Chapter 24 - Pure Strength
Jonah and Cesca shared an even closer embrace as Adanna sat on the side of Tom’s bed placing her hand so neatly in his. He was holding her hand back, Tom had tears in his eyes, “I’ll go grab a doctor”, Jonah said, releasing from Cesca’s grasp apprehensively, she watched as he left, she felt helpless without him though was feeling slightly more relieved knowing that Tom was on the mend and had woken from his Coma. Maybe this was the end of all the bad luck Cesca had been having, maybe this was the start of a positive chapter in Cesca’s life. Jonah and Mia had definitely been positive chapters of her life, but they had also been complicated ones, with lies and secrets cutting between them. Cesca was beginning to feel strong again and Tom clearly was to, they were finally becoming the people their friends and family knew and loved. The door swung open and Cesca was expecting it to be Jonah, back from telling the doctors of Tom’s awakening. But instead it was Josh; he was frustrated, angry, scared and worried. He was very distressed, he had just attempted to call Nate for the 5th time, he needed to tell him that the accident hadn’t affected their relationship; it wasn’t Nate’s fault if his dad was a violent lunatic. Josh placed his phone in his pocket angrily before noticing his dad was awake. “Dad”, Tom couldn’t speak with the ventilator in his mouth but his eyes told every word he wanted to say. Josh’s face became flooded with tears of relief, he headed over to his father’s bedside where Adanna was, he sat in the chair next to her, she gave him a reassuring smile, Tom released his hand from Adana’s grip as he gained the strength to lift it and place it on Josh’s face. It was almost as if he were saying,” I love you Son”. But the words weren’t there to match. Tom was slowly becoming himself; Cesca couldn’t help but remember the last time Tom was in need of care, the last time he was beaten up, also by Nate’s dad. It had been a horrible date, Cesca could always remember Tom’s words a few days later “I DON’T WANT TO GO OUT”, Cesca had never seen that side of Tom before and to be truthful it scared her, so to see him in this state of calm was a pleasant surprise, they could all feel Tom’s sense of hope as they saw with their own eyes the progress he was making. “Dad, your my fighter”, Josh said, Adana placed and arm around Josh, he moved his head in towards her shoulder and they shared a hug. Tom’s eyes showed a smile and a tiny tear full of joy and happiness ran down Tom’s cheek that was slowly returning to its usual rosy colour. Tom was using his inner strength to pull through this; he was going to kick this accidents butt!
Cesca couldn’t help but smile, they were a family and all so acceptant of each other, she was happy if tom and Adana were happy, they’re her closest friends and she could never forgive herself if they weren’t happy. Seeing them together as a unit just made her think more about her own family, she had the most loving husband and gorgeous daughter, nothing could be better than perhaps the odd cupcake but even that didn’t compare to the compassion and love they shared for one another, it was unconditional, there is nothing that will ever break the bond between the Kirby’s. Cesca was still day dreaming with a smirk across her face as Jonah re-entered the room. Her head turned, her eyes glistened as her heart began to beat out of her chest. She just had to set eyes on her man to get the butterflies and that warm fuzzy feeling, the feeling of true love, Jonah sat back down next to Cesca holding her in his arms, kissing her on the forehead before saying, “Ces, I told you he was going to be okay”, She smiled turning her head to kiss him more passionately. “I love you Jonah Kirby”, She said, after finishing their passionate kiss. The couple had so much trust and support for one another. The room was full of love, everyone was there to support Tom and he was so grateful for it, “Mr Clarkson is doing very well indeed, we are happy to take him off the ventilator now that he appears much stronger and fully capable of breathing for himself”, There were smiles all round as they all watched Tom being given his freedom back. Josh was fidgety though, something was playing on his mind and Tom knew exactly what it was, “Go and call him, none of this is his fault”, Tom spoke his first words, words that would stick with josh. He squeezed his father’s hand before going and attempting to call Nate for the 6th time. Everyone was so pleased to hear Tom speaking. It was as if peace had been restored to the world, there was a real sense of harmony within the room. “Glad to have you back”, Adana said as she leant over to give her Tom a loving kiss, “It’s good to be back, I wasn’t going to bail out of this fight”, They all sniggered, Tom was defiantly back. The doctor was still in the room, “So how much longer do you think he has to stay here”, Adana asked, “Well, were very pleased with his progress, however it’s touch and go but I would say he should be discharged within the next 2 days”, Adana smiled “Thank you doctor”, The door closed and Adana carried on her conversation, “You really are my fighting star, I love you”, Tom lifted himself up Cesca and Jonah were watching his every move, watching to see if there were any slight jitters that might indicate him falling but their weren’t, Tom was as strong as ever. “Adana, I love you to and I know this isn’t really the best of circumstances to be saying this” Cesca and Jonah were still in each other’s arms, but were now slightly confused though Cesca seemed to know what was about to happen by