So I was off college because of the snow and wrote this. I hope you enjoy and I'll try and update again soon!
Every minute that passed by felt like hours to Ronnie Mitchell, hours without her daughter, without her baby. She had sat watching the clock, the second hand pass by but nothing was moving fast enough, she just wanted to see Danielle. The coffee she had bought herself remained full and now cold in her hands, she hadn't touched it, not one drop. She thought she better ring Roxy, explain what was going on but she was afraid that as soon as she took her mind off Danielle, something bad would happen to her, she wished her daughter would awake and she would be able to see her. As she slowly dug out the phone from her pocket, she stared around the room, her eyes darting from one poster to another. Bereavement counseling. Coping with the loss of a loved one. Losing a family member. Could the room become any more depressing? Ronnie wouldn't be able to function if she lost Danielle again, not a second time, her whole world would fall apart. She closed her eyes tightly, as she dialed Roxy's number, just hoping, hoping that her daughter would make it and they could be together again.
"Hello, Ron? Where are you? I've been trying to get hold of you."
"I'm at the hospital Rox," Ronnie spoke softly and quietly, she didn't want to admit it really. Admit that she had failed her duty as a mother to protect her child, the most precious thing in her life; maybe Archie had been right…maybe she wasn't cut out to be a mother. If only she'd persuaded Danielle to stay none of this would have ever happened or if she'd believed in the first place, her daughter would be in her arms right now.
"Hospital? Ron, is everything ok? Is it Danielle?"
She could tell by the sound in her voice that Roxy was genuinely concerned. Ronnie's voice croaked as she bit her lip and a few stray tears fell down her face,
"She…she had an accident Rox. Dad…he…he…his car…"
Her voice failed her as she became hysterical, Danielle, her daughter…she was all she wanted, all she had ever wanted…
"Ron, I'm coming right over. Just stay strong, yeah, for Danielle,"
Ronnie couldn't even hang up from Roxy, her phone lay in her hands as she uncontrollable sobbed, her head falling into her hands. Her hand tightened around the two lockets hung down from her neck, finding comfort from simply just been able to 'hold' her daughter in her hands, just like she had found comfort from it the past twenty years.
Roxy arrived in true Mitchell fashion, bursting through the hospital doors and demanding to see her niece. The nurses however, quickly put her in her place and instructed her to the family room, where Ronnie was still a mess. Going over to comfort her sister, Roxy felt a lump lodge in her throat; she hadn't seen Ronnie like this since Danielle was taken away from her as a baby, her sister was hysterical.
"Ron…Ron" Roxy wrapped her arms around her sister as Ronnie leant her head on Roxy's shoulder. She soothingly comforted her sister, moving her hand up and down her back, as Ronnie's cries started to fade. "What happened Ron?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper but she needed to know what had happened, tell Ronnie it wasn't her fault, tell her Danielle loved her more than anything. Ronnie's head raised slightly as her cries become more distant and less hysterical at her sister's question.
"He…he…" Her voice broke off as she burst into heavy sobs once more, the guilt she bore becoming too much for her. Why couldn't she have just protected Danielle?
"Everything's going to be ok Ronnie," Those words had previously come out of Ronnie's mouth, the words she had spoken to Danielle before she had the abortion. Everything will be ok sweetie. She had comforted her daughter, her motherly instinct taking over her, she remembered the tight grip Danielle had had on her, how she felt her daughter cuddle into her shoulder, the answers Danielle had expected Ronnie to have, even the woman at the clinic. Do you want your mum to come in with you? She had taken her own daughter for an abortion, encouraged it, how could she have been so naïve and not realised? "What happened Ronnie, what's wrong with Danielle?" Roxy carried on pressing, just wanting answers.
"She just ran out Rox, I…I couldn't stop her. She was crying…and I…I was crying…she just left. I went to find her and…oh god…I heard her scream…it was awful…" Her eyes closed as she thought back to earlier that night, the events playing over and over in her mind, her daughter's scream echoing through her head… "Dad…he…he hit her with the car. He…He…she was in his arms… she should have been in mine….he spoke to me and then he was gone. When the ambulance came he just disappeared and Danielle…she…the machines…" The heavy sobs echoed in the room as Ronnie told Roxy that night's events. The guilt she felt was becoming unbearable, the guilt for not been there, for saving Danielle. It should be her in there, suffering, not her baby; she had suffered enough.
"It'll be ok Ronnie. She's a Mitchell, she's a fighter, just like you," Soothing her sister wasn't something she was used to; it was always the other way round but she had to do it, if not for her or Ronnie, but for Danielle.
Ronnie raised her head, a small smile across her face, her daughter, a Mitchell, the thing she had dreamed about all her life. Their quiet moment was interrupted by the nurse who had spoken to Ronnie earlier.
"Ronnie,"
Her head jolted upwards so fast it caused a slight pain, her lips become poised and ears open as she prayed for good news about her little girl. She gracefully stood up and made her way over to the door, her bridesmaid dress trailing behind her. The nurse smiled at her, hushing her out of the room, her hand across Ronnie's shoulder.
"Danielle is just off for a CT scan, she has some cracked ribs, a broken arm and some bruising but no major internal damage, she's a very lucky girl. We are keeping her on some oxygen to monitor and help her breathing as well as some morphine to help with the pain. We are hoping to keep her in for a couple of days, possibly up to a week but it depends on how she responds to treatment. Have you got any questions?"
Ronnie listened intently to the nurse, hanging onto every word. Her head nodded as she heard her speak, just wanting to see Danielle, be there for her daughter like she should have always been. She didn't even realise the nurse had asked her a question as relief over came her at the news Danielle would be ok.
"When…when can I see her?"
"I just have to check with the doctor but I see no problem you seeing her after the CT scan,"
"Thank you," Ronnie smiled at the nurse her hand outstretched to the nurse's arm, "Really, thank you,"
Simply smiling, the nurse replied to Ronnie, "If you want anything, just call me, I'll just be over there," she indicated to a desk less than 50 meters away.
Ronnie smiled back before making her way back into the room, sighing loudly as she realised her nightmare had come to an end, Danielle was going to be fine. Swiftly, she made her way over to Roxy, her arms outstretched. Roxy immediately stood up, seeing the smile that had appeared across Ronnie's face.
"She's going to be fine, Rox, my baby, she's going to be fine," Ronnie nestled her head into the shoulder of her sister, she had never been so grateful to hear the words that had come out of the nurse's mouth, her baby, her daughter, her whole world was going to be back in her arms soon.
