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[sup][b][color=#B3EB3F]_[/color][color=#B3EA40]_[/color][color=#B3E942]_[/color][color=#B3E843]_[/color][color=#B4E745]_[/color][color=#B4E647]_[/color][color=#B4E548]_[/color][color=#B5E44A]_[/color][color=#B5E34C]_[/color][color=#B5E24D]_[/color][color=#B5E14F]_[/color][color=#B6E051]_[/color][color=#B6DF52]_[/color][color=#B6DE54]_[/color][color=#B7DD55]_[/color][color=#B7DC57]_[/color][color=#B7DB59]_[/color][color=#B7DA5A]_[/color][color=#B8D95C]_[/color][color=#B8D85E]_[/color][color=#B8D75F]_[/color][color=#B9D661]_[/color][color=#B9D663]_[/color][color=#B9D564]_[/color][color=#B9D466]_[/color][color=#BAD367]_[/color][color=#BAD269]_[/color][color=#BAD16B]_[/color][color=#BBD06C]_[/color][color=#BBCF6E]_[/color][color=#BBCE70]_[/color][color=#BCCD71]_[/color][color=#BCCC73]_[/color][color=#BCCB75]_[/color][color=#BCCA76]_[/color][color=#BDC978]_[/color][color=#BDC87A]_[/color][color=#BDC77B]_[/color][color=#BEC67D]_[/color][color=#BEC57E]_[/color][color=#BEC480]_[/color][color=#BEC382]_[/color][color=#BFC283]_[/color][color=#BFC185]_[/color][color=#BFC187]_[/color][color=#C0C088]_[/color][color=#C0BF8A]_[/color][color=#C0BE8C]_[/color][color=#C0BD8D]_[/color][color=#C1BC8F]_[/color][color=#C1BB90]_[/color][color=#C1BA92]_[/color][color=#C2B994]_[/color][color=#C2B895]_[/color][color=#C2B797]_[/color][color=#C2B699]_[/color][color=#C3B59A]_[/color][color=#C3B49C]_[/color][color=#C3B39E]_[/color][color=#C4B29F]_[/color][color=#C4B1A1]_[/color][color=#C4B0A3]_[/color][color=#C5AFA4]_[/color][color=#C5AEA6]_[/color][color=#C5ADA7]_[/color][color=#C5ADA9]_[/color][color=#C6ACAB]_[/color][color=#C6ABAC]_[/color][color=#C6AAAE]_[/color][color=#C7A9B0]_[/color][color=#C7A8B1]_[/color][color=#C7A7B3]_[/color][color=#C7A6B5]_[/color][color=#C8A5B6]_[/color][color=#C8A4B8]_[/color][color=#C8A3B9]_[/color][color=#C9A2BB]_[/color][color=#C9A1BD]_[/color][color=#C9A0BE]_[/color][color=#C99FC0]_[/color][color=#CA9EC2]_[/color][color=#CA9DC3]_[/color][color=#CA9CC5]_[/color][color=#CB9BC7]_[/color][color=#CB9AC8]_[/color][color=#CB99CA]_[/color][/b][/sup]
[sup]💊  [b][color=#B3EB3F]L[/color][color=#B5E14E]O[/color][color=#B8D85E]C[/color][color=#BBCF6E]A[/color][color=#BEC67D]T[/color][color=#C0BD8D]I[/color][color=#C3B49D]O[/color][color=#C6ABAC]N[/color][color=#C9A2BC]:[/color][/b]  ⭐   Ellie's Practice[/sup]
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[color=B3EB3F][sup][b]______________________________________________________________________________________[/b][/sup][/color]
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[color=e6e6fa][indent][indent][indent]

The bell over the door hadn’t even finished ringing before Ellie glanced up, already shifting her attention from the open chart in front of her to the person walking in. Focus redirected.

[color=B3EB3F]“Morning, Stella.”[/color]

Her tone was steady, familiar without overstepping. She set her pen down neatly, closing the file with a soft tap like she was putting a bookmark in the moment rather than ending it. There was a faint sheen of heat in the room despite the generator humming in the background, but the clinic was holding together, for now.

