Erin was sitting in the waiting room, picking the polish off her nails as her knee bounced and her heart raced a mile a minute... She couldn't believe that Penny had a seizure just a moment after she'd gotten through telling her how rotten she thought she was.
She felt awful- as small as an ant and sick to stomach, but she knew she was about to feel a whole lot worse when Lindsey came flying through that door.
"Where is she?" He had raced over from the resort as soon as his girlfriend had called to tell him what was happening.
In fact, he had left in such a rush, it was a miracle that he had even put shoes and a shirt on before he hurried out of his room, where he'd spent the entirety of his afternoon thus far.
"Hey," Erin quickly pushed herself up to stand, so nervous that she felt light headed right away. "She's awake and she's in the room that's just right across the hallway." Her eyes were filled with tears, not sure if she was more upset about what had happened with Penelope physically, or what had happened between the two of them verbally... It was a toss up. "She's going to be-" she was getting ready to assure him that Penny would be just fine, but he spun around so fast, she didn't have time to even finish her sentence and he was already gone.
He hadn't been that anxious in a long time- not since her last health scare the summer prior. She spent a week in the hospital, but since then, she'd been doing really well, so to get that kind of news was the last thing he was expecting or hoping for.
However, most of the fear washed away when he slowly pushed open the door, just for the sound of her soft laugh to fill his ears... Sounded better than music in times like that.
She was sitting up in bed, connected to more machines than he could count, but she still had a sweet smile on her face as she held the phone up to her ear. "Dad just got here." Penny announced, wiggling her fingers in his direction as she watched him trail into the room.
"I'm really glad to hear that." Barbara's soft voice traveled through the speaker, obviously hating the fact that she was so far away in a time like that... She had never not been there for Penny when she was in the hospital and it pained her so much. "How does she actually look, Lindsey?" She wondered in a joking manner, which caused Penny to let out another sheepish laugh.
They had been on the phone since she'd gotten to the hospital and they got her under control. And since Barbara was at the very top of her emergency contact list, she knew before they'd even gotten her out of the ambulance.
He cracked a little smile, so relieved to see his girl doing so well. "She looks pretty good, Barb." He assured, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed as his eyes scanned over her face... She looked so much like her mother. "Her hair is a little bit of a rats nest, but other that, not too shabby." Lindsey teased, which instantly caused both women to giggle in return.
"Funny," Penny playfully rolled her tired eyes as her lips stayed slightly turned up.
"Ratty hair is still cute on you, sweet baby." Barbara always called her that, but especially when she was feeling a little extra emotional and she definitely was that day.
Lindsey cracked another smile, always thinking Penny was perfect just the way she was... even with messy hair and some smudged eyeliner. "She's trying to scare us though, boss." He mentioned, shaking his head lightly.
"She is," Barbara quickly agreed as the tone in her voice grew a little more serious than it was before. "I think, maybe cutting this trip a few days short and heading back home wouldn't be the worst thing in the world..." she added, even though she knew that wasn't what her granddaughter wanted to hear her say.
Leaning back, Penny's head fell on the pillow as her eyes grew a little bit softer than before... She wasn't ready to leave.
Raising a brow, Lindsey shifted in his chair as his eyes fell down to the phone. "Uh, oh." He grinned, trying to lighten the mood, even though he was certain that he wouldn't be able to, not when that look of defeat instantly washed over Penny's face.
"I know the doctors are sounding very hopefully out there, but it's important to get home and meet with your doctors here as soon as possible, Penelope." She could be stern and she had never, ever taken Penny's health lightly... That was the most serious thing in the world for her.
The younger woman sank down as her eyes met her dads.... He was on Barbara's side in this and it was pretty obvious just by the look on his face. "I can come home alone then, because I don't want to ruin-" she was getting ready to admit that she didn't want to mess up the rest of Lindsey and Erin's time in Hawaii, but he cut her off.
"Don't be silly, kid." He shook his head, a soft chuckle escaping him. "I'm right behind you, always."
~~~
"There you are." Stevie gave her the biggest smile as she traveled through the lobby with a cup of coffee in one hand as she used the other to hold her shawl to her chest.
She was just coming back from spending the afternoon with Dan and his daughters. They went shopping downtown and then had dinner at a restaurant right on the water. And even though it was a really lovely day, Stevie kept thinking about her daughter and Lindsey too, who she hadn't seen since she'd left him early that morning.
Cracking a soft but weak grin, Penny's tired brown eyes met Stevie's identical ones. "Hey, there." Penelope was just as happy to see her too, even though she still wasn't quite feeling herself.
She had gotten discharged about an hour earlier and the only thing she wanted upon escaping was an ice cream cone, so that was their first stop and then they were headed back to the resort to start packing their bags.
"What are you up to?" Stevie creased a brow, eyes scanning over the younger girls face... It was pretty clear that there was something wrong.
She frowned instantly, already having felt awfully emotional about having a health scare, but suddenly feeling worse at the thought of leaving Stevie... "I'm going home." She announced, tears already lingering in her eyes.
"Oh, honey." Stevie reached out carefully, pushing some of her daughters blonde hair out of her eyes before she wrapped one arm around her for a hug.
That wasn't something she wanted to hear either... She wasn't ready to say goodbye.
"I'm gonna miss you, I think." She admitted in a low tone of voice... She wasn't sure why she felt so attached to a woman she'd known just a few days, but she did.
Biting down on her bottom lip, Stevie felt her heart sink as she held Penny close for a long moment. "I'm going to miss you more, sweet girl."
