Forever Charmed

Take It Slow

It's been a couple weeks since Laura moved back into the coven house. She hasn't heard from Carmilla, and that's probably for the best. Laura had been moping until Perry sat down beside her bed and gently suggested she go back to volunteer at the nursing home to try and get her mind off things.

"Hey, Laura," Natalie greets.

Laura mumbles a reply and continues rummaging through the closet for a spare blanket for one of the residents.

"You okay?"

Laura nods quietly.

Natalie doesn't look convinced but isn't too keen on pushing her so she simply shrugs. "I just wanted to let you know that you can skip Mrs. Simpson's room during your rounds. She's got 24-hour surveillance right now."

Laura raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"When her daughter left after visitation a couple days ago, her daughter-in-law came in from out of town. Afterwards, Mrs. Simpson slipped into a coma. We don't know what's caused it, so we're monitoring her."

"That's weird. She was totally healthy, wasn't she?"

Natalie nods. "We can't get into contact with her daughter or her daughter-in-law."

"I didn't know she had a daughter-in-law," Laura frets.

"Yeah, we didn't, either. Well, she's more of an ex." Natalie shrugs. "The lady said she and Mrs. Simpson's daughter had gotten divorced but they remained on good terms."

Laura's eyes widen before she clears her throat and shakes her head. "Okay, thanks for the heads up about my rounds," she says, before walking away.

She pulls out her phone and dials Danny's number.

"I think there's demonic activity here," she whispers into the phone.

"Again?" Danny chuckles. "Is this nursing home like a hot spot for bad guys, or something?"

Laura groans. "Tell me about it."

"Why do you think there's a demon this time?" Danny asks.

"This resident was perfectly healthy, but after her daughter visited, a daughter-in-law I'd never heard about before dropped by. And then the resident fell into a coma and no one knows what's causing it."

"That does sound weird," Danny admits. There's a pause for a few moments before Danny speaks again. "Well, Hollis... You are more than capable of handling this right now. But if you need help at any time, call us. You can do this."

Laura's smile is so wide it almost splits her face in half. "Thank you, Danny."

"And if you need to talk–– about demons or Ca— anything else, feel free to also call about that." Danny lets that statement sit for a couple seconds, knowing she won't get a reply. "Good luck, short stuff," she says with a chuckle before hanging up.

Laura takes a deep breath, staring down at the screen of her list of favorite contacts. Right above Danny's name is Carmilla's. Her finger hovers above the name before she sighs, locks the phone, and pockets it. Not yet.

She goes to the records room and pulls up Mrs. Simpson's file, dialing the daughter's number. It goes to voicemail, and Laura prepares herself.

"Hello, Miss Simpson. It's Laura from the Styria Elderly Extended Care Facility. I'm calling about your mother."

Laura pauses. She really doesn't want to do this, but if she's right and something beyond science and medicine is afoot, then she'll regret hesitating.