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Fuck. I hate that she has to decide about anything right now.
“Can you all give me a minute with Ben?” she asks, voice weak.
Reid nods. “Take your time, sweetheart.”
I squeeze her hand before slipping out the door. The urge to return to her pounds with each step, but I force myself to keep going.
Reid follows, a guiding palm on my back. “Breathe, babe.”
Jeanie steps out of the room and walks down the hall, cell phone to her ear.
In the bond, Reid sends reassurance, and his purr tries to motor above the constant beeping of machines in the emergency room. My scent is so sour I reek, and a whine builds in my throat. I want to go in there and beg her to let us take them home. I’m not above throwing myself at her feet and promising her anything she asks for. But I don’t because what she asked for is space. And even though I want her with me, I want her to be comfortable more.
What feels like an eternity later, Ben pops his head out the door. “You can come back.”
Jeanie, Reid, and I crowd into the little room, and it’s like judgment day. Cammie lies on the bed, her energy fading fast.
She looks at her sister. “Thanks for helping out today, Jay. I appreciate the offer, but we’re going to stay with Reid and Finn in town.”
Her sister smiles, toothy and big. “Fuck yeah, you are, you lucky bitch.” She leans in and kisses her sister’s and her nephew’s cheek. “Have fun playing doctor,” she sings.
I’m so shocked that a laugh slips out. Her sister is outrageous and kinda hilarious. She’s got that same grit as Cammie, but it’s more biting.
“I’ll let Stacey know you’ll be out until she hears from you. Call me if you change your mind,” Jeanie says. She waves to us on her way out, stopping at the door. “Remember what I said, fellas.” It’s said all flirty, but her meaning is clear. Hurt her sister, and we’re toast.
Her threat doesn’t scare me as it’s meant to. My sisters would do the same for me. And Cammie chose to trust us to take care of her and her family. There is no way we’ll mess this up.
Reid leaves the room to sign the paperwork for her discharge, and I have Ben grab her things. The nurse brings a wheelchair, but I decline, scooping Cammie into my arms.She clings to my neck and leans into my chest. Her skin is burning up with fever, but she’s shivering. I hold her tighter, my purr vibrating between us.
Ben opens the door for me, eyes anxiously following his mother.
“All right, baby,” I murmur. “It’s time to get you home and feeling better.”
“Okay,” she says, the word so soft I almost miss it.
But the word is a gift of trust I plan to honor. All I wanted was for her to give us a chance to give her a home.
Reid carries a sleeping Cammie through the yard and into our house. Waffles throws a dance party, circling him and barking in excitement.
“You have a dog?” Ben asks.
That prompts Waffles to realize there are two new people in the house. All but his tail freezes, then he switches to welcoming Ben with licks that earn him head pats.
“Meet Waffles,” I say.
“What kind of name is Waffles?” Ben scoffs.
“The first day we brought him home, he tipped over the trash. We’d had waffles for breakfast, and he helped himself to the leftovers, getting covered in butter and syrup. Hence the name Waffles.”
Ben leans down and gives Waffles a proper hello, a small smile on his lips. It might be the first one I’ve seen from him.
Reid pauses at the foot of the stairs, looking at me over his shoulder. “Which nest, babe?”
“Take her to our bedroom. Not the heat nest.” I’m not due for a heat for another couple of months, and it won’t have the fresh scents she needs.
Reid nods and turns away from the stairs, moving down the hall that leads to our bedroom at the back of the first floor. I skirt around him to grab the door.
Cammie has been asleep since we left the hospital. During discharge, the nurse gave us a rundown of what to expect with this version of the flu. If she follows the typical course of the virus, we’re looking at anywhere from five to ten days of her feeling like crud.
