Billie wasn't accustomed to having much hope for things, so when she officially received the results of her brain scans and physicals and tests from the neurologist, and it turned out that she indeed came back positive for epilepsy, she wasn't surprised. Her life was already a big mess.
What was one more issue to add to her already growing list.
The worst part hadn't even been finding out that she was most likely going to have to be on medication for the rest of her life to contain the seizures. The worst part was that she would have no real cure unless she opted for a surgery in the future to remove parts of her brain, which she was absolutely refused to. Just the thought of her head being cut open made her breath shorten dangerously and her body break out in a cold, nervous sweat.
It was seriously nerve wracking, knowing she now had a condition that could hit her at any time and manifest in a possible dangerous way, but she supposed she should be thankful that despite the blows to her head from her fall, the blunt trauma hadn't caused much worse issues. Unlike her mother, who the doctors suspected due to her collision with the car and then with the concrete on the sidewalk, might have much more severe repercussions. If she would wake up, that is.
From then, even more neverending tests were run and blood drawn. She'd had a final examination with both Dr. Stevens for her general care, and Dr. Torres for her convalescence after the C-section in order to determine her progress and what kind of medication would be best for her at the moment. It was pretty interesting to have both sibling doctors work on her physical at once, she could definitely see the similarities between them. And the little bickering they have in the hallway regarding their mother's anniversary gift was amusing and a great respite from how anxious Billie was about the whole thing.
In the end, she had been prescribed a mild dosage of a medication to test out in order to see how she would respond to it. It was something of a trial run at the moment to see how well (or badly) she responded to the medication. To her dismay, she also was required to remain in the hospital during that time to monitor her in case she had another seizure. It sucked that she was stuck in the hospital for an unknown amount of time, but Drew had promised her they would bring her art supplies and her notebook so she could write songs.
Once Billie was done with those physicals, she'd had to have a slight rehabilitation session due to her slow reflexes because the muscles of her legs and arms had atrophied at bit due to discuss during her coma as well as all the time she had been spending in the hospital bed. It had been strange trying to walk on her two feet at first and use her arms. Her body was a little weak, and she felt like she had noodle limbs that just weren't as in control as she would have liked. But Billie refused to spend her time being wheeled in a damn wheelchair, so she had really worked to get back some semblance of her former mobility and had made unbelievable progress in record time. She still felt a bit awkward walking sometimes, and there were occasions where she had to think a little harder or exert more effort for motions like crossing her arms and legs, but for the most part, her motor functions were coming back naturally much, much faster than her rehabilitation coordinator. Dr. Carter, had predicted. She expected Billie to make a full recovery in a couple day's time.
They had ultimately decided she could use crutches to aid in her efforts as her legs regained their full strength once again, but Billie was not allowed to leave her room without a nurse or supervision yet until she was cleared. They'd finally taken out her urinary catheter though, so she could pee on her own again, and Billie no longer needed the multiple IVs connected to her. It was nice to finally start feeling a little liberated. She finally felt like a human again instead of some near potato at the mercy of the doctors.
And best of all were that once all the tests were taken care of and she was considered stabilized, Dr. Stevens had permitted people other than family to finally see her, provided that it was never more than two at a time.
It was fairly early in the morning, so Billie didn't expect anyone to show up until later, but when she'd left her bathroom and came back into her room, Brooklyn was there, dressed to the nines in her work clothes. She had a case that morning, but she wanted to at least see Billie before she went off to work. She'd brought Billie a sketch pad and some pencils for her to pass the time. She also brought some books she thought Billie might like, although Billie didn't really read it was the thought that counts.
"Thanks for bringing me this stuff. I was starting to wonder what I could have for entertainment. Staring at my phone for hours does get boring after a while."
"No problem." Brooklyn said, "So have you seen Jellybean yet? We all wanted to, but we figured the first people who should visit her are her parents."
Billie stared out the window, "No...uh...I wanted to wait a bit."
For Brandon.
Truth was, she desperately wanted to see Jellybean. But Billie was scared. She was just so scared and she didn't want to go by herself. She didn't want to go through being a mother alone. And she didn't really know how to talk to Jellybean, what to say to her, or how to be her mother right now. Billie was a mess. She could barely take care of herself, much less a baby at the moment. Where was Brandon when she needed reassurance?
