Her Last Plea✨

Chapter 50

Faith Miller awoke to the sounds of Marvin babbling through the baby monitor. She looked over at her husband, sound asleep as Ara was snuggled into his chest as they had shifted onto their sides. Ara had been half asleep and confused when Garrett had carried her in the house this morning. And so, Will hadn't let go of her at all and had allowed her to sleep on his chest for as long as she wanted to.

Lightly kissing Ara's hair, Faith crept out of bed, glancing at the clock as it turned over from 8:36 to 8:37am.

She climbed up the stairs, all the while worrying for the girls, wondering how Mike would be able to break the news to them. Out of habit, she peered into Gary and David's old room, before walking down the hall towards Alexis's one, opening her door quietly.

Faith hardly expected to see her daughter, wrapped around a bare chested Mike as the both lightly snored on the bed. She couldn't help but notice how comfortable and content the both of them looked, despite the circumstances. Making a mental note to talk to her daughter later, Faith quietly closed the door to Alexis's bedroom and walked into the guest bedroom. Inside she found Marvin standing up in the crib, smiling and grinning as he clutched his blanket in one hand and his stuffed bear in the other.

"Nana!" he squealed.

Faith's face lit up as she beamed at the boy she loved as if he was her own grandson. He'd said 'Pa' for months now, but never anything for her other than a loud scream and point if whoever was talking to him wasn't quite getting the memo.

"That's right, button!" she cooed as she picked him up from his bed. "I'm Nana!"

"Nana!" he repeated, puckering his lips tightly as he kissed her cheek sloppily. "Bana bite. Bana bite, Nana."

"You want a banana?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Marvin replied. "Bana yum!"

"Bananas are very yum indeed," Faith replied.

"Daddy?" he asked, for he was used to his father getting him in the mornings.

"Daddy is sleeping," Faith whispered as she walked down the stairs. "So we have to be really quiet."

Marvin put his petite finger to his lips. "Shhh," he hissed. "Daddy shhhh."

"That's right," Faith replied as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Le-si shhh?" Marv asked next as if he suddenly remembered that she was the one who had put him to bed.

"Yes love, Lexi is sleeping too," Faith answered, tickling Marvin softly. "Now, firstly, we'll get you a banana and then you can help Nana make waffles! Okay?"

Marvin clapped his hands together and cheered, as he was in the beginning stages of being the sort of toddler that needed to help with everything. Faith, blessed with the patience of a saint, did her best to nurture the need to help, just as she'd done with Mira and Ara before, and the Greene children as well.

Soft doorbell chimes brought Faith, with Marvin in her arms, to the front door, finding Garrett on her front porch with a sad smile.

"Hello again beautiful," Garrett said to her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. When he'd arrived with Alexis and the kids earlier, he'd been in a complete state of panic, and he was in a rush to reach the hospital, worried about Mike.

Now, he just looks resigned, Faith noted in her head.

She smiled back at him and opened her arms to give hug him as best as she could with Marvin on her hip. "Come on in, sweetheart."

Marvin reached over for Garrett, who gladly took him as he gave him a hug. "Hi buddy," he said, ruffling Marvin's blonde curls. "What are you up to this morning?"

"Bana," he replied, pointing back towards the kitchen.

"We are eating a banana in the kitchen," Faith clarified.

"Well, bananas are my favorite," Garrett replied as he followed Faith with Marvin perched on his hip. "Can I have a banana?"

"Nope," Marvin simply replied. "Mine."

Garrett laughed, entering the kitchen. He placed Marvin into his high chair, where he began eating his banana on his own. "Glad to see you inherited your Dad's ability to share – or lack thereof."

"Daddy shhh!" Marvin replied. "Shhh!"

"That's right," Faith said. "Daddy is sleeping."

"Yep," Marvin added for good measure.

Garrett took a seat at the bar, smiling as Faith handed him a fresh cup of coffee. "Thanks, Faith. Is Lexi awake?"

"Le-si shhh," Marvin quickly informed Garrett before Faith could.

Faith smiled at the toddler as she poured herself a cup. "What he said. She's sleeping still…but I reckon she'll be down in a bit. She mentioned this morning that she'd more than likely be fetching Mira later."

Garrett nodded. "Yea, I think I'll go with her. Maybe we should use Royalty's private helicopter, would make the journey faster. How's Mike doing by the way?"

Faith opened the refrigerator and retrieved the coffee creamer. "Well, I didn't see him when he came in this morning, but he looked awfully cozy wrapped around my daughter a little while ago when I checked."

He didn't mean to choke, but the news took Garrett back a bit. "Stop it," he said, regaining his composure. "In the same bed?"

Faith nodded, peeling back another banana as she chopped up chunks and let them drop onto Marvin's high chair tray for him to pick up and eat. "I adore Mike. I really do. I assumed it would come to this eventually but –"

"Its bad timing," Garrett finished. "Just a bit, anyway."

"I just don't want Lexi rushing into anything," Faith admitted. "I know I tease her about Mike, usually in good fun with a hint of truth behind it, but Drew hurt her terribly. I know he's your brother-in-law, but –"

"I was livid at what he did to Lexi," Garrett interjected. "Don't think you're offending me. I'm almost certain that had it not been for their mother's sake, Hailey would have killed him herself. All I did was get in a good punch. And in any case, Lexi comes first. She was my sister way before Drew became my brother-in-law."

Faith took a sip of her coffee as she smiled at Garrett. Although he looked just like his father, Isaac, Garrett always reminded Faith of his mother, her own best friend, Layla, in the ways he spoke or acted. She would have been proud of the man Garrett had turned out to be if she was here right now, Faith thought sadly.

"Do you think Mike has genuine feelings for my daughter?" Faith asked, after a while.

Garrett nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I think Mike's always liked Lex but he.….let's just say, Mike's a complicated man. He's not the git he was when we first became friends, though he's still as stubborn as they come – maybe even more so than Lexi. But he's different when he's with her, and Lexi's different too."

"I never see him without Lex, so I wouldn't know about him," Faith replied. "But I do think she's much more like her old self with Mike than she was right after everything that happened with Drew."

"Well, trust me when I say he's certainly a bigger pain in the ass without her around," Garrett replied with a soft chuckle.

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Note: Garrett's son, Isaac, and daughter, Layla, are named after his parents who had passed away when Garrett was 13. Don't get confused!😅

~Mia♾️✨