Back Home
Chapter 21
If it wasn't for Levi, Christine would have just given up. Katie was most likely dead. Hannah would be used against her father. It had taken some weeks before she heard from Mike, and he was LIVID about the girls disappearing. The weird part was he made no mention of Katie, even when Christine told him about what she had heard.
He didn't come home, telling Christine he was still searching for Hannah. He did seem fairly heartbroken about her. Christine took care of Levi and just existed. The only time she faltered was when she saw news coverage of the hostage situation at SouthComm and saw Mike with a gun to his head.
Their relationship was in tatters. If there was any hope for them, he was going to have to change. No more gaslighting. If Katie and Hannah were found and Katie was alive, he would have to beg her for forgiveness. He would have to be a daddy to their kids, like he had been before the Red Flu. Levi would only know Mike's love. One day, Christine's cellphone rang and she groaned when she saw Mike's name on the display. She took a breath before answering, preparing herself for the insults.
"Hello?" Christine asked.
"I wanted to let you know I am deploying again." Mike said simply.
"When? I thought you might want to come home to meet Levi? Or maybe for his birthday?" Christine asked.
"No time." Mike answered.
"Mike–you need to bond with Levi. He hasn't even met you." Christine objected.
"He's not even a year old. He'll be fine. I'll be there when I get there." Mike said.
"Have you found any evidence…" Christine started.
"None. Its like Hannah is just gone." Mike said.
"Mike…you have two daughters. Katie and Hannah. I don't know for sure that Katie was shot. So, as far as I know and hope, she's alive." Christine said.
"You have no reason to think she survived. I guarantee, if they had an opportunity to kill her they will have and they were right. Her death will have had no effect on me." Mike answered.
"Jesus Christ, Mike! You are alluding yourself." Christine exclaimed.
"No, I know exactly what I'm saying." Mike argued.
"I think you are convincing yourself, so it won't hurt so badly." Christine said.
"I don't have time to be psychoanalyzed. I am just letting you know–I will be out of pocket. I probably won't be able to call or email and I don't know how long I'll be." Mike commented.
"Alright, Mike. I love you. Be careful." Christine said.
"I love you too." Mike said. He hung up before anything else could be said.
Christine knew she was probably wrong. Mike might have actually just accepted that Katie was gone. At one time; he had adored Katie. She was their firstborn. Christine found a photo album and smiled at one of the photos of Mike sleeping on the couch with two-year-old Katie sleeping next to him. She had her tiny arms wrapped around him and it looked like he was kissing the top of her head in his sleep. It was one of Christine's favorite photos.
She took a photo of the photo with her cellphone and emailed it to Mike, hoping he'd at least look at it. Hopefully, it wouldn't put him over the edge. She still loved him, but she wasn't sure how long she would be able to stay married at the current rate. She was exhausted of the emotional battering she took every time she spoke to him. Mike was going to have remember being a father and a husband before it was too late.
About a month later, late at night; there was a knock on the door. Christine was always skeptical due to the way the girls had disappeared but she answered the door to find Mike and two young girls–both skin and bones. It took Christine a moment to register that the girls were her girls.
"Can we come in? Its cold?" Mike asked gently. Christine noticed how he had Katie's hand tucked into his elbow. She moved out of the way and he guided her in. Once they had better lighting; she knew why. Katie seemed to be blinded.
"Its not changed." Hannah remarked. Christine wrapped her arm around Hannah and kissed her forehead. Mike had guided Katie to the couch and helped her sit down.
"Hannah, can you stay here with your sister and I'll talk to your mom? Call us if you need us?" Mike requested. Hannah nodded and settled next to Katie. Christine followed Mike into the kitchen.
"What happened to them?" Christine asked. Mike was searching around for something.
"They need to eat soup or something. Do you have anything?" Mike asked. Christine stepped into the pantry and found some canned chicken noodle soup. She put it in the pan to heat up and looked to Mike for an explanation.
