A Mialotte Story: Good in a crisis

Getting reacquainted

Daylight was now creeping in, casting a glow on Charlotte's face as she sat patiently waiting for Mia to wake up. Charlotte found herself basking in the warmth, taking a moment to feel grateful for the success of Mia's surgery. She lightly grazed over her cheek where the sun was drawn to and closed her eyes, picturing her mean redhead. Trying to feel the comfort of her touch.

Doctor Rowlands approached Charlotte with care to notify her that Mia was awake and stable enough for visitors. Charlotte paused at the door, savouring a glimpse of Mia, alive and well.
"Hey, you" Charlotte said timidly with a slight smile.
"Hi sweetheart."
Charlotte's smile grew as she heard those words, it had been too long, and it made a single tear escape her eye. Mia was weak and groggy, but even if it took all her energy, she was going to talk to her sweetheart.
"You gave me quite the scare you know."
"I'm sorry, Char, for everything. I never wanted to hurt you." Mia winced slightly in pain, her head throbbing.
"Take it easy, baby, you just had brain surgery. I can wait, okay? I'm not going to let you go through this alone" Charlotte professed as she stroked Mia's arm.
"I don't deserve you, Charlotte. Why did you come?"
"Mia, no matter how angry I was or how much I tried to get over you, I couldn't ignore my heart. My heart beats for you, Amelia, and I don't think I want to know a life without you in it."

The two lovers shared an intimate moment, meeting each other's gaze as Charlotte held on to Mia's hand. In that moment, nothing else mattered and no one else existed. Charlotte wasn't letting Mia get away with the kiss of course, she deserved an explanation, and Mia would feel her wrath when she's ready. But Char was doing her best to restrain herself, Mia needed her.

Charlotte stayed with Mia for hours, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation flowing between the two. Mia fell in and out of sleep a few times, which was to be expected, and Char would occasionally kiss Mia's hand. They were just getting reacquainted with one another and enjoying being in each other's company.

After being awake most of the night, Charlotte had started to doze off slightly too, and Mia noticed. She smiled to herself as she watched Char try to fight the sleep. She knew how stubborn her sweetheart could be at times. Mia squeezed Charlotte's hand to alert her as her head started drooping. "Char, you're exhausted. Go home and get some rest" the redhead instructed lovingly. Charlotte checked her phone quickly, and was surprised when she clocked the time. It was nearly time to pick the girls up from school, she'd been at the hospital all night and almost all day.

"Oh gosh, I'm gonna have to go and pick the girls up from school, I didn't realise it was so late. Mia I'm so sorry!" Charlotte was apologetic, she didn't like the idea of Mia alone in this vulnerable state. Not after they had just started to reconnect. "But they're going to their dad's once he finishes work, so after I've dropped them off I can come straight back."
"Sweetheart, you need to look after yourself as well. You're going to drop the girls off and then go home, okay? Have a sleep, a nice long shower, and something to eat. I'm not going anywhere."

Charlotte didn't protest, she knew Mia was right. She stood up to say goodbye and leaned over to kiss Mia on the forehead. As she did, Mia noticed something that touched her heart. "You're still wearing your necklace" Mia pointed out, emotion thick in her voice.
"Well, you're still wearing yours" Charlotte retaliated playfully as she joined her forehead to Mia's, being ever so delicate as to not worsen any pain she was in.

Charlotte and Mia held that position, cherishing the moment that they both realised that neither one of them fell out of love. Their feelings remained as strong as they had always been. "I love you, Char" Mia whispered. Charlotte's response came delayed. It's not that she had to think about how she felt, it's that she had to protect herself and learn to trust Mia again. "I love you too, Mia, but we have a long way to go, okay?"

The two did have a long way to go, both in Mia's recovery and in rekindling their relationship. Pending her progress and test results, Mia was due be released from hospital after a week. But her expected recovery time could be up to 12 weeks. Charlotte knew she couldn't leave Mia to fend for herself, and she also knew it wasn't feasible to have her at home with her because of the children. She also didn't want to jump back into the relationship at the deep end with unresolved concerns so, Char had some thinking to do. Ultimately, she wanted to be with Mia, no matter how much work it took.