I've been in the mood for a little angst type work... This is the result. I needed a small break from Windmill to slowly contemplate what the next chapter will be like. It's partly written, but if I write it slowly, it turns out better. So here is this piece instead. Not a oneshot, and there will be a few more chapters. When, I don't know. Don't own a damned thing, except Sierra's character. Anyway, please R&R.
Warning: This fic features femslash. Don't like, don't read. You were warned.
She paced back and forth, back and forth, her feet wearing a trail on the linoleum directly in front of the phone. She was waiting for a call, one that seemed as though it was life or death; in a way it was. It was to have come over forty-eight hours ago, but it never had. Now she didn't know whether it would be that familiar voice or the cold voice of a member of the search party crew. There was a sudden tugging at her pants leg and she looked down at the tiny hand that grasped it. "Mama, when's mommy coming home?" asked the little girl, four years old.
The woman leaned down and picked the child up, silently wondering how the child could have become so heavy in just four years. She was actually small and light for her age, but compared to an infant, she was heavy. The black-haired girl looked inquisitively at her mother with those big, brown eyes. The woman sighed. "Sierra, I'm not sure when your mommy will be home." She saw the tears welling up in the little girl's eyes before a sound was even made. She hugged Sierra tightly to her chest; she needed Sierra's comfort as much as Sierra needed hers.
Katherine was jolted from her embrace with her daughter when the telephone began to ring. Ring. Ring. She quickly sat Sierra down on the floor. "Go play in your room, okay? Mommy really needs to take this." Sierra nodded and slowly walked toward her room, leaving Katherine to wonder if she really understood the gravity of the situation or not. Her hand shook as she reached for the receiver. "Hello?" she choked out.
"Ms. Hillard?" came a concerned, male voice on the other end. Instinctively, Katherine knew it was one of the search party.
"Speaking."
"Ms. Hillard, we've located Kimberly Hart and have identified it to be her…" Katherine's knees felt weak. "…and she's been taken to Riverton Memorial. She appears to be in critical condition, from what we can tell. We've found her off of Route 9, her vehicle in a ditch. It appears she was knocked unconscious, but the vehicle was still running, so the heat was faint by the time we arrived. We think there was black ice on the road at the time. The road is lightly traveled and her vehicle's lights were out, meaning that she wrecked sometime during the day."
"Thank you," breathed Katherine before hanging up the phone. Her mind was reeling. Kimberly was alive, but critical. How critical was the question. She heard small running footsteps and knew Sierra was on her way to see who was on the telephone. "Who was that mommy? Was it mama? Is mama okay?"
Katherine sat down at the table, pulling Sierra into her lap. She turned the little girl so that she was looking at her mommy, beginning to speak softly. "That wasn't mama, Sierra. That was one of the people who were searching for mama. They.."
"Is mama okay?" asked Sierra, interrupting.
"Mama's not okay, baby. They found mama, but had to take her to the hospital. She's hurt and the doctors are gonna make her all better." She noticed that tears were starting to well up in Sierra's eyes and she wiped at them. "The doctors will make mama better, Sierra. That's their job. They make people all better." Sierra shook her head so fiercely that Katherine became worried. "Why are you shaking your head like that?"
"That's not what Timmy said. Timmy had an aunt that had a hurt heart. The doctors tried to make her better, but Timmy's aunt didn't get better. She died." Katherine felt like strangling Timmy. Timmy was Sierra's playmate at the park. The two often played on the jungle gym together, creating strange role plays that only the two of them could understand. Katherine normally loved Timmy; he was a sweet little boy. Right now he was definitely on her blacklist.
"Sierra, the doctor is gonna try his best to make mama all better. You just gotta believe." She placed her hand over Sierra's heart. "You love mama a lot, don't you?" Sierra nodded. "Then you gotta believe the doctor will make mommy better. Trust the doctor. He's a good guy. He's on mama's side."
"I wanna see mama," whined Sierra.
