Recap:
As people continued to party in the ballroom, Reba and Craig were convinced that it was time to go. "See you next week." Craig said goodbye to his coworkers as he and Reba made their final rounds around the room, and then made their way out to the car.
Craig stared the car, allowing it to warm up before pulling out of the parking lot and on to the road. Reba ran her hands through her hair in exhaustion as she reflected on the day. It had been an internally stressful day, but without knowing it, Craig had taken her fears and worries away and given her a great beginning to the last year and a fantastic start to the New Year.
"I love you." She told him across the car.
"I love you too honey." He smiled at her before returning his eyes to the road. Reba stared at him, admiring the man she would marry in the spring, before turning her eyes back to the road.
"CRAIG!" she screamed in horror as bright lights and a loud crunching sound consumed her senses before everything went black.
Reba awoke to red and white lights flashing around her. She felt her body shake with pain as she tried to look around, seeing people rushing around. Sirens filled her ears as she tried her hardest to move her fear paralyzed body. Where was Craig? Was he okay? She needed to get up. Thoughts rushed through her head as a wave of nausea washed over her body and her world went black once again.
When she awoke again she was in a dimly lit room with stark walls. She felt an agonizing pain overcome her as she tried to move. She cried out in as a fog ran through her mind. Only seconds later, a nurse pushed through the door and refilled her IV bag with the painkillers needed to keep Reba asleep, and most importantly, numb of her pain. This routine went on for quite some time. To Reba, it felt as if it were every five minutes. Every time she opened her eyes again, she would cry out in pain, having the same questions every time. Where was Craig? Was he okay? What happened? And every time, the nurse would give her medication, she would close her eyes with her questions unanswered.
XXX
The bright Houston sun slowly made its way into the city after the tragedies of the night before. Reba fluttered her eyes open, feeling the heat grace her face through the window. For the first time since she had arrived at the hospital, she had opened her eyes without feeling pain penetrate her body. She was still in a lot of pain; however, it was now tolerable. She rolled away from the window and on to her back, feeling a pain shoot up her leg.
She closed her eyes in defeat. Not only did she hate hospitals, but she had no one in the room to take her mind off of the fact that she hated hospitals. As she ran through her thoughts, the door opened once more, presenting, presumably, her doctor.
"Hello." he greeted her with a warm smile. Reba simply smiled back, in fear that if she spoke, that too would cause her pain. The doctor quickly checked her blood pressure and other vitals as he wrote information down on a tablet. Reba watched as he walked away, heading toward the hallway.
"Wait!" she stopped the doctor with his hand on the door knob. She smiled politely as he turned around, making his way back to her bedside. "Do you know where my fiancée is, or what happened?" The man sighed, knowing the unfortunate set of circumstances; however, he had spoken with the practicing psychologist on the next floor up, and he said that it would be better for here traumatic news from a loved one, and since she only had one visitor at the moment, he would send him in.
"I do." he said cautiously. "But I think it would be better to hear it from a friend or family member." he explained. "You have a visitor in the lobby right now. I will go get him in just a moment." Reba nodded with a smile stretching across her lips. Craig was in the lobby, waiting to visit her. He would tell her why she was in the hospital.
"Thank you." she watched the doctor shut the door as he stepped out into the hallway once again.
Reba watched intently as the knob of the door turned again. She stared at the floor, seeing brown dress shoes squeak through the door way. She felt the smile return to her face. Her smile faded as she trailed her eyes up the legs to the chest and finally to the face. It wasn't Craig, it was brock.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as he pulled a chair over to her bedside. "Where is Craig?" Brock looked sympathetically into her eyes as he braced himself for the news the doctor had asked him to present.
Reba watched as his blue eyes looked down at her. To be quite honest, it scared her. She knew that look, and she knew brock never told her good news when his face held that look. "What's wrong?" she asked, not really wanting to hear his answer.
"The doctor asked me to tell you how you got here." He gently took her pale, delicate hand in his own before clearing his throat to speak again. "Last night, Craig was driving the both of you home." Reba nodded vaguely remembering the patio and spending the chime of the New Year in her fiancée's arms. "You were on your way home when a drunk driver went left to center and hit the car head on." Reba tightened her grip on brock's hand as she remembered seeing the headlights coming at them before blacking out.
