Till death do us part

Chapter 32: Dad and papa - Present time

Cora's POV

"Here you go, Rose," I gently passed her my cup of hot chocolate milk. "It's not as good as the one you used to make for us but it's tasty."

She sipped a bit and nodded. "We've had better indeed," She then handed the cup back to me. "But it's good."

I put the cup on the little nightstand next to the bed. I then looked back at her. I was so happy. Ever since she seemingly started remembering things, we had been talking about the past. We had been talking about memories. About little things. About special things... And so on. It was just great.

"So," She looked at me. "What's the test for today?"

"Hmm," I looked away a bit, trying to think about a memory. Since she remembered things, we tested her memory. So every day, I quizzed her knowledge. "How about Hope's first school day?"

She frowned a bit, her thinking face. "It wasn't a good day for me," She said to which I nodded. "I was upset," She looked away a bit. "I don't remember why though."

"You wanted Hope to stay at home with you."

She looked at me. "That makes sense."

I smiled a bit. "It does."

"But why was the whole day bad?" She frowned more. "I remember that it wasn't a good day," She then looked at me again. "Did something else happen?"

I slowly nodded and looked down.

"Oh," She gulped. "I forgot something, didn't I?"

I slowly nodded. "You forgot to get Hope from school," I looked at her again and saw how shocked she was. "It was the start of the journey that got you here."

She slowly nodded. "I remember that..." She sighed deeply.

I gulped as I hesitated to ask one more thing. I hadn't asked her about it but I was so curious to hear if she remembered it. "Rose," I paused a bit. "Do you remember your accident?"

She looked away. "It's hard to think about it."

I nodded. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question."

She looked at me again. "Nothing you say is stupid," She smiled at me. "I'm happy I remember you," She reached for my hand and held it in hers. "I'm happy I remember us."

"Me too," I smiled. "I love you, Rose."

She smiled more. "I love you too, Cora."

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Third person's POV

When Rose started remembering things again, Cora had asked Naheed and Dara to keep it quiet. She wanted Rose to gain her memory back on her own without the interference of other people.

But as the days passed, and Rose was doing fine, Cora finally called Rose's fathers to tell them the great news. Even though she couldn't see them, she could hear how happy they were. Especially since they already thought they weren't going to get their daughter back.

After that phone call, Rose's fathers didn't wait. They got to their car and rushed to the hospital. They just wanted to see her, they had to see her.

When they arrived, they quickly rushed to the elevator. On their way up, they weren't talking. They were so busy with Rose, with what they would be saying to her, with what they would be seeing. They were consumed with feelings.

The elevator doors opened and they got out. The closer they came to Rose's room, the faster they walked.

When they arrived at the door, they wanted to enter but were stopped. They looked up and saw Rose's friends: Dara and Naheed.

"Dara, Naheed," Rose's dad said. "What is it?" He tried to hide his frustration because they were stopping him from getting to Rose, but he failed miserably.

Dara easily picked up on that frustration, unlike Naheed. "We'll let you get to Rose immediately, we just wanted to warn you two first."

Rose's fathers raised their eyebrows. "Warn us?" They looked at each other before looking back at Dara and Naheed. "About?"

"Rose," Naheed said. "She remembers things but..." He looked at Dara then, and Dara knew why.

Dara looked at Rose's fathers. "Rose is still getting back to herself, she isn't herself yet."

Rose's fathers both frowned. "Not herself yet?" Rose's papa asked.

"What do you mean?" Rose's dad asked. "I thought she remembered everything?"

"No," Naheed shook his head immediately. "She remembers things, but it takes time." He then looked at Dara, as if asking for confirmation.

Dara nodded in agreement. "We haven't seen Rose in a while but Cora has told us to be careful with Rose."

"You two haven't seen Rose in a while?" Rose's dad asked. He frowned.

"Who has seen Rose?" Rose's papa asked.

"Only Cora," Dara said. "She's been the only person with Rose since Rose remembers things. They've been practicing her memory ever since."

Rose's fathers nodded. "So why are you two telling us this? Is there something else we need to know?"

Dara and Naheed looked at each other before looking back at the fathers. "Just take into consideration that she may not remember you two yet," Dara said gently. "You have to be aware of that possibility."

Rose's fathers looked down but slowly nodded.

"Does she remember you?" Rose's papa asked. "When you two saw her, did she know who you were?"

Naheed nodded proudly while Dara nudged him. "She did," She said before glaring at Naheed for being so insensitive. "She remembers bits and pieces."

"She might remember you two too." Naheed then said.

Rose's fathers nodded and took a deep breath. "We have to see her."

"Of course," Dara smiled a bit before moving aside. "Enjoy."

Rose's fathers smiled a bit before looking at the door. They wanted to enter that room so badly, they wanted to see their daughter badly. Yet, they couldn't seem to bring themselves to open that door. It's as if they feared that their daughter might still not remember them. And that would break their heart.

Rose's dad put his hand on his husband's shoulder. They looked at each other before nodding. 

Rose's papa opened the door and slowly entered the room. They slowly walked into the room and saw Cora seated on Rose's bed. They were talking but stopped when they saw they had visitors.

Rose's fathers gulped as they saw their daughter look at them. Their hearts beat faster than normal, they were hoping so badly that Rose would recognize them.

Then, Rose smiled and said: "Dad and papa."