Chapter 596

"Mom! Uncle Caleb's up!" Oliver shouted, eyes wide with surprise.

"Caleb."

"Dad..."

Caleb slowly pried his heavy eyelids open, and three worried faces came into focus. His throat was dry as a desert, and he croaked out, "Susan..."

He wiggled his fingers, and Susan grabbed his hand, tears streaming down her face, "It's me, Caleb!"

Her tears splashed onto his fingers, warm and real.

"Why the waterworks?" Caleb asked, confused.

"I'm just so happy. You finally woke up. I knew you wouldn't leave us. Caleb..." Susan's voice cracked with emotion, "You've been out cold for a whole month."

"A month?" Caleb was shocked, "I just had a bunch of dreams, like the first time we met... and so many other things from the past..."

"You were dreaming, but for us, it felt like forever. Thank God, you're finally back."

"Sorry for making you all worry."

Susan shook her head hard, "If it wasn't for saving us, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Thank God He brought you back to me."

"Daddy, I won't be mad at you ever again." Candy clung to his other hand, "I'll be good and listen to you from now on."

"You've always been good." Caleb's pale lips curled into a smile, "my little sweetheart."

"What about me? Daddy..." Oliver piped up. "I said I'd call you Daddy when you woke up."

Caleb's heart skipped a beat.

This was the first time Oliver called him Daddy.

"Oliver..." Caleb smiled.

"Oliver, take Candy to wipe her tears, she's a mess," Susan said.

"Okay, Mom."

"Daddy, you rest up, I'll be back soon."

"How am I doing?" Caleb asked.

"The bullet in your right leg is out, it won't mess with your life. Your burns are healed too. The doc said the only worry was you ending up in a coma forever, but now that you're awake, it's all good."

Caleb let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't worried about himself, but about not being able to take care of his family, "That's good. Where's Grace?"

"She was rescued too, but didn't make it," Susan said, feeling a pang of regret. After all, it was a life, and Grace was Candy's mom. If she hadn't been so stubborn, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Then Candy..."

"Candy cried for half a month, but she's accepted it now. She only has us from now on."

"Okay," Caleb nodded.

"You just woke up, don't think too much. Rest up a bit more."

"I've slept enough, I'm not tired now," Caleb smiled faintly.

"Want to chat? I'll keep you company."

Caleb smiled, "I don't have much energy to talk, just looking at you is enough."

"Okay," Susan's face softened, "Actually, when you were out, I talked to you a lot every day. I didn't know if you could hear me."

"I heard you, I heard you calling me, so even though I was super tired, I told myself I couldn't fall asleep. It was you all who kept me going. Susan, thanks for not leaving me."

"Why would you say something silly like that? How could I leave you?"

"If I were in a coma forever..."

"Then I'd take care of you forever." Susan said without hesitation, "A promise isn't just words. No matter what happens to you, I won't give up."

Caleb was all choked up, "Me too."

A week later.

July was blazing hot, the sun frying everything in sight, and the air was so thick with heat it felt like you could cut it with a knife.

But inside the ward, the AC was blasting, making it nice and cool.

Oliver and Candy were sprawled out on the sofa, heads together, working on a puzzle.

"Candy, you goofed, this piece doesn't go here," Oliver pointed out.

"No, I didn't," Candy shot back.

"It's totally the wrong piece, the shape's all wrong, silly."

"Daddy, Oliver called me silly," Candy whined.

"He didn't call you silly, silly means you're cute," Caleb said.

"Then Oliver's silly too."

"Yep, yep, the brother of a silly girl is also silly," Oliver teased. No way around it, as a brother, you gotta be nice to your sister, and you can't argue with girls, just spoil 'em.

Susan was sitting by the bed, peeling a pear for Caleb with her nimble fingers. The skin came off in one perfect spiral, showing the juicy, shiny flesh underneath.

"You take the first bite," Caleb said.

"Why?" Susan asked.

"Because the pear you bite is sweeter."

"No matter how sweet, it can't be as sweet as your words," Susan smiled and took a bite, then handed it to Caleb.

Oliver couldn't help but roll his eyes, Mom and Dad were at it again, showing off their love, and they did it like a million times a day in different ways.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Susan asked.

"Because you're beautiful, I wanna look," Caleb answered.

At four months pregnant, she had that special glow, even her eyebrows looked softer.

"Of course I'm beautiful, but you seem to have put on a bit of weight." Susan looked him up and down, "Your complexion is good, but your face is a bit rounder, not as handsome as before."

The pear in Caleb's hand suddenly didn't taste as sweet, "Are you saying you don't like me anymore?"

"Not really, just that you were a bit more handsome before. People say married middle-aged men gain weight. You haven't even gotten married yet, but you're already gaining weight."

"I was stuck in bed for a month, and after I woke up, you kept stuffing me with all kinds of nutritious food, so I gained weight. Once I'm outta here, I'll start working out right away, and I'll be even more handsome. Look, I haven't lost my eight-pack yet," Caleb said, about to lift his shirt.

Susan laughed, "Haha, a middle-aged man who won't admit defeat."

"I'm only thirty-two, okay? It's the prime age for a man, still young, not middle-aged," Caleb argued loudly.

"Okay, okay, young, you're the youngest."

Her dismissive tone bugged Caleb, "How can you be like this? If I called you a middle-aged woman, you wouldn't be happy either, right?"

"No, because I'm not a middle-aged woman, I'm a young girl."

"I'm a middle-aged man, and you're a young girl, so I'm much older than you?"

Susan nodded without hesitation, "Of course, didn't you know?"

Caleb was both annoyed and amused, "Alright, I'm middle-aged, you're a young girl, so does the young girl want to consider a new identity?"

"What identity?"

"Mrs. Eilish."