Stef
"You just love the hospital, huh?"
I look over to the door to see Mike standing in the drawer, decked out in uniform. I smile softly and wave him in. He settles himself on the chair next to my bed, "How do you feel?"
"Like a million bucks," I quip, "Definitely better than the last time I was here."
He nods, "That's good. Do you know when you get out?"
"A day or two," I answer wistfully, "A not a moment too soon. I'm sick of lying around all day."
Mike laughs, "I hear you."
I pick at a loose thread in my blanket, "So, what do you know about the other driver? And don't you lie to me," I warn, "I know you looked him up."
Mike rolls his eyes, "Alright, okay! His name is John Hanna, age forty. He's married to a woman named Melissa, age thirty-eight and they have a son named Christian, age eight."
I sigh deeply: that poor family, "And where is he now?"
"Home on bail," Mike replies, "But his case isn't looking very strong. Considering you were involved, being a cop and all, and the fact that you were with Callie, no one is making this easy for him."
I chew on my lip as I consider everything I've just been told, "That's too bad," I finally say quietly, "Does he have any priors? Any flags?"
Mike shakes his head, "No. We couldn't even find a speeding ticket. This guy is squeaky clean. But like I said, hitting a cop and her kid? This guy is going to get thrown through the wringer." He rubs his jaw thoughtfully, "Such a shame."
I agree.
Callie
Later that night, I poke my head into Stef and Lena's bedroom. Lena is lying down, facing Stef's side of the bed. She's still awake. I'm arguing with myself in my head, deciding whether or not I should enter the room, when I hear her voice.
"Callie?" She sits up, "Are you okay?"
I nod, "I'm okay. I just…Do you…" I bite my lip, "Are you okay?" I finally ask.
"I'm fine, honey," Lena answers, but her voice sounds so tired. Not sleep tired; just exhausted in general. Quickly making a decision, I cross the room and crawl into the bed with her, under the covers. I scoot up next to Lena and wrap my arms around her the way she wrapped her arms around me when I wanted to disappear. I bring my hand to touch her cheek the way she touched my cheek when I was in so much pain.
Staring into Lena's eyes, I pinpoint the exact moment the tears begin to form. I hug her close and feel her body begin to tremble. Hot tears slide down my neck and I double the hold I have on her.
"I'm sorry," I hear Lena whisper.
I shake my head, "Don't be. You're allowed to cry, too."
Lena nods a little with a sad smile before a sob escapes her and she drops her head to my shoulder.
"I've got you, Mama," I murmur.
Finally, the day comes where it's time for Stef to come home. Lena and I go to pick her up late morning. Everybody else was disappointed they wouldn't be there to bring her home, but the fact that she would be there when they got home from school made up for it.
I feel a lot better, compared to how I first felt when I entered the hospital. I have to go back to school tomorrow, and I'm actually glad to be getting back to normal—whatever that means for me. We enter the hospital and I'm all but bouncing on my feet. Lena is happy too, I can tell.
When we get to Stef's room, she's sitting on her bed, dressed in clothes we brought her the day before. When she sees us she smiles wide, "Hello, my loves. I'm so ready to bust out of this joint. I think the nurses are sick of me."
"Probably because you've been bothering them every day since you've opened your eyes," Lena quips as she makes her way over to the bed. She swoops down to give Stef a quick kiss on the cheek.
Stef turns her gaze to me, "And how are you feeling?"
"Good," I answer, "Happy you're coming home."
"I'm glad," Stef answers and she reaches into her pocket, "I have something for you." She holds up her hand and I let out a breath.
It's my mom's necklace.
"Can I put it on you?" she asks. Wordlessly, I nod and walk closer too her. I turn my back to her and lift my hair so that she can clasp the chain around my neck. Once it's on, I drop my curls and play with the pendant between my fingers. I feel Stef's hands wrap around my waist and she draws me into her, my back colliding with her front. She drops her chin onto my shoulder and hums a bit.
"Thank you," I say gratefully, "For making sure my necklace was safe."
