Chapter 68 - Home Again?

                                    

                                          
A/N: Surprise! Random day for a chapter, but it was ready
                          
Melissa's POV
                          
We finally get to take Kirstie home today. She's been in hospital for about 6 weeks now. Pippa was happy with how she was recovering from the surgery. The stitches on her chest had been taken out and Pippa told us that the ones they had used to fix her heart would dissolve over time. 
                          
"Mummy." Kirstie said quietly. "Pee pee." 
                          
"Okay darling. Hang on a second." We had put Kirstie back in nappies for a little bit so we didn't have to move her to go to the toilet. Luckily she just about understood the feeling so could tell when the nappy needed changing. I gently pulled her down the bed, keeping her head and back supported, and took the blanket off her legs. She lay perfectly still as I cleaned her up and put a fresh nappy on, not that she could move much without pain anyway. 
                          
Kirstie fell asleep after the new nappy was on, with her thumb right next to her mouth. Henry came in a few moments later and 'awwed' at the sight. Pippa was right behind him. 
                          
"Oh she's asleep. Fantastic. This makes things easier." Pippa said.
                          
"What do you mean?" Henry asked.
                          
"Well I need you to sign her out whilst I take the drips and wires out. She's not a fussy one, but her being asleep will make that process easier." Pippa explained. 
                          
Henry took the small pile of papers from Pippa and split them between us to go through. There was more than I expected, but I didn't care. If it means our baby girl can come home, I'd happily get cramp in my hand. Pippa had just finished taking Kirstie off the various monitors as we finished filling out the forms and signing everything. 
                          
"Well, that's everything. You can take her home as soon as she wakes up." Pippa said with a smile on her face. 
                          
"Alright then. Just waiting on Kirstie. Oh, did you get any further with the diabetes tests?" I asked.
                          
"Yes we did. She responded well to the dietary change and her blood sugar level seems to have stabilised just from that. The line between type 1 and type 2 is so blurred that it's hard to tell which it is. It could just be sensitivity to certain sugary foods. I'd recommend keeping a note of the ones that set it off the most and the ones that control it the best." 
                          
"That we can handle." Henry said.
                          
Just as Pippa was about to leave the room, Kirstie whined and wriggled like she wanted to roll over. 
                          
"Hey darling. Can you open your eyes for me?" Pippa coaxed gently. Kirstie blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked straight at Pippa. "There she is. Guess what?" 
                          
"Wat?" 
                          
"You get to go home today." Pippa said. Kirstie gave her a really big smile and clapped her hands.
                          
"YAY! I see brothers!" The three of us laughed at how adorable she was being. 
                          
I carried Kirstie out of the hospital, she didn't want to go in the wheelchair right now, and said goodbye to all of her regular nurses and doctors. 
                          
"We love her so much. She's an angel." 
                          
"As bad as it sounds, I hope we don't have to see her again. I'm glad she's all better." I understood what the doctor meant by that. I'd rather not go back to the hospital. 
                          
"Bye sweetie. Take care." 
                          
It felt like the entire hospital said goodbye to us, mainly Kirstie, and wished her luck for the future. I put her in her car seat, with a cushion behind her back, and sighed in happiness as I buckled her in. Kirstie fell asleep about 5 minutes into the drive home. Bless. She's still very tired, but she's got a lot of school to catch up on. 
                          
I had spoken to Hannah a few days prior, and she said she was happy to come to the house for a couple of hours every day to help Kirstie catch up. Once Kirstie has settled back into home life, she can go back to school for a couple of hours a day and settle back into that routine as well. 
                          
Kirstie was still asleep when we arrived home, so Henry carried her in and put her on the sofa. His parents were there, looking after Matt, and they were just as ecstatic as we were to have Kirstie back at home. Matt was in the living room playing with the blocks, and he saw Kirstie the moment we walked through the door.
                          
"SISSY!" he yelled. 
                          
"Shhhh." I said, putting my finger to my lips. "She's sleeping bud. You've got to be quiet." I whispered. Matt went over to Kirstie and leant on the side of the sofa.
                          
"I sowwy sissy." He whispered. He went back to playing with the blocks, but was very careful in trying to be quiet. 
                          
Kirstie woke up just before Henry's parents left to pick up the others from school. 
                          
"Nana! Granpa!" she called, reaching out to hug them. Faith hugged her gently and planted a kiss on her head. 
                          
"Hey baby girl. Are you feeling better?" Faith asked.
                          
"Yeah. Pippa said no move." Kirstie replied. Faith looked at me very confused.
                          
"She's not allowed to move too much on her own. The internal stitches need to heal a bit more. Hence the wheelchair and needing to be stupidly careful when picking her up." I explained. Faith nodded and just looked at Kirstie with a smile.
                          
"We're so glad you're home."
                          
"Me too." 
                          
Kirstie looked around the room from where she was, obviously trying to find something.
                          
"Daddy." She called.
                          
"Yes baby?" Henry replied, going straight to her. 
                          
"Where teddy?" Henry knew that she wanted her favourite teddy bear. He was up and back down the stairs before I could blink.
                          
"Here it is." Henry said, placing the teddy bear in Kirstie's arms. 
                          
The others came home half an hour later, all of them looking a bit miserable.
                          
"What's wrong boys?" I asked them. All four snapped their heads up and ran to me, wrapping their arms in a giant group hug.
                          
"Mum, you're home!" 
                          
"I've missed you being here!"
                          
"Is Kirstie home yet?" 
                          
"Kirstie is in the living room. Be gentle with her." I said. 
                          
The four broke away from me and ran into the living room, desperate to see their sister again. 
                          
"Kitty!"
                          
"Baby sis!" 
                          
"Yay!"
                          
"Twin!" 
                          
I could barely understand what they were saying, they were that excited. I followed them and stood with Henry just watching the siblings reunite. They were being careful with her, but they were definitely excited. Kirstie tried to match their excitement, but could only do so much being led down. 
                          
"Mum, can I pick Kirstie up?" Kevin asked. "I want to cuddle her." 
                          
"You can, but be very careful. You need to support her back and do it quite slowly." I said. Kevin was an expert at this by now, but he still followed my every word. I wasn't sure if I could let the other kids move her yet. I didn't want to risk one of them accidentally hurting her. 
                          
The family was restored and the house came back to life. Our little pack of siblings was back together. A few weeks of recovery and Kirstie could be running around the garden again. Then things would be totally back to normal. As we were going to sleep that night, I could almost hear every person breathe a sigh of relief. Kirstie was home.