"Children, we're home." Bernie calls out as she enters the home she shares with her partner, holding the other woman's hand casually. She pauses when she doesn't hear a response, instead hearing music from the floor above them. "Can't tell if that's her or-"
"No, that's one of hers. She's been working on that one for a bit." Serena nods, "Did Marcus say what he wanted to eat? I'm starving."
"Wait." The blonde silently climbs the stairs, letting go of her partner's hand to listen to her daughter playing her guitar and singing.
"In an empty room she sits and waits for him to come. Two swollen ankles count the time. Nervous fingers trace across the cold linoleum. Yellowed walls receive her sigh...Oh, can you hear me Joe-"
Bernie grins, meeting her girlfriend's eyes again, "Her talent was wasted vastly." She says quietly, returning to the ground floor. "I don't know what Marcus wants. Just look through the menus, he should be here soon anyway. I know he'll want to see Char, so I should-"
"Don't scare the girl. Just shoot her a text." Serena smirks, amused by the other woman.
"Where's the fun in that?" Bernie calls to the AI of the room, telling it to just repeat a message, Your mothers are home.
Charlie grins, glancing over to the sleeping young man in her bed. She uses her mobile, Big J has drifted off. What to do? She knows she's sent the text in a group chat between the other two women. Maybe Greta wants to come over. Is it too late for her to leave the house?
Serena raises an eyebrow, "Big J?" She shakes her head a little, Let him rest. I'll speak with Greta. Your Mum is on her way up to help you down here. Have you eaten? She nods for Bernie to head up to get her before she moves to the kitchen, noticing the medication still in the pill case for the particular day in the middle of the kitchen table. She sighs, closing her eyes a moment.
Bernie quietly opens the door to her daughter's bedroom, noticing Jason asleep at the foot of the bed and her daughter strumming her guitar. She smirks ever so slightly, "Play him to sleep?"
"I suppose." Charlie glances down to the young man, "I haven't been playing all day long. At least it hasn't felt like it." She glances toward the window, "It is dark outside though, so...I'm not particularly good with time."
"No, you aren't." She offers a gentle smile, "Care to come downstairs? We'd like to try and go through some of the photographs on your mobile with you. See if they jog any memories for you. We'll even order take-away. Whatever you'd like."
"I wouldn't mind some curry. Coconut curry?" The young woman holds onto her mother a moment, as the other woman aids in helping her stand, hugging onto her. It's been a while since she's done so. Her emotions something she isn't able to control due to brain damage, even though it's been a month, she still has her moments. This being one of them. "I love you, Mum."
Bernie has learned, over the previous couple months, how her daughter has changed. Knowing it was, probably, only going to get worse if ever better. She can hope for the best, but expect the worse. That's what her experiences in life have taught her time and time again. "I love you too, Charlotte." She answers gently in her ear, "Just hold onto me. No need for the walker this time."
"You'll be my walker."
"I'll always ready to be your walker." This is supposed to be the other way around, and not now. Not for years and years from now. She shouldn't need to take care of her young daughter this way. "Serena said the two of you plan to have a day of it."
"I'll get my hair done." Charlie smiles ever so slightly, moving cautiously, "Will Serena want curry too?"
"I don't think she cares one way or the other." Bernie can tell the young woman is not a hundred percent just yet, though she's curious as to how she was earlier in the day, though she knows Charlie changes from minute to minute. "Your father is stopping over as well for dinner...and to look at pictures with us."
"Is he?"
"He is, but I should warn you, Char, there may be some things on your mobile that you may not like. If it turns out to be too much to you, don't hesitate to let me know. These are photographs you've taken or have had someone take of you." The blonde explains, still towards the top of the stairs. "Serena removed most of them from your mobile to put onto a flash drive. The majority, actually. Couldn't clean out all of them, but...I reckon she did what she needed to."
Charlie listens, attempting to concentrate on descending the stairs, "Jason said Dad has been at Holby. Does he work there now?"
"He wishes he did, but...I don't know if I'm ready to let him just yet." Bernie smirks ever so slightly as she hears her daughter giggle softly. "You'd be proud, I even assisted in a surgery with him. We worked together."
"I'm impressed more than anything." She finally reaches the bottom of the stairs, hearing her father's voice from the lounge attempting to be friendly with Serena.
"What I do is rough, for the most part. Gentle hand not needed so much. You...general surgery, but the vascular stuff...it's impressive to watch." Marcus leans back on the sofa, watching the woman as she attempts to secure an HDMI cord between her laptop and the television, "Do you need help, Serena?"
"I..." Serena doesn't want to admit she isn't able to reach. She doesn't want help from this man even though they've worked together to care for Charlotte and become quite friendly with one another. "I think so. Yes, if you're able to reach." She moves away from the television set.
"I'm certain we can figure it out together." He smirks, getting on his knees to reach up behind the television, "I'm surprised this doesn't have a front facing port."
"I've been trying to talk Bernie into getting a new one, but she doesn't see reason for it. I think if I just go ahead and purchase one to replace it, she wouldn't know the difference."
"I'm far more observant than you give me credit for." Bernie calls out as they finally reach the doorway, her daughter holding onto her side as they move at an incredibly slow pace. "Charlotte has gone all this way without use of her walker. Isn't that impressive?"
Marcus smirks, "Very." He finally pushes the cord in, "Got it. Give it a try, Serena." He pushes up off the floor, rubbing his hands together to get rid of the ever so miniscule amount of dust from the electronic before watching his daughter move with her mother very slowly. "You're doing a fantastic job, Char."
"Thanks, Dad." Charlie smiles slightly, "Do you mind a curry for dinner? Serena, how about you?"
"That sounds great." Both Marcus and Serena answer in unison before glancing to one another, and back to the young woman who they hear giving a soft chortle. Marcus speaks up, "I think that's a great idea. Is there a take-away menu possibly? Dinner is on me, ladies."
"In the drawer in the kitchen, to the right of the sink." Bernie has an amused smirk on her face. Her previous life and her current life blending quickly into one. Though, it does surprise her that she doesn't mind and that these people are getting along without any objections.
"What about Jason? Should we get him something to eat?" The young woman glances around the room, finally settling her eye on Serena, "Do you think he'd-"
"Oh, I'll order him something. Never worry." Serena winks toward her, watching as she slowly sinks to the sofa. "Now, Charlie, I'm sure your mother informed you about looking through these photographs to see if there was absolutely anything to jog your memory. If they," She pauses, attempting to find the words, "make you feel uncomfortable at all, simply let me know. I'll stop straight away."
"If they make me feel uncomfortable, at least they're making me feel something." Charlotte glances to her, "Which is better than feeling nothing at all. It means it's accessing some memory in the back of my mind that's attempting to force its way out. It's okay. Hopefully there's no nudes...though I'm sure you've all seen that by now." She nods a little, glancing about the room, "and it will be nice to see what I looked like without all these hideous scars."
"They aren't ugly, Charlotte. They're a part of you. They're a memory. Even though it may hurt, emotionally, they're still a memory." Marcus nods, sitting next to his daughter and gently wrapping an arm around her, "And feeling something is better than feeling nothing at all because you know that means it all mattered."
Bernie listens to the man, knowing he was referencing their time together and subsequent divorce, but she chooses not to say anything. Instead, she folds her hands together, leaning forward slightly to rest her wrists on her knees. "Campbell, I think we're ready when you are."