Chapter 17
Alexia – One Year Later
“You keep squeezing that lucky pen any harder, and you'll have a lovely ink stain on your wedding dress,” Arya says, helping me into my gown, her fingers working deftly at the buttons.
The hospital chapel feels different today, almost too small for all the people who've shown up to witness our wedding. Arya and Jackie Stone have woven white lights between the pews, and Holly's scattered what might be an excessive amount of rose petals along the aisle. The air smells like flowers and antiseptic, an odd combination that somehow feels right.
“Holy shit, your mom actually showed up,” Arya announces, jutting her chin toward a corner. My eyes follow her gesture to where my mother sits, looking like she's attending a board meeting rather than her daughter's wedding. This past year has brought us closer — or at least she's trying. She's even starting to accept Selene. Of course, she pushed for us to have the wedding at the beach house in Martha's Vineyard or, failing that, in Connecticut, but we wanted as many of our colleagues as possible to attend. It's touching to see some of them still in their white coats, having snuck away from their shifts.
My father's absence speaks volumes. Ever since he started dating that young legal assistant, he's vanished from my life. Now that she's pregnant, he's using it as an excuse, claiming the trip would be too exhausting for her. Whatever. I refuse to let his choices dim the brightness of this day.
“Dr. Winters?” Holly's voice pulls me back to reality. Selene insisted she be our ring bearer, and according to her mother, she's been bouncing off the walls with excitement for a month. “Selene says she's ready. And she looks beautiful. Like, super, super beautiful,” she repeats, nodding her head vigorously.
“Thanks, sweetie. We're coming,” I whisper with a wink.
“Want to hear a secret?”
“Sure, tell me.”
“You can't tell anyone, okay?” Holly's eyes lock onto mine with complete seriousness.
“Pinky promise.”
“Selene was crying earlier. Happy tears. But remember, it's top secret,” she whispers, adding an exaggerated wink.
“I've shed some tears too,” I confide. “And I'm sure there'll be more when I see Selene. Ready to carry those rings?”
I take a deep breath and follow the little girl. The music starts — not your typical wedding march, but “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves, Arya's pick to keep things upbeat.
Holly wasn't exaggerating about Selene being “super, super beautiful.” My breath catches in my throat. She stands there in a tailored white suit that makes her blue eyes pop, wearing that smile that's just for me. God, I think I could die for that smile.
“Don't you dare cry now, you'll mess up all that makeup,” Arya hisses, jabbing an elbow into my ribs.
But as I walk toward Selene, the tears come anyway. Because this isn't just about marrying the love of my life — it's about all the ways she's helped me become the best version of myself.
“Hey, beautiful,” she whispers when I reach her side. Her hand trembles slightly as we exchange rings. My fearless pilot who can fly through storms and gunfire but still gets freaked out by escalators.
The ceremony passes in a whirlwind of emotions and promises. After we kiss, the room erupts in cheers and whistles, mostly from Arya, while Holly throws her remaining rose petals into the air like confetti.
“Now comes the best part,” Selene whispers against my ear.
I smile as we head to the pediatric ward. What better way to celebrate our marriage than with the kids who brought us together?
“Last one there is a frozen stethoscope!” Arya shouts, racing Holly down the hallways and earning a disapproving glare from a group of nurses.
“Wow, it's like a princess wedding,” a little girl sighs, hands clasped over her mouth.
“It's even better than that,” I begin, surprising myself. “It's the story of a doctor who thought she had to be cold to save more people and-”
“That's you!” Holly exclaims, flashing us a gap-toothed grin. “Tell them about the giant pigeons and the snowstorm!”
While I talk, Selene moves among the children, distributing carefully chosen gifts we bought for each of them.
“Did you really fly with Selene through a storm to save Holly?” asks a girl who's been in the hospital for a month, clutching her new teddy bear.
“We sure did. And we'd do it again, for each and every one of you,” I assure them.
“Dr. Winters, can we eat Marco's chocolate cookies now?”
“Those are for after dinner,” I start to say, but Selene's hand on my shoulder reminds me that it is our wedding day, after all.
“Come on, cookies for everyone!” Arya yells, grabbing a box and starting to hand them out before I can protest. “And while we're at it, let's have Selene tell us some stories. Dr. Winters' ones are kind of boring,” she suggests, earning unanimous applause from the kids.
Selene sits cross-legged on the floor as the children and their parents form a circle around her.
“I'll tell you a secret,” she begins. “When I first met Dr. Winters, I didn't believe in magic. Not even a little bit.”
“But she has a magic lucky pen!” Holly protests, having become practically family over the past year.
“Yes, because sometimes the most powerful magic hides in unexpected places. In a lucky pen or a helicopter. Let me tell you about the time I saw a nighttime rainbow while flying.”
