by Pandora Pine
After sticking around for a few hours, Nash had taken off and shortly after, Ben had taken Knox home. Knox had looked absolutely devastated when he'd gotten a look at Rem. He'd sat at Rem's bedside and whispered to him while Declan had forced himself to eat.
Soon after the guys left, Rainier stopped by. He was carrying artwork that Gemma and Tucker had drawn for Rem. "How's he doing?" Rainier bent low over his brother and kissed his cheek.
"No change. The neurologist was in about an hour ago. He said Rem was holding his own and that they'd know more in the morning. He'll have another CT scan then."
Rainer nodded. "Gemma had a nap and she's looking much better. She didn't do so well driving in the car with Peg."
"I had a feeling that might happen." Poor Gemmy. She'd only just lost her mother and now to have gone through a traumatic car accident. Declan wanted to protect her from all the evils of this world and keep her safe.
"I'm not prepared for this, Dec," Rainier said sadly.
"Prepared for what?"
"To lose my brother."
"You're not going to lose him." Christ, the last thing Rem needed was to hear that kind of talk from his brother. "Rem is a stubborn son of a bitch. He's going to be just fine and back to being a royal pain in my ass soon enough."
Rainier rolled his eyes. "There's no plan in place for Gemma."
Declan understood now. Rainier was worried about Rem from a legal standpoint. "Well, we'll make a plan then, won't we? But, it's not going to come to that."
"It's funny I don't even have a will. Remy and I said that once Gemma was settled with him that we'd get together and make wills. Not exactly the most fun way to spend the day, but we knew we needed to do it."
"We're a family, Rainier. We'll figure this out together."
"Jesus Dec, don't be such a Pollyanna. He could be in this bed for the rest of his life! He could need millions of dollars in medical care. You can say you're family as much as you want, but whose going to pay those bills when they come in? Who's gonna feed him or wipe his ass or cut his hair?"
Dec got up and pulled Rainier into a hug. "Let's just focus on Rem waking up, huh? The doctor said we need to be positive. He said Rem can hear us. The last thing Rem needs is to hear you freaking out." Dec turned back to Rem. "Or to hear that his brother is hugging me! Come on, Rem, wake up. Your brother has his hands on my ass!”
"I do not!'
"He does too and I'm starting to like it!" Dec could feel another crash coming. He knew that if he lost it, Rainier would too.
"Its gonna be okay, Dec. You're right, my brother is a stubborn son of a bitch. He's got so much to tell you."
Dec pulled back. "What do you mean?"
"Under other circumstances I'd want to punch your throat out, you know?"
“I hear you. I was awful to Rem on that last day.” Declan’s heart sank to think about the way he’d just walked away from Rem.
“From the way he tells it, he was pretty awful to you too.”
“I was too scared to tell him I loved him.” Dec turned back to Rem. “Did you hear that, babe? I love you!”
“It might not be my place to say it, but he loves you too.”
Dec nodded. “He told you that?”
“Had a bit of a talk with him last night. God, it seems like that was years ago, now.” Rainier shook his head. “Anyway, he said that he’d really messed things up with you and was going to try to fix things today.”
Dec felt tears pricking the backs of his eyes again. “I was going to do the same thing.”
“Peg told me all about her little come to Jesus meeting with you. I never said it much, but you’re good for each other.”
“Christ, did you hear that, Rem? Your brother just gave us his blessing. If he keeps talking like that I’m gonna have a stroke and have to share that bed with you.”
“You call me if there’s anything either of you need. I mean it Declan. Call me for anything.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I also want you to promise me you’re gonna get some sleep. The little sofa here in the room doesn’t look very comfortable.”
“I can’t leave his side, Rainier. I’ll try to sleep, but I’m not going home.”
“You two deserve each other. Stubborn bastards…” Rainier muttered before hugged he Declan and left the room.
21
Declan had been up for hours when Ben walked in with a steaming cup of coffee and a paper sack from McDonald’s.
“You look like shit.” Ben grinned. “Good morning, Rem.” Ben walked up to the bed and squeezed Rem’s hand before checking out the monitors that surrounded him.
