A/N: I haven't had any requests, but I have had a bit of the writing bug and wanted to make a sort of continuation to "I'm Here". However, if you haven't read that story, this can act as a standalone one-shot. I really got in my feels writing this and I sort of feel like I maybe wrote it for myself more than anyone else. Oops. Either way, I hope you all enjoy it!
Closing the door to your room behind you, you finally let out the breath you seemed to be holding in.
This is too much. There is too much going on.
Your mind seemed to race, each thought whizzing past just as another would come to fruition. With all that was going on, could you blame it? It seemed that everyone around you in your family was sick. Someone had to take care of them. Take care of the house. Take care of the fights because no one needs to stress. Right now, the stress was piling up. So much so that you hadn't even noticed that you'd sunk to the floor, small tear tracks forming on your cheeks.
"I can't do this..." you began in a whisper, wiping your cheeks with the palm of your hand. "I can't do this anymore...this is too much..."
Just then, a slight knocking noise came from the other side of your room. You look up to see the Reba poster that adored your wall for the longest now. Letting out a scoff, you shook your head and then stood up.
"No one can help me now. Not even you." you spoke to the poster with a sneer. Making your way to your bathroom, you turned on the sink and cupped your hands underneath the cold water. You took the water that accumulated and splashed it on your face, trying to wash your thoughts away. Blindly reaching for your towel, you couldn't find it.
"Here." a female voice spoke and you felt your towel hanging next to your arm.
Your eyes fly open in shock just before your jaw has time to drop.
Reba. She's back.
It's not long before your facial expression turns to one of anger as you take the towel.
"Now you decide to show up...?" you asked, a bitter tone to your voice as your dried your face. Pushing past her, you walk into your room to inspect the poster on your wall. Sure enough, her image was gone. She'd come through again. Just like the last time. The only difference was that you were older now and had gone through a lot since then.
"You know I've always been here. I've always told ya that." Reba replied, her voice filling your room.
"No, you really haven't." you shot back, turning around to face her. "If you had then I wouldn't exactly be here then, would I?"
"I can't intervene all the time. I do want you to have your own life."
"See that's the problem. I don't have a life. I don't do anything and I never go anywhere unless it's needed." you rebutted quickly.
Reba sighed and took a few steps closer to you.
You took a few steps back.
"This isn't like you. You know that." Reba spoke softly.
"You said you would always be there for me. You weren't. You haven't been there."
"Sweetheart, you just couldn't see me." she explained calmly.
"I see you everywhere!" you yelled at her, fists clenching. "You're in the news, on social media-...you're everywhere but where you said you'd be!"
"I-..."
"No! Don't you dare try to make an excuse!!" you yelled again, pointing your finger towards her as your tone grew louder. "Do you know what it's like to feel like you're constantly drowning?! To feel like you're so alone?! You can't fix that! You can't fix any of this!"
Your knees hit the side of your bed from walking backward and you fell onto your bed. You stared up at the ceiling, catching your breath before the tears began to fall. This was it. This was your breaking point.
Reba let a sad sigh leave her lips, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. She took a few steps over to you and then closed her eyes, her palms facing outward towards you.
You saw a flash of light behind your eyelids. When you opened them up, you weren't in your room anymore.
"Where did you take me?" you asked Reba in a panic.
"I thought the best thing to do would be to give you some time away. I brought you back with me." Reba replied simply with a small smile.
"No, no, no, no, no...I can't be away from home. You have to take me back." you began, words flying out of your mouth in succession. "I have to make sure the house is kept up and I have to take care of my family. I have to make sure they're healthy and that they're not fighting. I can't stay here. They can't make it without me helping-..."
"Sweetheart." Reba interrupted your thoughts and placed her hands on the sides of your face. "Everything is going to be just fine. Time won't pass there while you're here with me. We can take all the time you need to recover. You need some time for yourself."
"I can't. They need me." you whimpered, your tough exterior beginning to break.
"But you need someone too." she said softly, her thumbs beginning to rub your cheeks.
That was all it took for the tears to flow once again.
She pulled you close and held you tight, letting you sob into her chest as she rubbed soothing circles on your back.
You felt you body being lowered and realized that she was sitting you both down, allowing you to fully relax into her. Through your sobs you could hear her soft humming, slow and melodic as she comforted you.
Both of you were unsure how long you sat there for, but it was enough to calm your fears and doubts for the time being. That is, just before your stomach growled.
"Goodness, was that you or me?" Reba asked with a small chuckle. "Have you eaten anything?"
You looked up at Reba and shook your head no.
"Well I can fix that." she smiled and helped you up, leading you to a kitchen.
"You have all this here...?" you asked in amazement as you looked around with wide, curious eyes.
"Sure do."
"Do you have magic powers or something?"
"Maybe." Reba winked before chuckling and pulling a few things from her refrigerator. "How does chicken, green beans, and baked beans sound...?"
Before you could answer, your stomach growled again. "I think that's a yes." you chuckled nervously, a blush rising to your cheeks.
"That's alright." she giggled, turning on the stove while you sat at the island on a bar stool. "I had that start happenin' in the middle of a concert one time. I had to make sure to keep the microphone away from my stomach."
"Oh no! That sounds awful!"
"It was! Plus I couldn't even play it off as a bass line and blame it on the band." she joked, putting the chicken in a pan.
You couldn't help but laugh at her story.
Reba realized that this was the first time in a long time that she'd heard you laugh like that.
After the meal was finished and eaten, you both let out a sigh of contentment.
"That was really delicious. Thank you."
