GL - A FEW DAYS AWAY - Chapter 26
TITLE: A Few Days Away
FANDOM: Guiding Light
PAIRING: Otalia
SUMMARY: Set mid-friendship, this is a hurt/comfort piece as I'm a hurt/comfort junkie. Olivia, Natalia and Emma decide to have a few days away...hopefully more interesting than the summary suggests. Please request before archiving.
RATING: PG for mild violence
Author's note: This is my first ever attempt at fanfic so I'm having to gather a lot of nerve to post it. With very deep thanks to my Canadian Buddy, Critic2000, who beta'd and prodded for this story to see a conclusion and provided insightful and useful comments throughout. I know most of Europe loves her for providing us with Otalia clips as soon as possible but to me, she's my very dear friend. (Course, the clips help ;o))
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Apologies if this isn't everyone's cup of tea but huge thanks again for those that are sticking with it, even if it's not going in the direction most probably hope or want it to go... but I have stated it's a hurt/comfort piece and it will remain in that vein throughout - you have been warned ;o)
Thank you for your continued interest, I know there is a lot of very good fic out there so I'm touched when you stop by to read mine. You've all been very kind - huge thanks
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own Guiding Light or any of the characters.
For those still interested...
( Chapter 1 ) ( Chapter 3 ) ( Chapters 4 & 5 ) ( Chapter 6 ) ( Chapter 7 ) ( Chapter 8 ) ( Chapter 9 ) ( Chapter 10 ) ( Chapter 11 ) ( Chapter 12 ) ( Chapter 13 ) ( Chapter 14 ) ( Chapter 15 ) ( Chapter 16 ) ( Chapter 17 ) ( Chapter 18 ) ( Chapter 19 ) ( Chapter 20 ) ( Chapter 21 ) ( Chapter 22 ) ( Chapter 23 ) ( Chapter 24 ) ( Chapter 25 )
Chapter 26
Her reactions impeded by her ankle, Natalia manoeuvred as quickly as she was capable to reach the fallen woman. Still shocked by what had just happened, Natalia struggled to keep her focus in the moment and not be transported back to that awful day outside of Company when Olivia had for all intents and purposes died.
But that didn’t happen and that’s not what’s happening now.
Lowering herself next to her very still friend, Natalia pushed back the mass of hair obscuring Olivia’s face and tenderly turned her, unsure whether to roll her fully onto her back or maintain a recovery position.
“Olivia?”
‘Face is pale, raise the tail; Face is red, raise the head’, was singing through her mind and noting Olivia’s current complexion, decided to turn her completely onto her back before removing her own jacket and placing it under Olivia’s head, comfort being her first consideration, she would work out how to elevate her legs momentarily.
Still breathing, thank you God.
Concern number one checked off, she moved on to feel for Olivia’s pulse. Knowing that the carotid artery at her throat was one of the simplest places to check for a pulse, Natalia chose to lay her hand over Olivia’s heart instead, then desperately needing more reassurance, she gave in and pressed her ear against Olivia’s chest, heartened by the rhythmic, thump-thump, thump-thump.
Sitting back up and cupping Olivia’s chin with one hand while stroking her hair back with the other Natalia tried, “Olivia? Can you hear me?”
When no reaction was forthcoming and Olivia remained unresponsive, Natalia turned her attention to the blood she was sure she had seen earlier.
How could I not have seen this?
Somehow, Olivia’s shoulder wound had split open and if possible, torn. Even though it was not a major artery or vein that had been nicked, the wound had maintained a steady trickle, resulting in the stain of blood now evident down one side of Olivia’s body and pooled into a dark patch near the top of her jeans.
Her heart medicine, she reasoned. It acted like a blood thinner. But, when...? Oh, no...when she helped me up, she must’ve done it then but, that was well over an hour ago and I’ve been leaning on her ever since...argh...that woman is so infuriating. Why didn’t she say anything?
But Natalia knew why.
Because of me wasn’t it? She regarded the woman, still passed out on the ground beside her, part angry and part amazed at how selflessly she continued to do the unexpected. How many people would believe the real Olivia Spencer, the woman that Natalia had come to know and...
Olivia was stirring.
“Olivia honey, you need to stay still for a moment okay?”
Figuring turnabout was fair play; Natalia grabbed the hem of her own shirt and pulled some strips from it. Wadding up whatever they had left of the tissues, she packed it onto the shoulder wound and then attempted to bind them in place.
Olivia was coming round now, head lifting as she asked, “Wha..? What happened?”
“Sh...take it easy, you fainted.”
“I fainted?”
She was trying to sit up, using both elbows to lever herself but when her shoulder protested, she winced and rolled over as if to protect it.
“Hey, you’ve done a pretty good number on your shoulder.”
Eyes displaying hurt looked at her and Natalia melted. “When are you going to learn that you can’t go around messing with your health?”