[color=B3EB3F]“I wouldn’t count on it staying quiet,”[/color] she added, a small glance toward the front windows where the light was already turning harsh. [color=B3EB3F]“Power outages tend to… encourage people to remember appointments.”[/color]

There was the faintest hint of dry humor in it, gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

Ellie stepped around the desk, already reaching for a clipboard. Her eyes moved over Stella in that quick, practiced way, nothing invasive, just taking stock. Stress. Heat. A little tension in the shoulders.

[color=B3EB3F]“You’re right on time,”[/color] she said. [color=B3EB3F]“And honestly? Today’s better than tomorrow if the power doesn’t come back soon.”[/color]

She gestured lightly toward the back.

[color=B3EB3F]“Generator’s running, but I’m rationing it. Refrigeration and essentials first. Prescriptions are still moving, though, it just might take me a minute longer than usual.”[/color]

A pause, then softer, more personal:

[color=B3EB3F]“How are your grandparents holding up in the heat?”[/color]

It wasn’t idle conversation. It never was with her.

Ellie moved behind the counter, already pulling up Stella’s information, but she didn’t rush her. She gave people space to speak if they needed it, never forcing it, never ignoring it either.

[color=B3EB3F]“If you need extra today,”[/color] she added, eyes flicking back briefly, [color=B3EB3F]“meds, supplies, even just somewhere cooler for a bit, say it. We’ll make it work.”[/color]

Stella chewed on that offer for a moment. If worse came to worse, she might have to, but knowing her grandparents, they’d fight against it. Say that there were people who probably needed it more. Stella knew how to wear them down. And if need be, she could get Luna to make puppy dog eyes at them and they’ll comply. One way or another. [color=cc99cc]“I think we’re good on the meds front. With what was left over from last month’s prescription and the one today, I think they’ll be okay.”[/color] She paused only briefly to think about the other part of that offer, [color=cc99cc]“But if today gets any worse, we might have to take you up on that offer,”[/color] she admitted with a sigh. She knew that would be an uphill battle but that’s why she was back. That’s why she’s been back for three years now. She had to take care of them because they were too damn stubborn to do it themselves and she couldn’t put that on Luna.

[color=cc99cc]“But they’re doing okay. Stubborn as they’ve always been. They forced me to take a break and that’s why I’m here.”[/color] Stella’s voice always was like she had one foot out. She tried to keep on a brave face for her grandparents, for her sister, for those who knew her but sometimes that mask slipped and the eternal exhaustion and stress that she felt crept up. She quickly regained that lost facade. [color=cc99cc]“Glad I was the first one to show up then.”[/color] she made a noise reminiscent of a chuckle. [color=cc99cc]“And that they’re so adamant about others taking care of themselves. Didn’t take much to fight them on sending me out for a break.”[/color]

Ellie listened without interrupting, hands moving with quiet efficiency as she pulled the prescriptions and checked them against the files. She didn’t rush the silence either, she let it sit just long enough for what wasn’t being said to settle into the room alongside what was.

[color=B3EB3F]“Stubborn’s consistent,”[/color] she said lightly. [color=B3EB3F]“I’ll take that over declining and pretending otherwise.”[/color]

There was a faint curve at the corner of her mouth, but her attention stayed sharp. She counted out the medication, labeled each bottle with practiced precision, then set them aside within easy reach instead of sliding them across immediately.

[color=B3EB3F]“You did the right thing coming in today,”[/color] she added. [color=B3EB3F]“Overlap matters with prescriptions like these, especially if we’re looking at a few days of… improvisation.”[/color]

The word was chosen carefully. Not alarmist. Not dismissive.

At Stella’s explanation, Ellie’s gaze lifted again, settling on her a little more directly this time. Not clinical, just present.

[color=B3EB3F]“They didn’t force you,”[/color] she said, not unkindly. [color=B3EB3F]“They reminded you you’re allowed to step away for a minute.”[/color]

A beat.

