1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

the sweetest thing

chapter one

david and anna's cabin,pine valley, pa

december 31st, 2003

"i will not inject untested drugs into any patients. no matter how willing, or desperate, they might be."

"i will not get arrested, tried, or jailed."

"i will not bury any object larger than a sea shell on a public beach."

"i will not kill that psych…aidan… i will not kill aidan. but only because he's anna's nephew."

anna devane held her daughter in her arms, spying on david, who was lying on the lounge chair in the cabin, mumbling to himself. an amused smile spread across her face as she carried leora towards her father. she whispered into the baby's ear, "i think your dad is making new years resolutions."

she gently plopped the baby girl into his lap, a gesture that resulted in an immediate wail of protest from leora.

david held his daughter up high, "oh…sweetheart, you're not going to show me how well you can cry again, are you?" he made a clown face for the little girl and deftly swung her up and down. the motion stopped the tears and

ought on a heart-melting smile.

david grinned. "that's my girl." he hoisted her higher still, "right, leora? why don't we show your mom what a great smile you have?"

anna smirked as she watched them, "i should know. you keep telling me she has my smile."

david couldn't stop grinning as he felt her tiny hands on his face. it was the truth. leora hayward might have inherited his eyes; eyes that were dark little orbs the colour of charcoal, and his even darker mop of jet black hair, but as soon as her lips parted into a smile, all resemblance to him vanished and she became a mirror image of her mother. david kissed her forehead, leaning the baby backwards, secure in his arms. he pointed towards the ceiling, "look, sweetheart. the mistletoe's still up there. it means you have to give your daddy a kiss."

leora responded by drooling on him instead.

anna laughed, "that's my girl."

she left the living room to fetch her winter coat, frowning when she looked outside the window and saw the beginnings of the snowfall the forecasters had predicted for this afternoon. as beautiful as their mountain hideaway was, trying to reach it in bad weather was often more of an adventure than she'd bargained for. anna had to admit that neither she nor david were nearly organized or domesticated enough for a life in quasi-isolation. 'which is why i now have to head back downtown to get the milk i left at the grocery store this morning,' she thought, annoyed with herself.

back in the living room, she reached for the car keys on the mantle of the fireplace, unable to hide a smile when she heard david softly singing "silent night" to leora, who stared at him wide-eyed, as he cradled her in his arms.

anna bent down to kiss her cheek, "you should inform your dad that christmas is over."

"she likes carols, especially, don't you sweetheart? they sound like lullabies." his eyes went from leora to anna and he suddenly noticed that she was dressed to go outside. "hey…where are you going?" he asked her.

"the grocery store. i…uh, left something there."

david raised his eye

ows, "no…you can't."

anna looked at him, puzzled. "what do you mean?" she saw him check his watch.

"you can't leave the cabin now."

"why not?"

a well-timed knock on the door stopped him from having to answer. david leapt up from the chair with leora still in his arms.

anna's puzzlement grew. "are you expecting company?"

david grinned as he opened the door to his cousin, maggie, and his half-

other, trey. a whiff of cold, wintry air entered the room from outside. "i am indeed."

anna smiled a lopsided smile, taken aback at the sudden arrival, before em

acing the young woman. "maggie? trey? what

ings you here on new years eve?"

maggie offered her a conspiratorial grin, "you really have no clue do you?"

anna turned towards david and leora, "what's going on?"

david gently handed his daughter to his cousin, "now you know about the feedings, right? how often and how much?"

maggie groaned, "you only told me…oh, about five hundred times over the phone."

"and a half hour before you put her down for bed…"

trey interrupted him, "we know, big

other, two table spoons of applesauce. it's her favourite."

"and don't forget to change her diapers once or twice, will you?" david handed maggie a sheet of paper that he pulled from his pocket, "in case there's anything you don't remember, i wrote down everything i mentioned over the phone. you both have my cell number as well as anna's."

"i swear, we're going to hover over her over the next twenty-four hours. even more than you do, if that's possible."

anna listened to the conversation incredulously. "david? what's going on? we're leaving leora with maggie and trey?"

david draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her towards him. "it's new years eve tonight. i made plans for us."

anna raised her eye

ows, "plans? you made plans?"

his smile grew, spreading across his face, "big plans." he checked his watch once more, "and we have to get going if we're going to keep them."

"but…"

he shook his head, "no buts."

"milk. i forgot the milk at the grocery store…" anna suddenly remembered.

"i'll get it. no worries," trey told her.

"are you sure?" anna bit her lip, "but maggie…it's new years eve, don't you have plans?"

maggie smiled as leora took a strand of her hair into her tiny hands and pulled at it. "i do…i plan to spend it with my newest, most adorable family member."

anna stole another kiss on her daughter's cheek, surprised that the little girl hadn't started crying yet. "i'm going to miss you, baby."