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Vivian's New Start
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by
Raina-J.
(new)
Aug 19, 2013 09:12PM
***END OF SCENE***
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Bridget was there when Vivian woke up the next morning and because her mistress awoke with a soft cry of pain, Bridget had given her one of the little pills Master Bertrand had told her to give. Then she helped her sit up and have some lukewarm tea and a bit of toast, making sure Miss VIvian had all of it before she changed everything, sponged Miss Vivian down, and got her into a fresh shift and bandages.Then Bridget went down to the little blue room and knocked before opening the door to stick her head in. "She's awake, sir," she said quietly.
Joeri looked up from the book the book in his lap, having given up on the ruse of sleep and spent the whole night reading. Nodding to Bridget, he rose from his seat. "Is she all right?" he asked, his voice low.
"She's quiet, but she looks alright," Bridget said. "I...I think you should go up and see her anyway," she added hastily.
Running a hand through his hair, he gave another nod. "Thank you, Bridget. I'll go see her, then," Joeri replied.
Vivian's head was bent as she stared down at her hands folded on her lap. Shakespeare was lying at the foot of her bed with his head and paws across her shins, and Vivian felt very cold and empty inside.
He knocked on the door frame before stepping inside her room, more as a precaution than asking for permission. Pausing at the sight of her, Joeri turned his gaze away, looking down. "Bert's coming soon enough," he said into the silence.
"What happened to me?" Vivian asked quietly.
"You had a miscarriage," he told her gently, not bothering to dodge around the matter. "Apparently you were around two months along," he added.
Vivian's throat constricted and she wrapped her arms around herself."I...what?" she croaked. She shook her head vehemently, her red-gold curls bouncing. "That's impossible. I...I've been...I took care of things..."
Joeri shrugged, his gaze still not meeting hers. "I guess that was what Bert meant about a bad batch of tonic," he commented. "But I guess this explains a lot of things going on in the past couple of months."
Vivian glanced up at Joeri and saw he wasn't looking at her, and she looked back down, her head bent and her curls hiding her face."I'm sorry," she said.
He shook his head and came to kneel at her bedside, looking up at her. "No. You shouldn't have to be the one to apologize," Joeri replied, attempting to smile.
Vivian buried her face in her hands and said nothing for a long time. Her head was swimming and hazy from emotion and pain and whatever Bert had given her. Her shoulders shook a little and she said in a muffled voice, "Everything's a mess."
Unable to stand by any longer, Joeri moved to sit next to her on her bed and put an arm around her shoulders. "I know. I'm sorry," he said, unsure what else he could say to comfort her.
Vivian made herself small in Joeri's arms and cried quietly for a short while as what Bert had said last night hit her again. "Did he...did Bert say he'd come back?" Vivian asked, hiccuping.
He nodded and pressed his cheek on top of her head. "Yes. He's coming back with another physician, just in case to make sure you're all right," Joeri told her.
"I'm sorry," Vivian said again, leaning against Joeri and tucking her head under his chin. "This...this wasn't the kind of homecoming I wanted to give you."
"Ah, well, it's the coming home part that matters, right?" Joeri embraced her a little more tightly. "I'm just glad to be able to be here for you."
Vivian pulled away and tried to smile brightly before settling back down on her pillows and pushing her curls off her face. Shakespeare jumped off the bed and curled up on his round cushion after turning three times, and Vivian smiled a bit. "That's new, Shakespeare," she remarked.
Joeri gave a soft laugh, and used his free hand to try to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. "I would say for a dog, that's normal."
"He's never done that before," Vivian clarified. She looked up at Joeri and noticed how tired he looked, and she felt a pang of guilt. "You didn't sleep last night at all." It was a statement, not a question.
"No, I didn't," he confirmed, smiling down at her. His hair was disheveled and some of it flopped over his forehead. His blue eyes still had a little in brightness in them, though, despite the shadows underneath them. "You sure know how to create a scare."
Vivian's green eyes flashed briefly with guilt at his last statement and she let her hair fall back over her face to over it.
He sighed, inwardly cursing himself for trying to be light. "Sorry," Joeri murmured. He gave her a small squeeze, then started to pull away. "I'm sure Bert will be coming soon and you want to be alone with him," he added.
"We...we have some things we need to talk about," Vivian said quietly, biting her lip and staring up at the ceiling through the hair falling across her face. "But...well...while it's him and the other doctor, could you be here? Please?"
Pausing, Joeri nodded. "Of course. I'll be here as long as you need me," he replied.
Vivian vaguely remembered waking up in a drug-induced haze and perhaps even pushing Joeri away the night before, and she sighed heavily. "Thank you." She reached out blindly with her real hand to grasp his, clutching at air until she latched on, and gave his a squeeze.
Joeri gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand back. "You're welcome," he said softly. "Now, I'm sure Bert gave me orders to let you rest, so shall I leave you in peace?"
"You can stay if you want," Vivian replied. "I...I'd actually prefer that. I've missed dozing off next to you."
Bending over to take off his boots, Joeri said with a grin, "Glad I make a good pillow." Then he moved to lie sitting up next to her. "But I miss the dozing off as well," he added.
Vivian leaned against his shoulder, still quite tired and achy but at least feeling a bit better that he was next to her. "Of course, I missed you for everything you are, too," she told Joeri softly, resting her arm across his chest and shutting her eyes.
"I missed you, too, Vivian," he whispered back, his own tiredness getting to him. Joeri let his eyes close and finally succumbed to the sleep that had eluded.
