Hey. So this wasn't my favorite chapter- I feel like it was kinda blah. But it is a filler chapter. Please help me determine where to go with the characters. I typically am good at beginning stories, but falter when it comes to furthering them on in an interesting way. Please any comment will be helpful.
Thanks!
By the time Stef got back to the hospital, it was already almost 6 am. Lena had spent the better part of an hour sitting with her son, before she decided to go back and check on her daughter. She didn't want the teen to wake up and be alone.
It had taken 20 minutes for Stef to get Callie back home, and another 15 for her to convince the girl to eat a piece of toast, which was more than she had eaten in over 12 hours.
After shoving the toast down her throat in order to get Stef off of her back, the teen made her way up to her room. However, before she could open the door, she was stopped by Jude.
"Where did you go?" He demanded, sleep evident in his eyes as he had just woken up at the sounds of Stef and Callie coming home.
"I just had to take care of some stuff." She brushed the question off and got her things ready for bed.
Both siblings knew Callie didn't want to talk about it, but Jude wasn't having it.
"Quit it Callie! I know you left! Where did you go? Why aren't you telling me anything?" As his voice grew louder, the girl grew more defensive.
"I don't want to talk about it! Just leave it alone!" She responded as she continued to get ready for bed.
"NO!" Jude all but screamed, causing Stef to appear at the door.
She was just about to leave to head back to the hospital, but decided to follow her daughter upstairs to confirm that she was in fact getting and staying in bed. At this, she was glad she did because a full out fight was about to break out.
"Hey! Jude. We don't yell in the house." Stef chastised, though she was gentle- knowing all that he had been through in the past 24 hours.
Instead of responding to Stef, he narrowed his eyes at his sister and spoke. "You can't keep everything from me. I'm not a little kid anymore. Everyone else knows it. Why don't you?" And with that, he walked quickly into his own room and shut the door.
Stef turned to her daughter. She saw how hard the girl was trying to keep her tears at bay, and also knew that if she tried to pry, she would only get shut down. Plus, she needed to get back to the hospital.
"Bed, my love." She simply stated before pulling the girl in for a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead. She knew her daughter wanted some time alone. "I'll text you with any updates." She said finally, before making her way back downstairs and towards the door.
"They alright?" Mike asked as she pulled on her shoes and grabbed her purse.
Stef looked back up at the stairs and sighed. "They will be." She responded. "Thanks again, Mike." She was truly sincere and thankful that her and her ex got along so well.
"I'm happy to help." He responded with a small smile.
"Call if you need anything." She added before opening the front door and making her way back to the place where she had come to hate.
"Hi." Stef whispered softly as she entered her daughter's hospital room. She hated that. Her daughter's hospital room. It made her stomach turn.
Lena looked up, her eyes tired and puffy.
"You alright?" Stef asked quickly as she set her stuff down on the chair and made her way over to her wife. She bent down and kissed the woman deeply. The two sank into the kiss, forgetting if only for a moment about the current situations and living in that particular moment with one another.
As the two pulled away, Stef could see the tears running down her wife's cheeks.
"Baby! What's wrong?" Stef asked with almost a chuckle. If they hadn't been in this situation, she probably would have made a joke about her kissing being so bad that Lena cried about it.
Lena shook her head. She knew she was tired and therefore being extremely overemotional, but she couldn't help it. "I'm just tired." She confessed as she sniffled and smiled up at her wife. "I just want our babies back at home." She added as a few more tears fell.
Stef nodded her head. She completely understood where her wife was coming from.
Shortly after Lena and Mariana had fallen asleep, before she got the call about Callie, Stef slipped out of the room and spent some time with her son. It broke her heart to see him cooped up in a hospital bed, wires hanging all over him. She had held in the tears for the most part, but seeing her son lying there, motionless was her breaking point.
She sobbed for her son, for the chance that he might not ever be the same again, for her daughter, who was so frightened and lost that she had lost all of what she had worked on in her earlier years. She cried for her other daughter who was grieving over the loss of her mother and for the fact that she couldn't be there with her to help her through it. She cried for her two sons at home who were being so helpful and yet she knew they had so many questions. She cried for her wife who had just lost a child and was now on the brink of losing two more. Has even cried for Ana. Although she didn't always approve of her relationship with her children, her heart ached for her and her child, who was still fighting for her life.
"I know. Me too." Stef agreed as she looked down at her daughter, who was still asleep in the large bed. "How is she?" the blonde asked without looking up.
