Fic: Spilled Water
Title: Spilled Water [ INDEX]
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Chapel (mentions of Max, Isabelle, and the twins)
Rating: PG
Summary: Chapel finds her breaking point
Warning: at the hospital, following the reunion *Written for Weekly Quick Fic #3 at writerverse. Prompt: Water Bottle, Percussive Maintenance, and "People's minds, particularly the minds of children, are like wells- deep wells full of sweet water. And sometimes when a particular thought is too unpleasant to bear, the person who has that thought will lock it into a heavy box and throw it into that well. He listens for the splash… and then the box is gone. Except it is not, of course. Not really." ("The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King)
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
Chapel moved into the empty break room and closed the door. She hadn't wanted to leave Max and Isabelle, but she needed to get out of that exam room as fast as possible. Using the excuse of getting Max something to drink, she had to fight to keep calm before leaving the room.
She moved over to the water cooler and reached for a cup, but instead of filling the cup, her face twisted and she reached up to smack the bottle. All of a sudden, the overwhelming emotions bubbled to the surface and Chapel started using the large bottle as a punching bag.
As the bottle finally toppled over, water pouring out all over the floor of the break room, Chapel stumbled back and fell into one of the chairs. Leaning forward, she covered her face and leaned into her knees, sobbing.
It wasn't enough that the children had been taken; but to get the hourly reports from the ship's medical team, and then to see them, in person...
It was just too much.
The twins were sore and lethargic, but they seemed to be otherwise content. Chapel thanked Ozma that they were young enough to probably never remember what had happened.
Max, though...
He was old enough to remember. He had already dealt with so much, and to see the bruises on his arms... That anyone in the universe had the nerve to put their hands on her Godson...
Chapel sucked in a deep breath and sat up. She needed to keep up appearances, if only for Max. She couldn't let him see her break down, because she knew how much the little boy trusted her.
She needed to be strong for him.
Forcing herself up, Chapel moved to pick up the water bottle and cupped some of the water into her hands, then splashed her face. With another breath, she lifted the now half-empty bottle and returned it to the stand.
Chapel moved over to the fridge and pulled out two juice boxes, and slipped one into each of the pockets in her coat.
As she stepped back into the hallway, Chapel waved to one of the nurses at the desk and told them about the spilled water, so they could call for a cleaning crew. She returned to the exam room Max and his grandmother had been left in and, before knocking - so that they would know it was her - Chapel took another breath and plastered a smile on her face.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Chapel (mentions of Max, Isabelle, and the twins)
Rating: PG
Summary: Chapel finds her breaking point
Warning: at the hospital, following the reunion *Written for Weekly Quick Fic #3 at writerverse. Prompt: Water Bottle, Percussive Maintenance, and "People's minds, particularly the minds of children, are like wells- deep wells full of sweet water. And sometimes when a particular thought is too unpleasant to bear, the person who has that thought will lock it into a heavy box and throw it into that well. He listens for the splash… and then the box is gone. Except it is not, of course. Not really." ("The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King)
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
Chapel moved into the empty break room and closed the door. She hadn't wanted to leave Max and Isabelle, but she needed to get out of that exam room as fast as possible. Using the excuse of getting Max something to drink, she had to fight to keep calm before leaving the room.
She moved over to the water cooler and reached for a cup, but instead of filling the cup, her face twisted and she reached up to smack the bottle. All of a sudden, the overwhelming emotions bubbled to the surface and Chapel started using the large bottle as a punching bag.
As the bottle finally toppled over, water pouring out all over the floor of the break room, Chapel stumbled back and fell into one of the chairs. Leaning forward, she covered her face and leaned into her knees, sobbing.
It wasn't enough that the children had been taken; but to get the hourly reports from the ship's medical team, and then to see them, in person...
It was just too much.
The twins were sore and lethargic, but they seemed to be otherwise content. Chapel thanked Ozma that they were young enough to probably never remember what had happened.
Max, though...
He was old enough to remember. He had already dealt with so much, and to see the bruises on his arms... That anyone in the universe had the nerve to put their hands on her Godson...
Chapel sucked in a deep breath and sat up. She needed to keep up appearances, if only for Max. She couldn't let him see her break down, because she knew how much the little boy trusted her.
She needed to be strong for him.
Forcing herself up, Chapel moved to pick up the water bottle and cupped some of the water into her hands, then splashed her face. With another breath, she lifted the now half-empty bottle and returned it to the stand.
Chapel moved over to the fridge and pulled out two juice boxes, and slipped one into each of the pockets in her coat.
As she stepped back into the hallway, Chapel waved to one of the nurses at the desk and told them about the spilled water, so they could call for a cleaning crew. She returned to the exam room Max and his grandmother had been left in and, before knocking - so that they would know it was her - Chapel took another breath and plastered a smile on her face.