A/N: Hello! Sorry for the very long time since the last update; still not sure if there are emails sent out about the chapter posts, so check back to ensure you're up to date before reading!
This is a very light-hearted, fluffy chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 38: Time Can Heal
Edythe and Beau entered the house just before midnight, hanging their keys on the hook besides the door from the garage and dropping their bags on the bench. Edythe moved ahead of her mate, in search of her family. She found them all in the living room, lounging about as they moved to settle into their nightly activities. But they all looked up as the two residential humans entered.
"Well, look at you," Eleanor said first, her eyes raking over her little sister, who grinned.
"Do you like it?" she asked, flipping her hair forward over her shoulder to better display the cut.
"It looks…different," Eleanor replied, appearing besides Edythe half a second later, her hand coming up to judge the change in the length. "I've never seen you with short hair."
"It's not short," Edythe corrected, "It's only like an inch or so shorter than it originally was."
"Still, it looks good," her sister returned, flipping the strands of hair back over her shoulder.
"It feels good too," Edythe said, her fingers running through it absently. "Much healthier, lighter." She never would have guessed how much she would have enjoyed getting her hair cut until she had, finally being encouraged slash pressured by her sisters. Edythe was still far too conditioned that any changes she made were permanent; if she had been a vampire, they would have been. However, she felt better though, knowing if she didn't like it shorter, it would grow out soon enough.
"Did you have fun tonight with everyone?" Earnest asked her from where he sat besides Carine, closing the novel he held. Edythe grinned.
"Lots," she answered with a laugh, "Apparently, putting a dozen or so veterinary personnel in a batting cage with a handheld full of hatchets, pointing them at the target and saying 'go' is a very efficient way to let out anger and aggravation."
"Did you manage to even hit the board?" Eleanor asked teasingly.
"Of course," Edythe returned, her voice just as full of snark as her sister's.
"Yeah, a little too much, if you ask me," Beau added before looking over to the matriarch, "I think you need to do some testing on her, because I don't think it's natural."
"What do you mean?" Carine asked curiously.
"Nothing; he's just mad he got less hits than his girlfriend," Eleanor snickered.
"He did as well as I did," Edythe defended him as Beau came up besides her, wrapping his arm around her and knocking her hip against his.
"Yes, but the difference was that, for my hits, it didn't take two full-grown adults to remove the blade from the wood," he noted then glanced at Carine, whose eyebrows were raised. But Edythe shrugged it off, making to explain when she saw the look on her mother's face.
"It was not a big deal," she insisted, "Everyone just laughed it off. And no, I don't feel any different." She answered quickly, guessing—correctly—the question Carine was about to ask. Carine sat up straighter from the couch, and Edythe already knew what she wanted.
"Mom, I'm fine," she said, the phrase almost coming out like a whine, not really in the mood for another exam; she got them often enough as it was. Before she could blink, Carine was in front of her, but instead of delving into questions, she reached out to run her fingers through Edythe's freshly cut hair. Edythe's wary eyes relaxed as Carine smiled almost teasingly, knowing what her daughter had been expecting.
"You look beautiful, as always," she told her, "And I'm glad you had fun. We'll talk about it later." Edythe smiled, relieved, and stood up on her toes to kiss her mother on the cheek before she grabbed ahold of Beau's hand as she made toward the stairs. Beau was tugged forward, stumbling for a moment before regaining his footing. As he did, he gestured meaningfully with his eyes. Carine laughed, as did the others.
"Don't you ever get tired of her pushing you around?" Royal asked casually.
"You're talking to someone who was being dragged around by her when she could still bench press a four-thousand-pound van," Beau replied with a shrug, "I got used to it." The Cullens laughed once more. Archie grinned slyly at Edythe as she moved past him.
"Have fun; don't break the bed," he teased. Edythe had to restrain herself from flashing a gesture at him that she knew she was no longer fast enough for her parents not to catch.
"Always so eager, aren't you?" Eleanor said, immediately jumping into the exchange. "I don't know how Beau deals with you."