"...But I guess I'll go today." Billie said uncertainly, unsure if she had just lied or not.
"Good. NICU babies need their parent' support, so you do that as soon as possible." Brooklyn said, eyeing Billie suspiciously, "Also, you're properly eating, right? Foods that will help the healing process?"
"Yes Brooklyn." Billie rolled her eyes good naturedly, sitting back against the pillows and stilling when her motions had made a slight twinge of uncomfortable tight pressure run through her abdomen near where her stitches were. "Where would I even be able to get any junk food in this hospital?"
"I know Drew brought you some candy." Brooklyn deadpanned, "You were hiding it under your pillow."
Billie's brow rose. She thought she had hidden them impeccably well.
"How did-"
"I was hospitalized once upon a time too. I know how it works. Plus I checked while you were in the bathroom. They've been confiscated." Brooklyn's expression turned serious, "Billie, you don't know how glad I am that you and Jellybean are okay. I wish you'd told me about the C-section the day you found out though. I would have stayed at home with you, and I could have prevented the contact Christopher had with you."
"You know about that?" Billie nervously licked her lips. She had wanted to keep that a secret from everyone else because she didn't want to put them in jeopardy or have them targeted by him.
"Drew told me that my ex-husband was involved somehow in the reason why you broke up with Brandon and disappeared." Brooklyn's brown eyes darkened dangerously. "I put two and two together and figured he had blackmailed you because that's what he does. When Christopher and I seperated seven years ago, and Brandon and I moved to California, he blackmailed me too. Told me that if I did not live in the apartment he paid for and if I sought a divorce, he would take it to court for him to have full custody of Brandon to prevent me from seeing my own son. And at the time, I was less equipped to take care of Brandon on my own than him, so he probably would have won the case too."
Billie's fist clenched, her hands shaking the slightest bit at the notion of his horrible blackmailing. It reminded her of the way he had torn her down with his words, breaking down any guarded walls she put up by crushing her with words that pinpointed everything she was terrified of. He had known just what to say to ruin her and make her want to run. Even now, Billie still could feel the chills down her back from the cruel way he had addressed her, his dangerous eyes and cold words. And she wasn't sure she would forget it anytime soon.
"You probably know this by now, but Christopher is a cold hearted, soulless master of psychological abuse. He unfortunately can read people very well and he uses that to his advantage to make people bend to his will. It's what makes him such a cutthroat and perfect government attorney. And at the time, I shared a bank account with him, and I did not know California, plus I was just terrified of the threat so I listened and allowed him to pull all the puppet strings." Brooklyn shook her head in disgust. "It was the worst mistake of my life, letting him almost run my life as he wanted. But once I realised his words no longer affected me, I slowly started to take measures to separate our life his before he tried to ruin Brandon's. You know Brandon developed his irrational anger issues because his father controlled him and put him down in almost all of his childhood, right?"
Billie nodded solemnly.
"After Brandon got into a massive altercation at his old school, California was also a way for me to give him an escape from that life before it destroyed him. And then he met you and your friends and started an upward track in his life that made me so unbelievably happy for my baby boy. This past school year he's been the happiest I've ever seen him, and I know it's because of you. You have a calming effect on him that I think he truly needs." Brooklyn met Billie's eyes, smiling warmly. Billie fought the urge to look away. She had broken Brandon's heart mercilessly, and no doubt Brooklyn knew. Why was she being so open and kind to Billie when Billie had basically caused her son so much pain that he regressed in a few short days? "His efforts to become a better person made me take more proactive measures in ensuring our security from Christopher should he decide to try to blackmail us again. And once I did that, I requested a divorce. He protested, make no mistake. He had it set in his mind to ruin my life with Brandon, but I refused to back down and I think once he realised he had no power over me, no matter what he tried to say, he lost interest and went with the divorce."
When Billie didn't respond, Brooklyn reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently.
"Billie, I know what you're thinking right now. And I don't blame you for running, okay? I don't blame you for anything that happened. I'm sure you reacted the way anyone would have if faced with Christopher's vile verbal abuse. So do not blame yourself."
