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Mia places her hand on Bree’s shoulder, wincing slightly as she wraps her other arm protectively around her bump. Miaseems to be in pain, but just a few seconds later, she takes a deep breath and speaks to Bree.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Are you just using it as a distraction?” Mia sounds a little breathless as she finishes her sentence, and the tightness around her eyes is still there.
Although it’s clear Mia’s just being protective of Bree, making sure she looks after herself, it’s also a bit of a stupid question. Of course, Bree’s using it as a distraction. We all fucking are, but right now, it’s all we have.
Bree’s eyes narrow on Mia before her gaze flicks down to her bump. “Are you in pain?”
“It’s just Braxton Hicks. I’ve been having them on and off for a few days. As you will remember with Nate, they get worse during stress,” Mia replies calmly, no hint of the breathlessness that was there just moments ago.
On hearing this part of the conversation, Kellan springs to his feet, his eyes flicking around frantically as he runs his fingers through his hair. “Oh, my God. Do we need to get you to the doctor? Are you okay, Flower?” he asks, as he mindlessly hands a sleeping Hallie over to Von.
She takes Hallie without question, and curls her up on her knee, brushing her fingers through her brown curls as the toddler grumbles slightly from being moved. Desmond leans over and whispers in the little girl’s ear, before placing a sweet kiss on her forehead, and it’s not long before she's snoring softly again.
Mia lets go of Bree’s hand and takes Kellan’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Calm down, Kel. Braxton Hicks are normal. I told my midwife about them last week, and she reassured you then, so the same applies now. I’ve been having them for the past few hours, but it’s probably all the stress that’s making them worse.
“If they get more painful, or closer together, or there’s anything else I need to be worried about, I will definitely go to see a doctor. Okay?”
He takes her cheeks between his palms and kisses her gently. “Okay, but please, take it easy. Sit down, rest, and just cook this little one for a while longer.”
Mia smiles at her over-protective boyfriend. “I will. And you can distract yourself by being part of this meeting.”
He nods his head before turning to face Bree, though he doesn’t look like he wants to be part of it all that much. “I’m in. Mia’s going to sit this out with Von.” As he speaks, he leads Mia over to the chair beside Von. She rolls her eyes at how bossy he’s being, but it almost makes me smile.
Not that I will ever get to experience this, but I imagine this is exactly what Evan would be like. Over-protective, overbearing, and completely suffocating, but in the most loving way.
Kellan returns to sit with Bree, while McKenna is the only other person who moves over to sit with Von and Mia, to help with the kids, saying she wants to keep her stress levels down. Everyone else moves closer to Bree for the update.
Once we’re all sorted, she looks over at Kian, the pain evident in her eyes that she’s not looking at Liam first, like she normally does. “Kian, why don’t you give us a general overview?”
Kian nods his head, and in an instant, the cocky, easy going guy we know so well is replaced by a professional. His grin is gone, and I’ve never seen him look so serious. It’s a little scary, actually.
“Overall, the operations were a massive success. Nearly all of the smaller extractions went off without a hitch. The auction Lots were retrieved, and the buyers were taken into custody. There were a few injuries sustained from the odd person fighting back, but no fatalities that we’re aware of.”
Bree smiles, though I can see it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Good. How are the people we rescued?”
“They’re as well as can be expected. A few were kept in less than ideal situations, and are getting the medical input they need. Most, if not all, will need a fuck load of therapy to get over this, but they’re alive, and that’s all that matters.”
Bree’s eyes flick over to me for just a second, before she turns back to face Kian. “When the dust has settled here, we will look into getting every person the help they need. If they need a fuck load of therapy, that’s exactly what we will get them.
“I want every person we rescued today to go on and live a happy and healthy life, not held back at all by the shit they’ve endured at the hands of these people.”
Kellan shakes his head. “Do you know how hard it will be to get mental health support for all those people? There’s not enough support out there as it is. They will have to be prioritised, and then they will go on waitlists.
“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but the healthcare system can’t cope with the mental health referrals they have at the moment, let alone when all these get added into it.
“I hate to say it, but most of these people will fall through the cracks until they do something dangerous to get themselves noticed,” Kellan says solemnly, and though I hate to admit it, he’s right.
The health care system can’t cope as it is, and when these new people flood the system, it’ll be even worse. I hate that people have to become a danger to themselves or others before anyone will even consider helping them.
“Then we will find another way,” Bree says firmly, leaving no room for arguments.
“Let’s add this to the next family meeting agenda when we’re back home, shall we?” Shane suggests, sounding so much like Liam, it makes my heart ache.
Everyone mutters their agreement, but I can tell by the way Bree’s looking at me, she has an idea in mind already. “What is it, Bree?” I ask, inviting her to say whatever she’s thinking.
“We can save this discussion for another time, but I think you should seriously think about becoming a counsellor for these people. Helping women and children who have been victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking. Not only do you have a unique viewpoint, as you’ve experienced a lot of it yourself, you’re also trained to counsel people.
“I know you’ve always wanted to work with offenders, but I think you can do so much more by helping victims. This job would be perfect for you, and you’d be helping the people you’ve worked so hard to save.”
