Jesse looked past me, and I realized Finn had woken up. He stood silently a few steps behind me.
Jess made a noise and raised their hand toward him.
“I thought you were dead,” Finn choked out, his words garbled as he began to cry.
“Oh, son,” I breathed.
Jesse opened and closed their hand at him, gesturing for him to come closer.
“Careful,” I warned gently as he raced toward the bed.
When their hands met, Finn let out a wail that seemed to echo and pushed between Jesse and me. His arms curled against his chest as he pressed in beside them, getting as close as possible without pressing against Jess at all.
My eldest’s arm wrapped around their brother, and their fingers slid through the hair at the back of his head.
“We’re all okay,” I told them both roughly, rubbing Finn’s back as I met Jesse’s gaze.
Our little trio sat like that for a long time.
***
“You said you’dlet me know when they woke up,” Curtis said a couple of hours later, stopping me in the hallway. “What the fuck, Teddy?”
“It was early,” I replied, shaking my head. “I thought you might be sleeping.”
Curtis glared. We both knew that neither of us would be sleeping anytime soon. The excuse wasn’t even thin. It was transparent.
“I’ve been waitin’ all fuckin’ night to hear,” he said, staring at me in frustration. “You couldn’t text me?”
“I thought there were no phones in ICU.”
“Draco’s got my phone, and he woulda come to get me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, glancing at Jesse’s room. “Have you been in yet?”
“I just got here,” he said, letting go of my arm. “Charlie let me know that Jess was awake.”
“Yeah, she’s been in here a few times.”
He looked at me for a long moment and then gestured for me to precede him.
Inside, Draco’s Grandma Brenna was sitting with Jesse, telling them some kind of story. Before the previous day, I hadn’t spent much time with Brenna. She’d been nice every time we spoke, but she and Dragon were a little more reserved than the rest of Curtis’s family. I’d realized the second time she came to check on us that Brenna may not have had the outgoing personality of Farrah, who’d welcomed us loudly, but she was someone who was absolutely solid in a crisis. Calm and strong, she seemed to anticipate people’s needs before they even realized they had them. Being the old lady of the president probably had a lot to do with that. If Dragon was the backbone of the club, Brenna was the heart.
Finn was back by the window, fast asleep. He’d stayed awake as long as he could, but when he’d fallen asleep on Jesse’s bed, I helped him move so he didn’t hurt them by accident.
“Hey, Jess,” Curtis said as he entered the room. “How you doin’?”
Jess shrugged as he went to them and leaned down to kiss the top of their head.
“I’ve been in with Dylan,” Curt said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “They’ve lowered his meds, and they think he’s gonna wake up soon. You got any messages you want me to deliver?”
Jess said something garbled and pointed to their mouth, rolling their eyes.
“We need to get you somethin’ to write with,” Curt said with a soft smile. “You must be goin’ crazy.”
Jess nodded emphatically, groaned, and nodded more cautiously.
“Hey, careful,” Curtis warned. “You’ve got a concussion. Gonna be sore for a while.”