“Please Natalia, I fainted okay?” Olivia looked away and made to sit up again.
Angry now at the blasé way Olivia wanted to brush this off and move on, partly motivated by her own fear of seeing Olivia drop lifelessly before her, Natalia responded, “Yes, you did faint and no, it’s not okay.”
They looked at each other again. “You knew Olivia. You must’ve known.”
“Knew what?”
“You knew you were hurt, the same as you knew you had to get your heart looked at but you always managed to find something more important to do, somewhere you needed to be, something to organise and arrange. What is it? Do you think you’re indestructible? Or do you think it doesn’t matter? The way you hide it, this weakness, this fear of being seen to be weak. Well don’t you get it? Nothing is more important than your health Olivia, nothing. You have people who care about you, people who depend on you and people who love you.”
Olivia looked at her; her eyes were brimming with tears and assuming a physically defensive posture as if to ward off Natalia’s unexpected attack.
“I had things I had to take care of,” came Olivia’s meek reply. A hand raised to press at her brow before pinching the bridge of her nose. “Can we not do this now? You say people care about my wellbeing, well right now it sucks. I have a killer headache and I would give anything to be resting somewhere, anywhere, I’d even take here if it meant I could just be still for a moment. But that’s not going to happen is it? We still have to get back and your ankle isn’t going to miraculously heal so, can we just not do this right now?”
A pause, a standoff and then Natalia’s sympathetic nature gained the upper hand and acquiescing for the moment, she positioned herself to offer support in carefully helping Olivia up.
Attaining an almost upright stance, Olivia swayed again and with an accompanying, “Whoa,” put her hand back to Natalia’s shoulder to lower herself quickly back down.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Natalia queried.
“Lightheaded.” Olivia moved to put her head between her legs, groaning slightly at the pull on her body to achieve such a position.
Natalia put her arm around her and began rubbing circles on her back. “You know what might help with that?”
Olivia turned her head slightly to see the suddenly impish look on Natalia’s face, “No, what?”
“Snacks.”
***
A droning noise.
What is that?
As Olivia’s mind went in search of an answer, new information presented itself. Another sound, outdoors? Where on earth am I?
Her mind, not quite ready to deal with the later questions, had apparently found an answer to the first. Ugh, the sound of my blood, running back into my brain. What happened?
She started to swim up towards consciousness but someone was telling her to stay still, at least she thought it was her, Honey?
Another sensation, her shoulder, something was happening to it. She was sure it had been numb but now it felt like it was being smothered and strangely held together. Curious now, she pushed to the surface and queried, “Wha..? What happened?”
“Sh...take it easy, you fainted.”
She’d fainted?
Needing to sit up, she pushed with her elbows, only to have her shoulder send up a red alert. In an effort to hug and protect the offending area she curled in on herself, totally in agreement with Natalia’s statement, she had done a number on her shoulder.
“When are you going to learn that you can’t go around messing with your health?”
Trying to avoid getting into another discussion on how she regarded her health and to put some perspective on it to get them back on track Olivia said, “Please Natalia, I fainted okay?”
Wrong thing to say, Natalia sounded angry.
“You knew Olivia. You must’ve known.”
Perplexed, Olivia replied, “Knew what?”
Natalia’s lecture left Olivia feeling battered.
An echo flashing across her memory of another time, another berating, “You are a whiny little bratty baby having a tantrum. You’re worse. You’re the most disgustingly selfish person I know.”
“Then you won’t miss me when I’m gone. Now leave!”
Trying to dispel the hurt she had felt and her childish response, a reasoned part of her could understand her friend’s dismay and if she thought about it, could liken it to her mother’s behaviour, trying to protect her from herself.
“I had things I had to take care of,” she offered, even as she said it doubting the validity of her words.
What was it her mother had once said, ‘you have one rule for the rest of the world and another rule for yourself,’ but it appeared she was being called on those rules now and every word hurled at her had her flinching away at their truth and honesty.
It was becoming increasingly difficult not to fold under the weight of such dedicated caring; so she decided to be honest and detailed how she felt at this precise moment, begging off on any further discussion for the time being as she really wanted to get going.
Natalia, even though not practical in application due to her ankle, showed her generosity of spirit and tried to assist Olivia in standing as best she could.
Spots floated before her eyes as she stood, “Whoa,” little too soon for standing then, she surmised and reached back to lean on Natalia’s shoulder to resume her place on the ground.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Lightheaded.” She answered and placed her head between her knees, the movement making her groan.
She felt a hand on her back, soothing circles.
“You know what might help with that?”
Olivia had no idea, the hand on her back was certainly helping but she turned her face to look at Natalia, sure she was going to regret asking by virtue of the dimpled playful look on Natalia’s face, “No, what?”
“Snacks.”
TBC...