~ Nora ~
Instead of calling home when she got a flight, Nora flew right through, landed as the sun was coming up over the horizon and got a taxi to the hospital. All she had with her was an old throw blanket she took from her mom when she left the state, her leather jacket, and a backpack with nothing in it besides a journal and a wallet. So when they arrived at the double doors, she jumped out, hurried in and spoke briefly to the lady at the front deck.
The thing about Nora was that she didn't follow rules that well, so when the lady gave her the room numbers but told her that she had to wait in the waiting room, she didn't listen... she was in her thirties, why would she have started listening at that point? It would have been useless.
So she headed down down the hallway, jumped on the elevator, past right by the room her siblings were in and gently pushed open the door to 421.
Letting out a very deep sigh, she slowly closed it behind her as she trailed into the room. "Mom..." She felt her knees grow weak and her voice, gentle.
Stevie had her eyes closed, legs under the covers and arms on either side, where monitors were hooked up.
For a moment, Nora didn't even recognize her. Usually her mother was bouncing around the house, or on a stage... It was hard to see her, just laying here.
She didn't plan on leaving her, so she pushed the chair closer to the bed, tossed her bag on the floor and got comfortable.
But just as she began to close her eyes and drift, that voice filled her ears. "Nora...?" Stevie's voice cracked, throat dry and eyes heavy.
She sat up quickly, taking her moms hand gently in her own. "Hi..." she whispered, tears blurring her vision. "Hi, mom." The younger woman repeated, carefully pushing some of the blonde hair back to see her face a little better.
She had a broken nose, but other than that, she looked good and seeing those brown orbs was enough to make Nora smile.
"Where's your dad?" Her tone was so weak and so out of breath, Nora barely heard her.
Her heart sank as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Uhh, dad is down the hallway." She didn't know much- after all, she'd just gotten there and hadn't bothered to call anyone else.
"Is he okay?" Stevie stared into her blue eyes, but they were so sleepy, she could hardly see her. "Is daddy okay?" She repeated, not at all concerned about anything else in that moment.
It didn't matter that her nose was throbbing, or she could hardly move her leg... She was only worried about one person and it wasn't herself.
Nora's tears began to fall down her red cheeks as she held on tight to the blondes hand. "We're going to call a nurse in to check on you." She didn't know what to say, so instead, she reached down and pressed the call button. "And then we'll ask about dad." She leaned down slowly, leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead.
She nodded her head softly. "I love you, Nora." She whispered to her daughter as turned her head back to stare up at the ceiling.
"I love you, mom."
~
It wasn't long until nurses were circling the room, checking the monitors, the bandages, and asking her more questions than she could keep up with.
"Can I see my husband?" Stevie had asked twice already, and though they didn't totally ignore her, they also hadn't really acknowledged her either.
Her nurse nodded softly, eyes gentle and reassuring. "In a little while, okay? He's still catching up on some much needed rest." She didn't want to mention too much, but she underestimated just how much the older woman cared.
"I know," she sighed. "But I need to see him." Stevie was nearly begging at that point. "He won't mind, either." She added.
She was getting herself worked up more than anything else, which wasn't great for her at the moment.
"As soon as he is awake, I will let you know and we will take you to see him." That was a promise, but it still wasn't enough.
"He is okay though?" She couldn't stand it- she really couldn't. "I'm worried about his arm..." she mentioned, tears streaming down her puffy cheeks. "He held out his arm-"
"It's okay." Her shook her head. "Don't get worked up, okay? He's in great care."
She nodded, but was still far too upset to calm down. "And that's good..." she lingered, shrugging lightly. "But I really need my husband." She repeated.
Nora had been pretty quiet, but she finally jumped in. "Mom, you'll see daddy soon, but first they have to make sure that you're all taken care of, too." She hadn't always been the most comforting person in the room, but for a moment, she had her mother fooled. "Daddy wouldn't want you worrying about him right now." She added, totally certain of herself. "He'd tell you that you need to relax, and listen to the nurses." She could actually hear her father, saying it exactly that but in a more annoyed tone of voice. "You stubborn woman." She repeated the same thing that Lindsey called his wife when she was being exactly that... stubborn.
She thought about it for a second and then sank back into the pillows. "Fine," Stevie wasn't happy about it, but she was going to listen for the first time ever. "But I need to make sure that he's okay, Nora." She whined as her emotions grew uncontrollable.
"Shh," She leaned in, pressing another kiss to her moms head as she tried to soothe her. "He's going to be just fine."
