A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!
April 29th 2023
Chapter 119
We Become Hopeful
No word of it got past Lucas and Maya until they were absolutely certain. It wasn't as though they couldn't have told some others, especially parents and grandparents, but it had felt necessary to them for the express reason that they didn't want it to get to any of their young daughters or their granddaughter that Lucas would be coming home only for there to be a change of plans and a delay. When it would be as official as official could be, that was when they would tell them, and they would be the first to know.
They had been preparing for his return, even as the date remained unknown. Some of that had gone toward celebrating that moment, though until they knew when that would be, it was hard to make concrete plans. The rest, the majority, had been going toward seeing to it that Lucas would be able to come back and continue his recovery as he needed to.
His mobility would be reduced for some time still, enough so that a lot of the house would be difficult if not impossible for him to access for the foreseeable future. He did not want to sleep on the couch, or any other bed installed on the ground floor. No, for Maya's sake as much as his own, he wanted to return home and sleep in his own bed, with his wife at his side. Maya was more than happy to support him in this, but for convenience's sake, they had made sure that, at any other time of the day, he would be comfortable in the living room. They had moved things, all around the house, to make sure that he could get around and not be at risk to fall. Even in their rooms, the girls had wanted to make sure and 'make way for Daddy,' which had been very sweet.
They had done some of the work already, long before there'd been need of it for this particular reason, as they had made their house accessible to Kelsey Farrell and her chair. It was strange now to think that they should need it for the benefits of one of their own, and even as they'd remind themselves that this was all temporary… hopefully… they'd quickly find themselves diving into worst case scenario thinking. They knew enough not to see a future where it wasn't temporary as being the end of everything, but it would without a doubt be the end of some things and the start of others, things that would demand a lot of adjustments, for Lucas especially. It would be temporary though; they were positive of it. Lucas could do this, and if he needed encouragement, oh, did he ever have the right team backing him up…
Even without knowing just when he'd be coming home, without knowing how close they were to that moment, the girls were just so excited to have him back. Most of them were far from having enough context, enough information to understand what it would be like. They just knew that their Daddy would be back home with them and that would be wonderful. Maya had done her best to impress upon Marianne that, while she had a slightly better idea of it than her little sisters, she'd have to somehow make it so that she neither frightened them… nor gave them too much hope. She could grasp that, and she promised to do her best. Maya had plenty of trust in her firstborn and how she could pull this off, but she also couldn't help but worry… That was becoming an all too common thing for her lately, for Lucas of course, but for all their daughters, too, each in her own right. And Marianne… Oh, sometimes Marianne worried her most of all.
She'd been right by her side over these last few weeks, and though it could sound like such a good thing to have one of her girls at home be more aware of things as they truly were, other times… Other times, part of her wished that she could have been going through this with the blissful ignorance of her smallest sisters. The last few nights, she'd been going into her mother's room in the middle of the night, not saying a word but with such a look in her eyes to make it clear that she'd either been having trouble falling asleep… or trouble remaining asleep without falling prey to nightmares. Maya had welcomed her into her arms and her far too empty bed, and together they'd slept, mother and daughter huddled against the worries that invaded them. And for that, Marianne was the first one she told.
"Morning, pumpkin," she whispered, brushing lightly at her daughter's forehead, sweeping hair from her face, that she might see her face, eyes blinking sleep away. It had never mattered how tall she was getting, not in times like this. Here, she could only be her tiny pumpkin girl. "You awake? For real? Do I need to check?" Maya asked, and she was treated to a good smile.
"Don't tickle me."
"Me? Tickle you? I would never," Maya insisted as though she would have a hand pressed to her chest in disbelief. That got her a quiet laugh. "Well, since you are awake, there's something we need to talk about. Okay?"
"Uh huh," Marianne nodded. Maya pulled her nearer, a good squeeze for good news' sake.
"Today's the day," she whispered, and if she wasn't sure whether Marianne understood what she was saying, she only had to feel the way her body jerked, startled, only had to see the way she looked back at her, disbelieving and hopeful all at once. "Your dad's coming home." The low light in the room couldn't hide the tears rising in her daughter's eyes.
"For real?" she asked, voice cracking. Maya reached over and brushed the tears away.
"We're going to go and get him after breakfast," she nodded. Marianne took up the lead in the hug here, burrowing herself into her mother's hold as she rode out the wave of emotion that rolled over her and threatened to carry her away. But she was safe here, now, in this embrace, just as she had always been. She started crying harder, now with relief as it revealed itself from within the wave. It had been building inside her for so long that it could have wrecked any and all things in its path. It confirmed to Maya that she had been right to tell her this way, on her own, away from the smaller girls. She'd have time to let it all settle before they went ahead and told the others.
"Can I tell them?" she asked her mother, several minutes later.
"Go ahead," Maya smiled, and in a flash Marianne was off. She disappeared down the hall and shortly after there were voices – Mackenzie's, Aubrey's – before steps brought Marianne back up into view, carrying the small girls as though her happiness had given her the strength of ten girls her age. She carried them into the triplets' room and set them down there.
Maya didn't hear exactly what Marianne told them, but the response spoke for itself. As soon as they knew that their father was coming home, they were all over the place. Pretty soon, they were running across the hall to find her, going as though they thought that she didn't know yet and they had to catch her up. She didn't do a single thing to correct them, instead allowed herself her own discovery, as though it had never happened before, and she got to have it with her girls instead.
