Hannah

77

Aspen and Hannah quickly made it to the nursing home, Hannah was moving as fast as she could without actually running. The only thing holding her back was that she noticed Aspen had struggled to keep up with her awkward not running not walking pace. He was healthier, and stronger, but his stamina for physical endurance was still recovering. Especially considering how he had been taxing his body just as hard as Caspian was right now magically to keep Judy safe from herself, and others safe from her.

Hannah was speed walking, up through the nursing home to the top level. Trying to get to her father as fast as possible. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. It certainly wasn't to turn into her father's room, to see him sitting up in the bed as Deloris helped him eat breakfast. Colton turned his head to look directly at Hannah. "Ha-Ny Ba-Na-Ne!" He said, smiling. Clearly, obviously, certainly smiling. Still looking directly at Hannah with focus and intention.

"Daddy?" Hannah said, stupefied. Looking at her dad, glancing over towards Deloris. "How?" This didn't make sense, Hannah was expecting her dad to be like he was after she had moved him to the last home. Agitated, confused, near belligerent as much as someone who could only freely move their head and one arm could be. Hannah Banana. He hadn't called her that since before she had her first period.

Sending Hannah's mind reeling back to when she had first decided she was a grown up, and little kid nicknames from her dad weren't ok any longer. If she had of known how hard it was going to be, to be a grown up, she never would have raced towards it like she had. Never would have pushed away from her parent's. Never would have been so angry at them over stupid, meaningless shit. Time is a precious gift, time with those who loved you, and you loved in return was priceless. Hannah wouldn't ever have another minute with her mother. Thought she wasn't going to get anymore significant, or truly meaningful minutes with her father. Suddenly the clock started ticking again for Hannah to have a better relationship with her father.

Deloris fed Colton another spoonful of breakfast oatmeal, Hannah could smell the cinnamon and brown sugar, just like he had always liked. While he sat and ate, Hannah had sat at his bedside. Aspen standing at her side. Watching the interaction. Feeling the love pass between father and daughter, it was beautiful, and healing, and the kind enduring love he hoped to one day share with any children Hannah might have in the future.

"Dad? Do you, understand me?" Hannah awkwardly asked her dad, he nodded as enthusiastically as he could. Opening the flood gates, as Hannah started to tell her dad about her life, skipping almost every difficult detail of her struggles starting from a few weeks after he had his accident, up until last week, when she had met Caspian, then Holland, then Max and Aspen.

Colton nodded along with Hannah's story. "Do you know what year it is Dad?" Hannah asked, Colton's left hand showing the year, one number at a time. He did it twice, after Hannah had missed the first number he had signed because she hadn't been looking at his hand in time. "Do you remember what happened to you?" Colton looked sad, eyes downward, nodding again.

"D" a long pause as Colton focused on trying to use muscles and skills he hadn't in years. "U-I." His left hand reached towards Hannah, but he wasn't able to move his arm far enough to take her hand in his. She closed the distance between them instead. As Colton clearly tried to pull himself together to say more to Hannah.

"I know dad, I miss her so much. I wasn't ever mad at you." Reaching to hug her father tightly. Aspen spent close towards two hours with Hannah and her father. Watching as they built up their own short hand communication. Hannah telling her father about her mates, and Aspen. Helping Aspen bridge the communication gap to be the first of those bonded to Hannah to actually meet the man who had made, raised and loved Hannah.

After finally nodding, and giving Aspen his approval. Pride, an emotion Aspen hadn't had the opportunity to feel often, bloomed strong in his chest. Then Colton had used his hand to slowly, and intentionally count to four, before his eyebrow quirked up questioningly, as Colton looked once at Aspen, then back to Hannah with deep focus.

Hannah shrugged. "I can barely explain it, just know that each of them were truly always meant to be with me. I am happy." She told him definitively. Before Aspen felt a spark of something wild in Hannah. An emotion or thought he couldn't even come close to understanding. He almost, in that moment wished that one of her other mates would have claimed him. To give Aspen a bellwether for Hannah and how to react to the immensity of everything their bond shared with him and those also bonded to her.

Hannah took a deep breath, and Aspen felt her steady and calm herself. Felt the small succulents in the room send the strength they could to Hannah as her soul found support through Aspen's attachment to nature. "Dad, would you want to meet someone if they wanted to meet you? One of my, partners; His mother lives nearby and would like to meet you." Hannah offered, no word a lie, giving her father a chance to chose his fate.

Colton looked confused until Hannah had said that it was one of her partners parent. Someone he could maybe relate to as his freshly awoken mind worked double time to both try and improve his communication and functional skills now that he was lucid, and to accept that his beautiful, athletic, stubborn Hannah Banana had broken her body trying to make the Olympic team, had to quit her sport, get a job and was now a woman grown. Happy in a relationship with four men. 

He had missed too much already. Colton wasn't ever going to be the kind of parent that pushed away his child, because of who their child decided to love. Support Hannah was all he had ever wanted from the moment her mother had told him she was pregnant. Colton hoped that the mother of her partner was someone who would help Hannah, be the functional parent figure he wanted his daughter to have in her life. Colton nodded his head. Telling Hannah that he would willingly meet Judy, if it was arranged.