[color=B3EB3F]“That’s not the same thing.”[/color]

She rested a hand lightly on the counter, grounding the moment rather than pushing it forward.

She finally slid the prescriptions across the counter.

[color=B3EB3F]“This should cover them,”[/color] she said, back to practical. [color=B3EB3F]“If the heat spikes or the power stays out longer than expected, watch for confusion, dizziness, anything off baseline. Don’t wait it out if something feels wrong.”[/color]

A pause, then a little quieter:

[color=B3EB3F]“And if they won’t agree to come in, you call me anyway. I’ll make a house visit before I let it turn into something avoidable.”[/color]

There was no bravado in it. Just certainty.

Ellie straightened slightly, reaching for her coffee but not quite taking a sip yet.

[color=B3EB3F]“You being the first one in isn’t luck,”[/color] she added. [color=B3EB3F]“It means you’re paying attention.”[/color]

A subtle tilt of her head, almost an invitation, but not a push.

[color=B3EB3F]“How bad is it at the house, really?”[/color]

[color=cc99cc]“I wish I had your optimism,”[/color] Stella muttered with the faintest hint of a chuckle. She really didn’t have Ellie’s outlook. Every day she was stressed. Every day there was another issue that needed fixing. Every day she could feel the tug of her life in New York tempt her and every day she compartmentalizes family over freedom. 

Not all days were bad. Not every day felt like a prison she could see the exit for but can’t ever leave. Most days are actually quite pleasant because of her tio Sylvester and her sister helping out. It’s just on days like yesterday where her grandparents not only had a bad day physically and mentally, but the stress they were under and how they lashed out on her affected her and that’s why she didn’t feel much hope or reason to see it half full. She only saw this as half empty, just as she felt inside.

[color=cc99cc]“The house is doing fine as far as condition. Not sure how hot it’s supposed to be but I remember seeing triple digits last night on my weather app.”[/color] Stella admitted with a sigh. It was a deep sigh and she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. [color=cc99cc]“If you want to come out, I won’t stop you. They might but they know not to argue with their doctor.”[/color] Now that was enough to make her actually smile. [color=cc99cc]“When I left, the house was okay. Enough of internal cool air to keep them somewhat comfortable at least until the late morning hours.” [/color]There was an underlying, grim tone to Stella’s voice. Like she understood what was gonna happen and it scared her, though she tried her best to not show it.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few tens. [color=cc99cc]“How much?”[/color] She asked, nodding her head towards the row of pill bottles. [color=cc99cc]“I’ve got like…50 and some change on me in cash. I can probably do more with my card.”[/color]

Ellie caught the shift in Stella’s tone more than the words themselves, the weight under it, the quiet math already running ahead to worst-case scenarios. She didn’t interrupt. She let Stella finish, let the sigh settle into the room like heat.

[color=B3EB3F]“Triple digits sounds about right,”[/color] she said calmly. [color=B3EB3F]“And houses like yours, like ours hold onto cool air… Until they don’t.”[/color]

At the mention of the offered visit, Ellie gave a small nod, already filing into place. [color=B3EB3F]“I’ll come by this afternoon if the power’s still out. Earlier if I get a gap.”[/color] A beat. [color=B3EB3F]“They can argue all they want. They don’t get to win that one.”[/color]

There was a faint trace of something dry in it, but it didn’t linger. Her attention shifted as Stella pulled out the cash.

Ellie didn’t even look at it right away.

Instead, she reached forward and slid the bottles a little closer to Stella, anchoring them within her reach like that part of the conversation was already settled.

