Belong - an adopted by Hamilton fanfic [Hamilton]

65. To go: home

[A/N: Heya! A little head's up: this is the first of two parts! Well, right know it is. And I wrote this in two days. Which is rare for me. Very. So hold tight for part two, To find: Home. Enjoy the chap!💐]

Vanessa's POV
We were standing outside the hospital. I was holding her hand, tightly. I didn't want to lose her again. I watched for any routines or signs of panic. She wasn't standing on any cracks on the pavement, she was blinking and tapping rhythmically but breathing normally.

It was better than other days. And at least that's a plus, I told myself.

I just wanted this to go well. So many things had already gone wrong. And she deserved good. She was going home. She was going to be where she felt like she belonged.
"Rue, Niñita? Promise to tell me if it's too much. Okay?", I said, facing her. She hadn't been outside in a rather long time, and there was a lot of things going on around her. People running late, cars honking, ambulances passing, people talking. It was unpredictable, and she was not very fond of the unknown.
"I'm okay, V", she said quietly, with a warm undertone in her voice. She sounded almost happy. And that little spark of joy warmed me too.

After a few minutes of waiting, Lin pulled up with the car, waving from the driver's seat. It had only taken five minutes, just as he'd promised Rue five minutes earlier. She took a deep breath. This was the last step. She could finally come home.

Dr Noma and Dr Arden had followed us out, watching her every step. It didn't seem to bother her. If something, it was calming her.
I carefully let go of her hand, so that I could take her bag and put it in the trunk, as I nodded towards Lin.
"Mom, mom!", I heard Sebastian shouted happily from his child car seat. My heart filled with joy. I opened the door to the back, where I was faced with a very excited one-and-a-half-year-old.
"Hi, little man! Mom missed you too!", I said, stretching out to kiss his forehead. He giggled, laughing with excitement. He loved car rides. This was no exception.

I looked back at Rue, knowing that Lin had taken over from me, as he had gotten out of the car when I let go of her hand. We had switched almost automatically. The two of them were standing right next to the car, him holding her dotted backpack.
But, he wasn't holding her hand.
Instead, Rue was hugging dr Noma. She was hugging someone. Someone that wasn't me or Lin.
"Thank you", I heard her say quietly and genuinely.
I felt tears building up in my eyes.
She was talking.
She was standing.
She was living.
And there was a long way ahead of her.
But she was Rue.
And she was ready.
"No, no, thank you. See you next week, Rue", Dr Noma said, smiling calmly.
They let go, and Rue turned to Dr Aarden.
"Thank you for letting me go home", she told him, with a grateful look on her face.
"You earned it, Rue. You don't have to say thank you to anyone. Follow your scheme. Tell your parents when it gets hard again. Okay?", words of wisdom of which I knew she already knew - she had written them down in a little notebook which she brought to therapy.
"Okay", she said. There was even a smile on her face. Suddenly another voice joined in, out of breath and excited.
"Hey, Rue!", the paramedic, Malakai, shouted calmly as he came walking quickly, so that he wouldn't startle her. "Heard you were going home today!", and so her smile grew even bigger.
She was really going home today.
Even I had a hard time realising the truth.
But really it felt like we were taking this big leap that may set her back a few steps.
"Just wanted to say goodbye. I hate to see one of my favourite patients go, but you've ended up in my ambulance twice now, Rue. So can you please try to keep our promise that we made yesterday? To try and stay out of my ambulance, or any ambulance, for the foreseeable future? To try and get better?", his kind eyes, looking out for her. His simple request warmed my heart. He had come to visit her a few days ago, wanting to check on her. And then he had come back again yesterday after she woke up from the sedation. They had talked a lot, and it seemed to have cheered her up a little.
"I promise I'll try", she told him.
My heart melted.
"Shake on it?", he asked, holding out his hand.
I was crying now, a smile plastered on my face.
She took his hand, shaking it firmly.
She knew.
She had decided.
She was doing this.
"Well then, let's go!", Lin announced, with a touched look. She hadn't said that much in a long time. In a very long time. But, now she was seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel. And she was ready. Ready to try.
I quickly wiped the tears off of my face, as Rue turned around towards me, smiling. She was going home to where she belonged.
Rue began to walk towards me, aiming for the backseat, where she always sat when we were four in the car.
"Wait Rue, I'll sit here, and you'll sit in the front. Alright?", I said, the worry already turned on. She hadn't been in the backseat since the journalist. She had barely set foot in a car. Lin and I had planned the homecoming in detail - and so I would sit in the back so she would feel safe.
"It's fine, I'll sit here", she said, sure of herself, yet with a hint of fear in her eyes. I wasn't convinced.
"No, no, you don't have to, Niñita", I said.
"Yes, I do", she replied. She had already made up her mind. And there was nothing stopping her. Because this was her trying. It was all or nothing. Some people may call her stubborn, some determined. I hadn't decided yet. I just admired her. And trusted her; because I knew she would speak up if something was going on.
"Okay, Rue-Rue. Okay", I nodded towards her.
She tapped her thigh, blinked and hopped in.
As she closed the door, I faced the doctors to say goodbye.
"Thank you", I stated, in unison with Lin. "We can't say it too many times. Truly, thank you"
"Don't thank us. Thank her", Dr Noma said, nodding towards Rue who was playing with Sebastian in the back. "She's a fighter"
"Yes, she is", Lin said.
She always has been.