Godfather

2

Luke never realised how much Daisy looked like her father until now.

Daisy, in the eyes of Luke and just about everyone else, was the spitting image of her mother. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, and just about everything else that contributed to Jess' beauty were also the things that contributed to her daughter's beauty, as well. But now that she was there, sleeping in the hospital bed, tiny hand in his big one, he saw it. He saw everything.

She had his eyelashes. His button nose. His high cheekbones. His thick hair. His full lips. She was still the spitting image of her mother, but he was there. Sam was there. You just had to look close enough to see it.

It'd been a few days since the accident. Friends and distant family had come and gone, paying their sympathies and giving the angel in the hospital bed their wishes for her good health, along with making sure that her new guardian was taken care of, as well. Bringing him home cooked meals (which he could never finish) and changes of clothes, or even the chance for him to finally take a shower or a walk after sitting in that room for days on end. But Luke wasn't concerned about himself. He was concerned about his Daisy getting better and coping with the deaths of Sam and Jess.

But mostly Daisy.

He'd gotten her a new nurse, one which was a lot better at her job, and made sure never to leave that little girl's side for more than a few minutes at a time. She was starting to feel a little bit better (or as better as she could feel given the circumstances), but she was still going through it.

She cried. A lot. The nighttimes were worse than the daytimes because that's when she felt the most alone. She told Luke about how her mommy used to read her stories at night and how she secretly liked it when her daddy told the stories more because he did the funny voices. Luke offered to read her a story with the funny voices but she said no. The funny voices made her sad now. She missed walking, too. She was on strict bedrest at the moment but today she was getting off of it. She was going to get to take a little walk around the hospital today, just to keep her muscles from atrophying. But a walk was a walk and they would take what they were given.

"Mr. Hemmings?" The nurse called out, snapping Luke out of his trans.

"Yes?" He responded, looking up at the woman.

"I'm just going to check some of her gashes and vitals, if that's alright."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Luke nodded, looking down at the cut up little one. "Do I wake her?"

"No, no, it's alright," The woman smiled. "It's actually a little bit easier when they're sleeping."

Luke let out a little laugh at that and let the woman take a look at Daisy's wounds, which looked a lot better than when he got there. They'd finally completely scabbed over, which made the nurse smile.

"They're looking good." She commented. "At the rate she's healing, she should be out any day now."

At this, Luke's ears perked up.

"Really?"

"Yeah," The woman grinned, checking her IV silently. "But... May I ask a question? You don't have to answer, I'm just curious."

Luke, who was now intrigued, nodded slowly.

"What happens next?" She asked. "You're her guardian now. But what happens after that? Is she going to stay here? What's going to happen to the estate? Does she have any family left?"

"She's coming with me." He answered. "She's coming back to America with me. We'll stay here for a little bit, get her papers in order, get the house listed, give her the closure and mourning time she needs, and then move. I'm the only family she has left. Jess and Sam's parents died a long while ago, and aside from some distant aunts and uncles and some cousins, I'm all she's got left."

The nurse nodded in understanding before speaking again.

"I, uh, have some friends that could probably help you out with the whole citizenship thing, if you want." She said, shining a little penlight in Daisy's eyes. "I could give them a call for you, maybe expedite the paper work."

"Would you really?"

The nurse nodded.

"You're going through a really hard time right now, and have more on your plate than anyone I know. The least I could do is make a quick call."

Luke stood up and walked over to the woman, surprising her with a hug.

"Thank you," He sniffled, trying to hold back his emotions. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"L-Luke?" A small voice asked, gaining the teary eyed boy's attention.

"Yeah, baby?" He responded, breaking the contact and sitting by her side, taking her hand in his once again.

"Why are you crying?"

He smiled as her bottom lip jutted out into an adorable pouting face, wiping his unshed tears.

"I'm just happy, baby." He answered. "I'm just happy."

This was as good of an answer for Daisy as any. But she wanted to be happy too. So, she reached out for Luke and watched as he laughed.

"What are you doing, baby?" He asked, taking her in his arms and sitting her in his lap (minding her wires of course).

"That hug made you happy, and I want to be happy, too."

At her words, Luke's happiness faded. Those were words no three year old should ever have to say, and Luke vowed to himself that he'd do everything in his power to try and make sure that she never says them again.

"Well," He spoke, snapping out of it and shooting her a fake smile. "Hugs make everything better, don't they?"

"Yeah!"

And with that, Luke wrapped his arms around little Daisy Jane and held her tightly in a hug as she wrapped her arms around her neck, where she buried her face. The two stayed like that for a bit, just embracing and making sure nothing happened to the other. But once they broke apart, Luke was relieved to see that she had a smile on her face.

"You happy now, baby?"

Daisy nodded. And her mood only got better with the words that left the nurse's mouth.

"Well, that's good to hear. Because happy walks are the best walks!"

Then, Daisy went from happy to happier. She was bored of being in bed all day every day and hated that she could never actually fall asleep because of her concussion. So a walk around the hospital was exactly what she needed, and exactly what she got.

She was a little shaky on her feet at first, stumbling a little here or there and depending on Luke and the pole that held her IV drip, but after a while, she got used to it.

"You're doing great, sweetie," Luke encouraged, looking down at her. "I'm very proud of you."

She blushed and he smiled and they kept on walking, until the nurse noticed Daisy getting tired once again. So, they trekked back to the room, got Daisy in bed, and let everything fall back into the routine that the two had fallen into since the accident. But this time, it was better.

That day was the first day toward their new lives together, and most importantly, the first day of getting better.