40. Ill Cover It
I'll Cover It
Luke
The ringing of my phone wakes me from a fitful sleep just after eight in the morning. I spent most of the night tossing and turning and trying to get a hold of Dani to see what's going on with Mason. I reach over and grab it from Dani’s nightstand. My chest tightens when I see the name.
"Sweetheart?"
"It’s Erin."
"Erin, what's going on? Is Daniella all right? What about Mason?" I throw the questions at her.
Erin sighs. "She’s shook up and stressed out. Mason is out of surgery. Once he wakes up, we'll see how he's feeling but he's more than likely on some strong painkillers."
I sink back down in the bed, rubbing a hand through my hair. I feel helpless sitting here, however I don't want to show up at the hospital uninvited. Dani made it clear that she could do this on her own, but fuck, I want to be there for her. Show her that she can trust me when it comes to Mason. He's her everything and I want to protect him the same way I protect her.
"Can you come down to Toronto Gen?" Erin's hushed voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
I throw off the covers and toss on a pair of sweatpants and a faded t-shirt. "What room?" I grab my keys on my way out the door.
"216. Dani needs to talk to you about something." Erin hangs up.
I fly towards the hospital, my heart racing with fear.
Fear for Dani and what she’s going through.
Fear for Mason and what he has endured.
I find a parking spot and climb out of my truck. I enter through the ER and walk towards the elevators. I find the room with help from a nurse. I knock on the door and walk in. Dani’s lying next to her monstrous son and Erin’s sitting in a chair next to the bed. Erin turns and stares, blindly swatting at Dani’s arm.
"Erin, what?" Dani turns and her stunning eyes meet mine.
Her hair is in a messy heap on the top of her head. She’s wearing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt that I don’t remember her putting on when she left the house but she’s still the most stunning creature I have ever seen.
She says nothing as she jumps from the bed and into my waiting arms, wrapping herself around me and crying into my shoulder. I slide my hand into her hair and hold her against me. Erin looks up at us before standing and swiping her purse off the floor.
"I’m going to head home to shower and change," Erin says. "I’ll be back later. Thanks for coming, Luke. I didn’t want to leave her alone." Erin squeezes my free shoulder and leaves.
I hold Dani until she calms down. "How’s Mason?" I asks, as I place her on her feet, wiping the tears off her cheeks.
"He’ll live, but he's got a road of recovery coming." Dani motions to the chair.
I sit slowly as Dani climbs back on the bed.
"I asked Erin to call you. I—" she looks back at Mason and gives her head a shake. "I wanted to talk to you about my benefits." She brushes Mason’s blond hair off his face. "Mason is going to need some physiotherapy once he’s fully healed and that’s something I can’t afford. Plus, they put him in a private room and without my benefits, I have to pay for it out of pocket." She huffs. "I asked them to move him to a common room that's covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, but they have no vacancy."
"I’ll cover it." I blurt out.
Her head whips around. "What?"
"I will cover it. Anything you need for him when he’s home and his physiotherapy. Everything."
"I can’t ask you to cover everything, Archer. He’s my son. I just wanted to know if I could get my benefits started now."
Reaching over, I take her small hand in mine. "I will cover everything. Don’t worry about it."
Her eyes search mine, a fine sheen covering them before she lunges off the bed and wraps her arms around me again, burying her face in my neck.
"Thank you." She whispers.
I hold her close to me, her scent of coconut and vanilla washing over me. Dani kisses me then. A soft, sweet kiss. One of gratitude and it makes my heart lurch in my chest.
A feminine gasp fills the room. "Oh. Oh, Christopher. Look at my boy."
Sandra rushes past us and around the other side of the bed. Dani pulls back, kissing me once more before moving off my lap.
"Mom, he’s fine. He’s going to live." Dani sits back on the bed.
"Are you sure? Look at him, Daniella." Her mother sobs.
"Sandra, the boy will live." I turn and find a large man standing in the doorway.
Standing, I touched Dani’s shoulder. "Get the hospital to send the bill and any other paperwork to the office." I place a kiss on her temple and head out of the room and towards the elevators.
"Mr. Archer."
I stop at the sound of the voice from the doorway. Turning, I find Dani’s father walking towards me.
"Christopher Carter," he holds his hand out.
"Luke Archer," I take his hand and shake it.
The man shares the same eye and hair colour as his daughter and grandson. "I heard what you said in there about covering the bill for my baby girl. Did you mean it?"
"Absolutely. Dani means the world to me, if she'll let me, I'm going to help her with whatever her or Mason need."
His hand clamps down on my shoulder. "Thank you for that, Luke. You’re a good man."
"Thank you, sir." I reply.
"I should get back in there before Sandra begins yelling for me and waking up the hospital." Christopher gives me a brief nod and heads back towards the room.
I push the button for the elevator and step inside.
"Archer," Dani calls.
I slam my hand against the closing doors. "Sweetheart? Everything okay?" I ask.
She steps onto the elevator. "Have you eaten?" she asks looking up at me.
"I grabbed a coffee on my way over. Does coffee count?"
"No, Archer. Coffee does not count as food." Dani says.
"Then, no. I haven’t eaten." I smirk, pulling her against my chest.
Dani smiles at me and hits the button for the main floor. "Good. Lets go have breakfast."
Dani
Luke walks me back to Mason’s room half an hour later after having a filling breakfast.
"Thanks again, Archer. For breakfast and for covering everything."
He dips his chin. "My pleasure." He leans in and place a kiss on my lips. "I’ll see you tomorrow," he says.
"You’re coming back tomorrow?" I ask bewildered.
"If that's alright."
Tears spring to my eyes. "I would love that."
He gives me one last kiss before I walk into Mason's room, closing the door behind me. I can't stop the smile that tugs at my lips.