"Like we don't know that he doesn't mind in the least," Jessamine said without looking up from her book. Edythe pushed down the edge of annoyance, though she was getting better at not being as rankled by her siblings' very forward discussions about her and Beau's private business. Nothing could really be private in the Cullen house.
"You go a century without sex surrounded by three sets of couples and see how you do, El," Edythe snapped back good-naturedly as she began to climb the stairs, towing Beau behind her with his hand in hers. "Don't listen if you don't want to hear."
"How do you expect us to do that?" Eleanor asked.
"The same way I turned off my mind-reading every night for the previous seventy years," her sister returned loudly as she and Beau disappeared from sight. Eleanor laughed in response, but Edythe barely heard it. When they arrived in their room, she closed the door—more for an illusion of privacy than anything else—and pushed on Beau's chest. He sat down on the bed obediently and she followed, straddling him.
"What if I told you I wasn't in the mood?" he asked lightly. Edythe's face caught between with a scowl and grin.
"I'd say I know you were lying, and then use tomorrow as a perfectly valid reason," she responded. The first part was entirely true; she could feel his excitement against the inside of her thigh. Beau raised an eyebrow, still stalling. She hated when he did this, deliberately getting her worked up. And she pouted.
"I thought you didn't want to do anything for your birthday," he countered. She huffed.
"You know what I meant, Beaufort, now shut up," she ordered. Beau grinned but said nothing, working to obey as he pulled her shirt over her head.
Downstairs, the vampires studiously ignored the sounds from the third floor, attention turned to Carine, whose phone was at her ear.
"Yes, we'll be there by one," she assured Amanda on the other end. "There should be enough for everyone."
"We have a couple plans in place to keep her busy until everything is set," Amanda said. "A couple of my clients are more than willing to help out."
"Perfect," Carine said with a smile, seeing the look of excitement on her coven's faces.
The matriarch said her goodbyes before hanging up, her bemused expression still in place as she could feel the excited apprehension in the room. It was true; her family was more than excited at the prospect of tomorrow, marking the date of Edythe's birthday, her first in over a century. She would be turning eighteen officially and, despite her insistence of not wanting to make a big deal out of it, though her family were inclined to listen—begrudgingly—Edythe's coworkers had other plans.
It was for that reason they had planned this Friday night soiree, a night filled with fun and friends that, to Edythe, was intended as a normal impromptu night of axe throwing for work-related catharsis, when in actually, was as close as her coworkers could get to a birthday celebration. In response, they would be celebrating with cake and food at the animal hospital tomorrow, and it seemed the entire staff—plus the Cullens and a few clients—were in on it.
It would not be a huge, attention-grabbing festivity, but Archie saw that, despite her initial grumpiness, Edythe would thoroughly enjoy it. Earnest and Carine had spent the evening making a cake and buffet-style food that now sat in the refrigerator. They knew Edythe was working a full shift tomorrow, and it was her habit to not bother with breakfast on Saturdays, as she usually would grab something from the coffee shop across the street. So they did not have much fear she would see the platters, and they were quick to clean and put away all the cooking supplies before the humans arrived home, even going so far as to spray down the kitchen in air freshener to get rid of the smell, at least to Edythe and Beau's noses.
Everything was set, and everyone was ready and excited; all they had to do was wait and put the plan in action.
"Did you eat yet?" Edythe glanced up from where she stood besides the surgical table, her hand rubbing soothingly against the side of a terrier; the little dog had just woken up from anesthesia, and Edythe made sure to wrap him in the pre-warmed plush blanket to keep his temperature up. She met Amanda's eyes as she pulled the tips of the stethoscope out of her ears, confirming his heart rate was back to normal.
"Not yet," she answered evenly, already knowing the doctor's response.
"Danielle will take over for you, go eat," she said. Edythe made to protest—she didn't like leaving a job until it was done, and she had been with this terrier since he was brought in—but Amanda cut her off before she could finish.
