Fan Fiction
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Lifeline – Chapter 11
Bette steeled herself before entering the room but it still caught her off guard and she gasped when she saw them, a sob hitching in her throat which she fought down with great effort.
She wouldn’t talk to T until she was sure she could maintain a normal tone. So she sat quietly for a few moments practicing the breathing she used in yoga, calming herself.
Finally, slipping on her glasses, she pulled the chair as close to the bed as possible and brought out the pink-covered volume of Neruda’s Love Sonnets.
“I’m going to choose a poem and I want you to move your finger if it’s the one you want to hear, okay, T? Can you try to do that for me honey?”
She knew it was probably a ridiculous request but she had to start challenging her. It was important to give her a task, something to strive for. Tina was nothing if not goal-oriented. She liked having a job to do. The producer in her needed to produce. Bette was counting on it. It may take awhile, but she could wait.
“It’s okay if you can’t do it yet, but I want you to try. Try for me, Tina. Here we go. I’m just looking for it. Wait.”
“Hey T?” Bette lowered the book to her lap for a moment.
“I wanted to tell you something first. I wanted to describe your room to you so you’ll know where you are and what it looks like here. I want you to be able to visualize it so that when you wake up it won’t seem strange.”
So she described the room and all the equipment, the way the nurses dressed and how each one looked. Then she described herself and what she was wearing so that Tina could imagine her too.
“I look pretty ridiculous, T. I would make an absolutely unconvincing-looking doctor in this getup. Seriously, you’d laugh if you saw me. I’ll be really glad when you get off all these machines and we can go to a regular room with windows and a view. This one is so stereotypically hospital-ish and aesthetically unappealing that I can barely stand to have you in here. There is not one picture in this room. So how about speeding things up, okay? MoveOn.com, as Alice would say.”
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Soooo sad,but beautiful written.Thank you.
Excellent as always, Nell. Two thumbs up! =) They’re not there yet but at least they’ve both made some progress. Bette teased Tina and laughed again and Tina babbled on and on to amuse herself and is hell-bent on being with Bette again. I’ll be right here waiting for Tina’s awakening. I love this line, Nell. => “I love the small hollow at the base of your throat where I have left a thousand kisses like wishes in a well.” (As an aside, that hollow called the suprasternal notch was mentioned in “The English Patient”.) Anyway, this post cheered me up, Nell. Thanks a bunch! =)
Thanks for another beautiful chapter. I’m so glad Tina is aware of her surroundings. Hopefully when the sedatives get out of her system she’ll wake up…
This an incredible, beautiful story!
Wonderful update. It’s great that Tina is trying so hard to get back to Bette. And her thoughts are helping her out of the subconscious and since the doctor is cutting back on some of the medications, just maybe, she will start to awaken especially if Bette continues to read to her and talk to her. Hopefully she will watch for any signs of wakefulness like Tina moving her finger or big toe as Tina is trying to do. If she is covered Bette won’t see the toe but she can see the finger and, of course, she will see her tears if she cries as Tina is trying to do. Has Alice brought all the things on the list to the hospital yet? The music and other things that Bette wants for her to have in her room should help so much. Alice needs to hurry back with those items. Maybe she will come back in the next chapter. Fantastic chapter. Thanks for posting.
I’ve got to tell you, I am so loving this story. That’s an incredible idea, letting us in on Tina’s subconscious. If only they could communicate that way. Looking forward to your next post with great anticipation!
I really enjoy reading this story. It is one of my favorite Tibette stories! I know we need to be patient because everything will be fine, but reading it makes me wanna cry because it is beautifully written!
Hey, Nell. I just finished rereading this post. Tina’s reflections on love choked me up. Sorry if I sound too sappy but I can’t help it. I feel bad that Tina feels helpless and stuck in oblivion but I’m glad that their lava-hot love and their rich history and colorful memories are keeping her sane and hopeful. They are each other’s lifeline and I look forward to reading how they both inch closer to their reunion. Again, huge thanks for such an engaging and well-written story, Nell. Cheers! =)
Another beautiful chapter. I find myself rereading passages and just adore your writing style.
i’ll tell you, if anyone did that to me, when my hands were free, i would kill them… anyway… love this story… and i also know tina will work her way back to bette.. keep reading bette, tina is listening… pps
Thank you, Nell, for another wonderful chapter. You write so beautifully, taking us with such delicacy through Tina’s thoughts – her fear, her concern for Bette, her jokes and teasing, her love. And always phrases leap out – I agree with mightymouse’s choice, and also when Tina speaks of fighting for her life and says: “Presumably that’s what I’m doing, although it feels a lot more like loitering – or a very dull and solitary vacation on the shores of oblivion.” Have I said how much I’m LOVING your story?!! I want Tina to wake up, but don’t want your story to end, so I’m relying on you to accommodate that for me!
This story needs to bs continued. Soon, please. I can only reread this story incomplete so many times…
This is sad and hope Tina will wake up soon, can’t see them like this. Please post more, thanks!
So well written. SO heartbreaking. Please let her wake up soon. Thank you for this story.
Every day I check to see if there’s a new chapter…I hope you come back with a new chapter. This story is too good…PPS