Rene followed them up to Theresa's room. Celine could feel the coffee reverberating through her body, but more than the caffeine, she could feel Rene standing behind her in the elevator. For a moment, it was like her father wasn't there. Just Rene, his support, his warmth, his sweet, mature self always protecting her and looking out for her. And for a moment, she swore she could feel every breath of his against the back of her neck and every one of his heartbeats thrumming through her. Just the two of them, separated by the smallest bit of space, ready to collide into something beautiful. The moment was broken when the door opened, and the group headed out to find Celine's mother. Celine expected the worst and braced herself for it, lingering outside the door after her father went in. She knew it couldn't be terrible, but it took an extra second to collect hernerves. Rather than the worst-case scenario that Celine expected, she found her mother resting comfortably, smiling gently at her father, taking his hand in hers. Celine's eyes watered over again, tears streaking down her face."Maman!" She wailed, hugging her tightly.
