Death Comes to the Bishop Family

Claire walked her sister into the hospital room that housed their father, the last home he would know. It truly showed the debilitated condition of the Bishop family dynamic that Cut-To-The-Chase Claire was necessary to help facilitate small talk. She could see her father realizing that the damage, while there, could be soothed with a proper ending, and Avery seemed to build more confidence that she was wanted - and it was watching this in her sister that Claire found the difference between the two, and it wasn't an irreconcilable one, nor was it won that delivered an advantage one way or the other. Where Avery needed someone to want her, Claire Bishop was lacking in having something to desire. Something to truly want, something to fight for.

Once they seemed to be getting on well, Claire excused herself so they could speak privately. She closed the hospital room door and drew up a chair to act as guard. And there she waited, waiting as long as it took for the daughter and father to discuss what was necessary. When Avery came out, it was Else's turn. And then Mathias even asked to briefly speak to Ben, and to say a hello to Elsie, to thank the two for being there. Then it was time to talk to Agnes.

Claire's elbow was rested on the arm of the chair, face resting in her hand as she blinked weariness and emotion from her face, keeping it strong and professional and clear for everyone else. Healers had begun stopping to offer her coffee, to offer small talk, to offer condolences. It made sense the she would quickly become a professional guest. Professionalism had always been her strong suit.

When hr turn with her father came, a lot of it was spent in gentle silence. They had never been talkers, and neither wanted to compromise their personalities now. Her turn was brief in comparison to most of the others, because she and Mathias could say what needed to be said in lesser words, with less emotion. They shared the memories worth sharing. They discussed the plans not yet discussed. They made observations on the motley group that had gathered.

"That Robin fellow sure seems to make Avery happy. Did you go to school with him?"

Claire caught her bottom lip under her teeth and nodded, eyes betraying nothing. "I did. He was in my year with Elsie."

"Is he a good man?"

The concern that his granddaughter's father deserved Avery was clear. Mathias really wanted Robin to make Avery happy. It was something Claire could learn from him.

"I've always thought so."

Soon, Mathias' room filled back up with people, and the tension seemed to have taken a leave of absence. Claire was curious to know if it would return when Mathias had gone, but for now, she watched Else and Agnes speak with kindness, watched Avery ask her father questions she had never had the chance to.

Time moved on, and the elder women were weary. A healer offered them beds on the second level, if they wanted to stay. Claire relieved the Nortons of their duty, swearing she would be fine. Mathias was sleeping now and it seemed guard duty of their father came down to the two girls.

((If you want Robin to meet him, you could either say he was called in between Else and the Nortons, or maybe Avery brought him in during her turn))

[Em, I can edit if you want, but I didn't know what to say about Robin.]

Between her times in with Mathias, Avery called Jenna to ensure that Ariadne would be able to spend the night if she and Robin didn't make it back in time. The little girl, of course, probably had no idea that anything was different than it usually was. Someday she would hear quite a story about her grandfather, though Avery knew already that she would angle the story in his favor. It wouldn't be right otherwise.

While Agnes was in, Avery sat beside Robin and snuck glances at Claire and the girl who had clearly been more of a sister than Avery ever could have been. That didn't change the fact that Avery was fairly irritated with the fact that Ben and Elsie had been there before she had even heard, unfortunately. But it did stop her from making annoyed faces at the Nortons. Hopefully that helped at least a little, she mused. She was also careful not to lean into Robin or give them any reason to think she was rubbing things in their faces. Particularly Claire's.

When sleep was offered, Avery had to concede to the fact that Robin had been stuck there the entire day without any actual reason after the first section of it. She loved him all the more for it, knowing that she would have done the same, despite the fact that she wasn't close to his family, either. Perhaps she should ask if that was something he wanted to change, she thought to herself as the girls found themselves alone in the hospital room with their father. Avery had told Robin to do whatever felt right, whether that was picking up Ari from Jenna's anyway, or heading upstairs, or even just going home.

At first, Avery thought that they had finally fallen into a sort of comfortable silence. It was a strange feeling, no matter what had happened between them in the last few hours, if only because of who sat - and lay - in front of her. Her father looked tired, his eyes closing to rest, so she chose to quiet down as well, leaning one elbow on her chair's arm so she could drop her cheek into her palm. It was incredibly late now, wasn't it? She hadn't checked the time in ages.

Not a minute later, the machine next to her made a sudden and jarring sound that had her shooting almost violently from her chair. "Dad?" she asked over the beeping, registering what the sound meant but not willing to look and see his pulse dropping frighteningly quickly. "Dad-"

She wanted to tell him he couldn't leave. Isn't that what people always said? But that seemed unfair. After so, so many years of being dreadful to him - even if just by refusing to contact him - she couldn't do that to him. She wasn't sure he could hear her, but she didn't really care.

"Dad, it's okay," she attempted, her voice quiet. "We're okay, now. You're okay."

In a weird, terrifying and potentially stupid moment, she took his hand in hers and reached one out towards Claire, beckoning her to either take his other hand or hold that one with her. Avery had never been good for the Bishop family, and "family" had always seemed like a strong word, anyway. But this counted as a first step, she hoped. Surely, it was at least that.