"But I hurt Brandon..." Billie muttered, feeling her throat start to tighten a bit dangerously, "I hurt him and on top of that I've put you both in danger now. He said he's going to ruin your lives and make things hard for you both. He said he has connections that can pull strings to ruin Brandon's future. He said if I didn't break up with Brandon that he would make it so that Brandon's future would be stilted and ruined before he even had a chance."
"Well...He's not lying. He does have those connections and he very well could utilize them to try to make things much harder for Brandon, but I doubt even he has so much power that he can have that strong an impact."
"But-"
"Billie, while I appreciate your concerns for me and my son, please let me handle. Christopher on my own. It's not your call to do what you think is right regarding him. You were collateral damage in something much bigger that you, and I wish you would have just come to me first." Brooklyn responded sternly, though her expression was still warm, "He may think he has us in a tight grip, but truth is, we've been long been out of his clutches. I'm a lawyer too, remember? I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Let me worry about the wellbeing of my son and me. Let me handle Christopher, okay? You just be your wonderful, beautiful self."
"...Okay" Billie nodded, feeling marginally better and more secure about the whole thing from Brooklyn's reassurance. "Are you sure you guys will be okay?"
"We'll be just fine, darling." Brooklyn gave her hand another squeeze before checking her watch and straightening, "Now, I really have to head off to work. But once you're discharged, I will see you for dinner over at our place with my granddaughter, yeah?"
"Yeah." Billie smiled, "I'll do just that."
"I'll be back tonight to visit you again. Do you need anything or want anything?"
"I, uh..." Billie tapered off, chewing on her lower lip and holding herself back from asking what she really wanted to ask, "...How's Brandon?"
"...I don't know. He's been kind of out of it since seeing you in such a state of poor health and immobile." Brooklyn's expression turned pensive. "We're all kind of giving him his space because I'm pretty sure he just needs some time to come to terms with what happened to you."
Billie's eyes widened, her heart beating faster, "He was here? In the hospital?"
"They day you got admitted. After your surgery, he stayed by your side for a whole twenty four hours waiting for you to wake up. I don't even know if he ever went to the bathroom. When we found out you were in a coma, he left and hasn't come back as far as I know." Brooklyn gave Billie a serious look. "If you want me to be blunt about him really, then I'll be honest. Brandon isn't doing so well. The girl he loves fell down some stairs, had an emergency surgery to deliver her baby and almost died from blood loss before ending up in a coma for longer than a week. After which, he was informed that that same girl suffered from a seizure. I think you probably know how messed up he is right now."
"But why didn't he come back once he found out that I was okay?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Billie. Even I don't really know what's going on in his mind right now. And I know everything about him." Brooklyn gave her a sympathetic smile. "But I wouldn't worry about it too much. He'll come back around when he's ready. I'll be back tonight, okay?"
Billie nodded, "Thank you for stopping by."
"No problem, Billie. Get some rest."
As Brooklyn left the room, Billie fell back against the pillows, a weight lifted off her shoulders from learning that Brandon and his mother were safe from Christopher. The tight pain in her chest released the vice grip it had on her heart from knowing that Brandon did come to the hospital. That despite her brutally ripping out his heart and stomping on it, he still cared.
But the relief she could have felt was diminished quite a bit by the fact that even though yes, Brandon still cared, he was certainly staying away now. Why hadn't he come back yet? He had give up on her?
Her train of thought was broken when Selena suddenly popped her head into the room with a smirk.
"Hey"
"Selena? Hey." Billie smiled. She hadn't expected any visits from her friends until later. It was still quite early in the morning after all. "What are you doing here?"
"Elijah and I are heading to UCLA for a college visit today but I just needed to make a quick stop here before we left" Selena yawned as she made her way over to the side of Billie's bed. "No way was I going to let you die or something while I was gone. I wanted to make sure you were still alive and breathing and threatening to kick people's asses again. Also, Gianna says you still have a job waiting for you whenever your maternity leave is just about up."
"Good to know." Billie snorted, rolling her eyes good naturedly. "But thanks for checking up on me. And thank you for getting me to the hospital when you did Selena. If it hadn't been for your quick thinking, I probably could have had a worse outcome."