"Go, before I sick your mother on you," she said, one eyebrow raised. Edythe closed her mouth, knowing Amanda was serious; there had been more than one occasion where she had gone longer than she probably should have without lunch, only to find Carine's arrival premeditated by a call from the veterinarian. She hated to disappoint her mother, and Amanda knew this, as well as knowing Carine had more influence over Edythe than anyone else. So, resentfully, she handed off the recovering dog to her coworker, making toward the stairs. Before she could even place her foot on the first step, she heard her name being called.
Edythe turned in the direction of the voice, eventually finding Emily and Amelia in an exam room, holding a particularly angry feline. Edythe took in the abandoned IV catheters and tape.
"Do you need help?" she asked willingly, stepping into the room and closing it firmly behind her.
"Yes, I've reached my limit. Two sticks then I fold," Amelia admitted, "You want to try?"
"Sure," Edythe agreed, stepping forward and taking the offered paw of the orange tabby. The cat hissed at the new human in front of him and Edythe snorted. It took her only a couple of minutes to place the port, taping extra securely as she eyed the disagreeable patient.
"I would leave the line out until Dr. Bradshaw is ready to snip it," she recommended.
"Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do, and maybe muscle a E-collar on it," Amelia said, which Edythe agreed. She left them to it, making her way to the back of the building to the stairs for the lounge when she once again heard her name on the earpiece in her left ear.
"What's up, Donna?" she asked, pausing in the back hallway.
"Mrs. Tanner is on line three for you, as well as Mr. Griffin on two," the receptionist relayed to her. "Lex said they didn't need a doctor specifically and the you could take it."
"Yeah I can; who's been waiting longer?" Edythe asked, making her way to a free computer station in the hallway. She quickly took up line two, greeting the middle-aged man with a diabetic cat pleasantly.
It took fifteen minutes for Edythe to walk through the process on insulin administration over the phone, as well as emailing him a link to a helpful video demonstration and a client information placard, since he had lost his original. He thanked her profusely, which she waved off, assuring him she was happy to help and save him another trip with Sosa; she remembered that Siamese had anything but a steady stomach in the car.
Mrs. Tanner was very confused and upset when Edythe got her on the line, not understanding the charges for her guinea pig's surgery bill, as well as discharge instructions. Edythe pulled up the invoice easily, and half-sat on the stool besides the station as she walked through each of the charges, explaining that her pet needed a little bit of extra monitoring and medication post-operatively. She didn't notice the scampering the next hallway over, or the hushed voices and mouthing behind her back.
"Those small mammals like Nelson just will never do as steadily under anesthesia as a dog or cat," she explained, "So we like to err on the side of caution with these little guys, but as I told you when you picked him up, he did perfectly fine, just needed a little extra time to get over the hump." She added with a little laugh. After that, Mrs. Tanner seemed appeased; Edythe was glad, though a little worn, remembering clearly how she had gone over this exact conversation before when the woman had come to pick up her guinea pig, her two toddlers in tow. But she said nothing of it, wishing the client a wonderful weekend before hanging up.
Edythe was starting to feel a bit fatigued, her stomach growling and she stood up, stretching, thinking of the leftovers upstairs in the kitchen fridge. Before she could take another step though, a familiar head popped into the hallway down from her; it was Dr. Akins.
"Hey Edythe! Do you have a moment to fill some scripts for me?" she asked. Edythe hesitated for a second before nodding in assent, hopping off the stool and coming to the doctor's door, taking the long list of medication labels and heading toward the pharmacy.
Edythe filled the medication as swiftly as she could, making sure to double check the count and drug, initialing on the bottom before putting them in a bag. At Dr. Akins' instructions, she made toward the front of the hospital, dropping the full bag into the yellow plastic basket for pick ups. She smiled heavily at Teresa who sat alone in the front.
"Edythe, hon, you look exhausted," the woman said fretfully, "Go eat."
