At three-month-old Hela Bannish is dropped in her father and the rest of his bandmate's dressing room with a note done in a beautiful, well-practiced script:
"Loki, there is something wrong with our baby and no one is listening. I fear she is dying...
"Mr. Bannish? Excuse me, Mr. Bannish?" A nurse walked up to Caius, Darius, and Loki as they sipped coffee or cocoa and Loki stood wiping his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans, "I-I"m Mr. Bannish."
The nurse smiled, "Hi. I'm the nurse running between you and Hela while she's in recovery. She's out of Surgery. The Doctor will be out shortly to talk to you all to let you know how that went. She's having a little trouble with her oxygen so she's wearing a mask right now which brought it up. Otherwise, she's doing okay. She's on some pretty strong pain medication so she'll be out. We got to see her pretty green eyes. For a few minutes but she'd back out now. As long as her stats are holding in 45 minutes we'll be moving her to ICU for the night. She was crying nice and strong so the doctor all ready taken her breathing tube out that's why she was on the mask. She's got wires and IVs though. But that will change over the days. Her nurse in ICU will explain what everything is to you there. While she's in ICU I suggest you go home and get some sleep because the next two weeks are going to be a lot of coming and going. A lot of changes." She shook the hands of everyone as Angie and the Doctor was coming out in clean scrubs and talked a mile a minute and she hugged Darius first as the Doctor pulled Loki aside.
The Doc sat with Loki in another corner where it was quiet. I know your young... and she's young..."
"I'm 20..." Loki interrupted.
"Yes, you're young. But from what Angie was saying you have a great family base with her and Darius and the family." He smiled and took Loki's hand. "Hela made it, her intestines were in knots, she had 3 major knots and that happens in development in the womb. We don't know why for sure. It's nothing mom or dad do it just happens. But, it happens sometimes, it's more common than people realize. Hela's gonna be all right though. She'll gain her lost weight back in no time, catch up, and maybe even surpass those in her age bracket now. You're a tall fellow, large hands..."
"Her mom was thin, small..."
They talked a while longer until Hela was wheeled out in a crib and she looked so very tiny surrounded by rolled blankets, the doctor showed him her incision where her small intestine had all been pulled out, checked, and rewrapped, she'd lost her appendix as the rewrap put it on the wrong side, so no misdiagnosed appendicitis they had removed the knots and GLUED her shut, a perfect little line about three inches long. she had a tube from her nose to her tummy to relieve gas. Loki felt like he was gonna pass out. They had walked to PICU, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He said goodbye to Hela as they took her in.
He held Hela's little hand for a few more minutes and looked at the clock it was 2 pm and looked at his friends and Darius's sister, Amyah. Hela's nurse told him to come back at 9 am. They'd have news then. He nodded and Amyah led him to her car to drive him somewhere to think which meant one of the two practice barns on the farm. He beat on the practice kit for two hours before Amyah got a bright idea. And flashed the lights from the sound room and flashed her black card and he nodded.
Amyah smiled showing him the trailer she'd been saving for herself on the quieter side of the farm. and she gave him the keys, it had two bedrooms, two baths, a decent kitchen and dining, and of course the living and washroom. All of which Amyah said he needed and he agreed and they got Darius's farm hand to move it to share the little play yard with Amyah and her one-year-old Tripp. He smiled as it was set up and the billing system Darius had set up was put in place he and Amyah got in the big box truck and headed into the local shop she liked that was going out of business for both of them. Darius and Angie had come home and passed out in the main house across the ranch.
That Night...
After hours of scouring the going out of business store Loki and Amyah had settled on a dresser, crib, and rocker that would just fit in her room, they chose a bright yellow, black, and green, sunflower heavy motif and settled around that to build her little life in his. He rubbed his arms after they had backed it all including things to come, bottles, bowls, you name it, a car seat to suit her for years to come in his little truck. God he'd have to get a better truck. He'd have to talk to the Bane brothers about a loan on that little thing. Damnit. He'd be playing in their band for life. He winced at Amyah, "I'm gonna owe your Grand'da and your Brother's for life."
She shook her head, "No. Just take Hela to see him, and let my brothers melt around all that red hair..."
Loki nodded as they packed his bed into the trailer at the next stop, and then his stuff at the Wal*Mart and they moved on back to the trailer and she went and woke up Angelus the youngest Bane brother to help them get the boxes and furniture in the trailer and he happily hearts all the news and high-fived Lokus and eyed everything they were bringing in.
"Darius let you break your savings account?"
"No Amyah fell in love with Hela." He said shoving the boxspring just a bit harder and Angelus stumbled and hit his head.
"Sorry, Lokus. Do you need any tools? I'll leave my toolbox..."
"Thanks." With that, they'd gotten all the boxes and bags in and Amyah and Angelus had departed and Loki sat on his new couch and sobbed until his cell phone rang with the number *TMC Hospital* on it and he answered and shot out of the trailer for the parking lot rubbing his face and took off.
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