Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 27: Reunited ~

Finally, after a very long 9 minutes and 54 seconds, the phone rang. For the past few minutes, her eyes had not looked away from the white phone for once. With each second that ticked away, a feeling of hope that the next second would be filled with the ringing of the phone.

And now finally, the hollow, silent room filled with loud ringing. Immediately it stopped, and the ringing made way for consultation between the doctor and on the other end of the line the clear voice of a woman. Immediately clear that it was about Viv. Very secretly, without Beth and Katie knowing, the doctor had put the phone on speaker, so that Beth and Katie wouldn't have to sit in fear any longer and could listen in right away.

'Okay, so she's in the ward, but she's still asleep? And her wife can see her?'. A quick exaggerated question from the doctor in between to pull Beth out of her fear. It was clear that the woman's voice could be heard clearly through the phone, even by Beth and Katie. So if Beth could follow the conversation, she would now also know whether or not she could visit her.

'I can answer yes to both questions. She is indeed in the ward and asleep. But her wife is allowed to visit her'. A smile appeared on the doctor's face, an even bigger smile appeared on Katie's face, but the biggest smile appeared on Beth's face. So wide, that her lips almost split apart.

Katie, who was still holding Beth's hand all this time, gently rubbed her thumb over the back of Beth's hand. In response, she felt Beth's grip on her hand tighten. They looked at each other, a look that spoke louder than a thousand words. Their grip on each other's hands loosened and instead their arms wrapped around each other, a firm grip on each other. A hug, the best hug she had ever had with Katie.

'I'm so happy for you Beth'. Katie's voice whispered in her ear. Once again the confirmation that she would actually see Viv soon. She waited impatiently until the conversation between the doctor and the nurse on the other end of the line, who had now been taken off the speaker, was over, who apparently had some medical matters to discuss.

And then finally, silence took its place again and the conversation was over. The phone was back where it had come from, where Beth had been watching it anxiously. Finally the moment would come, now, in a few minutes, she would see Viv again. In a few minutes she would know exactly how Viv was really doing.

'As you have heard, she is in the ward. She's still asleep, but she'll probably wake up in the next hour. You can see her, so the nurse is on her way here now to pick you up.'

A deep breath of relief left Beth's mouth. 'Thank you so much for everything you've done for her. I don't know how to thank you'. A soft giggle left the doctor's mouth. 'I'm just doing my job. I'm glad I was able to do something for you.'

And then, while they were busy talking to the doctor, the door behind them slowly opened and a nurse walked in. Beth and Katie both turned abruptly. Finally, the moment had arrived. 'My name is Laura. You both can come with me'.

They both stood up, Katie and Beth, their hands firmly clasped together again. And off they went, walking behind the nurse, it seemed like it would never end. At every door they came across, the hope that Viv was there, but no. Only when they really came to the very last door, in the corner of the ward, did the nurse stop and turn towards the door.

'Here she is. She has a room of her own, since you can also stay here. She is still asleep now, but she will wake up soon. I will leave you alone for a while. If you need me or if there is something wrong or something you wanna ask, you can ring the bell next to the door.'

And then she walked away, the same path they had just walked to walk to the room. Out of sight, disappeared around the corner, towards an office. Together they stood in front of the closed door. One more door that had to be opened and Beth would get a view of Viv. One more door would open and she would know exactly how things would go with Viv.