My eyes flutter open when I feel someone's fingers playing with my hair. I smile knowingly and then look at the little person sitting beside my pillow.

Sarah.

Her small eyes are concentrated while her lips are set in a cute pout.

I turn to face her completely which makes her gasp and say, "Don't turn, I'm braiding your hair."

I become still and ask her, "Tell me when you're done."

She hums and then continues pulling and twisting my hair.

"What made you wake up so early?" I ask.

"I'm a big girl now. Big girls take care of their moms," she says still working on my hair.

I smile listening to her. "Even if you are too small to take care of Mumma? " Her blueish grey eyes connect with my blue eyes while she looks at me with confusion.

"I take care of Kelly so I'm not small. " My eyebrows raise in amusement hearing her. Kelly is her brown fur teddy that has been with her since her first birthday so now it would four years. In all the four years Kelly and Sarah have been joined by the hip.

"I can take care of myself then why Sarah? " I ask again.

"Sarah is a big girl." She says again as if it's a point she has repeated too many times and I still don't understand.

"Sarah is only five," I tell her which makes her leave my hair and come sit in front of me.

"But papa says I'm a big girl who has to take care of you when papa is not here," she says and I unknowingly roll my eyes thinking about Eleandro saying this to Sarah.

"How do you plan on taking care of me?" I ask her removing the dark strands of her hair away from her eyes.

"I braided your hair, woke you up and when papa came I sent him in my room so he doesn't disturb you." she nods with a proud nod.

My eyes become wide listening to her. "And when did papa returned?" I ask her simultaneously coming out of the sheet. Going and looking in the mirror my eyes locks at the portion of braided hair that is mostly knots together and sigh.

"When I woke up." I look at the small figure of Sarah sitting on the bed and looking at me with hopeful eyes. "Did you like it?"

"It's lovely." I smile and she mirrors it. "Now let's go and get and see what's dad is doing." Sarah immediately stands on the bed and opens her arms. "What about you being a big girl now?" I ask and she smiles sheepishly showing her set of milk teeth.

Nevertheless, she climbs down the bed and wears her slippers. Holding my forefinger and middle finger she starts dragging me towards her room.

She opens the door to her door and the sight in front was worth seeing for a thousa-- no, a million dollars. There is something about seeing a grown-up man sleeping in his work attire in a bed with teddy bears around it and princess posters hung on the wall.

I try to control my laughs so that I don't wake him. The way he is sleeping in his work clothes with his tie loosely around his neck and mouth slightly open shows how tired he is. But of course, Sarah beats me to it. She goes running towards him, climbs on her bed, and then sits beside his pillow.

"Papa!" she says pinching his lips shut like a duck with her forefinger and thumb. He wakes up with a gasp. "Don't sleep with your mouth open. Bad habit." Sarah says with utmost seriousness while he looks at her with disbelief.

Seeing this I couldn't help but crack in a fit of laughter which makes him finally notice me. A tired but small smile forms on his lips too.

"I still can't believe she kicked me out of my room?" he says after kissing Sarah's cheeks which makes her wipe her cheeks in horror. She quickly wears her slippers and run out of the room after muttering something about no brushing, germs, and cooties.

"Well she takes her job seriously," I say coming near him and giving a peck on the side of his lips. "You didn't tell me you were returning today?"

He pulls me closer and makes me sit on his lap. "Didn't I tell you in the end I'm always with you."

I smile remembering the day when he told me the exact words five and a half years before.

At the hospital when the cops left after writing down the statements everything went downhill when the door of the operation theater holding Eleandro opened to reveal doctors with a frowning face.

"Due to lots of blood loss the patient went to coma." one of the doctors said.

It was at that moment that I realized that life is unpredictable. While the police were chasing Jaxson and Xavier, the love of my life was on the hospital bed motionless.

I would visit him daily as the hospital wouldn't let me stay the night and talk to him. Tell him how much he means to me. Tell him how much I miss his voice. Tell him how sorry I am. Tell him that I love him, love him so much that it would kill me if he wouldn't wake up and look at me with his piercing gray eyes as I'm the most intriguing thing he has ever seen.

Days and weeks went by but he didn't wake up and for me, the bitter coffee and tasteless food of hospital canteen became usual until one day after five months and six days since he went into coma his thumb moved slightly.

The movement was very slight but I felt it because his hand was pressed between my protruding belly and my hand. I always kept his hand like that while we were together so that he could be close to the baby.

I was sure that his thumb moved but still, I needed confirmation so that I know that my mind wasn't playing games with me and indeed I saw his eyelids move.

In a second I called the nurse and the doctor. Even though I was ushered outside when they arrived I knew my Eleandro was back.

When he finally came to his senses it was hard for both of us. He couldn't believe the fact that he was in darkness for more than five months but looking at me was all that needed because apparently the last time he saw me 'I wasn't that much pregnant'.

Those were dark days but then everything became better as he would kiss me and tell me "Don't worry honey. In the end, I'm always with you."

Jaxson and Xavier were sentenced lifetime imprisonment for the crimes they did involving kidnapping, human trafficking, rape, and attempt of murder.

Things became as normal as it could be after Eleandro was discharged from the hospital and came home. Suzzane and Jenna also came to visit him also another fact that greeted Eleandro was the news of his parents' divorce.

So along with Jaxson and Xavier, Mr. Tyler Salvis was out of our life for good and after two and half more months a baby girl came and brought smiles in our lives.

Sarah Salvis.

And even after five years, she keeps the smiles intact on our faces. Well, she does take her responsibility seriously.

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