A Diamond with Scars

Miracle Child

"You're looking better, Markie." Evan said as he set down a bag of clean clothes in his closet. "What changed so suddenly?"

Phil walked in a few moments later with their little sister. They had received a phone call from Lisa the nurse telling them about his amazing turn around in the last few weeks. So they thought it would be an excellent idea for him to see Maria.

"Just a PT who is kicking my ass." Mark smirked and then turned his attention to his little sister. "Minnie!" he smiled brightly and hugged her tightly when she rushed over to him.

"Mommy said you got a new leg!!!" Maria chirped happily and pointed to the prosthetic that he had finally gotten used to. "You look like a robot." she was surprised when she got a good look at it.

"I am part robot now!" Mark joked and tickled her. "Bring me to your leader!" he beeped like a robot, making her laugh loudly.

Evan smirked, "You seem happy. Did Lori come crawling back to you?"

Mark shot him a murderous look. Before he was able to reciprocate, someone else entered.

"Hey! Party in room 22!" Anya sing-songed as she jumped into the room.

The look on Mark's face when he saw her just answered the question Evan had been hounding. She was the reason. He had never seen that look in his brother's eyes before. Not even with his ex. So he had fallen for his therapist. How cliche and down right romantic. Evan gave his twin a look and a smirk. Phil noted the look as well.

Maria's lapis eyes widened brightly and her face lit up, "Markie! It's her!!! The pretty nurse with the long hair!" She pointed at Anya. "The one who smiled at me!"

"That pretty 'nurse' is a Physical Therapist, Anya. She is helping me learn to walk again." Mark smirked up at Anya. Taking not the blush that crept up her face. He picked small ways to flirt with her on a daily basis.

"Hi there, cutie pie! Good to see you again." Anya smiled happily at the little curly haired girl. She did remember seeing her a while ago. Her eyes and hair matched Mark's. If someone wasn't careful, she could be mistaken for his daughter.

"Mark, you should marry her! She is so pretty! And nicer than Lori." Maria made a sour looking face when she said Lori's name.

Everyone in the room, aside from Maria, was surprised. Children were always very honest and never held anything back. That didn't stop them from being a little shocked that she said that.

"Minnie, that's not exactly how it works..." Phil stated in order to break up the awkward silence. "You have to date someone before you can get married." He should not have said that.

Maria stopped her foot in frustration, "Uaggg! Fine! Anya! Go on a date with my big brother. He will treat you like a princess!" she decided. "Then you can get married and I can be the flower girl!!!" she skipped around pretending to toss imaginary flowers like she had practiced for MONTHS after Mark and Lori announced their engagement.

"OKAYYYY Time to go!" Evan picked her up and hugged his younger brother. "I promised this one ice cream before we sent her back to Mom."

And just like that Maria's mind went straight to ice cream. "YAYYY ICE CREAM!!!!" She cheered. "BYE MARKIE!" squealing as she waved, Evan still holding her.

Phil rubbed his neck, "Yea I should get going too...Oh! Before I forget." Fishing in his back pocket, Phil pulled out a cell phone. "Dad wanted me to give you this. In case you need anything...I stuck you on my plan for the time being. Anyway, I need to get home to my wife." Phil tossed him the phone, also mentioning the charger was in the bag of stuff they had brought him.

Mark thanked him as he left, leaving him and Anya in the room together. It wasn't abnormal for them to be alone together, but now his sister had pulled a stunt that left them feeling awkward.

"So...your family seems nice." Anya stated finally. "Twins? And a sister."

"Can't live without 'em. Yeah. Our parents got married really young, 18 and 19. Evan and Phil are identical twins. 18 months older than me. Minnie on the other hand...she was quite the surprise. My mom was told she would never conceive again 5 years after I was born." Mark smiled softly, thinking about his little sister. "She had really bad endometriosis. They said it was a miracle she even had us 3. But then...on her 39th birthday she found out she was pregnant with Minnie. It was a hard pregnancy...ended up having a full hysterectomy during her c-section. Very unheard of."

Anya sat down on the chair beside him. "Wow...that's crazy..." she looked up at him and smiled though. "But I can see how much you love her, despite the large age gap."

Mark chuckled, "Yea, she always says I am her hero big brother. The other two were already out of the house and off at college. I stayed closer to home and went to the academy. It was cheaper that way."

"Well, it's clear she adores you." Anya admired him. "I always wanted a big family like that of my own one day." That is if she ever found a man who could get past the hideous scars that marked her back. She didn't even know if the accident had prevented her from carrying a baby.

"Same." Mark looked up at her from the side. "The bigger, the better." That smirk again.

"Well, we gotta get you out of here so you can go find you someone special to start popping out babies like a bunny. Not like Lo~ri." Anya mimicked Maria's snide sound of saying her name.

Mark bust out laughing. He loved her humor.

"Well, I just came to check on you before I head home for the evening." she stood. "Want anything special for tomorrow's buttkicking?" she asked in reference to food. She planned to have him walking more the next day.

"Surprise me." Mark raised a brow and gave a side smirk.

"Alright, rocky mountain oysters and goose liver." Anya teased. "High in protein."

They both just laughed and he watched her leave as well.