Katherine shook her head. "You can't see mama, not yet. Mama's in a place in the hospital where you can't go, okay? I promise you can see her when she gets a little better." Katherine wasn't sure if she was lying to Sierra or not. Either way, she didn't want Sierra to have to see her mama in whatever condition she was in.
Sierra started to fuss. "I wanna see mama!"
"You can't baby. I'm gonna call a babysitter to come stay with you while I go see mama."
"Can Brittany come watch me? I like her. She's not mean."
Katherine smiled softly. "I'll call her and see, okay? You go play while I make the call." Katherine knew Sierra hated being told to disappear when important things were being discussed. Sierra reluctantly slid off Katherine's lap and walked away as Katherine reached for the telephone again. She dialed the number for Brittany, hoping she could come on such short notice.
The phone was answered after two rings. "Hello?" called the childlike voice on the other end.
"Is Brittany there?"
"Brittany! A woman wants to talk to youuuuuuuuuuu!" called the voice loudly. Katherine guessed it was one of Brittany's younger brothers.
"You shouldn't act like that on the phone, pipsqueak," called a voice in the distance. Katherine knew it was Brittany.
"Hey!" shouted the boy. "I was gonna give it to you!"
"Scram," whispered Brittany. Into the receiver she said, "This is Brittany."
"Brittany, it's Ms. Hillard. I was wondering if you could watch Sierra right now…there's a family emergency and she isn't allowed along."
"Not a problem. I'll bring my things."
"It might be overnight. I don't know how late I'll be gone. I'll pay you nightly rate after 9."
"Don't worry about it, Ms. Hillard. It's an emergency. If you have to pay anything, just stick to our day rates. I'll be over in a few minutes. I just need to pack a bag."
"Thank you," said Katherine before hanging up the telephone. She turned to find Sierra looking up at her. "Brittany will be here soon, okay?" Sierra nodded silently. Katherine wondered why she had become so quiet all of a sudden, but guessed that her daughter was starting to become very worried about her mama.
Katherine walked past Sierra into the bedroom she shared with her longtime girlfriend and lover. Her eyes avoided the photographs that dotted the dresser; she made straight for the closet, glancing around inside. She had no idea how long she would be gone, but figured she should pack an overnight bag just in case. She grabbed a few t-shirts and two pairs of jeans, nothing spectacular. She decided that she might as well be comfortable for the long wait ahead.
The doorbell rang and Katherine heard running footsteps. Sierra loved answering the door and knew it was her babysitter. Sure enough, a few seconds later her head popped into the bedroom. "Mommy, Brittany's here!" She then disappeared just as quickly as she'd come. Katherine sighed and picked up her small duffel bag. She made her way toward the living room, where Brittany and Sierra were waiting.
"Hello, Ms. Hillard," greeted Brittany. Brittany was a tall girl, about five foot eight. She had long red hair that she kept braided down her back. Katherine and Kimberly had been hiring her ever since Sierra was a baby. Brittany had been in high school then; now she was in college, home for winter break.
"Hello, Brittany. I'm sorry again that this is such short notice." Katherine reached for her purse on the nearby hall table and thumbed through her wallet, pulling out two twenty dollar bills. "This should more than cover any expenses that should arise. If I stay overnight, just order some pizza for lunch tomorrow. You have my cell phone number, right?"
Brittany nodded. "It's saved in my cell. Any particular rules for Sierra?"
"It's the weekend…just make sure she's in bed at a decent hour. She's a little upset at what's been going on…just keep her relaxed as best you can. Call me if anything comes up."
"I will. You drive safely."
Katherine smiled. "I will. Bye Sierra. Come give mommy a hug and kiss."
Sierra ran into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly. She pulled Katherine's head down to hers. "Call me when mommy feels better," she whispered.
Katherine kissed the top of Sierra's head. "I will call and let you know about mommy when I know something, okay?"
Sierra nodded and kissed Katherine's cheek. "Of course I will, baby. Now you be a good girl for Brittany."
"I will mommy."
