Haunted

Elastic Heart, Part Three - UNEDITED

Disclaimer: This chapter has not been edited from the original as posted on JBFF. There will be mistakes, typos, continuity problems and other issues.

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Maddox wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep but he was still sitting up in the hotel bed, leaning against the headboard. His phone was in his lap and he was wearing the same clothes he'd had on when they got there the night before. Hannah was sitting next to him, her eyes fixed on Brent's iPad and the little drawing game she liked to play.

"Morning, Hanners," Maddox's voice was raspy. "Where's Dada?"

"Bye-Bye," Hannah said.

"Okay," Maddox cleared his throat and sat up. He looked around the room, wondering if Brent had left some clue as to where he went. Two suitcases were lying on the floor but the rest of the room was clean.

"Daddy where Koey?" Hannah asked.

"She's still sick," Maddox sighed. The weight of the night before settled onto his shoulders. He'd never imagined anything like this before and the idea of having such a sick baby was still terrifying.

"Can go home?" Hannah asked.

"Not today," Maddox said. "Let's go find Dada," he suggested.

"Okay," Hannah sighed and put the iPad down. She picked up Hippo and scooted toward the edge of the bed, turning on her tummy to slide off. "Daddy get dresses."

"I will," Maddox smiled. As much as he loved Hannah he felt like he loved her so much more since Chloe was born. Just having her there to keep him from getting lost in all his fears and feelings about Chloe made all the difference to him. He wasn't sure how he and Brent would have gotten through without her to keep them normal.

As Maddox started putting clothes on he realized that he wasn't really sure how Brent was handling things. The night before they hadn't ever finished their conversation. At least Maddox didn't think so, he couldn't remember falling asleep.

"Okay, Hannah, let's go," Maddox said. He was pretty sure he knew where they would find Brent.

They walked to the elevator and Maddox told Hannah which buttons to push. He could hear her whispering to Hippo, mostly just baby talk, as they waited for the elevator doors to open again.

Just as Maddox suspected, Brent was on one of the treadmills in the hotel fitness center. He had his headphones in and the music was up so loud Brent didn't hear them come in. Maddox picked up Hannah and carried her around the treadmills so they could get Brent's attention.

"Hi," Brent hit the stop button on the treadmill the second he saw them. He was out of breath and red-faced but still managed to look guilty as he pulled his ear buds out.

"Hey," Maddox raised his eyebrows. He peeked at the treadmill and saw that Brent had run just over 10 miles. "Really?"

"I'm trying to deal," Brent huffed. "I'm stopping now, okay?"

"Okay, I just woke up and you were gone," Maddox said.

"Yeah, well, you fell asleep," Brent got off the treadmill and wiped the sweat off his face.

"Sorry," Maddox rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Dax," Brent shook his head and pulled his shirt up to wipe his face again. He was drenched in sweat so his abs glistened. Maddox sighed, wishing he didn't notice how sexy Brent was right then.

"I'm going to the hospital," Maddox said.

"I'm going with you," Brent said. "Clara said she would watch Hannah today."