Family Hour

After being released from the hospital exactly one week after he'd been admitted into it, and being sent home with orders of daily physical therapy and weekly emotional therapy, it wasn't even a month later that Jeff finally found movement in both his legs and, not even a month after that, that he found that when using a cane properly, he could walk the entire contents of his house, before he had to sit down and rest for a second.

Now five months later after being released from Highsmith-Rainey Memorial hospital, Jeff was not only able to move around without the use of a cane or anyone else's help, for that matter, but he was also almost 100 percent back to his normal self and had a meeting with Vince and Linda the following week about getting his old job back.

He had come a long way in a very short time—and he owed it all to Trish.

His ray of sunshine, as he liked to call her these last couple of months, had done everything in her power to make sure that Jeff's disposition in life had been nothing more than an upward fight since moving into his house a couple of months ago. She'd made sure to attend every therapy session with him, whether it be emotional or physical, and she made sure that whenever she saw Jeff pushing himself further than his body really could go, she'd always stop him and tell him that he couldn't play football with his little one if his legs had somehow fallen off in the process of rehabilitation. That small joke would always cause him to pull Trish's small frame towards him, kiss her growing belly—which housed their little angel—and then go back to working out his legs, but this time in a much calmer fashion.

She's helped me through it all and never once complained—I don't know what I'd do without her.

"Mr. Hardy?"

Snapping out of his thoughts at these words, Jeff turned his attention away from the hospital bed he was gazing towards to the door that was just to the right of it, where the nurse, who hadn't been on shift when he first came there a few hours ago, was standing, with a small smile on her face.

"Sorry to disturb you, but it's time for Angela's first feeding of the day and I wanted to know if you would like for us to wake Miss. Stratus or would you like to feed her yourself?"

Knowing how tired Trish must've been after being in labor practically the entire day before caused Jeff to cast a quick look at the sleeping beauty beside him—inwardly telling her he'd be right back—before standing up and following the head nurse down the hall towards where the other lady in his life was situated.

"You can take a seat in the chair over there while I get her and her bottle."

Even though he had done enough sitting these last couple of months and would've preferred to stand, Jeff grudgingly took a seat on the rocking chair on the other side of the room, and patiently waited until the nurse had brought his daughter to him.

My daughter…I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing that phrase associated with me.

"I'll just be in the other room if you need me, okay."

After absentmindedly nodding his answer at the nurse as she silently began to leave the room, Jeff turned his attention to the baby in his arms, who was interestingly enough wide awake, seeming to be telling her father without words that she was ready for her bottle right now.

"Ha, I guess you already know what time is." Jeff commented, before taking the bottle the nurse had just given him and putting the nipple of it into Angela's mouth—amused when she began sucking on it as soon as it passed through her pink pout. "There's no denying it…you are indeed Trish's baby-especially with an appetite like that."

While staring at the little one in his arms, Jeff couldn't help but become amazed at how much Angela looked just like her mom. Sure, it looked like she would have his naturally dark hair and same green eye color, but judging by lips and nose, alone, she was all Trish's.

And not surprisingly, that fact alone made Jeff love Angela even more than he already did.

"You're going to be just as beautiful as her one day, kid…and then I'll be in jail for beating up every sixteen year old boy that I come and contact with."

After chuckling at his only half joke and then continuing to watch on as his daughter took her second bottle ever, Jeff found himself making four very important promises to Angela, that he had already made to Trish, in his mind.

"From this day foreword, I promise to never leave you—no matter what-to always love and care for you and to always put you before me, in any given situation…lastly, I promise you that as soon as we get you and Trish out of here, and you're both fully rested and recovered, I'm going to make us an official family and ask your mom to marry me….but you got to keep that just between us, okay?"

As if really hearing what Jeff was saying, Angela's small hand tightened slightly around Jeff's finger that she was holding, causing the now emotional man to reply,

"I love you too."