the look on her face even if her friend didn’t, “What is it Tom?”, Josh walked back in the room, this time more content and not so fidgety, “Nate’s going to come and visit, he feels bad for everything that his dad did to you”, Tom smiled in Josh’s direction before carrying on with his train of thought. “Adana, “ Tom was suddenly taken by a coughing fit, Adana rushed to patting his back, she was always going to be there for him, she couldn’t bear to see him in pain, not that his coughing fit was painful. Cesca let out a laugh, she found it hilarious because she knew exactly what was about to happen, this was just Tom’s luck, he was about to say one of the most important words in his life and a cough had interrupted them, it was just so typical. “Ces” , Jonah said, he didn’t see the humour in someone having a coughing fit “Sorry”, She composed herself, well attempted to, “Adana, will you marry me?” Cesca beamed, she had ultimately hit a hole in one, and she looked in Adana’s direction her eyes welling up, a smile brewing across her face, “Yes... YES I will marry you, you soppy date”, the pair shared a passionate kiss. “Miss, I’m so happy for you both”, “Please josh, just call me Adana, I’m marrying your dad for god sake”, They laughed, Adana was liking the words that had just flown out of her mouth and couldn’t bear to not smile even more.
Meanwhile Cesca and Jonah had noticed the time, it was 3 o’clock and despite Marcus being adamant that he would have her for as long as they wanted, they didn’t want to over stay the gesture. “We had better get off, leave you two love birds to it”, Cesca said before continuing, “Tom I am so glad to see you on mend, you have no idea how much stress you put on me”, She winked before leaving with Jonah, his arm once more round her waist, it seemed to fit their snugly. “Yeah, good to see you getting better mate”, Jonah called out. The pair left leaving the soon to be happy family to take in the news, this was seriously big news. “Jonah, thank you... for everything today, you really helped me through this”, “Anything for my Ces”. They pair walked out of the hospital smiling. Cesca had completely been refilled; the gap that was boring through her a few days ago had completely vanished. She had her family and her friend was no longer in a critical position and to top it all off they were ENGAGED! Jonah insisted on driving home, he was a gentleman like that. He turned the radio up softly, so it was in the background but wasn’t too quiet so you could still make out the lyrics. “Ces, I’m proud of you”, “Proud of me”, She said slightly confused, “Yes, I am proud of my Ces, you have been so strong these last few months let alone over these tough days”, “Tough, isn’t quite how I would describe it” “Ces, you visited him, you sat with him while he was in his coma, if that’s not tough than I don’t know what is”, Cesca smiled in Jonah’s direction. The car stopped as they reached Marcus’s and Ruth’s house. They got out the car, Jonah reached for Cesca’s hand holding it tightly, he could feel her wedding ring between his fingers which just reminded him that being with her was not a dream. He let out a cheeky grin, which Cesca happened to see, “what?” She said in a slow flirtatious voice, “Nothing”, he captured her beauty with his eyes as they knocked on the door. Ruth answered the door, Mia in her arms, she was looking like a rather proud auntie, “Whose this Mia... whose this?”, Mia gave a smile towards her mummy and daddy before saying “Mummy and daddy”, “Come here monkey”, Jonah said picking her up and holding her high above his head before resting her on his hip. She was giggly and a very happy little girl, “Looks like she had fun and doesn’t look like she was the only one”, Cesca directing that comment at a happy yet out of breathe Marcus, “Did you have fun with granddad and Ruth Mia?”, Cesca said to her little girl as she passed Tilly over to her, Mia held Tilly tightly, she wasn’t letting go of her that easily. Marcus handed Cesca Mia’s bag, “Thank you so much”, the pair said, “Anytime, I love spending time with my granddaughter, how was Tom”, Marcus was still pulling funny faces at Mia, who wouldn’t stop giggling, “Is granddad funny Mia?” Jonah said with a smile on his face to Mia “Grana”, this made them all laugh. “Yeah, he’s great in fact fantastic, he’s woken up and even had the energy to propose”, “WOW, guess you really can say love gets you through anything”, “You sure can” , “Well, I don’t want to keep you, I am sure Mia should be going to bed soon”, “Yeah, we better go thanks again dad”, They shared hugs and kisses before turning to the car but as they did so there was a loud beeping, the sound of 4 phones receiving a text message in unison. Everyone found this really weird and began to search for their phones; Jonah reached into his pocket for his still holding Mia, Marcus had his in his hand. Ruth walked away from the door to get hers which was resting on the hall table and Cesca rummaged through her bag to grab hers. They all stood still as they opened the same text from an anonymous sender. The text simply held a picture; the picture was of Karen and Rob, kissing. There was a slight gasp, they had clearly all received the same text. The only words on the text were “Kob”; Which Cesca found she had said aloud. They all looked at each other before Marcus said “Well I didn’t see that one coming”, Cesca was kind of liking the idea of Karen being involved in a romance. She had been so lovely to Cesca after everything and she deserved her own happy ending after the past year she’d had. Cesca really was the woman with a big heart.
