BETHANY

10

Beth's Hospital Room

Weeks passed and Quinn never left Beth's room. She slept there, she ate there, she used the bathroom reserved for the patients and she never even set foot into the corridor.

She talked to Beth relentlessly, she told her everything and some of the stories that she seemed to like the most she told them twice or three times. She showed her so many pictures and articles about the family that she had lost count. She told Max to bring her chocolate coins and biscuits and sweets and all the things she wanted. Beth seemed to like bubbles most of all and she kept blowing them and trying to catch them as they floated around her bed. Then she laughed and Quinn cried again at that beautiful sound that she had never forgotten. And then she found the pack of cards Max brought and looked at them over and over again.

Quinn brushed her hair and braided it, she taught Beth how to play snap, she sang her lullabies in the evening. She showed her more pictures and more articles about her Father and she held her hand when the doctors were visiting her or checking her healing back or her little, pale face.

And one after the other, the members of the family were admitted to see her for the first time. Quinn told her everything about them.

Chloe and Kieran were first and Beth greeted Chloe with a large hug, remembering the kind girl who told her she was Beth. She kept smiling and blushing as they told her what she used to do when she was little. How eager she was on Christmas morning when she wanted to open her presents, how much she liked to dance with her parents, how loud she was when she laughed.

Her grandparents were the second people to who she was introduced. Grandma Carly cried the whole time. So much so that she had to lie down on Quinn's makeshift bed as she repeated, "it was all my fault," over and over again, touching her chest with her palm. Seeing this, Beth lay down next to her, kissed her softly on the cheek and reassured her it was not her fault.

Aunt Danielle and Uncle Mark talked to her for hours. Mark tried to joke and make her laugh and Quinn was genuinely happy when she managed to do so. Danielle brought her some books, because Max had told her that she loved to read.

Then there were April and Felix and Cherri and Tony and Alison and Mia and Cassandra and Abigail. Also Lucy and Olivia and Daniel and Matthew and Henry and even Great-Aunt Marie came and she told Beth why she had been given her name.

Bella sat with her for hours the first afternoon that she arrived from Highleaf Academy. It had taken her days to finally go and see her and Quinn couldn't help noticing how scared and nervous she looked.

"Auntie Quinn told me that you like to read," she had said, her voice thick with emotion as she tried hard not to cry. "I like to read too..." She took out a book from her bag and opened it. "When you were small like a little shrimp and couldn't read, I used to read to you," she continued, smiling shyly and swallowing hard. "Do you want me to?"

Beth turned to look at Quinn, who was sitting on a chair in a corner. "Oh, yes," she said, "Mother can she read to me?"

Quinn smiled at her. "Of course," she replied softly, "but Beth, darling, I told you, call me Mum...or Mummy..."

Beth nodded but somehow that name wouldn't stick with her. "Yes," she said turning to Bella. "Can you read to me Bella?"

Bella started to read from the book that she had brought. Cinderella, a fairytale from Danielle's library. And when her voice started to get raw, Beth offered to read to her and they finished the whole volume in one afternoon.

Then they talked and they talked and Bella admitted that she had always been her favourite cousin and not to tell any of the others. And Beth laughed and solemnly swore, just like Uncle Mark had showed her.