Bert and one of his fellow doctors, Phineas Fairburn, had arrived in the late morning to check up on Vivian, and once his examination had been done in private, Fairburn called everyone back in and assured them that Bert's diagnosis of Vivian's condition and his subsequent prognosis had been correct."You need to gain back some weight, and you need it keep it on for some time afterwards before you're anywhere near fit to think about having children," he told Vivian sternly, but his face was kind and his eyes gentle. "No more skipping meals, is that clear? And make sure to keep yourself as calm and as relaxed and stress-free as you can."
Vivian nodded solemnly, and once Fairburn had left with Bridget and Joeri, she looked up at Bert. He was standing on the other side of the bed, his head inclined slightly and his hands in his pockets.
"I"m sorry, Bert," she said, her voice wavering slightly.
He looked up, his blue eyes sad and pleading. "No. No, I'm...I'm to blame too." Bert sat down on the empty space next to Vivian and opened one arm to her, and sighed with relief when she moved nearer and tucked herself into his side hug.
"I reacted badly. Impulsively," he said. "I should not have been so quick to judge."
"I gave you a good reason to be hard on me," Vivan countered, wrapping her arms around Bert's torso. "You did what you thought was best for your family, and I'm sorry for giving you a reason to have to choose."
Bert put his other arm around her and squeezed her tightly, pressing his face into her soft, fiery curls. "I'm not going anywhere anymore, alright? I promise." His voice caught and he said in a strained tone, "You...you will always be my little sister. Don't forget that."
Vivian sniffled and turned her face to bury it in Bert's shirt. "Even though..." She couldn't say it and she cried.
"Yes. Even though." Bert held her tight as she sobbed quietly. "Oh, God, Vivvie. Don't scare me like that again, alright? Please promise you'll take better care of yourself."
"I promise, Bert," Vivian said, her voice muffled and tearful. "I promise."
They fell silent after that for a long time, clutching each other tightly. Vivian's sobs were audible and shook her thin body; Bert's were silent and he did not move. Vivian still needed him, and Bert still needed her. She was the only sister he had worth calling a sister, despite everything, and he hated himself for needing something so awful and drastic to happen before realising it.
As for Vivian, for the first time since the night of their falling out, she felt safe. She felt protected. And now that both Joeri and Bert were back, maybe she could sleep well again at night.
"Do...do Ben and Amelia know?" she asked Bert when her tears had subsided.
"Not yet. I...I wanted to tell them once you were fully out of danger."
"Can...can they come visit? And the boys too?"
Bert kissed the top of Vivian's head. "Of course. We will all come visit with you until you're better," he pledged.
"I'm sorry for being such a bother."
"I"m sorry for being such a brother." It was their little joke, one that had started in childhood and only came up when hatchets had been buried between them.
Vivian laughed a bit and pulled away to give her oldest brother a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for saving me."
"You know I always will." Bert kissed her forehead in return, then pulled her back to hug his little sister tightly.
***END OF SCENE***
While Joeri waited to speak to Vivian again, he flipped absently through books in the the blue room, idly wondering what the two were talking about. He hoped that they'd be able to forgive each other and see each other once more. After he heard Bert leave Vivian's room, he went upstairs and Joeri knocked on Vivian's door and waited.
"Come in," Vivian called, patting the bed for Shakespeare, who was more than delighted to jump up and snuggle with his mummy.
He slipped through the doorway and closed the door behind him with a click. Smiling at the sight of Shakespeare, Joeri walked closer to her bedside. "So, are you able to see your nephews again?" he asked cautiously.
Vivian shook the scruff of Shakespeare's neck and looked up at Joeri with a radiant smile. "Yes," she replied happily.
"Wonderful," Joeri said with a smile. He moved to sit on the edge of her bed and reached out to run his hand along Shakespeare's back. "I'm glad you two have been able to make up."
Vivian nodded. "I am too."She gave Joeri another smile. "I'll be able to go riding again soon," she said. "I was thinking...maybe we can go to this place I know in the countryside? We can rent a cottage for a few days and just...enjoy it?"
"Sounds like a wonderful plan." Joeri glanced over at her and grinned. After his doze, he looked more alert and his blue eyes were bright. "A cottage, a few books, and you. Plus we need a break from everything."
"And Shakespeare," Vivian added, jokingly putting on a shocked expression that he'd forgotten the dog. At the sound of his name, the bullmastiff barked once and nuzzled Vivian's leg through the covers.
"Of course. Yes, Shakespeare, you'll come along too," Joeri said, laughing at his mistake and massaged the dog's back.
Vivian scratched the middle of Shakespeare's forehead. He pawed at her lap and whined a bit. "I think he wants one of his rags," Vivian laughed. "There should be one somewhere around his cushion?"
Joeri looked over and spotted an end of a rag sticking out from beneath the cushion. He rose to his feet and crossed the room, bending down to pick it up. Then, casually, he tossed onto Vivian's bed, the rag landing not too far away from Shakespeare's nose. "There you go," he said, as he went back to his spot on the edge of the bed.
Shakespeare pawed the rag closer and began to worry away at it, and Vivian shook her head, laughing as her flaming ringlets bounced around her face. "He's such a silly thing...still thinks he's just a pup."Vivian looked at Joeri after a moment and reached out her real hand to hold his.
"Dr Fairburn seems optimistic," she said.
His fingers grasped her hand tighter, squeezing her hand gently. "Optimistic is good," he said with a small smile. "And you'll soon be to your normal self, right?"
"Yes. Sooner rather than later, I expect, now that you're home," Vivian promised.
He took her hand and brought to his lips, kissing the back of her hand and then moving on to the tips of her fingers. "That's wonderful to hear," Joeri said with a grin.