"Believe me, Teresa, I've been trying," Edythe laughed halfheartedly as she climbed the front stairs from the reception area. It was finally quiet, though she half-tensed, expecting another a call. But there wasn't, and Edythe breathed a slow sigh as she navigated to the back of the building, this time on the second level. Every room was empty, which was not unusual, as it was mid-rush on a Saturday. She assumed everyone who was in the building was bustling around downstairs, prepping for surgery or running rooms. As she made to push open the door, she made a point to eat quickly so she could return to help. But she was shocked when her eyes lifted to the absorb the scene in front of her.
She let the door swing back in front of her, turning quickly away. But her attempt was fruitless.
"No, you don't," a familiar voice laughed and she felt a strong cold arm wrapped around her waist, lifting and half-carrying her into the room. As Eleanor set her down—making sure to stand in direct blocking of the only escape—Edythe's hand came over her mouth as she properly took in the couple of dozen people standing in the room. They were all smiling and a chorus of 'happy birthday Edythe!' greeted her, both in the room and through the earpiece. She was so shocked, she couldn't even think to respond as her eyes ran over the people.
All of her coworkers—technicians, receptionists, assistants, and interns—plus the three doctors were there, as well as some who she knew were not scheduled to work today. She bit her lip slightly as her eyes went from them to finally her family. They were smiling as enthusiastically as the staff and she had to fight not to glare at them, remembering distinctly telling them she wanted to do nothing for her birthday.
"Hey, don't get mad at us," Jessamine interjected immediately, feeling the rise in anger in her sister. "We were ready to respect your wishes. It's everyone else that dragged us into it."
"And I'm sure you were oh so reluctant to participate," Edythe returned acidly, trying to hide her smile.
"Even if they were, we would have forced their hand, kicking and screaming if need be," Amanda said, "I have many abilities, but cooking and baking isn't one of them." Edythe's eyes ran over the table, which was stocked to the brim with food and pastries. She worked through it in her head, easily determining the only time her family could have had the time to do this without her knowing. As the pieces began to knit together, both from last night and all day today, she didn't even know how to react. And they all seemed to know it too. She opened her mouth to speak but was immediately shut down.
"Just shush. Accept it and be happy, dammit," Sky said from besides her wife. "You can pout later if you want. But for now, just enjoy it." Edythe didn't respond, but she felt the small smile coming up to her face. The expression just got a little bigger as Beau stepped up, pressing his lips to her, murmuring a 'happy birthday' quietly. Her siblings were next, pulling her into a hug with all five of them, and she laughed.
"Now you're legal," Eleanor boasted, "You can drink at home, if you want."
"Only with a parent's permission," Edythe corrected.
Carine and Earnest chuckled as they reached for her. Carine pressed her lips to Edythe's temple softly with her own celebratory declaration, while Earnest held her close, kissing the top of her head. She remember this morning, how quick she was to get out of the house, and knowing she did not allow her family the opportunity to say happy birthday to her this morning.
As the Cullens exchanged greetings, a couple of her coworkers were working to get candles placed and lit on the cake. It was taking longer than expected and the company had no issue with razzing the active parties.
"Oh, for God's sake," Donna finally said, stepping in and shooing the teenagers Danielle and Gianna away as they tried to turn on the lighter, having abandoned the matches. The older woman picked up the pack and expertly lit each candle, having the job done in a minute.
"I swear, you guys are useless for anything that doesn't have an SD card or WiFi attached to it," she grumbled, to which the adults laughed. With the candles lit, someone flipped off the lights, and the group began in on the obligatory 'happy birthday' song. Edythe stood awkwardly silent as they sang, not knowing what to do. But she couldn't help but giggle and laugh as the song varied from a funeral dirge to a crossfit cardio song, depending on the singers. They all clapped once they got to the end, and Edythe leaned over slightly, tossing her hair behind her shoulder as she blew out the candles.
"Thank God, that's over," Amanda said in relief, "This is why we stick to veterinary medicine rather than trying out on America's Got Talent."
"I feel we would do well in the acting realm though," Lex said though, as Sky began setting out paper plates, "For the amount of times I've had to show I care deeply about a client's personal life, I should have won an Oscar." A few laugh followed.
"You mean you don't want to know about Ms. Jones' third divorce terms that resulted in her getting the golf cart but not the fine china?" Danielle asked with fake innocent eyes.
