me. Everything is all right."
"He does the same thing for me," Garrett nods, swiping a lone tear from his cheek, "He's pretty special."
"He's so special." She nods, "I just can't believe this is happening. I mean… we've always known about the beta-thalassemia but I never thought that anything serious would happen. From what the doctor's have always said… they always told us that it was minor and could be controlled with the supplements that he was on, I just…"
"I know… It kind of came out of nowhere… but I guess these things usually do." He watches as she nods, looking down at the cup in her hand again.
"My daughter… Kristina… She was in the hospital when she was about Daniel's age with Aplastic Anemia." Alexis clears her throat, "She, um… she needed a bone marrow transplant."
"Oh, wow…" Garrett's brow rose in shock, "I had no idea."
"Yeah…" Alexis nods as the tears begin to overflow from her eyes, "Sam's… Sam's baby girl saved her life."
"Sam's baby girl?" He hands her another tissue, waiting as composes herself.
Alexis nodded, "Sam had another baby when she was young. Before we knew that she was my daughter…" Her mind wandered back to that time and her heart sank at the memories, "But… um… she lost her… she was still born."
"Oh my God…" He couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. It pained him to know of all the things his daughter had been through in her life.
"She named her Lila…" Alexis smiled at the mention of the name that she held so close to her heart, "Lila's stem cells… the stem cells from the umbilical cord saved Kristina's life."
"What an awful situation."
"It was." She sniffled; he could tell she wasn't comfortable elaborating on the situation. "And now… this is all just too familiar. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to Daniel. I just can't. We couldn't take it."
"Lex…" He grips her hand a little tighter, "Daniel is going to pull through this. He will be fine. Okay?"
"We don't know that, though, Garrett…" She shook her head, "We don't know that."
"You're right… we don't. But what I do know is that I have faith." He looked deeply into her eyes, "I have faith because that's what brought me here… faith is what brought me here to Sam and Danny and you. And life has a way of working out. It does… and I know that Danny is going to pull through this."
"What if he needs a bone marrow transplant like Kristina?" She cried at the thought, "It's so hard to find a donor. You have to be put on a list and the only way to beat that is if it's a family member and siblings are usually the only match."
"We will cross that bridge when it comes, okay?" Garrett spoke softly, prompting Alexis to nod and wipe her tears again.
"I have to calm down…" She shook her head and took a deep cleansing breath, "I have to calm down. If Sam sees me like this she's going to be even more worried than she already is."
"Okay… but you don't have to be the strong one, you know." He reassured, "I know that you want to be, for Sam. And that's fine. But don't try and hold this all together by yourself, okay? I'm here… I'm here for you and for Sam… and I'm not going anywhere."
"Thanks," She gratefully met his eyes for a moment before breaking the gaze and looking down at her phone in her lap, "I, um… I called Michael. He said that he would go to the house so he was there when Molly got home from school and he can bring her here."
"That's a good idea."
"I didn't want to tell her over the phone… and then have her driving here when she was upset." She sighs, "Michael said he would call when they were on their way."
"Good… Um… Sonny wanted me to let you know that if you need anything just to call him. I called him and updated him on everything."
"Thank you…" She smiled softly, "I really appreciate that."
"No problem." Garrett continued to hold her hand tight.
"Mom!?" The sound of Molly's voice broke their gaze as Alexis turned swiftly and then rose to meet her daughter.
"Hi sweet heart…" Alexis hugged her, meeting eyes with Michael as he trailed behind.
"Sorry we didn't call." Michael apologized.
"It's okay." She smiled softly, leaning back to look into her daughter's eyes that looked pleadingly into hers.
"How's Danny?"
"He's okay… they just took him down for some tests, but Monica said they should be back in the room shortly."
"Sam is with him, right?"
"Yes," Alexis reassured her worried young daughter.
Molly looked between Garrett and her mother, resting on the pepper haired man at her mother's side, "Michael… Michael said that you were the one that brought Sam and Danny to the hospital?"
"Uh… yeah. I mean, I just drove them here." He shrugged, slightly uncomfortably.
"I'm so glad you were there for Sam…"
"Just the right place at the right time, Thank God." Garrett smiled as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, well…" Alexis turned to him, "I think we're all very glad Garrett was there…"