"Of course! No problem at all. I'm just glad you ate something." Reba replied, moving to pick up both of your plates. "Did you wanna go ahead and get yourself cleaned up? I know you've gotta be tired."
"Please?" you asked, stifling a yawn.
She nodded with a smile and led you to a bathroom where you could bathe or shower and change out of your clothes. She made sure to close the door behind you once you were inside.
You took your time as you cleaned up, trying to wash away all of the worries that had been piling up in your mind. You never got to take the time to clean yourself like this at home. Usually it was to hop in and hop right back out as quickly as possible.
Once you were satisfied, you grabbed the nearby towel and changed into a pair of spare pajamas that Reba said she kept in the linen closet. You then exited the bathroom to find one of the doors opened to a bedroom.
"Hey sweetheart." Reba smiled, looking up at you as you exited the bathroom. She had her reading glasses on and a book was in her hands. "How do ya feel...?"
"A bit better."
"Good." she smiled and placed her book on her nightstand along with her glasses. "Did you want me to go ahead and show you to a bedroom?"
You bit your lip and twiddled your thumbs a bit. "Actually...can I sit with you for a little while? I'm not tired yet."
Reba smiled knowingly and nodded her head. "Of course. Come on up." she replied, patting the open space next to her.
You couldn't help but let a small smile spread across your face as you climbed into her bed and pulled the covers over you.
"Wanna talk for a bit?"
"Sure. I'd like that." you smiled and laid down, turning on your side to face her.
She began to tell you different stories about her time on the road and times she spent at home with her family. Some parts made you smile and laugh, but other parts made you realize...she sounds a lot like you. Maybe...maybe your lives weren't so different after all.
As time passed, you began to grow sleepy, your eyes drooping a bit.
Reba reached her hand out, brushing some hair from your face. "You can sleep if you want." she said softly.
"I don't want you to go." you replied sleepily.
She moved to lay down before she turned to face you. "I will not be going anywhere. I promise that I will visit you more than I have been. Maybe we can do this more often. It can give you something to look forward to."
"I'd like that very much." you told her, a tired smile growing on your face.
Reba smiled and opened an arm up, motioning for you to move close to her.
You moved yourself into her arms and she wrapped her arm around you, holding you in her embrace. Something about it was very soothing. Very motherly. It was good to have someone close by and someone to talk to.
"Just remember that you have to take care of yourself too." you heard her say, feeling the vibrations of her chest as she spoke. "I know a lot is going on, but you have to make time for you and to talk to someone if you need to. You can't keep everything bottled in sweetheart. It's okay to let it out every once in a while."
You nodded and snuggled into her more, closing your eyes as sleep began to overtake you.
"You are strong enough to do anything, but know that it's okay to not be strong all the time too. You have to have a balance." she continued before looking down and realizing you were drifting off to sleep. "Just remember that you have people who love you. I promise I'm always gonna be here for you. Even if you may forget at times, I'm gonna try my best to be there."
She watched as you smiled in your sleep at her words, soft, even breaths leaving and entering your body. She couldn't help but smile and give you a light squeeze. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.
When you awoke you were in your room, covered up underneath your blankets on your bed. However, there was something that wasn't there before. You looked down in your arms to see a rather large teddy bear with red fur and it was wearing a bear-sized Reba shirt. Looking up to your poster, you see Reba looking at you and smiling.
"Is this how it's going to have to be for now...?" you asked, a hint of sadness in your voice.
"At times, yes." Reba replied, her own sadness laced in her reply. "But, I will have you try to visit me more often and I can see about us having more conversations like this. I just have to be careful when your family is around."
"Yeah...you wouldn't want to scare them." you chuckled then looked to the bear in your arms. "Did you make this for me?"
Reba smiled and nodded. "Sure did." she replied. "Watch this." She wrapped her arms around herself and hugged tight. As you hugged the bear, you felt the sensation as if you were being hugged. "You can hug back too and I'll know you're okay or need some comfort."
Tear welled in your eyes at her kindness. "Thank you so much Reba. For everything." you managed say through your happy tears.
"It is no problem at all sweetheart. There's a special place in my heart for you. Always know that. Remember, just keep the balance. I'll be here if you need time for yourself or just need someone."
You nodded and subconsciously hugged your teddy bear tighter, a few tears running down your face. "I'm going to miss you."
A tear slipped down Reba's cheek as she closed her eyes, feeling you hug her tight. "I'm gonna miss you too...but I'll always be here. It's not goodbye. Just see you soon."
"Okay." you said aloud, still holding your teddy bear close. "I'll see you soon then."
Reba smiled back at you through the poster.
Just then, the door opened to your room.
"Hey, you're up." your mom said as she entered. "I didn't want to wake you." She noticed the teddy bear that you were hugging tight and smiled. "Neat teddy bear. Where did you buy it?"
"A friend found it for me." you smiled, giving it a hug as you looked at your mom.
"Neat! It kind of looks like Reba." she noted.
"Sure does."
"Well, I've got dinner downstairs if you want some. Just wanted to let you know."
"Thanks mom." you smiled.
She returned your smile and closed the door behind her.
Once you heard her footsteps retreat, you looked back to the poster. Reba was in her original stance and you were a bit disappointed until she moved.
"Go ahead. I know I didn't fill you up that much." she chuckled. "I'll be here when you get back."
You grinned and nodded, heading downstairs.
This time, you knew you would be okay. Sure, things would come your way and you would have to deal with them, but you wouldn't be alone. You had your family there to support you.
And now you'll always have Reba McEntire.