"No, I just want to know if you feed your dog chicken on the bone," Lex replied exasperated, to which another chorus of laughs echoed.
"By the way, Mrs. Tanner and Mr. Griffin told me to apologize to you," Amanda mentioned to Edythe, "They didn't want to frustrate you, but they knew it was for a good cause. They dropped off a couple of things for you as well." Edythe's mouth went slack for a moment in shock, before she tried o replay. She didn't think of any coherent words so she just shook her head; trying to distract herself, he grabbed for a piece of green celery from the platter in front of her.
"All of that…and the cat…" she turned to Amelia, "Did you really stick the cat multiple times on purpose?"
"Of course not," Amelia responded, feigning outrage, "I actually couldn't get it. But if that cat wasn't available, I would have found something else to keep you occupied so your family could get the food up the stairs." Edythe still looked perturbed, biting down on the celery as an excuse to do something other than respond. She was both aggravated and impressed by the length they had gone to keep this from her, and it seemed everyone—and she meant everyone—knew about this plan.
Sky offered Edythe the first cut, which she took, but she stayed back as the other humans made toward the food, clustering around the cake, that looked like Edythe's favorite, German chocolate. The group slowly broke apart, multiple conversations starting up at once as the adults worked to get cake around to everyone. Edythe stayed by her family, and they noticed her preoccupation.
"Ugh, how can you eat that?" Eleanor asked, her face twisting as Edythe bit down on the piece of celery. Edythe grinned; this conversation was one she'd had with her siblings multiple times. They never could comprehend her acceptance of the change in her diet.
"Believe me, it doesn't taste all that great either, but it's better than some vegetables," Edythe told her. "The difference between this and like actual good food, like chicken, is like hunting a rabbit versus a bear." The past part was said too low for the other humans to hear, especially for how loud the room was. Eleanor shook her head in disbelief.
"I don't know how you do it," she said, "If it was me, I wouldn't even bother."
"Unlike us, though," Carine intervened, glancing at Eleanor momentarily before her eyes slid to Edythe, "You need the variety in your diet. You can't just eat meat all the time; you need all the food groups." Edythe made a face now as she chewed. She glanced down, noticing the dip on the table, then reached across, scooping some of the buttery dip onto the unbitten part of the celery stick. As she bit down, she recognized the taste. It was not from what her family had brought, she knew, as Emily often brought it in for lunch.
"Hm," she said simply, licking a bit of peanut butter that caught on her lips. Carine's eyes narrowed in disapproval; the humans congregating around them didn't notice the expression, but her coven did.
"Edythe," she chided in a low voice. Edythe met her gaze briefly, only slightly guilty.
"It tastes better this way," she insisted as she took another bite. Carine made a quiet noise of contempt.
"What is that?" Jessamine asked curiously, though not wanting to get any closer to the food to catch a whiff of it. They had trained themselves to know what such things smelled like—if for no other reason other than to avoid them for Edythe's sake—but the waft of human food was too much for them to want to differentiate the particulars.
"Peanut butter," Carine said evenly, her eyes still on Edythe before adding, "Which you are allergic to."
"I'm fine," Edythe said, shrugging.
"You won't be in a few minutes," her mother countered.
"I'll take Benadryl, like everyone else with allergies," Edythe replied nonchalantly.
"People who take allergy medication only do so for allergens they cannot avoid, not ones they deliberately put into their body," Carine said shortly; as Edythe leaned down to dip another celery stick into the topping, Carine reached over, pulling the container out of reach.
"Mom…," Edythe complained. "It tastes good."
"I don't care," her mother said. "Just because it tastes good does not negate your reaction."
"But—" she made to protest.
"No," Carine returned firmly. Edythe pouted but, resigned, snapped the celery stick in her mouth. Once she finished, she took the piece of cake offered to her by Donna; the group did not even blink at the Cullens' polite refusal of the food, promising they had more than enough at home. There was a couple minutes of silence as the humans ate, broken by an exclamation from one of the veterinary assistants.
