Page 46 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

This wasn’t the first time I’d been in this room, but it always struck me as if it felt like he was either just moving in or moving out. Boxes with books and files were stacked in the corner behind his desk. The only thing he had hanging on the wall was his medical license and diploma. Thankfully, since he held meetings in his office, he had a small seating area to accommodate his patients. The couch wasn’t big enough to fit us all, so Gareth pulled me onto his lap, and Yun-Sun took the chair next to Dr. Arbour.

“Well, gentleman, where would you like me to start?” Dr. Arbour asked, clapping his hands together.

In a twist I didn’t see coming, Vili pulled out a folded sheet of paper that seemed to be a list of questions. He handed it over to Dr. Arbour, and he looked it over. He nodded and gave affirmative grunts at this or that before sitting back and crossing his leg over the other, ready to get down to business.

Grabbing the coffee cup from the side table, he took a swig before speaking. “First, I would like to know if you understand the condition and complications Bailey-Rose has?”

Everyone nodded, murmuring their agreement.

“Excellent, that makes covering all your questions easier. Now a running theme I see in all these is how best to help when a crisis arises. I’m sure Bailey-Rose has told you her family took some classes I offer to help with these concerns. It would be my professional opinion that all of you do the same. Are any of you currently certified in CPR or any other immediate medical response?”

Gareth raised his hand. “I am. Working in warehouses and on the ranch, we require everyone to get that certification and keep it up to date.”

“Very wise of you,” Dr Arbour commended. “It’s important for one of you to know and feel confident in this while you wait to get into the classes. I’m not saying you need to live in fear that something will happen. Bailey-Rose is a model patient when it comes to looking after herself. Always takes her medication, sticks to the diet, and follows the rules any doctor gives her. However, not having a plan in place would just be foolish, so I applaud you all for meeting with me to ensure Bailey-Rose is well looked after.”

Ulysses leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he spoke, “I’m well aware of the battles Rosie has been through in her life, and she had an episode right in front of us the other night. We froze. If Crew and Eli hadn’t been there, it could have been so much worse. The duty of keeping her safe is now passed to us, and we’re flying a little blind.”

“That is to be expected. No one is ready for something like this unless they have to be. Each case for each person is different. The genetic factor in Bailey-Rose’s case presents challenges we don’t find with others. What you need to keep in the forefront of your mind is to remain calm. If you allow yourself to freak out and spiral, you will be of no help to your Omega. Not to mention a body in flight mode won’t be able to process the situation the way you need to. There is no running away from the problem… you must face it head-on,” Dr. Arbour explained. “You are the only lifeline she has if something goes wrong. It’s a heavy burden to bear, but you’re all Alphas built to protect and nurture your Omega. I have zero doubt you’ll manage just fine once given the tools.”

A tension I hadn’t realized was running through all my guys seemed to dissipate at this encouragement. Another Alpha, one specifically trained in this area, was telling them it would be okay. Part of me felt sad they’d had so much stress and worry over this that I couldn’t help them find peace with.

“Now, moving on to the matter of heats…” Dr. Arbour paused and shifted slightly, taking another swallow of coffee. Almost as if this topic made him ever so slightly uncomfortable.

I suppose it made sense. He’s been looking after me since I entered the world. Now having to talk about heats, sex, and all that went with it might be somewhat awkward for him.

“I told them I can’t go into heat, that it would be too much for my body,” I added, trying to help him out. “Is that still your opinion on the matter?”

Dr. Arbour met my gaze, and I saw the moment he decided to plead his case. Everything in me wanted to tell him to leave the matter be, but they had the right to hear his idea even if I would never use it.

“As things stand currently, yes, but there is another option,” Dr. Arbour said, shifting his attention to the guys. “In the past few years, there has been an advancement in surgery that would allow us to make some much-needed adjustments to her heart. We could fix the valve that isn’t working properly as well as add in a new type of mesh that her body won’t reject. This would be major surgery since we need to remove her heart from her body entirely to make the repairs.”

The guys all shifted their attention to me, and I was met with various levels of shock, confusion, and hurt.

“Were you going to tell us about this?” Ulysses asked, his tone laced with a hint of accusation.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I shook my head. “No.”

None of them liked that answer, and it was written all over their faces.

“Dr. Arbour, please tell them the risk involved with this life-changing procedure,” I requested, knowing they needed the full scope.

“Due to her diminished stamina because of her condition and the high likelihood of rejection if the valve we use isn’t a perfect blood-type match, we’re looking at a sixty percent success rate of her making it through surgery. Depending on how the surgery went, it could drop to fifty percent of her making it through recovery,” Dr. Arbour answered truthfully. “I want to make it clear that this is the only option available to us. She would never be able to survive a heart transplant, and we’ve exhausted all other avenues with medication and therapy. There might come a day that no matter what her feelings are on the surgery, it will be the only choice to try and save her.”

The room fell silent as the guys wrapped their heads around that thought. When the silence stretched on for too long, I knew I had to redirect this conversation. Getting up from Gareth’s lap, I stepped to the side so I could see all my guys. Their expression matched the ones they had that first day in the living room.

“Hey, this is not the end of the world,” I reminded them. “I can still live a full and happy life with all of you without this surgery. Please know I wasn’t keeping this from you for any malicious reason or because I didn’t trust you. This simply isn’t an option to me, so why bother to bring it up? I would much rather know I have ten, twenty, thirty more years with all of you than risk the chance at fifty to sixty odds. So I might not be able to have a heat or give you biological children. If we want a family, there are other ways of doing that. Even with this surgery, I’m not sure if I want to have kids. The likelihood of them being born with my genetic disorder is high. However, we all know there are kids out there who need a family to love them, so children are still possible.”

The fear in their expression faded somewhat, but they needed to hear it from Dr. Arbour before they’d believe me. I looked at the man who’s saved my life more than once over the years and gave him a pleading look. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out a frustrated grunt.

“She’s right,” he admitted, using his tie to clean his glasses. “While I keep pushing for the surgery to make her life easier and allow her to do more things, it’s not to the point where I believe she’s in danger. The younger and stronger she is will give us far better odds, but I’m not at the point where I feel justified in pressuring her into it. I’ll have you know it’s something I’m rather upset about, young lady. I even tried to speak to your mother about this after hearing she was in town, but she told me to respect your choice.”

Go, Mom. I knew she would back up my choice after I explained the situation.

“Duly noted,” I commented, returning to the couch where Ulysses snatched me up. He hid his face in my neck as he hugged me tightly. “So going into heat is too risky, but is there anything we can do or that I can take to make having sex easier?”

The way all the guys inhaled sharply and tensed at this question made me laugh. They were acting like I didn’t tell this man everything about my body. Hell, to get out of the hospital, you have to announce when you fart, poop, or piss, depending on the surgery. Talking about sex was the least of my worries.

“Is there a particular concern? Are the suppressants making you too dry for intercourse?” Dr. Arbour questioned, making Warrick choke on his own spit and causing a coughing fit.