"Of course, Callie," she says, "I know it means a lot to you." She kisses my cheek and looks up at Lena, "Can we go?"
Lena nods, "Sure, I just need to find a nurse and get you a wheelchair…" Stef groans and I laugh.
"Really?" Stef whines. I smile.
"Yes, really," Lena answers, as she heads for the hall, "I'll be right back."
Stef
I take a deep breath upon entering the house, "Home sweet home!" I exclaim, "It's good to be back." No sooner am I in the foyer that Lena is herding me up the stairs, "Lena—"
"You heard the doctor," she said as she pushes me upstairs, "You need to rest."
I shoot Callie a look over my shoulder who shrugs apologetically. Lena leads me into the bedroom where she already has my side of the bed turned down. I whirl around and stop her from propelling me any further, "Lena, Love, I'm okay."
"I know," Lena says, but she doesn't sound very sure of herself, "But your lungs can't be overexerted."
"I'll take it easy," I assure her, "I promise. Can I at least wash up a bit? The hospital shower didn't cut it for me."
Lena sighs, "Okay," she relents, "But not for too long!"
I smile and head into the bathroom with the intention of being fast. I reach into a drawer to get my face wash and I notice a pile of clothes huddled in a pile on the floor near the washer. It's odd to see, considering Lena always has everything so neat. Curiosity peaked, I glance at the clothes, poking through them with my foot.
They're covered in blood.
I suck in a breath. I realize that these were the clothes Callie was wearing the night of the accident.
I hear footsteps, "Stef, what are you—" Lena walks to where I am, stopping when she sees what I see. A sick look crosses her face and she presses her lips together.
"These are Callie's clothes," I state aloud, although I know she knows, "Were you going to wash them?"
Lena looks down and begins fiddling with bracelets, "Um, yes. Sorry, I meant to get to it…"
"It's fine," I say quickly, "I wasn't expecting for you to do them right away. I was just…are you okay? These past few days couldn't have been easy for you."
Lena laughs lightly, "You sound like Callie," she tells me, "She asked me if I was okay and then she held me when I…" she takes a shuddering breath, "When I lost my composure."
Strings tugging at my heart, I close the distance between us and draw Lena into my arms. She presses her face into my neck and brings up her palms to rest flat against my shoulder blades.
"I'm so sorry, Love, that you felt like you had to keep it together," I soothe as I bring up my hand to toy with her curls, "It shouldn't have been on you to be brave for everyone else. You're allowed to fall apart, too."
Lena shakes her head, "If I fell apart, the kids would have fallen apart and they needed someone to be strong, Stef. They needed me. I couldn't let them down." I feel her hand on the back of my neck, "It was so hard," she whispers into my collar bone, "To tell them that everything was going to be okay when I didn't know for sure. What if you didn't wake up? What if…" she trails off and sobs. Her cries are absolutely heart wrenching to hear.
I carefully maneuver us back into our room and onto the bed. I lie us down and gather Lena as close as humanly possible. I kiss her cheeks, her forehead, her eyes. I wick away her tears with my thumbs and silence her sobs with my lips. Within a few minutes, Lena's cries cease and are replaced with deep, steadying breaths.
"Sorry," Lena rasps and I shake my head.
"Don't you dare apologize," I tell her, "Just tell me what you want me to do."
Lena leans back a bit so I can see her face, "This." Her eyes are still watery and her cheeks are still wet and her nose has the slightest red tinge to it.
I want to give her the world.
I press my forehead to hers and allow my eyes to slip close, "Okay, Love. We'll just do this."
And I feel her smile.
I gave up meat for Lent. I want bacon. I WANT BACON.
I started watching Bob's Burgers and it is freaking amazing. Everyone go watch it, now.
Thank you for the reviews/follows/favorites. You guys are so kind :) I'm trying to stay on top of my writing but midterms are next week. I already bombed one :( First time ever, too, so I'm kind've shocked. Just have to work harder I guess.
This, too, shall pass.
All my love,
-Liv
P.S.- POSSIBLE new story idea. Although I need to work on my sequel for Take a Chance on Me…