[color=B3EB3F]“Put that away,”[/color] she said, not sharp, just firm. Her eyes met Stella’s then, steady and unambiguous. [color=B3EB3F]“You’ve got enough to manage right now.”[/color] Another brief pause, then softer, but no less certain. [color=B3EB3F]“I’ll log it ok? We’ll square it later, or we don’t. That’s not the priority today.”[/color]

She took a sip of her coffee finally, savoring the taste and then sets the cup back down. [color=B3EB3F]“What is the priority,”[/color] her tone shifting back to practical like she had a habit of doing, [color=B3EB3F]“is keeping them cool as long as possible. Close off unused rooms, keep blinds down, and if you’ve got ice then use it. Bowls of it in front of fans, even if it’s just moving warm air around, it helps more than you’d think.”[/color]

Her gaze flicked towards the door, toward the already brightening street beyond. [color=B3EB3F]“And don’t wait until it’s unbearable.,”[/color] she added. [color=B3EB3F]“By the time it feels urgent, you’re already behind it.”[/color] Then she speaks a little quieter. [color=B3EB3F]“You don’t have to carry all of it yourself, Stella.”[/color]

Not a lecture or pity, just something placed gently between them.

There was hesitation on Stella’s end about not paying but she smiled at Ellie and put her wallet back into her pocket. This was a true thing that the doctor said: Stella could actually use that for better means. Whatever might happen in the next couple of days, she could use that money. Even if she did feel bad it was for free, even she knew when to accept defeat. [color=cc99cc]“Well if you insist,”[/color] she remarked.

Stella just listened to Elie. Absorbed her words. She rarely let herself believe she didn’t have to take it all by herself. In the back of her mind, there was always a voice in her head that told her she needed to shoulder this burden. Sylvester was there, of course. So was Luna but Tio had his own issues to deal with. A daughter. Luna had her life and she was just starting to figure herself out. Stella was the oldest of the two of them and the one who needed to be strong for everyone. She was the one who needed to be their anchor. She needed to be the force that could handle her grandparents’ stubbornness and that adamant way they had of trying to refuse extra help. She had to be strong for all of them.

And yet…

In this moment that would last as long as Stella remained in her practice, there was a moment where Stella’s walls just…fell. No mask of strength. No constant pushback of her emotions. Stella, in a moment that her hands touched the top of the bottles and had grazed Ellie’s hand, she broke.

 A waterfall of sobs escaped her eyes, from her mouth. Her voice was cracking as the dam broke. Every ounce of stress that she felt these past few years, the stress of what was gonna come later. Every ounce of forced fortitude that had to maintain despite everything in her wanting to crawl into bed and never get out. EVery thought that she had of her old life…it all came to the surface and Stella buried her head into the gracious hand of Ellie, into her hand that was on top of it. She just couldn’t maintain it anymore.

Ellie didn’t flinch when Stella broke.

There was no surprise in her expression, no rush to fix it, no instinct to fill the space with words that would only skim the surface of something this deep. She simply shifted, one step closer, one hand steadying against the counter, the other turning just enough so Stella’s grip had something solid to hold onto.

[color=B3EB3F]“Hey,”[/color] she said quietly, not to stop it, just to meet her where she was.

She let the sobs come. Let them take up space in the room without apology. The generator hummed low in the background, steady and indifferent, while the rest of Pines Holler carried on outside, unaware. Inside, Ellie stayed exactly where she was.
Her thumb moved once, absentminded and grounding, brushing lightly against the side of Stella’s hand. Not a gesture meant to comfort in a performative way, just presence. Just there.

[color=B3EB3F]“You don’t have to hold it together in here,”[/color] she murmured after a moment, voice low and even. [color=B3EB3F]“Not for me.”[/color]

She shifted again, just enough to ease the angle so Stella wasn’t half-leaning over the counter anymore. Her free hand came up, resting gently, but firmly, against Stella’s upper arm, anchoring her without pulling her away.

[color=B3EB3F]“Breathe,”[/color] Ellie added softly. [color=B3EB3F]“Not deep. Just… don’t stop.”[/color]

No rush. No pressure to ‘calm down.’ Just a quiet instruction to keep going, to not disappear into it.

She let the silence stretch between the waves of emotion, only speaking when it felt necessary.

[color=B3EB3F]“This doesn’t make you weak,”[/color] she said after a while, tone unchanged, grounded. [color=B3EB3F]“It means you waited too long to let it out.”[/color]

A pause.

