A Soldier's Life

Chapter 33 - Hi Mummy

Sophie's POV:

After I had explained to Ava about what she was about to see, I took a deep breath before taking her hand and guiding her to the door. I hesitantly reached out for the door handle. I was terrified of how this may affect Ava. When I first saw Y/n, it shocked me, and I struggled to see her in that state. But I'm a grown adult and fully understand the situation. I can't even imagine how this is for Ava who was just excited for her Mummy to be coming home this weekend.

As we walked into the room, Ava slowly walked over to Y/n and called out "Hi Mummy, it's Ava!", which made me chuckle. As she reached the side of the bed, she turned to look at me. I quickly walked over and picked her up, placing her on the space next to Y/n. "You need to be very careful, but you can hold her hand if you'd like." I offered.

I could tell that Ava wasn't sure what to do and had started to sniffle. She was sat on the bed just staring at Y/n's hand. "Are you ok Ava?" I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Is Mummy in pain? I don't want to hurt her." She whispered. "Oh sweetie, you can touch her. She'll want to know you're here. Yes, she's in pain, but you holding her hand will make her feel better." I reassured her, and it seemed to work. She put her small hand around Y/n's and lent down and gave it a sweet little kiss.

I let her sit and observe Y/n for a while. I knew this would all be scary, and I wanted her to take it in at her pace and ask any questions she wants to. "Why is Mummy's face purple and red?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of Y/n's face. "They're cuts and bruises from the accident. They'll heal over time, and she'll be looking like her old self in no time." I smiled, rubbing my hand up and down her back to give her comfort.

She nodded at my response and started looking at all of the machines in the room. "What's that noise?" She asked, pointing in the direction of the heart monitor. "The beep shows that her heart is beating. It let's the doctors know if she is ok." Again, she nodded at my explanation. "You know, it's ok to talk to her. I know she can't respond, but she'll still be listening." I say, trying to make her feel better. "Mkay." She shyly says whilst she starts to think about what she wants to say.

She thinks for a while and then she starts to talk. "Hi Mummy. I know you can't see me but I'm Ava. I don't like that you are hurt. I want to be able to play with you again. I missed you." She spoke softly but started to get a little upset. I let her talk as I knew this was all a way for her to process everything she was feeling. "I thought you were going to die Mummy." She cried.

It broke my heart seeing her like this. I stood up and pulled her close to my body, whilst still allowing her to be close to Y/n. "Auntie Sophie said that you're getting better though. So that makes me happy. I can wait to play with you, as long as you get better Mummy." She said with a small smile on her face, wiping the tears that had fallen. This kid is one in a million. She has done far better than any of us adults in dealing with this whole situation. "Why don't you tell her about some of the fun things you did over the last few weeks?" I suggested, hoping to move the topic to something more fun.

Ava bounced a little on the spot and eagerly started to talk. "We did so many cool things. We went to the park a lot, the beach, oh, and to the fun fair! Uncle Robert let me stay with Avri and Exton. We went swimming in their pool, oh can we get a pool...." Ava rambled on about everything and anything she could think of. It made me smile seeing her so enthusiastic.

I sat back on the chair and just listened as Ava talked. At one point, she suddenly stopped and looked down to her hand that was holding Y/n's. "What's up princess?" I asked, slightly concerned at how abruptly she stopped talking. "I thought Mummy might wake up when she heard everything we did." She mumbled, trying to hold back tears. "Oh Ava, come here." I said, picking her up and holding her tightly in my lap.