TrUe CoLoUrS

Ariel was about to enter the hospital room a little after seven that evening, not sure what to expect when she did. She had never met Emma’s father before. She had seen pictures of him in his combat uniform and when he was younger and holding his daughter, but never met him in person. They wrote letters to each other once a month, because she was updating him on everything that Emma did, well the things that his daughter would leave out of her letters so he didn’t worry about her. Every time he had been home from one of his deployments, she had been out of town on one of her father’s construction sites. The four years that she had known Emma and her family, Noah had been home two times, each time only for about a month. His deployments could go anywhere from 18 months to 72 months.

The reason they had never met when he had been home was because of her, Ariel had made sure that she was out of town every time he was home.

Truth be told, she kind of liked him - a lot. He was a nice guy and easy on the eyes and his letters were one of her favourite things about him. She knew that if she met him, there was a possibility of falling in love with him. That were the reasons that she avoided meeting him. Ariel didn’t want to fall for him. She had been in love before and the guy ended up breaking her heart. Ariel didn’t want to feel like that ever again. She made a promise to herself after she left Michael that she would never fall in love again, it wasn’t for her. He broke her trust in men and her trust in love.

The reason she was here tonight was to pick up Emma, since the girl hadn’t been home since her father was admitted to hospital five days ago. Emma had been living with her and Faith since October 2007, after gaining permission from her father.

Ariel remembered when she first met Emma.

Ariel stepped into the diner. Her eyes did a full 360 of the area around her. This was the first time that she had been here. She was here to see her new friend. He was helping his parents out at the family diner today, and had asked her to meet him here at four. Ariel was a little early because she wanted to check out the diner.

It was a classic nineteen sixties diner with its light blue and white booths and brown wooden tables along the window side of the wall. It had a few loose tables and chairs in the centre between the booths and the long counter that ran the length of the diner. There was a jukebox at the far end, just off from the bathrooms and payphone.

Ariel took a few more steps in and let her eyes take in her surroundings. There were several customers in here, some sitting in the booths - some at the tables. A few perched at the long counter. A smile touched her lips as she hummed along to ‘Crocodile Rock’ that was playing on the jukebox. She loved little places like this. There were old photos along the wall. A few were of Australian soldiers.

She noticed a young girl sitting at the counter with a book in front of her. She looked to be colouring. Her back was to the brunette. Ariel began walking towards the counter and towards the girl. She took a seat beside her, now in full view.

Ariel looked down at the picture that she was colouring. It looked good and the girl looked young, at least under the age of ten.

“That’s really good,” she spoke to the girl, causing her to turn her head and look at her. Ariel noticed that she was of mixed race. She had a few traits of an Asian but some of an Australian.

“Thank you,” the girl replied politely, purely Australian tone.

Ariel was speechless. It was rare to find polite people these days. She was amazed even more since it came from a child. “You’re very welcome,” she finally spoke. “Hi, my name is Ariel Patterson.”

The little girl just watched the older brunette for a moment, as if she was trying to get a read on her or decide whether she was a good person.

“Hi,” she spoke up a moment later. “I’m Emma Chase, and I’m eight,” she declared.

Ariel let a chuckle slip from her lips.

“Emma, you know not to talk to strangers,” an older male voice spoke up, standing on the opposite side of the counter with a coffee pot in hand.

The girl turned her attention to the older man. “You also told me to be polite when spoken to, poppy.” She answered straightforward.

The older man chuckled. “You are right, angel,” he told her before turning his eyes on the blue-eyed brunette sitting beside the eight-year-old.

Ariel turned her eyes on the older man. He looked to be in his late fifties, his sandy blonde hair was going grey and he had blue trusting eyes.

“Afternoon Ma’am, would you like a cup?” he asked her, holding up the coffee pot.

Ariel could smell the strong scent and it turned her stomach. She had never liked the smell of coffee. It had always made her feel queasy, ever since she was little. “Please don’t call me Ma’am, it's Ariel,” she greeted, friendly. “And I don’t like coffee, I’ll take a white English Breakfast tea with a sprinkle of mint drinking chocolate if that’s possible,” she requested.

Patrick Chase looked at her serious for a moment. “You must be Wade’s friend,” he answered with a smile.

Ariel smiled at the older man and nodded her head. “Yes, I am,” she answered, promptly. “I know I’m a little early but I wanted to check this place since he talks about it all the time,” she told him.

“Chief’s a great cook,” Emma proclaimed. “He makes the best mac and cheese, well beside Grams.”

