Second Chances Part 4 - The Holly and the Ivy

Second Chances part 4 - The Holly and the Ivy by Bethhawke.


Hawke was dozing by his daughter's cot when he was awakened by the door opening. His eyes were open in a flash, darting towards his sleeping child, then to the door.
He stood up as Beth entered closely followed by Andrea and Marella.
Beth stopped as she reached the cot and turned around to face Marella, fear in her face.
“It's okay Beth, she's going to be fine,” Marella reassured the frightened young woman, “you can't pick her up yet, but you can touch her.”
Still Beth hesitated and Hawke took her hand and gently but firmly pulled her towards the cot. He lifted their joined hands and stroked Symphony's dark hair. Beth let out a gasp as she felt the warm soft skin of the child she thought had died. A sob caught in her throat as she turned to accept Hawke's embrace. He held her tightly as sobs racked her tiny frame.


The next day a very subdued Dominic came to visit. Holly had been taken back to the clinic in Buenos Aires and it looked like she would be there for a long time. He had spoken to her grandmother and she had agreed to keep Dominic informed of her progress. As much as it hurt him he knew that he couldn't face seeing her again, not after what she had done this time. He had nearly lost his only granddaughter and if that had happened he would have blamed himself. He would have lost String, Beth and Le too. He wouldn't have been able to face them, even though Hawke had said he didn't blame Dominic for Holly's actions.
Beth let him hold Symphony for a few minutes. She was still recovering from her own breakdown and didn't have the words to tell Dom that she didn't blame him. Letting him hold her seemed to best way to show it and seeing the look of love on his face made it worth it.


As the days passed and Symphony slowly gained weight Hawke realised that he too was feeling better. He had gained his appetite and no longer felt sick. He didn't believe that his sickness was in any way related to his daughters and ignored the knowing looks of his family and friends as they noticed his recovery.


After a week the doctor pronounced Symphony well enough to go home and Hawke arrived at the clinic ready to take his family home. Beth had not left her daughter's side the whole week and Hawke had to admit that he was feeling left out. He wanted to be with both of them but Beth had eyes for no one but Symphony and practically ignored him.
As he stood outside their room a beautiful sound reached his ears; Beth was singing. As he listened he realised that he had not heard her sing in over a year but until this moment he had not realised how much he had missed it. She was singing a lullaby so he quietly pushed open the door, careful not to disturb them.
The sight before him brought tears to his eyes. Beth was sitting on the bed with Symphony in her arms and the look of love on her face told its own story.
She looked up as he entered but didn't stop singing until she was sure that Symphony was fast asleep.
“That was beautiful,” Hawke said when she eventually stopped.
Beth just shrugged, “She seems to like it. It gets her to sleep which is what matters.”
“Ready to come home?”
Beth laid the baby in her cot, “Yeah. Just give me time to pack then we can leave. Are we going to the cabin?”
Hawke's heart skipped a beat, “If that's where you want to go,” he replied, not sure what he would do if she wanted to return to her apartment.
She shrugged again and looked over at the baby, “I guess.”
Hawke realised that he didn't really have her full attention and turned back towards the door, “Well, unless you need a hand I'll be waiting outside. I have to speak to the doctor before we leave.”
Her attention had already turned toward her daughter again and she just nodded.