They got to have this 'dance' a couple more times before taking off for the hospital. The first involved Wyatt and the twins coming down to see what all the noise was about. The second happened as they were joined by their breakfast guests. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have Thomas Friar to join them on weekends before they all headed in for a visit at the hospital, him and Pappy Joe and Patty, but this one had been covertly purposeful. This went for Ella, too. She joined them with Taylor, with Tori, too, and they couldn't have been in the house longer than five seconds before they were all told: Lucas was coming home today.
When they arrived at his room, the select few who'd been chosen to go while the rest stayed home for final preparations, rallying the troops, there was no one readier to go than Lucas himself. He was dressed already, in the clothes Maya had ever so discreetly brought him the day before. She'd spent what felt like way too many hours, the last few days, choosing one shirt and one pair of pants for him, and now that she saw them on him, she was left with the revelation that he had lost some weight while he'd been here. It wasn't so much as to be a big deal, but it was definitely noticeable to her here. Not everyone cared about this.
"I knew it, I knew it!" Marianne hurried up to meet him. She'd had that great big smile on her… oh, maybe from the moment that she'd been told, but here, now, as she was reunited with him…
"Did you?" Lucas asked, matching her for joy.
"Mom only told me this morning, but I had a feeling," Marianne specified. "I dreamed it," she added quietly. "Granny told me," she went on, even quieter. Lucas smiled. "We're going now, right?" she asked, allowing herself a brief moment of doubt.
"We're going now," Lucas promised, and the doubt was gone.
It felt so strange to be leaving with him, like it had been so long, too long, and it was too surreal for things not to be the same as before. How many times had they walked these halls, and he'd never been with them before. He was now, and he was with them into the parking lot, and then as they helped him into the minivan… They pulled out of the lot, and he was with them. The radio was on, and he was listening and watching as Marianne so heartily sang along to the music. The feeling was infectious, the vibrant happiness… He was going home.
They could have thrown a huge party, with many, many guests, but that would have felt more about them than about him. They were going to have a small gathering the next day, as small as a gathering could be with all the turtles and their families, Lucas' team and theirs, some people from the ranch… Maya had checked with Lucas, made sure he would be up for it, and he was, so that was what he would get. In the meantime, the only party crew he needed was already on hand. His wife, his daughters, his son-in-law and granddaughter, his father, his grandparents… What more could he need?
They were all there, outside the house, waiting for him. They'd been unable to keep all festiveness on the inside, so there were a few colorful balloons in view as they drove up the road.
"Did you blow those up?" Lucas turned his head to Marianne at his side, and she laughed as she shook her head.
"There's helium in them," she informed him, and he slowly nodded. Yes, that made sense. "Do you like them?"
"Oh, they're great, pumpkin," he promised her.
"Are you nervous?" she asked him. He looked from her to the back of Maya's head, in the driver's seat, or his father's in the passenger seat. They'd be listening in, wanting to know as much as the nine-year-old did.
"Maybe a little," he admitted. "You know, this kind of reminds me of when your mom and I came back from being on tour with Ree. You were there, too, of course, but you were still baking," he pointed out, and she snickered. "But I've been thinking of this day for a while, and it's not quite the same as that day," he went on. She nodded, understanding. "You know what it's like, when you think about something happening for a long while and then it finally comes?"
"Yeah," she replied, and he read in her eyes how this very moment had been one of those. "It's okay though. It's going to be great," she promised him.
"With all you guys, I know it will."
It wasn't even as though he was lying to her or holding things back on purpose. Whether he said it out loud or not, she would understand the rest as well as Maya and Thomas did. It had been one thing to have his exercises back at the hospital, but now he was in the real world again. Now he was having to bring that experience into his home life, even as he was feeling his heart thump and thump at the idea of going back, finding that rhythm again. It wasn't going to be the same, they knew that, but there'd be such a big part of them that would want it to be, and that was where things might get complicated.
But they pulled up to the house, and the welcoming committee was right there to greet them. It took a lot of sisterly cooperation to make sure that the little ones gave their father the time to be helped from the minivan and into the house before they would pile up around him, but they pulled it off, and for all the worries and the anxiety, they were rewarded with the feeling that came with making it into the house, shutting the door, and letting out a breath. There. They'd made it.
There was so much that the girls wanted to tell and show, but they were all so happy to have their father and grandfather back that they barely knew how to keep it together or where to begin. It made the first hours of Lucas' return fly by like there was never, could never be anything for any of them to be concerned over. Reality presented itself once in a while, reminding them that, while they were back, things were not exactly as they had been the last time that they'd been in this house together, but again they didn't let it keep them down for long.
The biggest reality check came later, as they looked to their first night back, and getting Lucas upstairs. There was plenty of temptation there to suggest that he at least spend the first night down in the living room, but he was determined to go up, and so he would, and he did. He got to wish his daughters a good night as they all climbed into their beds, and soon he would get to do the same as he and Maya turned in for the night.
They were ridiculously shy and awkward about it at first, especially as they had to decide what they each needed. There could be no spooning, so she turned to rest on her other side, the better to face him. He looked relieved at this, at the idea of only having to turn his head to see her.
"You can wake me for any reason," she told him.
"I know. I will," he replied. They looked at each other, and in her eyes was that same unspoken thought he'd seen in her and in others. "It's not as bad as it used to be," he promised her. She let out a breath. "You're here with me now," he pointed out, and she snorted. He caught hold of her hand, brought it to his lips. The emotion in her eyes was alive with the unspoken fears of weeks, and he kissed her hand again. He was home. Finally, he was home, and she was with him. It would be their best night in a very long time.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