"Wow, this is absolutely incredible! Thank you Dr. and Mr. Cullen," Danielle gushed around her mouthful. Carine and Earnest smiled genially.
"Yeah, can you adopt me too?" Gianna added besides her, "This is amazing."
"Absolutely not," Edythe interjected quickly in-between cuts, "I already have enough siblings."
The company chuckled, but Lex turned to grin impishly at Edythe.
"Oooh, I can sense the resentment," he teased her. She made a face at him but said nothing, as the present company laughed louder.
"It's not like we don't all know you're Mom and Dad's favorite, anyway," Archie cut in. Edythe giggled, while her coworkers seemed surprised, but joined in later.
"Yikes," Gianna said.
"Carine, Earnest, you just got called out," Sky added from where she was leaning against the counter, Amanda and her sharing a piece of cake. The Cullen parents laughed, shaking their heads indulgently at their children, who all seemed in agreement.
"And they didn't deny it, either," Donna added with a chuckle as she sat at the table amongst the teenagers.
"First one to come along, yet still the baby," Edythe snickered at her siblings playfully, "The benefit of being the eldest and the youngest at the same time." Eleanor and Archie gestured at her rudely, while Jessamine just smirked and Royal rolled his eyes.
"Wow, way to start a sibling rivalry, Lex," Danielle said conversationally.
"Hey, I did not expect them to go at each other," Lex laughed. The lightheartedness of the banter was not lost on the Cullens, and they couldn't help but grin and laugh with the others as the group continued to chat. Edythe made her way around the table, trying to make one more go at the peanut butter, but Carine's hand caught her wrist before she could get far. Her mother's exasperated sigh brought another bubble of laughter to Edythe's lips, her green eyes meeting Carine's with only the smallest hint of shame.
"Why are you so difficult sometimes?" Carine asked her, playfully teasing.
"Um, excuse me Carine, but have you met your daughter?" Sky asked from across the room. The company laughed, including the Cullens.
"Which reminds me," Donna interjected as she pushed her empty plate away, "I have been meaning to ask your parents, Edythe." The older woman looked up to Carine and Earnest.
"What's your weekly alcohol budget? Because I think I just about bought out our local liquor store down the street and I only had two kids, and neither of them were teenagers at the same time," she asked. Carine and Earnest smiled at the implied joke, choosing to play along.
"We don't drink," Carine answered honestly.
"Oh, so you're just saints? Got it," Donna said as if that was the obvious conclusion. Carine and Earnest, along with their children, couldn't help but laugh, given both the tone and the words themselves.
"Hardly," Earnest assured her politely, but Edythe interjected as she leaned into his side, one arm wrapping around her father.
"I think they're pretty amazing," she argued; her parents smiled wider and Earnest wrapped her arm around her, pulling her close and pressing his lips to her hair.
"Eh, you're just trying to kiss up," Jessamine said, her grin knowing and teasing. Edythe shrugged, unashamed, then giggled.
"But it works," she countered as her parents laughed indulgently.
"Wait a minute," Gianna interrupted, "If today is your actual birthday, doesn't that make you a Gemini?"
"Um, I guess," Edythe said uncertainly; she had never been one to follow zodiac signs. But now she laughed as Lex made an X with his fingers at her.
"That explains a lot," he said. Edythe shrugged with another giggle.
The group talked and chatted for another few minutes, before Donna initiated the disbanding, saying she didn't want to leave Teresa alone for long and wanted her to get her fill of cake before it was gone. At that, Amanda and Dr. Bradshaw began to corral some of the others, insisting they need to get started on the remaining surgeries if they were to finish them in time for closing. They made to assure Edythe to take her time, that they had everything covered while she spent some time with her family. Edythe nodded, knowing even if she protested, she wouldn't get far.