"You owe me now. Hope you're ready for me to bring it up at every turn of the second." Selena said smugly. Then her goofy expression sobered as her brows furrowed, "But seriously. I'm really glad you're okay. That coma you fell in really scared the shit out of me. And I don't usually get scared of anything nor do I care about things. I was so confused."
"It's called finally growing a heart, Selena."
"It's gross. I don't like it."
Selena checked her phone with a sigh.
"I would stay and chat more, but I really do have to leave because Eli threatened to leave my ass here since I made him late to another college visit earlier this month." Selena winked saucily. "I made it up to him though. Behind the bleachers during the pep rally though he said that's not going to work anymore. We'll see about that. No guy can keep a coherent thought when their girlfriends' mouth is around their-"
"So when did you say you were leaving?" Billie deadpanned, cutting her off before she could finish her statement.
"One of these days. we will swap sex stories. You can't avoid it forever."
"Is that a challenge? Because I can definitely take you up on that."
Selena laughed. "Come see me when you're let out of this hell hole, okay Billie?"
"Okay." Billie smiled, "Seriously, thank you for everything, Selena. You're a good friend."
"Ew...Friend? Who said we were friends?" Selena's nose wrinkled playfully in disgust, a slightly embarrassed blush painting her cheeks. "Don't get all sappy with me. Our relationship works best with that thin line of hate between us."
"Yeah, whatever."
They laughed and then Selena leaned down and gave Billie a hug, squeezing her slightly before letting go with a cheerful smile on her face. She straightened and readjusted her bag on her shoulder.
"You take care of yourself, okay?"
"Have fun at UCLA"
Selena waved one last time before hurrying out of the room when her phone's ringtone started blaring through her bag.
Shortly after Selena left, a nurse came by to run a quick physical on Billie to see if she had any serious physical responses to the medication at the moment. Aside from her head feeling a little light, she didn't think she felt anything unusual. But then again, she'd only just started on the medication. She had been warned that if she felt anything that truly felt outside the norm to let a nurse know immediately, but for the most part, Billie supposed she felt fine.
She had another quick rehab session in order to ensure her motor functions were still relatively normal. And they were for the most part, albeit a little slower than she was used to, but she had definitely improved. Drawing felt a little weird because the fluidity of her hand and wrist wasn't quite back yet, but it was getting there. At least nothing had really changed. She hadn't really tried to sing yet because she was in the hospital, but the little bit of warm ups that she had done hadn't been so bad.
After the nurse had finished and left, Billie decided to just draw a little to calm her mind and to relax. She really had time to sit back and think. And think she did.
Billie was lucky.
She knew she was so unbelievably lucky that she had people to take care of her and love and care for her wellbeing. She was so so lucky for the friends and family she had. For the people who had always stuck by her and helped her to grow.
Brooklyn providing a home for her to raise Jellybean in with her father.
Brandon accepting the responsibility of fatherhood, making her feel truly and deeply loved, and showing her that she was wanted in people's lives, despite all her shortcomings.
Drew's family housing her when she was kicked out and providing the open and constant familial support she had really needed to get through the pregnancy.
Sarah and Derek assuming the role of her parents and guiding her in her difficulties.
Selena's wisdom and insight in Billie's life and delivering a brutal reality check when Billie needed it.
Prince making her laugh constantly and making sure she was comfortable all the time.
Finneas coming back to help her and to be there for her when all she needed was someone in her family to say they were happy for her.
The doctors putting all their energy in making sure that Billie and Jellybean could both survive.
Some people at school who hadn't treated Billie any differently or make her feel like a pariah for having gotten pregnant.
Jellybean being a constant support and companion and allowing Billie to get to know her little by little.
Maggie also coming back to Billie and caring about her still regardless of how messed up their relationship had become and how many promises they had broken.
Drew never straying from Billie's side and being the calming presence she needed to get through the rough times and for showing Billie that no matter what was happening, she could always count on her.
Billie knew she owed the relative ease of her teenage unplanned pregnancy and the aftermath and everything that had gone down to them all, because she knew without them and if she had been on her own, she would never have made it.
And sure there was a lot more obstacles that she was going to overcome, but she finally felt like she was ready for them. And everything was going to be okay.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
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I'm not really sure what this chapter was? Filler chapter maybe?
Also sorry it is late, I have no excuse but being lazy. So thank you for being so patient with this story:) I love you all.