Chapter Five- Reba Loses Her Mom

Reba stared out the hospital window as she sat by her mother's bedside. It had been raining all day but somehow it seemed to fit her mood. Suddenly, a weak knock startled Reba from her thoughts.

"Hey, Mom." Cheyenne peeked her head in. "Why don't you go get some coffee or something. Van and I will sit with Meemaw for a while."

Reba got up from her chair. "Let me know if she wakes up." She said before leaving the room.

Cheyenne closed the door behind her mother, then walked over to where Van and Elizabeth were sitting. She bent down and picked Elizabeth up from Van's lap and set her on the bed next to her Grandma.

"Hey, Meemaw. This is your great granddaughter, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth laid her head down on Meemaws chest. "Meemaw sleeping?"

"Yes. Meemaw is sleeping." Cheyenne answered. "For now..."

Cheyenne looked over at Van who immediately took her into his arms. He didn't know what to do or say in this delicate situation so he just held his wife.

(In the cafeteria...)

Reba sat in the hospital cafeteria picking at the sandwich on her plate. She was starving and knew she should eat something but couldn't force down the sandwich past the pit in her stomach. She was way too exhausted from not sleeping the night before. Brock noticed she could barely keep her eyes open and decided to help her.

"Hey," he started, softly. "Why don't I take you back to the house? You need some sleep and the kids are getting restless sitting around here. I'll come back and pick you up if anything happens."

Reba immediately shook her head. "My mother is in critical condition, Brock. I'm not going anywhere. But I would appreciate it if you would take the kids back there."

Brock knew by the look in her eye that she wasn't going to back down. Instead, he walked with her up to her mothers room.

"Hey, kids." Reba started. "Your dad is going to take you back to Meemaw and Grandpas house to get some sleep okay? Please, keep and eye on your brother and sister."

"I want to stay." Cheyenne protested as Elizabeth fussed in her arms.

"Cheyenne, please don't fight me on this." Reba begged, sadly. "Look, Elizabeth is getting cranky, there is nothing you guys can do here. Go back to the house and get some rest, please."

Cheyenne didn't want to make her mother more upset than she already was, so she didn't push the issue. Instead, she gave her mom a hug and followed Van out of the room.

"Hang in there, kid. I'll be back." Brock promised before closing the door.

Reba made her way to the chair that was beside her mothers bed and sat down. "Hey, Mama." She whispered and reached out to grab her hand.

"Elizabeth was excited to meet you today, she learned how to say 'Meemaw' just for you, it was so cute..." Reba paused to catch her breath and regain control of her emotions. "You know, Mom. I'm not ready to say goodbye. I need you here, Mama..."

"Hey," Brock interrupted. "Any change?" He asked and handed her a cup of coffee.

Reba took the cup and shook her head. "The doctors said that since she's been out for so long that if she doesn't wake up by tomorrow morning to prepare for the worst."

"Reba, I'm sorry."

"He told me that if I wanted to say goodbye, to do it now because the chances aren't good. But, I think if I do that it means I'm giving up on hope. I don't know Brock, maybe her time has come, I can't help but hope that she's gonna pull through."

Brock moved toward her and squeezed her shoulder. "You have every right to hope for the best."

Just then the monitors her mother was hooked up to started beeping uncontrollably.

"Mama?" Reba asked, thinking for a minute there was a slight chance she was waking up. "Call the doctors!" She hollered to Brock.

Before Brock could even make his way to the door, the doctors had hurried in and immediately went to work.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to leave the room."

Reba was hysterical and Brock knew he had to get her out of there. "Come on, let them do their job and we can go see her when they're done."

Reba hesitated at first but she let him grab her by the arm and lead her into the waiting room. She immediately started pacing the floor. Brock grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the chair next to him.

"Sit down. You're making me dizzy."

"I'm sorry. I just..." Reba stopped when she saw one of the doctors appear in the doorway. She knew by the look on his face that he did not have good news and prepared herself for the worst.

The doctor inched toward her. "Ms. Hart. I'm sorry...we lost her." He informed, then quietly walked away.

Reba stood there and stared at the spot where the doctor had been standing. Brock placed his hand on her back and lightly squeezed her shoulder.

"She's gone." Reba whispered. "She's gone, Brock. My mother's gone."

"I know, sweetie." Brock held his arms out to her and Reba took the opportunity to give him a hug. Then, the realization of what happened set in and she immediately started sobbing.

After a few minutes of dealing with the terrible news, Reba wiped her face and pulled out of Brock's arms.

"Let's go tell the kids." She sighed.