Once the Cullens were alone and Edythe had finished her fill of the cake she shared with Beau, she made her way cautiously to the pile of gifts that had been placed precariously on one of the counters. She recognized a couple were from clients, not just her coworkers, and she took the single card that lay without an envelope, opening it to see it filled with messages from the staff and doctors. She read them all quietly, and her family let her, only looking up as Teresa stepped into the lounge. She quickly came to Edythe's side, wrapping one arm around her with another 'happy birthday'. Edythe thanked her, ignoring the slight prick in her eyes at reading the heart-felt letters. Teresa took a piece of cake and made to return to the front desk but as she passed the Cullens, she looked to Carine and Earnest.
"You sure you want her? Because I will happily take her off your hands," she said jokingly. Carine and Earnest laughed.
"Yes, we are sure," Earnest assured her. Teresa snapped her fingers dramatically.
"Damn, that's too bad," she said then glanced back at Edythe, "You're very lucky."
Edythe smiled. "I know I am."
Once the receptionist had left, Edythe pushed off the counter she had been leaning, moving toward her family. Archie reached out to hug her tightly, already knowing what she was going to say.
"Of course, you're welcome," he said with a smile, less teasing than before. Jessamine reached out to rub her hands along Edythe's back, an agreement in her own way. Eleanor reached over to hug her sister as well and Edythe laughed, not trusting herself to speak when she was so overwhelmed in such strong feelings, feelings that were not something she was quite used to.
It had been a busy, yet tiring three months. Edythe had stuck with the massage therapy with Charlotte and, despite the first few weeks of agony, she now felt only mild soreness after the sessions. That, combined with gentle hippotherapy courtesy of Sky and her group of sweet horses and her family and Beau's constant nudging and encouragement to get her to eat well, sleep well, and be well, her body had finally healed.
Her joint pain had receded, her back pain joining it as she got stronger; she no longer used any form of pain medication other than weekly sessions with Charlotte. She had gained weight, finally surpassing a hundred pounds, and had put on muscle, something Eleanor liked to occasionally tease her about, all in jest. Her energy was back, a result from losing the constant feeling of pain and discomfort. She had ended the semester on a high, passing her exams with flying colors and beginning the process for veterinary school applications.
She, Amanda, Carine, and Beau had sat up for many nights weeks before, helping determine which schools to apply to. She very much valued the veterinarian and her mother's input from an academic and clinical perspective, as well Beau's stance since he would inevitably be going with her, whereever she chose. She did not want to be far from home, but ninety percent of all American veterinary schools were in sunny, Southern places. And of those that weren't, few seemed feasible. The thought of moving away for school unsettled her, but she squashed it as effectively as she could for the time being, relying on Beau's words, to deal with each problem as it becomes a problem.
Beau had been the best of all her family, though Edythe felt she was slightly biased. It seemed there was nothing he wouldn't do for her, and his thoughtfulness stunned her every time, no matter how often it occurred. Whether it was allowing her to curl up against him for a movie night when she wasn't in the mood to talk, or taking her out for their anniversary—an Italian place, where they both sat in an empty private section and shared a plate of mushroom ravioli—Beau had given her everything she needed and more. Her entire family had, and she could not express her gratitude.
Even now, they knew she did not want to celebrate her birthday, but it was stemmed in a long deep-rooted disinclination to pretend. But now, she could see she was wrong, from how full her heart felt, from her family and coworkers taking the time and care to provide this for her, she couldn't stay mad at them. For the past three months, they had made her feel whole, well, and loved, and trusting them had allowed her body and mind to heal. It felt good, better than a way she had never felt before.
Even before the accident, she seemed she was constantly trying to navigate being human, or her unwarranted reactions to her family. Now, she felt she was finally over most of what she had been battling for a while; she had reached the next plateau, a testament that, even deep wounds, both physical and nonphysical, time really can heal.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed is nice longer-than-normal chapter! Please let me know what you think!
Just a fair a warning that, more than likely, the next chapter will have a significant time jump (a few months). If you have any requests or would like to see anything, please let me know, as I will just move when I finish with one section of time what I intended to. Happy Sunday :)
EDIT: It doesn't look like email updates are working still; any ideas on how to circumvent this? Or maybe a way for my to announce when the story is updated?