“I didn’t sleep well. The nurses were in and out all night and the beeping of the machines kept waking me up.” Not that Declan minded being woken up. It was nice to know Rem was being so well cared for.
Ben nodded. “I figured that would happen. What time is his next CT scan?”
Declan checked the display on his phone. “Should be any time now.”
Ben sat next to Dec on the small sofa watching his friend as Declan demolished his Egg McMuffin in about four bites. “Good, huh?”
Dec nodded while he chewed the last bite. “Thanks for bringing this for me. The last thing I had to eat was that bit of pasta last night.”
“The CT scan is going to take a while. Why don’t you go home for a bit?”
“I can’t leave him, Ben.”
“I’ll be right here with him. I promise. Go home, have a shower and change your clothes. When Rem wakes up you’re gonna want to look your best.”
He knew Ben was right. He should go home and clean himself up, but there was a part of him that was terrified Rem would die if he left the hospital. “What if something happens while I’m gone?”
“Nothing’s going to happen. He’s stable and has been for hours. If you’re that concerned, I’ll go with him to imaging.”
Dec snorted. “You do realize you’re a pediatrician, right? You’re forte is runny noses and chicken pox.”
“I’m a doctor, Declan. The only difference between Rem and my patients is his height.”
Dec snorted. “Okay, I’ll go. I want to check in on Gemma too. You’ll stay until I get back?”
“I sure will. I’ll be with him every step of the way.” Ben pulled Dec in for a tight hug.
“You see that Rem? Ben’s putting the moves on me. You better wake up and kick his ass!”
Ben started to laugh. “You’re taunting him into getting better? I’ve gotta say that’s a first.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. You take care of him, Ben. I can’t lose him.”
“You’re not gonna lose him. Take your time. We’ll be here when you get back.”
**
Declan had almost fallen asleep twice in the shower. It had been a bad week for him in terms of lying awake and staring at the ceiling before Rem’s accident. Now, he felt like he’d never get a good night’s sleep again.
He’d managed to grab a short series of cat naps at the hospital. More often than not, he’d been woken up by the nursing staff coming in to check on Rem. They’d all had an encouraging word or two for him on their way out.
There were a lot of decisions that needed to be made about Gemma going forward, but with today being Saturday at least he didn’t have to worry about her going to school. He’d texted Peg first thing and asked if he could bring breakfast for them. Peg had responded back that the kids wanted donuts. Dec took that to mean Tucker must have spent the night as well.
Aside from Gemma, there was no better kid in the world than Tucker McKinnon. He was so kind and giving which he knew wasn’t always the norm for kindergarteners.
Declan had grabbed two dozen assorted donuts, knowing he could eat a dozen on his own and headed over to Peg’s house. He could see Bronson’s SUV in the driveway when he pulled in. He was thrilled that Gemma had so many people around who loved her.
He could hear the raucous crowd inside when he opened the s
ide door and walked into the kitchen.
“Declan!” Gemma ran to him, wrapping herself around his legs.
Dec handed off the donuts to Nash and picked up the little girl. Gemma was wearing her favorite Elsa nightgown. “I missed you, sweetheart. How are you?”
“I’m so glad you’re okay after driving in the car.”
Declan hugged her tighter and looked over her head at the others. They were all wearing similar sad looks on their faces. He knew he was going to have to do something to cure Gemma of her fear of riding in cars.
“How about a jelly donut, Princess Gemma?” Nash asked, setting one on a plate for her.
“Okay.” Gemma pulled herself away from Declan to climb up into her seat next to Tucker, who had a chocolate ring around his mouth from his donut.
“How’s Rem?” Bronson asked.
“Still the same. Ben is going with him to his CT scan, just to be there for him. That’s how I was able to go grab a shower and get breakfast for my favorite kiddos.”
“You’re a teacher, Declan. You’re not supposed to have favorites. That’s what my Daddy told me. Right, Daddy?” Tucker beamed brightly at Nash.
“That’s only in school, Tucker. You can be Dec’s favorite at home.” Nash grinned at his son.
