Mercy

Seizing the opportunity, LaFonda crept quietly into her son's room to take an early morning picture of the three snuggled in bed. She smiled as she raised the camera to her eyes, focusing the lens on the trio. Nikki holding Bailee, and Duane Lee's arms wrapped protectively around the two girls.

She had known of her son's love of Nikki for many years. But only recently had she heard the same name from her youngest son, Leland. 'How it is that one woman could have both my boys wrapped around her finger?' she wondered as she took a few more pictures of them as they slept. She closed the door quietly, hurrying over to the computer to print the picture out; she wanted to surprise her oldest son with this memento.

A ringing phone woke Duane Lee up around 7:45 the next morning. It was Leland's doctor calling to tell him that Leland had just woken up. As he quietly sat the phone down on the nightstand he took a moment to watch Bailee and Nikki sleeping.

Sometime during the night, Bailee had managed to get in between the two adults and now lay sound asleep, snuggled protectively in Nikki's arms. He wrapped his arms around the two girls, not wanting to wake either of them just yet. They looked too perfect, like angels. 'My Angels' he thinks to himself.

Nikki stirred, opening her eyes and blinked a few times, before smiling at Duane. "Morning." She says quietly.

"Good morning. I was trying to not wake you, but Dr. Andrews called and said that Leland was awake now. He said to come down in an hour or so."

She sat further up in the bed. "That's wonderful news. We need to go tell your mom!" she says, hopping out of bed.

And just like that, the spell was broken.

Duane Lee sighed as he watched her leaving the room. Its not that he wasn't happy that his brother was now out of a coma, he didn't know how to cope with the feelings that Nikki and Leland shared for one another. He had waited three very long years to have Nikki back in his life and he wasn't going to let anyone, his brother included; stand in his way.

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He listened to her knocking vigorously on his mother's bedroom door, yelling the news through the crack to her as she answered Nikki. He sighed, gently picking his niece up to get her dressed.

"Wake up sleepyhead." He tells the four year old. She yawns and slowly opens her eyes and smiles when she sees him.

'Yes, I could definitely get used to this.' Duane tells himself as he brushes Bailee's messy hair out of her face.

"Where's my daddy?" asks a sweet voice.

"Daddy is at the doctor's and we're going to visit him okay?" he says, hoping to pacify the little girl.

Bailee frowns, as she looks at him with her big, sad brown eyes. "Did daddy die?"

He hears a soft gasp from Nikki as she comes back into the room, only having heard the end of the conversation.

Duane creases his eyebrows as he looks up at Nikki before turning his attention back to his niece. "No baby, daddy is fine. I'm going to take you down to see him and you can give him a great big kiss. How about that?" he says kissing Bailee on the forehead.

"Go see Grandma and pick out your prettiest dress to wear." He says, putting her down on the floor. Nikki smiles as the little girl runs from the room, yelling for her grandmother.

"I guess we should get dressed too, huh?" she says, closing the door. Duane Lee nods in agreement; pushing him self up off the bed.

"I don't have any clothes...I forgot about that. We can stop at a store on the way there, if you don't mind running in and grabbing something for me... maybe a summer dress and some flip flops?" she says giving him her best smile.

He chuckles and says, "I have to pick out clothes for you? I don't know about all that..."

"You'll do just fine. I cant go in like this." She says, gesturing to his t-shirt she had slept in. "I know the perfect store, I love everything in there, so you can't go wrong!" She says, hitting him on butt as he walks past her and into the bathroom. "I'll just find a way to slip it on in the car." Nikki says, making him laugh even harder.
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When they arrived at the hospital, the entire Chapman family sat waiting patiently for the doctor to tell them more on Leland's condition. They were the last to get there, Duane Lee sitting down next to Beth, and Nikki having to find another empty seat next to Lyssa.

Nikki smiled as she watched Duane from across the room. Bailee has fallen asleep in the car; Duane Lee hadn't put her down since then. 'He'll definitely make a wonderful father.' She thinks.

A hush fell over the crowd of Chapmans as the doctor came in, his face was grim. Whatever news he had about Leland didn't look promising.

"Thank you all for coming down so early. I know you care deeply for Leland, however there is something I need to discuss with you..." he says, glancing down at the chart he held in his hand.

"Because we didn't know the extent of his injuries at the time we had to put Leland in a chemically induced coma, as you're all aware. Upon waking him from the coma, Ive seen a slight swelling of the brain." He tells the family, giving them a moment to let it all sink in.

"So what does that mean?" Beth asks, hesitantly.

"It means that he may have a case of amnesia. It could last until the medicine wears off or it could be permanent. We really cant say at the time."

Duane Lee and Nikki lock eyes, neither of them knowing what this might mean for Leland's future, or their own.

The doctor answers a round of questions from almost every family member. Before telling them that he would like Leland's daughter to be the first one to see him, he hoped that it might trigger a recent memory. Nikki volunteers to take Bailee into the room to see her father.

"Is it alright that she's asleep?" Nikki asks, as she takes her from Duane Lee.

The doctor nods, "Yes that actually makes it easier on both parties. She won't understand if her father doesn't recognize her, so it's for the best, really."