The award for biggest failure of a mother goes to this woman right here. Who would’ve thought? Not me. Not Elodie, but here we are. With two of most important people not wanting to have anything to do with her how was she not a failure? Her husband avoiding her around the house, her daughter leaving… this mess was a result of her own problems she didn’t know how to deal with once figuring out something was wrong. The biggest regret of her entire life getting her… well… here. Lonely but not really alone. Usually locked inside her own bedroom where she was entertaining her baby because she couldn’t face her other two kids. Only leaving to grab food for herself and her daughter, or taking her out on a walk because she needs to be outside. But when that happens they would just… stay out all day. At times she’d even escape to her own parents and spend the whole day there, escaping her problems when she knew that was not what she should be doing but… What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to do that? She wasn’t really known for dealing with her problems, rather trying to escape them. But there was also that one other thing that was constantly on her mind… Divorce. Wasn’t that what Riker wanted? You can’t tell her he didn’t because why else would he try to get the papers? No other reason… So talking to him meant talking about that and… losing him forever. That was something she will never be ready for. Something she never wanted so don’t blame her for acting like a child.
Once again she woke up all alone, turned to the side of the bed that was once occupied by the person who made waking up worth it. Made everything worth it. That morning started as any other morning. New usual, at least. But this time something was a little off. When she went to get Lexie and bring her downstairs to give her food before disappearing into the bedroom or going outside, she could notice her baby girl seemed a little sleepier than usual. Usually Lexie was fully awake by now but Elodie didn’t think much about as she picked her up and smothered her in kisses, just to have her daughter only rest her head against her shoulder and not mumble a single thing. ”I didn’t know we decided not to talk to each other today,“ smiling softly, Elodie placed one last kiss on her daughter’s cheek before walking down to the kitchen when she was sure no one else was there. ”Look what… daddy made… you.“ And once again she found breakfast already prepared, waiting for her…
Then there was a moment when everything seemed… fine again. As fine as things could be now, with everything going on. Lexie seemed happy, she wasn’t eating as much but she looked norm- ”You’re a little warm… Come here,“ things like this happen, Elodie wasn’t that worried but she did carefully pick up her daughter again, a small frown on her own lips. Lexie was just… catching a cold. No need to panic. We’ll just check her temperature, take her to the doctor if really needed but there won’t be need for that… She was fiiiine. Everything was fiiiine. Life was fiiiine. Just fine… Amie was fine. Amie was… standing right there, in front of Elodie. That was not something she was expecting would happen that morning. Was… was Amelia coming back home? Was… What was happening? ”Amie,“ Elodie quietly started, a little shocked to be finally seeing her daughter again after a month but her mind still on the baby in her hands and her well-being. The frown that Elodie had only deepened, her heart breaking a bit more with the realization that she hasn’t seen her daughter in such a long, that she hasn’t talked to her in such a long time and now… she was standing there, ignoring her all over again. ”Amel-“ Elodie once again tried to say something… anything… but the moment she opened her mouth a stranger walked into the house. Who was that now? Was… her daughter with this guy all along? What the hell was happening?
Unfortunately her daughter took that moment to escape and leave her standing there confused with a baby who was obviously not feeling well in front of a complete stranger. At least he was nice enough to explain the situation and hoping Amelia would come back downstairs soon, Elodie stayed in the living room with that Fin person not… knowing what to say or do. It all happened at once so she wasn’t listening to whatever he was saying after he sat down, she didn’t care about that… All she cared about was the baby in her arms and her other daughter that was finally home. Or at least will be home for 5 minutes. ”Are you ready to go or would you rather take my mom on a date to this party… you know what… don’t answer that. Let’s just… get going.“ Finally. Getting up the moment she heard Amelia’s voice and saw her walk by, already heading out, Elodie tried to… talk to her. Stop her for just a second but did she really think that would be easy? What did she even want to say? What was she supposed to say. ”Amelia, come back here,“ let’s just start a little serious. For a short moment, Elodie glanced towards Amie’s friend, hoping he would understand that this was not the place for him and he should wait outside for her daughter… They were heading out anyway… But he didn’t. He did absolutely nothing, he was just standing there, almost amused. Taking in a deep breath as she tightly hugged little Lexie, Elodie continued ”Your friend will drive you back home when you’re done. We have to talk.“
Remember how I said Elodie is a failure? Here is your proof. It seems like things were worse than she thought they were. When Amelia left with her friend, Elodie checked Lexie’s temperature only to find it was incredibly high and her daughter started looking worse and worse. It definitely was time to panic. Grabbing her stuff and car keys as fast as she could, the two of them were soon out and on the road.
Let’s skip the whole panic and too many questions but no answers part of the hospital journey and focus on what was happening now. As soon as Elodie found out what was wrong with Lexie and how serious it actually was, her heart sank. At that moment it didn’t matter that her husband possibly hated her, everything that happened didn’t matter… their daughter was not fine and she needed to call him. She was sure both of them didn’t want this to be the first conversation they would have after a while but that’s not something they could change. It was time to, maybe just for some time, forget everything and focus on this big problem. Sitting in the waiting room with her face buried in the palm of her hands, Elodie couldn’t help but… cry. You’d think she’d have no tears left because crying was all she knew how to do when she was alone these days but you’d be wrong. Everything was just… too fcking much.
Hearing Phoebe’s voice was when she finally looked up, wiping away the tears as she stood up when she noticed the worry on Phoebe’s face. It was not the time to think what Phoebe was thinking about her at this moment because all she wanted to do was to hug someone. Be with someone. With her family… With a shaky voice, Elodie tried to explain what happened, always glancing around to see if the doctor would show up and give her more information… Glancing around to spot Riker. I said this wasn’t the time to worry about what their relationship was like but… she feared that moment as much as she feared what would happen to their daughter. So when Phoebe disappeared Elodie went back to feeling sorry for Lexie, for herself, for everyone she hurt… until she felt someone tightly wrapping their arms around her.
That made her start crying even harder because she knew that embrace better than she knew anything else and she… Missed it so much… So… Much. ”I don’t… know,“ she quietly started, trying to calm herself down… unsuccessfully. For a moment she stayed like that, letting him hold her as she tried to move even closer to him. ”She was… She was fine, Riker… I… I don’t know what… I’m sorry… I should’ve noticed something was wrong before…“ I’m sorry I failed her again. That’s when she pulled back only to once again look around, and once again wipe away her own tears. ”They… They took her somewhere, I don’t… know where. Th… They said there was… something wrong with her lungs or… Uhm… Fck, what did they say?“ Wrapping her arms around herself, Elodie avoided his gaze as best as she could… party because she was still expecting someone to show up and partly because she just… couldn’t look at him. This was her fault. Everything was her fault. ”Pneumonia… That… That’s what they think it is.“