Lifeline (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 36: The Long Wait

Author's note: This chapter runs alongside @__highflying's chapter 14.

"Ohhh, my poor little girl-"

"Heikki, God no, please, make her stop," Tully protested irritably as her mother tottered towards her, tears streaming down the stricken woman's face as was becoming her usual routine upon arrival.

"Aiti, hush!" Heikki barked, stepping forward and grabbing their mother's wrist, "Come here."

Tully breathed a sigh of relief as Heikki pulled their mother back into his chest and stroked her hair comfortingly, neutralising the likelihood of her being accosted, again, while she was still trapped in a hospital bed.

What she wouldn't do to tear all the needles and tubes out of her arms and make a bid for freedom. Though from a previous attempt of doing just that the night before, after Jacob had been kicked out by that sorry excuse for a security guard, she'd learnt that pulling the needles out caused the machinery around her to screech in an alarming manner and send a plethora of nurses billowing into her room in a panic.

"Hello sweetheart," her father said softly, reaching her bedside and taking her hand gently.

"Isa, she needs to calm down, I'm not dying," Tully whined, gesturing towards her mother, who was still preoccupied with completely saturating Heikki's shirt.

"She can't help it, your mother is just an emotional type."

"Understatement," Tully muttered, eyeing her mother warily in case she somehow escaped her son's arms.

"So we heard you tried to escape last night," Heikki began as he guided their mother into a chair, double checking she was settled and not about to lurch out of it and make a grab for her daughter.

"Oh... they mentioned that then did they?" she replied airily.

"Tully, look, we need to talk about something," he sighed.

"What?"

"Seb is going to come up and see you today. They can't legally restrain him anymore so..."

She stared back at her brother blankly, at a rare loss for words.

"So... I just wanted to prepare you for that," he finished hesitantly.

"When?" she finally stammered.

"Er, well, soon."

"What with this lot in the room? I don't think so," she scoffed, pointing between her mother and father.

"No, after they leave, just me, you and Seb."

Their mother, Elina, had started to sob again.

"Elina!" Otto snapped, "Enough! That is not helping anyone."

The Finnish woman hushed herself immediately, resorting to silent blubbering as Heikki passed her a tissue box.

"Fine," Tully grimaced, "May as well get this over with."

Heikki sent her a contemplative look, wondering if she realised Seb wouldn't just disappear after she'd spoken to him once. He definitely wasn't convinced she was aware that there would likely be very many meetings. At least she was getting a bit sharper now. Vaguely offensive, but none-the-less sharper.

"Aren't you curious about him?" he asked, not really understanding.

Her response sounded tired. "No."

Heikki sighed. Now wasn't the time to press the issue. She'd barely had a chance to process what had happened to her yet. The recovery ahead would likely be long.