"Mike?" Christine asked gently.
"Its honestly too terrible to talk about." Mike answered.
"For those girls to heal…we need honesty. Something has obviously happened to both of them. What happened to Katie's eyes? We'll start there." Christine asked.
"The gunshot you heard…she was shot in the head. Near as the doctor on the Michener could figure out; the bullet is still in there and is resting on her optical nerve. Obviously, it has to be removed but there's no guarantee it'll save her sight, or even her life." Mike said. He sounded clinical but there was an edge.
"How did she survive that?" Christine remarked.
"I honestly don't know. It should have killed her immediately. Anyway, the Navy is supposed to be getting her into a top neurosurgeon and someone who specializes in injuries to the optical nerve." Mike answered.
"Okay, what else?" Christine asked.
"They've both been starved. Katie took the worse of the beatings. She's been sexually assaulted too. She did everything she could to protect Hannah, although Hannah did suffer too. Just not so much." Mike explained.
"Hannah did seem kind of protective of Katie." Christine remarked.
"She feels guilty." Mike replied.
"That seems to be a common emotion." Christine said. She dished the soup up, including a bowl for Mike.
"I just wanted to make sure the girls got to eat. I can wait until the morning." Mike objected as Christine put the bowls on a tray to carry into the living room where the girls were.
"I figured you hadn't eaten and you won't sleep if you don't." Christine said. She fixed three glasses of milk and put them on a separate tray. Mike picked up the food and Christine grabbed the drinks.
"She may need help. I had to feed her lunch to her." Mike said quietly.
"No problem." Christine answered. She offered Hannah a smile before sitting the tray with the drinks on the coffee table.
"Are you thirsty?" Hannah asked Katie.
"Yes." Katie answered.
"Alright. I'll help you take a drink. Here it is." Hannah said. She put the glass in Katie's hand and guided it to her mouth.
"We might need to get some straws." Mike remarked.
"Here, Katie; I'll help you eat so your dad and sister can eat. I'm right here on your right." Christine said. She put Katie's hand on her leg so she knew how close so was. Midway through the dinner, Christine noticed Mike wasn't eating his soup. He was sound asleep, sitting straight up in the chair.
"He's not slept in three days. Between the ship sinking and us…Dad's been overwhelmed. He was pretty excited to meet Levi though." Hannah said quietly.
"We'll finish up and you all can go to bed." Christine said.
"Can Hannah and I sleep together?" Katie asked.
"Mom…Katie has seizures sometimes." Hannah said.
"Of course." Christine said.
"I am glad to be home." Katie answered.
"I'm glad you are both home…and your dad too." Christine answered. She put Katie's soup bowl back on the tray and helped her finish the last of the milk. "I'll help you girls get settled and then I'll come back down to clean this and wake your dad up." Christine said.
It was a chore to get Katie upstairs and then into pajamas that didn't fit anymore. There were scars everywhere but Christine quickly got both girls settled and Katie promised not to go down the stairs without assistance. Christine quickly cleaned everything up and shook Mike awake. She badly wanted to talk to him about everything, but Mike was barely able to get up the stairs himself. He did stop at the doorway of Levi's nursery and looked in.
"Tomorrow, you can spend sometime with him." Christine said gently. She honestly felt badly for Mike. He seemed totally wrecked and not at all like himself.
"I'd like to." Mike answered. She followed him into their bedroom and smiled at him looking around.
"Take your shower. The girls are asleep and okay. They're together. We'll talk tomorrow when you've rested up a bit." Christine said.
"Thanks…and sorry." Mike said. He got pajama pants and a t-shirt out of his dresser and went to the primary bathroom.
Christine got ready for bed and only had to brush her teeth when Mike finished. By the time she walked back into the bedroom; he was almost asleep, only waking slightly when she climbed in next to him. Shockingly, he wrapped his arms around her and cuddled close.