Finding a Family

Chapter 7

Alan's POV
The day we were able to bring Hannah home had finally come. She had made so much progress already. Although she was still very small she was not as frail as she once was when I first met her. Her ankle was mostly healed and she was walking more and more each day although she still much preferred to be carried. Freddie certainly didn't mind carrying Hannah as he was truly embracing and loving fatherhood. Hannah seem a bit ambivalent about going home. On one hand she was looking forward to our new life as a family but on the other she was leaving the only safe place she had ever known.

Hannah remained pretty quiet on the car ride home. She seemed a bit nervous and was clutching Ellie the entire time. There were so many new sights on the way home and I think it may have been a bit overwhelming for Hannah. After a bit of a car ride we finally arrive home. "Welcome home darling," Freddie told Hannah as we pulled in to our drive way. "Y-you live here?" Hannah asked a bit surprised. "Yes love, and now your are going to live here too," I told her. I noticed Hannah seemed a bit more shaky as we were making our way to the house. As we walked through the door Hannah seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the space in our home as she was clinging to Freddie. "Hannah this is our home," I told her  "I-it's big," she said with some nervousness in her voice.

Before we gave her the grand tour we decided to take a seat on the couch to let her take everything in for a bit. Hannah sat down next to me while Freddie hovered on the side of the couch. As soon as we sat down Samson and Juliet hopped on the couch to come investigate. Hannah seemed a bit unsure and let out a whimper. "Hannah, those are our kitties, Samson and Juliet," Freddie said trying to calm her. " Kitties?" Hannah replied a bit unsure. "Hannah have you ever since a kitty before?" I asked her. She simply shook her head no. Unprovoked, Samson decided to take a swipe at her, drawing a little bit of blood. As Hannah began to cry I took her in my arms shushing her while Freddie quickly swooped up Samson. Hannah was too focused on her scratch to notice Freddie scolding Samson in the other room. I have to admit it was a bit comical listening to Fred lecturing Samson as if he was an actual child. Given their rough start I was a bit nervous about how Samson and Hannah would get on.  However, Juliet was a different story. As soon as Hannah began crying she started rubbing up on Hannah and purring. I think she was somewhat sympathetic to Hannah and she usually took the brunt on Samson's bullying. The fluffy black and white cat got Hannah's attention and even seemed to calm her a bit. "Do you hear that? Juliet's purring, that means she likes you" I told her. "She does?" She asked me somewhat surprised.  "Mmm hmm. Would you like me to show you how she likes to be petted?" I asked. Hannah nodded her head, I noticed she was using her words less since being here. I took Hannah's hand and began gently stroking Juliet with it. "See love, just pet her nice and  gently." I told her. Juliet seemed very content with this and started purring louder and even hopped on Hannah's lap. Hannah let out a little giggle, it was the first time I've seen her smile since being here. Freddie walked in right when Juliet made it clear she preferred Hannah over Samson. "I can see you and Juliet will be great friends." Freddie said sitting down next to us, "don't you worry about Samson darling, he can be a grump sometimes," Freddie said. "Darling would you like to see the rest of the house?" Freddie asked.  Hannah nodded again but this time she seemed more eager and less nervous.

We gave her the grand tour starting with the downstairs and then making our way upstairs. The entire time Juliet was trailing behind us while Samson was banned to spare room. We showed her our bedroom before we ended on her room. "Hannah love, this is your room" I told her as we opened the door. Hannah just stood in the door way for a few minutes seeming to take everything in. "Darling do you like it?" Freddie asked a little nervously. "Do you remember this is the color you picked and the bedding you picked. We got some stuffies and a book shelve with some books for you" Freddie went on. Hannah just stood there with a deer in the headlights look. Freddie and I looked at each other with a worried look in our eyes.  Suddenly Hannah muttered, "all this is for me?" "Yes darling." Freddie replied. "I've never had so many things before" Hannah said with a tearful voice. "Hannah we love you so much, we want to make sure you have everything you need" I said taking her in my arms.

After getting Hannah settled in and having dinner it was time for her to go to bed. It was clear Hannah was tired as she was adorably rubbing her eyes. Freddie carried her upstairs and we both tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. Hannah fell asleep rather quickly. As we were walking out I noticed Juliet had curled up at the foot of Hannah's bed and looked like she decided to sleep there for the night.

Freddie and I decided to call it a night too as we were both tired out from our eventful day. "I hope Hannah opens up a bit more, it's almost like she's gone back to the nervous little girl she was when I met her," I told Freddie as we lay in bed "Just give her some time, this is all so new to her. I'm sure she'll open up some more soon." Freddie reassured me. "It's adorable to see how Juliet is bonding with her already," Freddie said. "Yes, but what about Samson?" I asked "Samson didn't seem to happy to have her here" I went on "If Samson can't get along with Hannah we'll have to find another home for him, we've got some close friends that would take him in." Freddie said. I looked at him a little surprised as Samson was basically like a child to him. "Darling don't look so surprised. Hannah is our little girl now she comes first. It won't be easy to say goodbye to Samson but I would do it in a heartbeat for Hannah" he went on. "I love you" I said as I laid a kiss on him. "I love you too he replied" After our little make out session we said goodnight looking forward to what tomorrow would bring