AN: Hi All!
Thank you to all who read, fave, follow and review! Major thanks to WPear, twi nana, and catgrl, for reviewing last chapter!
We're almost done with Family Album now and then we'll be moving on to Uniting the Alphas which will be part three of this series.
After this chapter there will be an epilogue.
*Btw, you may want a handkerchief nearby for this chapter! Notice I did not say tissues because we are all trying our best not to be wasteful during the Covid crisis!*
Chapter Eleven: 1999
Sarah's POV
1999 was proving to be a fun year.
Except for the whole Y2K thing that everyone was freaking out about. People in town had started talking about it months ago. So many folks were convinced that all of the computers which ran so many things in the world nowadays were going to go crazy and stop working because they had never been programmed to deal with years beginning with a 2, such as the year 2000. So people thought we were going to be launched back into the stone age.
I felt like reminding them that computers were a relatively new thing and that even if everything that used them stopped working, we would still survive, we would just need to adjust.
But people in a panic didn't usually listen to reason, so they spent their time hoarding supplies and preparing for an event that probably wouldn't even happen.
The most ironic part, in my opinion, was that these same people had never bothered to prepare for other more likely disasters that happen all of the time. If they had, they wouldn't need to prepare now.
We Blackswans had no cause for worry because, with eleven children, we always kept a generous amount of supplies on hand anyway.
Charlie's rule of thumb, having worked as a first responder his whole adult life was that it was important to have enough supplies around that your entire family could live comfortably for three months and also accommodate close family and friends as needed. Which meant, if we rationed, those same supplies would last that number of people for a year.
In other words, we were prepared. This was good because I couldn't imagine the stress of trying to acquire all the things you thought you might need if you weren't used to just having those things on hand. Especially when everyone else was doing the same thing.
But hey, if Y2K was the thing that would finally get people to be responsibly prepared for a disaster or emergency, then I guess some good would come out of it, at least. Real disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and even epidemics, happened all the time, and sadly, most people were never prepared for them.
I had been spending a lot more time praying for people this year than I had for a long time (except for our family and friends who I prayed for all of the time anyway) but the whole world was freaking out right now, so I figured they needed the prayers more than usual.
And so...after a whirlwind year of homework and projects and social dramas and hormones and first periods and first pimples and even some first crushes (for the younger kids, I mean, since some of the older ones acted like they were practically already married anyway)...we began changing gears and looking toward Christmas amidst a combination of the regular December holiday craziness and this new type of chaos, caused by the impending apocalypse or whatever it was going to be.
Stores in town were busier and crazier than usual. People were more self-absorbed and more paranoid than usual. And Christmas seemed to be more of an afterthought than usual since everyone was more obsessed with what New Year's would bring. Which, frankly, I found a little sad.
The holidays were supposed to be a celebration, not just of Jesus, though that was the main point of Christmas, but also of life and love and family and friends and generosity and togetherness. But honestly, I wasn't seeing a whole lot of that, at least in town. At home, those were still our priorities. But I knew from the kids that even at school, much of the chatter centered around what would happen in January and what the future would look like.
So by December 9th, when I went into town to do the last of my shopping, I was really dreading it. I knew it was going to be busy and that people would be anxious and grumpy and bothered about pretty much everything and I didn't like to be around that.
"Take my car," Charlie offered, as I grabbed my reusable shopping bags preparing to leave. I was going alone because I still had yet to find gifts for my spouses and I needed to do that when they weren't around. "That way, you can radio back to me, if you run into any problems in town. There has been a lot more theft and petty crimes lately and I want you to be safe," he said.
His car had a CB radio in it for his police work. He'd taught us all how to use it in case we ever needed to. A lot of people were starting to carry cellular phones these days, but that was a luxury we couldn't afford.
"Okay, thank you, Charlie." I nodded, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm sure I'll be fine but I appreciate the concern."
He handed me the keys, then he wrapped his arms around me, pressing me to him in a passionate kiss. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will," I vowed and headed out the back door with a wave.
I put my cloth grocery bags in the passenger seat of Charlie's car.
"Where are you going, Momma?" Leah asked me, carrying her basketball and coming over to the car.
"Into town to buy some things for Christmas." I smiled, kissing her forehead.
"May I come with you? My chores are done," she asked excitedly.
