Lily stretched out her arms towards Claire as she burst into tears.
She had a patch of gauze taped to the right side of her forehead and her cheeks lacked their usual rosey pink color. Her hands were trembling as she reached out towards Claire.
Claire rushed to her and quickly picked her up. She tried her best to avoid tampering with the IV needle in her small hand as she held her in her arms.
Lily was nuzzled in her neck while she wailed. Hugging onto Claire as if her life depended on it. She wasn't a child that would easily cry which made Claire's heart ache even more. She stroked her back while she cooed sweet reassuring words to calm her down.
Claire didn't have all the details of what happened. She only knew they had been in some sort of accident and because of that, Lily's condition was triggered and Colton was left to fight for his life on an operation table. And although Ben was there, she didn't want to ask in front of Lily. It would only worsen her state.
After a few minutes had passed Lily started to calm down. Her once loud crying was slowly turning into sniffles as Claire's words soothed her.
"Its okay sweetie. You're okay. My sweet little girl is going to be just fine. You're in mommy's arms now. And what do we know about being in mommy's arms?" Claire asked her as she waiting for her to look up at her.
After a few seconds Lily straightened her back and faced Claire who had hoisted her up a little higher so they were at eye level.
'That mommy's arms are the safest place in the world.' Lily answered her in sign language.
"Good girl." Claire kissed her forehead as she praised her.
'But mommy....' Lily's eyes started to water again as she continued. 'Uncle was very hurt. He didn't wake up when I called for him. I couldn't wake him up mommy. I tried my best but-' She couldn't finish signing because Lily held both of her small hands in one of hers.
"Lily, listen to me. I need you to pay attention to what I'm about to say okay?" Claire gave her hands a little squeeze and Lily nodded her head in response. "Your uncle is the strongest person I know. He's so strong that even if all the bad guys and monsters in the whole world were to attack him at the same time, he would beat them all up without even losing that goofy smile on his face."
As she spoke Claire's eyes started to sting, but she refused to let Lily see her cry right now. It would only increase her worries. "Now I can't say for sure what's going to happen next sweetie. But trust me."She smiled gently as she rubbed her nose against Lily's making her giggle. "There is no way he's not gonna use all of his strength to come back to his favorite little flower. So let's stay positive. Okay?"
After Lily signed 'Okay', Claire made her lay her head on her shoulder. She continued to rock her in an attempt to make her fall sleep.
Seeing as Claire had everything under control, Ben stood up. "I'll go and accompany Miss Anna as we wait Madam. I will report back immediately if there are any updates." He slightly bowed his head towards her after she nodded and head for the door. Noticing the man that had accompanied Claire into the room was still silently watching over her, he stopped.
Although he didn't look his age, Ben was wise enough to recognize the look in the young man's eyes. He knew his Madam and young Miss were in no sort of danger around him. They would surely want for nothing while he was away waiting for Colton to get out of surgery. Satisfied with his observation, he gave Aiden a slight nod of gratitude and left the room.
Claire felt Lily's breathing steady and knew she had fallen asleep. She slowly placed her on the bed while being cautious of her IV drip and gently tucked her in. Feeling relieved that she was soundly sleeping she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she sat next to her on the bed. Her shoulders slumped a bit as she brought one of her hands to rub her forehead and another to gently hold Lily's small hand while watching her.
Claire was lost in a daze for a few minutes before she noticed the other presence in the room. She had completely forgotten that Aiden was in there with them. He had stayed so silent and out of he way that she didn't even notice he had been leaning against the wall near the door the entire time.
Looking up, she saw he was quietly watching her. Oddly enough, the look in his eyes wasn't one Claire would have expected. Instead of having a curious or confused look on his face due to not understanding what he walked into, his expression looked, sad?
His whole demeanor was calm and collected. As if he had all the answers he could possibly need by just looking at her.
He took one of his hands out of his pockets and dimmed the lights in the room a bit. Then he walked to the other side where the humidifier was and refilled it. Without saying a single word he continued to make his way towards the white dresser and took out two blankets.
Since they were in a VIP room in the pediatric ward, Lily was in a single bed suite like hospital room equipped with everything she could need. From a comfortable bathroom to a fully stocked wardrobe filled with blankets, fresh hospital gowns and many other amenities.
Aiden took one of the blankets and placed it over Lily, careful not to wake her up. He then sat on the sofa that was against the wall near Lily's bed and looked up at Claire who had silently watched everything he did.
Claire was in so much mental turmoil that she just sat there as she saw him move around the room. For some reason she didn't even feel highly alerted when he had come close to Lily to place another blanket on her. She simply watched him as her mind tried to focus on keeping herself together.
Aiden met her dazed gaze and gestured her to sit next to him. Seeing as she was still looking at him with a blank stare he gestured again, this time making her absentmindedly get up from the bed and walk towards him.
Claire sat down next to him and looked up at Lily's sleeping face. The room was somewhat dark, but she could still see the white patch that covered her forehead. It made her heart sink even further.
Suddenly she felt her body being covered by a blanket. She hadn't taken her sight off Lily when her eyes were covered by a warm hand forcing her to close them. Aiden had placed his arm over her shoulders and covered her eyes as he gently pulled her head to his chest. Leaving his free arm on the sofa's arm rest.
"I'll watch her." He whispered loud enough for her to hear "My eyes won't leave her, so let it out." He told her as his eyes stayed on Lily's sleeping figure.
As if hearing his voice whispering over her head was a magic spell, she let her sadness and worries take over. Quietly sobbing over his chest, she let it all out.