The choice of the heart

Chapter 146

They had been very difficult weeks after the day of Pruitt and Ingrid's funeral, especially for Samantha who continued to always be sad and was no longer the happy little girl she was before. Samantha always wanted to be together with their parents and she didn't want to go to school because she was afraid that she would never see her parents again. Andy and Robert were very worried about their little girl and were currently taking Samantha with them wherever they went. However, when the alarm went off, Samantha remained at the station with Luke who in the meantime had decided to move his office to Station 19 in order to help Andy and Robert. When Andy and Robert were not at the station, Luke would always try to reassure his nephew, they would listen to the radio together so they would know what was going on and Luke would explain to her everything that was going on. Samantha seemed to be a little calmer that way, but then when Andy or Robert said how long it would take them to get back to the station, Samantha was constantly checking the watch.

Samantha: "Uncle Luke, how soon did mom say they'd be here?"

Luke: "She said they'll be here in twenty minutes" Samantha nodded. "In the meantime, do you want something for a snack?"

Samantha: "Could I have some ice cream?"

Luke: "Absolutely" she replied, smiling. "Will you come to the kitchen with me to get it or will you wait here for me?"

Samantha: "I'll wait for you here" Luke nodded.

While Luke stepped away for a few minutes to get ice cream for Samantha, she remained the entire time with her eyes on the clock to check the time that was passing. Even when Luke gave her ice cream, the little girl continued to look at the clock and when the twenty minutes passed, Samantha started to cry.

Luke: "Hey, what's going on? Why are you crying?"

Samantha: "Twenty minutes have passed, but mom, dad, and Cami aren't back yet. I think something bad happened" she said as she continued to cry.

Luke: "I'm sure they're all fine" she said, trying to reassure his nephew. "There's probably just a lot of traffic on the road"

Samantha: "What if they had had an accident instead?"

Luke: "You don't have to think about the worst" he replied, hugging his nephew. "Your mother, father and sister are well and will be here soon"

Samantha: "Are you really sure about that?"

Luke: "Yes" he replied, giving her a tender kiss on the forehead. "What happened to your grandparents was an accident, which unfortunately happens, but that doesn't mean that if your parents are a few minutes late in arriving it's because something happened"

Samantha: "I'm afraid that they too could have an accident like my grandparents"

Luke: "I know you're scared, and that's normal, but with time you have to try to understand that everything will be okay, okay?" Samantha nodded. "And for anything, you can always count on me and Aunt Vic, we will always be there for you" Samantha nodded again. "And now let's go downstairs, the trucks are back"

Samantha, without waiting for Luke, ran downstairs to her parents. The little girl immediately hugged her parents and then Robert picked her up.

Robert: "Hey, little one, why are you crying?"

Samantha: "Because you are late and I thought something had happened to you" she replied, hiding her face in the crook of her father's neck.

Robert: "I'm sorry, but there was traffic on the street. You don't have to worry so much"