Lena sighed and licked her lips. "I was with Jesus for a while after she fell asleep, but when I got back, she was still sleeping." She responded. She knew that the doctors had given them the ok to discharge their daughter today, seeing as the worst of her post accident problems were psychological and not physical, but at this point, she wasn't sure that her daughter was ok enough to go home. Of course she wanted her daughter home and in her bed, where she would probably heal quicker, but there was a small part inside of her that told her to wait and figure out how to best approach this newer side of Mariana before they took her out of the professional care.
As if Stef could read her mind, she spoke up. "Do you have Dr. Rosier's number on your phone still?" She asked.
Lena nodded and reached into her pocket for her phone. "I don't think I deleted it."
The twins had gone to see Dr. Rosier for therapy when they first came to live with Stef and Lena. Jesus only needed to go for a month; he took to the foster placement very well and once he was on meds for his ADHD, he was comfortable with the mothers. Mariana on the other hand was not as quick in her means of trusting. It had taken almost 2 months for her to feel comfortable enough to speak to Stef or Lena without her brother around, and another 3 for her to talk to people outside of the house. Mariana had worked long and hard with Dr. Rosier and both moms knew that the girl trusted the professional.
Lena nodded when she scrolled through her contacts and located the number. "Should we make an appointment now?" She asked, not knowing the best way to go about the next step. It was strange for Lena to not know; she was typically the one who took care of health related issues in the family. However, right then, she felt too controlled by her emotions to make any sound decisions.
Stef shook her head as her gaze fell back onto her daughter. "No. But I do want to explain the situation and ask her what she recommends. I know she will need to go in for sessions, but I want her advice on the best next step." Stef confessed.
Lena nodded in agreement. She stood up to step outside and take the call, when she saw her daughter's body begin to move. She immediately put her phone down and stood next to Stef as they both watched their daughter slowly come out of a much needed sleep.
Once the teen's eyes were somewhat open, Stef spoke. "Hi, baby. How are you feeling?" She asked, plastering the biggest smile possible on her face as possible. She didn't want her daughter to be any more afraid than she already was.
Mariana slowly took in her surroundings. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why she was there. Ana. Jesus. The car wreck. Her eyes pooled with tears that she felt never dried of and she felt herself trying to hold back from letting them fall.
Both mothers sensed her hesitation, and began to console the girl. "Mari, you don't need to hide your tears." Lena said softly. She reached down and brushed some hair away from the Latina's face. "It's ok to be sad or upset or mad or anything. You are going through something traumatic. It is normal to have mixed emotions and reactions. It doesn't make you a baby or weird or dumb- it makes you human." Lena explained.
As much as they wanted the teen to talk, they knew that she was going to deal with the situation in her own way, however, they were not ready when her face fell blank again as if she had turned off her emotions.
Lena looked at Stef, desperation in her eyes. She couldn't let her daughter retreat back into the scared and mute little girl who had first come to live with them. She had come too far for a relapse and she knew it would take longer for the teen to bounce back.
Sighing, Stef tried a new approach. "So, Dr. says you can get outa here today. Sound like a plan?" She asked, hoping the good news would engage her daughter.
At the lack of movement from the teen, Stef bit her lip in order to keep the sob from escaping her mouth. Her heart ached for her daughter. She wished she could take all of her pain and heartache away. She felt completely helpless and she hated it.
"I'm gonna go see if the doctor can come check everything and discharge you. Then we can get you home and into a nice warm shower and into your bed." Stef stated, mainly to the room, because she knew if she spoke and looked directly at her daughter, that she would lose it. "I'll be right back." She stated as she quickly made her way out of the room.
Lena sighed as she looked at the door in which her wife had just exited. She knew that the blonde was compressing her emotions in order to appear strong, but she knew how frustrated and frightened she truly was. They both were. She had no idea what this accident would do to her family, but she knew it was going to be a long time before anyone felt any part of normal again. She just hoped that it would happen with as little loss as possible.
Turning to her daughter who had curled herself into as small of a ball as possible with her injuries, Lena sighed. She bent down and kissed the girl's forehead, but left her lips lingering so she could hear her whisper. "We're gonna get through this. You, me, mom, Jesus, B, Callie, and Jude. You are never alone and you will never be alone, my love. You are going to be ok. I promise. And mamas don't break their promises."
And with that, she felt the girl reach out and grasp onto her shirt and cling tightly and nodded her head the slightest amount. She smiled internally, knowing her daughter had heard her and more importantly that she believed her.
