Post by PENELOPE BENNETT on Jul 15, 2016 22:07:04 GMT -6
hold on*
hold onto me. ‘cause i’m a little unsteady, a little unsteady,,
She'd never stared down the barrel of a gun before.
Sure, Penelope had witnessed many things that were difficult to face down sometimes, even if only in her memories. From the death of her father to her mother’s slow descent into madness, every tragedy tossed her family’s way was hard to face down in the moments they crossed her path. But placing herself between a patient and a man with a loaded gun wasn't something she thought she'd ever have to face. She acted purely out of instinct in those moments, and her instincts as both a nurse and a whitelighter screamed to protect, to help, which ended with her taking two bullets in the stomach. Even as she lost consciousness on the floor of the hospital room, every part of her still screamed to get to the patient, to heal him. But she couldn't. All she could do was listen as the man begged for mercy, and she could still remember hearing the final, fatal gunshots before she blacked out entirely. She spent the early hours of the morning stuck in a hospital bed, repeating the story to the officers working the case now that she was considered well enough to move around again.
The man had been a key witness in a case against one of the local gangs, and he'd been under intense security while staying at the hospital. Except for the few moments Nelly was in his room, checking vitals and bringing him his medication. She'd been "in the wrong place at the wrong time," that's what the officers told her, that's what the man's wife told her when she stopped by Nelly's hospital room to talk. That conversation hurt more than the bullet wounds, looking into the eyes of the woman who'd lost someone she placed in the hospital's care, in Nelly's care. Even though the woman said she didn't blame her or anyone else besides the man who shot him, Nelly couldn't rid herself of the guilt. When the visitors for the day seemed to stop, she asked one of the nurses to help her to her mother's room. Luckily enough, it was one of Marissa Bennett's good days, and her eyes were warm when she saw Nelly in her doorway, not even seeming to notice the hospital attire her daughter wore, which she was grateful for. Nelly slowly took a seat at her mother's bedside, and listened to her voice.
"Have I told you about the day I met your father?" she asked, and even though Nelly had heard the story more times than she could count she still shook her head no with a soft smile on her lips. She may have heard the story a hundred times, but she'd gladly listen to it a hundred more. "It was the least graceful of ways to meet the love of your life - I hit the poor man with my car." And her mom laughed a genuine laugh that made Nelly's smile grow - the sound had become so rare since her father's death that she treasured every time she heard it. "Not hard enough to cause any awful damage! But he did end up with some cracked ribs and a broken leg ... Of course, your father is one of the few people in the world who could be hit by a car and apologize to the person who hit him. I drove him to the hospital, stayed with him during the x-rays, while they were putting the cast on. And I kept coming back; I didn't want him stuck in a hospital alone, especially after I put him there." Her mother's eyes became sad for a moment. "He hasn't come to visit me in a few days. I miss him terribly ... If you see him, would you tell him to come by when he gets the chance?" Nelly bit her lip as she gently took her mom's hand, forcing a tiny smile and nodding, telling her she would.
That was another normal part of their conversations. Some days her mother remembered the loss, some days she didn't, and the doctors told her and Lucas to take whatever reactions their mother had in stride, and that if she became violent to leave and try again the next day. That day, though, the visit went smoothly. Nelly held her mom's hand as she told her more stories, from the first date she had with her father to stories about how he was with her and Lucas. Her mother talked until she could barely keep her eyes open, and after telling her she loved her and that she'd come back the next day, Nelly left to let her sleep. She wasn't sure where to go from there - she didn't want to go back to just laying in bed. Had she been working she could have made her rounds through her patients, but she wasn't exactly in any state to do that now. So instead she found herself making her way out into the hospital's gardens, biting back a wince as she slowly sat down on one of the stone benches and looking up at the now night sky.
Normally she'd be taking her break at that point in her shift, and her breaks lately had been spent visiting one patient in particular. Originally, Nelly started spending so much time with Thompson Simmons when she noticed that there weren't really many others coming by. She didn't want him to be alone. After awhile, though, she could feel something more developing there, something stronger. She genuinely liked spending time with him - he brought out her smiles more easily than most, and she found that she liked seeing his smile even more. She'd debated stopping by his room, but after spending so much time with the police and then her mother, she wasn't sure if it was too late to. So she settled for sitting out in the hospital's gardens, wrapped in a blanket as she looked up at the stars.
