Claire's point of view
That night, after Eve had left to get ready for work, Claire felt lonely for the first time since she had been in. There had been someone with her almost constantly for the past few days, plus she hadn't seen Shane since he went home that morning to rest. She had been glad of him leaving, knowing he needed the rest but she missed him. She missed his gentle touch and loving eyes, his superpower to make her feel safe. And she needed that more than ever right now. As much as she loved her parents, Eve and Michael, they just were not Shane, and it just was not the same. Must of what her parents did to try and comfort her annoyed her anyway. Not that she was ungrateful, she knew she needed everyone around her to survive this.
She cat-nap after Eve and Michael left for around an hour before her parents came back for a final visit of the night. Worryingly they hadn't seen Shane but were sure he was at the Glass-house. Claire half-listened to her parents' conversation, comforted by the familiar tones, as she picked up her phone to text Shane. She ignored her other messages and simply sent Shane :
"mum said you're staying with Eve and Michael tonight. is everything okay? love you baby. Hope to see you as soon as you can."
Then Claire put her phone onto the side and allowed herself to relax into her parents' voices. She slipped into the deep unconscious of sleep quickly.
Claire woke to someone arguing on the ward. Her tired mind struggled to make sense of the sounds until she heard Shane voice. Then, she realised what was happening. Shane had read her message and come to see her immediately, however, it was after visiting hours, so the nurses had stopped him. In typical Shane style, instead of listening to the nurses, he had argued against trying and getting to Claire.
Despite her weakness, Claire knew what she needed to do. She knew Shane would only calm down for her and the nurses were likely to call security. So she carefully pulled herself to a sitting position with her legs hanging over the edge, taking a minute to prepare herself and find her balance. She carefully and slowly pushed her self through the pain into a standing position. She grabbed the drip stand she was attached to and leaned onto it for support as she walked across the small hospital bay.
Claire didn't make it to Shane, but she made it far enough. When she was slightly over halfway there, a nurse spotted her, and the conversation between Shane and the nurses ended. They watched her stuck between surprise, concern and respect for Claire as she made her way to support and protect her husband even now. Claire manages two more steps after this before her world went black.
She came around within seconds, laid out on the floor with Shane trying to wake her as the nurses began assessing her. Her automatic response was to pull herself up and into Shane, who pulled her into a seated position on the floor, so she leaned against his chest. Shane had his signature smirk to his face as he watches Claire being assessed by the nurses. Upon the nurses giving the all-clear, he lifted Claire to standing and carried her back to bed. He whispered a sorry as he sat her back onto the bed, realising it was his fault she was out of bed in the first place. Claire laid back onto the bed and allowed Shane to wrap the blankets around her shivering body. She felt as he kissed her forehead before, turning to the nurse. The nurse said she needed a word with Shane before he left, but he could stay for a short length of time. Claire was glad she had succeeded in preventing Shane from getting into any real trouble, and she would get some time within before he went home.
Claire fell to sleep with Shane stroking her head, and his gentle voice lulled her to sleep softly to sleep.
Claire woke late the next morning to find her bed-space was surrounded already. Her parents, Eve and Michael, and most importantly Shane smiled back to her. "Morning sleepy-head," said Eve, being the first to notice Claire was awake. Claire blinked the sleep out her eyes to see her parents were across the ward chatting with an elderly patient, probably about the weather or some other small talk, thought Claire. Shane was on the chair closest to her mostly asleep but was sitting up with the realisation Claire was awake. Eve and Michael were sat on plastic chairs on the other side of the bed, Michael was still reading while Eve was putting away her phone which she was clearly just playing on. "thought I you were going to sleep through the whole morning! Which would be okay but I'm glad you're awake before we have to go. I'm working in less than an hour, and Micky got lessons this afternoon" continued a with a smile. Claire smiled back and reached for Shane's hand for support, unsure of who was most in need. Claire enjoyed a polite but slightly boring and awkward conversation with Eve and Michael. She was starting to be annoyed by the way people were avoiding subjects such as her cancer and sticking to small talk.
After Eve and Michael left for work, Claire repeated the boring chit-chat with her parents. They all agreed her dad new golfing club sounded fun, her mum would just have to cook them her newest recipe, and how the rainier recent weather changes were refreshing yet much wetter. However, no one raised anything even slightly relating to Claire's cancer or anything else Claire wanted, needed to talk about. Claire tried to hid her gladness when her parents went for coffee.
She turned to face Shane, she knew she needed to talk to him about last night. She felt slightly guilty it was her message that prompted Shane to come at night but knew Shane needed to talk. He was too tense, and it was getting him into trouble as last night had been evidence too. To Claire's surprise, Shane spoke first, in a low voice "Claire I'm sorry about last night. I slightly panicked at your message last night, felt bad for not coming back. I worried you had needed me and I had let you down. And I hated myself for that, so I came. I knew it was past visiting, but I just needed to see you, even when they tried to stop me. I only had to see you on my mind. I'm sorry Claire, I know it was wrong of me to try and force my way in. But at the time, it felt necessary, felt like it was the only way to help you." Claire smiled and leaned to kiss Shane, knowing he understood why he was wrong to argue with the nurses but understanding why he had anyway.
"I get it, I have a feeling I'd do the same baby," she said, squeezing his hand gently. "But Shane" Claire continued "I kind of need you, you're the only person I want with me half the time. Don't get me wrong, Eve, Michael, Mum and Dad their great but there not you. You are my rock, you are what I need really. So please, be strong for me". Claire's voice broke as she spoke, and tears began to fall down her face.
Shane felt guilt shoot through him as he knew he'd caused them tears. It was his second emotional outburst since Claire had become sick. He knew it was understood that he would struggle to cope, and he knew Claire wasn't mad, yet Claire needed him, so he promised to change, to improve. To be better, for last night to be the last time his emotions took over so that they could help each other.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MORGANVILLIE OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS
I simply do this for fun and I hope you are enjoying it too. Thanks for reading
As always all comments or feedback is welcomed!