Cesca couldn’t help but smile, they were a family and all so acceptant of each other, she was happy if tom and Adana were happy, they’re her closest friends and she could never forgive herself if they weren’t happy. Seeing them together as a unit just made her think more about her own family, she had the most loving husband and gorgeous daughter, nothing could be better than perhaps the odd cupcake but even that didn’t compare to the compassion and love they shared for one another, it was unconditional, there is nothing that will ever break the bond between the Kirby’s. Cesca was still day dreaming with a smirk across her face as Jonah re-entered the room. Her head turned, her eyes glistened as her heart began to beat out of her chest. She just had to set eyes on her man to get the butterflies and that warm fuzzy feeling, the feeling of true love, Jonah sat back down next to Cesca holding her in his arms, kissing her on the forehead before saying, “Ces, I told you he was going to be okay”, She smiled turning her head to kiss him more passionately. “I love you Jonah Kirby”, She said, after finishing their passionate kiss. The couple had so much trust and support for one another. The room was full of love, everyone was there to support Tom and he was so grateful for it, “Mr Clarkson is doing very well indeed, we are happy to take him off the ventilator now that he appears much stronger and fully capable of breathing for himself”, There were smiles all round as they all watched Tom being given his freedom back. Josh was fidgety though, something was playing on his mind and Tom knew exactly what it was, “Go and call him, none of this is his fault”, Tom spoke his first words, words that would stick with josh. He squeezed his father’s hand before going and attempting to call Nate for the 6th time. Everyone was so pleased to hear Tom speaking. It was as if peace had been restored to the world, there was a real sense of harmony within the room. “Glad to have you back”, Adana said as she leant over to give her Tom a loving kiss, “It’s good to be back, I wasn’t going to bail out of this fight”, They all sniggered, Tom was defiantly back. The doctor was still in the room, “So how much longer do you think he has to stay here”, Adana asked, “Well, were very pleased with his progress, however it’s touch and go but I would say he should be discharged within the next 2 days”, Adana smiled “Thank you doctor”, The door closed and Adana carried on her conversation, “You really are my fighting star, I love you”, Tom lifted himself up Cesca and Jonah were watching his every move, watching to see if there were any slight jitters that might indicate him falling but their weren’t, Tom was as strong as ever. “Adana, I love you to and I know this isn’t really the best of circumstances to be saying this” Cesca and Jonah were still in each other’s arms, but were now slightly confused though Cesca seemed to know what was about to happen by the look on her face even if her friend didn’t, “What is it Tom?”, Josh walked back in the room, this time more content and not so fidgety, “Nate’s going to come and visit, he feels bad for everything that his dad did to you”, Tom smiled in Josh’s direction before carrying on with his train of thought. “Adana, “ Tom was suddenly taken by a coughing fit, Adana rushed to patting his back, she was always going to be there for him, she couldn’t bear to see him in pain, not that his coughing fit was painful. Cesca let out a laugh, she found it hilarious because she knew exactly what was about to happen, this was just Tom’s luck, he was about to say one of the most important words in his life and a cough had interrupted them, it was just so typical. “Ces” , Jonah said, he didn’t see the humour in someone having a coughing fit “Sorry”, She composed herself, well attempted to, “Adana, will you marry me?” Cesca beamed, she had ultimately hit a hole in one, and she looked in Adana’s direction her eyes welling up, a smile brewing across her face, “Yes... YES I will marry you, you soppy date”, the pair shared a passionate kiss. “Miss, I’m so happy for you both”, “Please josh, just call me Adana, I’m marrying your dad for god sake”, They laughed, Adana was liking the words that had just flown out of her mouth and couldn’t bear to not smile even more.
