"...morning already?" Claudia grumbled. Lying face down in her pillow, she didn't feel like getting up today. She ached all over and the bed felt particularly comfortable. She could always sleep in. Who would stop her?
As if to answer her question, the alarm clock chose that moment to go off. The loud buzzing was enough to make her head hurt even more, but that wasn't what bothered her. It was the fact that the alarm didn't sound anything like her actual alarm clock. Startled at the strange new sound, Claudia sat up to get her contacts before realizing that she could see the unfamiliar alarm clock without them. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she came to the realization that this room, like the alarm, was not her usual room at the new palace in Bellevue. Nearly everything from the bed sheets to the walls was colored with white or off-white colors, but the layout of the room itself was unmistakable. It was her old bedroom back at Schönbrunn. No, Claudia reasoned, that would be silly. The bombing left most of the palace in ruins, including her bedroom. Even if they did repair it in time, why would everything be bleached like this?
The door handle clicked. Claudia pulled the sheets closer to herself as it swung open. A tall man wearing a fine tailored suit and a gentle expression strode into the room. Claudia recognized him immediately, even as the tears began to well in her eyes.
"Dad?"
Joseph Hapsburg smiled warmly, sitting down on the bed next to her. "Hello, Claudia."
"I...I thought you were..."
Words had utterly failed her. Without pausing to think of why her dead father was sitting in front of her, she leaned up and embraced him. Joseph returned it with the same enthusiasm he always showed his only daughter. It had been so long since they last saw one another, she had almost forgotten what it felt like. But she knew now that it was really him. It was unmistakable.
After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart. Claudia wiped away her tears with the bed sheet before finding the strength to speak again.
"I thought you were gone..."
"I am," he said plainly. Claudia shuddered as the fear that was welling up inside her was confirmed.
"Does that mean I'm...gone too?"
Joseph gave a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe..."
Claudia slumped against the headboards, her mind working at high intensity. The previous night's events came flooding back to her, taking some of the shock out of seeing her father here.
"I remember being at the state dinner. There were a lot of guests. There was the Roman politician and the Australian family. The Indonesians bought us a giant lizard, that was cool." Joseph merely nodded his head, silently encouraging her to continue.
"Then I felt dizzy. I told Thorsten I wanted to leave, and then...I'm here," Claudia finished, gesturing to the white room surrounding the two. "Do you think I'm dreaming, or am I actually...you know..."
Claudia stuck her tongue out and mimed hanging from a noose. Joseph chuckled, readjusting his seating so he leaned against the headboard too.
"Can't really say what this is," Joseph remarked nonchalantly. "It's for you to decide."
"But you're so much better at making decisions!" Claudia lamented.
"I think the Kaiserin of all Germany can make her own decisions."
Claudia hung her head at these words. "It's nothing special. You were better at this than I was."
"Claudia, look what you have accomplished. You reunited the German people. You led them into the future and made them proud of their country again. You forged alliances while others waged war, and sought peace in the face of violence."
"Dad..."
"You've done more than I ever would have been able to accomplish in my life," Joseph said, placing a hand around her shoulders. "Were I given the choice again, I would have handed the throne to you ten times over."
Claudia smiled warmly. "Thanks dad. That means a lot..."
Joseph reached into his pocket and pulled out his old and battered pocket watch.
"You aren't leaving..?" Claudia asked him, the tears forming again.
"Everyone has to, someday," Joseph told her. "It's what we leave behind that matters. I'm just happy that what I left behind was you, mein Engel."
Claudia grinned at the term of endearment before realizing that she was feeling surprisingly weak. "I think I may be heading back as well."
"That is good to hear," Joseph said. Getting to his feet, he straightened out his tie before turning to leave.
"I'll make you proud, dad," Claudia called after him, feeling more and more tired. Just as she hit the pillow and her eyes began to close, Joseph Hapsburg's voice called to her once more.
"No need, Claudia. I've always been proud of you."
---
The doctors stared in awe at the heartbeat monitor linked to the unconscious Claudia.
"I don't believe it," one exclaimed. "It's stabilizing. Hurry, inject the antidote before it drops again!"
The order was carried out immediately, and the doctors waited in anticipation. Slowly, the scanner showed Claudia's vitals returning to normal.
"My God..." one of them exclaimed. "We saved her."
"Let's not use that as an excuse to cut corners," the chief surgeon reminded them all. "Prep her for the ICU, we'll keep her there for a few nights until we're sure she's safe."
"Is someone going to tell the Kaiserin's friends out there?" the nurse asked.
"I'll do it when she's ready to move," the chief surgeon responded, peeling off his gloves.
"Better make it quick," one doctor piped in. "The Danish guy looked like he was going to have an aneurysm."
