blondexhurricane:

teddyaltmcn:

“So  do  I,  baby,” Teddy said sadly,
kissing her daughter’s blonde curls.
As  they stood  on the other side of
the  glass,  Henry had never felt so
far away.

Raising her head from the crook of Teddy’s neck,
Delia began to squirm around until she was finally
released to stand on her own two feet. She had to
get away from all those monitors that seemed to
be doing nothing but  l a u g h i n g  in her face as
each new scan showed more hippos than the last.
Despite how much her h e a r t wanted to stay, her
h e a d knew she had to get out of there before she
forgot how to breathe.

                “Yes, we do. You just told me the hippos aren’t letting any of
                Daddy’s blood get to his heart, and now you look like you’re
                about to start crying.” A single tear slid down Delia’s cheek,
                and she quickly swiped it away before continuing. “Can I go
                to PEDS and visit Zona, or wait in the attendings lounge, or
                something until all this is over and Daddy’s back in his own
                room again? Please, Mommy.”

“Delia. No, Delia —”  Teddy  choked,  her voice nothing
more than  a  broken whisper.  I  never  said that. But of
course, her daughter was smart enough, weary enough,
to know when the time had come.

              Teddy  hadn’t   protected  her from  it; the  f e a r.  What
              eight    year-old    girl   should   have  to   shoulder   the
              knowledge  that she would wake up one day to  find  her
              father  dead?  When Delia had needed her mother to be
              strong,  Teddy  had  chosen to fall to her tears; to fall to
              her own  fears and sadness.   And  seeing her daughter
              turn her back and lose her faith, she  knew she’d never
              forgive herself for it for as  l o n g  as she lived.