I smiled softly. "I'm glad your chores are done. And I would definitely let you come with me to town if things weren't so crazy there right now. People are a little anxious and that sometimes causes other problems like bad behavior. So it isn't very safe right now."
"Oh. Well, then you shouldn't be going alone. Why is no one going with you?" She frowned.
I pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about me, Leah. I'm pretty resilient. I asked the other grownups to let me go alone because I haven't bought their presents yet, so I am going to do that."
"Oh, okay. Well, be careful?" She suggested.
"I will. That's why I'm taking Pa's car, not mine. So I can use his radio if need be," I assured her.
"Cool. Can we have burgers for dinner tonight, please? We haven't had them in a long time," she asked hopefully.
"You're right, Leah. It was supposed to be spaghetti night, but let's have burgers. Can you let Mother know I okayed it and tell her I will pick up the buns on my way home?" I offered.
"Sure! Thanks, Momma! Love you!" She beamed and kissed my cheek.
"Love you, Sweetheart." I smiled cheerfully, settling into the driver's seat. I adjusted the settings because Charlie was a lot taller than me and then I slowly backed out of the driveway, waving at Leah as she headed inside.
Town was...both more and less crazy than I had expected. It was not as bad as I feared it might be. On some level, I had anticipated rioting and panic in the streets. I half expected someone to get shot like there usually was in those end-of-the-world movies.
Mercifully, compared to that worst-case scenario image, things were reasonably calm.
The shelves were more picked over, the shoppers were grumpier, the carols playing in the stores seemed a little louder, probably to take everyone's minds off of their worries, and there was an underlying current of uncertainty that was almost tangible.
But I found great things for my family. A beautiful jewelry box for Renée, a service that took your recipes and photos and made them into a professional-looking cookbook for Sue, an organizer for June's scarves and a few new scarves for her collection.
That girl used scarves for everything! Shirts, skirts, baby carriers (back in the day), head wraps, shawls, even tablecloths when we went on a picnic! June without scarves would be like a peacock without feathers, it just wouldn't look right.
Anyway, I also found a beautiful watch for Charlie which I was getting inscribed, and a cigar case for Billy which would be engraved as well. I had time to kill while the engraver did the inscriptions, so I went for lunch at the diner. I had turkey and mashed potatoes with stuffing and gravy and cranberries and green beans since it was nice to have a holiday meal without having to cook anything myself.
I even treated myself to a big slice of chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Sometimes, it was nice to do something a little extravagant and self-indulgent for a change.
By the time I had finished my cake and coffee and paid the check, I knew the boys' presents would be ready to be picked up, so I headed back there. The engraver had done an amazing job! The letters were clear and easy to read and the script was beautiful. I had to hope my boys would be happy with their gifts.
I was about to head home when I remembered I still needed to get the buns for burgers, so I stopped at the grocery store on my way out of town. The cashier was very nice and rang me through quickly and efficiently.
I headed back to the car and set my purchases on the passenger seat. I was running behind and wanted to get the buns home before Sue needed them, so I drove a little faster as I headed out on the highway.
I didn't even see the 18-wheeler before it slammed into me. I only heard the sound. I've never heard such a sound in my life. It was a combination of a horn and metal-on-metal and breaking glass and fear. I didn't know fear made a sound until the moment it happened. But as I sat there in the wreckage trying to make sense of what had just happened, my head hurt and my ears rang and all I could hear was the fear.
Both my own and the fear of the other driver as he rushed to my side and apologetically vowed to go get help because his radio was broken.
Before I had regained myself enough to tell him I had a CB in the car, he was gone. So I picked up the radio myself.
"Charlie...Baby...I'm on the highway near the turnoff. I think...I need an ambulance." I managed to rasp.
And then everything went black.
I was in and out of consciousness as the paramedics arrived and I remember them carefully getting me out of the vehicle after the firefighters had used the jaws of life to cut through the wreckage. The sound of that thing also rang with the fear in my ears.
They stabilized my neck and put me on a stretcher. I remember they worked on me in the ambulance. I know I must have been pretty touch-and-go because when they wheeled me through the hospital, I heard one of the doctors ordering a nurse to get my family there. I was pretty sure they would just be coming to say goodbye. I wanted to tell them not to call because I knew the kids would just be scared and they didn't need the memory of seeing me like this.
But I could not talk because everything hurt too much, so I had no choice but to just let them be stupid. I had to hope my guys would have better sense than to bring the kids.
