Chapter 37
JACKSON
Sofia's oxygen levels hit ninety-five percent a few weeks after the trial, and Dr. Stone pulls Emma and Chase aside during evening rounds. I watch from the hallway as she delivers the news. Chase wraps his arms around her, both of them crying happy tears.
Maya's beside me, her hand finding mine automatically. She's been different since the trial, lighter, like testifying cut some invisible thread that had been choking her.
"She's going to be okay," Maya says, reading the monitors from where we stand. "Look at those sats, respiratory rate is steady. She's a fighter."
"Like her mom."
"Like her whole family."
Dr. Stone emerges, smiling. "If she maintains these levels for another week, we can start discussing discharge plans."
Emma actually laughs, the sound bright with disbelief. "She's coming home?"
"Barring any setbacks, yes. Sofia's exceeded every expectation we had for a thirty-two-weeker."
Emma insists we all go home and sleep tonight—in actual beds instead of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Chase drives us back, and for the first time in weeks, the house doesn't feel like a war zone.
Maya starts making dinner, something she hasn't done since before the whole incident. Emma watches her from the kitchen table with Ethan on her lap, and the look on her face is complicated, still hurt but softer around the edges.
"We need to talk," Emma says.
Maya's hands pause on the cutting board, her shoulders tensing. "Okay."
"Not a bad talk, just..." Emma shifts Ethan to her other knee. "I've been thinking about everything. And I get it now."
"Get what?"
"Why you guys didn't tell me." Emma's voice is steady, measured.
"I don't like it, I'm still hurt about it.
But watching you testify, seeing what you went through.
.." She stops to compose herself. "You were barely surviving when you got here, and Jackson was your lifeline.
I get why you couldn't risk losing that. "
Maya sets down the knife and turns to face her with cautious hope in her eyes. "Emma..."
"I'm not saying it was right, you should have told me. But I understand why." Emma looks at me. “It was messy and stupid, but your choices came from love."
The relief that washes over Maya's face is almost painful to witness. "Are we..." Her voice cracks. "Are we okay?"
"We're getting there." Emma stands, hands Ethan to Chase, who just walked in. She crosses to Maya and pulls her into a hug. "I love you, even when I'm furious with you."
"I love you too."
They hold each other for a long moment, and I see Maya's shoulders shake with silent sobs. Chase catches my eye and jerks his head toward the living room. I follow him out, giving them the space they need.
"She's been working up to that all day," he says once we're out of earshot. "The trial changed something for her. Seeing Maya that strong, that brave, Emma realized she'd been underestimating her."
"She never underestimated Maya."
"No, but she's been so focused on protecting everyone else that she forgot Maya doesn't need protecting anymore. She needs support, there's a difference."
He's right. Emma spent so long taking care of everyone. Our Mom, when I moved out, Maya when her mom passed, Chase when he was too stubborn to admit he loved her. She forgot how to let people take care of themselves.
"Thanks," I tell him. "For talking to her, for being on our side."
"I'm always on your side, man, even when you're being an idiot." He grins. "Which is often."
We head back to the kitchen. Maya and Emma are laughing about something, shoulder to shoulder at the stove, and the sight makes my chest tight. Ethan's on the floor with plastic containers, stacking them into a tower.
"Block!" Ethan announces proudly.
"That's not a block, buddy," Chase says. "That's Tupperware."
"Block!"
Emma rolls her eyes, stirring something on the stove. "He's decided everything is a block now. I’ve given up correcting him."
Max wanders over and sniffs at Ethan's tower, then walks away, obviously not interested.
Dinner is chaos in the best way. Ethan throws food, Max begs shamelessly, and Emma actually smiles when she catches Maya and me holding hands under the table. We talk about Sofia's progress, the trial verdict, and the upcoming road trip.
"Two weeks," Chase groans. "I'm going to miss so much with Sofia."
"We'll video call every day," Emma promises. "And she'll still be tiny when you get back."
"What if she forgets me?"
"Nobody could forget your obnoxious ass."
"Rude."
Maya laughs, and the sound fills the room like light. I realize how much I've missed hearing it freely, without the weight of secrets pressing down on all of us.
After dinner, Emma pulls out her phone. "Mom called earlier. She's coming back next week to stay for a bit."
I freeze, my fork halfway to my mouth. "She's staying here?"
"Yeah, to actually meet Sofia this time. NICU's loosened up on visitors now that she's doing better." Emma looks between Maya and me, something knowing in her expression. "She can have the spare room now, right?" She waggles her eyebrows at us.
Maya's face heats. "Emma."
"What? I'm just saying, you two finally have your own space." Emma grins. "Anyway, she'll figure it out the second she sees you together."
"I know," Maya says.
"And?"
"Let her figure it out." Maya touches the pendant at her throat. "I'm done hiding."
Emma smiles, and there's approval in it. "Good. Because she's apparently been waiting for this."
"Waiting for what?" I ask.
"For you to pull your head out of your ass about Maya."
Chase chokes on his beer. "She knew?"
"Mom knows everything," Emma says. "It's terrifying."
Later, after Ethan's in bed, Chase and Emma head upstairs to get ready for bed themselves. Maya and I sit on the back porch. The stars are visible through the light pollution, the sound of distant traffic a low hum in the background.
"Your mom's going to hate me," Maya says.
"My mom loves you. She always has."
"That was before I started sleeping with her son."
We sit in comfortable silence. Max appears from nowhere, jumps onto Maya's lap, and starts purring. She scratches behind his ears.
"Traitor," I tell the cat.
Max ignores me, as usual.
"Jackson?" Maya's voice is soft. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For..." She pauses. "For loving me when I couldn't love myself."
"That's not something you thank someone for. That's just what you do when someone matters."
She tilts her head up and kisses me. Slow and sweet, tasting like the wine from dinner. When she pulls back, her eyes are wet.
"What?" I ask.
"I'm happy. I'm actually happy."
"Good."
"Carson's in prison, Sofia's getting better, Emma forgave us. I testified and survived." She touches my face, her fingers gentle against my jaw. "I have you."
"You've always had me."
"I know. But now I get to keep you."
Inside, a door opens. Emma's voice: "Are you two done being disgustingly cute? We're about to watch a movie."
I glance at Maya, confused. "I thought you two were going to bed?"
"We decided to come back down. Plus, Maya gets to pick the film."
Maya stands, looking down at me. "Coming?"
I follow them inside. Chase is raiding the pantry for popcorn while Emma settles into the armchair.
This. This is what I've been fighting for. Not hockey, not the captaincy, not any of the things I thought defined me.
Family. The messy, complicated, beautiful chaos of people who love each other despite their fuckups.
Maya grabs the remote and pats the space on the couch next to her. I sit down and pull her against me. Chase brings the popcorn, bowl overflowing.
"What are we watching?" he asks.
"Something stupid," Maya says. "I'm done with heavy things."
She picks a comedy I've never heard of. It doesn't matter. I'm barely watching the screen anyway, too busy noticing the way Maya relaxes against me, the way Emma smiles at us without any remaining anger, the way the house finally feels like home again.
Mom's going to lose her mind when she gets here. She'll probably cry, definitely make a big deal about it, might even pull out the few baby photos Maya hasn't seen yet, and start planning a wedding before we've had our first public date.
I can't wait.