Chapter 122

Rachel POV

Our Blessed Goddess Medical Center- Surgical Waiting Room Floor 3

Nathan returned with a pitcher of ice water from the cafeteria while Lindy held onto him with one hand and a stack of paper cups with the other. I wasn't sure if I should acknowledge she was clutching him as if he'd vanish on her the second she let go or just ignore it so I decided to ignore it.

Her.

Ignoring Lindy Campbell was turning out to be a full-time occupation for me. The good thing about trying to tune out Lindy was not being able to fixate on Tyler.

Who still hadn't returned from his "walk."

"Where's Wright?"

Trust Nathan to get right to the heart of the matter.

I was saved from having to answer him when Art popped back into the waiting room.

One moment I was alone in a row of chairs with Nathan and Lindy facing me and the next: Alpha Inspector Art Windsor was seated beside me facing the awkward duo as if he'd never left.

"Good news!" Art boomed.

Twisting on my seat, I faced him eagerly, leaning forward to prompt, "Ethan's made it through surgery? He's awake?"

"The first 'yes' and the second 'no' but don't get hung up on the whole 'He's in a coma' thing. The good news is: Ethan is still alive! A healthy dose of good blood via transfusion and he's all healed from the poison. Now we just wait on him to wake up."

Coma.

The word echoed in my head on a loop as if I were in the recording studio with a sound mixer who thought dubstep was still cool.

"Ethan is in a coma?"

"What kind of coma?" Nathan demanded at the same time as me.

"Again. What did I say about focusing on the whole 'coma' part? Can't you people just be happy with the good news? I swear you give you guys an inch and you want the whole Panama Canal."

My heart was beating too fast in my chest. I flattened my hand over my breastbone, feeling the racing lubdub-lubDUB-lubdub of my heart as the organ tried to race my anxiety to some imaginary finish line.

I knew rapid heartbeat was something associated with anxiety.

When I spent too much time away from my music, I had anxiety attacks. Panic attacks even.

I knew all about how an anxiety or panic attack could affect me, but now all I could think about was the baby in my belly. How would my racing heart affect her? Would she know? Could she tell? Would it hurt her?

Art took my hand as if he could read my mind---which I remembered he could. I squeezed his fingers with my own, glad to know I could hang onto him as hard as I wanted without any risk of hurting him. Was this why Lindy was clinging to Nathan? Was she really on the verge of a panic attack and Nathan Lewis was the only thing grounding her in reality?

I found I didn't want to ignore the girl anymore.

"Stop thinking so hard. It's bad for your health. Not for your baby. Just for you. She's perfectly fine where she's at without a care in the world except when your next meal is and if you'll be having enough calcium to satisfy her growing bones."

Art was a father. I had thought the idea completely ridiculous when he'd first announced his children. Now? I could see how Art Windsor was exactly the kind of man children would be lucky to have as their father.

He certainly comforted me enough.

"Do you know anything you aren't telling me?"

"I know a lot of things I'm not telling you. I know a lot of things I'm never going to tell you. Try not to focus on what I'm not saying and instead focus on what I am: Ethan has survived the poison. He's sleeping! That's all a coma is really. It's a very, very deep sleep. People sleep all the time. People wake up from sleeping all the time. Don't borrow trouble."

Art could talk his way out of anything, couldn't he?

I imagined him as he must appear before the Alpha Council: confident, casual, and content with giving the ones he reported to only the information he felt like passing to them.

They probably hated him for it which was why he was sitting in a surgical waiting room with me instead of saving the wolfen world from terrorists or something.

"You're overthinking. It's not going to do you any favors. Focus on here and now. What can you control? What can't be controlled by anyone? Put it into perspective and you'll feel better. I promise."

What could I control?

I could control how I reacted to my brother's condition. I could focus on here and now. I could focus on breathing in and out, waiting in the waiting room, and keeping myself still rather than running my already taxed body ragged.

My baby needed me to stay calm so I was going to focus my attention on staying calm for my daughter. Picturing her face helped me more than anything else could.

What can't be controlled by anyone?

Ethan would wake up or not based on his own fate. No doctor could force my brother to heal any more than I could will him to wake up.

Fate was out of the hands of everyone regardless of their rank or power or position.

Breathing in and out, I asked, "Do we know how long Ethan might sleep for or are we flying blind?"

Art shrugged a shoulder the size of a mountain, dizzying me with his mammoth size as he admitted, "No clue. We're not only flying blind? We're doing it through the Bermuda Triangle. No one has ever done a blood transfusion like the one Ethan just got to beat out the poison."

I knew without asking the blood which had saved my brother had come from Art. He was truly a savior for my brother, for me, for my little family which kept changing by the day.

Reaching over to lay my free hand on top of the one already holding onto Art, I tried to relax into the uncomfortable waiting room seat.

Art squeezed my fingers again and relaxed into the seat next to me as if to show me how it was done.

I smiled as I realized I could practically hear Bella bitching at Art for 'manspreading' on the chair. His long legs were parted wide and sprawled out as far as they could stretch in front of him; his arms were draped over those of the chair, the one holding onto my hand taking up most of my lap.

Art clearly didn't have any issues with the amount of space he occupied. I wondered if he had any awareness of how most people related to their surroundings and realized he didn't care one way or the other.

Art had given me the best advice he could by saying I should only focus on what I could control---leave the rest behind me.

Tyler came into the room and his eyes immediately went to my hands clasped around Art's until I released him to stand up and hold my hands out for my mate instead.

"Art brought us some good news and some," I hesitated before deciding to say, "---other news."

Taking my hands, Tyler pulled me against his chest, leaning down to rest his head on mine for a brief moment before asking, "Well, what is this good news first? I feel I can wait on the 'other news' as long as I know something good came out of Windsor's presence."

"Hey! I resent that! I'll have you know I've saved your mangy hide more than once, Wright."

I shook my head at the Alphas acting like boys around me.

"Ethan was given a blood transfusion. It cured the poison. He is healthy."

"But?" Tyler prompted.

"But he's asleep. As in a 'coma' asleep."

Tyler nodded slowly, his eyes searching my face until he found whatever peace he was looking for then released my hands to instead hold me to his chest. I leaned into his body for comfort. I could use the chance to let his strength be mine for a while.

"Ethan is going to wake up. Eventually. Do I have the situation right?"

I had to give Tyler credit for trying to humor me. His natural inclination was to poke holes in any situation to figure out the 'how' or the 'why' or all the rest involved in any event so he could be one step ahead of the competition.

It meant a lot to me to know Tyler was making the attempt to see things from my perspective.

"Yes. That's the long and the short of it," Art confirmed, offering a slight bow from his sprawl, "You can thank me for curing the poison. I accept thanks in the form of favors, flattery, or---chocolate. I definitely like the idea of chocolate right now."

"Settle for not getting an introduction to my bad side."

Tyler leveled Art with a look which raised every hair on my body. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be terrified or turned on; my body was a mixture of both as I wrapped an arm around my mate's trim waist.

"Consider me settled."

Art offered his hands palm outward in a gesture of peace and I took the opportunity to pull Tyler toward the doorway.

"We'll be settling something outside. Please call Tyler if someone comes to update us before we return."

I wanted a moment alone with my mate. Immediately.