“That's impossible!” a twelve-year-old girl objects, though the wonder in her eyes suggests she wants to believe.
“I know it sounds impossible,” Selene continues, “but it was like all the stars decided to paint the sky in colors to show me the way. These things happen when someone very brave fights something very difficult, like when you have to go into surgery even though you're scared, or stay in the hospital instead of playing with your friends at the park.”
“What did the rainbow do?” Tommy asks, rolling a toy truck across the floor.
“That's the best part,” Selene nods. “Each color has its own special power. Red makes you braver. Yellow helps you smile, even on the hardest days. Blue helps you sleep when you're worried. And green… green's my favorite because it gives you hope that everything will be okay.”
“What about purple?” interrupts Lisa, who's starting to lose her hair to chemotherapy.
“Purple is extra special. That color is for superheroes like you because you keep fighting even when you're tired.”
She stands and walks to the window as the children's eyes follow her.
“See those snowflakes? Each one is a tiny piece of that magic rainbow. That's why they sparkle so much. Now, whenever it snows, you can remember that up there, somewhere in the clouds, there's a rainbow watching over you.”
“Like it watched over Holly last year when she needed a new heart?” one of the younger children asks.
“Exactly. And you know what else?” Selene pauses for dramatic effect, and all the kids shake their heads in unison, eyes wide. “Every time one of you is brave, even when you're scared, every time you don't give up even though you're tired or hurting... the magic rainbow grows stronger.”
Some parents discreetly wipe away tears. It's heartbreaking watching your little one sick in a hospital room while trying to stay strong and positive.
“Have you ever seen the Christmas elves at Watson Memorial?” pipes up a five-year-old. “The ones who decorate the halls at Christmas and steal papers and pens for us to draw with?”
“Oh, absolutely. I even gave them a ride in my helicopter once so they could get to the hospital faster. One of them lost his hat in the wind,” she says as the children giggle and gasp, imagining the scene.
“Really?”
“Yes, those same elves sometimes change the time on the clocks to give us more time, because even though miracles take a while to arrive, it doesn't mean they're not on their way,” she concludes,despite many children begging her for another story.
“Christmas elves who change the time on clocks? Seriously?” I whisper when she sits beside me.
“Sometimes a story is the best medicine,” she teases, leaning in to kiss my cheek.
***
Thirty minutes later, my heart swells as I watch Holly bouncing with excitement, her small hand clasped in her mother's as we stand on the hospital's helipad. The wind whips around us, carrying the sharp scent of jet fuel and winter air.
“Let's move before they figure out we stole the helicopter,” Arya says with a mischievous grin, her dark hair dancing in the breeze.
“Am I really going to fly?” Holly's eyes sparkle with wonder.
“A promise is a promise, Captain Holly, and I always keep my word. Up you go.” Selene lifts her with practiced ease into the cockpit, her strong arms steady and sure.
“Dr. Kumari's coming with us too?” Holly's jaw drops in surprise.
“You bet. She needs to help us fight those giant pigeons in Central Park. Got the donut box?”
Holly nods, clutching a box of assorted donuts to her chest. I pray we won't actually have to throw them at any birds.
In the air, I position my phone to capture the moment Selene guides Holly's tiny hands over the controls. She keeps her fingers wrapped protectively around the girl's, but Holly's face — that pure joy radiating from every pore as her dream comes true - steals my breath away.
“Give me that phone, you sap. You're gonna ruin the video with all your crying,” Arya snatches my phone, but I catch the softness in her voice.
“Look! Central Park! The trees look just like broccoli from up here!” Holly squeals.
“There! Giant pigeons!” Arya shouts.
“I can't see them!”
“Quick, throw the donuts — they're right below us!”
Before I can protest, donuts sail through the crisp morning air. I wince, hoping no unsuspecting pedestrian gets pelted with flying pastries. Selene, Arya, and Holly dissolve into uncontrollable laughter that fills the cabin.
“Do you think I could be a pilot like you someday?”
“I thought you wanted to be a doctor at Watson Memorial?”
“Helicopter pilot sounds better.”
“You absolutely can.”
“Even with my special heart?” Holly's voice wavers.
“Especially with your special heart,” Selene says firmly. “It makes you stronger and braver. Just like Dr. Winters' lucky pen makes her the best surgeon around.”
Holly beams, declaring this the best Christmas gift ever — tied with the new heart the Christmas elves brought her last year. As I watch them, I realize that sometimes the best medicine isn't found in textbooks or operating rooms.
Sometimes it's found in a helicopter pilot who claims to see giant pigeons and Christmas elves. A pilot who fears escalators but makes children smile even on their darkest days. A pilot who's made me believe in magic and fulfills her little sister's final wish daily: bringing joy to sick kids trapped in hospitals.