Something Stupid

27

Girls Night Evening

When Elena arrived at Bonnie's house a few days later for the girls night, Caroline and Bonnie were already waiting for her. And they weren't the only ones. Lexi was sitting in one of the chairs in the living room while Davina was occupying the other. The biggest surprise for Elena, however, was the sixth member of their party. She stopped to stare at the blonde woman.

"Camille?"

The addressed person looked her right back into the eyes. "Hello Dr Gilbert."

The brunette bit her lip, clearly at unease. "You can call me Elena. Everyone else here does."

Camille nodded. For at least a minute, the two women just stood there and stared at each other.

Until Caroline lost patience and cleared her throat, making both Elena and Camille turn their heads to her. "Are you going to start talking by yourselves or am I going to have to kick your asses?"

Elena gave her friend a slightly pained smile. When she heard Cami clear her throat, she turned back to the blonde standing before her, gulping drily.

Camille O'Connell took a deep breath. "Dr Gil- Elena. I thought about... everything. And I've come to a conclusion. First of all, I'd like to apologize for yelling at you like I did. In the hospital, I mean. After... it happened. I understand you had to make a choice. If it had been up to me, I would have wanted my baby to live. I admit, the fact that I wasn't the one who got to choose was the main reason why I was so angry. After all, it was my life at stake, not yours."

Elena opened her mouth, in an attempt to say something, but Camille stopped her with a gesture before she could say it.

The blonde continued: "And yes, I know that's irrational, because I was unconcious. I couldn't have made that choice, obviously, and I know it. I guess some things just aren't rational. I see things more clearly now, that's why I'm apologizing. But there is still something I need to know before we put this behind us."

The brunette woman nodded. "And what's that?"

A melancholic look shadowed Camille's features as she hesitated to ask. She gazed at Elena's face for almost a minute before she finally spoke again.

"Why did you decide to save me? Why me instead of my child?"

Now it was Elena who had to take a moment before saying anything. This was a very delicate subject and she knew it, better than many other people. Choosing her words carefully now was important.

Finally, she said: "You told me a bit about yourself when I examined you first. Told me that you were going to be a single Mom and - aside from your son - you only had your uncle left. You also said your uncle needdd a bit of help every now and then, due to his age. When I thought about all this, I realized the baby would most probably have had to grow up in the system, without a family. It still could have been a good life, even without parents." Elena stopped for a moment. But then, seeing Camille's eyes narrow, hurried to continue. "However, that wasn't the main reason why I decided to save you. The main reason was because of what I knew about your life. You had just gotten out of a messy relationship and moved to New Orleans. You were just getting a fresh start, after a lot of sorrow. I thought you deserved that fresh start. I know it isn't fair and I wish I could change that, but I can't. All I can say is, from what I knew, I just couldn't let you die."