"Daniella, are you okay?" Mom asks.
I spin around, wide eyed. I forgot my parents were still here.
"Yep! I'm great." I yell, not meaning to.
Mom looks over at Dad who's trying to hide a smile.
"What?" Mom asks, "What am I missing?"
I shake my head and climb back on the bed with Mason, who is now awake.
"You smell like Mr. Archer." Mason slurs, a huge smile growing on his face. "Were you two sucking face again."
Dad's booming laugh bounces off the walls of the room, while Mom giggles behind her hand.
"We weren't sucking face! He gave me a quick kiss." I defend, my face getting hotter with each word.
"Hey, hey Nanny. Did Ma tell you I caught her sucking face with her boss on the front porch where all the neighbours could see."
"Daniella!" Mom shrieks.
"Mason!" I yell.
"Ma!" he yells back, laughing.
It makes my heart so happy and full to hear his laugh, even if it's at my expense. I was so scared I would never hear it again. I brush his hair off his face, it's getting long.
"You need a haircut Bubba," I comment.
He smiles up at me and presses my nose. "Beeeeeeeeep." He laughs and drops his head on my shoulder. "Love you, Ma."
I kiss the top of his head. "I love you, my baby boy."
While yesterday was full of laughter, today is the exact opposite. There's been nothing but tears and pain, yelling and fighting. The doctor and nurses are trying everything to make Mason comfortable, but nothings working. I pace the hallway, biting the side of my thumb. I can't be in that room anymore, it's breaking my heart.
They had finally found something to calm him enough to help him sleep, but it hasn't taken the pain away completely. They've taken blood to see why he's resisting the drugs, I'm praying they find nothing and that all it is is them not giving him the right dosage. He's as tall or taller than the average adult male and weights just as much, but he's still a teenager.
Heavy footsteps draw my attention towards the elevators. My heart skips a beat in my chest as Luke walk towards me with his large shoulders, wide chest and beautiful smile. Tears spring to my eyes as the stress from the last ten hours catches up with me. I run towards him, slamming into his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist, letting the tears fall.
"Sweetheart?" he wraps his arm around my waist, his other hand digs into my hair and he holds me tight against his chest. "Is everything alright? Did something happen with Mason?" concern fills his voice, making me cry harder.
I hold on tighter to him, unable to speak.
"Shhhh, baby. I'm here, I've got you. Talk when you're ready." Luke says, running his fingers through my hair.
A cry of pain comes from Mason's room and my knees give out.
Luke helps me over to a chair against the wall. "I'll check on him, okay?"
I shake my head. "I can do it."
"Sweetheart, you are too stressed and exhausted to deal with this right now. Let me go check, and if he needs you, I'll come get you." He cups my cheek, getting me to look at him.
"Promise me, Luke," I grab his shirt, "promise me you'll come get me whether he needs me or not. He's my baby."
"I promise, Dani." He kisses my forehead before heading into Mason's room.
I drop my elbows on my knees and curl my fingers around my head. Luke's right, I am stressed and exhausted, it is taking every ounce of strength I have to hold it together around Mason. I hate when my baby is in pain and there's nothing I can do about it.
Mason was an accident prone child. Broke his arm when he crashed his bike into the side of the house when he was six. Dislocated his shoulder trying to do a back flip when he was ten. He had four sets of stitches in one summer when he was fifteen. Those were some of the worse days of my life.
Screaming echoes down the quiet hall and I race into Mason's room, finding Luke and two nurses trying to hold Mason down. His massive body is thrashing on the bed, sending the nurses scrambling to get a grip on his arm while Luke has his arm across Mason's chest, pressing him into the bed.
Watching my baby being held down kicks my mama bear instincts into overdrive. "Let go of my baby, now! " I scream, causing Mason to stop his thrashing and the rest freeze in place.
"What in the fuck do you think you are doing?" I ask to no one in particular.
"He yanked his IV out, we need to put it back in." One of the nurses inform me.
"And you needed to hold him down?"
Luke comes around the bed, taking me by my elbow. "How about we wait outside and let the nurses do their jobs."
I yank my arm out of his grip. "Answer my question, Archer. Why were you holding Mason down?"
"He wasn't letting the nurses put the needle back in. They had asked me to help."
"You said you'd come get me if he needed me." I poke his chest. "But you didn't. You took it upon yourselves to hold my child down. Did it ever occur to you that I could calm him down enough for them to put the IV back in."
Hurt swims in his ice blue eyes. "I made a mistake, I should've came and got you. I'm sorry, Sweetheart, it won't happen again." He reaches for me but I move out of his reach.
"No, it won't. I told the nurses that he was deathly scared of needles and yet, no one bothered to come and get me."
"Sweetheart, I'm truly sorry. I thought I was helping, I thought we could handle this. I didn't want to trouble you for something as simple as putting his IV back in. If I had known—"
I open the door, cutting off what he was saying. "Goodbye, Archer."
"Dani, please, I'm so sorry—"
"Goodbye, Luke."
He stares at me, fear overriding his hurt in his eyes. "I'll, um…see you tomorrow."
"No, Luke, you won't." I sniffle. "You promised me you would come get me and you broke that promise." Tears flood my eyes. "What you did is unforgivable and I can't…" I wipe my eyes. "I can't be with someone who's going to ignore my wishes, especially when it comes to my child. Because my child's safety will always be my top priority. Always."
I turn away, tears rolling down my face. He brushes past me, saying nothing more but he's not the same man that walked towards me ten minutes ago. Shoulders slumped, head down. He steps onto the elevator, his ice blue eyes meeting mine one last time and all the joy I saw when he got here is now replaced with heartbreak.
The doors close on the best thing that's happened to me since Mason.
I cover my mouth to mute my sobs.
I broke my own heart to keep my son safe.