Little Red

THIRTY

The loud sound of a machine beeping was the first thing Dani heard before the strong smell of bleach, and a familiar scent of strawberries that caused her heart to jump filled her nostrils as she began to stir awake. She groaned while fluttering her eyes open, only to shut them again as a bright white light immediately blinded her vision.

"Ellie?!" the small yet familiar sound of her baby brother's voice called out to her.

Immediately, Dani's stomach fluttered at the sound as she opened her eyes again and blinked them rapidly to adjust her vision to her surroundings.

"F..Frankie?...Mom?" she questioned in a raspy voice once the world around her had finally cleared up.

A large smile then grew on her features, though it felt like her face had weighed a ton as it did so, as she exclaimed, "Mom!! Frankie!!"

"Ellie!! You're awake!!" Frankie cried as tears began to run down his cheeks, and a flood of guilt instantly rushed through Dani as she began to cry herself at the thought of all the heartbreak she had put them through.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled with a sniff, and Michelle shook her head as she began to cry as well.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't you dare apologize!! We're just happy you're here with us!! We love you so so much, baby girl," she said as she leaned down to give her daughter a careful hug with her free arm, which made Dani cry even harder as she hugged her mother back.

Instead of letting go when their mother began to pull away, Frankie wrapped his arms around his sister tighter, which made Dani laugh before she groaned as pain erupted in her chest.

"Oh! Be careful, honey. Sissy has a few more broken bones than your dad does," Michelle warned her son as she gave her daughter a concerned look and carefully sat him down on the girl's lap so that he wasn't on her healing chest.

Frankie pouted as he looked up at his mother. "But Momma, I want to give her my hug!!" he said as more tears began to run down his face.

Michelle gave him a sad frown. "Aww, I know you do, baby, but sissy still needs time to get better," she said, and something registered in Dani's mind as she looked around the room and noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey...where's Dad?" she questioned with a frown.

Michelle's eyes lit up in evident astonishment at her daughter's use of the new name for her husband, but she chose to ignore the topic for the time being as she answered the question with a sad smile.

"Dr.S wouldn't let him leave the room due to his own still healing wounds, so he's been forced on bed rest for a little while...Whew, you can only imagine the argument that stirred up from that," she said with a shake of her head, and Dani smiled at her words. "So, the Darlings offered to stay with him until we came back from our time with you."

Dani's heart fluttered at the mention of the Darlings before it dropped as one specific Darling member popped into her mind.

"Mikey," she whispered, feeling another set of tears form in her eyes as her heart panged in her chest at the thought of him.

Frankie looked up at his sister with a pout.

"Don't cry, sissy. He's not mad at you. We're all really happy you're not with the angels anymore!!" he reassured her with a bright smile on his face.

He then frowned as he looked back at their mother and asked, "Uh oh, was it bad to say that? Will the angels be mad at me?"

Dani smiled as Michelle picked Frankie back up with a laugh. "Nah, I'm sure they'll understand. We're just really happy to have sissy back, right?" she questioned, and Frankie nodded with a smile.