“Speaking of Ben, he was really good to Knox last night. Apparently he brought over pizza and stayed to marathon Little House on the Prairie with him all night. I wonder whose idea that was?” Nash raised an eyebrow in question.
Declan shrugged. “I might have mentioned to Ben that Knox would need some support last night. I’ve got a heart. So sue me.”
“I wanna go see Uncle Remy,” Gemma interrupted.
“You do?” Declan cringed at the sound of shock in his voice. Of course Gemma wanted to see Rem, he just hoped she realized that seeing him meant driving there.
Gemma shook her head. “I can be brave enough to drive in the car for him.”
Declan felt tears building up again. Instead of letting them fall, he stuffed a Boston cream donut into his mouth.
After all the donuts were eaten, it hadn’t taken Gemma long to get dressed. Before they’d gone out to the car, Gemma had gotten a lot of hugs all around.
From the rearview mirror, Dec could see that Gemma had her ratty baby blanket clutched in her fist and was rubbing it against the side of her face. Declan could see the fear in her eyes. “How about we play some Katy Perry? I’ve got her on my phone.”
“No! We can’t listen to Katy Perry in the car ever again.” Gemma sounded horrified.
“Why not?”
“Me and Uncle Remy were singing Roar when we got in the accident.”
Dec’s heart felt like an icy fist was squeezing it. How was Gemma ever going to get over the memory of the accident? It was definitely a question he’d ask Ben when they saw him later. “Oh, honey. I didn’t know that.”
Gemma nodded and buried her face in her blanket.
Dec decided they’d spend the rest of the ride in silence. He didn’t want to do or say anything else.
When he pulled into the hospital parking lot, Declan easily found a parking spot. As they walked toward the hospital, Gemma grabbed his hand in a death grip. Declan couldn’t imagine the anxiety she must be feeling. This was the hospital that had cared for Roma until she died. He was sure Gemma had nothing but bad memories about this place. He prayed today wouldn’t bring more bad memories.
They walked quietly through the sliding doors of the hospital. The closer they got to the elevators, the harder Gemma held his hand. It was a rare moment when words failed Declan, but he had no earthly idea what to say to the terrified little girl. When they got in the elevator, Dec pried her little hand off and pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Gemmy. No matter what happens I’ll always be here for you.”
“I miss Uncle Remy. He always tries to make me laugh. I’m so sorry I was so mean to him.”
“Why don’t you tell him that when we see him, okay?”
“Okay. Even though he’s sleeping, he can hear me, right?”
Peg must have told Gemma that Rem was sleeping. It was so much easier to explain than telling her what a medically induced coma was. “That’s right. Uncle Remy is sleeping so that he can feel better.”
Declan walked into the ICU and waved at the nurse manning the desk. She was the same nurse who’d been sitting there when he’d left a few hours ago and had spent a little time with him this morning when she’d come in to check on Rem. He’d have to remember to send flowers or chocolates to thank all of the people who had taken care of Rem.
Declan stopped outside Rem's hospital room. "Now, remember what we talked about. Uncle Rem is hooked up to a lot of machines that you might think make scary noises."
"My Mommy was too. I won't be afraid."
Dec nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth to speak, he'd end up crying. There was no way a five-year-old should be that matter-of-fact about the ICU.
He steeled his courage and walked in through the door. Ben was sitting at the side of Rem's bed reading a story from the paper about the Boston Red Sox.
Declan looked up at Rem and noticed instantly that he wasn't on the respirator anymore. "Hey, Ben. Hi Rem! I brought a gorgeous woman to see you!"
Ben snorted. "Hi, Dec! Hi Gemmy!"
Dec set Gemma down and she went to Rem's bed, not hesitating for a second before climbing up on the bed and kissing his cheek. "Hi Uncle Remy. You gotta wake up. I have to tell you about the funny thing that Blackie did last night and I have to tell you the dinosaur joke Tucker told me. And I need to tell you that I love you." Gemma took a deep breath. Without turning around, she said, "Dec, I don't want Uncle Remy to die before I can call him Daddy."
Dec’s breath caught in his throat. "Is that what you want to call him, honey?"
Gemma nodded. "Tucker has two Daddies and they love him so much, just like Uncle Remy loves me so much. I want him to be my Daddy."
