A Little Left Behind (A Hunter Hayes fanfiction)

Chapter 21 That Scary Procedure

Hunter's POV

I woke up to both Annabelle and Jackson curled up on either side of me on the uncomfortable couch in the hospital. Today was the day, the day that they fixed Aisy's heart. They weren't going to let us hold her again at first but then they agreed, saying that we were allowed thirty minutes in the NICU with Annabelle and Jackson. Maisy and I both smiled as we helped the kids hold Aisy and laughed as they Aisy was smiling the whole time. Her personality fit right in with the rest of ours. AIsy was a very happy baby, and I hope she continued to stay that way.

I looked at my watch, it was 8:30 in the morning and it was Tuesday. Well, I guess the kids wouldn't be going to school today, I thought. Annabelle was in kindergarten while Jackson was in preschool. I wasn't going to wake them up and force them go to school. I knew they wouldn't want to leave Maisy or Aisy while they were both still in the hospital. I looked over at Maisy who was sitting on the bed in a light blue tshirt and blue jeans. I knew she was ready to go home, especially after being in the hospital for almost a week.

"Mornin." I said as I slowly pulled my arms out from underneath Annabelle and Jackson. I stretched and yawned as I got up, trying not to wake either of them.

"Morning." Maisy said as she picked at the IV in her arm.

"Hey, stop picking at that." I told her as I walked over to her. "It's giving me the chills. Do you need more tape on it?"

"No, I want it out." Maisy explained. "I'm ready to go home, Hunter. I'm tired of being cooped up in this bed. Dr. Adams said I was recovering well after surgery. There's no reason to keep me in this room any longer.

"Maisy you need to stop rushing yourself." I told her, placing a hand on her leg. "I am sure when Dr. Adams thinks you are ready to go home, he will sign the discharge papers. Besides, we need to be here for Aisy. I am not going anywhere until I know that her heart is back to normal."

I could see the disappointment fall across her face. I knew that she wanted to go home and get back to our normal routine again, but I didn't think she wanted to leave Aisy here alone. She was stressed, and I understood why. Having a premature baby would make any mother stressed. I looked into her brown eyes and felt her sadness. Oh, the things we had been through in the past couple of years. It seemed like everyone was out to get us and tear our lives apart. First it was Haley trying to kill me and Annabelle, and then Derek came into the picture. In between those two things happening, I had been on the road quite a bit.

Maybe I was on the road a little too much. Music was my life, what am I saying...music is my life. If I wasn't in the music business, I would have never met Maisy which would have never led me to Annabelle, Jackson and now Aisy. Sure, our life wasn't perfect, but I loved every single bit of it. I took a deep breath as Dr. Adams walked in.

"We're prepping Aisy for the procedure." Dr. Adams explained. "It shouldn't take no longer than a couple of minutes once we get started. We're hoping one shock will put her heart back into rythm. I will come and get you as soon as we're done."

Maisy grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it. I gently squeezed back, letting her know again that I wasn't going anywhere. Annabelle and Jackson both woke up as the doctor came in and they were still sitting on the couch.

"Why don't you two come up and lay with Mommy for a bit?" I asked them. They both nodded and I helped them up onto the bed with Maisy. She looked more comfortable already with the two of them snuggled up against her on either side.

"This feels more like home." Maisy said, her arms wrapped around both Jackson and Annabelle. "Now we just have to wait for Aisy."

"She'll get to take her place soon." I assured her placing my hands in the front pockets of my jeans. "All we have to do is pray and wait it out."

It felt like forever when Dr. Adams finally walked back into the room. He wore a huge smile across his face.

"Aisy's fine." He said. "She only took one shock, like I thought. She's a fighter, your little girl. We'll probably keep her in here for a couple more weeks for observation but Maisy, you are free to go home after I sign the discharge papers."

Maisy smiled as tears rolled down her face. She was relieved that Aisy was ok, and that she was free to go home.

"You know what I just now realized?" Maisy asked, wiping the tears off her face.

"What that's?" I asked back, trying to stop crying myself.

"We haven't even got her room ready." Maisy explained. "We didn't even know she was a girl. Gosh, there's so much to do before she comes home."

There's the woman I knew and loved. She was back, my beautiful wife was back to her old self again at last. Knowing me, she would probably make me stop by Lowe's on the way home to get paint for the room. We would also have to stop by Toys R Us to get the bedding for the crib. We had used the same crib with Annabelle and Jackson, but we had changed the bedding each time.

"I am thinking maybe a ladybug or butterfly theme this time." Maisy said as she rubbed her hand through Jackson's short blonde hair. He was fast asleep again. "What do you think Annabelle?"

Annabelle nodded in agreement and then yawned. They had both been up almost all night with us. Sleep had come in little fits over the past couple of nights.

"Can we get her a new baby blanket?" Annabelle asked, scooting closer to Maisy.

"Of course we can pumpkin." Maisy replied. "We wouldn't want your baby sister to get cold now, would we?"

I let out a sigh as I sat down on the couch, and leaned my head back. It was finally time for a good nap.

*sorry for such a short chapter. I haven't had any good creative ideas right now.*