The older man let out another throaty chuckle as the bells above the front door jingled, indicating that someone had entered. “Faith,” he greeted, welcomely.

Ariel turned her head around and noticed a gorgeous blonde around her age, walking towards them. She stopped just behind the young girl, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“Hey Em, ready to go?” the blonde woman asked the little girl.

Emma slid off her stool and enclosed the small distance between them, threading her fingers with the blonde’s and beamed her a smile. “Aunt Faith, this is Ariel. She’s Uncle Wade’s friend,” the little girl informed her aunt, matter-of-factually.

Faith lifted her eyes from her niece and turned them on the young brunette sitting at the counter. She was looking at her with curiosity.

Wade appeared from the kitchen and stopped beside Patrick, both were donning white aprons with plaid shirts and blue jeans.

“Hey little sis,” the younger blonde man greeted Faith.

Faith smiled at her brother. “Hey doofus, nice fashion statement,” she teased.

Wade crossed his arms and poked his tongue at his younger sibling.

“Behave you two,” Patrick told his children. “You don’t want to teach your niece any bad behaviour,” he scolded them, amused.

Ariel was just watching the scene play out before her. That’s when it hit her. Faith was Wade’s sister, which made Emma his niece and the older guy beside him, his dad. But who was Emma’s mum or dad?

“Uncle Wade, I’m gonna go see ‘Because I Said So’ with Aunt Faith,” Emma declared.

All eyes turned on the twenty-one-year-old, whom had a smile tugging at her lips.

“Isn’t she a bit young for that movie?” Wade questioned his little sister.

Both Emma and Faith shook their heads at the same time.

“Ariel should go with you,” Wade suggest, turning his eyes on his friend. “I’m gonna be caught up here for a few more hours, so you girls should hang out.”

Faith glared at her brother, not finding this amusing. He knew how she felt about pushing people on her.

“You should come with us,” Emma agreed.

Ariel turned her focus on the blonde woman. She didn’t look like she agreed. “I don’t want to impose ...”

“I want you to come,” the girl pleaded. “Please,” she begged, putting on her best puppy dog eyes.

Ariel melted. “How can I say ‘No’ to that?” she replied.

Emma beamed her a smile. “You can’t” she answered, cheekily.

Ariel let out the long breath that she had been holding and opened the door, taking a few steps into the room. Her eyes fell onto the attractive blonde man that was lying in the hospital bed, his daughter curled up by his side sound asleep. She hadn’t been sleeping much ever since they had gotten the call a week ago about Noah being shot. Ariel had stayed with the girl the entire time until her father was flown back to Brisbane. She then busied herself with work so she didn’t have to think about the girl’s father. To be honest, she had been a little scared that he wasn’t going to make it. But there he was, alive and breathing. She still had every one of his letters and read them often before she went to sleep.

Noah heard the clicking of heels coming towards the bed. His eyes shot open and turned towards the door, drinking in the beautiful brunette that entered. He looked her up and down, recognizing her from the photographs his daughter and sent him while on tour and the occasional photo she had sent him with her letters. He watched as she slowly walked toward the bed.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

Her voice sounded as hypnotic as it did on the phone when they spoke every few months - mainly just to say a quick 'hi' when he called, his main focus was on his little girl. She looked anxious and nervous, liked she was frightened of him. “Ariel,” he addressed her.

She nodded her head and took a few more steps toward the bed. Ariel took in the guy that was lying in the bed. He had a Chad Michael Murray look to him with those serious blue eyes and short crew cut blonde hair. The sexy stubble unshaven look. He wasn’t moving, only his head and eyes followed her. Faith had already filled her in about his injuries. He had been shot in the back and was lucky he wasn’t paralysed. If it had been a few more centimetres to the left then he wouldn’t have been so lucky.

“I’m here for Em, if that’s okay?” she asked him gently. “I think she needs a break from here.”

Noah slowly nodded his head in agreement, shifting his eyes from the brunette and looking down at his daughter who was resting her head on his chest. He was worried about his little girl. She had been crying a lot too, every time he moved slightly or she accidently bumped him, causing him to hiss or let out a cry of pain. Emma would burst into tears and pressed his morphine button. He loved his daughter and didn’t want her to see him in pain.

Ariel stopped on the right side of the bed, her eyes looking down at the sleeping preteen that she had come to love like her own. She gently nudged the girl, being careful so she didn’t cause any extra pain to the injured soldier.

“Wake up Baby Bird,” she said softly. “It’s time to go home.”