Meanwhile Cesca and Jonah had noticed the time, it was 3 o’clock and despite Marcus being adamant that he would have her for as long as they wanted, they didn’t want to over stay the gesture. “We had better get off, leave you two love birds to it”, Cesca said before continuing, “Tom I am so glad to see you on mend, you have no idea how much stress you put on me”, She winked before leaving with Jonah, his arm once more round her waist, it seemed to fit their snugly. “Yeah, good to see you getting better mate”, Jonah called out. The pair left leaving the soon to be happy family to take in the news, this was seriously big news. “Jonah, thank you... for everything today, you really helped me through this”, “Anything for my Ces”. They pair walked out of the hospital smiling. Cesca had completely been refilled; the gap that was boring through her a few days ago had completely vanished. She had her family and her friend was no longer in a critical position and to top it all off they were ENGAGED! Jonah insisted on driving home, he was a gentleman like that. He turned the radio up softly, so it was in the background but wasn’t too quiet so you could still make out the lyrics. “Ces, I’m proud of you”, “Proud of me”, She said slightly confused, “Yes, I am proud of my Ces, you have been so strong these last few months let alone over these tough days”, “Tough, isn’t quite how I would describe it” “Ces, you visited him, you sat with him while he was in his coma, if that’s not tough than I don’t know what is”, Cesca smiled in Jonah’s direction. The car stopped as they reached Marcus’s and Ruth’s house. They got out the car, Jonah reached for Cesca’s hand holding it tightly, he could feel her wedding ring between his fingers which just reminded him that being with her was not a dream. He let out a cheeky grin, which Cesca happened to see, “what?” She said in a slow flirtatious voice, “Nothing”, he captured her beauty with his eyes as they knocked on the door. Ruth answered the door, Mia in her arms, she was looking like a rather proud auntie, “Whose this Mia... whose this?”, Mia gave a smile towards her mummy and daddy before saying “Mummy and daddy”, “Come here monkey”, Jonah said picking her up and holding her high above his head before resting her on his hip. She was giggly and a very happy little girl, “Looks like she had fun and doesn’t look like she was the only one”, Cesca directing that comment at a happy yet out of breathe Marcus, “Did you have fun with granddad and Ruth Mia?”, Cesca said to her little girl as she passed Tilly over to her, Mia held Tilly tightly, she wasn’t letting go of her that easily. Marcus handed Cesca Mia’s bag, “Thank you so much”, the pair said, “Anytime, I love spending time with my granddaughter, how was Tom”, Marcus was still pulling funny faces at Mia, who wouldn’t stop giggling, “Is granddad funny Mia?” Jonah said with a smile on his face to Mia “Grana”, this made them all laugh. “Yeah, he’s great in fact fantastic, he’s woken up and even had the energy to propose”, “WOW, guess you really can say love gets you through anything”, “You sure can” , “Well, I don’t want to keep you, I am sure Mia should be going to bed soon”, “Yeah, we better go thanks again dad”, They shared hugs and kisses before turning to the car but as they did so there was a loud beeping, the sound of 4 phones receiving a text message in unison. Everyone found this really weird and began to search for their phones; Jonah reached into his pocket for his still holding Mia, Marcus had his in his hand. Ruth walked away from the door to get hers which was resting on the hall table and Cesca rummaged through her bag to grab hers. They all stood still as they opened the same text from an anonymous sender. The text simply held a picture; the picture was of Karen and Rob, kissing. There was a slight gasp, they had clearly all received the same text. The only words on the text were “Kob”; Which Cesca found she had said aloud. They all looked at each other before Marcus said “Well I didn’t see that one coming”, Cesca was kind of liking the idea of Karen being involved in a romance. She had been so lovely to Cesca after everything and she deserved her own happy ending after the past year she’d had. Cesca really was the woman with a big heart.