"W-Where's Craig?" she spoke quietly blinking back the tears that she refused to let fall.
"Reba..."
"He is at home!" She cut brock off, jumping to her own conclusions before brock could tell her what happened. "He-He's at home and he is going to come visit after his shower." spoke quickly, ignoring the tremble in her throat and the fact that brock's face had become blurry.
"Reba, I'm sorry..." he didn't want to tell her, but he had to. "Craig was pronounced dead on the scene of the accident."
"No!" she shoved brock's hand off of the bed before turning away from him. "Ah!" She let out a painful cry as she shifted positions in the bed.
"Reba-" he placed his hand on her back and tried to comfort her, doing anything he could.
"Just leave!" She shouted back at him. She had finally let the dam break; staining the stark, white pillow cases with her tears as she comprehended the news brock had thrust upon her. She felt her body wrack with sobs. She wiped her cheeks, only for them to be softened by an unfailing stream of tears. "No." Brock heard her speak to herself. "No, no, no. He isn't dead. He isn't dead."
"Reba..." He tried once more to get her attention.
"I told...you...to leave!" she shouted between sobs with her back still facing him. He was worried as he saw her body become small as he walked out of the room. Someone needed to keep an eye on her. He wished that someone could be him, but she had forced him out of the room, so that was out of the question. Brock notified a nurse before sinking into a chair in the lobby. He rested his elbows on his knees as he held his head heavily in his hands.
What was he to do? How was he supposed to fix this?
He was the only one at the hospital for emotional support. He didn't want the children to see her yet, as he knew she would be emotionally distressed over her loss. He didn't want to expose the kids to her distress until he could gauge the state she was in. He sighed heavily seeing the pattern of the carpet become blurry. He knew that the cause for Reba's emotional instability was not caused by his actions, but he couldn't help but feel that he had caused it.
He felt his eyes become hot as he felt a gentle hand fall upon his shoulder. He looked up to see his eldest daughter, Cheyenne, and her loving brown eyes staring back down at him. "How is she?" She asked with Van backing her up.
"Not good." His voice was filled with sorrow and concern. "I'm worried about her."
"She'll be okay, Daddy." She gave her father a hug before kissing his cheek and heading toward the hallway of doors.
"Mr. H..." Van stood tall with his hands resting snugly in his pockets. "She'll get through it. This time... it was nothing you did." He gave him a meaningful pat on the back before catching up to his wife, who was searching for room 212. She will be okay. She will be okay. He kept repeating the words until he had convinced himself that Reba would be able to handle this. He had lost himself in his own, whirlwind thoughts for quite some time after he had made his conclusion. When he looked up again, he saw his daughter and son in law making their way out of their mother's room. They stopped to say goodbye before heading out the door and into the crowded parking lot.
Brock stood up from the chair he had been sitting in for the past four hours, and stretched his back before pacing the lobby. He stopped abruptly before staring around at the people who occupied the lobby. He closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath as he made his way through the doors and into the hallway that held Reba's hospital room.
He turned the metal knob quietly before stepping into the room. Sure, she had told him to get away, rather harshly, but he just couldn't stay away. He had hurt her by staying away too many times, and this time, he knew the right thing to do was to stay. He shut the door behind him, making eye contact with Reba as she laid, staring numbly at the door.
"Hey." he lowered his voice, not wanting to upset her again. "Are you okay?" He asked pulling a chair to her bedside.
She took his hand, enveloping it in both of hers and pulling it closer to her body. "I don't want to believe It." she said, forcing the words to leave her mouth. "I keep hoping that the next time the door opens he will be the one who walks through it." Brock gave her a sympathetic smile, not wanting to rock the boat with his unwanted words. "The last thing I said to him was that I love him." Reba gripped brock's hand tighter as she forced her tears not to fall.
"What was the last thing he said to you?"
"I love you too, honey." Reba intertwined her fingers with brocks, feeling a single tear slide down her cheeks.
Brock watched as a lone tear trailed itself down her pale cheeks. The grip on his hand tightened before loosening again. She situated herself, pushing her head into her pillow. The stress of the situation had obviously taken a toll on her, not only emotionally, but physically as well. "Sweet Dreams." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before sitting back in his chair, where he, too, fell fast asleep.
