Admiring the Light

Ep 35

Flashback

Katherine wanted updates over the phone from the incompetent hospital workers she had to speak with. She lifted the microphone to her mouth, just so she could let out an annoyed hiss. "GODDAMMIT, no, I want updates on MY DAUGHTER."

"Mrs. Perry, this is a long process-" She got back the most artificially happy voice that she could've heard.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" She cursed. "TELL ME, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"We're trying the best that we can, her next chemotherapy shot is in a few hours."

Katherine wanted to single-handedly torture every nurse in the wing she was in contact with. "IS MY DAUGHTER SAFE, YOU ASSHOLES?"

"We assure you, we're taking every measure we can to help Natalie." A deeper voice came into her ear.

"The fuck do your assurances mean??" She groaned, none of these reassurances had actually helped her. "For all I know, my daughter could be dying on a table..."

"She's safe-" The voice tried to confirm, but the idea was seeping through her brain.

"Oh my gosh, she could be dying, IS SHE DYING, YOU BITCH? SHE'D BETTER BE STILL FUCKING BREATHING. SHE'D BETTER.

Katherine's fist made contact with the base of the phone as she felt splintering plastic around her hand.

"Hey Kathy, do we have any news?"

She slowly turned to glare at him, twisting her fist around in the wrecked phone as she blinked a few times, her cheeks reddening along with the whites of her eyes.

...

Present

Natalie lifted her body from her bed, her arms over her head as she heard a big crack. "Aughhh..." Everything in her body just felt sore, her bones aching.

She'd been sure to message Lola, but she felt bad about not getting back earlier. She saw her girlfriend's desperation in the texts, she wished she could've woken up faster, or better, not fainted at all.

"Oh my god..."

"Hey Sport... could you- uh-" But she quickly felt her sister's arms around her. "Hey... yeah, Sport, it's me..."

"It was so scary..." She whispered back, Natalie could hear a quiet sniffle, but nothing much.

"I'm here now, Sport- I'm here now. Everything's fine-"

"Is Lola coming...?"

"Of course- yes- Lola's coming as soon as she can, what's up?"

"Well- I mean, birthday tomorrow... excited?"

"Hehe, making the best of what we got, Sport."

"Well... yeah- what if you get sick again?"

"It'll be fine, Sport! Lola and dad will be there, if anything happens, there will be people around."

"I guess..."

"Yeah! Bring it in, Sport!" Natalie pulled Guinevere in tighter.

"Uh- sure..."

"Anything crazy to eat?"

"Mom said that you need to eat light-"

"Ah, yeah, sounds like a plan." She dismissed that idea pretty quick. "What's for breakfast, Sport?"

"I- I already-"

"Muffins! That sounds awesome!"

"What-"

"Ooh, you know those like, fruity muffins?" Natalie smiled. "What about like- like, fruity muffin pancakes?"

"Culinary genius."

"Raghhh- say it again, Sport-"

"Natalie is a genius..."

"That's right, Sport!"

"I bet a rock has a higher IQ than you."

Natalie fidgeted like she had glasses, doing the most Guinevere voice she could. "Erm, actually, rocks don't have brains, so erm, actually-"

"I don't- hey!"

"Heheh."

"But- actually, a rock would-" She shifted her glasses.

Natalie jabbed a finger at her.

"NO-"

"HA!"

"Raghhhh-" Guinevere pounded down on Natalie's body.

"Let's see how long this takes." She chuckled, she couldn't even feel half of them, just shaking her a little. "Nerdy little Sport, will always have better grades."

"YEAH! I'll always be smarter."

"Mhm." Natalie just casually flung Guinevere up into her arms, but they shook a little under the weight. "Eating much, Sport?"

"Is this some kind of trick question? Yeah-?"

"A little harder to lift, I'm surprised." She lowered her back to the ground.

"Damnn, Natalie's shaming meee-"

"Natalie can't say anything."

"Hehe, chubby- just a big stuffed animal."

"My brain is fluff too..."

"I love my fluffy oversized sister."

...

Flashback

"Mrs. Perry, we understand this is a difficult time for all of us."

"Hmph..."

"We do appreciate your cooperation with these necessary measures."

"Just let me see my daughter."

"Of course. Once her therapy is complete."

"What the fuck do you mean, once her therapy is complete? Dammit, how much longer is this?"

"We're expecting one to two more weeks of treatment, then she will go home for recovery."

"Kathy- Kathy-" Owen could see in Katherine's burning glare, the way that she'd shifted her body, she was ready to smash something. "This is good, this is progress-"

...

Present

"Morning!!" Natalie liked the windows open, she could get the breeze and hear the birds, warmed by the sun as she stepped into the kitchen through their living room.

"Mmph. Morning... Natalie-" Katherine grunted, watching her daughter from the couch with their silly top hat cat on her lap.

"Awww, bonding!" She laughed, Nightwhisper had stuck herself right in her mother's lap. "Are you being a little cutie with mom?"

"This is miserable- she's getting hair on me."

"You look pretty chill, I mean- Nightwhisper, did you enslave mom again?" She joked. Nightwhisper's tail wagged a little, somehow she'd understood.

"Some kind of spell."

"Yeah, the cuteness spell." Natalie snickered as Nightwhisper licked Katherine's hand.

"If this thing bites me-" She huffed, but as soon as the harsh words came out, the giant maine coon abandoned her lap.

"She understands-" Natalie laughed, scratching at her ears under the hat. "Give mom another chance, she's not a cat purrson."

"My god."

"Yeah, she won't hurt you- she's just a little grumpy."

"I'll- mmph."

"Pop tartsss- pop tarts!"

"Could you be a little damn quieter?"

"Mhhhm-" Little bits of pop tart spilled from her mouth as the strawberry goodness piled in. "Well- not really-"

"Who's here ALREADY??"

"COME RIGHT IN LOLA! IT'S ALL GOOD-"