[OPEN] it hurts to remember.

[deacon reid rudman]

Deacon looked up as they came in, chewing on his lip. He watched Trez pick Bandit up, the toddler curling close to him in search of warmth. Harper looked around him, reaching down to stroke her cheek. He couldn't help wondering if that's how her real parents would have reacted to her, if they would have loved her the way he and Connor did. He followed them into the waiting room, sitting down where he could prop his feet up and be out of the way.

"You're gonna hold her?" Harper asked, sitting down in the chair next to Trez. Deacon closed his eyes, leaning his head back as he crossed his arms over his chest, listening to Bandit whimper in her sleep.

[trez matthew steele]

Trez sat down carefully, nodded. "Let him have sometime alone.." He breathed, gently strokig Bandit's hair with a soothing hand, faint smile. "Shh.." He hummed softly, keeping her close. Despite being a bartender and dealing with helping troubled teens, he was clearly good with kids, some sort of spark in his eyes as he gazed down at her.

[deacon reid rudman]

Harper nodded, watching Trez carefully. She couldn't help thinking he would make a really great dad one day, if that's what he wanted. He had such a kind heart. She leaned up, kissing his cheek gently before she laid her head on his shoulder, watching Bandit curl close, still whimpering.

"She usually does that just so there's noise. But if she starts getting scared, just hum and she'll stop. She doesn't like the silence." Deacon said, a yawn passing his lips. She was a hard baby to get content, not being fond of music boxes or the noise of a fan. The only thing she did like was humming, or the quiet drone of a TV on a channel with people talking.

[trez matthew steele]

Trez smiled at her, tilting his head against her own some. He nodded at Deacon's words, hoped he would try and get some rest or something while he could. Half lidded eyes watched Bandit quietly. But it didn't matter how tired her was, always putting others first keeping him going in situations like this until he crashed.

[deacon reid rudman]

Harper reached over, gently rubbing her back. Bandit put her fingers in her mouth, sucking on them as she stopped whimpering, laying contently against Trez. Deacon looked over, and once he was content she was asleep, he closed his eyes, not to get sleep but to get his mind to stop thinking. He turned over in his chair, tucking his arm under his head as he draped his legs over the arm of his chair.

Harper drew her legs up under her, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she moved closer to Trez, closing her eyes. She didn't realize she was asleep until Bandit was tapping her some time later, the sun almost set in the windows outside.

"You up?" She asked, patting Harper.

"I'm up, princess. What's wrong?" She asked quietly, reaching over to stroke her hair.

"Jink." Bandit said, laying her head against Trez. Harper walked over to Deacon, carefully going through her diaper bag before she found her cup. She walked off, rinsing it out and filling it with water before she walked back, handing it to her. Bandit sucked on the straw, looking up at Trez, then out the window.

[trez matthew steele]

Trez stirred faintly at the movements, realizing he had begun to drift. He smiled sleepily down at Bandit, stretched some, and played with the bracelet on his wrist. Looking up when a nurse approached them, he hesitated. "Connor is just now going into another surgery, they're replacing most of his organs including his newer transplants."
He nodded and she wandered off again. Trez knew that Connor would never get completely better, never have a full life, but he hoped this would do more than postpone his death and have him suffer longer, hoped that it could make him at least a little better before everything stopped working again.

[harper reese lebeau]

Harper smiled over at Bandit, reaching over to stroke her cheek. Bandit smiled, covering one of her eyes with her hand. Harper covered hers, then dropped them, gasping at Bandit. "Hey, pretty girl!" She exclaimed, looking up at the nurse. She sighed, guessing they would be here awhile. She looked up at Trez, realizing he probably hadn't slept. Then she glanced at Deacon, the way his chest didnt rise or fall would have scared her had she not known he was dead.

"Trez, why don't you sleep? I can take care of the baby." She offered, looking up at him. She looked over his face, amazed at just how handsome he was. She didn't realize her eyes were glowing more and more yellow with every passing second.

[trez matthew steele]

Trez bit his lip, obviously ready to complain. He didn't want to sleep, but needed it. Lack of sleep was one thing that caused his absences, even if they weren't as bad a seizure. He still didn't need Harper panicking. Handing Bandit over, he smiled tiredly before curling up. He didn't wake until some time the next afternoon, heard a nurse telling Deacon they were done with surgery, but that Connor would be exhausted for quite awhile. He looked up, rubbing at an eyes as she explained that if his body seemed stable enough, they could release him the next day, that he could not be left alone for a good week until they were sure nothing would be rejected.

[deacon reid rudman]

Deacon looked up at her, biting his lip. He didn't know how he was supposed to work and watch over Connor for an entire week, but he guessed he would figure something out. He looked over at Harper on the floor, playing with Bandit. The two looked tired, Harper's hair pulled up into a lose ponytail, pieces falling down her back and framing her face. Bandit smiled up at her, reaching up to try and grab her keys.

"Oh my goodness! Look who's up!" She exclaimed, looking up at Trez.

"Hi." Bandit said, waving at him. She smiled, collapsing into Harper's lap. The girl hugged her close, kissing the top of her head.

"So, can we go see him?" Deacon asked, looking over at the nurse again.

[trez matthew steele]

Trez smiled, waving back. He looked towards Deacon, then the nurse as she nodded. "Yeah, sure. Just don't stress him out too much. We gave him his stress medication so he should be pretty calm. He lost a lot of blood but he'll get his strength back. For the most part it seems he'll be far better than he was."