[color=B3EB3F]“You’ve been carrying more than one person should for a long time,”[/color] she continued. [color=B3EB3F]“That doesn’t just… stay contained because you decide it should.”[/color]

Her hand remained steady, never tightening, never withdrawing.

[color=B3EB3F]“Right now, you just get to not hold it all up for a minute.”[/color]

And so she did. Stella breathed. She let herself feel everything she had been holding in for the past three years. The shock of her grandparents being hurt, the pain of returning to a place that brought her so many terrible memories. The terror in her of doing something wrong when she first took on all of the responsibility. The sheer amount of responsibilities she would have placed on her shoulders. The help from Sylvester and Luna was fine but she still had all the burden. She let herself release the self-torment she put herself under. 

Every ounce of stress left her body in wailing sobs, sobs that probably would draw attention if she and Ellie had company in the building (thankfully there weren’t). She let herself feel all of that and by the time five minutes came, all of which was aided by the soothing, comforting touch of Ellie’s hand on hers, patting her, telling her it was okay. Stella wasn’t sure how much of that she actually believed but she didn’t fight it anymore.

It took three additional minutes for her to regain her ability to speak without the voice cracking of her lingering emotions causing her to almost choke on her own words. When she was finally able to get full control, he took in one last, deep, calming breath. [color=cc99cc]“I..thank you.”[/color] was all Stella could manage to get out. In her mind, she didn’t know what to say. Saying sorry sounded like it would only incur the subtle ‘no no none of that’ from The Good Doctor, so an expression of gratitude was all she felt would sum up what she was feeling after the fact. 

Stella grabbed the pill bottles, put them into her purse. She didn’t say anything but she looked at Ellie. [color=cc99cc]“And I’m not just talking about what just happened but for…just everything.”[/color] Stella gave the doctor a smile, thinking about the day she had to look forward to. Maybe it was good that she emptied all of the stress now before she got home. In a way, she felt a lot more free. There was a weight lifted off of her shoulders. [color=cc99cc]“I’ll be sure to tell my abuelo and abuela they can expect you this afternoon.”[/color] She let out a laugh, almost wanting to see how exactly that will go when she comes over. 

Ellie didn’t move away right after the storm passed.

She gave Stella those extra few seconds, the quiet after, where everything felt a little too still, a little too exposed. Her hand eased, but didn’t leave entirely, grounding until Stella had both feet back under her again.

When Stella finally spoke, Ellie’s expression didn’t shift much. Just a small, almost imperceptible nod, like she was accepting something simple and expected.

[color=B3EB3F]“You don’t owe me thanks for that,”[/color] she said gently. [color=B3EB3F]“But I hear it.”[/color]

There was no deflection, no dismissal, just acknowledgment.

Her hand slipped away then, giving Stella her space back without making it feel like something had ended. Ellie reached for a box of tissues nearby, setting it within easy reach rather than handing it over directly.

[color=B3EB3F]“Most people apologize,”[/color] she added, a faint trace of dry warmth in her voice. [color=B3EB3F]“So you’re already ahead of the curve.”[/color]

Her eyes lingered on Stella for a moment longer not assessing now, just making sure she was steady.

At the mention of her grandparents, Ellie let out a quiet breath through her nose, something just shy of a smile following.

[color=B3EB3F]“I’ll brace myself,”[/color] she said. [color=B3EB3F]“Stubborn usually travels in pairs.”[/color]

Then, a little more serious again:

[color=B3EB3F]“I mean it, Stella. If the heat climbs or something feels off, you call before it becomes a problem. I’d rather show up early than late.”[/color]

She moved back behind the counter, but her attention didn’t leave.

[color=B3EB3F]“And for what it’s worth,” she added, almost as an afterthought, though it wasn’t, “what you’re doing? It matters. Even on the days it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”[/color]

Not praise. Not comfort.

Just something solid to take with her.

Ellie picked her coffee back up, finally taking a proper sip this time, eyes drifting briefly toward the brightening street outside before returning to Stella.

[color=B3EB3F]“I’ll see you this afternoon.”[/color]
[/indent][/indent][/indent][/color]