That did it for Declan. He couldn't hold back the flood of tears any longer. He and Rem had never talked about it, but he'd bet the house that Rem would love it if Gemma called him Daddy.
"I think he'd love that Gemmy," Ben said, wrapping an arm around Dec's shoulders.
"Me too," Dec managed.
"I've got some good news for both of you."
"Christ knows we could use some." Dec pulled away from Ben to blow his nose and dig for the strength to stop crying. Hell, he’d cried more in the last two days then he had in the last two years.
"Rem had his cat scan while you were gone."
"A cat scan? Does he get to keep the cat? I know Uncle Remy would love another cat." Gemma giggled.
Dec snorted. Knowing Rem, he'd love to get a second cat if it made Gemma happy.
"That's just the name of the test. There aren't any actual cats involved." Ben grinned.
"Rats," Gemma muttered under her breath.
"After they got Rem back to the room, Doctor Cassiday came in to talk to me about the results. He's responded well enough to the treatment that the doctor wants him out of the medically induced coma and off the respirator." Ben leaned in closer. "I'm so glad you weren't here to see them take the breathing tube out."
Dec nodded. He was glad too. It was hard enough to see Rem like this in the hospital bed. "Thank you so much for being here for us, Ben."
"That's what best friends are for." Ben bussed a kiss against the side of Declan's head. "The doctor said he could wake up any time now.”
"Did you hear that, Daddy! Doctor Ben says you can wake up now!" Gemma turned around to Ben and Declan. "Do you think if I kiss him, he'll wake up like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty?"
"There's only one way to find out, Princess Gemmy. Give it a try." Declan knew nothing was going to happen when Gemma kissed Rem. True love's kiss only ever worked in a Disney movie or in a cheesy romance novel. Even with as pessimistic as he was feeling, Dec said a quick prayer that it would work.
"Okay, Daddy, I'm gonna kiss you and you'r
e gonna wake up, okay?" Gemma puckered up and pressed a kiss to Rem's slack lips. She sat back and waited for the magic to happen.
"Hmm, nothing." Gemma crossed her arms over her chest. "Now you, Dec. You're Daddy's true love. It's gotta work when you kiss him."
"Gemma, honey, medicine doesn't always-"
"Hold on a second there, Doctor Ben. Let's give it a try." Dec squeezed Ben's shoulder and walked back to the other side of Rem's bed. "Prince Remington James, I awaken thee with true love's kiss."
"No tongue, huh, Dec." Ben deadpanned.
Dec shot Ben the middle finger and leaned over Rem. "I love you so much, Rem. You gotta wake up." Dec pressed their lips together, praying harder than he'd ever prayed in his life. Dec pulled back and smacked a kiss against the side of Gemma's head.
"Come on, Daddy!" Gemma clapped her hands.
Dec knew it was the longest of long shots that the kiss would wake Rem up. He just couldn't bear to dash Gemma's hopes. He looked back over his shoulder at Ben who was shaking his head. When he turned back to Rem, his eyelashes were fluttering.
"It worked Dec! You did it. Come on, Daddy, you can do it. Open your eyes!"
"Gemma?" Rem said. His voice sounded hoarse. Dec figured that had to do with having had the breathing tube down his throat.
"Daddy! I'm right here!"
"Is this heaven?" Rem rasped.
"No, silly. We're in the hospital. Dec is here and so is Doctor Ben. Did you hear me talking to you in your sleep?"
Rem nodded. "Dec?"
"Right here." Dec swiped at the tears freely flowing down his face. "I love you so much. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I'm sorry I didn't fight for us. I love you. I just love you so much."
Rem's lips bent into a quick smile. "Love you too, stubborn bastard."
"Dec! Daddy said a bad word!"
"I think we can let it go this one time," Dec laughed.
"Who's Daddy?" Rem sounded confused.
"Boy, you really musta hit your head hard. You're my Daddy." Gemma giggled.
"Really?" Tears slipped out of the corners of Rem's eyes.
"Yup! I love you so much too. Dec and I woke you up with true love's kiss."
