“Dad just brought me clothes and soap and stuff, but thanks.”
“I’ll get some lunch for us, how does that sound?” He stood, hovering over Devon’s seated form.
Devon looked up at him with a wan smile. “That would be great.”
Caleb waited until Vince left the room. “I think he’s going stir crazy without any work to keep him occupied.”
“He can work. Too bad he never learned carpentry, but he can go in and do anything he wants.”
“Maybe you should tell him that,” Caleb suggested.
Devon shrugged. “When he comes back, I will.”
The brothers didn't mind not talking constantly, unlike almost everyone else who visited. They simply sat in companionable silence and watched Hailey; the rise and fall of her chest was the only visible sign she was alive. Devon tended to watch the readout on her vitals monitor as well, but mostly he watched her breathe. To him, she looked very young in her sleep, her face round and her muscles slack. Everything about her birth and the way she’d filled his life ever since was permanently etched on his brain. It was difficult to comprehend how much he missed her.
And then, as he watched, her eyelids fluttered.
“Devon—”
He was on his feet before Caleb even got his name out. He leaned over her, stroking her forehead and whispering to her. Caleb got up and pressed the button to call the nurse before joining Devon at Hailey’s side.
“Come on, Hailey. It’s time to wake up. Daddy wants to see those pretty blue eyes.”
Her eyelids fluttered again, and she coughed.
Caleb picked up her hand. “Hailey, Uncle Caleb is here, too. We really want you to wake up.”
A nurse walked in and glanced between the three of them. “Do you need something?”
“She’s waking up,” Devon said without taking his gaze from Hailey. The tears rolling down his face went unchecked.
“It’s possible she’s in REM sleep.” Despite her statement, she checked all of Hailey’s vitals and lightly shook her foot.
Hailey moaned a little and coughed again. She shifted her head on the pillow and blinked her eyes open. Though she stared up at Devon, he had the impression she wasn’t truly cognizant.
“Hailey,” he said, exhaustion and exhilaration evident in his voice.
Smiling and blinking slowly, her eyes slipped closed again. Devon’s knees went weak and he almost sank to the floor, but Caleb gripped his elbow and guided him to his chair. If he’d been intently focused on her face before, it was nothing compared to now.
Vince came in to find Devon crying and Caleb standing by Hailey’s head. “What’s going on?”
Caleb lifted his head. “She opened her eyes, but only for a few seconds.”
“Oh wow.” He set the food down on the rolling table and went to Devon’s side. “What happens now?”
The nurse spoke up. “Nothing, really. She isn’t fully awake, but I will make a note of this and inform her physician.”
Caleb murmured a thanks as she left. “I’m hungry, how about you, Devon?”
The sound he made in response was noncommittal.
“Come on, I got you a burger. You’re losing weight, dude,” Vince said, handing a bag of food to Devon.
Devon broke his intense stare at his daughter long enough to thank Vince and take the food. He did as he was expected and ate. His mouth felt perpetually dry, and most of the food he consumed tasted like cardboard. But when Vince handed him a milkshake, he realized he really wanted it.
“I think you just found the one thing I really want,” he told him.
Vince grinned at him. “If you need to live off strawberry milkshakes, I’m your man.”