When I went into surgery, the last thing I remember was the anesthesiologist telling me to count backward from ten. I think I got to seven or maybe five before I passed out.
I assume a long time must have passed because the next thing I remember was from after the surgery.
I couldn't move or open my eyes, but I was aware of my surroundings. The funny thing about being in a coma is, you are not asleep. You can hear everything. You just seem like you are sleeping.
So I heard the doctors telling Charlie and Billy that there was swelling on my brain and we would just have to wait and see.
I knew they had removed my spleen due to internal bleeding and that my leg was fractured in several places. I knew that my kids were mercifully not there because my husbands had the good sense God gave them to keep the kids at home.
The Uleys or someone must have been watching them though because Sue and June and Renée were all there by my side. I was in awe of how much these people all loved me. I could hear it in their voices, in their terror. I knew if I died, at least, I would not die alone.
"Sarah, you have to fight." I heard Charlie say after the doctor left. "If you go, you will be taking me with you. I can't live without you," he said gruffly. I knew it was his wolf talking. Charlie, the man, would be just fine. He had three other, wonderful, beautiful wives who loved him. He would be sad. He would be heartbroken. But he would live.
But the imprint? That was a different story. I knew he was telling the truth. Charlie would not be fine. His wolf would not be fine. He was a spirit-warrior. But the imprint had tethered his soul to mine. If I left...I would be taking him with me. There was no doubt, I knew without certainty he was right.
And so…
I fought.
I fought for Charlie.
I fought for Billy.
I fought for Renée and for Sue and for June.
I fought for my kids.
And slowly but surely, I started getting better.
I remember vividly the day I "woke up". The day that I could finally look around, albeit slowly because my head still hurt. But I could see them. I could see the people who loved me. And I cried.
They were crying too. They were careful because I still had tubes and machines everywhere, but they ran their hands along my arms and in my hair and they kissed me on the head and the cheeks and we cried.
I made it.
I was gonna be able to see my kids again.
The fight wasn't over, of course. There would be pain and there would be rehab. I knew I had my work cut out for me.
But the sun was shining and the birds were singing outside of my hospital room and I felt I had been given a second chance. A chance to do better. A chance to make my kids proud.
When the tube came out and I could talk, the first question I whispered with my raspy throat was, "What day is it?"
Charlie smiled. He knew what I wanted to know.
"It's December 20th, Sarah. You didn't miss Christmas. The presents all survived the wreck. I wrapped them. Nobody else saw them, I promise. The buns didn't survive but the Uleys brought some and LeeLee still got her burgers for dinner. We didn't tell the kids anything until we were sure you were gonna be okay.
"They want to come see you, once you feel ready, but they understand and there is absolutely no rush," he assured me, covering all of my unspoken questions.
I wanted to say that I needed to see them now. But I knew what I must look like. I knew that seeing me now would terrify them. I couldn't do that to them. So I waited.
Three agonizingly long days later, I was doing a lot better. Miraculously better, the doctors were calling it. Mostly because Charlie was brilliant.
He not only had type O negative blood which was the universal donor, but I was his imprint and he had supernatural healing capacities. He figured even though it was a long-shot, any shot was better than no shot. So, during my surgery, Sue, as an RN, had asked permission to scrub in.
And since the hospital staff knew her, they allowed it. Then, when no one was looking, she discreetly swapped out the blood they were transfusing me with for Charlie's.
And low and behold, it had worked. What would have been a month-long coma, I came out of in a matter of days.
The bones were healing, the bruises were fading. The doctors weren't sure what to make of it, but they chalked it up to "one of those inexplicable things that happen sometimes" because scientists rarely give the credit to a higher power.
But I knew there was magic in the world. It wasn't science that healed me so fast. It was the same God who had put Charlie Blackswan in my life. I knew, without him, I would be dead.
Instead, I got to go home for Christmas.
AN: Okay, stahp crying now, People! You're making me bawl my little eyes out over here!
I know some of you were worried about Sarah even before this chapter. But I always planned to give her this near-miss.
To me, it seemed to make the most sense that the accident would still happen but the circumstances would change.
Anyone who has ever seen the German movie "Run, Lola, Run" will understand my theory there.
So yeah, I hope we are all happy that she is okay!
As always, I love to hear from you! Reviews are great, but also feel free to PM me if you want to chat about anything!
Hugs and Prayers and Blessings,
-BMW
