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“Hi little guy,” Alex said, and the look on his face made it feel like butterflies were set loose inside of me. His eyes were filled with tears, but he was smiling bigger than I had ever seen him smile before. “How are you feeling?”
“My throat hurts.”
“Oh baby, you had a breathing tube during surgery, but it’ll feel better soon,” I told him, stroking his hair back from his face. I wasn’t sure Ollie could understand exactly what all of this meant, but I had always made it my goal to be honest with him.
“My throat hurts too, Ollie,” Alex said.
“You had surgery too?” Ollie asked, his voice soft.
“I did.”
I cleared my throat. “Daddy gave you a kidney, sweetheart. So, you should be feeling better real soon.”
Ollie’s eyes stared into mine. For all his short life, he had known that he needed a kidney, even if he didn’t understand it. And now there was a relief that washed over him.
“I have a kidney now?”
“Yes, you have one of mine,” Alex said.
“Thank you,” Ollie said quietly, his eyes growing heavy again, but this time, I knew it was from the sedation. Hopefully my little boy would be back up and playing like other three-year-olds before long.
I let him drift off to sleep again, stroking his hair, and waiting by his side as he fell in and out of sedation. Both Alex and I comforted our little boy together.
I was no longer alone.
At some point, there was a knock at the door and Duncan entered.
“Hey there, hope I’m not intruding?”
“Of course not, Duncan,” I said. “As long as Alex is up for visitors.”
“I’m good, thanks. It’s nice to see you, man.”
“It’s good to see you too. I was at work but kept in contact with Grace during the whole thing. How are you two doing?”
“I’m fine, hardly feel anything at all,” Alex answered, and I wondered how much of that was downplaying it, but I let it go. “And Ollie seems to be recovering well too. Doctors say everything went well. There’s still a long journey, but we remain hopeful.”
Duncan looked over at Ollie and smiled. “What you did, Alex… I’m sure Grace has already expressed gratitude for it, but I’m telling you, it warms my heart that you were able to step up and do what you needed to do for him.”
“Of course. He’s my son. I’d do anything for him.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I really am.”
“In fact, I’ve already told Grace that I’m looking to move back to Denver.”
“Oh really?” Duncan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, I want us to have a shot at being a family, and honestly, man? I owe it all to you. Had you not kicked my butt into gear the other night, I might not be here right now.”
“I’m just glad it worked out for everyone involved,” Duncan said.
“Me too, man. Me too,” Alex replied, looking over at Ollie with another big grin splashed across his handsome face.
Chapter 17
Alex
“Mmm, how are you feeling?” I opened my eyes to find Grace’s baby blues staring at me.
