It Was Now A Promise

Claire woke up at six thirty sharp. Even though she had only slept for a few hours, her body had an automatic alarm clock at that point. There was too much to do in her day to day life to sleep in later than that. She turned to see Lily who had snuggled closer to her during the night. Her heart filled with warmth as she lovingly caressed her head.

She looked around the room and noticed Ben sleeping in a chair not to far from them. As quietly as possible, she climbed off the bed and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After showering she wore the dress that Aiden had sent her.

It was an above the knee flowy baby blue dress. It had short sleeves and came paired with nude slingback and open toed stilleto heels. A very nice combination. She tied her red hair up into a high ponytail and left her face untouched.

As soon as she walked out, she saw Ben with a sleepy Lily rubbing her eyes sitting on his lap as a nurse was taking out her IV drip. Being so groggy from having been woken up so early, Lily didn't even notice the needle in her hand was being taken out making the process much quicker and easier.

"Good morning sweetie." Claire lifted Lily in her arms as soon as the nurse was finished placing the band-aid and gave her a kiss on the head. Lily quickly nuzzled into her neck after she realized there was a stranger near. It didn't alarm either Claire or Ben as it was a normal reaction for her.

"Good morning Madam. The nurse has informed me that after the paper work is signed, the young miss is free to go home. I'll go and make sure everything is processed correctly." Ben said as he started to leave with the nurse.

"Thank you Ben." Claire replied to him before facing the Lily who was still hiding her face in the crook of her neck. "Did you hear that baby? Isn't that good news?"

Lily still had a minor injury on her forehead which was still bandaged but it would heal quickly. It didn't require for her to stay any longer, she could heal from home.

Lifting her head she asked Claire. 'Mommy is Uncle ok now? I want to see him.' Lily's eyes showed worry and unease.

As Claire saw her sign her question she felt her heart being stabbed. She knew Lily would ask about Colton's condition. Especially after the state she had last seen him in. She was sure it would take her some time to get the image of his unconscious body out of her head and that only fueled Claire's reluctance to let her see him even more. The sight of him right now would crush Lily, just as it had done to her.

"Well sweetie, the doctors told me that he is doing much better. They spent all night carefully fixing him up. But he still has some healing to do before others can go near him. And I know you want to see him but you can't yet." Claire saw how her little eyes started to glisten and her lips tugged down into a frown. She knew that she wouldn't complain about not being able to see him, but she still felt awful inside for having to keep them apart.

"But as soon as the doctors say it's okay for you to do so, I'll take you to him myself. That's a promise." Claire lifted one of her pinkies for Lily to take.

Lily lifted her own hand and locked her pinkie with Claire's. They both kissed their closed fists. It was now a promise.

"Hey! Turn that frown upside down missy! How about we change you out of this gown and get you into some warm clothes? That way we can go get some breakfast together. I know you want to eat some french toast. Doesn't that sound yummy?"

Lily quickly nodded her head while her eyes started to shine with excitement. Her sweet tooth would always be the best way to get her in a better mood. After getting Lily ready, Claire went to the door and opened it to look into the hall. She immediately saw who she was looking for.

Cameron's broad back and black hair was the first thing in Claire's sight. He was guarding the door when he heard it open behind him. He turned around and looked down at Claire giving her a small smile.

"Good morning ma'am." He had changed into a black suit like the one he had on when she met him in.

"Good morning Cam. Come in, I need you to meet someone." She said to him as she turned around. Missing the small shock in Cameron's eyes due to the endearing nickname she just called him by. He quickly compose himself and followed her inside shutting the door behind him.

"Lily this is my friend I told you about. He's going to start being around me a lot from now on so you're going to see him often." Lily listened to Claire as she hid behind her leg peeking up at Cameron.

He squatted down to be at her eye level and smiled at her. "Hi little Miss. It's a pleasure to meet you. If there's ever anything you need you can count on me to help you." He stretched out his hand and waited for Lily to take it. At first she hesitated, but after she looked up at Claire and saw that he meant no threat to her she felt reassured and shaked his hand.

"Everything is done Madam." Ben said as he walked into the room and grabbed Lily's overnight bag and the rest of their belongings. "Shall we take our leave?"

"Yes. Let's get our little girl some french toast." Claire said as they walked out of the room. In the hallway she stopped and looked down at Lily who was holding her hand. "Sweetie, I have to do something before we go. Do you mind heading to the car with Ben and Cameron? I'll be down as soon as I'm done. It won't take long."

Lily agreed and left with them. Once she was out of sight, Claire started to head towards Colton's room. She opened the door and was greeted with the exact image she was expecting to see.

The room was equally as grand as Lily's was. But Claire only focused on the people inside. Colton was in the hospital bed just like he was when she first saw him. This time he didn't have a machine assisting his breathing. Anna was sleeping in her chair with her head laid on top of the bed while holding his hand.

She knew Anna wouldn't leave his side no matter what anybody said. After all, it would mean leaving the man she loved.