The twelve-year-old mixed race girl began to stir, her eyes fluttering before they opened fully and took in her surroundings. Emma remembered that she was in the hospital and she remembered her father getting injured. She had heard Ariel’s voice. Slowly sitting up and turning to her right to see the older woman looking at her with a soft smile.

“Hey sweetie,” the brunette greeted her. “How are you?” Ariel asked the girl concerned. The stress couldn’t be good for an epileptic, even though being at a hospital would be the best place for her if she had a seizure, but not so good if her father was the only one in the room to get help since he couldn’t really help her.

“Ariel, what are you doing here?” she answered the question with another question, not wanting to answer the older woman’s question.

Ariel knew the girl was avoiding the topic. She knew it was hard for the pre-teen to open up about such personal things, even though she had known the girl since she was eight years old. She placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m here to take you home,” she told the girl.

Emma liked Ariel. She was a nice person, always had a smile for you. She turned her brown eyes on her father. “Dad needs me,” Emma told the older woman.

Noah softly smiled at his daughter. “I’m fine, Monkey. You need to go home and sleep in a proper bed. Spend some time away from the hospital,” he told her, lovingly. He needed some time to himself. Noah knew it was hard on his daughter to see him when he was in pain or when he woke up from a nightmare. It scared her and he didn’t like to see that look of fear on her face. “I promise,” he added.

Emma still was hesitant about leaving him.

“Shadow misses you,” Ariel spoke up. “Anyway, your aunt has tomorrow off and we three girls can go spend the day together,” she told the girl.

Emma looked at her father. She knew that smile he was putting on was forced. “Fine, but we’re coming back in the morning,” she told him before turning her eyes on the older woman.

Ariel instantly nodded her head. “Of course, we will,” she told the girl. “I’m sure your aunt would love to visit her brother. But first we have to get home and go to bed before tomorrow comes.”

Emma sighed; turning her attention back to her father and gently gave him a hug. She had learnt over the past few days to be careful with him. Emma heard a slight hiss leave her father. “I love you dad,” she whispered, pulling back and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Noah smiled at his little girl. “To the moon and back,” he told her, wishing he could hug her back but when he moved, it hurt. He could only move his arms slightly without causing any pain. He was pretty much immobilized. The Doctor told him it would be a few weeks before he would be able to move them properly or even attempt walking. He felt like a crimple. He couldn’t even hug his own daughter back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised, hoping they left soon. He didn’t want Emma or the beautiful brunette to see him cry.

Emma hopped off the bed and walked over to the couch, scooping up her backpack and personal belongings she had brought with her.

Noah shifted his focus to the brunette that was watching his daughter gather her things. This was the first time that he actually saw her in person. Man, her photograph didn’t do her justice, he thought.

“Take care of her,” he said quietly. “She’s my world,” Noah added, his voice thick with emotion.

Ariel turned her attention on the blonde man looking at her. “Always,” she promised sincerely. Her blue orbs locked on his. The girl was like family to her. She would take a bullet for her.

A petite blonde nurse in her late thirties entered the room with a few things in her hands that were needed for a sponge bath. “Mr Chase, are you ...” she began before noticing that he had company, not just his daughter. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had visitors,” she added.

All eyes turned onto the nurse that stopped at the end of the bed.

Ariel smiled at the older woman. “It’s okay, we’re leaving,” she informed her, turning her eyes on the twelve year old who had joined her side, loaded with her stuff. “You ready?” she asked the girl.

Emma nodded, before turning her eyes on her father once again. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she promised him. “Night Molly,” she greeted the night nurse.

The blonde nurse smiled at the teenager. “Night hun.”

Ariel felt a little awkward just standing there and not saying anything. It would be rude not to say anything. “Night everyone,” she spoke up a little nervous. “Come on Em,” she instructed the girl, walking towards the door. Emma followed the older woman and headed out of the hospital room.

Noah watched his daughter and the brunette walk out of the room, his eyes lingering on the door before he turned his eyes on the older woman. She was smiling at him. Molly had been his night nurse since he had been admitted. She was a nice woman who liked to talk about her family.

“I see Emma is finally leaving the hospital,” she spoke up as she began to set things up for his sponge bath. “I’m glad that the girl is finally taking some time away from here, it’s a lot for a teenager to take in.”

Noah was use to Molly rambling on about anything and everything. “She’s only twelve, not thirteen for two more months,” he pointed out, watching as the nurse turned her hazel eyes on him.

She gave him a look, the same look his mother often gave him. “Close enough,” Molly told him. “You’ll blink and she’ll be all grown and falling in love or getting married.”