Celine
Celine peeks her head around the hallway and sees Rene and his family. His ex-wife is leaning into her new husband, crying even though tears aren't flowing anymore. Ann-Marie keeps chewing her bottom lip while watching her legs kick back and forth. Rene's head is down and he's pinching his nose. He only does that when nothing else is helping him. That is saved for the worst of situation. All at once, he jumps up and paces the hallway. She slowly slips further down the hall, daring to approach slowly. She still feels like she doesn't really belong, but she doesn't want Rene to think for a second this is something that she can't handle. She can handle it and she will. And, even if he won't admit it, she knows that her being there will help. Even if it's only to have her run errands or throw her weight around as a celebrity, she can get things done without the family having to move. After a deep breath, she takes another step just as Rene turns and sees her. "Is there any news?" She asks, not caring who answers. Rene sweeps her into a hug, squeezing her so tightly, she's sure they're going to merge into one person. She rubs his back and squeezes him back. He can hug her as long as he needs, he can cry, he can make demands, but being able to smell his cologne and feel him right heremakes Celine feel a thousand times better. She was worried, even if she didn't want to admit it, that he'd been reckless on the road trying to get here. It wouldn't be the first time a family member ended up in a crash while rushing to get to the hospital. Rene sighs against her neck. "he's still in surgery." Celine takes his hand and guides him away from his family just so she can catch up. Reneclears his throat. "Apparently there was a lot of gas from how the other car hit and ... and trauma. They won't tell me anymore. I don't get a log of what's wrong or anything like that. They just ... they just expect me to be willing to wait for answers. I feel like they keep forgettingwe're here." She rubs his back slowly, hugging Rene again. "He's going to be okay. He's young and strong, and he has your stubbornness. I think he can survive nearly anything with that combination." Rene chuckles. "I'm not quite sure how to take that, Celine." Before she can fill him in on exactly how he should take that comment, a doctor comes up to them. He looks from his clipboard to Rene. "You are Jean-Pierre's father?""Yes. His mother is right over there." Rene rushes the doctor over without letting go of Celine's hand.Clearing his throat, the doctor nods. "Jean-Pierre is going to be just fine. We got everything taken care of. He is going to have to stay over night for observation, just because of his head wound. We want to be able to monitor that and be sure it doesn't get worse. Thehospital room is small, so we recommend no more than four people at a time going in."Thank you." Rene's ex-wife nearly throws herself on the doctor. 'Thank you for makingsure my baby is okay." The doctor untangles himself, obviously a little uncomfortable and nods. "He'll be in the room shortly. Give us an hour to be sure everything is taken care of and that he's fit to be moved." With that he walks away. Just as he leaves, an old woman Celine's never seen before and a young woman come in. Rene turns to them and Celine doesn't mind being forgotten, not right now. Their family time is much more important, just like her mother said. "Momma." Ann-Renee says to the older woman. Then to the younger, "Victoria!" They talk and Rene returns to Celine after filling in some blanks. He wraps an arm around Celine's shoulders and she hugs him like if she does it just right, all his hurt pieces will magically be fixed. "That is his girlfriend." Rene nods towards the young blonde named Victoria. "She was supposed to be with him in the car, but he was running late to get her." "Oh my." Celine whispers, not sure what to say to that. She keeps whispering soft things to Rene, rubbing him, offering to get him food or anything else as they wait to see Jean-Pierre. Rene turns down every offer with a smile. He thanks her, keeps her close, seems to pull strength from her which was Celine's goal. She isn't important, only what she can do for Rene. She lightly kisses his cheek."I told you he is strong. Just like you."