The night sky reminded her of her dad, reminded her of all the times he'd take her and Lucas outside well past their bedtimes to teach them the stories of the different constellations. She tried to picture those moments in her head, tried to imagine she could hear him as her eyes searched for the ones she could remember, letting herself find some comfort in the memories.
tagged: THOMPSON SIMMONS // lyrics: x ambassadors // notes:
Sure, Penelope had witnessed many things that were difficult to face down sometimes, even if only in her memories. From the death of her father to her mother’s slow descent into madness, every tragedy tossed her family’s way was hard to face down in the moments they crossed her path. But placing herself between a patient and a man with a loaded gun wasn't something she thought she'd ever have to face. She acted purely out of instinct in those moments, and her instincts as both a nurse and a whitelighter screamed to protect, to help, which ended with her taking two bullets in the stomach. Even as she lost consciousness on the floor of the hospital room, every part of her still screamed to get to the patient, to heal him. But she couldn't. All she could do was listen as the man begged for mercy, and she could still remember hearing the final, fatal gunshots before she blacked out entirely. She spent the early hours of the morning stuck in a hospital bed, repeating the story to the officers working the case now that she was considered well enough to move around again.
The man had been a key witness in a case against one of the local gangs, and he'd been under intense security while staying at the hospital. Except for the few moments Nelly was in his room, checking vitals and bringing him his medication. She'd been "in the wrong place at the wrong time," that's what the officers told her, that's what the man's wife told her when she stopped by Nelly's hospital room to talk. That conversation hurt more than the bullet wounds, looking into the eyes of the woman who'd lost someone she placed in the hospital's care, in Nelly's care. Even though the woman said she didn't blame her or anyone else besides the man who shot him, Nelly couldn't rid herself of the guilt. When the visitors for the day seemed to stop, she asked one of the nurses to help her to her mother's room. Luckily enough, it was one of Marissa Bennett's good days, and her eyes were warm when she saw Nelly in her doorway, not even seeming to notice the hospital attire her daughter wore, which she was grateful for. Nelly slowly took a seat at her mother's bedside, and listened to her voice.
"Have I told you about the day I met your father?" she asked, and even though Nelly had heard the story more times than she could count she still shook her head no with a soft smile on her lips. She may have heard the story a hundred times, but she'd gladly listen to it a hundred more. "It was the least graceful of ways to meet the love of your life - I hit the poor man with my car." And her mom laughed a genuine laugh that made Nelly's smile grow - the sound had become so rare since her father's death that she treasured every time she heard it. "Not hard enough to cause any awful damage! But he did end up with some cracked ribs and a broken leg ... Of course, your father is one of the few people in the world who could be hit by a car and apologize to the person who hit him. I drove him to the hospital, stayed with him during the x-rays, while they were putting the cast on. And I kept coming back; I didn't want him stuck in a hospital alone, especially after I put him there." Her mother's eyes became sad for a moment. "He hasn't come to visit me in a few days. I miss him terribly ... If you see him, would you tell him to come by when he gets the chance?" Nelly bit her lip as she gently took her mom's hand, forcing a tiny smile and nodding, telling her she would.
That was another normal part of their conversations. Some days her mother remembered the loss, some days she didn't, and the doctors told her and Lucas to take whatever reactions their mother had in stride, and that if she became violent to leave and try again the next day. That day, though, the visit went smoothly. Nelly held her mom's hand as she told her more stories, from the first date she had with her father to stories about how he was with her and Lucas. Her mother talked until she could barely keep her eyes open, and after telling her she loved her and that she'd come back the next day, Nelly left to let her sleep. She wasn't sure where to go from there - she didn't want to go back to just laying in bed. Had she been working she could have made her rounds through her patients, but she wasn't exactly in any state to do that now. So instead she found herself making her way out into the hospital's gardens, biting back a wince as she slowly sat down on one of the stone benches and looking up at the now night sky.
Normally she'd be taking her break at that point in her shift, and her breaks lately had been spent visiting one patient in particular. Originally, Nelly started spending so much time with Thompson Simmons when she noticed that there weren't really many others coming by. She didn't want him to be alone. After awhile, though, she could feel something more developing there, something stronger. She genuinely liked spending time with him - he brought out her smiles more easily than most, and she found that she liked seeing his smile even more. She'd debated stopping by his room, but after spending so much time with the police and then her mother, she wasn't sure if it was too late to. So she settled for sitting out in the hospital's gardens, wrapped in a blanket as she looked up at the stars.
The night sky reminded her of her dad, reminded her of all the times he'd take her and Lucas outside well past their bedtimes to teach them the stories of the different constellations. She tried to picture those moments in her head, tried to imagine she could hear him as her eyes searched for the ones she could remember, letting herself find some comfort in the memories.
tagged: THOMPSON SIMMONS // lyrics: x ambassadors // notes:
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