Katherine stood up as Sierra released her grip on her. "I'll call when I know something," she told Brittany before heading out the door. She heard hushed tones as she walked toward her car, a white '99 Ford Taurus. She sighed, pulling her coat closer around her. It was cold outside; she knew she should have grabbed a heavier coat. Snow was lightly falling again, and she knew she had to drive slowly, no matter how badly she wanted to see Kimberly. Sierra didn't need both of them in the hospital.
She started the engine, turning on the defroster. The radio came on, a sad country song playing. Katherine had no idea who sung it, but it fit the mood. She waited for the ice to defrost before shifting the car into gear. She pulled onto the street, noticing how empty and quiet it seemed. Snow gently fell, landing onto the black top, creating a new layer of snow within the snow that had been plowed.
Her mind was a jumble of thoughts. Where had Kimberly gone? Why had she wrecked? Would she make it through the whole ordeal alive? Katherine needed her again and Sierra needed her too. Kimberly couldn't leave the world, not yet. It couldn't be her time.
Forty-five long minutes later, Katherine arrived at the Riverton Memorial Hospital. The snow was just beginning to come down harder and Katherine knew she'd be spending the night at the hospital, whether she wanted to or not. The snow appeared as though it was gearing for a blizzard, just another thing Katherine hated about the Colorado winters.
The warmth of air that greeted her as she walked inside the automatic doors felt good on her cold skin. She hadn't had to walk very far, but the cold quickly chilled whatever warmth the car's heater had provided. She made her way to the reception desk, pulling out a few documents as she came upon the nurse waiting there. "Excuse me. I'm here to see Kimberly Hart. I was told she was brought here after being found by the search and rescue team."
The nurse gave her a stern once over before tapping into the computer system. A minute went by before she gave a response. "Ms. Hart is in the ICU. Only family members are allowed."
"These documents will allow me in," stated Katherine briskly as she handed over the forms.
The nurse scowled, giving them a once over. She called another nurse over for confirmation. They talked in hushed whispers before the receptionist one turned back to her. "Everything appears to be in order. Floor 4, room 427." She handed Katherine back the documents.
"Thank you," Katherine said before turning and walking toward the elevator. There were already a few people waiting for the next one to arrive. Katherine shifted nervously, biting her lip. She was this close to seeing Kimberly, and she had no idea what condition she'd be in. She glanced around at the others all waiting. There was a couple talking excited amongst themselves and carrying a teddy bear. Something good had happened for them. To her right was a short man who looked very solemn. Something terrible was going on here for him. She was in the middle, not quite that solemn, nor quite that happy.
The dinging of the elevator brought her back to her senses. She watched the people inside flow out before stepping inside. "What floor?" asked the solemn man.
"Fourth, please."
"That's where I'm heading. Not a very good place to go…" he trailed, never finishing his sentence.
"Sixth for us, please," called out the couple. The man stated, "Our daughter just had a baby boy, our first grandchild. We can't wait to see him." He shifted uncomfortably when he noticed the somber looks Katherine and the other man gave him.
The elevator made its way to the fourth floor, dinging upon its arrival. No one was waiting to get on. Katherine immediately looked at the signs in front of her, noting that she needed to head right. Without so much as a word, the solemn man headed off to the left. He must have been here so many times that his feet follow his sadness noted Katherine.
It wasn't long before she was outside of room 427. The door was set ajar, and Katherine peeked inside. As far as she could tell, only Kimberly was in the room. If that was Kimberly… what she saw was a form that looked tiny compared to the machines hooked up to her body. There was a bandage around the head, and cast on one leg. Katherine pushed open the door slowly, creeping inside. She started to cry the closer she got to Kimberly, and she released a sob as she stood at the bedside. It really was her—Katherine's lover, girlfriend, mother of her child. The heart monitor beeped slowly and steady as Katherine's tears fell and soaked the sheet by Kimberly's head. She fell to her knees, her head resting against Kimberly's still arm. "My love, you're alive. It's really you…" she choked out.
So, whatcha think? Criticism and feedback appreciated.